Author's Note: I'm stuck on chapter 14, well not really. I know what I want to do, have the rest of the story mapped out (expect about 26 chapters total, give or take), but life isn't being all that kind and I've not really wanted to do anything but read manga and play FFXI online

So sorry for the wait, I was hoping 14 would actually get done quicker than it is.

This is one of my fav chapters. I had a lot of fun with writing it.

Warnings: Some Heero and Duo Naughtiness

Chapter 12 – Into the Lion's Den (The Yuy-Maxwell abode)

As I enter, I hear what I can only describe as screams of completion from both Heero and Duo. Talk about brilliant timing. I chuckle silently and walk into the kitchen to put my goodies down and to wait for the amorous lovers to appear downstairs. While I wait, I go through the stack of mail on the table and pull out the first random magazine in the pile, which happens to be something about off-road racing. Having a certain appreciation of cars, I don't bother to continue my search for material to amuse myself.

I'm not sure how long I spend reading, but Duo is the first one down the stairs. He's wearing a pair of grey sweatpants, the waistband rolled down so low that it indecently shows some dark brown curls. I can't help but laugh. His hair is down and he has it pulled over his shoulder, a comb in hand.

"Hey Quatre. How long you've been here?" He asks.

"In time to hear you two finishing up." I chuckle.

"Good timing." He nods and walks to the counter where I left the coffee. He picks the one with his name on the lid up and takes a sip. "Thanks Q."

"No problem." I grin and take a sip of my own. "I did call."

Duo shrugs. "Don't doubt it." He grins and sits down at the table.

"Duo, Quatre called. He's on his way…. Oh, hello Quatre." Heero goes from shouting to Duo at the top of the stairs to greeting me at the bottom. Unlike Duo, Heero is stark naked and looks like he just had a rough and tumble time in bed. He's got a tissue pressed to his groin and bodily fluids drying on his chest. "Duo, can you toss me a small ice pack?"

My best friend nods, gets up and produces two ice packs from the fridge. He tosses one to Heero, who catches it with ease and keeps one for himself. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll be down in a bit." Heero says with no trace of embarrassment, turns and heads back upstairs. I can't help but shake my head when he turns around and the morning sun catches the moist trail of thick fluid running down his inner thigh. I quickly turn my attention back to Duo who is eyeing his fiancé with a vicious hunger.

"Calm boy. I know for a fact your sex life is not lacking, and I know you just finished devouring him, so pay attention to me now." I say with a wry smile.

"Oh, you don't have to remind me. But I look at it this way. The moment that I look at him and he doesn't strike me as sexy, handsome and everything else that I feel when I look at him, is the sign that something is wrong. So never ask me not to look at him that way." He winks at me. "So what's up?"

"I think congratulations are in order, and do I need to organize a bachelor party?" I make a face thinking that whole concept over. The more I think about it the more it doesn't make sense.

"Fuck no. But I think we should have a mini party before the day." He sits in thought for a moment. "I don't think a bachelor party works well for gay men, or dykes for that matter, but I can see that Relena might think differently. And definitely not for Heero and me. Shit, we both have the same friends, so that would be awkward to do. Maybe if you and Tro' tied the knot it would be different."

My cheeks redden at the thought of marrying Trowa and Duo laughs at me. "I'm going to guess by that reaction the idea isn't a bad one at the moment." He continues.

"No, at the moment, he says and does everything perfectly." He eyes me suspiciously. "We didn't fuck. But I can't tell you how many times my precious resolve almost got tossed aside this morning."

"This morning?" He raises a brow and a cocky smiles plays across his slightly swollen lips.

"I got up really early since I've been sleeping a lot the last few days. So I watched a movie until Trowa woke up a little later and we went to the beach to watch the sunrise. Though, I don't think we did much in the way of actually watching the sun rise."

"Heh." He laughs and moves his hair to the other shoulder, revealing a bite mark that is bruising nicely. Duo slaps the ice pack on it and moves his hair back. "He looks like he could be a good lay. Tall, limber, great body, handsome and one hell of a tight ass. Virgin ass too. If what he says is true."

"This is true. I've been trying to avoid thinking about what that specific sensation is going to do to me." Unfortunately, visions of Trowa moving under me in the throws of passion run frantically through my mind and something akin to a moan and a groan cross my lips.

Duo smirks. "I bet that active imagination of yours isn't even going to compare to when you actually get to take him."

I glare at him. "Who says I'm going to be top on this one."

"Quatre, you're tired of being taken advantage of and you know what you're doing. I know you want to be in charge." He leans forward, a mock serious expression on his face.

Sometimes he is overly astute and I really can't argue with him. Yes, I am tired of being taken advantage of. And, yes, I want to take him before he can take me. "I hate you sometimes. You know that, don't you?"

"You're a horrible liar, Quatre Winner. I hope you know that."

"Only to people who have known me forever."

"Go take a shower, asshole, so we can go out." Heero says as he appears out of nowhere and tosses a towel at Duo's head. "And disinfect your mouth." He kisses his fiancé on the forehead and grabs the remaining cup of coffee from the counter.

"Oh come on. I don't get a kiss?" Duo whines with a huge smile on his face.

"No. When you smell Listerine fresh then, yes, you will." Heero says with a triumphant smirk and takes a sip of his coffee.

"You're such a prick, Yuy." Duo harrumphs and gets up, the towel clutched in his hand.

"Whatever, Maxwell. I'm already minty fresh, so deal." He grins.

"Be glad I love you enough to put up with this."

"I am glad everyday, Duo. Go shower now."

Duo stands there glaring at Heero, but there is a slight grin on both of their faces. "Um, hello? Quatre Winner here." I remind them that I am sitting there.

"Fine. For you Q-ball, I'll go get all nice and clean." Duo blows Heero a kiss and bounds up the stairs.

Heero watches Duo disappear and then sits down in his love's abandoned seat and looks at me.

"What?" I ask innocently, as Heero's piercing blue eyes look me over.

"Where are we going today?"

I cock my head to the side, feeling slightly confused. "You were the one who suggested that we go out somewhere."

"Yes, I was. But that doesn't answer my question." He takes a large sip of his coffee.

My eyes narrow as I scrutinize Heero, who sits there relaxed and calm. "Okay. I know where I want to go, but I am curious to see how correct your observational skills are."

Heero chuckles quietly. "We're going someplace that can duplicate keys."

My jaw drops slightly. That wasn't what I was thinking. Hell, this cute little bistro down the road is what is foremost on my mind. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you are fiddling with your apartment key. And, taking into consideration the current situation you find yourself in, I'm thinking that you want to give Trowa a key and ask him to sleep with you. And by sleep I mean close your eyes, go into R.E.M. sleep, not the fuck you into the mattress sort of sleep."

I look down and true enough, I am fiddling with my apartment key. "Heero, you amaze me sometimes. You can be incredibly dense when it comes to Duo, yet, with someone else, you manage to figure out things that are far from obvious."

He shrugs. "I'll be the first to admit that I can be rather stupid when it comes to Duo. But I blame it on being in love and being a complete moron when it comes to the finer details of human interactions." It is amazing how much Heero realizes about himself and how candidly he can talk about it. "But, you are not a complete moron when it comes to the finer details of human interactions. You and Duo share a lot of similarities in that, which, admittedly, makes me rather jealous." He pauses for a moment and then continues talking. "What do you think you will get out of giving him a key this early?"

I remain quiet for a bit, trying to figure out why exactly I think that giving him a key right now would be a good idea.

"You know he can still crawl into bed with you if you don't give him a key."

A frown graces my face and I set my jaw, ready to defend myself.

"Remember you are Quatre Raberba Winner, heir to the Winner Empire. You have some things of insane value in your apartment. I wouldn't want to see something disappear because you fully trusted him before you got to know him better." Heero continues before I can gather my thoughts together.

"He hasn't given me any reason not to trust him though." There is frustration in my voice.

"No?"

"No." I reply stubbornly.

His body shakes in silent laughter. "Quatre you met barely 4 days ago. And you don't think he's got an angle? You are incredibly handsome, rich and refined. You've got an amazing body, and I can't imagine someone not seeing what you have to offer and not want to fuck you silly. Then there is the added bonus of the immense fortune you have access to. I wouldn't trust him until you spend more time with him."

"Duo let him into my apartment while I was asleep in my room with the door closed." I point out.

"Yes, but you were in there."

"Humph." I pout and cross my arms defensively. "I know he's not a bad person Heero."

"You don't have to be a bad person to take advantage of an opportunity. People do stupid things sometimes. They make mistakes. We all make mistakes. Perfection isn't in the genetic coding."

I let lose a sigh of exacerbation. "He just seems so perfect."

"'Seems' is the key word there."

"Arg." I almost shout out and run my hands through my hair. "Why can't you be like Duo and tell me the good things?"

"Quatre, I don't know what you and Duo have talked about. I simply get the highlights in bits and pieces. But I'm a realist, through and through. I'll let Duo take care of the motivational and uplifting aspect of this blossoming relationship, while I act as the anchor whether or not you like it."

"Fuck. Why can't this be easy?" I rest my elbows on my knees and cradle my head in my hands.

"Because you aren't some average kid. You're a trophy, a conquest and a piggy bank. People don't care that you are queer if you are fucking the heir to the wealthiest family in the world. The world gets two hundred times more complicated because of that. If you were both average kids, it wouldn't be so bad, and we wouldn't be as protective as we are. It is your life, Quatre. You can have sex with whoever you want to, whenever you want to. But I know you want more than a quick fuck on the side. You've wanted what you had with Tristan ever since he moved away. And Trowa reminds me a lot of Tristan. So, I can see why you're falling so hard, so quickly."

I groan, knowing that Heero has a point. "I never thought to compare Tristan and Trowa to each other. But now that you mention it, they are alike. Shit, that just makes everything worse."

"What makes what worse?" Duo said as he quietly walks up behind Heero and slides his arms around his love's neck.

"The fact that Trowa is a lot like Tristan." Heero says and kisses one of Duo's hands.

Duo suddenly separated from Heero and looks blankly at the wall, cocking his head slightly to the left. "Fuck, I haven't thought about Tristan in forever." He mumbles, snapping out of his thoughts. "I'll be right back!" Duo shouts as he runs up the wooden stairs without making a sound.

I look at Heero blankly. "He obviously knows something that we don't know." The stoic man answers my unspoken question. "Just wait, I'm pretty sure I know what he's getting."

"And that is?"

"The box labeled 'Sophomore Year' from our closet."

"What the hell did you keep from high school?"

"Yearbooks, pictures and a bunch of other random things. I think he's looking for a picture of you and Tristan."

"God, Yuy, can't you pretend that you can't read my mind?" Duo groans as he places the box labeled 'Sophomore Year' on the table.

"I can't read your mind. If I could, you wouldn't have broken up with me right before I proposed to you." Heero replies flatly.

"Good point." Duo quips and opens the box, but stops just before he reaches in to pull out the pictures. "What if on the random, extremely coincidental circumstance, Trowa turns out to be Tristan. What happens then?"

"That would explain a lot." Heero says before I can cut in.

"That would be insane. I would have known it right away."

"Quatre, just because we look a lot like we did when we were fifteen doesn't mean that he does. Some people change drastically. That, and we've all been together for the past few years. Tristan hasn't been with us as we went from teenagers to adults." Heero explains calmly.

"And if that is true, then why doesn't he remember me? I would think it is kind of hard to forget that you were dating Quatre Winner." Yes, I realize that sounded pompous.

"Maybe something happened that caused him to repress those memories. Did his parents know about your relationship?"

"I think so." I say uneasily. "We spent some time at his house while his parents were home."

"But did you act like a couple? Did you have sex while they were in the house?"

"No, we only had sex at my house. And, no, we acted like friends. I mean we stole kisses while we were upstairs and they were downstairs, but we never did anything else. But, I don't see what that has to do with anything. If they did or didn't it doesn't explain why, if Trowa is really Tristan, he wouldn't remember me. I look just like I did when we were dating, save for now I can grow a facial hair if I really want to, and I actually have muscles."

"I don't know." Heero shrugs. "Just mentioning it. I could be something or it could be that my mind is flooded with endorphins and I am not thinking clearly."

Duo looks at Heero as if he has just grown three heads. "Well that's a new excuse for speaking gibberish, Yuy."

Heero doesn't say anything right away, but pulls Duo into his lap and secures the long haired wonder there by encircling his arms him. "Shut up, Maxwell." He says quietly and kisses the skull's mouth on Duo's back, which causes my best friend to shiver.

"Here, Quat." Duo reaches into the box and pulls out two photo albums and hands them to me. "They should be from the first day of Sophomore year to the end of summer vacation."

"Why did you arrange it like that?" I ask, rather curious why the summer before our Junior year wasn't put in the Junior pictures.

Duo grins and wiggles in Heero's lap. "Because, it makes more sense to end with the summer than to start with it. The first day of the school year is when everything truly begins."

"We thought it would be weird to have the summer before college started as the beginning of our college albums, so we changed everything around to make it so the summer comes last and the school year first." Heero explains, slightly muffled because he's practically talking into Duo's shoulder.

I nod and stop paying them any attention so I can look through the albums. The summer between our Sophomore and Junior year was the last year I saw Tristan. His parents moved to the United States because of work and took their son with them. As I can recall, Tristan and I spent as much time together that summer as we could before he had to leave. Allah, I miss him so much.

I open the first album, Heero, Duo, Hilde and myself are in our school uniforms, Tristan's got his arm around my waist and he's wearing his school's uniform. Hilde stands between the two couples looking completely happy by her position. A dyke fag hag, who would have thought?

There really isn't anything special about the picture. We just look like a close set of friends having fun. The next picture is from the same time, but we now look much more than friends, I can't remember who was taking the pictures, might have been Meilin or Wufei, but it doesn't matter anymore. I smile almost sadly as I look at the picture. Tristan has his arms around my waist, and I've got mine around his neck. We're both smiling and seem completely oblivious that there is a camera capturing the moment.

On Hilde's other side Duo has jumped up and wrapped his legs around Heero's waist, while kissing like they were in a porno. Hilde stands in the middle of the two couples making a mock confused face with a huge amused smile pulling at her lips. I feel my head shake slightly from an un-vocalized laugh and look back at Tristan. Suddenly, all the feelings I felt for him come flooding back, and I feel like I am about to cry.

Quickly, I turn the page hoping to stave off the emotions. The next few pages are just around the school, which means Tristan isn't in any of them. Duo is also lacking in most of them, but that is because he tended to be the one with the camera. Further on in the album, I come to the Halloween party. I threw a large costume ball at my parents' house. Somehow, it looks like Duo got his hands on the film from my camera, as there are a bunch of pictures of Tristan and I getting ready for the ball. But, if I remember correctly, Tristan and I were alone and took turns taking pictures of each other and the ones where we were together, we were standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom and the camera was in one of our hands.

My attention gets caught on the last picture on the page. I somehow managed to get him off guard and there is a look of surprise on his face. He's wearing the pair of emerald green velvet pants that I had made for him for the party because they matched his eyes. "Oh shit." I whisper, realizing that Trowa has similarly shaded eyes. Tristan's matching silk shirt was unbuttoned and flowing, as if the camera had caught him in the middle of moving. He had some muscle definition, but nothing like Trowa's.

Then I start to stare at his face. Tristan was stunning and even now his 15 year old visage has the power to take my breath away. There is even a slight similarity between Tristan and Trowa's facial structure, but they say everyone has a twin somewhere. It could just be coincidence. I must find out what happened to him. I close the album and hand it back to Duo and quickly retrieve my cell phone from my pocket and dial a familiar number.

"Master Quatre, is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine Rashid, thank you." I wish he would stop thinking that the only reason I call him is if something is wrong.

"That is good to hear. How may I assist you Master Quatre?"

I turn around so I can't see Duo and Heero, knowing that I will hear hell about this when I end the call. "Can you please see what you can find out about Tristan Barton? Especially his whereabouts?"

"Your friend from high school that moved to the United States?" He asks, diplomatically choosing his words, even though I know he knows that Tristan and I were more than mere friends.

"Yes, that is the one."

"Very well Master Quatre, I will contact you when I have news."

"Thank you, Rashid. I will talk to you later." With that we both hang up.

"Quatre, I can…." I spin around holding up a finger for Duo to remain quiet and call another number.

"Hi Jamie, it's Quatre. I need you to do me a favor." Both Duo and Heero look at me oddly.

"Of course Master Winner. What can I help you with?" The young, sweet, sing-song voice of the Winner real estate manager replies.

"I need a secluded house with a private beach ready in two weeks." Heero and Duo both look at me as if I am insane, but I simply ignore them for the moment.

"The Winners have several homes, which would be appropriate. Are there any other requirements?"

"Any one of those have a hotel or something of the sorts at least a fifty miles from the house, but no more than one hundred miles away?"

"The Winners own an island in the Caribbean, the nearest hotel is located on Nassau Island."

"Ah, excellent. Will you hold on for a moment Jamie?"

"Of course, Master Winner."

I look at Heero and Duo. "What do you think of the Caribbean?" Duo's eyes alight and he looks happily to Heero, who simply nods. I know Heero doesn't really care were they go for their honeymoon as long as it makes Duo happy and by the light in his eyes it looks like Duo is happy. "The Caribbean sounds lovely Jamie. Please start to make arrangements; I will contact you in a bit to sort out the rest of the details."

"I will start immediately." I end the call and look at Heero and Duo.

"Quatre. That is a bit much." Heero says from behind the happily bouncing Duo.

"Heero, you have pretty much everything you need. You've been living in this house for a few years now, and I know you don't really have to worry about money. So let me take care of your honeymoon. I think the house Jamie is talking about is the only thing on the island. It is completely secluded and beautiful. You'll love it there."

Heero looks at Duo, who is now facing Heero and beaming, and sighs. "Alright. But I want you to do something for me Quatre."

I look at him expectantly. "And that is?"

"I want you to call Rashid back and tell him that he is to call me, and only me, with the results on Tristan." I open my mouth to protest, but the glare he gives me keeps me quite and he continues. "This is cheating, Quatre, and you know it. If Trowa turns out to be Tristan, than I bet you that something happened to him that has caused him to forget. Talk to him about high school. Be diplomatic. I know you know how to do that. If he turns out to not be Tristan then, oh well. Don't let the memory of your high school love destroy what you could have with Trowa. I don't want you to go after the real Tristan and ruin what chance you have with Trowa, when Tristan might not give a damn now, having moved on with his life."

At the end of Heero's speech I look to Duo, who is looking at his fiancé with disbelief in his eyes. "What? You are acting as if I don't talk, and I talk plenty when we're home. And I don't think I need to remind you that we are home." Heero grins and kisses Duo's nose then turns his attention back to me. "Call Rashid, Quatre, and before you hang up I want to talk to him."

I know Heero's right. If I find anything out, I'll fuck things up. I pull out my phone again and call Rashid back. He answers promptly. "Master Quatre, is everything all right?"

"Yes, everything is fine, but I do have a request. I need you to call Heero with what you find out on Tristan. Don't call me whatever you do. Just call Heero."

"Very well Master Quatre."

"Thank you Rashid. Oh, Heero would like to speak to you." As I mention this, Heero gently pushes Duo off of his lap and stands up. "Here he is." With that I hand the phone over to Heero who begins talking to the head of my personal guard, while heading upstairs.

I grumble nonsensical words and stare at Duo.

"Heero does have a point Quat." He states simply.

I run my hands through my hair. "I know he does, but that doesn't change my feelings on the situation."

"Quat, don't bring Tristan into this. That was several years ago and it isn't fair to Trowa that you dredge up memories of your high school love. You liked him before Heero mentioned that Trowa reminded him of Tristan. He seems like a really good guy, he really doesn't deserve to be tried against the memory of your first love." Duo says and sits in the chair Heero had recently occupied.

"Ok. I promise I will do my best not to fuck this up."

"Good." He grins and stretches out, lifting his feel so they are resting in my khaki short clad lap. I give him a look of annoyance, which he completely ignores and continues talking. "So when are you seeing your hunk again?"

"Tonight for dinner." A little grin dances over my lips at the thought of seeing him again.

"You going to ask him to stay over?" He asks with a mischievous grin.

My face flushes slightly. "I think so. I like waking up next to him. It is like he's perfect for me."

"Then you don't need to know if he's Tristan or not." Heero says from the stairwell as he tosses my phone back to me. "And don't get too caught up on the 'perfect' aspect. Perfect can imply a pedestal and infallibility. He's human and this is all new for him so he's going to be on his best behavior. Give it a little bit before you pass the 'perfect' judgment." He lectures me in his best nasal, monotone voice.

"Heero, you make me crazy sometimes."

"One of us has to, and Duo's not going to be the voice of reason, so I am."

I throw my arms up in the air, push Duo's legs off of my lap and stand up. "So are we going anywhere?"

"I think we should." Duo says with a grin as he bounces to his feet. "Let's go get lunch and then we'll figure what else we want to do." He grabs my hand and Heero's and pulls us towards the door. "Oh, and Quat, you're driving, our cars are airing out." He gives me a very large guilty smile.

"Gah, too much info Duo. Since I'm driving, I choose where we're eating. And, Duo, you might want to put on a shirt. It might be hot out, and you might be beautiful, but they might not serve you without being fully dressed." Duo scrambles for a shirt, they both throw sandals on, and we head out the door. We get sandwiches at the little bistro that has been calling me since I arrived at the house. From there, we go to one of the home improvement stores and get a copy of my apartment key cut so that I may, at a later time, give my boyfriend the key.

The last place we go is the mall, and Heero and Duo drag me into the jewelry store to show me what they have in mind for their wedding rings. An older store attendant gets stuck with us, and she makes a face that is the cross between disgust and intrigue. Though, in the end, she seems less than willing to help my friends, so I pull out the trump card and discretely let her know that I am Quatre Winner and it would be in her best interest to assist my friends. Needless to say, she was far more attentive from that point forward. It never ceases to amaze me the power that my name holds outside my circle of friends.

Around four thirty, we make our way back to Heero and Duo's house. I drop them off and continue home to get ready for dinner with Trowa. As I drive home, I have this uncontrollable urge to play my violin. I haven't played in close to two weeks and all the earlier talk of Tristan has me somehow needing to play. Perhaps, somewhere in the back of my mind I think that if I bring the fact that I play out, maybe I'll be able to discern something about him that would point to him being Tristan or not.

I feel very divided about this situation. Part of me wants desperately for Trowa to be Tristan, while the other part of me wants Trowa to be a completely different person. I don't know how I should feel about the possibility that my new boyfriend might be my first love. If he is actually Tristan, why doesn't he remember me? I haven't changed all that much and my name is still the same. But at the same time, if he is Tristan and something happened to him, somehow we ended back together. That's got to say something. Doesn't it?

Then again, he could just be Trowa. Though, I do find it slightly curious that they share last names, but Barton isn't all that uncommon, so I shouldn't really be all that shocked. If he is just Trowa than I should be happy and content with that, well, as long as he remains as understanding and wonderful as he has been so far. So, I really don't need to know what happened to Tristan. We've both moved on with our lives, he didn't try to contact me, and I was no better, but then again, I didn't know where he went; just that he was going to America. Oh well, things happen for a reason and I don't want to ruin my chances with Trowa by asking something as stupid as 'are you actually Tristan Barton from Sanq?' I really can't imagine that going over well.

Once in my apartment, I grab my violin from its resting place in my bedroom and set the case on my bed. After a little bit of set up and tuning, I start playing, glancing at the clock as I start my scales. It is five o'clock. I'll play for half and hour and give Trowa a call to see what he has in mind for this evening. Then, I let all thoughts out of my mind and begin to play the piece I wrote my senior year in high school, which helps to calm my tumbling thoughts and send me to a time when things were slightly less complicated.