Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Lining ❯ Silver Lining ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: drl451

Silver Lining

By DRL

“Oh Yeah, alright

Take it easy baby, make it last all night

She was an American girl...”

Duo Maxwell reached out and turned the knob that controlled the volume on his car stereo, cranking it louder. His voice rose a decibel or two as he sang along to the song that bellowed forth from the powerful speakers. As he observed the neatly trimmed lawns of the front gardens belonging to the houses of the residential suburb he was driving through, he began to wonder whether he had perhaps taken a wrong turning. Surely he should be seeing The Sound by now?

He looked about him but saw nothing but the lawns flanking the long driveways that led to the large houses that populated the area.

“There's money here”. Duo said aloud as he drove along.

As the lawns got neater, the driveways longer and the houses larger, Duo began to wonder whether he ought to stop and consult a map.

“Goddamn sat. nav. system,” He growled as he shot an accusatory glance at the road diagram displayed on the small LED screen attached to his dashboard, “never did trust it.”

A small cursor, which purported to indicate his current position, blinked steadfastly at him from the screen, practically on the banks of what appeared to be a large body of water - The Sound that Duo sought. He looked round again and saw only lawns, driveways and houses..., then suddenly his car was screeching to a halt. As finely honed and razor-sharp as his reflexes were, the telltale judder he had felt beneath the wheels just before the car halted told him that he had been too late. He pulled over to the edge of the road and scrambled down from his lofty SUV, reluctant to see what it was he had struck but resigned to the fact that he had to.

It was a cat. A very large, ginger cat with long, fluffy fur and a magnificently bushy tail. At first Duo had entertained the hope that perhaps the animal was not dead but only wounded, but as he left his car and ran across to where it lay in the middle of the carriageway, he saw the glassy, sightless stare of the animal's amber eyes, and he knew at once that there was no life there. He was surprised and not a little relieved to see that there was no blood or mess of any kind. The cat was just dead.

Duo knelt beside the body, gently stroking the animal's soft fur. He felt a profound sorrow as he looked down at what was once a fine beast. Although it would be stretching veracity to say that he would not have hurt a fly, he was fond of animals and would never willingly cause them hurt or suffering. As he stroked he realised that buried beneath the ruff of fur around the cat's neck was a leopard-print collar, which had a small, silver medallion attached. Duo bent close to read the medallion.

“ARAMIS,” he read, etched in bold copperplate. He turned the metal disc over. There was a phone number on the reverse. Duo though for a moment, then shook his head. No, he decided. He had just killed someones cat, and the very least he could do was to break the bad news to Aramis's owner personally.

He stood up and looked around. The Sound of his emergency stop had obviously raised no curiosity in the local residents, because as he looked up and down the street there was absolutely no sign of life.

“Probably didn't even hear.” He muttered as he thought of the houses at the end of their long driveways.

He looked at the driveway whence the streak of ginger had shot across his path, and decided that this was as good a starting point as any. He retrieved a plaid travelling rug from the boot of his car and reverently wrapped it around the cat's body. Carrying his burden he walked up the driveway.

When he saw the house he stopped in his tracks. He had never before seen an edifice quite so magnificent. The house was in colonial style, with a row of pillars across the front, supporting the roof to a veranda that ran the length of the façade. The house was painted white, and each window had shutters painted a deep forest-green. The double front doors were painted in this same green, as were the large, square planters that were placed between each pillar and from which spilled a beautiful array of pink, yellow and white spring flowers. The house was a masterpiece of symmetrical elegance, but the feature that caught Duo's eye was a faceted glass dome that rose from the centre of the roof. The house rose two storeys and the central window, situated above the front doors, spanned both floors. From this Duo could see that once inside the entrance hall, one could probably look up and see clean through the roof of the house because of the dome.

He approached the house cautiously, but just as there has been in the street, there was no sign of life here either. He climbed the two steps to the veranda and stopped outside the front door. A large, wrought-iron handle emerged from the wall to the left of the door, which Duo took to be the doorbell; he took hold and pulled. He heard a faint chime somewhere within the house, but nothing stirred. He pulled again, heard the chime again and waited. Nothing. He walked along to the end of the veranda, and he saw that it continued on along the side of the house. As he rounded the corner, he realised why it was that he was unable to see The Sound from the road. The veranda along the side of the house looked out across the vast expanse of the azure-blue Sound, and as the shoreline curved around in a wide arc, Duo could see that probably all of the houses he had been driving past had their back gardens leading directly onto The Sound.

As he looked in fascination at the beautiful vista, the unmistakable sound of metal against metal came to him on the breeze. It was the sound of someone opening and closing a very large pair of scissors and hinted at a human presence, at last. Duo turned his steps toward the sound. He walked to the edge of the veranda again and when he reached the end he saw two things. One was the splendid parterre arrangement that filled the lawn between the edge of the veranda on the north side and the shores of The Sound, and the second was a man who was bent over, trimming the hedges of the parterre with an old-fashioned pair of hedge trimmers.

As Duo rounded the corner of the veranda the man straightened his back, looked up and wiped his brow with his sleeve. He looked at Duo and smiled, deep lines creasing the corners of his eyes. He was not young, but not really old either - 55-60 Duo guessed. He was tall and wiry, and had the ruddy, raw complexion of a man who earned his living out of doors. He wore a dusty pair of jeans and a plaid shirt, and from his attire and appearance Duo doubted whether he were the owner of the house, nevertheless, he decided to err on the side of caution.

“Somethin' I can do for yer Sonny?” The man asked amiably. Duo descended the veranda steps and approached, bearing his burden before him.

“Er, do you have a cat, a large ginger one?” He asked tentatively.

“Bless you Sonny,” The man said with a wheezy laugh, “I'm only the gardener, but The Master has a cat.”

“A large, ginger one?” Duo asked again, “Called Aramis?”

“That's him.” The man nodded. “The Master's pride and joy. He's powerful fond of that cat.” Duo's heart sank.

“I'm afraid there's been an..., accident.” He said, and he held out the bundle he carried. The man's eyes widened.

“An accident? Aramis, is he...?” Duo nodded.

“I'm afraid he is. I wonder, could I see The er..., The Master? I would like to explain to him what happened.”

“Sonny,” The man's manner had altered suddenly and he was no longer smiling, “if you've killed The Master's cat, the best thing you can do is put him right back where he fell and get the hell out of here.”

“But I didn't exactly kill him.” Duo protested. “Well yes I did, but I didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident.”

“That won't make no nevermind to The Master.” The man said. He glanced to left and right nervously. “Here, give him to me. I'll put him...”

“No,” Duo said with a decisive shake of the head. “Please go and tell your Master that Duo Maxwell would like a quick word with him.” What the man was suggesting was unconscionable. If this `Master' or whatever he was was as fond of the cat as the old man's words suggested, Duo could never live with himself if he simply left the dead body in the road and slunk away. The old man spat into the bushes and shook his head.

“Okay, it's your funeral Sonny, but don't say I didn't warn you.”

The man walked into the house through a set of French windows that were standing open, and he emerged a moment or so later and beckoned to Duo. Duo quickly followed him through a drawing room, along a corridor and into what appeared to be a study. The man walked so swiftly that Duo had scant opportunity to admire the décor, but from what he could see, the interior of the house was as beautiful as the exterior.

Duo passed through the door that was held open for him and looked around. The room was large but cosy, with cases of books lining its primrose-coloured walls, a mahogany knee-hole desk over by a window and an enormous fireplace, in which a fire was happily blazing, despite the unseasonable clemency of the weather. Two wing-backed arm chairs stood in front of the hearth, angled towards the blaze and as Duo caught sight of them he realised that the room he had taken to be empty was actually occupied, and the occupant sat in one of the arm chairs. Because of the wings of the chair he could see nothing but a pair of legs, encased in well-fitting, dark-coloured slacks and ending in a smart pair of black lace-up brogues, one crossed elegantly over the other. The seated person made no move to show himself, so Duo moved forward towards the chair.

“Sir?” He said hesitantly, “Er, sir?” Duo drew level with the chair and as he did so the legs uncrossed themselves.

“My name is Heero Yuy.”

The occupant of the chair rose and turned to face Duo... and Duo gasped in surprise. His first thought was `My god, the guy's an absolute honey!' His second thought was that he ought to curb his carnal thoughts since his mission here was of the utmost gravity, but that did not prevent him from raking appreciative eyes over his host. Whatever he had expected of `The Master', Heero Yuy was not it. First and foremost, he would have been prepared to bet that the person that stood before him was not a day older than his own 20 years. If he was any taller it was of no significance, and their eyes met each other on a level. It did not escape Duo's notice that he too was being appraised.

As his name suggested, Heero Yuy was of Asian appearance, but his eyes were an uncharacteristic shade of deep blue. His hair was dark, but not quite black, and while it was shorn neatly at the back and sides, it fell in unruly, tousled curls at the crown, also uncharacteristically. He was trim, and although he wore a shirt, Duo guessed that underneath it he had the lean, wiry, powerful build of a whippet, and he forced himself to put aside his carnal thoughts once again.

“Why are you in my house Duo Maxwell?” Heero Yuy spoke in an impassive, inflectionless voice which was itself calm and mellow, but this only served to increase Duo's nervousness.

“Sir...”

“My name is Heero Yuy.” The phrase was repeated, but without rancour.

“Heero, er, Mr Yuy, ,” Duo stammered, but as he spoke he noticed the large, gilt-framed painting that was hung above the fireplace, and his heart sank anew as he thought of the purpose of his visit.

The painting, executed in oils, was of Heero Yuy himself, seated in that very room in one of the wing-back arm chairs before the fire. Curled in his lap was a large, ginger cat with full, fluffy fur. The fingers of the young man's hand were buried in the long fur of the cat's body and the expression that the accomplished artist had painted onto his face as he looked down at the animal could only be described as love.

“It's about your cat Mr Yuy.” Duo said finally. Heero Yuy's brow immediately clouded over.

“Aramis?” He said sharply, his eyes roaming around the room as if searching for the errant beast. Then his eyes alighted on the bundle that Duo carried so carefully, and suddenly tragic realisation dawned.

“I'm afraid there's been an accident” Duo said. “Aramis ran out in front of my car and...”

“Where is he? Give him to me.” Heero Yuy interposed roughly, but despite his tone he took the bundle from Duo as gently as if it were a babe-in-arms. He turned away and carried the bundle to the desk, laid it down and carefully lifted a fold of the rug, exposing the inert body. Although Duo sensed that this was a private moment, he followed, but remained at a discreet distance. He was close enough though to see the look that crossed Heero Yuy's finely chiselled features as he gazed down at his dead pet. It was a look of deep, profound pain, almost akin to grief.

“He was all I had.”

The words were gently spoken, but Duo heard them clearly. He could not bear to see any creature suffer and that included his fellow man. Without hesitation he stepped forward and came to stand beside the other man. Placing a comforting arm about the strong shoulders, he gave a reassuring squeeze.

“I think it was quite quick,” He said gently, “I mean, I'm sure he didn't suffer.”

Yuy turned to Duo, but instead of the accusation and hostility he expected to find written in the other's grief-stricken face, he saw only gratitude an appreciation. Then suddenly the almond-shaped eyes went blank and the expression hardened. Heero Yuy lowered the rug over the body of the cat and glowered at Duo.

“You were driving too fast.” He stated categorically, as if it were an irrefutable fact.

“No, I...” Duo began, then he stopped. Had he been? He couldn't really remember. All he could recall of the accident was that he was looking at the houses that stood where he had expected to see The Sound, then he sensed rather than saw the sudden blur of movement dart out into the road. His reaction was instinctive, but the eventual outcome was inevitable.

“I'm sorry.” Duo said, bowing his head contritely. He didn't bother with any defence on his own behalf. He had killed the pet that this man quite clearly loved. He would not add insult to injury by attempting to exonerate himself in any way. He needed to make restitution, and he could think of only one way in which to do this, albeit maladroitly.

“I can pay you for him.” He said, looking up hopefully. Heero Yuy gave a wry smile.

“Can you?” He looked Duo up and down unabashedly. “I doubt that very much. Aramis was a pure-bred, red-silver tabby Maine Coon. His pedigree is as long as your arm. He is..., was an extremely valuable animal.” His eyes raked over Duo once more. “Can you really pay me for him?”

“Well didn't you have him insured or something?” Duo said sharply, bridling a little at this thinly-veiled aspersion. Yuy smiled grimly.

“Yes, he was insured.” He moved with fluid grace across the room to a small, round deal-table on which stood a decanter filled with a deep burgundy liquid and two crystal goblets. Filling the goblets from the decanter he walked back to Duo and handed one to him. “A glass of wine?” He posed it as a question, but Duo go the impression that refusal was not an option. He accepted the drink and Heero Yuy ushered him back to the fireplace and into one of the arm chairs.

Duo sat down and took a sip of the wine. It was surprisingly good considering the fact he did not much care for red wines, and he took another hearty sip almost immediately.

“Now listen Mr Yuy,” Duo said firmly, “Perhaps you're right, I can't afford to pay you for your cat, but maybe we could work something out?” He took another mouthful of the wine. As he did so he began to doubt the wisdom of drinking alcohol so early in the day. The wine must have been quite potent because his head was beginning to swim alarmingly and his vision seemed distinctly blurred, and he had only drunk half the glass. “What kind of wine is this?” He asked, holding the glass up to the light and inspecting it as if this could give him some clue as to its nature.

“It's a rare vintage that I had specially imported from Spain. The other man replied. He sat well back in the chair opposite, holding his glass and looking intently at Duo.

“Yeah, well it's quite good.” Duo said, but there was a distinct slur to his words. He blinked once or twice to clear his rapidly clouding vision. “What was I saying...?” What was going on? He was even having difficulty in articulating now because his tongue seemed to be glued to the pit of his mouth. “I can't...” His eyelids felt like lead, and he simply couldn't keep them up any longer, “...pay you...” His eyelids closed over his eyes and his head fell forward onto his chest. The glass slipped from his nerveless fingers, or had someone removed it?

“Oh, I think perhaps you can.”

This was the last thing that Duo heard, then he knew no more.

Heero Yuy eased the brush gently through the swathes of chestnut hair that lay on the pillow. It was long and soft, just like Aramis's fur. He rose and looked down at the prone, naked figure lying on the bed. Such beauty, such perfection. If only it hadn't taken the loss of Aramis to bring this paragon to him. Suddenly the recumbent figure stirred. His eyes flickered and then opened. As Heero watched he saw the incomprehension in the violet orbs give way to fear. Duo, needing no time to gather his wits, strained against the handcuffs that tethered his hands to the wrought-iron bedstead above his head.

“What are you doing, let me go” He said fiercely, but his voice quavered with fear. Heero hastened to calm him.

“Don't be afraid Duo,” he said, stroking the other's cheek lightly with his fingertips, “I'm not going to hurt you. Please don't be scared.” Duo lay still and looked up at his captor. His eyes were still wide with fright, but he seemed to have decided that compliance was his best option.

“You offered to pay me for Aramis.” Heero Yuy said as folded himself onto the bed beside Duo and lay back against the pillows. He stroked Duo's cheek as he spoke. “I'm simply accepting your offer. You asked me if he was insured. Yes, he was insured, but that will only give me money. I don't need money. What about the other things that Aramis's loss will deprive me of? Who's going to reimburse me for those? What about companionship, love and affection? Do you think an insurance company is going to give me those?”

Duo remained silent. He just looked up at Heero with large, wary, unblinking eyes.

“You don't have to be afraid.” Heero continued. “I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I think you'll quite enjoy what I have in mind.” He lowered his face so that his lips were scant millimetres away from Duo's ear. “I saw you looking at me earlier. You liked what you saw didn't you?” Duo swallowed hard and nodded briefly. “Yes, I thought you did.” Heero smiled. He reached out to retrieve the hairbrush he had discarded earlier. As he did this Duo's eyes flashed angrily.

“You bastard!” He hissed. “You unbraided my hair, how dare you?” Heero Yuy looked uncomprehendingly and Duo, then began to laugh uproariously.

“Oh Duo, you are absolutely priceless.” He said as his laughter died to a chuckle. “I drug you, strip you, handcuff you to a bed and the only thing you get angry at is the fact that I unbraided your hair without permission.

“The wine...” Duo said huskily. He was still a little woozy.

“Yes.” Heero nodded. “In pulp fiction parlance, I slipped you a `Mickey Finn'. But don't worry,” He added quickly as he saw Duo's eyes blaze once more, “It was only an herbal preparation so there are no dangerous chemicals coursing through your body. It was wonderfully quick-acting though,” He added distractedly, “I'm quite impressed.”

“What are you going to do with me?” Duo asked. His fear had disappeared and only curiosity marked the query.

“Something I think you will enjoy.” Heero said, and his mouth closed upon Duo's.

He met with absolutely no resistance whatsoever and he relaxed into the kiss, satisfied that the other man was as game as he was. Enforced submission was definitely not the agenda, despite the handcuffs. Duo's willing lips meshed with his and their tongues twined eagerly. The kiss left them both panting. Duo rattled his bonds.

“Let me go,” He said hoarsely, “I want to touch you.”

“I'm afraid not my little minx.” Heero shook his head. “I take it that the price has been agreed.” He said with a smirk.

“Oh yeah.” Duo said in a breathy whisper as he raised his parted lips to those that dipped to meet his.

They kissed long, hungry moments and parted breathless and gasping. Heero drew back and knelt at the edge of the bed, looking down once again at Duo's lean body stretched naked and open before him, and at the same time giving Duo his first sight of his captor's naked body. Duo gazed up at him through shuttering lashes, his full lips parted and his face flushed with excitement. With slow, deliberate motions Heero bent once more and captured Duo's lower lip between his own, sucking it into his mouth, teasing at it with his tongue, nipping with careful teeth. Duo let out a small, huffing moan, then kissed Heero back eagerly, letting his mouth speak for his molten desire as his hands could not.

Heero's strong hands charted a course across Duo's quivering body. Considering the circumstances, he was surprised and delighted to find him so responsive, although he had noticed Duo's obvious interest in him earlier on when they had first met. He nipped at taught nipples with teasing teeth, and elicited a moan of pleasure. The muscles in Duo's slender arms shifted beneath flawless skin as he strained against his bonds. Heero kissed, nipped licked and sucked his way along Duo's torso, across the flat planes of his stomach and down to where his cock rose proudly from a mass of chestnut curls, twitching with anticipation. Heero glanced up and caught Duo's heavy, lust-filled gaze.

“Please...” He implored hoarsely, bucking his hips off the mattress as if in emphasis. Heero, taking pity on him dipped his head and caught the tip of Duo's swollen cock between his lips.

“Oh yeah baby, that's right.” Duo cried out encouragingly.

Heero smiled around the obstacle in his mouth. So Duo was going to prove as voluble as he had imagined. He drew Duo's length into the heat of his mouth and sucked hard, as he withdrew it again. As he repeated the motion Duo bucked his hips in time with Heero's rhythm, effectively thrusting into his mouth. All the while Heero manipulated his own cock into a state of readiness, as Duo's tethered wrists prevented him from aiding in the task. He ministered to Duo in this manner for some time, delighting in the passionate writhing and the moans of pleasure that his attentions drew from his lover. He sensed though that Duo would last only a little longer before reaching a shuddering climax, and he had other things in mind before he would permit that to happen, so he decided to curtail the oral teasing before the fun ended prematurely. As he had anticipated, Duo cried out in protest, but he moved back up the pinioned body to merge their lips, allowing Duo to taste his own seed in his lover's mouth, pressing their hot, pulsing members together between flat abdomens.

Heero broke the kiss and drew away as Duo reached after his retreating mouth with an eager tongue. He retrieved a small jar from the nightstand beside the bed and sat up between Duo's open thighs. With warm, steady hands lubricated in the fragrant unguent, Heero prepared his lover. Carefully introducing slick fingers into Duo's tight entrance, he anointed and stretched as Duo writhed beneath him, and when he deemed him sufficiently prepared, Heero took his place between Duo's sprawled legs and tended to his own member with the slick ointment. Duo sent him a heated, sultry look as Heero hooked gentle hands beneath his knees, lifting his thighs to ease his entry.

“Duo...” He breathed before pressing forward, forcing his rigid length into the ready, welcoming heat of Duo's body.

Duo held his gaze, fire and passion blazing in the violet of his eyes, pure pleasure stretching his flushed features. “Heero...” he gasped, eyes sliding closed and his head tipping back between his pinioned arms.

Heero groaned thickly, driving his hips forward, releasing Duo's legs and tucking his thighs close against his waist as he planted his palms firmly on the bedspread to either side of his lover's body, and settled into an involuntary, powerful series of powerful, rolling thrusts. Head raised to meet Duo's eyes, he laboured to bring as much pleasure as possible to both their straining bodies. Duo cried out beneath him, rising to meet each thrust, lean legs wrapped tightly around Heero's narrow hips. To further heighten Duo's pleasure, Heero shifted to support himself on his knees and proceeded to pump his lover's swollen cock mercilessly with a powerful fist.

For endless minutes they moved together in the age-old primal dance of love then, the intensity eventually consumed them, each crying out the other's name as they simultaneously climaxed, Heero's seed spilling into Duo's passage like molten lava and Duo's gushing forth like a geyser, coating them both.

As they lay together beneath the coverlet, tired but sated, Heero inspected Duo's chaffed, raw wrists on which angry red welts were just beginning to form.

“I'm sorry, I suppose I should have got cushioned ones.” Heero said. Duo gently withdrew his hand from Heero's grasp and laid his head on his smooth, hairless chest, wrapping his arms about the Japanese man's body and snuggling for all he was worth.

“Don't worry about it,” He murmured contentedly, “I know a good store where we can get some fur-lined ones.” Heero's broad grin went unseen by Duo and he continued. “I'm really sorry about Aramis.”

“So am I,” Heero sighed, and he stroked Duo's hair, “But I've a feeling I'm going to get over it quite soon.”

[Song lyrics from `American Girl' by Tom Petty]