Quatre woke when he felt a long fingered hand settle over his mouth. His eyes flew open to meet Trowa's green ones.

"I couldn't sleep again, is it okay if I stay here?" Trowa said asked while removing his hand.

"Of course you may stay here. Um, just one thing, why are we whispering?"

"So that we won't disturb the Manguanacs."

"That is a very good reason, but I know a better way." A blue light, the same colour as Quatre's eyes, shone from the walls as Quatre spelled them soundproof.

"There, that's better don't you think?"

"Much." Trowa said before reaching down to kiss Quatre. When they broke away from the kiss Trowa settled between the sheets and Quatre started to run his hand trough the taller man's hair. To Quatre's outmost delight Trowa started to purr.

"I didn't know you purred in this form to." He remarked smiling.

"I do not purr," Trowa defended himself. "in either form."

"Whatever you say, Trowa." The pair eventually settled and fell into a restful sleep.

Quatre was again awoken by Trowa but this time his hand didn't rest on his mouth, no, this time Trowa's hand had settled on Quatre's chest and with one finger he traced lazy circles around one of the blond's nipples. However when Quatre looked at Trowa's face the werecat appeared to be sleeping. Quatre was thorn between waking him and just staying still enjoying the sensation. Trowa hadn't been as asleep as he appeared because he was suddenly above Quatre doing the same thing with his tongue, his fingers had been doing earlier. The sudden heat and wetness made Quatre gasp and arch into Trowa's touch. He also raised his hands to rest against Trowa's shoulders, lost in the new sensations Quatre didn't really know what to do with his body.

Trowa moved upwards and settled half on and half by Quatre. He looked his long time friend and soon to be lover deep in the eyes and kissed him deeply before leaving Quatre's mouth in favour for nibbling his ear. Quatre held his breath just letting it all happen to him afraid that if he did a sudden move everything would be lost. Trowa noticed his tenseness and stroked his arms and torso slowly to make him relax. It worked and Quatre regained the ability to breathe and he let go of the slightly abused sheet.

Trowa moved so that he was once again on top of the blonde, who smiled when getting kissed on the lips before Trowa moved down to Quatre's throat. Quatre moved his head exposing his neck giving Trowa better access. Trowa continued to kiss down Quatre's throat to finally reach his nipples once again. When Quatre once again started to abuse his sheets, Trowa smiled and whispered: "just relax" in Quatre's ear and following the words up with a row of tiny butterfly-kisses along the edge of the ear.

As Quatre reached completion he lost control of his magic, which surged trough the house waking Heero long enough to get a 'kuso' out of him and making Wufei revert to his second form, something that made him curse sexually overactive wizards in his native language.

ooooo

About a month had passed since Heero had first disappeared and nothing of greater importance had happened since Quatre had sent Duo home, in either reality. Quatre was sleeping alone; Trowa had left earlier to hunt something or other down. The heavy blanket of security that usually guarded his dreams was suddenly torn to pieces by an angry-red consciousness. Quatre could feel the foreign mind trying to invade his own. Pressing against walls that had stood untended for a long time. Quatre felt his walls start to crumble under the insistent onslaught. The other mind found a crack in Quatre's defence and poured in. There was something amiss, though. Instead for the expected mind the Other only found an emptiness. Quatre had long ago booby-trapped his own mind. In case someone broke in his mind would shut down and the perpetrator wouldn't be able to find anything. It was a risky thing to since there were no guarantees that he'd ever get his mind back but it was preferable to giving away his secrets to those strong enough to break trough his mind-walls. The Other left but with the intent to return if Quatre managed to restart his mind again.

Neither Heero nor Wufei missed the small blond until Trowa returned from what looked like a successful hunting trip.

"If you are here, where is Quatre?" Wufei asked the werecat, who suddenly became very concerned.

"I'll go check on him." Both Heero and Wufei knew that it would have been useless to volunteer.

Trowa found Quatre in bed, his eyes open but he wasn't responding to any kind of stimuli. Trowa immediately settled beside Quatre and stroked his hair and cheek softly. Whispering to him all the things he'd wanted to tell the other man but hadn't dared to. Now it could be too late. Ten minuets later Wufei came trough the door, trough as in the door was closed but that doesn't mean much to a demon who can walk trough walls. Wufei mostly used the doors, it was more polite… whether open or not. What he arrived to was not what he'd been waiting though.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's not here!"

"Of course he's here, you are holding him!"

"No, I meant that his body is here but he, himself isn't."

"Oh! I'd better tell Heero." The last word had been muffled by the floor which the demon had been sinking trough. Quatre and Trowa's room was one floor up, from the main room speaking. He landed slightly harder than expected since he'd been to preoccupied with what was going on with Quatre. He ran into the main room searching for Heero.

"You're running Wufei, something is wrong."

"Quatre, he isn't here. Or rather he is, while he isn't." Heero looked at the flustered demon. Wufei never was this incoherent. Not even after he'd spent a whole week with Treize. It came close but not quite.

"What you are saying is that Quatre's body is upstairs but he isn't there mentally."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I helped him set up that trap many years ago. I hoped that he wouldn't have to use it but that is clearly not the case. I need to get going, and you ought to too, a letter for you just arrived." Heero didn't have to mention whom from. Heero almost wished he could follow the young demon to see what would happen when he met Treize in this condition.

ooooo

Doing some of the million and one things that always needs to be done in every home, Duo was dancing around to some loud music. He hadn't returned to the base, claming that it was to stressful to do so. He'd been offered a job on a base in Louisiana but he didn't want to move. Instead, he got some money and a couple of nice words on his résumé. He could have gotten a new job fairly easy but he wanted to wait for a bit, taking to chance to get a long vacation before returning to work. He danced trough the living room folding the blanket when he felt something. He turned quickly and there, right in front of the window, stood Heero. Duo's heart rate went trough the roof.

"Ack! Can't you make some kind of sound instead of just appearing like that?!"

"I beg your pardon master. I'll try to be noisier from now on." Duo felt his heart slow down some but he was still frightened, afraid of Heero, and what Heero might do. His insides were cheering, though. By promising that he'd be nosier in the future, Heero as good as promised that he'd return.

"Thank you." Duo said, in lack of anything intelligent. He disposed of the blanket he was still holding in his hands before carefully seating himself on the coach. Duo thought that maybe, maybe, by making himself less of a threat he'd get out of this alive. There were something different about Heero today and he hadn't become nicer. There were a certain edge to his words and something was off about his eyes. "So, um, how is things?"

"Quatre's mind has closed down, Trowa is guarding what little there is left of him and he isn't likely to move anytime soon. Wufei just left to go to his lord."

"That was… honest. Is there anything I can do?"

"If I may ask, why would you want to?"

"Because…" Duo didn't really know what to say, he wasn't even sure on why he wanted to help Heero.

"'Because'? Well as good a reason as any I guess." Heero looked so serious while saying this that Duo sniggered. When Heero failed to react, Duo started to laugh. To Heero it seemed as if there had been something missing his whole life and he'd just found it again. He promised himself that he'd make Duo laugh more often.

"Well, is there?"

"Except keeping me company?"

"You want that?" Duo's head shot up waiting for the answer.

"Yes." Duo was pleased but he was still a little scared of Heero. "I have to go now; I need to get something to eat before going back to the house. Until next time." He reached out and stroked one of Duo's bangs from his face so carefully that Duo almost doubted that it'd happened. One second he was standing there in front of Duo and the next he was gone. The only proof of his visit an open window and Duo's memory of a very soft hand against his cheek.

ooooo

This time Wufei wasn't showed to Treize's usual office, instead he was led to a small and partially secluded part of the extensive garden. Treize was nowhere in sight and after half and hour Wufei got tired of standing and seated himself on the grass in front of one of the rosebushes. He studied the roses but was careful not to touch them, lest he'd hurt the plant in any way.

"I didn't know you also liked roses." Wufei whirled around, halfway up before kneeling down. He'd made a mistake, he hadn't heard Treize enter. He didn't fear the consequences, fear is only for weak people, but he didn't look forward to them either.

"You may rise." His tone clipped but not out of anger. They'd gone trough the steps of this ritual many times before and it had become more than just a greeting. There was no sign of Une this time either, something had probably happened to her, not that Wufei cared overmuch if it had.

"Wufei, why is it I felt you change into your second form last month, when I know that you have to clear any and all changes with me first? And why haven't you reported the event even though I've given you plenty of time to do so?" So it was 'Wufei' instead of 'dragon', a bad sign.

"A wizard who momentarily lost his hold over his magic initiated the change, my lord. I was hit so hard I thought that you must have felt the backslash. When I didn't receive a summons I became confident that this was case. I realize now that I have erred."

"We've talked about this before; you don't act on what you think. You act from facts. By the way, what were you doing so close to a wizard who lost control?"

"I was trying to sleep, my lord."

"I haven't known you as one to sleep close to a battle."

"Battle?" Wufei was really confused, what battle?

"Why else would a wizard lose control?" Wufei stared at the ground and muttered something

while cursing sex-crazed wizards and weres once again. All this was their fault.

"Come again."

"I said that it was his first time with his mate, my lord." Treize was momentarily puzzled before looking at Wufei again.

"I'm glad we sorted this out Wufei, now there is only the little matter of a fitting punishment. Do you have any suggestions?" It was a game between the two of them. Rather like a cat who's playing with the injured prey before going in for the kill.

"I could do lines."

"Lines, Wufei?"

"Why not whip me like you use to and get it over with?"

"Impatient. No, I've got something more fitting to the crime in mind. Change into your second form." Wufei knew it was useless to resist, and by doing so he would only make his punishment worse, so he changed into what was known as his second form. He became taller, scaly wings sprouted from his back. He also had a tail that was about three feet long ending in a point. He stood on the ball of his feet to free the 4-inch claws that came from what had been his heel but now worked as a hock. His hair had changed into thin flat scales and his ears had become pointy. The pupils in his gold eyes were slitted like those of a reptile.

Treize had also changed into his second form, even though Wufei had grown Treize still towered over the younger demon. Unlike most other demons Treize's second form had nothing in common with his true-form. His face had broadened and elongated, creating a short but powerful snout. His chest and arms had filled out, his hands now adorned with claws. He stepped up to Wufei and Treize put his palms on the smaller demon's chest, claws resting just beneath the collarbones. Treize flexed his hands, sinking his claws into the unresisting flesh and pulled down. Something between a howl and a screech was heard from Wufei when his lord's poison started to work the long deep wounds but he didn't move away or try to stop Treize.

"I'm proud of you dragon." Treize whispered before raising his voice. "You may go now."

Trembling with effort, and despising himself for it, Wufei changed back to his first-form and slowly made his way to the gates. Once there he flickered out of sight only to reappear near the house where he collapsed against the wooden doors, almost falling on the poor Manguanac who opened to see what the noise was all about.

ooooo

When Heero awoke after sundown there was a very nervous Manguanac looking down on him. This was something he didn't appreciate but he didn't do anything worse than a glare, out of respect for Quatre.

"Master Heero, when master Wufei returned earlier he was badly injured." Heero immediately got worried. He knew that Treize sometimes punished Wufei for whatever infractions the latter had committed but he hardly ever showed any signs of it. He knew that Wufei was proud and that it really had to be bad if the young demon showed any signs of weakness at all.

"Whipped?" The poor Manguanac stared at Heero before answering.

"Um, no, it looks as if he's been clawed; there are marks all down his front." Heero was surprised; even he hadn't had to live that down.

"Take me to him."

The Manguanac had been right; Heero almost flinched when he saw the deep wounds.

"Wufei?" The only response was a halfhearted glare. "How bad is it?"

"They are poisoned but I'll heal, I always do."

"Why?" Wufei had early on understood that Heero knew about his punishments and that the other man also knew of punishments. It was less hard to talk to someone who knew the basics and only asked the important questions without a lot of meaningless chatter in-between. Heero also knew why Wufei couldn't leave Treize.

"Quatre's magic going haywire forced a change."

"And you aren't allowed to change." A nod. "Heal well friend." He turned to leave but was halted by Wufei's voice.

"Heero?"

"Hn?"

"Do me a favour." Wufei never asked for anything if he could avoid it. "Kill some of the Manguanacs on the way out."

"I can't. It would be very impolite to kill Quatre's servants without giving him a chance to do so first."

Some time later another unlucky servant almost feared for his life when he had to wake Wufei up. The demon needed all the sleep he could get to heal but he needed to know what'd happen even more.

"Master Wufei?"

"If you value your health you leave now… quietly." The Manguanac tried to remain where he was while acting as he was leaving, this very manoeuvre can be seen at rodents eating something they shouldn't.

"Um, master Wufei, we found Heero on the floor, unconscious." Wufei sat up, something which he shouldn't have done he realized when the pain shot trough him. He didn't let the pain stop him though.

"When did he last feed?"

"Just yesterday. We don't know what to do."

"Are there any signs of a fight?"

"No, he's lying on the floor and appears to be unconscious if it wasn't for the open eyes."

"Hm, it sounds a lot like what happened to Quatre. I don't know if there is anything we can do for him, except maybe to get… that boy he's been meeting with. But that's going to be troublesome since no one except Heero knows where to find him, we don't even know the boy's name, and even if we did find him, how to get him here? I can only jump alone and Quatre is dead to the world as it is."

"We don't know how to find him but Quatre has arranged emergency spells that can be carried along. They only activate when you break the crystal the spell is encased in."

"I'll have to go then, but not until tomorrow evening. I need sleep and some food." At the very last moment he remembered himself and shouted after the retreating back. "Real food! None of that broth you seem bent on serving me!"

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AN: My computer showed that both my previous chapters were uploaded but that was obviously not the case. Don't really know why the first one disappeared when I uploaded the second one. I hope it goes better this time.

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