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"Greeting Cards"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, funeral practices, AU, fluff Pairings: 1+4, 1x2x1, 3+H, 5xH, 3x4, 6x9 Summary: Each chapter is based on Heero’s
greeting cards and Duo's mortuary. "Greeting Cards " Chapter 9 -- Fireworks (in July) part 2 Zechs stood adjusting jacket and his platinum fall of hair in two crisp gestures. He had refined decadence down great; at least, in the palace. He seemed more down to earth in the morgue. I wondered if he was putting on a show for Heero, or Quatre. It certainly wasn't for me. We were way past that at work. I wasn't in awe of the privileged and influential. I'd handled the bodies of the rich and famous right along with the poor and forgotten. I'd had a famous musician for a lover, and buried him without tear, from the standpoint of the public. In private, well that was another matter I wasn't going to think about now. The point was that I was damned hard to impress that way, and after hefting copses about together Zechs knew it. "I'll get the door. Excuse me a moment." He told us that he had released the staff for the night. For this. For Heero and me to have a séance. I hoped that was the star of the show at the door. Quatre, our soon-to-be performance-artist hypnotist, had already arrived a few minutes earlier and just been informed, by me, that it wasn't a political discussion party, as I had said it was to lure him here, but something far more exciting. My newly consecrated ex-boyfriend and now just-a-friend fixed his boyish blues on me. With his hands firmly seated on his hips, he could do stern with superb elegance. "Duo, I am not a hypnotist. Hello, Heero, I'm glad to see you again. I hope you can help talk some sense into him." "Not likely," I said before Heero could get involved and complicate things. As adorable as my new boyfriend was, he sometimes said the darnedest things. "Quat, man, maybe it's the hypnotist label. Toss the label; I don't like them myself. But... you did something magical to get me to see... like you read my mind and my feelings and made me see where my heart was heading. I know you have a gift. Do not, I repeat, do not deny it." He huffed and he puffed, but I could tell he was caving. Sometimes I was simply irresistible— no, make that inarguable. My charms didn't extend that far. "I came here because you said Zechs wanted to talk local politics, and, well, no one ignores a summons to the Peacecraft estate. But –" Zechs returned with Trowa in his wake and Quatre's eyes grew plate-sized as his mighty little trap slammed shut. Thank, God. He could yap like a lap dog freebasing with Crystal meth and Dexedrine on the side. No, that was my next-door neighbor, but it was close. Still, the effect Trowa's laidback entrance had on Quat was totally cool. When he spoke, the supernatural happened and Quatre wrapped himself around the green-eyed man's little finger, so to speak. I could have gone further and said that Quatre was willing to wrap himself around Trowa's dick, and not been much ahead of the game. "Hey, so are you going to read my mind? Extract my secret past? Pretty chill." "I'll try. You want me to? Really?" No, Quat, he wants to get you naked, but if this is what he's got to go through to get there, he's game. "Yeah. I have some big holes in my memory I need to fill." I don't even need to tell you what he was really thinking about filling, do I? Thought not. "I-I'll do my best." Sure you will. Too pure for Duo, but you'll spread'em for Tro'. I know, I know Quat doesn't read minds exactly, but at that moment I coulda sworn that he read mine. He turned and looked straight into my eyes. "Duo?" "Er... go ahead, Quat. You do whatcha haveta." I meant that, too. The sooner my employee and bud, Tro', got into and outta his infatuation with the guy the better, right? Pretty, blond guy smiled at me, briefly, and then returned his attention fully onto Trowa. "I think you should sit where you are comfortable." Quatre sounded so sincere, the manipulative little prick tease, and I meant that in the nicest way. Actually, it felt better watching him apply his skills to someone else than being the focal point myself. Yes, I still had a few issues with my buddy, Quat, but they weren't as serious as I made it sound. I was a little bitter and hurt that Trowa had what I hadn't. Nothing like losing your sex appeal when you oughta be at your peak performance. Lucky for me, since he kissed me that first time in the car, I think Heero and I made our own special psychic link. It fired up at this time, and he was at my side with a hand on my shoulder before I could get any glummer. His breathy whisper shocked me to the core. "Would you like to see my room?" Would I Would I Would I Would I? My lust smoldering just under the surface all this time nearly erupted into a fireball. Before I could scream something stupidly embarrassing, my brain kicked me in the balls and dashed ice water reminders on my head. He just might possibly mean "...and see my art work." So, what I blathered was, "Where you...draw?" because you never know, and sleep.. and undress... . "That, too, if you want." Okay, now I had an aching erection to contend with; that was my problem now. The hottest dude in the room of fireworks had just propositioned me, and in a moment it could all explode. "Yep," I peeped. "Good." Heero moved away an inch and sporting a sly smile just as Quatre leaned over Trowa, who was seated in an expensive looking armchair. "Just relax and look into my eyes." I don't think that smile had anything to do with the tight fit of Quat's khakis over his perky little ass either. It was for me, just me. That was another big turn on. Trowa tensed more than ever. His knuckles had gone white. He hid behind that wall of hair for as long as he could, and then Quatre swept it aside. Trowa looked up with both eyes and... then he was sunk. Their eyes locked and Quatre's sweet lips opened. "That's the way! Now, open your mind and let it rove at will." Heero grumbled under his breath, and then said aloud, "Can you do this with an audience? Because here comes Relena." Relena waltzed into the room from who-knows-where— shopping? She had bags that she dropped in a chair. Her eyes swept the room landing on Zechs then me and then Heero. It was to him that she glided. "Oh!" From the rising blush on Heero's neck, I don't think he had expected Relena to come up to him and kiss him in greeting. "Hello." "A roomful of the best looking men in all Sanc? What's going on?" she asked. Zechs handled the introductions and explanations. "Quatre Winner, whom you've met, is about to demonstrate hypnotism on Trowa Barton, whom you may have seen at the hospital, but is now working at Maxwell's Mortuary. Beside Heero is Duo Maxwell of the mortuary fame. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance over a few dead bodies. My volunteer work, if you recall?" "Oh, that. Yes. Duo Maxwell. I first saw you at the hospital's Valentine's Day dance." I shook her hand, making contact, which was automatic in my line of work. "I was one in the crowd there. I'm honored you would have remembered me. A beautiful woman like you, on the other hand, is impossible to forget." I might have slathered on the charm a bit too heavy, but she licked it up and laughed over it. "Flatterer. And every girl in the place was talking about the handsome young man with the very, very long braid and the girl you were with." Girl? She must have meant Hilde, I decided. "Hilde? Yeah, she's dating a police detective now. She's my old chum from the L2 neighborhood." I wanted to get that impending visit alone with Heero before I'd have to leave, and I didn't want to get into who-was-with-whom with Relena Peacecraft. "Anyway... we don't have much time and we oughta get on with this." She apologized for interrupting and with some prompting, Quatre established skin-to-skin contact using his hands on Trowa's bare arms. "Now try and relax. Think about...floating in the clouds..." It was July and warm even inside the thick palace walls. The gooseflesh rose on Trowa's arms, but the memories did not. "Nothing. Sorry," Trowa muttered, but his eyes never left Quat's. "I got my breakthrough a little differently," I explained. I didn't want him to give up. "It might take more... meaningful... contact to do that mind-meld thing you did with me, Quat." Quatre's cross little face turned my way. "With everyone watching us?" "Why don't you go to Trowa's apartment and revive his past in privacy?" Heero suggested. "Or stay here and put on a show for Relena and Zechs." "What about you?" Quatre asked Heero, but he shifted his attention to me. "You can tell Duo all about your findings," Heero said, nudging me in the direction of the staircase, "some other time." It might have been rather sudden and seemed a bit rude, but that "come hither" look in his eyes drove off all thoughts of propriety. "Yeah, lemme know, ah...see you at the shop tomorrow, 'Tro." Heero led the way and I followed him up the grand staircase. I could no better tell you what it looked like than Quatre's dorm room, into which, in fact, I had never been invited; my eyes were on the tight ass ascending. I could make out Trowa's voice and I think he and Quatre were leaving, but I was at the top of the stairs when Heero's warm hand clasped mine and pulled me further and further away from the fray below. "This is my room," he said, pushing open the door. "My studio is further on." He made no motion in that direction, so I took the hint. Oh, man. There was the biggest fucking bed dead center in the room. Four-poster with curtains open at the side where I was looking. Sure, there was a giant wardrobe of dark wood, old and carved, and night tables with matching lamps on either side of the bed, but what held my attention was that humongous bed with the lofty mattress and satin wine-red duvet. It made what I slept on look like a military cot, or the cheap mattress on the floor that it was. "Overblown, huh?" Heero asked. Blown, oh man...nothing but sex, nothing... "You sleep on that?" I didn't even know which word to emphasize, so it came out in a rising squeal. Heero closed the door and walked directly up to me and the next thing I was aware of was his mouth on mine and his arms like steel bands holding me in place. As if I was going any place else! Quatre could kiss like no one else. His lips were soft and searching and deep and-- forget it. Kissing Heero was a full body experience. His body ground into mine; his fingers massaged; his palms pressed. He knew exactly how to tilt his head so I could breathe. He let me breathe. He had to keep me alive although I was nearly motionless and my mind was spinning. And then he eased up and supported me so I didn't collapse with his hands on my hips. His dark blue eyes bored into mine and the slightest smile teased at the corners of his mouth. I raked his bangs aside and they flopped back into place. His hair was heavy and coarse-textured, stubborn and sexy as hell. Then his fingers tugged on the button to my pants. "Can I suck you off?" Had that husky voice ordered me to jump out the window, I would have without a complaint. "Ah," was all I could say, but I got a nod in there somewhere. My boyfriend was gonna give me a blowjob and I hadn't had to beg or charm my way into it. He actually wanted me and wanted to do this for me! Then I had my pants and shorts at my ankles and Heero was on his knees, rubbing my dick on his face, cradling my balls, and I might have screamed. "Beautiful," he said, mixing a growl and a chuckle in a low rumble. After that Heero was quiet, his mouth full of me. And he knew his way around a blowjob. A soft, wet muscle teased at first, and then a tight ring of firmness gripped, and I could see his lips enclose the tip of my cock. "Christ, 'Ro!" I reached out for support and caught a bedpost in one hand and a fistful of his hair with the other. I'd have bruises on the hip where he held me in place. My balls tightened and I knew I wouldn't last another second, but then he had his fingers wrapped around the base of my sac and he yanked down on them, shutting off the supply of come. "Ohh," I groaned as the pain passed, because he swallowed my dick at the same time, which completely overwhelmed my other thinking processes. I was shouting all kinds of foul shit and he was fucking amazing. And then he stopped. "Don't!" I choked out with a gasp, throttling the rest of my words. I stared down and he stared up. He started to laugh, just a couple of barks. "I've never heard that kind of language from you. Everything all right?" His lips glistened and my cock jumped. "Yes!" I cried. Tears ran for sure. I desperately wanted him to keep going. "Good. I wasn't done." He smiled and without another word jammed my dick down his throat again. I don't know how I managed to keep standing, especially when his hands slid over to knead my bare ass. "Fuck!" I came so hard stars danced in constellations before my eyes. I pounded his face and he took it all. Man, was he gonna have a sore throat! I tried to pull off but he held on until I was spent. I loved him, but I didn't say so. That would be bad. How could I be in love so shortly after breaking up with my boyfriend of four months? I wasn't a freaking slut either. I felt love! I knew the feeling because I'd been in love and in lust and I knew the difference. Maybe. At the time, to be honest, what I was feeling was a little bit of both, but who could blame me? I felt him sucking on my hip, biting, marking me, and then we were kissing madly on his bed. I swear I have no memory getting there. I know at some point I was trying to strip him until he pried my fingers from buttons and pinned my hands over my head. "Next time." "Huh?" "You have work in the morning, don't you?" he asked. "What the hell does that matter?" He kissed my pouty lips. "It does and you do. So that means you have to leave now while you can." "I can? I don't want to!" He was being really considerate and really annoying at the same time. I was being a pill. He smiled. "I take that as a compliment." "Take it anyway you want." I sounded as petulant as I felt, I'm sure. He lay beside me and drew swirls on my exposed thighs. This didn't help smooth my ruffled feathers, but his eyes had this intensity. He could cram more force of will into that stare than anyone I'd ever known. I calmed down under his scrutiny. Of course, he was right. Tomorrow was another busy, busy day that started very, very early. "The next day after tomorrow is a holiday and you will close up shop." In case I'd forgotten he added, "Colony Independence day. We're both from the colonies so we can celebrate together. I have the day planned." "You do?" Man, I loved him when he was all self-confident. I realized that I was half-dressed and he was fully dressed. For me to take advantage of that would not be difficult. First, though, I had to squirm into a better position. "That's...ah...all right with you? You didn't have something else going o—" There he was being all masterful, and now he starts backpedaling to check if it's allowed. God, he was sweet! I silenced him with a kiss. This I achieved by clasping my legs around his midsection and squeezing, bringing his face to mine. Unfortunately, it brought his zipper into contact with the family jewels so I had to roll him off. "You don't have a car, do you?" He shook he head back and forth as he got up and retrieved my underwear and pants. "I don't drive in Sanc." "No kidding? Okay, I'll pick you up?" "Call first and if I don't hear from you by 11:00, I'll call you." "All day, huh?" I dressed with a smile and noticed he couldn't take his eyes off me while I did. I decided to take my own chance. "How about we end it at my place?" "How will I get home?" "You won't." I grinned and jumped in for a kiss. And then he walked me out the door all the way to my bus stop. He waved with his eyes and mouthed "later." (o) I did get up and go to the mortuary the next day. I worked mostly at the funeral home, greeting and reassuring the family of the deceased. I wrote an obituary and phoned it into the newspaper. As the funeral director, I'm very obliging and usually can help with this task. I placed orders, rescheduled, and did my many jobs. I know I did all these things because at the end of the day Trowa told me it was over and then stood there staring at me through his fall of caramel bangs a few moments before saying, "Wanna know how it turned out?" "How what--? Oh, yeah, how's the memory?" "Jogged." He cracked a smile. "Nothing about that gold chain or anything about the accident, but a few childhood memories came back." "Oh? Well, then that's good, right? You're gonna try again?" "Yes. Tonight. And most of tomorrow. You are going to the festival, aren't you? You're a colony guy." "Yeah, but I'm not sure what I'm doing. 'Ro, said he has plans for us all day." Trowa hung up his lab jacket and leaned against the closet door. "Heero. So you guys are getting along okay?" "Yeah. He's my, ah, boyfriend now." "Thought so. You've been happier than usual, but it's hard to tell with him. Not demonstrative around the rest of us. But, the other night when he led you away, I figured it wasn't to show you his artwork." I blushed remembering how I had thought that might have been his purpose. "I'd never seen his room. We hadn't had a chance to do more than—" "Than make googly-eyes over tea cups, yeah, I'd noticed that much." "So, what about you and the blond minx?" He laughed at that. "He's more out-going than Heero." "In a way," I said cautiously, "less so in private, but that was with me and I don't think he and I ever quite meshed." "That's good to know," he said. Trowa and I exchanged hooded glances and then with solemn goodnights, parted ways. At home, I shoved a carton of Ramen in the microwave and opened a beer. Eat, shower, check phone messages, sleep. I'd see Heero all the next day. Man, that sounded good. I guess I loved attention and was languishing without it, and by "attention," I mean sex and caring both. With all my misconceptions about Heero's feelings out the door, I was one happy guy. He really and truly wanted my body in a good way. That blowjob was the stuff dreams are made of, for sure. It was a good thing that Heero had experience. It made us a good fit. Training a newbie wasn't for me. I got to wondering who he'd been with. It did seem that Heero had no life apart from his painting and card business-- no friends, other than mine, and no visible past. He could use a gun and disarm a man. I was going to have to get the story there. And I wondered what he'd done with that piece of my hair he'd cut off. He was weird, but hot and talented and smart and he liked me and only me, which made him perfect, unless he was running away from a wife, or husband, he hadn't told me about. I guessed that it was time to get to know one another better, share our pasts... and then I wasn't sure I could talk about...Solo. I swiped at my eyes, tearing up just thinking about him and it had been...long enough to grieve. I flopped onto my bed with my wet hair fanned out to dry. There were only two messages to take care of, and then I did something different—I didn't call Hilde; I called Heero. "Duo?" "Yeah, hi. I just wanted to say I can't wait to see you tomorrow." "Me, too. I was..." "What?" "Oh, never mind. It was stupid." "'Ro, you got me curious as hell. What?" "I made you a card and left the inside blank. I didn't know how you'd feel about me by this time so I left it to the last." "And now?" I started the ritual combing of my miles of hair, clamping the phone between my cheek and shoulder, which didn't work too well. "After that...what you did? I'm pretty much thinking you are perfect for me." And I hoped I'd said that right, and worried that I hadn't so I jumped topics. "You know, I was wondering about that piece of my hair you cut off." "I saved it in a glassine envelope and thumb-tacked it over the drafting table where I work." Heero cleared his throat so I knew he was going to say more. "All I can think about is your dick and how much I like to suck it and I can't put that into a poem in your card." God! "Oh, shit, how am I gonna sleep now?" He was laughing. "I'll see you in the morning. Call." "Okay, later, man." "Bye." (o) I have to say, when Zechs told me Duo was on his way over and had invited Quatre and Trowa for a séance, my heart did back flips. I didn't give a flying fuck about the other two, but to see Duo appear so unexpectedly was truly an unanticipated pleasure. I had been certain he meant it as a surprise for me, because otherwise he would have called and warned me he was coming, if just to make certain I was home. He and Zechs must have worked it all out. A trade, most likely, of my soul for exclusive rights to the funeral home. Relena and Zechs would relinquish their claim to my soul over to Duo and in return get a safe hideout for those nightly gatherings of the still animate dead. Duo could have any part of me he wanted. In my mind, I was his, body and soul, already. Since he had bartered for my soul, what remained was for me to give him my body. That is why I decided to do for him that which his former boyfriend had not. In that way, I would be notable. He would appreciate the sex if not my nerve, if I was any judge of character. And I was. And he did. Now, it was my turn to help him get his business back. First, I'd have to get inside and look around. Would he invite me? I decided to confirm as much as possible with Trowa, since he would have had to have been informed, just in case the next morning he ran across any evidence of their ... nighttime festivities. I wondered if it was too late to call Trowa, but knowing his proclivity for visiting pool halls after midnight, I decided he would be awake. His number was listed online via the hospital, still, so I tried that one. "Yo." "Hi, ah, this is Heero." "All right. So, what's on your mind?" "How are things working out with Merquise... at the funeral home?" "His honor? Heh, not bad. He studied entomology in school. Strange, huh?" Vampires could control insects, possibly. I read about one instance where spiders did their bidding and wrapped a man in silk so they could drink his blood. "Not especially." "If you're worried about the man hitting on Duo, you can forget it." Finally, the information I was hoping for and I didn't have to spell it out either. "I don't? That's good." "Duo knows how to look out for himself and he is hung up on you. You got nothing to worry about. That all?" I had been right. Duo negotiated his shop for my soul. I would help him get it back. "Yes, thank you. Good night." "Anytime. 'Night, dude." I fell asleep with many things on my mind. And woke up remembering to finish Duo's card. I knew exactly what to write. Everything looked brighter in the morning. The ink barely had time to dry before I had to stuff the card into its envelope and race outside. I had a minute to spare before Duo's hearse cruised up to the gate. I directed him to a safe place to park, walking alongside as the passenger window lowered. "Sure we don't wanna ride? It's gonna be hot out!" "We'll take the Metro and walk to the bus to downtown." I pointed to a parking spot. "We'll be better off without the car." He complied, but when he locked the door, he pushed me against the car and kissed me. Duo kissed me twice-- long, languorous kisses that teased as much as they excited. He nibbled at my lips, sucked my tongue, tasted my teeth, and both had left me breathless. But each time, as I sank completely into the kiss, Duo pulled away, leaving me wanting more. He winked and brushed his hand against mine. "We either take this inside or get going, right?" "Right." I led the way off the Peacecraft property and onto the light rail public transportation for the Sancmetropolitan area. We stood next to each other; close, but not suspiciously close. When the train turned and lurched, Duo bumped into my back, his sudden warmth feeling wonderful. I couldn't distance myself despite knowing I should to be safe from the prying eyes and suspicious minds of homophobes. "Next stop is ours," I warned him. Disappointment washed over me when he stepped back. I couldn't have it both ways. I either would allow him further intimacy or not. I wanted it, but in public venues, gay couples were at the mercy of society's prudes and punks. I hoped he understood; he seemed to understand my position and, more importantly, his. "Gottcha." We walked two blocks to the bus stop. We waited in the sun, feeling the rising heat off the pavement. I admired his legs, long and lean beneath baggy cargo shorts. His washed out blue t-shirt clung where I wanted to touch and draped loosely where I wanted my hands to slip under. "Is this the one you want?" he asked. He had been watching me study him. I could tell by his sassy smile that he thought he'd caught me. I probably blushed as I tore my eyes off him and checked the number of the arriving bus. "Yes—to both." I knew he'd get and appreciate the innuendo. I checked my watch. Right on time. That was a good omen. "Municipal Rose Garden?" "Yes." I withdrew a sliver of a camera from my pocket. "I'd like some pictures, if you don't mind." "Of me?" "No, the roses." I watched his smile turn confused and laughed. "Both!" "I want one of you, too." "All right." We snapped shots of blowsy roses and portraitures of one another with favorite choices. The sultry air weighed on us, dragging us to shady spots, and slow motion direction changes. For him, I found a gorgeous, orange-cream rose in full bloom. The dark green leaves contrasted perfectly with his pale skin. Gigantic gold and gray clouds rose in billows behind him. A spark of lighting in the distance. A rumble of thunder. He liked red roses exclusively. "The redder and darker the better," he said more than once. He photographed me standing in front of three different kinds. The best was near a chain-link fence with a backdrop of an old climbing rose. "I'll wanna print of this one, 'kay?" I agreed, but his smile dropped. I followed his eyes to a stone bench where a couple kissed. Other couples strolled hand-in-hand, happy in love in July in the sun. All heterosexual. Another flash and rumble, this one long and resonating against the hills. "Hungry?" That perked him up. "Yeah, I can smell food from that cart over there." "Hotdogs?" "Sure." He touched my elbow in passing, and I quick-walked to catch up with him. We ate hotdogs and fries with tall cups of lemonade. "What did Buddha say to the hotdog vendor?" Duo asked our vendor, who gave him a twisted smile, encouraging him to go on. "Make me one with everything!" I smiled and took my paper-wrapped dog, fries, and drink. "I remember watching hotdogs being produced in a factory. They started with crate loads of 'trimmin's'. Not meat 'trimmings', but 'trimmin's. It was not pretty to watch." "'Ro? Eat and enjoy and forget the not pretty stuff." "I'll look at you then." "Yeah..." He chuckled and hid his pink cheeks. A cluster of teenagers stumbled past us and one shouted something nasty about us over his shoulder, making his friends laugh. Duo and I pretended not to have heard, and like typical guys, once food was in hand we ate in silence, wolfing down the food with raging appetites born of very little activity. The result of which, while I was now satiated in one way, as my body burned the new fuel it also generated more heat. Washing it all down with sweet lemonade did nothing to cool me down. There was no relief from the oppressive temperature and humidity, even in the shade of a tree. Plus... I suffered from the constant urge to push Duo to the ground and lose myself in a kiss, and knew I couldn't, we couldn't. I was miserable. "Hey," he called me out of my mental prison. "Don't let the outside world get you down. Talk to me." What I wanted was "...a grand seeping wind to blow us into another time and place where two gay men could express their feelings in a park like the rest of humanity and feel like perverted outcasts. Ty had kissed and fondled me in public, humiliating me. He called me his bitch and a slut, but he was the one who made me that way. I wasn't. I should have shot him when I had had the chance, but instead I ran." I felt a chill, not a good one, as I realized I'd said that aloud. All of it. No wonder Duo was staring at me. When Duo's hand covered mine, I didn't shrink away. I steeled myself for the probing a revelation like that opened me up for. But it didn't come. "'Ro, liars are the first to call someone else a liar; cheats accuse others of cheating first. My point being that this Ty guy? He was the pervert and the slut, not you." It was too soon to explain Ty, wasn't it? I suppose my subconscious thought differently, but Duo seemed to understand me perfectly. He didn't ask who Ty was or pry jealously about what he was to me still. How did he know that I wasn't begging to tell-all about my sordid past? Sigh. But then, he didn't know I knew about Solo. He'd had to hide that relationship, too, hadn't he? I felt so bad to ask him to pretend about us. I felt his eyes on me. "'Ro?" Maybe he read my face better than anyone ever had before. "I'm okay with us the way we are, you and me. Quatre was too touchy-feely everywhere but where it counted. You pretty much let me know you aren't opposed to, ah, getting close in private. Heh, heh... So, what I mean is if we don't make out where people can see us, I can deal with it. I mean, I can fit in with whatever makes you comfortable. Okay?" "Yes. Thanks." I nodded and looked away in time to see lightening snap and crackle against the dark clouds. The thunder came a second later. "It's not that I'm not proud to be seen with you." "I know... ah, jeez... We're going to get soaked." Duo held up a hand and caught a huge raindrop in the eye. "There's a bandstand this way!" I grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet. "Run!" Halfway in our sprint to the old wooden gazebo, the warm moist collection of water vapor had risen into the atmosphere, cooling the clouds and triggering the formation of water droplets. Just before we could reach cover, the sky opened and dropped a torrential downpour upon us. "Aw, crap!" Duo grumbled as he wrung out his braid. I must have looked like a drowned rat—that's how I felt with droplets falling from the tips of my bangs. He was soaked to the skin and looked awesome. His muscled shoulders accentuated his slim waist. His t-shirt clung to his chest showing nipples hardening into nubs I wanted to tease with my tongue. There was no one in sight, but I was afraid to act or ask if I might, but he had no qualms about touching me now. I felt his hands, one raking the hair off my face and the other on my shoulder, steadying me. "'Sokay. Just us. Well, that solved the too hot problem, didn't it?" "Yes." I couldn't get the sullen out of my voice, but I liked the feeling of his arms around me. I could feel him laughing and holding it in. "What's so funny?" "This stupid jingle Trowa found on the internet... He was looking something up in the morgue and it popped up. Let's see... It went something like: it goes in dry and it comes out wet, the longer it's in, the stronger it gets. It comes out dripping and starts to sag; it's not what you think, it's just a tea bag." He made me laugh. I loved that about him. "That's terrible, Duo." "Yeah, terrible me." His hands slid around and down over my butt and he pulled me close. "Um? Something in your pocket?" I thought he meant my erection grinding against his, but he meant my back pocket and pushed me off to look at the card he'd found. "Ah, ha! It has my name on it, too. You made me a card. I was hoping, but now that you didn't have to win me over, I wasn't sure I'd get any more." "I'll make them for you always and forever," I blurted out. He patted my cheek with a chuckle, then went back to examining his card. "Oh...wow... Fireworks. How did you get it raised this way?" "It's embossed and I added the embellishments by hand so it sparkled." I looked at it, thankful the rain hadn't soaked through and made the ink run. "This is beautiful. Thanks!" Then he opened it and read the inscription: "You've captured my mind, my heart, my imagination, and yet I feel liberated. Hold me and never let me go!" "I-I thought it was more poetic than 'I want to suck your dick.'" Yeah, I said that aloud. Around Duo I discovered over and over that I just wanted to say what was on my mind. I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions. It was as if I was fearless. I'd never been fearless. He was laughing again. "Sounds like poetry to me!" More laughter and then he was holding me, damp warm chest to damp warm chest, again. "I mean it was great. You were great. And, ah, I didn't get a chance to reciprocate. A-a-a-nd now you've given me a gift and I haven't a thing for you." "You did invite me to your place," I reminded him. The rain finally let up and we walked along the path to the lake. There, we joined the other half-sodden visitors and others fresh and dry from their cars on the ridge over-looking the lake. "But the grass is wet," Duo told me. "And so are you, so it doesn't matter. You can't stand throughout the whole firework show. Now sit." I pulled him to sit beside me. I had looked for a spot, which mostly concealed us, and it was growing dark. When the show started, no one would be looking at us—no one was looking now, so I held his hand. "You do this before?" he asked me. "No. I have never cared for fireworks. My adoptive father had taught me to shoot a gun and the explosion when the gun fired scared me. I was only eight years old at the time." "Hmmm, I'll keep you safe." The reflections of the park lights shimmered on dark surface of the lake. Other people flickered in and out of sight, silhouetted and fading back into the darkness. And then the first rocket shot high over the water and burst into a myriad of brilliant lights. Before the bang, Duo had scooted over and around my back, practically pulling me onto his lap and holding me tightly. "Never let you go," he shouted over the blast in the air. The firework show was visually exciting, but compared to what Duo was setting off inside me the pyrotechnics were a fizzle. I closed my eyes and absorbed his rumbling laughter, his warmth, the feel of his thick, damp braid weighing heavily across my chest and along my thigh. I was nervous. Getting nervous about going to his place, but that meant we'd get naked, completely. What if I disappointed him? Lights in the park winked out. It hardly mattered because the light show overhead was still illuminating the sky, but when the big finale was over, it was still dark. "Do you know the way back to the bus stop?" "We'll take a taxi, and I know where to catch one, but we'll have fun getting there in the dark," I told him. Our progress was slow, and about halfway into our walk, the lights came back on. "Good. Fixed." That meant we could move faster. "The storm must have moved on." "I see the taxi stand," he said, trotting faster. Just before we reached the first car, his cell phone buzzed. "Just a sec." He looked at the ID number. "Security for the mortuary. Gotta take this. Yeah? Duo Maxwell, you got him. What'sup? Yeah? You're sure? Damn. Okay, thanks. I'll be there as soon as I can." He turned to me. "So, I get a call from security at mortuary, and when the power went out the backup generators for the cooler started up, right? Everything's hunky dory. Then the power goes back on and blows out the circuits, or something. The coolers are off, and if I don't get them fixed, well... I don't need to tell you what a morgue in summer without refrigeration means." "No." It meant we weren't going to his place right away, but it also meant I'd have that opportunity to go inside his workplace. Perfect. "Let's take the taxi straight there. I'll help." "You are so... You are one of a kind, 'Ro. Thanks." "Just...never let me go."
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