It's a bit late, but, I managed to finish it off, more or less. I'm posting it as, 'cause I promised
Pairing(s): 13x6x13 (pre-established), 1x2x1, 3x4x3
Warnings: language, innuendo, lots of lime/lemon
Link to Prologue
Link to Part I
Link to Part II
Link to Part III
Link to Part IV
Link to Part V.i
Link to Part V.ii
Link to Part VI
Part VII
[Note: I’m taking some big liberties with the standard myths about vampires. No comments that I got it wrong please? It’s for the development of what little plot this fic has.]
Zechs nodded. “You always were just that little bit too impulsive, Duo.”
Wufei cleared his throat a little tentatively. “If I might ask what the hell is going on?”
Duo turned to him with a wry smile. “Well… We three are vampires.”
No one spoke.
In the enormity of the anticlimax, Duo looked distinctly uncomfortable. Under the scrutiny of his friends, he masked it with his usual joker’s attitude. “What’s the matter, guys? Still afraid of the things that go bump in the night?”
Heero gave Duo a look. “No. Just mulling the idea over. I have to say, however, that it doesn’t surprise me.”
Quatre nodded his agreement. “I’d suspected for a while now, myself.”
Duo started. “You have, eh? Figures.” He turned to Heero, “Quatre I would have expected to figure this sort of thing out, with his eye for detail. When did you find out?”
“Today.”
Duo sighed. “Just my luck. Got any more observations to offer us, Sherlock?”
“Some more speculations I’m not going to bother mentioning, since there’s only circumstantial evidence to back them up.”
A silence fell and stretched. To Treize it felt as though the very fabric of time and space were warping under the pressure of the moment.
“So you four have nothing to say?” Zechs looked a bit disappointed.
Quatre gave him a wry smile. “I have too much to say. I can’t beat it into any coherent form, though.”
Treize quirked an eyebrow at his guests. “I must say, this is not the reaction I’d expected.”
“Were you expecting hysterics and disbelief?” This came from Trowa.
“Disbelief? Yes. Hysterics…” Treize looked at each of them in turn, “No. You’re all too grounded for hysterics.”
Duo snorted. Zechs elbowed him, and Duo started making faces at him instead.
Treize smacked them both in the head, and continued. “I assume you have all heard most of the common myths and urban legends about vampires.” He got four nods. “Of course. A bunch of myths is exactly what they are, however. There is a grain of truth in them, but it’s been grossly distorted.” Treize’s expression took on a hint of a wry smile. “I’m sure you have all heard that we’re unholy demons that mindlessly kill people to drink their blood, right?”
Drily, Wufei quipped, “Who hasn’t?”
Duo snapped back, “Anyone that has been living in a cave for their entire life, perhaps?”
With a sigh, Treize smacked Duo again. “Hush, your inner brat is showing again, as usual. Behave yourself for five minutes?”
Duo rolled his eyes, “Yes, Dad.”
Trowa snickered at Duo’s antics. Treize shook his head. “Don’t encourage him. Please. We all suffer as it is.”
“How true. Duo, stop that, will you?!” Zechs swatted at the hand tugging at his hair.
Treize glared at Duo and muttered something that no one else could hear entirely about handcuffs, gags, and duct tape. Duo’s expression turned wary, and he thought better of continuing to torment Zechs.
Zechs gave his lover a grateful look, and, looking at the others’ expressions, which ranged from interest to amusement to resignation to expressionless, motioned to Treize to continue.
Treize made a valiant attempt to gather his thoughts, then gave in and asked, “Where was I?”
Heero recited Treize’s last relevant sentence back to him, verbatim.
Treize’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t comment on the programmer’s ability. “Ah, yes. Well, we do drink blood on occasion, but we don’t live on it entirely. And we don’t just mindlessly drain anyone, be it willingly or,” he shuddered a little, “not.”
Zechs looked at his lover, concerned, and put a hand on his shoulder. Treize covered it with his own before speaking again. “There are times when we feel the bloodlust hinted at in those old wives’ tales you’ve heard, but it’s more of an instinctual response to an iron deficiency in our own systems. It can be prevented, and is by most of our kind, by taking blood in small amounts from someone they trust implicitly, and with consent, of course.”
Trowa raised a hand. “If I may?”
“Go ahead.”
“What about this ‘fading into the background’ you mentioned earlier?”
“That… that is Duo’s specialty. He thrives on challenges that require stealth and cunning to complete. I’m not quite sure to this day exactly how he does it, and he refuses to tell me.”
“Damn straight. That’s my secret to keep. If I go blabbin’ it about, who knows what upstarts will be challengin’ me within the week. Hmph.”
Wufei looked amused. “You could use a little competition, Duo. You must be getting sloppier if someone among us could sense you,” he teased, ignoring Duo’s sputtering and simply speaking over him to ask the next question. “Any other strange abilities or quirks we ought to know about?”
Treize looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well… We can sometimes read surface thoughts and dreams.” He looked at Heero. “That would be why I nearly had a fit laughing earlier.”
Heero looked startled. “Oh.” He blinked. “Hn. Would it be possible to talk to one of you over a distance by projecting thoughts? Or would it be more like shouting from a rooftop, such that any vampire in the area would pick it up?”
Treize opened his mouth to answer then shut it. “… Zechs? What do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t believe it’s ever been tried. The idea in and of itself has merit, though.”
Treize nodded decisively. “We can try it later, then, if you four are in the mood to volunteer.”
Quatre looked intrigued. “It sounds like fun.”
Duo glanced over at him and grinned. “Don’t even think about it.”
Wufei raised an eyebrow at him. “Why not?”
“’Cause I’d have to take my revenge on you afterwards, and I can pretty much guarantee you wouldn’t like it.”
Heero shook his head, and interrupted with a question of his own. “If you’d rather try that idea later, Treize, what do you propose to do in the meantime?”
“Why, that we clear the table and go watch the sunset from the deck, or do something other than just sit here and stare at one another while we wait for nightfall to fall completely.”
Everyone exchanged looks. Trowa looked at Zechs, and remarked, “How do we know you won’t turn into bats and start dive bombing us?”
Zechs raised an elegant eyebrow. “Perhaps you would feel better knowing that we can’t?”
“That’s such a relief.”
Treize stood, and motioned for the others to follow suite. “Come on. The gardens are beautiful at night. And, for those interested, there’s a wonderful spot to stargaze from on the hill on the eastern side of the grounds.”
Wufei perked up at that. “That sounds like a relaxing way to spend the evening. Maybe I will. It has been a while since I last had a decent view of the stars.”
As they all grabbed a plate or two to carry out to the kitchen, Wufei commented, “Treize, you managed to sic the others on me to pry the story of how I met Heero out of us, yet you haven’t told us how it is that you know Quatre.”
Quatre laughed. “That was actually pure chance, as far as I know. We met online just over three months ago, through an online chess forum.”
Treize took up the thread of the story, with a smile. “He stunned me, somehow winning his first match against me and breaking my year-long winning streak. That in itself was a reason enough for me to talk to him. I’ve run into far too few worthy opponents. We eventually learned more about each other through a series of long chats, but never got quite familiar enough with one another to suggest meeting.”
Quatre shrugged. “I’d have been a bit leery of meeting with anyone I’d met online without prolonged exposure.”
Treize wore a mock-hurt expression. “You make me sound like a disease.”
Duo snickered. “Well… you are something of a plague.”
“Hey! Duo!”
“What?” Duo was focused on Treize and projecting innocence as hard as he could, and it merely made him look more mischievous. When a hand poked him in the ribs, he jumped.
“Ack! Oy! Heero! What was that for!?”
“No reason. I felt like it.”
Zechs laughed, and Wufei snorted. Quatre was staring at Trowa, who had meantime walked a little ways away and was silhouetted against the stars.
Duo smirked. Looks like I have a new target. Heh. That romance didn’t take long to blossom. … If it weren’t so cloyingly saccharine sweet and totally out of character of me to admit such a thing, I’d have to say they complement each other well. A study in opposites, if you will, yin and yang, if you won’t.
Wufei gave Quatre a look, and then walked off slowly toward the hill where Heero had hidden earlier that afternoon, during the paintball game, looking pensive.
Seeing the flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye, Trowa turned to watch Wufei go… and locked eyes with Quatre instead. The slightly shorter blonde blushed lightly at having been caught staring, but didn’t look away.
Trowa held out a slender, long-fingered hand. “Would you like to wander the maze with me, Quatre?”
A blinding smile and a nod answered him. Quatre grabbed the outstretched hand and then told decorum to take a flying leap out the figurative window, half leading and half dragging Trowa off, the two of them gradually lost to the shadows, just as Wufei had been.
Heero was amused. Dryly, he asked, “Is this to mean we should wish them luck and happiness never-ending?”
“Would ya rather curse ‘em six ways ta Sunday, and ‘ope for their painful messy deaths?” Duo drawled, his reply suddenly taking on the accent he’d had since childhood, and learned to turn off at will.
Heero seemed to actually take the time to consider this. “Well…”
Duo stared at him for a moment, startled, before realizing that Heero’s odd sense of humor had reared its head again. Treize and Zechs looked a little uncomfortable, not quite sure what to make of the response.
Duo started snickering once the unusual state of startlement left him, and Treize and Zechs relaxed.
“Never knew you had it in you to be so sadistic, Geek-Boy.”
Heero quirked an eyebrow upwards. “That would be due to your corrupting influence, my dear Heathen.”
Treize gave Zechs a look and smirked, mouthing. ‘Those two are meant for each other by the looks of things. Duo’s more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, even around any of his other friends… excepting us, maybe.’
Zechs nodded. Turning back to the two bickering young men… well, relatively young, in Duo’s case, he held up a hand and interjected his question into the first lull in the conversation. “Geek-Boy? Heathen? Since when do you two have pet names for one another?”
Duo stopped speaking mid-sentence, and turned, “… What is that supposed to mean?!”
A smirk. “Nothing.”
Heero looked a bit skeptical, but kept silent, preferring not to make himself the target of Duo’s vindictive sense of revenge. Treize was doing his level best not to fall to the ground howling with mirth. His lips twitched repeatedly upwards, to Duo’s eternal annoyance.
“You finished, Treize?” he drawled pointedly, “I thought you wanted ta stargaze…?”
“Ah yes, shall we, Zechs?” Treize gave his over a mock-courtly bow from the waist, complete with flourish. The tall blonde snickered.
“Why not. See you two around… If not, good night.” Taking Treize’s arm, he half-led, half-dragged the General off with a wave to their bemused guests.
Heero and Duo exchanged a look, and shrugged, an awkward silence falling between them.
Predictably, Duo was the one to speak first. “Well… that was interestin’. What do ya wanna bet they’re gonna end up spendin’ the night screwin’ under the stars?”
Heero gaped at him for a moment, then snickered. “No way I’m taking that bet. You’re stacking the odds.”
“’Course I am. What self-respectin’ gambler doesn’t? How else would I ever make any winnings?”
“Hn. Riiight. Whatever. Just one thing?”
Duo rolled his eyes. “What?”
“What’s with the accent?”
“Huh?”
“Your accent. You didn’t have it when you came to visit.”
“Oh. It comes and goes. A remnant from a dissatisfying youth, and the product of my citified upbringing.”
“…” Heero had no answer to that, so he gave Duo a sympathetic look instead. After another long pause, he added. “I can accept that explanation to a point. A dissatisfying youth, hm? Would it be prying too much to ask what happened?”
“I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Alright. Fair enough, I suppose.”
“That just earned you quite a few points.” Duo smirked. “Points that count towards not being pranked.”
Heero shook his head and grinned back. “Good to know.”
The silence fell again, but this time it was a companionable one. It was Heero that eventually broke it.
“I know this is going to sounds bad, but I have to ask. Just what do you expect from me?”
“What I expect?”
“Yeah. You confuse me.”
Duo smiled wryly. “Thank you.” He paused, then added, “I expect nothing from you but that you just be yourself. And maybe, if you’re so inclined, that you give me a chance to be more than just a friend.”
Heero looked a little startled. “You’d want to be?”
“Yeah.” Duo sounded almost hesitant, a far cry from the brash façade he usually wore. Heero noticed the change, and wondered at it, trying to gauge what was going through the braided man’s mind. Is he nervous?!
Duo, for his part, was about three parts nerves, and one part hope. Please let this work, please let this work, what if he rejects me because of what I am? No, he’s not that type, Oh gods, I’m not sure why I want this so damned bad, but I feel like I’d lose it if he said no…
“… Alright. I’m not entirely sure it’ll work out, but I guess we can give it a chance.” Heero gave him a wry smile, “It’s not as though the attraction were one-sided.”
YES!! I don’t believe it! Duo’s face lit up. “Thanks for not laughing it off.”
Heero raised an eyebrow. “I’d have thought you knew me at least well enough to know I’d at least consider it. Especially given the signs of interest you were showing me last month, when you came to visit.”
Duo smirked at him. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to start looking for ways to make me remember, now…”
At that, Heero’s other eyebrow rose. “Such as?”
Duo’s smile turned outright evil. “Oh, I don’t know… This perhaps?” Grabbing onto Heero’s shoulders, Duo yanked him close, pulling them nose-to-nose. “Comfy?” He got a stunned nod.
“Yeah. But what was that fo--”
Heero shut up, thoughts cut off when Duo kissed him. He just let it happen for a second, not sure whether he wanted to respond, then with a mental shrug, Heero decided to throw caution to the winds. Duo moaned into the kiss, feeling Heero lose himself in the moment.
~+~
On reaching the hill, Wufei looked around, willing the perfect spot to speak to him.
Ah, there. Now, if only I’d remembered to borrow a blanket or something to lie on.
He settled down anyways, content to name stars and constellations for a while, and revel in the quiet.
~+~
Amused, Trowa allowed himself to be dragged. So enthusiastic. I wonder if he’s like this in… Mmm… No, better not to go there just now.
“So did you decide what it is you want to show me?”
Quatre is like a hummingbird on speed at times, it seems. Trowa shrugged. “No, I’d just thought to play it by ear, and show you everything you wanted to see.”
“Oh. Okay, then! Let’s go!”
It should be physically impossible for any one person to have that much energy, Trowa thought, smiling.
“Are you always this hyper, Quatre?”
“No, you just seem to bring it out in me.”
Trowa groaned in mock-agony. “Oh, woe is me! I’ve unleashed a monster!”
Quatre snorted. “What a piece of work are you, so infinite in reason, that you can so blithely reject those things in heaven and earth not dreamt of in your philosophy?”
Trowa grinned. “Shakespeare buff?’
“However did you guess?”
“Oh, call it a hunch. I like the adapted misquotes,” Trowa shook his head, “So you butchered Hamlet to prove my point for me?”
“I’d suspected you were a smart one from the start.”
Trowa raised an eyebrow. “You’re begging the question, but I’ll let it slide this time. It’s nice to know you think so highly of me… I think.”
Quatre laughed. “So there’s a sense of humor in there as well. What else are you hiding from me?”
“Well… I’m an acrobat with Barnum and Bailey, I’m trying to get into college, and have yet to kill a single plant.”
The blonde did a double take on hearing that last addition. “A plant?”
Trowa laughed, “I have something of a green thumb.”
“Hmph. I have this unfortunate tendency to kill most vegetation within days. Wufei despairs of ever keeping any potted plants around the house, I fear. He has yet to say so outright, but it shows through.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t make an issue of it.”
“That’s just it! He suffers it in silence, and simply denies that there’s anything wrong.”
Trowa snickered.
“What?! It’s not something I take lightly!”
Putting a calming hand on Quatre’s shoulder, Trowa replied, that’s not what I meant to imply. I was simply struck by the sheer randomness of the tangent we’ve gone on.”
“Oh.” Quatre blushed.
He’s cute when he blushes. … Oh, why am I even bothering to get my hopes up? He’s probably with Wufei. The way the talk about each other… Gods, I’d better stop this train of thought before I make myself jealous.
Sensing the abrupt change in Trowa’s mood, Quatre glanced up at the taller teen over his shoulder. “Trowa? Something the matter?”
“No, nothing’s wrong, my thoughts just took a depressing turn.”
Quatre blinked. “Depressing?” I wonder what he was thinking about…
“Nevermind them, I’m alright.”
“How can you expect me, as a friend, however new, to ignore that?” the blonde sounded affronted.
“I… don’t expect you to…”
“Good,” Quatre cut him off, “because I like you, and I’m hoping we’ll eventually be close enough to tell each other anything.” He ended his little speech with a fierce expression on his gentle features, and a firm nod. As an afterthought, he said, “So there.”
Trowa couldn’t help the smile that declaration brought to his face. “Thanks, Quatre, I appreciate that. I’m not the most open of people, though.”
“Doesn’t matter one whit.”
“… For the record, the same goes for you, Quatre. I’m more of a listener than a speaker, and you strike me as someone with interesting things to say.” Trowa turned down a shadowed gravel footpath, and glanced back to make sure the shorter blonde was following. “If I remember correctly, there’s a bench at the end of this path that overlooks the rose garden, and the hill. The view is pretty by day. I haven’t yet seen it by night…”
“Well? Lead the way.” Quatre waved him on impatiently.
~+~
Standing in the shadows of the trees, Zechs and Treize watched in amusement as Duo grabbed and kissed a very startled, but obviously willing, Heero.
Zechs grinned. “It seems you were right about those two. … Ever consider a career as a matchmaker, love?”
“Whatever for?”
“Well… for fun, and the satisfaction, I suppose.”
Treize snorted. “Emotions are not things to be taken lightly. Love least of them all. ‘Tis a terrible, very powerful, and beautiful thing.”
“Right as usual.” Zechs sighed. “One would think I’d know better than to discuss the abstract with you.”
“But that would take all the fun out of it…”
“I can show you a few other fun things,” Zechs murmured back, silently gliding over from his spot where he’d been leaning against an ancient maple and fitting together every possible inch of their bodies.
Treize chuckled. “Insatiable menace.”
Zechs nibbled on his lover’s ear and neck. “You know you love it.”
“I take it…” Treize groaned, “that you’re in a mood to stay out here, tonight?”
“Sure. Why not? It’s warm enough.”
“Mmm.” Deciding to give as good as he got, Treize pulled his teasing lover in for a kiss. A kiss that started out teasing, and progressed quickly from a sweet reaffirmation of their devotion to one of the most intense kisses they had yet to share. It was hot; it was passionate; it was everything he could have ever dreamed a kiss could be.
After a timeless moment, lost in their love for one another, they came up for air, gasping.
Zechs blinked. “Whoa.”
Treize smirked, pinned Zechs to the nearest tree, and started unbuttoning the blonde’s shirt instead of answering. “You can say that again.” Treize caressed, and kissed every inch of pale skin as it was exposed.
Realising he’d been neatly outmanoevred, and shivering slightly in the cool night air, Zechs gave in, and allowed Treize to strip the shirt entirely off.
Gently touching the hickeys he’d put on Zechs’ broad chest last night, Treize murmured, “Do you know what you do to me?”
Zechs smirked and gasped out, “Oh! I think I have a… pretty good idea…”
Pulling a nondescript tube out of the front left pocket of his pants, Treize chuckled. “Do you now. If you’ve read that deeply, then I’m sure you also know what I have planned for you…”
“Ohhh…. Yes, and I look forward to it…”
~+~
Breaking the kiss, Duo stared at Heero for a moment, panting slightly. “Whoa.”
Heero could only nod.
“Wanna try that again?”
Another nod. “I think… a few more… trials are needed… before I can… establish a reliable baseline reaction.”
“Screw that! Just enjoy it, Geek-Boy.”
“I intend to.” Heero smirked and pulled Duo back in. One of his hands cupped the back of Duo’s head, whilst the other wandered across the braided teen’s torso, exploring, and teasing.
“Mmm…”
Pausing to come up for air once again, Heero hesitated. “How far do you want to take this?”
“I’ll take whatever ya’re willin’ ta give me.”
Heero mulled this over for a moment, before grabbing onto Duo’s shirt and yanking him up from where they’d both sunk to their knees in the grass. “Let’s take this inside.”
Duo, startled, stumbled slightly, and then scrambled to catch up to Heero, who was making a beeline for the patio doors.
“Oy! Heero! What’re ya planning?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Where’s your room?”
Duo blinked. “Upstairs. Opposite the master bedroom. … Why?”
“Well… you’re taking me there.”
Duo choked. Heero, for his part, seemed oblivious to the double meaning his last words held.
“What?”
“Never mind. It’s not important.”
Heero’s eyebrow rose pointedly, but he let the comment slide. “Whatever. Let’s go.” He poked Duo.
Duo squirmed. “Fine, fine. Come on, then.”
~+~
“Well? Lead the way.” Quatre waved him on impatiently.
“It should be right around this next corner…” Trowa glanced around the shadowed gardens. “Ah! There.”
Quatre followed him over to the bench, and stood gazing at the landscape for a moment. “You were right. It is pretty.”
Trowa grinned. “Glad you like it. I was hoping you would.”
They sat down, and a companionable silence held and stretched for a moment. Quatre spoke, shattering the serenity betwixt them. “Is that…?”
“It looks like Heero and Duo. I wonder… did they finally get together?”
“From the looks of things, I’d say they have. What did you mean, ‘finally’?”
Trowa snorted. “They’ve been dancing around each other for the last three weeks, ever since Duo came to visit me in New York.”
Quatre snickered. “It figures. I was wondering why they kept sneaking glances at each other when they thought no one was looking. Now that makes more sense.”
“Hm. So you noticed that too. Do you think Wufei and the others did as well?
“Treize and Zechs? Definitely. Wufei? I doubt it. He’s not the most perceptive guy I’ve ever met when it comes to matters of the heart, though he is a very caring and thoughtful person. As to Wufei himself, I’m not entirely sure which way he swings…”
Trowa blinked. “But… I thought... you and Wufei…”
Quatre laughed. “Oh, no! That would never work out. We’d murder one another within days. No, he and I are best friends, and content to stay that way. Whether he will deal well with the fact that he’s in a house with an established gay couple and another that seems to be finding themselves? That I couldn’t say.”
Trowa shook his head at the mental image that conjured, of Wufei, red-faced and looking about ready to reach critical mass. Wufei would trip over himself in his attempts to get out of the vicinity, methinks. The mere idea that he was in a house with more than one gay couple… Hell. Would that it were two couples that were finding themselves!
Just then, Quatre gasped and blushed slightly. “No way.”
“Hm?” He’s not a vampire, too, is he? No, he’d have said something when the others revealed themselves. So he can’t have read my thoughts-- Trowa followed Quatre’s line of sight… and caught a glimpse of Treize pinning Zechs to a tree. Oh. “Oh.”
Quatre stood and tugged at his hand, “Let’s give them some privacy.”
“Right.” Trowa stood, and absently brushed off his jeans. “Where would you like to go, then?”
“Maybe the pool? If there’s no one else otherwise occupied there, of course…”
Trowa laughed. “Heero and Duo went inside. Wufei’s stargazing, and our hosts are down there. Who else is here that could be making use of the pool?”
Quatre blushed harder, flustered. “You’re right, I wasn’t thinking.”
“That’s alright, Quat, The show those two are putting on would make nearly anyone flustered.”
“That’s not it at all!” Quatre was well and truly red in the face now, and, were it not for the comforting feel of the hand he was still clutching, would have been running for the dubious sanctuary of his room. Allah save me from his teasing! The last thing I want just now is for him to see me as a …
“Alright, alright. I’ll be nice. But teasing you is fun. You’re cute when you blush.”
“Uhm… thanks?” Cute?! What is that supposed to mean?!
“Come on. The pool is bound to be empty. I think we can pretty safely leave those two to their own devices. They know what… they’re… doing… Did he just…? … Never mind. On second thought, I don’t want to know.”
Quatre laughed, grateful for the distraction and the reprieve. Something about him seems to render my strategic abilities useless. I can’t seem to predict what he’s going to do, or how I’ll react. It’s throwing me so totally off balance. The odd thing about that, is that I kind of like it.
Trowa, leading the way, failed to see the contemplative look on Quatre’s face turn to a smirk, before going totally neutral. “See? The place is deserted. We won’t be bothered.”
Deadpan, Quatre asked, “We won’t be bothered? Why are you so hung up on that? Were you planning on ravishing me or something?” Trowa’s reaction startled him. The tall acrobat blushed and stuttered.
“Uhm… What?!… I… you…”
Quatre grinned up at him. “Shall I take that as a yes?”
Trowa, not seeing any point in denying it, nodded.
“Good. I’d have been disappointed in the extreme if my lust were unrequited,” Quatre teased.
“Unrequited lust, is it? What do you want to do about it?”
“Well… Everyone else seems to be relieving tension. Think we should join in the fun?”
Trowa blinked, and then blushed again, a bit harder this time. “Well… I’d like to. I’m not overly experienced, though.”
“No worries. That doesn’t bother me. For that matter, I’m not either.”
Trowa started, registering belatedly that Quatre’s voice had come from just behind him, and not next to him. How the hell did he move so quietly?! He was next to me a moment ago! Now he’s … Nnng, he’s …
Quatre had crept up behind Trowa, and pressed himself chest up against the acrobat’s back, breathing the words into his ear. Trowa swallowed hard. “Quatre… I’ve never… Damn. This is surprisingly embarrassing. I’ve never gotten far enough with anyone to really know what I’m doing.” I know he said he doesn’t mind, but what if he’s not sure about this either? He just said he isn’t very experienced either.
“Do you know what’s supposed to happen?”
Trowa’s gaze was firmly glued to the toes of his shoes. “Yeah…” But that doesn’t mean I can just put into practice theory I’ve only read about in vague detail. Gods. If I’d had any idea I’d need it…
“Then, let’s just take it as far as you’re comfortable. I don’t particularly want to rush you into anything.” Quatre soothed. Yeesh, Trowa is really jittery all of a sudden… Hope he’s not having second thoughts. The blonde took the two steps around the bench Trowa still sat on, to stand in front of him. Pulling Trowa’s chin up gently with a curled forefinger, Quatre tried to catch his eyes. Trowa wasn’t having it. “Just relax. Nothing happens unless you want it to. I want it, to happen, but I can wait, if you don’t like the idea. I don’t want to screw this up by rushing.”
“Thanks.” Trowa hoped his relief wasn’t too obvious. “It’s not that I don’t want this. I want it too… I just… I don’t want you to give us a chance, and have you find out that I’m not good enough for you.”
“Trowa…” So that’s where the hang-up is… “How will you know that you’d disappoint me without even trying it?”
Trowa mumbled something indistinct.
“Eh? What’s that?”
“Never mind.”
“Alright, I’ll let it go, but, please, give this a chance before you go mentally labeling it foredoomed to fail.”
Trowa sighed and nodded. “You’re right… I suppose I was being a bit fatalistic. But that doesn’t change the fact that I feel horribly inadequate.”
Covering one of Trowa’s hands with his own, and marveling at the long strong fingers beneath his, Quatre sighed. “Do you honestly think I feel any more at ease?”
“Yes.”
Quatre looked uncomfortable now. “I don’t know how to show you how wrong you are… unless perhaps…”
Trowa snorted. “Perhaps what?” Don’t let him call my bluff, don’t let him ca--
“Perhaps a kiss?”
Damn. Now, he’s got me cornered. Serves me right for trying to outwit a master strategist. Now, I either give in, and give us what we both want, or he can just outwait me. “… Alright.”
Gently, as though afraid Trowa would turn out to be a mirage, Quatre cupped his neck, and bent down slightly, slowly, allowing Trowa one last chance to say no.
Trowa was staring at the blonde, vaguely registering the cool hand on his neck, and the smooth uncalloused skin of the fingers brushing softly across his nape. A little breathlessly, he nodded, licking his lips nervously.
“Beautiful,” Quatre murmured, then took the invitation, gently kissing the corner of Trowa’s mouth first, then tentatively growing bolder. After a long moment just caressing Trowa’s lips with his own, Quatre let his tongue dart out to lick at Trowa’s lips, then nipped at them gently. Mmmmnnn. He tastes good. Like… mint and coffee… and is that…? Maybe a hint of vanilla.
They parted reluctantly, neither entirely ready to end the kiss, but both nearly desperate for air, panting.
Trowa let himself slump back against the bench. “Damn. You’ve convinced me.” A long moment later, “Is it always that good?”
Quatre coughed and blushed slightly. “I’d be lying if I said it was. It’s usually good with someone who knows what they’re doing, but it’s always better with someone you care about. We can wait and discuss this more in detail in the morning if you prefer.”
“Maybe that would be for the best. But I think I’d like another kiss, in the meantime.” With that, Trowa pulled Quatre decisively into his lap and proceeded to thoroughly explore the petite blonde’s mouth as he hadn’t had a chance to the first time.
~+~
Treize trailed kisses down his blonde lover’s neck, and, reaching the junction of neck and shoulder as Zechs spoke, bit down.
“Aah! Treize! Quit teasing me.” Zechs shivered slightly, the cool night air raising goose bumps on his fair skin, and he could feel the caresses Treize was bestowing on his skin about twice as clearly with the nerve endings sensitized as they were. For all that Zechs knew what his lover had planned, in general, the ginger-haired general had been careful to hide the details from him.
Feeling the slight prickle of the grass under his back as he was slowly pushed down, Zechs squirmed around a little, trying to find the most comfortable position possible. “Maybe we should have thought to bring a blanket, lover.”
“Perhaps. But, unless you want to go get one, we’re not going to have one.”
“………” Raising a skeptical eyebrow at Treize, Zechs didn’t budge. Instead, the blonde pulled his lover closer.
“I thought not. Ah well. A thought for next time, I suppose.”
Zechs grimaced slightly. “Shut up and kiss me, you smug bastard.” Trailing one of his hands down Treize’s back, and into the back of those white pants his love always seemed to favor, Zechs squeezed.
Chuckling slightly, Treize gave in and kissed him. “Smug bastard, am I?”
“Of course you are. Always have been. Always will be.” Zechs brought the other hand up, and used it to unobtrusively attempt to steal the lube away from his teasing lover. Treize had meantime transferred the tube to his other hand, and started trailing kisses down Zechs’ torso, lingering over the nipples and biting down lightly, enjoying the way the blonde arched up into the caresses almost desperately.
I can’t take much more of this… Zechs’ head had lolled back onto his shoulder, and he was gasping, his chest heaving.
“You want me to stop, then?” Treize’s voice held a hint of laughter.
“No…” Zechs panted, immersed in the sensations his lover was lavishing on him, “… more!”
Trailing his hands down to the waistband of Zechs’ pants, Treize smirked and continued his teasing touches. That was it for Zechs. The blonde’s last semblance of control vanished. Long-fingered hands came up, seeming almost like pale flashes of lightning in the darkness, and tore off Treize’s shirt with a speed born of their owner’s desire to feel Treize’s skin against his own. “Dammit, Treize! Get on with it!” Zechs moaned, feeling like someone had turned his skin to fire and his lover’s hands to ice.
Giving in at last, Treize shook his head slightly. As he coated his fingers in lube and brought them down to massage the cool gel onto the blonde’s entrance, he asked, “What ever happened to your control?”
No longer capable of coherent thought, Zechs simply growled at him, trying to push back onto the strong fingers that were teasing him still more, all the while leaving the rest of him bereft. They were driving him mad. Then, just when he thought they were never going to give him what he wanted, one of them pushed slowly in. Arching his back to drive it in farther, Zechs writhed a little. Painfully carefully, Treize added another finger, and then another, stretching him gently.
When Treize eased into him and then paused to let him adjust, Zechs locked his legs around his lover’s waist, panting with desire and wordlessly demanding more.
When Treize didn’t move, Zechs squeezed his inner muscles around his lover, hoping to break the iron self control the ginger-haired man was exerting. Treize groaned. Grinning Zechs did it again, hoping to get his stubborn lover to move.
“What are you trying to do to me, Zechs…?”
“Move!” Zechs arched his hips up into his lover’s and urged Treize closer with his heels.
Deciding not to torture the blonde any longer, Treize gave in to the demand. “Like this?” He thrust in hard, making Zechs writhe.
“Yeees,”
Each of them trailing their hands over the other’s skin, delighting in the feel of muscles flexing and shifting beneath, the pace slowly building, the two of them kissed, reaffirming their bond and trust in one another.
Feeling his grip on control slipping, Zechs broke the kiss and let his head loll back for a moment, panting. “Gods, Treize!”
Lost in a haze of pleasure, Treize’s hand sought out Zech’s cock and started caressing him in time with his movements, while Zechs’ talented mouth attached itself to the pulse point at the base of his throat.
Feeling the rhythm of Treize’s thrusts start to break up, and a mouth at the juncture of his own neck and shoulder, Zechs bit down gently on the flesh he’d been sucking none-too-gently on. Treize growled possessively, fangs appearing and elongating, puncturing Zechs’ skin as he bit down in his turn.
Zechs shuddered and moaned, feeling his own fangs extend and sink slowly into the delicate skin of Treize’s neck.
The heady tangy taste of the blood filling his mouth and overwhelming his senses drove them both suddenly over the edge, and their shouts of fulfillment rang out over the grounds.
Pulling out carefully, Treize kissed his love once more before turning to glare at a nearby tree. “Too tired to move. That was… Mmm.” A moment later, he added, “The blanket I stashed up there is calling our names, though… Think we should get it down and sleep out here or pull on something and go back inside?”
“Neither.” Zechs wrapped his arms tightly around the ginger-haired general. “I don’t want to move either.”
~+~
The shouts startled Wufei out of the quasi-trance staring at the stars had put him in, and he jumped up. “What…?” When it registered on him that the voices had not been raised in fright, and belonged to his hosts, he blushed slightly and abandoned the idea of checking it out.
~+~
Heero, having followed Duo into the house, had expected him to want to explore, but was pleasantly surprised, if also a little disappointed, when the braided man had simply stripped down to his boxers, climbed into bed and then gestured for him to do the same. His libido had wanted more, but common sense argued that he ought to get to know Duo a little better first.
“I’m not going to try anything, Geek-Boy. Not tonight. There’ve already been a few too many surprises. Better this way. Nothing to regret come morning, and we can talk it over in more detail… Ne?”
“Alright. Tomorrow morning, then.”
~+~
Warnings: language, innuendo, lots of lime/lemon
Link to Prologue
Link to Part I
Link to Part II
Link to Part III
Link to Part IV
Link to Part V.i
Link to Part V.ii
Link to Part VI
Part VII
[Note: I’m taking some big liberties with the standard myths about vampires. No comments that I got it wrong please? It’s for the development of what little plot this fic has.]
Zechs nodded. “You always were just that little bit too impulsive, Duo.”
Wufei cleared his throat a little tentatively. “If I might ask what the hell is going on?”
Duo turned to him with a wry smile. “Well… We three are vampires.”
No one spoke.
In the enormity of the anticlimax, Duo looked distinctly uncomfortable. Under the scrutiny of his friends, he masked it with his usual joker’s attitude. “What’s the matter, guys? Still afraid of the things that go bump in the night?”
Heero gave Duo a look. “No. Just mulling the idea over. I have to say, however, that it doesn’t surprise me.”
Quatre nodded his agreement. “I’d suspected for a while now, myself.”
Duo started. “You have, eh? Figures.” He turned to Heero, “Quatre I would have expected to figure this sort of thing out, with his eye for detail. When did you find out?”
“Today.”
Duo sighed. “Just my luck. Got any more observations to offer us, Sherlock?”
“Some more speculations I’m not going to bother mentioning, since there’s only circumstantial evidence to back them up.”
A silence fell and stretched. To Treize it felt as though the very fabric of time and space were warping under the pressure of the moment.
“So you four have nothing to say?” Zechs looked a bit disappointed.
Quatre gave him a wry smile. “I have too much to say. I can’t beat it into any coherent form, though.”
Treize quirked an eyebrow at his guests. “I must say, this is not the reaction I’d expected.”
“Were you expecting hysterics and disbelief?” This came from Trowa.
“Disbelief? Yes. Hysterics…” Treize looked at each of them in turn, “No. You’re all too grounded for hysterics.”
Duo snorted. Zechs elbowed him, and Duo started making faces at him instead.
Treize smacked them both in the head, and continued. “I assume you have all heard most of the common myths and urban legends about vampires.” He got four nods. “Of course. A bunch of myths is exactly what they are, however. There is a grain of truth in them, but it’s been grossly distorted.” Treize’s expression took on a hint of a wry smile. “I’m sure you have all heard that we’re unholy demons that mindlessly kill people to drink their blood, right?”
Drily, Wufei quipped, “Who hasn’t?”
Duo snapped back, “Anyone that has been living in a cave for their entire life, perhaps?”
With a sigh, Treize smacked Duo again. “Hush, your inner brat is showing again, as usual. Behave yourself for five minutes?”
Duo rolled his eyes, “Yes, Dad.”
Trowa snickered at Duo’s antics. Treize shook his head. “Don’t encourage him. Please. We all suffer as it is.”
“How true. Duo, stop that, will you?!” Zechs swatted at the hand tugging at his hair.
Treize glared at Duo and muttered something that no one else could hear entirely about handcuffs, gags, and duct tape. Duo’s expression turned wary, and he thought better of continuing to torment Zechs.
Zechs gave his lover a grateful look, and, looking at the others’ expressions, which ranged from interest to amusement to resignation to expressionless, motioned to Treize to continue.
Treize made a valiant attempt to gather his thoughts, then gave in and asked, “Where was I?”
Heero recited Treize’s last relevant sentence back to him, verbatim.
Treize’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t comment on the programmer’s ability. “Ah, yes. Well, we do drink blood on occasion, but we don’t live on it entirely. And we don’t just mindlessly drain anyone, be it willingly or,” he shuddered a little, “not.”
Zechs looked at his lover, concerned, and put a hand on his shoulder. Treize covered it with his own before speaking again. “There are times when we feel the bloodlust hinted at in those old wives’ tales you’ve heard, but it’s more of an instinctual response to an iron deficiency in our own systems. It can be prevented, and is by most of our kind, by taking blood in small amounts from someone they trust implicitly, and with consent, of course.”
Trowa raised a hand. “If I may?”
“Go ahead.”
“What about this ‘fading into the background’ you mentioned earlier?”
“That… that is Duo’s specialty. He thrives on challenges that require stealth and cunning to complete. I’m not quite sure to this day exactly how he does it, and he refuses to tell me.”
“Damn straight. That’s my secret to keep. If I go blabbin’ it about, who knows what upstarts will be challengin’ me within the week. Hmph.”
Wufei looked amused. “You could use a little competition, Duo. You must be getting sloppier if someone among us could sense you,” he teased, ignoring Duo’s sputtering and simply speaking over him to ask the next question. “Any other strange abilities or quirks we ought to know about?”
Treize looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well… We can sometimes read surface thoughts and dreams.” He looked at Heero. “That would be why I nearly had a fit laughing earlier.”
Heero looked startled. “Oh.” He blinked. “Hn. Would it be possible to talk to one of you over a distance by projecting thoughts? Or would it be more like shouting from a rooftop, such that any vampire in the area would pick it up?”
Treize opened his mouth to answer then shut it. “… Zechs? What do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t believe it’s ever been tried. The idea in and of itself has merit, though.”
Treize nodded decisively. “We can try it later, then, if you four are in the mood to volunteer.”
Quatre looked intrigued. “It sounds like fun.”
Duo glanced over at him and grinned. “Don’t even think about it.”
Wufei raised an eyebrow at him. “Why not?”
“’Cause I’d have to take my revenge on you afterwards, and I can pretty much guarantee you wouldn’t like it.”
Heero shook his head, and interrupted with a question of his own. “If you’d rather try that idea later, Treize, what do you propose to do in the meantime?”
“Why, that we clear the table and go watch the sunset from the deck, or do something other than just sit here and stare at one another while we wait for nightfall to fall completely.”
Everyone exchanged looks. Trowa looked at Zechs, and remarked, “How do we know you won’t turn into bats and start dive bombing us?”
Zechs raised an elegant eyebrow. “Perhaps you would feel better knowing that we can’t?”
“That’s such a relief.”
Treize stood, and motioned for the others to follow suite. “Come on. The gardens are beautiful at night. And, for those interested, there’s a wonderful spot to stargaze from on the hill on the eastern side of the grounds.”
Wufei perked up at that. “That sounds like a relaxing way to spend the evening. Maybe I will. It has been a while since I last had a decent view of the stars.”
As they all grabbed a plate or two to carry out to the kitchen, Wufei commented, “Treize, you managed to sic the others on me to pry the story of how I met Heero out of us, yet you haven’t told us how it is that you know Quatre.”
Quatre laughed. “That was actually pure chance, as far as I know. We met online just over three months ago, through an online chess forum.”
Treize took up the thread of the story, with a smile. “He stunned me, somehow winning his first match against me and breaking my year-long winning streak. That in itself was a reason enough for me to talk to him. I’ve run into far too few worthy opponents. We eventually learned more about each other through a series of long chats, but never got quite familiar enough with one another to suggest meeting.”
Quatre shrugged. “I’d have been a bit leery of meeting with anyone I’d met online without prolonged exposure.”
Treize wore a mock-hurt expression. “You make me sound like a disease.”
Duo snickered. “Well… you are something of a plague.”
“Hey! Duo!”
“What?” Duo was focused on Treize and projecting innocence as hard as he could, and it merely made him look more mischievous. When a hand poked him in the ribs, he jumped.
“Ack! Oy! Heero! What was that for!?”
“No reason. I felt like it.”
Zechs laughed, and Wufei snorted. Quatre was staring at Trowa, who had meantime walked a little ways away and was silhouetted against the stars.
Duo smirked. Looks like I have a new target. Heh. That romance didn’t take long to blossom. … If it weren’t so cloyingly saccharine sweet and totally out of character of me to admit such a thing, I’d have to say they complement each other well. A study in opposites, if you will, yin and yang, if you won’t.
Wufei gave Quatre a look, and then walked off slowly toward the hill where Heero had hidden earlier that afternoon, during the paintball game, looking pensive.
Seeing the flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye, Trowa turned to watch Wufei go… and locked eyes with Quatre instead. The slightly shorter blonde blushed lightly at having been caught staring, but didn’t look away.
Trowa held out a slender, long-fingered hand. “Would you like to wander the maze with me, Quatre?”
A blinding smile and a nod answered him. Quatre grabbed the outstretched hand and then told decorum to take a flying leap out the figurative window, half leading and half dragging Trowa off, the two of them gradually lost to the shadows, just as Wufei had been.
Heero was amused. Dryly, he asked, “Is this to mean we should wish them luck and happiness never-ending?”
“Would ya rather curse ‘em six ways ta Sunday, and ‘ope for their painful messy deaths?” Duo drawled, his reply suddenly taking on the accent he’d had since childhood, and learned to turn off at will.
Heero seemed to actually take the time to consider this. “Well…”
Duo stared at him for a moment, startled, before realizing that Heero’s odd sense of humor had reared its head again. Treize and Zechs looked a little uncomfortable, not quite sure what to make of the response.
Duo started snickering once the unusual state of startlement left him, and Treize and Zechs relaxed.
“Never knew you had it in you to be so sadistic, Geek-Boy.”
Heero quirked an eyebrow upwards. “That would be due to your corrupting influence, my dear Heathen.”
Treize gave Zechs a look and smirked, mouthing. ‘Those two are meant for each other by the looks of things. Duo’s more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, even around any of his other friends… excepting us, maybe.’
Zechs nodded. Turning back to the two bickering young men… well, relatively young, in Duo’s case, he held up a hand and interjected his question into the first lull in the conversation. “Geek-Boy? Heathen? Since when do you two have pet names for one another?”
Duo stopped speaking mid-sentence, and turned, “… What is that supposed to mean?!”
A smirk. “Nothing.”
Heero looked a bit skeptical, but kept silent, preferring not to make himself the target of Duo’s vindictive sense of revenge. Treize was doing his level best not to fall to the ground howling with mirth. His lips twitched repeatedly upwards, to Duo’s eternal annoyance.
“You finished, Treize?” he drawled pointedly, “I thought you wanted ta stargaze…?”
“Ah yes, shall we, Zechs?” Treize gave his over a mock-courtly bow from the waist, complete with flourish. The tall blonde snickered.
“Why not. See you two around… If not, good night.” Taking Treize’s arm, he half-led, half-dragged the General off with a wave to their bemused guests.
Heero and Duo exchanged a look, and shrugged, an awkward silence falling between them.
Predictably, Duo was the one to speak first. “Well… that was interestin’. What do ya wanna bet they’re gonna end up spendin’ the night screwin’ under the stars?”
Heero gaped at him for a moment, then snickered. “No way I’m taking that bet. You’re stacking the odds.”
“’Course I am. What self-respectin’ gambler doesn’t? How else would I ever make any winnings?”
“Hn. Riiight. Whatever. Just one thing?”
Duo rolled his eyes. “What?”
“What’s with the accent?”
“Huh?”
“Your accent. You didn’t have it when you came to visit.”
“Oh. It comes and goes. A remnant from a dissatisfying youth, and the product of my citified upbringing.”
“…” Heero had no answer to that, so he gave Duo a sympathetic look instead. After another long pause, he added. “I can accept that explanation to a point. A dissatisfying youth, hm? Would it be prying too much to ask what happened?”
“I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Alright. Fair enough, I suppose.”
“That just earned you quite a few points.” Duo smirked. “Points that count towards not being pranked.”
Heero shook his head and grinned back. “Good to know.”
The silence fell again, but this time it was a companionable one. It was Heero that eventually broke it.
“I know this is going to sounds bad, but I have to ask. Just what do you expect from me?”
“What I expect?”
“Yeah. You confuse me.”
Duo smiled wryly. “Thank you.” He paused, then added, “I expect nothing from you but that you just be yourself. And maybe, if you’re so inclined, that you give me a chance to be more than just a friend.”
Heero looked a little startled. “You’d want to be?”
“Yeah.” Duo sounded almost hesitant, a far cry from the brash façade he usually wore. Heero noticed the change, and wondered at it, trying to gauge what was going through the braided man’s mind. Is he nervous?!
Duo, for his part, was about three parts nerves, and one part hope. Please let this work, please let this work, what if he rejects me because of what I am? No, he’s not that type, Oh gods, I’m not sure why I want this so damned bad, but I feel like I’d lose it if he said no…
“… Alright. I’m not entirely sure it’ll work out, but I guess we can give it a chance.” Heero gave him a wry smile, “It’s not as though the attraction were one-sided.”
YES!! I don’t believe it! Duo’s face lit up. “Thanks for not laughing it off.”
Heero raised an eyebrow. “I’d have thought you knew me at least well enough to know I’d at least consider it. Especially given the signs of interest you were showing me last month, when you came to visit.”
Duo smirked at him. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to start looking for ways to make me remember, now…”
At that, Heero’s other eyebrow rose. “Such as?”
Duo’s smile turned outright evil. “Oh, I don’t know… This perhaps?” Grabbing onto Heero’s shoulders, Duo yanked him close, pulling them nose-to-nose. “Comfy?” He got a stunned nod.
“Yeah. But what was that fo--”
Heero shut up, thoughts cut off when Duo kissed him. He just let it happen for a second, not sure whether he wanted to respond, then with a mental shrug, Heero decided to throw caution to the winds. Duo moaned into the kiss, feeling Heero lose himself in the moment.
~+~
On reaching the hill, Wufei looked around, willing the perfect spot to speak to him.
Ah, there. Now, if only I’d remembered to borrow a blanket or something to lie on.
He settled down anyways, content to name stars and constellations for a while, and revel in the quiet.
~+~
Amused, Trowa allowed himself to be dragged. So enthusiastic. I wonder if he’s like this in… Mmm… No, better not to go there just now.
“So did you decide what it is you want to show me?”
Quatre is like a hummingbird on speed at times, it seems. Trowa shrugged. “No, I’d just thought to play it by ear, and show you everything you wanted to see.”
“Oh. Okay, then! Let’s go!”
It should be physically impossible for any one person to have that much energy, Trowa thought, smiling.
“Are you always this hyper, Quatre?”
“No, you just seem to bring it out in me.”
Trowa groaned in mock-agony. “Oh, woe is me! I’ve unleashed a monster!”
Quatre snorted. “What a piece of work are you, so infinite in reason, that you can so blithely reject those things in heaven and earth not dreamt of in your philosophy?”
Trowa grinned. “Shakespeare buff?’
“However did you guess?”
“Oh, call it a hunch. I like the adapted misquotes,” Trowa shook his head, “So you butchered Hamlet to prove my point for me?”
“I’d suspected you were a smart one from the start.”
Trowa raised an eyebrow. “You’re begging the question, but I’ll let it slide this time. It’s nice to know you think so highly of me… I think.”
Quatre laughed. “So there’s a sense of humor in there as well. What else are you hiding from me?”
“Well… I’m an acrobat with Barnum and Bailey, I’m trying to get into college, and have yet to kill a single plant.”
The blonde did a double take on hearing that last addition. “A plant?”
Trowa laughed, “I have something of a green thumb.”
“Hmph. I have this unfortunate tendency to kill most vegetation within days. Wufei despairs of ever keeping any potted plants around the house, I fear. He has yet to say so outright, but it shows through.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t make an issue of it.”
“That’s just it! He suffers it in silence, and simply denies that there’s anything wrong.”
Trowa snickered.
“What?! It’s not something I take lightly!”
Putting a calming hand on Quatre’s shoulder, Trowa replied, that’s not what I meant to imply. I was simply struck by the sheer randomness of the tangent we’ve gone on.”
“Oh.” Quatre blushed.
He’s cute when he blushes. … Oh, why am I even bothering to get my hopes up? He’s probably with Wufei. The way the talk about each other… Gods, I’d better stop this train of thought before I make myself jealous.
Sensing the abrupt change in Trowa’s mood, Quatre glanced up at the taller teen over his shoulder. “Trowa? Something the matter?”
“No, nothing’s wrong, my thoughts just took a depressing turn.”
Quatre blinked. “Depressing?” I wonder what he was thinking about…
“Nevermind them, I’m alright.”
“How can you expect me, as a friend, however new, to ignore that?” the blonde sounded affronted.
“I… don’t expect you to…”
“Good,” Quatre cut him off, “because I like you, and I’m hoping we’ll eventually be close enough to tell each other anything.” He ended his little speech with a fierce expression on his gentle features, and a firm nod. As an afterthought, he said, “So there.”
Trowa couldn’t help the smile that declaration brought to his face. “Thanks, Quatre, I appreciate that. I’m not the most open of people, though.”
“Doesn’t matter one whit.”
“… For the record, the same goes for you, Quatre. I’m more of a listener than a speaker, and you strike me as someone with interesting things to say.” Trowa turned down a shadowed gravel footpath, and glanced back to make sure the shorter blonde was following. “If I remember correctly, there’s a bench at the end of this path that overlooks the rose garden, and the hill. The view is pretty by day. I haven’t yet seen it by night…”
“Well? Lead the way.” Quatre waved him on impatiently.
~+~
Standing in the shadows of the trees, Zechs and Treize watched in amusement as Duo grabbed and kissed a very startled, but obviously willing, Heero.
Zechs grinned. “It seems you were right about those two. … Ever consider a career as a matchmaker, love?”
“Whatever for?”
“Well… for fun, and the satisfaction, I suppose.”
Treize snorted. “Emotions are not things to be taken lightly. Love least of them all. ‘Tis a terrible, very powerful, and beautiful thing.”
“Right as usual.” Zechs sighed. “One would think I’d know better than to discuss the abstract with you.”
“But that would take all the fun out of it…”
“I can show you a few other fun things,” Zechs murmured back, silently gliding over from his spot where he’d been leaning against an ancient maple and fitting together every possible inch of their bodies.
Treize chuckled. “Insatiable menace.”
Zechs nibbled on his lover’s ear and neck. “You know you love it.”
“I take it…” Treize groaned, “that you’re in a mood to stay out here, tonight?”
“Sure. Why not? It’s warm enough.”
“Mmm.” Deciding to give as good as he got, Treize pulled his teasing lover in for a kiss. A kiss that started out teasing, and progressed quickly from a sweet reaffirmation of their devotion to one of the most intense kisses they had yet to share. It was hot; it was passionate; it was everything he could have ever dreamed a kiss could be.
After a timeless moment, lost in their love for one another, they came up for air, gasping.
Zechs blinked. “Whoa.”
Treize smirked, pinned Zechs to the nearest tree, and started unbuttoning the blonde’s shirt instead of answering. “You can say that again.” Treize caressed, and kissed every inch of pale skin as it was exposed.
Realising he’d been neatly outmanoevred, and shivering slightly in the cool night air, Zechs gave in, and allowed Treize to strip the shirt entirely off.
Gently touching the hickeys he’d put on Zechs’ broad chest last night, Treize murmured, “Do you know what you do to me?”
Zechs smirked and gasped out, “Oh! I think I have a… pretty good idea…”
Pulling a nondescript tube out of the front left pocket of his pants, Treize chuckled. “Do you now. If you’ve read that deeply, then I’m sure you also know what I have planned for you…”
“Ohhh…. Yes, and I look forward to it…”
~+~
Breaking the kiss, Duo stared at Heero for a moment, panting slightly. “Whoa.”
Heero could only nod.
“Wanna try that again?”
Another nod. “I think… a few more… trials are needed… before I can… establish a reliable baseline reaction.”
“Screw that! Just enjoy it, Geek-Boy.”
“I intend to.” Heero smirked and pulled Duo back in. One of his hands cupped the back of Duo’s head, whilst the other wandered across the braided teen’s torso, exploring, and teasing.
“Mmm…”
Pausing to come up for air once again, Heero hesitated. “How far do you want to take this?”
“I’ll take whatever ya’re willin’ ta give me.”
Heero mulled this over for a moment, before grabbing onto Duo’s shirt and yanking him up from where they’d both sunk to their knees in the grass. “Let’s take this inside.”
Duo, startled, stumbled slightly, and then scrambled to catch up to Heero, who was making a beeline for the patio doors.
“Oy! Heero! What’re ya planning?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Where’s your room?”
Duo blinked. “Upstairs. Opposite the master bedroom. … Why?”
“Well… you’re taking me there.”
Duo choked. Heero, for his part, seemed oblivious to the double meaning his last words held.
“What?”
“Never mind. It’s not important.”
Heero’s eyebrow rose pointedly, but he let the comment slide. “Whatever. Let’s go.” He poked Duo.
Duo squirmed. “Fine, fine. Come on, then.”
~+~
“Well? Lead the way.” Quatre waved him on impatiently.
“It should be right around this next corner…” Trowa glanced around the shadowed gardens. “Ah! There.”
Quatre followed him over to the bench, and stood gazing at the landscape for a moment. “You were right. It is pretty.”
Trowa grinned. “Glad you like it. I was hoping you would.”
They sat down, and a companionable silence held and stretched for a moment. Quatre spoke, shattering the serenity betwixt them. “Is that…?”
“It looks like Heero and Duo. I wonder… did they finally get together?”
“From the looks of things, I’d say they have. What did you mean, ‘finally’?”
Trowa snorted. “They’ve been dancing around each other for the last three weeks, ever since Duo came to visit me in New York.”
Quatre snickered. “It figures. I was wondering why they kept sneaking glances at each other when they thought no one was looking. Now that makes more sense.”
“Hm. So you noticed that too. Do you think Wufei and the others did as well?
“Treize and Zechs? Definitely. Wufei? I doubt it. He’s not the most perceptive guy I’ve ever met when it comes to matters of the heart, though he is a very caring and thoughtful person. As to Wufei himself, I’m not entirely sure which way he swings…”
Trowa blinked. “But… I thought... you and Wufei…”
Quatre laughed. “Oh, no! That would never work out. We’d murder one another within days. No, he and I are best friends, and content to stay that way. Whether he will deal well with the fact that he’s in a house with an established gay couple and another that seems to be finding themselves? That I couldn’t say.”
Trowa shook his head at the mental image that conjured, of Wufei, red-faced and looking about ready to reach critical mass. Wufei would trip over himself in his attempts to get out of the vicinity, methinks. The mere idea that he was in a house with more than one gay couple… Hell. Would that it were two couples that were finding themselves!
Just then, Quatre gasped and blushed slightly. “No way.”
“Hm?” He’s not a vampire, too, is he? No, he’d have said something when the others revealed themselves. So he can’t have read my thoughts-- Trowa followed Quatre’s line of sight… and caught a glimpse of Treize pinning Zechs to a tree. Oh. “Oh.”
Quatre stood and tugged at his hand, “Let’s give them some privacy.”
“Right.” Trowa stood, and absently brushed off his jeans. “Where would you like to go, then?”
“Maybe the pool? If there’s no one else otherwise occupied there, of course…”
Trowa laughed. “Heero and Duo went inside. Wufei’s stargazing, and our hosts are down there. Who else is here that could be making use of the pool?”
Quatre blushed harder, flustered. “You’re right, I wasn’t thinking.”
“That’s alright, Quat, The show those two are putting on would make nearly anyone flustered.”
“That’s not it at all!” Quatre was well and truly red in the face now, and, were it not for the comforting feel of the hand he was still clutching, would have been running for the dubious sanctuary of his room. Allah save me from his teasing! The last thing I want just now is for him to see me as a …
“Alright, alright. I’ll be nice. But teasing you is fun. You’re cute when you blush.”
“Uhm… thanks?” Cute?! What is that supposed to mean?!
“Come on. The pool is bound to be empty. I think we can pretty safely leave those two to their own devices. They know what… they’re… doing… Did he just…? … Never mind. On second thought, I don’t want to know.”
Quatre laughed, grateful for the distraction and the reprieve. Something about him seems to render my strategic abilities useless. I can’t seem to predict what he’s going to do, or how I’ll react. It’s throwing me so totally off balance. The odd thing about that, is that I kind of like it.
Trowa, leading the way, failed to see the contemplative look on Quatre’s face turn to a smirk, before going totally neutral. “See? The place is deserted. We won’t be bothered.”
Deadpan, Quatre asked, “We won’t be bothered? Why are you so hung up on that? Were you planning on ravishing me or something?” Trowa’s reaction startled him. The tall acrobat blushed and stuttered.
“Uhm… What?!… I… you…”
Quatre grinned up at him. “Shall I take that as a yes?”
Trowa, not seeing any point in denying it, nodded.
“Good. I’d have been disappointed in the extreme if my lust were unrequited,” Quatre teased.
“Unrequited lust, is it? What do you want to do about it?”
“Well… Everyone else seems to be relieving tension. Think we should join in the fun?”
Trowa blinked, and then blushed again, a bit harder this time. “Well… I’d like to. I’m not overly experienced, though.”
“No worries. That doesn’t bother me. For that matter, I’m not either.”
Trowa started, registering belatedly that Quatre’s voice had come from just behind him, and not next to him. How the hell did he move so quietly?! He was next to me a moment ago! Now he’s … Nnng, he’s …
Quatre had crept up behind Trowa, and pressed himself chest up against the acrobat’s back, breathing the words into his ear. Trowa swallowed hard. “Quatre… I’ve never… Damn. This is surprisingly embarrassing. I’ve never gotten far enough with anyone to really know what I’m doing.” I know he said he doesn’t mind, but what if he’s not sure about this either? He just said he isn’t very experienced either.
“Do you know what’s supposed to happen?”
Trowa’s gaze was firmly glued to the toes of his shoes. “Yeah…” But that doesn’t mean I can just put into practice theory I’ve only read about in vague detail. Gods. If I’d had any idea I’d need it…
“Then, let’s just take it as far as you’re comfortable. I don’t particularly want to rush you into anything.” Quatre soothed. Yeesh, Trowa is really jittery all of a sudden… Hope he’s not having second thoughts. The blonde took the two steps around the bench Trowa still sat on, to stand in front of him. Pulling Trowa’s chin up gently with a curled forefinger, Quatre tried to catch his eyes. Trowa wasn’t having it. “Just relax. Nothing happens unless you want it to. I want it, to happen, but I can wait, if you don’t like the idea. I don’t want to screw this up by rushing.”
“Thanks.” Trowa hoped his relief wasn’t too obvious. “It’s not that I don’t want this. I want it too… I just… I don’t want you to give us a chance, and have you find out that I’m not good enough for you.”
“Trowa…” So that’s where the hang-up is… “How will you know that you’d disappoint me without even trying it?”
Trowa mumbled something indistinct.
“Eh? What’s that?”
“Never mind.”
“Alright, I’ll let it go, but, please, give this a chance before you go mentally labeling it foredoomed to fail.”
Trowa sighed and nodded. “You’re right… I suppose I was being a bit fatalistic. But that doesn’t change the fact that I feel horribly inadequate.”
Covering one of Trowa’s hands with his own, and marveling at the long strong fingers beneath his, Quatre sighed. “Do you honestly think I feel any more at ease?”
“Yes.”
Quatre looked uncomfortable now. “I don’t know how to show you how wrong you are… unless perhaps…”
Trowa snorted. “Perhaps what?” Don’t let him call my bluff, don’t let him ca--
“Perhaps a kiss?”
Damn. Now, he’s got me cornered. Serves me right for trying to outwit a master strategist. Now, I either give in, and give us what we both want, or he can just outwait me. “… Alright.”
Gently, as though afraid Trowa would turn out to be a mirage, Quatre cupped his neck, and bent down slightly, slowly, allowing Trowa one last chance to say no.
Trowa was staring at the blonde, vaguely registering the cool hand on his neck, and the smooth uncalloused skin of the fingers brushing softly across his nape. A little breathlessly, he nodded, licking his lips nervously.
“Beautiful,” Quatre murmured, then took the invitation, gently kissing the corner of Trowa’s mouth first, then tentatively growing bolder. After a long moment just caressing Trowa’s lips with his own, Quatre let his tongue dart out to lick at Trowa’s lips, then nipped at them gently. Mmmmnnn. He tastes good. Like… mint and coffee… and is that…? Maybe a hint of vanilla.
They parted reluctantly, neither entirely ready to end the kiss, but both nearly desperate for air, panting.
Trowa let himself slump back against the bench. “Damn. You’ve convinced me.” A long moment later, “Is it always that good?”
Quatre coughed and blushed slightly. “I’d be lying if I said it was. It’s usually good with someone who knows what they’re doing, but it’s always better with someone you care about. We can wait and discuss this more in detail in the morning if you prefer.”
“Maybe that would be for the best. But I think I’d like another kiss, in the meantime.” With that, Trowa pulled Quatre decisively into his lap and proceeded to thoroughly explore the petite blonde’s mouth as he hadn’t had a chance to the first time.
~+~
Treize trailed kisses down his blonde lover’s neck, and, reaching the junction of neck and shoulder as Zechs spoke, bit down.
“Aah! Treize! Quit teasing me.” Zechs shivered slightly, the cool night air raising goose bumps on his fair skin, and he could feel the caresses Treize was bestowing on his skin about twice as clearly with the nerve endings sensitized as they were. For all that Zechs knew what his lover had planned, in general, the ginger-haired general had been careful to hide the details from him.
Feeling the slight prickle of the grass under his back as he was slowly pushed down, Zechs squirmed around a little, trying to find the most comfortable position possible. “Maybe we should have thought to bring a blanket, lover.”
“Perhaps. But, unless you want to go get one, we’re not going to have one.”
“………” Raising a skeptical eyebrow at Treize, Zechs didn’t budge. Instead, the blonde pulled his lover closer.
“I thought not. Ah well. A thought for next time, I suppose.”
Zechs grimaced slightly. “Shut up and kiss me, you smug bastard.” Trailing one of his hands down Treize’s back, and into the back of those white pants his love always seemed to favor, Zechs squeezed.
Chuckling slightly, Treize gave in and kissed him. “Smug bastard, am I?”
“Of course you are. Always have been. Always will be.” Zechs brought the other hand up, and used it to unobtrusively attempt to steal the lube away from his teasing lover. Treize had meantime transferred the tube to his other hand, and started trailing kisses down Zechs’ torso, lingering over the nipples and biting down lightly, enjoying the way the blonde arched up into the caresses almost desperately.
I can’t take much more of this… Zechs’ head had lolled back onto his shoulder, and he was gasping, his chest heaving.
“You want me to stop, then?” Treize’s voice held a hint of laughter.
“No…” Zechs panted, immersed in the sensations his lover was lavishing on him, “… more!”
Trailing his hands down to the waistband of Zechs’ pants, Treize smirked and continued his teasing touches. That was it for Zechs. The blonde’s last semblance of control vanished. Long-fingered hands came up, seeming almost like pale flashes of lightning in the darkness, and tore off Treize’s shirt with a speed born of their owner’s desire to feel Treize’s skin against his own. “Dammit, Treize! Get on with it!” Zechs moaned, feeling like someone had turned his skin to fire and his lover’s hands to ice.
Giving in at last, Treize shook his head slightly. As he coated his fingers in lube and brought them down to massage the cool gel onto the blonde’s entrance, he asked, “What ever happened to your control?”
No longer capable of coherent thought, Zechs simply growled at him, trying to push back onto the strong fingers that were teasing him still more, all the while leaving the rest of him bereft. They were driving him mad. Then, just when he thought they were never going to give him what he wanted, one of them pushed slowly in. Arching his back to drive it in farther, Zechs writhed a little. Painfully carefully, Treize added another finger, and then another, stretching him gently.
When Treize eased into him and then paused to let him adjust, Zechs locked his legs around his lover’s waist, panting with desire and wordlessly demanding more.
When Treize didn’t move, Zechs squeezed his inner muscles around his lover, hoping to break the iron self control the ginger-haired man was exerting. Treize groaned. Grinning Zechs did it again, hoping to get his stubborn lover to move.
“What are you trying to do to me, Zechs…?”
“Move!” Zechs arched his hips up into his lover’s and urged Treize closer with his heels.
Deciding not to torture the blonde any longer, Treize gave in to the demand. “Like this?” He thrust in hard, making Zechs writhe.
“Yeees,”
Each of them trailing their hands over the other’s skin, delighting in the feel of muscles flexing and shifting beneath, the pace slowly building, the two of them kissed, reaffirming their bond and trust in one another.
Feeling his grip on control slipping, Zechs broke the kiss and let his head loll back for a moment, panting. “Gods, Treize!”
Lost in a haze of pleasure, Treize’s hand sought out Zech’s cock and started caressing him in time with his movements, while Zechs’ talented mouth attached itself to the pulse point at the base of his throat.
Feeling the rhythm of Treize’s thrusts start to break up, and a mouth at the juncture of his own neck and shoulder, Zechs bit down gently on the flesh he’d been sucking none-too-gently on. Treize growled possessively, fangs appearing and elongating, puncturing Zechs’ skin as he bit down in his turn.
Zechs shuddered and moaned, feeling his own fangs extend and sink slowly into the delicate skin of Treize’s neck.
The heady tangy taste of the blood filling his mouth and overwhelming his senses drove them both suddenly over the edge, and their shouts of fulfillment rang out over the grounds.
Pulling out carefully, Treize kissed his love once more before turning to glare at a nearby tree. “Too tired to move. That was… Mmm.” A moment later, he added, “The blanket I stashed up there is calling our names, though… Think we should get it down and sleep out here or pull on something and go back inside?”
“Neither.” Zechs wrapped his arms tightly around the ginger-haired general. “I don’t want to move either.”
~+~
The shouts startled Wufei out of the quasi-trance staring at the stars had put him in, and he jumped up. “What…?” When it registered on him that the voices had not been raised in fright, and belonged to his hosts, he blushed slightly and abandoned the idea of checking it out.
~+~
Heero, having followed Duo into the house, had expected him to want to explore, but was pleasantly surprised, if also a little disappointed, when the braided man had simply stripped down to his boxers, climbed into bed and then gestured for him to do the same. His libido had wanted more, but common sense argued that he ought to get to know Duo a little better first.
“I’m not going to try anything, Geek-Boy. Not tonight. There’ve already been a few too many surprises. Better this way. Nothing to regret come morning, and we can talk it over in more detail… Ne?”
“Alright. Tomorrow morning, then.”
~+~