Walking the Tightrope + Chapter 4 (cont)

Duo laughed.

Wufei turned around to put his shirt in the basket...

... and nearly swallowed his tongue. He had caught a flash of totally nude backside, only covered by damp tendrils of hair here and there. Duo had been walking into the shower stall, without any clothes on, his pale butt, a striking contrast against the more toned remainder of his skin, and very flashing through the dark gold locks that were tumbling from his half-undone braid to stick on the small of his back.

Duo got the shower running and began to undo his braid, and Wufei could only stay where he was, unable to detach his eyes from the troubling blurred picture the stained glass offered.

"Ah, shit, I've got mud everywhere! 'Fei, help?"

The black-haired boy nearly jumped, caught in the middle of his daydream.

"Wufei?" called Duo, reaching to turn out the water. Wufei hurried to the stall door and half-opened it, careful not to peek inside.

"Yes?"

"Gimme a hand here? I can't reach everywhere and each one of my hairs is coated by a layer of mud, it's disgusting..."

"... ok..." agreed the Asian boy in a low voice. His heart was beating in his throat and he couldn't seem to control the throbbing in his belly.

"You've still got your pants on, idiot!"

Looking away, Wufei let his pants slide from his hips and flung them into the basket. He couldn't look at Duo; it was just impossible. His cheeks were warm, warmer even that the rest of his body, and he could feel his heartbeat nearly everywhere in himself, it was beating so hard.

He jumped when two hands touched the waist of his boxers and tugged down. Duo was looking at him, his eyes dark and intense under his messy, wet bangs.

"It's ok, Wufei," he whispered, tugging the boxers a little lower, slowly.

"Duo, I..."

"Help me?" asked Duo, turning around to show him his hair, cascading down his back in snarled tangles.

Wufei swallowed nervously and before having the time to think about what he was doing, he took off his boxers and stepped into the stall. The hand he put on Duo's shoulder to tell him to give him some space, shot arcs of tingling warmth through his whole arm, which went to bury into his chest.

He took hold of the showerhead and carefully directed it to the top of the mass of tangles, to see if the mere weight and soft push of the water could untangle some of it. It did, but not much. The mud was acting against the natural tendency of Duo's hair to just slide free.

"Give me the shampoo," he instructed, proud to hear that his voice didn't tremble or sound overly breathy, but totally casual.

Duo obeyed in silence, and Wufei began to work the shampoo into his hair, slowly, using its slippery feel to untangle most of the locks with his fingers. The long tendrils stayed stuck against his skin, around his fingers, up to his wrists, and he had to fight them, to smooth them back in place, with the mass of Duo's hair, where they promptly meshed with the rest and went to plaster themselves against the pale back, languidly slipping lower and lower over the mass until they were in place.

Wufei was concentrating so much on his task, so as not to have an embarrassing reaction, that it wasn't until Duo put his hand against the wall in front of himself and sighed that he realized that the American's legs were oh-so-discreetly shaking.

"Duo...?" he called in a voice whose huskiness surprised him.

The pale shoulders before him tensed briefly, then without turning toward him, Duo reached back to take the shower head from his hands, put it back into its support, then reached back once again to grab him. He caught his wrists, and gently tugged until Wufei's arms were circling him, snugly pressed against his wet skin. The Chinese's intake of breath was shaky-sounding at best, and he gasped silently when the boy pressed his back into his own chest. Shampoo bubbles were lazily sliding down both their skins, and the damp tendrils of hair plastered themselves against his torso, Medusa's serpents ensnaring a man in their embrace.

"Duo..." the black-haired boy sighed, pressing his mouth to the other teen's shoulder, tasting the skin.

The American turned around in his embrace and circled his neck with his arms, pressing their fronts together. They both gasped when their bellies came into contact, then sighed against each other's mouths before kissing languidly, deeply.

Wufei's hair was escaping his ponytail's confines, slowly freeing itself to go caress his boyfriend's face. Laughing lightly, Duo chased the damp bangs from his nose and tucked them behind Wufei's ears, caressing their ridge in passing. The Chinese boy shivered and pressed his face into the hollow of his comrade's shoulder.

Duo dug his fingers into black hair, massaging the skull below, descending toward the higher part of his nape, and Wufei arched against him uncontrollably, when the bolts of pleasure shot down to the small of his back.

"What the..."

"Feels good, doesn't it?" chirped Duo, doing it again without any thought.

"Oh yes..." moaned the boy, slumping against him. Heero had done it too, but, maybe it was Duo, maybe it was the water, it hadn't quite had as much of an effect.

Duo laughed low in his throat, and Wufei nibbled at his earlobe to teach him to laugh at him.

"Gods, Wu... Maybe we should stop that for the moment and wash ourselves, or we're gonna get a good splash of cold water just when we get around to it..."

"You're right," sighed the black-haired man, disengaging from the other's arms.

He blushed like mad when, lowering his eyes a second, he caught sight of their arousal, pointing high toward each other's. Duo was as excited by this as he was.

He had control of his physical need, repeated the boy, again and again, grabbing the soap and beginning to lather his arms and shoulders. He had control of his physical needs. He would not jump Duo. He had control of his physical needs. Jumping Duo was bad. He had...

"Wash my back?" asked the imp, turning around and winking saucily at him over his shoulder.

He lifted his arms to lift the mass of hair off his back and let it fall over his other shoulder, baring his body from nape to heel, the position making his muscles shift under his pale skin. Wufei moaned out loud, half aroused, half appalled at the influence the little demon had on him.

"Damn you," he growled, rubbing the soap against Duo's skin with energy. The chestnut-haired boy laughed.

"I'll do yours, if you want, 'Fei-love..."

Choking on a moan, the Chinese teen pressed tight against his back and bit down on his neck, sliding his arms around to flatten his palms on the tease's nipples and caress them in short circular motions. Duo arched back into him, his buttocks clenching against Wufei's groin.

"Don't call me that! Do you want to be washed or what?"

"Call you what?" whispered Duo. "Fei? Or love?"

One second later, Duo had been whirled around and was backed up against the solid wall of the shower stall, his lover huddled up against him, caressing his chest with one hand and his hip with the other, devouring his mouth as if he was trying to swallow him whole. The chestnut-haired boy moaned and caressed back; sliding his hands down Wufei's back to his butt and kneading it, pushing his hips rhythmically into his own. Their tongues danced together, pushing, caressing, chasing each other around.

They had trouble at the beginning establishing a common rhythm, but finally, the hand Wufei had on the other boy's hip slid lower, to the crack of his butt, making Duo grunt, then lower still, to the higher thigh, and he guided the boy until his leg was bent high and wrung around his own hips. The other leg stayed dangling, not quite touching the ground enough to gain leverage.

Duo moaned. The position made his hips shift upward, opening his legs to accommodate his lover's hips, offering his body in a totally vulnerable position, and giving the maximum of stimulation.

"Uhhnnn...'Fei..."

Wufei's foot slipped a little, and Duo clung tight to his shoulders, startled. But the Chinese got his equilibrium back and found a way to put his feet so he wouldn't slide again, something decidedly unpleasant in the middle of things. Duo laughed nervously.

"Don't worry, I won't..." murmured the black-haired boy, rubbing for the first time his member against the crack running between his lover's cheeks and thighs.

"...let you..."

Another slow push. The head of his cock pushed past Duo's balls, rubbing against his shaft.

"... fall..."

They rubbed against each other, their whole body caressing the other's body, faster and faster, losing themselves in an ascending spiral of pleasure coming from the warm water falling down on them, their hands kneading into each other's muscles, and the so intimate contact.

It didn't take long to bring them over, and they stayed in the shower stall for a long time afterwards, slumped against each other, slowly recovering, panting under the cooling water.

Finally they were able to get up again, and rinsed themselves of their mixed essences and the soap their contacts had covered them with everywhere, a decidedly interesting way of washing, before walking out of the stall, exchanging deep looks of understanding and tender little smiles, a whole dialogue without any words.

While Wufei was squeezing Duo's hair in a towel, Duo dried Wufei, patting down his body. They got into each other's way more than once, but it never lasted long enough to get awkward. There was a need to take care of the other, neither knew quite why.

Finally, they were mostly dry. They stood facing each other, staring into each other's eyes, unwilling to leave behind this so intimate moment of sharing. Then Duo had an impish smile, breaking the atmosphere.

"Was good..."

"Oh yeah....."

"But next time, I'm in charge."

Wufei was surprised at the way his body reacted to this confident affirmation. If he hadn't had a climax not long ago, he would have probably reacted visibly. As it was, he still felt warmth coil up in his belly. God, he loved men. He loved strength. And Duo was one of the strongest people he knew, mentally and physically... And was promising to show him how much he was. So exciting.

"You know what?" The brown-haired boy asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"We don't have any clean clothes with us. We're gonna have to run to our rooms naked."

"Oh gods! I hope Yuy's still in the kitchen," groaned Wufei, mortified at the idea of being caught strutting around in his birthday suit.

Duo snickered, amused by his lover's prudishness. It wasn't as if Heero had never seen Wufei naked. They had even made out, damn it.

"Here we go!!" he exclaimed, tugging at Wufei's wrist as he began running down the corridor.

They were already in the stairway when they heard Yuy move around in the kitchen, calling them and asking what was happening.

"Nothing, honey!!!" Duo called laughingly. Wufei jumped forward and ran even faster, dragging Duo behind him. They thundered into Wufei's old room, and he slammed the door behind him, slumping against the wooden planks and sighing.

"Damn, this is the most embarrassed I've ever felt since the time Meiran caught me cuddling my old plush dragon!"

Duo burst out laughing. Harrumphing at his lack of compassion, Wufei went to his bed to dig into his pack for clothes.

He found himself caught, his arms pressed against his sides, blocked by the arms Duo had tightened around his hips, and yelped when the American lifted him up, kicking twice before he felt Duo stumble, and then going carefully unmoving. His lover's arms were strong around him, totally imprisoning him, and there was no way he could get free without seriously hurting him.

"Duo! Let me go!"

"Nope, don't want to," laughed the boy.

Wufei wriggled, and froze when he heard him moan.

"Didn't we talk about letting me be in charge?" he whispered before flinging him on the bed. Wufei just had the time to turn around before he was pounced on and buried in the soft mattress by the weight of his lover's slim but strong body.

"Again!? But, Duo..."

The chestnut-haired boy laughed, propping himself up on his forearms to look down at him, his drying hair falling down around them both, like a silky tent.

"Duo, I can't!"

"Oh yes you can. Want me to show you?"

He began to travel down his chest, mapping diverse areas with his lips and tongue, making the black-haired boy shiver and bite back a moan.

There was a knock at the door.

"Hey, are you coming to eat, or do I throw your shares in the trashcan?"

They froze, blinking at each other. Duo grinned at Wufei, mouthing: "But I'm already eating..."

"Err... We're coming in a few minutes, just searching for clothes!!" called Wufei, praying for Yuy not to open the door.

"... Ok..."

He sighed, relieved, when he heard him walk back down the stairs... then gasped and nearly cried out when Duo caught his cock head in his mouth and began to leisurely suck, making little slurps, like an infant suckling at their mother's breast.

"Maxwell...!"

"Hey, I wanna eat, and you said you'd come in a few minutes. I just wanna help you..."

"That was very lame as far as dirty jokes go, you kn...ooOOH!"

Duo chuckled, lapping at his shaft, cat-like.

"You were sayinmmh?" he asked while swallowing him again.

"St-top HUMMING around me, damn-it!!!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Duo!! hnnn..."

+

Heero was sitting at the kitchen table, pensively staring at the food he had gone to lengths as of yet unknown to prepare by himself, and playing with his napkin. He wasn't fooled one second; he knew what they were doing in Wufei's room. You didn't need to go to Harvard to understand that. And they had taken a shower together... knowing Duo and his love, no, need, for physical intimacy, it hadn't been only a shower either.

He didn't know how he was supposed to feel, waiting for his lover and his lover's lover to show up and join him, knowing that they were making love just above his head. Anger at their lateness and lack of regard for him? Jealousy?

He didn't feel jealous, knowing that Wufei was experimenting, for the first time probably, the pleasures Duo's total love could bring, knowing that Duo was wholly devoting himself to the Chinese warrior. If anything, he was content for them.

He just felt lonely.

So damn lonely.

+

The food was only lukewarm when he finally heard the stairs creaking under their feet, and their laughing voices whispering words he couldn't clearly make out to each other, but definitely intimate. He turned his head to look at the door, the biggest move he had made since he had sat there to wait, and quietly slipped out of his chair to go put their plates in the microwave, not saying a word. They were finishing the exchange they had begun in the stairs and he didn't really try to make sense of their words, letting them wash over him. They were here, in the room.

He still felt lonely.

'Damn it!! Enough with the self-pity!!' he mentally snarled. They were there, he wasn't alone anymore! Yes, they had had an intimate moment in which he hadn't even been thought about, he was sure, but it had been their right and he had known it would happen when he had proposed the arrangement. He hadn't thought about Wufei earlier, when he had been with Duo at the hangar. So why did he feel so glum now?

He took a deep breath and turned to face them. They were looking at each other with a tender look in their eyes, smiling. Intimate.

As if he wasn't even in the fucking room.

"Hey, thanks Heero! You didn't need to do that, it's our own fault if we eat cold..."

Heero looked at Duo, startled out of his thoughts.

So, Duo had been taking notice of his actions, even when talking with Wufei... The braided boy was now smiling at him, half glad and half embarrassed.

"Sorry we made you wait, love..." he muttered, leaning toward him. He wound his arms around Heero's shoulders and kissed him thoroughly, reacquainting his tongue with the Japanese's mouth's confines. Heero relaxed and caressed his back by reflex.

"You shouldn't have waited for us," Wufei blurted out, startled, when he noticed that Heero's plate was untouched and as cold as theirs had been.

The messy-haired boy shrugged, the action somewhat hindered by Duo's arms around him.

The American pressed himself against his side, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder, and gave him a warm smile, as intimate as the one he had given Wufei. Heero felt a great deal of the loneliness disappear.

Then Wufei's hand brushed against his other shoulder, and he turned his head to the other side. The Chinese boy was standing at his right, looking to the side, his cheeks tinted pink.

"I am sorry. It was very inconsiderate of us and will not happen again."

And before Heero could say that it was nothing to be so concerned about, Wufei reached out and caressed Heero's cheek, just barely brushing against him, his palm fitting snugly against the roundness there before falling away.

Heero stared, eyes wide, one of his hands slowly going up to brush against his cheek where Wufei had touched him. The black-haired boy didn't dare look at him at first, but visibly gathered his courage to look back and give an awkward little smile.

Not knowing what to say, Heero just bowed in acknowledgement, his eyes softening involuntarily.

"Hey, looks edible again now! Gimme your plate, Heero," Duo said while holding the other plates out for Wufei, acting as if he hadn't noticed, to avoid embarrassing Wufei or Heero any further.

They traded plates and the three of them sat down at the table, talking a little while, waiting for Heero's plate to warm up, since the two longhaired boys didn't want to eat without him. It was casual, relaxed, normal. Warm.

Definitely not lonely.

And if Wufei's fingers happened to be brushing against Heero's wrist the whole time they waited to eat, no one seemed to notice.

+

* "Tu quoque, Fili": Latin, "you too, my son": Julius Caesar's words when he saw his adoptive son Brutus amongst his assassins.

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