Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Contemplation Indigo ❯ Glass Houses ( Chapter 11 )

Glass Houses

By DRL

Wufei awoke to find cool, gentle fingers stroking his cheek. He lay still for a while, relishing the feather-light caress. He could hear no sounds other that the ticking of the clock on the wall above his head (he had more than once mentioned to Treize how stupid a place he thought this for a clock in a hospital room, since it could not be seen from the bed) and Treize's light, even breathing. After a long moment he raised his hand, placed it atop Treize's, stilling its motion, and smiled.

"Hey!" He said, in a voice that came out as a hoarse whisper.

"Hey yourself." Came the rich, melodious reply. Oh how he loved that voice. Wufei cleared his throat before speaking again.

"What time is it?" He asked, and this time his voice was clearer.

"Ten past three." Treize replied.

"In the afternoon?" Wufei queried incredulously.

"Yes my pet, in the afternoon." Treize replied and accompanied the statement with the throaty chuckle that Wufei also adored and under different circumstances would have gone straight to his groin. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Wufei replied, and after a pause added, "And hungry."

"I'm not surprised." Treize said. "You've been sound asleep for the past 12 hours."

Wufei recalled the previous night with some reluctance. After breaking down and confessing his sheer terror at ever being left alone, Treize characteristically took charge of the situation. He immediately sent for the night nurse and insisted that Wufei be given the strongest sedative that could be administered without the sanction of a doctor. Wufei mentally calculated that Treize had gone to bed in the adjoining bedroom at around 10.00pm, and had awoken to find him a gibbering wreck at around 3.00am. He had lain awake for 5 hours and had now slept for 12. He still had his hand on Treize's; he now curled his fingers around his husbands and held them gently.

"Have you been sitting there all that time?" He asked.

"By no means," Treize replied emphatically. "I have been extremely busy today. But," He added quickly as an exclamation of dismay escaped Wufei's lips and his fingers tightened around his own, "You were never left alone, not for one second. I could never allow that, not after what you told me last night." Wufei's fingers relaxed as Trieze continued. "Heero and Duo have been sitting here with you since about 9.30 this morning. They left about 10 minutes ago." Wufei exclaimed again, this time in dismay at having missed his two friends.

"Where are they, are they coming back?" He asked hopefully.

"No my pet, they won't be coming back, but…"

"But you said I could go home today." Wufei suddenly interposed, cutting off whatever Treize had been going to say. An accusatory note had entered his voice, as if this was Treize's decision to make and he had decided against it. Wufei hauled himself up into a sitting position, using Treize's hand as a brace. Treize was instantly at his back, arranging his pillows so that he lay comfortably against them.

"And so you shall." Treize said as he adopted his usual position beside Wufei on the bed, one leg folded beneath him and an arm about his husband's shoulders. Wufei leaned against his firm body, and as he felt the strong arm about him he felt as safe and secure as a child in its mother's womb. "That's what I have been doing all day." Treize continued, once he was sure Wufei was as comfortable as was possible. "I have been busy making arrangements for your homecoming."

"Oh," Wufei said contritely, "Thank-you."

"After the nurse gave you a sedative last night, or this morning I suppose it was, I asked her to send Dr Scrivener up to me as soon as he arrived. He came at around 8.30 this morning and I explained the situation to him."

"What did you tell him?" Wufei asked sharply.

"Not too much." Treize replied. "I told him that the hospital environment was causing you much distress. I'm afraid I did lay it on a little thickly though, but I had to in order to get him to discharge you earlier than he might ordinarily have done."

"I can just imagine." Wufei said with a light laugh, and he snuggled deeper into Treizes comforting embrace.

"Well it worked, because he agreed to remove your dressing as soon as you woke up and if everything was alright he would discharge you." Wufei stiffened involuntarily at the mention of the removal of his dressing. "Don't worry my pet," Treize said gently, "Everything will be fine." He kissed the top of Wufei's head lightly. "I had no time to lose because I had no idea how long you would sleep for, so I am afraid I flouted hospital rules, called Heero and Duo on my cellphone and told them that I needed them to come and sit with you while I went out for a while. I considered it an emergency so I won't lose too much sleep over it. As I suspected they would, they agreed to come immediately."

"What did you tell them?" Wufei asked again.

"Nothing at all." Treize replied. "You know Heero & Duo, they don't ask questions. All they needed to know was that I needed them to sit with you. They came, and they sat with you, it was that simple. I asked them not to leave you alone, and they assured me that they wouldn't. They most probably thought that it was just me being overprotective." Wufei nodded his agreement. This is exactly what Heero & Duo would have thought, so his secret was safe enough thus far. Treize continued his story. "I then called Quatre & Trowa to let them know that you would be discharged today, since we will be staying with them until you are well enough to go back home to France. I asked them to prepare two rooms, one for us and one for a nurse that would have to be hired."

"I won't need a nurse." Wufei said scornfully.

"Oh yes you will." Treize replied resolutely. "Dr Scrivener said that you will be given several medications essential to your recovery that will need to be strictly administered. He also said that it certainly wouldn't hurt if the healing process was supervised by trained personnel who would be able to spot potential problems better than a layperson." Wufei snorted derisively, but he offered no further protest. "Finally, I contacted Sally Po."

"What for?" Wufei asked warily.

"To help me to find a nurse. Since this branch of medicine is his area of expertise, I asked Dr Scrivener to recommend a few who might have the necessary training and experience, which he did. However, they all had to be interviewed and I couldn't very well ask Dr Scrivener to do that too. He is a busy man, after all."

"Why didn't you let Jarvis do it?" Wufei asked, "Isn't that the sort of thing a private secretary is supposed to do?"

"Yes, that's true," Treize agreed, "And ordinarily I would. But where your welfare is concerned I would rather attend to it personally. And besides, I sent Jarvis back to France yesterday. There are some things that I need him to attend to for me, seeing as we are going to be here for some little while, and I can always send for him if I need him. Anyway, regarding finding a nurse for you, I could satisfy myself as to their suitability only as far as character is concerned. I needed a medical professional to select the best person in terms of experience and Sally was only too pleased to help."

"Did you find one?" Wufei asked.

"Yes we did. Sally was most impressed with him."

"Him?" Wufei queried.

"Yes." Treize replied. "I thought that you might respond better to a male nurse, and funnily enough, Sally agreed with me."

"Is he good looking?" Wufei asked slyly.

"What does it matter to you whether he is or not?" Treize countered. "He's here somewhere within the hospital. He was most insistent that he stay within easy reach so that he could be present when the dressing is removed. I asked him if he wanted to sit in here, but he refused saying that he didn't want to intrude. That was something that I noticed about him immediately. His presence is definite but discreet, just like a good butler. Anyway, let's get you something to eat. You must be ravenous."

"No Treize," Wufei said quickly, "Call Dr Scrivener. I want to get this over and done with as soon as possible. I'll eat when we get to Quatre & Trowa's." Treize felt the tension in Wufei's body as he said this, and caught the nervous quaver in his voice.

"Are you sure my pet?" He asked soflty. Wufei nodded resolutely. Treize rose, walked around the bed and depressed the button which would bring the nursing staff running. Surely enough, within 30 seconds a pretty young nurse in a crisply starched uniform entered the room.

"Your Excellency?" She waited for instructions, looking brisk and efficient.

"Could you ask Dr Scrivener to look in please?" Treize asked her, and although he made the appeal sound like a casual request, she took his meaning quite plainly - 'Send Dr Scrivener to me immediately'.

"Of course Your Excellency." She concurred, and with what amounted to a curtsey, turned and left the room.

Treize stood beside the bed and looked down at Wufei. He had drawn his knees up to his chest and sat hugging them with his arms, his forehead resting on his knees and his face hidden. Treize laid a light hand upon one shoulder.

"Fei, are you alright?" He asked gently. Wufei nodded but said nothing.

Treize retraced his steps back around the bed and sank into the chair that was placed there for the use and comfort of visitors. A measure of the standard of this medical facility was the fact that the chair was upholstered in the finest calf leather, was well sprung and wonderfully comfortable. Treize had spent much time in this same chair over the past few days, and had good reason to be thankful of this fact. Comfort was not uppermost in his mind at the present moment though. He sat back in the chair, crossed one leg over the other, steepled his fingers under his chin and looked at his husband.

Though he took great pains to hide it, Treize had always been equally as nervous and apprehensive as Wufei about the whole operation. He was convinced that it was the right thing to do, and had encouraged Wufei accordingly, but the underlying risk was never far from his mind, although he strove to push it aside for Wufei's sake. Dr Scrivener had assured him that the operation had been a success, and he had passed this on to Wufei, hoping to also convey some of Dr Scrivener's confidence. However, this was a confidence that he himself by no means felt. What would he say to Wufei if the dressing was removed and he could not see, despite Treize's constant assurance that 'everything would be alright'. The mere thought of this contingency caused his stomach muscles to constrict and the gorge to rise in his throat.

'Pull yourself together Kushrenada' He mentally chided himself, 'What good will you be to him if you begin to fall apart now?'

Just at that moment the door opened and admitted a smiling Dr Scrivener, flanked by the pretty nurse who had attended them previously, plus one other, equally as pretty. Between them they wheeled a trolley into the room, on which were placed several and various instruments. The nurses parked their burden beside the bed and began pulling on latex gloves. Treize saw this and swallowed hard. A tall, fair-haired young man had entered the room behind the two nurses. He stood discreetly in a corner of the room, all but un-noticed.

"Now then young man," Dr Scrivener addressed himself to Wufei after nodding a brief greeting to Treize. "You're awake at last. Good." Wufei raised his head slowly and turned it in the direction of Dr Scrivener's voice. "Now let's have that dressing off." He turned to the nurses and gave a curt nod.

"Treize?" Wufei's voice carried a distinct note of panic.

"I'm here my sweet." He stepped forward and gave Wufei's hand a quick, encouraging squeeze. "I'll be right here. I just have to stand out of the way to let the ladies do their work."

The two nurses worked silently and in perfect harmony with each other. One of them deftly removed the gauze dressing and the metal shields beneath from Wufei's eyes. The other then carefully bathed the eyes with cotton swabs soaked in warm water to remove the incrustation of material that the eyes had emitted. Treize was not at all reassured to see blood on the discarded swabs. When then had finished they stood aside and Dr Scrivener stepped forward. Wufei's eyes were clenched tightly shut.

"Now then Wufei, I want you to open your eyes for me." Though he said this gently, he was no longer smiling. In the brief silence that followed Wufei's eyelids gave a brief flicker, but no more.

"I can't," Wufei said anxiously, his voice rising in panic, "Treize, I can't."

"Calm down now," Dr Scrivener said gently, "It's alright, I'll help you." As the good doctor spoke one of the nurses stepped forward and handed him a pair of latex gloves, which he pulled on expertly. He stood beside Wufei, tilted his head up with one hand while he gently parted Wufei's eyelids with the fingers of the other. "Don't worry," He said as he worked the eyelids, "This is quite normal. It's just because your eyelid's muscles have not been used for several days. There we are, good as new." This he said as Wufei's eyelids began to blink under their own steam, slowly at first, then more rapidly. "Now open them for me." Wufei opened his eyes slowly, then immediately clenched then tightly shut again, emitting a sharp hiss.

Without a word from Dr Scrivener one of the nurses proceeded to pull blinds down over all the windows in the room (blinds that Treize had never noticed before), and the other switched off the electric overhead lights and switched on a lamp that she produced from the trolley. This lamp emitted a dim light which had no glare but gave sufficient light to see clearly by.

"There now, is that better?"

Wufei nodded and slowly opened his eyes. As his heavy eyelids rose, his obsidian eyes stared at Dr Scrivener. The stare was at first blank and expressionless, and Treize caught his breath. Then Wufei's lips broke into a smile as his glassy eyes focussed and he peered at the doctor, albeit somewhat myopically.

"I can see you," He said, the excitement mounting in his voice, "I can see you." He turned to Treize and held a hand out to him. Treize expelled the breath he was holding heavily but discreetly, and stepped forward to take his husband's hand. "I can see you too." He said softly, and smiled broadly up at him.

"Good." Said the doctor briskly; for him there had never been any doubt. "Just let me take a quick look, and then we'll see whether you are eligible for parole." He began a close inspection of both of Wufei's eyes by the dim light of the lamp. Finally he straightened and said. "Well there's nothing to worry about there. Everything looks just fine. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." Wufei replied.

"How many now?" The doctor moved back a few paces.

"Four I think." Wufei said

"How many now?" Dr Scrivener was now at the door.

Wufei hesitated before replying plaintively, "I don't know, I can't see that far."

"It's alright, that's fine." Dr Scrivener said, "The dim light doesn't help. I think you can go home now. We'll leave you to get dressed. Come and see me in my office when you are ready to leave. You will need to take various precautions and some medication, but I will explain everything to Hugo. Hugo?"

The fair haired man emerged from the shadows and followed Dr Scrivener and his nurses out of the room. Wufei, noticing him for the very first time, watched his dim figure as he left. As soon as the door had closed behind the retreating party, he turned to look for Treize, but his husband was already at his side.

"Are you alright Fei?" Treize asked as he sat on the edge of the bed beside Wufei. Wufei did not reply, he merely truned to Treize, threw his arms around him and clung to him desperately, allowing a wave of relief to wash over them both. After a few moments he released his hold, pulled away gently and looked up into the older man's face.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you." He said gently, as he ran a hand lightly across Treize's brow, down his cheek and along the curve of his jaw.

"Come Fei," Treize said as he caught the wandering fingers in his larger hand, "Lets get you dressed and home. I'm not wild about the fact that you haven't eaten for almost 20 hours."

Wufei took a quick shower in the en-suite bathroom of the small bedchamber attached to his hospital room and dressed himself in the jeans and sweater that he had arrived in almost a week ago. He was amazed to find that in the few minutes that his dressing had been off, his vision had already improved slightly. His eyes had grown accustomed to the light so that he no longer winced with pain when exposed to the glare of the overhead spotlighting, but he still found the light uncomfortable. He could also see well enough to move around the room without bumping into things and wash and dress himself. This notwithstanding, his present level of vision was much worse than it was prior to his operation, but this did not bother Wufei one jot. He had been well prepared for this by Dr Scrivener, and even if he had not been, since having lived with the fear of never seeing again, the vision he did have was as good as 20:20 to him right now.

So it was a tired, hungry but extremely happy Wufei who walked into Dr Scrivener's office a scant half hour later, Treize at his side with a guiding hand at his elbow. As he entered the fair-haired young man who had attended the removal of his dressing earlier, rose from the visitor's chair in front of Dr Scrivener's desk and stood off to one side.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes." The doctor said jovially.

"Well I don't know about that," Wufei replied, "But I definitely have sore eyes."

While the doctor laughed heartily at this, Treize helped Wufei to a chair before taking one himself.

"Fei, I think it's time you met Hugo." Treize said, and the fair young man stepped forward with a broad smile.

"Your Excellency," He said and made a deep obeisance.

Wufei had begun to turn his head in Treize's direction before he realised that it was he who was being addressed, not his noble husband. He had been married to Trieze a long time but he had never gotten used to being addressed as 'Your Excellency'. It was by no means a rare occurrence but whenever it did happen it took him aback nonetheless. He nodded curtly in reply but said nothing. He had taken the man's measure though, and had concluded that his new nurse looked okay, so he would at least give him a chance.

"Hugo here will be looking after you for the next few weeks, just while you recover from the operation." Dr Scrivener said. "That isn't to say that you will be an invalid; far from it. In fact, you will be able to live pretty much as you did before, however, your vision, as you will no doubt have noticed, will be severely limited. As we have discussed, this will only be temporary, but you may not regain full vision for some time. For the moment though, what you have to be concerned about is not pulling or tearing the stitches and keeping an eye open for possible signs of transplant rejection or infection. The former I leave to you, but Hugo will take care of the latter. I have given him some medication for you that will greatly reduce the risk, if taken as directed but as I say, Hugo will see to that. Now the stitches will have to remain in place for up to one year, so they must remain fairly intact. This means that you must avoid physically straining them as much as possible. This means no lifting or moving of heavy objects, no bending over to pick anything up, or for any other reason for that matter," Both Treize and Wufei raised an eyebrow at this, but the doctor continued undeterred, "No bending over for long periods of time and no strenuous physical activity." Once again, both Treize and Wufei wondered whether the doctor was having a little joke at their expense, but as their eyes searched his face, he looked back at them with an expression so devoid of any guile that they thought better of it.

"Now you will find that for some time your eyes will be sensitive to strong light." Dr Scrivener continued, "Dark glasses will help of course, but you must try to minimise the use of these. It will only end up prolonging the period of photosensitivity and you will become too dependent on them. Finally, it is particularly important that you avoid rubbing at your eyes. This, or a direct blow to either eye can cause the transplant to fail, so no fighting. The stitches will irritate the inside of your eyelids as you blink, but this I'm afraid you will just have to endure. You must not rub your eyes. Hugo will administer artificial tears as necessary, but I think you'll produce enough tears of your own, what with the irritation from the stitches. You will have to sleep on your back for a few weeks and you must wear eye-shields at night, although you should keep the eyes uncovered as much as possible during the day, to aid the healing process. Now, is there anything that you would like to ask me before you go?"

"Will I have to come back here?" Wufei asked.

"Well normally regular follow-up examinations are essential to recovery," Dr Scrivener replied, "But as you have Hugo, I will not need to see you quite so often. To answer you question, no, you will not have to come back here under admission until you are ready for your laser surgery, unless complications set in. I will make visits to the Barton-Winner house to see how you are getting along, so you will not have to come here for check-ups either."

"Well if there is nothing further doctor," Treize said rising, and despite his words, his body language clearly indicated that whether or not there was anything further, the interview was over, "I'd really like to get Wufei home now."

"Of course Your Excellency." Dr Scrivener conceded, rising from his chair also. "Ah, and here's the redoubtable Hugo." Although no-one could have recalled seeing him leave the room, Hugo now re-entered pushing a wheelchair before him.

As Hugo wheeled Wufei along the corridor towards the hospital's front entrance, Wufei reached out and took Treize's hand as he walked along beside him.

"How are we going to get home?" He asked as Treize turned to him with an enquiring look.

"We will be driven." Treize replied.

"Oh, have Quatre and Trowa sent their driver to meet us?"

"Not exactly." Treize said enigmatically, and looked away from him, signalling the end of the exchange.

Just as Hugo had manoeuvred the wheelchair out of the entrance doors, Wufei looked up sharply as a familiar voice came to him across the immaculate lawns.

"Hey Heero, he's been sprung!" Duo Maxwell-Yuy's dulcet tones rent the peaceful silence. Wufei's eyes widened with surprise and a smile of pure delight illuminated his face.

"Duo!" He exclaimed and he looked around frantically, trying to identify the source of the sound. There was no need however, because the mountain was coming to Mohammed. Duo sprinted across the lawn, sank to his knees before Wufei's wheelchair and threw his arms around his friend in a warm embrace.

"Glad to see they've let you out." Duo said as he released Wufei and rose to his feet. He brushed some loose gravel from the knees of his jeans and took the handles of the chair from Hugo. "It's okay buddy, I'll take care of this." He said to the nurse. Both he and Heero had met Hugo earlier that day, so introductions were not necessary.

Heero had been making his way toward the group at a more sedate pace, and had just joined them. He laid a hand on Wufei's shoulder and gave a warm but gentle squeeze.

"You okay Chang?" He asked briefly.

"I'm fine Heero, thank-you." Wufei replied.

"I'm glad." Heero said with sincerity.

Before finally leaving the hospital, Heero went back inside to collect Treize & Wufei's overnight things, which Hugo had packed earlier in preparation for their departure, and Treize went with him, having recalled a last question he had to put to Dr Scrivener. They both returned a short time later, then they all proceeded to Heero & Duo's SUV, which was parked a short distance away in the hospital parking lot. The 4-wheel drive vehicle was large but even so, with all of them inside, Hugo included, it was full to capacity. Hugo had himself suggested following on by alternative means, but Trieze would not hear of it.

They drove to the Barton-Winner mansion all together, Heero driving, Duo beside him in the front passenger seat and Treize, Wufei and Hugo at the rear. While Heero remained as taciturn as ever, Duo chatted almost incessantly about various inconsequential happenings. During a lull in the somewhat one-sided conversation, Wufei posed the question that had been on his mind ever since the unexpected but entirely welcome appearance of his two friends.

"Treize?" He said quietly, raising his head from where it rested comfortably against his husband's broad chest.

"Hmm?" Treize murmured, and transferred his gaze from the passing view from the window to Wufei's upturned face.

"How did Heero & Duo come to be at the hospital, to pick us up I mean?"

"I asked them to come." The older man replied. Wufei clicked his tongue impatiently.

"I figured that much," He said testily, "I mean when did you ask them? It can't have been when they were with me earlier, because you couldn't have known for sure that I would have been allowed home and besides, even if you had, you could not have know when I would wake up, so you would not have known what time to tell them to arrive."

"Very true," Treize said, "But it's quite simple. I called them from my cellphone while you were in the shower."

"So you flouted the rules again." Wufei said with a wry smile.

"Weeell," Treize said unrepentantly, "I had already done so once, so the floodgates were open by then. Anyway, I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, and it was certainly worth it to see the look on your face."

"Thank-you Treize." Wufei said warmly, and snuggled back into the warm, muscular body.

Upon arrival at the Barton-Winner mansion, Quatre and Trowa had not yet returned from their respective jobs so Treize marched in and began giving polite but firm orders to the servants as though the place were his own. Wufei hid a smirk behind a strategically placed hand as he looked on, watching as they scurried to and fro, rushing to obey his lightest word. Treize behaved in exactly the same manner wherever they went, and elicited the same unquestioning obedience. His husband, Wufei concluded, was indeed born to command and he would readily admit to being proud of the way in which Treize was able to turn others to his purpose, especially as it was usually to ensure Wufei's comfort and well-being rather than his own. He was well aware that everything Treize did was done for him.

Having given instructions to the kitchen for refreshment to be brought for Heero and Duo, and a light meal to be prepared for Wufei (this he did without even asking Wufei what he felt like eating, deciding himself which dishes would do his husband the most good under the circumstances), he asked Johannes, the Barton-Winner's butler, to convey them to the rooms that had been prepared for the pair of them and for Hugo. The were shown to a large and sumptuous suite of rooms on an upper storey of the house, and as Treize inspected the efficacy of the communicating door to Hugo's rooms, Wufei went straight to the bed and lay down, closing his eyes and curling up into a semi-foetal position.

He could not remember feeling so weary. This lassitude surprised him, since he had done nothing but lie abed for four days solid, and he had slept for the best part of the forth day. Nevertheless, he felt tired, his head hurt, his eyes hurt and for some inexplicable reason, his limbs hurt. He wanted nothing more than to lie on that bed and never rise again for the rest of his life. It was not to be though. He felt a light touch on his shoulder and, groaning volubly, he slowly opened his eyes. A solicitous face smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Your Excellency, but you have to take some medication now." Hugo's soft voice was like a soothing balm. "I expect you are feeling a little achy by now, so I'll give you something for that also, although be sure to tell me if the pain does not abate within one hour. You may still be feeling a little sluggish from the tranquilizers you were given early this morning, but this will wear off soon." Wufei hauled himself into a sitting position, mentally thanking Treize for sending him this ministering angel.

"Thank-you." He said with gratitude. He sat compliantly still as he allowed Hugo to administer several different preparations in the form of eye drops, flinching only slightly, and he dutifully swallowed the two round, white tablets that Hugo handed him without question. "Where's Treize?" He asked as he handed the water glass back to Hugo.

"Righ here my sweet." The reply came from the opposite side of the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit." Wufei murmured as he rolled over and lay down again.

"I have given him a mild pain reliever, but it is now imperative that he has something to eat without delay." Hugo said, addressing himself to Treize and moderating his voice, though whether to avoid disturbing him or to prevent him from hearing, Wufei neither knew nor cared. He could feel the soft waves of sleep lapping at the shores of his consciousness, and he was quite prepared to give in to the flood. The murmur of their voices drifted further and further away, until they disappeared altogether.

Suddenly he was instantly awake and alert, as he heard his own name loudly in his ear.

"Wufei, wake up!"

He sat up and raised his hands to rub at his eyes.

"Don't.!" Came a sharp retort and his hands were caught at the wrists and lowered, firmly but gently. "Remember what the doctor said, you mustn't rub your eyes." Treize's voice was gently admonishing.

"Sorry." Wufei mumbled contritely.

"Don't worry about it Sweet, just try and remember. You have to eat some food now. Do you feel up to going downstairs, or would you like to eat up here?" Treize asked.

"Up here." Wufei said as he swung his legs to the ground and rose unsteadily from the bed.

Treize was instantly at his side and helped him across the room to a small, round table at which two places had already been set, so Treize had evidently anticipated his husbands response. A silver service trolley stood beside the table, and from beneath the covers of several salvers came the tantalising aromas of the dishes that Treize had ordered. As the mingling scents assailed Wufei's olfactory senses, his stomach began to gnaw. Treize served the meal himself, making sure that his Dragon partook heartily of everything there was on offer. He had ordered a simple but tasty meal. Nothing to spicy or rich that might aggravate Wufei's digestion in his weakened condition. A light consommé to start, followed by a mushroom omelette, which Treize himself cooked at the table over a spirit burner, then a dish of poached salmon and saffron rice, with steamed vegetables. Desert was crème brulee, and once again Treize flambéed the crusts himself. Wufei was allowed no wine, only water, but Treize drank liberally from a bottle of vintage burgundy that had been selected from the Barton-Winner cellar.

"So, what would you like to do now?" Treize asked, as he crossed the room and depressed a button which was discreetly located beside the light switch. Wufei had enjoyed the meal immensely and had eaten well, the painkillers that Hugo had given him had clearly begun to take effect because all of his aches and pains were gone, so he was consequently feeling much better.

"Have a hot bath, make love and then go to sleep." Wufei said with a sly grin. Treize chuckled warmly at his. His Dragon was definitely back.

"Don't you think it would be good manners to pay your respects to your hosts first?" He said good humouredly. He answered a discreet knock at the door, and admitted a middle-aged woman in a maid's uniform. "Clear these away and then turn down the bed would you please?" He instructed her, waving vaguely at the table where Wufei was still seated. He spoke in the civil but detached manner of one well used to having others do his bidding without cavil or demur.

"Are Quatre and Trowa back?" Wufei asked animatedly.

"They have been waiting on you for almost an hour now." Treize replied. "They returned during your little catnap just before the food arrived. They came up to see you as soon as they returned, but they wouldn't let me wake you because they didn't want to disturb you. I told them you would come down if you felt strong enough after you had eaten. Heero and Duo are still here also. They will all be having dinner together at around eight o'clock. I ate early with you so that we could join them for a little while before dinner, then we could leave them to their meal and retire early. I suspected that you might prefer to spend this evening, well…, as you have just outlined."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Wufei said and, catching Trieze by the hand, swept out of the room.

Later, much later, as he lay in the glorious circular marble sunken bath that the bathroom of the bedroom suite Trowa and Quatre had given them for the duration of their stay boasted, engulfed in the double warmth of the scented water and Treize's arms, Wufei mused on the day that was almost over. All in all, he concluded, it had gone quite well. He had spent what had to have been the worst night of his life, had slept like a dead thing for most of the day and had awoken to the fear and trepidation of having his dressing removed. From then on, however, the day had picked up. He had not, despite all of his fears, been blinded by the operation. While he could not boast 20:20 vision, he could at least see. He had been allowed home, had eaten a hearty meal and he had spent the past hour or so with his best friends in the whole world, with the added certainty of many more such get-togethers, since he would be staying in town during his convalescence. Now he was lying in a hot, soothing, foaming bathtub, in the loving arms of his husband who, to cap it all, was naked and wet, and his thoughts, never far away at the best of times, turned lightly to love. Treize lay with his back against the edge of the bath, his legs outstretched and spread slightly. Wufei sat between his legs, with his back against Treize's chest, his head lolling back against one broad shoulder and his eyes gently closed. Treize's arms wrapped around his husband's small body, holding it against his own and Wufei's arms rested gently on Treize's. In this position he could feel Treize's semi-erect penis against his lower back, and the thought of it brought a familiar warmth to his groin. It had been at least eight days since he and Treize had last made love, but to Wufei it felt like eight weeks! But there was one thing holding him back.

"Treize?" He murmured, without opening his closed eyes.

"Hmmm?" Treize replied, just as lazily.

"You know Dr Scrivener said that I shouldn't do anything strenuous?"

"Mmhmm?" Treize replied, a faint smile breaking out on his finely chiselled features. He well knew what was coming.

"Does that mean that we won't be able to have sex?" Wufei asked. Treize laughed lightly, and his rich voice stirred Wufei's groin even further, as it always did when he laughed like that.

"No my Dragon, it does not mean that at all. We can have as much sex as you like." He replied.

"Are you sure?" Wufei asked, disentangling himself from Treize's embrace and carefully manoeuvring himself around in the tub so that the two men were facing each other. "How do you know, what about my stitches?"

"So many questions my pet." Treize said with another laugh. "I know because I asked Dr Scrivener." Wufei looked at him with eyes as round as saucers.

"You asked him?" He said incredulously, then realisation dawned and he narrowed his eyes. "That was why you went back inside with Heero when he when to collect the bags." Treize nodded slowly. Wufei could just imagine his aristocratic husband standing before Dr Scrivener, fixing him with clear, steady eyes and asking such a question outright, without a trace of discomfiture or embarrassment. "What did you say?" He asked with amusement.

"Well I didn't have much time, so I went back there, walked straight into his office and said that I was sorry to bother him but I had one more question to ask. He asked me what it was and I told him. I said, 'Doctor, you mentioned that Wufei must not do anything strenuous, but what about sex?'" Wufei laughed heartily at this.

"I'll bet you did as well. And what did the good doctor say?"

"He said, 'Oh you don't need to worry about that, as long as you are sensible, and I think you would know more about that than I would. Be gentle with him for the next few weeks, and avoid any kneeling positions. Other than that, you can have as much sex as you like.'"

"He actually said that?" Wufei asked, his eyes like saucers once again.

"Quote, unquote." Treize replied.

"How did he know you were on top?" Wufei straddled Treize's legs in the water and placed his arms around the older man's neck.

"I should have thought that was fairly obvious." Treize replied sotto voce. Wufei seemed not to have heard, or he deliberately ignored the comment.

"No kneeling positions," He mused, "I think I can cope with that."

Wufei brought his lips to Treize's and kissed him with all the pent-up passion of no sex for eight days. His tongue darted into Trieze's mouth and toyed lustily with the other man's, as he crushed their bodies together, gyrating his hips so that the fluid friction caused Treize's already hardening penis to stiffen further, and his own to begin to swell.

"Fuck me now Treize, quickly," Wufei said urgently, almost without breaking the kiss, "I can't wait any longer." Although he said this, Wufei make it quite clear that he was running the show, and Treize was content to let him. There was to be no love-play today. As he continued to kiss his husband with undisguised and wanton abandon, Wufei reached down into the water, took firm hold of Treize's penis and pumped it at as frenetic a pace as the weight of water around them would allow. Once he was sure it was firm enough, he positioned the tip at his puckered entrance, and pushed his body down hard, impaling himself. Abruptly he tore his lips from Treize's and, throwing his head back, cried out, but whether from pain or pleasure was not certain. As he squatted astride Treize's legs, he began to raise and lower himself onto Treize's penis, without even waiting for his body to become accustomed to the sizable intrusion, despite his eight-day abstinence. The inertia due to their being in the water meant that Wufei's motion was damped, and was not as fast or forceful as it might otherwise have been. Ordinarily this would not have presented a problem, since they both enjoyed prolonged lovemaking sessions, but today speed was of the essence. Treize could see that Wufei needed release quickly, so he reached between their bodies and began to pump Wufei's by now painfully swollen erection. He himself would receive no gratification from this situation, but this did not matter to him, Wufei was all that mattered -Wufei was all that ever mattered.

Wufei came quickly and he came hard. As his pleasure mounted towards orgasm he began to moan softly. His moans began to increase in volume and intensity, as his passion mounted, and his cries began to gain coherence, until Treize's name was readily discernable.

"Oh god, yes, yes, yes, Treize, Treiiiize!" He cried as his seed gushed from his rampant penis, only to mingle with the bathwater and be swept away. He collapsed heavily against Treize's body, utterly spent. Treize gathered him into his arms and stepped carefully up the marble steps and out of the bath. Wufei seemed barely conscious as Treize wrapped him in a large, fluffy towel and laid him gently on a chaise longue, which stood in front of the empty fireplace. He then returned to the bathroom, stepped back into the rapidly cooling bathwater and proceeded to take care of his own neglected erection by the only means left open to him. Wufei would be full of remorse the next morning if he realised what had happened, so Treize fully intended to lie to him, telling him that he had reached orgasm at the same time Wufei had. He hated lying to him, but it was easier this way. He emerged from the bath, quickly towelled himself dry, and returned to the bedroom, still naked. He removed the towel from Wufei's body, carried him to the bed and placed him gently between the sheets, sliding in beside him. Even in his sleep or stupor, Treize was still not sure which, Wufei turned to face his husband, entwined their arms and legs, laid his head on Treize's chest, and slept on until morning.