Every Morning
by Merith
The pounding in his head only worsened when he opened his eyes. He immediately closed them again and let out a low groan. Through the pain, an underlying sense of wrongness flooded his consciousness. Forcing his eyes open once again, he took in his surrounding through a blurry film.
It was not his room.
The attempt to sit up was halted abruptly with a rattle and the flare of a deep-seated ache in his shoulders. In astonishment, Duo craned his head around to find he was handcuffed to the headboard. As the hazy fog began to somewhat clear, he came to the realization he was also naked.
"This is not the way I wanted to wake up."
Face down, nude but for the sheet clinging to his rear, in chained handcuffs, and suffering from the worst hangover in recent memory, Duo laid back with a huff. What the hell happened last night? The steady hissing sound he'd taken as background noise shut off. Sounds of someone moving about in another room could be heard. Turning his head, the room took on a familiar look. Heero's place? What the fuck..?
"I see you're awake," an amused voice came from the other side of the room. The bed dipped as the weight settled, and Duo attempted to roll over. "Careful. You had a lot to drink last night."
Duo rolled on his back, eyes blinking at Heero in confusion. "Heero? What am I doing here? Why am I …?" He rattled the chains of the handcuffs.
A low chuckle greeted his questions. "You insisted."
Looking at the man perched on the mattress beside him, Duo managed a glare. "Well, I un-insist then. Get me out of these."
Heero's brow rose, his eyes went from Duo's face to the hands fastened in twin cuffs, a foot of chain linking them. "You're not my master," he responded with a slight quirk to his lips.
Clarity clashed with confusion, a mirage of images wove and spun in his mind. And all the while Heero watched him. Dressed only in running shorts, a towel draped around his neck, Duo noticed Heero hair was still wet, and a drop of water fell, leaving a shining trail down his bare chest. Wetting his lips with the dry stick of a tongue, he could only ask, "What do you mean by that?"
A casual shrug of a shoulder, Heero began towel drying his hair. "It's what you said last night." He'd rose, heading for the door.
"Heero! Come on man, don't leave me here like this! My head hurts!" Duo called out desperately. He wanted answers, but he wanted freedom more. Laughter answered in response.
Duo slumped back in the bed. Other than the pounding in his head, and the aching strain his arms and shoulders held, he wasn't too uncomfortable. The pillows were firm, but soft. The mattress had just enough give without feeling smothered. The air conditioning unit kicked on, and the soft breeze reminded him of his lack of clothing. Just how and why he was in that predicament, needed an explanation. In his movement, the sheet had shifted to ride just at his hip line. If I was sporting morning wood, it'd knock the sheet all the way off. Closely following that thought, visions of the lone water drop, running down the chest he longed to touch, taunted him.
He groaned and closed his eyes. His libido did not need to raise its head now.
Tugging on the cuffs, he knew he wasn't going to break the chain. And though his hair was in its usual braid, he'd stopped carrying the tools of his earlier trade years before. Movement at the door drew his attention, and he watched as Heero crossed the room, a glass in one hand. The man was still shirtless, but his hair looked dryer, in its customary tousled look.
"Heero, man, I'd really appreciate it if you'd release me from these things. I don't care what I said last night, just get me out of here, okay?"
After setting the glass and a small medicine bottle on the nightstand, Heero stared down at him. Concern dampened the amused glint. Without speaking, Heero scooted him over to sit on the edge of the bed. He leaned in close over Duo, his hands reaching for the handcuffs. "You could have released yourself without any help, you know," he said softly. Duo held his breath; Heero was so close, closer than he ever remembered him being before.
"What?" Duo whispered.
Heero glanced down at him, their faces bare inches from one another. "You showed me last night. You just had to move your thumb, like this." His fingers, strong and gentle, touched the recessed switch on each cuff, springing them open.
Bringing his arms down, Duo kept his eyes on Heero, watching as the man rose, cuffs in hand. He rubbed his wrists, and rolled his shoulders before sitting up in the bed, swinging his feet over the side. Duo sat on the edge, keeping the sheet draped over his lap, eyes on the floor. "Why … how come I'm … I don't have clothes on?"
"That's partly my fault," Heero answered from one corner near the bed. Duo could hear a plastic bag rustle, but didn't look up. "I was too tired after the shower, and just put you to bed."
"Shower?" he nearly squeaked, looking up, only to hold his head in the next moment.
Accepting the glass Heero pressed into his hand, and the aspirin in the other, Duo swallowed, still not meeting the other's gaze. "Yes, shower. You insisted on a shower and that I…" At Heero's hesitation, Duo did look at his friend. "Wash you." If he hadn't been blushing just as painfully red, Duo would have enjoyed the sight.
Duo swallowed hard, steeling his courage. He had to know. "Heero, did we…" his gaze fell to the floor once again. "Do anything?"
"It depends on what you mean by do." Sounds of a drawer opening, something being shuffled, then the drawer closed, were being made.
"Well, do as in, uh…" Duo faltered, and took a large gulp of water, only to choke and cough it back up.
A warm hand pounded gently on his back, before it removed the glass. "Easy," Heero said in a low tone. "Here. You can wear these until your clothes are clean." He held out a tee shirt and another pair of shorts.
Holding them, Duo noticed he hadn't supplied underwear. His eyes automatically wandered to the crotch a scant yard in front of him. Heero wasn't wearing any either. "Uh… Heero, can you turn around or something? I'd like to get dressed now." Duo kept his eyes on the clothes in his lap.
Heero chuckled. "It's not like I haven't seen you before, you know. In fact, I got to see quite a bit of you last night." There was more than an amused edge to his voice, making Duo look directly at him.
"What the hell happened last night? Where the hell'd you get handcuffs like that?"
"They're yours," Heero supplied promptly. He waved a hand to the corner where a large plastic bag sat, its contents almost hidden from view. "Our last stop before here." His brow puckered in memory. "Leather Fantasies, I think it was called."
Duo's eyes widened. He knew the place, had visited before but never purchased anything. "You took me there?" Heero was already shaking his head.
"No, you took me there. Told me you had to pick up a couple of things to show me." And then he smirked.
Dropping his head into his hands, Duo groaned. "Heero, buddy, I'll love you forever if you can get me a cup of coffee, some more aspirin and for the love of God, tell me what the fuck I'm doing naked in your bed before I died of humiliation."
"Since you put it that way, I'll go make you some." He was already retreating from the room.
Duo stood cautiously on shaky legs, letting the sheet drop away. Keeping an eye out for his returning friend, he tested his body to see what, if anything might have happened. But other than the stiffness in his shoulders and back, he felt alright. His ass didn't have the mild pain associated with coitus, he didn't feel like he'd had sex; lust still continued to skim the surface of the never sated. Inhaling deeply, he didn't smell any lingering scents, didn't spot any sign on the bed. Better get this over with. Let Heero tell me what a fool I was.
Minutes later, Duo sat at Heero's dinette, watching Heero butter toast in the kitchen. "Coffee," he nearly growled, smelling it, but not feeling strong enough to get his own.
Heero glanced up at him, and put down the knife. "Cream and sugar? Or straight up?" he asked pleasantly, a hint of hidden amusement in his tone.
"Sure, you know how I like it." Duo closed his eyes, holding his head, digging the palms of his hands into his forehead.
A hand pulled one of his away, and wrapped it around a cool glass. "Drink this first. Then your coffee." Duo stared at the orange juice.
He sat it on the table, and glared. "Coffee, Heero. I didn't want juice. Coffee."
"But, Duo…" Heero began.
"No!" The hot flash of anger coursed through him. "Just coffee." It's what he said he wanted after all.
A steaming mug was placed in front of him; a smile played on Heero's lips. "Anything else I can get you?"
Taking a drink, he let the warm, sweet liquid slid down his throat before replying. "Only if you have a cure for this hangover or something to get rid of this neck pain."
Heero made a thoughtful noise before plucking the mug from Duo's hand. "Take off your shirt and lean forward over the table."
In the process of snatching back his cup, Duo paused and looked with surprise at Heero. "What?"
His eyes neutral, Heero merely pushed the coffee farther away, and calmly restated, "Take off your shirt. It will feel better that way. Lean forward over the table. So I have better access to you." Their eyes locked, gauging.
"All right," Duo agreed, pulling the material over his head and dropping it to the floor. "I'm all yours."
Duo had held himself tense, uncertain. Heero had disappeared for a moment, and Duo raised his head to watch the man pour a liberal amount of lotion onto his hand. He lowered himself back to his arms resting on the table. A massage. Heero's going to give me a massage?
A hand lifted his braid and draped it over his shoulder where it dangled, touching his leg. A delighted shiver ran through him when those warm hands touched his shoulders. The lotion quickly lost what chill it held as Heero rubbed it into his skin. Heero's fingertips soothing, penetrating from his spine outward, from his neck downward.
"Can you tell me, 'bout last night, while you work?" Duo mumbled into the crook of his arm.
The hands paused for a brief moment, and then continued. "All right. Where do you want me to start? From Carlos's?"
Duo nodded. "Yeah, I remember being there. Had dinner with Wufei and that new girl he's seeing from some law firm uptown."
"After they left, we had a couple more drinks, and decided to leave. You weren't ready to go home yet. Told me you wanted to show me one of the bars you liked - for it's specialty drink. Do you remember that?"
A faint smile appeared. "Uh huh… Jammers has some of the best house drinks. I sort of remember … there was a girl in a red … shirt?" Duo half turned in confused memory.
Hands pushed him back down, continuing to knead the swiftly relaxing muscles. "It was a red bra, actually. You wanted to see her tattoo and she showed it to you." Heero chuckled lightly. "I don't think you were expecting that because we left right after."
"Oh," He didn't remember, but wondered what the tattoo had been.
"After that we wound up at a dance club in mid-town."
Duo winced. He knew the one. When he wanted to dance, that's where he'd go - large dance floor, great DJs, and affordable drinks. Only he was known there, and to take Heero. At least maybe nothing happened. "We… danced?"
Heero snorted. "Once. You spent a lot of time introducing me to some interesting people."
"Interesting people?" he asked faintly, afraid to know just who.
"If you hadn't spend the entire time we were there telling all those women you and I were a couple, I would have believed you to be a real player." The amused edge was back in Heero's voice.
His own voice hitting a high note, Duo asked, "A couple? I said we were a couple?"
Heero laughed deeply. "In a way. You kept telling them I was your …" He cleared his throat suddenly. "Your slave."
Duo groaned. It couldn't have happened. He wouldn't have done that, would he? "Then we came here?" he asked hopefully.
"No," Heero grunted, adding some pressure to his touch. "You had another place in mind." Duo could almost see Heero's face scrunch up in thought. "Billy Jack's I think you called it."
"Oh God." Duo closed his eyes, his need to disappear immediately became stronger. "We didn't go there. Please say we didn't."
Another amused chuckle destroyed what hope he might have held. "It's quite an interesting place. I've never seen such talented …men."
Giving in to the inevidable, Duo sighed. "No, I guess you wouldn't have. Where else but Billy Jacks are you going to find semi-nude gay submissives willing to do just about anything for a few of bucks." Heero only laughed, and slid his thumbs along the sides of his spinal column. "Please said I didn't do or pay for anything… unusual."
A long moment of silence followed, in which Heero's hands had stopped moving. Finally, "I wouldn't say it was unusual. Unexpected, but not unusual."
Afraid to ask, wanting to know, Duo croaked, "What'd I do?"
He could hear Heero draw a breath and steeled himself for the worse. "You told me I'd be better than any of them. That'd I'd make a great sub."
Duo straightened and turned in his chair. "I what?"
His eyes shone brightly, complimenting emotions reflected in them. Dropping his hands to his side, Heero simply repeated, "You told me I'd make a great sub. Because I knew how to follow orders so well."
"Oh," he could only respond, waiting for him to continue.
Heero pulled another chair close, and sat nearly knee to knee in front of Duo. Face to face, Heero held his gaze, serious but no less amused. "It wasn't something I'd ever thought about before. And you thought I'd need some… accessories to go along with my role." His lips twitched. "Hence the handcuffs and a few other …items."
"From Fantasies," Duo's numb lips supplied.
"That's the place. I'd never been to something like that before." His lips twitched again. "It was educational."
"Educational?" Duo repeated slowly, his mind buzzing with the implications.
"You even bought me a collar." At Duo's surprised expression, Heero added, "To go with the outfit."
Comprehension began to dawn as his headache started to flee. "And you let me?"
"You insisted," his answer came boldly.
"You followed my orders," Duo restated, his look taking on a certain confidence.
Heero shook his head slightly. "No, I didn't. You insisted on buying it for me."
His hands touched the chest he'd longed to touch, his eyes never leaving those in front of his, he said softly but firmly, "You followed my orders."
A brief flare of anger sparked in the other's eyes. "Duo," Heero began. Duo's fingers cover his lips.
"Shhh, no need to say anything more, Heero." A tiny smile grew on his lips. "I understand now what happened."
Heero stood up abruptly, backing away and knocking over his chair. "You're not my master. I'm not your slave." His voice almost a whisper, doubt coloring his denial.
Duo rose, following his retreating form swiftly. "No, not my slave at all." His smile widened slightly. "But you like following my orders, don't you Heero?" He backed Heero up against the wall, a hand planted on each side of his head. "The coffee, the shower… even the handcuffs. They were all my orders, weren't they?"
Heero's eyes darted to the side, dropped to the floor before locking with Duo's. "You insisted on it. After you ran into… I mean, my drink spilled on you. You insisted on cleaning up right away."
Leaning closer, Duo braced himself on his forearms, pressing his body to Heero's. "And you always take showers with your friends? Wash them and put them to bed?" His lips spoke the words nearly ghosting over his friend's.
His eyes closed even as his hands clutched at Duo's waist. "You insisted…" Heero murmured, his mouth opening to the very insistent one nipping at his.
Long minutes passed, vague wet sounds, soft shuffling and even softer murmurs were all that were heard. Stepping back, offering an opening, Duo inhaled deeply. "Bedroom, Heero. Now."
Heero's eyes had opened when he'd broken the kiss and widened at the command. His reddened, slightly swollen lips hinted at a smile. He nodded once, and turned to go. Duo's hand flashed out and caught him before he'd taken a step and pulled him back. Pulling him down for another long bruising kiss, Duo released him suddenly, his hand sliding from its spot on Heero's neck, over his collar and down his chest ending with Duo's fingers tugging at the elastic waistband.
"And lose these." Duo's eyes never left Heero's, watching, waiting to see what the response would be to his blatant order. Heero slowly nodded once again, releasing his arms from around Duo's waist.
Watching Heero walk steadily into the other room, Duo slumped against the wall. "Shit. Did that just happen?" he mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. His hand stole up to his lips, feeling their tender skin still tingling. He grinned. "Not your master, my ass." Shoving off from the wall, he sauntered towards the bedroom. Eyes emanating a predatory gleam, he paused in the doorway, watching as Heero looked up at him from the center of the bed. No, not mine… yours.
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