"Knight Fall"

Written By: t-shirt

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. I make no money with this fic.

Rating: R

Warnings: AU/Romantic Adventure, angst, fluff, lemon, Bastardized Treize

Pairings: 1x2(x5) 3x4, Tx5(nonconsensual)

Summary: In a time of extreme opposition Earth has become a hunting ground for those who have abandoned her in favor of living among the stars. However, life in outer space demands a heavy toll and those who wish to remain there are forced to turn to genetic alterations in order to survive.

"Knight Fall"

The Earth was so beautiful from space. Duo looked upon the blue green orb floating in the endless expanse and recalled the last time he had seen it's image. It was on the flight that took him to live among her people some three years prior, but he hadn't had any choice on that trip either. There just wasn't anywhere left to go, but when he thought back on it, it would have been better if he'd just stayed when they blew the colony apart. L2 was a cesspool, but it was a far cry better than where he was headed.

He wondered what the ancients were thinking when they reached out for the stars, but there was no way they could have known things would go so bad. Of course, the people responsible for his enslavement didn't see it quite that way. They were pretty happy with how the human race was growing despite the regression in social practices. They were the elite, the chosen few who had stepped up the evolutionary ladder and claimed their rightful place above all the mere mortals on the ground.

Duo looked to the front of the shuttle to find the guard staring at him again and sighed when confronted by what they considered advancement. Sure, they were strong, intelligent enough to do their jobs and had the perfect metabolism, but the cocktails that had been used to enhance them had some very unfortunate side effects. The guards currently transporting him and his group of detainees were nothing more than grunts, so they didn't warrant the full upgrade, but he could see the sizable muscles in their bodies and feel the weight of their eyes. The problem with strength tonics was that they not only built muscle and burned unwanted waist products, they also heightened their appetite for pleasure and sent them into a permanent rut. He was more than well aware that his rare beauty was the only thing that had saved him from being raped to death upon his capture, but what awaited him in the darkness of space was more terrifying still.

He looked over the others in his company and wondered after their fate. They were all young, fit and beautiful, which was the only reason they were allowed on board a shuttle headed for the Lunar Palace. He sighed deeply knowing that even among the captives he was set apart because unlike them he was not a child of the Earth. He was born in space, though he had no idea who was responsible for bringing him life. His first memories were of running through the burned out buildings of a war zone because the leadership of his home colony refused to bend to the will of the Collective. Humans were never meant to live in space, but their determination to overcome and master their new domain had given birth to the idea that they could change themselves to fit their environment. The end result was a master race that deemed themselves superior to the people they had left behind, but the truth was they had degenerated over the centuries. They were no more than barbarian tyrants determined to bend the rest of humanity to their will and their practice of taking slaves was only one of the many sins they considered to be their right.

"Ian's gonna like that one," he heard one of the aft guards saying, but didn't have to turn around to know who he was taking about.

They had been whispering about him since they capture him on the ground. Of course, he was the only one who knew his origins, so there was no way for them to know why their eyes were so drawn to him. He sighed again and cursed the degenerate scientists who had polluted the L2 atmosphere with their poison. The idea was to turn the inhabitants into willing slaves, ones that would happily serve their masters needs instead of the upstart rebels who had challenged their right to rule. Many of people had been turned into raving lunatics over time resulting in their eventual annihilation.

Duo rolled the coin in his fingers back and forth with less effort that it took to breathe, but his quick fingers hadn't saved him from his fate. Having lightening fast reflexes came in handy when you wanted to lift a wallet or score a freebie, but they didn't do much good against brute strength. He could have picked the locks on the doors, but there was nothing but space on the other side.

"...leave it alone if you value your skin," he heard.

"It'd almost be worth it."

He turned back to the window and creased his brow at his reflection wishing, not for the first time, that what he saw was something to be proud of. His skin was taupe and perfect, his hair strong and sparkling with amber highlights that reflected in his amethyst eyes, but it was all just a waste because beauty had become a liability a long time ago. It wasn't like he had any choice in the matter since he was born on a colony. The governing body on L2 didn't subscribe to the often barbaric policies of the Collective, but they had no qualms about encouraging their citizens toward perfection. Strength tonics and cerebral enhancers had been outlawed on L2 because of their unacceptable side effects, but selective breeding and cosmetic augmentation had been widely used. Duo didn't know what his parentage was, but it was clear someone had used some very potent serums during his gestation. The end result was a colony full of abnormally beautiful people who became the prey of those who considered themselves omnipotent. However, they refused to yield and when the contamination didn't work, the Collective simply blew them out of the sky. Duo managed to escape only days before it happened and ended up on Earth where he'd hidden himself in the throng until the hunters finally caught up with him.

He wondered how long he would survive the abuse of serving as an escort to a dignitary of the Collective, but knew it would not be a timely end. He was considerably tougher than he looked, but that meant nothing more in his current situation than the prolonging of his suffering. Perhaps if he were ground born he would be spared the humiliation and pain of a long life inside the walls of an ivory dungeon, but his altered body was strong and would, no doubt, extend the ordeal.

He could see the moon approaching and just make out the outline of the Pole Star City where stood the Luna Palace and the end of his journey. He would die within those walls a tattered sex doll for any who fancied his scream and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it.

*BOOM!*

He sat forward with a hammering heart while the guards shouted and dashed for the exits and his peers screamed as ships suddenly appeared outside the shuttle.

*BOOM!*KATHOOM!*

He fell back when the cabin was rocked and drenched in the light of an exploding Aries outside his window. What was happening!? Everyone was shouting, but he couldn't make any sense of it. Who would attack a Collective shuttle? There was no one left with the means to challenge them.

*CACHINK!*HISSSS!*

He ducked and narrowly avoided getting his head caved in by one of the prongs of a leech grapple when it penetrated the hull and barked a cry when the shuttle wall within it's circular area suddenly crumbled and disappeared.

"MOVE!" someone shouted, but he couldn't see who it was, then a man in a pressure suit grabbed him by the arm and shoved him at the docking tube where more men were ushering his peers.

"Wait!" he shouted trying to resist, but was forced into the tube, which sucked him and his companions into the adjacent ship along with the atmosphere from the shuttle.

What was going on? The only thing he could reason was that they must be pirates or something come to steal the booty of the elite for themselves. The idea appeared to have merit because the kidnappers were definitely preternatural's, which was apparent in their inhuman strength and uncommon size. They were taken aboard a transport and gathered in a small bay while the ship rocked from explosions that lit up the low windows along the walls and Duo wondered if his fate had changed for the better or worse. The girl beside him screamed and fell to the floor when a particularly loud blast sounded outside and he fell on her shielding her from the blinding light, then something metal screamed and the ship lurched sending them all crashing into the far wall before righting itself and rocketing away.

"You have been liberated by the Starling Reconciliation Force!" one of the men said in a loud voice as he moved through the bay helping people up as he went. "Please do not be alarmed!" But another explosion rocked the ship and half the assembly fell to the floor in panic. "We will be clear of the hostiles shortly!" the man assured them, then instructed, "Stay here and someone will answer your questions when we arrive!"

"Arrive where?" one of he young men wanted to know, but the soldier had already disappeared.

There were more of them at the exits baring any hope of escape, but there wasn't anywhere to go anyway. They were on an unknown ship headed for an unknown destination in the hands of an unknown faction that was made up of some of the most well trained preternatural's he'd ever seen. They definitely weren't the average grunts, but it was hard to analyze them while they were wearing their helmets. There was no way to know what they might be feeling without seeing their eyes, so they were forced to wait what turned out to be a two hour trip that ended in an asteroid field no one had been aware of. They heard the ship dock and the movement of people before one of the soldiers came to address them again.

"Please do not be alarmed!" was the first thing he said reiterating his earlier request, but the captives had been stewing silently for some time and were more than a little unsettled by the events happening around them. "We mean you no harm!" they were told while a hatch hissed open in the next bay. "You will be escorted through the hanger and into a debriefing facility! If you are injured, please step forward!" he shouted over the rising den of people and machines outside, but nobody did, then he shouted in no uncertain terms, "LETS MOVE!"

They did as they were told and Duo found himself in a large hanger where there was a diverse array of ships, but it was the mobile suits along the far wall that gained his attention. Whoever these people were, they were very well equipped, which made him wonder over their fate once again. True to their word the men lead them into a large room that was lined with chairs, several tables and had water pitchers and cups on counters along the back wall. Almost everyone who saw the refreshment dashed that way grabbing up the cups and drinking heartily, but Duo had learned long ago not to assume too much, so he refrained. It took some time in which his companions had cooked up explanations ranging from the ridiculous to the absurd to deal with their situation before a group entered and took up a spot on a raised stage in a corner of the room.

"Welcome," a tall woman with blond pig tails greeted. "I am Dr. Sally Po. At eleven hundred hours in the fourteenth cycle of the astral numerical calendar, you were liberated from a shuttle bound for the Lunar Palace by the Starling Reconciliation Force," she informed them. "This," she said indicating the room they were in, "is a transitory relocation facility. It is necessary for you to remain here until your data is completed and a full physical can be performed."

"Who are you people?" the young man who had spoken on the shuttle demanded while he held one of the frightened girls under his arm.

"Yes, why have we been brought here?" another wanted to know. "This is a temporary arrangement," Dr. Po replied holding out a hand to stay their questions. "Liberation is the final goal."

"Liberation for what purpose?" Duo asked in a tone so even the entire room turned to consider him.

"Yeah," the first young man agreed, though he didn't seem to actually understand the question gaining a chorus of approval from around the room.

Dr. Po seemed to have no ready reply and looked to her companions for support, but the answer came from somewhere behind the assembly where another young man stood at the top of a stairwell when he explained, "Freedom is contingent upon the conviction of the heart."

The whole of the gathering moved away from the newcomer as he stepped down the stairs and parted while they shied from his path. Duo watched him closely as he approached growing more alarmed by the second as the very air that surrounded him seemed to pulsate with power. He wasn't muscular like the guards nor did he boast a height more than an inch or two above Duo's, but every motion of his lean body exuded an indomitable strength that made his feet want to turn around and fly, but once again...there was nowhere to go. He stopped in front of him and he felt the heady caress of his eyes as they traveled his long body and shivered knowing with certainty if he wanted him he was his. There was no way he'd ever be able to stop him. He was too strong, too sure in his unwavering resolve and too damn beautiful to be human.

"You're a cavalier," Duo stated managing to keep the waver that had settled in his bones from his voice.

"What?" one of the girls gasped as others joined in and moved as far away from the newcomer as possible.

"Agent Yui is a valued member of the Starling forces," Dr. Po said very loudly as she stepped forward and assured them, "You have nothing to fear."

However, the people didn't appear to agree with her and kept their distance until Agent Yui finally shifted and walked with extreme grace from the room, whereupon Duo forced the tremor in his limbs to steady. There were a lot of questions in the hour that followed that revealed the Starling Reconciliation Force was mostly made up of Collective defectors, but there were a number of ground borns in their ranks as well. They claimed to be part of a resistance that had been growing for some time as many citizens of the Collective had wised up and realized they were on a path to self destruction. As it turned out manipulating the natural order of evolution was a complicated affair that was, on the whole, as unsuccessful as trying to live in space in the first place. Preternatural's had pushed the limits of their technology until their people were stepping outside the boarders of humanity and the most elite, the leaders of the realm had pretty much gone completely insane.

They were detained for over twelve hours while each refugee's data was documented and they were given a full physical, but though Duo prided himself on his ability to hide in plane sight it was inevitable that he would be called for an examination. There was no way they wouldn't discover his unique physiology and he dreaded the unavoidable confrontation, but there was no getting around it. Perhaps if their doctor was inept, but he knew this wasn't the case when he, unlike the rest of his group, was ushered into a private room for the exam and it became crystal clear that they already knew when the cavalier was waiting for them.

"Max I. Million," Dr. Po read from the Collective shuttles passenger list and Duo smiled in spite of how his skin was crawling in the presence of the elite knight.

He knew of their existence, but had never thought to meet one in his lifetime. They were the top of the line and usually assigned to protect and serve only the highest level dignitaries in the Collective regime. The technology used to rear one was rumored to be brutal and highly illegal unless you were of royal blood and produced a warrior of unimaginable power and unbreakable loyalty, so it was difficult to believe he had willingly betrayed is masters. It was also said that their conditioning elicited a savage lust that devoured one innocent after another in order to keep them from loosing their minds and Duo once again felt the tremor in his bones when he set his eyes upon him.

"Clever," Dr. Po praised laying the data slate aside before asking, "Care to give us your real name?"

"Not really," Duo replied nonplused, but it was hard to keep from looking at Agent Yui and loosing his nerve.

"From where do you hail?" one of the young men in her company asked and Duo did a quick assessment of him.

He was tall, but well built, definitely a preternatural, but obviously not a grunt. He wasn't a cavalier either, which confused him because he had the right type of build, lean and strong, but not bulky. His demeanor wasn't right either as he seemed to have no more than a passing interest in Duo's fine curves leaving him as mysterious as the condition of his right eye, which was hidden beneath a shock of auburn hair.

However, Duo had learned the hard way that informing people of his heritage was always a bad idea, so he popped off with, " Latitude 0° 07' 12" south, longitude 0° 04' 06"," which was the galactic coordinates of the constellation SGR A.

"It would appear we have an alien in our midst," the tall preternatural smirked, but it wasn't funny anymore when Dr. Po sighed and prompted...

"Hiiro?"

"Hey!" Duo barked when he was suddenly seized. He hadn't even seen him move and he was suddenly behind him gripping his arms in an unbreakable hold as strong as steel. "Get off!" he growled trying to kick up and knock him off balance, but he merely tightened his grip until his bones began to creak. "Alright! Alright!" he rasped settling and the pressure eased off to a more tolerable level, but he was still hopelessly ensnared.

"Now," Dr. Po began stepping forward with a needle in her hand, "Lets find out who you are."

"Ah, fffuck," Duo hissed when his arm was penetrated so that she could draw his blood and he cursed the damn fool who hadn't invented a better way.

It was the year after colony four two eight and they still had to break the skin just to analyze someone's blood. She extracted the needle when the vial was full and slid it in a device in her hand, but Duo lost track of it about there when he felt Hiiro tilt his head into his neck and breathe deep.

"Hiiro," Dr. Po admonished without looking up from her findings and Duo gasped when his captor suddenly slammed his head so hard back into the wall it left a hole. "He's enhanced," she informed the group as a whole while they all ignored the odd behavior.

"Can you let go now?" Duo asked impatiently and was surprised when Hiiro pleaded...

"Please."

"Release him," Dr. Po told him and he dropped him as if he were on fire. Duo turned to gape at him while he backed away and put some distance between them, then turned back to the doctor who studied her little screen for a moment, then looked at him as if he had seaweed for hair. "I haven't seen this type of complex since..." but her words stilled while she considered him.

"What it is?" her companion asked stepping forward to have a look at the screen, whereupon his one visible green eye widened. "Is that an odyl compound?"

"Is he Collective?" Hiiro asked in a voice of tight restraint that made Duo's skin prickle.

"No," Dr. Po replied still looking intensely at Duo when she asked, "What are your intentions?"

"Lady," he laughed moving a little further away from Hiiro before he confessed, "All I'm trying to do is keep from getting myself raped to death."

"A reasonable concern considering," she observed.

"Geez, no wonder I've got a boner," her tall companion grumbled.

"Trowa!"

"Not my fault," he defended, then winked at Duo when she wasn't looking.

For a minute he thought he was flirting, then realized he was just fucking with her and laughed.

"Nevertheless," she sighed. "We can't have him walking around unattended."

"I'm not a threat," Duo assured them. "They were taking me to the Palace for the same reason as everyone else."

"It's not you I'm worried about," she explained glancing at Hiiro. "There are a great many people on this ship that are hypersensitive to your particular nuance," she told him. "It would be unwise to temp them."

Duo understood where she was coming from because he had an intimate understanding of how it felt to be altered. The fact that these people had turned on their leaders didn't mean they could control the unnatural urges of their preternatural bodies. Even if their hearts where in the right place, if tempted they would behave as all humans do, in response to the wants and desires inside them.

"Trowa will show you to your quarters," Dr. Po told him and he let out a breath of relief before glancing nervously at Hiiro and following him from the room.

"How'd you end up on the gravy train?" Trowa asked while they moved through the ship.

Duo didn't have to look to know almost every head they passed turned his way. He was used to it for the most part, but at least on Earth the urge to act on the impulse to jump on him didn't burn quite so brightly in their eyes.

"Just lucky I guess," he replied ignoring the way two large men in a room they passed tripped over themselves to get to the door for a better look.

Trowa glanced back at them with a disapproving glare and they disappeared giving him hope that there was truth in the claim that they were trying to be good.

"You don't trust easily, do you?" Trowa asked leading him onto a lift.

"Keeps me alive," Duo shrugged noting that the ship had at least six levels.

"Well, don't start with these guys," Trowa warned indicating the crew as a whole. "Sally was serious about not walking around alone. Most of the crew usually have it pretty well under control, but I doubt they'd be able to think straight with you around."

"So, my lucks holding," Duo sighed stopping at a door along the wall that Trowa opened with a card key.

"Here," he said handing him a small communicator. "If you want to go out for anything just give me a buzz, otherwise...just stay put."

"Thanks," Duo sighed taking it before stepping inside, but Trowa brought him up short when he said...

"Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Who did this to you?"

But all he could offer was, "I don't know."

The door slid shut and he heard it lock, then sighed and discovered he had a pretty decent room. It had a bunk with a real mattress, a cooling unit that was stocked with food and drink and a separate bathroom complete with a shower. It was small, but looked like heaven on Earth, so he pulled the tie from his long braid and crawled in for a nice long soak, but he had to cut it short when he realized the water was recycling. There was no way for the filters to keep up with the amount of soap he needed to wash his mass of chestnut tresses more than once, so he got out and spent some time just enjoying the moment of solitude.

He thought of Hiiro and wondered how he could have possibly broken free. Collective knights were created with an inbred desire to please their masters and would go to any lengths to see to their needs. They were their body guards, their caretakers and their means of release when they desired it, so he couldn't work out how he had managed to go against his basic conditioning. Trowa confused him as well because he was definitely preternatural, but he didn't seem to be affected by Duo anymore than a ground born. They were insensitive to the qualities that would drive a preternatural crazy, though they often reacted just because of the way he looked. He had no idea why Trowa seemed okay with it, but was glad because by the second day he was starting to go stir crazy.

"Thanks," he smiled when Trowa came to accompany him.

"Is there somewhere you wanted to go?" Trowa asked while they made their way down the corridor.

"Anywhere but here," Duo chuckled.

"How about the rec room?"

Duo smiled and followed along only mildly disturbed when a guy coming the other way ran headlong into a wall as he passed.

"I wonder if there's some way to tone it down," Trowa mused while he watched the guy pick himself up.

"I keep it as tight as I can," Duo sighed.

"You're repressing it?" Trowa asked turning into a wide open room with many people, a bar and several tables along one wall.

"It's more like not flaunting it," Duo explained.

Trowa took a head count of the guys that turned and smiled hopefully when they entered and cocked his head. "You could be a lethal weapon if you wanted to," he observed knowing full well Duo could stick a knife in any one of these men before they even realized it just by batting his eyes.

"Not worth it," Duo told him accepting some sort of blue drink from the bartender.

"You're adverse to men," Trowa surmised doing the same, but Duo almost snorted blue fizz out of his nose.

"No," he chortled wiping it off. "I just prefer to avoid the possibility of getting gang banged."

Trowa conceded the point and was just about to invite him to a table when one of the men approached them and offered to buy Duo a drink.

"Sorry, Tubby," Duo smiled getting up when Trowa stood, "I'm with Sticks, here, but nice try."

"I would do things for you..." the guy enthused reaching out to grab him by the arm, but before he could finish the entire room went deathly still.

Duo felt the prickle on his skin and knew Hiiro was standing behind him without having to turn. His aggressor could see him though, and paled while he released him and quickly backed away.

"Why is he here?" Hiiro asked coming to stand next to Trowa and Duo was forced to look into his bottomless eyes.

"He was going stir crazy," Trowa explained.

"He should be on Earth.""They'd just pick him up again."

"Is that possible?" Duo interjected tiring of the third person thing.

"Not for a preternatural," Trowa replied, but his brow fell curiously when Duo informed him...

"I'm not one of you."

"No," Trowa agreed waving for another round. "But you are enhanced, so no...not really."

"Why not?" Duo wondered.

"Because the Earth was meant for naturals," Trowa informed him.

"But I thought," Duo began, "Aren't you trying to reconcile everyone?"

"Yes," he confirmed trading Duo's empty glass for a full one. "But no one with enhancements belongs on Earth. We are Starlings," he explained raising his glass to the room in general and most of the people returned the gesture, "But that doesn't mean we can't live in peace with our kin."

"Here, here," was murmured throughout the room leaving Duo with the oddest feeling of hope until Hiiro chimed in with...

"He's not safe here."

"I'm with him," Trowa reasoned.

"In space," Hiiro clarified and Duo stalled when his eyes slowly closed and he swallowed hard.

"Is it really that hard?" he wondered wanting to separate the truth from the rumors about the knights.

"If it were only the augmentation perhaps they could endure," he replied and Duo gasped out loud when he opened his sapphire eyes and saw the razor edge of his control while he explained, "But there is the complication of your natural glamour."

"I have glamour?" Duo chuckled, then looked into his empty glass curiously.

A moment later he squeaked when Hiiro's hand hit him in the chest, fisted his shirt and jerked him so close he could smell what he'd had for lunch while he growled low, "Do not mock me,"

"I wouldn't dare," Duo assured him trying hard to catch his breath, but the drink had taken his good sense somewhere else and he gave into the dreaded desire and confessed, "Damn, you smell good."

"Hiiro," Trowa soothed cautiously while Hiiro visibly shook as he gazed on the violet eyed creature at his command. "Let go," Trowa coaxed trying to pry his fingers loose from Duo's shirt, but they refused to budge.

"Are all knights as pretty as you?" Duo asked drunkenly while he brought his hand up as if to touch his face and was summarily tossed into Trowa's chest. "Wait," he whined bouncing back up and before Hiiro could escape he landed on him and kissed him full on the mouth.

"Whoa!" Trowa exclaimed reaching for them, but they went down in a writhing heap on the floor. "Hiiro!" he shouted, but his strong arms had wrapped around Duo's slender body and pulled him close. "Shit! Help me!" Trowa commanded to the room at large and several of the big men were set in motion.

"NNNNG!" Duo groaned when hands came upon him and tried to steal Hiiro away. "Wait...one more," he panted managing to avoid their grasping insistence long enough to taste Hiiro's sweet lips again.

He was mightily pleased when Hiiro flexed and growled and men went flying all over the room giving him clearance to dive in and wrap himself around him again. His arms were so strong and his mouth so eager it took his breath way. He groaned in purest delight when Hiiro's hands gripped his ass and pulled him hard into his hips revealing the presence of a massive lump under his tight pants that Duo was working diligently toward emancipating, but then his kisses cooled and his arms went lax and he was left staring down at the unconscious face of the most beautiful person he'd ever hoped to see.

"You're fucking suicidal!" Trowa roared dropping the syringe in his hand on the floor so he could catch Duo when he passed out.

He came to in the infirmary where he was being given an IV, but he had no idea why.

"Be still," Dr. Po instructed and he looked over to find her sitting at the desk. "You had a reaction to the fizz pop, she told him while she typed on her slate.

"What happened?" Duo wondered while he tried to put it together, but all he could remember was a conversation about Earth and a heat in his spine he couldn't readily identify.

"You attacked a Collective knight!" Trowa snapped coming into the room. "Are you stupid or just bat shit crazy!"

"Shit," Duo groaned, then asked, "Why am I alive?"

Trowa stared at him for a moment, then calmed and sighed, "Because you attacked him with your face."

Duo froze instantly as images of he incident flooded back into his mind, then groaned and pretended to cry.

"You didn't remember," Trowa surmised.

"No," Duo confirmed.

"His body converted the fizz pop into pure alcohol," Dr. Po explained, then looked to Duo and commented, "But that doesn't explain what you did."

"Fuck," Duo cursed forcing himself to sit up so he wasn't prone while they talked. "Sorry," was the first thing on his mind. "I guess I let it get out."

"It?" Trowa prompted.

"Yeah," Duo replied while he scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly. "It sort of works...both ways."

"Son of a bitch," Trowa exclaimed finding a chair. "You mean you deal with the same sort of...urges as Hiiro?"

"It's not so bad," Duo shrugged. "It's not that hard to control...most of the time," he amended thinking about how sinful it had felt to feel Hiiro's strong arms around him.

"Why Hiiro?" Dr. Po wondered and Duo's answer was...

"Duh."

"Hiiro is a very dangerous person," the doctor informed him. "The life he has chosen is very difficult for him," she explained. "And your little stunt last night might have set him back months. He trains very hard to maintain control, do not disparage him."

Again Duo wondered how Hiiro could have broken the chains that bound him and marveled at the very concept that he had managed it through sheer force of will. However, in the days that followed it became clear that he was a knight of the highest order as each time he was sent on a mission he returned victorious. Duo was spending a great deal of time in Trowa's company so he wouldn't go mad from just sitting around his cabin, so he had a front row seat while Hiiro systematically wiped his enemies out. Their numbers were small compared to the armies of the Collective, but they managed to make a real nuisance of themselves hitting supply lines and freeing slaves wherever the opportunity arose. Like Duo's group, they were brought in and treated for their wounds be they physical, mental or emotional and given the option of either joining the cause or being returned to Earth, the latter of which meant they would eventually be recaptured and probably killed for daring to escape in the first place. Most chose to aid the effort taking up jobs on the resource satellites that helped supply the rebel cause or repair facilities and the like, but with Hiiro on their side there weren't usually enough enemies left to cause any trouble.

The mysteries surrounding Trowa began to come to light as time passed. He was a pilot like Hiiro altered to be an elite fighter, but his modifications varied from the norm because he began life as part of an experiment that was meant to solve some of the problems preternatural's suffered through. It worked in so much as Trowa did not have to endure the constant longing to thump anything that moved, but he also lacked the single minded determination that made Hiiro such a force of nature. He was good and Duo enjoyed the times when he got to watch him from the control room while he hung out with Sally and her crew, but there was nothing quite like seeing Hiiro surgically remove any and all obstacles from his path. They had become friends over time and though Duo wasn't comfortable talking about his origins, he did eventually confess his name.

There had been a raid on an asteroid where the Collective had set up a resort of sorts one day, but Trowa's skills were not needed for the mission, so he waited with Duo in the hanger while Hiiro and the rescue ship docked. Duo recalled the fear and uncertainty of being jerked free from captivity by a force of unknown origin and sympathized with the frightened passengers as they disembarked, but his mind went blank as it always did when Hiiro appeared in the chest of his elite mobile suit, Wing, and rode the cable to the ground.

"Duo?" Trowa inquired sensing the change in him, but his eyes were trained on the stoic pilot as his feet touched the floor. "Geez," Trowa grumbled shouldering him out of the trance. "You going to get yourself killed if you go there," he reminded him while he fought to keep his cheeks from flaring bright red.

"Man, he's a righteous piece of work," Duo grumbled shaking the tension out of his shapely right thigh.

"Chill," Trowa told him noticing that no less than five of the attending soldiers had noticed the action.

"Right," Duo sighed, then stalled when Hiiro's eyes arrested him from where he stood not twenty feet away. He was aware of the transfer of people from the shuttle to the bay and the docking of other ships and mobile suits that had aided in their emancipation, but his heart wouldn't stop hammering long enough for him to tear his eyes away from Hiiro's deadly gaze. "Man," he breathed dazedly feeling a full body shiver as he softly confessed, "He just makes me wanna..."

"Shit!" Trowa exclaimed when one of the soldiers broke ranks and headed straight for him, but he didn't make it five feet before Hiiro dropped and swept his feet from under him, then punched him so hard in the face he lay still. "Duo...back away," Trowa said softly raising a hand toward his chest, but he couldn't catch his breath.

"Hiiro! Stand down!" Sally commanded placing herself in between the knight and his quarry, but he hardly seemed to see her.

"Snap out of it!" Trowa growled stepping in front of Duo while he asked, "Or do you really want to die?"

Duo swallowed and managed to peek around him enough to see that Sally was having some success in subduing Hiiro and softly intoned, "What a way to go."

"You're hopeless," Trowa chuckled nervously while he glanced back to make sure Hiiro had been restrained.

Sally was livid once the mission was complete and the people on their way because the man Hiiro had punched would need stitches and at least a week down time to heal and recondition his mind so that he could function productively again. Most of the soldiers in their employ had defected without coercion and truly wanted to turn things around and reconnect with their ground born counterparts, but when tested they were prone to failure when it came to controlling their most basic instincts.

"What?!" Duo exclaimed when Sally informed him he would no longer be allowed to observe missions involving Hiiro. "Oh, come on," he argued. "It was one tiny little slip."

"I doubt Corporal Wilks would agree with you," she countered indicating the unconscious man in the bed along the wall.

Duo looked at the bandages on his face and how badly bruised his eyes were and conceded. The alterations that made his arms so beefy and strong were no excuse for his attempt to claim him, but Duo knew it was his fault he lost control because he was just too hot for Hiiro to keep it in check. The fact that he couldn't stop thinking about him plagued his mind and woke him in a fevered sweat more often than not making it increasing more difficult to remain in his cabin until Trowa had time to come and escort him. He woke once again with images of Hiiro wrecking his lean body burning in his mind while he fought for air and shivered in a heat he feared would one day be his end. He needed to get out and walk it off, but when he called Trowa there was no reply.

It wasn't uncommon for it to take him a few minutes to respond, but he usually kept the communicator close and was considerate of Duo's inability to wander around without him, so it concerned him when he still hadn't replied after a reasonable amount of time. However, the continued silence coupled by the heady memories of the dream drove him to distraction and he couldn't just sit idle anymore. It was a risk to go about the ship unattended, but he'd hidden in tighter places before, so he pulled on his favorite black cap and headed toward the control room. It was reasonably easy to avoid being seen even by those who knew him as his abnormally quick reflexes alerted him to their presence long before they knew he was there. He simply had to wait until they were looking the other way and stroll on by, but he was well aware of their curiosity when they smelled his musk in the air. They knew he was there, but still couldn't find him and he felt fairly empowered by the time he reached the control room and the bottom fell out of his world.

"...any way to get to him?" Sally was asking Trowa who sat at a terminal and worked while they spoke.

"We don't even know if he's still in there," Trowa countered and Duo felt his fingers twitch when he added, "They may have separated him from Wing."

"Hiiro," Duo softly intoned calling their attention to his presence and Sally balked.

"What are you doing out here?" she demanded looking around cautiously. "How did you..."

"Where's Hiiro?" Duo cut her off and she paused to consider the strange light in his eyes.

"He's been captured," Trowa informed him.

"Location?" Duo inquired.

"Unknown," Trowa replied and Sally's brow knit.

"What happened?" Duo asked while he walked over to have a look at the terminals screen.

"They ambushed him," Sally explained growing more interested in his odd behavior while she watched him pull up information and spec's on the mission.

"Another knight," Duo surmised when he saw the replay of the battle.

"Confirmed," Trowa replied.

Duo switched the feed to a live stream of the massive ship that had captured him and stared for a long moment before stating, "He's in there."

"How do you know?" Sally wondered sounding hopeful.

"I can feel him," Duo told her, then wiped all expression from her eyes when he stated, "I'm going in."

"What?!" she gasped when he headed for the hanger. "Wait! You can't! Duo! If they catch you..."

"It'll happen to him if I don't," Duo reasoned as he moved swiftly down the hall.

"We'll send Trowa," she bartered. "He can take a squad and..."

"They'd never make it inside," he reasoned and the truth of it was mirrored in Trowa's emerald eyes. "I'm a thief," he confessed producing a card key, a candy wrapper and the military ID that had been in her pockets a moment before as he proclaimed, "I can get him back."

She gaped at the items clearly confounded by how they had come to be in his possession, then started when Trowa sounded from behind her, "Bay three."

The transport was small and unarmed, but that was fine because it would be less noticeable. All he had to do was suck up to the underbelly of a passing cargo freighter that was delivering supplies to the massive mother ship and he was in. It was almost too easy to move through the corridors and winding halls once inside and he was grateful that they were arrogant enough to have such lax security. There was one point that got hairy when he stumbled upon a training room where a young Asian guy was pounding dents in large metal cylinder with his bare hands and feet, but he moved on quickly when he turned toward where Duo was skulking and sniffed at the air. He was clearly the enemy knight that had made it possible to bring Hiiro in and Duo had no desire to clue him in to what he was doing, so he moved on and located the detention block, which was where he found Hiiro. He was shackled by large chains to two huge hunks of iron that were bolted to the floor in a large cell, strung tight, clearly unconscious and naked as the day he was born.

"Hiiro!" Duo growled growing instantly enraged when his mind was assaulted by images of all the things he might have suffered during his captivity. "Damn it," he rasped holding the tears that stung at his eyes at bay while he picked the lock on the door and got busy on the shackles. "Hiiro?" he called trying to be as quiet as possible, but he didn't respond. "Hey, man, wake up," he coaxed as he laid his naked body on the floor. He didn't look too bad, though the bruises that did mar his skin concerned Duo mightily because he knew the kind of force it would take to cause his modified body injury. "We have to get you out of here," Duo whispered checking the door again before hefting him up onto his shoulder, but he was considerably heavier than he looked so he was forced to move slow.

The second knight was no longer in the training room when he passed back by, but that was a good thing because his strength was failing. He was covered in sweat and straining for every foot of ground when the alarms suddenly sounded. They were so close, just a hundred meters from the hanger bay door when he felt the undeniable presence of another. When he turned he saw the second knight standing in the hall behind them and quietly laid Hiiro's lax body on the ground where and stood protectively over him while facing their enemy with nothing more than the small knife he kept strapped to his forearm.

"Who are you?" the knight asked uncharacteristically as preternatural's were usually quick on the attack.

"Doesn't matter," Duo replied digging in as a righteous determination set his eyes, "You're not getting him back."

He could see the familiar flames burning in his black diamond eyes while he looked him up and down, but he appeared to have another agenda and demanded as he advanced, "Where did you come from!?""Straight outta hell," Duo snarled and ducked just before his attackers strong hand could close on his arm.

His knife was inadequate to cause any major damage, though he did managed to scratch him twice before his superior speed finally failed him and he ended up pinned to a wall by an arm that was stronger than steel. He sort of hoped he'd just kill him and get it over with, but wasn't surprised when he merely held him fast and bored into his skin with hungry eyes.

"You smell...different," the knight told him seeming curious over the fact and Duo laughed out loud.

"Never heard it put quite that way before," he confessed.

"What do you want with the Guardian?" he demanded emphasizing his impatience by slamming him against the wall.

Guardian? Duo looked to Hiiro when the implications of what he was saying hit home and discovered him missing. It hurt that he'd leave him behind, but he was happy that he would make it out alive and relaxed to accept his fate. His captor cocked his head clearly unable to discern his behavior, then suddenly crashed to the floor when something hit him resoundingly in the side of the head.

"Hiiro!?" Duo gasped, then barked when Hiiro's hand hit him in the chest and gripped his shirt before dragging him toward the hanger. He was still buck naked, but it didn't even slow him down as he pointed them toward Wing. "I have a transport," Duo argued while he stared into the tiny, one man cock pit, but Hiiro just pushed him inside, then crawled in beside him and fired it up.

"Shit," Duo breathed unable to repress the heat of being so close to his naked body. He was crammed against the wall, unable to even sit on the arm of the pilots chair as Hiiro needed to get to the controls and forced to endure not only the resplendency of his fine form, but his heady scent as there were no clothes to hold the wafting mire in check. It only got worse as the battle ensued and Hiiro was forced to fight them free causing the fire in Duo's blood to rise up and incinerate his mind when sweat began to bead up on his brow. Mercifully, the battle was short lived without the other knight to aid them and they were soon speeding back toward the safety of their home.

His arms were so tired they shook from supporting him while his heart hammered and his lungs demanded more air, but he couldn't seem to get it back under control when confronted by the lewd reality of Hiiro's sumptuous body.

"Could you cover yourself or something?" he rasped closing his eyes tightly, then yelped when he was suddenly dislodged and landed in Hiiro's lap. "Shit!" he gasped trying to scramble off again, but Hiiro held him firmly in place. It was kind of ironic that he'd saved him only to be violated by him in the end, but the truth was he always knew this was the way he was going to die. Everyone knew once a cavalier engaged they didn't stop until their need was satisfied, but honestly it could have been a lot worse, so he took a deep breath and prepared for the assault, but it never came. "Hiiro?" he inquired as they neared their ship and he gave the security codes that confirmed their identity.

He didn't get it at first because he could feel the magnitude of his arousal poking him in the ass, but he made no attempt to force the issue. He thought about how hard it was to cope with his burning desire to touch him and the way his blood always warmed whenever he watched him fight and marveled at his tenacious control. It had to be so much harder for him considering the extreme modifications to his DNA, but he held it in check by sheer force of will.

"You did it!" Sally crowed happily when they hit the ground, then noted Hiiro's state of undress and instructed, "Report to the infirmary."

"I don't know how you pulled it off," Trowa smiled as he fell into step beside Duo while they followed Sally and Hiiro. "But thanks. He's indispensible to the fight," he commented and confessed, "We need him."

Duo watched while Hiiro turned into the infirmary ahead of them and softly replied, "So do I."

Trowa looked at him for a moment before a smile curled his lips and he laid his arm around his shoulders as he led him into the waiting area where he spent the following hour trying to keep him from pacing a hole in the floor. Duo told him about their strange encounter with the other knight and revealed that Hiiro's status in the Collective was higher than any of them could have possibly imagined.

"A Guardian?" Trowa breathed reverently. "He never told us."

"Would you have trusted him if he had?" Duo asked taking a moment to peer into the infirmary, but there was still no sign of them.

"Which one do you suppose he was assigned to?" Trowa wondered being well aware that Guardians were the ultimate warriors and created specifically to guard only members of the royal family.

"The princess maybe," Duo reasoned. "She's the only one young enough to need him."

Trowa couldn't argue there and considering Hiiro's particular aesthetic and skill set it stood to reason. A Guardian worthy of serving such a high station would be exceptionally strong, beautiful beyond compare and unquestionably obedient, but they appeared to have failed on that last part. Hiiro was everything anyone could ever need and Duo smiled at the fact that he had proven his true worth in the strength of his own valor.

"Sally," Trowa greeted bringing him out of his thoughts.

"He's alright," she informed them. "They interrogated him, but he didn't break, so they didn't get much out of it."

"Is he...well?" Duo asked, but she didn't seem to understand.

"Yes," she replied curiously as she had as much as said so. "He has some bruising, but...

"Did they rape him!?" Duo suddenly snapped looking very much as if he was about to come unraveled and Sally gaped for a moment before laying a calming hand on his arm.

"No," she told him gently and watched as the tension seeped visibly from him. "There was no evidence of any violation."

Duo nodded seeming wholly relieved, then turned to find Hiiro standing in the doorway behind him. His breath caught the moment their eyes met and he thanked all that was holy that he was wearing clothes, but it didn't stop the bubbling heat from rising up inside him.

"You shouldn't have come," Hiiro told him evenly.

"You should have told us you're a Guardian," Duo countered taking pride in the fact that his gaze flickered.

"What?" Sally breathed uncertainly.

"It was inconsequential," Hiiro replied.

"Bullshit," Trowa countered. "And we wouldn't know now if Duo hadn't risked his life to save you," he pointed out stepping up to Duo's side.

"I am expendable..." he began, then recoiled when Duo slapped him hard across the face. "Don't ever say that again," he growled completely ignoring the deadly glare Hiiro leveled on him.

"Hiiro," Sally interjected cautiously attempting to diffuse the situation. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because it doesn't matter," he insisted, but his gaze never left Duo's sparkling eyes.

"Who were you assigned to?" she persisted.

"No one," he replied.

"Princess Relena," Duo stated once again registering his success by the shift of Hiiro's gaze.

"Hiiro," Sally began. "If that's true we need to know everything about..."

"I don't know," Hiiro grumbled breaking eye contact with Duo to address her. "I never served her."

"Why not?" Trowa wondered.

"Because," Hiiro replied tiring of he subject, "When Dr. J tried to bind me to her, I took his eyes and escaped."

There had been an uproar some years back when the famous doctor who had advanced their genetic technology so much had a debilitating accident and lost his eyes forcing him to adapt to a cyborg's lifestyle, which helped them put the events of Hiiro's extraordinary life into perspective.

"You developed free will," Duo commented sounding in awed by the fact, but Hiiro's response was...

"We all have free will."

"Yes," Duo agreed, then added, "But sometimes it is bound by the contingency of our hearts."

Sally looked to Trowa for some clue as to what was going on between the lines, but all he could offer was a helpless shrug.

It was decided that Duo would be accepted into their ranks and trained as a pilot specializing in infiltration and information recovery as he had proven his skill. He still had to keep pretty close to Trowa because it mattered little to the underlying need of the crew how valuable he was to the cause, but he snuck out of his cabin on occasion both to practice his stealth and gain a little more freedom. Sally eased up about he and Hiiro being in close proximity since he had successfully resisted the urge to spirit him away somewhere and ravage him, but it was difficult so they tried to keep a respectable distance between them. Duo's life had radically changed, but he felt it was for the better in spite of the constant threat to his virtue until one night when he was caught unaware.

He had been traversing the ship during the sleep cycle having woken from a lurid dream involving Hiiro and a large bar of soap when the floor of the catwalk he was climbing gave way and dumped him in the middle of a small maintenance bay. It would have been fine if the workers were tucked in their bunks, but recent raids had forced them to expand the refugee housing available, so there were three men working the night shift to that end.

"What're you doing here?" the curly headed one asked looking around for someone, presumably Trowa, and not finding him.

"Just passing through," Duo chuckled backing toward an exit as he could already feel the heat of their eyes.

"You ain't supposed to be here," another said considering him curiously, but then his eyes dropped to Duo's hips and the expression darkened.

"Leave off," the third said laying a hand in the middle of his friends chest to stay his advance as Duo slowly backed up.

"He came looking for us," the first one reasoned, then tossed a large metal box at the door where it clanged loudly and effectively barred Duo's escape.

"Yeah," the second agree pushing past the thirds reluctant restraint.

"We ain't supposed to do this anymore," the third reminded them seeming mildly put out while Duo drew his knife and dug in.

"One little bit won't hurt," the second reasoned making a grab for him, but he was suddenly overhead dangling from part of the broken catwalk.

"Get him!" the first shouted and they scrambled after him with blind determination.

It didn't take much to set the low level grunts off. Duo knew this because he'd seen the evidence of it horrifically displayed in the hunting fields of Earth. Once they set their sights it would take an act of god to keep them from enacting their will and savagely violating their target, so he fought as hard as his lithe body would allow. He was fast and clever, but there were three of them and their endurance was matched only by their inhuman strength, so eventually one managed to land a blow and he bounced off a wall and fell stunned to the floor.

"Get his feet," the curly haired one ordered in a tone that dripped with wanton lust and Duo jerked and kicked the moment his felt his feet being gripped.

"God damn it!" he growled thrashing about as they forced him into the middle of the floor. "You dickheads are supposed to be on our side!"

But they were so far gone they didn't even hear him while they ripped at his clothes. Duo was frantic with the need to escape, but they were just too strong and he was surprised by the things that went through his mind while he waited to die, but then they screamed and he was falling. There was blood everywhere and a horrific fight, but he didn't realize what had happened until he saw Hiiro standing among the bodies in the aftermath.

"Did they hurt you?" he growled taking a step forward, but stopped and clenched his teeth while his hands opened and closed.

"In what respect?" Duo groaned while he pushed himself to his feet.

"They didn't...?"

"No," Duo sighed trying to cover himself with what was left of his tattered pants.

"Ufff!" the curly haired guy grunted when Hiiro hauled off and kicked him in the head and Duo checked the others and noted that they were miraculously still alive.

Upon closer inspection he felt a shiver run down his spine when he realized Hiiro had ripped their dicks off with his bare hands.

"We should call Sally," he concluded, but Hiiro was still staring at him intently.

"What's up?" Trowa's sleepy voice came over the comm.

"Grab Sally and get her to maintenance bay three two four," he told him.

"Duo?" he was suddenly concerned. "What happened?" he asked sounding as if he were already in motion.

"The inevitable," Duo snorted. "Are you alright?" Trowa demanded.

"Yes," Duo replied glancing at where Hiiro was still bowed up tight. "Hiiro stopped them, but...just get Sally down here quick."

"Shit," Trowa cursed. "We're on our way."

"Maybe we could slow the bleeding," Duo mused going to roll one of the big men over and was smacked so hard in the shoulder he almost fell off his feet. "What!?"

"They tried to gang bang you!" Hiiro growled, but stalled when Duo shouted...

"So what!? Everyone wants a piece of me, Hiiro!" he reminded him calming a little as he turned away and explained, "It's always been that way."
"What happened to you?" Hiiro wondered.

"The Collective and their poisons," Duo sighed giving up on helping the men because he just didn't know how. "Guess they wanted a new hunting ground," he shrugged taking a seat on a large piece of the catwalk that lay on the floor.

"L2," Hiiro softly intoned and Duo snorted an affirmative laugh. "They tried to turn your colony into a breeding ground for escorts," Hiiro recalled, then asked, "How did you escape?"

"Jumped a ship to Earth," Duo replied, and Hiiro seemed to put the rest it in order.

"Oh no," they heard Sally gasp, then made way so she could work.

The men survived, but they had lost a lot of blood and their members were crushed beyond recognition so there was nothing she could do to help them there. It took her over seven hours to patch them up and get them stable, but Hiiro and Duo were waiting for her when she was done.

"Are you alright?" she asked Duo and he understood she was asking after his state of mind because she was well aware that he was okay physically.

"Sorry," he sighed scrubbing a hand over his face.

"It isn't your fault," Hiiro told him causing Sally and Trowa to pause.

"That's not what I'm sorry about," Duo countered.

"It was nobodies fault," Sally sighed tiredly and dropped into a chair. "Just an unfortunate incident. I just wish there was some way I could help them cope."

"There is only one way to curb their appetite," Trowa reminded her.

"And it's the one thing we're fighting against," she elaborated.

"Too bad their not into each other," Duo chuckled, but they all just stared at him. "You know, then they could get their rocks off whenever they liked."

"It doesn't work that way," Trowa laughed.

"I know," Duo conceded. "It's just such a shame they have to suffer all the time."

"Pain is inevitable," Hiiro told them curtly, then exited and didn't look back.

"He's the most tragic of all," Sally commented sadly and Duo narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he watched him go.

It was probably the least intelligent thing he'd ever done in his life, but he couldn't stop himself from moving forward. It hadn't been a full day since he was attacked with the intent to rape, but his feet almost danced while he made his way through the shadows. He knew it could happen again, but couldn't stop himself and felt an immense surge of excitement as he dropped down into Hiiro's cabin. He was lying in his bed still unaware of his visitor and Duo took a moment to just look at his peaceful face. He was so beautiful in the dim light it made him happy and he felt the elation rise up inside him as he stepped closer. His arm was bare making him wonder if he were naked under the sheet and for the first time in his life he welcomed the bubbling heat his thoughts inspired.

"Don't," Hiiro softly intoned revealing that he was wide awake when Duo reached toward the sheet and he smiled while he asked...

"Why not?"

"You're playing a very dangerous game," Hiiro told him as he sat up and Duo's throat went dry when the sheet fell down and exposed the expanse of his chiseled torso.

"Then I suppose I shouldn't play fair," he told him embracing his fate as he slowly lifted his form fitting black shirt over his head. He saw Hiiro's gaze follow the material with calculated precision and knew the thrill of the fire that erupted in his eyes as he let it fall to the floor.

"I don't want to hurt you," Hiiro confessed in a tone of tightest control.

"You can't help that now," Duo told him as he keeled on the bed and approached.

"Why?" Hiiro ground out as he shut his eyes and shook his head as if to clear it, but then Duo's hands were on his shoulders and his long legs were spreading over his thighs while he leaned in close enough Hiiro felt the heat of his breath on his lips as he told him...

"Pain is inevitable when you're in love."

Duo groaned with heated passion when Hiiro kissed him hard and wrapped him up. He knew he was strong, but was unprepared for the sizzling heat that swallowed him up when he pulled him close and lifted him up easily ripping his black pants off. They gave way like rice paper in the rain and Duo gasped excitedly when he felt his hands come upon his body. He felt so alive when they touched skin to skin, flesh to overheated flesh and fought to keep his breathing even, but he lost it when Hiiro curled into him and took his aching cock in one hand while he gripped his ass in the other and dug deeply into his undulating body.

"Yes!" he panted working hard to aid his lover in his preparations, but then he left him and moved down his chest over his quivering stomach and he bucked when the heat of his mouth descended on him.

He was so lost in the heat he didn't understand why his preparations were granting him so much pleasure until he realized Hiiro was using his saliva mixed with Duo's natural secretions as lubrication and began to loose control.

"Duo," Hiiro called to him sending hot shivers over his skin, then he was kissing him again, pushing him, holding him firm while he forced him into position and sank slowly inside him.

Duo's eyes went wide as he was filled and spread out causing his lungs to suck violently for air one huge gulp after another until he thought he'd loose his mind, then mercifully he reached full penetration and Duo shuddered way down in his bones when the most heavenly feeling of completion embraced his soul.

He knew he'd made the right decision in spite of the resultant frenzy his action caused when Hiiro lost it and started pounding into him wildly. It hurt, but he wanted more. His teeth clenched together as Hiiro rocked him hard and laid his hand on his lower stomach guiding his movements so he could get deeper inside him until he understood what he needed and fell into perfect synch with him. His breath caught when Hiiro's hand moved to stroke him while the other helped bear the burden of his weight as he moved with him striving to achieve a higher plane of existence where nothing mattered but the heady pleasure of heir joining.

"NNNG!" Duo groaned when he felt he inevitable rise up inside him as Hiiro slammed into him time and again, then his mouth popped open and his back bent as his body shook, but when the cataclysm was over Hiiro was still working hard.

He gasped when he was suddenly tossed into the bedding and pounced upon, but he knew what he was getting himself into before he came. He wanted it, he wanted him and welcomed him into the depths of his heart once again. His arms came up around Hiiro's neck while he pushed his legs apart and slammed into him hard rocking his lean body with ever increasing waves of purest pleasure until he couldn't stand it anymore and jerked beneath him. Hiiro growled in triumph, then leaned back, took his leg in hand and started reaming him while he watched his massive shaft moving in his tight body.

He was so big and worked him so well Duo could hardly catch his breath, but he drank in every thrusting grunt, every heated caress until they were dripping with sweat and he once again felt the heat erupt from his tired body. It seemed to go on forever and he welcomed each and every blow. He had realized after the attack that it truly was inevitable that he would eventually be used up by one faction or another and couldn't live with the idea that he had no choice in the matter. This was his will, to be complete and connected to the only person his heart had ever longed for when his time passed. By the third hour his strength was waning and though his body was sore and he'd been forced to fruition more times than he could remember he had no wish for it to end. It bothered him that his actions might cause Hiiro any pain, but this was the only thing he could give him that meant anything. He would ease his suffering if only for awhile and claim his right to choose his own day to die.

The day cycle came and went unnoticed as they strived for perfection in the suffocating heat of the small cabin. Hiiro pushed him harder each time he fell desperate to feel the divine ecstasy of his culmination and with each rising tide only seemed to want him more. His hunger burned as brightly on the eve of the second day as it had on the first and Duo clamped down on the need to retreat and save himself. His goal was clear and closing in slowly, all he had to do was hold on a little while longer and maybe...but his fever flared and once again impassioned his lover into a furious attempt to rend the lustful yearning from his blood.

He had lasted longer than he thought he would, but his spirit was nearly broken by the third day. Hiiro was still thumping him and showed no desire to slow down. His strength was legendary, his endurance divine, but he had fallen into a rut that required nothing more than Duo's passion to sustain it leaving him with no means of sustenance and his consciousness was beginning to falter. He regretted having failed in his goal to bring light into Hiiro's world, but he had managed to provide a time of relief.

"NNNG!" Hiiro grunted laying into him hard and his body seized once again, but his mind was drifting farther and father away.

He could hear his impassioned cries as he quickly filled him with powerful thrusts, then felt the rapturous heat when he finally fell and as his body shook and when the darkness came he knew he would go happily because in the end he had embraced his will and followed his heart.

**

"Duo?"

Opening his eyes was a bit of a surprise, so he was compelled to ask, "I'm alive?"

"Not for lack of stupidity," Trowa grumbled from nearby.

"Where's Hiiro?" Duo asked attempting to sit up, but the IV's in his arms and the ache in his bones convinced him otherwise.

"Recuperating," Sally informed him.

"What?" Duo inquired because that didn't make sense.

"You've been out for two days," Trowa told him, then grinned, "Two days in which Hiiro decimated the entire western legion."

"What?!" Duo gasped forcing his sore body to sit up.

"You must be like some sort of turbo fuel," Trowa chuckled. "He was so wired after your little foray he cut through their ranks like he was popping bubbles."

"Yes," Sally confirmed. "Which has elevated our little resistance from a nuisance to a threat," she observed.

"That sounds like a problem," Duo interjected.

"We were not prepared to accelerate our plans," Sally explained. "But what's done is done. We'll adjust and now they know we're more than some fly by night faction that will burn itself out."

"Is he hurt?" Duo wanted to know.

"No," Sally assured him. "But he hasn't slept or eaten anything in over five days."

"Any idea why I'm not?"

Sally considered him for a long moment as if debating on whether to speak, then explained, "The odyl compounds that were used to modify your genetic code were not natural." He sat up a little to listen hard. "It is a synthetic agent that was outlawed during the Colonial War." L2 was the one and only opposing force in the conflict.

"What did it do to me?" Duo asked evenly.

"There was only one purpose," Trowa told him and he felt his shoulders sag when Sally elaborated...

"To turn a human being into a sex doll."

"Did they use it on Hiiro?" Duo wondered as he thought about how powerfully he was drawn to him.

"No," Sally replied, but he clearly didn't believe her. "The technology used to create it was destroyed after the L2 tragedy," she explained. "But they've come up with some serums that come pretty damn close."

"Which means I'm unique," Duo surmised.

"That does not mean that you can simply disappear for days on end without informing your commanding officer," she snipped throwing him off balance.

"Sorry," he grumbled. "I didn't really expect to come back."

"You must plan your down time more efficiently," Sally told him, but it still didn't make any sense.

"Plan?" he prompted as he heart began to race.

"You're having a hard time keeping up," Trowa laughed, then informed him, "Your stupidity paid off."

"How?" Duo asked cautiously and Trowa clapped him on the shoulder as he explained...

"You were literally made for each other."

Something clicked in the back of Duo's brain and suddenly all the bits and pieces of his life came swirling together at once. His lips curled slowly as he understood what Trowa was saying. His modification was supposed to have turned him into the prefect sex doll, one oozing with sexuality and eager to please. This much he was aware of, but the fact that he was strong enough to endure the grueling punishment of Hiiro's overwhelming desire opened doors he didn't even know existed.

"I need to see him," he said trying to get up, but Sally pushed him back down.

"Slow down," she told him. "He's off limits until he's had time to recuperate."

"Don't pout," Trowa teased. "You can see him in the morning, then you guys can bang your..."

"Trowa!" Sally admonished while Duo's ears turned red.

Duo tried, but he couldn't sleep with all the idea's running around in his head. He'd also been catatonic for two days, which worried him somewhat because it was going to be bad for his health if they couldn't curb Hiiro's appetite. He'd lasted three days, but that sort of marathon wouldn't be possible on a regular basis, then stopped as he looked in the mirror with his toothbrush clenched between his teeth and realized he was assuming a great many things. The elation slowly ebbed into mild trepidation while he wondered what Hiiro's thoughts on the matter were. He had gone to him with a declaration of love upon his lips and been drown in a decadent sea of lustful emotions, but that didn't mean that Hiiro felt the same. Actually, his control was paper thin and Duo wondered for the first time how many others had been subject to his carnal hunger before he managed to emancipate himself. He grew depressed when the idea that Hiiro might only want him around because he could tolerate him seeded in his mind and didn't notice that the hour was past noon until he knocked on his door.

"Hiiro," he greeted somewhat surprised to see him, but stepped aside so he could enter.

"Sally insisted I rest," he told him and Duo noted the attempt to explain his absence since he woke.

"Sounds like you needed it," Duo smiled. "The Collective still isn't sure what hit them."

"I shouldn't have gone off like that," Hiiro admitted.

"It's cool," Duo reassured him. "Trowa said you were a little...revved up."

"There was some residual effect," Hiiro admitted, then stilled while he asked, "Has Sally explained?"

"Most of it," Duo replied. "Did you two talk?"

"I was already aware."

That didn't seem right. "You knew?" Duo asked feeling odd when he nodded. "About L2?"

"You have a particular scent," Hiiro explained. "I suspected."

Things were unraveling in Duo's mind. "And you're aware of the contamination?"

"Intimately," Hiiro replied making the hairs on Duo's neck rise.

"We're you responsible?" he asked as evenly as his thundering heart would allow.

"Not personally," Hiiro replied helping to bring his blood pressure back down. "But I was aware."

Duo thought about it and surmised that Hiiro would have been about thirteen the same as him when it all happened. He was just a child. No, he was a child undergoing some of the most intense training ever devised in an attempt to turn him into the ultimate pawn. A perfect soldier.

It made him wonder, "Why did you leave?"

"Their teachings were flawed," Hiiro told him. "Oppression does not breed happiness."

"Sally said the odyl compound they used on me wasn't natural," Duo stated wanting to know more. "Do you know what it was?"

"It was a synthetic agent meant to alter certain individuals to use in programs designed for highly placed agents of he realm."

Duo felt as if something had crawled along his skin as he asked, "Like you?"

"Yes," Hiiro replied freely admitting, "You're people were subject due to their refusal to join with the Collective. The agent in question was only effective on those with the predisposition to survive it's radical manipulations, but there seemed to be no one who could tolerate it. It was Dr. J's intention to wait until the rest of the population died, then collect any survivors and enlist them as escorts to high ranking dignitaries and their knights."

"It didn't work," Duo recalled.

"No," Hiiro agreed. "Most of the population went mad resulting in an upheaval that slowly infected the entire colony with disease and plight. The few subjects who were successfully altered and managed to survive the mayhem weren't valuable enough to warrant any further effort, so the colony was sanitized."

"Sanitized," Duo snorted falling back on his bunk.

"It's only a term," Hiiro reminded him. "But no one was supposed to have survived."

"Surprise," Duo smiled sardonically, then choked, "They killed all those people trying to make a sex toy."

"You are not a toy," Hiiro told him firmly and something occurred to Duo.

His brow knit while he looked Hiiro up and down, then checked his eyes very carefully before he asked, "Why aren't you crawling all over me?"

Hiiro blushed and averted his eyes while he replied, "The need has been...curbed."

Duo's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he persisted, "Did you know I could...tolerate you?"

Hiiro's color went up a notch, but he managed to choke out, "There was a high probability."

Duo's mouth curled slowly as he leaned back and stretched his long body out loving the way Hiiro's eyes shifted to take it all in. "But you waited for me anyway."

"I am profoundly affected by anyone remotely attractive," Hiiro told him stealing his playfulness away until he confessed, "But you...stimulate my mind."

Duo's heart sped up when he dared to think of himself as special in Hiiro's eyes, but his modesty inspired him to repeat, "You're mind." Hiiro nodded and tried not to stare at his hips until he asked, "If I take off my shirt is it going to cost us another three days?"

"No," Hiiro breathed as his control broke and he fell on him kissing him madly.

It was hot, heavy and fast and though Duo was forced to the summit three times to Hiiro's one, it only lasted through the afternoon.

"Un...ssssson of a..." Duo groaned as Hiiro fell to the side and for about ten seconds was curled into a shivering ball of catatonic euphoria making Duo laugh drunkenly and ask, "You okay?"

Hiiro shook it off enough so that he could wrap his arms around him and replied, "Now I know why."

"What do you mean?" Duo wondered somewhat concerned over his melancholy mood.

"It's why they were so desperate to succeed," Hiiro told him reaching to touch his damp face tenderly while he confessed, "I am unique." Duo's brow creased curiously, so he explained. "A prototype of sorts." Duo obviously didn't like the term, but let him continue. "But they were having trouble with my programming," Hiiro told him ignoring his growing ire. "By the time I was in my thirteenth year it was evident that I required an outlet for my developing libido, so they attempted to provide a means of control through purification."

"Meaning they wanted to use your dependence on someone like me as a leash," Duo sighed.

"They were unsuccessful," Hiiro continued while he drew him close to comfort him, but he refused to settle and eventually had to face the truth.

"Until now."

"I would gladly die for you," Hiiro confirmed deepening the depression slowly enveloping his mate until he coaxed his eyes up and explained, "But that is by choice, not by design."

Duo wanted to believe so badly and saw the sincerity in Hiiro's eyes, so he banished his doubts and clung to the hope that his feelings were truly his own.

They discovered in the days that followed that they had been elevated to a couples status among the crew, which inadvertently helped protect Duo from unwanted attention. When in the employ of the Collective, lower level soldiers were managed by controlling their means of release. If they behaved and preformed well, they were rewarded with prisoners taken from the hunting grounds on Earth, but if they failed their access to these individuals was revoked and torture often took it's place. However, anyone foolish enough to defile an escort in the employ of a knight or dignitary was shown no mercy and publically executed by becoming fodder for experiments gone wrong. Duo's standing as Hiiro's chosen mate stimulated the only emotion inside them that could overpower their lust and their fear helped keep them in line. He still kept to the shadows in an attempt not to tease as his natural ambiance tended to disturb them, so he waited for the guards that were moving through the corridor to move on before dropping from the rafters and stepping inside the infirmary.

"Sally?" he called noting there were two soldiers sleeping on tables in an adjoining room.

"Hello, Duo," she greeted coming out of a swinging door where he knew she preformed surgery.

"Is everything alright?" he asked eyeing the sleeping men again. There were always casualties, but they hadn't been in a firefight for awhile, so it didn't make sense to have injured men lying around.

"Fine," she replied distractedly while she typed something on her terminal, then asked, "Where's Hiiro?"

"Here," Hiiro replied as he came in the door.

"You're late," she told him, but didn't wait for a response before she began her examination. "Take off your shirt."

Hiiro complied knowing full well what would be expected as Sally insisted they both have regular exams to keep tabs on any changes that might occur due to their new activities and Duo's jaw clenched upon seeing the expanse of his taunt chest. Hiiro noticed the action as he sat on the exam table and smirked over Sally's shoulder while he flexed his firm pectorals, then frowned and averted his eyes when Sally glared at him and Duo laughed.

"How do you feel?" Sally asked while she checked Hiiro's blood pressure and looked in his eyes.

It had been several hours since he had felt the divine heat of Duo's passion, so he answered honestly, "Somewhat anxious, but it is...tolerable."

"Squeeze," she told him as she placed a palm sized steel cylinder in his hand and he complied, but was distracted by the way Duo kept looking at the men in the other room. "Harder," Sally instructed so he increased the pressure while she made notes on a tablet, then she suddenly smacked him in the stomach and he reflexively crushed the cylinder to about half volume. The action had called Duo's attention back to them and Sally informed Hiiro, "You're stress level is much improved."

"What's with the grunts?" Duo asked stepping closer to the glass that separated them.

They were wearing medical gowns, but appeared to be resting peacefully when she replied, "They're volunteers."

"For what?" Duo asked while Hiiro made way for him to take his place on the table.

"A procedure that may help them cope," Sally explained going about her exam.

Duo looked to Hiiro curiously hopeful, but they fell silent other than Sally's occasional instruction until another of the foot soldiers came in.

"Oh, sorry," he offered ducking his head when he saw Hiiro and Duo was momentarily stunned when he didn't even look his way.

"What is it, corporal?" Sally asked while she packed her gear away.

"I finished the med's," he informed her while Duo looked to Hiiro as if he could explain why he wasn't salivating in his presence, but he was just as clueless.

Sally stepped over to have a look at his eyes and feel his neck while she asked, "Are you in pain?"

"A little," he nodded glancing at Duo, but the usual fire that burned in the back of their eyes was pretty much gone.

"What's going on?" Duo wanted to know growing more anxious by the moment while Sally took a bottle of pain medication out of a cabinet and gave it to her patient, but she seemed reluctant to explain.

"It was our idea," the soldier told them seeming excited and fearful at the same time when he clarified, "Cuz of what happened to you."

"Sally?" Hiiro prompted and she sighed.

"After the incident involving Duo," she began, "It became evident that Hiiro's...creative solution to your plight was perhaps an answer to their suffering."

"You mean you cut off their dicks!?" Duo exclaimed coming completely off the table.

"It is called castration," Sally ground out clearly unimpressed by his crudity, though she had to admit, "But yes."

"It helps," the soldier interjected enthusiastically and Duo calmed when he saw the light of relief in his eyes. "Eddie was right."

"One of your assailants," Sally clarified when they questioned her with a glance.

"He said it was easier after Hiiro..." but he stalled as if afraid to offend the stoic knight.

"So you willingly had your gentiles removed?" Duo asked in stunned amazement.

"We ain't strong like him," the soldier admitted indicating Hiiro. "So it gets hard."

"They have no means of release," Sally interjected seeing the fear in Duo's eyes that Hiiro might consider such a solution.

"Couldn't we just find them a date?" Duo grumbled, but the comment set the solder back a step as his eyes opened wide. "No!" he exclaimed nervously. "No more."

"It's one of the reasons they defect," Sally explained.

"I hurt...so many people," the solder confessed unable to lift his gaze from the floor, then set his resolve and declared, "This is best." Duo was taken aback by the contented smile that adorned his lips when he looked up and informed them, "We're free men now."

Duo stood for a moments consideration before he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his neck and the soldier's eyes grew large and fearful as they shifted to Hiiro, but there was a small smile upon his lips, so he took a deep breath and relished the fact that he was able to hug him back.

**

What happened? Who where these people and why was he being dragged along a hard floor with a bag over his head? He recognized the scent in the air as that of a spaceship, but the last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his cabin. He couldn't think straight, which meant he'd been drugged and tried to clear the fog from his mind. There were voices and the sounds of doors that opened and shut, then the echo of a large chamber where the voice of a woman joined in the cacophony in his head.

"This is the specimen?" she asked curtly as he was tossed onto the floor and jerked up on his knees before she ordered, "Remove the hood."

The light was blinding for a moment making him cringe and blink, but then his eyes adjusted to reveal the worse possible situation when he gazed into the cold, calculating eyes of Lady Une. She was second only to General Treize Khushrenada who commanded the Collective forces and had a reputation as one of the most ruthless and depraved of all of their agents.

"He certainly looks the part," Une observed as she circled him and Duo fought hard when one of the men holding him reached down and gripped his ass, but he quickly relented when she showed her disapproval. "You are Duo Maxwell," she informed him. "The soul survivor of the L2 sanitation," she went on revealing her intel was accurate, but she lacked certain information and asked, "How did you survive?"

He glared at her a moment, then opened his mouth and spit on the floor, which got him nailed in the back, but it was the way his assailants hand spread out to sooth the blow that disturbed him most.

"We found his alias on a shuttle roster that was destroyed on it's way to Luna Palace," a young man said as he entered the room and Duo's fear was compounded when he saw that it was the knight he had met during Hiiro's rescue. "They must've picked him up on Earth."

"A stowaway," Une grinned, praising, "How clever." Duo could feel the pulsating heat in the knights dark eyes as he took up a spot next to Une, but he seemed to have it under control and simply stood at attention while she asked, "And the Guardian?"

"His scent is heavy upon him," the knight thrummed having to close his eyes against the permeating aroma and Duo had to swallow the tightness in his throat.

"Yet," Une observed coming close enough to look deep into his eyes, "he lives."

"His origin is L2," a man said from a shadow and Duo's belief that he might survive his ordeal crumbled when he stepped forward and regarded him with mechanical eyes. "It is possible the liaison initiative was successful."

"A...high probability," the knight choked causing Une to consider him thoughtfully.

"Test him," she ordered abruptly as she turned to leave, but stopped when Duo began to laugh.

"It doesn't matter," he told them dredging up the most perfect mask of deception he could muster when he claimed, "I'm just another hole to him, so you might as well kill me now."

She laughed while she turned to him and he saw the darkness of her soul when she smiled evilly and asked, "Who said we were interested in him?"

His soul sank into a pit of misery while he was dragged away and shackled naked to a table that was shaped like a big x. It allowed them to move his arms and legs independently as well as rotate him into any position they liked, which at the moment was upright and slightly tilted back with his arms and legs spread out. Dr. J preformed the tests himself coming to draw his blood and take tissue samples from his arms, legs, gentiles and rectum with such utter detachment it made Duo feel ill, but there was nothing he could do to stop him. He thought of Hiiro and hoped he could forgive him for his weakness, then groaned when he was wrapped in a cloak and once again tossed on the floor at Une's feet.

She sat upon a throne in a dimly lit chamber where handmaidens and servants tended to her needs as if she were a queen in some ancient novel. It was a blatant display of how far the preternatural elites had fallen and confirmed their belief that they were the rightful rulers of humanity.

"Report," she ordered waving her handmaiden away.

"He is neonymphiatic," J confirmed.

"Well, well," Une smiled as she rose from her throne while Duo got to his feet. "So it didn't fail after all."

"His natural physiology is probably the cause," J explained as if he were speaking of an animal. "There is a unique sequence to his DNA that coincides with the changes necessary to complete the alterations."

"Meaning," Une purred as she stepped up and pulled the tie on Duo's cloak, "His natural beauty was the catalyst for his success," she smiled taking in the resplendency of his naked body. There was a small sound of distress from the knight who stood some distance from her throne that made her smile while she asked, "How long will it take to duplicate the process?"

"You're crazy, lady," Duo chuckled, though his skin was flushed with shame as he reminded her, "Out of all the thousands of people you tortured and killed I was the only survivor."

"Well, then," she grinned evilly and something in her manor brought the knight forward while she replied, "We'll be needing more of you then."

"NO!" Duo growled trying desperately to fight, but the knight had taken hold of him and he knew from personal experience there was no hope of getting free.

It didn't matter though, because all was lost. Even if he managed to kill himself it wouldn't stop them from using his body to create the clones necessary to complete their vile objectives, but he knew he wouldn't be granted death. He was taken to a room where he was strapped into another housing that much resembled the first except that it's purpose was heinously more depraved. He could feel the heat of his captors desire as he worked to restrain him, his strong hands griping tightly as the anxiety he had once felt in Hiiro's presence drove him onward.

"Am I to be yours then?" Duo asked dejectedly while he secured his ankles and wrists.

"For the moment," he grinned, but there was a tremble in his voice that fed the terror in Duo's crawl. "At least until the Guardian arrives."

"He won't come for me," Duo maintained, but his response was...

"Of course he will." Duo watched while he opened a drawer in a bench along the wall and took a deep breath when he saw the nefarious objects inside as his captor told him, "Which is why we must prepare for his arrival."

"He'll kill you," Duo warned, but it didn't stop him from pulling a black ring out of the drawer and approaching.

Duo could smell his musk and hated himself for not being able to stop his bodies reaction, but it was no different than when Hiiro was close because they shared the same type of appeal. The heat mixed with his loathing causing his chest to swell and his teeth to clench as the knight reached toward his hardening shaft.

"You're quite sensitive," he chuckled noting how it bobbed and hardened with the touch of his hand, but Duo refused to reply.

He could feel his fervor grow as he placed the ring on the base of Duo's shaft and shivered when he started to stroke which pleased him mightily, so he leaned in and pressed his strong body along his side while he nibbled along his jaw. He was beautiful in every respect, though Duo longed to feel the honestly that Hiiro's purity inspired. However, he was at the mercy of his captor who took great pleasure in teasing him until he was dripping with sweat and in such a rut it was all he could do to keep from begging for release.

He had exploited every pleasure center on his body using the tools at his command as well as his own hands and mouth until Duo was left a thrumming mass of burning energy. His hair was heavy with sweat and his skin prickled and crawled with every brush of his fingers, his eyes stung and he shook his head trying to clear the impassioned fog away, but still he persisted. Every stroke brought him to the edge, but the binding ring denied him relief and he cursed his treacherous body for it's eager desire for more because for all the teasing and lustful intent his captor had not once taken him.

"Will you just get it over with!" Duo growled growing tired of the torment.

"Anxious?" the knight chuckled pulling his eyes from where he was watching as he stroked Duo's dripping cock with a rubber sleeve.

The comment broke through the haze that surrounded Duo's brain and he wondered, "Aren't you...frustrated?"

He expected the laugh, so it didn't bother him, then the knight explained, "Immensely," but he made no move to satisfy his need.

Something was messed up. "Do you have you're own escort?"

"Hardly," he replied while he rolled his dark eyes and Duo's spirit sagged with the idea that he satisfied himself with the blood of prisoners.

"You could keep me," he told him feeling his heart break a little more with each word.

"Have you decided you like me?" he laughed getting up to move around behind him, which the thin slats of the housing allowed.

"At least I could spare someone's life," Duo reasoned as he clenched his teeth against the rising heat when the knight laid his lean body along his back.

"You think me a murder?" he asked getting a little lost in the shiver that ran through Duo's limbs.

"You must find release somewhere," he breathed as his lungs labored harder when he felt his hands grips his thighs.

"If only we were all created equal," his captor commented in a voice laced with heated desire and Duo gulped while his body arched hard when he pushed his naked shaft against his ass.

"Wufei!"

"Hai," the knight replied standing down instantly to kneel before the tall man that stood in the doorway.

Duo knew who he was and wished with all his might he wasn't strung up dripping with sweat and leaking fluids from his ass and cock while their visitor demanded, "Did you violate him?"

"No, your Excellency," Wufei replied and the General relaxed.

Duo had never seen Treize Khushrenada up close and noted that he was an imposing man in every respect. He was tall and regal just as any storybook ruler should be, but his eyes were empty of anything but smug self appreciation.

"You've done well," he praised Wufei and Duo's brow knit when he ran his hand down the side of his head and tilted his eyes up to meet his own.

"Thank you, sir," Wufei replied leaning slightly into his palm.

'If only we were all created equal' echoed in Duo's mind and he realized that Wufei wasn't like Hiiro at all. Hiiro was unique because they couldn't control him, which indicated that Wufei was specifically designed to receive.

He was also very clearly Treize's personal escort because he drew him up and kissed him softly sending a visible tremor through his strong body as he promised, "You will be rewarded."

Duo felt a vile hatred rise inside him at the thought that Wufei's reward was to be violated by the depraved man and angrily spit in his general direction, but all Treize did was shift his gaze to consider him and let his hand run down Wufei's body until he cupped his ass and squeezed.

"You're all a bunch of fucking animals," Duo informed him noting the odd jitter in Wufei's gaze.

"Yes," Treize agreed coming over to inspect him closer. "But we still seem to be missing one of our hounds."

"He won't come," Duo insisted, but his reply was...

"We shall see." Wufei was once again kneeling on the floor with his head bowed when he turned and strode by him as he ordered, "Keep him warm."

Wufei grinned and returned to his tantalizing manipulations and Duo sighed very deeply. He was strung tight and fighting for breath the next time he heard a sound, but Wufei didn't bother to stop fingering his ass and sucking his cock when Hiiro was tossed into the room.

He wore magnetic manacles that were attached to massive chains and a hood over his head that hid Duo's presence until he had been locked securely to the far wall where there was a cot and the moment the hood came off he roared and hit the limit of the chains with resounding fury.

"Settle down," Lady Une told him as she and a young girl Duo recognized as the Princess Relena entered the room, but Hiiro's deadly gaze was locked on the way Wufei's mouth was stroking Duo's twitching shaft.

"He's magnificent," Relena grinned all but ignoring Duo and Wufei as she walked toward Hiiro, but she stopped when he jerked on the chains in an effort to reach her. Her eyes shifted to Duo, then lit with an insane light as she praised, "Pretty little thing." Hiiro was straining as he tried to get to her with blood on his mind, but she seemed unconcerned. "Don't worry," she told Hiiro in a placating tone that made Une's lips curl, "We'll let you keep him," she promised and Hiiro stepped back as she dropped her cloak and advanced.

Duo felt his mind spin while he watched his stoic lover retreat and suddenly recognized the shadow in his eyes causing a darkness to rise up inside him he had never known before.

"This is the way of things," Wufei told him rising up to nuzzle his cheek while he watched Relena bear down on the Guardian.

"No," Duo breathed as Hiiro stumbled back and hit the cot.

"He can't resist," Wufie said and Duo heard the regret in his tone. "He was intended for her."

Duo recalled a time when Hiiro claimed to have escaped before he was bound to the lunatic girl, but from the way he was shrinking back while she took off her dress it appeared they had some amount of success. He felt it physically when Hiiro's eyes fell upon him and knew the sight of him so deliciously prepared would drive him crazy with desire, then Relena laid her hand upon his chest and pushed him down as she moved in to claim his lips and Duo...went mad.

He saw the abject fear wash over Une's face when he embraced the darkness that rose inside him and the links of the chains on his left arm cracked allowing him to sling the jagged debris in her direction and sent her flying into a wall. Wufei had jumped back and crouched with shock evident on his face while Duo flexed and ripped the remainder of his bindings loose leaving trails of blood on the floor as he advanced on the suddenly terrified princess. Hiiro had curled up in an effort to protect his eyes as Duo advanced and Relena screamed when the shadows of is rage engulfed her. A moment later the shackles imprisoning his mate shattered under the force of his righteous will and fell to the floor and Hiiro gaped in utter astonishment until he lurched forward and caught him before he could fall to the floor.

"DUO!?!" Hiiro roared in ultimate despair, but then his violet eyes opened and he smiled. "Duo!" Hiiro gasped holding him tight enough to bruise, but then he dropped him on the cot and suddenly leapt halfway across the room where he landed on Wufei as he tried to escape and would have ripped his throat out if Duo hadn't shouted...

"NO!" Hiiro glared at him for having denied him revenge, but he rasped a gravely, "He was bound," and Hiiro growled, but dropped him to return to Duo's side. "Come with us," Duo entreated leaning heavily on Hiiro's support and though he looked none too happy about it he held his tongue. "You don't have to live like this," Duo told Wufei, then insisted, "They don't own you." Wufei's eyes shifted from Duo to Hiiro for a moment, then he stood, nodded and headed for the door.

They made quick time with Wufei in the lead since he was intimately familiar with the ship and managed to make it to the hanger where Wufei indicated a ship they should take and headed for his mobile suit, but the moment they were under way Hiiro growled, "Did he rape you?"

"No," Duo replied, but he seemed to be having trouble calming himself.

"What's wrong?" Hiiro asked as he hit the boosters the moment they were clear and confirmed that Wufei was clearing the sky of any ships that thought to follow.

"I dunno," Duo shivered curling in on himself. "It's so cold."

"Duo?"

"Just get us home," Duo told him as he drew himself into a ball and fought the coming darkness.

"Hiiro!" Sally's happy voice came over the comm. having gotten their identification codes when they arrived, then shouted, "Scramble the fighters! There's a Gundam in pursuit!"

"Stand down!" Hiiro barked. "He's friendly!"

"Friendly?" she gawked, but called off the strike.

"Get a med team to the hanger," Hiiro told her glancing at where Duo lay curled up and shivering in his chair. "Something's wrong with Duo."

"Is he injured?" she asked clearly relieved that he was accounted for, but her elation ebbed when Hiiro replied...

"I don't know."

She was ready when they landed, but with no injury to treat all they could do was transport him to sick bay. Wufei was allowed to dock, but required to surrender himself to a task force everyone knew was inadequate to hold him while Sally tried to figure out what was going on.

"...never seen anything like it," She was telling Hiiro when Duo's mind started to clear.

"Nnnng," he groaned rolling over and Hiiro was instantly at his side.

"How do you feel?" Sally asked coming to join them.

"Cold," Duo replied accepting the blanket Hiiro pulled around his shoulders as he sat up. "Where's Wufei?"

"In quarantine," Sally replied, but shied when Duo glared at her.

"He came of his own free will," he told her. "We can't treat him like a prisoner."

"Duo," she gaped. "He kidnapped and violated you..."

"Not because he wanted to," Duo told her leaning into Hiiro's warmth. "They were using him, Sally," he told her while he hid under the protection of Hiiro's arm. "Treize used him for his personal..."

"Lieutenant Carter," Sally snapped into her comm. "Release the prisoner and invite him to join us in the infirmary."

"Sir?"

"Immediately," Sally ordered and Duo smiled.

"Do you remember what happened?" Sally asked coming to have a look at him.

"Not much," Duo confessed sitting up so she could check him over, but Hiiro refused to move away far enough to release his hand. "When I saw Relena trying to rape Hiiro," Sally's head snapped around to gawk at the Guardian, but he was intent on watching Duo. "It just got so cold," Duo explained shivering at the memory. "I wanted them all to go away and leave us alone and then..."

"How did you do this?" Sally asked softly indicating his injured wrists while Duo's eyes clouded over.

"There was...something..." he replied, then shivered so hard Hiiro stepped up and shook him and he was staring with astonishment into his blazing cobalt eyes when Wufei was escorted into the room.

"You're dismissed," Sally told the guard and though he looked uncertain of the order he was also obviously relieved as he left.

"Have you recovered?" Wufei asked Duo managing to ignore Hiiro's death glare for what it was worth.

"I'm getting there," Duo replied, then asked, "Are you alright?"

He paused to consider him for so long Duo cocked his head curiously, then confessed, "You're concern is...confusing...but not unwelcome."

"I need to give you an examination," Sally told him, then stepped back when he seemed to grow six inches taller as his brow fell crossly.

"She just wants to make sure you're okay," Duo assured him and he calmed, but he didn't relax until Hiiro added...

"Your life of servitude is over."

"It's alright," Duo smiled as he scooted over so he could sit beside him on the table.

He was seated and Sally was well into her initial exam when he looked at Hiiro out of the corner of his eye and stated, "You have a very peculiar mate."

"Unique in every sense of the word," Hiiro smiled as he lifted Duo's hand and kissed it warmly.

"I apologize," Wufei ground out, "for my transgression."

Duo had to lay a hand in the middle of Hiiro's chest to stave off he furious light that erupted in his eyes at the memory and recalled, "You never hurt me."

"Pain was not the purpose of the trial," Wufei explained.

"Yes," Duo choked, "I recall."

"Were you abused?" Sally asked gaining their attention and for a moment Wufei looked like he might decline to answer, but then confessed...

"Frequently."

"Damn it," Duo cursed as he hid his face in Hiiro's strong chest, the growled, "Fucking animals."

"Perhaps you do not understand the nature of my modification," Wufei offered in an attempt to sooth him.

"He used you as a cum rag," Duo growled hatefully and even Sally balked.

Wufei cocked his head curiously as if trying to figure him out, then explained, "It was not always...detestable."

"Do you love him?" Sally asked softly with eyes of infinite compassion, but Wufei was forced to reply...

"No...But Treize is a charismatic man. His touch was not entirely unwelcome."

"What a fucked up life," Duo snorted and Wufei grew cross until he added, "I'd almost feel sorry for the bastard if he wasn't such an evil little prick," and calmed when he realized he meant Treize.

"You're blood pressure is up," Sally informed Wufei. "And you have abnormal mounts of hormones in your blood. Here," she told him handing him a palm sized steel cylinder. "Squeeze." He did so and continued until the metal began to sing, then Sally suddenly popped him in the stomach and he crushed it so hard it fell in two. "You're a little tense," she surmised.

"If you have a proper place for me to train I could work off some of the tension," he told them.

"You can use Hiiro's facility," she told him.

"Come on," Duo said, then promptly collapsed the moment he stood and Hiiro and Wufei both made a grab for him at once. "Man, guess I'm still a little..." but his words trailed off when he saw the grin on Hiiro's lips.

A quick assessment revealed that he had inadvertently gripped Wufei's arm when they reached for Duo and Wufei was having some difficulty tolerating his touch.

"Let go," he wavered, but became more flustered when Hiiro refused and stepped toward him.

"Hiiro?" Duo inquired, but was ignored while his mate advanced on their new friend and came to hover over him.

"He's rhapsodic," Hiiro chuckled while his mouth set in a predatory grin.

"Go away," Wufei commanded, though it was weak at best while he tried to retrieve his hand, but Hiiro wouldn't leg go so they were just waving around in the air.

"You could help him," Duo deadpanned and Hiiro abandoned him completely.

"No," he told him coming to take him by the arms. "It was only an observation," he insisted trying to capture Duo's gaze, but it was moving around too much.

"Yeah, but," Duo reasoned, then let their gazes locked while he insisted, "You could help him."

"Wufei?" Sally prompted.

"He is somewhat...unavoidable," Wufei confessed while he shook his head to clear it.

"No," Hiiro repeated.

"Hiiro."

"If it's command that he requires there are any number of men on this ship who would happily comply," Hiiro insisted. "You can't throw him to those dogs!" Duo argued.

"Perhaps the training facility would suffice," Wufie interjected.

"I will not betray you!" Hiiro snapped.

"It was my idea!" Duo countered.

"Do you even want him?" Sally interjected in an attempt to give Wufei a vote, but here merely cocked his head.

"This is redundant," Hiiro stated sulling up and crossing his arms and Duo huffed, then grinned and sang...

"He gives great heeeaaad."

"Duo," Hiiro warned having to clench his eyes against the images that bombarded his mind.

"Come on," Duo purred stepping to his side so he could breathe against his temple, "I know you want him," and a shiver ran down Hiiro's arm, but he ground out...

"Not the way I want you."

"I know," Duo smiled laying his chin on his shoulder while he looked at Wufei who was quietly regarding them as he reasoned, "But he needs our help...and loyalty must be earned."

Hiiro sighed heavily, then took him in his arms and kissed him in a way that made Wufei shiver and turn his back while Duo moaned soft and deep, then Hiiro growled as he broke the kiss, snagged Wufei's arm and dragged him from the infirmary. Duo was left standing in the middle of the room flushed and sucking for air while his wild eyes gazed upon the absence they had left.

"Duo?" Sally softly inquired drawing him out of the solitude in his head and he slowly thawed. "Are you alright?"

He didn't seem to have the words, so he offered her a nod she didn't believe in before leaving her to her work. He was sitting in the rec room six hours later nursing a fizz pop when Wufei finally appeared. He looked refreshed and fairly vibrated with light and the patrons gave him a wide birth as he approached, but Duo's melancholy slowed his step before he could begin.

"May I sit?" he asked cautiously and did so when Duo shrugged, but seemed to have gotten lost in the blue bubbles swirling around in his glass. "Your mate is a generous man," Wufie tried, but it only made Duo snort and hit his drink. "That was a very noble thing to do," he tried again and Duo sighed, but nodded his understanding, so he told him, "I'm sorry it upset you so much."

"Tit for tat," Duo told him kicking back to close his eyes with his hands behind his head.

"Your capacity for compassion is unparalleled," Wufei stated seeming confused by the admission.

"It just made sense," Duo argued hitting his drink again.

"It was logical," Wufei agreed. "But as it was my violation of you that caused my distress, your solution displayed unprecedented valor. I am in your dept."

"Hiiro's the one you should thank," Duo snorted.

"He knows I am grateful," Wufei told him. "But his sacrifice was for you and so it is you I am honor bond to repay."

Duo sat up suddenly when he heard the word sacrifice and asked, "Is he alright?"

"Perhaps that is something you should see to yourself."

He was out of his seat and moving through the corridors before Wufei could smile. How could he be so stupid! Sitting around moping over his own wounded heart while Hiiro was suffering the despicable guilt of having lavished his affection on another. It was his damn idea, but in the end he couldn't help feeling the pain of separation when Hiiro gave in, but none of that mattered anymore. He knew Hiiro would die for him, but he hadn't recognized his willingness to live by Duo's command.

"Hiiro!" he called as he banged on his door, but it opened a moment later and he was snatched into his arms. "I'm sorry," he choked while he held on tight. "I didn't understannnnnnnn..." he groaned when Hiiro kissed him long and deep, then all coherent thought disappeared for awhile.

He knew the day cycle had come and gone, but was unaware of what time it was when the fog finally lifted.

"Sorry," Hiiro rasped as his throat was still dry and tight.

"That's my line," Duo chuckled curling up by his side where he looked deep into his eyes and told him, "I love you."

"I don't mean to be insatiable, it's just..." but Duo placed his finger upon his lips to quite his discontent.

"I needed this just as much as you," he told him and Hiiro nodded.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he had to ask and Duo sighed.

"I guess I just didn't realize how much it would bother me."

"I love you too," Hiiro smiled proving he understood exactly what he meant.

"But you did it anyway," Duo smiled adoringly.

"He is an incredible partner," Hiiro admitted causing Duo to pout, so he told him, "But physical pleasure cannot compare. You light up my soul, Duo," he confessed as he leaned in and captured his trembling lips. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

And he had proven it, so he heard the truth of it with his heart and smiled, but was compelled to remind him, "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"It was not...detestable," Hiiro grinned using Wufei's words and Duo smacked him playfully.

"I suppose it isn't any worse than anyone else you've ever been with," he sighed contentedly as he curled up to his chest, but froze when Hiiro confessed...

"There are no others."

"Whaduya mean no others?" Duo popped up scandalized.

"I mean you were the only one," Hiiro told him, then amended, "Until today."

Duo shook his head and closed his eyes before he asked, "How can that be? You're a Guardian...surely they..."

"I was very young when I escaped," Hiiro reminded him.

"But you said they tried to make you a mate."

"Tried," Hiiro emphasized. "The subjects never survived."

"And after?"

"You are the only one who has shaken my resolve," Hiiro smiled while he pulled him down so he could kiss his temple, but he wilted anyway and concluded...

"And I made you..."

"As long as your heart is whole," Hiiro told him coaxing their eyes to meet, "Then I am content."

Duo blinked at him for a minute, then sighed and laid by his side while he reasoned, "I guess after what happened while I was captured we're sort of on even ground."

"Except that he only frustrated you," Hiiro argued and Duo suddenly burst...

"For fucking hours!"

"Was it painful?"

"He wasn't exactly hitting me with a cattle prod," Duo snorted, then felt odd and turned to see Hiiro's amused smile, whereupon he smacked him and demanded, "Shut up."

**

Wufei proved to be a valuable and necessary asset in the weeks that followed because with recent events the Starling cause had royally pissed the Collective off. They claimed Relena's demise was a planned assassination in an attempt to overthrow their authority and officially declared war on any faction that had anything to do with them. Their forces had mobilized with the specific directive to locate and annihilate any and all Starling activity forcing them to move their bases regularly so they were constantly on the move, and Treize himself had initiated several strategies in an attempt to reclaim his wayward knight. However, they managed to stay just one step ahead of them until one day when Hiiro and Duo were sitting in the rec room talking to Wufei and saw Trowa stroll by the door dressed to kill with murder on his mind.

"Hey! Wait up!" Duo called when they went after him, but he was headed for the hanger and didn't slow down. "Trowa!"

"Stay were you are," a soldier's static tone sounded from within his helmet the moment they entered the bay and Duo gaped when a squad surrounded him and level their weapons at his head.

He stopped, but was obviously calculating his chances of making it to his suit when Duo skidded to a halt between him and the men.

"What's going on, Trowa!" Duo demanded.

"I need my suit," Trowa told him looking for a way to make it happen.

"I'm sorry Agent Barton," the squad leader said, "But you are not cleared to leave. Captain Po's orders."

"Trowa!" Sally shouted as she raced into the hanger. "Stop!"

"I have to go," Trowa told her evenly.

"Go where?" Duo demanded.

"This isn't going to help," Sally told him calmly as she slowly closed the distance between them.

"What's going on?" Hiiro interjected.

"Just calm down," Sally told Trowa as he indicated to the men to lower their weapons. "We'll get him out."

"Who?" Hiiro, Duo and Wufei wanted to know.

Trowa backed off, but refused to change out of his flight suit while they went to the debriefing room to discuss the matter. It seemed there was a cooperative that had been working with them for some time that had come under fire when their involvement with the Starlings was uncovered. The organization was a major contributor the their cause providing much of the capitol they required as well as the resource satellites that helped keep them supplied. The family who ran the multimillion dollar company had come under scrutiny before because they refused to participate in many of the barbaric customs of their peers. However, they held high positions in the hierarchy of the system and were not so easy to manipulate. Quatre, the only son and heir to the Winner fortune, was a preternatural of rare ability making him not only equal in the eyes of the Collective elite, but also a very real threat, so when evidence of his affairs with the Starlings surfaced he was charged with treason and imprisoned with no hope of release.

"Okay, I get it," Duo said when all this had been outlined. "But why are you going off half cocked over all this?" he asked Trowa. "You know we can get him out, but we'll need a plan."

"He won't last long enough for a plan," Trowa ground out clearly beside himself and anxious to be on his way.

"Why not?" Duo asked and Sally sighed, then leaned over the table and pulled up a news feed of the Winner heir and Duo's mouth dropped slowly open before he concluded, "Shit, we've gotta get him out of there." The image stopped on the sublime face of a young blond who bore the weight of a troubled frown, but there was a light in his eyes that captured Trowa's gaze in a way that made Duo suspiciously surmise, "You love him."

Trowa didn't bother to deny or confirm it, so Sally explained, "Trowa was assigned as his escort for awhile."

"His escort?" Wufei balked. "His family has always openly opposed..."

"He was placed by us," Sally sighed heavily, then elaborated, "He was supposed to provide support for our accord, but when they became romantically involved people started to ask questions, so we had to pull him out."

"How long has it been since you've seen each other?" Duo wondered.

"Over a year," Trowa replied sadly.

"Alright," Duo said as he stood and took up the pump action grenade launcher Trowa had laid on the table when they began and used the weight of the gun to cock it before he grinned, "What say we get him back?"

Trowa was in motion before the others had time to stand and Sally opened her mouth to protest, but Hiiro's hand hit her in the chest and when she saw the fire in his eyes she relented. Two hours later a maximum security prison on the outskirts of an asteroid cluster near the moon was hit by the furious power of four rampaging Gundam's and Quatre was on a shuttle headed for their base while they made sure the facility would never be used to imprison the innocent again.

The rescued prisoners were detained until it could be worked out who was actually a criminal and who had simply been incarcerated to further the ambitions of the Collective, but Quatre was waiting for them when they disembarked and fairly flew into Trowa's open arms.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Quatre sobbed, but they were tears of joy as he kissed his tall lover over and over again.

"Bring him to the infirmary," Sally ordered, but Trowa was unable to release him so he picked him up an carried him laughing all the way.

"I guess this will complicate things," Duo sighed as he leaned into Hiiro's side and watched Trowa fawn over Quatre while Sally checked him out.

"It'll be alright," Quatre smiled and his giddy elation infected Trowa's eyes.

"Won't they freeze your assets?" Duo wondered.

"They can't," Quatre told him moving his arm agreeably while Sally checked his reflexes.

"Why?"

"Because I own most of the banks," Quatre smiled and Duo was inspired to stare.

"All of them?!" he asked incredulously. "Just about," Quatre nodded, then asked defensively when Duo couldn't stop staring, "What?"

"I've never met a preternatural like you." Indeed, all the usual depravity was absent from him.

"The Winner line is pure," Trowa explained lifting Quatre's hand to kiss it warmly.

"Father believed in using science to help people achieve their goals," Quatre elaborated. "But the practice of altering humanities genes for personal gain is a vile and contemptible corruption of it's purpose. Trieze and his lot are a perfect example of the degradation that is caused by such unscrupulous practices and..." but the rant ended when Trowa gently nuzzled his neck. "Sorry," he chuckled curling into the affection. "I guess I get carried away sometimes."

"It was perfect," Duo breathed seeming somewhat in awe of the short speech and Quatre smiled, then crinkled his nose when he noticed how Hiiro's hand was resting on Duo's hip.

"It's a long story," Trowa told him when he questioned him with a look.

"Well, you're in fine shape," Sally told him having finished with her exam. "As long as you have no complaints you need me to address your cleared for..." but her words stopped when Trowa suddenly picked him up and carried him away.

"He's an odd one," Wufei commented as he watched them go.

"Trowa or Quatre?" Duo chuckled as he and Hiiro prepared to leave.

"Both," Wufei snorted, then amended, "But I was referring to Quatre. Something feels...off...about him."

"He's an empath," Sally grinned, and they all made note of the dimming of the elation that had been bubbling inside them a moment before as she added, "A very powerful empath."

"Hn," Wufei grunted and moved back so Duo and Hiiro could get by, but Duo noticed the shiver that ran through him when Hiiro passed by.

**

"What's wrong?" Hiiro asked sometime in the late sleep cycle after their passion had ebbed. Duo had been uncommonly intense during their love making and seemed in a melancholy mood afterward, so he was becoming concerned.

He didn't seem to want to answer at first, but finally sighed very deeply and rolled away as he confessed, "I think Wufei is hurting again." There was a small tension in Hiiro that made Duo pout, but when his hand came upon his shoulder he let him turn him so he could see his eyes.

"We can find another way," Hiiro told him trying to ease his mind by offering a gentle kiss, but Duo remained somber.

"Got any idea's?" he wondered, but none were forthcoming and he was forced to admit, "I think he might be hurting pretty bad."

"It has been some time," Hiiro had to agree. "But there must be some other way."

"How long is he going to suffer before we find one?"

Hiiro was quiet so long Duo was about to ask him why, then he conceded, "Alright," and Duo drooped until he added, "But I want you with me."

"What?!" Duo gasped spinning in his arms to gape at him.

"You enjoyed his touch," Hiiro reasoned and Duo had to look away for a moment to collect the meaning of the words.

"You want me to help you?" he asked incredulously.

"No," Hiiro chuckled tucking an arm behind his head. "I don't need any help." Well, that was true. "But if you're with me there won't be any reason to feel insecure."

"I thought you didn't like it when he touched me," Duo pouted.

"If I had my way I would take you into myself and hide you selfishly away," Hiiro promised pulling him in for a kiss. "But your heart cannot be contained." Duo's gaze wandered while he thought it through. "I told you I would do anything for you," Hiiro reminded him. "But I need you with me," he told him as he gently touched his face. "I cannot go through this alone."

"You'll never be alone," Duo swore as he rose up and covered his mouth in a searing kiss.

**

"Where is Trowa?" Sally asked impatiently.

"Detained," Duo chuckled as he threw Hiiro a clip for his rifle.

"Hera's eyes," she exclaimed adjusting the attack sequence to accommodate for their missing pilot while she grumbled, "I'm running a god damn brothel. Higgins!"

"Yes, sir!?"

"Fire up two and four, they're going to need backup!" and the soldier scurried off to obey.

**

"Has Sandrock arrived yet?" Sally asked Quatre while they sat around a table in the rec room after hours.

"Yes," he replied snuggling up under Trowa's arms. "He should be ready tomorrow."

"Good," she nodded taking a drink of her blue fizz. "We'll need you to help with disbursing the embargo at resource satellite A-329."

"The sooner the better," Duo agreed as they were desperately short on supplies, but his mind wasn't really on the conversation because Hiiro was sitting sort of above and behind him on a cushioned ledge that made it possible for him to dangle his hand near Wufei's neck causing his eyes to drift slowly closed.

They had discussed it and no better solution had presented itself, but they were sure if they simply presented the option Wufei would pretend he was fine and refuse their help, so Hiiro had been moving closer in an attempt to simply seduce him into compliance. However, when Wufei's eyes had all but closed and he dared actually brush his fingers along the tender skin of his neck he came up out of his seat as if someone had shot him in the ass.

"Wufei?!" Sally gasped, but he turned so red it looked like steam might come out of his ears and bolted from the room.

"Wufei?" Duo called tentatively having located him in the men's head.

"I'm not feeling well," he told him pretending to be ill and Duo sighed.

"It's okay," he told him easing closer.

"I'll see Sally in the morning," Wufei promised trying to move around him, but he stumbled back when he suddenly latched onto his neck and kissed him soundly. "What're you..." but Duo kissed him again until his eyes rolled up in his head and his body shook with need.

"Hiiro?" Duo gasped feeling the heat of his mate along his back.

"S...sorry," Wufei choked trying to wrestle free of Duo's arms unsuccessfully. "He just..." but the crackling fire that burned in Hiiro's sapphire eyes incinerated his thoughts leaving him helpless against them.

"Relax," Duo told him as Hiiro moved around and guided him from the head on wobbly legs.

"I don't...understand," Wufei confessed, but followed obediently until they arrived in Hiiro's room.

"We can help you," Duo told him while he dimmed the lights and Hiiro coaxed him toward the bed.

"But you," Wufei squeaked as his legs hit and he went down. "It almost destroyed you last time," he persisted nervously as Hiiro was pulling off his shirt exposing the rippled expanse of his jazzy torso.

"That's why we decided to try a different tact," Duo explained as he kneeled on the bed and crawled toward him.

"Ta me de," Wufei softly swore and Duo giggled as he had reverted to his birth language. "Duo...nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn," he moaned when Duo laid his mouth upon him, then Hiiro's weight settled on the bed and he began to tremble like a new born foal.

"I think it's time you and I were on equal ground," Duo smiled and Wufei spread out agreeably beneath them as he slowly moved down his body and tasted his skin.

Hiiro's hand came upon his head when he neared his destination and he paused to look up and assess his mood, but his eyes were crackling with a fire not entirely of this world, so he rose up and kissed him and heard Wufei moan when Hiiro's hand gripped his thigh.

"I think he likes it," Duo chuckled while he lapped at Hiiro's bottom lip, but he was stalled and was still looking at him intensely, so he kissed him and looked straight into his eyes when he confessed, "I think I like it too."

Hiiro growled and tossed him on the bed, then dove in and divested them in short order until they were laying beneath him gloriously naked, winded and anxious for more. Duo was caught in his right arm and Wufei in his left while he rooted around on top of them thrusting and moving from side to side so he could touch as much of both of them as possible, then Duo groaned his name and suddenly cried out and thrashed when Hiiro buried himself inside him in one powerful thrust that forced his slender body to tense allowing him to repeat the action over and over until Duo finally found his voice and choked...

"Wu...fei!"

But Wufei's response to this was a panicked, "Wait!" that Hiiro did not appear to hear because he suddenly pulled out and spread him wide, then slowly impaled him before Duo could even catch his breath. "NNNGods!" Wufei rasped when Duo scrambled around and took his throbbing cock into his mouth as Wufei's hand fisted in his long hair while his body was ravaged by one mighty undulation after another.

"Hiiro," Duo gasped as he lifted up and drew a sizzling kiss from his mouth that increased Hiiro's pace and Wufei began to heave while Duo stroked him quickly with his hand, then he thrashed and Hiiro bent him and hit him hard.

Duo was shaken by his release and fell back on the bed to gape while he shook, then Hiiro was there and he was inside him bringing him so much joy, but when Wufei recovered enough to get involved and came to suckle upon him he couldn't catch his breath and the sight of him laboring so beautifully inspired Hiiro to drop his hips and nail his sweet spot over and over until he screamed and tried to crawl right off the bed.

And so it continued throughout the day and night. Each time one of them reached a point of desperate pleas and frantic release Hiiro would switch to the other until he was dripping with sweat and in such a rut they wondered if he would ever stop. He tried them in so many different positions making it possible for them to enjoy each others oral talents as well as encouraging them to engage each other while he made sure they never cooled for too long.

He had placed Duo on top of Wufei where they shared sloppy kisses while Duo straddled his thighs and Hiiro spread them wide so he could stroke his thick cock in Wufei's tight heat while he watched Duo ride Wufei's long shaft, but he soon became jealous of Wufei's good fortune and coaxed them to trade places so that Duo was inside Wufei and Hiiro could pump up the heat in Duo's fine body. It was difficult to get a good angle though, so he eventually switched them back, then when Wufei began to show signs of eminent release he leaned forward and placed his hand in the small of Duo's back, pulled out of Wufei and began to force himself inside Duo while Wufei was still inside him.

"AHHH!" Duo crowed as every muscle in his body seized.

"Stop!" Wufei ground against the driving passion. "You'll hurt him!"

"Never!" Hiiro declared, then thrust forward and spread his lover wide, whereupon Duo let go a tremendous cry that shook the walls as Hiiro set a heavy pace.

All Wufei could do was hold on while his body was hit by wave after wave of euphoric rapture as Hiiro's long shaft stroked him while he pummeled Duo's shivering body, then they felt the inevitable tremor began to shake inside him. Hiiro's breathing changed coming in shorter and quicker as the tempo grew, but Duo held his ground and his breath where he lay stunned by the enormous rhapsody being inflicted upon him until Wufei could take no more and suddenly convulsed beneath him. A moment later Duo began to quake, but Hiiro held him firm, then he leaned forward and the world bled to white as Duo curled into himself and joined him in nirvana.

"Are you alright?" Duo heard Wufei saying, but he sounded so far away, then the mirth in the pit of his stomach bubbled up and spilled from his mouth. "You've addled his brain," Wufei chuckled, but Hiiro was still somewhat articulately challenged.

"Ah...ffffuck," Duo groaned when their bodies separated.

"You're not hurt?" Wufei persisted, but Duo was tugging on Hiiro so he could accuse...

"You had that planned."

Hiiro still lay limply in his arms, but a smile appeared on his lips.

"You know your lover well," Wufei concluded rolling away to give them room to spread out.

"He has a creative mind," Hiiro replied levering up so he could kiss Duo's sweet lips. "It pleases me to nurture it."

"And it doesn't hurt that I was essentially created to satisfy your lustful desires," Duo chuckled as he pinched Hiiro's nipple and made him bark.

"So you knew he could do that," Wufei surmised, but Hiiro's reply was...

"I suspected."

"You could have been wrong," Wufei pointed out, but Hiiro assured him with the greatest of confidence as he drew Duo into a deep kiss...

"He would have stopped me if it was too much."

There was so much trust between them it made Wufei smile, though as he watched them sink deeper into each other he questioned the necessity of his intrusion and rolled away, but Duo's hand snagged him before he could go far, then Hiiro determinedly dragged him back into the fold.

"Stay?" Duo entreated making room for him in the circle of Hiiro's arms and he smiled warmly as he acquiesced.

Their bodies had cooled and they lay in silent contentment before the dawn cycle was to begin when Hiiro noticed a slight difference in Duo's breathing and roused from slumber to ask, "What it is?"

Duo was lying quietly watching Wufei sleep as he had eventually rolled away for comforts sake, but he could see the nape of his slender neck and had memorized the unique shape of his ears from behind before he softly replied, "I've betrayed you."

Hiiro's hand gripped his shoulder and he felt the heat of his breath on his neck before his lips proclaimed, "Never."

"I can feel him, Hiiro," Duo choked shifting to get a little closer to his lovers protection as he confessed, "He's invaded my heart."

"What harm is there in loving?" Hiiro asked turning his head so he could see his sparkling eyes.

"But..." Duo argued and Hiiro covered his doubts with a kiss as he wiped a tear from his beautiful eye and informed him...

"He is worthy of your affection, and so has captured mine."

"Do you really care for him?" Duo asked reaching up to brush his fingers over Hiiro's mouth so he felt the truth of it when he replied...

"I would never have let him touch you if I didn't."

Duo lifted his mouth so tenderly Hiiro was beckoned to lay his lips upon him while Wufei's mouth curled into a soft smile.

**

"Quatre! Have you see Wufei?"

"No," Quatre replied bringing a scowl to Duo's face. "Isn't he back yet?"

"I thought he'd be back hours ago," Duo grumbled heading for Sally's office, but when he arrived she wasn't there. "Hey!" he called to one of the soldiers who were patrolling the halls. "Seen Sally?

"She's in the control room," he replied, then went about his business.

Duo was still flabbergasted that so many of the men that joined them chose to undergo the surgery to remove the temptation in their lives, but he had to admit that it made for a much more pleasant environment. Things had been heating up on the battlefront recently, which forced them to move so much he was loosing count and he hadn't seen either of his lovers for more than an hour in days. One or the other of them seemed to be constantly on a mission so he had been looking forward to Wufei's arrival because Hiiro was resting in his cabin, which meant they might get to spend some quality time, but he never showed.

"Sally?"

"Damn it!" she cursed and slammed her hands on the counter instantly alarming Duo.

"What is it?" he asked coming to her side.

"Wufei hasn't checked in," Trowa told him because Sally seemed unable to reply.

"Was he hit?" Duo asked evenly while he pulled his comm. and informed Hiiro.

"No," Sally grumbled, then growled, "Yes! Damn it!"

"Which is it?" Duo demanded.

"Treize set us up!" she snapped. "That son of a bitch has been trying to get his hands on Wufei ever since he defected."

"Where is he?" Hiiro asked as he came in.

"I don't know," Sally sighed heavily. "He just...disappeared."

"Where?" Duo persisted.

"Here," she told him pointing to the spot on the tactical map. "But he's long gone by now."

"Where would they take him?"

"And where is his suit?" Hiiro wanted to know.

"We don't even know how it happened," Sally confessed. "He was just there one minute...and gone the next."

"Didn't he have backup?" Duo asked growing more distressed, so Hiiro stepped up behind him.

"Yes, but they didn't see anything either."

"A cloaking device," Hiiro surmised. "They must have attached it to his suit somehow."

Sally's eyes widened when she realized it was the only viable explanation, then she kicked a chair and sent it bouncing off a well.

"How long?" Hiiro asked while he checked possible sites where a Gundam might be concealed in the area, but his search ceased when Sally replied...

"Four hours."

"What!?" Duo barked. "Why did you tell us!"

"Because I knew you'd freak out!" she snapped, then fell to her knees and covered her eyes with the heels of her hands as she admitted, "This is so messed up....go...find him, please...bring him back."

They knew she was stressed and being pushed beyond her limit, but there was no excuse for her oversight. It was only her willingness to admit and correct the mistake that eased their minds while they prepared a search and rescue, but when they arrived at the site where Wufei had vanished there was nothing to find. When they returned they spent hours pouring over the footage of the battle, but it was as Sally said, Wufei and his suit just vanished from the screen. Intel from their spies in the Collective had no information and Duo was beginning to show signs of emotional breakdown when the vid screen in the rec room suddenly switched to a news feed instead of the usual music videos.

"Wufei?" Duo breathed when he saw a tiny person resembling his lover tied to a housing on a raised dais before a huge crowd.

The announcer was talking, but all he got was something about the capture of a deserter knight.

"What the..." Trowa breathed as he stood with the others to get a better look, but then the camera angle changed and Duo took a step closer when he saw that Wufei's face was bruised and bleeding and his body shook visibly on the screen.

His clothes were ripped and tattered and the cameraman made a point of zooming in on the blood stains along his thighs before panning out to get a shot of Treize as he climbed the stairs. Une was by his side and there were generals and aristocrats from every leading family in the Collective in attendance, but before he could start to speak a silver knife embedded in the screen over his face and Duo turned to find Hiiro glaring death and damnation at the scene. A moment later they were in the hanger firing up their suits while Sally told them to hurry because Treize had just announced that Wufei was to be publically executed for his crimes.

There was a pit in the center of the tower that opened upon Treize's command and the crowd stepped back when they saw the atrocities it contained. Genetic experiments gone awry were not disposed of regularly in their society since they could be used for disciplinary actions such as this. Some were nothing more than monsters, animals that had been altered for the sake of research, but some had once been human and these were the worst of the lot. The animals would devour their victims, where the humans liked to torture and rape them to death slowly. Wufei was to be granted no mercy as three of the humanoid monstrosities milled around in the pit anxiously awaiting the feed, but just as Treize was pointing out their despicable methods of execution an explosion sounded nearby.

In moments the scene turned and people where running everywhere in an attempt to avoid being riddled with bullets as Heavyarms slammed down in the middle of the street and opened fire. Une pulled her comm. to call in the forces they had prepared for such a contingency, but all she heard was the screaming of her men and deafening blasts as Sandrock cleaved their ground forces into pieces. Treize stood amongst the fray seemingly unaffected while he watched the battle rage on and smiled when a troop of Aries descended from the sky, but a moment later Wing zoomed through and cut their numbers in half. He could see things were not going well as they had expected resistance, but not on this magnitude, so he stepped forward and cut the rope binding Wufei to the housing and hefted his limp body into his arms. His hands were still tied, but he was unresponsive as he turned to flee, then backpedaled when Deathscythe slowly materialized right in front of his beady little eyes, but instead of opening fire, which would risk injuring Wufei, the hatch opened and Treize grinned arrogantly as he used Wufei as a shield.

"Step away from the suit!" he told him when Duo touched the ground, but he moved forward instead.

"Treize!" Une shouted as she drew her sword, but she suddenly jerked and buckled when Wing passed by and shot her full of holes.

Trowa was systematically taking out every Collective elite on his list and Treize was starting to look very nervous as Duo approached.

"If you value his life!" he told Duo, "You will stand down and step away!""I don't make deals with demons," Duo rasped in a tone that barely sounded human and Treize stepped back fearfully as he recalled the odd happenings surrounding Relena's death.

"If I die," Treize declared as he raised a knife to Wufei's throat, "He's coming with me," but was staggered when Trowa launched a grenade into the pit. "You're no different than us," he smiled smugly as he took in the carnage all around.

"Yes," Duo told him and he shrank back when he began to shake and a shadow dark as pitch filled his eyes as he declared, "We are."

Treize bucked when a silver knife whipped out from Duo's body, but he didn't hit him and he was just about to laugh when he realized that Wufei's binding were cut. There was just enough time for his eyes to go wide before he came to life and used the knife Duo had thrown to slit his throat and they fell, but Duo had Wufei in his arms before Treize's eyes finally closed and he fell over on the ground.

The leaders of the Collective had forced their hand, so it was messy and the people were frightened beyond listening, but Quatre managed to lay the foundation for a future government in the first couple of days after the assault. Dr. J was arrested along with many of the other people who were involved with the previous administration as it turned out that Quatre's reach went far deeper than anyone realized. His movements advocating change had inspired the population, so most of the people welcomed the change. Martial law had been lifted and they were pulling the hunters off Earth by the time Duo and Hiiro got a chance to really spend any time with Wufei, but Duo was so distraught over what had happened he couldn't seem to muster the will to smile.

"Don't be so sad," Wufei told him, though his comfort was ill conceived because his body still bore the marks of his torment.

"Look what they did to you," Duo choked as he came to kiss the bruises on his face.

"It will heal," Wufei reminded him as he let his hand rest on his hip and asked Hiiro for his aid with his gaze.

"I'm so sorry," Duo cried and shuddered when Hiiro came along his back and took his shoulders in his hands. "What he did..."

"He's been doing it for years," Wufei smiled attempting to calm, but he only seemed to get more upset until Hiiro asked gently...

"Do you think him tainted?"

"No! Of course not!" Duo snipped.

"Is he broken or malformed?"

"Hiiro," Duo reprimanded impatiently.

"His mind and body are whole," Hiiro told him as he wrapped him up tight and suggested, "But perhaps we could help reconcile his soul."

"Duo," Wufei objected when he moved in to kiss him. "I...mmm...can't," he reminded them. "I need to heal."

"Yes," Duo told him as he ran his hands softly down his chest and stomach and Wufei moaned in pure rapture as he agreed, "You do."

There were only limited things they could do with Wufei's injuries, but it wasn't about physical release anymore. Wufei needed to be reminded that someone loved him, that he was worthy of the affection that they felt for him, so they lavished it on him in whatever way they could manage for as long as he could stand, then laid beside him as he drifted off to sleep.

Somehow they had pulled it together, though nothing had gone quite as they planned. Duo had never thought to take a lover since he spent most of his youth trying to fend off overzealous suitors, but Hiiro had provided a safe haven in which he could explore and grow. Hiiro had found the purpose he was denied by his youth and relished each and every moment with his mates, and Wufei had broken the bonds inflicted on him by a cruel regime that cared nothing for their people. The tyrants had fallen and a new order was being born, so they held each other tight and for the first time in their lives looked forward to the future.

owari :)

 

Back to T_shirt's Fics

Back to GW Authors Index.