A/N: I wrote a 6x2 drabble forever ago, with Duo as a grad student and Zechs as his mentor and I always wanted to follow up on it… I even had this entire longfic planned out where it became a 6x3x2 but, like most things, I never got around to it. So here's another one shot, set a few years after that first one, but you don't have to have read it to follow along (it's chapter 6 in Drabbles if you wanted to give a read, however).

A/N: As always, thank you Ro, for everything, but in particular for beta reading.

Warnings: language, sex, angst (lol I left it off at first but then I reread the first 4K and realized I was fooling myself)

Pairings: 6x3x2

Keynote

Duo sat at the hotel bar, finishing off his second glass of whiskey, and congratulating himself on not fucking up at his first post-doctoral conference presentation.

Only a year after graduating from MIT, Duo still felt like he was faking it most of the time, a feeling that was only made even more intense when he considered the fact that all of his peers were at least five to fifty years older than he was. It didn't help that his post-doc fellowship at Princeton had ended up being an exercise in 'how to explain to all of the old geezers that nanotech wasn't black magic.' It wasn't that bad, some days… but some days, it was worse.

Duo liked Princeton, liked the sizeable research funding and the support the university offered, but he wasn't too thrilled about the lack of interaction with faculty who actually knew what the fuck he was talking about most of the time.

The trouble with being an enfant terrible was both the enfant and the terrible - he was too young and way, way too smart.

It was a little surreal to have just given a fifty-minute lecture on the applications of nanoparticle flow dynamics and not made a fool of himself or thrown up from nerves.

It was surreal, and it was worth celebrating.

The only trouble was, of course, that he had no one to celebrate with.

A few of the Princeton professors had sat in on his lecture. One had even followed it enough to ask a sort of redundant but still appreciated question during the Q&A afterwards, but none of them were close to Duo. The three grad students who had been invited to attend the conference weren't into nanotech, and besides, were two to three years older than Duo and resented the fact that, at twenty-five, Duo had accomplished more than they were likely to in the next ten years.

So, Duo sat at the bar alone, consoling and congratulating himself with the whiskey, and tried not to care about the fact that he was alone.

Or about the fact that there were two people he wanted to be spending tonight with. Two people who, according to the conference program, were definitely in attendance, and were definitely each sitting on panels tomorrow afternoon. Two people that Duo hadn't seen since the day he packed up the last of his stuff and moved from Boston to Princeton.

Two people that Duo really, really wished had been at his lecture, and not just because they would have known what he was talking about - for the most part - but because, like the stupid fucking kid he knew he still was, he wanted them to know he had done it, wanted them to be proud of him.

But they hadn't been there; or, well, they could have been there. The lighting hadn't been great, and Duo had had to fight against it reflecting off of his glasses and his tablet, so maybe they had been there, sitting in the back or something. But they hadn't asked any questions at the Q&A, hadn't stayed after to meet him, hadn't-

Duo forced himself to stop thinking about it, to stop thinking about them.

If Trowa Barton or Zechs Merquise gave a damn, they would have been there. And, well, they weren't.

Duo signalled the bartender for another whiskey. He was scheduled to sit in on a panel tomorrow morning at eleven, which meant he had plenty of time to get wasted and work off a mild to middling hangover.

"I told you we'd find him at the bar."

Duo could sense someone standing behind him, just to his left, and at the words, he turned, a little clumsily, and almost fell out of his seat.

Strong, familiar arms reached out to steady him, and Duo looked up into a familiar, smirking face.

"Tro- Trowa?" Duo looked past him, to the taller man beside him. "Professor."

Another smirk, this one cooler and drier than Trowa's.

"Duo."

He couldn't stop looking at them, at the two men who had made his three years at MIT the best of his life, at the two men he had fallen in love with, at the two men he had walked away from.

Trowa looked good, tan and relaxed, and it was clear Silicon Valley agreed with him. And Zechs… He looked the same, as effortlessly confident and powerful and brilliant and sexy as ever.

Duo managed to settle back into his chair, and Trowa let him go, hands trailing down Duo's arms in a lingering caress that had Duo shivering and wishing for more.

Trowa sat down to his right, Zechs to his left, and Duo, stuck in the middle, felt overwhelmed.

"What… what are you doing here?"

Zechs quirked an eyebrow at the idiotic question.

"Here at the bar, or here at the conference? I'm sure you've read the program - I'm on a panel tomorrow, and so is Zechs." Trowa was smirking again, his voice tinged with amusement.

Zechs signalled the bartender.

"Two more of what he's drinking," Zechs gestured towards Duo's whiskey.

It had been Zechs, after all, who introduced Duo to whiskey in the first place.

"No, here, at the bar," Duo growled.

"Looking for you - and for a drink."

Trowa accepted his rocks glass from the bartender, and offered Duo a mock toast before taking a sip.

Zechs sipped his own, lips quirking as he judged the vintage, and then he nodded in acceptance.

Duo didn't know what to say, sure as hell didn't even know what to think.

So he sat between them and took another sip of his whiskey, choking on it when Zechs reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind Duo's ear.

"When did you stop wearing contacts?"

It felt a little - felt a lot - like they were ganging up on him. Like Trowa and Zechs had some plan or something, and Duo was just… the pawn in all of it.

Duo swallowed the whiskey and set the glass down before reaching up to defensively adjust his glasses.

"I've always had glasses."

"I remember. But you hated them."

Duo shrugged, uneasy with their combined attention.

Attention that he had, a year ago, craved. It had been glorious, to be between these two, to have their intense focus on him.

Now… now Duo felt clumsy and slow and so very, very out of practice.

"I kept forgetting to take out my contacts before going to sleep, so I just gave up," he admitted, risking a glance over at Trowa.

Trowa frowned slightly.

It had been Trowa, more often than not, who woke Duo up when he fell asleep over a book or in front of his computer and told him to take his contacts out and get his ass into bed.

"They suit you," Zechs said, smirking again.

Duo shivered at the words, at the possessive tone. He looked into Zechs's eyes, momentarily losing himself in the heat of his blue gaze.

"You've come a long way in your research," Trowa broke the spell. "Your presentation this afternoon was impressive."

"You- you were there?" Duo hated how desperate he sounded.

Trowa nodded. "I had to rearrange my flight to make sure I got in on time for it. I'm sorry I didn't stay after - I had to meet up with some colleagues for dinner."

"No, it's… it's fine." It was more than fine. It was, actually, a little frightening just how good it felt to know Trowa had been there.

"I was proud of you," Zechs added.

Zechs, who was always short on praise, who handed out cruel barbs like treats, was proud of him.

He'd said it before, of course, but usually it had nothing to do with work, with Duo's research.

Duo swallowed hard, fighting against the flush those words brought, the high that coursed through his body. He took another sip of whiskey, feeling giddy and overwhelmed.

"Are you staying here?" Trowa asked.

Duo nodded.

"Yeah, the school's paying for everything, so…" There was no way that Duo could have afforded even one night, let alone three, at the Morris Inn. Three nights here was more than he paid for a month's rent.

"So are we," Trowa said, finishing off his whiskey but waving away the bartender when he moved to refill it.

"Together?" Duo asked, looking between them with a frown.

Trowa shrugged one shoulder, looking past Duo and at Zechs.

"That depends. I have my own room and Zechs has his."

"Depends on what?"

"On you," Zechs said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He finished off his drink as well and pulled out his wallet, laying down enough cash to more than cover Duo's three drinks, plus their two, and leave a decent tip.

"On me," Duo repeatedly stupidly.

Trowa leaned against the bar counter and smirked down at him.

Zechs made a tsking sound as he stood up.

"David, how much have you had to drink?"

David. Zechs knew how much Duo hated to be called that.

Duo glared up at him, but Zechs just leaned down, his lips brushing against Duo's ear.

"What was it you said that first day in my office?" Zechs whispered.

Duo felt heat rush to his cheeks.

How many times had Zechs reminded him of that? How many times had Zechs forced him to say it again?

He pulled away enough to look up into Zechs's eyes, to see his satisfied smirk.

Duo bit his lip and looked between Zechs and Trowa, both expectant.

Hadn't he been dreaming of something like this since he had left them behind? Hadn't Duo wished for this ever since the conference program was published and he realized they would be there as well? Isn't this what he had wanted?

He looked at Trowa again, his ex-boyfriend, the man who had practically begged Duo to take a fellowship at Stanford just so they could be on the same coast.

And then there was Zechs, Duo's… what exactly had he been? Mentor, lover, friend, enemy. Undoubtedly the driving force in pushing Duo to excel.

He had missed them both, had thought about calling or emailing them so many times over the last year. But he hadn't, and they hadn't reached out to him either.

Which, really, was his own fault. He had been the one to tell Trowa that long distance relationships didn't work, had been the one to tell Zechs that he hoped his next assistant was as useful as Duo had been.

Duo had been cruel, had been full of false bravado as he assured them that it was better this way, a clean break, each of them going into the future alone.

It was, after all, better than the alternative of longing for what he couldn't have. Trowa was too good for him, and Zechs… Zechs was like the fucking sun, burning so hot and bright, he consumed Duo unless Trowa was there to anchor him.

"Well?" Zechs prompted.

Duo swallowed hard.

He should keep his mouth shut, or tell them he would try to go to their panels tomorrow. He should walk away. He should-

"I'm your slave," he breathed, voice shaky and barely audible.

Zechs's lips curved upwards, and he straightened up to his full height.

"Hm. While your presentation this afternoon was exceptional, I feel that you might need to work a bit harder to demonstrate that principle to me." Zechs's eyes flickered over to Trowa. "To us."

Duo looked away from Zechs and back at Trowa, whose green gaze was practically smoldering.

Trowa didn't get off on dominating Duo like Zechs did, but he liked to watch, and sure as hell liked to be on the receiving end of Zechs ordering Duo's actions.

"I have an executive suite," Trowa offered, straightening up and smirking at Zechs. "Perhaps we should use my room for this… demonstration?"

Zechs looked on the verge of arguing, no doubt wanting to do this on his territory, but he shrugged.

"One executive suite is the same as another," he said carelessly, letting Trowa take the win but making it clear that he was allowing it.

Duo wanted to roll his eyes. Some things, at least, never changed.

It wasn't that Trowa needed to control everything the way that Zechs did, but he had spent most of his life being overlooked and overshadowed, and Zechs… Zechs had a long shadow.

Duo rose to his feet, feeling the effects of three glasses of whiskey working through his body, and couldn't help but smirk as both Zechs and Trowa looked him over hungrily.

Maybe he would get to celebrate tonight after all.

-o-

The elevator ride left Duo nervous and jittery, and by the time Trowa ushered them into his huge and immaculate executive suite, Duo was thinking he either should have stopped at two drinks or had a fourth. Three was too many to be entirely sober, but not nearly drunk enough to keep him from fixating on all of the ways this could go so very, very wrong.

Trowa closed the door behind them, and led the way past the bathrooms and into a sitting area that sectioned off the bedroom, clearly visible through an open doorway.

Duo's standard room had seemed immense and luxurious, with two tall and fluffy queen sized beds, but Trowa's suite, which had to be bigger than Duo's apartment and had a king sized bed, put Duo's hotel room to shame.

Trowa removed his jacket, draping it carelessly over the desk against one wall, and gestured towards the couch and two armchairs.

"Anything to drink?" Trowa opened up the mini-fridge, revealing a fully-stocked bar.

"No, thank you," Zechs sat down on one end of the couch, crossing his legs and throwing one arm over the back. He looked completely at ease, his lips curving slightly in his usual look of eternal amusement and faint contempt for the world around him.

Trowa looked over at Duo, who remained standing, and he shook his head. As much as he might want that fourth drink, the more he thought about it, the better it seemed if he maintained some kind of control over his impulses. A fourth drink would not help with that, at all.

Trowa, however, pulled out a bottle of vodka and poured it into a coffee mug and took a sip before sitting down in the armchair furthest from Zechs.

Leaving Duo hovering between them, the upholstered leather coffee-table/footrest thing separating the couch and chairs from each other and from Duo.

Trowa sipped on his coffee mug of vodka, sitting straight-backed in his chair and looking as tense as Duo felt.

"David." It was the voice Zechs used on incompetent freshmen, the tone that expressed his disdain and loathing and complete boredom.

Duo swallowed hard and met his cold gaze.

"Surely you haven't forgotten everything I took the time to teach you?"

Duo had always been afraid of letting Zechs down, in the lab and in bed, a fear that Zechs had surely picked up on almost immediately, had certainly used to manipulate Duo, to push him and torture him.

It had been a year since they were all together last, and while Duo didn't think he had forgotten a single damn thing, he wasn't sure if he was just supposed to pick things up where they had left them? If he was supposed to ignore the fact that Trowa had walked out on him in the middle of an argument because he didn't want Duo to see him cry, if he was supposed to just pretend that Zechs had never sneered and assured Duo that he was easily replaceable before telling him to get the hell out of his office.

Duo looked over at Trowa, steadily downing his drink, and knew that he, at least, was still thinking about the last time he and Duo had been together.

But there was too much to say, too much to repair, and it felt overwhelming.

So Duo took the easy route, surrendering to Zechs's unspoken command, and sank to his knees.

Zechs smirked and lazily extended his right hand.

Duo crawled over, placing his cheek against it, and Zechs chuckled before smoothing his hand across Duo's face and into his hair.

"Tell me," Zechs crooned, his fingers tightening in Duo's hair and tugging until Duo had to tilt his head up to ease the pressure. "Tell me what you deserve, David."

Duo tried to swallow, tried to work some moisture into his dry mouth, and he licked his lips and panted out a desperate breath.

He'd forgotten just how intense Zechs's gaze was, how strong his grip, how insistent he was in control. Fantasy and memory had smoothed the edges, had softened everything, but now reality was brought back into painfully sharp focus.

Duo could feel his blood moving through his body, heavy and sluggish, but his pulse was racing just from Zechs's touch and his words.

"I deserve-" Duo had to stop and clear his throat, and he flushed when Zechs's eyes narrowed. "I deserve to be fucked over and over again until I can barely walk or breathe, until I'm dripping with semen."

Zechs smirked, clearly pleased to hear the words, to hear the hitch in Duo's voice as he spoke them.

As hyperbolic as they sounded, Zechs had always done his level best to leave Duo in exactly that state each time he fucked him. When Trowa had joined them, Duo really had been left barely able to walk or breathe, really had been left dripping with semen.

Duo felt his groin stir at the memories, and he shifted forward, closer to Zechs.

The blond man chuckled and obligingly uncrossed his legs, shifting so that there was a v of space between them, and Duo moved to fill the space.

He could see the outline of Zechs's cock, already hard, confined against the inseam of his trousers.

It had amazed Duo, how quickly Zechs became aroused at just the thought of dominating Duo. Zechs had to be at least thirty-five, and while he usually needed half an hour to recover between rounds of fucking Duo, he was always ready to go again, to pound into Duo until Duo had to beg for a reprieve.

Duo inched forward, until his face was in Zechs's crotch and his lips against his clothed cock.

"Mm," Zechs hummed in appreciation, fingers pulling at Duo's hair sharply, making him hiss in pain and curl closer to Zechs. "I see you haven't forgotten everything after all."

Duo tongued the hard flesh through the woolen fabric, feeling the head and hardness of it and squirming as he thought about Zechs's cock fucking him, spearing through his body while Duo cried out for more.

He fumbled for the zipper and managed to unfasten it, reaching inside the trousers and pushing aside the fabric of Zechs's briefs so that he could pull his cock free.

It filled Duo's hand, thick and red and just as perfect as Duo remembered it being.

"Fuck," he breathed, "I've missed your cock."

Zechs chuckled, amused and satisfied, but when Duo opened his mouth, intent on tasting Zechs, the older man angled his head away, upwards, and he caught Duo's open mouth with his own in a fierce kiss.

Zechs was always cruel and forceful, and this kiss was no exception. He sucked Duo's lower lip into his own mouth, teeth catching it even as his tongue seared Duo's mouth, thrusting inside greedily, leaving Duo breathlessly clutching Zechs's thighs while the other man had his way.

When Zechs finally released him, Duo sat back on his heels and sucked in a deep breath. Zechs's eyes were glazed, his lips swollen, but he looked otherwise as at ease and in command as he always did.

"As much as you might want to be filled by this," Zechs said, giving his own cock a lazy tug, eliciting a bead of precum, "I believe you should give our host some attention. Show your gratitude for his hospitality."

Zechs nodded towards Trowa, and Duo turned, guilty at having been so completely focused on Zechs.

The mug of vodka had been finished or abandoned, sitting on a side table while Trowa still sat rigid in his chair, hands on his thighs, lips parted and cheeks flushed.

He looked drunk, or aroused - probably a mixture of both, Duo was sure - and decidedly unsure of what to do about it.

Zechs nudged Duo in his direction.

"Ask him what he wants from you, David. Show him what an eager slut you are."

Duo shivered.

He'd been called a slut before Zechs, the insult thrown at him by the first guy Duo had ever kissed - a guy who turned out to be very, very straight - and by the RA Duo had slept with his freshman year of college one night and who had called Duo a slut when he tried to make the one-night stand more than that.

When Zechs said it, Duo still felt the sting of those other times, still felt the derision and shame, but he also felt the warmth of possession. He was Zechs's slut, was his slave, as Duo had so foolishly volunteered. And maybe it was dirty and damaged and pathetic, but hearing Zechs call him a slut again was far more rewarding than having the faculty at Princeton attend his afternoon presentation.

Duo crawled over to Trowa, knowing Zechs was watching, but focused entirely on the way that Trowa's warm gaze followed him, on the steady rise and fall of his chest, on the shallow rasp of his breath.

Duo knelt in front of him, looking up into Trowa's face, at his chiseled features, at his green eyes that could turn from empty to overflowing with surprising speed.

"What do you want from me, Trowa?" Duo asked.

Trowa stared at him. Duo should have asked that question a long time ago, but he had been afraid to hear Trowa's answer. He was a little afraid now.

Trowa's fingers tightened on his own thighs, digging into his skin, and it was clear he was struggling with this as much as Duo was.

"Trowa," Zechs chided. "Surely there's something you want from this greedy slut? I'm sure my cock isn't the only one he has missed."

Despite Zechs's obvious cues, Trowa still hesitated.

"Kiss me," he finally said, sounding so unsure of himself that Duo felt a stab of pain.

Trowa didn't lean down, or pull Duo up; he just remained sitting rigidly in the chair, so Duo rose to his feet and leaned over him, closing the space between them slowly.

He brushed his lips against Trowa's, tentative and apologetic.

Trowa shuddered under him, turning his face and catching Duo's mouth as he moved away.

Kissing Trowa was so different than kissing Zechs, always had been. Zechs was fire, a conflagration devouring everything in its path, while Trowa took his time, gentle and slow, intent on discovery.

Duo opened his mouth, teasing his tongue over Trowa's lips until the other man shuddered again and let him in.

Duo could taste the vodka, strong and astringent, but before he could get too carried away with cataloguing the nuance it brought to Trowa's mouth, Trowa was pulling Duo closer.

He crawled into the chair with him, straddling his lap and wrapping his hands around Trowa's head. Trowa's large, steady hands smoothed over Duo's back, keeping him balanced as Duo lost himself.

This was the kiss he had been dreaming of - forgiveness and passion wrapped together, as filled with pain as it was with lust.

Trowa's tongue twined with his, familiar and still so tantalizing, and Duo felt himself consumed by Trowa just as surely as he had been by Zechs.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Duo had to say when Trowa eased back.

Trowa offered him a wan smile and traced over Duo's swollen lips with his thumb.

"So am I."

Duo drew in a shaky breath.

Trowa was still looking at him intently, his eyes shadowed, and Duo wasn't sure what to do - wasn't sure if Trowa wanted to talk or fuck, wasn't sure what would help.

"I've missed you," Trowa said, trailing his thumb from Duo's lips down his chin, and over the sensitive skin of his neck.

Duo shivered and arched closer.

"I've missed you too, Tro. So fucking much."

Trowa smirked a little at the old nickname.

He looked more relaxed, tension eased from his shoulders, and he adjusted in the chair, holding Duo's hips in place as he moved and made himself more comfortable.

"Did you miss my cock as much as you missed Zechs's?"

Duo chuckled.

"Hell yeah, I did."

"Show me," Trowa suggested, and Duo scrambled off of his lap, and he heard Zechs chuckle behind him.

Duo ignored him for now - if Zechs wanted Duo's attention, he would make it very clear - and instead focused on Trowa.

Trowa, who didn't get rock hard at the mere thought of calling Duo a slut and getting him on his knees, but who needed a bit of coaxing.

Coaxing that Duo was more than happy to provide.

He ran his hands over Trowa's thighs, nails scratching against the form-fitting khakis. He drew a path down to Trowa's knees and back up again, smoothing his hands over Trowa's inner thighs and smirking when Trowa drew in a breath and let his legs fall open in invitation.

"Mind if I take these off?" Duo asked, flicking his thumb against the fly of Trowa's trousers.

"Please."

Trowa lifted his hips obligingly as Duo unfastened the zip and tugged the trousers down, easing them over his thighs and knees. He paused to pull off Trowa's shoes before tossing them and the trousers to the side.

Trowa was wearing the sheer blue boxer briefs that Duo had bought him for his birthday last spring.

Duo looked up at him, arching an eyebrow in question.

"A guy can hope, can't he?" Trowa offered.

Duo nodded in agreement, and ran his fingers over the smooth nylon briefs.

"Thank god you did."

Trowa had only worn them for Duo once, trying them on for Duo after he opened them, and he hadn't been in them for very long at all before Duo was pulling them back off.

They felt good, smooth and slick, and they looked good, practically painted onto Trowa's skin, emphasizing the strength of his thighs, the trimness of his waist, and the heaviness of his balls and his cock as they filled out the front.

"Stand up," Zechs called out.

Duo turned, but Zechs wasn't talking to him.

Trowa hesitated a moment, but then followed the order, standing up and shifting his chair backwards so that he wasn't stepping on top of Duo.

"Take off your sweater," Zechs instructed.

Trowa pulled it off, taking his undershirt with it, and carelessly tossed it onto the clothes that Duo had already liberated from his body.

He arched an eyebrow at Zechs.

"Turn."

Duo looked up to see Trowa roll his eyes, but he complied, turning slowly and showing off just how well the briefs fit him, showing off his sculpted ass just as well as his front.

"Mm. Very nice."

Trowa looked pleased with the praise, even if he was a little irritated at having to put on a show for Zechs.

There had always been an attraction between them, but Trowa and Zechs didn't fit together as easily as Duo and Trowa or Duo and Zechs did. Duo knew they had slept together, had fucked without him frequently, but they never seemed completely at ease together, never seemed to know exactly where they stood.

"Don't you think so, David?"

Zechs was the only person who called him David, had been the only one to call him David ever since the death of his parents eleven years ago, and it grated every time.

"Yeah," he had to agree, choosing to ignore the use of his name. Zechs would call him David regardless of Duo's preferences.

"Then show him your appreciation. Demonstrate."

Duo would have happily done so without Zechs's order, but even so, he couldn't deny the excitement and arousal he felt at being told what to do.

He scooted closer to Trowa, reaching up and tracing his fingers over the hem of the briefs just below Trowa's ass, easing his fingers under and teasing against Trowa's smooth skin.

Trowa shivered and shifted closer, the bulge of his half-hard cock drawing Duo's attention.

Duo leaned forward and dragged the flat of his tongue over the bulge, breathing deeply, drowning himself in the sensation of the nylon, of Trowa's warmth and hard flesh, of the faint smell of his clean, crisp cologne and the primal smell of his groin, all so familiar and missed.

Trowa sucked in a breath, and one of his hands moved to Duo's face, pushing his bangs aside and tugging slightly; not as forcefully as Zechs would have, but hard enough to still make Duo hum in pleasure.

"He's always had a talented mouth, hasn't he?" Zechs asked as Trowa rocked forward, pressing against Duo's open mouth, and Duo obligingly tried to apply suction to Trowa's hardening cock.

"Yeah," Trowa gave a weak chuckle as Duo shifted his hands, pushing under the briefs and squeezing Trowa's ass firmly.

Duo crouched lower, moving his mouth along the underside of Trowa's cock and down to his balls, nuzzling the softer skin and then gently nipping at it, remembering that Trowa liked that, liked the slightest bit of pain mixed with his pleasure.

Trowa hissed, and his grip on Duo's hair tightened. He guided Duo's head higher, back to his cock.

Duo smirked, but took the none-too-subtle hint and refocused his attention, dragging his teeth over the trapped flesh and then sucking on it.

Trowa groaned and rocked forward, clearly wanting more.

"I think we can move on from appreciating my briefs to appreciating something else," Trowa panted, and both Duo and Zechs chuckled.

Duo sat back on his heels and moved his hands over Trowa's hips and groin, still inside the thin nylon of the briefs. He wrapped one hand around Trowa's cock in a loose fist, and Trowa closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah," he breathed. "That feels good."

He was definitely drunk, or at least well on his way there, considering how vocal he was being. There was no way one glass of whiskey and two shots worth of vodka had him this talkative. He had to have had something else to drink before coming to the bar.

Duo considered that, considered just how nervous Trowa must have been, might still be, about this whole thing.

And, frankly, he had every right to be, considering just how royally Duo had gone about fucking everything up.

He felt stupid and guilty all over again, but before he could get sucked into a familiar spiral of self-loathing, Zechs drew his attention.

"Perhaps it's time to finally remove those briefs," he suggested.

Duo turned to look at him and saw that Zechs still had one arm across the back of the couch, bent at the elbow so that he could lean his head against his hand.

His other hand was stroking his cock, long, hard tugs that Duo knew wouldn't get Zechs off but would keep him close, on edge and aroused. His eyes were hooded and his gaze dark as he looked at them.

Duo couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight. He'd always found Zechs sexy, no matter the situation, but like this, trying to keep his own lust in check and maintain control over everything… that was Zechs as his sexiest.

Duo looked up at Trowa and saw that he was focused on Zechs as well, his lips curved upwards in a slight smirk.

Easing the briefs down, Duo freed Trowa's cock, smirking himself when the thick, heavy length fell downwards and then gave a slight bounce as it jutted out from his thighs.

Trowa stepped out of the briefs when they pooled around his ankles, and guided Duo's head back to his now-naked groin.

"Don't be too greedy with him," Zechs chided.

Trowa arched an eyebrow.

"Did you want a turn?"

"There's no reason we can't enjoy him at the same time," Zechs pointed out.

Trowa's smirk grew as he looked back down at Duo, and Duo shivered at the look, at the memories of being shared by them.

They had done this so many ways in the past.

Zechs only ever topped, only gave head as a reward for a thoroughly good fuck, and never surrendered control. But Trowa seemed to enjoy topping and bottoming equally, seemed to especially like it when he was the one fucking Duo while Zechs fucked him. And Duo… Duo had always enjoyed bottoming, had only ever topped for Trowa, and only then when it was the two of them alone.

"I've got condoms in my bag," Trowa said. "And lube."

Duo hesitated, but decided to just be completely, embarrassingly honest.

"I haven't been with anyone, since… since us."

Trowa frowned down at him, the look one of confusion.

"Really?"

Duo flushed at the doubt in his voice.

"Yeah, really. I wouldn't lie about that to-"

"No, I know you wouldn't lie. It's just… You're the one who didn't want to try a long distance relationship or-"

"Yeah, I know, I know. I just- Look, all I'm saying is we don't need condoms unless… unless we need condoms."

Trowa sighed.

"I've been careful. I've used condoms with the guys I've been with, so I'm still okay too."

Duo had to stare, didn't even bother to hide how much those words hurt.

Trowa, the shy science nerd who had been a virgin when he and Duo met during their first year at MIT, who had insisted on staying in bed their first night together until he got it right, until he was able to make Duo feel as good as Duo made him feel, and yeah… okay. It made perfect sense that in a year of being single, Trowa had hooked up with other guys. Trowa was a catch, was perfect and charming, and he was still that shy science guy but he had come out of his shell a bit over the years, and really, Duo wouldn't be surprised if Trowa had settled into a committed relationship with some filthy rich developer at Google or something. Of course Trowa had moved on.

Duo had known he would, had known that Trowa would get out into the world and realize just how forgettable Duo was, and-

"What about you?" Trowa asked Zechs, breaking into Duo's thoughts.

Duo braced himself for another blow. Zechs, after all, had insisted on almost nightly fucks, or at least Duo sucking him off when they had been together. There was no way he had gone a year without a slew of new conquests. Or maybe he had found someone new and special to fill the gap that Duo and Trowa had left.

Zechs had stopped stroking himself during the exchange, and he was watching Duo closely, his cool gaze knowing.

He shrugged carelessly.

"I haven't been impressed with anyone."

Duo stared at him.

Zechs lived in Boston, summered in the Hamptons, and spent the winter and spring breaks in France. It was laughable to think he hadn't met anyone who impressed him enough for even a casual fuck.

And yet… Zechs wouldn't lie about this either, hadn't stopped using condoms to fuck Duo until Duo slapped an envelope of test results on his desk and demanded it.

Duo was left feeling like even more of an idiot, left with way more questions than answers and, unlike science or math, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to come up with any brilliant solutions.

Trowa shifted restlessly, then stepped away from Duo.

"I'll get the lube," he muttered, and fled the room.

Zechs watched him go, cold blue eyes locked on his slim, nude frame, watching the play of muscles as Trowa vanished into the bedroom.

And then Zechs turned his full attention towards Duo.

It was obvious Zechs knew how much it hurt to realize that Trowa had moved on, that he was confused by Zechs's reported celibacy, that he was floundering.

Duo had never come to Zechs for comfort, had only grudgingly even told Zechs details about his past, and when he had, Zechs had tensed, his gaze becoming even chillier than usual. He had fucked Duo mercilessly after those confessions, leaving Duo bruised and exhausted and spent, and only then had Zechs pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Duo in silence.

"Come here," Zechs instructed.

Duo rose to his feet and crossed back to the couch, not bothering to crawl between the furniture, and tentatively sat down beside the older man.

Zechs rolled his eyes and pulled Duo to his side. It wasn't quite an embrace, but… it was something.

Duo felt the pull of Zechs's fingers in his hair, and reached behind his neck and pulled his hair tie free. Zechs started to comb through Duo's braid, loosening it until Duo's hair fell around his shoulders.

"You cut it," Zechs pointed out.

Duo shrugged one shoulder.

"There was a misunderstanding when I asked for a trim."

Zechs snorted at the bitterness in Duo's voice. Trim the ends was not the same thing as take off six fucking inches, and Duo was probably never going to get over it.

Still, as much as he hated to admit it, having his hair only go down to the middle of his back was a hell of a lot easier to deal with.

Trowa walked back into the room, lube in hand, and stopped short when he saw them together on the couch. Duo saw Trowa's fingers tighten around the full tube in his hand and his lips compress.

"Am I supposed to apologize for not becoming a monk? For daring to try to get over you?" Trowa bit out.

Duo sighed and tried to move away from Zechs, but the other man held him firmly in place against his side.

"Of course not," Zechs said, his words clipped, a sure sign he was fighting against saying something he would regret. "After all, Duo is the one who ended things."

Duo swallowed hard and looked away from Trowa's gaze when he turned to him.

"Look, I just- I thought you two wanted to have sex. But if this… If you want to do this now…?"

He looked between them, from Trowa's tense face to Zechs's carefully neutral expression.