X13 – PART 4
Duo became aware of his surroundings again with a low moan. He began to list to the side, stopping when hands gently lowered him to the bed. There had been moments of coherency he could remember, but there were large blank spaces between them where he could only remember how he had felt at the time. “How long?”
Leaning over him, Trowa shook his head slowly, “How long has it been or how much longer will it be?”
His throat dry, Duo croaked, “How long’s it been?”
“Almost four hours. You should be okay now.”
Taking a careful evaluation of how he felt, Duo realized for the first time that his body wasn’t straining against Trowa’s, reaching for an orgasm that had grown painful a while ago. Though he still had an erection, his mind wasn’t consumed with lust. “Four hours since when?”
“Since I picked the lock on the bathroom door. Will you be okay for a few minutes? I’ll go get us something to eat and some water.”
“I’m good. I’m gonna lay here and wait for the feeling to come back into my body.” He waited until Trowa stood and pulled on a pair of jeans that were lying on the end of the bed. “Four hours and you only came once,” he said suddenly as semen trailed down his thigh, the sensation causing him to shiver. “You’re a hell of a lover, Tro.”
“Maybe we can try again when things are a little less…frantic,” Trowa suggested casually, but Duo could hear the underlying worry now that his brain was functioning.
Realizing not everything had been lost in the fog of sex, Duo managed a weary smile. “This wasn’t how I hoped our first date would go, but at least we know we’re sexually compatible.”
Leaning over the bed, Trowa gave him a kiss that spoke of tenderness before moving to the door. “I usually prefer a more traditional relationship, but you’ve never been one to hold to traditions,” he chuckled before closing the door behind him.
Trowa was leaving the kitchen with a tray full of fruit and water, a bottle of wine tucked under his arm to help with the various aches and pains, when Quatre and Heero burst in the front door. Their obvious shock at seeing him was overshadowed by disbelief. “Great,” the blonde moaned in distress, “Duo could be dying and you’re getting snacks.”
“Duo’s fine. He’s probably sleeping, so keep your voice down.” Seeing Heero smirk, Trowa shrugged his shoulders and headed for the wing of the house his rooms were located in.
Quatre followed, apparently confused. “Sally said if Duo wasn’t treated soon he could die. What happened to you?” he suddenly demanded, seeing the multiple scratches and bruises on Trowa’s chest and back that hadn’t been visible in the dim entryway. “Did Duo attack you?”
There was no way to keep the smirk off his face, “Something like that.”
“What are you smiling about? Don’t you care that Duo could die?”
Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Trowa turned to face Quatre, “Duo is going to be fine. He needs food and rest, but I promise he’ll be okay.”
Starting to argue again, Quatre subsided when Heero placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sally said Duo would need treatment unless he found a way to purify the drug from his system. I think Trowa found a way to help him out.”
“But how could he…oh…OH,” he repeated, blue eyes growing wide. “Well…” he mumbled, obviously at a loss.
Trowa didn’t really appreciate the obvious enjoyment Heero was getting from the situation, but had to admit if the situation had involved Heero and Quatre he would have been just as amused. “If you would like to see him that’s fine, but if he is sleeping, do not wake him. It’s been a long day and there are likely traces of the drug still in his blood. Were you able to determine what it is?”
Since Quatre seemed to have no idea what to say, Heero replied, “Sally says it’s a new form of liquid ecstasy. It’s at least ten times more potent than the pill and highly dangerous. This is the first time she’s ever come across a case of it being used, and she was lucky to have a sample on hand to use for tests. That’s why it took so long.” Narrowing his eyes, he stepped a little closer to Trowa. “How long did it take you to realize what type of drug it was? While we were still at the Preventers?”
“No. I assumed the same thing the rest of you did, that he had caught the flu or other virus and was having an extreme reaction. On the way home I began to suspect when he avoided me touching him. I knew for sure when he pinned me to the bed.”
“He didn’t -” Heero shook his head shortly.
“He realized what he was doing and locked himself in the bathroom.”
“I told you to get a new lock for that door,” Quatre scolded. “We don’t have a key for that particular room. It’s the only one in the house we don’t have one for,” he explained at Heero’s baffled expression.
“Picking the lock didn’t take long, though I’m rusty and need more practice. After I sent the message to you I tried to explain to Duo what had happened. It took some time for him to understand. He was given a large dose, judging by the way he reacted to it.”
Outside his own door, Trowa poked his head inside. As he had expected, Duo was sleeping, his breathing steady. “Give me a minute and I’ll let you in.”
“I want to see him.”
“Quatre, he’s naked. If he wakes up and has everyone hovering over him in that state, I don’t know how he’ll react. The drug should be diluted enough for him to control himself, but I can’t promise it. Trust me, Duo’s strong enough to take what he wants if his mind isn’t clear,” he said softly, having experienced that strength already.
Hoping the two men would wait, Trowa went inside and set the wine and tray on the dresser top. Pulling the blankets over Duo, he smiled slightly when the other man didn’t stir. In a move that revealed the depth of his feelings, he ran soft fingertips down the side of Duo’s face.
Reminding himself now was not the time, he opened the door, warning once more, “Be quiet. He needs sleep.”
That damnable smirk was directed at him again as Heero tapped a set of marks on his chest that had clearly been made by teeth. “Surprised you aren’t asleep, too.”
Trowa didn’t tell them he was worn out, muscles aching from hours of strain and use. He didn’t say he felt like he’d been beaten by a gang of street thugs. What he did tell them was, “He needed food and something to ease his throat. His voice is…weak.”
Quatre was at the edge of the bed, hands clamped together in an effort not to soothe. The residual emotions in the room left him feeling wrung out, but he swallowed hard and blocked out what he could. “Are you sure he’ll be okay? Sally said there could be some side-effects if not treated properly. Perhaps we should take him to the hospital?”
“Would you want to go in his place?” Trowa lifted a brow and waited, finally getting a small head shake. “His eyes were clear before I left the room and he was speaking coherently.” Giving Heero a glare as the man continued to smirk, he spoke softly, “Do we know who did this to him?”
The cobalt-eyed man grew abruptly serious, his face sobering. “Wufei is still working on who would have been able to administer the drug, but it appears Hilde was behind it.”
“Not…Hilde,” came a weak and raspy voice from the man everyone had believed asleep.
Trowa was beside the other man immediately, leaning close so Duo wouldn’t strain his voice further. “How do you feel?”
“Ask me again after I drink a gallon of water.” Duo struggled to a sitting position, wincing as he became aware of aches, including a very sore ass. When he listed to the side, he blinked as Trowa supported him, soothed by the comfort of the touch.
In full mother-hen mode, Quatre brought the tray and sat it beside Duo, his face sad. “Duo, was Hilde supposed to be on Earth for some reason?”
“I don’t know,” Duo’s voice came out in a croak. “I haven’t really talked to her. If she was, she didn’t mention it to me.”
Urging Duo to eat, Trowa asked the questions he thought Duo would want to know the answers to, hoping to save the other man’s voice. “She’s here?”
“Not anymore. She arrived on Earth just hours after Duo did and left this morning. The Preventer agents on L2 will pick her up and escort her back once she gets there. Wufei is trying to find out where she stayed last night so we can find out who she spoke to.” Heero frowned, “It doesn’t look good, Duo.”
“I’m not saying she’s not involved; she could be if someone convinced her it was a way to make me love her. I’m trying to tell you she’s not smart enough to set something like this up.”
Trowa had to agree, though his interactions with the black-haired woman had been, thankfully, short and rare. “She wouldn’t do anything to hurt him this way. She especially wouldn’t try to kill him.”
“You believe the overdose was deliberate?”
“Don’t you?” Trowa handed Duo a bottle of water, helping him hold it once he saw how shaky the other man was. “I can’t imagine this drug was easy to find if Sally has never heard of a case where it was used and whoever got it had to be aware of how dangerous it is in liquid form.” Pulling some grapes from the stem, he gave them to Duo with a stern expression that wasn’t argued with.
The doubtful looked Quatre and Heero gave him had Trowa stifling a sigh. He wanted nothing more than some time alone with Duo, but knew this was too important to be put off. It was reassuring to feel the smaller man nestled against his side and he took comfort in the contact. “We’ve all seen Hilde when she’s around Duo. She’s infatuated by him. She’d die before intentionally hurting him in any way.”
“Unless someone convinced her he wouldn’t be hurt,” Quatre added thoughtfully, swallowing hard at the rising tension he could feel, the emotions centering on the two men on the bed. “Would that be possible?”
When Duo answered, everyone in the room, especially Trowa, heard the breathy quality his voice had taken. “If they were able to hide the effects of the drug, if it was someone she thought she could trust, she would believe whatever they told her. She’s one of those people that believes everyone is good.”
Quatre took Heero’s hand and was pulling him out of the room, fighting to control the way he was breathing. It was easy to identify the emotions battering him as desire, but there was no way to tell which man felt stronger, both Trowa and Duo emitting heat. “We’ll come back later, after you get some rest. We’ll find out everything we can.”
Trowa nodded, his eyes never moving from Duo’s. “I’ll come downstairs in a little while and we can talk. It may take some time until I’m sure Duo is…resting properly.”
Heero’s mouth flew open but whatever he had to say was lost when the blonde forcefully yanked him from the room. Duo leaned on Trowa more heavily, in a much different way than he had been before, his hand moving to rest lightly on Trowa’s thigh. “Was I that obvious?”
“I think it had more to do with Quatre’s empathy.” Trowa took the plate and set it on the floor beside the bed. “How do you feel?”
Brazenly, Duo trailed his fingers over Trowa’s chest. “You tell me.” Encountering teeth marks, he stopped and stared, stunned at the physical evidence of what they had done. His hands went from the teeth marks to scratches to bruises, finally resting on the dark mark on Trowa’s shoulder. “Good hell, did I do all of this?”
Seeing the guilt written all over the expressive features, Trowa tilted Duo’s chin up. “Don’t blame yourself for any of this. You didn’t hurt me.”
Tentatively touching the spot where his teeth had dug deep enough to draw blood, Duo winced at the forming bruise. “Didn’t hurt you. You’re kidding, right?”
“Okay,” conceding the point because there was no way to argue, Trowa made the other man meet his eyes. “You hurt me, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed it, mostly.”
“Mostly?” Duo carefully regulated his breathing, realizing even though he was horny as hell, it was controllable, unlike before.
“It would have been more satisfying if you had been more willing.”
Duo snorted, shifting so he could touch his lips to Trowa’s chest, gently licking at the wounds. “If I’d been more willing, we’d be dead.”
“Willing wasn’t the right word,” Trowa gasped when a talented tongue swiped across his nipple. “I mean more in control. You would have been willing no matter who was with you.”
Stopping his actions, Duo glanced up with a frown. “Don’t think so. I was fighting until you said you wanted me, too. I don’t remember much, but I do remember that. If it had been anyone else I wouldn’t have given in.”
“Not even Heero or Wufei? Quatre?”
“It had to be you. I still feel bad; I practically forced myself on you.”
“You really believe that?” Trowa moved his hand up Duo’s arm then underneath the base of the braid, fingers digging into the back of the other man’s neck, smiling when Duo moaned.
“What else do you call it? You said you preferred more traditional…relationships. What happened is the opposite of traditional, Trowa.”
“I got in the shower with you by choice. I was the one that touched you first, even when you tried to refuse. I was the one that pushed you against the wall and fucked you when you had no say in the matter.” Trowa sighed as the memory instantly made him hard. “You should hate me.”
Duo’s eyes widened as Trowa spoke, a shiver running down his spine. Hoping to offer comfort and achieve some relief, he climbed into Trowa’s lap, hissing as the other man’s erection pressed against his. “I know exactly what I’m doing now and who I’m doing it with. I’m in control of what I’m doing and I don’t want to stop. Do you want me to?”
“The drug is still in your body,” Trowa hesitated, eyes threatening to roll back in his head as the smaller body rubbed against his own.
“Trust me, I know the drug is still working,” Duo said honestly, licking his lips. “Everywhere you touch me makes my skin burn, but I could ignore it if I wanted to.”
Gripping Duo’s shoulders, Trowa stared at him intently; serious enough to get Duo’s wandering attention. “Before this you had an excuse, a reason to walk away once this was done. If we do this, you aren’t going back to L2, unless it’s to pack.”
Not even lust could keep Duo from freezing in shock. “It’s where I work. There isn’t a place for me on staff at this branch.”
“There is at WEI. I need a new team leader. It’s one of the things I wanted to speak to you about at dinner.” Ruefully glancing down at the plate of fruit, he shrugged one shoulder, “Under the circumstances, that was dinner.”
“You were going to offer me the open position?” Duo frowned. “Before any of this happened?” he waved a hand at his own naked body.
“Quatre and I decided months ago the next time there was an open position we wanted you for it. Duo, it’s the only reason the position hasn’t already been filled, at least two dozen agents have applied already.” Trowa tried to think of all the reasons Duo would be best for the job, eventually blurting, “You’re more than qualified and Quatre and I trust you.”
“The job offer isn’t because you want to sleep with me?”
In a show of frustration Duo had never seen from the tall man, Trowa flopped back onto the pillow with a groan. “If you want to get technical, I’ve already slept with you. If that was all there was to it, I wouldn’t have offered. I want you to take the damn job and move here.” Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Trowa spoke softly, “If you don’t want the job I still want you to move here. If that means quitting as an agent we can make up a job until a position opens up that you want. I need you here, Duo.”
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place? I’ll take the job and move, but I need a place nearby.”
Trowa’s eyes opened in surprise, sliding shut when Duo expertly ran hands up his sides. “Is the bedroom next door close enough? The job includes room and board,” he panted, wondering how Duo knew the exact pressure to use to make his brain melt.
“This room would be better. It’s a bit small for both of us, but I can adjust.” Duo cried out as fingers impaled him, head falling back, “I can definitely adjust.”
With a wicked smirk, Trowa brought his mouth to Duo’s exposed neck, “You adjust perfectly. We’ll talk details later.”