Author: Kracken
Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this.
Warning: Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence, abusive situations.

6x2

Band Aids + Part 6
Sugar and Spice

"Have everything that you need?" Milliardo asked with a raised pale eyebrow.

Duo snorted around a cookie. Sitting next to his lover on his private shuttle, Duo had been taking full advantage of the staff. The tray in front of him had a hazelnut coffee, two chocolate dipped croissants, cookies, and a pastry with cream cheese filling.

"I didn't know that you had such... a sweet tooth," Milliardo chuckled.

Duo swallowed, took a sip of coffee, and then grinned. "I don't," he replied, "But I don't usually get a chance to get food like this. Unless you're in the main city, you're stuck with Trina's and she sticks mainly to fried breads and powdered cookies along with her synthetic meat patties and reconstituted scrambled fake eggs."

Milliardo grimaced. "It was amazing that she could make those kind of ingredients appear to be food."

Duo snickered and then he looked suddenly pensive. "Lori could cook... kind of."

Milliardo reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "It's what he wanted."

"I know," Duo murmured. He blinked and then recaptured his grin. "So, where am I going to be bunking once we get to Earth?"

Milliardo imagined Duo set loose, free to grow uncertain and needy, and free to search out yet another safety net in the form of someone besides Milliardo. He reached out and took a firm hold on Duo's braid. "You will be staying with me."

Duo seemed to drink in that firm grip, as comforting to him as a caress. His eyes were challenging, though, denying any claim on his person. If he strayed, it was his business, that look said. Like an alley cat, Milliardo thought, as he gave the braid a sharp tug and then let go. A stray stayed when it wanted caresses and food, but ultimately it came and went as it pleased.

"Maybe Fei will think he's finally off the hook if I do stay with you," Duo said. "I'm really sick of his need to pay his debts."

"I don't appreciate his meddling either," Milliardo confessed, "But I will have to thank him for directing me to you."

"I don't want to see Heero... or Trowa, okay?" Duo told him. "They're nuts. Fei's a little saner and Quatre's okay, but those two..." He frowned. "They just don't know how to be normal and they make me think about the war too much."

"They are the best agents in Preventers," Milliardo replied, "but I agree that they're... unstable."

Duo was quiet and then he gave Milliardo a sideways look. "Did you think I was like that?" He colored a little and then added, "I guess I'm not normal, but someone with my kind of life wouldn't be. I just don't make it my sole purpose in life to be the best killer in the Earthsphere. I think wanting a good fuck, and some rough and tumble, isn't that bad."

"Unless that's all you want," Milliardo replied thoughtfully.

"It passes the time," Duo retorted with a glint in his eye.

"Passes the time," Milliardo repeated and didn't have to say anything more. Duo understood and looked angry for a moment before he slumped in his seat and sipped at his coffee.

"I get bored like anyone else," Duo mumbled over the rim of his cup. "Doesn't mean I didn't like my life there."

Milliardo grabbed Duo's chin and turned Duo's face so that they were almost nose to nose. "You were searching for what you didn't have there."

Duo pulled his chin away sharply. "And you have it?"

"You decide," Milliardo replied.

"It's not all about sex," Duo warned him.

"It's about helping old ladies home with their groceries," Milliardo said softly, "Escorting a man's daughter to a dance. Helping an old man run his business. It's about feeling safe and having a home that won't disappear. It's about, perhaps, having the same thing as all of those people you've been helping."

"I won't get that working for Preventers," Duo grated out and looked angry again "I'm not getting it now. I've just been kicked out of my home by a man who was like a father to me."

Milliardo saw an almost manic tremor in Duo's face and knew by that how much he had been covering up. The food had just been a distraction; a focus to keep Milliardo from looking too closely at him.

Milliardo took hold of Duo's hand and squeezed painfully tight. He wanted to tell the truth and say, 'I'm not a fool to promise you what no one in life can. I can't see the future. I can only tell you that I want you with me and that I care for you.', but Duo needed strength and an absolute, so, instead, he said, "Your home is with me now. I will take care of you."

Duo took an unsteady breath and he didn't repeat that he only wanted to stay until his work was done. That gave Milliardo hope.

+

Duo turned on his heel and looked over the apartment with puzzled eyes.

"Something wrong?" Milliardo wanted to know as he tossed aside his coat and loosened his tie.

"I was expecting... more," Duo replied and then opened a door and found a closet. "No secret doors leading to a big assed palace, I guess?"

"Did you want it to be like that?" Milliardo was frowning. He hoped that it wasn't the old story, someone just interested in his position or his wealth.

"No, actually," Duo said as he grinned and turned back to Milliardo. "I like this a lot better. It's more what I'm used to. I was really afraid that I was going to have servants trying to wipe my ass."

"I do have a large estate, but I spend most of my time here," Milliardo explained and smiled in relief. "Servants can be very tiresome. I like my privacy."

Duo slung his duffel onto the richly upholstered couch. "So, do I get the couch or the floor?"

"There is a bedroom through there," Milliardo nodded towards a side door, but then he firmly added, "You may use that room for your things, but I want you to sleep in my bed." He didn't voice it as a question.

"Is it big?" Duo didn't protest. He looked excited and went through an open doorway into Milliardo's bedroom. He ducked back out, incredulous. "Okay, that's small..."

"Not too small," Milliardo replied with a sensuous smile. "In fact, it will keep you within easy reach."

Duo smirked. "Wanna try it out?"

Milliardo shook his head. "Work first. We have to oversee the storage of the hull. I also have to check in with Preventers. They'll expect a report."

Duo sighed as he grabbed his duffel and slung it into the spare bedroom. He adjusted himself in his pants. "Sorry guys," he told his crotch and then told Milliardo, "Get changed then, we're going to get dirty. They won't lock it down for us, so we'll have to strap and bolt it into its storage bay."

Milliardo nodded as he moved into his bedroom to change into plainer clothing. He was tired from the long journey, but Duo seemed to be still full of energy. Milliardo envied him. The bed looked inviting and he imagined himself curled up with Duo there. It made him feel warm and happy, his life finally not so empty and devoid of promise.

"Good memories?" Duo snickered as he came to stand at his elbow.

"I hope there will be," Milliardo replied with a chuckle and slipped off his dress shirt. Duo slid around his tall, muscled body, and massaged his pale nipples from behind. They turned into hard nubs instantly and Milliardo shivered.

Duo licked Milliardo's back in one long stroke across his broad shoulder. "You make things sound so good. Like I'm the best thing you ever had."

Milliardo caught Duo's hands and pressed them to his chest. "You are, Duo."

Duo bit lightly and then let him go. "I can only say, 'Good fuck.' or 'Let's fuck.' or-"

"Don't," Milliardo growled and Duo, who had been walking towards the living room, looked back at him in surprise. "You want to make it physical, crude, to protect yourself. You need to be braver than that, Maxwell."

Duo made a motion as if he were taking his heart out of his chest. He laid the imaginary heart on the floor. "That brave enough? Gonna do a tap dance on it, now? People either fuck me and then tell me to kiss off or they die. I don't know anything else."

Milliardo sighed. "I can only show you by staying with you. I can't do that if you run away."

"You could tattoo my name on your ass," Duo snickered and there was a hard glint in his eyes. "That's kind of permanent."

"If that's what it takes," Milliardo replied calmly and Duo went wide eyed, as if he couldn't tell whether he was joking or not, "But you would have to do the same."

"Like wedding rings?" Duo regained his humor and continued out of the room, tossing over his shoulder. "Wedding tattoos... I'll think about it."

+

"Throw that over here, this needs tightening up!" Duo called as he balanced precariously on an upper deck of the hull. The entire weight of it was resting in a sling harness and they had been trying to get it positioned into a dry dock ring for the last two days. It was dipping, the weight of repairs versus the bare skeleton still needing them, making the entire piece unbalanced.

Milliardo tossed a tool from where he was perched, a large section of hull missing between them. Duo caught the tool unerringly and continued trying to adjust a stubborn strut to fit the irregular hull. Milliardo watched him clamber over the metal with the agility of a monkey and felt new respect. He was more cautious, attached by a safety strap and watching each step as he tried for the tenth time to get the crane to turn the hull in the desired position to aid Duo.

"Stop!" Duo called and Milliardo idled the crane.

Leaning against the side of the giant machine, Milliardo wiped sweat from his brow. He decided, as he heard Duo let loose a string of curses, that it was time for a break and a look at specs to determine how best to continue. The ground crew was eyeing them as if they were a sideshow, well aware that Prince Milliardo Peacecraft and a one time Gundam pilot were doing what amounted to grunt work. They were probably wondering why they were doing the job themselves, unaware that Milliardo was heartily wishing that he could pay someone to finish the work. He knew that this was laying the groundwork for their budding relationship though, and that it was a reason to keep Duo in his sight at all times.

Twice Milliardo had found Duo talking to a burly worker. The man had laughed at his jokes, winked broadly, and had reached out a huge hand to squeeze Duo's ass while they talked. Milliardo had thrown something down both times to clatter near Duo. Getting his attention, Milliardo had loudly ordered Duo back topside to do his job. Duo hadn't rebelled, but he had looked preoccupied afterward. Milliardo knew then that he had picked out the worker for his 'safety net'. Frustration at this new development had made Milliardo short tempered and anxious to finish. He needed to have them both home. A good session in bed would go a long way to reassuring Duo, he felt.

"Fuck!" Duo suddenly shouted as the hull tipped sharply downward. A strut gave way under the weight and Duo went flying head over heels off the side of it. His hand snagged out and caught a ragged edge of fiber insulation. He was brought up short, but there was a loud rip of material . It wasn't going to hold his weight for long and Duo was high enough to make any fall fatal.

"Idiot!" Milliardo swore as he unhooked his own safety harness and made the leap between sections. He barely made it, rolling and hitting metal hard enough for bone deep bruises. He came to his hands and knees, then, and scrambled across the still listing hull towards Duo.

"Stop!" Duo shouted. "It's giving way! The whole hull might come down!"

"Your fault!" Milliardo snarled. "You sold me a non regulation hull! That's why it's breaking the struts!"

"Not me!" Duo snarled back "Lori! That old son of a bitch will never freakin' learn that if he gets a part cheap, there's a goddam reason for it!"

The sound of stressed metal, and the clang of the hull hitting equipment, set off an alarm system. As Milliardo leaned over the side of the hull, he could see ground crews scrambling to get clear. Satisfied that he didn't have that to worry about them, he turned all of his attention on saving Duo.

"Get the hell out of here!" Duo was shouting up at him, furious. "It's gonna give and you're gonna die!"

Milliardo shrugged as he found Duo's discarded safety harness and attached it to himself. There wasn't any wisdom in locking himself to a hull that was close to collapse, but he was out of any other ideas. He quickly lowered himself to where Duo was swinging and caught him. The insulation was almost ripped through. He had been that close to losing him.

"Damn!" Milliardo breathed and couldn't help squeezing Duo in a tight embrace, despite their danger. "If you ever refuse to use a harness again-"

"Didn't think about it," Duo admitted as they slowly began climbing back up. "I'm used to light gravity repairs. A fall will hurt you, not kill you."

The swaying hull twisted and a strut went clattering to the deck. "Faster," Milliardo urged. "We need to lock her down before she goes completely."

"Why?" Duo wondered acidly. "She's warped.... useless for docking anywhere. Let her fall and collect the insurance."

"She's mine," Milliardo insisted, "and she's a danger. Lock her down."

As they climbed back onto the upper hull, they both kept their feet on the sloping, moving hull with the ease of veterans. "Let her tip," Duo suggested. "Drop her down with the crane and let her sit on her nose. We can have her cut up then, still in the sling."

There was a danger in that too. The sling wasn't meant for the full weight of a hull to hang in that position. "Someone needs to keep the straps clear," Milliardo pointed out.

"My job," Duo volunteered.

"Mine too," Milliardo said.

Duo was breathing hard and sweating, but his hands were already working at the sling. "Who's going to work the crane?" he wondered.

"Your new boyfriend," Milliardo replied with a bite to his tone and called down for the burly man to climb up and man the crane.

Duo snorted. "I only have one and that's you."

"When did you decide that?" Milliardo asked as he helped Duo. "While gorilla there was squeezing your ass, or when he was asking you to go out back for a quick fuck?"

Duo gave the burly man a glance as the man took the controls with a nervous eye towards the swinging hull. "When you risked your life to save my ass," Duo replied with a grin. "Nothing to gain, everything to lose. I say that proves everything I wanted proof for."

Milliardo felt an overwhelming emotion surge through him, hot and powerful. He reached out, caught Duo by the braid and yanked him in for a fierce kiss. He devoured Duo's lips with bruising force and then let go as they quickly went back to work.

+

"I hurt," Duo groaned. Back at Milliardo's apartment, he flopped face down on the bed. The operation had been successful. The hull that they had worked so hard on, was now slated to be cut up for scrap and parts. It had been hard work, though, and it had taken up the rest of the day.

Milliardo pulled off Duo's shoes and socks, and then stripped him of his overalls. Duo never moved, just sighed contentedly with the loss of every piece of clothing. When he was completely naked, his rounded ass and the long line of his slim waist an enticing display, Milliardo couldn't help climbing on to the bed after him. He kissed the small of Duo's back and ran a tongue in a swirling pattern there.

"Salty," Milliardo chuckled as he stood on all fours over Duo, letting his long, pale hair fall over him like a curtain as he nuzzled between Duo's shoulder blades.

"Sweaty and stinky," Duo said with a grimace, but his tone held a note of interest in what Milliardo was doing, especially when Milliardo opened his pants and let a weighty erection rub along his thighs. "You can keep doing that," Duo moaned.

"I intend to do a lot more," Milliardo breathed and reached over towards the side table and the bottle of lube.

"Inhuman," Duo mumbled against the bed sheets.

"Hard work makes me... excited," Milliardo admitted. "So does men who've been working hard."

"Sure it's not that whole, 'almost died', adrenalin rush?" Duo wondered.

"Could be that as well." Milliardo licked along Duo's ear, "Or it could be hearing the man I love finally say that he trusts me."

"Yeah," Duo chuckled. "I can see how that would be a turn on."

Milliardo slicked his erection and teased Duo's entrance with it. Poised above Duo, and ready to push in, he said, "I will never give you cause to regret that trust."

Duo lifted his hips, shoulder muscled bunching as he braced himself. "Less talk, more humping."

"Push it into you," Milliardo told him. "Fill yourself with me, Duo."

Duo's breath caught and a flush of excitement traveled down his back. He adjusted his angle and then impaled himself, inch by slow inch, breath catching now and again as his body stretched to take it. When Milliardo was fully in, he leaned down to rest against Duo's back, one hand sliding underneath to cup Duo's balls and then stroke his rock hard erection.

Duo shuddered. "It's like..." He stopped, confused.

"Like what?" Milliardo breathed, waiting, feeling Duo's erection dripping with need.

"Like you own me," Duo choked. "But different. I'm yours, but not like I'm just a place to put your big dick. I can tell..."

"You can tell that I love you, want you, not just for sex?" Milliardo guessed.

"Yeah, exactly," Duo said, but then he was pushing back into Milliardo. "Which is great, but I wanna fuck too. Giddup, Mill. Dock that big thing."

Milliardo chuckled at the image of o rings and docking tubes and then Duo wiggled his hips and slammed back into him. That was enough. Milliardo growled and began thrusting into the smaller body beneath him. Smaller, but just as strong, just as in control, as Duo met every thrust with a backward push of his own. Their bodies made a rapid slapping sound, both of them moaning, Duo riding a hard, long length of flesh and Milliardo reveling in the tight, hot sheath he was thrusting into. They both came explosively and then lay together, breathing hard.

"Now we stink and we're covered in goo," Duo snickered as he rubbed his spent erection and held up a handful of come. He was surprised when Milliardo took two of Duo's fingers into his mouth. He sucked them clean and then let them go, laughing at the glazed look in Duo's eyes and his slack jaw.

"Can I please be your bitch forever and ever?" Duo breathed.

"My love you mean?" Milliardo corrected him with a scowl.

"Yeah, that too," Duo replied sheepishly.

"It's required already," Milliardo told him in all seriousness.

Duo blinked and then asked, confused, "It is?"

Milliardo rolled and showed Duo his left buttock. There was a tattoo there, raw and new, a twining circular pattern with Duo's name boldly centered there in a cursive script.

"You shit, you did it!" Duo exclaimed and then laughed. "No one's ever going to believe me when I tell them!"

"They don't have to," Milliardo told him as he cupped Duo's chin and brought him close for a kiss. "You're the only one that matters."

Duo searched his eyes and then he brought Milliardo's hand down to his right ass cheek. "Think a matching one will look good right here. Not that I'm putting Milliardo on the thing. Zechs will be a lot less painful."

"M.P.?" Milliardo suggested with a laugh. "That's even less painful."

Duo was suddenly in Milliardo's arms and holding him tightly. "For you, I think I can stand a little pain.... maybe a lot."

Milliardo suddenly knew that they weren't talking about tattoos any more. "No more pain," he promised. "No more safety nets or band aids."

Duo believed him. Milliardo could tell by the way that Duo gripped him, sure and strong. He determined to never disappoint him.

THE END

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