Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Enemy Lines ❯ Lemonade, Anyone? ( Chapter 9 )

Behind Enemy Lines

By: rainjewel

Chapter Nine: Lemonade, Anyone?

A/N: Today is August 26, 2001, and I haven't posted a damn thing yet. It's Chapter Nine and the only person who's reviewed this tale is my dear Amanda. And if your reactions to Chapter Eight are similar to hers, then boy am I in trouble! Oh and yeah, this is where I try to take the plunge.

~*~

Dilandau slowly opened his eyes, awakening from a blissfully dreamless sleep. His eyes felt funny to him, hot and sore like an overworked muscle. He didn't know it, but Dilandau was experiencing the wonderful puffy-eyed feeling that people are rewarded with after they have been crying for a long period of time. This was a new sensation; he had never cried openly or for so long a duration, except when he had been taken advantage of originally.

For a long time, he had tried to simply forget about what Zlain had done to him. And, for the most part he had succeeded. He never let it get in the way of his work. He was flawless, up until the time Celena began popping up again. Then he had lost it. However, he never allowed anyone to touch him. Human touch seemed to trigger the memories of the horrid night, and Dilandau couldn't, and wouldn't deal with his painful past. Of course (when he wasn't battling the Schezar girl or involved in warfare) he plotted the murder of the Madoushi and torturing (and eventual death) of Zlain. Now that the actual deed was done, he realized that he never really got around to torturing the bastard. That was all right, Zlain was dead, and that's all that mattered in the end.

Dilandau sighed and closed his eyes again. Gently he nuzzled the crook of Van's throat, taking comfort from the boy-king's heat. Van hadn't been able to fall asleep in a sitting position, so he'd simply fallen onto his back with his arms still around Dilandau. The red-eyed boy was still firmly attached to Van's shirt with his hands, but he lay to the side of him, resting his head on Van's shoulder. It was the first time Dilandau had actually been held or touched without feeling any discomfort whatsoever. There was no fear in his chest, just a calm peace that he had never experienced before. Instead of Van's touch making him anxious, he felt safe for the first time in his life.

"Thank you, Pigeon," Dilandau whispered softly to Van's slumbering ear. He kissed him lightly on the throat. He felt so tired.

Van breathed in deeply at Dilandau's voice. "Amee hime," he said. Dilandau translated that to a sleepy "any time" and smiled.

"Are you awake?" Dilandau whispered softly, his breath tickling Van's ear. The dark-haired boy turned in towards Dilandau, lying on his side.

"No," he replied. Van's eyes opened and he kissed the tip of Dilandau's nose. For the first time in his life, Dilandau didn't flinch.

He actually smiled. "I find that your answer lacks conviction."

"Sorry 'bout that," Van said, his words sounding clearer. He traced his hand along Dilandau's hair. "How are you doing?"

"I feel like all I do anymore is sleep," Dilandau said truthfully. "And when I'm not doing that, I'm killing things."

Van smiled and ran his fingers through Dilandau's hair some more. "That is all you do."

"Maybe I should get a hobby. Guimel used to collect stamps," Dilandau said, marveling at how good it felt to sit-lie-down and talk about nonsense.

"For some reason I don't see you as a stamp collector," Van replied.

"Neither do I," Dilandau admitted. He gave Van one of his classic smirks. "Maybe I'll take up bird watching. I have a certain feathered individual in mind."

"I'm not a bird," Van complained.

"Nope, you're a pigeon. My pigeon," Dilandau said, closing his eyes once more.

Van kissed Dilandau's forehead. "Goofball."

"Birdboy," the soldier replied.

"Pyroboy."

"Featherbrain."

"Smartass."

"And a good one at that." Van laughed.

"So," he said, his hand once again returning to Dilandau's hair, "What are we going to do now?"

Dilandau opened his eyes. "I don't know. Right now, I just want to stay here, just like we are now." He snuggled as close as he could get to Van, feeling the delicious warmth of the Fanelian boy.

For a blissful moment, nothing was said, only felt. Then:

"I have to get back to Fanelia," Van whispered softly. Dilandau tensed. "Why don't you come with me?"

"You know I can't," Dilandau replied bluntly, "As you said earlier, every single country wants me. And I doubt your people would want the man who burned down their kingdom in their midst."

"I could pardon you. Say that I'm doing it to show Fanelia's peaceable disposition or something like that," Van said thoughtfully. "I am king after all."

"They'll want revenge. You wanted revenge," Dilandau pointed out.

"It was revenge enough that the Zaibach Empire was crushed. Don't worry, I can make it work," Van argued. "I want you to come with me. And I think you should come with me. You're not in this alone."

"And what if the other countries come after me? Am I supposed to be granted asylum? I am the most wanted person on the planet. You'd be risking too much," Dilandau replied.

"When did you begin to worry about what happened to me?" Van asked softly.

"When you saved me from jumping to my death, I think," Dilandau said, closing his eyes in thought.

"That was not one of your shining moments," Van said.

"Who asked you?" Dilandau retorted.

"Dilandau, come with me," Van whispered, returning to the matter at hand. Dilandau thought for a moment, then opened his eyes and raised his head to meet Van's gaze.

"Alright," he replied.

"Thank you. Dilandau…" Van trailed off. He leaned in close to Dilandau, his eyes asking the question that he wasn't able to put into words. Dilandau blinked once, just once, closed his eyes, and then leaned forward to meet Van's lips. The boy-king's eyes closed, and Dilandau felt the Van's hands press against his back, pulling him closer into the kiss. He complied wonderfully and rolled onto his back, letting Van follow, kissing his mouth, chin, and neck.

And this time, he certainly wasn't acting.

In-between kisses, Dilandau cupped the back of Van's head with his hands and looked at his face for a moment. "Van, I…" he trailed off.

Van nodded, then turned and brushed his lips against Dilandau's inner wrist. The albino looked at him with big eyes. Van leaned down and kissed Dilandau sweetly on the mouth, but then broke away and stood up.

"I promise," he began, lending a hand as Dilandau stood, "that I won't do anything you don't want."

Dilandau let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Thank you Pigeon."

"I think we can reach Fanelia by mid-morning if we start riding tonight," Van said, looking up at the sky. "It's twilight, so that'd require being on the move all night." He turned and looked back to Dilandau with a cute grin on his face. "You up to it?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Dilandau replied, rolling his eyes. He turned and began walking to the grazing horse. Van smiled and grabbed the bridle as the other boy saddled the creature, who was not looking at all pleased about the plan. As Dilandau strapped on his sword, Van jumped onto the back of the animal.

"You want front or back? Either way, I get the reins," Van said. Dilandau waved a hand to Van to scoot back, and then vaulted gracefully in front of him.

"Who says you get the reins?" Dilandau asked, leaning back against Van.

"As I recall, this is my horse," Van said. He kicked the animal's sides and began moving.

"Then we need to think about getting another horse," Dilandau replied. He turned his head and gently began suckling the Fanelian boy's neck. Van moaned in the back of his throat.

"Actually," Van murmured, trying to manage riding a horse, talking, and being kissed at the same time, "I like it this way."

Dilandau laughed against Van's throat. "Me too, Pigeon. Me too."

~*~

Moaning and groaning morons, that's all they were.

Van had come to the conclusion that the entire country of Fanelia was being run by dimwits. His advisors were dimwits, and he was a dimwit for keeping them on.

The advisors were mostly men from past political families that had had connections with his father. They had started cropping up since the reconstruction of Fanelia had began, much to Van's annoyance. Without Balgus or the other deceased top generals running around, they had finally strapped on some balls and decided to "aide" their king. Van had let them "council" (a.k.a. "bitch endlessly at him") out of respect to his father.

Now, as the advisors were crowded around him, yelling their displeasure of Van's public statement regarding Dilandau (which went well, he thought), Van was about ready to kill them all. His father couldn't have possibly liked these people, could he? Why were they upset with Van for showing that he was a fair and kindhearted king by allowing Dilandau to reside in Fanelia? Van had absolved Dilandau of his war crimes (towards Fanelia, at least) to show the country's new attitude towards peace. Van had said that if Fanelia still harbored hatred towards the ex-Zaibach commander, that the hatred would spread around the world and continue the faint echoing of the bloody Great War. Fanelia certainly wouldn't want to be blamed for that.

And besides-wink-wink, nudge-nudge-Dilandau could help rebuild the shattered Fanelian Army.

"You are trying to maintain peace, yet you want to build an army with the man who destroyed it in the first place?" asked one advisor. Van didn't even know his name, though he kindly referred to him as Big Ears.

"Dilandau Albatou and peace do not go together!" cried another advisor; this one's name was Crooked Nose.

"Your Majesty, I hate to be blunt, but this won't work," said yet another one…Van actually knew this man's name, but still thought of him first and foremost as Stump Man. Hey, the guy was shorter than him and could easily pass as a small tree.

Van clenched the arms of his throne tightly, head bowed and eyes shut, not hearing a word the men were saying. He waited till the barrage halted, then stood.

"My dear advisors," he said with subtle sarcasm, looking around to the half-dozen men, "I am going to pull rank on this issue and totally disregard all of your opinions."

Van paused while the men's jaws dropped, holding up a hand so as to silence any outbursts that might come forth. Then he continued:

"I am the King of Fanelia. I have lived here all my life and love this country more then anyone could ever imagine. I believe I am doing the right thing. Yes, I am building an army while maintaining a pacifistic rule. Peace will protect this country, but so will an army. I will not see Fanelia burned to the ground because we were without protection in the name of peace! This is not a militia created for conquest, but rather for protection. And think of it…would you rather have Dilandau Albatou as our enemy? I prefer him to be with Fanelia. Let bygones be bygones, gentlemen."

And with that, Van turned and left the room.

He marched down the hall to the private wing of the castle that housed himself and Merle, but now also was the home to Celena and Dilandau. Van stopped by the closed door of Merle's room, and knocked.

"Who is it?" came a muffled voice. It sounded like the catgirl had been crying.

"Me," Van said in a terribly small voice.

"Then I'm not coming out!" Merle exclaimed.

Van winced. "You can't live in there forever, Merle."

"I'll come out when he's dead." She was talking about Dilandau.

"That might take awhile," Van said, his tone teasing.

"Women live longer then men. And he's a soldier, so he'll probably die in battle at the ripe old age of twenty. Four years in my room isn't that long."

"He's still fifteen, that's five years. And that's the most illogical thing I've ever heard."

"More logical then Dilandau Albatou."

"Merle, come out."

"No."

"I, Van Fanel, King of all Fanelia, order you to get your fuzzy butt out of that room this very instant!"

"And I, Merle, Queen of Absolutely Nothing at All, refuse."

"Fine! Have it your way!" Van said, exasperated. He punched the wall to the side of the Merle's door and continued walking down the hallway, fuming. Nothing was going right anymore. The instant he had ridden in with Dilandau two days ago and explained his plans to Merle, she had almost bit through his arm and locked herself in her room, vowing to never leave until Dilandau left. It was becoming quite annoying.

"How did the meeting go?" asked a soft voice from somewhere on his left. Van turned around and saw Celena standing against the wall. Roses had been woven through her golden locks and she held a red bunch in her hands. None of the blooms bore thorns.

"It went pretty well," Van said, turning to face her. "I thought you were with Dilandau."

"I was, but he ran away," Celena said. Van tensed.

"Ran away?"

Celena nodded. "I was telling him that I was going to take him shopping for some new clothes, and his eyes grew really big and he disappeared into the rosebushes. I hope he didn't get cut by the thorns. He took all the thorns off of my roses, but he didn't get to the bushes. Want one?" She held out a newly thornless rose.

"Yes, thank you," Van said, taking the red flower, trying not to laugh. Celena had discovered Merle's flower gardens and had begun picking almost every blossom in sight. He wondered where Dilandau would have gone too.

"You're welcome. I'm going to go to Merle's room now, want to come?" Celena asked, sniffing her roses.

"I was just there, so I think I'll go find our elusive Dilandau," Van said. He smiled even though the thought of Merle's self-imprisonment caused him pain.

"Don't forget to remind him about going shopping!" Celena called, skipping down the hall.

Oh yes, I won't forget that at all. Van chuckled. He tiredly opened the door to his room and all but fell onto his bed. He needed a break. Someone else could be king for the day. No sooner had he closed his eyes, he felt a heavy weight on top of him, and then gentle kisses on his shoulders and the back of his neck.

"Hey there," he whispered, "Heard about your near shopping trip."

"Ah, so you ran into my better half," Dilandau replied. Van rolled over and kissed the pale boy.

"Better half?" he asked. "I like this half."

"Well that's a good thing, or else this would be rather awkward," Dilandau said slyly, leaning in and kissing Van again.

Van was pleased to find that the other boy was in one of his more passionate moods. Loving Dilandau was like trying to feed a wolf right out of your hand. The creature was shy and hesitant, and most of the time you ended up just throwing the meat to the canine anyway. But sometimes, the wolf would walk up and take the food from your fingers. Dilandau was the same way about affection. If he felt like kissing someone, he did it. If he didn't, he didn't. And sometimes he bit you.

"Merle won't come out of her room," Van complained in-between kisses. He felt really terrible about everything he was putting her through. "What should I do about it? I ordered her to come out, and she wouldn't."

Dilandau looked at him as if Van had just asked to be given a purple turkey. "That's simply, break the door down."

"Why am I not surprised?" Van sighed, shaking his head. With Dilandau, every option was a destructive one. He reached up and ran his fingers through Dilandau's hair. He liked his the silky feel of the silver locks.

"So how'd the meeting go?" Dilandau asked, nibbling on Van's throat.

"Just dandy. Told all of my advisors off. By the way, you're in charge of the Fanelian Army," Van said tiredly. Dilandau stopped in mid-kiss and sat up.

"What?" he asked darkly. Van mentally kicked himself and sat up as well.

"I want you to be my top general and command the entire army of Fanelia," Van explained.

"Why?"

"You commanded the Dragonslayers, some of the best soldiers Zaibach had to offer."

"The best. They were the best," Dilandau interrupted, "They were elite soldiers. I did not command petty foot soldiers who are as valuable as lumps of clay."

Van grabbed Dilandau's shoulders. "That's why it has to be you! You won't have petty foot soldiers. Every single man will be just as good as those Dragonslayers of yours were!"

"You managed to beat all fifteen of them. All by yourself. And you almost killed me as well," Dilandau replied softly, looking down at Van's hands.

"Dilandau!" Van said sharply, causing the boy to look at him, "Don't you go doubting yourself! Dilandau Albatou does not do that. You do not, I repeat, do not doubt yourself. I can't command an army. I have absolutely no idea on how military strategies work. That was Folken's area of expertise, as well as yours. You are the self-proclaimed military genius. I am simply the king."

"Oh whoop-dee shit, you're just the king," Dilandau mocked, smirking. Van rolled his eyes.

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Van asked hopefully.

"I handpicked my Dragonslayers. I will pick my army and my officers," Dilandau replied.

Van nodded. "And how is that done?"

"I will do it in the manner I picked my Dragonslayers," Dilandau said in a tone that conferred that he was not going to elaborate on the matter. Van "hmphed" and lay back down.

"Just don't kill anyone or do anything illegal, alright?" Van asked, putting an arm across his eyes, blotting out the sun. He noticed that he had dropped Celena's rose on his pillow.

"I'll see what I can do," Dilandau replied, his voice sounding distant.

"Dilandau…" Van warned.

"Pigeon, stop worrying! Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to conduct myself in an orderly manner!" Dilandau said harshly.

"Killing innocents and burning things to the ground do not fall under orderly conduct!" Van retorted. His arm was snatched away as Dilandau pinned him down fiercely. The pale face loomed close, and those fiery eyes were bright. Van stared back defiantly and held his breath. Suddenly those same eyes dimmed.

"Damn it!" Dilandau yelled. "You make me weak!" He jumped off Van and stormed out the door.

"Dilandau!" Van scrambled to his feet and ran out the door, just in time to see the door to Dilandau's room slam shut. He heard the sounds of glass breaking. "Open the door!"

Silence.

"I swear to the gods Dilandau, I am not going to be shut out in this hall by the entire country of Fanelia!" Van shouted. "Open the door!"

Still nothing.

"That's it!" Van spat. He rammed into the door with his shoulder, then backed up and slammed into the wood again. As he backed up to run yet another time, the door opened and Dilandau came blazing through. Van stopped in midstep and Dilandau wrapped his arms around the king's waist, hoisting him over his shoulder as he continued walking.

"What in the hell? Put me down!" Van yelled. Dilandau said nothing and pushed open Van's bedroom door once again. He chucked Van onto his bed, kicked the door shut, and then stood as arrogantly as he could (which was pretty damn arrogant) while the king disentangled himself from the sheets.

"You childish maniac!" Van said, leaping off the bed. Now he was the one who was furious. "Don't you dare do that again! I will not be made a fool of!"

"Do not tell me what to do," Dilandau said darkly.

"If I don't tell you what to do you'll end up getting others and quite possibly yourself killed!" Van yelled back.

"Do you take me for a moron?" Dilandau asked hotly, loosing his calm exterior. "Because I assure you I am not!"

"I don't take you for a moron! I take you to be impulsive! And unfortunately your impulsiveness is usually lethal!" Van replied.

"Do not tell me what I am and what I am not!" Dilandau said.

"Then tell me what you are," Van said, his tone softening. He didn't understand this frightening creature in front of him, standing with his hands rolled in fists and his face still with rage.

"You know everything there is to know about me. You are the king, you make the decision…or your judgement," Dilandau said, contradicting himself as he often did.

"You are a sadistic arrogant maniacal bastard," Van said without hesitation. He paused for effect, then continued, "But with that comes your scathing humor, your genius, and your twisted affection. And…you have a nice ass."

Dilandau, who had been trying to decide between stabbing or pummeling Van with his fists, smiled.

"That's all?" he asked, his tone switching from furious to low and seductive. Van had long become acquainted with Dilandau's love for mood swings, and went with it.

"That and I wouldn't want you any other way," Van replied, slowly walk towards the paler boy.

"Ah, flattery will get you everywhere," Dilandau whispered. Van took a step and wrapped his arms around Dilandau's upper back.

"Sounds enticing," he whispered back. His lips brushed against Dilandau's ear, but found their way to meet his mouth. He felt Dilandau's hands run along his back, buttocks, and thighs. He moaned softly.

"You know, we bounce from hate to love and back again more then normal people probably do, don't you think?" Dilandau said, easily tearing Van's shirt to shreds.

"You and I are far from normal. Besides, that's why there's such a thing as making up," Van replied, arching his back slightly as Dilandau's mouth migrated to encircle one of his nipples, mimicking a baby nursing from its mother.

"You taste like almonds," Dilandau said, his mouth traveling up Van's chest.

Van sank to the floor, pulling Dilandau with him. "Is that so?" he replied.

"I never lie, not unless I have too," Dilandau mumbled. Van reached down and pulled the other boy's shirt up over his head. He wanted to see the rare white skin that entranced him so.

"I'm glad you're not wearing that horrid armor of yours," Van said, kissing an alabaster shoulder. "I'd be smooshed."

"I liked that armor," Dilandau replied, giving Van a small nip on his throat. "And 'smooshed' is not a word."

"Then I decree that 'smooshed' be put in the Fanelian dictionary," Van replied, smiling against Dilandau's lips.

"I think you're abusing your power, Pigeon," Dilandau said. "'Smooshed' is a stupid word anyway."

"Why don't we stop talking about the word 'smooshed' and get on to more important things?" Van suggested, kissing Dilandau hungrily.

"It's hard to argue when you're sucking on my tongue," Dilandau replied, though it came out something more like "Eh har hoo ahyoo en yor ahckin al hi hung."

Van broke away and began kissing the wonderful curve of Dilandau's neck. It was as pure as ivory and reminded him of his own snowy wings.

"I think you should be the angel, not me," Van whispered, thinking of the boy's initial reaction to his wings. Absolute wonder had been in those ruby eyes.

"Ha!" Dilandau scoffed. "Perhaps the Angel of Death."

Van pulled back and looked at Dilandau's flushed face and swollen lips. His exquisite silver hair was mussed and his eyebrows were cocked in puzzlement. And those infamous, thickly-lashed garnet eyes seemed to swallow him whole.

"You are a beautiful angel," Van said.

Dilandau grinned…devilishly. "Well, I am divine."

"And don't forget it, right? Well I-huh?" Van stopped in mid-sentence as Dilandau's hands snaked their way around his waist and shoved his pants down below his knees. Dilandau leaned in and kissed him, his tongue flickering against Van's.

"Hush, Pigeon. Let your angel work," Dilandau whispered enigmatically, his hands skittering down Van's stomach, inching his briefs down.

"Please tell me this doesn't include viol-" Once again, Van stopped his chatter as Dilandau wrapped a hand around the base of his erection. The guy couldn't actually be serious, could he? Van had always thought he would be the one that would break down old barriers and take everything to another level, given Dilandau's past.

Though, as Dilandau gave him one more kiss on the mouth and then ducked between his thighs to take him in his mouth, it was apparent that this was exactly what Dilandau had in mind. And in a few minutes Van wondered why he had even thought of questioning the soldier's actions

"Gods," he whispered, curling reflexively upwards into a sitting position over the Dilandau, as the muscles in his stomach contracted involuntarily. Gods, that was all Van could think to express his thoughts. Gods, this felt so different, so unthinkable, so-good. As he felt Dilandau's lips slide along his length, Van's senses heightened as a wonderful pressure began to build in his loins. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he ran his hand through Dilandau's head violently while his hips involuntarily began to thrust up and down. Gods, this was fucking fantastic.

Biting back a cry, thinking he could stand no more, Van reached his peak. Grabbing a fistful of Dilandau's hair he came, wings and semen spurting forth simultaneously. As the euphoria overtook him, he fell backwards once again; arching his backs as his wings painfully spilt from his shoulder blades. The combination of this beautiful pleasure and agonizing pain was almost more then he could handle.

Breathing heavily, Van heard Dilandau swallow thickly and then the pale boy slid up along Van's chest, propping himself up on his elbows so his face was suspended above the Fanelian boy's.

"So Pigeon, my Golden Almond Boy, how was that?" he asked coyly.

"Fantastic," Van replied, opening his eyes. He cocked his head to the side. "Your turn?"

Dilandau shook his head, running his hands along Van's wings. "There's no need."

"Oh," Van said, nodding. He understood Dilandau's hesitation; he wasn't ready yet. Van couldn't blame him. He lifted his head and kissed Dilandau on the mouth.

"Well, I thank you," Van said.

"Hmm…who ever knew that Draconian's sprout wings when they come?" Dilandau said, his fingers still running over the white feathers. "Though, you need to watch these miraculous appendages, Pigeon; you knocked over your end table."

"That's what I get for not dragging you into bed before," Van said. He closed his eyes and retracted his wings, sending a small flurry of feathers in the air. He stood up, pulling Dilandau up with him. "I say we go there now."

"Van…" Dilandau said warningly, taking the sides of Van's pants and slowly pulling them up, dressing him.

"Nothing to worry about. I just want to be with you," Van reassured, taking the hint. Baby steps.

"Ah, the privileges that come with ruling the kingdom," Dilandau said, turning and bouncing on the bed, now that he was reassured.

"Goofball," Van said. He leaped onto the bed and tackled Dilandau in mid-bounce. The albino retaliated by grabbing a pillow and smacking Van over the head with it, which led to a rather violent pillow fight that covered the floor in feathers. Some were Van's, but the majority came from the pillows.

Soon the two boys collapsed, laughing at the childishness of their actions. They lay on their sides, facing one another. Except for the occasional kiss or caress, they simply drank in the wondrous beauty of each other.

It was Dilandau who broke the silence. "Why…why doesn't it bother you that I'm a guy?"

"Why doesn't it bother you?" Van countered, thinking.

"Because I was surrounded by homosexuality on the Vione," Dilandau said matter-of-factly, "There was one girl on the Vione when I was there, and nobody would lay a hand on Refina, because she'd probably kill you. She was almost as good as I…too bad she was a woman. Just too darn tiny…and you?"

"I've never really thought about it. I never even considered the fact that you were a guy," Van said truthfully. "Then again, I started loving you when you were a girl."

"Loving?" Dilandau said, his tone for once tentative.

Van stroked Dilandau's chin. "Possibly."

"Would you rather have me still hidden in Celena?" Dilandau asked seriously, taking Van's hand and lightly sucking on his fingertips.

"Definitely not. I like this Angel just the way he is," Van said.

"Pigeon, you're going to ruin my reputation with a nickname like that," Dilandau complained, scooting in a bit closer.

"Oh, and 'Pigeon' sounds so majestic. I'm sure people will look up to a leader named 'King Pigeon,'" Van said, rolling his eyes. He reached out and encircled his arms around Dilandau's waist, pulling him so that their skin touched. Gently he kissed the base of Dilandau's neck and his shoulders.

Dilandau moaned softly. "Hey, you want to-"

"Uh, guys?" said a muffled voice outside the door. Van and Dilandau sprang up from the bed, grabbing clothes (albeit some were ripped) at lightening speed.

"What is it?" Van asked pleasantly. Dilandau recognized the voice, and calmly walked up behind Van and grabbed his ass playfully. Van gasped and swatted his hand away, not knowing who it was yet.

"It's Celena," Dilandau whispered in the boy-king's ear, licking it provocatively.

"Did you find Dilandau-chan?" Celena asked. "I don't want the market to close before we go!"

Dilandau hugged Van fiercely from behind. "I'm. Not. Going. Shopping."

"Yes, he's right here!" Van called. "Come in and get him!"

"Ooh, you're going to get it tonight," Dilandau said, stepping in front of Van as Celena came running into the room.

"That's what I'm counting on," Van replied smugly. Dilandau scooped up Celena in his arms, causing the blonde girl to shriek.

"Where are we going, Princess?" Dilandau asked, spinning the girl around.

"Silly, I'm not a princess," Celena giggled. She waved sheepishly to Van. Her eyes literally glowed with happiness.

"Ah, you're not are you?" Dilandau said, faking confusion. Van smiled at the manner in which Dilandau treated the girl.

Celena leaned in close to Dilandau's ear as if she had a secret. "Nope, I'm a queen!"

Dilandau laughed. "Of course!"

"I think you two better get down to the market before it closes," Van said, ushering them to the door. He really did have to get back to ruling a country. Dilandau nodded and set Celena down on the ground.

"Go get your cloak," Dilandau told Celena, who obediently ran off. He turned to Van, his hands on his hips.

"You are in so much trouble," he said. Van smiled and kissed him.

"Good."

~*~

rainjewel: *wipes brow and stretches* Jeez, those last couple of chapters really took it out of me!

Wufei: That's because you are weak!

rainjewel: Oh heck no! If any of you wonderfully delicious Gundam Wing boys are showing up in my Author's Notes, it's going to be either Duo or Trowa, and certainly not you, Wufei! Or perhaps Quatre, but that's only if he's going to laugh like a hyena again.

Quatre: Don't make fun of me, it took me hours to be able to do that!

Duo: Yeah, we had so many calls from Animal Rights Activists that we had to shut down the phones. Hey, what's that weird pale guy doing? Is that a flame-thrower?!

Dilandau: *holding the now-burning Chapters 8 and 9* rainjewel! What in the hell is this?

rainjewel: Water balloons, where are my water balloons?! *runs*

~*~