White | Silver | Black
The garden chair is hard under Milliard's buttocks, its cold seeping through his threadbare robe. A thick morning fog obscures the rosebushes he knows are planted in a circle around this seat as heavy dew on the grass chills his bare feet. He has been sitting here, alone, for most of the night, waiting for his friend to come. It isn't usually this long a wait, but he actually wanted to talk tonight and his companion has failed to appear.
"Where are you, Treize?" he wonders aloud. "I need to tell you about what Max did tonight."
"Don't you mean Duo?" the familiar voice purrs over his shoulder.
Milliard begins to turn around but firm hands on his shoulders and neck keep him facing forward. "No, I mean Max." He leans back into the solid strength, sighing when fingers comb through his fringe, pulling it up over his forehead.
"They are one and the same," his long-awaited lover points out patiently.
"But Max is my knight, my black knight," the blond insists.
"You're not exactly a damsel, Milliard."
"We aren't really here talking in your rose garden, either." Perfect lips form a petulant pout. "This is my dream and I can call him what I want."
"Of course, Your Highness." He can hear the muted laughter in his beloved's tone. "And what did he do?"
"He gave me a most precious gift for Valentine's Day." He tilts his head upward to look at the man standing over him. Gentle hands stop the motion and he can feel lips brushing the top of his head.
The nose buried in platinum tresses inhales deeply and warm breath washes down the back of his neck. "Has he finally had his way with you?"
"I wish," Milliard mumbles, plucking at the hem of his robe. "Something better."
"Better than sex for Valentine's?" the sultry voice asks, sounding incredulous. "Chocolate?"
"No, maybe next year." A deep throaty chuckle escapes his lips. "He gave me his braid, the one most significant symbol of his life..." Said gift dangles over Milliard's left shoulder, the end spools in his lap. "He named me, called me Zee." He wraps his hands around the braided rope like the lifeline it is and turns to meet large violet eyes. "Max..."
"Max..." The low breathy word fills the early morning silence in a hotel room on L2.
Violet eyes flick open to stare at the not-quite-awake prince snuggling into his side. The slow smile turns into a full, wide grin as Duo shifts and rolls the sleeping beauty onto his back. He pauses to admire the view of a relaxed, handsome face in the midst of pure, white-gold silk spread over the pillow. "'Morning, Zee," he purrs, nuzzling a long, pale neck which stretches in response, chin lifting to allow him greater access.
"Your Zee." The blond stretches, arching his body against the man leaning over him. "All yours." He gasps at the feel of his nipples brushing against bare skin. Tangling his fingers in loose chestnut tresses at the back of Max's head, he pulls the roaming mouth to his own. "Only yours," he breathes, offering his lower lip up for suckling.
"You sure?" Duo asks, running the tip of his tongue along the offered mound of flesh. "We're not gonna do this if it's just you getting horny."
Silvery lashes flutter, revealing ice blue eyes slowly focusing on the violet orbs inches away. The two gazes lock onto each other and hold. "I'm sure. I want to be Zee and I want to call you Max."
"Why?"
"Because..." The blond gulps. "You named me that night, but I named you, too. Because Zee belongs to Max and Max is mine, mine alone."
"But Duo and Max are the same person," the younger man eases himself down to lie on top of the prone man. "I'm not going to become someone else just because my name changes. Who are you expecting Max to be?"
Pale brows pull together, forming a frown. "You... I don't want you to be anyone else," Zee murmurs. "I know the difference between us," he says in his most reassuring manner.
A perfect chestnut eyebrow rises in sceptical enquiry.
"I do!" Zee insists, sliding his hands to a slim waist and resting them there in an easy embrace. "I know it's only a name, but I want a fresh start and I want it with you, with my Max. When I scream your name I want to know that no one else has screamed it before me," he explains. "Am I being silly and selfish?"
"No, you're not." Duo sighs, resting his forehead on Zee's and closing his eyes. "I agreed that night to 'Max' and I'm not about to go back on our deal," he concedes, planting a kiss on the aristocratic nose. After a moment's thought, he lifts his head and blinks. "So, Zee belongs to Max, does he?"
The answering smile is accompanied by a hard thrust of bony hips, lifting them both off the bed.
"You are horny!"
"Only for you, Max." Zee wraps his legs around naked hips. "Only for you." His hands travel up the taut back until they return to the chestnut tangle, drawing lips, too far away, close enough to taste.
Callused hands slide down Zee's sides to cup his buttocks. Duo begins a slow rocking that provides sweet, sweet friction to them both.
For a long while, nothing is else is heard except for the rhythmic creaking of the bed's springs.
"Max!" Zee screams as wave after wave of pure pleasure pulses through his body. Warmth fills him with his lover's final thrusts, spiralling them through the solar system and out the other side, past the sun.
"Oh, Zee..." Duo sighs, shrugging long legs off his shoulders, carefully withdrawing and separating their joined bodies. Trembling arms brace him off the bed enough to lick the stickiness off a pale chest. "Sweetie... Honey... Babe..." He encounters a nipple and pauses to circle and tease it, eliciting mewing whimpers from the semiconscious blond. "Did the earth move for you too?" he asks between long, cleaning laves of his tongue.
Trying to gather his thoughts, Zee wallows in the sensation of wet trails forming up and down his body. "Still seeing stars," he finally manages to say. "Lick you, too?"
Duo studies the still figure beneath him. "Next time," he decides. "You don't look like you can move right now."
"Well, if you come up here, I can stick my tongue out," Zee suggests, and demonstrates without opening his eyes. "I want to taste me on you."
"Oh, man!" With a last lick, Duo shimmies up Zee's torso to capture the protruding tongue, sharing what is in his own mouth. "I'm gonna spoil you rotten," he mutters when they eventually part for breath. He rolls over onto his back, fluffs a pillow and slips it under his head, arranging his hair over the top of it, out of the way.
"I'd love that," Zee sighs, snuggling into Max's side, his head resting on his favoured pillow, the waiting shoulder.
"Tired?" Sweat damp tresses are gently untangled by combing fingers.
Drawing circles on a washboard stomach, Zee observes, "We're going to be rather sticky if we don't get up and wash this off." His heavy eyelids droop, closing again.
"Can you move your legs yet?" Duo asks, kissing the top of a platinum head and lingering to inhale the unique scent of his sated lover.
"No..." is the drowsy reply.
Duo twines his limbs with Zee's. "We'll survive sticky," he murmurs, feeling the body plastered against his relax into sleep.
"My Zee," Duo whispers, examining its connotations from every angle and sighs. "Mine, all mine." The glow spreads from his heart to the rest of his being. Feeling energised and lethargic at the same time, he settles down to enjoy the moment. Warm, even breaths wash over his chest as he winds threads of gold silk around his fingers.
"Fuck," he drawls, stretching out the word. "I wanted this so much, hoped for it, longed for it, but never expected it... not today, anyway," he muses to his sleeping lover. "Not so soon, but you're really not just being horny, are you? I'm gonna believe you when you say you're ready. I've never had someone need me this much before; it's such a rush." Burying his nose in the back of Zee's head, he breathes deeply. "To have you, your life in my hands, my care, my... kinda scary, actually. I'm not Treize who probably enjoyed having this kinda control over someone else. I won't forget how precious my babe is, how very fragile you still are."
"Why do you do it?" Duo wonders, tracing the line of Zee's jaw with his fingertips. "You're a prince, born to rule, were destined to be a king before you gave it all away to Relena. Why do you give yourself so completely to others? Okay, Treize I can understand; that's one control freak I'm glad to never have met face to face. But me? Just because I asked for it? Oh, boy... how could you do something like that?" He resists the urge to trail kisses after his fingers.
"You're right about holding me to our deal, to want something of me that's yours alone, a fresh start and a way to leave our pasts behind us," Duo concedes quietly, staring at the relaxed, handsome face. "It's only a name. You go through 'em like coats, a separate one for every occasion. I don't know if you've noticed, but each name belongs to a different man. Zechs, I admire; he's one hell of a pilot. Milliardo belongs to Treize and honestly, the psycho prince scares me. Mill, I pity; he's such a wreck. And Zee, my babe, I love. There... I said it." He leans down to kiss the pale forehead on his shoulder.
"They're all you, just not at the same time. Me, I've only ever been me, Duo Maxwell, the God of Death, pilot of Deathscythe. I'm a package deal. You get all of me, no matter what name I use. But you know that, I hope. At least you said you did and I'll have to trust that you do." Duo sits for some time in silence, listening to Zee breathe. "Okay, then... I trust you... I do."
"Max," Duo pronounces aloud, trying it on for size and deciding he likes the fit.
"Max, it is then." His thumb caresses lax lips that part at the touch. He slips it inside the moist mouth and grins when he feels it sucked on. The sensation races straight to his cock, stirring it again. "If you keep this up, I'm gonna have to wake you." He settles instead for allowing the desire to pool in his groin, keeping him deliciously on edge without making him uncomfortable. "Let ya sleep. It's only a little thumb sucking."
"Guess this makes us officially a couple. Breathe, Duo... Max, breathe. Setting up house straight away didn't work with Heero, so I'm not gonna do that again. You told Relena that we're touring. Right! We can do that. It'll be fun doing the tourist thing. We can't stay here, Heero's bound to turn up eventually and I so don't want to have to deal with him. Hilde's agreed to buy me out of our partnership. That'll cut all my business ties to L2 and the colonies. It's for the best. My Zee'll be happier on Earth.'
Sharp teeth bite down on the previously suckled thumb.
"Ow!" Violet eyes glare down into icy blue ones. "What was that for?"
"Only being able to suck your thumb when I want something else in my mouth," Zee grumbles.
"I thought you were asleep," Max explains, leaning down to replace his offending and sore digit with something else.
"I'm awake, now... awake, hungry and..." Zee frowns, "stuck to you."
"Bath," Max states, crawling out of bed and dragging the taller man with him. "Then, food."
"Food?" Zee's frown deepens into a scowl. "Who said anything about food?" he demands, eyes focussed on Max's impressive erection.
"It's past three in the afternoon," Max points out while filling the tub. "Food before we get sticky again."
Zee smirks. "Yes, Max." He settles into the bath. "Can I at least have my appetiser now?"
Chuckling, Max gets in too, kneeling between open legs. The warm water, reaching to his thighs, laps at his balls. He groans as wet hands cup and squeeze his buttocks. His lover leans forward and his cock is engulfed in moist heat. He throws his head back, grabs onto bony shoulders, and howls as a velvety tongue strokes the underside of his penis. Zee guides it ever further down into his throat, varying the pressure along its length, swallowing around it. The hands on Max's hips keeps his thrusts to a minimum, but the slight friction is enough to bring him slowly to moaning completion.
Zee straightens up, licking his lips.
"You look like a cat who's just polished off a bowl of thickened cream," Max comments, turning around to lean back against a pale chest. He reaches for a washer and soaps it.
"You taste better," Zee drawls. "That was an excellent appetiser; I'm looking forward to dessert." His chin rests on the shoulder of the man in front of him while he rubs their cheeks together. A soft rumble escapes from his chest through the back of his throat.
"Now that's a contented sound," Max remarks, soaping long legs intent on wrapping themselves around his waist.
"You put it there." Zee lathers shampoo in chestnut tresses. "I'm happy, contented... did I mention happy?"
Max's smile lights up his entire face and he twists around to look at the man behind him. "You did," he says, claiming a sudsy kiss.
The End