Archive: http://www.ontheqt.org/~mrkinch/mtp.htm
Disclaimer: Not only do I not own GW, but I own neither Maynard's wonderful fics, 'Comfort and Joy' and 'And Hope' (if you haven't read them, do so at once!), from which this grew, nor a few of the details. One is from Ashkara's 'Back to Life.' Can you identify it?
Dedicated to The Reverand Maynard and to Wystii for their inspiration, encouragement, and surpassing beta reading. Special thanks to Razor Queen for adjusting my point of view.
When Duo had released his fingers and slid from the booth, Zechs followed, automatically paying his portion of the bill and donning the coat Duo handed him. He'd been relieved to feel a smaller hand tucked into his own as Duo carefully steered him through the restaurant, chatting conversationally about the food and managing to learn from his distracted companion that he had come on foot. That part of Zechs' mind that observed his surroundings admired the young man's ability to mask Zechs' own silence and get them into Duo's car while revealing nothing unusual to an observer. Now, as they pulled away from the curb, the warring emotions and flickers of hope that had almost overwhelmed him were coalescing into two coherent thoughts. ::What he is offering me is... something he wants. He is no part of my guilt and despair, and they should have no part in my response to him.::
As his thoughts cleared, Zechs glanced over at the young man behind the wheel and was struck, as he always was, by Duo's natural ease and skill at whatever he did, even a thing as ordinary as driving a few city blocks. His mind then supplied another image, that of Duo at dinner: friendly, comfortable, inviting? jacket off, sleeves rolled up, slender forearms resting on the white tablecloth. ::I truly am insane to fight this.:: He began to notice the strategic pauses that Duo was leaving in his pointed comments about the deficiencies of the agency sedan he was driving, and Zechs accepted the opportunity, responding with more fervor than he would have expected. This topic segued into mutual complaints about funding, and they soon were making their way along the walk from the vehicle pool to the agents' lot.
At Zechs' SUV they stopped. Zechs leaned back against the vehicle's cab and drew Duo towards him. "May this be 'some other time?'" There was no hesitation as the boy came into his arms, and he felt a hardness he'd barely been aware of pressed back against him by Duo's firm belly. Deep blue eyes met his, then closed as Duo rose onto his toes, mouth meeting Zechs' hungrily. The kiss deepened, lips and tongues and heat, that much sweeter for what had so recently passed between them. When they were both a bit breathless, Duo settled back onto his feet, arms loosely around the tall man's waist and cheek resting against the heavy wool of the coat. Zechs found himself with one arm around slender shoulders, the other hand petting the long, silken braid, and it felt... good. ::You are lying to yourself. It feels wonderful.:: But it was wrong; he did not deserve this. His resolution of minutes earlier wavered. He knew he had to stop, withdraw, return to his solitude, and only the reality of Duo's breath and bone beneath his hands kept him from fleeing.
Tremors in the slight form he still held against his own brought Zechs out of his dark thoughts, and he realized with a pang that the cause was not passion. The car interior had never warmed and an icy wind was whipping through the deserted parking garage. Gently he held Duo away from himself with one hand as he quickly unbuttoned his greatcoat and wrapped it around them both. The boy slipped his arms more tightly around the taller man's waist and again rested his head on the broad chest, sighing happily as the warmth surrounded him. When the shivers ceased, he shifted to lean on Zechs' arm and, turning his face upward, invited another kiss.
"May I take you home?"
"Will you come in?" Duo's face became serious.
Zechs hesitated.
"'Cause if not, I wanna know why. I'm not letting you get away so easily this time."
"I will come in." He kissed the upturned face once more, then opened the door and in one motion handed Duo in before removing his coat and tucking it around the boy. He raised a hand to stop Duo's protest. "I am a prince of Sanq, after all, not the Sudan." His eyes reflected satisfaction at Duo's startlement, and he closed the door as his passenger snuggled into the coat.
Zechs required no direction to find the house that Duo shared with two fellow agents, leaving each to his own thoughts. Duo knew that Zechs knew that Quatre and Trowa were both away, Tro on a Preventer's mission and Quat on one of his unavoidable business trips. This set of circumstances had figured prominently in Duo's selection of today to approach Zechs. Now, as he sat next to the man in the oversized SUV, tucked up warmly and half hard from the kisses, he began to suspect that his objective had expanded.
Zechs pulled his vehicle up next to Tro's jeep behind the house, got out, then reversed his maneuver with the coat to shelter them both as they hurried through the freezing night and in the back door to the warm kitchen. Duo hung the coat in the entry way, then removed his uniform jacked and placed it carefully on the back of a chair. He did not quite trust Zechs not to disappear if he went off to hang it up properly.
"More coffee? How about some tea?" Duo opened a cupboard and waved at the contents. "We've got an amazing selection. Quat's always bringing back new ones from wherever to try, but in the end they can't compete with his beloved lapsam soochong and Tro and I have to toss them out." He ushered his guest to a high stool and plugged in the kettle.
Zechs surveyed the options with amusement before settling himself on the stool. "It seems a shame not to take advantage of these riches, but lapsam soochong will do nicely."
While the water heated, Duo hit the button next to the flashing light on the vidphone. It occurred to him that he was stalling, the chatter, the tea, and now this, but he had a gut feeling that he could not just lead the man upstairs and expect to be thoroughly ravished. He had felt the hesitation in the parking garage, and his heart skipped at the memory. The man was gorgeous, sexy, fierce and sweet, and he thought too fucking much to be simply carried away by the moment. The lesson of the day was that the care with which Duo had begun would have to be carried through to the end, whatever that turned out to be.
Quatre's face appeared on the screen.<<Just about done here.>> He turned away and moved purposefully around the suite, apparently packing. Through long practice his voice was modulated perfectly regardless of his distance from the vidphone. <<A simply show-them-who's-boss trip, not really necessary but useful in its own way, I suppose.>> The small blond paused as though ticking off things on a mental list. <<Oh, I heard from Tro. It's all on schedule, but he can't call home yet.>> Returning to the instrument, Quatre smiled wickedly. << One more office to terrorize and I'll be home day after tomorrow. Don't forget to feed the dog.>> The screen blanked.
Zechs glanced around with interest.
Duo laughed. "No dog." At Zechs' knowing look he continued quickly. "Nope, not even code." He rinsed the teapot with water from the steaming kettle, added the tea, then poured in boiling water, suddenly grateful for Quatre's tea-making rants. "Started out as a running joke, about how domestic it all looked, with the house and the cars and all, but after a while it wasn't a joke anymore because we really are a strange sort of family." He pulled a couple a mugs from the shelf, then fetched the milk and set it with the sugar on the breakfast bar near Zechs' perch.
"Good families are hard to find," Zechs responded wryly.
Encouraged, Duo grinned. "Yeah, well, most of us haven't had a lot of luck in that area, but you two seem to get along all right these days."
"We get along very well, indeed, as long as she is in Sanq and I am here except for the occasional holiday."
Duo snorted. "Kind of like me and Heero. It was fine... okay, more than fine, when it was a day here and a night there, on the run and in danger. We'd've killed each other if we'd tried to live together in peacetime."
"Trowa and Quatre seem to manage."
"Yeah, they do, don't they?" Duo poured two mugs of tea and handed one to Zechs before returning to lean against the far counter. "Tro and Quat had kind of assumed that I'd live here with them when I joined the Preventers, but I was real wary, you know, of being in their way and stuff, and I told them I wasn't sure it was a good idea." He looked across at Zechs, needing to be sure he understood. "That was when I found out how much all of us mean to them, both of them. Not to Tro for Quat's sake but really to both of them." The tall man lounging on the stool gazed back and Duo wondered if he was imagining that Zechs had noted his emphasis. "Anyway, we always call home when we're off somewhere 'cause it really is our home, and Quat always makes some joke about the dog."
Duo had been allowing himself to watch the man across the room more and more openly, justifying his boldness with the knowledge that he, too was being watched. Zechs was lounging against the bar, legs spread invitingly and one foot lifted to catch a bootheel on a rung of the stool. A long arm stretched along the counter's edge; the other hand held the mug which rested on the raised knee. That glorious hair fell forward over one shoulder to gleam against the dark red wool. Duo licked his dry lips, acutely aware that, under those deceptively lowered lids, keen blue eyes, backed by intelligence and training to match his own, were aware of his every move.
::Fuck it.::
Very deliberately, Duo set his mug down behind him and closed the distance in two quick strides. Stretching slightly, he placed one knee on the stool seat between muscular thighs, carefully nudging the enticing bulge there. He retrieved Zechs' mug and set it aside, then dropped that hand to the counter's edge for support, leaving his other hand free to slip into the blond mane. The ice blue eyes widened briefly before closing, and the predatory flash through the pale lashes made Duo wonder fleetingly who exactly was the prey tonight. The thought went straight to his groin as he leaned in to kiss pale lips, waiting slightly parted to greet him. Instantly he was lost, drowning in the heat, the working of mouth against mouth, the twining of tongue with tongue, so overwhelmed that he barely noticed deft hands pulling out his shirt until they slid up under it, burning against his skin, holding him in the kiss. He was vaguely aware then that Zechs surged forward, pushing his crotch firmly against the intruding knee even as one large hand found its way between Duo's legs to cup him firmly.
With enormous effort Duo managed to resist his mental picture of riding Zechs' cock right there in the kitchen. At one point he had had a Plan, and it had involved more than a quick fuck on a tall stool. Somehow he was able to step back, breathing heavily but confident now and grinning, and hold out his hand. "Sorry 'bout the dog, but I do have a really great bed." He seized the hand held out to him in return, and led the way upstairs.
Zechs had come wordlessly, almost silently, stretched forward over Duo's back, hands gripping Duo's hips for the final thrust, jaws closed on a slender shoulder like some great cat. But he had withdrawn almost immediately, long before he was completely soft, caressing the small of Duo's back and kissing his shoulder apologetically before rolling off to lie on his back, arms crossed over his face. Only then did Duo collapse, burying his face in a cool pillow, but he could hear the deep, controlled breaths being taken by the man beside him, as though he was unwilling to allow himself time to luxuriate in the afterglow.
Even awash in the last of his own pleasure, Duo was aware of why Zechs had taken him from behind, why he had wanted the light in the room kept so low, why even at the height of passion he had been careful to stifle himself. Although the knowledge made the boy a little jealous and a little sad, he was still nothing less than gloriously sated, the memory of being filled so perfectly and fucked so thoroughly triggering new tremors. He was drifting away again, unwilling to surrender to reality just yet, when a rustling in the sheets cut through the lingering haze. He turned his head barely in time to see Zechs roll away, then curl in on himself to lie motionless.
Alarmed, Duo forced his reluctant limbs into motion and slid, a little awkwardly, over towards the long, pale back glowing faintly in the darkness. Gently he kissed an elbow and then a shoulder before brushing back the tangled mane to kiss the exposed temple. "Stay with me here, okay? Don't let them trap you. Stay here now."
Zechs threw a half glance over his shoulder, but it was enough encouragement for Duo to spoon in behind him, kissing each vertebra within his reach before beginning to kiss slow patterns across the broad back. His free hand stroked the lean flank and long arm before slipping under that arm and up to wrap around a shoulder. The body under his hand and lips rose and fell with perfectly even breaths, but it was vibrating minutely. Duo could think of no more words, only continuing to hold and pet the silent man held so close to his chest.
As the vibration faded, Duo's movements slowed and stopped, his forehead coming to rest between sharp shoulder blades. He thought the other man had fallen asleep when he felt more than heard Zechs begin to speak. Duo stilled utterly, holding his breath, straining to hear words murmured as though they had not been meant to be spoken aloud.
"I have nothing from him. I sometimes think that if I had something...."
Duo's arm tightened instinctively, and no more words came. They lay curled together, breathing together, until he again thought Zechs had fallen asleep. But presently the man beneath his arm stirred and turned towards him, raising an arm in clear invitation. Duo needed no urging to settle himself against the pale flank and tuck his head into the curve of the graceful neck. A moment later he boldly pressed his thigh across Zechs' and draped his arm over the man's chest for good measure. Then he sighed deeply, as though he were only now able to breathe again. He thought that a crisis had passed, yet he felt as though he was waiting for some kind of confirmation.
"Thank you."
Duo nearly exploded with relief. "You're thanking me? It wasn't exactly one sided, you know."
Miraculously, there was an almost-chuckle in Zechs' voice. "Apparently not." The delightful quaver vanished, and he continued ruefully. "Although I wonder what you must think."
Duo could think of no better response than to try to burrow closer, although it was a gesture at best. They lay in silence, belatedly enjoying the aftermath of their lovemaking.
But there was one more thing that needed to be said, and Duo pushed himself up on one arm to gaze down at the ghostly face of this man he had wanted for so long. His braid fell over his shoulder and out of habit he grasped the raveling end of it in his free hand. Even though there was not enough light for him to read Zechs' expression, he needed them to be face to face.
"Wherever you go from here...." He stopped and allowed himself a shy smile, knowing that Zechs could see no better than he could. "I won't lie. I hope you don't go very damned far, but that's up to you. But the only way you can thank me is to stay here, with us, with me if you want, in the present." He thought he felt Zechs' thigh twitch against his knee. "Okay, I won't ask for miracles, but try, all right? You're too..." ::Too intelligent, too quick, too sweet, too driven, too fucking gorgeous...:: "..precious," he winced at his own word choice but kept going, "for us to have only part of you this way."
The room was completely still, and Duo watched intently for a response from the dim figure below him. He had become so fixed on the pale oval of Zechs' face, faintly glowing hair fanned out to each side, that movement in his peripheral vision startled him. He turned towards it, mesmerized, as a hand raise to caress his face, brow, cheek, lips, before falling to capture the end of his braid and his own hand that clutched it.
When Zechs' finally spoke, there was no equivocation. "I will try."
With that, Duo pounced, claiming the mouth that had just formed the words he had hardly dared hope to hear. This kiss was pure joy, lips and hands striving to express relief and happiness more than desire. They wrestled briefly and had almost descended into a tickling contest when Duo felt a decided twitch in the long, beautiful cock pressed against his upper arm. He stopped, grinning. "Ready for round two?"
Zechs laughed. "No, no. I am an old man."
Duo snorted. "Could've fooled me."
"Oh, I expect I could manage," the prince conceded, "but I would prefer to enjoy you less actively for the moment. You will want me to roll off onto the floor soon enough."
"Whyever would I want that?" Then he cursed himself for missing the obvious. "You, too, huh? I guess we'll see who gets the boot first."
They settled together once again.
"Indeed we will."