Title: Love and Water
Author: Zoisite NightDragon/Seguchi Touma
Pairing:1x4/4x1, 3x5 (it's weird, but it works. I hope *crosses fingers*) ... Duo will probably pop up with one eventually.
Warnings: I hate doing warnings. Decide for yourself. It'll get lemony (of course) and there will be some angst and other common themes. AU is a definite. Language as well. Domination, bondage, submission themes as well ahead. If this sort of thing isn't what you like to read, then I'd suggest stopping now. You have been warned. The Abydians are a tribe I just made up. I had no idea if it's even an actual word.
----------------
Heero's cold eyes continued to gaze out at Wufei, Duo, and Trowa as well as the city guards. Quatre's chin was held in a near careless manner within his right hand, the fingers as still as death. The other arm stayed wrapped about the blonde's chest. One good tug is all it would take to break apart the bones of his neck. The crescent tattooed hands holding their friend's chin captive seemed all too capable of doing it. Only the male in the cage's voice broke the silence that had settled, calm and cold in the delivery of each word. "Release me. Now."
The guards of the procession bore almost identical expressions of blooming panic. Had it been anyone else other than the Sultan's family, they could have easily let the killer take the victim's life. With it being a Winner and the only male heir of that line, the situation was drastically changed. The two in charge of handling Heero shifted their eyes to Duo, looking for some sort of leadership that the violet-eyed boy didn't have for them. Twisting the scythe about in his hands, still held ready to drive the curved blade into the other's skull, Duo was still judging his chances of getting it down and Heero dead before he could hurt Quatre. Wufei's calm voice soothed them some as the white silk clad Chinese male stepped forward. Endless pools of ebony clashed with those of a dark, stormy sky. Quatre's eyes were firmly avoided. The last thing he wanted to see was the hurt and fear in the boy's gaze. "And then you will release him?"
"No."
"Then we gain nothing."
"I will release him when the city gates are opened, and I am outside of them. My horse will be brought to me there, and when I am assured that I am out of danger, I will release him. Those are my terms."
Wufei fell into silence. It was a fair trade on the surface, but the Abydians were a race not to be trusted. They had honour from their Japanese homeland, but that didn't mean that they had no wish of self-preservation. Being Chinese, he had met their kind before when they had tried to land on the shores of his lands. Fierce fighters, more intelligent than the others who had tried to come to China before. Moralistic, yes, but not stupid or ruled by those morals. He would keep his word most likely as long as it did not endanger his life. Straightening his spine, he nodded slowly. "I have your word of honour on this?"
Heero's gaze never dropped, face never changing from the marble like mask. He could have been carved from uncaring stone for all the life he showed. "As soon as I am out of danger, I will release him. You have my word."
"Let him go. Open the gates and bring his horse about."
Duo's hand seized Wufei's arm, fingers curling tightly about the silken folds of the other's clothing and skin. "You can't do this. He'll kill Quatre!"
"We have no time, Duo. If we do not, he will kill him. He's given me his word. I suspect he'll have enough honour to abide by that," Wufei replied calmly, a raised hand stopping Trowa from turning on Duo. Everyone was too tightly strung and nervous right now. One snapping would lead to a bloodbath, even if it were his slave defending him against one of his own friends.
A creaking rasp of wood and metal parting accompanied the crude cage opening, the barred side that Heero held Quatre against parting from the rest of the structure. Wufei's hands curled up slightly, waiting for the barest hint of an opening where he could snatch Quatre away from the raider. Those tranquil Prussian eyes met his own, and for a second, he would have sworn that Heero saw his thoughts and had to almost smile at it. The hand wrapped about Quatre's chin lowered to grasp the boy's fragile neck while Heero calmly removed his other hand, drawing it back through the bars. The implication was clear enough: Should they attack him while he was disentangling himself, Heero would still either choke or crush Quatre's trachea even while they killed Heero. It was a vicious circle over and over. Reaching around, Heero spun Quatre off of the bars with a quick jerk, freeing himself and pulling his captive once more against his chest. Dipping his head, he whispered in near silence against Quatre's ear, "Be calm, little one. This will soon be over."
A hand made strong by long sessions of lifting a heavy blade prevented the blonde Arabian from turning his head to see Heero himself. Even with the threat of death, Quatre's body remained relaxed and pliant, moving as directed without putting up a fight. Coral lips moved in his nearly soundless reply even as his eyes remained fixed on Duo's own, trying to calm his guardian. "I am not afraid of you."
A soft noise of thought came from behind Quatre as Heero held him tighter, the arms about him embracing him more firmly to the Abydian. The smell of horses and spices hung about the blue-eyed man, ones of cinnamon, wintergreen, and of fresh cherries. The last was strange in this land, Quatre only having had them once in his entire life. Such delicate fruit bearing trees didn't grow well in the arid climate of his lands. The dampness of his robes from the guard's splash of water began to seep through the blonde's own, the fetid odour of the stale and fouled liquid overtaking the more pleasant ones. Another brush of his captor's breath across his neck brought words he hadn't expected to hear, "That could be either very foolish or very brave of you. Either way, I'll find out eventually."
Firm steps pulled Quatre along with Heero, the blonde's eyes keeping on those of Duo as he was half dragged, half carried by the other. Sunlight raced like quicksilver along his guardian's curved blade, the tip dipping occasionally as Duo fought himself to keep from lashing out at the enemy. At this distance, it would only take him a step or two to reach the pair, and then with one quick swipe, he could end it all. Wufei's hand locked on his arm was the only thing keeping him in check. That, and the fearlessness strength in Quatre's eyes. Once that raider was out of the city, he was dragging Quatre home and chaining him to a wall for the rest of the night. At least then his nerves would settle. Iria was going to kill him for this if worry didn't first.
They were a strange procession approaching the city gates, as the massive slabs of metal from Wufei's land were drawn open. They had been a gift, something that served better than the wooden ones from before and were more resistant to fire and battering rams. Now, they parted to let out the enemy that they should have kept contained or never allowed within the desert oasis village.
Heero kept his arms about Quatre, his eyes on those before him. Unlike Duo's own, the Abydian's gaze didn't jerk about worriedly. The raider could have been on a normal shopping excursion for all the upset he showed. Stepping outside of the gates, his gaze briefly flickered to the stable boy leading his black stallion up to him. The horse was free of any reins or saddle, pawing the sand impatiently even as he watched his rider. A hand slid free of Quatre's golden curls as Heero grasped the horse's mane, a quick leap pulling himself and his captive up onto the horse's bare back.
"You gave me your word," Wufei reminded Heero in cool tones, his hands still folded before him within his sleeves. Fingers closed about the hilts of two throwing knives that were strapped to his forearms and hidden within the silk. He may have made the deal with the Abydian, but he was not foolish enough to believe that if the raider left the city with Quatre that they would ever see him alive again.
"Hai," Heero murmured, the arm still wrapped about the blonde tightening once more in a possessive manner. A rush of cheeried breath touched along the back of Quatre's neck in a near kiss as he lowered the Arabian down to his feet. With a rush, his grip on the slender male was gone, and his heels dug into his horse's side. A flurry of hoof beats accompanied Heero's flight away from the city, the rider and mount soon lost in a rush of sand sent up behind them.
Quatre barely had time to breathe before Duo tackled him in a hug, his guardian's hands racing over his body to check for injuries. Trying to squirm free of the self-named Shinigami's embrace, Quatre found himself face to face with Wufei's disapproving gaze. It was worse than when his sisters got angry with him and glared. Prying Duo off of him as much as the violet-eyed boy would allow. Quatre squared his shoulders and faced the Chinese male. His tongue felt as if it were glued to the roof of his mouth, not knowing what to say to make that stony gaze let him go, those silent accusations of foolishness that had nearly cost him his life. For what was not the first time, he found himself wondering how Trowa bore it if he made mistakes. Did Wufei excuse them or punish him with that same look? Fidgeting, he muttered out all he could summon up while twisting an end of his shirt in one hand, "I'm sorry, Wufei."
"And rightly you should be. You scared Maxwell."
"Damn straight!" Duo growled out as he snatched Quatre's arm and started dragging him away from the crowd of people and guards that had wanted to check on him as well. Bellowing nonsense at the top of his lungs, Duo waved his scythe at a few of the more brave onlookers warningly while lecturing Quatre the entire time. Giving Wufei a helpless shrug, Quatre let himself be led onwards towards his father's house. News had probably reached him by now. There were no secrets really in a desert tribe. Anything interesting was told to others at the speed of light.
It was going to be a long evening…
---
Quatre's head hurt as he finally escaped the combined wrath of his father, sisters, and Duo to the quiet sanctity of his room. A touch on his shoulder stopped him before he could sneak inside. Glancing up to Wufei, he sighed tiredly. "Another lecture?"
Wufei shook his head slowly, lifting a hand to touch gently along Quatre's cheek. Something unspoken lay in his ebony gaze, something he was struggling to spit out. It wasn't desire or anything of that nature, but a fear of sorts. Sighing, he lowered his hand, putting it to words as best he could. "Did he say anything to you? Anything at all?"
The blonde blinked curiously. Out of all the questions he had been asked tonight, that was not one of them. Frowning faintly, Quatre shrugged softly, "Not really. Just that I was stupid or brave."
Wufei nodded slowly, his gaze still thoughtful. "He didn't say anything about coming back? That you belonged to him or he belonged to you? Nothing else?"
Quatre shook his head again, not following his friend's line of reasoning. "He just said that I was brave or foolish and that he would find out which. What are you driving at, Wufei?"
Dark eyes rose to the wall as Wufei bit his lip softly, his gaze fixed there but his thoughts far away. "I lost a friend once to that tribe, Quatre. Her name was Sally. Odd for one of my race, but it was the name she went by. Sally Po. She caught the attention of one that called himself Treize. We captured him by sheer dumb luck. He was staying at one of the villager's homes, a guest of hospitality. We convinced the owner to slip a drug into his evening tea, and we caught him like that. Sally claimed that it was… unjust to such an enemy to defeat them without fair combat. It was… how do I put this so that you will understand… it demeaned them as a honourable enemy to use something like a drug or poison. She demanded that we let him fight for his life in fair combat. Abydians are a dangerous people, Quatre. We refused and were going to execute him at dawn. During the night, she freed him. He told her then and there that she intrigued him and that he would be back for her. You have to understand that in our culture, what she had done was betrayal, and she would face the same punishment that he would have. Sally laughed at him and sent him on his way, returning to his cell herself to take his place. Days later, the Abydians raided our village, and they took only one thing: Sally. They killed no one, destroyed nothing, but their purpose was to get her out either before her slated execution or for their own purposes. I never knew which. I know they keep slaves like we do, and I hope she is well."
"You think he might be coming back for me?"
"I don't think so," Wufei murmured, straightening himself once more into his usual pose of cool uncaring. "You aren't in any danger of losing your life for helping that one. In danger of losing your privileges, yes, but not of death. Your father is going to confine you to the house and gardens for the next week or so, I believe, but beyond that, I cannot see him punishing you more. Of course, being trapped with Maxwell and no hope for escape might be enough to make you think next time you decide to rush into a foolhardy situation, ne?"
Quatre smirked as he opened his door, "Wufei, I believe Duo is right and you are developing a sense of humour."
Wufei's snort and his own soft laughter mingled as he slipped inside his room and shut the door. The idea of any Abydian coming here was silly. Guards stood watch on all of the four corners and along the city wall themselves. More roamed the streets at night. The idea of someone risking that was laughable. Snickering to himself still, Quatre quickly shed most of his heavy clothing, slipping into his cooler silk pyjamas. Pulling the mosquito netting around his bed with the light curtains, the Arab curled up among his satin pillows with a sheet covering him from the waist down. The evening was full of singing, most of the city still celebrating the victory that had brought them the spoils that had been paraded through earlier with the Abydian. Muttering about the noise, Quatre slid a pillow over his head.
"Too loud, ne?" a voice asked beside his ear.
Jerking awake, Quatre tried to sit up, only to be snared within the tangle of his own sheet. His attacker had been lying beneath his pillows and one of the shoved aside blankets, blending in thanks to the darkness and his own carelessness. A hand clamped over his lips, two fingers rising to pinch his nose shut. The other wrapped about his waist with the sheet, driving his arms down. Legs were looped over his own to keep him from thrashing and making any sound that might be heard by Duo or someone passing in the hallway. The scent of cherries and wintergreen washed over his senses as they were dulled from the lack of air. Struggles lessening, heaviness clung to Quatre's limbs and eyelids. Even as his head began drooping and eyes closing, he felt his attacker wrap him gently in his own sheet. As black roses bloomed before his eyes, he struggled to see who it was. Glints of moonlight caught off of the crescent moons decorating the man's robes as well as illuminated his skin… skin that was marred by the same mark on the backs of his hands. Midnight blue eyes gazed back at him dead calm filling them even as the Abydian tucked the edges of the silk about his face. The hand that had kept him from breathing lifted away as Quatre weakly gulped for air. A vial was touched to his lips and a cool fluid rolled down the Arab's throat as he tried to breathe. The hand clamped back down over his lips as soon as the smooth glass left him. There was no choice but to swallow it.
Heero nodded to himself as he watched the blonde's face, eyes glazing over within a few seconds of him downing the mixture. He'd have to thank Zechs or Noin later for it. Gathering his bundle to his chest, he held him in one arm and slowly slid down rope he had used to scale the balcony. Climbing onto his horse, he settled the sheet wrapped form across the back of his horse like he would have any bundle. A robe slid over his own completed his disguise of just another drunk celebrant. Within a few minutes, he was out of the city once more with Quatre back in his lap and heading for his people's home. There was still much to do tonight.
Author: Zoisite NightDragon/Seguchi Touma
Pairing:1x4/4x1, 3x5 (it's weird, but it works. I hope *crosses fingers*) ... Duo will probably pop up with one eventually.
Warnings: I hate doing warnings. Decide for yourself. It'll get lemony (of course) and there will be some angst and other common themes. AU is a definite. Language as well. Domination, bondage, submission themes as well ahead. If this sort of thing isn't what you like to read, then I'd suggest stopping now. You have been warned. The Abydians are a tribe I just made up. I had no idea if it's even an actual word.
----------------
Heero's cold eyes continued to gaze out at Wufei, Duo, and Trowa as well as the city guards. Quatre's chin was held in a near careless manner within his right hand, the fingers as still as death. The other arm stayed wrapped about the blonde's chest. One good tug is all it would take to break apart the bones of his neck. The crescent tattooed hands holding their friend's chin captive seemed all too capable of doing it. Only the male in the cage's voice broke the silence that had settled, calm and cold in the delivery of each word. "Release me. Now."
The guards of the procession bore almost identical expressions of blooming panic. Had it been anyone else other than the Sultan's family, they could have easily let the killer take the victim's life. With it being a Winner and the only male heir of that line, the situation was drastically changed. The two in charge of handling Heero shifted their eyes to Duo, looking for some sort of leadership that the violet-eyed boy didn't have for them. Twisting the scythe about in his hands, still held ready to drive the curved blade into the other's skull, Duo was still judging his chances of getting it down and Heero dead before he could hurt Quatre. Wufei's calm voice soothed them some as the white silk clad Chinese male stepped forward. Endless pools of ebony clashed with those of a dark, stormy sky. Quatre's eyes were firmly avoided. The last thing he wanted to see was the hurt and fear in the boy's gaze. "And then you will release him?"
"No."
"Then we gain nothing."
"I will release him when the city gates are opened, and I am outside of them. My horse will be brought to me there, and when I am assured that I am out of danger, I will release him. Those are my terms."
Wufei fell into silence. It was a fair trade on the surface, but the Abydians were a race not to be trusted. They had honour from their Japanese homeland, but that didn't mean that they had no wish of self-preservation. Being Chinese, he had met their kind before when they had tried to land on the shores of his lands. Fierce fighters, more intelligent than the others who had tried to come to China before. Moralistic, yes, but not stupid or ruled by those morals. He would keep his word most likely as long as it did not endanger his life. Straightening his spine, he nodded slowly. "I have your word of honour on this?"
Heero's gaze never dropped, face never changing from the marble like mask. He could have been carved from uncaring stone for all the life he showed. "As soon as I am out of danger, I will release him. You have my word."
"Let him go. Open the gates and bring his horse about."
Duo's hand seized Wufei's arm, fingers curling tightly about the silken folds of the other's clothing and skin. "You can't do this. He'll kill Quatre!"
"We have no time, Duo. If we do not, he will kill him. He's given me his word. I suspect he'll have enough honour to abide by that," Wufei replied calmly, a raised hand stopping Trowa from turning on Duo. Everyone was too tightly strung and nervous right now. One snapping would lead to a bloodbath, even if it were his slave defending him against one of his own friends.
A creaking rasp of wood and metal parting accompanied the crude cage opening, the barred side that Heero held Quatre against parting from the rest of the structure. Wufei's hands curled up slightly, waiting for the barest hint of an opening where he could snatch Quatre away from the raider. Those tranquil Prussian eyes met his own, and for a second, he would have sworn that Heero saw his thoughts and had to almost smile at it. The hand wrapped about Quatre's chin lowered to grasp the boy's fragile neck while Heero calmly removed his other hand, drawing it back through the bars. The implication was clear enough: Should they attack him while he was disentangling himself, Heero would still either choke or crush Quatre's trachea even while they killed Heero. It was a vicious circle over and over. Reaching around, Heero spun Quatre off of the bars with a quick jerk, freeing himself and pulling his captive once more against his chest. Dipping his head, he whispered in near silence against Quatre's ear, "Be calm, little one. This will soon be over."
A hand made strong by long sessions of lifting a heavy blade prevented the blonde Arabian from turning his head to see Heero himself. Even with the threat of death, Quatre's body remained relaxed and pliant, moving as directed without putting up a fight. Coral lips moved in his nearly soundless reply even as his eyes remained fixed on Duo's own, trying to calm his guardian. "I am not afraid of you."
A soft noise of thought came from behind Quatre as Heero held him tighter, the arms about him embracing him more firmly to the Abydian. The smell of horses and spices hung about the blue-eyed man, ones of cinnamon, wintergreen, and of fresh cherries. The last was strange in this land, Quatre only having had them once in his entire life. Such delicate fruit bearing trees didn't grow well in the arid climate of his lands. The dampness of his robes from the guard's splash of water began to seep through the blonde's own, the fetid odour of the stale and fouled liquid overtaking the more pleasant ones. Another brush of his captor's breath across his neck brought words he hadn't expected to hear, "That could be either very foolish or very brave of you. Either way, I'll find out eventually."
Firm steps pulled Quatre along with Heero, the blonde's eyes keeping on those of Duo as he was half dragged, half carried by the other. Sunlight raced like quicksilver along his guardian's curved blade, the tip dipping occasionally as Duo fought himself to keep from lashing out at the enemy. At this distance, it would only take him a step or two to reach the pair, and then with one quick swipe, he could end it all. Wufei's hand locked on his arm was the only thing keeping him in check. That, and the fearlessness strength in Quatre's eyes. Once that raider was out of the city, he was dragging Quatre home and chaining him to a wall for the rest of the night. At least then his nerves would settle. Iria was going to kill him for this if worry didn't first.
They were a strange procession approaching the city gates, as the massive slabs of metal from Wufei's land were drawn open. They had been a gift, something that served better than the wooden ones from before and were more resistant to fire and battering rams. Now, they parted to let out the enemy that they should have kept contained or never allowed within the desert oasis village.
Heero kept his arms about Quatre, his eyes on those before him. Unlike Duo's own, the Abydian's gaze didn't jerk about worriedly. The raider could have been on a normal shopping excursion for all the upset he showed. Stepping outside of the gates, his gaze briefly flickered to the stable boy leading his black stallion up to him. The horse was free of any reins or saddle, pawing the sand impatiently even as he watched his rider. A hand slid free of Quatre's golden curls as Heero grasped the horse's mane, a quick leap pulling himself and his captive up onto the horse's bare back.
"You gave me your word," Wufei reminded Heero in cool tones, his hands still folded before him within his sleeves. Fingers closed about the hilts of two throwing knives that were strapped to his forearms and hidden within the silk. He may have made the deal with the Abydian, but he was not foolish enough to believe that if the raider left the city with Quatre that they would ever see him alive again.
"Hai," Heero murmured, the arm still wrapped about the blonde tightening once more in a possessive manner. A rush of cheeried breath touched along the back of Quatre's neck in a near kiss as he lowered the Arabian down to his feet. With a rush, his grip on the slender male was gone, and his heels dug into his horse's side. A flurry of hoof beats accompanied Heero's flight away from the city, the rider and mount soon lost in a rush of sand sent up behind them.
Quatre barely had time to breathe before Duo tackled him in a hug, his guardian's hands racing over his body to check for injuries. Trying to squirm free of the self-named Shinigami's embrace, Quatre found himself face to face with Wufei's disapproving gaze. It was worse than when his sisters got angry with him and glared. Prying Duo off of him as much as the violet-eyed boy would allow. Quatre squared his shoulders and faced the Chinese male. His tongue felt as if it were glued to the roof of his mouth, not knowing what to say to make that stony gaze let him go, those silent accusations of foolishness that had nearly cost him his life. For what was not the first time, he found himself wondering how Trowa bore it if he made mistakes. Did Wufei excuse them or punish him with that same look? Fidgeting, he muttered out all he could summon up while twisting an end of his shirt in one hand, "I'm sorry, Wufei."
"And rightly you should be. You scared Maxwell."
"Damn straight!" Duo growled out as he snatched Quatre's arm and started dragging him away from the crowd of people and guards that had wanted to check on him as well. Bellowing nonsense at the top of his lungs, Duo waved his scythe at a few of the more brave onlookers warningly while lecturing Quatre the entire time. Giving Wufei a helpless shrug, Quatre let himself be led onwards towards his father's house. News had probably reached him by now. There were no secrets really in a desert tribe. Anything interesting was told to others at the speed of light.
It was going to be a long evening…
---
Quatre's head hurt as he finally escaped the combined wrath of his father, sisters, and Duo to the quiet sanctity of his room. A touch on his shoulder stopped him before he could sneak inside. Glancing up to Wufei, he sighed tiredly. "Another lecture?"
Wufei shook his head slowly, lifting a hand to touch gently along Quatre's cheek. Something unspoken lay in his ebony gaze, something he was struggling to spit out. It wasn't desire or anything of that nature, but a fear of sorts. Sighing, he lowered his hand, putting it to words as best he could. "Did he say anything to you? Anything at all?"
The blonde blinked curiously. Out of all the questions he had been asked tonight, that was not one of them. Frowning faintly, Quatre shrugged softly, "Not really. Just that I was stupid or brave."
Wufei nodded slowly, his gaze still thoughtful. "He didn't say anything about coming back? That you belonged to him or he belonged to you? Nothing else?"
Quatre shook his head again, not following his friend's line of reasoning. "He just said that I was brave or foolish and that he would find out which. What are you driving at, Wufei?"
Dark eyes rose to the wall as Wufei bit his lip softly, his gaze fixed there but his thoughts far away. "I lost a friend once to that tribe, Quatre. Her name was Sally. Odd for one of my race, but it was the name she went by. Sally Po. She caught the attention of one that called himself Treize. We captured him by sheer dumb luck. He was staying at one of the villager's homes, a guest of hospitality. We convinced the owner to slip a drug into his evening tea, and we caught him like that. Sally claimed that it was… unjust to such an enemy to defeat them without fair combat. It was… how do I put this so that you will understand… it demeaned them as a honourable enemy to use something like a drug or poison. She demanded that we let him fight for his life in fair combat. Abydians are a dangerous people, Quatre. We refused and were going to execute him at dawn. During the night, she freed him. He told her then and there that she intrigued him and that he would be back for her. You have to understand that in our culture, what she had done was betrayal, and she would face the same punishment that he would have. Sally laughed at him and sent him on his way, returning to his cell herself to take his place. Days later, the Abydians raided our village, and they took only one thing: Sally. They killed no one, destroyed nothing, but their purpose was to get her out either before her slated execution or for their own purposes. I never knew which. I know they keep slaves like we do, and I hope she is well."
"You think he might be coming back for me?"
"I don't think so," Wufei murmured, straightening himself once more into his usual pose of cool uncaring. "You aren't in any danger of losing your life for helping that one. In danger of losing your privileges, yes, but not of death. Your father is going to confine you to the house and gardens for the next week or so, I believe, but beyond that, I cannot see him punishing you more. Of course, being trapped with Maxwell and no hope for escape might be enough to make you think next time you decide to rush into a foolhardy situation, ne?"
Quatre smirked as he opened his door, "Wufei, I believe Duo is right and you are developing a sense of humour."
Wufei's snort and his own soft laughter mingled as he slipped inside his room and shut the door. The idea of any Abydian coming here was silly. Guards stood watch on all of the four corners and along the city wall themselves. More roamed the streets at night. The idea of someone risking that was laughable. Snickering to himself still, Quatre quickly shed most of his heavy clothing, slipping into his cooler silk pyjamas. Pulling the mosquito netting around his bed with the light curtains, the Arab curled up among his satin pillows with a sheet covering him from the waist down. The evening was full of singing, most of the city still celebrating the victory that had brought them the spoils that had been paraded through earlier with the Abydian. Muttering about the noise, Quatre slid a pillow over his head.
"Too loud, ne?" a voice asked beside his ear.
Jerking awake, Quatre tried to sit up, only to be snared within the tangle of his own sheet. His attacker had been lying beneath his pillows and one of the shoved aside blankets, blending in thanks to the darkness and his own carelessness. A hand clamped over his lips, two fingers rising to pinch his nose shut. The other wrapped about his waist with the sheet, driving his arms down. Legs were looped over his own to keep him from thrashing and making any sound that might be heard by Duo or someone passing in the hallway. The scent of cherries and wintergreen washed over his senses as they were dulled from the lack of air. Struggles lessening, heaviness clung to Quatre's limbs and eyelids. Even as his head began drooping and eyes closing, he felt his attacker wrap him gently in his own sheet. As black roses bloomed before his eyes, he struggled to see who it was. Glints of moonlight caught off of the crescent moons decorating the man's robes as well as illuminated his skin… skin that was marred by the same mark on the backs of his hands. Midnight blue eyes gazed back at him dead calm filling them even as the Abydian tucked the edges of the silk about his face. The hand that had kept him from breathing lifted away as Quatre weakly gulped for air. A vial was touched to his lips and a cool fluid rolled down the Arab's throat as he tried to breathe. The hand clamped back down over his lips as soon as the smooth glass left him. There was no choice but to swallow it.
Heero nodded to himself as he watched the blonde's face, eyes glazing over within a few seconds of him downing the mixture. He'd have to thank Zechs or Noin later for it. Gathering his bundle to his chest, he held him in one arm and slowly slid down rope he had used to scale the balcony. Climbing onto his horse, he settled the sheet wrapped form across the back of his horse like he would have any bundle. A robe slid over his own completed his disguise of just another drunk celebrant. Within a few minutes, he was out of the city once more with Quatre back in his lap and heading for his people's home. There was still much to do tonight.