Trails Less Traveled

AN: Written for Sweetlysour.net's Jubilee summer contest 03. Ended second of twelve in the alternate pairings category.

The knock on the open door made her look up from her book, carefully securing the bookmark before putting the book aside on her desk, next to the emptied breakfast tray. She sent the fingers of her right hand in an elegant, brief arc over her ear, as if sensing one of the dark blonde strands had moved out of place. She cleared her voice, and addressed the immaculately dressed young man standing in the doorway in a soft, though authoritarian tone. "I take it all the arrangements have been made?"

Curt nod, blank face.

She smiled. "Good. Thank you, Heero."

He nodded again, turned to walk away.

"Oh, couldn't you please sit down for a minute? If you have prepared everything for miss Catalonia's visit, there isn't anything urgent on your schedule, is there?"

He placed a palm against the door, back still towards her. "Relena, I still have reports to type up. I don't have time for-"

She sighed. "You don't have time, you say... No, you don't take the time, for anything - except your work, Heero. Don't you realize how sad that is?"

Heero sighed too, faced her. "It's the life I chose." Deciding he couldn't escape quickly, he sat down in one of the dark rococo chairs close to the door, rather than cross the room to one of the plush chairs by the desk.

Grave face, firm voice. "Heero, when you accepted the job as my Chief of Security, and covertly that of a Preventer liaison, I thought I made it perfectly clear both to you and Lady Une I would not allow you to make it an obsession. I appreciate your dedication, but you have a staff for a reason - and surely, Lady Une and the Preventers do not need detailed daily status reports about my well-being, so please do not use that as an excuse either."

He waited for her to finish, let a pause form, contemplated his answer. "Relena, you've become an important symbol for peace. Your duties as vice foreign minister might not give you much attention, but your role in the ongoing peace process, as well as the events that lead up to it, certainly does. There's more than one dangerous element out there that would harm you if they got the chance."

"That is why we hired security guards, all of them approved and monitored by you!" Another sigh. "Heero, you have to learn to relax. In the few months you've been here, you've been nothing but tense. Isn't there anything you could do to take your mind off of work - read a book, watch TV, catch a movie, go for a walk - something, anything?"

Shrug. "I don't see the point."

"Which is exactly your problem." She waited for him to look her straight in the eye. "Heero, I consider myself your friend - and friends tell each other if they think the other has difficulties - and help, if they can. Please tell me - how can I help you?"

Again, he shrugged, and got to his feet. "Other than stay out of trouble and not meddle with my personal life, I can't think of anything."

"What personal life?!" Relena glared at him, was about to add to her rebuttal when the vidphone rang. She held up a finger at him, before picking up the receiver. "You wait right there."

Heero rolled his eyes, but remained nevertheless. Disobeying an order from someone judged a superior - such as his employer - was still difficult to him. A lesson so deeply engraved on your mind is not easily unlearned. At least this order wasn't too painful to follow.

She smiled at the screen. "Oh, hi, Quatre! It's so good to see you!"

Then again... Inwardly, Heero groaned. This conversation was likely to last a while, and hearing only one side of it, with no chance to escape in a polite manner, was sure to be boring. Dejectedly, he sat back down in the dark rococo chair.

Giggle. "Thank you - oh, when does your shuttle land?"

Heero looked up, slightly surprised. Quatre was coming here?

"Really? That's perfect! Dorothy's flight arrives barely half an hour before yours - I'll pick you both up before-" She paused, Heero could hear the voice in the other end raising just a bit, though he couldn't make out what was said. Relena smiled. "Don't be silly - she wouldn't bring her fencing equipment on a visit, would she?"

Heero faintly smirked.

"Yes, that would be fine. See you soon, Quatre." She hung up.

"Quatre is coming here?"

Relena nodded. "Yes - didn't I tell you?"

Heero frowned, stood up. "You most certainly did not. I have no security arrangements made ready - I'll have to shuffle the duty rosters immediately, and-"

"Quatre was a Gundam pilot, just like you. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"That's still not-"

"Heero, Quatre is coming here for a vacation. He could use a break from running the Winner corporation, so I invited him here. Newport City is rather beautiful this time of year, don't you agree?"

No answer but a glare.

"Also, I think he wants to escape the watchful eyes of the Maganacs - they mean well, but they find it difficult to let Quatre out of their sight - their protection. I do not want to create a prison of security protocols for him here."

"But-"

"He is coming here discretely, he intends to keep away from crowds, he will be careful - and he will not be followed around by security guards. Is that clear?"

Frown, low sour voice. "Yes..."

Victorious smile. "Thank you, Heero. That will be all."

She waved him off, picked up her book again. A nearly inaudible growl later, he was gone, taking fast and furious steps towards his office, all the while considering slamming the door when he got there - though in the end, he did not, judging it a pointless action - and Heero Yuy took few actions without proper purpose.

-------

From the corner of his eye, Heero saw the pink limousine turn up the driveway on one of the security monitors. He decided to break from typing reports for a little while, and keep an eye on the arrivals instead. A quick sweep of the screens informed him all the guards were where they were supposed to be. The vehicle came to a halt before the main entrance, and three passengers exited. Relena and Dorothy quickly hurried inside the building, Quatre remained behind to help the chauffeur unload the suitcases. Heero smirked. The blond was much too willing to help sometimes, and this time he was going to pay for it. He noticed Quatre was about to pick up one of Dorothy's many suitcases - one that he himself had gotten the dubious pleasure of handling during her last visit. The thing had been unbearably heavy, and he had struggled to get it as far as the door. He had never even dared guess what was hidden within, out of respect for privacy - that, and when he'd tried to sneak into Dorothy's quarters to find out for sure, he had not only failed to get a peek inside the suitcase, but had also barely escaped capture. A worthy foe is worth respecting. Then again, Miss fork-brows was sure to have some vindictive scheme ready, given another, more recent quibble Heero had had with her.

It was with a grin he saw Quatre's first attempt at lifting the suitcase fail miserably, surprised expression on Quatre's face. The blond scratched his head, before going for it again, far more determined. It was Heero's turn to be surprised when Quatre lifted the suitcase right out of the trunk, and though the balancing act of carrying the heavy cargo up the stairs to the door obviously strained the blond, Quatre did far better than he himself had. Two conclusions immediately came to mind; either the suitcase was lighter this time, or Quatre was far stronger than he had given him credit for, perhaps even stronger than himself. Pride made him dismiss the latter part, and for a brief moment, Heero considered running down there just to verify the suitcase was lighter. Again, pride and a touch of arrogance came to the rescue, aided by a sense of duty to remain in the main control room doubling as his office. Why take chances, and risk bruising his ego?

Quatre panted heavily by the time he had brought Dorothy's suitcase as far as through the door. Wise from former visits, the butler had prepared a cart for Miss Catalonia's luggage. With a last show of strength, the blond lifted the suitcase onto the cart, which nearly buckled. The butler uttered brief, but quite sincere gratitude to Quatre for handling the heaviest burden. Together with the chauffeur, the two went back for the remaining suitcases, bags and boxes, none even remotely as difficult to carry. Once done, Quatre wiped his forehead with his shirt sleeve, smirked, looked directly up at the hallway security camera and gave a quick wink and wave before following the butler to the guest quarters.

The little move had startled Heero just a little. Did Quatre know he was watching? He shook his head. Of course the blond knew someone was watching the monitors, and that it would most likely be Heero. Maybe he should go downstairs and- No, leave his post? Not a chance. Plus, it was a good excuse to avoid bumping into Dorothy as well. Taking a quick scan of the screens to verify Miss fork-brows was being entertained by Relena in the parlor, and not preparing a sneak-attack, he relaxed - as much as he ever did - and went back to writing up his reports.

-------

"Oh, there you are!"

Heero gave barely a grunt in response, and continued typing on the archaic laptop. At least he had nearly finished in the few hours he'd been left alone - though he intended to give no impression of that, whatsoever.

Undeterred by the silent rejection, Quatre approached him. "Relena told me you were probably hiding somewhere to work on reports for Lady Une's office, so I-" He stopped, sunshine giving way to question on his face. "What's that?"

Without looking away from the screen or taking his fingers from the keys, Heero answered "What's what?"

"That chair you're sitting on."

The contraption was indeed worth noticing, due to its unusual design. There was one flat, pillow-like rest for the shins and knees, tilting up against the seated, and the seat itself tilted down towards the little knee-springboard, which made Heero, with barely his toes on the floor, sit in a position that made him look halfway down to a crouch. "What about it?"

"It's... unusual, don't you think?"

Shrug. "Maybe. It's comfortable enough."

Smile. "I find that hard to believe, but if you say so..." A few steps closer. "It can't be good for your back, though - I mean, there's no support for it at all, and with the seat tilted like that, you're likely to lean forward a bit, even without noticing you're doing so."

Typing. "I can manage."

Another step, hand toward shoulder. "Maybe, but if you keep sitting like that, you'll probably-" Quatre stopped, withdrew the hand he'd placed on Heero's shoulder as if burned.

Annoyed, Heero paused his typing, and finally looked up at the blond. "What?"

"Oh, uhm... Nothing, really - it was just - your shoulder was so tense. How long have you been sitting like this, anyway?"

Heero returned to the keys as Quatre side-stepped in behind him. "A few hours, probably. I wanted to get this last report done before arranging a security detail for you, during your visit. I-" He stopped as he felt both of Quatre's hands loosely grip his shoulders.

"May I?"

Heero shrugged.

Quatre began working the tense surface, tried to loosen up the stiff, cold muscles through the rigid fabric of the white shirt the Chief of Security wore. "Heero, is something troubling you? This can't be just from sitting like this for a few hours..." No sound but the clicking of keys. Quatre spread his fingers to work the entirety of Heero's shoulder-blades for a while, moving on to neck muscles, kneading the area around the spine with his thumbs, carefully avoiding curling the shirt collar. "You can talk to me if something is bothering you, Heero - I won't tell anyone else."

Heero's attention remained at the screen, and though he gradually relaxed into Quatre's touch, he said nothing. Then again, he didn't have to.

Quatre smiled, patted his open hands on the now loosened shoulders twice. "Nice seeing you again, Heero - but, please, don't bother with making security arrangements for me, I can handle myself. Take some time off instead, I think you need to relax even more than I do." Getting no response, he took a step back, placed the knuckles of two digits on each side of the top of Heero's spine, and in one quick motion went down along the entire back, straight to the tailbone, and off.

Caught by surprise, Heero shot up straight, slid a little forward and down the seat, fingers skidding along the keys. Quatre snickered, met the narrow, furious glare with a smile.

"I just thought I'd straighten you out a bit." He turned to walk away, gave a quick, open-palm wave. "See you later, Heero."

For several minutes after the blond left, Heero stared at the door, before he noticed he'd absentmindedly placed his right hand on his left shoulder, sensing the lingering, soothing warmth left behind by Quatre's fingers. He frowned, turned back to the laptop screen, hit the backspace key to remove the line of gibberish he had made when Quatre rubbed his spine. It wasn't until he read the report draft over for the third time he noticed he had unintentionally included the seriously out-of-place words 'feels good' within a sentence two lines from the end of the text. A grunt later, they were deleted.

-------

Three firm knocks on the open door. "Relena?"

Blondie put down the cup of tea she had been sipping from, and quickly arranged her hands. "Hello, Heero. Is there anything I can-"

"Heero Yuy! What a pleasure it is to see you again!"

Heero turned to the enthusiastic voice. Dorothy Catalonia sat in a white wicker chair similar to Relena's on the other side of the glass table. She took another sip of her cup, placed it back on its plate. Inwardly, Heero cringed, and could only hope his face didn't match his sentiment.

"I've been dying to meet you again - we really have to arrange a fencing match sometime during my stay here. You are one of the very few I know that could offer me a decent challenge."

With a slight giggle, Relena intervened. "Dorothy, I told you - I promised Quatre to seal the fencing court off for as long as he visits. Besides that, it really isn't proper decorum to-"

Sinister smile. "Yes... I guess I stabbed the poor little rich boy's vulnerable feelings pretty well... Oh well, I guess we will have to duel at a later time."

Heero barely nodded.

"One more thing - That package you sent me, Heero... I must say, it was quite... amusing. However will I be able to pay you back, I wonder?"

Another cringe. This time, Heero was certain his face showed it, and tried to mask it up as quickly as possible. Given the way Dorothy's smirk widened, he hadn't done it quickly enough.

"What package, Dorothy?"

"Oh, I shall tell you all about it, my dear - later." She put down her cup and plate, stood up, straightened her dress. "Right now, I think I shall take a short walk in your lovely garden. Would you care to join me once you have finished talking to your Chief of Security?"

Relena nodded, the expression of curiosity slowly fading. Dorothy closed the framed glass door behind her. Relena refocused on Heero, polite smile across her face. "Yes, Heero? What is it?"

Determination. "I came to try to convince you to-"

She waved her hand dismissively, reached for her cup, took another sip. "I already told you - no guards for Quatre. He would not appreciate it."

Relentlessness. "But what if-"

"Heero, I don't know how to say this in any clearer manner. Quatre wishes to relax - without someone watching over his every move."

Resentment. "I wasn't planning to-"

"Enough! Heero, you need to focus your mind on something other than protecting others for a while - I think your mind, your body, your soul, would do good with a few days rest."

Frown. "Relena, I-"

"A vacation, Heero. You are long overdue for one. Please, let your second in command take your station for a few days - your people are trained well enough to manage without you for a little while, are they not?"

"Yes, but I prefer to remain at my post. I'm-"

"Yes, I am sure you would..." Sigh. "Heero, please listen to a friend - you need to find something more than just duty to live for."

Grunt.

Another sigh. "If that's the way it has to be..." She reached inside her purse, picked up a tiny envelope, and handed it to Heero. "Heero, I order you to take the rest of the week off."

Heero's jaw drooped, and it took him a few seconds to compose. "Relena, I can't do that - I'm supposed to-"

Brief giggle. "Insubordination, Heero?"

Frosty glare. He snapped the envelope from her fingers, tucked it away in his pocket. There was no need to read the note inside, he remembered all too well what he had written on it, and why he had to go along with Relena's wish.

"Look, there is nothing to it - go outside and enjoy the summer, or stay inside and read a good book. Just don't sit and brood on this, or plan security arrangements for the future. You're on vacation. Got that?"

Pumping fists. "Yes. Got it." He spun around and stomped out of the parlor, and headed for his quarters.

-------

Though firm steps and a deep frown were the only external signs of it, Heero was furious, frustrated. Why did Relena have to discharge him from his duties, even if only temporary, by playing that trump card of a letter? He was good at his job, and he needed the vague sensation of fulfillment it gave. His work had been the center of his existence since the war ended, certainly. He sighed. Yes, she was probably right in that he needed to find a hobby, or something - but why now? With two prominent visitors, his place was at the mansion's security hub, overseeing it all. Again, he clenched his fists, before striding down the corridor to his room, all the while muttering curses over Relena using the letter against him. At least this was the last one, he was free from that threat now. Turning a corner, he barely avoided running right into Quatre.

Sunshine. "Oh - hi, Heero."

Frown, grunt in acknowledgement.

Concern. "Why are you angry, Heero?"

"I'm not."

Arms crossed, sincere eyes. "Don't give me that. Don't you think I can tell when someone's pissed?"

Heero's eyebrows lifted a bit.

Grin. "Surprised by my choice of words, Heero?" Chuckle. "If I wanted to, I could probably match any of you in dirty words. I usually choose not to, but I'm not a damn angel, okay?"

Mellowing frown, mere brief flash of the beginnings of a smirk.

"Look, what's wrong?"

"I'm on vacation," Heero muttered. "Was ordered to."

Surprise fading into great grin, then snicker. "That's it? Relena asked you to take a few days off, and you throw a tantrum over it?"

Glare.

Quatre took a step back, open palms protective. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry - I know how important your job is to you." He paused, momentarily bit his lip. "I was planning to go outside for lunch - a picnic. Relena told me of a spot right outside the city that's fairly secluded. It should be nearly empty this time of day - care to join me? I could really use the company."

Heero thought it over. It was a chance to fulfill Relena's demand for a vacation, and at the same time stay close enough to Quatre to protect him, in case something should happen. To his calculating mind, the meal was inconsequential, though his palate sent a vague request that a slight variation in diet was desirable. What is 'rational' food, rarely tastes good - if anything at all. "Okay."

Wide smile. "Really? Great! I'll just go down and tell the chef to pack a basket for two, instead of one. Anything special you'd like?"

Heero shook his head.

"Okay, then - meet you by the main entrance in, say, an hour?"

Curt nod.

"Great!" Quatre walked a few steps away, hesitated, looked over his shoulder, still smiling. "Oh, and you might want to consider changing to something less formal, Heero - you wouldn't want to get grass stains on those pants, right?"

Heero looked down at the near crease-less black pants, as if only then made aware he was at all wearing them. By the time he looked up, the blond was out of sight, around the corner.

With a huff, Heero returned to his quarters to change. Quatre was probably right. Besides, more casual clothing might convince Relena he was complying with her wishes - well, more fully than he really was, that is. Loopholes are great, provided you can find and exploit them to your advantage.

-------

Precisely one hour later, Heero reported on the main stairs, having changed to one of his old dark green tank tops, a faded pair of blue jeans and a pair of well-worn yellow sneakers. Quatre was already there, still donning his usual casual outfit of bright shirt, dark vest and near-beige pants, a sizable wicker basket at his feet. He smiled. "Glad you made it, Heero - ready to go?"

Nod.

Quatre reached for the basket, but Heero beat him to it.

"I can carry this."

Grin. "Yeah, I'm sure you can."

Frown.

Chuckle. "Thanks, Heero."

Another singular nod.

"Shall we go? It shouldn't be more than half an hour's walk, if I understood Relena's directions correctly."

No enthusiasm, no nothing. "Sure."

With a smile, Quatre stepped down the stairs, Heero in close pursuit. Though the basket was nowhere near a match for Dorothy's suitcase of mysteries, it was still a bit on the heavy side - not that it bothered Heero much. At least he didn't feel bested by Quatre's earlier achievements anymore.

-------

The little spot lived up to Relena's description of it. A small grassy knoll hid a green pasture away from the outskirts of Newport City, a dense forest bordering up on two of the other sides, the last side being a cliff edge. There was a dirt path in the grass from the city past the side of the knoll, leading into the forest, suggesting this was a frequented recreational area. The litter bin at the edge of the forest, another on the other side of the pasture, right by the knoll, as well as the chain-link fence along the cliff's edge made it near certain. They were all alone, though. Evidently, not that many people used this area during working hours, outside weekends.

Quatre chose a spot away from the path, but shielded by the knoll, close to the edge of the cliff. He grabbed the red-and-white checkered picnic blanket covering the basket, spread the cloth out, took the basket out of Heero's hand with a soft thank you, and placed it at the center of the blanket. He knelt beside it, and began unpacking the food. Heero sat down, took the packets Quatre handed him, and dispersed them over the checkered fabric.

As they dug into the rather luxurious meal the kitchen staff had prepared for them, Quatre tried to jump-start a conversation. The first few attempts fell to mere 'yes' or 'no' nods. Heero nearly smirked; stringing the other along, testing his patience and studying the ever-growing disappointment of getting nowhere written across Quatre's face was quite amusing - and definitely a change from his daily routine. Maybe there was something to be said for diversions, after all. Eventually, Heero gave in, deciding he'd had enough fun on Quatre's expense.

Most of what was said, was trivial chit-chat, small tidbits of what they had been up to in the last few months, how things were going, both with regards to themselves and to their limited circle of friends. Most of it was pleasant and light enough, but when Quatre began talking about to what extent they had found happiness, Heero grew uneasy. He could sense where the blond was planning to lead this conversation.

"You know - Duo, Trowa and Wufei all seem to have found their calling in life - Duo with the salvage yard, Trowa with the circus, Wufei with the Preventers... I guess I've found mine in the company, though there are times I wish I had searched elsewhere..." His eyes glazed over for a few seconds, lost somewhere in thoughts, before he snapped out of it, nearly startling Heero. "And then there's you."

One raised brow, gentle sip of orange juice. "What about me?"

"You've buried yourself in your duties. Relena told me how you made a vow never to kill again - so why do you choose a line of work where you might be called upon to do just that?"

Heero put his glass down. "My duties are mainly management of security arrangements and operations. No real field work - Relena saw to that." He shrugged, smirked. "And if push came to shove, I could still maim, and not break my promise."

Quatre snickered, smiled, waited for Heero to go on, which didn't happen. "Still... Are you happy, Heero?"

"Happy?"

"Yes, happy. Do you enjoy your life? Are there things you wish were different?"

A shrug. "It's adequate."

Chuckle. "I didn't ask if it was enough, I asked if it is what you want your life to be. Your shoulders were so tense this morning - don't you ever find the time to simply enjoy yourself, Heero?" Heero barely had time to open his mouth before Quatre continued. "And please don't tell me you find all the enjoyment you need in your work - I can sense you don't. Your body can't lie as well as your mind can."

A bit dumbstruck, it took a moment before Heero closed his mouth, whatever he was planning to say made moot.

Quatre poured himself another cup of warm water, and reached for a tea bag, dipped it slowly in the water as he spoke. "I noticed the way you occasionally look over your shoulder when you think I'm not looking. You're searching for threats, aren't you? In your mind, you're still on guard duty, trying to protect me."

Again, no answer.

"Are you expecting someone to come charging out at us from the trees, or over the knoll, or up the trail leading down the side of the cliff?"

Snort, muttering. "Not really, but who knows what she's planning..."

Mild surprise. "She? Planning? What are you talking about?"

Heero smirked, delighted he'd thrown Quatre a little off-balance. Maybe he could avoid the difficult questions anyway. He reached for another slice of bread and the jar of strawberry jam. "Dorothy. She and I have had some... conflicts... lately."

Quatre took a sip from his tea. "Such as? What have you done that could make her vindictive?"

"Not much, really. I just sent her a package, in return for a few packages she sent me."

Quatre's face remained puzzled, to Heero's amusement. "Please, tell me more."

Heero shrugged, smeared a little too healthy dose of strawberry jam on the bread. "It's between me and Dorothy, Quatre. If I told you, you'd probably try to mediate a truce of some sort between us - and with Relena nearby, you'd get all the help you'd need, too."

Grin. "Maybe... Okay, if you don't want to tell, that's fine."

Bread before face. "Don't go ask Dorothy about it, either."

Chuckle, another sip. "I won't, promise."

Sizable bite, chew, swallow. "I'll take your word for it. This is a private feud."

Smile, sigh. "I'm sure it is..."

Another bite.

Quatre looked straight at him, began snickering, tried to cover it with his hand, barely had time to put the tea cup down before he could spill the remaining contents.

Heero frowned. "What?"

Wide grin, attempted laughter control. "Uhm, nothing - I mean..." Temporary loss of control.

Narrowing harsh glare. "What?!"

Still all chuckles, Quatre tried to speak, pointing at his own cheek. "You've got a smudge, right here."

Nearly instinctively, Heero reached for his cheek, trying to find what Quatre found so amusing. "What's so funny about some strawberry jam on my cheek?"

Quatre shrugged, still grinning. "It just looked so... odd on you. Almost normal."

Another glare, answered by another chuckle. Heero continued his search for the jam.

"No, not there, a little to the right - no, my right." Quatre sighed. "Oh, this is silly." He grabbed a napkin, stood up and knelt back down again beside Heero. He gently held Heero's jaw still with one hand, moistened the napkin with his tongue. "Sit still, and I'll get it off for you."

Heero complied, waited for Quatre to sweep the offending mass of sugar and berries off of his face. The napkin barely grazed his skin, but as Quatre pulled it back, he saw the red jam stain on it. "Did you get everything?" With his jaw still in Quatre's firm grip, the words sounded funny.

Sunbeam. "Yeah, I think so..." He put the napkin aside, came just a little closer. "...but I'll take a close look, just to be sure..."

Grunt.

Quatre leant in, and a bit further, until their faces were just a handbreadth apart. Heero felt a bit uneasy again. How close did he really have to get to see a spot that big? He wasn't looking for a pinprick-sized spot, after all.

Then, Quatre closed his eyes as well as the remainder of the distance, and kissed him.

Heero's eyes nearly bulged out, and for a fleeting second, he bordered on panic - not only because of the unexpected assault, but also over the realization he enjoyed it; very much so - enough to overcome the slight shock, return the kiss, reach around Quatre's neck with his right hand to prevent the blond from retreating. He felt Quatre's smile against him, coax him backwards. Soon enough, Heero found himself lying with his back against the lush grass, Quatre above him, lips still firmly on his, Heero's hands slowly roaming Quatre's back.

Heero closed his eyes. He didn't think much - of anything. The rational part of his mind had evidently shut down for the moment - which the active sensory and emotional parts were only too delighted for, busier than ever before. The kiss eased up, Quatre's lips went away, but only for a split second, before they landed again; jaw, neck, ending up at Heero's collar bone, the strap of the dark green tank top already pushed aside.

Rationality dimly returned, though the first conclusion drawn was just how right it felt; Quatre's soft lips on his skin, the weight, warmth and closeness of Quatre's body sprawled out above him, the- His eyes flew open, as the blond added his tongue to the well-underway hickey, tickling the skin. Heero stifled a laugh, and from some distant place his male ego interrupted the moment, shouting a command not to be so submissive. Heero smirked, slowly moved one leg out to the side, only to bring it back across Quatre's calf. With a sudden move, he stretched one arm over Quatre's back, grasped at his side, and used the free arm and the wrapped leg as leverage to roll them both sideways, further onto the grass, reversing their roles.

Quatre looked up at him, startled. Heero smirked in return, kissed the tip of his nose, his lips, while his fingers unbuttoning the top buttons of Quatre's shirt. As he latched onto Quatre's neck, he could almost feel the smile on the other's lips, which made himself smile, and just more determined at teasing the other, tasting Quatre's skin. He was interrupted by gentle laughter. Annoyed, he relented his assault, got back up to shoot a mild glare at Quatre.

Another snicker. "Sorry. Your bangs - they tickled me."

Heero huffed, smirked, got back to the hickey he had started, determined to finish the job of marking Quatre.

The blond would tolerate none too much of that however, and grabbed a momentary, but firm hold of Heero's buttocks, surprising the owner, throwing him sufficiently out of balance for the blond to make a reverse roll, again leaving Quatre on top. Quatre grinned down triumphantly. Heero frowned up in return. Quatre chuckled, leant down to kiss him again, just briefly, before hovering just above Heero, looking straight into the mellowing blue eyes, warm, near secretive smiles all around.

For a short while, that was all there was; smiles, warmth, eyes and gentle breaths. It was Heero who broke the moment. "Are you sure you got rid of the stain?"

Quatre laughed, the sunbeams from his face rivaling the sun high above them. He softly caressed Heero's cheek. "No... I'm sure there's plenty of sweet stuff left..."

Heero rolled his eyes, but smiled back, took a hold of Quatre's neck to coax him down for another kiss.

It was right then Quatre's cell phone decided to interrupt, shrill beeps to the tune of 'Frere Jacque' calling for attention. With a low growl, Quatre sat up, still straddling Heero's hips, picked the infernal machine out from his shirt pocket, and answered it, not in the slightest masking the annoyance in his voice. "This had better be important..."

Heero smirked up at him.

Sigh. "Hi, Margaret - yeah, I- Okay, slow down." Heero could dimly hear the stressed voice from the other end. "Yeah? When?" Quatre tugged his shirt sleeve up a little, glanced at his wristwatch, another sigh. "Tell them I'll be there." Pause. "Yes, that's fine. Bye, Margaret." He collapsed the little device, tucked it away in his pocket again.

Heero smirked, reached for Quatre's wrists, trapped both, drew small circles with his thumbs over the soft skin there.

Quatre grinned, nearly laughed, as the touch went right to the tickle-center of his brain. The onslaught paused. "That was Margaret - my head secretary. I told her not to call me unless there was a real emergency. She didn't want to call, but one of the members of the board called for an unscheduled strategy session, and I should really monitor that through a vidphone link." He sighed, crawled off of Heero, buttoned the few undone top buttons of his shirt. "I'm sorry, Heero - but I have to get back to the mansion ASAP."

Answered by a nod, Quatre smiled apologetically, and turned to begin packing the meal back into the basket. Heero got up to help, and soon enough, the two were heading back to the city, all the while exchanging near secretive smiles and glances, but saying nothing. Heero had taken the basket on near instinct, his mind still much to fuzzy to reflect on what had happened, still lost in the backwash of surprise and delight.

-------

It wasn't until Heero had sat alone in his room for a few hours, staring out into nothingness, reliving the short moments of exhilaration, that the rational part of his mind finally returned with force - and with it, came the doubts, the questions; foremost the one asking what the heck had happened. Of course, the obvious answer was 'Quatre kissed me', but that only led to questions asking for Quatre's motives for doing so, as well as why he himself had responded so eagerly. There was no doubt in his mind he'd enjoyed the kisses and touches, however - and though Heero wasn't sure on the 'why' yet, he knew he wanted more.

In the end, he got tired of brooding on it, and reasoned it was easier to go talk to Quatre about it all, and maybe get a few of the answers he needed - both from Quatre and from himself.

When he came to the great oak double doors of the office Relena had set aside for her guest, he stalled, growing uncertain again. He didn't want to interrupt Quatre if he was still busy, but he most certainly did not want to wait, be put on hold. It had taken enough willpower to walk here in the first place, and what he had left he would need to ask questions, before he lost his courage. Staring death in the face down the barrel of a gun felt nowhere near as scary as this. Heero shook his head to clear his mind of doubt and fear, raised his fist to the door, but just as he was to knock on wood, the door opened, Quatre greeting him with a warm smile.

"Hi, Heero - please, come in." He sidestepped, motioned Heero to enter.

Heero nodded, and entered, despite how his legs suddenly felt like jelly. He sat down in one of the two plush chairs in front of the desk.

Quatre chose to sit down in the other plush chair instead of behind the desk. "What can I do for you, Heero?"

"I... About today..."

Smile, folded hands, leaning forward a little. "What about it?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

Quatre chuckled, shrugged. "Why do anyone do anything?"

Frown. "Look, if you aren't going to answer-"

"Because it seemed like a good idea at the time, that's why."

Immediate worried expression, insecure voice. "...seemed? It doesn't any more?"

Quatre smiled, shook his head. "I don't regret about what I - we - did, Heero." He paused, looked Heero dead in the eye. "Do you?"

Sigh of relief, gentle head-shake, faint smile.

"To be honest, I think kissing you was one of my better ideas as of late..."

Smile to mischievous smirk. "In that case... Are you free tomorrow?"

Grin. "Why do you ask?"

Shrug, restless hands. "Well... If you wanted to, we could go back tomorrow..."

"Another lunch out in the open?"

Nod.

Tender smile. "I'd love to, Heero."

With a sheepish grin, Heero stood up, his legs feeling nearly as wobbly as when he first came there, though for different reasons. "O - Okay, then. See you tomorrow, Quatre."

Nod. "Tomorrow."

With quick steps, Heero left the room, didn't look back even when he closed the door - though the minute the oak wall was between him and Quatre, he got the strangest urge to jump of joy, or perform any number of other little victory dances and moves - though he reserved himself to a mere smirk, pumped fist and nearly inaudible "Yes!".

The remainder of the eve, he lost in daydreams and light-headed expectations of the following day. For that short period of time, at least, nearly all thoughts of his work had been pushed aside, as well as those of avoiding the potential revenge of Miss fork-brows.

-------

The meal was a bit more spartan than the day before, as Heero had been the one to request the basket from the kitchen - and evidently, the chef still had a grudge with the Chief of Security for setting up strict inspections and rigorous regulations of everything the kitchen staff purchased and tried to bring in. Heero had been apologetic about the limited selection, but Quatre didn't mind at all. "A meal is more than food, Heero," he'd retorted, and gotten a meek nod in reply. At least it left the red-and-white checkered table cloth empty enough for them both to sit on it, this time on the same side, facing the cliff and the dark green chain-link fence moving along its edge.

The spot was as deserted as it had been the day before, though Heero still threw a nervous glance across his shoulder every now and then, watching out for threats and random pedestrians - though what he really feared was to see Dorothy - or more correctly, her seeing the two of them together. There was no doubt she was plotting a revenge for the exploding box of unusual contents he'd sent her, and extortion was one possibility.

Quatre sensed his uneasiness, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong, Heero?"

He blinked, barely aware Quatre had spoken, glanced at the hand, then at Quatre's worried expression. "Huh?"

Smile. "Is there something on your mind?"

Heero shook his head. "No, I was just... Never mind."

Quatre flexed his fingers a little. "You're all tense again, Heero - are you sure there's nothing wrong?" He paused, voice fading a bit. "You're not having regrets about..."

"No - no, not at all. If I had, I wouldn't-" Heero stopped, not wanting to say too much. "If I'm a bit jumpy, it's only because Dorothy is visiting."

Quatre flagged a brow. "You're worried about that?" Chuckle. "What grudge has gotten between the two of you? If anyone is to have a fear for that woman, shouldn't that be me?" Absentmindedly, he touched the long-since healed scars of the stab wound.

Face still serious, Heero shook his head. "You didn't send her-" No, he didn't want to say that either. This was not something he wanted Quatre involved in, for several reasons. "Never mind. Let's just say she will most likely try to get even before she leaves."

Smile. "Or maybe she'll just let you think she's out to get you during her entire stay. She could just as easily play on your somewhat excessive paranoia, Heero."

Sigh. "Maybe..."

Quatre rubbed the tense shoulder. "Look, you need to relax - want me to rub you a little?"

Heero glared at him, mild shock across his face.

Gentle laughter. "Your back, Heero. I wasn't suggesting..." Smirk. "Well, I guess we could do that too, if-"

Slight blush, quick interruption. "Back is fine. Just fine."

Quatre chuckled, tugged at the green tank top. "Take that off, and lie down on your belly."

Vaguely annoyed glare, another glance along the path, blush a tad warmer.

Soft smile. "There's nobody here but us, Heero - but if you're too shy, we-"

"No, that's... that's okay."

Quatre opened the buttons of his vest and shirt wrists, removed the former and rolled up his sleeves. The smile grew into a mischievous grin. "If it makes you more comfortable, I could always remove my shirt, too."

Momentarily, Heero's jaw dangled loosely, before he frowned, turned around, removed his tank top and tossed it aside next to Quatre's vest. As he lay down, he thought he heard more buttons being undone - though he didn't dare look to verify the auditory observation. Quatre guided Heero's arms to lie along his side, straddled his hips, and placed warm hands on tense shoulder-blades, starting to move palms in slow, gentle circles.

Heero felt awkward at first, much too vulnerable, but it all faded as Quatre's digits poked and prodded, kneaded and loosened, warmed and caressed... He relaxed in the touch, even gave a faint moan before he could stop himself. Quatre grinned, and only took it as an incentive, working out along Heero's biceps, before returning to the spine, heading downwards. He continued the massage until his hands met no resistance at all, until Heero's breathing had become utterly calmed, before he stopped, bent down and placed a kiss at the nape of Heero's neck, calling him back from the restive place he'd left for. With an almost sleepy glare, Heero turned his head to look up at his masseur, dulled mind affirming his ears hadn't been wrong earlier, given the way Quatre's shirt was opened, soft breeze making sure he got to see enough to fill his daydreams for a while longer. He grinned contently. Quatre briefly caressed his cheek, before moving off to the side. "All done."

Still a bit dozy, Heero rolled over on his back, stretched, heard his bones give satisfying pops, warmed and loose muscles not protesting the slightest. He folded his hands behind his head for support, tilted his neck to smile at Quatre. "Thanks, Quatre."

"No bother at all, Heero. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it." Quatre stretched out next to him, though with his feet by Heero's head.

Heero looked up at the sky, began studying the great blue expanse and the occasional fluffy clouds lazily drifting over them, propelled by the warm breeze.

Quatre studied him, noticed what he was looking at, and joined in, resting head against hands. "Drifting clouds... the great, blue sky... There are so many beautiful things we just couldn't have in the colonies." He momentarily closed his eyes, took a deep breath. "That's one of the first things I did when I first came to Earth - I just had to stop for a moment, look at everything, observe it all, all the things we born in space didn't have a chance to see." Sigh. "I only had a moment, though..." He tilted his neck to address Heero. "What about you?"

Deep breath. "I never even thought about it. I didn't come here for a vacation, I had a mission."

"What about later?"

Heero shook his head, kept his eyes on the sky above, sensing a little lesson coming up.

"Ah-huh... You've been on one mission or another ever since, haven't you?"

No answer. Why should he give one, when they both already knew what it would be?

Smile. "Well, there's no time like the present, is there?"

Heero furrowed a brow, shot Quatre a glance. "What do you mean?"

"Look up at the sky, Heero - what do you see?"

Gentle snort. "Clouds."

Chuckle. "No - no, I meant - what do you see in the clouds? Do the shapes remind you of anything?"

"They're clouds."

Smile, sigh. "Yes, Heero, they are - but if you look at them, the random shape they have, the way they change as they drift along, don't they sometimes change into something familiar? A flower, an animal, an object, a face?"

"What do you see, Quatre?"

Quatre pointed up at a big, unwieldy shape. "That one reminds me of a huge turtle - see the way there's four legs almost of the same size, and a lumpy head on one side, and that little trail of a tail on the other end?"

Heero shook his head. All he saw, was a big gathering of white fluff, slowly changing shape.

Sigh. "Use your imagination, Heero - are you sure you don't see something in the clouds? How about that one over there? Doesn't it remind you of a bottle?"

Heero followed Quatre's finger to the cloud in question, nodded in agreement. Yes, it did look a bit like a bottle. He kept watching it, watched it slowly change as it drifted by, warped a little, stretched and bent, suddenly drawing a completely different comparison in his mind; to items in the catalogue Dorothy had sent him some months ago. He felt his cheeks flush, shook his head to clear the image away, locked his eyes on another cloud. The edges of this one seemed almost straight, making a rectangular shape that seemed to spin faintly. Heero smiled, realizing what his mind connected that shape with.

"What are you seeing, Heero?"

Smirk, much relief that the question hadn't come a few seconds earlier. Heero pointed at oddly rigid cloud, just as it began changing again. "That one reminded me of a specific envelope..."

"Envelope?"

Nod. "Yeah. Remember Relena's birthday party a few months back?"

Quatre brooded on it for a bit, before epiphany hit. He snapped his fingers before tucking them back under his head. "Oh, right - you gave her a little card or something - what was it?"

"It was an 'I owe you' letter of sorts. She has occasionally objected to how I make security arrangements - that they are too obtrusive, or too much for just one person." He shrugged. "I figured that would make a decent gift - I wrote three 'free passes', and stuck them in the envelope. She just had to hand me one of those letters, and I wouldn't object, and let her override my security plans."

"Has she used them?"

Nod. "The first, I think she just used to test me - and that was right there at the party. She wanted me to forget about guarding her, and just be her friend that day."

Grin. "Did you?"

Frown. "Don't you remember how I hovered around the buffet table nearly all the time, trying to avoid most of the guests?"

Giggle. "Yeah, I remember. You didn't seem to enjoy yourself."

Snort.

"What about the other two?"

Heero took another deep breath, and for the first time he noticed the vague fragrances of wildflowers and salt sea drifting at them from where the forest met the cliff's edge. It felt oddly calming. Perhaps there was a point in taking the time to just pause a little, after all. "The second she used when she went to the Colony Summit last month. I insisted she have bodyguards close at all times, she strongly disagreed. She didn't want the Colonists to think one of the Earth delegates didn't trust their security to handle everything, or worse, didn't trust the Colony delegates. When I pointed out that there was reason to mistrust both, she flung the note in my face. I bit my tongue, but had to agree." He sighed. "I followed her as a shadow, though. Had to make sure the decision didn't come back to haunt me. She didn't find out, thankfully - she would have raised hell if she did, I'm sure of it."

Quatre chuckled.

Heero pre-empted the next question. "The last letter she handed me yesterday, along with the envelope. That's why I'm on vacation now."

The laughter faded away, and Quatre sat up, shot Heero a worried glance. "And why you're here with me?"

Smirk. "No..." Heero sat up too, inched closer, wrapped a hand around Quatre's neck. Quatre's eyes sparkled, clearly suspecting what was to follow, though the blond said nothing, didn't move, just waited - but not for long. Heero leant closer, tilted his head a little, closed his eyes as their lips were but the width of a finger apart-

When the infernal contraption decided to play 'Frere Jacque' again. Startled, Heero straightened up again, while Quatre growled, fishing the cell phone out of the dangly shirt pocket. "What?!" he nearly screamed into the machine.

Another smirk, subdued snicker. Heero covered his eyes with one hand, rubbed his temples, the other arm loosely wrapped around his belly, trying to stifle brewing laughter.

Quatre shot him a fierce glare. "Yes, I was in the middle of something, actually - what is it, Margaret?"

Heero rolled his eyes, still smirking. He had a fair idea where this was going, so he reached for his discarded tank top.

"Again?!" Quatre sighed. "Okay, okay - I'll be there. Oh, and Margaret? You can tell the board I will fire the next of them that calls an emergency meeting while I'm on vacation."

Heero heard dim, gentle laughter, and put on the tank top.

"Yes. Okay, bye, Margaret." Quatre closed the little device, put it away. His eyes downcast, he barely muttered "I'm so sorry, Heero - I really didn't want this to happen - the call, I mean. I just-"

Heero lifted his chin, gave Quatre a brief, but tender kiss. "It's okay, Quatre. I understand. I know your responsibilities don't end after working hours." Indeed, it takes a workaholic to know one - and Heero idly wondered which of them would have the hardest time giving up work completely, even for a vacation.

Quatre still tried to look away, apology written all across his face.

"I'll pack up the food, you tuck your shirt back on properly - or do you want your board to suspect they interrupted something... private?"

Quatre's turn to blush, a faint smile growing along with the shade. He began buttoning his shirt. "Thanks, Heero." He paused. "Uhm, Heero? Are you doing anything this evening?"

Soft smile, negative head-shake.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd care to join me for a walk? I've always found the night air here on Earth so soothing - it's nothing like the recycled air of the colonies, and when it cools down at night..." He momentarily closed his eyes, took a deep breath, sighed. "Oh, and I'll leave my cell phone at the mansion, I promise."

Snicker. "Sounds good, Quatre."

Nod. "Okay, then. We have a date."

Date. The word resonated in Heero's mind - though each repetition sounded better than the last. This was real, not a dream - still, he feared he'd wake up at any moment.

Quatre put his vest back on, noticed how quiet Heero had gotten, and how glassy his eyes had become. He waved his hand back and forth before Heero's eyes. "Hello? Still with me, Heero?"

"Huh? Yeah, I - I was just thinking about something."

Smile. "I hope you'll tell me about it sometime."

Heero grinned, and returned to packing the remains of their meal away. "Maybe I will."

Satisfied with the answer, Quatre nodded, and helped Heero with the clean-up.

Soon after, they walked back to the mansion, in the same manner as the previous day, though even a bit closer - and holding hands.

-------

The afternoon passed in a blessed haze. Heero lay down on his bed, staring up in the ceiling, but not really seeing it, lost in fuzzy thoughts and daydreams, grin plastered on his face. Quatre's advances were welcome, far from conflicting with his recently revealed preferences, but Heero couldn't quite determine why he felt that way. Was this a sudden crush, or was it some repressed desire he'd had for a long time, making him latch on to the first, best person to show an interest? He shook his head. No, it couldn't have been the latter, as that would have had him hooked up with Relena. Deep down, he knew the young woman still cared very much for him, though she had ceased her near-obsessive behavior about their relationship - or more accurately, lack thereof. Without either of them saying it, they had both settled for a friendship.

That left it being a crush, an infatuation. He grinned, he could live with that... At least it had gotten his mind away from thoughts of-

The grin vanished, as another suspicion hit. What if this was all some elaborate ruse? What if Dorothy had talked Quatre into helping her deliver a really nasty return blow by toying with his heart as well as his mind. After their past exchange of tricks, she knew of his preferences, as well as that he'd used- Heero shook his head. No, he refused to even consider that idea. For one thing, Quatre was unlikely to even speak with Dorothy, much less go along with such a plan. He sighed. Maybe Quatre was right, maybe his paranoia and fear would do Dorothy's job for her.

In the end, he decided to forget all about vindictive Miss fork-brows, and just concentrate on Quatre; his warm hands, deep eyes, soft lips... With closed eyes and a smile, Heero returned to the pleasant daydreams.

-------

Quatre had been right about how the cool evening air could clear your mind. Even so, Heero suspected the company was just as relaxing a factor as the fresh air. Mostly, they had just walked in silence, past the green picnic meadow and into the forest, along the winding trail through the forest and over the low hills beyond it. It wasn't until they entered the forest Heero had grabbed a hold of Quatre's hand, rewarded with a faint squeeze and a smile. A few times, the blond would initiate a conversation, but most died down after a few sentences, since Heero didn't contribute much.

The sun was long gone past the horizon by the time Quatre suggested they head back. Heero had agreed, and let himself be led along a different return path. Quatre said he knew a better way back, reasoning that though the stars and reflected sunlight bounced off the moon lit up the night somewhat, it was still too dark to go through the forest - it was so much easier to trip in tree roots when you couldn't see all of them. Though he didn't say it, Heero didn't care the slightest where they were going, as long as they went together.

Soon enough, the new path reached the ocean, and took a sharp turn to follow the coastline back to the city. The sound of water lapping on stone and sand remained the only distraction, most birds and bugs gone quiet for the night. The path led down a rocky outcrop, onto a sandy beach. Quatre stopped, wiggled his hand out of Heero's grip, and bent down to remove his shoes and socks. He smiled up at Heero. "Why don't you take off your shoes too, Heero? There's nothing quite like feeling sand beneath your feet, especially the way it is now. It's just about warm enough, now that the sun has been down for a while."

Heero didn't need convincing. If Quatre wanted this, then he would do so. He quickly removed his beaten yellow sneakers, glad he had opted to go without socks that day. Quatre rolled up his pants legs a little, stuffed his socks down his shoes, tied their laces together and slumped them over one shoulder, shoelaces hooked on two fingers. Heero copied the shoe trick.

"Okay, here's what you do. Spread your toes as wide as you can, and dig them into the sand - it's warm on top, and cooler further down." Quatre demonstrated. "See? Now, you try."

Heero complied, studied his feet, began burrowing one foot. The tiny, soft grains enveloped his toes, warmed them at first, then sent mild shivers up his spine as his foot dug deeper into the moist beneath the surface, flexing in the loose sand. His face shifted to something akin to that of a child making a first-time-discovery; one of satisfaction, wonder and joy. He turned to Quatre, silly grin replied with a chuckle.

Quatre reached for Heero's hand, intertwined their fingers. "Okay, now try the other foot."

Again, Heero did as he was told, the same sensations over again, though the initial delight of discovery dimmed a tad.

They stood like that for a little while, toes buried in sand, hands and eyes locked. Quatre took a step closer, pulled on Heero's hand, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Shall we go?"

A bit dazed, Heero nodded, and they continued down along the beach toward the still distant lights of Newport City.

They had walked for a while when Heero's mind began wondering why the beach, the park, the entire path, including all the side trails forking off the main path, were all so deserted. Granted, there had been a few families and couples in the park, but ever since they had entered the forest, they had been all alone. Given that they were so close to a major city, he couldn't help but find it odd. He was about to ask Quatre about it, just to make sure he didn't let his paranoia get the better of him again, when the blond nudged him in the side with his elbow, pointing to a place in the distance, high up along the cliff face they were coming up on. Heero squinted, and in the dim starlight he spotted the green chain-link fence.

Without warning, Quatre sat down, and pulled Heero down with him, nearly causing the poor boy to fall. An annoyed glare was his reward, though it was dispelled by a smile. Quatre put his shoes down, wrapped his hand around Heero's neck instead, leant in to give a soft kiss, removing the last remnants of dissatisfaction.

They smiled at each other, before Quatre looked out across the sea, gentle waves lapping onto the beach, the moon and stars reflecting in the clear blue water. Quatre sighed, searched out Heero's hand again, squeezed it lightly. "Look at that... Quite a view, isn't it?"

Heero's eyes remained on the blond. "Yeah..."

Quatre shot him a puzzled look, then grinned sheepishly as his cheeks flushed.

Heero snickered, kissed him.

Reopening his eyes, Quatre grew a somewhat sinister smirk. "You know... I'm sure the water is still pretty warm. It's been sunny all day, and only a few clouds... Heero, want to go for a swim?"

"A swim?"

"Yeah, you can swim, can't you?"

A brief memory flash of his initial arrival on Earth came before his eyes. Yes, he had learned to swim in a hurry back then, though in the end he'd been washed ashore when his strength had faded. It was a good thing his flight suit was firmly sealed and had an internal air supply. He nodded.

Quatre untangled their fingers, stood up. "Okay, then!"

"Quatre, I don't have any swimming trunks."

Gentle laughter, vest unbuttoned. "I don't either - just use your underwear. We'll head right back home afterwards, so it doesn't matter if our clothes get a little wet, does it?"

Quatre was already working his shirt off when Heero stood up, reached for the blond's wrists. "I don't think this is such a good idea..."

Mischievous grin. "Afraid I'd get to see too much of you?"

Soft blush. "Look, I-"

Quatre tore from Heero's lax grip, wrapped his hands around Heero's back, hugged him tightly, and kissed his shoulder. "You have nothing to hide, Heero. Nothing at all..." Quatre sent his hands further down, tugged at the green tank top, let his thumbs slip below the hem of Heero's faded jeans. His eyes widened just a bit, before he leant back a bit, grinning at Heero. "Oh, my... Is the soldier going commando today?"

The blush deepened a tad.

Quatre winked at him. "That's okay, you can skinny-dip, you know."

That didn't help the blush one bit, especially the way Quatre's thumbs teased the bare skin of his hips.

The blond leant in and whispered into his ear. "If it helps you, I can swim naked too..." Then he backed away, removed his pawing hands, and finished unbuttoning his shirt, tossing it aside next to his vest and bundled shoes, going for his pants next.

Heero immediately turned around.

Snicker. "I don't think I've got anything you haven't seen before, Heero."

No response. He heard Quatre's pants drop, followed by- He closed his eyes momentarily, not sure he wanted that image, especially since he'd have little in the way of covering up- A pair of arms wrapped around his waist, hands sneaking up below his tank top to tickle his belly, drawing him backwards. Again, the blond whispered in his ear.

"Whenever you want to join me, you know where I'll be..."

With that, the hands vanished, and he heard running steps on sand. He turned to see just in time to see Quatre's bare backside as the boy rushed into the water, throwing himself into the waves as he got far enough out. Evidently, the young business tycoon had little shame of body - but then again, his actions were for a purpose, and as with all things in life; nothing ventured, nothing gained - and Quatre had no intention of losing his investment.

Heero blinked, questioned himself as to why the heck he was hesitating, coming up blank for answers. Hurriedly, he removed his tank top, was about to go for his pants when he looked at the clothes scattered about on the sand. Sure, there was only a gentle breeze, but... He quickly folded the clothes together, removed his pants and put them with the other, and placed a few fist-sized rocks on top of the stack, to keep any of it from leaving with the wind, and ran out in the water to join Quatre, knowing full well the blond was ogling him, clearly satisfied with his bare gamble.

He'd gotten far enough out for the water to reach his waist, when the blond splashed him. Heero grinned, got even. The blond swam a bit further out, ducked under the water. A few seconds went by, and Heero grew curious as to where he'd gone, and walked further out in the water - only to suddenly feel someone grab his ankles and yank his feet out from under him, sending him below the waves, bum touching sand and mouth filled with water before he resurfaced, coughed up the water, and glared at the laughing Quatre. "I'll get you for that, you little..."

Wide grin. "I'm counting on it!" The blond began swimming away, though at a much too leisurely pace to seriously want to escape. Heero smirked, and went after his prey.

The two kept tumbling in the water for a while, more than once getting a chance to paw at each other, though most were but soft sweeps of skin, almost coincidental touches. Heero was very grateful indeed the water had cooled down a bit, enough to keep him cooled down too - well, parts of him, that is.

Their little play session ended when Heero finally managed to get a good hold of Quatre, trapping the blond's torso in his arms and tickling Quatre's sides mercilessly. Quatre giggled, pleaded him to stop, wiggled in his grasp - which was what finally made Heero loosen the hold. Having Quatre's butt grind against his crotch did more heating than the ocean could cool down. The blond smirked; he knew. Quatre spun around in Heero's arms, and threw his own around Heero's back, pulled him close enough to push away all water between them, and kissed him forcefully, relenting only to let his tongue make a quick, playful trail along Heero's upper lip. Heero grinned, cheeks flushing, loosened the hold a bit more. The water was definitely not enough anymore, and sensing the pressure against his thigh, he had a darn good suspicion Quatre was in the same position - though the blond didn't seem to care the slightest, coming in for another lingering taste of salt water and sweet lips.

It took quite a bit of willpower - mixed with some embarrassment for the growing situation - for Heero to distance himself from Quatre, placing both hands on Quatre's shoulders to keep him a little away. Heero's cheeks gained some color again, and he stumbled on which words to use, in the end going for the simple. "Quatre, I... I think we should go back now."

Sunbeam. "Okay..." Quatre released his lax hold on Heero, sent his hands through blond locks, trying to get rid of some of the clingy water. Heero copied the move, though his messy brown bangs were far less cooperative. Quatre offered his hand. "Shall we go?"

Brief snort, head-shake. Heero grabbed Quatre's hand, and took the lead back to the beach. Quatre followed, not complaining at all. Walking a few steps behind, he got a good, long look of Heero's rear. Indeed, he got so caught up with the view he didn't notice when his hand was released, or that the object of his study began moving away a bit faster. Heero's shouts brought him back from daydreams, at least partially. "They're gone!"

Quatre looked up just in time as Heero turned towards him, the daydreams not quite letting go, given the suddenly added subject matter. "What's gone?"

"Our clothes!"

Well, that woke Quatre up. "What do you mean, they're gone?!" He hurried over to Heero, who tapped a foot against one of the stones he'd used to weigh down the clothes. "Oh, damn..."

Heero looked around them, eyes darting to spot the slightest movement under the starlight. There was a small trail that snaked up the side of the cliff, but there was nothing moving there, nor did he see anything neither up nor down the beach, other than sand, small rocky outcrops and bushes. Where could the perpetrator have gone? He looked in the sand for footsteps, only to find that though there was an extra pair in addition to their own, it lead down to the water's edge, where any further trails had been washed away by the lapping waves. He clenched his fists, muttered a few barely audible profanities of choice. How could they have missed someone sneaking up on them - moreover, how could he? As if the situation wasn't embarrassing enough, the thought someone could snatch his clothes without him noticing - okay, so he had been a bit preoccupied, but he should never have-

The little tirade of self-deprecation was interrupted by a gentle, steadily growing snicker, though Quatre tried to cover it up with his hand as Heero looked at him.

Glare. "This isn't funny!"

All out laughter. "Oh, but it is!"

Low growl. Heero returned to scouting for the thief. He didn't notice Quatre sneaking up on him, though the arms wrapping around him, one across his chest, the other over his stomach, as well as the lips attacking the nape of his neck before moving on to his shoulder, were pretty good indicators he'd been jumped. Quatre's fingers tickled and teased, and he softly bit into Heero's shoulder, just enough to make a temporary mark. His left hand digits toyed with a nipple, while the right hand made gentle belly rubs.

Heero let go a faint moan, sighed. "Quatre... As much as I'm-" The blond bit down again, a bit harder. Another soft moan. "As much as I'm enjoying this... please stop."

Quatre's hands froze, and he unlatched from Heero's neck. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

Smirk. "No, it's just... Look, I'm cold, absolutely soaked, butt naked and about to stroll down the streets of Newport City, which are probably just now beginning to fill with people out to enjoy the city's night-life. I've got big enough problems as it is, I really don't need you to add a hard-on to my troubles."

Chuckle growing into full-fledged laughter.

Growl. "Aren't you the slightest troubled by-"

Quatre made a quick lick at Heero's earlobe, hugged him closer, making a good point of grinding his groin against Heero's ass. "What do you think?" he whispered before kissing Heero's jaw, and sending the teasing fingers back to work. "As long as you're with me, I think I could accept a little streaking..."

Heero shivered, not from the cold. "Quatre..." he groaned.

Chuckle, more slow whispers. "Don't worry... We can always fix your little 'problem' before we leave here... Or maybe it isn't so little...?" Just to check, the belly rubbing hand trekked south, squeezed Heero's growing erection tentatively.

Near-yelp, high, stressed mutter. "Quatre, we're on a public beach!"

"So...? We're all alone..." Another gentle kiss to shoulder.

"Our clothes were just stolen! If we were alone-"

Quatre squeezed again, at the same time pushing his own erection against Heero's butt.

Gasp. "Stop that!"

Smiling lips against shoulder. "Are you sure...?"

Quatre's fingers pinched the nipple again, and any answer faded away. Heero barely noticed when Quatre pushed his knees forward a little, just enough to make Heero's legs falter, and bring them both into a slow, controlled fall to the sand. The next thing Heero felt, other than the sand clinging to the moist skin of his back, was Quatre lying on top of him, just high enough to deliver another passionate kiss to his lips, before sliding down a little, soft fleeting kisses to chin, throat, nipple, lingering on the latter, sucking gently.

Faint moan. Heero reached to touch the blond, but both his arms were pushed aside, coaxed onto the sand, sapped of strength and determination to make another attempt.

"Just relax, Heero... Relax and enjoy..." The lips landed on his chest, again and again, creating a trail of light caresses from the lower tip of his sternum to his belly button, where Quatre dipped his tongue in, once, before trekking further south, skimming through soft dark curls, just avoiding Heero's twitching cock. Almost whimpering, Heero was about to file a complaint, when the tongue swirled around his base, trailed up his length, and just as Heero thought to watch, he felt Quatre's mouth engulf him, causing him to arch his back, Quatre's hands being all that prevented him from bucking his hips up.

The blond began bobbing his head, and Heero's breathing grew erratic, mind incoherent. The sensations of initial pleasure dimmed just enough for a thought, a desire to return the favor, not feel so passive - but how could he do that, when - he looked down, tried to see past the busy blond, and noticed his legs were a bit apart. With another ragged intake of air, Heero smirked, plan formed. He shifted his right leg a little, moved slowly, wanting to surprise Quatre. He stretched his leg out underneath Quatre, spread his toes apart, positioned the foot as best as limited concentration could allow, suppressed another moan - and counterattacked, placing Quatre's erection in the gap between his big toe and the rest, making a quick sweep down.

Quatre stalled, eyes nearly bulging, let the Heero-flavored lollipop drop from his mouth to shoot one surprised look at Heero's smirk, then at his own groin, then back to Heero.

"Turnabout is fair play..." Heero rubbed his foot against Quatre again. The movement was awkward, and keeping his leg lifted and twisted like that wasn't easy, but judging from the way the blond momentarily clenched his teeth and hissed, it was good enough. The grin that came after, seemed a bit ominous.

"Two can play that game, Heero..." With that, he went back to work, tongue twisting and twirling around Heero's cock, before he started sucking eagerly on the human candy, quickly enough making Heero lose control of the return tease, leg falling limp to the sand. Quatre didn't mind, focused more on doing as he had promised; fixing Heero's problem. After all, Quatre was a helpful person, always concerned with the welfare of others over his own.

Heero's fists dug into the clingy sand, subdued sounds emerging from his throat through clenched teeth. He felt the tell-tale tingle gathering, knew he was close, and he wanted to let go, but not like this. He scooted up on one elbow, reached for Quatre's head with the free hand, tried to halt the busybody. "Quatre..." Another bob, hiss, fingers in spasms amidst blond locks. "Quatre!" He yanked at Quatre's head, at last made him stop, just in time - just before Heero would have gone to his last resort; using his toes to play 'jinglebells' on Quatre - something he was all too glad to have avoided, as the blond would probably have clenched his teeth in surprise and pain, and in the process bitten down on- Heero winced. No, he did not even want to think about that.

Quatre looked up, a bit surprised at being stopped. Heero let go of his hair, Quatre wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Heero? Why did you stop me? Didn't you want-"

Dim crimson returned to Heero's cheeks. "Yes, but I wanted - I mean, I thought maybe..." Momentarily, he looked away.

Mischievous grin. "Just ask, Heero. Whatever it is-"

Before he could regret it, he blurted it out. "I want you to fuck me."

Quatre didn't even blink at the matter-of-fact way it was said, nor at the choice of words, almost as if he'd expected that precise answer. He crawled up over Heero, captured his lips again, rested himself down against him, purposefully making one grind of hips as he did so, another kiss, before he slipped a bit to the side, ending up half on, half off Heero. His fingers trailed lazy circles around one of Heero's nipples. "Heero, I really want to obey that request," he mumbled in Heero's ear, before softly tugging on the earlobe with his lips, once. "...but we don't have any lubricant, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you - and that would definitely hurt without some aid."

Dissatisfied grunt. "I can handle it. I'm used to pain. I was trained to withstand torture, so-"

Gentle snicker. "I don't think they trained you for this kind of pain, Heero." Quick gasp, immediate concern. "They didn't, did they?"

Faint grin. "No. Doctor J could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but not that type of pain."

Ever perceptive, Quatre came to an intriguing conclusion. "Well, if that's not it, how do you know-"

"How do I know if I can take what you have to give, without pain?"

Mild blush, teasing smile, nod.

Secretive smirk. "For me to know, and you to wonder about."

Quatre pinched Heero's cheek. "Well, thank you for nothing..."

Soft laughter. "I can take it, just leave it at that. So, will you do it?"

Quatre sighed, kissed the spot he'd just pinched to make up for it. "I'm sorry, Heero - but I wouldn't want to hurt you - and I don't believe your when you claim that it wouldn't hurt."

"I didn't say that, I just said-"

"I know, I know..." Quatre propped himself up on one elbow, and slowly drew a spiral down Heero's chest, across his stomach. "I could always give you a hand with your problem, though..."

Heero was about to mutter something to object, but Quatre had already wrapped fingers around his fading erection, and a few determined strokes later, it was back at standing ovation, saluting Quatre's dexterity. Who was Heero to argue against someone who clearly possessed the touch? Indeed, he was about to return the unorthodox handshake, when-

"Ow!"

Quatre momentarily froze, released his grip, looked at Heero with a wicked grin. "I didn't think you were that sensitive, Heero."

Frown. "It wasn't that. Something bumped my head."

Snicker. "Yeah, that would be my hand."

Frosty glare. "Not that head, that's not what I meant. Something hit my temple." He rubbed the spot of impact.

Quatre sat up, fumbled around in the sand nearby, expecting to find a stone that Heero had accidentally thrashed his head against. Instead, his digits came across- The wicked grin grew even wider. "I don't believe it!"

"What?"

Quatre wiggled the little tube right above Heero's face.

"Is that...?"

"Yeah. Still want to-"

A bit too eager a nod, though a question came to mind. "Where did that thing come from?"

With a wink and slightly flushed cheeks, Quatre moved to kneel between Heero's legs. "It must have fallen out of my pocket when our clothes were stolen."

Heero flagged a brow, frowning again. "You carry lube in your pocket?"

Quatre shrugged, undid the cap. "Yeah, and condoms in my wallet. You never know when you're going to get lucky, so why not be prepared?"

Glare. "You mean you've... 'been lucky' before?"

Secretive smile. Quatre spread some of the tube's contents on his fingers. "Would it bother you if I had?"

No answer.

Snicker. "No, I haven't had much 'luck', Heero - but if you want, you can make me a truly fortunate guy..."

Heero huffed, but nodded, felt Quatre ease his buttocks apart, and push one slick digit inside. There was no real pain, just the odd sensations the lone finger made as it wiggled about.

"My wallet isn't here though, so we don't have condoms..."

Heero could barely believe it. Here the guy had nearly swallowed, and suddenly he worried about- "Doesn't matter, Quatre. I trust you."

Nod. "I trust you too."

Naughty smirk, daydream flashes forward. "Thrust me too?"

Quatre pulled the single digit out, placed another alongside it, and thrust the two of them back in. "If you say so..."

The fingers scissored apart, Heero hissed. This time there was discomfort. In the far recesses of his mind, he decided to go easy with wordplays against Quatre - sometimes, wordplays can come back to hurt you. The digits flexed again, Heero gritted his teeth, tried to get used to the feeling. At the third stretch, the fingertips grazed his prostate, and made him arch his back off the sand, gasp faintly, the mild pain momentarily forgotten.

Quatre worked in a third digit, flexed them gently apart. Heero hissed, having had enough of the good-intentioned poking and prodding. "Enough," he sputtered, "You, now!" Not a request, but an order.

With a satisfied grin, Quatre pulled the fingers out, swiftly coated his cock with lube and repositioned himself, pushed Heero's knees a bit back and apart, tilting his hips. Eyes closed in slightly nervous expectation, Heero could feel the blunt end against his sphincter when everything seemed to stop. Annoyed, he opened his eyes again, glared at Quatre. "What are you waiting for this time? Christmas?"

Warm smile. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Heero rolled his eyes. Of all the quirky things to say- "Yes, damn it! I want-"

Quatre began pushing slowly inside, cut Heero's words short as the young man started panting, tried to relax. The blond eased in a bit further, waited for Heero to relax, adjust, before going a little deeper. Heero hissed, considered asking Quatre to hurry up, but the last shred of rationality still operational in his mind suggested it would be pointless. Instead, he focused on not flexing his internal muscles, not reject the intrusion.

Finally, Quatre had fully seated himself within Heero, and waited for the brown-haired boy to tense down, waited for the ragged, short breaths to calm.

"Ready?" he asked tentatively.

Curt nod.

"Okay..." Quatre pulled back until barely the tip of his erection remained, then thrust back in, earning a hiss. Repeat, more subdued sounds, again, and again, building up a slow, careful pace. Heero had seen white clouds of pain dancing across his retina at first, cursed himself for tensing up again at the wrong moment, and did his best to calm down and adjust, all the while keeping as straight a face as he could muster, lest the blond be alarmed, and halt.

Quatre grazed his prostate, and again he saw white flashes, though not for pain. He shifted a bit, hoping for the blond to hit that spot again, all the while noticing less and less of pain, and instead more and more of pleasure. He reached up at Quatre, let fingertips dance across Quatre's chest, made a sweep across pert nipples. Heero smirked when he heard the other gasp at the touch.

Quatre shot him a faint, passing frown, but kept up the pace, sent one hand trailing across Heero's stomach, made a few swirls around his belly button before reaching further down, again grasping Heero's cock, one swift stroke enough to make Heero forget all about teasing back, roaming arm falling to the sand. Quatre's turn to smirk. He increased the pace, began pumping Heero in time with his trusts, attacking Heero's abdomen from both outside and within, though the writhing body beneath didn't seem to mind the slightest. Quatre tilted his hand, let pinkie nudge balls on downstroke, thumb sweep tip on upstroke, felt delighted with the sounds provoked.

Heero felt himself come close again, just a little further...

...and then the blond slowed down, and let go of his erection.

Heero struggled to regain enough breath to yell at Quatre, mustered only a fierce glare as the boy leant down for a sloppy kiss amidst pants, nearly slipping out in the process. The blond beamed down at his lover, getting only the mellowed, annoyed glare in return. Between short breaths, Heero finally managed to put together a sentence. "Would you... stop teasing... and finish, damn it!"

Quatre kissed him again, straightened himself up again, grinned. "Don't worry. I'll have your problem fixed in a jiffy."

Frowning, Heero was about to say something, but as Quatre filled him again, and resumed the steady rhythm, the thought was forgotten. The hand wrapped itself around his cock again, synching with the thrusts. Quatre's other hand pawed a buttock, tried to lift Heero up a little more. Heero helped, spread his arms out for support to get his hips higher, arched his back, shoulders nearly all that remained of it on the sand. He spread his legs further apart, gave Quatre more access - which was immediately taken advantage of.

The tell-tale tingle returned. Behind clenched teeth, Heero swore he would kill - no, he had promised never to kill again - okay, seriously maim the blond if he relented this time. Enough was en- Quatre's cock prodded his prostate again, and again. Heero's fingers dug into the loose sand, down to the moist, cool grains below, squeezed the handfuls out between his fingers as his orgasm hit, making him arch his back even further, releasing over Quatre's hand and his own stomach. His rear muscles clutched around Quatre, pushed the blond over the limit right along with him, and as he slumped back towards the sand, he felt Quatre empty inside him with a few, last thrusts.

Eyes shut, Heero struggled to control his breathing, riding down the spiral of ecstasy, enjoying the aftershocks at each heart beat. Through thin slits, his dazed blue eyes caught Quatre grinning at him, also panting. He felt Quatre pull the rapidly limping member out, and lower his hips to the sand again. The blond crawled on top of him again, lay down to smear their bodies together, slid up enough to kiss his lover, before falling off to the side, cuddling up against Heero once more.

They didn't speak, just exchanged smirks and silly, satisfied grins, and shot glances at the stars shining down upon their naked bodies, covered in shiny droplets of seawater and sweat, tiny grains of sand clinging to both.

Ever so slowly, Heero noticed something tickling his soles; something barely grazing his heel. He looked down, realized it was the waves of the sea lapping up against him, the incoming tide not planning to wait for their moment to end. He sighed, almost regretting they'd have to leave soon, leave this beach... He blinked, suddenly remembering this was a most public beach, and tilted his head to nudge Quatre back from a mild doze, doing so by kissing the blond's forehead. "Quatre," he whispered, "We should leave..."

"Mmm?" Quatre took a deep breath to clear his sleepiness. "Why?"

"Remember where we are? Someone could walk in on us any minute..."

Closed eyes, smile. "I remember." He opened his eyes again, caressed Heero's jaw, fingers ending up toying with his ear. "Don't worry about it... I don't think we'll be interrupted..." He grinned, remembering their clothes had been stolen. "Again, anyway."

Mild frown. "How would you know that? Quatre, we should-"

Quatre placed a digit across Heero's lips, silencing him. "Heero, we haven't met anyone since we left the park, and absolutely no one on this beach - other than the thief... Don't you find that odd?"

He nodded. He had found it odd, but had forgotten to tell Quatre about it.

"Anything else you find strange about this beach?"

Frown fading away, blink. Heero took a quick look-around, searched for anomalies, began thinking - and soon came to an answer. "For a public beach near a big city, it's very clean. No trash, no seaweed or other debris washed ashore, nearly no stones lying about - and almost no footprints."

Quatre nodded in agreement. "Right. When I arrived here, Relena told me this beach was being cleaned up. They've been picking up trash, filtering the sands for broken glass and other sharp objects - that sort of thing. They finished this afternoon - I asked Relena about it before we left. The beach has been blocked off for days, and the signs warning people not to enter are still in place."

"I don't remember seeing any sign like that."

Grin. "Yeah, they didn't place one the way we came. They put one up at where the beach front buildings begin, and one along the path coming down from the park we went to earlier. Hardly anyone uses the way we went."

"How do you know all this?"

"Like I said, I asked Relena about some of it - and the rest, I found out when I took a stroll last night. Had some things to think about." Widening grin. "So, that's why I'm almost certain we won't be disturbed, Heero."

Pondering. "Hey, wait a minute - did you plan all of this?"

Soft laughter. "Plan? Plan to lure you down here and take full advantage of you?"

Forceful glare.

Disarming smile, quick peck on the cheek. "No, that bit wasn't planned... But I did plan to lure you out here, and I admit I wanted to get you into the water, just so I could grope you a little more." Snicker, sigh, still smiling. "I didn't plan for our clothes to get stolen, though - but given the outcome, why should I complain?"

Grunt.

"When Relena invited me here, she kind of dropped a hint or two, covertly asking me if I could try to get you out of the house, make you relax, and enjoy life a little."

Sudden smirk. "I'd say 'mission accomplished'."

Quatre beamed, though his cheeks got a faint tint. "I didn't have an ulterior motive - not at first, anyway. I didn't plan to kiss you yesterday, but I realized I had the chance, and I got tempted, and..." He shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't be much of a businessman if I hesitated too much." He paused, another brief touch of lips on cheek. "I can't tell you how relieved I was when you kissed me back, though - right after I started kissing you, I feared what your response would be..."

Heero looked up at the stars, his mind idly drawing the lines of some of the constellations, waves gently splashing at his heels, creeping closer. "I hope you're not afraid anymore, Quatre - I'm not."

Soft sigh. "I'm not either, Heero - thank you. I don't think I've had such a good vacation in... Well, forever, I think."

Smug smirk. "Likewise."

Quatre snickered, rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, and you have so many vacations to compare it with..."

Heero closed his eyes, took a deep breath, felt the water tickle his feet, Quatre warming his side, smell of salt sea mixing with the scents of his lover, of their actions. Indeed, it was worth it to take the time to pause, and enjoy such little pleasures. He opened his eyes again, turned enough to give Quatre another soft, brief kiss. "Thank you, Quatre."

Dazed smile, random thoughts. "Heero? I was wondering - just what did you mean earlier, when you said that about your... pain threshold?"

The secretive smirk returned, but without any answer.

"Oh, come on - tell me, would you? I'm really curious about that."

Singular chuckle. "Good."

Quatre bumped Heero's shoulder, once, twice, thrice...

"Stop that!"

Grin. "Not until you tell me!"

Sigh. "Fine, I'll tell you - but remember that you asked for it."

Quatre's grin widened. "I think I can live with that."

Heero placed his hands behind his head, looked up at the stars, contemplating on how he could say this without making it too embarrassing - and coming up nearly blank. He sighed again, concluding he might as well give the entire story. "I told you Dorothy and I have a little quarrel going, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did."

"Well, that all started months ago - a few weeks before Relena's birthday. Dorothy phoned me and said she had this really great idea of what to get for a gift. However, she wanted it to be from the both of us. Why I didn't suspect anything right then, I don't know - maybe I was too preoccupied with setting up the security for the party. Dorothy isn't the kind of person that would have to split the cost for a decent gift, considering her wealth. Anyway, I hadn't thought about buying her a gift at that time, so I agreed. A few days later, I get this catalogue from Dorothy." Heero's cheeks grew a tad warmer. "It was a catalogue of various types of sex toys."

"Sex toys? For a birthday gift to Relena?" Quatre shook his head. "What was Dorothy thinking?"

Heero's blush grew. "I'm getting to that, actually..." He hesitated for a moment, but since he had already said enough for Quatre to connect the dots through speculation, he continued. "Dorothy had marked out all the items she thought Relena might appreciate. Almost all of them dildos or vibrators of some type or another - and she wanted me to make the final choice of... equipment."

Quatre snickered.

"I was surprised when I saw the catalogue, to say the least - but I figured Dorothy knew Relena better than I did, that the two of them had exchanged some intimate fantasies or discussed... these things."

"So, did you?"

"Did I what?"

Mischievous grin. "Did you select the lady's pleasure?"

Heero's cheeks were beyond pink now. He nodded. "Not like I had any idea what I was choosing, anyway. I did some quick... research on it, checked recommendations and comments on some obscure places on the InfoWeb, and made the choice based on that. I sent the catalogue back to Dorothy, along with my share of the cash to buy the thing with. She said she would handle the rest."

"Heero, you can't be serious - you didn't think about the reactions people would have when she unwrapped that at the party?"

He shook his head. "Like I said, I was preoccupied, I didn't think that far - maybe I reasoned Dorothy was planning to give this thing to her in private, I'm not sure."

Brief chuckle. "I can't remember Relena opening such a gift, though - unless she covered it up real quick."

"That's because she never got it." A sigh. Now the blond should definitely have figured out the rest. "It wasn't until the party I began wondering - Dorothy came up and handed Relena another gift, a tiny piece of jewelry, I think - the box was at least much smaller than what our gift should be. I went over to the gift table, and studied the packages, checked the tags of those that were of the approximate size. Then, I found it - and the name tag said it was from me - just me. Dorothy had bought the thing, alright - however, she was planning to use it to embarrass me. When it finally dawned on me, I grabbed the package, told the servant in charge of the gift table I was confiscating this packet for 'security reasons', stating there was something suspicious about it. Lucky for me he didn't check the gift registry or the tag."

Quatre grinned, quickly piecing together the next segment of the story. "So, there you were, without a gift, and knew you had to replace the box with something, and came up with the idea of the 'I owe you' letters?"

Heero nodded. "It worked, though. I confronted Dorothy later, but she told me to be a good sport about it all - at least I had caught on the joke after a while." Sigh. "I guess that should have been the end of it..."

"What happened?"

"I... Well, I still had the... the thing. I had hidden it in my quarters, and some days later, I found myself studying the box, got curious and..." His cheeks turned nearly crimson. "And decided to test it."

Laughter. "You mean you-"

Heero shot him a glare. "You're not to repeat this to a living soul, got that?!"

More laughter, regaining of control. "I promise. So, what happened next?"

"As you've probably guessed, I enjoyed the toy - it was odd at first, but once I got the hang of it-" Quatre snickers interrupted him, though they were silenced by another glare. "Anyway, Dorothy contacted me a few weeks later, and wondered why she hadn't received a return receipt from the place she had ordered the thing. Before I could think up a decent cover-up, I blushed. She saw right through that, grinned like crazy and jumped to conclusions - though they were probably the right ones. She got this 'I can't wait to tell Relena' look - and that's when I threatened her to silence."

"You threatened her? Heero, that's-"

"Not nice, sure - but it was embarrassing enough to know she knew. I couldn't bear the thought of Relena knowing about this." He momentarily closed his eyes, took another deep breath. "Of course, threatening Dorothy only makes her more determined. Next thing I know, I got another shipment from the same company - condoms, lubricant, another... joystick..."

More laughter, but subdued, nearly under control.

"I wanted to get even, somehow. I couldn't think of anything imaginative, though. Damaging her car or torching her wardrobe wasn't refined enough - plus, it would be criminal. In the end, I called Duo for creative help."

Quatre's jaw drooped, before rejoining the rest of his grin. "You didn't... Duo? You mean, you told him about-"

"Are you crazy?! No, I didn't tell him - not everything. I just said I wanted to get even with Dorothy for her sending me... 'unwanted naughty gifts', I think I called it. I'm not sure if he misinterpreted that, but he gave me a few ideas."

"And what did you do, after consulting the expert of pranks?"

Smirk. "I took an empty box, put thin metal plates along the sides and bottom of the box, and scattered microcharges on the bottom plate."

"You sent her a bomb?"

"No - the microcharges weren't big enough to cause any blast damage - the effect wouldn't be much more than that of a compressed spring. I wanted a little revenge, I didn't want to physically hurt her. Not... really."

Mild grin.

"Then, I filled it with a bunch of the condoms she had sent me, still in their individual plastic wrappings. I had covered them with the kind of adhesive they have on those little yellow post-it notes - you know, the kind that doesn't stick all that well, but just enough for light objects, like the bits of paper?"

Quatre nodded, still grinning.

"I rigged the package so that when the lid was removed, the charges would go off. Inside the lid, I stuck a message in big bold letters stating 'May these bring you much joy'."

"So, she got the box, opened it - and got covered from head to toe with sticky condoms?"

"Yes... That was the idea. However, I didn't check the society column that week - I usually do, just to stay alert of any events Relena might suddenly run off to, with little to no notice. It turned out that on the evening when she got the package, she was arranging a fancy social gathering of some sorts - lots of nobility, power and fame, gossip press lurking about - that sort of thing."

"Oh, my..."

Great smirk. "Yeah. The delivery man handed her the package, and she opened it right then and there. From what I've heard, nobody but the delivery man, a few servants set to clean up the ones that hit the floor, and maybe a handful of the guests actually saw her all sprinkled with bits of rubber before she could hide and get them all off - but even one person is enough to start the gossip in those circles." Heero shook his head, smirk fading. "When I heard, I knew that she'd get even with me, somehow. I've been waiting for her strike ever since - and with her here..."

Quatre gave Heero's biceps a few comforting pats. "I'm sure it'll be quick and painless."

Frown.

Return smile, chuckle. "Anyway, she did get a bunch of free condoms, didn't she? As you wrote, they might bring her some joy, if she has-"

Heero shook his head, smirk returning. "There's one more thing - I put another note in at the bottom of the box, placed so the microcharges wouldn't make it unreadable - 'PS, one of these has been carefully prepared with a needle, making it as protective as a sieve'. None of them really were, but I figured the note would be a nice touch. I think Duo would agree, if I ever tell him what I did."

Snicker. "Yeah, I'm sure he would..." Deep breath, smile. "Hey, maybe I should be protecting you, then - sounds like you need a bodyguard, with Dorothy on the prowl."

Faint snort. "I can take care of myself."

Chuckle. "Undoubtedly..." He hesitated, a question forming in his mind, though riddled with doubts. "Uhm, Heero? You know... I might have to get a security staff myself soon. I've been wanting to lessen the pressure on the Maganacs for a while, give them less to worry about - and I would need someone I trust to put such a team together, and organize it..."

Smirk. "Offering me a new job, Quatre? One with special 'perks' involved?"

Smile, shrug. "Maybe... Just a thought, though. Think about it, would you?"

Heero stretched his neck, looked up at the stars again. "I will."

The water splashed against his feet, went up along his calves, reached for his thighs and hips. The ocean was definitely not willing to wait for them to get out of the way. He shot a glance at Quatre, down on his belly, and on his own. Quatre grinned, read his mind. "We'd better take another quick dip to clean up before we leave, don't you agree?"

Heero nodded in agreement, lazily slung a hand around Quatre's shoulder, pulled him close enough to kiss, not really wanting to move. The waves washing in would do the job eventually, wouldn't they?

Quatre would have none of it, though. The blond stumbled to his feet and stretched a little, before offering a hand to Heero. With a sigh and a smirk, Heero accepted, and let himself be dragged into the water, the first few steps a bit awkward. He rubbed his sore butt, brushed off some of the sand clinging to his curves, before they were far enough out to let the water do most of the work for them. Quatre spun around, hugged him close, kissed his shoulder. "Thanks, Heero."

Heero wrapped one arm around the other, brushed aside blond bangs and touched his lips to Quatre's forehead. "I think you stole my line..." He tightened the hug. "Thank you, Quatre."

-------

A fair distance away, a bit up along the trail leading up the side of the cliff, hidden more by a few green bushes than the dimly starlit night sky, a spectator lowered her binoculars, jaw still drooping where it had fallen some time ago. Ever so slowly, it began working. "Oh, my..."

Sinister snicker. "Quite a show, don't you agree, Miss Relena?"

Relena shook her head, glared at her fellow conspirator stretched out on the blanket below them, peeking through an opening in the bushes. Relena got down on her knees, carefully folding her dress as she did so. "When you said we were going to 'help things along', this wasn't quite what I thought you had in mind."

Dorothy put down her own set of binoculars, smirked, adjusted a switch next to the mysterious little black box next to her. "Oh, if I had told you everything, you would never have helped me, now would you?"

Sigh. "Perhaps..." She gestured at the stack of clothes between them. "And what about that? We're going to give them back, aren't we?"

Snort, amused smile. "You want to go down there and tell them we have been watching the whole thing?"

Blush. "Dorothy, we can't just-"

"Can't what? Let them walk home naked?" Smirk. "I see absolutely nothing wrong with that..."

"Dorothy!"

Sigh, rolling eyes, dismissing wave. "Fine, fine. We will put their clothes somewhere where they can find them. I'm sure they'll take the trail we came down by. Less people in that direction. If they walk along the beach, they'll head straight by the seaside nightclubs, and I don't think they'd do that." She smirked.

Relena sighed again, momentarily rested her forehead against fingertips. She picked up her binoculars again, snuck another peek at the two young men playing in the water. "I'm so glad I asked Quatre to come. I knew he'd talk to Heero, lure him out of his shell - though I would never have guessed he would go this far, despite what you hinted at."

"Are you surprised?"

She put the binoculars down, shook her head. "A little, maybe. To tell you the truth, I'm more relieved than anything else... I practically threw myself at the boy, and he neglected me. No wonder I could never affect him. I almost thought there was something horribly wrong with me, since he didn't show the slightest of interest. If he's gay, at least I have that explanation to find solace in."

Dorothy smiled, reached for Relena's hand, touched it gently. "Oh, come now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Miss Relena. You're a beautiful and intelligent young lady, and it is his loss that he can't enjoy your companionship fully."

Fatigued smile. "Thank you, Dorothy. You're a genuine friend."

Giggle. "Of course I am, dear."

Pause. "Come to think of it, you were the one who suggested I ask Quatre to come visit in the first place - how did you know the two of them were-"

"I didn't. I had a fair suspicion regarding Heero's preferences given a slight... quibble we've had over the last few months - I'll tell you all about it later, promise. Quatre... Well, you know how Quatre is, always so polite at parties, but never proceeding with any of the advances made towards him. I merely guessed, and it looks like I ended up being right. I didn't think things would go quite so well this quickly, though - that is, until I overheard Quatre earlier this morning, when I went through his belongings."

Relena was appalled. "You snuck into his quarters?! Dorothy!"

Smirk. "I didn't steal anything, I was just having a quick look-see while he was showering. When I found that little tube in his pants pocket, and overheard the things Quatre muttered to the bathroom mirror, practicing some remarkably quaint pick-up lines, I had a decent idea of what he was wishing for. All we had to do, was give them that final little nudge. They would probably have gotten there without our help, but where would the fun in that be?" She snickered. "Taking their clothes seemed like a good idea - though I completely forgot about Quatre's... accessories."

Another sigh, dejected head-shake, distant smile. "I thought we were done for when you tossed that thing at Heero - I thought he would suspect something for sure."

Dorothy shrugged, raised her binoculars again, adjusted the zoom. "He probably did - but Quatre kept him preoccupied, don't you think? Besides, if I hadn't tossed it to them, we wouldn't have gotten the full show, now would we?"

Relena's face grew stern. "I didn't come here to peep at-"

Mild rolling laughter. "Of course you didn't, Miss Relena. I did, though."

"Dorothy!"

She wiggled her forked eyebrows, fiddled with the black box again, pulled what looked like a small piece of paper out from a small slot. Relena was just about to ask what the box actually was, but Dorothy cut her off just as she opened her mouth. "Miss Relena, why don't you take their clothes and disperse them over there, where the path starts? I'll pack up things here, and we'll leave before they notice us."

"But - but what if they don't find-"

Dorothy found a pen in her chest pocket, waved Relena off. "Oh, just scatter them over the bushes down the trail. I'm sure they'll notice. Stop worrying so much, Miss Relena."

Relena momentarily wrinkled her nose in disagreement, but started gathering up the boys' clothes. Behind her back, Dorothy quickly scribbled something on the little piece of paper before tucking it away in her sleeve, making sure Relena didn't notice it. Relena was about to reach for Quatre's pants when Dorothy beat her to them, and dug inside the pockets to fish out Quatre's wallet.

"Think we should keep this, to make it look like a robbery?"

Again, Relena frowned.

Dorothy rolled her eyes, put the wallet back in and let go of the pants. "It was only a suggestion..." She grabbed the faded pair of jeans, and while Relena was busy rounding up the shoes, she tucked the small square piece inside the right pocket. "Here. This should be the last of it."

Relena took the pants, and walked away.

Miss fork-brows smirked as she watched her somewhat involuntary accomplice walk away. As soon as Relena was out of view, she picked up her binoculars again, and watched as the ex-pilots emerged from the water. Her face grew a most sinister grin, and she reached for the black box again.

A few minutes later, Relena returned. "I've scattered their clothes where the path starts. If they walk that way, they can't possibly miss them, even in the dark." She looked down at Dorothy, and at the undisturbed box and blanket. "Why haven't you started packing? They will most likely come this way any minute, Dorothy! We have to go!"

With a mild snicker, Dorothy momentarily put down her binoculars. "Oh, I don't think they will be going anywhere for a while..." She looked up at Relena's blank, questioning face, grew a sinister smile. "It would seem the kind boys wants to give us an encore."

Mildly shocked, though overly curious, Relena dropped to her knees, fumbled around for her own binoculars, and peeked through the bushes. Once more, her jaw dropped, though this time she recovered more quickly, gaining a mildly appreciative smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Dorothy didn't let that detail escape her, but decided to focus on the same as Relena.

Further down on the beach, Heero was on his hands and knees, Quatre behind him, above him, as if molding himself along Heero's backside, planting soft kisses and gentle bites at Heero's shoulders, bucking his hips against Heero's in a way that made it all too clear what they were doing.

Relena remained fixated with the display for a further few seconds, before the prim-and-proper subroutines of her brain kicked in again, making her drop the binoculars, leaving the boys some privacy. "I don't think anyone would believe us if we told them about this..."

Somewhat reluctantly, Dorothy lowered her binoculars too. "Oh, I don't know... We could just submit evidence."

Mental gears turning. "Evidence?" The sprockets in Relena's mind ground to a halt at a mildly alarming conclusion. "Have you taken pictures?"

Subtle grunt. "Of course not!"

Relena sighed in relief.

Dorothy smirked, patted the black box at her side. "Nothing but full video would do this scene justice."

"Dorothy!"

Snicker. "Dear Miss Relena... Think of it this way - don't you think a tape of this would make a great anniversary gift to them, should we need one?"

Disbelief. "You've - you've filmed this entire-"

"Yes, of course I have - I even have audio!" Triumphantly, she pointed at a small device attached to the side of the box, aimed at the busy boys. "Want to hear? I didn't buy top-of-the-line espionage equipment for nothing - it automatically follows and focuses on the subject, adjusts for lighting and shadows, and can even record whispers several hundred feet away. Very handy, if a bit pricey." She flipped a switch along the side of the box. Through the tiny speakers built into the black box, muffled cries resonated. Relena grew agitated, both for Dorothy's actions, and for what she was hearing - and misinterpreting. "We have to stop them - Quatre is hurting him!"

"Miss Relena, he's only-"

"Just listen to how he screams in pain!"

Smirk. "You're at the wrong angle, my dear. Please, stoop to my level for a bit."

Relena glared at her, but did as she was asked, and stretched out on the blanket next to Dorothy, overly careful with her dress.

"Now, please adjust your binoculars..." Dorothy grabbed the frame, positioned it and spun the zoom dial just right, letting Relena make the final adjustments. She gasped. Dorothy grinned. "There. See?"

See, she did. She was glaring right at Heero's privates, just as Quatre's hand appeared at the scene, the businessman planning to handle his lover's assets.

"As you can see, I think Heero is quite happy, not in pain."

Relena blushed, dropped the binoculars, feeling she had seen far more than she should have already, uncertain if she'd be able to speak to Heero without thinking of- She blinked twice, shook her head, turned to her side-kick. "Who would have guessed Quatre was so... so..."

Narrow eyes, ominous, thin smile. "Aggressive in sex?"

Deepened blush, no answer.

Smirk, brief giggle. "Well, Quatre has always been a giving person, has he not? I guess he's a tough opponent in all kinds of 'swordplay', just a little better at getting his way in duels when it comes down to the bare truth."

Relena involuntarily coughed, nearly choking on her own breath. "Dorothy!"

Mild laughter. "Oh, my dear, you are so easy to toss off balance... I do not think you should worry, though - I'm sure Heero will turn the tables when he is good and ready." She picked up her binoculars again, spun the zoom dial. The sounds from the black box intensified a tad. "You know, you are really missing something here, if you don't watch..." She smirked. "Then again, once we get this box home and edit the contents properly, you can watch it over and over again - won't that be fun, Miss Relena?"

Relena's face was a deep crimson now, not only from embarrassment and a hint of shame, but also mild anger and a hefty dose of annoyance. "Dorothy, how can you say something like that," she snapped in a hissing voice. "This was supposed to be a private moment - I doubt Quatre or Heero would agree to you - us - watching, much less you recording the whole thing."

"But of course not. Why did you think I went through all this trouble? This videotape will be excellent blackmailing material, I'm sure - and if that fails, I can always use it to get even with Heero in some other way, for embarrassing me at my own party."

Relena blinked. "Embarrassing... You mean, those rumors about what happened at your-"

Passing frown. "Yes... They're true - some of them, at least. It was Heero's package that caused the scene, and it was my intent to get even, somehow." Sinister smirk. "Maybe I should make this tape public..."

Relena got up on her knees. "What?! No, Dorothy - I would not allow you to-"

Dorothy put down the binoculars again. "Oh? You wouldn't? What have you got to offer me in return, Miss Relena?"

One corner of Relena's mouth twitched slightly, but she didn't answer.

Sigh. "Well, if you want me to be good, I guess I would simply have to behave - for a while..."

Another sigh, but of relief, not faked sadness. "Thank you, Dorothy."

Smirk. "Oh, don't mention it - I'm sure we can enjoy this one privately too." Dorothy could almost hear the veins in Relena's forehead throbbing, even through the ever-increasing volume of the sounds the black box relayed. She looked through the binoculars again, just as the black box cried out two names, one seconds after the other, followed by heavy panting. Even Dorothy's cheeks gained some color, and there was a wet sound as the plastics of her binoculars detached from her face, the device dropping to the blanket.

"Shut that thing off!"

With a wide grin, Dorothy absentmindedly obeyed.

"Dorothy, we have to go, right now! We'll talk about what we're going to do about this - this - this tape later."

Sigh, nod. "As you wish, Miss Relena." She started packing the recording device away, made sure all the cables were accounted for. She stood up, took a last look through the binoculars before she packed them away too. "It looks like they're taking another dip - I don't think we have to run." She giggled.

Relena shot her a glare, and quickly folded the blanket together.

"Oh, don't feel bad about all of this, Miss Relena. They knew what they were doing, and they knew they were in a public place."

"They didn't know we were here, and they definitely did not know you were-"

"Oh, come off it, my dear. Are you saying you did not enjoy the little show? Or should I say, big show?"

Relena yet again felt her cheeks warm. "I - I-"

Dorothy giggled, made sure the recording device, the blanket and the two binoculars were all safely tucked away in her bag, slung the bag over one shoulder, and offered her hand to Relena. "Let's go, Miss Relena. We're done here."

Relena took the offered hand, her own trembling just a bit, and decided not to argue anymore. After all, they could always argue over a night snack - and perhaps a movie - a little later. She grew a faint smirk, and followed Dorothy's lead.

-------

"Stay away from me!" The voice was determined, though Heero smirked nevertheless, and took another step towards the beach, water barely reaching his hips.

Chuckle. "Afraid of me now?"

"Only of what you'll do, Quatre - twice is enough. Sure, you keep fixing one problem, but making me bow-legged in the process isn't the solution."

Wholehearted laughter. "Well, I did give you a choice, but you said-"

Faint red cheeks, sheepish grin. "I know what I said! Now, let's just go home, okay?"

Quatre shrugged. "Sure. Think you'll need my 'help' when we get there? Or do you want to help me instead?"

Single, stressed chuckle, smirk, another step towards the beach. "I guess that's not all too unlikely..."

The blond clapped once, rubbed his hands together with great enthusiasm. "Great! What are we waiting for!" He raced to catch up to his lover, who was already out of the water, heading towards the trail up the side of the cliff.

Heero increased his pace, just in case Quatre got frisky again. He was trying to avoid getting another hard-on, but he wasn't so sure if Quatre had the same intention, especially when he felt a hand squeeze one of his buttocks. He slapped the hand away. "Cut that out, would you?" He smirked, added "Wait until we get back."

Wide grin.

Heero noticed something in the blond's other hand; a small, nearly empty tube. "Why are you holding on to that? I told you, I've got-"

"Yeah, you told me all about the secret stash Dorothy sent you, Heero - but as they say, one for the road? You never know-"

Heero rolled his eyes, still smirking. "I told you, home first, and then-"

"Heero, what's that?" Quatre pointed to a place a little ahead of them, right where the trail wound through some bushes. One seemed remarkably white, for a plant.

Heero jogged over, realized it was Quatre's shirt, looked around, saw some light blue fabric draped across another bush. "It's our clothes, Quatre!" Heero tossed the white shirt at Quatre, and began searching the nearby bushes. Quickly putting the shirt on, though not buttoning it, Quatre opted to help, and soon enough they had rounded up all their missing belongings.

Quatre put on his underwear, reached for his pants, felt the wallet was still in place. "You know, this is odd... My wallet is still here."

"It is?" Heero frowned, made a little jump to fit into his faded blue jeans, bent down to put on his well-worn yellow sneakers. "It wasn't any thief, then - but who would-" From within his right pants pocket, something scratched through the thin fabric against his thigh. He stood up, and searched his pocket, pulled out a small Polaroid image.

-------

Both Dorothy and Relena were out of breath by the time they reached the top of the trail. The remaining bit was all flat land, thankfully - except for the mild elevation of the grassy knoll, of course. Their car was parked just a little bit further away.

"Dorothy, remind me to put on an exercise outfit and climbing boots the next time you plan to meddle."

Soft snicker. "Oh, Miss Relena - I wish I had thought of that myself. My shoes weren't exactly designed for such a trek, either. Just think of the long, leisurely bath we can take when we get back to the mansion. We can relax then, and-"

From beyond the edge of the cliff, far below them, a scream pierced the relatively quiet night, in the shrill, highly agitated voice of Heero Yuy. "Do-ro-thy!"

Dorothy grew a sinister smile. "Oh, my."

Relena looked questioningly at her. "Dorothy?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm sure he just found the little snapshot I took from their little tryst - and stuck in his pants."

"You did what? You mean, you basically told them we-"

Dorothy tightened her hold on Relena's hand, nodded. "We'd better run back to the car, Relena - I'm sure Heero will come looking for us now - and we need to get this film to a secure location, don't you think?"

Relena couldn't help but agree, knowing that might be the best bargaining chip they would have for not getting killed or severely injured by a currently very, very upset young man with an extended history of violent behavior. She let herself be dragged along by Dorothy, desperately tried to keep up her pace.

-------

Quatre had latched onto one of Heero's arms, tried to hold him back as the angry boy stomped up the path. "I'll kill her! I'll kill her, bring her back from the dead and kill her again!"

"Heero! Please, calm down! What are you suddenly so angry with Dorothy for?"

He momentarily stopped, flung the Polaroid image at Quatre, who picked it up from the ground where it landed. He studied it, saw the motif was the two of them, from the exquisite details of the image clearly taken just as their first bout came to a climax - well, two, when he thought about it. He did the decent thing, and blushed. Along the white bottom edge, golden marker pen writing formed the words 'Thank you for the show! Love, Dorothy'. Quatre looked up at Heero. "You mean, she was the one who took..." He took another look at the picture, grinned sheepishly.

Heero's nostrils flared again, deep frown remaining. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to go find her, and make sure nobody else does, ever again."

Quatre managed to tear his eyes away from the picture, hurried after Heero, and grabbed a firm hold of his arm again. "Wait, Heero! We haven't even fully dressed yet!"

Heero growled, quickly scooped up the blond into his arms, and started walking up the path, determined not to stop. "I've got pants and shoes, you got underwear and a shirt. Together, we're a fully dressed person. Now, stop complaining, and I'll let you back down."

Quatre wrapped his arms around Heero's neck, smiled. "I think I like it just fine here..." For a moment, he forgot what he was trying to prevent. He shook his head, suppressed the happy thoughts for more urgent business. "Heero, you made a vow never to kill again, remember?"

Heero stopped, arms slumping a little, though he did not drop Quatre. "Damn. You're right..." He sighed, found new strength and continued up the trail. "If Relena knew what Dorothy had done, she'd allow me to temporarily disregard my vow, I'm sure of it."

Meek, questioning voice. "You intend to tell Relena about this?"

Mild glare. "Hell, no!"

Heero trotted onwards, though his breathing grew strained as the first serious incline began. He gritted his teeth, intent on continuing.

"Heero, this is silly... Stop, put me down."

Compliance.

Quatre still held the Polaroid in his hand, though it was crumpled severely by now. "Look, the way you shouted her name earlier, I think it's safe to assume she has run away from here as fast as her legs could carry her. No doubt she'll use the negatives for this image or whatever other images she's taken of us, to get even with you for that exploding box of condoms."

Heero grunted, sighed. "You're probably right," he muttered. "Damn that woman!"

Disarming smile. "Now, let's just go back and put on the rest of our clothes, okay? Then we return to Relena's place - I'm sure we can sit down and discuss this matter with Dorothy, quietly."

Growl, glare.

"Heero, I don't want any fighting, and I don't want any bloodshed."

"Can't I just scratch her a little? She did issue another challenge, and right now, I'd love to carve my initials on her back with a rapier."

Quatre sighed, hugged him, kissed his cheek. "Heero... Let go of your anger. We'll work this out, don't worry. I'll just ask Relena to convince Dorothy to hand us the tape - she doesn't have to know what's on it."

Another growl, gentle snort. "Well, she does seem to have some power over Dorothy..."

Another kiss to cheek. "See? Everything will be just fine."

Sigh, slight smirk. "I think you have some power over me too now, Quatre."

Sunbeam. "Really?"

Nod.

Quatre looked away for a moment, considering whether or not to ask, but deciding in favor of asking. "Have you thought about my offer?"

"The one to become your Chief of Security?"

Enthusiastic nod, hopeful eyes.

Smirk, hug. "I'd love to - but I'd have to be close to you at all time - to keep you safe, I mean."

Chuckle. "I don't think that would be a problem, Heero. Not at all..."

-------

The two short-breathed scheming young women had finally made it to their car, an nondescript sedan from the motor pool, rather than the pink limousine - after all, they hadn't wanted to create unwanted attention. Dorothy secured the recording equipment, before running around the car to take the driver's seat. Relena leant against the car roof, panting heavily.

"Get in, Miss Relena - Heero might still be chasing us!"

With a groan, Relena opened the passenger door and slumped into the seat. "My feet are so sore... I so wish I had worn running shoes."

Dorothy fastened her seatbelt, smirked. "How about I give you a little foot-rub to go along with the bath we discussed, then?" Smirk growing to grin, flickering fork-brows. "Or are there other places you wish me to massage for you tonight?"

Gasp. "Dorothy!" Mind still freshly soaked in perverted thoughts, Relena couldn't help but interpret it in one way - though she was sure Dorothy intended that. She blushed furiously.

Rolling laughter, ignition key turned, engine roaring. "Oh, Miss Relena - I so love it when you call out my name..." Then she stomped on the gas, launching them into their first wild ride of the night.

-------

'Sex on the Beach'. For some, it is the name of a drink. For two ex-pilots, a cherished memory - and for a select few, golden words on a video label...