Warnings: Shonen-ai content (3+4, 4+3)
The dance begins, as it always has.
I watch him carefully from across the room. We can never let society know about our feelings for each other, it would result in automatic disgrace. For all of our so-called development, the taboo subject of homosexuality is still as scorned and full of myths as it was before the colonies were even first thought of. Besides, I come from a wealthy family, and the only son and heir could never turn out to be gay. Trapped by society's foolish ideals. How thrilling.
He turns, but in such a way that he doesn't directly look at me, instead choosing to speak to Heero, who is beside him, looking very much like he'd rather be far, far away from here. Social functions never were things he liked very much, for the simple reason that Heero has immense difficulty communicating with people. For all of his brilliance and fantastic war skills, it is always the small things that the rest of us take for granted that catch him out. Perhaps I should send Duo over to him, before Relena finds him. Although knowing Duo, Heero would probably be driven insane by the two of them.
I sigh softly, wishing I could just grab him and take him away from all this. But that is hardly proper, and I certainly can't do it in front of all these people! I know he's deliberately avoiding my gaze, as it always is. He is very fond of teasing me, and it has always been done this way. The foreplay one could almost call it, of our wide and varied dance. He loves to dance.
"If you could stop staring mindlessly at him for a moment," a cheerful voice murmurs in my ear, pulling me back to reality. I just barely avoid starting in surprise, looking up to see Duo beside me, precariously holding two drinks in one hand.
I hurry to release him from his burden, gripping my drink firmly. "Why didn 't you just take a drink in each hand? And thank you by the way."
"More fun this way," my braided friend replies with a grin, "and you're welcome." His eyes follow mine to see my lover and Heero still talking quietly, oblivious to the crowd and chatter around them. "Poor Heero looks miserable," he remarks with mock sadness. "D'ya think we were mean to drag him here?"
"If I recall correctly it was you who insisted he come," I reply laughing. "In the end he came only so you'd shut up! Although the threat that you'd never shut up around him must have worked."
"Nah," Shinigami answers with a dismissive wave of his other hand. "Heero is never one to succumb to threats. I wonder why he really came," he muses, before taking a sip of his drink.
"I don't know," I admit, sipping my own drink. "Maybe you should go over to Heero and cheer him up. He looks like he needs it. Trowa doesn't seem to be having much luck and you do have that knack of lightening Heero's mood considerably - after nearly driving him mad of course."
Duo snorts. "That's probably the last thing he wants. Besides," he adds coyly, "you probably only want me to do it so Trowa can come over to you." He grins broadly as I feel my cheeks automatically flush. Duo knows me far too well, even if that wasn't what I was thinking. He just knows the mere mention of Trowa makes me blush.
"Keep your voice down!" I hiss, resisting the urge to glance around. While not many people might actually know who Trowa was, there was always the risk that someone might pick up the remark correctly and blab. Which is the last thing Trowa and I need.
"Sorry," Duo says with a twinkle in his eye, not looking very sorry at all. "After all you are Quatre Raberba Winner, only son and heir of the almighty Winner family. Who is practically bound and gagged by the boundaries and rules of society and can't daintily step outside them like the rest of us."
"Believe it or not, you're right," I answer miserably. "Could you imagine the scandal if ... that ... came out? Sometimes I wish I weren't from my family, so I could act like the rest of you do." Duo doesn't answer, but I know he's listening, patiently waiting for me to continue. Duo, for all his chatter, can be a surprisingly good listener sometimes. "I mean, you or the others haven't standards to meet to and aren't expected to act in such a manner. You don't know how lucky you are."
"Try me," is the braided pilot's answer. "Sometimes you don't know how lucky you are Quatre." I glance at him and his eyes are solemn and dark. I remember Duo's past and inwardly cringe. I could only imagine how rude I must have sounded.
"I'm sorry Duo. Forgive me for being so rude," I hurriedly answer, eager to stop misgivings coming between us. Duo is one of my dearest friends and I do not want a rift to come between us.
He smiles. "Don't worry about it. We all need to let loose every once in a while." His gaze drifts back to Heero and Towa. "I still don't know why you and Trowa always play these games, when it's obvious you want each other."
I shrug. "We just always have. It's as amusing as it is frustrating." Duo is the one who looks frustrated, shaking his head in annoyance. His braid swings gently from side to side as a result of the sharp action.
"I don't get it," the American declares, eyeing Heero critically. "You know, he really is miserable. I think I'll go over and end up making things worse for him, shall I?" He grins suddenly at me. "Happy Hunting Quatre." It takes me a moment to realise what he fully means, but he walks away before I can answer. I blink. Duo really does know me too well. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing.
I watch as Trowa politely breaks away as Duo walks over. For a brief moment our eyes meet, and then he nods, a silent challenge. Let us see how long we can do this dance for. I nod back, accepting, even though my heart and body scream for him.
The night is a long one. We keep away from each other, both teasing the other mercilessly. We both long to be together, but still we cannot be. We meet, greet, talk, discuss and occasionally flirt with an unimaginable amount of people, both acutely aware of the other watching from behind. My head is dizzy with my raw longing for him, and my self-control is stretched to the limit. But I won't break. Trowa never has, and neither shall I.
It is when I am quickly bailing Duo out of a potentially uncomfortable situation - he chose to flirt with the wrong lady and was near getting his head bashed in by her jealous husband - that Trowa decides to finally make his move. I'm pulling Duo quickly away, who non surprisingly, isn't angry about getting away, when he suddenly appears beside me. I gasp, but do not move, instead freezing.
I can feel his eyes upon me, burning with sheer lust and desire, but still carefully hidden with the ease of practice. He grips my shoulders for one brief second, not long enough for anyone to wonder, and leans in. I can feel his breath upon my neck. His lips brush my ear quickly, and his words send delicious shivers down my spine: "Tonight love. Tonight." Then he is gone, leaving me standing where I am, near in shock.
It is Duo's hand on my shoulder, gently leading me towards the nearest balcony, that finally jerks me out of my mindless state. I blink, gulping in smooth, gratefully cold, amounts of air, trying to get my bearings back. "Thank you."
"No problem, what are friends for?" he replies, lounging on the railing beside me, looking completely at ease. He pauses and then speaks carefully. "I thought for a moment that you'd faint in there. Does Trowa know what effect he has on you?"
I nod. "Pretty much ... and I did faint from it once. Thankfully he was there to catch me. He says I do the same thing to him sometimes." I slowly haul myself up on the railing beside him, and look up at the sky. It is velvet black, with a generous scattering of stars. It's beautiful.
Duo stares at me, dumbfounded, unable to respond for a long second. His eyes are wide, and he genuinely looks shocked. Plus I've made him speechless, which is something very hard to do indeed. "Well," he says at last. "Congratulations, you finally made me speechless. If that's what falling in love means, then I guess I haven't found it yet," he jokes. Typical Duo - and I've never been so glad of it in my life.
I shrug, smiling at him. "I guess not," I reply. Then the quiet mood is broken by Duo reaching over and punching me lightly in the shoulder, grinning wildly. There was no real reason to do it and to be honest I don't know why he did it, but that's just Duo, and I'm glad very much that he's like that. At least that's one thing I can depend on - for as long as possible Duo will be there for me, my insane, ever laughing friend.
I find myself staring out the window, looking at the amazing spread of stars across the dark sky. The one thing I love about being on Earth is looking up at the sky. The view always seems to be the best from here. I sigh and absently feel the ruffle of the night air against my hair.
I don't gasp when I feel his arms circle my waist, drawing me close to him. I only make an appreciative sound, leaning back as close to him as I possibly can. He kisses my neck gently, slowly emitting low moans from my throat. His arms slip away from my waist to quickly unbutton the collar of my shirt, exposing my collarbone. He kisses it gently, before deciding to unleash hell by unbuttoning my entire shirt and kissing my chest and stomach. Soon I am little more than a quivering mess because of him. "Trowa ..."
He gazes up at me, smiling softly. "I want you so badly Quatre. All night I could only think about how much I wanted to hold you and kiss you ... all night. Why do we still play these games my love?"
"I don't know," I admit, letting him pull me willingly to the bed. "Do you want to stop them?" He lays me gently on the bed, green eyes burning with an intense flame.
He kisses me deeply, causing me to gasp from the sheer effect. When the kiss ends, he smiles seductively down at me. "No, I don't think so," he murmurs. "They make the nights so much more fun." Still smiling, he leans down to me again, and I remember all the reasons I love this person so desperately.
When night comes and we are together, the dance at last ends, to pure bliss.