Note: Thank you to KS for doing the editing thing, as per usual, and to everyone who has been reading and commenting.

Code Red:

'Still quite sure you won't take the day off and spend it with me?' Zechs tempted, making Duo groan.

'I can't, Zechs. Not without giving Tro a bit more notice.' He wanted to, though.

He'd been woken an hour or so previously, by Zechs' talented, teasing tongue on his early morning arousal, and still been half asleep when Zechs flipped him over and slid into him.

After a lingering shared shower, Zechs had left him to wallow in the massive bed while he ran downstairs to get breakfast.

No one had ever pampered Duo like that before and it was pretty mind-blowing.

'Such will power, darling,' Zechs teased, leaning over to lick a few stray crumbs from Duo's mouth.

'It's self preservation!' Duo shifted position slightly and winced. 'If I don't get out of this bed, I'll never walk straight again. Work isn't going to be all that much fun as it is.'

'Which is exactly why you should stay here with me,' Zechs told him glibly. 'No? Maybe I should give you a pillow to take with you when you leave so you can sit down.'

'Very funny.' Duo reached for another of the huge, buttery croissants. He was starving! No wonder after all the activity in that bed.

'I'm just trying to help. You don't have to be in work until ten, do you?' He lifted one eyebrow. 'And if you're a little sore, I'm sure I can make you forget all about it.'

'In your dreams, Merquise. Not unless you're willing to be the one underneath for a change.'

Zechs shook his head firmly. 'I don't do that. And I thought you seemed more than happy with the current arrangement.'

'Yeah, except I'm the one who ends up exhausted,' Duo muttered. It was always the same; guys saw the long hair and slim build and made certain assumptions about him. Why should Zechs be any different?

'Then we need to work on your stamina.' Zechs smiled at him. 'Hmm. Maybe I should let you go to work after all. It's very difficult to keep my hands off you when I have you here with me. What time do you finish tonight?'

'Seven.' Duo took a swig of his coffee. 'But I really need to go back home. I have to get clothes and feed my fish and water my plants and stuff.'

And fall into bed and sleep his brains out, rather than having them screwed out by his far-too-sexy, insatiable boyfriend. OK, that wasn't entirely fair. If he said no, and meant it, Zechs would respect that. The trouble was that he was far too good at turning Duo's no, into yes, please.

'Poor little fishes,' Zechs teased, 'starving because I keep dragging you back to bed. That's fine. I can collect you from the shop, drop you home to do whatever you have to do, and then we can go out. What would you like to do? I'd love to take you out dancing.'

'That'd be great, some other time,' Duo answered. 'But, seriously, I think I need an early night tonight.'

'Don't be silly. I wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if I left you all alone.' Zechs bent his head and kissed the tip of Duo's nose. 'Tell me what you'd like to do. Anything.'

Just like that, Duo's will-power curled up and died. He was being a damn idiot, that was his problem. He had a boyfriend, who was potentially the hottest guy on the planet, practically begging for his company, and he was turning him down to go home and sprinkle fish food.

'OK. But I don't want to do anything dressy-up. Can we just get pizza and go watch a movie?'

'That sounds wonderful.' Zechs sounded like he meant it. 'If you'd rather not go out, we can just get some DVDs and watch them here. I have a rather good entertainment system, and some very comfortable couches.'

'I'd kind of like to go out, actually. There're a couple of new releases I want to see.' That wasn't the entire truth. Curling up on a cosy couch sounded pretty nice, but that would lead to more sex, and even if Duo hadn't had enough for a while, his ass had. It would actually be nice to do something more ..date-like, that involved proper conversation and getting to know each other a little bit.

'All right.' Zechs looked at the clock on his dresser. 'If you're quite sure you won't stay, we'd better get up or you'll be late.'

'And whose fault would that be?' Duo quipped, jumping out of bed and then regretting it as every muscle in his lower back groaned with pain.

'Mine. All mine.' Zechs didn't sound terribly apologetic as one large hand snaked out and caressed Duo's bottom gently. If anything, he sounded rather pleased.

He was charmingly attentive on the drive to Wish, stopping to buy Duo another coffee, and a selection of snacks, to 'keep his strength up'.

'You're sure you're all right?' he asked, pulling up outside the shop.

'Yeah, I'm OK.' Duo covered a massive yawn with one hand. 'Just tired. And I maybe shouldn't have drunk all that champagne last night. I've got a bit of a headache.'

'My poor baby. Never mind, I'll have you tucked up in bed early tonight, I promise.' He winked. 'Although I can't promise how much actual sleep you'll get.'

'Then I'll be sleeping in one of your guest rooms!'

'Don't say that. Now give me a kiss and go and abandon me.'

'You could come in for a bit,' Duo suggested. It felt really good, having Zechs' arms around him, and all that feathery-soft hair whispering against his skin. 'We're usually pretty quiet this early. You could hang out and talk to me.'

'Perhaps some other time.' Zechs gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and leaned over to open the passenger door. 'I'll see you this evening, sweet. Don't forget this time!'

Duo snorted. 'Not like I could if I tried. I'll remember every time I sit down.'

'Well, I did offer you a pillow,' Zechs smirked at him, blew one last kiss and whizzed off.

Heero was sitting behind the shop counter like he belonged there, tapping at Trowa's computer.

'Hey. Where's Trowa?'

'Didn't you get his messages? He and Quatre have gone on a hiking trip to Lake Victoria and they're planning to camp there tonight. He tried to call you last night.'

'Oh.' Duo fished out his cellphone and grimaced. 'Shit. My battery's dead.' Hardly surprising; it was a couple of days since he'd been home to recharge. 'Are they OK?'

'They were fine this morning. Quatre was very excited about the trip.'

'Yeah, I bet. So how come you're looking after the shop?'

'I offered. Trowa wanted to head off early this morning so I said I could come in until you arrived. Middie has an exam so she won't be in 'til lunchtime.'

'That was nice of you.' Duo fidgeted with a stack of books that had been perfectly aligned at right angles and then shifted them back again. 'Anyway, I'm here now and I'm sure you've got better stuff to do than hang around here all day. You've probably got work or something.'

Heero nodded. 'I'm supposed to be meeting some prospective clients at eleven. I'll try to get back later; I promised Trowa last night to install some new software on his PC.'

'Oh, right.' Duo pinned on a determined smile, stupidly disappointed Heero wasn't going to be around. 'Maybe you can let me watch you install it? I've got this windows programme on my pc that should be in the Microsoft museum by now.'

'It might be worth money, then,' Heero teased. 'If you bring your computer into the shop tomorrow, I can update your system.'

'Thanks, but no can do. It's an ancient desktop and it'd probably fall apart if I tried to move it.'

'Well, I can maybe drop by some time and take a look at it,' Heero offered. 'Are you around this evening?'

'Uh, no, I'm going out with Zechs. Maybe tomorrow?' Or no that was a bad idea. The last thing he needed was to be alone in his apartment with the gorgeous Heero; the two of them crammed into the tiny alcove where his computer lived. 'Actually, I can just give you my spare key if you like. If that's OK?'

'That's fine.' Heero pocketed the key. Damn, it was impossible to know what he was thinking when he went all …stoical. Like a Vulcan. 'I'm actually going to an office block near where you live. If the meeting doesn't go on too long, I can drop in before lunch.'

'Only if it's no trouble.' Duo suddenly felt a bit mean. Heero probably had a million other things to do, and Duo was just ordering him around. 'I mean, you don't need to feel that to have to…'

'Duo,' Heero interrupted. 'It's fine. I can't promise I'll have time, but I'll do my best.' He flicked Duo one of those gorgeous, luminous smiles. 'You've got me intrigued about your antique computer programme; you know I like messing around with computers.'

Oh, damn. That smile, coupled with the messing around reference, suddenly had Duo thinking bad things. Very Bad Things. What the hell was wrong with him? He had a boyfriend and Heero was probably only being nice to him because he was a friend of Zechs'. Yeah, that was it.

''OK. Once I'm not messing up, uh, interfering with ,' – oh, God, that was even worse – 'your plans. If you do get there about lunchtime, just help yourself to whatever's in the fridge.'

'Thank you. But your friend Hilde told me they cook chilli on Wednesdays. She's promised to keep some for me.'

'Oh, yeah. I forgot you went out with Tro and Quat last night. Did you have fun last night?'

'It was nice, yes, but it wasn't as much fun without you. Trowa and Quatre insisted I go with them, but they really just wanted to talk to each other. I ended up having a long talk with your friend Hilde. She's very interested in people, isn't she?'

'Oh, God,' Duo groaned. 'I suppose that means she gave you the third degree. I hope she didn't ask anything too embarrassing.'

'Not really.' Heero fiddled with the pen in his hand. 'She's very fond of you.' He hesitated. 'And I think maybe a little concerned about Zechs. Once she found out I was a friend of his, she was asking me all about him.'

'Well, it's none of her business!' Duo snapped, glaring at the bright lights in the ceiling that were skewering into his skull. 'No one's business except ours.' He turned the glare on to Heero. 'So, what did you tell her?'

'I said that he seemed very fond of you,' Heero said neutrally.

Huh. Another one who obviously didn't approve. Well, tough.

'I guess you think I'm not good enough for him, right?'

'No!' Heero said vehemently. 'I don't think that at all. I think he's incredibly fortunate to have you.'

'Oh,' Duo deflated like a bullfrog with a bullet in its throat. 'Sorry.'

Heero was staring at him. 'Why in the world would I think you're not good enough for Zechs?'

'You know. The whole prince and the pauper thing. He's this rich celebrity and I work in a kids' bookstore. Stuff like that.' Oh, shitshitshit. Heero's eyes, that uncanny, unique, shade of blue, were still fastened on him, and Duo could feel his skin getting redder and redder.

'I'm sure Zechs doesn't care about any of that. No one would.'

Duo didn't think he'd moved; didn't think Heero had either, but suddenly they were inches away from each other.

His brain was supplying all kinds of stupid, corny lines for Heero to reel off, from I wish he hadn't seen you first to Dump him and run away with me.

In real life, Heero just nodded and said goodbye.

Jesus, he was really going to have to stop with all these near-miss hugs and kisses and snuggles.

ShitshitSHITSHIT.

Duo took a deep, hopefully-calming breath, and sent off a long, slightly naughty text to Zechs. His boyfriend. That should eliminate any Heero karma. Hopefully. Heero was Zechs' friend. Zechs had probably asked him to be nice to Duo.

Luckily, the morning was busy enough that he didn't have that much time to think. By the time, Heero came back at one, Middie had just arrived and he'd calmed down enough to accept Heero's invitation to lunch at Howard's.

Heero was a friend; of course they could have lunch together.

It wasn't even that awkward. They talked books and bikes and Hilde was too busy serving other customers to make too many pointed comments, bar taking every opportunity to point out just how much they had in common.

Back at Wish, they played chess between customers. That was the way to go; lots of activity meant less time for thinking about…stuff. Heero trashed him the first game; Duo just won the second thanks to a sneaky little move Wufei had shown him. They were battling out the third when Wufei himself walked in.

That was something of a surprise. He was probably Trowa's closest friend, apart from Duo, but he rarely called into the shop.

'Hey, 'Fei.' Duo, black knight in hand, grinned up at him. 'What's up?'

'Is Trowa around? I've been trying to call him for hours, and every time I call the shop it's engaged.'

'Yeah, we've been pretty busy today. He's taken Cat on a hiking trip up to Nova.' He gestured to Heero. 'Sorry, his is Cat's friend, Heero. Trowa's 'phone's probably not getting any reception up there. Why? What's wrong?'

'Nothing, probably. But a friend of Meiran's is working on one of those appalling tabloids, and she overheard the editor discussing some story to be printed tomorrow. Something to do with Quatre Winner.'

'How serious is this?' Heero asked. God, he was sexy when he got all intense and focused. If he was like that in bed, the sex would be amazing.

Gack. Bad thoughts!

Wufe shrugged. 'It's hard to tell. Those papers are always commissioning scandalous stories; a lot of them never make it to print for various reasons. Or it could just be something to do with this business merger and not a personal story at all. I somehow doubt it though; that particular tabloid tends not to dwell overmuch on economics. Meiran's friend just heard a brief snatch of a conversation, but she got the impression it was something sleazy.'

'The other reporter who she heard talking to the editor, that wouldn't be a woman called Casey Something?'

'I think that was the name, yes. Why? Do you know her?'

'Not as such. But she wrote the piece on Tro and Cat yesterday, and she's going out with Cathy's ex, Rob. I don't really get why she's wanting to write more another story about them. It's not exactly major news, is it?' Duo asked. 'No one even knows who Quat is on Earth, and it's not like he's doing anything against the law here in Sanque.'

'I know,' the Chinese man nodded. 'It doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm surprised they even published that article about them yesterday. I can't imagine it particularly interested many people. They were probably just looking to fill up space.'

'Yeah, I know.' Duo twiddled with the end of his braid then stopped when he saw Heero was watching him. 'There's just one thing. Rob the asshole is going out with this journo, like I said. We worked out that he's the one responsible for the photo in the paper. Anyway, Tro got pissed off when he heard and stormed off to see him last night. Maybe he bashed Rob and Rob's girlfriend is trying to dig up more dirt as revenge.'

'Trowa seemed fine when he got back last night,' Heero cut in. 'It didn't look like he'd been in a fight. No blood or bruises or anything.'

Wufei and Duo looked exchanged glances. 'That doesn't mean a whole lot,' Duo said finally. 'For one thing, he could take on Rob with both arms behind his back. Shit! I knew him storming off like that was a bloody stupid idea. Now, he's got Rob pissed with him, and Rob knows way too much stuff about Tro.'

'But Trowa doesn't have anything unlawful against him,' Heero interrupted, and then looked vaguely self-conscious.

'You know that how?' Duo demanded. 'Shit! You looked up stuff about him, didn't you? That's illegal, Heero!'

'Well, yes, but I wanted to see what sort of person my best friend was getting involved with. Anyway, I didn't find so much as an unpaid parking ticket.'

'No, you wouldn't.' Duo sagged backwards on his beanbag, looking up at Wufei, who just shrugged.

'If you're right about this, you may as well tell him,' the Chinese man said. 'It'll be all over the media tomorrow.'

'Tell me what?' Heero asked sharply.

Wufei walked over to flick the Closed sign on the door and lock it as Duo sorted out what to say next.

'Here's the thing. When Trowa was younger, just a teenager, he did some pretty stupid stuff. Nothing too heavy; he just got into fights a lot and did a bit of shoplifting and that. He was never convicted of anything but he had a bit of a reputation. You know? The cops knew him, knew the gang he used to hang out with, but they never pinned anything on him.'

Duo, who'd lived on the streets, looked anxiously over at Heero. Personally, he'd had never had an issue with any of that. He'd done the same and worse in his time. A law-abiding citizen like Heero probably would, but Heero just gave him a little nod.

'This was after his parents died and he came to live here, yes? I don't blame him for going off the rails a little.'

'Yeah. Anyway. He calmed down a bit, eventually. Then this guy at school started hassling Cathy, following her around, making comments, that sort of thing.'

'Trowa half killed him,' Wufei said quietly. 'I managed to drag him off, but I had half a dozen other people helping me. Muller was in hospital and then rehab for nearly a year, and Trowa got sent to a remand centre for six months. He was only sixteen, so the records are sealed.' He turned those black eyes on to Heero. 'I can't imagine the Winner family would be ecstatic for Quatre to be consorting with someone who has that sort of record.'

'They're somewhat less than ecstatic right now,' Heero said dryly. 'But no, they very definitely would not approve of that. Especially if it were blazoned all over the media.' He flipped open his laptop. 'Not to mention that Quatre desperately disapproves of violence. Do you think Trowa's told him?'

Duo shrugged. 'It's not something he tells a lot of people. He might've told Cat but….what are you doing?'

'This newspaper is the same as the one yesterday, correct? I'm checking the editor's diary and emails. If he's planning a big story, there must be some record of it.'

Wufei's eyes widened. 'You can't do that! It's a blatant invasion of privacy!'

'It's in a good cause,' Duo said quickly. 'And it's not as if he's planning to do anything wrong with the information.'

'Well, not much.' Heero sounded grim, as his fingers flew over the keyboard. 'Oh, fuck.'

Duo's eyes widened; he didn't think he'd ever heard Heero curse before.

'Do you know where Trowa and Quatre are?' Heero demanded. 'Could you take me there?'

'Well, yeah, I guess, but Heero, it's way too late to go there now. It takes about three hours to drive to Nova, and then you have to hike and it's already starting to get dark.'

'I'm not going to drive. I'm going to go by helicopter.' He already had his cellphone out, jabbing at buttons.

'You know how to fly a helicopter?' Duo blurted, at the same moment that Wufei demanded, 'Excuse me, but who exactly are you?'

Duo shrugged. 'Like I said, he's Cat's friend.

'God, I hope Trowa has some idea what he's getting into. Duo, I have to go. I have a radio interview with the CEO of the Royal Bank and I can't miss it. Call me, all right?'

Duo nodded, opening the door to let him out.

Heero was ignoring them both, speaking quickly into his phone. 'Rashid? It's Yuy. We have a serious problem. There's a story being printed tomorrow about Quatre. I've just forwarded you the details. Can you see if the legal team can do anything about it? They have to stop it somehow, or it'll destroy him. Yes, I've tried calling him, but they're up a mountain and out of range. I'm going to get him now. I've got someone here who knows where they are, but I'll need a helicopter. Can you organise that? Fine, yes, I can be at the airport in half an hour.'

He looked over at Duo. 'Are you ready? You'll probably want to bring a coat or something?'

'Uh, Heero, I'm not just going to take off with you like this. It's insane. There's nothing you can do, and I've get a date with Zechs…'

'Sweetheart, you remembered.' The blond pushed the door open, making them both jump. 'What on earth is going on?'

Duo started to explain, but Heero got there first, grabbing his computer and shoving it under Zechs' nose. 'This is what's going on.'

'Oh, fuck!' Zechs said emphatically. 'What are you doing about it? They're off on some godforsaken mountain, aren't they?'

'Rashid's arranging a helicopter. I'm taking Duo with me; he knows where they are. And hopefully the Winner legal team can kill the story in time.'

Zechs nodded. 'Iria's going to go ballistic.'

'I don't even get what's going on,' Duo protested. 'Sure, Tro's got a few things in his past that don't look too good, but it was over ten years ago, and I don't get why it's going to cause all this trouble. Anyway, I'm not taking off on some wild goose chase with you!'

'You have to, darling,' Zechs laid one hand on his arm. 'Please. Duo, it's not about what they're printing about Trowa. That's not important. It's what they've written about Quatre.'