A/N: So, is anyone still interested in this? :) Sorry it's taken so long - this chapter was giving me horrendous writer's block and I was caught up in my other hobby of photography... Hope you all like (even if you might have to go & re-read everything...) and please review. :) Yes, I'm aware I suck at female/male interaction. Please let me know if the Dree/Duncan stuff works?

Chapter 20

Duo froze in shock, firstly at the Highlander's given name slipping from Adam's lips and secondly those same lips pressing down on his own. For a moment his body revelled in the warm, soft and demanding mouth, and then his mind reasserted itself with a wrench. What the hell...

Before he could act, the Immortal was pulling away with a jerk, his face closing down before they were more than a few centimeters apart, only strict self-control visible on the arrogant features. "That shouldn't have happened. I... You should go."

"You think?" He winced inwardly as he heard himself revert to the comfortable safety of sarcasm, licking his lips unconsciously and tasting the other man on them. Strangely, he wasn't angry, although he supposed his nether regions could still be in control of his emotions in some ways. It wasn't as if his teacher was precisely unattractive, but the guy was a terrorist, Immortal and bloody dangerous. Oh, and obviously had a crush on Mac as big as the L2 debt. "Look, Adam, I've no idea what the history between you and MacLeod is, but I'm not going to be your stand-in for him. Hell, I hardly know you, so where the fuck you get off on kissing me I don't know. And why the hell did you kiss me anyway?"

"Because I wanted to?" The other man had somehow morphed back into the relaxed student persona that he'd seen only a week ago, but this time the pilot could recognise it as the mask it was. Stepping further back, the Immortal grabbed at the bottle of whisky again, gesturing towards the door. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd quite like to get back to my whisky."

"Nuh huh. You don't escape me that easily. You're holding back information pal, and I'm stuck between the two of you and I'm not willing to get caught in the crossfire. What's going on, Adam?" He allowed his lips to quirk up for a moment. "And, believe me, I ain't no innocent infant."

He caught an appraising look in his teacher's eyes for a moment as he slipped his swords back into their sheathes and met the gaze equally, deciding to lay his cards on the table in the hope it would pull some information out of the bloody man. "I know you like Duncan, maybe more than like if trying to drink yourself into a stupor is the reaction to one date, and I'm pretty damn sure Mac's only interested in women. I'm betting you've figured out that I find guys attractive given I'm not exactly subtle about it. And that means I also find a certain Scot attractive." As a slight scowl passed over the green-gold eyes, he smirked inwardly, "So, that makes me wonder why the fuck you'd kiss me, especially moaning his name, and saying something about me being innocent." He paused for a moment, weighing his words carefully as he slotted the pieces into the puzzle of the Immortal in front of him.

Before he could speak, Adam's lips thinned and the man turned, stalking towards the door with the bottle of whisky swinging up to his lips. "That's enough, Duo, just go. I'll arrange another teaching session in a week or so. When we've both... recovered."

When they'd both forgotten, the braided pilot guessed the short haired man meant, and shook his head, following Adam to the door and into the lounge, using the time to allow his thoughts to crystallise in his mind, "As I said, you're not getting rid of me that easily," he replied, allowing himself to fall into a chair easily and turning to his teacher, ignoring the dangerous look in the emerald brown eyes. "Would I be right in thinking that you don't think you're good enough for the Highlander?"

He was half expecting the reaction, but the cool metal that appeared at his throat froze him in his seat as the Immortal's face flowed into the cold warrior hidden beneath the surface. "You know nothing about me. Do not presume to tell me what I am and what I am not."

Forcing himself not to flinch away from the deadly blade, he met the flat gaze of the other Immortal, allowing Shinigami to flare slightly in his eyes, his pride refusing to let him be cowed by the other man. "Well, it's not like you're exactly a caring, sharing kind of guy. Maybe if you told me some more about yourself this kind of thing wouldn't happen." Ignoring the spark that glittered in the frozen depths he shrugged, carefully, feeling the sword cut ever so slightly into his skin. "Yeah, OK, I get that you're a really old guy and you have your secrets, but this thing with Mac is going to cause problems with the whole teacher student thing unless I know what the hell's going on. I'd rather not innocently say something and get my head taken off," he paused to grimace at his own terminology, "Literally or otherwise."

For a long moment they remained frozen, the feel of a droplet of blood sliding down Duo's throat the only sign to him that time hadn't stopped entirely, before Adam growled under his breath and pulled the slender knife away. As his teacher cleaned the blade before tucking it back into a hidden sheath at his waist, the pilot allowed himself to breath again, fingering the slight cut on his neck and forcing the darkness that had been threatening to spill out of him back into its box in his mind.

The Immortal abruptly collapsed onto the sofa, the bottle of whisky once again in his hand as the hazel eyes glared at him balefully, the ancient warrior still evident on the man's face at odds with the modern surroundings. "You know nothing about me," Adam's voice almost reverberated in the vaulted room, "and I prefer to keep it that way." Before Duo could interrupt, the cold gaze dipped for a moment, centuries of age suddenly appearing on his face. "It is... safer. For both of us. And for MacLeod."

"That doesn't explain why the fuck you kissed me," he muttered, watching the changing expressions in silent fascination. Did the guy realise how much could be read on his face? Although, having thought that, Q was just as expressive and many businesspeople had been tripped up by the fact that what was on the blonde's innocent face was not always what the Winner male was thinking.

The green-gold eyes blazed for a moment before the man rearranged himself to a position more suitable for lounging and the now-familiar sardonic twist appeared on the Immortal's lips. "You're not exactly an unattractive man, Maxwell."

"Usually people don't call me another guy's name when we're getting intimate though."

A slight incline of the dark-haired head indicated that the shot had met it's mark."As you have no doubt realised by now, our Highlander is distinctly heterosexual which is... somewhat unusual for an Immortal. The older one gets, the more we tend to experience." Adam's eyes unfocused for a moment, although the braided man sensed that his awareness was still wholly in the present. The next second, the mask was back as his teacher shrugged casually and took another swig from the bottle, "It would appear I projected my interest in him onto you. Sorry."

Damn. He'd thought he was getting somewhere and once again the bloody man had managed to clam up like Heero on a fricking mission and to top it off, close off the previous line of questioning neatly. "Oh, thanks," he drawled, allowing sarcasm to drip from his words. "As I said, I ain't interested in being a replacement for Mac."

"Believe me, I'm not sure anyone could replace the Highlander."

And that was quite enough of being insulted for one day, thank you very much. Standing and grabbing his coat and swords, sliding the latter into their sheathes before tossing the black leather around him like a shield, he'd made it out of the door and into the now pouring rain before it sunk in that he'd been well and truly manipulated.

Giving the now closed door a glare he judged worthy of Heero, he trudged to his car even as his mind began to buzz with plans to find out who and what the hell Adam really was and a small smile began to dance on his lips.

Back at his flat, Duo was greeted by the sight of his computer screen flashing with the welcoming message that his searches had completed. Didn't know anything about him indeed. Well, that would be rectified soon enough. Tossing his jacket to the side and slipping the weapons harness off, he made a beeline to the desk to click a few buttons to bring up the results before swinging himself into his chair and toeing off his shoes.

A few seconds later and he was buried in the list of records and photographs of Adam, and a few other similar looking or named men who had been picked up by the search accidentally. The modern ones were sporadic, hinting that the Immortal had been particularly careful about any information or images of himself being stored anywhere. He wasn't surprised that their initial searches for information on Keturi, or rather Adam, hadn't picked up much on the man - even with a perfect photograph from OZ the detail was sparse.

However the older results were far more interesting.

The Preventer system, for obvious reasons, tended not to go back pre-27th century. Suspects that lived for several hundred years were still not a possibility, for mortals anyway, even with genetic manipulation. The various old photographs, sketches and paintings that had a passing resemblance to his teacher dated far further back than the 27th century, the first of the rare artwork dating from the 19th century, almost a thousand years prior. The earliest took his breath away, a photograph of an ancient Greecian sculpture dating from over almost three thousand years previous.

Blinking, he lent back in his chair, staring at the proud face that looked out at him from the screen. If he hadn't seen the same look on his teacher's face less than an hour ago he would have passed over the bust as someone who bore a passing resemblance to the relaxed Immortal, if he'd even considered that a statue dating back to before the birth of Christ could have been of the man. Older than MacLeod indeed. After a moment more of studying the skilled work, he peered at the legend that accompanied the photograph. 'This bust is of Proteus of Pergamum. Found in excavations in Turkey (now the Yeddi Peninsular) in 2217 He is assumed to have been a Scholar in the Library at Pergamum.' Yeah. Right. That expression and face was one hundred percent Adam Bloody Pierson.

Forcing himself to put aside the fact that his teacher was at least three thousand years old and had been around when mathematics had been invented for God's sake, he continued sifting through the records.

Doctor. Scholar. Noble. The man had been more things in his life than any one person had any right to be, and probably many more that the few records that he'd found didn't mention. Interestingly, he'd also been a husband at least three times from the wedding photographs that had been dug up, although no children had been produced from those unions. On many of the records his name referenced either the number one, or the idea of being first, and the name Adam, that of the first man, neatly slipped into that pattern. There was, however, a distinct lack of any mention of any combat training or any way that the Immortal had picked up his not inconsiderable skills. Not that he really expected any, Adam seemed to prefer to keep that aspect of his life distinctly separate, and he suspected that the older man was more suited to being the aide to a commander rather than command armies in his own right.

Settling down in his seat, he began to study the details carefully, determined that the next time he met his tutor he'd know as much as he possibly could. He allowed a small smirk to cross his lips. And he hadn't even started on any privately security locked records.

"Duncan? Earth to Duncan?"

This time there was more than a hint of worry as Dree waved her fork in front of him and Duncan blinked across at her, quickly reaching for his wine glass in an belated attempt to cover up the fact that he'd been worrying about Chang and the upcoming visit to Duality, the name of the club an unsubtle pun on being a dueling club for both mortals and Immortals. He'd managed to avoid even hearing about the place for the last year and now it appeared he was not only attending the next meeting, but taking an innocent mortal with him. The letter he'd received that morning had been in the same elegant female hand with the same letter 'K' as a signature, gracefully informing him that the next meeting would be in a few days time and that both he and Chang Wufei were welcome to attend. A small separate letter which he hadn't shown to Wufei had discretely explained how the club worked with regards to their mortal patrons.

He realised he'd been holding the glass to his lips for far longer than the required second or so to take a sip and turned his charm sheepishly on his date as he placed the glass back on the table. "I'm sorry, Dree. I'm dealing with a difficult case at the moment."

"And a difficult partner if the rumours are correct," the blonde smiled, the worry fading away as she brought a small forkful of neatly cut beef to her mouth, slipping it between deep red tinted lips.

Forcing the mental image of Duo's violet eyes from his mind, he bent all of his Scottish charisma into his answering smile, "Duo's not that bad once you get to know him. He's just enthusiastic, much like your younger brother."

Swallowing delicately, the female Winner nodded, "Quatre mentioned that you'd met him at Duo's house-warming party. It's strange, isn't it, how two people of such vastly different backgrounds are such good friends."

"Given that they both piloted Gundams in the war, maybe it's not as different as you'd think," he replied smoothly, wondering how the woman would react if she knew he was anything other than a Preventer who came from an upper class family on the Scottish colony. "Adversity can bring many people together. For that matter, I'd not have expected you to be partnered with Heero Yuy, but from what I've heard, you get on well enough."

"Well," Dree paused, studying her plate for a moment before spearing a few vegetables carefully. "I suppose I get on as well as anyone can with Heero. He's hardly the epitome of a social creature, but once you get to know his quirks he's tolerable to be around." A pause and then a raised eyebrow let him know that his point had been made. Laying the fork on her plate she leaned forward with a conspiratorial twist of her lips, "So. Are the rumours true? About Maxwell?"

"And which rumours would those be?" Inwardly he ran through the latest batch of rumours he'd heard in the few moments he'd spent in the kitchen and lounges of the Preventer Headquarters. There was the one that the American was gay, which, he had to admit was most likely correct, his partner hadn't been at all unsubtle about his attraction. Then there was the one that he was secretly dating Heero Yuy, which he suspected that Dree would know if they were true far better than he would. It also assumed that Ice was capable of that kind of relationship with a male or female. As of yet, that hadn't been confirmed. He'd also heard, following the little display in the gym with Chang that Duo had been secretly working for Preventer on L2 and had come to Earth to hunt down the murderer that was plaguing the city. That one hit a little too close to home, even if it was entirely incorrect.

"Oh, the ones that say he has, shall we say, feelings for you?" Dree's blue eyes hardened into sapphires for a moment before returning to a light questioning gaze.

The first then. "My lady, I have eyes only for you," he swept a half bow over the table, carefully avoiding the various candles and bottles on the table as he met his date's eyes firmly, and ignoring the memory of Methos's lips ghosting over his own.

"That isn't answering the question I asked, Duncan," she shook her head in amusement, a few strands flying loose from her artfully arranged pile of hair as she returned her attention to her meal. "I'd assumed that we wouldn't be dating if you were interested in men. However, I have it on very good authority that Isa in my department has her eye on your partner, as do half a dozen other women that I know of. Quatre's all wrapped up with that circus performer and I thought..."

Lifting the final forkful of his entrée to his mouth, he grimaced inwardly. It wasn't as if Duo was particularly subtle about his preferences if you paid attention, but it was hardly his place to reveal anything about the man. Finishing his wine, he smiled back as he refilled both their glasses, "Then maybe they should talk to Duo."

The set of her lips told him that the woman considered his reply only a temporary set-back as she precisely placed her cutlery on her empty plate and he subtly gestured to a quietly hovering waiter before she could respond.

"The dessert menu, sir, madam?"

"Please." He nodded politely as the man removed the remnants of their meal and presented them with the slender menu before turning back to his date and skimming the options. "I hear the tarte tatin here is almost as good as the one I had in Paris last week."

"You had the chance to get out of the office while you were there? I thought your investigation would take up all your time."

"Even Preventers are allowed evenings off," he replied with a smile, partly in relief at the successful topic change, although years of experience with females, both mortal and Immortal, told him that it wouldn't have gone unnoticed. "And Paris is still a jewel in the crown of the cultured world."

Handing back the menu to the attentive waiter with the expected order of tarte tatin with clotted cream, Dree lent forward over the table, propping her head up on elegantly manicured fingers, "Ah, yes, you've mentioned one of your interests is European history. So, did the city live up to its reputed past?"

"Maybe I can take you there one day and you can see for yourself," the Immortal replied playfully, watching as the blonde's bright blue eyes sparked with delight. Pushing the swell of centuries old memories down, he limited his response to the information that a hobby historian would know, expanding on the remnants of the Enlightenment era in the 18th century, the signs of the Revolutions in the 18th and 23rd centuries and the romanticism of the city in the late 20th and 21st centuries.

Occasionally he glanced down at his own dessert, using the time it took to scoop up a portion of the tiramasu to hide the expression in his eyes when talking about eras that he'd been in the city himself. Especially with Amanda.

Spooning up the last remains of the creamy pudding, he finished up with a comment as to how it was a pity that no one could climb the Eiffel Tower as he'd seen photographs of the magnificent views before the accident that had bent it, and before several high rise towers had been built that would nowadays interfere with the sight.

"I have some books if you're interested," he finished, signalling their waiter, "They're on the barge. I don't know if you had any other the evening..." He tailed off as he met her coy glance from under the mascaraed eyelashes, quickly slipping his card to the server without even looking at the bill and standing to assist her from her seat even as another member of staff brought their coats.

Slipping his trench coat on, and ignoring the raised eyebrow at the leather clothing being entirely out of place in the high class establishment, he felt suddenly naked without the usual sword resting by his side. Accepting the receipt and his card back, he pressed the few buttons on the presented terminal to authorise the considerable amount, and exited the restaurant, wrapping his arm casually around Dree who looked up with smile and pushed her warm and slender curved female body into his side.

Once again he found himself shoving away the memory of Methos's thin but masculine figure pressing against his own, the hard lips against his. He'd been seducing women for two thousand years, very successfully thank you very much. Not men.

His car was swiftly brought around by the valet, much to his relief, and he handed Dree into the front before settling into the driving seat.

Checking with the ease of long practice that his katana was still underneath the seat with the pretense of adjusting his leg room, he relaxed back before turning to look at his date, allowing his gaze to rake over her. The feminine scent of the blonde's perfume drifted through the cool night air as she reached up to smooth a few loose hairs behind her ear and he lent forward to catch her hand, linking their fingers together before moving in for a kiss that he knew from experience would promise far more. Leaning back slightly, he let his breath mist against her lips with a smile. "Shall we?"

Even under the car lights, he could see his date's eyes flare dark with desire as she lifted their joint hands to tangle in his hair and pulled him down for another kiss. "I believe I'm very much looking forward to seeing your...books, Duncan MacLeod."

Pulling away, his hand drifting down to stroke her cheek before settling onto the steering wheel, he drove off into the darkness, all thoughts of Duo, Methos and the situation with Chang Wufei finally disappearing with Dree's gentle distracting touch on his thigh.