A Good Catholic Boy (cont)

"This will be your room." He heard just before the knock sounded at the door.
 
Heero frowned. He'd hoped to keep the room for himself. He was so close to having Duo ask him for it. He wanted the privacy. He needed it. Taking Duo in Mrs. Murray's house would be a dangerous proposition. He sighed. Then again, maybe it didn't matter.

He'd waited at the gate of St. Brigid's for half an hour yesterday afternoon, the all-important fourth doujinshi in his jacket, but the boy hadn't shown. No one had been able to tell him where Duo was -- or maybe they just wouldn't. There had been no one at Mrs. Murray's house.

Damn! Being an orphan was a bitch. Why did shit always have to happen to him?

He wondered if the old woman had grown suspicious of him and had moved them without warning. His first and only foster family had done that to him, leaving him to come home and find the empty house and the social workers waiting to take him to the orphanage. He'd been eight then and, with that firmness of resolve that had always defined his being, he had decided never to let anyone do that to him again. Anytime someone acted like they might want him, he'd shown them they didn't. Now, he'd probably be here until he was eighteen. It wasn't so bad, he told himself.

He shouldn't have let himself become so interested in Duo. He shouldn't have let himself care about Duo. He should have just kept it a simple seduction. He should have treated Duo like any other conquest. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

He opened the door, still frowning. The orphanage director stood at the door, behind him-- Heero froze. Duo? Crying? He felt his determination crumbling.

"Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy." Duo's head jerked up and his violet eyes grew wide. "Heero, would you watch out for him for the next few days, show him the ropes?" The director grimaced. "His foster mother, uh, passed away yesterday."

"Yes, sir. I will." Heero held out a hand. "Pleased to meet you Duo, come in." Duo took his hand, confused, shaking it as he walked into the room. The director seemed satisfied. Heero shut the door in his face. It was the kind of thing the director expected of him.

"He--"

Heero grabbed Duo and clapped a hand to his mouth, whispering, "Quiet. He's still at the door. Play along." Duo nodded, understanding.

He let Duo go and spoke in a normal voice again. "This is your bed. Here, let me take your things."

"Thank you. Heero was it?"

Oh, he was good. "Hai." They heard the director walk away. "Damn, Duo, what are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Murray-- she..." He began crying again.

It tore Heero's heart. The last traces of his commitment to forget Duo and stick to satisfying himself vanished. He took Duo in his arms and held him. "It's OK, Duo. She's in Heaven now with God and the angels and stuff." He didn't believe in Heaven or any god or angels -- except fallen angels. But he knew Duo did, and he knew it was what he needed to hear right now. After a minute, Duo collected himself again, pulling away.

"Th--Thanks." He threw Heero a wan smile. "I'm glad I ended up in your room."

"Here, just lay down on the bed and relax." He'd wanted to say that for so long in an entirely different context. It would have to wait now. This was definitely not the time to try something. He walked over to the desk and collected the pages he'd been working on. "I'll put your things away." He slid them and the pencils and pens into the drawer and turned back to Duo. "You can tell me about it. Then we'll go to dinner." He took Duo's bag over to the second closet and dresser and began unloading it.

Heero had been thrilled when he saw Duo and knew they would be sharing a room, but hearing his story he wished it hadn't happened this way. Mrs. Murray had suffered another heart attack. They'd taken Duo from school straight to the hospital. He'd sat by her bed, not crying as he watched Father Riordan performing the last rites -- precautionary, he was told. He sat there until visiting hours were over, not crying. The nurse came and he convinced her to let him stay, not crying. Mrs. Murray had opened her eyes, seen him, told him to be a good boy. He hadn't cried.

Then the monitors had started screaming and the nurses and doctors had run in, pushing him out of their way. Fifteen minutes later they called the code and filed out, forgetting the boy standing in the corner, not crying. In that moment of alone-ness, he'd gone to her, looking at the body, knowing she was dead. He missed her terribly. He was afraid of what was coming. He had no idea where he was going to go. He cried.

Heero sat beside him, trying to find an occasional word of comfort as Duo repeated parts of his story, but basically keeping his mouth shut. He didn't know what to say in these kinds of situations. He'd never had anyone who was an almost-mother to him as Mrs. Murray had been to Duo. All he could do was sit there, let Duo cling to him as he cried, and hold him gently in response. It seemed to be enough.

They sat in silence for a few minutes after Duo finished, watching each other. Duo was surprised to find carefully restrained tears brimming in Heero's eyes. It made him feel better. Heero cared about him. Heero would take care of him now. He belonged again. Belonging with Heero didn't seem so bad anymore. Actually, it seemed very good. "You said something about dinner?" he said, voice still unsteady as he wiped the wetness from his face.

Heero glanced at the clock. "Yeah. Just a sec." Heero walked over to the desk, picked up his glass of water and returned to Duo's bed. He dabbed his fingers in it, then to Duo's face, wetting it. Using the corner of the sheet, he wiped away the last tracks of tears. "There. Let's go."

+

As they approached the dining hall, Duo's arm around Heero's waist, they spotted the other three Fallen Angels. "Wait right here," he told Duo, parking him against the wall. "I'll be back in a minute." Duo watched him walk over to the other three boys and talk to them for a moment. They all looked at him.

"Hey, pretty boy, looking for a friend?"

Duo jumped and looked up to find a much taller, much older boy -- he must be at least seventeen -- standing over him. "Uh." He cringed away as the boy reached for him.

"You are one fine piece of--"

"Shut up, Jason." Heero's voice was so cold it froze the older boy where he stood. Heero glared up at him as he came alongside Duo and his arm closed around Duo's waist in that tight, possessive hold Duo had always hated. Now, it made him feel safe. "If you lay a finger on him I... will... kill... you." Heero said the last four words slowly, emphatically, his voice even colder than before, leaving no doubt that they were not merely a threat, but a promise. Duo glanced behind him and saw the other three Angels trying to match Heero's glare.

"And if Yuy doesn't, I will," Wufei said softly. Trowa and Quatre nodded.

"Ah, sorry, guys. Didn't know he was taken. No hard feelings?" Their faces told him there were. "Oh, there's someone I need to talk to over there." He hurried away.

Duo breathed. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. Heero's arm relaxed around him as they turned, just a friendly arm now.

Heero bowed slightly to Wufei. "Thank you."

Wufei chuckled. "Justice would be you two together."

Heero's hand slid down to Duo's butt.

"And Wufei always wants to see Justice served," Trowa said, smiling at Duo.

Duo grabbed Heero's hand and moved it back to his waist.

Quatre snickered. "I told you he has spirit, Heero."

Duo looked over and found Heero smiling at him, amused.

"Let's go eat," Wufei said.

They sat around the table talking about school and what they'd done today and what they were going to do tomorrow and Wufei's girlfriend Meiran. The other boys teased him about her gently. Apparently they hadn't even kissed yet. He glanced at Heero, remembering their first kiss and smiled. As they finished, Duo realized none of them had asked him why he was at the orphanage. That must have been why Heero had left him earlier. He'd wanted to tell them so they wouldn't ask. Heero Yuy, he decided, was not nearly the rough, street-hardened tough-boy he pretended to be. Well, maybe he was, but that wasn't all he was. Duo liked that.

After dinner, Heero gave Duo a tour of the orphanage -- the weight room, the basketball courts, the rec room, the library, the small park across the street, where they paused for a while to kiss among the bushes. He also showed him Trowa's and Quatre's room and Wufei's room. "In case you need help."

"Huh?"

"I told you that a lot of guys would think you're beautiful enough to chase. A few of them live here -- like Jason. Why do you think I've been parading you around like this?" He saw the blank look and smiled. "Good Catholic boy doesn't know anything about the real world. We've made them think you're *with* me. They'll probably leave you alone."

Duo wasn't entirely sure what "with" meant in that context. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the doujinshi he'd missed. He needed to ask Heero about that sometime. He didn't think he wanted to see it right now though. He needed to get himself sorted out first.

Heero led them back to their room.

"You forgot one important thing," Duo said as he walked in behind Heero and closed the door. "The bathroom." He needed to pee.

"Hai."

He turned from the door and saw Heero, shirtless and unbuttoning his jeans. "What are you doing?"

Heero looked at him, confused by the question. "I'm taking off my clothes."

"Well, yeah, but... why?"

"I need a shower. You might want to shower with me for the next few days, just in case a few of the guys didn't get the hint."

"But... but... you're gonna go outside naked?" Actually, Duo wanted to know if Heero looked like the boy in the doujinshi. The top half did. Actually, the top half looked even better. Maybe it was because it was real life, not just pictures on a page. The tiny line of hair tantalized him as it dove into Heero's waistband, reminding him of the dark patch of hair and the heavy-- "Take a shower with you?"

"The showers are like the showers in a locker room. There'll probably be a dozen other guys there. You'll be safe if you're with me. Now strip and get your stuff ready." He saw the hesitation. "Oh, come on, Duo. Everyone here is a guy and knows what a naked guy looks like." He wasn't trying to be mean, but the only way to get over a fear of public showers was to just do it. He pulled off his jeans and underwear.

Duo stared at him for a moment. Heero did look like the boy in the doujinshi. He began unbuttoning his shirt, very slowly. Heero wanted to do it for him, and his pants, and those red boxers he knew would be peeking out any minute. He put it aside, wrapping the towel around his waist.

Later. There would be plenty of time for that later.

+

They walked down the hall together, Duo hoping he wasn't too bright a shade of red. They stood at the urinals together. Heero led him into the showers, holding his hand to steady him on the wet floor and showing him the small shelf for his soap, shampoo and conditioner. Duo pretended it was just like showering in gym class and that everyone had their eyes on the wall lest Father Padraig catch them. He adjusted the spray to a nice, almost-too-hot, pulled the tie off the end of his braid and stepped under the water, letting the hiss drown out the other boys as he began to wash himself.

Five minutes later he felt a light touch on his shoulder. It was Heero. "Wash my back?"

Maybe it wasn't quite like gym. Duo nodded. He stepped over to stand behind Heero and ran the soapy cloth across his back in slow circles. Of course, he had to hold onto Heero's hard bicep to stabilize himself on the slippery tile floor -- or so he told himself -- and he had to watch his step on the floor too -- which just happened to give him a perfect view of Heero's butt. It looked a lot like the beautiful butt in the doujinshi, only better. He washed it too, feeling the firm muscle tensing and releasing beneath his hand.

"I think that's probably enough." Heero said, "Want me to do yours?"

Duo nodded again and stepped under the shower. Heero gently lifted his hair over his right shoulder and let it hang down his chest and thigh. Then the snug grip on his arm, and the cloth was moving across his back, up and down his spine, Heero's fingers occasionally slipping over the edge to touch his skin sending a surge of excitement through him. Heero washed his butt too. That felt very good.

He started to turn around to rinse his back when Heero finished, but Heero held him and whispered, "Keep facing the wall. Some of the other guys get nervous when they see someone sporting a hard-on in the shower." Duo looked down and saw what he was talking about. Heero guided him forward, letting the water fall down his back, then pulled him clear of the spray. "I'll wash your hair for you," he said as he shifted the long mass onto Duo's back again.

That really didn't help Duo's predicament. He couldn't remember anyone else ever washing his hair. It was an intimate, erotic experience, made more so because Heero was doing it. The hands massaged his scalp, working in the shampoo, then began moving down his neck and back, lingering on his butt, then down his thighs, then climbing back up to his head. Little shivers raced through his body every time Heero's fingers pushed through the hair to his skin. Heero moved Duo a step forward to rinse, then repeated the process with the conditioner.

"Heero?"

"Huh?" Heero looked around. The other boys were gone. They were alone.

"Heero, please. It hurts," Duo whispered, eyes closed as he faced the wall.

He looked over Duo's shoulder, then reached down and gently teased back the foreskin, relieving some of the tightness. Duo thrust against his fingers as he did. "Better?"

"Heero, please, make it soft."

He considered. That would be dangerous. He wasn't really concerned about being discovered. Most of the other boys knew he was gay. But he didn't want to rush Duo, especially now. "Duo, I don't think--"

"Heero, please!"

He sighed. Duo really wanted this, and he knew what he was asking for. Heero decided he could be careful. "OK, we probably have a few minutes. Just a quick one." He moved up close behind Duo, arranging himself to point up between them, resting along Duo's crack, so he wouldn't accidentally do what he really wanted to do with Duo. Duo wasn't ready for that. Quit thinking about his ass, he told himself as he wrapped the fingers of both hands around Duo's cock, covering all but the tip, and began stroking him quickly.

"Mmmmmm." Duo's pelvis thrust gently in time with Heero's hands, his tight butt cheeks rubbing against Heero. That surprised Heero and stirred him fully erect. "Oh. Heero." It only took a few seconds of Heero's hands enveloping him, moving in long rapid strokes along his length before Duo passed the point of no return. "Ooohhhh!" He spilled himself against the wall, onto the floor, the water washing away the traces of his pleasure. "Mmmm. That feels better, Heero. Thank you." Heero held him for half a minute until he was steady on his feet again.

"Your turn," Duo said, looking over his shoulder at Heero, moving up and down on his toes and pressing against him, teasing him.

Heero hadn't expected the offer, knew he shouldn't accept it, but he wanted it badly, no thanks to Duo's tempting, and Duo was offering freely. There was no chance he could hurt Duo this way. He nodded.

Hair thrown over his left side, toward Heero's back, Duo knelt beside him. Heero hadn't expected a blow-job either, but before he could say anything he found Duo had something else in mind. Duo grabbed him, the right hand's slender fingers closing around his hard cock, the left reaching between his legs to dig gently in his jewels. "Aaaa." He'd waited for that touch for so long, wondered what it would be like. "Nnnnn." Duo's hands had barely begun to move when he felt the pleasure boiling up within him. "Aaaaaa!" He came, splashing against the wall, pouring himself out. It was wonderful. As he finished and felt himself begin to shrink back to normal, Duo's mouth closed over his still-sensitive tip and sucked once drawing a sharp gasp from him.

Duo looked up at Heero, rolling the trace of liquid on his tongue. "Mmm. You taste different." He smiled at the surprise on Heero's face.

Adventurous, daring Catholic boy, Heero though. You are going to have so much fun when we finally move beyond these little forerunners and get to the real thing.

They heard voices in the bathroom outside and Heero pulled Duo to his feet.
 
"Was I OK?" Duo asked.

Heero grinned. "Very OK. Are you done?"

"For now."

Heero blinked when he thought about what that might really mean. He knew Duo wasn't ready.

+

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