Something Furry Part 7
Duo purred as his mate's lips brushed against his throat, tilting his head back farther in response to the unspoken request. He slipped his hands under the edge of Heero's shirt, tracing the lines of his back. Heat was curling through him, but so was relief. When Heero had turned away from his touch at the store earlier, Duo had been sure the magician was going to cast him aside, that somehow he'd angered his mate. After Heero had gone to the workroom, Duo wondered what he should do- and Sally had come to his rescue.
"Heero's in one of his moods," she'd said. "He'll get over it. He's not mad at you- and you have to remember that he's not Pride. He didn't mean anything by not returning your touch- and he'd be upset to know it worried you. So don't worry, okay?"
But he had. He couldn't help it. Something had upset his mate. Something that had to do with Duo- and he couldn't figure out what it was. What had he done? It had to have been something with the fae, but he didn't know what.
When Wufei had sent him to fetch Heero, Duo had half-expected the magician to tell him to go away, but he hadn't. Heero had seemed tired, not angry, and he hadn't pushed Duo away again, much to Duo's relief. Things had fallen back into place- until they had come home to find Zechs' scent lingering in the hallway.
Duo bared his teeth for a moment and then caught Heero's lips with his own. He didn't like the idea of Zechs prowling around, looking to start a fight with Duo's mate.
Carefully, he grabbed hold of his mate tumbling him off the sofa and gently onto the carpet. Heero didn't protest the change in position.
"I promised you something earlier," he said against Heero's mouth, his fingers slipping down to find the fly of Heero's jeans. His mate's lips curved under his.
"I was hoping you'd remember," he said as he tugged at Duo's buttons in return. "But it was a long day."
Before Duo could reply, even before he could do more than tug Heero's zipper down, there was a thunderous knock at the door.
They both froze for a moment, startled. "Who the hell...?" Heero started and the knock came again.
Duo took a deep breath and snarled. There was a familiar scent on the other side of the door- several of them. "Zechs- and he's not alone this time." He shook himself, trying to hold onto his human shape. The jaguar wanted out- wanted to take a bite out of lion hide, dominant or not, suicidal or not...
Heero snorted and pushed Duo gently to the side. He stood up, his clothes in disarray and strolled to the door. Putting one hand against the fragile wood, he took a deep breath. "What is it?"
Duo hurried to his mate's side. He wasn't going to let Heero face these three alone!
"Let me in magician!"
"I'm sort of busy at the moment." Heero drawled and Duo gaped at him. "And I don't believe we have an appointment."
"I order you to let me in and take off this damn curse!"
"You got the curse because you challenged me. Are you challenging me again?"
Zechs was silent for a moment and Duo moved even closer to Heero. If Zechs had been alone, that threat might have made him back down, but he was out there with two of his spouses and he couldn't lose face in front of them.
"I want this curse taken off me." A neutral answer. Not a direct challenge.
"Then you will have to be patient. I told you the curse would wear off naturally."
Another pause- and then something slammed into the door. "That's not good enough! Reverse this curse, or I swear that the next time I find your mate unprotected-" Zechs didn't have a chance to finish his threat. Heero's hand glowed briefly and the door suddenly flared with light.
Duo blinked, his eyes watering. Heero opened the door and frowned at the three unconscious figures on the floor of the hallway. "It's a good thing the landlady is understanding about this sort of thing."
"What did you do?"
"Just activated the full power of the wards. They got 'slapped', but they should be fine in a bit." Heero bent down over the curse mark on Zechs' wrist. He traced something on the skin just above it and Duo's eyes widened as the curse mark writhed and changed. Then he traced another mark on all three of the unconscious Pride members foreheads.
He stepped back and frowned at them. "Go home."
Much to Duo's surprise, they all rose to their feet and stumbled down the hallway towards the exit.
"All done." Heero tugged Duo back into the apartment. Closing the door firmly behind him, he smiled at his mate. "Don't look so worried. They'll get home safe enough."
"I wouldn't care if they didn't." Duo frowned. "Zechs worries me."
"I know." Heero gently pushed Duo down on the couch and picked up the spell book from the floor. "But we are going to put some protections on you- and besides, he's not going to feel like going out for a bit."
"What did you do to him? I saw that the mark changed-"
Heero smiled as he flipped the pages in the book. "I just did as he asked- I reversed the curse."
Reversed? But Zechs still had the mark... Duo's eyes widened as the implication hit him. Reversed. "You mean instead of impotence..."
"Exactly. He's lucky, most people would pay a lot for that sort of thing. Especially for as long as it should last." Heero's smile turned slightly depraved. "He might be a little sore- and jeans are out of the question- but really, I did what he asked."
Duo made a mental note. Heero could be very literal at times.
Heero stopped on the page Sally had bookmarked. He studied the page for a minute and Duo noticed that his smile widened a little.
"Perfect. Wufei was right. This should do the trick." Heero turned the book around to face Duo. "This protection charm will work if you're awake or unconscious- and you don't have to do anything to activate it. If someone touches you with the intent to hurt you- be it with bare hands or otherwise- it will make them very sorry."
Duo looked at the page and read the short paragraph. "I like it."
"Are you sure? We can look for some other ones."
"No," Duo looked up and met Heero's eyes. "This one is perfect." If only there was a way to put it on all of his jaguar kin.
"All right then." Heero stood up. "We won't need the workroom for this. Let me just go get what I need and I'll meet you in the bedroom." His face turned a light pink, much to Duo's amusement. "It will be more comfortable for you- we have to apply the charm all over your skin."
"Okay." Duo headed for the bedroom, pulling off his shirt on the way. He paused over the rest. Heero's shyness still surprised him. It wasn't as if he'd hidden anything from his mate, though he knew the Pride was much more casual about clothing than humans were. Still, Heero had said...
He finished undressing, stretched out on the bed face down and waited patiently. Heero entered the room a few minutes later, carrying the book and a small jar. He gave Duo a faint smile. "Ready?"
"Yes."
Heero sat down on the bed, the book open to the right page beside him. "Just close your eyes and relax. The charm needs you to accept it, and the best way is just by relaxing and staying still."
"Okay," Duo closed his eyes obediently. He heard Heero start to chant softly under his breath, and then warm fingers slid down his spine. It was hard not to move, to arch into the touch as those fingers caressed his back, traveled down his arms and legs, swept over his ankles. It was a divine torture to stay still, to feel the warmth spreading across his skin... oh, he was going to jump on his mate when this was over...
Then the fingers nudged him and he rolled over. Now he could watch Heero under his lashes as the magician bent over him, his lips still moving in the quiet chant, his fingers moving over Duo's skin. There wasn't an inch of skin that didn't feel the touch of Heero's hand and Duo was feeling very warm by the time Heero's caresses stopped. His mate's hand rested gently on his stomach, right below his navel. Duo nearly gasped as Heero's hand grew uncomfortably warm, but he stayed still.
Heero stopped chanting and lifted his hand away. For a moment, Duo would've sworn that his skin was glowing, but then he blinked and the glow was gone.
"All finished." Heero smiled wearily and Duo sat up. Carefully moving the jar and the book to the bedside table, he pulled his mate down onto the bed beside him.
"You look exhausted."
"A little too much spell casting today," Heero said and Duo mentally berated himself. He should've insisted that Heero hold off on the protection spell.
"Rest," he said, slipping his arms around his mate and holding him close. Seduction could wait until morning when Heero was rested.
"That sounds good." Heero smothered a yawn. He put his head down on Duo's shoulder. "Sorry about the mark, but I wanted the spell tied to both your forms."
"What mark?" Duo asked and Heero reached down to brush his fingers on the small patch of skin below Duo's navel. By tilting his head up just enough, he could see a small mark that looked an awful lot like one of the rosettes on his jaguar form's coat. Duo smiled and nuzzled Heero affectionately. "I like it."
"I'm glad." Heero was already half-asleep. "Now you're safe..."
Duo hoped he was right.
TBC...
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