Disclaimer: I just got my first pack of Strawberry Pocky ever! Woo hoo! Er, but I have no rights or permissions to Gundam Wing or it's characters. *Munches on Pocky* Hey, this stuff's pretty good…

Pairings: Main pairing is 4x2. However, there will also be: 1+2+1, 2xOC, 3+4, 1x5.

Warnings: Light Citrus. So far the story isn't too explicit. However, it's starting to slide downhill fast and by the next portion we should be firmly entrenched in the sewers. ^_^

Final A/N: Sorry this part took so long. The next bit will also take awhile, probably. I'm moving and work is really busy so it's hard to find time to write. However, I do know where this is going so I'll do my best. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed - it really helps keep me going!

Chess

Part II - King's Gambit

by Xellas M.

* * * * *

"Are you busy tonight?" Quatre asked abruptly.

"No, why? Is there a mission? Damn, I really wish they would give you guys a little more notice." Duo sighed. "Oh well, that's what's nice about being my own boss."

"No mission. There's something I'd like to show you. Be ready at 20:00 sharp. You'll find the appropriate clothes upstairs in your room."

Two days had passed since the pilots' conversation in the kitchen. Two days, mostly spent patching up and caring for Wufei, who had managed to bruise a couple of ribs in his last battle. No mention had been made of Quatre's revelation. The blond had been all but avoiding Duo, to the point of disappearing for hours at a time. Duo had even started to wonder if it hadn't all been a strange dream brought on by his own warped imagination in an unholy coupling with too much cheap gin.

Duo nodded once, but the gesture was lost as Quatre had left the room immediately after delivering his directive. He smiled when he heard the blond in the next room talking to Trowa in a voice vastly different from the one he'd used only moments earlier.

Duo checked his watch. He had only one hour to get ready for whatever this was. Trying to act like his curiosity wasn't eating him alive (and totally failing), he sauntered up the stairs to the room he shared with Hiiro.

The Perfect Soldier was typing away on his laptop, filing a perfect report for their most recent less-than-perfect mission. Duo speculated that he was busy calculating to seven or eight decimal points exactly what errors had been made that had ultimately resulted in Wufei's injury. But he looked damn perfect while he was doing it, which made up for a lot.

"If you're looking for the clothes you are to wear on recon tonight, Quatre left them on your bed." Hiiro spoke without turning around.

Several large and expensive looking boxes rested atop Duo's comforter. The braided pilot trusted his curiosity to move his body from the doorway to the bed, thereby freeing his brain for more important speculations. "Did he say where we are going?"

"No." came Hiiro's terse reply. The stoic pilot was perturbed. It was the first time he hadn't been able to hack into Quatre's mission detail records and curiosity was threatening to eat him alive.

Duo correctly interpreted the whole story from Hiiro's one word reply and smirked. He had stopped moving, so he looked down and saw two things: first, that his feet had in fact brought him safely to the foot of the bed near the neatly stacked boxes; and second, that being this close to a frustrated Hiiro was agitating something that had lately been complaining all too often of it's own private dissatisfaction.

First things first, and on Duo's list presents always came first. Astonishment lit his eyes as he slowly unpacked the clothes. By the time he got to the last box, even Hiiro had dropped any pretense of indifference and had moved so that he was standing directly behind his fellow pilot's shoulder.

Hiiro's mind was racing. He had accessed the top-secret private records of every one of his fellow pilots, reasoning that his friends' right to privacy was meaningless if one or more of them were hiding secrets that could endanger a mission. The sole exception was Duo, who worked alone and did not keep that kind of compromising data.

Hiiro knew that like himself, Quatre preferred men, as did Trowa and even Wufei. This was by design; the scientists had selected homosexual pilots for the simple reason that men with children had more to lose and were therefore more difficult to control. He had ample reason to believe that Duo's scientist had made a similar choice.

If that was the case, there was only one reason Quatre would buy Duo an outfit like that. It also explained why the Perfect Soldier had been unable to hack into the mission records - there was no mission, this was a date. Unacceptable.

Hiiro had been quite aware of Duo's attraction, had even allowed himself to enjoy it a little. A secret hope had been buried in the Japanese boy's scarred and neglected heart that one day, when there were no more missions, no more battles, whatever was left of him would go to Duo. The fact that someone else might get there first had never even occurred to him. He moved in even closer to his friend, not able to give voice to his thoughts but determined to stop this somehow regardless.

Duo couldn't help but notice Hiiro's proximity. The Japanese pilot was way too close, there was no way to hide the rare blush he could feel coloring his cheeks. Trying desperately to cover it up, he blurted out in a very unconvincing voice, "He's got to be kidding. Oh well, I better get on with it, there isn't much time left." The braided boy then gathered the clothes and made a graceless but extremely rapid exit to the bathroom to change.

He jumped in the shower, though he didn't have time to wash his hair so he simply pinned it up out of the way. He washed, trying hard not to think of Hiiro, or Quatre, or well, anything that would give him the slight nudge it would take to give him a problem he didn't have time to take care of himself and that he would have no chance of hiding in those clothes.

He hopped out and brushed out his hair. He began his usual French braid, but stopped when he reached the nape of his neck. Grabbing a black velvet tie from the pile, he secured the braid where it was, leaving a long tail of unbound hair to flow freely down his back, gently waving in protest at being released from it's captivity. Next came the shirt: loose black silk gathered at the neck and cuffs but open in front, revealing the small silver cross he normally kept hidden underneath his clothing. He picked up the pants and sighed. It took him several minutes to wiggle his damp limbs into the skin tight black velvet. He was surprised to find that they were very comfortable, although they didn't leave much to the imagination. Finally, the part he had almost been looking forward to - the boots. Supple black leather, they covered his knees in the current style and somehow managed to make his legs seem even longer.

With only two minutes to go until 20:00, Duo didn't have time to say a word to the stunned look on Hiiro's face as he bolted through their room to the door.

If he had, Quatre might have lost the game just as it was truly beginning.

* * * * *

The front room was deserted except for the Winner heir patiently waiting near the front door. He looked stunning. To provide a contrast to Duo's black outfit, Quatre had chosen to wear pure white. A long, thick coat covered his lithe form from neck to ankles, with only the slightest bits of lace peeping out behind the high collar and sleeves. His wavy blond hair had been gathered into a tight tail at the back of his neck, making his bright blue eyes stand out even more sharply than usual. Approval and unconcealed lust lit those eyes as he looked Duo up and down. "It looks like everything fit perfectly." he commented as he concluded his scrutiny.

"Sure, as long as I don't try to move or breathe. What's this all about?" Duo knew his date was well aware that the suspense just might kill him.

The cat-shaped clock in the nearby hallway chimed the hour and the blond boy opened the door. "I'll tell you about it on the way." was the only reply.

* * * * *

If a man had to die of curiosity, this was the place to do it, thought Duo as he sipped on an excellent martini served up dry in the back of his companion's limo.

"I suppose you want to know what this is all about -" Quatre began, but was interrupted.

"Hell yes! If you're going to drag me out looking like a- a-" Here Duo fumbled, unable to think of an appropriate term but he plowed on regardless, "I deserve to know what's going on!"

"We're going to a very special place, one you might find shocking."

"I very much doubt that. You'd be surprised at the kind of places they have in the slums of L2." Here the black-clad boy paused for a moment, his eyes momentarily darkening at the memory.

"It's nothing like that." Quatre protested. "I mean, it is, but it's not what you think." His companion gave him a skeptical look so he continued on very carefully. "All the Servers are there voluntarily. In fact, they have to pass rigorous physical and psychological testing before they are selected to work there. They are not paid, for the most part they have extremely lucrative daytime jobs. You must spend time as a Server to be accepted as a Member. Almost everyone there has either money or connections, but it takes more than that to be allowed in. It is basically just a safe and clean place where powerful people go to fulfill various fantasies.

"One other thing, the war does not exist at the Club. You will probably see high-ranking Oz officials, politicians, people you would never imagine. What goes on there, stays there. Treat it like one of your Catholic confessionals. Can you manage that?"

Duo ignored the question. "You don't expect me to "Service" those bastards, do you Quatre? Because if that is what this is about, you can take me right home. I wouldn't do that when I was starving and I won't do it now for you."

Genuine hurt softened Quatre's features momentarily. "I wouldn't do something like that to you, ever. You are to be my guest, if you want to be, the first I've ever invited." Mentally, the blond berated himself for not anticipating that his friend might have unpleasant past associations with establishments of this nature. Mistakes like this could jeopardize his chances with the Deathscythe pilot. He had to remember that Duo truly had come from a world very different from his own.

Guilt, confusion and a small amount of remaining suspicion played across the violet-eyed boy's face. His voice was serious as he said "I am sorry, but I really have no idea what to expect from you anymore." Suddenly, he smiled. "That's what makes this so much fun and there is no way I'm going to back out now! I do trust you."

Relieved and extremely flattered, the Arabian was deeply moved by his friend's words. Hope rose within him. It was just possible that Duo would understand, that a relationship between them was attainable.

* * * * *

The Club - it had no other name - was located in an unlikely place, taking up one of the middle floors of a tall and prestigious office building in the heart of the city. Two enormous bouncers stood in front of an unremarkable doorway which was apparently the only entrance.

Quatre simply smiled a greeting at them and they silently and courteously stepped aside. Apparently this place found it important to recognize their customers on sight.

Duo had no idea what to expect, but the scene that met him when he stepped inside was almost beyond belief. A mind-boggling amount of money must have gone into the décor, which was too simple to really be so.

The theme was Ancient Rome. Pure white marble columns were spaced evenly throughout the open space on the black and white marble floor. Here and there lush vines curled around and up their smooth lengths to disappear into the darkened ceiling. The lighting was soft and arranged to hide more than it revealed.

An enormous inlaid bath was set as the focal point in the center of the room. In its center, a beautiful fountain drowned out almost all background noises with a soft, relaxing voice. Clear running water continuously caressed the exquisitely sculpted forms of nymphs and satyrs, gods and goddesses. Around the edge of the bath, beautiful men and women entertained themselves and each other, some dressed in only simple white togas and others in nothing but jewelry and exquisitely done hairstyles. Duo blinked, shocked after all. It wasn't that he hadn't seen people doing those things before, he had all too often. The shocking part was that the scene before him was beautiful, a celebration of the human form and human lust. There was none of the desperation or degradation that marked those who did these things because they had no other choice.

A stunning redheaded young woman approached them, her skimpy toga doing little to disguise a set of curves that would have left the pilots gaping had their inclinations lain in that direction. She curtsied swiftly and said "Good evening, Master Quatre. Everything has been prepared as you requested. We hope you will find it to your satisfaction."

Quatre nodded, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "And our Server?"

"As you requested, sir. He will be with you in a few moments. Shall I take you to your table?"

"This is unbelievable." Duo whispered to his host as they followed their guide.

The white-clad young man allowed his smile to grow larger. "Do you like it?"

"I'll tell you after I see what it is you've still got up your sleeve."

Quatre laughed. The answer was perfect, just like Duo.

* * * * *

The pair were seated in a quiet corner, their small table set lower into the ground with a low marble wall separating them from the rest of the club. The redheaded woman brought them drinks, then smiled and winked at Duo before hurrying off to greet another new arrival.

"So how did you find this place?" The first of an unsurprisingly large store of questions popped out of the chestnut haired boy's mouth the second they were left alone.

"I just knew who and how to ask. I was looking for an education and I ended up here."

Of course, if Quatre was a Member that meant he had been a Server first. Which meant that he had actually… Duo exhaled. "Some education!"

The blond replied in a low voice "I already told you, there is nothing more exciting than giving pleasure. I haven't come back here often after that first few months. But in that time I learned how to give people what they couldn't bring themselves to ask for." He purposely let that last statement hang in the air between them while allowing himself to fantasize briefly about doing as much for the tempting figure in black beside him.

Duo caught the statement and the tension that was filling the Winner heir's body. Enjoying both, he decided to see what would happen if he took the bait. "Oh? What is it I can't ask for?"

As if in answer, their Server finally arrived. Duo looked at him, then looked away and back again. It was impossible. He did one more double-take before finally concluding to his relief that this wasn't Hiiro after all. The beautiful Asian man was just a little bit taller and a little bit older than the pilot that haunted the American's dreams. Still, the resemblance was uncanny. Eyes the same deep shade of blue, so impossibly rare among those of Japanese descent, stared down at submissively folded hands. Cropped dark hair, slightly shorter than Hiiro's untamed mop, framed a face with almost the same perfect balance between delicate structure and strength. Most of a beautifully sculpted body was meekly displayed in the small white toga.

Quatre broke the silence. "Do you like him, Duo?"