Braids and Waves

Parings: 1x2, 2x1 (eventual!) 3x4

Warnings: Um... wet dreams hehe! Not in the sense you’re thinking you naughty people! ^_^ Nah not really, kinda fluffyness sort of…

Notes: Well I haven’t anyone go ‘that’s rubbish give up writing!^_^! So here goes the fourth chapter and we go ever deeper into this tangled web, wouldn’t it be nice if it was all straight forward for once… Nah. So we get to find out what Quatre thinks… What do you think please review!

Thanks: To my little demons (my muses!) who would not let this story
lie.

Summary: Duo is living with Quatre and Trowa. But what no-one
realises is why. And what happens when they find out the truth,
especially Heero.

Enjoy

Chapter 4 – Moonlit Meeting

Duo stared at Quatre, who was staring straight back at him. Duo quickly looked around him but obviously found no way out. Instead he decided to dive down, flicking his tail behind him. The spell was broken as soon as Duo moved.

“Nononono…” Quatre stammered, but Duo was already at the bottom of the pool. He gazed down into the pool noticing that the waist length braid had been undone for once. The long hair floated about the figure like brown seaweed. Quatre took the chance to get a proper look at Duo’s new appendage as he was sitting on the bottom of the pool. The scales were the colour of lilac pearls and they shone in the limited light. It was only now that Quatre realised that Duo’s tail had double tail fins like some tropical fish. He had also noticed the translucent dorsal fin that ran from his lower back to meet the fins as Duo had made his dive. Quatre finally pulled out of his shock and kneeled down on the pool side. He slowly slid his hand into the water in Duo’s direction. Eyes that really did sparkle like amethysts gazed up at the hand, then uneasy fingers reached up and took hold. With a flick of his tail Duo broke the surface carefully, cautious not to make any noise.

“This was why you came to live with me, wasn’t it?” Quatre suddenly realised. Duo nodded.

“There is no water in the desert. I had nothing to fear.” The blond noticed that Duo seemed to almost glow in the moonlight like the mystical creature that he was. He seemed to radiate an inner luminosity. He looked beautiful. Quatre could suddenly believe in the stories of sailors jumping to their deaths after such creatures.

“You have nothing to fear from me, Duo. I’m just… shocked.” Duo’s smile was only half hearted.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He shrugged then pulled himself out and perched on the side, fins still trailing in the water. Quatre bit his lip. “What?” Duo narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Can I… can I touch it?” The merman had to nibble his own lip not to laugh.

“Yeah sure. It won’t bite.” The blond reached out tentatively and touched the scales with his fingers before placing his whole hand on the tail and ran it down. Quatre looked astounded and Duo amused. Quatre breathed not realising he had been holding it and smiled.

“Wow. It’s so… smooth. I was expecting it to be slimy or rough perhaps.” He paused for a moment, just touching the miracle in front of him. “I just didn’t think that you, merpeople, existed, you’re a myth.”

“I can assure you I’m totally and completely real.”

“I…I know. How does it work? Your tail I mean, how come you can have legs.” Duo leant back and looked up at the moon.

“I don’t know how it works. Just when I’m dry I have legs, when I get wet I get a tail. It’s hard work avoiding the rain, I can confirm.” Quatre turned his teal eyes to the man sitting next to him, realisation striking him like lightning.

“This is why you’re avoiding Heero.” Duo’s head snapped around, his eyes were wide with horror.

“I can’t- Quatre you can’t- he can’t know.” The Arab smiled sympathetically,

“I wouldn’t do that to you Duo. This is something you would have to tell him. This is beyond my comprehension; it wouldn’t be my place to tell Heero or anyone else for that matter. But I promise that I will keep your secret.” Duo visibly relaxed, letting out a deep breath.

“Thank you Quatre. You have no idea what that means to me.”

“That’s what friends are for,” He yawned, “I’m so tired, I’m going back to bed. I’m cold and I’ve got something nice and warm to snuggle up to. Good night Duo.” The blond stood and stumbled over to the door.

“Night Quatre.” Duo smiled back, pulling his tail completely out of the water. Quatre looked back as he went through the door, the last view he had was of Duo sitting along the side of the pool, drying off his tail.

-x-

The blond almost stumbled back up the stairs and into his room. He put the gun away and slid back into bed.

“Jesus Quatre, you’re frozen.” Trowa’s words were slurred. He was still half asleep. “Where have you been?” Quatre smiled and ran his hand across Trowa’s cheek.

“It’s a long tale my love, I’ll tell you in the morning.”

“Mm hm.” The Latin snuggled up to his lover. He was nearly asleep again. Quatre knew that Trowa wouldn’t remember the conversation when morning came. He just hoped he remembered and that he didn’t think it was a dream. He closed his eyes and settled back into his lover’s embrace. Mentally he kept telling himself ‘not a dream’. He was fast asleep by the time Duo made his way to his room.

-x-

Duo walked up the stairs, tired but happy. The moonlight meeting with Quatre had gone better than anything he had ever envisioned. He paused at the top of the stairs and looked across to Heero’s door. He knew the stoic former Wing pilot would be asleep, but it didn’t stop him wanting to go into the room and return the kiss Heero had bestowed upon him earlier that day. He walked towards the door and stopped, his arm raised to the door handle. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. What if Heero woke up? What if he punched him in the face? What if he didn’t? Duo decided it was too uncertain with too much to loose. He turned back to his room and shut the door silently behind him. He looked at the cold, empty bed hatefully remembering what Quatre had said. No warm body awaited him. He removed the towel and climbed into bed. He was thankful that the swim had tired him out and he easily slipped into sleep. It didn’t stop him from dreaming however.

-x-

The sea was a brilliant turquoise ahead of him, so clear it was like looking through glass. Shafts of sunlight streaked through the water, illuminating it. Multicoloured fish swam around him in little shoals. He giggled to himself at their antics and watched as other fish darted through the coral below him. It was pleasantly warm as he propelled himself through the water, only slightly having to fight the currents. He rolled on his back looking upwards, the surface rippled gently. It was a pleasant day above the water.

As he rolled back over, he noticed the thing ahead of him. It was sitting in the water. He changed direction, he swam upwards. As his eyes broke the surface, he realised that the ‘thing’ was in fact a boat, a yacht to be precise. He could see that someone was on it. They were looking in the opposite direction. He grinned to himself as he dived back down into the depths.

He swam under the boat and swam back up, not quite reaching the surface. He could see the figure on the boat, looking out. He had short, unruly, dark hair, an athletic build and golden skin. His expression seemed a little harsh from what he could tell through the water. However, he decided this creature, this human, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He felt himself get a little closer, watching the human intently. It was only when he realised that the human had deep sea coloured eyes that he knew he had been seen. His eyes went as wide as the blue ones above him.

Instead of turning tail and swimming away, he found he was frozen in panic. The human above him slowly knelt down on the boat and leant forward. He found that he rose nearer the surface to get closer. He felt his face break the surface slowly. As the face above him came into focus, he found he couldn’t breathe. The human really was beautiful. The human, although surprised by his appearance looked down at him with interest.
“My name’s Heero, what’s yours?” His voice was deep and strong, even if holding a doubt that he would receive an answer. The voice reverberated through his whole being. He was transfixed.

“Duo.” He finally managed to reply. The face above him broke into a smile.

“Hello Duo. Um… You’ve got a tail.” Duo smiled back after looking down at himself,
“Yeah, I have.” He lay back and held his tail out of the water so he could show Heero properly.

“Are you a… mermaid?” Duo straightened again and tried not to be offended.

“Merman! I’m not a girl.”

“I’m sorry, I can see that. It’s just… you’re so beautiful.” He sounded almost shy. Duo could feel himself blushing.

“You are too.” He managed to reply. Heero seemed shocked at this revelation before he recovered himself
.
“May I… join you?” He looked into the water. Duo nodded enthusiastically.

“Please do.” He smiled up at the human. Heero smiled back before standing up, stripping off his T-shirt and trousers, leaving on a pair of black shorts to keep some of his dignity. Duo watched awestruck, as a perfect body was revealed to him. Heero gave a small smile before performing a perfect dive into the waves.

When he surfaced, Duo felt his heart flutter at the proximity of the human. Heero had to keep kicking to make sure his head stayed above the surface. Duo reached a tentative hand forward and brushed the thick bangs away from the brilliant blue eyes. Heero almost gasped at the gentle touch and found he couldn’t pull his gaze away from Duo. Instead he grabbed the hand and placed a gentle kiss upon it. Duo did gasp and then blushed heavily. But he did not pull his hand away.

“Hold on to me.” He managed to murmur, “You won’t have to swim then.” Heero cautiously wrapped his arms around Duo and stopped kicking. He could feel the strange tail next to him, flicking slightly. Duo’s heart skipped a beat at holding the human so close. As he gazed into the deep blue eyes he was transfixed. All the rules about not being seen flew out of his head in an instant. He managed to have a quick glance at Heero’s mouth before meeting his eyes again. Heero took this as a hint and brushed his lips against Duo’s. Duo felt as if his whole body had been stung by jellyfish except that it didn’t hurt, in fact it felt good, very good. He couldn’t help the small smile before Heero met his lips once more. Neither of them noticed their submergence into the water as Duo kissed back and wrapped his arms around Heero’s neck. He pulled himself as close to the human as he could get, feeling the strong body against his.

-x-

The image shimmered and died as Duo slowly opened his eyes. It was daylight, there was no water, no boat, no Heero and somehow he’d managed to tangle himself up in his sheets. He groaned loudly as reality sank in. Just a damn dream. But it had been so good. The feel of Heero… His imagination had gone into overdrive on that one. As well as his libido, he quickly realised. He groaned again, this time in frustration. He took a few moments to breathe deeply, and then switched his mind off from that particular department. He slowly sat up and began untangling his limbs from the clinging fabric. He got dressed quickly in casual clothes to have breakfast and a preliminary meeting for the mission ahead.