Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Insecurities 1 ❯ Chapter 8

Summary: In case you've forgotten this is 1x2x5 and 3x4. And Zechs is there as well as an original character called Shaun. This concentrates mainly on the difficulties of Duo, Heero, and Wufei trying to have a relationship and deal with each others' insecurities. Duo can't bottom, Wufei has a stupid girl following him and Heero is just plain insecure. And each person thinks that the other two would be better off with each other. Quatre is making some demands on Trowa about their relationship which, quite frankly, Trowa just doesn't understand.

This chapter starts off where I last ended (obviously), that is after Trowa and Duo have been saved from the deep-freezer on L4, at a floral exhibition. It was supposed to have been, originally, Trowa and Heero's mission but the other three messed with the mission specs so Duo could go instead of Heero (because they were unsure of Heero and Trowa's relationship). So, now at the Winner residence, they are dealing with the aftermath of it.

 

 

Chapter 8

 

The Winner residence was, if nothing else, comfortable. The entire suit had been designed by someone with an eye for comfort as well as elegance. However, Duo found the whole thing slightly overwhelming.

 

The bathrooms had matching tiles, fittings, little towels with the same flower motif as the tiles and even the toothbrushes, he saw with alarm, was embossed with the same design. He wondered if the designer had had the personnel re-made after the place was completed so they wouldn't clash with the coloring.

 

He pressed the flush button and watched the air-nozzles swivel around, not wanting to go back and confront Heero and the rest of the gang. Then he smiled to himself -- it was not just him who was in trouble. Wufei and Quatre would also get to share the blame and in his book, any responsibility that would be divided was better than shouldering the whole thing. So he adjusted his hair, blew his nose into a tissue, threw it into the toilet bowl, flushed again and sauntered out, hands in his pocket.

 

“I think I'm coming down with a cold,” he said, walking over to the rest of the group and sitting down on his chair. He took a peek at Wufei, who was sitting stiffly due to broken ribs and a nervous disposition, then at Quatre who seemed to be finding the fabric of his chair more fascinating than his company.

 

They all looked at him with varying degrees of relief, apart from Heero who simply looked blank. “So,” said Trowa finally. “Let me get this straight. You thought I was sleeping with Heero.”

 

“I don't think they meant sleeping,” Heero interjected. “Fucking, maybe.”

 

“We're trying to be polite here,” Wufei snapped sharply. “Heero, if you don't want to…”

 

“Shall we just drop the whole thing,” Trowa interjected. “And get back on topic. How can you think I'm sle…fucking Heero all of a sudden?”

 

“Well, pal,” Duo said a little scathingly. “It's not as if you two haven't done that before.”

 

“Doesn't mean we are now,” Trowa said equally pointedly.

 

“I thought the three of us were together,” Heero finally said, sounding slightly confused. “So why would I be fucking Trowa?”

 

“Exactly,” Wufei mumbled. “Why would you go off…”

 

“Probably because the two of you,” Trowa indicated to Wufei and Duo with raised eyebrows. “Were going behind Heero's back and acting like a couple of jerks. I can't believe the two of you… no make it three of you, hacked into Une's mainframe and changed the mission specs so Heero wouldn't be paired off on a mission with me.”

 

“Now you're going to run to her to tell on us, are you?” Duo sneered suddenly, realizing just how much trouble they were in. He was acting tough to hide just how scared he was - of all of them he had the most to lose if Une decided to kick them out of the Peace Keeper force. After all, no one in their right minds would let Heero go. Trowa was invaluable to Une, and Quatre was the Winner of Winner enterprises. Wufei was Sally's adopted brother, Shaun was her adopted son and she would as soon let go of either as cut off her own arms. That left Duo, with no one to sponsor him and…

 

“Do you really think of me as some sort of sex maniac?” Trowa growled. “That sob story you told me over here… was it some lie you cooked up so I'll keep my paws to myself?” He was looking at Duo as he spoke.

 

Duo felt as if he had been ploughed into by a runaway spaceship - after all that they had shared in the cold compartment, how could Trowa think that… “No!” he shouted jumping to his feet. “I don't lie. How dare you think I was lying to you about something that important? I told you what had happened to me because…” To his shock, Duo realized he could feel tears threatening to fall. He, at his age, crying because of what had happened would be humiliating. Worse, it was so pathetic this was what he was reduced to… Duo wished he could die on the spot. “No!” he said, stepping towards Trowa, his face red. “It wasn't a lie you moron and I didn't think you'd jump my bones. You're not the type to do something like that and….”

 

“Trowa,” Quatre said stepping in. “I think that's enough. I know you're angry but really there's no need to take it out on him alone. Both Wufei and I contributed to it as well.”

 

“We did sneak into Lady Une's office and hack into her system,” Wufei said, looking uncomfortable. “It wasn't exactly the sort of thing…”

 

“That's unlike you,” Heero observed suddenly. “Duo…I can imagine him doing something like that but the two of you are so…direct with you actions…”

 

“I think you just insulted me,” said Duo, falling back into his chair and digging for a tissue as his nose started stinging. He could feel a sneeze build up on top of his headache and it was very annoying.

 

“I have a right to be angry,” Trowa ground out, his voice still quiet. “You think I'm some sort of sex maniac.”

 

Suddenly Heero started to laugh. Not in a sarcastic way, nor like a maniac, but in a low chuckling sort of way as if he'd just found something deeply amusing. It was rather alarming since the last thing any of them felt at that moment was humor.

 

“Heero,” Duo said tentatively.

 

“You really like me,” Heero managed to gasp out.

 

“Uh,” said Duo.

 

“What!” said Wufei.

 

Quatre wondered if he was included in `we-like-Heero' fan club. “I don't think it's funny,” he said carefully.

 

“It's not funny,” Heero agreed. “But I was worried you two didn't want me anymore.”

 

“Whatever gave you that idea,” Duo said dryly. “Here we are all risking our necks and privates in the face of Lady Une's wrath and…”

 

“Exactly,” said Heero, sounding slightly excited, which was so uncharacteristic of him that even Trowa sat up straighter. “You must really want me with you if you went through all that trouble to make sure I don't go and screw Trowa.”

 

“Um,” said Duo, looking slightly thoughtful. “Yeah.”

 

“Well, you were the ones who told me Heero and Trowa don't think like normal humans,” Quatre said pointedly. “Or something like that. It was so long ago.”

 

“This was not exactly the point,” Trowa said then stopped. “I think it's best if we break this up. Quatre and I'll go and discuss this in another room and the three of you can do whatever you want here.”

 

“When did he start giving out orders?” Duo asked with a wry grin. “Fine, I think it's a good idea, too.”

 

He waited in silence as Trowa stood up and looked at Quatre who nodded his acceptance of the situation. “Will you guys be all right?” he asked as he started to walk towards the door. “Call room service if you want anything and don't forget we have an Earth-bound shuttle in two hours time. Be ready to leave by then.”

 

“Is it just me or is that guy getting a mother complex?” Duo commented to no one in particular as he walked to the door to engage the lock.

 

“He's just being the perfect host,” Wufei replied a little thoughtfully. “I guess, old habits die hard.”

 

“Well, now that we're by ourselves, can we just get on with the topic at hand?” Duo inquired. “I suppose the first thing is Heero, we're sorry we even thought that you were fucking Trowa and there is no excuse for what we did.”

 

“Agreed,” Wufei said, sounding forced but honest. “It was a spur of the moment insanity with the three of us. I suppose though we are together, we really don't know each other that well.”

 

“I'm just happy you thought I was worth the trouble,” Heero replied seriously, his voice no longer deadpan but earnest. “It means that you do want me around.”

 

“There was never any question of that,” Duo replied a little bitterly as his earlier doubts returned. “It is never you that people get fed up with.”

 

“You seem confident of that,” Wufei said, looking straight at Duo. “Spill it Maxwell, what do you have on your mind.”

 

“Me,” Duo replied. “Soon enough you're going to realize that I'm not going to be able to bottom for you and …”

 

“That wasn't an issue before,” Wufei said, sounding irritable and uncomfortable at the same time.

 

“You didn't like it,” Duo all but wailed, remembering his rather botched up attempt at sex with Wufei. “I hurt you.”

 

“I don't mind bottoming,” Heero said suddenly. “I think it's rather enjoyable. Wouldn't mind bottoming for you.”

 

“You do!” Wufei said before he blushed then turned away. “That's ….”

 

“….new,” Duo finished weakly. “You don't waste time on small talk, do you Heero?”

 

“Do you need to be persuaded?” Heero asked, looking slightly puzzled. “Since the three of us are together, I didn't think I had to go through the whole procedure of courting you.”

 

“Courting him!” Wufei shouted.

 

“Courting me!” Duo echoed.

 

“Both of you,” Heero replied with a frown. “Well, not at the same time, maybe one after another.”

 

Duo groaned and sank into the chair closest to him. “Heero,” he managed weakly. “Where did you learn the art of conversation, off the back of a cornflakes package?”

 

“I didn't know there was a proper etiquette for asking one of your boyfriends to fuck you,” Heero replied in a tone which would have been funny if not for the fact he was utterly serious.

 

“I think we should impose a time limit on this sort of conversation,” Wufei replied. “It's something that's best taken in small doses. And Yuy, why are you stripping?”

 

“I was under the impression that's what you do before sex,” Heero said calmly, but when he looked at the other two he smirked knowingly. “Say you don't want to and I can put my clothes back on.”

 

“NO!” shouted both Duo and Wufei, before looking at each other embarrassed.

 

“Uh,” said Wufei sounding slightly stifled. “You could …Duo….I don't think I'm up to anything like that today.” His voice was laced with regret as he said it. Duo got up and stepped up to Wufei.

 

“Bad, huh?” he asked, sitting in a corner of the chair carefully. “You in pain?”

 

“Not much,” Wufei admitted but close up, Duo could see that his eyes were glazed with pain. “I'm fine, just don't think I'm up to any strenuous physical activities.”

 

Suddenly, Duo jumped as Heero leaned over him and put a hand on Wufei's shoulder. “Do you want any painkillers?” he asked. Duo decided that having a shirtless Heero leaning over him from behind was very distracting in a good or a bad way.

 

“No,” said Wufei, trying to get to his feet carefully. “I think I'll just go and lie down in the bedroom. You two can carry on with…” Duo leaned back against Heero and scowled. He was sitting down while Heero was standing so his head brushed against Heero's belt, his hair snagging on the metal studs, but he made no move to withdraw.

 

“What?” asked Wufei. “Do you want the bedroom?”

 

“We want you in the bedroom with us,” Heero said firmly. “We're together so it's not fair if you can't join.”

 

“The least you can do is watch,” Duo suddenly suggested with an impish grin. “We'll put on a good show for you.”

 

“I…I….” Wufei stammered his face turning red but he wet his lips and his eyes looked brighter and more alive than they did before. His entire face took on an eager look as he looked at the two, then realizing he was giving himself away, he bit his lower lip and looked down at his lap where his hands were clasped tightly.

 

“Hey,” said Duo, leaning forward, catching Wufei's lips in a kiss. He sucked at the lower lip, and then withdrew before it could deepen. “Come on, Wu…We're in this together, remember.”

 

Heero did not give Wufei room to answer, as he circled Duo (pulling strands out of his braid in the process) and scooped up Wufei easily in his arms. Wufei made a noise, which was almost a squeal, though he'd have never admitted making such a noise. “You don't understand,” he protested as the hand from his uninjured side wound around Heero's shoulder for balance. “I'm … I'm…”

 

“Shy,” Duo injected though he thought horny was as good as any word to describe it. “Don't worry, we won't shock you, too much.”

 

In reply, Wufei's face turned a shade of deep red that had Duo chuckling fondly. Despite his tough exterior, Wufei was something of a softie. The same could be said about Heero, Duo thought, as Heero carried Wufei into the bedroom and placed him carefully on the side of the bed. Winner residence beds were as grand as everything else, which meant they were large and had plenty of Duo pulled out a couple of pillows from under the comforter and placed them under Wufei so he could sit upright and on impulse, kissed him on the forehead.

 

Then he stared at Heero… Heero minus his shirt, who was in the process of taking off his shoes, and felt his libido stand up and beg. Then he looked at Wufei who was trying hard not to look, and smiled. He sat on the corner of the bed and started removing his shoes as well. “This isn't really a solution you know, he added conversationally. “Our problems are not going to go away from a nice long fuck.”

 

“We don't have the time to,” Wufei said in a strangled voice. “We have a shuttle to catch, remember?”

 

“Nothing to do about that,” Heero said with a shrug. “We can discuss things later on. For now, can't we just …”

 

“One question, Heero,” Wufei said in a small voice, sounding hesitant. “It might be personal so, you don't have to answer this if you don't feel like…”

 

Duo perked up at that, wondering just what exactly Heero was going to be asked.

 

“I don't think I have that many secrets,” Heero said with a shrug as he started on the top button of his jeans. “If you ask, I'll most likely answer.”

 

“About your preference of not wanting to be-“ Here, Wufei struggled for a bit before he could say the word. “…fucked from behind. Why is it?”

 

“I wasn't raped, if that's what you mean,” Heero said with a shrug. “But when I was being trained by Dr. J. one of the exercises to increase my lung capacity was to strap me face down onto a plank and lower me into a large body of water. I almost drowned in it and sometimes, when I'm held from behind … like that, it sort of reminds me…” Duo couldn't help it. He flung himself at Heero and hugged him before the rest of the sentence could be completed.

 

“I hope you are not going to add something sentimental but useless like, wait till you get your hands on Dr. J. so you can return the favor,” Wufei said dryly from his perch.

 

Lifting his head from Heero's shoulder, Duo thought with slight amusement that Wufei resembled a prince watching over other's proceedings. In answer he stuck out his tongue and was rewarded by a faint smile from Wufei. Duo would have added something more but at that moment Heero's hands closed on his chest and he was distracted.

 

Turning his head to a side, Duo caught Heero's lips in his and the taste of his boyfriend - all right one of his boyfriends - caught Heero's lips in his and sucked, yelping a little when he was bitten in response. Exploiting the momentary breach in his defenses, Heero's tongue sneaked into his open mouth, stroking possessively over gums and palate, in a way that was probably making Wufei blush, just from watching." Heero's hands roamed over his back, kneading his shoulders, the tongue in his mouth probing deeply. Duo shuddered when a knee pressed between his legs and Heero pulled him more firmly against himself. Duo knew that maybe, just maybe, there should have been other issues they should have discussed first but just then, he didn't care because Heero's hands were surprisingly gentle as they ghosted over his body and made him shiver with sensation and something that different was valid enough to distract him from his issues

 

Heero eased Duo down on his back, the bed catching him, and Heero moved over him. He moaned as Heero released his mouth, only to gasp as those hot lips kissed and nibbled their way along his jawline to his ear. He thought he heard a small sound of arousal from the corner of the bed where Wufei was surely watching them.

 

It seemed that they he had not imagined the sound since Heero looked up, his body still pinning Duo to the bed, and glanced over his shoulder at Wufei. “Do you have any requests?” he asked his voice strangely hoarse in a way that made Duo feel excited.

 

“You're both wearing far too many clothes.” Wufei, it seemed, was also having some sort of throat problem, Duo thought with an internal smirk.

 

Standing up Heero pushed down his jeans and stepped out of them quickly in a way no one wearing tight jeans should be able to do, and then turned his attention to Duo. Duo tried to keep himself under tight control as Heero carefully and slowly opened his zipper and slid his hands down the sides of Duo's hips, stroking down his legs and pulling the jeans down with the same movement. Duo kept his eyes open, his body relaxed, as Heero gently eased away his underwear as well. A small part of him asked whether giving Heero free reins now would mean Duo was going to bottom later on but his more rational part pointed out that Heero was not the type to go back on his word.

 

Heero dropped the pants on the floor and knelt between Duo's legs, letting his hands wander over his limbs even as his eyes wandered over the lithe form. Duo knew he wasn't exactly a pleasant sight but well, neither Heero nor Wufei seemed to have complained about his skinny legs so far so maybe, they did not dislike them. Somewhat.

 

There was a sound of annoyance from the corner of the bed where Wufei resided and they both looked up questioningly. “Do you think you could move a little bit to the centre,” Wufei asked, his face red with embarrassment but his pants tenting with obvious arousal.

 

“Knew he was the pushy type,” Duo quipped as he scooted backwards so he was no longer lying along the edge of the bed. Heero followed him silently. “Anything else, Master?” he called out teasingly to Wufei who was shifting a little as if to ease the pressure between his legs without touching himself.

 

There was a pregnant silence followed by a flying tube of lube which landed between Duo and Heero on the bed.

 

“You had it on you?” Heero asked, sounding as amused as he could under the circumstances.

 

“No,” Wufei sounded mortified. “I found it on the night stand. I have a feeling either Quatre anticipated this or he wanted to use it himself.”

 

“Well,” said Duo in mock thoughtfulness. “We might have to use it then. What do you think Heero?”

 

In reply Heero looked down at both of their semi-erect states and smirked. He slowly lowered himself so his groin ground against Duo, hard, then drew back again as if to admire the outcome.

 

"Oh," said Duo, staring down at the obvious evidence of Heero's arousal, “it's a good place to start.” He surged forward, using his hands and legs to topple Heero over, and rolled on top of him. He slid one leg around Heero's hips, shifting carefully until he could feel Heero's erection against his own, drawing small breathless sounds from both of them. There was the sound of someone else drawing a sharp breath, Wufei, and Duo realized with a start, he was getting off on someone else watching them. “Remember who's going to top,” Duo told Heero teasingly as he lowered his head for a brief kiss. While the tone was teasing, they all knew Duo was only half joking. He was seeking reassurance that everything was going according to plan.

 

In reply, Heero pulled down Duo on top of him, seeking his lips once again. The kiss went on endlessly, hips thrusting and sliding together until both were trembling and needy. Heero shuddered as Duo licked and nipped his way down his jaw to his throat, then proceeded to explore every inch of that body which was, after all, his to do as he wished. Heero writhed against him, his eyes wide open, his mouth parted slightly, and Duo felt the thrill of being in control. He sat back on his heels, Heero lying beneath him and started to work on the next phase of it. He nibbled his way down the Heero's chest, admiring the scars. He knew almost all of them but never got over the thrill of exploring. He was also learning that this spot produced an aroused gasp, while this spot, an erotic movement of the body under his mouth. He caressed his tongue around the small point of a nipple, grazing it lightly with his teeth. Obtaining both an arching of the body and a slight moan at this maneuver, he tried it on the other side, a bit more sharply, following it up with a deep suckle, holding the nub within his teeth.

 

In reply, Heero pressed his hips up into Duo's abdomen, rubbing his thigh between the muscled legs pinning him down.

 

"Aaaah...." Duo punished the distraction with another sharp bite just below Heero's nipple, but leisurely stroking his tongue along the expanse of skin and deeply into the hollow of his abdomen, tasting sweat and skin.

 

Heero's head fell back on the bed, his body relaxing, his limbs splaying a little bit more as if to indicate that the anticipated event was about to start. Duo knew the drill well enough to pick up the lube from where it had fallen.

 

Heero looked as if he was looking forward to the event; there was no fear in his eyes and Duo felt more anxious about the next step than he had been with Wufei. With Wufei, it had been a desperate bid to mark his territory, to make sure his then boyfriend would not drop Duo in favor of Heero but now, it was more than that. He was trying make sure that Heero did not feel as if he was third wheel in their relationship.

 

Holding Heero's gaze with his own, he opened the lube and squeezed some of it into his hand. He knew Heero could take some pain, he knew Heero was quicker to heal than Wufei if he botched it up, but the point was, Duo didn't want it to be painful or unsatisfactory. He wanted to do it right for the sake of all of them. He moved to stroke a newly slickened finger against the puckered opening and carefully pressed his finger inward, watching Heero's reactions until he had adjusted to the small. Moving and caressing inward, a second finger joined the first, stroking and stretching the opening until Heero was, again, gasping for breath and squirming. He added a third finger, for good measure and scissored his fingers until he could be sure Heero was ready for something bigger. Not that Duo thought of himself a large but still, he was going to do this right. Heero reached out with one hand and clutched Wufei's ankle the only thing within reach.

 

Slowly, Duo removed his hand, used the remainder of the lube on his cock and pressed his cock against the tight opening, pushing steadily until the head slid inside the tight ring, bringing a breathless gasp to both men's lips. Slowly pressing inward, he moved until he rested his head on Heero's shoulder, shuddering with the force of his pleasure, his entire body thrumming with the need to move.

 

Eventually, Heero shifted his legs to gain leverage, and began rhythmically squeezing and tightening around Duo's cock, arching his back as his movements stimulated his prostate. Grinding his hips downward, he pulled back to look deeply into Duo's eyes, taking charge of the situation so that Duo would not flounder around too long.

 

Duo shifted his hands to Heero's hips, helping him to find a rhythm that had both of them panting. Duo felt his thrusts becoming fast, tighter and all he could do was give into his instincts and let his hips do all the work. All too soon, it felt as if the world was about to blow up and then he was coming in uncontrollable spurts, filling Heero, even as he slumped on top of his lover.

 

They both lay gasping for a little while before Duo realized that Heero was still hard and pressed against his hip. He moved sluggishly to touch his lover's erection but his arms seemed to have been made of noodles and his body announced that it was comfortable where it was and did not wish to move. He pulled out of Heero as gently as possible and rolled to the side, still breathing a little in small gasps, trying to get his wits together so he could start working on Heero.

 

But before Duo could sit up, Heero rolled to his knees and climbed over Duo, crawling towards Wufei on his hands and knees. Duo turned his head to watch Heero move like a cat towards their other lover, semen running down the back of his thighs. Duo managed to push himself up to an elbow as Heero reached a flushed and out-of-breath although he was probably also hard Wufei. He watched as the two kissed a little, while Heero gently eased out Wufei's weeping erection. Wufei made a half-hearted sound of protest; Heero smothered it by pushing his hand inside Wufei's pants and between his legs, probably stroking his balls or his perineum.

 

Wufei made a strangled sound and his head fell back as Heero bent down and took his cock in his mouth. Duo sat up slowly - he had not recovered enough to get an erection but the rest of his mind was getting interested in the proceedings. He watched as Heero's dark head bobbed up and down between Wufei's legs and how Wufei's hand stroked Heero's back and then finally found its way to Heero's semen slicked hole. Duo watched Heero being finger fucked by Wufei, while he gave Wufei a blow job and wondered if there was any way he could join the fun. Heero's free hand sneaked between the two of them and from the rhythmic way it moved, it was obvious he was bringing himself to completion as he sucked Wufei.

 

Duo was still debating the issue of joining the other two when Wufei stiffened, his eyes closed, his face contorted into an expression similar to pain and from the way Heero's head jerked it was obvious he had come in Heero's mouth. There was a second delay and Heero's hips gave an answering jerk and Duo knew Quatre was going to have these sheets laundered discreetly.

 

It felt good but at the same time, Duo felt slightly left out as his two lovers panted for breath. Maybe, he should have done more.

 

@@@@

 

“What do you think those three are going to do??” Quatre said with a small smile as he led Trowa into an open balcony. The balcony overlooked the space port and they could see the coming and going of cargo ships, backed by an inky black sky speckled with stars and asteroid beacons.

 

“Talking about world peace,” Trowa said lightly as he walked up to the very edge and placed his hands on the railing.

 

Quatre snorted and moved until he was standing next to Trowa, their shoulders brushing lightly. Trowa looked down, concluded that the bodily contact was not accidental and decided to hold his place and see where it was all headed. He stood silently, watching the blond next to him move a little and swallow a couple of times.

 

Then Quatre finally gave a nervous laugh and said, “This isn't as easy as I thought it'd be.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Trowa agreed though he had no idea whether they were agreeing on the same thing.

 

“I had a talk with Duo and Wufei,” Quatre said.

 

“About whether I was still sleeping with Heero,” Trowa supplied, his voice mild.

 

Quatre's head bowed a little but his shoulder stayed firm. “No,” he said. “About my expectations … of what I seemed to think should be involved in a relationship and …”

 

“Settling for second best,” Trowa supplied.

 

“No.” A firm shake of the head. “About what I was doing wrong.” A sigh, then the fair head turned towards him slowly, and Quatre looked up. “I'm sorry.”

 

Trowa felt his heart freeze, a feeling he was unfamiliar with. “Sorry,” he repeated stupidly. “Why?”

 

“Because I should have done something instead of letting you shoulder the blame while I did nothing,” Quatre said. “I was thinking … that maybe we should start over again.”

 

“W…what do you have in mind?” Trowa asked, hoping it was not along the lines of them meeting new people.

 

“Perhaps a lunch date,” Quatre replied and Trowa blinked in surprise.

 

“I should have made my intentions clear the first time,” Quatre continued. “I expected you to know what I was thinking but it doesn't happen that way. We'll go for lunch and maybe spend the afternoon at the theme park, but we'll not be having sex …” A blush at the words but Trowa kept a blank face and Quatre. “… well, not at first. I want this to start out slow.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Uh,” Quatre faltered. “Never mind, maybe it wasn't such a good idea.”

 

Trowa looked down at his hands gripping the railing so hard, his knuckles were white. “What if …we all go. The five of us.” Safety in numbers and all that, still, he didn't have to act out of character with his friends. Plus, the five of them have never gone out on a group date… unless it was a mission. “Lunch and then the park, and then … if you want, on Tuesday night, there is an opera you might be interested in… we could go for that … just the two of us and then back home. No sex.” There, Quatre was clear on that point so he might as well be.

 

“I'd …like that,” Quatre beamed at him and Trowa wondered if he hadn't made a mistake by agreeing to the no sex clause. “We'll just take it a little slow.”

 

Trowa was not all that dumb. What if Quatre wanted to go slow, he thought. He'd have to get help from Cathy about exactly what that meant but apart from that, it should be fine. And let Quatre take the lead. That way there was less chance of him making any mistakes.

 

“You know,” Quatre said a little hesitantly. “It's been a while since we've played together … I meant music. We've got a fully equipped music room here …right next door… if you'd…”

 

Trowa nodded agreeably and let himself be led into the large, sparse room where Quatre gave him a flute. An original wooden flute, with a faint trail of flowers down the sides. He planned this, Trowa thought as he started to play. He continued to play when a hand settled on his shoulder gently and another wound around him. He played a few shaky notes as a body pressed against his back and lips pressed to the back of his neck with difficulty.

 

Finally, he put aside the flute to turn around and pick up the person who was making his fingers clumsy and stiff. As they kissed Trowa decided that things were not as bad as he thought they'd be. Putting his life in danger seemed to have brought out Quatre's aggressive side. So what if things were going to go slow and touching below the waist was strictly prohibited for now. Maybe in a couple of years, they might even be able to jerk off each other.

 

@@@@

 

Zechs looked around and heaved a sigh of relief. They were all headed back to Earth ... finally.

 

Trowa was sitting beside Winner, absentmindedly fingering a flute, his eyes slightly glazed. Quatre looked as if he'd had a fight with a tiger - and won. At least his hair was mused, his lips were bruised and he had a hickey on his neck. Zechs envied the passion of youth and looked at the people next to the two.

 

Chang was fast asleep, slumped on Yuy's shoulder while Maxwell fidgeted until Yuy put a hand around his shoulder and pulled him closer as well. Out of the five of them, Yuy looked most unlike his usual self, as if he'd found the secret to the cosmic quantum equation and then some. Oh, well, Zechs thought with an internal shrug. Back on Earth, there'll be problems for all of them. Lady Une had passed on two messages to be given to them. One to Chang from some girl called Jasmine or was it Yasmine and one to Maxwell from his school. Still, there was nothing they could do about it since they were in space, so Zechs decided to let them get some rest while they could.

 

Shaun was gazing at him with wide eyed admiration Zechs could see was going to spell trouble in a big way. He was partly to blame for not noticing it before - but maybe it was just a short-lived crush. Kids grew up fast and their preferences changed just as fast. He'd just wait it out. After all, he had also survived Noin.

 

A/n -most of Heero's insecurities have been dealt with. Now he knows the other two want him for sure. I just have to deal with Wufei and Duo and let's not forget, Quatre and Trowa.

 

And Shaun. It's not nice to leave him hanging. Sort of.