Disclaimers and warnings in first part
ADVANCED RESERVATIONS – PART 7
The smell of coffee and bacon woke Trowa up the next morning. The first thing he did was roll over, reaching across the bed for Duo. His sleep muddled mind finally caught up to his actions and he berated himself for groping blindly for his bed partner. He blinked his eyes open, not surprised to find himself alone. If there was coffee and bacon, then reason would state that someone had to be up to fix it.
Rubbing his face, he sat up and found himself smiling when he took in the disheveled state of the bed, recalling how it had ended up so messed up. His smile grew when he saw his bag sitting on the top of the desk, obviously placed there by Duo. Did this mean he was supposed to stay in Duo's room for the rest of his stay? He really hoped so.
Going into Duo's bathroom he took a quick shower, eager to see his lover again. He had no doubts about what he wanted, had no regrets about what had happened last night, but what did Duo want? Would the other man be willing to open his life to Trowa?
Opening the bottle of shampoo, he froze at the scent. His eyes closed as he breathed in the hint of cinnamon that wafted from the bottle. His heart clenched painfully as love for Duo flooded his being. He couldn't imagine the rest of his life without the other man in it. It was as if his life up until now had been preparing him for this time, this moment, this person.
Even the years he had spent with Quatre had made him a stronger person, more independent on himself, not relying on anyone else for his emotional well-being. While Quatre had been kind and caring, the Arabian had been far too busy to deal with someone that was emotionally dependent. Trowa had been lucky enough to learn this lesson early in their relationship, even if being put second had caused some hurt at times.
Washing his hair with the cinnamon shampoo, his way of keeping Duo with him throughout the day, Trowa realized that a life with Duo would be much different than the one he had shared with Quatre. While Quatre had kept him as far away from the family company as possible, he had a feeling that Duo would be the opposite, wanting to involve Trowa as much as he could with the businesses that he owned.
Rinsing the soap away, he decided that he would enjoy being able to help Duo with his businesses. Not only could he offer support when it was needed, he could also go on trips to the colonies, in essence acting as a bodyguard for his lover, just in case. He shook his head as he turned off the water, trying to stop his thoughts. He was getting ahead of himself at this point, his wants and desires filling his mind. He wasn't even sure that Duo would want more from him than occasional sex. He ignored the pang of pain at the thought, pushing himself to get dressed.
After pulling on his clothes, comprising of a faded pair of worn jeans and a favorite t-shirt, he glanced in the mirror, then turned to face it head on, surprised at the changes he could see on his face.
His hair was still damp, but shiny. His skin was glowing with a flush from the heat of the shower and a night of passion. His eyes were a rich green, shimmering with vitality and life as they looked back at him. He even wore the hints of a constant smile, the expression feeling more natural on his face as more time with Duo passed. He had never been one to show his feelings, not one to smile that much. Being with Duo was changing him, and all of the changes had been good ones, so far.
Trowa brushed his teeth and tried to tame his hair, then moved cautiously out of the bedroom, hoping not to disturb Duo. Hearing Duo's voice, he followed it to the kitchen, smiling again when he saw the American leaning against the counter, a cup of coffee in one hand and a phone in the other. Several plates of food had been placed on the table, along with two settings.
Moving across the space, he stopped several feet from Duo, not sure if he would be welcome while the other man was occupied. Duo solved the problem by closing the distance between them, setting his coffee on the counter, and wrapping a long arm around his waist, tilting his head back. Taking the hint, Trowa leaned down and kissed the smiling mouth, glad that Duo seemed to prefer a handset phone rather than the vid-phone.
What was meant to be a quick, chaste kiss got out of control when Duo ran his tongue along Trowa's bottom lip. Without thinking about what he was doing, Trowa opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, his hands burrowing in the base of Duo's braid, holding the man close.
Hearing a noise, he pulled away, looking around in confusion. When he finally placed the sound, he chuckled into Duo's ear, “The phone, love. Someone does not sound happy.”
Dazed eyes regarded him for a second before Duo shook his head. “Oh, shit,” he muttered, retracting his arms from where they had wound around Trowa's waist. He stared blankly at the phone for a moment, then took a deep breath, sending Trowa an apologetic look. Trowa began to walk away to give his lover some privacy, stopping when a hand grabbed his arm. Duo put the phone back to his ear, speaking to the person on the other end, wincing as the voice rose to a fever pitch over the line.
Trowa winced in sympathy, dropping a kiss on Duo's head and turning to rummage in the cabinets for a coffee cup. He listened to the conversation on Duo's end as he fixed a cup of the hot brew, taking a deep breath of the coffee before taking a small sip.
Duo must have gotten tired for the berating he was receiving on the phone. Trowa was transfixed as he watched Duo's cheerful smile vanish, eyes turning cold and hard. He raised an eyebrow in question but didn't ask for fear of that wrath turning on him. Shinigami was a scary creature, and one he had no intention of going against.
“That's enough,” the tone was firm, commanding, cold and not allowing for any argument. There was silence coming from the other end, then the same voice began again. Trowa couldn't make out words, but the whiny tone was enough to have him shaking his head. Duo must have had enough of it, as well, “Either you do what I told you to do, or I find someone else to do it, Marcus. I don't care how many accolades or awards you have for being a good secretary, from my point of view, you are not doing the job I hired you for. You will do what I asked, and have it done by Monday afternoon, or you will be looking for another job. This is the last chance you get. You've screwed up too many times already.” Duo hung up on the person without giving them another chance to speak.
When the phone was dropped to the counter with a clatter, Trowa moved forward and wrapped his arms around the lean man, pulling Duo against him. “Problems?” He asked, holding his breath to see what the answer would be. This was the point where Quatre would politely tell him that it was business and none of his concern.
Duo sighed deeply, resting his head on Trowa's chest, “This guy is supposed to be my secretary, but he wont do a damn thing I tell him to,” he huffed.
Trowa let out the breath he had been holding in relief, guiding Duo to the table to sit. Giving the American another quick kiss, he glanced at the food on the table, “I'm guessing you cooked?”
“It's probably cold by now,” Duo pouted, making him totally adorable. “I was planning to wake you, then Marcus called. I've been arguing with him for over half an hour. I could heat it up?”
He shook his head, leaning forward for another kiss. Just watching Duo made him crave for a taste all over again. Sitting back, his eyes fixed on the hickey on Duo's neck, the contrast of the red mark and the pale skin startling. He placed his thumb over the mark, rubbing it lightly, “This is fine, as long as you don't mind eating it cold,” his voice came out husky and low.
Duo trembled and leaned into his touch, eyes sliding closed. If Trowa didn't control himself, they were going to end up back in the bedroom. While that wouldn't be a bad thing at any other time, right now they needed to talk, spend more time together that didn't involve sex. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away, smiling as Duo moaned at the loss of touch. His Duo was an extremely tactile person, and to his surprise, he was learning that he was also.
Taking the initiative, Trowa began filling their plates with the various items- bacon, eggs, toast, and muffins. “Will you tell me about this Marcus guy?”
“Everyone kept telling me that I needed to get a secretary,” Duo snorted between bites of food. “Car has been doing the job, but with her being promoted to the manager at the restaurant and all, she's been really busy and doesn't have time to do it anymore. I can keep up with it myself, mostly, but it really helps to have someone else making the appointments. I can do it,” he defended himself, making Trowa smile at the defensiveness. Duo must have realized what he was doing, for he smiled ruefully and shrugged eloquently. “I really can, regardless of what everyone else believes. There have been quite a few arguments about it, actually.”
“I'm guessing that everyone says you can't do it because you are so busy?” Trowa shook his head in sympathy.
“Actually, everyone says I'm too scatter- brained,” Duo told him, laughing at the dumbfounded look he received. “I'm not, really. I just hate talking on the phone. In order to make an appointment with anyone, you have to work your way through the secretary and if you are lucky, you might get an appointment while you are on the phone the first time. Usually, though, you have to wait until they can call you back to set something up, depending on when they are available. It drives me crazy,” he added, putting his head on his hand, elbow resting on the table.
“So what is Marcus supposed to be doing now, that he isn't doing?”
“This guy came highly recommended by the service that I talked to. He has several awards for good service and he is supposed to be one of the best, but he has a severe attitude. He thinks that no one else could do the job just as good, if not better than him, so he assumes that means he can do everything his way.” Duo's eyes pled for Trowa to understand, and he did. Duo would want to be in control of any situation, and for an employee to ignore his orders would not sit well. Trowa would feel the same way if he was in Duo's position. When he nodded, Duo sighed in relief, his body relaxing slightly, the stress causing him to tense. “I need to meet with some officials on the L3 cluster. Marcus is a grounder. He has no idea how to go about scheduling an appointment with a citizen, but he is giving me the runaround about getting it done. I should have already had a meeting with the heads on XR-3291, but he keeps putting it off. I think he's scared of the citizens, and he doesn't understand the lingo they use.” Duo used the word citizens to describe the life-long members of the colonies, like he used the word `grounders' to describe someone that was Earth born. Trowa assumed he would also use the word `spacers' to describe the many space pirates and people that spent the majority of their lives in the deep darkness of space on ships, like the Sweepers group Duo knew so well in their youth.
He mulled the problem over in his mind, seeing a solution to Duo's problem and finding a way to ensure his continued presence beside Duo. “So you need to find someone that isn't intimidated by citizens, or grounders. Someone that will listen when you give them an order. Anything else?”
Duo looked into the distance, thinking, a line between his brows. “I don't really know. I should just fire the guy and do it myself,” he said finally.
Trowa frowned when Duo spoke. This was the businessman that he hadn't seen that much of, and the businessman was tired. He watched Duo for a moment, trying to find the best way to bring up his idea. Strategy had never been his strong point, he much preferred to shoot the hell out of something then sort out the problems later.
He rose, gathering up dishes to take to the kitchen, Duo following him. The domesticity of the chore stuck in his mind for a moment, pleasing him greatly. Duo was bent over the dishwasher when Trowa spoke again, making him lose his train of thought for a second, until he shook his head and removed his eyes from Duo's firm backside. “If you had the perfect secretary, what would they do?”
Closing the appliance, Duo glanced at him with a grin, holding out his hand. Trowa took the offered hand and let himself be led to the couch, settling on it with Duo leaning on his chest. “My perfect secretary. Let's see here. Intelligent and able to actually talk about the business at hand, supplying ideas and suggestions. They would have to be able to look around and give an opinion about how to improve things. They would have to be willing to travel, on Earth and off and not be scared of new situations. Someone that wouldn't be afraid to challenge me if I say something that doesn't make sense, or if they have a better idea, but also has the brains to keep their mouth shut if they don't understand the situation.” He leaned forward, turning to look at Trowa with a rueful grin. “It's a total pipe dream, isn't it? I'll never find anyone capable of all that, at least, not that I can stand that would be willing to work for me.”
He waited until Duo settled back against him, wrapping his arms around him, sighing in contentment when Duo twined their fingers over his chest. “How much does this position pay?” He snickered when Duo named an amount, “No wonder you can't get anyone worth a damn to work for you. That's all you pay a year?”
“That's the pay for a month, Trowa,” Duo said softly, cutting off all amusement. Trowa went from humor to shock in seconds, making a choking noise.
“A month? That's more than I get paid in three months by the Preventers,” his mind was running at full speed again. “Would you be willing to hire someone new if they proved that they could do the job? Even if they didn't have any experience?”
Duo turned his body, his face curious and wary at the same time, “You sound like you have someone in mind for this.”
“I do, but you would have to agree to hire them if they can pass a test,” Trowa lay down the challenge, knowing that Duo wouldn't be able to resist, “unless you would rather keep the guy you have now.”
The American threw his head back and laughed, bawdy and loud. After a moment, he calmed down to chuckles. He turned over and draped himself over Trowa without any warning, stealing his breath away with a kiss. Before Trowa was able to respond, Duo was standing beside the couch, a wicked grin on his face. “I'm gonna go soak for a while, loosen up my muscles a bit. You call your friend and explain the deal. If they can get me an appointment set up for next week by the end next week, they have a job and Marcus is gone. Details are on the desk in our room.”
In a blink, the braided man was gone, leaving Trowa spinning around just in time to see the end of Duo's braid slip into the room he had not yet been in. His head poked back out, an impish smile fixed on his features. “When you get done talking to your friend, you can come join me if you want.”
Trowa was grinning and shaking his head at Duo's antics as he went into the bedroom, heart fluttering as he remembered Duo calling it their room. The desk was neat, almost compulsively in order, making it easy to find the appointment book with the pertinent data inside.
He checked quickly to make sure that Duo was occupied, he stood at the door that Duo had disappeared behind and listened, hearing the sound of running water. Curious about the unseen room, but determined to complete the task he was doing, he returned to the living room to make the calls that could change the course of his life. The meeting was relatively easy to set up, making Trowa believe that Marcus had been lying about making the calls in the first place. Duo's instincts had been right about this guy.
He opened the door slowly, not sure what to expect. His throat dried up when his eyes took in what was in the room. There was a huge hot tub, filled almost all the way to the brim with steaming hot water. The room was warm, like a sauna would be, with several plants scattered about. There were skylights in the roof, letting in the natural sunlight and giving the room a soft, welcoming glow.
The most beautiful and amazing thing in the room, in Trowa's opinion, was the man that was leaning back against the side of the tub, eyes closed, hair down and floating in the water around him. From the pile of clothing in the floor, it was easy to discern that Duo was completely bare under the surface of the water.
One eyes blinked lazily open. Duo smiled slowly, totally relaxed, stretching much like a cat waking from a nap. Trowa realized that he was staring when Duo looked at him patiently. “You coming in?”
He didn't think it was possible to get undressed as fast as he did, anticipating being close to the intoxicating man again. He also had some good news to share, he reasoned. There was also the fact that he wanted to thread his fingers in the mass of unbound hair more than he could have believed possible.
Sliding in, he hissed at the heat of the water, enjoying the warmth on his muscles taxed from the strenuous lovemaking the night before. He sat beside Duo, not sure how to vocalize his desires. He didn't have to worry about it, Duo moving to sit between his legs, leaning back on his chest, long hair winding around both of them, tendrils tickling Trowa's legs. He sighed in pleasure, leaning forward to put his nose in the back of Duo's hair, inhaling deeply. “How do you always seem to know what I want?”
“What do you mean?”
“Every time I want to do something or say something, but don't know how, I don't have to because you do whatever it is that I want. Are you able to read my mind?”
Duo chuckled, his head falling back to lean on Trowa's shoulder. “I just do what I want with you. I figured I'd better take advantage of you while I can.”
“What do you mean take advantage of me while you can?” Trowa could hear the hurt in his voice, so he held his breath, hoping Duo wouldn't catch it.
Unfortunately, the American had made a study of people for many years, “You have to go back to work Monday, then you are going back home after that, right? Don't you have someone waiting for you back in DC?” Trowa didn't think he was imagining the hurt in the low voice.
“There's no one waiting for me, Duo. There's only you. As for my job…we need to talk about that, I think.”
Duo's body tensed as he pulled away, moving to the opposite side of the hot tub. Trowa recognized the instinctive attempt to put distance between them, protecting from a possible hurt. Instead of making him feel bad, the move actually encouraged Trowa to continue with his explanation. If he had the ability to hurt Duo, that meant that Duo felt something for him. “First of all, you have an appointment with the L3 colony representatives next Thursday. If that doesn't work for you, all you need to do is call and reschedule and they will work with you.”
Violet eyes were narrowed, watching him cautiously, waiting for the point. “I agreed that I would give the job to whoever you had in mind if they could set it up, so that's a done deal.” Even Duo's tone was wary.
“Thanks. I'll need it once I resign from the Preventers.” Trowa figured he was one of the only people in the universe to see Duo shocked speechless, his mouth falling open in surprise. “I would like it if you could wait until I get done with my assignment, so I could go with you, though,” he moved slowly, closing the space between them, reaching a hand up to tangle in Duo's hair, floating on the surface of the water.
“Why would you give up your job to work for me?”
“A number of reasons, actually. I haven't been happy with my job for a long time, ever since I started being assigned to guard jobs. I have become a glorified security guard in the last few months. Besides, working for you would have a lot of benefits,” he met Duo's eyes, letting the other man see his honesty. He had to smile when he saw that Duo was breathing shallowly. “The pay is a hell of a lot better, I would get to travel, and I would get to stay with you,” he dropped the last part like a bomb, watching Duo carefully for a reaction.
He wasn't disappointed. As he had spoke, Duo's eyes had skittered away from his, not looking at him any longer yet allowing him to see the hurt and pain that each of his words caused. As his final words met the air, Duo's eyes jerked back to him, unshed tears shining brightly. Trowa pulled the other man close, skimming one hand over the unbound hair, his other hand holding Duo's chin in a firm grip so he could place small kisses on every inch of Duo's face.
Duo's breath sobbed out, stifled quickly as he tried to smile. “Are you sure about this? Working with me won't be as exciting as working for the Preventers.”
Taking that animated face in both of his hands, he pulled Duo in for a firm kiss, smiling against his lips. “I've had more excitement in the last two days with you than I have in the last five years anywhere else.”
His voice was ringing with sincerity and must have proven to Duo that he was telling the truth. Mere seconds later, Duo tackled Trowa to the side of the tub, water spilling over the sides, letting him know exactly how he felt about the idea of Trowa remaining with him.