Disclaimer: see previous chapters.

MikaSamu – I think the drama/plot twists come from watching soap operas years ago. That kind of stuff sticks with you. Glad to hear you're still reading and enjoying. Thanks for dropping me a line.

Eradicated Illness – You think it was too fast, huh? I'm sorry. Normally, I feel like I'm dragging my heels in these types of situations. Maybe I'll slow things down a little to get a better feel for the relationship itself. I'm glad you like the story and thanks for giving me something to consider in the upcoming chapters.

Anisa32 – Unfortunately, Wufei and Zechs are in for a bit of drama down the road when the truth comes out about Treize. And I did feel soooo bad for pushing Duo aside, but I had no choice. At least I've given him some little friends to play with while Wufei is away.

Checkmate

Chapter 11

"When's the last time you talked to him? I'd be miserable if you didn't talk to me for that long and I'm sure he feels the same way."

Milliardo had heard Wufei speak of his best friend enough and he'd overheard enough phone conversations to realize that Duo was in love with Wufei. Wufei was clueless of course, but part of it surely had to be because he wasn't attracted to his partner. I know Wufei loves me, and I'd never try to replace Duo.

Wufei had disentangled himself from Milliardo's limbs and taken a shower before sitting down to call Duo. By the time he sat down at the vid phone, Milliardo was asleep. He smiled at the beautiful image his lover presented. The platinum blonde hair, a silky halo surrounding the handsome face. His smooth, pale skin contrasting beautifully with the dark blue sheets. He was so tempted to just slip back into bed with him and indulge in the honey-scented skin, but Milliardo was right. He hadn't called Duo in awhile and he shouldn't neglect his best friend. And when Duo's smiling face appeared on the screen, Wufei felt a pang of guilt.

"'Fei! How the hell are you, partner?"

"I'm great, Maxwell. And you seem to be in fine spirits. What has you so happy?"

"I'm always happy to see you." Duo saw his best friend roll his eyes and he smiled. He missed his best friend so much, he even missed seeing him roll his eyes. "So when you coming home?"

"Soon. There are still a few things I need to do here. But soon."

Duo frowned as Wufei looked off to the side, not even able to meet his friend's gaze as he lied to him. This is all Zechs' fault.

"Great." Wufei was still looking off to the side and Duo began to wonder if his friend was alone. He suddenly noticed the background and realized he didn't recognize it. "Hey, are you alone?"

"Hm? Oh, no actually. Milliardo is asleep. Why do you ask? Do you mind?"

"I don't mind. It's just you seem distracted. Would you rather not talk right now?"

"Of course I want to talk to you. I called, remember?"

"So talk. Tell me the truth. You're not coming home anytime soon, are you?"

"Maxwell, what are you talking about?"

"Now that you have Zechs, you don't need me anymore, is that it?"

"You're sounding like some jilted girlfriend. What the hell is your problem?"

"N-nothing. I'm sorry."

Wufei turned when he heard Milliardo make a small noise and roll over. He told me to call. Did he know Maxwell would be feeling jealous? Wufei turned back to face his frowning best friend, making sure his voice sounded as reassuring as possible.

"Maxwell….I promise you I will be coming home. I am still a Preventor."

"So what's the holdup?"

Wufei opened his mouth to say something, but the lie died in his throat. I can't lie to him. He's my best friend. Wufei sighed and hung his head.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know what to do, Maxwell."

Duo heard the frustration in Wufei's voice and he hoped he could have this conversation with his best friend and not sound selfish. I need to be his friend. He needs my help.

"Logically I know I could leave in three weeks. I'm confident of leaving the team to their own devices. But…."

"But you don't want to leave him."

Wufei looked up, his normally confident visage was gone, replaced with an unsure, almost lost look. Duo couldn't recall the last time he saw Wufei look so…naked.

"I love him and I don't know what to do."

Duo sighed and slumped back in his chair, feeling sorry for Wufei. "I don't know what to tell you. Have you talked to Zechs about this yet?"

"No. We're both avoiding the subject."

"You need to talk to him. Between the two of you, you can figure out what's best for your relationship."

"You're right." Wufei ran his hands through his hair and looked up at the ceiling. "I've never felt so helpless, Maxwell."

Duo sat there, knowing how Wufei felt. He felt helpless himself. There was nothing he could do to make this situation any easier for his best friend. All he could do was be there for him. The more he thought about Wufei's and Zechs' relationship, the more he was convinced this was only going to amount to an affair and he wasn't sure if Wufei had considered that yet. How could they be expected to maintain a relationship with Wufei on earth, and Zechs spending most of his time in space with his diplomatic responsibilities? It was impossible.

"I'm real sorry, 'Fei."

Wufei looked back at the vid screen to see Duo looking as if he were going to cry. "Maxwell?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being such a good friend."

"Anytime, anywhere, 'Fei."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pale blue eyes studied the man across from him who was intently concentrating on the screen before him, furiously typing. Milliardo was stretched out on the bed, a Cheshire cat grin on his face. Tonight, he had been given something very special by his lover. He had been given access to his quarters. He tried to get Wufei to invite him into his quarters a few times before they became lovers to no avail. He knew the man was extremely private and viewed being allowed into his inner sanctum as a major step towards knowing the true Wufei.

By the time they became lovers, the thought hadn't occurred to him again because they always slept in his quarters. It made sense. His had the larger bed, the sitting area, the chess board and was set off away from the rest of the ship's quarters so there was more privacy.

But today was different. They had returned from a two-day peace conference on L6 and as they walked the hallways heading to Milliardo's office, Wufei made an unexpected left.

"Where are you going?"

"I just need to get some paperwork from my quarters. It won't take long, c'mon." Milliardo stood there stunned. Was I just invited to Wufei's room? "Milliardo? Is something wrong?"

"At the risk of sounding like some prudish school girl….are you sure it's ok if I come to your quarters?"

Wufei chuckled and walked back to grab Milliardo's hand and give him a quick kiss. "It's more than ok, Milliardo."

When they arrived at Wufei's quarters Milliardo reveled at the prospect of seeing what he could find out about Wufei by seeing what he kept in his private room. He was disappointed to find that the man really hadn't done anything. He had a few personal effects but there wasn't much in the room to indicate a personality. The thought that Wufei hadn't made his room like a home made him feel sad. He sat down on the bed and stared own at the floor, his voice quiet, resigned.

"You really don't like it here, do you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This room. There's nothing here. I knew you hated it when you got here, but I would have thought by now that you wouldn't hate it so much and you might have considered this your second home. But there still isn't much here to show that Chang Wufei lives here."

Wufei went to sit next to Milliardo on the bed. "You're right. This room is not my second home. Yes, when I got here I hated this room, this mission, and I just wanted to go home. But things got better." Wufei lifted Milliardo's chin so they were looking at each other. "Much better. But as things got better, my time wasn't being spent here. Your quarters are more my room than this place. Your room, where most of my clothes are, where I now eat almost every night, play chess, sleep, and almost everything else, is my second home. Do you understand now?"

"Perfectly."

And that's when Milliardo had practically attacked Wufei, which ultimately led to his current position of lying on the bed, watching his lover do some last minute work before they went to sleep. He loved watching Wufei do anything. The man had a natural grace that mesmerized. He'd seen others watching him on the sly at the conferences and around the ship. For the most part he was proud when he saw the admiring glances aimed at his lover. But then there were people like Representative Alexander who brought out his worst jealous instincts.

"What's wrong? I haven't been working for that long."

"What?"

"You're frowning. What's wrong?"

Wufei closed his laptop and came to sit beside Milliardo. The blonde just smiled and wrapped his arms around Wufei's waist and laid his head on his thigh.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm very happy."

Wufei lightly stroked the long platinum blonde hair, his eyes roaming over every inch of exposed skin, drinking in the smooth pale skin, and all the planes and valleys of his lover's body.

Milliardo looked up to see the admiring gaze and it sent a wave of warmth coursing through his body. He turned around so he was lying on his back, his head still supported by Wufei's thigh, and pulled the soft pink lips down to his own.

"I want to stay here tonight."

"You'll have to get up early and go back to your room."

"No, I don't think so."

Milliardo sat up pushing Wufei down on the bed at the same time so he was now on top, his hair falling down around their faces.

"What are you saying?"

"I love you, Wufei. And I don't care who knows and I'm not going to hide it any longer. I'm not ashamed of you or our relationship."

"You can't be serious. Do you have any idea what kind of scandal would come of this?"

"I don't care."

"I do!"

Wufei pushed Milliardo and got up off the bed, running his fingers through his hair and pacing the floor.

"I'm not ashamed of us either Milliardo but you have to look at the big picture here. You cannot afford to have your reputation ruined by making it known you're having an affair with your Security Commander. And I can't afford to have the reputation of sleeping with a superior. Especially not while on an assignment!"

Milliardo stood up and captured the pacing Preventor within his arms.

"Ok, stop. I get it. I'll wake up early."

"I'm sorry, Milliardo. We just can't."

"Just tell me one thing. Do you think you'll ever want to tell people about us?"

Wufei sighed. "I've told Maxwell because he's my best friend. And honestly, with the exception of telling Quatre and Trowa, I don't care about anybody else. Is there anybody you really want to tell or have told already?"

Milliardo shrugged. "Aside from you the people I'm closest to are Noin and Relena. And I really don't have any desire to call them up and tell them I have a lover."

"So it's settled then. Nobody needs to know. We will remain each other's secret."

A sly smile spread across Milliardo's lips as he pulled Wufei back towards the bed. "If I'm going to keep this relationship a secret, I'm going to need some….incentive."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Why don't you try and 'convince' me to keep my mouth shut?"

"How about you not keep that mouth shut?"

Wufei and Milliardo collapsed on the bed as Wufei captured his lover's lips with his own.

To be continued….