The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 2/?
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Warnings: AU, yaoi (2x1/1x2). Strong lime. See Chapter 1.
Edulcoration - noun form of the verb edulcorate, or to free from harshness (as of attitude) or to soften.
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/Heero had been silent during his little reconnaissance of the penthouse, so Duo started as he heard that voice again. It had been deep before, but this time it had a husky timbre that made Duo's mouth go dry.
"Now that you have me here, what do you plan to do?"/
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Chapter 2
Duo didn't know how to reply to that, because he still wasn't sure exactly why he'd invited Heero up.
"You could pay me," Heero offered. "To break the ice," he added, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Paying Heero had been one of the things he had wanted to do away from prying eyes. It was one thing to traipse Heero through the lobby and let everyone THINK that Duo was keeping company with a prostitute, but quite another to pay him in front of them all and remove all doubt. Especially when said prostitute was male. Damn Hilde. It was her fault he was in this mess.
Duo still had nothing smaller than a hundred, well, not if he wanted to pay Heero the entire fifty he owed him, and he remembered what Heero had suggested earlier as a solution. He was successfully fighting against the flush that threatened to stain his cheeks until he saw Heero reach into his leather pants. Not into his pockets, but right down the front of his pants. Was he going to fondle himself while Duo watched?
Heero's hand slipped out slowly, then he showed Duo the foil packet in his hand. Several of them, in fact. Duo would have wondered at how Heero was able to tolerate the sharp edges of the foil squares poking his softer regions if he hadn't been struck by the realization that Heero was really planning on following through.
"Maybe we could just talk," Duo said, feeling like a shy virgin having second thoughts. In a way, that was exactly what he was, at least when it came to being with another man. One of Heero's eyebrows disappeared beneath the white bangs. One of his very dark brown eyebrows, in fact. He said nothing, but one of his hands reached up to undo the first button on his shirt. Duo watched, transfixed, as each button slipped free, almost envious of the tiny plastic discs.
Just when the last button had been reached and the silk shirt fell open, a knock at the door made him jump. Heero looked almost amused, and Duo's features settled into a slight frown.
"I wasn't expecting anyone," he muttered, remembering how he'd clearly left instructions not to be disturbed for the remainder of the evening.
Heero's eyes roamed the room again before settling on the door, his entire body tensing at Duo's casual remark.
"Would you get that for me, Heero?" Duo asked, inclining his head in the direction of the door.
"You didn't pay me to be your bodyguard," he replied stiffly.
'Bodyguard?' Duo thought. He might have expected Heero to complain about being a maid, but a bodyguard? "You have got to be the rudest whore I've ever met," he muttered under his breath, then got up and answered the door himself.
The porter was there with a bottle of champagne and a bowl of fruit, and he beamed at Duo. His shiny gold plated tag identified him as Ralston.
"Sorry I didn't bring this earlier, sir, but you weren't here."
Duo was willing to bet that Wufei had arranged for the little welcome-to-the-city gift. Before Duo had "borrowed" the Enzo, of course.
He waved the man in, and gestured toward the desk as the best place to leave the cart.
"Please make sure there are no further disturbances this evening," he said, slipping a twenty into the porter's hand. Ralston glanced from Duo to Heero and back, but said nothing. Heero caught the man in the act and glared at him. Duo ended the staring contest by smiling at the hotel employee and then quietly but firmly shutting the door.
He was ready to slap himself. Just perfect. Champagne, a request for privacy, and the sexiest man he'd ever laid eyes on just standing there in his room, his silk shirt open and falling off his shoulders. What else was Ralston the Porter to think?
He realized what he'd just acknowledged to himself, and turned his gaze on Heero once again.
Now that he was looking at Heero with new eyes and an open mind, he felt a subtle stirring in his groin. The same sights he'd noticed earlier, the juncture between Heero's neck and shoulder, the taut muscles in his arms, the curve of his ass in those clingy leather pants... The view of Heero's posterior was suddenly obstructed as the hemlock green silk slid down Heero's arms and hung from his elbows, the rumpled tail end slithering over the back of his thighs during its descent. From the slightly triumphant look on Heero's face, it must have been pretty obvious what Duo was thinking.
"You're not like other hookers," Duo said, resisting the urge to touch himself to relieve his sudden discomfort.
"If I were, I wouldn't be worth three hundred dollars," Heero practically purred. PURRED, like a damn cat. Duo blinked at him.
"You said TWO hundred!"
"That doesn't include the prostate exam," Heero said reasonably. "The two hundred covers the external checkup only," he added.
There was that damned purring again. "I suppose a CAT scan would be part of the package deal?"
Heero frowned slightly, obviously not getting the joke, but Duo supposed it wasn't all that funny in the first place.
"Do you want me to suck you off or not?" Heero asked impatiently, still waiting for the hundred dollars.
Duo had every intention of apologizing to Heero, of paying him the money he'd promised and sending him on his way, until Heero's words planted an image of that white blond head between his legs. The twitching he felt between his legs became a full-blown erection, and he closed his eyes to shut out the image of those unyielding lips on his shaft.
Except Heero took the groan that escaped his lips as a sign of agreement. The next thing that registered on Duo's consciousness was the feel of his zipper being tugged down.
No, his mind whispered, but his body refused to listen, his hips thrusting toward Heero.
"For fifty dollars," Heero drawled. "You wear a condom, and I take you into my mouth, scrotal manipulation only if necessary, but prostate stimulation is extra."
Prostate stimulation?
Duo opened his eyes and found it easier to resist the lure of Heero's nimble fingers if he focused on the blinking light on the phone.
"Heero," he said, keeping his voice firm.
"You willing to pay more?" Heero's face was impassive, almost bored looking. Where had the embodiment of his wants and desires gone? In its place was this blond-haired businessman with a voice devoid of all the promises it had held earlier.
Duo was torn. Part of him wanted to give Heero the hundred dollars, thank him for his help, and count himself lucky that it had only cost him that much as he watched the door shut behind the prostitute.
The other part couldn't help replaying Hilde's words, couldn't help remembering how moments earlier he had wanted Heero to make good on the words he was saying.
His mind was still clouded with lust, and finally he decided that the only way to figure anything out was to keep Heero there for a while.
"Have some champagne," he said, pouring the bubbling liquid into a crystal flute.
"I don't drink," Heero said, crossing his arms in front of him. Duo shrugged and held the glass aloft, as if in a toast, before downing it. He lifted the silver lid from the bowl of fruit and held it out to Heero.
Heero looked at him with a bored expression. "For crying out loud, Heero, just take a damn piece of fruit, already."
"Look," Heero began, pausing to look at Duo. He was waiting for something. The longhaired man realized he'd never introduced himself. He wasn't sure what the proper etiquette was when doing business with a whore, so he supposed his failure to do so wasn't a terrible faux pas.
"Duo," he supplied, suddenly filled with the desire to hear his name fall from Heero's lips as the pseudo-blond climaxed. He shook his head as if it would jar those errant thoughts out of his mind.
"Duo," Heero repeated. "You don't have to go through this whole charade with me. If you want me to make you blow your load, I need to determine the manner in which I achieve that end. It will, of course, depend on how much you are willing to spend, although your body's responses to various stimuli will be taken into consideration."
How many prostitutes talked like that, Duo wondered. "How much for the whole night?" he heard himself ask.
"A thousand dollars," Heero stated. "That will get you almost anything except bondage." He looked Duo in the eyes defiantly. His eyes took on a much grayer hue than they had in the lobby. Where had that hint of stormy skies gone?
"Done," Duo said, putting the bowl down and seating himself on the love seat, his legs spread open in invitation.
Heero demonstrated the skills he acquired, and Duo bit his lip as he came, insuring that no words, no names, escaped unbidden, as his body shuddered violently. His only thought was the realization that he'd just been given the most satisfying blow job of his life.
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Duo hadn't realized that he'd passed out after his orgasm, until he noticed the only light that was on was the one in the bathroom. He was still sitting there with his pants undone, but the condom had been removed from his now flaccid member.
He stuffed himself back in his pants and zipped them quickly as he made his way toward the bathroom. Heero had obviously heard him, and if Duo hadn't spent so many years as a pickpocket, he might have missed the sleight of hand Heero had used.
What was he hiding? Duo's eyes narrowed, and he was suddenly very glad Heero had expected him to wear a condom.
"What are you hiding, Heero?"
Heero glowered at him, but Duo was angry enough that he didn't care. "Get out," he said. "I won't have you using drugs here. I'll pay you what I owe you, then you can get the hell out."
Heero had his hand on the door as soon as the words 'get out' left his client's lips, but at the mention of drugs, he froze. He turned and sent an icy, hateful glare in Duo's direction.
"I don't use drugs," he said, his voice every bit as cold and biting as his eyes.
Duo blinked. His eyes. Heero's grayish blue eyes were now a stunningly brilliant color that resembled cobalt glass. The lighting in the bathroom wasn't half as good as it was in the rest of the suite. He reached out and grabbed Heero's chin, lifting his face and staring into those eyes.
Duo had been told many times, by countless women trying to get into his pants, or more specifically, the wallet in those pants, and had been told that his eyes were like sapphires, as if he were some preening miss looking for pretty words.
Heero's eyes, though...if Duo were ever to wax poetic on the color or the intensity of someone's eyes, these were the eyes that would inspire him to do so. His grip lightened, and with his free hand he pushed the blond hair out of the way.
Good God, Heero had beautiful eyes.
"What are you hiding, Heero?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. He barely registered the movement of Heero's hands, hands that could have easily held a weapon, he thought with a shiver, reaching up and holding something under his chin.
He released Heero's face and took the proffered item without losing eye contact with Heero.
He didn't recognize the feel of the object, so he reluctantly tore his eyes away and glanced down at his hand.
"Contact lenses?" He glanced at Heero, who gave a slight nod. Duo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Heero, why -" he bit his lip again.
It wasn't his right to ask Heero to explain why he'd want to conceal the most captivating eyes on the planet. Duo didn't think he was exaggerating. Eyes that color would be sure to attract more...clients. He noticed a swirl of turbulent emotions in them just before Heero schooled his features into an expressionless mask.
Duo was well acquainted with masks.
He was also well acquainted with the constraints of time.
"Have a seat, Heero," he said, gesturing toward the loveseat. "Make yourself comfortable. Help yourself to anything you wish."
Heero's eyes swept the room as they had several times earlier, lingering for a moment on Duo's laptop before resting on the paperback book that was sitting on the end table. His eyes flicked toward Duo's briefly.
"I'm not reading it," Duo said nonchalantly. Heero's hand reached out, brushing over the cover once. Duo nodded in confirmation, and Heero picked up the book, pulled his knees up to his chest, and opened the book. Every now and then his lips would move silently, and Duo had to tear his eyes away from the tempting sight.
He went to his laptop and called up the prospectus on the Peacecraft Corporation. He thought he felt eyes on him a few times, but each time he looked up from his screen, Heero seemed absorbed in the book. Finally Duo kept his head lowered, but watched Heero carefully from beneath his lashes.
Heero glanced at the laptop again, then at Duo, and his body visibly tensed as he realized Duo was spying on him.
Duo folded his hands on his chest and leaned back in the chair, waiting to see what Heero was going to do next.
Heero got up and stretched, his bare stomach rippling slightly, then he slowly walked toward Duo, dropping to his knees between the chair and the desk. He placed his right hand along the outside of Duo's left thigh.
Duo almost gasped at the feel of those fingers caressing his leg through the tailored linen. He struggled to form the words.
"Anything other than bondage?" he managed.
"No kissing," Heero said. "On the mouth," he added. "That is nonnegotiable."
"On the mouth," Duo repeated.
"Rimming is OK," Heero offered with a half shrug. "If you're into that."
Duo would never have guessed the effects that Heero's words would have on him. That voice, saying things that he'd never dream of WANTING, making him picture every scenario he offered...he wanted to hear more from that voice.
"I want..." Duo paused, licking his lips as Heero rested his chin in Duo's lap and looked up at him expectantly. He stifled a groan. "I want to taste you."
If he'd expected Heero to be grateful, or surprised, he was doomed to disappointment. "Where?"
"There," Duo hissed, emphasizing that one word, hoping Heero wasn't going to pretend he didn't know where 'there' was.
Heero nodded once, then got to his feet and unlaced his pants within seconds. He slowly shimmied his hips out of the leather, and when the waist of his pants was at the top of his thighs, Heero let them drop, stepping out of them one leg at a time, making it look effortless.
Duo noted that the soft curls surrounding Heero's awakening arousal were just as dark as his eyebrows. His eyes flicked to the long blond locks that tickled the almost slender hips, but didn't want to waste time wondering why Heero was concealing his natural tresses when he wanted to focus his attention elsewhere.
Duo had never been with a man before, but he knew what he liked, and that should help. As he opened his mouth to capture the prize before him, Heero's hand tightened on his shoulder, pushing him back. Duo frowned. It was his dime, wasn't it? He looked up at Heero, who swallowed once and held out a condom.
The feel and taste of latex weren't high on Duo's list of sexual turn-ons, but Heero's voice was, and he was going to do his damnedest to hear it.
Except that Heero was biting his lip, causing a trickle of blood to run down his chin. Heero's head was thrown back, but despite Duo's best efforts, he was barely doing so much as whimpering.
"I want to hear you, Heero," he said. "Scream for me."
"DU-Ooooo!"
Duo found himself experiencing a second orgasm at the sound of his name tearing from Heero's throat.
He thought he heard a cry of dismay, but Heero recovered quickly, removing the condom, disposing of it in the bathroom where he ran a washcloth under warm water. He returned to cleanse Duo as well. Duo watched the muscles in Heero's ass flex as he returned to the bathroom. When he heard the sound of the shower running, he climbed into bed and watched the door. He fell asleep before Heero returned.
He woke a few hours later, and realized he was still needed a shower himself despite Heero's best efforts to clean him up. He slipped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, keeping the lights out until he reached the bathroom.
It took him a while to brush out his hair, then he turned the shower on and he washed and conditioned the locks. He rinsed himself clean and turned off the water, listening to the soft patter of droplets as they dripped from his hair to the tile floor. He wrapped one of the towels around his hair, nothing with satisfaction that at least the Regent Beverly Wilshire provided its guests with decent sized bath sheets, not washcloths trying to pass as towels. He squeezed the terry cloth several times to absorb the excess moisture, then hung it on the rack and combed his hair out carefully before replaiting it. As he fastened the tie at the end of his braid, he noticed the strands of platinum hair reflecting the light from the bulb in the bathroom.
He touched the wig briefly, then crept up to the bed silently. Heero stirred, and he froze, holding his own breath until Heero's breathing evened out in sleep again.
In the dark, he could see the tumble of dark hair that fell over Heero's closed eyes. His lips curved in a slight smile, and he reached a hand toward Heero's cheek, but didn't dare make contact with his skin. He watched the rise and fall of Heero's chest for a moment before he quietly went around the bed and crawled into the other side. He tucked the pillow under his chin and turned on his side so he was facing Heero's bare back.
If Hilde could only see him now.
tbc
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Note on the rating: I did my best to scale down the details to keep this at an R-rating by suggesting more than explictly describing the actual acts. Anyone interested in the original, uncut (NC17) version of this chapter will need to access it at mediaminer.org, although I make no promises on the quality of the citrus.
Aiko - Ah, my first review, and the computer didn't burst into flames! Seriously, I thank you for your encouragement. I hope the wait for this chapter wasn't too long!
laura - yes, I am aware of the difference between 1x2 and 2x1, and I'm sorry for the confusion. When I referred to my 1x2 newbieness, that was actually a leftover warning from when I posted it on the 1x2ML (which, despite the name, also includes 2x1 and 1x2x1). The fic challenge that I mentioned in the introductory paragraph had several criteria, one of which was setting Duo as the businessman and Heero as the prostitute. I have seen people become very up in arms over the difference between 1x2 and 2x1, because they expect to see one thing and are very disappointed to find out the story doesn't fit the paradigm. I had, however, hoped that it was clear from both the summary and the intro which roles the characters were playing, but I suppose not everyone wants to read a longwinded intro. I've skipped over a few of them myself on occasion, so I can't say I blame anyone. On a side note, one of the reasons I accepted this particular fic challenge was because there is a bevy of fics portraying Duo as a prostitute, but few that put Heero in that role.
Grevola - I do hope that the quality of this does not deteriorate as it progresses. Thanks for your encouraging words, as a newbie, certainly, but especially as a writer.
Link Worshiper - Beef it up, eh? Hmm, does that mean that being subtle is going to make you tear your hair out? The next chapter will probably not do much to clear things up. Hopefully by the end of the story all will be made clear. I'm stalled at Chapter 4 because I have to make sure I provide all the pertinent hints and avoid contradicting myself by the end of the story. It was very difficult to avoid mentioning Heero by name in the first chapter until Duo asked him. I am hoping to do this story justice, because some people will have seen the movie and others won't, and those who have will be judging it against a different set of standards. The challenge I accepted was to take the basic story and turn it into an alternate universe Gundam Wing fic, which means I cannot stick the characters into the roles that the actors portrayed in the movie. It has been a lot more enjoyable to write that way, because anyone can just change the names of the characters, and that's not really writing. It's my first attempt at a fusion, and I have definite ideas for where I'm going with it. Let's see if I can make the picture in my head into something entertaining and enjoyable for the duration of the story!
alexia-chan - I had to laugh when you mentioned the car, because that's the reaction I have when I read a story that mentions just about any car I have not personally driven. I'll respond to the car portion of your comment in a minute. Why did I leave it there for chapter one? It seemed like a good place? I actually had to rewrite portions of this chapter to conform to ff.net's R-rating, so it took me longer to upload it here. As for the car...I looked for the most obscenely priced car I could find for that scene, and the Enzo, with a sticker price upwards of six hundred thousand dollars, was it. I'd heard of the car, but couldn't remember what it was called, and it took me a while to find it. Only 399 of them were made, so most of us peons will likely never even lay eyes on one. Its tiny windows (tiny in my opinion) were perfect for making the interior even darker. I think its styling looks rather space shuttle-like, given some imagination. Considering it was designed to be aerodynamic, perhaps my imagination isn't too far off. You could really REALLY stretch the limits of belief by picturing it as the Wing Gundam in bird mode, but I don't think that's a very apt description. The Enzo is capable of attaining velocities of 350kph or 217mph. Can you IMAGINE going that fast in a car? The bucket seats in the interior are like nothing I've ever seen, with a molded shape that looks like it actually cups the occupants. I also hear that a racing game for the Xbox features the car, but that doesn't do me any good, so it probably won't help you, either. Although for about thirty bucks, I can get my hands on a nice plastic model and build my own! After all that, if you'd like to see what it looks like, I'll provide two links. Hopefully they will be legible (I've seen ff.net do some funky things to URLs after documents have been uploaded). Try either http: // www. ssip. net/ enzo. php or http :// www. modelflight. com. au/ rc_model_cars/ tamiya_rc_cars_ferrari_enzo. htm (You'll need to delete all the spaces, of course. If you can't read either of them, try doing a search for Ferrari Enzo and you'll come up with a few sites with reviews on the car.)
mskchan - Yes. Same Heero. Blond wig, remember? If not, it was mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, while Heero was getting ready, just before he found out Quatre had taken the money. He was not referred to by name in that scene, as the first mention of his name was the scene in which he was in the car with Duo. Of course, after reading this chapter, it's pretty obvious now, I suppose.