"Cypress"

Written By: Clara Barton

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said, these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask before reprinting.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: language and drinks

Pairings: 6x3

Summary: Zechs finally takes a much needed vacation and has an interesting first night in Key West.

A/N: Thank you always to Ro. You are an incredible beta reader.

A/N2: I've never stayed at the Cypress House Hotel, and I've only been to a few of the places I describe and I could only find a partial floor plan so I'm making some of this up. A lot of this up.

"Cypress"

 

Chapter 4

Trowa's apartment was a vaguely triangular shape, the combination living room and dining room carved out of one side of the triangle and mostly rectangular, while the rest of the rooms in the apartment were decidedly not.

The kitchen was galley style, following a diagonal line that connected the living area to Trowa's bedroom and the apartment's only bathroom.

Trowa's bedroom was situated at the top of the triangle, in Zechs' mind, with the headboard of his bead cutting across the point. It gave the room an odd layout, especially since Trowa had installed bookshelves on one wall but not the other, creating a lack of balance that Zechs found slightly disconcerting.

Aside from the minuscule kitchen, the only room to really suffer from the odd shape of the apartment was the bathroom - it was very small. The glass walled shower stall butted up directly against the sink, and there was no tub.

"There go my plans of inviting you to shower with me," Zechs remarked when Trowa showed him the room.

Trowa smirked.

"I think you'll be surprised just how well we'll fit in there."

And he was.

Quite pleasantly surprised.

Especially after Trowa slathered Zechs' cock with soap and then his own ass, encouraging Zechs to slide between his cheeks. It wasn't the same as fucking him properly, but it was certainly an enjoyable prelude for Zechs' future plans involving Trowa's ass.

After they had both gotten off, Trowa left Zechs to shower alone, and by the time he was out, hair dry and dressed again, it was nearly eight.

"Dinner?" Trowa was sitting on the couch in his living room, reading a book, still wearing his glasses, when Zechs stepped into the room.

Zechs sat down beside him, stretching one arm out along the back of the couch, and Trowa shifted, leaning against him, and fitting so perfectly and naturally that Zechs didn't even want to think about moving from the spot. Especially not to go out.

"I didn't realize you had glasses."

Trowa sighed and self-consciously adjusted them.

"I have contacts. But I forgot to order more when I ran out last week, and the new box won't be here until Tuesday." He sounded irritated with himself.

"The glasses are a nice look," Zechs assured him.

Trowa tilted his head and looked up at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh? You have a lot of fantasies about fucking the nerdy, skinny kid in glasses?"

"You mean the sexy brat in glasses? Yes, I do."

Trowa still looked a little skeptical, and Zechs had to wonder at it. Trowa knew how attractive he was, certainly knew how attractive Zechs found him to be.

In Key West he had flirted with skill and ease, had shrugged off or returned the appreciative glances of strangers in a practiced manner that had suggested he knew very well the effect he had on others.

He had had moments of self-consciousness, usually after he said something personally revealing, and while Zechs actually found those endearing, this wasn't like that.

"I didn't get contacts until after college," Trowa sighed, seeing Zechs' curiosity. "And I didn't really put on weight until college. High school was..."

"High school was awful for almost everyone," Zechs assured him, and Trowa shrugged.

"I know."

He touched the glasses again with a scowl.

"It was just stupid to let the prescription lapse."

"I like them," Zechs said again. "Don't tell me you've had trouble picking up men while wearing them?"

Trowa snorted and gave him a look.

Zechs didn't actually want to know whether or not the glasses had put a damper on Trowa's sex life outside of the parts that involved him, so he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Trowa's lips.

"Do we have time to go out for dinner before meeting your friends?"

Trowa sighed again.

"Yeah. Probably. Or we could eat there. The food is actually pretty good."

"Then let's do that." He stood up and held out a hand to help Trowa up from the couch.

Trowa reluctantly set down his book and accepted it.

Zechs pulled him to his feet.

"If you're going to sulk all night, I'll just have to put you over my knee and spank you."

Trowa brightened a little at the threat, offering a single puff of laughter.

"Why don't we just skip ahead to that part?" Trowa teased.

It was very tempting, and Zechs couldn't resist hauling Trowa against him and delivering a solid smack to Trowa's ass.

The younger man started, rocking into Zechs' body with the blow, his eyes widening in surprise.

"I think I'd rather savor the anticipation of giving you what you deserve later," Zechs told him.

Trowa arched an eyebrow.

"So you want me to earn my spanking?"

Zechs rolled his eyes.

If they had been in Key West, he had no doubt that Trowa would have had no qualms putting on quite a show. But here? Going out for drinks with his boss and coworkers? Zechs doubted Trowa would do anything as obscene as turning pie eating erotic. Then again, Zechs wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't.

"Hm. Perhaps it will be a reward."

Trowa smirked.

"For you or for me?"

Zechs wasn't entirely sure, considering Trowa's trepidation and Zechs' lack of desire to socialize with Trowa's acquaintances.

"Both of us," he decided.

-o-

The food at the Frontier was surprisingly good, for all that it seemed to be a menu that focused on completely bizarre ways to serve game meat. Zechs skeptically ordered the duck tacos at Trowa's urging, and he found himself enjoying both the tacos and the way Trowa tangled their legs together under the table.

His enjoyment significantly diminished with the arrival of Trowa's coworkers, however. Not so much because of their mere existence - although the boisterous greeting from Hilde, who insisted on throwing one arm over both Trowa and Zechs' shoulders as she said her hellos, wasn't something he had expected or felt too comfortable with - but Trowa straightened in his seat and shifted his leg away from Zechs'.

With each new arrival, Trowa seemed to shift farther and farther away from Zechs, shoulders stiffening and face becoming guarded, and Zechs had to wonder why Trowa was so miserable.

He had seemed completely at ease with total strangers in Key West, had, in fact, had no problem inserting himself into Zechs' orbit either.

But among his coworkers, the people who arguably knew Trowa better than Zechs did himself, Trowa was retreating into himself and was so clearly uncomfortable that Zechs had to wonder why.

Was it his presence?

Or was Trowa always like this around them?

That didn't seem likely. Then again, neither Quatre or Wufei had seemed that phased with Trowa's reluctance to introduce Zechs, or go out with them that night.

Trowa was, had always been, a bit of a mystery. And while Zechs certainly enjoyed unraveling him, he wasn't comfortable with the creeping realization that he might not be all that enjoyable for Trowa.

Quatre and Wufei were among the - Zechs hoped - last to arrive, walking in together and trading smirks when they saw the group at the back of the bar.

As they approached, Zechs realized they had to be a couple - the way they looked at each other, how closely they stood beside one another, the way Wufei held out Quatre's chair for him.

That was interesting, considering the almost possessive way Wufei had acted towards Trowa at the office.

"Well, I'm so glad you two made it!" Quatre grinned enthusiastically at them over the table.

Meilan, a rather sardonic woman whose greeting had consisted of a raised eyebrow, snorted.

"As if they had a choice. From the minute you figured out Trowa's boytoy was visiting you've been planning this."

Her words had several people smirking, or chuckling outright.

Trowa, however, tensed even further.

Zechs arched an eyebrow.

"Boytoy?"

Hilde laughed.

"Oh, that's not what Trowa calls you. But we had to call you something. And man toy just doesn't have the same ring to it."

Zechs looked at Trowa. He hadn't realized Trowa had talked about him at work, hadn't even thought he was the type to casually discuss his private life. Zechs wasn't offended, but he did wonder how Trowa could be comfortable talking about Zechs to his co-workers, and yet so uncomfortable having Zechs actually there with them.

It was a frustrating conundrum, and after nearly an hour of sitting beside a silent, straight backed, stiff shouldered Trowa and listening to the easy camaraderie of the others, Zechs finally got up from the table, claiming he needed to take a call, and stepped outside.

The chill November air was hardly relaxing, but Zechs appreciated it all the same.

Perhaps it had been a mistake to visit Trowa? Perhaps their relationship was, in fact, best when distance separated them?

Then again, Trowa had seemed very enthusiastic about spending time with Zechs, alone and away from the people who knew him.

"Oh. Fuck."

He looked up to see Hilde stepping outside, wrapped in a heavy coat and holding up an unlit cigarette to her lips.

Zechs arched an eyebrow at her and she sighed.

"I thought maybe you were another smoker. I'm the only one and it feels like shit to always sneak off and smoke alone."

Zechs shrugged. He'd smoked for a year or so in college, a short lived act of rebellion that he had given up his junior year, when he spent the summer sailing in South Africa and simply hadn't cared about buying more cigarettes after he ran out of his last pack.

He held out a hand and Hilde smirked as she dug out another cigarette for him.

After lighting it, he took a long, burning drag.

"So... I wondered about you."

Zechs looked down at her.

"About Trowa's boytoy?"

She snickered and shrugged.

"I mean, I voted to call you his sugar daddy, but Trowa said he'd spend the rest of his life sabotaging my hookups if I did that."

Zechs felt his lips twitch as he pictured Trowa both delivering the threat and making good on it.

"When exactly was this naming convention held?"

"Oh, after - oh! He didn't tell you?"

Hilde's eyes had grown wide and delighted, and Zechs felt trepidation grow at her excitement.

"No, he didn't." Zechs sincerely hoped that Hilde would.

She gave him a smug little smirk and took a long, thoughtful drag.

"He was in Key West in... June?"

"July," Zechs corrected her and her smirk grew.

"That's right." She had, clearly, known it was July. Zechs glowered at her but she seemed completely immune to the look. "Anyway, when he got back, he was putting together the article and we were looking for the right photos and there was one of you and then another one and another, and then Quatre grabbed Trowa's phone and we found a stash of, um, very flattering photos?"

Zechs refused to feel mortified. He actively willed himself not to flinch away from her delighted gaze.

He knew exactly the photos she was talking about, from their last night together in Key West. He had a bit of a stash himself. But he didn't have nosy coworkers who found it so easy to invade his privacy.

"Anyway," Hilde shrugged, "he turned this amazing shade of red - he doesn't blush often, you know? There's very little that embarrasses Trowa Barton - so we've kind of... given him hell about you ever since."

Zechs considered how often he managed to make Trowa blush, and silently congratulated himself.

Hilde gave him a long, appraising look.

"You were hot as hell in the photos, but in person... I get it. Totally get it."

"Get what?" Zechs wondered if all interactions with Hilde were this exasperating.

She shrugged.

"Trowa all besotted with you. You're his first, you know."

"No, I'm not," Zechs assured her.

Hilde stared at him and then burst out laughing.

"Oh - oh God, no, no of course you aren't his first. Oh my god. Trowa definitely didn't make it through high school still a virgin much less - no. No, that's not what I meant." Hilde wiped tears of mirth from her eyes and Zechs couldn't help but glare at her.

She cleared her throat.

"No, I meant you're his first boyfriend. Or whatever you two are."

That seemed just as improbable as Zechs' assumption that Hilde believed Trowa to have been a virgin.

"Seriously, you're the first he's ever introduced us to. In person or photograph form," she added with a smirk. "We all went to college together, you know. Well, not Meilan -Yale, the lucky bitch. And Trowa... well, he's always been more of the one night or one week kind of guy, you know? He's good at sex but not so much relationships. Well - okay, he and Wufei maybe dated? But I don't think that really counts. And they definitely weren't any good at it."

Zechs felt confident this was all more information than he needed or wanted to know, but Hilde seemed perfectly comfortable talking about Trowa's sex life. She also seemed very knowledgeable.

"Anyway, I always wondered what it would take to get him to settle down -who knew he liked older guys?"

Hilde finished off her cigarette, pinching off the ash before she walked a few feet away to deposit the butt in a trash can.

Zechs followed her example, and then accepted the piece of gum she held out to him.

"Just don't let Wufei scare you off," she said with a smirk as she opened the door and gestured for him to precede her back into the bar.

Armed with that warning, Zechs very reluctantly returned to the table.

Trowa gave him a look, eyes tight and a little anxious.

Zechs offered him a bland smile, but under the table he laced their fingers together and gave Trowa's hand a brief squeeze. It earned him an almost minuscule twitch of Trowa's lips.

"So, when you aren't doing Trowa, what do you do, Zechs?" Hilde asked as she regained her own seat.

More laughter, more tension from Trowa.

But now, Zechs understood it - or at least, he thought he did.

He hoped that Trowa's anxiety revolved around the worry that his invasive friends would say or do something to chase Zechs away. He certainly hoped he could allay those fears. And get them out of the bar and back to Trowa's apartment as soon as politely possible.

Not, he thought bitterly, that politeness seemed to have much value with this group.

"I'm a lawyer," he sighed.

"Ohhh," Meilan cooed, dark eyes sparkling. "So you can afford to keep Trowa in the style to which he'd like to become accustomed?"

"Mei," Trowa sighed.

"What? We're all just looking out for you."

Trowa snorted derisively at that ludicrous suggestion, and Zechs decided to refrain from commenting at all.

"And you live in New York?" Quatre jumped in.

"Yes."

"Long distance isn't very easy," Wufei said, his tone idle but his eyes very direct.

"Wufei," Trowa bit out, glaring at the other man, "drop it."

It seemed that in Zechs' absence, Trowa had lost whatever desire he had had to remain silent.

Zechs felt a little slow, however, as he pieced together what both Hilde and Wufei had just implied.

That he and Trowa were in a relationship.

The kind of relationship that Zechs had told Trowa they didn't have. What was it Hilde had said about Trowa? Settled down?

Zechs stretched his arm over the back of Trowa's chair, looking steadily at Wufei while he did.

He arched one eyebrow, but Wufei just smirked back at him, the look completely indecipherable.

"All of you went to Northwestern together?" Zechs decided to steer the conversation as far away from himself as he possibly could.

Trowa shoulders, under his arm, were still incredibly tense.

Quatre nodded, accepting the ploy gracefully.

"Yes - Hilde, Thomas, Wufei and I were a year ahead of Trowa, but we basically lived in the Daily office together for three years."

Trowa had mentioned working on the school paper, had even been a little smug when he told Zechs he had been the editor his senior year. While Zechs didn't know all that much about journalism programs, a quick google search had confirmed his suspicion that Northwestern had a very competitive program, and that Trowa being the editor for the student run newspaper had been a big deal.

"And how did you get from there to here?"

"Quatre's money," Hilde said with a smirk. The blond haired man flushed and shrugged.

"That's true. We all worked on a few blogs at school - and Wufei worked on social media for his master's degree - and we'd always talked about making a lifestyle publication for our generation." Quatre shrugged. "I pitched the idea to the my parents and they agreed to bankroll us for the first year. But we're on our third year and making a profit, so I'd say the investment paid off."

"Here, here," Thomas raised his glass and the others followed suit, drinking a toast to themselves.

"That's quite impressive," Zechs said.

Quatre shrugged self-deprecatingly, but he had a small, self-satisfied smile on his face.

"We worked hard. We still work hard. It's not an easy field to stay afloat in. And now that we're starting the weekly podcast, it's going to get even busier."

Trowa hadn't mentioned anything about that, and Zechs' lack of knowledge must have been obvious.

"We've been talking about it for a while now, but we solidified it at the meeting today. It's just a weekly round table," Trowa explained.

"It's not just anything. It's a great idea and it's going to bring in more traffic and increase our market share," Quatre argued.

Trowa shrugged, shoulders barely lifting under Zechs' arm.

"It's a good idea. It's going to be great," Quatre insisted.

"It was your idea," Zechs realized, turning to Trowa.

The other man's cheeks pinked ever so slightly.

"Yes," he admitted. "The podcast was. The assignments were not."

He sounded a little bitter about that.

Wufei rolled his eyes.

"Who else has as much experience as you do with the bar scene in Chicago?"

"That's not what I have a problem with," Trowa said. "It doesn't matter. Now isn't the time to -"

Wufei scoffed and made a vague gesture at Zechs.

"I'm sure he knows and appreciates all of your experience, Trowa. You're the best one to talk about dating and hooking up - better than the rest of us. Plus, you're the one our followers think is the sexiest."

"Can't really blame them there," Hilde winked at Trowa, who glared back at her.

"Neither can I," Zechs added and Trowa rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'm so glad everyone thinks I'm sexy," he muttered and then tossed back the last of his drink. "But that doesn't mean I want to be some kind of authority on hooking up."

"Why? It seems like you've mastered it," Wufei gestured towards Zechs again.

Wufei and Trowa glared at each other while everyone else at the table sat in tense silence.

Finally, Quatre cleared his throat and offered Zechs a sheepish, apologetic smile.

"Was your flight long?"

"Very," Zechs latched onto the excuse gratefully and made a show of checking his watch. "Perhaps we should call it a night?"

Trowa nodded in silent agreement, and Zechs removed his arm so that Trowa could get up from his chair.

"It was nice meeting all of you," Zechs delivered the empty statement to the table at large, but when he looked at Wufei the other man looked away.

"Yes, and it was wonderful to meet you," Quatre assured him. "I hope you enjoy your weekend in Chicago."

"I'm sure we will."

Zechs rose from his chair and barely resisted the urge to push Trowa's money aside and pay for the meal and drinks himself.

He didn't think Trowa would appreciate the gesture, and he was confident that his coworkers would use it as just another thing to tease him about.

They had taken a Lyft to the bar, but Trowa made no move to pull out his phone and instead started angrily walking north along the sidewalk.

Zechs fell into step beside him, keeping pace with Trowa, and glancing down at the firm press of his lips and the furrows between his brows.

He waited until they were in a more residential area, until the foot traffic around them was practically nonexistent, and then he pulled Trowa to the side and pressed his back against a brick building.

Trowa started, but then looked up at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, as he looked away again.

"For what?"

Trowa snorted.

"What do you mean for what? I'm sorry for all of that."

"It's hardly your fault that your coworkers, your... friends don't seem to grasp the concept of you wanting to keep your personal life private from them."

Trowa met his gaze again, still looking anxious and hesitant.

Zechs tilted his head down and brushed his lips over Trowa's in a soft caress. He could feel the tension ease from Trowa's body as the other man returned it, parting his lips and inviting Zechs to deepen the kiss. It was an invitation Zechs was more than happy to accept. He swept his tongue into Trowa's mouth, tasting the gin and lavender from his cocktail. Trowa allowed Zechs to plunder his mouth, making a low, encouraging sound in the back of his throat.

When Zechs pulled away, placing another kiss on Trowa's mouth before straightening up, he saw that Trowa's expression had cleared.

"Tell me more about this podcast of yours."

Trowa rolled his eyes and then shrugged. He nudged Zechs to the side and they started walking again, the pace a little more sedate.

"We can get a cab up there," Trowa gestured towards the intersection not far from where they were. "We really can't walk back to the apartment."

"Shouldn't take too long," Trowa said after using his phone to arrange for a car to meet them.

"It'll be good," Trowa said eventually. "The podcast. We'll do a weekly round table on events in Chicago for the first hour, and then the second hour will be less about local things - more about national events or lifestyle issues in general."

"Issues like dating?"

Trowa gave him a look.

"Sure. I was outvoted on that one."

"I'm not sure why you think you'd be bad at it."

"Because I am bad at dating. I'm great on first dates - unless I drink too much and do something stupid and embarrassing, like talk about my father," he sighed as he referenced their first date, that first night in Key West. "And if the sex is good enough, then I can usually get a second or third date but after that..." he shrugged again. "I'm not good at it."

So maybe Hilde hadn't been exaggerating when she said Zechs was Trowa's first boyfriend? Aside from Wufei.

Zechs suspected there was some very unfinished business between the two, and he wasn't about to go down that rabbit hole.

"We went on more than three dates," he reminded Trowa.

"We aren't in a relationship," Trowa pointed out. "You made it really clear that this wasn't that."

And suddenly, more pieces of the puzzle that was Trowa fell into place.

Zechs had been the one to insist that Trowa still see other people - and he had assumed that the eyeroll Trowa gave him was at the presumption that Trowa would be satisfied with their arrangement without seeing other people.

But Trowa...

"We spent five days together in Key West," Zechs said. He decided to pursue that realization later, when they were back in Trowa's apartment and the tension from this night was behind them. "That's at least five dates."

"Great. So I can expand my repertoire to include vacation flings. It'll be entertaining, at least."

Then again, maybe he should bring it to a head now, if Trowa was going to keep thinking that way.

Before he could say anything, however, a car pulled up to the curb and Trowa leaned down.

"Alex?"

"Yep - hop on in!"

They got into the backseat and, as the driver pulled back into traffic, Zechs looked over at Trowa.

His profile was once again full of tension, and Zechs was reminded of their second day together in Key West, after they had fucked, and Trowa hadn't known quite how to react to the fact that Zechs still wanted to spend time with him.

It made much more sense now, than it had at the time.

The ride was mercifully short, and Zechs insisted on paying for it.

Trowa remained silent as he unlocked the door and then closed and locked it behind them. He remained silent as he toed off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket, hanging both his and Zechs' jackets in the narrow hall closet.

He remained silent until he turned to Zechs with a conflicted expression on his face.

"You're probably tired. And I've made a mess of everything. Do you -"

"I've been on six dates since Key West," Zechs interrupted Trowa.

The other man closed his mouth, looking momentarily taken aback, and then his expression became completely closed.

"I took two of them home."

A muscle in Trowa's jaw jumped, and then he shrugged.

"You said this wasn't exclusive or a relationship. Of course you've been with other men."

The forlorn quality in Trowa's voice tugged at Zechs.

"Trowa, none of them compared to you. I've spent the last four months thinking about you. Wanting to be with you."

Trowa looked both skeptical and hopeful.

"Wufei was right," Zechs said.

Trowa scoffed and arched an eyebrow.

"Don't let him hear you say that," he muttered. "He's insufferable enough already."

"Long distance isn't easy," Zechs continued. "I didn't think it was something you would be interested in. I didn't think it was something I would be interested in."

"But you are."

Zechs nodded.

"With you? Yes. I am."

Zechs slid his arms around Trowa's waist and stepped closer.

"Are you?"

Trowa looked up at him incredulously.

"Zechs, I haven't been with anyone since Key West. Talking to you on the phone or having you tell me how to get off is infinitely better than wasting my time on some random hookup. I -" Trowa hesitated and swallowed hard. "I want you. I want whatever this is - whatever we have. I don't want something else."

Even before the bar, Zechs knew Trowa well enough to know how much that admission took.

"You have me," he told Trowa, repeating the words he had spoken earlier in the day. And while his meaning hadn't changed, Trowa now knew the depth of Zechs' feelings.

Trowa's smirk turned more confident.

"I do, don't I?"

Trowa tugged Zechs' head down, capturing his lips in a kiss that soon had Zechs moving closer, backing Trowa against the same wall that he had pressed the other man against earlier in the day, when they had first walked into Trowa's apartment.

Zechs felt Trowa's hands snake around his waist and edge under the hem of his sweater and undershirt.

He pulled away from Trowa's mouth and brushed his lips over Trowa's cheek, his jaw, and his throat. Trowa tilted his head, allowing better access, and when Zechs found the mark on his skin and gently bit into it, Trowa's fingers dug into his back.

"Fuck me," Trowa groaned.

"Ask nicely," Zechs replied.

Trowa huffed a laugh and turned his head, dragging his mouth over the sensitive shell of Zechs' ear.

"Will you please fuck me, Zechs?"

He smirked and straightened up to his full height.

"Here?" He thrust forward, using his hips to pin Trowa to the wall. He ran his hand over Trowa's right thigh, tracing the inner seam of his trousers, until he was able to feel the half-hard length of Trowa's cock. "Is that what you've been wanting for the past four months? Me pounding you into this wall?" He gave another thrust and Trowa groaned.

"Yes," he panted. "Fuck yes."

Zechs stepped back, curving his hands over Trowa's ass and pulling him away from the wall.

"I need to get a condom. And please tell me you have something besides that strawberry lube."

Trowa had bought a bottle of it - the exact brand he had had in Key West - and had taunted Zechs with it for months.

Even behind the glasses, Zechs could see the glint of mischief in Trowa's eyes.

"Did you know Swiss Navy makes Pina Colada flavored lube?"

"No," Zechs growled.

"Mm. Also passion fruit."

"Please tell me you didn't get either of those."

"Did you just say please?"

"You're a brat," Zechs gave Trowa's ass a slap. "Go get the lube."

Trowa smirked again, but stepped away and headed towards the bathroom.

Zechs followed, veering off towards the bedroom and his luggage.

By the time he had fished out the box of condoms from the bottom of his bag, Trowa was back, lube in hand, leaning against the doorframe and still smirking.

He was also naked, and Zechs decided that, all in all, one wall was as good as another. There was certainly no need to go back to the living room when the bedroom had plenty of walls.

Zechs rose to his feet and arched an eyebrow at Trowa.

"You seem to have lost your clothes."

Trowa looked down the length of his own body and offered up a look of false surprise.

"You'll have to help me find them later," he said.

Zechs snorted , steering Trowa inside the bedroom and against the wall beside the dresser.

He ran his hand over Trowa's torso, tracing over his favorite tattoos, and then down to his groin. He gave Trowa's erection a teasing stroke, making the other man shiver.

"Lube?"

Trowa presented him with the bottle of mercifully unscented, unflavored lube, and Zechs put it and the condoms on the dresser before setting about the task of undressing himself.

Trowa helped, hands going for Zechs' belt while Zechs pulled his sweater over his head. By the time he reached for the hem of his undershirt, Trowa had worked Zechs' trousers and briefs down and was palming his cock.

Zechs rocked forward into the contact.

"I've missed your cock," Trowa admitted. "A lot."

"And I've missed your ass," Zechs said as tossed his shirt aside and stepped out of his clothes.

It wasn't the same, telling Trowa to finger himself while Zechs masturbated to the sight. Not the same at all.

He pushed Trowa's hand away from his cock and turned the shorter man, so that his front was to the wall, and the graceful line of his back and his ass were exposed to Zechs' greedy eyes.

Zechs nudged Trowa's legs further apart with his thigh and reached for the lube.

As he teased one slick finger between the firm cheeks of Trowa's ass, he lowered his head and pressed an open mouth kiss to Trowa's shoulder, to the sea turtle tattoo that had not adorned Trowa's body before their sojourn in Key West.

Zechs had asked him about the tattoos, one night as he and Trowa lay in bed, nearly a thousand miles apart. They were souvenirs, of a sort. Reminders of the places Trowa had been, of experiences that had shaped him. Trowa had gone through nearly every tattoo on his body, recounting the story that had led to each. The only one he hadn't spoken of had been the songbird on his abdomen. Judging from the stories surrounding the others, Zechs assumed it was something deeply personal, perhaps related to Trowa's musician father, and he hadn't pressed.

The sea turtle, however, had been a surprise to him, discovered only hours earlier in the shower. It was simple, a black geometric outline, resting just above Trowa's right shoulder blade. He had been optimistic about the tattoo earlier, about the flush on Trowa's cheeks when Zechs smoothed his thumb over it and washed away the soap bubbles that had obscured the ink.

Trowa squirmed against him, pushing into Zechs' hand impatiently.

He traced over the tight ring of Trowa's entrance with his finger and kissed his way back up Trowa's back and neck, until he could lick the shell of Trowa's ear.

"Impatient?"

"I've waited four months," Trowa sounded petulant and Zechs smirked. He ran his fingers lower, dancing over Trowa's perineum and applying gentle pressure. Trowa groaned in pleasure. "Please, Zechs."

"At least you've learned manners," Zechs laughed and bit down on Trowa's ear lobe as he worked his way back up to Trowa's anus.

He circled it again, pressing lightly, still teasing, and Trowa seemed to be holding his breath while he waited for Zechs to finally enter him.

Trowa groaned again, as Zechs pushed past the slight resistance and Trowa's body opened to him. The heat and pressure, the embrace he had dreamed about for months was intoxicating. He worked the finger in as far as he could, and he slowly pulled it out before pushing back in. Trowa was tight, and considering that he had only fingered himself, for the last few months, Zechs didn't want to rush prepping him.

"Maybe I should give you a vibrator for your birthday," he mused as he continued to fuck Trowa with just one finger, curving it until he was able to find Trowa's prostate.

"Maybe," he agreed with a moan.

Zechs used his free hand to spread more lube on his fingers before attempting to add a second finger.

By the time he added a third finger, Trowa was panting and rocking back to meet each movement of Zechs' hand. A flush had spread over his shoulders, neck and face, and his breathing was ragged.

"More?" Zechs teased him.

"More had better mean your cock," was Trowa's reply. He reached towards the dresser for a condom and thrust it at Zechs.

Zechs smirked as he accepted it and removed his fingers from Trowa's body.

Trowa watched over his shoulder, green eyes intently focused on Zechs' cock, as he opened the condom and rolled on. He spread a generous dollop of lube over the shaft, stroking his hand over the covered flesh to spread it fully.

He adjusted Trowa's legs again, spreading them even further, and he teased the broad head of his cock against Trowa's anus.

"Ready?"

"Yes," Trowa growled and tried to impale himself.

The angle wasn't quite right, but Zechs used one hand to steady himself and gripped Trowa's right hip with his other.

He entered Trowa's body slowly, enjoying every second, the slow slide deep into Trowa's body until he was completely buried. He felt incredible, the intense sensation of heat and pressure exactly what Zechs had craved for so long.

"Fuck," Trowa groaned, low and soft, and Zechs had to agree with the sentiment.

Zechs pulled out nearly all of the way and slowly pushed back in. It felt like heaven.

"You're perfect," he said, pressing a kiss to Trowa's neck, tasting the salt of his sweat.

Trowa arched his neck back and Zechs traced the line of it with his tongue before pulling out and thrusting back into Trowa, more forcefully this time, and they both groaned. He could feel Trowa's throat vibrate under his lips and he did it again, enjoying the unique sensation.

"Harder. Please," Trowa begged.

Zechs was more than happy to oblige, even though it meant shifting away.

He gripped Trowa's hips with both hands and looked down as he pulled out and then plunged back into his body, the force of his movement carrying both of them forward.

Trowa groaned again, and moved to brace his elbows against the wall before Zechs repeated the motion.

It felt like Trowa's body was consuming him, and the sounds Trowa made as Zechs did his level best to pound him into the wall encouraged him to press deeper, to thrust harder, until they both had a fine sheen of perspiration on their bodies. The sound of their ragged breathing, mingled with their groans and the slap of flesh as they moved together, echoed in the otherwise silent room.

Zechs could feel his climax approaching, could feel the heaviness in his balls and the rush of liquid heat deep in his loins and he clung to Trowa, fingers no doubt bruising his sensitive flesh.

He came with shocking force. The clench of Trowa's body as he thrust with each wave of pleasure, each spurt of come, was almost overwhelming.

It took him a moment to recover from the blinding pleasure, to catch his breath and realize that his head was cradled between Trowa's shoulders.

He didn't want to move, didn't want to exist, outside of that moment, but then Trowa was shifting against him, the motion teasing Zechs' over-sensitive cock.

Holding Trowa in place with one hand, Zechs eased out of his body and then pulled Trowa flush against him, straightening him up, and looked down to see Trowa's cock, hard and shining with precum.

"Something you'd like me to take care of?" Zechs teased.

Trowa trembled in his arms as Zechs moved one hand over Trowa's lean hip, stroking over his thigh and then taking Trowa's erection in hand.

Trowa made a sound in the back of his throat, something between a whimper and a groan. Something that certainly encouraged Zechs to wrap Trowa's cock in a firm grip and work over the shaft.

He flicked his thumb over the head, pressing against the sensitive skin, and Trowa made that sound again.

Zechs nuzzled against Trowa's throat, lips teasing as he crept towards Trowa's jaw. Trowa turned his face and met Zechs' lips with his own, eager and pleading.

The angle couldn't have been comfortable, but Zechs plundered Trowa's mouth, swallowing his erratic sounds of pleasure as Zechs continued to stroke him, twisting his wrist and teasing the underside of his cock, until he had Trowa thrusting into his hand.

The trembling of Trowa's thighs, the flexing of his ass against Zechs' groin, cued him into the other man's imminent climax.

Zechs tightened his grip and delved deeper into Trowa's mouth, tongue sweeping through the hot cavern just as Trowa cried out and his cock swelled in Zechs' hand.

Trowa pulled away from the kiss with a gasp, head falling back against Zechs' shoulder, as Zechs stroked him through the orgasm, easing his grip while he coaxed spurts of cum from Trowa, until finally Trowa's cock was spent.

"I think," Zechs said after pressing a kiss to Trowa's cheek, "that that was well worth the wait."

Trowa chuckled and eased away from Zechs. He looked up at him with a smirk.

"If you say so. I'd rather not go another four months before you fuck me again, though."

"I think you'll at least have to wait a few hours," Zechs told him.

Trowa smirked and stretched, the curve of his lips growing as Zechs' eyes followed the shifting of his muscles.

"Shower?" he suggested.

"Yes." Zechs pulled off the condom and tied it off. "A shower would be perfect."

As much as Zechs had enjoyed the earlier shower, had certainly enjoyed finally being naked and pressed against Trowa again, there was something far more intimate about this shower. Smoothing soap over Trowa's body had less to do with arousal than simply touching him and having him close. And even though Trowa smirked and teased, the kisses he pressed against Zechs' skin and mouth were gentle, subtle caresses.

Afterwards, they climbed into bed and Trowa tucked himself against Zechs' front, allowing Zechs to curve an arm around his waist.

Zechs buried his nose in Trowa's hair, inhaling deeply and feeling sated in a way that he wasn't sure he ever had.

"How do you feel about Lake Tahoe?" he asked.

"Mm?" Trowa sounded as though he had been close to drifting off to sleep. "I've never been."

"My sister and I spend New Year's there, skiing."

"Sounds nice."

"You should come."

Trowa rolled over, and Zechs could just barely make out his face in the dark. Trowa hadn't put his glasses back on, after the shower, and his eyes glimmered.

"You want me to meet your sister?"

"Yes. I had to meet your friends, after all."

Trowa snorted and kissed Zechs.

"You still haven't met my sister," he reminded him.

Based on what Trowa had divulged about Catherine, Zechs wasn't in any rush to remedy that.

Trowa rolled back over.

"So New Year's in Lake Tahoe, should I come visit you for Valentine's Day? I could probably sell Quatre on running a feature."

"A feature about us?" The idea was a little horrifying.

"No," Trowa paused to yawn. "About spending Valentine's Day in New York City."

It felt good, to have Trowa in his arms, to make plans to spend more time together.

"I want to see you whenever I can," Zechs confessed.

"Good." Trowa adjusted the pillow under his head and then brought Zechs' hand up to rest on his chest, tangling their fingers together. "So do I."

-o-

~ * ~

 

Chapter 4 of "Summer of Zechs Festival"

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