Inbound Telemarketing (cont)

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The phone rang for the fourth time.

"Hello... koi." He'd almost said, "Duo." That would have been a disaster. He quickly changed the entry on the palm computer, putting Duo's name last and well off to the side.

"Yuji. How'd you know it was me?"

He recited the standard line from the handbook. "The extensions I give out are individual to each caller who requests one. That lets me prepare for each special caller."

"How many special callers do you have?"

The handbook suggested he should answer that this caller was the only one, but Duo would have known it was a lie, so he'd opted for the truth. "Only three, counting you."

"You must be kinda new."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, as good as you are, I'd think you'd have lots of regular callers."

"I've been doing this about six months. I'm selective about who I encourage." That was true. Tanaka-sama and Mr. Derrick, his midlifers, had been his first two callers and he'd practically pushed an extension on them because it was a sure way to make money. By the end of Mr. Derrick's call he'd realized that a lot of unpleasant people called phone sex lines. He had stopped offering extensions, relying on the normal load on the lines to keep his paycheck coming. Of course, he couldn't take back the midlifers' extensions, so he was stuck with those two particular perverts. He still found it odd that he didn't think of the handful of "plain gay" callers as perverts. His derision was reserved for the pedophiles like Tanaka-sama and Mr. Derrick, or the rapers who never wanted extensions because they never cared who they were phone raping. Or the killers. Some of those made even him nervous. Unfortunately, the perverts were the majority of the callers.

"Wow! Thanks for giving me an extension."

Heero chuckled. It was genuine. "Koi, you're the first caller who didn't have me naked and fucking in the first two minutes. I like that." That was reasonably accurate if he used his broader definition of "fucking" which included the more bizarre activities of some of the perverts. And he did like Duo's call, even if he wasn't sure where it was going.

"Oh, so I'm easy?"

"No. You're very challenging because you don't want me to act a script, you want the real thing. You must really care about this Heero guy." Now why the HELL had he said that?

"Yeah. I do." Heero could hear the grin in Duo's voice. "He's so beautiful. And I don't just mean his body. He's a great guy. Smart. Sensitive, though he usually hides it. Always wants to do things right. I think he'd do that in a relationship too. I really like being with him. But, he isn't really interested in me. I mean, maybe as a drinking buddy or something, but he's got a girlfriend."

"Nani?" Like Hell I do! Oh shit, stay in character. But I'm playing me, so where is the boundary between me and the character of me? Damn. This is challenging. Hn. Ninmu ryoukai.

"Yeah. I'm in love with a straight guy. Oh well, that's why I call you, so I can pretend for a while and let off a little steam."

He'd wanted to find out how Duo felt, but now the personal conversation was leaving him uncertain, because Duo was right. He'd never thought of Duo as much more than a drinking buddy. Now, he realized, they could be good friends if he'd let it happen. He wondered what that would be like. He would explore that next time, maybe, after he'd had a chance to think about it more. Now they had better move to the business of the call before he slipped and gave himself away. But he couldn't resist Duo's last comment. "So, did you let off a little steam last time?"

"Shit! No, you bastard. I was at work."

"Aa." Heero remembered.

"And I was so horny I couldn't stand up for half an hour."

"Gomen, koi." So, Duo had been that turned on just thinking about touching him.

"Nah. It's a chance I take by calling. And I called back, ne?"

He had called back. That made Heero feel good. "I think you were about to give me a back rub last time."

"Yeah. Did you get the Spandex shorts?"

"Of course. I have them on now."

"Really?"

"I give you my word, koi. And I have the massager ready."

"Okay, Heero."

Good. He was slipping into the fantasy now. The fantasy was safe. And Heero wanted know what happened next. "So, you turned me over on my belly on the bed, and I pushed up and took off my tank top--"

"Mmmm. Yes. You are so beautiful. As you lay back down on the bed, the muscles move across your back like waves on the ocean. And I sit on your lovely ass, feeling the hard muscle tensing there underneath me. I lean forward and lay my hands on your left shoulder."

"Nnn. They're nice and warm. That helps relax the tension in my shoulders."

"And I begin rubbing, slowly, firmly."

Heero turned the massager on low and warm and held it against his left shoulder. "Nnnn." Damn! That felt good. He moved it around slowly over his shoulder. "Aaaaahh."

"I push against the knots, feeling each muscle relax, getting looser. God, I'm getting hard again."

"I don't notice, though. That feels so good, koi. Keep rubbing."

"Of course, Heero. I want you to feel good." There was a pause as Duo sighed. "It feels so good to rub your back like this, Hee-koi."

"Why?" Heero was truly curious.

"Because I like touching you. It just makes me feel good. Now my hands move slowly across the space between your shoulder blades."

Heero moved the massager. "AAA! Koi! Stop right there between my shoulders."

"Whatever you want, Heero. I dig my fingers in deeper when I hit the tight spot on your spine at the base of your neck."

"Nnnn." He pressed the massager harder into the spot. "Oh, I can feel the muscles loosening up. Damn. I never realized I was so tense."

"This is the first time anyone's given you a back rub, ne, Yuji?"

It took a moment for Heero to register his phone name. "Aa. I'm not very experienced. Please don't stop."

"That's okay. I don't think Heero is either. Neither am I. Just a lot of reading and watching movies. Well, I keep my hands there, rubbing harder. Your muscles feel so sweet when they relax under my hands."

"Nnnn." Heero realized he was panting. Heero realized he had a raging hardon going. "Nnnnn." He didn't dare tell Duo. And it wouldn't fit the fantasy anyway. With Duo sitting on his ass giving him a backrub, there was no way Duo would know -- unless he told him. "Oh. That's good, koi. That feels so much better now." Damn if it didn't.

"I'm glad, Heero. I want you to enjoy this. I let my fingers work their way across to your right-- Damn! My lunch half-hour is almost over."

Damn is right, Heero thought. This was getting good. He could continue the massage on his own, of course, but it would be better to wait until Duo called back. It would make his reactions more real, and that was what Duo wanted. Realism. "I'm sorry, koi. I'm really enjoying this." A lot more than you know. "When can you call back?"

"You're off at 18:00 again, right?"

"Aa."

"Damn. Heero and I are going to the gym tomorrow morning..."

Heero nodded. Duo's apartment complex had a great fitness center -- a damn sight better than the two exercise bikes and fifty pounds of dumbbells his apartment called a gym. He'd been meeting Duo every Saturday since Duo had moved into the place four months ago.

"... and then I convinced him to go to the Maxfield Parrish exhibit with me."

Heero blinked. He'd forgotten about that. Good thing Duo had reminded him. "That's okay. I'm off weekends." He allowed himself a small smile. Duo didn't know he was reminding him. "Maybe you should offer him a back rub tomorrow after your workout." Oops. He needed to keep the line between his fantasies and Duo's firm. Especially now that he was finding parts of Duo's fantasy interesting.

Duo laughed. "Yeah. I can see it now. He'd glare at me and say, 'Omae o korosu.' Maybe some other time. I'll call back Monday. Bye."

But a back rub after their workout could be nice.

He thought about that later in the evening as he lay in bed. After letting off a lot of steam, he drifted into sleep, wondering if Duo had done the same.

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"Hnn." ... It was funny ... "Hnn." ... Heero thought as he ... "Hnn." ... looked in the mirror. ... "Hnn." ... He'd never seen ... "Hnn." ... how Duo watched him. ... "Hnn." ... Especially when ... "Hnn." ... he was doing squats. ... "Hnn." ... Of course ... "Hnn." ... Duo was supposed ... "Hnn." ... to be watching ... "Hnn." ... because he was spotting, ... "Hnn." ... but now Heero saw ... "Hnn." ... how Duo's eyes ... "Hnn." ... followed every move ... "Hnn." ... with more than ... "Hnn." ... a spotter's interest ... "Hnn." ... which was obvious ... "Hnn." ... because his eyes ... "Hnn." ... followed Heero's ass ... "Hnn." ... not his back ... "Hnnn." ... as they should have ... "Hnn." ... to be sure ... "Hnn." ... he kept it straight ... "Hnn." ... but now, knowing ... "Hnn." ... it was obvious.

He lowered the barbell to the mat, pulled the towel from his waistband, and wiped the sweat from his forehead and chest. He usually wore his tank top when he was working out, but today he'd felt warm, so he'd taken it off. When he turned around, he noticed that it took a full three seconds for Duo's eyes to drag themselves up his body to his face.

"Anou, Heero... How can you squat a hundred kilos twenty-five reps every week and still have such skinny legs?"

Heero looked at the limbs in question. They were not skinny, just lean and long. He didn't like his thighs to touch when he walked, so he only did maintenance on them. "You don't like my legs?"

"You have great legs!"

The discussion had distracted Duo and Heero noticed he was staring at those "great legs". Damn! He hadn't expected that kind of reaction. Well, he had, but he'd expected Duo to stifle it or be more subtle about it.

Duo looked up, saw Heero watching him and turned ever so faintly pink. "Uh... I mean... They just don't look big enough for that kind of weight."

"I have dense muscles." Heero decided they'd both rather be talking about something else. "Do you want help resetting the bar?"

"Huh?"

"You did forty kilos last week. I don't think you're ready for a hundred yet." Duo's muscles were not as dense as his. "Forty is probably a good place for you to stay for a few weeks until you find your balance." Duo would look better if he never tried for a hundred. "No need to rush and get too big." Duo actually looked pretty good as he was.

They finished the workout an hour later. As they walked toward the locker room, Heero diverted into the steam room, kicking off his shoes before stepping through the door.

"Oi! Heero! We're supposed to be going to the art exhibit."

"The paintings aren't going anywhere. We can take a half hour for a good steam." He missed having a steam machine in the bathroom like he'd had while undercover at school in Japan. Running the water hot in his dinky bathroom only fogged the mirror, grew mildew, and run up his utility bill.

"But... But..." Heero shucked off his Spandex shorts and jockstrap as one, bending at the waist as he stepped out of them, giving Duo a clear view of his ass all the way to the bottom. "Oh, fuck," Duo muttered.

Heero smirked faintly as he straightened, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then picked up another towel, carefully schooling his face back to it's usual bland expression. He turned. "Here," he said, offering the towel to Duo, who looked at it, or possibly at Heero's not-entirely-concealed crotch, which was in line-of-sight with the towel in Heero's hand. Heero had positioned both towels very carefully.

Duo closed his eyes for a second, sighed, then opened them, looking at Heero's face, eyes suddenly twinkling. He grabbed the towel and walked over to the bench against the wall, where he proceeded to strip, folding shirt, shorts, jock, underwear and socks piece by piece as he removed them. Finally, after stacking them all a half dozen times to find the arrangement that suited him, he unfolded the towel and made quite a production of wrapping it around him so it didn't quite cover the bottom of his butt. "These towels aren't big enough, Heero." He folded it again and sat on it, naked, in the corner of the room, legs sprawled open before him.

Damn, he did that on purpose, Heero thought. He noticed that for all his antics, Duo wasn't hard and wondered how much will power that had taken. And Duo was right, the towels were small. They weren't really designed to cover a butt completely. And if Duo hadn't been with him, he wouldn't have bothered with the towel in the first place. Not willing to be outdone, Heero nodded. "They are," he agreed, removing his. He didn't bother putting it under him as he sat on the bench. Heero leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, letting the hot steam relax his body.

"So, uh, Heero, what're you doing now?"

"Relaxing."

"No, baka. I mean your job."

Why the Hell did everyone want to know about his job? "Inbound telemarketing."

"Naaniiii?"

"Inbound telemarketing. People call me, not the other way around." Probably because he had so much trouble settling down after the war. Probably because he'd been through so many jobs in the past three and a half years. Probably because they were concerned. That thought made him relax more. It was good to know there were people who gave a damn about him.

"Oh. I know someone at work who did phone sex for a while when they were younger and that's what they called it."

Heero kept his voice carefully level. Better to ignore the comment. "I've been doing it for six months now." That was something of a record for him.

"Hey! That's great! So you think you've found a job you like?"

Heero shrugged. "It's okay. Some of the people I talk to are interesting. And some make me uncomfortable." He decided to steer for a safer subject again. "How about you? Still working for Noin?"

"Yep." Heero heard Duo lean back against the wall and sigh. "This is nice, Heero. I'm glad you dragged me in here."

"Hn." Heero was wondering why he kept having little flashbacks to Duo folding his clothes. What was so interesting about folding clothes? He gave up trying to understand and abandoned himself to the warm, wet embrace of the steam.

He thought a backrub would have been better, though.

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