Through the Vortex
Bane's Desire
Part 14 - Trouble Comes in Threes
Life as I'd known it slowed to a more sedate pace after that shocking, momentous day when I learned that I was carrying mine and Hildah's child in my body. Hildah was ecstatic at the apparently successful implantation of the A.U. as the first week passed with no sign that my body was rejecting the foreign, man-made uterus. After the first two crucial weeks had passed, she decided a celebration was called for. The gathering at our abode was to take place several days later. Walker was put in charge of preparing and presenting the food and drink and Mistra Hildah rushed off in a blur of red robes to invite her guests personally.
It was at this gathering that I was to meet my friends' counterparts once again. Kattron, not surprisingly, wore deep magenta colored clothing that was elegant yet still masculine on his tall, slender frame. Other than his more ample height and shoulder-length, loose hair, the blond so closely resembled my friend that just looking at him made my heart ache from missing him. I knew that Quatre would be worrying about me, probably making himself sick.
My eyes sought out Herron and found him standing dutifully at Relna's side. I observed her and Dorothy's double as they spoke with each other; they seemed to be quite chummy. I studied Dorothy's double for a moment. There were some slight physical differences between the Dorothy I knew and this one. First, this Dorothy hair was of a softer blonde color and it was cut bluntly at her shoulders. I have to admit that I was glad to see that her Erith twin didn't seem to fancy the forked eyebrows the Dorothy I knew favored. They'd always kind of freaked me out. Yet the first shock of the evening had come when this version of Dorothy had come through our door on the arm of Kattron, and that her other arm had been linked with Trowa's double. Seeing that the twin of Dorothy was paired with Kattron was enough to startle me, but it was nothing compared to how I felt the moment my eyes took in that fact that Tradell had an enormous bulging belly. I guess I hadn't noticed it when I first met him at the museum because he'd been sitting down behind a table. Now, having been enlightened about Purples' function in this society, it was impossible not to see he was in the same condition as I was, only more advanced, much more advanced.
As I stood by Mistra Hildah's side, I tried to keep an eye on my three former friends, noticing more than once that two of them had their eyes on me as well. I was dying to talk to Tradell, to ask him the many questions I had about male pregnancy, but Mueller had instructed me to stay at Hildah's side until she formally dismissed me. I was told to see to her needs, that I was to feed her any food she wanted to sample and to make sure she had a drink in her hand at all times.
At that point, I was learning to be grateful for small things, and that night it was Hildah's lack of appetite due to her excitement. While at her side, I smiled politely and remained silent, speaking only when asked a direct question, as instructed. Along with my Chooser, I accepted happy felicitation from the guests as well as speculations on how attractive our progeny would be.
After all the guests had arrived and enjoyed at least some of the food, Hildah excused me to do as I pleased. My caretaker, standing only a few feet from me, went to the kitchen to see how Walker was coping with the demands of the evening and I hightailed it to Tradell with all my questions poised on the tip of my tongue. Mueller had instructed me that I could speak to anyone within Purple rank at a social gathering but that I mustn't speak to those of a higher color unless they spoke to me first. All the rules of etiquette in Erith's society made my head swim.
As I approached the tall redhead it was obvious that he was pleased to see me. "Duwan," Tradell said warmly, smiling so brightly that I had to blink not to be blinded by it.
"It's good to see you again," I told him. "Are you... well?"
The other man nodded and reached forward and pulled me into his arms. It felt odd for me to be hugging Trowa's duplicate. Sure, Trowa and I were friends, but we weren't the hugging type of friends that Quatre and I were. He'd always been a bit distant when it came to any physical expression of our friendship, and stiff during the few times I attempted to embrace him like I did Quatre. Sensing his discomfort wasn't easing off, I stopped doing it after a while and gave him a playful punch in the arm instead. It was pretty obvious that Tradell didn't have the same problem, though I have to say it was a bit awkward hugging a man with a stomach the size of a basketball. Despite the clumsiness the embrace was warm and I could almost imagine it was my friend reassuring me that everything was fine, here and back at home.
After we parted, I focused my eyes on his bulging belly. "How much longer?" I asked.
The green eyes dropped to follow my line of sight. "Sez weiks until her arrival," he replied as his hands came up and gently caressed the rotund belly. "She is moving, anxious to be out. Would you like to feel her movements?"
"More than anything," I answered eagerly. I reached out my hand towards the other man's belly only to find it clasped by Tradell. He guided me to the lower right side of the bulge, next to his ribs. He held my hand in that place until I felt a sharp push against it. Looking up at him, feeling an overwhelming sense of wonder at having felt life within the other man's body, I asked, "How does it feel from the inside?"
Tradell's smile was soft, almost dreamy as he replied, "Odd, but I like it. Her movements are painful at times but they remind me that she is very much alive."
"You care deeply for the one you carry, don't you?" I asked, and by the startled look on Tradell's face it was easy to see that my simple question startled the green-eyed man.
"Yes, of course," he stated wide eyed. Then the startled expression faded, replaced by one of great affection as he added, "She is Kattron's progeny."
I couldn't help the smile I gave back to him. It seemed so right that even in a different place and/or time that those two men were linked to each other. Tradell loved Kattron, one of his Choosers.
Feeling a hand snake around my waist, I turned and wasn't too surprised to see Herron standing very close to me. His proximity and touch made me feel as if I was being publically claimed.
"Felicitations, Duwan," Herron said in a low, suggestive voice as he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on my cheek.
"Thanks," I replied, and it suddenly dawned on me that Herron, also a Chosen, would go through what Tradell and I were experiencing. The mental image of my very masculine Heero being pregnant almost made me laugh out loud. "So when are you going to be a carrier?" I asked, and I couldn't keep the grin off my face.
"I continue to recover from Naylor's coming. I have at least another yar before I fulfill the last of my contract."
It still surprised me how cut and dry this society was, but I was beginning to understand it better. I'd learned from Mueller that the Chosen typically contracted for two A.U. insertions. The first child was always engineered to be a girl and the second a boy. Therefore, Naylor had to be Herron's daughter.
Looking at Tradell's distended belly, and knowing very well that Herron's was smooth, flat and unscarred, gave me some measure of comfort that carrying a baby inside of me wouldn't be too traumatic on my body. I decided that if these two men could pull off a pregnancy, then so could I.
"Has the sickness begun?" Tradell asked, turning my attention back to him.
I shook my head, liking the feel of my loose hair swishing against the thin and nearly sheer material covering my back. "No, but Mueller tells me it will come in another few weiks if it comes at all." I knew the sickness he was referring to was called morning sickness in my world, and I guessed that even in a medically advanced society like this one that it wasn't completely escapable.
"My sickness was dreadful," the redhead said sadly. "But Kattron found an extract from a herbaceous plant that soothed the upset. If it would please you, I will request he send some to Mistra Hildah for your use and comfort."
I smiled with gratitude at the man I was coming to like more and more. "Yeah, I'd like that, thanks." As I spoke with Tradell, I felt Herron's hand slowly slipping down my back until he took a firm hold of my left butt cheek. I wasn't sure how to react to that, not knowing if public affection was frowned on in this setting. Regardless, I wasn't used to it. Heero and I had always been careful about public displays of affection, not wanting to offend others. I shot a nervous glance around the room to see if anyone had noticed, if they cared. No one seemed to take exception to Heero's hand, placed strategically on my bottom, so I could only guess it was alright. After a while, I got used to the touch, but I kept casting furtive glances about the room, looking for any sign of disapproval. I didn't want to do anything that might earn me a mark.
"You spoke of your desire to visit me at my abode, Duwan, but have yet to follow through," Tradell said, looking at me oddly. I tried to focus my attention on him and not on how Herron's possessive hand made me feel, but it was difficult. Yet having kept my eyes on Tradell, I could have sworn that the redhead was pouting. It was another expression I'd never seen on Trowa's face.
As Herron's grip shifted, turning his hand to let his fingers wander along the crevice there, I found myself wondering what my relationship was with the very pregnant man in front of me. "Well, with the accident and then the implantation I've been kind of busy," I replied.
"Are you repulsed by my shape?"
My eyes widened. That was the last thing I'd expected him to ask, especially in a social setting with Herron standing next to me pawing my ass. "No..no. Not at all. You look... beautiful," I told him, and truthfully, he did. I guess pregnant men glow as much as I'd heard women do in that physical state.
A hopeful expression replaced the look of insecurity he'd worn a moment before. "Then perhaps you can come to my abode soon, before your sickness begins and I reach the time of removal. I could ask Dorothea if she could arrange it with Mistra Hildah."
I winced as Herron's grip turned painful and the situation became much more clear to me. "Can you have a visit in your advanced condition?" I looked doubtful at his large belly.
"We have been creative before," he smiled knowingly at me. "I'm sure we can devise something interesting as well as mutually enjoyable."
The whole situation had become more bizarre with each passing minute. I fought the urge to run to my room and hide in my closet from the soap opera life I was living. Duwan was obviously involved with both Purples. Herron's jealousy indicated he knew of his involvement with Tradell, but with the conversation they'd just had, I wondered if Tradell knew about Herron. I thought the close proximity of Heero's duplicate and his roaming hand pretty much displayed that we were lovers. Becoming a bit overwhelmed, I decided that I needed to speak to Mueller, immediately. I whipped my head around in a frantic search for the man who'd kept me in the dark about a whole lot of shit.
"I'll get back to you on that, all right?" I told Tradell, my eyes still searching the room. "Mueller wanted me to do... something, so I'd better find him. I'll catch up with you later." Breaking free of Herron's groping hand, I fled from the two stunned-looking Purples and made a beeline to my familiar caretaker who I found standing in a corner observing the gathering while talking to another man with brown hair and of the same rank of color. As I approached him, he straightened, sensing my upset. Moving close to his side I hissed in a low voice and between gritted teeth, "I need to speak with you. Now." Taking his arm, I pulled him down the hallway, paused in front of the door until it opened, then rushed us both into my resting space.
Once the doors slid closed behind us, I turned to look up at the taller man while planting my fists on my hip bones, trying hard not to take a swing at the bastard. "Okay," I snapped irritably. "It's pretty clear to me now that Duwan is involved with both Herron and Tradell, right? Oh, and thanks loads for the heads up, man. Is there anyone else he's sleeping with that I should know about?"
"Not in the vicinity of Sangor, no," the other man replied straight faced. "But when Mistra Hildah returned to her place of beginning, you have engaged in bed activities with her ally's Chosen, Rellardo, Relna's younger sib."
I definitely hadn't been expecting that answer, and other than feeling a bit sick to my stomach I felt a definite headache coming on. Sib? That could only mean sibling, a brother. "Does he have very light colored hair, possibly long and light blue eyes?"
"Yes," Mueller answered and then took hold of my hand when I groaned. "Duwan?"
"Great, just great!" I moaned, jerking my hand away from the other man's grasp. "I'm doing the nasty with Milliardo Peacecraft's double! The guy hates my guts in my world and here in Erith we're doing the horizontal tango."
"I don't understand anything you are saying," Mueller said with a puzzled look on his face.
"Duwan's had sex with someone who hates me in my world!" I said, my voice rising to an almost hysterical pitch.
"He does not hate you here," he answered calmly with a trace of a smile on his face. "Though you should know that Herron is not too pleased to be sharing you with the other two attachments you've formed. "
"Well thanks for the day-after newsflash," I snapped. "He about took my butt off out there while Tradell was trying to set up a sleep over."
Mueller frowned. "He had been warned by both Mistras Relna and Hildah regarding his possessiveness. He knows he can not contract a claim with you, making you his own until you have both completed your current contracts."
"So it's alright in your society for people to be openly intimate with more than one person?" I was beginning to think I'd never figure this place out. Every time I turned around something new slapped me in the face.
"It is not an encouraged arrangement, but it is not stipulated in your contract that you cannot have more than one intimate involvement."
"It seems like Duwan's a Purple magnet," I said, scratching my head. "How'd he get involved with three guys at once?"
"He met Herron first, during the time when Hildah was still working to gain Duwan's favor. She purposely acquainted the two with the hope that Herron would convince Duwan that she would be a good Chooser. Duwan told me that there had been many who had inquired after him and scouts from all over Erith were sent to his materna to offer for him, even before he reached the required age of sevdecca yars. He choose Hildah not only because she made the best offer, but because he had met and felt an attachment for Relna's Chosen and desired to be closer to him."
I knew from past conversations with Mueller that materna meant mother, and in this world it made sense that anyone wanting to contract Duwan as their Chosen when he turned seventeen would have to go to the female in his family and not the father, the faterna. The fact that Duwan had fallen head over heels for Herron at first sight shouldn't have surprised me, because that's basically what happened to me with Heero, when I gazed into those blue eyes of his while rescuing him from an Alliance hospital.
"Then how did the other two come to be his... intimates?" I was getting better, but found myself frequently struggling to come up with the words Erithian's used that were similar yet different from words I was more familiar with.
"Herron had a difficult gestation period and wasn't allowed bed guests. Duwan became acquainted with Tradell at a social gathering and quickly grew attached to the other Chosen's gentle ways and quiet need for an intimate. Kattron saw an attachment being formed between his Chosen and Duwan and asked Mistra Hildah if she would agree to you spending time with Tradell and becoming his bed companion. It appears that Kattron regards it his duty to Tradell to assure that his Chosen is content in all aspects of his life."
"And Rellardo?" What a name.
"A long vacation with nothing and no one to do." Muller smiled at his own attempt at being witty.
"Hardy har har," I replied humorlessly and my shoulders slumped as I realized my double was something of a male-slut. "So, am I expected to carry on with these three in order to keep up the facade of being Duwan?"
"Not necessarily," Mueller said, putting a hand on my shoulder to offer a bit of comfort. "Rellardo's Chooser's abode is far from here. You will probably not meet again for several yars, after your's and his contracts have been fulfilled. By then he might have chosen and contracted someone for himself. As for Tradell, his advanced gestation could be a justifiable reason for not negotiating a bed visit with him. Herron, however, is not going to be set aside as effortlessly," he continued. "He had often displayed his possessiveness of Duwan and his attention, as you saw this eventide. Duwan carefully balances his two favorites, especially when the three of them are in a gathering such as this. Tradell is more accepting of the situation, but he won't tolerate Herron keeping you from him."
"Yeah, I think I got a good look at how the two operate tonight," I replied, thinking of the earlier scene and how it had played out. "Herron was staking a claim and Tradell ignored him until he thought I wasn't attracted to him, then he acted hurt." Between the two of them, I'd felt like a ball on a ping-pong table and they were the paddles, both vying for control over the me while taking shots at each other.
With our conversation finished, Mueller led me out of the room by my hand, only to be met in the hallway by Herron. "Persistent, isn't he?" I asked my caretaker under my breath, only to receive an affirmative grunt from him in return. As he approached, I had to admire the other Chosen. Herron was wearing an outfit similar to the one he'd worn to my bedroom that first night. Long, satin-like pants and that damned see-through shirt. He was beautiful, and at the moment he only had eyes for me. A shiver of delight tickled its way up my spine. It was hard to imagine that flat stomach of his was ever as big as Tradell's. As he drew closer, I noted the dark, sculpted eyebrows were drawn together, a sure sign Herron was unhappy about something. Mueller discretely left us standing alone in the hallway together with the sounds of the party in the other room floating towards us.
"What?" I asked.
"Stop dallying with Tradell while I'm present. You know how much I dislike it."
"Listen, Herron," I began, not used to dealing with a jealous lover. Heero had been rather possessive of me at times, but it wasn't due to jealousy or even mistrust - I'd never given him any reason to justify those negative feelings. He just seemed to want to be with me and to protect me. My mind wandered back to Earth for a brief moment, wondering what had changed between us over the time we'd been together. Heero had gone from wanting to be with only me to, if Quatre had been correct, sleeping with one of our friends. I remember telling Heero, after we'd first gotten together, that fidelity was tantamount to our success as a couple. That memory left a bitter knot in my stomach. Now that we'd both slept with other people, I guessed our relationship was really over. I mentally smacked myself in the head for that thought. Of course our relationship was over. I was here in Erith, in a completely different universe, far out of reach of him and unable to ever find out the truth regarding Heero infidelity.
I looked into Herron's eyes, so like Heero's but much more open. It was obvious he was feeling hurt and jealous and trying hard to hold it in. I found myself feeling sorry for him, especially when I remembered seeing a similar look in Quatre's eyes when he spoke to me of his suspicions, believing that Trowa was seeing Heero on the sly. It had been clear that my friend had felt betrayed and was deeply hurt. Recognizing that same look in Herron's eyes and understanding it better now, bought out feelings of sympathy and compassion for him, for Duwan putting him in this predicament. I stepped closer to him, took him by the shoulders and placed a lingering, not-so-chaste kiss on his lips, hoping to alleviate at least some of his pain.
"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable and unhappy," I whispered into his ear after breaking off the kiss and hugging him tightly. "I'm kind of overwhelmed at the moment, Herron, but I'll straighten out this mess soon, all right?"
Herron pulled back slightly and studied my face. I was glad to see some of the pain had receded from his eyes and his expression soften at my apology. "I do not enjoy having to share you," he said, his voice soft yet earnest.
I hugged him again after seeing the deep sincerity shining in his blue eyes that were suddenly bright from the extra moisture welling in them. It was obvious to me that he was hopelessly in love with Duwan.
"Let us draw back to your resting space," he whispered to me.
"Now?" I asked, surprised. "There's a party going on. I'm not sure I can leave."
Herron pressed his body up against mine, and through the flimsy cloth of our clothing I could feel evidence of his desire for me. "I only need a few inits."
"That doesn't sound too satisfying," I said with my breath catching in my throat and my heart speeding up as he began to rock his pelvis up against my hip.
"I need you."
Those three words, spoken in a shaky voice filled with such neediness, made it impossible for me to resist him. I nodded my head and found my hand clasped a moment before I was rushed down the hall and back to my resting space. Once inside the room, Herron proved to be just as capable and thorough as my own mission driven Heero had ever been.
We returned to the party roughly fifteen minutes later, flushed and smiling, only to find Kattron trying to comfort a visibly upset Tradell who burst into tears upon seeing Herron and myself enter the main room together, hand in hand.
""""""""""
"I ask your forgiveness," I said while standing repentant before Hildah later that night, after all the guests had gone. My head was bowed and hands at were at my side in a pose of contrition, as Mueller instructed.
"There is no excuse for the scene you created tonight," Hildah scolded me as she sat imperiously in her maroon-colored chair. "Tradell is near to his time and it appeared as if you purposely set out to upset him. Kattron and Dorothea are very displeased with you."
"I didn't mean to upset him." I rushed to explain myself. "I'd... forgotten we were involved and Herron was upset, too. I had a lapse of memory and judgement and I'm sorry for it."
There was a long stretch of silence before Hildah spoke again. "I will consider your recent accident and your continued lapse of memory as a valid reason for this eventide's fiasco. You will retire to your space and carefully consider what you will say to Tradell next cycle and how to speak your regret to Kattron and Dorothea." She then looked away from me, a clear sign that I had been dismissed.
I more or less backed myself out of the room and stormed back to my bedroom. "Stupid! How someone could get involved with two people at the same time is beyond me," I grumbled. As I approached my room, I wondered if Heero ever found himself conflicted over Trowa and me. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. How ironic, I thought, that in this world I was the person with two lovers who just happened to look like Heero and Trowa, the two who had betrayed me in my former life.
Mueller let me into my room the moment I banged my fist on the door. He hovered by my side while patiently listening to me rant about the evils of having more than one lover. As I carried on, my caretaker undressed me and began the task of putting on my nightshirt and brushing out my hair. I'd gotten so used to him doing these mundane chores for me that I didn't think twice about lifting my feet and arms to aid him as he performed his duties.
"What am I going to do? Hildah says I'm to go next cycle to speak my regrets to Tradell and his Choosers. What do I say to them? How do I handle this situation?"
"We spoke of this earlier," Mueller calmly reminded me, "yet I cannot truly counsel you as to what you should do. Duwan cares strongly for both Chosens, desires them and their happiness, and they freely return such feelings. Tradell will be grievously offended if you turn away from him, particularly in his current emotional state. I can only counsel you to be gentle with him, view him as Duwan would. My task would not willingly harm Tradell, and he strove not to speak to either Purple of the other, knowing they were both aware and not altogether content to share him. Duwan was very adept at managing his two familiars, his centers, keeping both satisfied yet separate, never speaking to them of the other nor displaying favoritism."
"So I royally bungled it. Tonight was just a disaster waiting to happen, wasn't it?" I suddenly felt very tired, and the fact that Mueller was brushing my hair slowly and speaking in a quiet tone didn't help.
"You are untried in handling multiple intimates," my caretaker said sympathetically. Setting the hair brush down on the nearest table, he led me by the hand to my bed and helped me into it, then pulled the covers up and over me. "Rest now. You've had a long, trying cycle. On the rise of the new cycle, I'll bathe you and brush your hair until it shines before we go to meet with Tradell and his Choosers."
As tired as I was, I spent a good hour after Mueller left me lying in my bed and going over what I would say the next day. When I finally fell asleep, my dreams were twisted as the two universes entwined and melded together. Heero and Herron were engaged in a knockdown, drag-out fight over me while Trowa and Tradell stood on the sidelines and urged them on. I woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache and a feeling of dread that was as big as a bread box in the pit of my belly. A day at a time, I told myself, recalling the task that had been set for me that day. I just had to get through today, I told myself, then tomorrow would be better. I held onto that oft-repeated phrase, knowing that I was going to be walking into uncharted territory that day, facing a hurt, pregnant man who had only the night before expressed a desire to have creative sex with me. Then there was his protective Chooser, who had given me a look the night before that clearly expressed his desire to give me a mark. Tomorrow couldn't come and go fast enough for me.
TBC