'...' thoughts
Chordney Manor Part 2
"What?!" Duo exclaimed, causing several of those closest to the group to turn and stare at him. He gave them a pleasant smile before turning back to Relena and the other young woman now standing at his side. "Would you mind repeating that?"
"Beth is going to be your date." Relena smiled back, and the twinkle in her eye told the longhaired man that she was enjoying his discomfort. "You can't possibly attend a ball without a partner."
"But--"
"Come now Duo, my dear friend Beth has graciously agreed to accompany you; the least you can do is accept." Relena chided while allowing her smile to drop as a disappointed look that he just could not say no to took its place.
"Alright." Duo sighed, promising himself that he would have a little talk with the former Queen just as soon as the ball was over about setting him up without warning before turning and offering his arm to Beth.
"Good." Relena crowed, her smile once again in place before she turned to face the rest of the group. "Now, I think some introductions are in order. Beth has already met everyone but Duo has yet to meet Dawn."
At Relena's words, Duo finally turned his attention to the waiting group, who had been watching the proceedings with rapt attention. They all appeared to have been given pretty much the same type clothing as Duo himself was wearing with some subtle differences. Quatre was wearing fitted black pants with a white button-up shirt sporting a high collar and a black coat that reached to just below his hips. He was also sporting a pair of low, black leather boots with a small heel. Beside him and standing close enough to touch; Trowa was dressed in charcoal grey pants and a burgundy shirt with a ruffled collar. His coat was much shorter than his lover's, only reaching to the top of his pants while his boots reached almost to his knees.
Next came Wufei and Zechs Marquise, aka Milliardo Peacecraft. Wufei was wearing white, loose pants and an equally white shirt with a high collar. His coat was also white although with silver embroidery, and was nearly as long as Duo's while his white boots were knee high. Zechs, in contrast was dressed in loose, black pants though with a white, high collared shirt also. His long, black coat had gold embroidery and reached to about mid-thigh while the boots on his feet only reached to his ankles.
Last but not least, his attention settled on Heero, who had his usual glare fixed firmly on his handsome face while his unruly, chocolate brown locks were in their normally, messy style on the top of his head. Dressed in soft grey pants that fit his muscular legs perfectly with a black, high-collared shirt and hip-length grey jacket, the man was absolutely gorgeous and Duo found himself staring in awe. After a moment though, he allowed his eyes to travel along his best friend's body once again and this time, his eyes caught sight of the hand that was firmly wrapped around Heero's bicep. Following the hand and its attached arm, he quickly found himself face to face with a stunningly beautiful young woman dressed in a pale blue gown. Her dark hair and obvious tilt to her dark eyes, marking her as being of oriental heritage.
"Duo." Relena said by way of introduction, once she was sure he had noticed the woman. "This is Dawn Ishodo, another good friend of mine who agreed to be Heero's date for the month."
At those words, Duo felt the bottom of his world drop out from under him. Once again, he allowed himself to observe the couple, and he noticed that, not only was the man he had loved in secret for the past two years allowing the woman to hang on his arm, but also the glare he was sporting seemed to be directed at anyone that happened to look in her direction.
'Well, that settles that.' he thought to himself. 'I guess I can finally put the question of Heero's orientation to rest. Besides, it was just a stupid crush anyways.'
From her position to Duo's left, Relena watched the play of emotions that crossed the violet-eyed man's face and felt her own heart drop; this was not the way it was supposed to work. Watching with growing dread, she saw the look of dejection that had appeared the moment she had introduced Dawn turn to acceptance and she knew immediately that her plan would have to be adjusted and quickly.
Heero meanwhile, was trying desperately to control himself. From the moment the longhaired beauty had entered the ballroom with Relena, he had been drawing appreciative glances from both men and women alike. Also, the woman Relena had chosen to be the longhaired man's date was practically drooling all over herself, something that made the ex-Wing pilot want to growl, loudly. He kept his outward calm though, knowing as he did that Duo was not aware of his feelings toward him and would more then likely be disgusted if he did know. That did not stop him from glaring at those closest to them who were even now looking the young man over.
"Well," Relena said, clapping her hands together as she tried to break the sudden tension in the air. "It looks like everyone's here now so it's time to get the festivities underway."
Then without another word to the small group of friends, she twirled around in a swirl of fabric and disappeared into the crowd. A moment later, they could see her on the stage that was set at the far end of the ballroom. Approaching the microphone stand that was situated in the middle of the raised platform, she tapped it twice to see if it was on and to bring everyone's attention toward her.
"Good evening everyone." she said with a bright smile. "And welcome to my month-long murder mystery festival. I sincerely hope everyone will have a good time as we enjoy this wonderful home, which was so graciously donated for our use by Mr. Gregory Chordney, the last of the Chordney line.
Now, this is a mystery month and as such, there are some rules to be followed. First off though, the person, or team since you will be allowed to work in groups if you like, to solve the 'murder' will receive a paid vacation to the location of their choice. Also, for those who did not know, all proceeds received during the duration of this festival, will be given to the charity of the winner's choice.
So now; the rules. Sometime tomorrow, our murder will take place, why and how the victim died is what you will have to figure out. Since we don't plan to have an actual victim, you will receive a packet in your room when the supposed crime is committed, listing the victim's name and as much information as you need to begin your research. In the event that someone solves the mystery before the end of the month, we have a second, although easier one ready to go.
I hope everyone has a wonderful time, both tonight and for the duration of our stay here. Thank you." Relena concluded to loud applause from the gathered guests. Leaving the stage, she made her way back across the room to where the small group of Preventer's was still gathered.
"So what do you guys think?'' she asked.
"How are we supposed to solve a murder without a body?" Wufei asked. "It's not possible."
"There will be a crime scene of course that you'll be able to examine." Relena reassured him. "And there will be enough evidence to figure it out, maybe not right away though."
"I think it sounds like fun." Duo admitted, causing the others to turn and stare at him. "Well I do." he stated, returning his partner's glare. "I'll take a fake murder over a real one any day."
"I must agree with Duo there." Quatre added sheepishly.
"Hn." Heero agreed with a nod of his head. They spent so much of their time working on cases like that as it was, a break where they could still continue to sharpen their skills on a fictional case, was an interesting idea.
"Of course, I expect one of you to solve it." Relena said with a laugh. "After all, your reputation as Preventers would be tarnished if you allowed one of the dignitaries to beat you."
"That would be bad." Hilde's laughing voice came from their left and they turned to find the young woman approaching. She was dressed in the same type of dress as most of the other women at the ball but hers was a royal blue that almost perfectly matched her eye color.
"You look amazing Hil." Duo stated, his eyes wide in shock. "I don't think I've ever even seen you in a dress before."
"And she wasn't too keen on wearing one for this either." Relena offered with a smile. "I had to make some pretty interesting threats to accomplish this."
"You know." the braided man said after seeing the blush that colored Hilde's cheeks at the blonde woman's words. "I'd really like to know what I've missed during those vidcalls because the interaction between you two is killing me."
Duo statement brought another blush to Hilde's cheeks as the young Vice-Foreign Minister simply laughed and shook her head. "All in good time, Duo." she said before grabbing Hilde's arm and whisking her off into the crowd.
"What the fuck was that all about?" he asked once they were gone.
"You know, Duo?" Quatre smiled in amusement at the braided man's plight. "Sometimes you can be quite unobservant."
"Huh?"
"Nothing, Duo." Trowa said with a smile of his own before leading the blonde man into the crowd as well.
"Ok, I give, what did I miss?" Duo said as he threw his arms up in the air in exasperation.
"Hilde and Relena are a couple and have been for nearly six months." Heero stated in his normal monotone, although a smile was playing along the outer edges of his lips; the longhaired man was just too cute when he was confused.
At the announcement, Duo went completely still; his eyes tracking into the crowd in the direction that the two women had disappeared. "Well, damn, I guess I was sleeping during those calls." he said softly, his voice full of awe. "Cause there's just no way I could've missed an announcement like that."
"And just one more reason why you and the others needed a break." a cultured voice said from directly behind the violet-eyed man causing him to jump in surprise; he had not sensed anyone's approach. Turning to see who had managed to sneak up on him, he was left speechless for a moment as he looked up at one of the most stunning men he had ever seen.
Dressed in the same period clothing as the other guests at the ball, the man had short, platinum blonde hair that was neatly styled and piercing blue eyes that seemed to bore into Duo's own violet ones. He stood a good foot taller than the braided man, causing Duo to have to look up, which left him feeling distinctly vulnerable for some reason. Of course, it could also have been the look in the man's eyes that caused the feeling. Giving himself a mental shake, the longhaired man managed to draw his eyes away from the other's, breaking the spell.
Heero, being his normally observant self, especially where Duo was concerned, also noticed the exchange and his glare darkened even further when he saw the violet-eyed man's nervous movements as well as the way the new comer's eyes were taking Duo in. Guiding his so called date closer, he moved to stand at his best friend's side, earning him an icy look and smile from the man who seemed to notice his actions and recognize them for the defensive moves they were. The look only lasted a moment though, before those blue eyes focused once again on Duo as the man smile warmly.
"Excuse me for being rude, I'm Gregory Chordney." he said with a small bow of his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, you're the one Relena mentioned in her speech." Duo said with a smile of his own as he reached his hand forward to shake the one that had been proffered to him. "The one who owns the house?"
"Yes." Gregory responding as, instead of shaking Duo's hand, he lifted it to his lips, brushing a gentle kiss across the back and raising a blush to the violet-eyed man's cheeks.
"Uh, ok." Duo stammered, retrieving his hand as politely as he could while taking an involuntary step backwards.
"Please forgive me, I didn't mean to be so forward but you are quite beautiful and I couldn't help myself." the platinum-haired man stated although his voice held no hint of the regret he expressed. Duo's eyes grew incredibly large at the statement though and his mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no sound immerged as he found himself speechless.
By this time, the exchange had caught the attention of Wufei and Zechs as well and they both came to see what could have flabbergasted the normally talkative ex-pilot. Duo felt instant gratitude for his partner's curiosity, which gave him an out for his embarrassment as he turned a smile to the Chinese Preventer while speaking to their captivating host, "This is my partner, Chang Wufei and his... date?... Zechs Marquise." the braided man introduced before turning to his other side. "And this is my best friend, Heero Yuy, and his date... ummm...."
"Dawn." the woman offered with a smile that Duo could tell was forced.
"Yeah, sorry about that." he smiled back, rubbing at the back of his neck before turning to his own date. "And last but not least, this is my date, Beth."
"It's a pleasure to meet each of you." Gregory intoned with another small bow.
"Baka." Heero growled, giving a small tug on that long braid. "You forgot to introduce yourself."
"Oh." Duo said, a blush once again coloring his cheeks. "Right, I'm D--"
"Duo Maxwell." the man interrupted. "Yes, I know."
"Huh, but how--"
"Oh Gregory, there you are." Relena called as she made her way toward the small group once again, a bright smile on her face for their host. "I see you've met my dear friends."
"Yes, I was just acquainting myself with them."
"Good, I'm glad you've been able to spend some time with them, but the delegate from Argentina is just dying to meet you." the young politician gushed. "He wants to ask you about the history of this wonderful house."
"Of course." Gregory said graciously. "I'd be more than delighted to talk with him and answer his questions."
With a bright smile, Relena instantly latched onto his arm and led him off into the crowd, although just before he disappeared, his head turned back to give one last look at the group of ex-pilots and their dates.
"Well, that was kinda creepy." Duo said under his breath as a full body shiver gripped him.
"What do you mean?" Heero demanded, having caught the words and not liking the connotation they carried.
"Just that... I don't know... he just weirded me out is all." the braided man explained even as yet another blush stained his cheeks.
"If that was weird for you Maxwell, then he really must've done something strange." Wufei added, earning him a glare from his partner.
"Funny Wu, very funny." Duo sneered back. "I just didn't like the way he was looking at me is all."
"How was he looking at you?" Beth asked, she had been there for the entire exchange and had not noticed anything out of the ordinary about it. In fact, the handsome and charming man had seemed like the perfect host to her.
"I don't know, like I was a specimen under glass or something." Duo said with another shiver. "Like he was searching for something in me."
********************
The ball continued for several hours following Relena's speech. Appetizer trays, as well as champagne and wine trays, providing the guests with refreshments as the orchestra played soft music, which allowed for dancing if they saw fit. After imbibing in his fourth glass of champagne though, Duo was beginning to feel lightheaded and the heat of the ballroom was not helping things either. Luckily, at least in his eyes, Beth and Dawn had taken up with themselves and were having a quiet conversation a short distance away so the violet-eyed young man did not feel bad when he slipped away from the group, finding a door that led to a small brick patio and leaving the party for the cooler night air.
He had only been outside for a few short minutes though before he was joined by another of the guests when a tall yet rather round man came stumbling through the double doors and nearly plowed right into him. Luckily, the braided Preventer was able to stop the man's forward motion and kept them both from falling to the hard stone-covered ground.
"Oh, terribly sorry about that." the man slurred in Duo's ear as he fought to keep his feet under him; the smell of excessive alcohol causing Duo to gag ever so slightly. "Just needed a little fresh air to clear my head."
'You need more then fresh air to do that.' Duo thought while trying to maneuver them both to the closest of the stone benches set around the outside of the patio. After a few agonizing seconds of practically holding the drunken politician up, he managed to reach one of the benches and levered the man down to sit.
"There," Duo said as he stood back up, letting his back pop back into alignment. "you'd better sit here for awhile before trying to go back inside."
Then turning and starting for the doors, Duo intended to find a servant and find out where exactly his room was; he had had enough of the party and just wanted to sleep. However, before he could take much more than a step, two beefy arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him to sit on the drunken man's lap. Tensing at the contact and unsure of what was happening, he was completely unprepared for the hungry mouth that immediately latched onto to his neck, biting down and nearly breaking the skin.
"You don't have to leave so soon." the man purred, briefly releasing his morsel. "I'm sure we can find something more interesting to do."
At the man's words, Duo's shock gave way to anger and he began fighting against the hold the man had around him. For some reason though, the man no longer seemed quite as drunk and in fact, the ex-pilot of Deathscythe Hell was having a hard time prying those questing hands from his body.
"Let me go, you sick son-of-a-bitch." Duo demanded.
"Come now, you're from L2 right?" the man asked before biting deeply into the violet-eyed man's neck, this time breaking the skin as Duo felt blood begin to run down his back. "I know you like it this way."
"He said let go." a voice stated from the shadows just before Gregory Chordney appeared and stalked purposefully toward the two on the bench. "And I would suggest you do just that, immediately if not sooner."
"Ah, our charming host." the man said with a sneer, his hands still running almost leisurely over Duo's chest. "So good of you to join us. I of course saw the way you were looking at him earlier and I'm sure he wouldn't mind a little threesome."
"Bastard." Duo hissed and his struggles increased.
"Release him now." Gregory snapped, stepping forward once again. "Or I will call security and have you forcibly removed from my house; no one attacks another of my guests."
"Guest?!" the man exclaimed. "He's just an L2 whore, only good for one thing."
At that, Duo's anger changed to pure rage and with strength born of that rage, he twisted in his attackers grip and planted his elbow directly into the man's nose, both feeling and hearing the satisfying crunch of bone and cartridge. The arms that had had him pinned quickly disappeared and he instantly stood up, taking one step back in the process.
"Don't you ever call me that you sick bastard." Duo snapped, his fist balled at his sides. "You have no clue what L2 is like or what I am. How dare you even think--"
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder and his reflexes instantly had him reacting to the perceived threat as he spun around, fist raised to deal a harsh blow. He only just managed to stop the swing from connecting with Gregory Chordney's face.
"Easy now." the platinum-haired man cooed, his voice soft like he was trying to calm a wild animal. "He's unconscious so I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Turning back, Duo saw that the man was indeed unconscious and that during his fury, he had advance until he was looming over the unconscious figure, more than likely prepared to finish the man off. This meant that the platinum haired man had stopped him from committing what would have been cold-blooded murder. With that in mind, he turned back to the tall host and gave him a sheepish smile.
"Umm, sorry about that; I guess I just lost it."
"That's perfectly understandable." Gregory said with a smile. "I don't think I would've been able to hold myself back at all if he had said those things about me."
"Yeah, well, if you hadn't stopped me then, well...."
"That's quite alright, now let me take a look at that." Gregory said, motioning to the bite on the young man's neck. "You don't want it getting infected."
"That's ok, it's not that deep." Duo protested, even though the man had helped him, he still did not like the strange light that lit his eyes every time he looked at him.
"It's hard to tell what kind of germs might have been in his mouth." the blue-eyed man protested and stepped closer, causing Duo to unconsciously step back. However, the drunk and bench were directly behind him now and he could not go very far. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
Duo stared into the other's eyes for a few seconds before nodding in reluctant agreement; the bite really did need to be looked at. So, tilting his head to the right, he allowed the man to approach, nearly gasping when Gregory's cold fingers touched his skin.
"You were right, it's not that deep. But I'd still like my servant to have a look and possibly apply some antibacterial cream and bandages just incase." the man said even as his fingers continued to brush across the ivory skin before him.
For his part, Duo had his eyes squeezed tightly shut and his lower lip caught firmly between his teeth as he fought down the reaction the fingers were raising in him. Shivers of pure pleasure coursed through his body with each light brush of those cold digits and he had to swallow a soft moan when they touched a particularly sensitive spot. Both were so completely caught up in the moment that neither noticed the third presence until a deep voice demanded from the direction of the house, "What the hell is going on here?" Instantly, Gregory stepped back and turn toward the person, allowing the light from the moon to illuminate the bite mark on Duo's neck, which raised a deep growl from the new arrival.
"Heero!" Duo exclaimed and rushed to stop his best friend as he saw the dark-haired Preventer stalk toward Gregory, murder clearly evident in his eyes. "Mr. Chordney was just checking to see if the bite needed treatment."
"How did you get it in the first place?" Heero demanded.
Stepping to one side and placing one hand on Heero's shoulder, Duo turned to motion toward the unconscious man slumped on the stone bench. "An admirer of mine who wouldn't take no for an answer."
This of course, turned the blue-eyed young man's glare toward the drunk and only Duo's restraining hand kept him from doing any further damage to the man.
"I took care of it." the longhaired man stated with a slight growl of his own. The fact that even now, Heero did not trust him to defend himself hurt. "I can take care of myself you know?"
When he only received a grunt in response, he turned back to the tall blonde with the intention to thanking him once again. However, by this time Gregory Chordney was gone and neither he nor Heero had heard or noticed him leaving. Once again, Duo felt a shiver pass along his spine and he whispered softly, "Creepy."
********************
Later that night, once every one had been shown to their rooms, Relena and Hilde lay wrapped in each other's arms in their large, king-sized bed.
"I can't believe the Argentinean delegate, attacking Duo like that." Hilde scoffed softly.
"He'll be dealt with." Relena stated. "I've already called the local authorities and they'll be sending someone out to pick him up tomorrow. I'm just glad that Duo wasn't hurt too badly."
"That bite'll scar, no matter how much stuff you put on it." Hilde warned. "Human mouths are just not very clean."
"I know." Relena sighed before snuggling closer to her girlfriend. "But did you see Heero's face; I thought he was going to kill the man for even presuming to touch Duo."
"Now if only those two would figure it out themselves."
"Don't worry; I still have faith that my plan'll work. It just needs a few revisions." the blonde woman stated.
"I'm still not sure; you know how insecure Duo is and seeing Heero with Dawn definitely didn't do anything to alleviate it."
"Beth and Dawn are both consummate actresses; they know exactly what to do to drive those two together."
"I hope you're right; I'm so tired of Duo whining about Heero this and Heero that and I'm sure you're just as feed up with Heero's complaints."
"You can say that again." Relena snorted. "Just last week, he spent nearly an hour fuming about Duo's latest date and how wrong the guy was for him. People who say Heero doesn't ever talk, don't know him very well."
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, if they haven't figured it out by the end of this month; I'm going to lock them both in a room together, naked." Hilde declared.
"Agreed." Relena said with a smile before leaning in to kiss the other woman softly. "Now get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow."
TBC...
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