Treize POV

In the two weeks since Trowa had arrived, many things had happened. Beyond Wufei's new-found acquaintanceship with magic, his befriending of Chase, and my friendship with the boy, other things had happened. Trowa, having been accepted as a member of the Night Force, had helped to hunt down a particularly large and sly band of orphans and they had been taken into he orphanage. There it was revealed that they were all suffering form one malady or another, ranging from simple scratches to an intense flue virus. It took the nuns nearly four days to discover that the children were sick, and by that time they had all been checked over and integrated with the other children, contaminating them all.

I told myself it was my duty to go and check on the children, that I might be needed to help, but in truth I was worried about Chase, concerned that the older boy would be overlooked for treatment since he was stronger and more resilient than the younger ones. Putting myself in a position almost certain to get me sick when a war loomed was a stupid strategic move, but I ignored it.

Chase met me at the door to the orphanage. He looked tired, but he had this excited air about him that seemed to negate that fact.

"'Ello, Treize. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how the children are doing, I heard some of them are sick."

"Yeah. Sally's givin' 'em medicine, but it isn't helping too much. Sally says that Master O might have to come and do magic on them."

"That's not good."

"Why not?"

"Magic is a fickle thing, Chase, what can heal one person can kill another. It's not very safe, using magic on people to heal, safer on children than adults, but still not safe. It would be best if Sally could heal them herself. Besides, I don't think I-... I don't think the king would want his sorcerer so tired right now. They say there is war on the horizon."

"Guess you're right. I guess I just wanted to see some magic. I saw a magician on the street once, doin' shows, but I looked at his stuff and it was all just tricks. I was disappointed."

"Well, fear not. These magicians have no tricks, only simple magic. I have no doubt that you'll meet one someday."

"Really? I hope so. Though it might have to be soon," Chase said, then gave me a bright smile, "Sally said I'm all healed and a pair of farmers were looking at me today. They said they have a young daughter but they could use some help around the farm. Isn't that great? I'd get to have a family again and a little sister and I bet they have a lot of cows and horses and..."

I tuned Chase out, my mind working furiously. That was definitely not the news I had wanted to hear and it solidified my urge to talk with Wufei. Regardless of wether or not he agreed with my idea, I would not see Chase as a farmhand. If I could not place Chase within the castle, I had several relatives that would be delighted to do me a favor and add the boy to their household. Either way, Chase would have a proper education.

"I'm glad may soon find a family," I interrupted, "but I need to see the others now."

"I don't know..." Chase said, not at all offended by my interruption, "You might get sick if you come in here."

"I have to see the other children. My employer would have it so," I half-truthed. In fact, since I was my own employer, it wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't really honest either.

"Well, I guess if you have to you can come in, but you've gotta were a mask or you'll get sick for sure," Chase said, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to me. I obediently tied it around my face.

"Why aren't you wearing one? You're not sick, are you?" I asked. Chase shuffled his feet a bit.

"Nah. I don't sick. Besides, a couple of people were thinking about taking me home and I didn't want to miss 'em, but they couldn't come in 'cause everyone's so sick," Chase said, his eyes downcast. I started, the thought that Chase might be adopted so soon had never occurred to me. I resolved to do something about it immediately, lest the boy waste away in the fields somewhere.

I made my rounds with the children, intending to only talk with the nuns and see what I could do to help, but I ended up doing errands and helping the stronger children care for the weaker. As I said, the orphanage was drastically undermanned for so many children and I resolved to do something about that. However, for the time being, there was no one else to help, so I lent my services. I often saw Chase helping the other children, revealing more admirable qualities about the child. The nuns never called me by my title, so I was able to observe Chase in his natural setting without worrying that my secret would be revealed.

Before I left I caught one of the nuns and told her explicitly that Chase was not to see anyone else about being adopted, that he was to be unadoptable for the time being. She seemed shocked, but would not refuse her king. Seeing her surprise, I assured her that Chase wasn't in trouble, I merely wanted to see him placed in a family where he could get a good education. I wasn't exactly sure where he would be placed, though, and that was the reason I gave for keep Chase unaware of everything. I also told her that Chase did not know who I was, and that I hoped to tell him when I informed him of where he would be living.

With all these loose ends tied up, I headed back to my room. It was late when I got there that night, but my dragon had still not returned so I opted for a quick shower. Wufei had said something about special training with O that day, I was knew he'd be tired, possibly in need of a back-rub and a shower, maybe tired enough to skip both. It was a bit disappointing in some ways, but comfortingly routine in others. Our relationship, which we had both agreed upon on the ride to Haven, had some what stagnated. At first Wufei had been too nervous and unused to his surrounding to be comfortable moving our relationship forward, but now we had settled into a kind of routine that, though I was content enough with for a time, I was growing tired of. Oh, I couldn't be happier with Wufei and our conversations and the time we spent together, but having the object of one's affection in bed with him every night and being unable to act upon any carnal urges one might have tends to make one... grouchy.

I realized that I would soon have to talk with Wufei about it, but I was afraid of scaring the boy off. Every time I thought of speaking to him about the subject I ended up giving himself to settle into a life that he'd obviously already grown accustomed to.

As I came out of the shower, I heard Wufei enter the room. Perfect timing, I thought, since we would just have time to get dinner and go to bed. He was probably tired, so I decided to leave talking to him for another day, as I had on several past occasions.

I left the bathroom in a towel, since all my clothes were in the other room. I assumed Wufei would be getting ready for a bath, so I filled the bath for him.

I noticed that there was something strange as soon as I arrived in the bedroom. It took me a second to pinpoint it; the fact that Wufei was still standing in the doorway. I paused, one hand securing my towel around my waist, the other hanging at my side.

"Wufei?" I called, "what's the matter?"

Wufei didn't answer. Instead, he seemed to come back to himself, as though his mind had been elsewhere. He moved, strangely uncoordinated, across the room.

"I'm fine," he told me, his voice with an odd note in it, "I just had a hard day of magical practice," he said, coming to stand before me.

"What would you like to do now?" I asked, but he remained silent. Slowly, his eyes drooped low and eventually he closed them, then leaned forward against me. His cheek came in contact with my bare chest and he sighed, rubbing it against my skin contentedly. Slowly, his hands came up and rested on my hips, slowly moving upward. When they touched my nipples, I jumped in surprise at the strange sensation.

"Wufei?" I question, bewildered at his behavior. He didn't hear me, though, because his hands were suddenly pulling me down desperately, and he stretched to kiss me.

It was not our first kiss. It was not our longest kiss. It might not have been our deepest kiss. But it felt like all of those and more. Wufei delved his tongue into my mouth, searching the moist cavern, exploring it. I fought him for control of our kiss, but it was merely play. I was happy enough that he would kiss me like that, I would not fight him for dominance tonight. Next time, however...

He suddenly backed away, leaving me annoyed and confused.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, shaking his head, "I didn't mean to do that," he told me and seemed genuinely sorry. I was a bit perturbed, having been left unsatisfied right in the middle of a very satisfying kiss.

"I'm not sure if you meant to do that or not," I told him, a bit harshly, "but I for one was enjoying it!"

"You... but... I..." he stuttered, unsure of himself.

"Wufei, what is going on?" I asked, beginning to worry.

"I think... I think my practice might have had some sort of... of side effect. I've been feeling like this ever since I did that spell."

"Oh," I muttered, disappointedly. Was it too much to ask that he be touching me because he wanted to? "Perhaps a shower will help," I suggested.

"Perhaps..." Wufei said offhandedly, but I could tell he wasn't paying any attention. Instead, he was running his finger up and down the side of my stomach, watching the muscles ripple as I tried not to flinch, revealing the secret that I was ticklish.

"Treize..." Wufei whispered.

"What is it, love?" I asked. As though he wasn't aware he had spoken out loud he looked at my face, surprised.

"Why won't you make love to me?" he asked. I was shocked.

"I didn't know you wanted me to. After everything that happened I wasn't certain that..."

"So you've been trying to protect me?" he asked and I could hear a not of indignant anger in his voice.

"No," I soothed, "I just thought you'd want to move slowly, I didn't want to rush you."

The anger faded out of my dragon's eyes and they went a bit sad, a bit shy, a bit frustrated, all at the same time. He looked down, but stepped closer to me.

"I'm not a child," he told me, "I'm not frightened because of what happened. I'm a man and I have the urges of one. I wanted you, but when you never made a move I wasn't sure... I know we talked about it, but we never said anything about..."

"You thought that I wasn't making a move because I had decided I didn't want you like that, didn't you, Dragon?" I said, smiling gently as I tilted his face toward me. "Nothing could be farther from the truth. You have no idea what it took for me not to rip the clothes off of you every time you entered this room, but you mean more than that to me and you deserve more than that, so I waited. Need I continue waiting?" I asked.

"No!" Wufei cried, lunging at me, pushing me back against the bed. We were suddenly in a frenzy. Hands were everywhere. My towel was gone. There was a ripping sound as I attempted to help Wufei rid himself of his clothing, but it was never found whether I, in my hast, tore Wufei's clothes or he, in his hurry to be dressed in only the sheets, tore his own clothes. It didn't matter. We fell back against the bed, our hands any where, everywhere, in a frenzy of passion.

It was almost fearfully that I pinned Wufei down, holding his arms down while I pushed my body up, away from his. I hovered over him, close enough to feel his heat but not close enough to touch. He was panting for breath, his eyes wide with lust and confusion.

Though my mind was clouded by passion, I could see the direction in which we were headed. I didn't want a quick, one-night stand. I didn't want to wonder what I had done when I woke up in the morning, Wufei nuzzled in my arms. I didn't want to rush things, and I certainly didn't want to let Wufei rush into this. I was, after all, his first lover. I wanted it to be good for him, I didn't wan to give him any reason to regret what we were about to do.

Slowly, I let myself back down onto Wufei, still keeping his arms pinned under me, letting him feel every inch of my skin that pressed to his. I rubbed my body up and down against his, causing the most delightfully tortuous friction. Wufei moaned low in his throat, the muscles in his stomach clenching and unclenching as he forced himself not to grab at me. Slowly, I kissed him, but I knew his attention was not on my mouth, but on other parts of my body. I placed my knee between his legs, pushing them apart, and gently caressed his groin with my leg. He moaned into my mouth and attempted to thrust himself toward me, begging to be touched, but I held him firm. He glared at me, but the look was so diluted by lust and passion that I could only laugh in response. I took his member in my hand and he forgot all about his anger in favor of this new sensation.

I toyed with him a bit, tormenting him by rubbing at his erection with just enough pressure to make him moan, but not enough to make him come. Torment for him was torment for me, though, because I found myself painfully aroused at the sight of him.

In the light of our current states, I knew our love making was not going to happen slowly, and possibly not at all if I didn't get it done before one of us came. Slowly, I rolled Wufei onto his belly, grabbing his hips as he began to hump the bed seeking release. Deciding that it was a bad idea to give Wufei so much temptation, I flipped him back over, holding him down with a knee on his stomach. Not that I had any doubt that he could easily throw me off if he really tried, simply that my knee reminded him not to do anything... fun without me.

It wasn't a conscious decision for me to put Wufei on bottom as much it was a conscious decision for him to be on bottom. It was simply a mixture of our sizes and experience. I was both larger and more experienced, making it easier for me to be on top, enabling me to teach Wufei what to do, and allowing me to keep a clearer head. Wufei was too overcome by his own lust to know anything outside his range of feelings.

There was lotion in the dresser next to the bed and I quickly pulled out a bottle. I had to pull my hands away from Wufei to spread it on my fingers and he gave an angry little groan. I quickly returned to my task, placing one hand on his erection while the other lifted his legs and pushed them apart, then delved between them in search of his entrance. The feeling was the same as the first time we had done this, but I knew the outcome would not be. As I stretched him, probably more than I needed to out of the sheer enjoyment of seeing him empaled by my finger and enraptured by it, I couldn't help but take note of his beauty once again and be awed by it. He was like some kind of god, come down to the mortal plain for a brief interlude with his human lover. I would have to make sure he never returned to Olympus.

I finally decided it was time for us to join when Wufei began panting, almost crying out in need. Gently, I removed my fingers from him and hoisted his legs over my shoulders. Slowly, I pushed myself into his molten heat, letting him adjust to my size as I warred with my instinctive need to thrust home. Soon, we were completely joined, and I began a slowly rocking motion that made Wufei scream in pleasure. His scream set me off and we were soon moving against each other in a frenzy of passion.

It ended too soon. Wufei came first, probably because of all the pleasurable torment I had put him through. His body tightened as he released himself, causing me to follow suit. A few more quick thrusts and I emptied myself into him, collapsing on top of him, sweat covered and exhausted. It took me a few moments to recover from my orgasm, and the post-orgasmic feeling kept me from wanting to move. None the less, I managed to make myself pull out of Wufei and fall beside him, having just enough energy to pull him into my arms. He curled against me, something he doesn't often allow himself to do, and I tucked his head under my chin. We fit perfectly together, and I could feel our heartbeats, both slightly raised by our previous excursion, beating in time with one another.

It was morning only a moment after I closed my eyes. I awakened slowly, bit by bit. When I finally woke completely, I was pleased to find Wufei still in my arms, though he was now facing away from me. I laid there for a long time, just watching him sleep.

Eventually, Wufei awoke, in the same slow manner I had. He glanced around when he finally woke, his eyes coming to rest on me, and he smiled. I pulled him close and we kissed passionately. When we parted, neither of us moved away, since we were both too comfortable in our current positions.

"How do you feel, Dragon?" I finally asked.

"Wonderful, but sore."

"You will get used to it, given time and practice."

"How often do you intend to do this with me?" Wufei asked with a bark of laughter. I smiled.

"As often as possible, my beauty. You make me hot for you."

"You'll have to be careful, lest I turn you into a stallion and send you out with the mares for a while to get rid of some of that heat."

"Is it too hot for you, dragon? But you would never send me out with the mares, you'd be too overcome by jealousy."

We were both laughing by this time and kissed again. We calmed soon and returned to that happy, fulfilled feeling of before. It was then that I felt the time was right to question Wufei.

"Dragon, what do you think of Chase?"

"He's a wonderful student, a good child, soon to be a strong man. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking... someday soon I will need an heir and I-"

"I will not be second in your bed!" Wufei hissed. My jaw dropped, I was so startled.

"Wufei, I would never have anyone else in my bed. You are mine, forever. Heir or not , I will not use some woman simply to bear me a child, and I won't ask you to stay by while someone else lies with me. There is no one else for me but you."

"Then... why did you ask?"

"I have many relatives that would fight for my throne were I to die. Also, since I am not of the blood directly related to the original king, some of the royal bloodline may try to take back the throne. My life will be in danger in the upcoming war, not only from my enemies, but also from my family. Having an heir would solve many of these problems, simply by crushing any fighting before it can start. So, what I'm asking is..."

I paused, unable to continue. I was banking a lot on Wufei's response and I deeply hoped that he agreed. This was not something I simply wanted for my kingdom, or even for Wufei. A part of me wanted this strictly for myself.

"I'm asking if you'll consider allowing me to adopt Chase and name him my heir."

There was a long silence. It was hard not to hold my breath, but I forced myself to breathe evenly as Wufei was lying on my chest and would notice if I didn't. I was loathe to put any more pressure on him at the moment.

"Would you really be able to do that?" came the quiet question. "The boy has no lineage, no proper training, not even a real name. Would the people accept him as you heir?"

"I won't lie to you, Wufei, it won't be easy for Chase. He'll have to prove himself to the people as a good leader, but he's already shown that trait in himself. He's extemely intelligent, an excellent strategist, and he's already shown his capability to lead with his gang. He has knowledge of this country from his days on the streets that I was only able to gain through the use of Duo, and even then it was limited since Duo did not originate from this country. With a few years of training, he'll be able to hide his slight street-accent and know the proper etiquette. He'll soon be fully healed from his injury and his harsh upbringing will help him in the field..."

"I didn't ask for you to defend your decision," Wufei said, his quiet voice halting my words instantly. "I just want to know if you think he can do it, if you don't think it's too much for him."

"I don't, my love, or I never would have suggested it. He's strong and capable, he'll be an excellent leader."

"Then I accept him as your heir and will treat him as such."

"Wufei... I don't just want him to be my heir. You realize that, don't you? I want him... I want him to be our son."

"But you fail to understand, I have already accepted him as my son, and it seems that you have done the same. The rest is merely a formality we must get out of the way as soon as possible, the adoption and the crowning. He is our son already."

"But we must ask him. It would be shameful to force all this upon him."

"You really think he would reject us?"

"It is scary, becoming a king. Chase is no coward, but..."

"We will ask him. I doubt that he would be scared by any challenge, but it would not be just otherwise."

"It's also going to be a shock. Remember, he doesn't even know who we really are. Suppose he feels betrayed?"

"It's no use worrying about it now. Wait 'till morning, then you can fret yourself into an early grave if you like. Until then, kiss me and shut up, I intend to get some more sleep while I can."

"Have I tired you out, Dragon?"

"Humph! Bored me to death, more likely."

"Ah, I see that I will have to be more daring with you, my love. Perhaps making love outside, in plain sight, would be adventurous enough for you..."

"Enough! Quiet, you pervert, or you will sleep on the floor from now on!"

With a chuckle, I pulled Wufei close and fell back asleep.