Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Picture ❯ Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Duo woke early to the sound of birds and the rustle of the breeze through his window. Over breakfast he told Quatre everything that had transpired at the party.

Quatre was excited and listened as Duo described the meeting with Heero Yuy - all except the kiss they had shared and he still throbbing effect it had on him.

Duo hadn't slept well, fighting dreams that left him confused when he had awakened. All day long he expected to see Heero Yuy at his door at any moment, but the day passed with no sign of him. Duo spent the day alternating between hoping and fearing that he would find him.

By the time he went to bed that night he was filled with conflicting emotions. He knew that Milliardo couldn't come to him, but he felt abandoned and totally inadequate to handle the problem.

Now he lay in bed and, for a stolen moment, allowed his memory to slip back to the ball and Heero.

He licked his dry lips, feeling the pressure of his mouth lingering on them. A pressure that had, in all honesty, not been unwelcome. He had never before felt the way he'd felt when Heero held him prisoner those few seconds.

He was just beginning to realize how difficult this situation promised to be. How confident he had been! How simple he had thought it would be to find out where Heero had hidden what Milliardo wanted, and take it. Bit when he had looked up into the deep blue ocean of Heero's eyes, it was the first time he truly considered the depth of the water he was in and wondered if swimming in it was going to be quite so easy.

Duo rose, bathed and dressed in a golden brown riding habit. He hated to think of Treize Krushrenda, but today he was grateful that he had had one of his grooms teach him to ride. He walked to the stables, where he found Wufei and Sally already awake. The three of them had never shared a word the whole time he had been in the Round. He began to wonder if they had ever been able to trust anyone but Dorothy and Catherine.

"Wufei, will you saddle that mare in the first stall?"

He nodded and moved to comply with Duo's wishes.

From the far end of the stable, Sally, comfortable on a bale of hay, watched him.

Why should he care if these two trusted him or not was beyond him, but he did.

He waited until the horse was saddled and led to his side. Then he prepared to mount. But Wufei reached out a caramel hand to grip his arm. His hold was gentle, but Duo knew he could snap his arm in two if he chose. He looked up at him and waited to see what his reasons were.

"You ride far?" His voice rumbled like thunder in a summer storm.

"No, not really. I'll stay on NightWind property. I just need some exercise."

"Good. If you don't come back my midday meal, I will come for you."

"You needn't worry about me, Wufei, I'll be just fine."

"Dorothy says you are to be protected," he repeated as if he were too young and foolish to understand. "I will come."

Duo realized that it was going to do him absolutely no good to argue, so he nodded and smiled. Wufei helped him mount without another word.

When Duo was gone, Sally rose and walked to Wufei's side, draping an arm around his waist.

"He is stubborn, that one," she said, smiling.

"Yes, but he is a child. Dorothy says he walks with a lot of danger. She does not want anything to happen to him."

As if this were the final word, Sally nodded. "Then we will have to see that this child does not fall down and get hurt." Wufei soon matched her soft laugh.

Duo rode slowly. He was not by any means an expert horseman and he was till awed by the magnitude of the estate. Milliardo had hinted that one day they might buy it and live there together.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to envision how if would be if he and Milliardo lived here. But he blinked them open abruptly when a pair of blue eyes came between him and the dream he sought.

As if to force him from his mind, Duo kicked his mare into a run. He raced along until he could feel his mount growing weary. He reined the mare to a halt, dismounted, and led her to a small stand of trees where he could sit in the shade while the mare rested and grazed.

He was among the trees before he realized that another horse grazed there. He looked around and froze. Seated on a fallen log, Heero smirked and watched him. There was no way that Duo was going to let him intimidate him into mounting and riding away.

"Sir, you are trespassing on my property," he said, trying for arrogance.

"I've been waiting for you to pass this way."

"Impossible. You had no way of knowing I was going to ride this morning. And why would you wait for me?"

"Why, Aphrodite," he chided with a small grin, "I believe we have some unfinished business."

"Aphrodite?" His smile matched his grin. "Have you fallen from your horse and addled you brain? I don't think you are in the right century. If I am mistaken, Aphrodite was a myth . . . a creature of legend."

"No the Aphrodite I've met. He is warm flesh and blood. No myth could be so real."

He rose and walked closer, and again Duo was bombarded with the same sense of leashed power he had felt the night of the ball. Over a head taller than him, he was so broad-shouldered as to be intimidating. Duo refused to step back, no matter how over-powering he was.

His fawn colored breeches fit his muscled legs perfectly, and his high boots and deep green jacket completed the picture of a magnificently handsome male.

"You never answered my question."

"What question was that?" he asked softly. He seemed to be concentrating on his mouth, and Duo was filled with the disturbing thought that he meant to kiss him.

"How did you know I would ride this way?"

"I was on the ridge when I saw you leave, and the direction that you were going. I knew you had to pass this way."

"The ridge is still my property. Why do you trespass?" lord, how he wanted to run! Heero's gaze was now holding his relentlessly. He reached out and gently took a wayward strand of his hair between his fingers.

"Ah, Aphrodite," he said, "after the other night I would trespass on Mount Olympus to see you again."

"Very romantically said, sir," Duo laughed. "But your continued reference to Aphrodite baffles me. Where did you meet this . . . goddess of yours?"

"You're going to deny sharing a moment with me? I am crushed. I was certain you would remember. You left too soon. I never had the opportunity to unmask you."

"Then how can you claim it was me?" He was beginning to enjoy the exchange.

"Because" - his voice lowered and warmed until it washed over Duo like melted honey - "the copper of your hair, the violet of your eyes . . . and the softness of your lips reveal the truth. Shall we test my theory . . . just to prove the truth?" He had released Duo's hair and his fingers traced the slender column throat to touch lightly the pulse at the base of Duo's neck. Through the tips of his fingers he could feel his heart racing. It surprised him. His reaction did not seem to be consistent with that of an accomplished courtesan. Instead he suddenly seemed very young . . . and very vulnerable.

The game had gone on too long for Duo's comfort. As he bent close, his lips a breath away from his, Duo stepped away.

"You win, my lord. I admit to being the Aphrodite of the ball. But the game is finished and the masks are gone. I do not even know your name."

/The masks are gone. / He heard his words, but wondered if there was still another mask in place.

"My name is Heero Yuy, and yours is Duo Maxwell."

Duo was a bit shaken by his statement. As Milliardo had said, it had not taken long for Heero to find him.

"Heero Yuy." He smiled wickedly. "I have heard your name before. Perhaps we have discovered each others identities from the same source."

"Perhaps," he agreed amiably. He had no intention of answering Duo's unspoken question. Gossip, he imagined, had already told him too much. "I have an estate a few miles from here. Now that we are such good companions, perhaps you would be a guest at a dinner I am having at WingStar next week."

"I am alone here. I cannot come unchaperoned to your home. It would be scandalous."

"Yet, you came to Lord Carter's ball . . . alone."

"But" - Duo looked innocent - "behind a mask one is safe from gossip. I left before the masks were revealed."

"I know. I tried to find you." Heero said those revealing words so honestly that Duo knew they were the truth.

"Why?" he asked without thinking.

"Because I wanted to see you again. You must not look in your mirror often if you have to ask why. You are a lovely person, Duo Maxwell, and I would like to know you better. Come to dinner next week. You will not be alone. I've invited a great many people, and a number of my family will be there. If you would not be displeased, I could come for you myself."

"Then I see no cause for me not to attend. Besides, we are practically neighbors."

"Yes, and I'm a firm believer in being neighborly." Heero touched Duo's arm and motioned to the fallen log where he had first seen him. "Sit with me for a while."

Duo agreed. This was how he and Milliardo had planned it. They would get acquainted casually, talking, becoming friends.

When Duo and Heero reached the log, it was higher than he thought. Without a word Heero placed his large, strong hands about his slim waist and lifted his easily.

Now it was Duo who looked down on him. He stood close enough that his shoulder brushed Duo's legs. Duo folded his hands in his laps quickly, shocked by the urge to rest one on his shoulder.

Duo cautioned himself to not let his attraction to him be too obvious, but he felt as if he were caught in the strong current and had lost control over his own destiny.

When Heero Yuy set out the charm, he had no peer. He told Duo anecdotes of Victoria's court, and in a short while he had Duo laughing. He laughed, but Duo filed away the information that he had never been to court and knew nothing of the intrigues at work there.

Duo's laughter was soft and pleasing, and Heero found himself refreshed by his seeming innocence and his straightforward good humor. He found himself relaxing some of the walls of caution he had long ago built for protection.

He teased Duo with delightful stories of fashions and frivolities at court, and enjoyed the flush on his cheeks and the interest with which he listened and questioned. It had been a long, long time since Heero had been so unguarded, and he had to caution himself to be careful.

"Oh my," Duo said nervously. He caught his lower lip between his teeth, and Heero followed his gaze to find someone riding toward them.

A dark man with an equally dark stallion was riding towards them. A deep glare set in his features.

"Who is that?"

"That is my . . . my coachman," Duo giggled, and Heero was again caught up in his mischievous yet sweet nature.

"He looks like -"

"I know. Please don't say anything. Wufei is somewhat sensitive."

"Hn," Heero stood up straighter as the rider approached.

Duo put out his arms to rest on Heero's shoulders and Heero gripped his waist. But lowered him so slowly that by the time his feet touched the ground, heady awareness had come between them.

Both turned to face Wufei as he rode up to them.

"I'm sorry, Wufei. We were talking and I forgot about my promise. I shall ride back with you."

Wufei only nodded, and Heero did not speak at all. He was contemplating Wufei with a puzzled gaze. Wufei was not he kind of person one forgot, and Heero was certain that he had seen the dark man somewhere before, and in very different circumstances.

Duo was mounted and ready to leave when Heero's attention was drawn back to him.

"Must I wait until next week to see you again, Aphrodite? That is too cruel to contemplate."

"I cannot bear cruelty of any sort," Duo laughed. "We would ride together tomorrow afternoon at two, if you like."

"I shall be delighted."

"Until then," Duo replied. He rode away with Wufei. Wufei was silent on the ride home, despite Duo's efforts to strike up conversation.

It was late that night when he talked to Sally about his concern.

"Wufei, is there a problem?" Sally asked, cuddling up to him in bed.

"I don't know. I think it would be best if I remained out of Heero Yuy's sight for the rest of the time we are here."

Why?"

"I saw a look in his eyes. He believes he has seen me before. He just doesn't remember where or when. If he sees me again it might jog his memory."

"Where has he seen you?"

When Wufei explained, Sally agreed. They would make sure that Wufei did not come in contact with Heero Yuy again.

Until Duo and Wufei had disappeared from sight, Heero stood thoughtfully watching. His brow furrowed deep in concentration, and he absently slapped his riding crop methodically against the palm of his hand.

He prided himself of many things. One was an excellent memory. More than once, his ability had saved his life.

Ignoring everything around him, he centered his concentration. He flipped though his memory as one riffles through the pages of a book. Then suddenly he stiffened, and a slow smile crossed his face.

"Well," he said quietly, "I'll be damned."

When he arrived home he called for a servant, hastily wrote a note, and sent the servant on his way.

He didn't expect the servant back until long after the next morning's ride. But he had misjudged the man's fervor. He was back before Heero started upstairs to bed.

The message he was given was one he had to read twice, before he destroyed it and sent again for the servant.

"Has my mother arrived?"

"Yes sir" - the servant smiled - "and your sister accompanies her."

"Oh, Lord." Heero chuckled. "And how long do we have to put up with her."

"From what she says, indefinitely."

"Then secure the house; we're in for a storm."

"Miss Juanita seems quite calm, sir."

"She always does, Stevens, she always does."

Heero continued up the steps to his mother's room. He knocked, and when he heard her gentle voiced response, he opened the door and went inside.

It never ceased to amaze him that a woman as delicate as his mother could have given birth to two such as him and his sister.

His mother sat in a high-backed chair near the window, and Juanita had obviously been kneeling before her. She rose when Heero came in. He heard the brilliance of her laughter as she ran up to him and threw herself into his arms.

He caught her up and spun her around. When he stood her back on her feet, they exchanged a smile of understanding.

"Who's chasing you this time, Nita?"

"Can't I come home for a while without you jumping to conclusions?" she laughingly asked in response.

"When you come home I always expect a bevy of those court fops to be right on your heels. Tell me I'm wrong."

Morgana Yuy smiled at her children. This same argument, or discussion, had been going on since Juanita had come of age.

Heero crossed the room and bent to kiss his mother's cheek. When the two were together there could be no denying the kinship between them. Morgana had the same blue eyes she had given both her children, but her nature was echoed more in Heero than in Juanita.

"Mother, I've come to ask a favor," Heero said as he moved away to sit on the edge of her bed.

"A favor? What?" Morgana asked in lightly accented tones.

"I want you to have a dinner party. In fact" - he grinned - "I've already invited a guest."

"You invite a guest and then inform me I must have a dinner party. Don't you have a few things backwards?"

"It was important at the time."

"Let me guess," Juanita said. "The `guest' happens to be a very beautiful person. Don't tell me," she said, pretending amazement; "a new face, one that hasn't succumbed to the famed Heero Yuy charm."

"All right, a dinner party," Morgana agreed. "Do you have special guests in mind?"

"Yes, I'll have a list ready for you tomorrow. But our first guest will be our new neighbor at NightWind Hall . . . a Duo Maxwell." He started for the door. "I'll be back later," he said, and then he looked at Juanita. "Nita, come walk with me to the stable."

As they walked slowly through the garden Juanita was the first to speak.

"I've brought some letters for you, and a piece of advice from Lord Spencer."

"That old bugger is always full of advice."

"He worries about you, Heero. He thinks of you as a son."

"I know . . . I know, Nita, when you were at court, did any of these four men - Sir J, Lord O, Doktor S, or Milliardo Peacecraft - seem to be sponsoring any special guests, any new-comers?"

"No, not that I've seen."

"I want all four invited to dinner. It's important. "

"I wish I knew what you were involved in, Heero. You haven't been the same person for the past few months."

"I've got a few problems to solve."

"Can I help?"

"I'm counting on you."

"If you're counting on me, " she chuckled wickedly, "then tell me about this new person . . . and how beautiful they are."

"I don't know anything about him, but yes, he's very pretty."

"How interesting."

"Yes . . . interesting."

"Why, brother dear" - Juanita stopped and looked at Heero in surprise - "you really are interested. My, I'll have to meet him. What does dear Hilde think about this?"

"Don't listen to gossip."

"Heero, really. I'd be careful if I were you. Hilde Carter is not to play with. What did you say was our new neighbor's name?"

"Duo Maxwell."

"Duo Maxwell . . . I've never heard of him."

"And neither have I," Heero said quietly.

"How mysterious."

"Yes."

"Leave it to you to find a person of mystery. I'd be willing to stake my inheritance that you'll solve the mystery before too long."

"Don't doubt it for a minute, Nita," he said grinning.

"And I'd like to meet him. He has no idea how rare it is to see you . . . excited about something or someone."

Heero smiled and changed the subject. This intrigued her even more. She would never doubt Heero's ability to deal with just about anything, but she had an instinctive feeling that this time he was involved in something he did not want to share completely with his family.

The following day Duo was waiting his riding habit when Heero arrived. He introduced Quatre to him as his cousin and invented a background, which he did not believe for a minute.

But the ride was sheer pleasure. It was obvious that Duo was at ease and prepared to enjoy the say, and they did.

He found Heero to be witty, well educated, and well traveled. All of which opened doors of imagination in Duo's mind. Heero, however, was finding Duo an enigma. He was naïve and avidly interested; he could see the excitement dance in his eyes. He was so uniquely different from everyone at court, or for that matter, anyone he had ever known, that he found himself responding to him in a totally new way. What developed wasn't just desire; he had tasted all kinds of desire. What transpired was the rebirth of untainted and open response, an unguarded pleasure, and he reached for it carefully . . . unsure of himself as never before.

He recognized at once that he was cautious about talking of his past. Still, the lovely body, the beautiful young face, and innocent eyes of Duo Maxwell could not hide anything sordid. He recognized another surprising fact: he wanted him. This was not his usual cautious way at all. The people he'd always had to deal with were experienced and usually had ulterior motives the same as he. But Duo . . . Duo was . . . different.

When he left him that afternoon, Duo was quite pleased with himself and the day. There had been no . . . aggression instead he had felt warmed by his interest and attention.

He'd found himself inviting him for lunch the next day. As far as Duo was concerned, the plan was back on track. He had been invited into his home, and he was in control of himself once more. Surely he would eventually find the way to the secret that held Milliardo prisoner.

Heero have come nearly every afternoon, and Quatre was acutely aware of the sparkle in Duo's eyes and the aura of happiness about him.

Now, Quatre lay across Duo's bed on his stomach while he watched Duo put the finishing touches on his toilette in preparation for the dinner party.

"That gown is absolutely beautiful, Duo," Quatre said with enthusiasm.

"Milliardo has marvelous taste, doesn't he?" Duo agreed.

"He hasn't contacted you since you came. Has he told you exactly what you'll be looking for?"

"Yes. It's a brown leather packet with a royal seal on it. Inside are half dozen or so letters. Perhaps I may be lucky enough to find where it's kept. Then" - his voice slowed as if a new and not quite welcome thought had come to him - "there will be no need for this to go on any longer."

"And you and Milliardo can marry." Quatre said watching his friend closely.

"Yes." Duo spun away from the mirror to look directly at Quatre. "Quatre, why do I get the idea that you think that what I am doing is somehow wrong? A terrible injustice has been done to Milliardo."

"I never said such a thing. I'm here, aren't I?"

Duo inhaled a deep ragged breath. Because of his own uncertainties he was striking out at the person who cared for her the most. He didn't understand himself anymore. Fervently he wished that Milliardo were there.

"I'm sorry. I . . . I guess I'm just nervous."

"Of course you are. You're not used to all this underhanded maneuvering. Why not spend one evening just enjoying yourself and try to forget the reason you're here? One night of fun won't spoil the whole thing."

Before Duo could answer, there was a knock of the door. Quatre rose quickly to his feet.

"That's Wufei. I told him to let us know as soon as the carriage comes up the drive."

Duo turned back to his mirror, but his gaze held Quatre's reflection. For a moment they simply looked at each other, then Quatre turned away. Duo stood very still, his gaze turning to himself. He had thought for a moment that Quatre's eyes held . . . what? Pity? Sympathy? No, he must be wrong . . . he must be.

Heero stood waiting before the fireplace and he turned as Duo entered. He stood for a moment in the doorway, and Heero stored away the memory of how beautiful and how young he looked.

"Duo." He said his name softly. Then he crossed the room to stand close to him. "How lovely you look."

"Thank you. Heero, you really didn't have to come all this way to accompany me. I could have come myself."

"No," he said, smiling, "there will be too many people around all evening. This might be my only opportunity to see you alone." He took on of Duo's hands in his and raised it to his lips. Their gazes held and Duo shivered at the touch of his warm mouth. The memory of his kiss, the feel of his lips on his, was so intense he found himself holding his breath for fear he would display an emotion he didn't want and couldn't afford.

"It is quite a trip perhaps we should go." His voice was the same velvet as always and it stroked his nerves.

"Yes." Duo withdrew his hand before he followed the urge to move into Heero's arm. This man was capable of eliciting feelings that were dangerous. He knew his reputation. Hadn't Milliardo warned him?

But there was no turning back. Milliardo needed him, and perhaps this man needed a disappointment or two to prove to him he wasn't fatal to every person he met.

Inside the closed carriage Duo realized that they would be in very close proximity during the trip to his home.

Duo searched desperately for a topic of conversation to break the intent blue gaze that seemed to be penetrating his soul.

"You have said some members of you family will be at dinner?"

"Yes, actually all of my immediate family. My mother spends a month or two a year here with me and the balance of the time with my sister. Nita will be there too" - he smiled - "and dragging her away from court is a feat in itself."

"Nita?"

"Pet name. Her name is Juanita, but she's been Nita to me since childhood."

"She's married?"

"She was. Her husband died three years ago."

"Oh, how terrible." Duo bent toward him. " Are there children?"

"One, my niece. She is going to be the heartbreaker her mother is. She already had my mother and me wrapped about her little fingers."

"A heartbreaker?" Duo laughed softly. "Will she take lessons from her uncle?"

"A heartbreaker? My dear one, I must put the lie to any rumors you may have heard."

"I was always told there had to be a touch of flame wherever one scents smoke."

"By your mother, I presume?" Heero's smile faded when he realized in some way Duo had left him. He had closed a part of himself away like the petals of a flower furling in upon itself.

"I'm afraid." He said quietly, "that I never knew my mother."

"I'm sorry. Duo, I didn't mean to hurt you.' Heero was cognizant that this was the first personal glimpse that he had gotten into Duo's lift since they had met. For a strange reason it filled him with a sense of protectiveness.

"Tell me about you niece," Duo said with a forced smile. Heero knew there had been a door closed between them. A door he meant to open again.

Heero told Duo of his niece, five-year-old Ebony, with her long ebony hair and blue eyes, of her charm and her mischievous nature. As he warmed to his subject, Duo watched him closely, trying to match this man, so obviously filled with love for a five-year-old child, with the scoundrel and blackmailer Duo knew him to be. It was like the piece of a puzzle that didn't fit no matter how he turned it about.

When the carriage turned up the drive, Duo could see the house. All the windows blazed with light.

At the door his butler, Rickson, who took Duo's cloak, welcomed them. Heero could read his face well, despite the fact that Rickson had learned from long years in Heero's employ to remain impassive. He smiled at Rickson and winked, at which Rickson looked highly offended and walked away.

When Heero escorted Duo within, it was to find that only his mother and sister there. The rest of the guests had yet to arrive.

"Duo, may I present my mother, Lady Yuy, and my sister Lady Stonecrest. Mother, Nita, this is Duo Maxwell, our newest and I hope permanent neighbor."

Duo could see his dark coloring and his mane of black hair. His Japanese ancestry was obvious in Morgana. His blue eyes were the same cobalt as his mother's.

"How do you do, Duo?" Morgana's voice was gentle and she kept her surprise to herself. This was not the usual sort of person that Heero had brought around, and she liked the way that he looked at Duo. While all the experienced people of the court had never truly captured Heero's attention for any length of time, this child seemed to hold a fascination for him.

If Morgana was aware of this, Juanita was even more so. She had worried over her brother for years and had had watched him immerse himself in court intrigue long enough. She thought Duo must less of a child than her mother did. She had just the right innocence to capture Heero who would laugh and play with someone with easy virtue, but who was entirely out of his element with person who did not use pretense, guile, and other devious methods to get a man or woman into their bed.

"Heero," Morgana said as she patted the seat beside her for Duo to sit, "you did not tell us how pretty he was. Duo, are your parents here as well? I really must call on them."

"I'm afraid that except for my cousin Quatre, I am quite alone at NightWind Hall," Duo replied. "I . . . I have no other family."

"Oh, how dreadful,' Juanita said quickly. "Then you must come to visit often."

"And you must come to NightWind Hall. Heero had told me about your daughter. She sounds enchanting. It would be a pleasure for me to have all of you for lunch one day soon."

"So, Heero has told you of my little minx. You might not be so enchanted once we loose her on you," Juanita chuckled.

"No, oh no, I should love to have you. You have no idea how good it would be to hear a child's laughter in my house."

"Then I shall bring her along and we will see how long you last before you scream for help."

Heero was glad Duo's attention was on his sister because at his words an astonishing picture had blossomed in his mind: Duo, his copper hair loose about him, a warm and sated look on his face as if he had come from the warmth of bed, and a child on his lap . . . their child! The sudden thought left him breathless.

He could not believe himself. Duo couldn't be more than nineteen or twenty, and he had passed his twenty-fourth year. He was a child, an innocent child, and he was a man who had seen too much to believe there was anything new and exciting left to discover.

He allowed the conversation to flow around him for a while until it was interrupted by the arrival of new guests.

Sir J and his wife Melanie were the first, followed within minutes by Lord O and his wife Meiran. Next came Doktor S who was accompanied by his sister Martha S.

Obviously the guests were long-time friends of the Yuys, because the atmosphere was one of warmth and welcome. Heero was pleased to see how well Duo seemed to fit in, both in this home and in the midst of his family.

If Duo was fighting anything, it was the continual battle what he believed of Heero and what he could see.

He needed Milliardo. He needed him to tell h9im what was true and what was a charade. He had lost track of what Juanita was saying to her because he had sensed Heero's eyes on him and had turned to look at him. Again he felt the magnetism in the depths of his blue eyes.

Duo was held by it until a new look came over his face. If he hadn't thought it unbelievable, he would have sworn it was a look both furious anger and deep burning hatred.

Duo followed Heero's gaze to the doorway, and saw framed within the polished wood portal . . . Milliardo Peacecraft.

TBC!!