The Medallion
Part the Fifth: Splish, Splash
by Caroline
The walk helped Duo calm down. He no longer wanted to rush over to
Relena's castle and strangle her. Well, he did, but walking in the
crisp autumn evening air with Heero at his side - despite the
clothing faux pas - put him in a much better mood. He could wait to
strangle Relena at a later date.
They found a high-end consignment shop two blocks over and one down
from the hotel. Heero had protested the need for his own clothes, but
Duo insisted. Heero would be much less of a distraction if he were
dressed - or so he thought until Mr. Sex on Legs stepped out of the
fitting room in a pair of black jeans and a tight blue turtleneck.
Duo had to lean heavily on a rack of clothing as Heero turned in a
circle to model his new duds. The rack fell over, taking Duo with it.
After extracting himself from the pile of designer hand-me-downs, Duo
and Heero quickly paid for the rest of the clothing and a pair of
ugly-but-serviceable tennis shoes they had picked out and beat a
hasty retreat with the manager frowning daggers at their backs.
Heero seemed interested in the world around him. Duo had almost
expected him to jump away from the traffic, screaming about magical
horseless carriages barreling down the street. Heero rolled his eyes
when Duo told him this.
"Just because I've been locked in a silver medallion for a couple of
millennia doesn't mean I'm a complete ignorant," he'd said.
"Well, n-no," Duo stammered. "I just didn't think that you'd ... get
out much."
Heero turned his head, his expression haunted. "Not much, but I did
get out. Several of my mistresses liked the idea of sex in public."
Duo found his eyes wandering down to stare at Heero's ass. He
wouldn't mind a little public sex at the moment...
No! His eyes snapped back up. He was not going to think of Heero that
way. He'd been thinking about what a hellish existence Heero must
lead. Demanded to perform on command. Trapped even when he was
released. A slave for thousands of years, unable to have his own
experiences, his own life... As gorgeous and desirable as Heero was,
Duo was not going to take advantage of his situation. Morally, it
really was the wrong thing to do.
Now if only he could convince Heero of that.
As they walked, Duo took note of restaurants and other places of
interest they might visit during Heero's month-long stay. Zechs had
generously given him a credit card and instructed him to use it. As
much as he didn't like taking advantage of his friend's wealth, Duo
knew he couldn't afford to keep Heero entertained for a month. And he
figured Zechs did owe him for all those times he'd been subjected to
the man's sister. A month's vacation was the perfect compensation.
As they walked, Duo asked Heero questions about his life before the
curse. Heero had been born of a wealthy shipwright and a freed slave
girl from somewhere in the Far East. He couldn't say for sure which
country his mother had been from, as over the centuries countries had
risen and fallen and borders changed. She had died when he was very
young, however, and Heero had quickly taken up his father's trade.
Duo didn't ask about the curse, even though he was dying of curiosity
to find out more. Surely there was an "out" clause. Ancient, cursed
objects always had some kind of riddle to be solved or conditions to
be met. But surely, if there were, Heero would have mentioned it,
maybe even asked Duo to help him break the curse.
He was desperately trying to find a polite way to ask how if breaking
the curse involved deflowering virgins or animal sacrifice - or vice
versa - when Heero asked him about his own life.
Duo shrugged. "Not quite as exciting as your history," he chuckled,
then stopped as Heero scowled at him. "Sorry. Anyway, there's not
much to tell. My parents died when I was seven. I was sent to a home
for kids in a Catholic parish before being shuffled from foster home
to foster home. I knew the only way out would be through school, so I
studied hard, which is tough when you're constantly moving and
switching schools. I earned a scholarship to a good university. Met
Zechs, who helped me discover who I really was inside. Graduated, got
a job. End of story."
Heero was quiet for a long time after Duo had finished relating the
Cliff's Notes version of his life. Duo was beginning to feel squirmy,
not liking the silence, when Heero asked softly, "Are you still in
love with Zechs?"
Duo stopped. Duo thought about it. Duo tried to hold in the choking
laughter.
"In love... with Zechs... hahaha..."
Heero looked confused which only made Duo laugh even harder. Air was
becoming a precious commodity, so Duo grabbed onto a near by
streetlight, bending over double as he tried to catch his breath.
"I didn't realize I was so funny," said Heero, rolling his eyes at
Duo's antics.
"S-sorry!" Duo replied, trying to gulp in the sweet, precious night
air. "I-I just ... tried to imagine ... *anyone* in love with Zechs."
He drew in a deep breath before straightening. "Honestly, I thought I
might have been at the beginning, but Zechs isn't the kind of guy you
fall in love with. He's the kind of guy you have fun with, if you get
my drift, which you do, being an incubus and all..." He pushed off
from the lamp post and turned down the street, Heero beside
him. "Zechs is my best - my only - friend. I'd move heaven and earth
for him, and he'd do - and does - the same for me. But I'm not in
love with him."
"You just talk about him with such great affection, I thought maybe
the reason you didn't want me was because of him," Heero replied.
Duo stopped again, turning to look at Heero. "Does it bother you that
I won't sleep with you?" he asked incredulously.
Duo wasn't sure but he thought he saw Heero blush slightly. "It's
what I am, what I was made for."
Duo shook his head. "No! It's what you were turned into, against your
will! These women who released you over the years, I bet none of them
gave a thought to your feelings or happiness, right?"
"Well..."
"See? I am *not* going to do that to you. It's not that I don't want
you, Heero, because oh my god, have you seen you? I'm just not going
to take advantage of a situation you have no control over."
Heero stepped closer, into Duo's personal space, and placed his hands
on Duo's arms, drawing the shorter man closer. "And what if I wanted
you to take advantage of it?" he breathed, leaning in so that Duo
could feel his breath against his cheek.
"Guh..." Duo immediately felt warm all over, feeling dizzy as all the
blood in his body seemed to rush to one point, making him glad he was
wearing his loose jeans. Damn, but he was tempted. So. Very. Tempted.
With Herculean effort, he pulled himself away.
Heero looked disappointed. Duo was again tempted to give in, if only
to get that look off Heero's face. But he was steadfast and
determined to let Heero have at least one month of freedom.
"Hey, Heero, I'm sorry but..."
"There is no need to apologize," Heero interrupted. "I must do with
whatever my mist... master wishes." He turned from Duo to resume his
walk down the street, shopping bag swinging almost dejectedly in his
hand.
Duo sighed, feeling incredibly guilty. But Heero would get over it.
He just needed to get Heero's mind on fun things other than sex.
Although at that moment, Duo was hard pressed to think of anything
more fun than sex.
They walked in silence back to the hotel, Heero taking in the sights
and sounds around him, Duo trailing behind, trying not to stare at
Heero's ass. Nothing good could come of that.
They entered the hotel lobby and as they stood in front of the
elevator, a faint chemical odor floating down the corridor gave Duo
an idea. He pressed his key card into Heero's hand and told him to go
on upstairs, that he'd follow in just a moment. He waited until Heero
stepped into the elevator, one eyebrow raised at him, before he
hurried to the front desk.
A bored-looking clerk stood behind the desk, meticulously arranging a
row of pens on the counter behind the high, marble top.
Duo stood there for a minute, frowning as the guy ignored him. He
cleared his throat a couple of times before finally getting fed up
and reaching to ring the little bell.
The bored man looked up. "May I help you?"
"Yes, I'm staying in one of the tenth floor suites," Duo replied,
hoping to impress the man who exasperatingly didn't seem to care. "I
was just wondering... how late is the pool open?"
"The indoor swimming facility is closed to children at ten o'clock.
The lifeguard leaves at midnight, and the doors are locked at two."
Duo's eyes opened wide. "Wow. That's late. The pools at the Holiday
Inn close at ten."
The bored man pulled his head back in disgust. "May I remind you,
sir, that we are not the 'Holiday Inn,'" he said, as if the very name
of that place could give him cooties.
Duo felt himself blush. He was so out of place in Zechs' world. "T-
thanks."
He left the desk and hurried to the gift shop. Or boutique. He'd
passed by it on their way out earlier that evening and had noticed
the swim trunks in the window, on sale now that autumn was well on
its way. Even so, Duo nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw
the "sale" price. He could pay bills for a month for what one pair of
trunks cost.
Still, since he wasn't exactly paying for it... He picked out a pair
of dark blue for himself and black in a larger size for Heero,
charged them to Zechs' account and hurried back to the elevators.
He found Heero outside of their room, fighting with the card key and
the lock.
"I do not understand," Heero all but growled, as Duo took the key
from him, trying not to laugh. "I put it in, the light turns green, I
try the knob but it won't open."
"You have to pull the card out first," Duo explained, demonstrating
the technique. He pushed his way inside, Heero following.
"Is this what is meant by the 'high tech' age?" Heero asked. "You
have to work twice as hard to get something done?"
Duo laughed at that. "Technology is supposed to make things easier
and more convenient, but sometimes it just doesn't work that way." He
held out his package to Heero. "Here. Put that on."
Heero peered into the bag. "You have purchased me a black
undergarment?"
The big lug. He looked so hopeful Duo hated to squash his dream. "No.
It's swim trunks. There's an indoor pool downstairs that's still open
for another couple of hours."
"Ah." Heero placed the bag on the sofa and pulled off his new shirt.
Duo beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom to put on his own pair of
trunks.
He emerged moments later, wrapped in the fluffy robe. He stopped dead
in his tracks when he saw Heero. The trunks were slightly too small
and hugged Heero's ass like a second skin. Duo reached up to push his
own mouth closed before he could swallow any flies. He tossed the
other robe at him.
"I thought we were going swimming," Heero said as he pulled on the
robe.
"It's only polite to be mostly dressed in the hallways," Duo
explained, not wanting to tell Heero the real reason - that he didn't
want anyone else looking at Heero except him. He swallowed the green-
eyed monster that had reared its ugly head inside him, grabbed the
key card and pulled Heero out of the room.
The elevator deposited them in the lobby and Duo followed the faint
scent of chlorine down the back hall and around the corner to a glass
room. A wave of moist heat rolled over them as they entered the pool
room, and Duo had to gasp in amazement.
The pool had steam drifting lazily toward the ceiling, indicating it
was heated. Duo loved heated pools. A small foot bridge crossed the
middle of the pool, separating the shallow from the deep end. At the
far end, a loud, rumbling waterfall tumbled down a fake rock wall
into the pool, frothing the water in the deep end. A separate hot tub
area sat nearly beneath the falls where two older women were boiling
themselves in contentment. Other than those two, Heero and Duo were
alone.
Heero inhaled the warm, misty air. "This is paradise."
"It sure ain't the Holiday Inn," Duo replied, pulling off his robe.
He blushed when he noticed the two old women eyeing him in
appreciation.
"Don't look now, but I think those ladies are ogling us, Hee... what
are you doing!?"
He had turned just in time to see Heero, sans robe, pulling his swim
trunks over his hips, giving the two old ladies an eyeful. Duo lunged
forward, grabbing the material and yanking it back up. His face was
beet read and he could have sworn he heard one of the women
say, "Darn it!"
Heero looked perplexed. "I thought we were to bathe?"
Duo shook his head. "No, no! We're going swimming. In a pool. With
other people present. You keep your trunks on." He suddenly noticed
how close he was standing to Heero and how his hands were still on
Heero's hips. He pulled away quickly. "Uh... did none of your
other... mistresses... take you swimming?"
"Yes, but never with clothes still on."
Duo hugged himself, sure his entire body was now blushing. "O-oh. I
see. Well um... you have to keep your suit on in here or we'll get
kicked out. Okay?"
Heero nodded. Duo turned jumped into the shallow end quickly, dunking
himself beneath the water to get his hair wet. He'd have to shower
again to get the chlorine out, but he needed to remove himself from
temptation before he did something he'd regret later.
He broke the surface, breathing in the humid air and looked around
for Heero.
The incubus was nowhere to be found.
Duo looked around. The two women were smirking at him from their
perch in the hot tub. He felt something brush against his calf under
the water. He whirled, but saw nothing. Then something yanked hard on
his leg and he was dragged under the water. Surprised, he tried to
draw breath, only to get a lungful of chlorine. He clawed his way to
the surface, sputtering and vowing vengeance on incubus ass.
Heero floated a few feet from him, chuckling, a smirk permanently
plastered on his face. Duo let out an unholy battle cry and lunged
for him. Though, being in water, his lunge was in slow motion, and
Heero dived below the water. Duo waited until the man came up for
air, then pounced, sending a tidal wave of water at Heero's head.
Heero retaliated and the two spent several fun minutes splashing and
trying to dunk each other before Heero dived below the surface again,
swimming for the deep end.
Duo followed, swimming underneath the little footbridge into deeper
waters, striking out for the edge of the pool when he could no longer
touch bottom. He wasn't the best of swimmers, and Heero swam like a
fish. He felt something brush against his leg again and he kicked
out. Heero popped up in front of him, grinning like a madman.
Duo made a face at him. "How did you get to be such a good swimmer if
you've been trapped in a hunk of metal for two thousand years?" he
asked.
"I was raised around water. I built ships. How could I make a boat
stay afloat if I, myself, couldn't keep from drowning?" Heero
replied, swimming in lazy half-circles around him. He stopped,
treading water and glancing over his shoulder at the waterfall. "Want
to go over there?"
Duo looked over at the water rushing down the fake rock wall. He
shook his head. "That's too deep. And there's nothing really to hang
onto."
Heero swam closer to him. "You can hang on to me," he replied, his
voice low and husky.
Duo's breath caught in his throat. "Uh..."
"Come on."
Duo found it impossible to say no to the man. Which was highly
troublesome. He nodded, then gathered his legs underneath him and
struck out for the waterfall.
Heero swam next to him, watching him, ready to grab onto him if he
faltered. As they passed the hot tub, the two old ladies were
climbing out, wrapping thick, fluffy towels around them. "Have fun
boys!" one of them called out as the two made their way toward the
exit. Duo was glad his skin was already red from the heat in the room.
Heero pulled him the last few inches into the frothy, churning waters
at the base of the falls. He pressed Duo's back against the pool
wall, holding them both above water. The sensation of water falling
on his head was amazing - different from being in a shower. It felt
good. It felt even better when Heero pressed closer to him, his face
inches from Duo's own.
Heero leaned in. Duo could taste Heero's breath on his own. He hardly
dared to breathe as he stared into Heero's clear blue eyes, his hands
clutching tight to Heero's shoulders to keep himself above water.
"Heero..." he murmured, though he could hardly hear himself over the
roar of the falls.
Heero heard him, however. "Yes?" He moved closer. Their lips touched.
Duo couldn't breathe. He tugged Heero closer, wanting to taste all of
him. Just one little taste...
The door to the pool flew open and a gaggle of college-aged girls
spilled into the pool area. The two men broke apart as their watery
paradise was invaded by estrogen and barely-there bikinis. Heero
looked as disappointed as Duo felt. But he didn't have time to react
before one of the girls spotted them and squealed.
Duo winced and turned to doggie paddle his way to the edge of the
pool. Heero swam next to him. "I believe it is time for a strategic
retreat," the incubus said, ignoring the girls who were trying to get
their attention.
Duo nodded. Or tried to and went under. Heero fished him out, pulling
him to the edge. "Good idea," he said, wiping water from his eyes. "I
don't do so well with girls. Especially those kind. They look like
they wanna eat me."
Heero hopped out of the water and turned to pull Duo out behind him.
He looked up as the girls started giggling at the sight of Duo being
hauled out of the pool, the suction of the water threatening to pull
his trunks down to his ankles. He hastily pulled them up.
"I don't think that's all they want to do to you," Heero said, eyeing
the girls.
Duo stood and tried not to run for the door. "Come on. Let's go
before I decide drowning myself would be the preferable option than
remaining in their company."
They grabbed their robes and left the pool room quickly, leaving the
cries of disappointment behind them.
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