Betaed by Skippyscatt

~ * ~

Zechs managed to keep from ruining any of the brushes he was winding. Near the end of the day he wasn't sure he was going to make it. But his stubbornness was legendary, so he managed.

On the walk back to the mansion, he fell back to stop and examine his hands. They hurt so bad it was all he could do not to groan, at least he had gotten his job done.

Wufei noticed that Zechs wasn't with them. Duo clutched Heero's hand and pulled him along, only murmuring. "Come on. Wuffers will take care of him. Let them be. ‘K?"

Heero glanced back to see Wufei touching Zechs on the arm. "Sure. I don't want to be around when Wufei gets pissed. He yells."

Duo snickered. "Yeah, got a hell of a set of lungs on him, don't he?"

Heero cringed as he heard Wufei start yelling. "Let's hurry."

~ * ~

Wufei stopped Zechs with a hand on his arm. "Better let me see. They were bad last time I looked at them." Wufei held out his hands, demanding silently to see what the damage was.

Zechs held out his blistered, cut hands and smiled hesitantly. "See, they're not bad."

Wufei made a strange hissing noise, somewhat like a leaking radiator. Zechs started to relax, then realized that Wufei was taking a deep breath through his nose. *Uh-oh!*

Zechs couldn't translate most of what Wufei said next. All he knew was that it was loud, in Chinese, and angry. The bits he could translate were, ‘fool', ‘idiot', ‘bloody', and ‘mess'. He also thought there was a ‘love' or maybe it was ‘rice'.

He tried to interrupt Wufei but he was told in no uncertain terms to shut up, this in German.

"I will not have you damaging yourself. You're just as bad as Heero or Duo. Neither of them has a particle of sense when it comes to taking care of themselves either. Now, when we get back, I'm sure Duo will have things set up in the kitchen. You. Will. Not. Argue. With. Me. Do you understand?"

Zechs couldn't decide whether to smile in delight, or groan in pain. Wufei had been, not too gently, probing the palm of one hand while he fussed.

"Jawohle, mein Herr!" Zechs gently removed his hand from Wufei's grasp. "Come on. If we don't get to the house soon, Yuy will come looking for us. And I don't relish the ass eating he's going to give me."

Wufei gave Zechs a smug look. "Heero won't eat your ass out." At Zechs' skeptical look, he smirked. "He'll eat around it and let it fall out. Get moving."

But Heero wasn't around when they got to the kitchen, only the cook. She put a kettle on, handed Wufei some supplies and left, mumbling about stupid boys.

Zechs extended his hands for Wufei's inspection. They were a mess, he'd blistered his finger tips and palms. He'd also cut himself in several places.

Wufei picked up a magnifying glass and carefully looked at each hand. He sighed and put it down.

"Well, you've done a good job of turning your hands into raw meat. You've got blisters as big as a Euro coin and several splinters of . . . wire? . . . or slivers of something. I'm not sure which. . . imbedded in you . . . stupid man." Wufei poured hot water into a bowl muttering under his breath in Mandarin.

Zechs finally lost some of his temper and demanded to know what Wufei was saying. So Wufei told him.

"I was saying that you have such beautiful hands it's a shame how you abuse them. You've got scars all over them. You haven't got the sense of a pea hen. If you don't get at least some infection in those blisters, I'll be surprised. You've ground filings, dirt, grease, and I don't know what else into them. If I didn't . . . you're . . ." Wufei spluttered himself to a stop and just pointed to the bowl of water. "Put your hands in there . . . I'll clean them. I'm sorry. I'll probably hurt you, but I assure you it won't be on purpose."

Zechs bit his twitching lips so as not to laugh at Wufei. He was like a terrier taking on a mastiff. Zechs wouldn't laugh at him and insult him but it was close.

Wufei caught the twitching and biting. "So, you have something to say that I want to hear? Or are you just trying not to laugh at the boy." Wufei sniffed sharply in aggravation.

"I would never insult you so. But you have to admit that it is funny. You're not quite half my size and here you are dressing me down like a raw recruit."

"I wouldn't dress you down if you didn't deserve it. You're supposed to take care of yourself and your men. How can you take care of others if you need care? Stupid man. Sit still so I can get the splinters out of you."

Zechs held his hands out one at a time, obediently sitting still as Wufei muttered, cleaned, and prodded. He flinched slightly each time Wufei pulled out a sliver of metal or a scrap of wire, but otherwise held still.

When Wufei was done cleaning and picking, he gently applied a layer of salve and then started to bandage by applying a square of gauze to each palm.

"Wufei, I don't think . . . "

Wufei gave Zechs a sour look. "No, you certainly don't."

Heero walked in the door, just then, with a pair of soft cotton mittens in his hands. "You're not going to use pseudo skin?"

Wufei shook his head. "No, blisters need to dry for a while before it'll stick."

Zechs made a sour face. "You blistered your hands."

"Burns are different. Heero, thanks for the mittens. Those will work just fine."

Heero gave Zechs an ugly look. "Stupid. You should take better care of yourself. What if we need you? You're useless like that." He turned to Wufei. "Take better care of him. I'll have something to say to you later."

Wufei sighed. "Damn. He's on a roll. Here put these on . . ." Zechs reached out wincing. "Never mind, I'll do it. Then I better go see Heero, before he hunts me down again."

Wufei helped Zechs get the mittens on, then got up and left the kitchen with slumped shoulders and dragging steps.

Heero pounced on him at the library door.

"Well, did it work."

Wufei snickered. "Oh, yeah. You should have seen his face. I thought he was going to . . . I'm really not sure what. But he'll take better care of himself in the future. Too bad we didn't have this sort of knowledge when you were such a self-destructive idiot."

Heero ducked his head and grunted. "I'm sorry."

Wufei snorted. "Not that I care so much for myself, but you made Duo and Quatre cry. I don't do well with lachrymose males. And I shudder to think what Catalonia went through with Peacecraft."

Heero did shudder, Dorothy hadn't quite forgiven him yet.

~ * ~
The next morning saw them all awake and at the breakfast table early. They had to get back to work on the Leo.

Duo grumbled when he realized that Zechs was going to be no help at all. He couldn't even take care of himself, his hands were so sore. In fact they were sore enough that he was seriously considering skipping breakfast.

Wufei had different ideas. "You're not eating."

Zechs shook his head. "Can't. My hands aren't cooperating with me today."

Wufei just filled a plate with things he knew Zechs liked and plopped it in front of him.

"And I'm eating that like a dog?"

Wufei picked up a fork, speared a piece of sausage and put it to Zechs' mouth. "Eat!" Zechs just opened his lips and ate. Wufei fed him just fast enough that he had to chew and swallow quickly, or choke. He definitely made sure he couldn't speak. Instead Zechs was forced to listen to Duo moaning about how he was going to have to do it all himself, as Heero was only good for grunt work and Wufei would be too busy babying Zechs to do anything. Zechs wanted to say something, but the insistence of Wufei that he eat quickly kept him from it.

Duo finally wound down and headed for the warehouse with Heero in tow. They left Zechs and Wufei at the mansion to fend for themselves for the day.

"Wufei, not that I'm complaining, mind you. But why didn't you want me to say anything to Duo."

Wufei smiled. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't give you a stomach ache. Duo needs this. He's been so lonely. And he's done nothing but study and worry about Heero. He needs this badly. And he enjoys complaining. You'd never have really gotten in a word. And you might have said the wrong thing and set him off, trying to prove. . ." Wufei made a vague gesture. "Whatever. Who knows what gets into another persons head. I guarantee that you don't want to see Duo in one of his fits."

Zechs gave up. While Quatre was ‘little Father' Wufei seemed to know more about Duo than any of the rest of them except Heero. If Wufei said that this was good for Duo then he was all for it. He wanted to see Heero and Duo happy, if he managed to snatch a little for himself too, who would complain?

~ * ~

Heero followed Duo to the warehouse and settled down to make sure that the rest of the computer equipment went where it was supposed to.

Duo went back to working on the servos. He spent all that morning finishing the assembly.

When he finished the last of the servos, he realized that he was going to need more help. The few men left who were willing to help with the Leo, were common soldiers (If any soldier could really be called common) not mecha mechanics. They were willing to do whatever they could but that was mostly scut work, like cleaning up after Duo, measuring wire and so forth.

Duo straightened up and stretched, bending back and forth the work the kinks out of his back. He wondered what Wufei and Zechs were doing. Then he wondered what was for lunch.

"Heero, I'm about to starve to death. Let's go find something to eat. Something that's not so chi-chi that I don't know what I'm eating."

Heero looked up from where he was trying to coax the Leo's main computer into working for just a few more hours.

"Sure. This thing is practically toast. It's going to take a lot more work to get it on line again. So. . . what do you want? . . . Greasy burgers?"

Heero pulled Duo into his arms, hugging him gently and running his hands up and down his back, massaging out kinks.

On the drive to the local burger joint, Duo did some figuring on the back of an envelope.

"Heero, between us, do you think we have enough money to keep us for life?"

Heero considered for a second, got a look at the envelope Duo turned his way and nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Because . . . neither of us is ever going to be able to hold a regular job. You know that, if you stop and think about it. Who the hell is going to hire a couple of ex teenage terrorists? And what the hell are we going to do. . . I mean work at? You know. I've got Bachelors degrees in several fields and I'm working on masters. You've got half a dozen BS's as well. But, who's going to trust us."

"Quatre."

Heero kept his eyes on the road, a necessity as he was going twice the speed limit. Duo looked at the speedometer but decided to keep his mouth shut. Heero was tired, he could see the lines of strain around his eyes, and driving like a maniac made him feel better.

"I, personally, don't need charity. I need a real job. Not that the job he gave me isn't a real job, but my assistants do much better, because they're older. Sucks, but there you are."

Heero just grunted, concentrated on his driving and what he was going to tell Duo when they got to the restaurant.

Heero pulled into the parking lot and switched off the ignition.

"Duo, we don't need charity, you're right. But we do need understanding. And someone who hires us knowing exactly what we are. Quatre is having serious problems with WEI. The dismantling of every geopolitical entity on the entire planet has opened up a can of worms that have turned into dragons. And the colonies are no better. You know as well as I do exactly what is going to happen. Is happening right now."

Duo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Look at ancient Communist countries. Centralization of government on a grand scale leading to shortages and overages exacerbated by government lackeys skimming . . . blah blah blah. I don't need a lesson in divergency theory and governmental idiocy. So . . . Quatre hired us because he's going to need us. Not because we need shelter ‘from the storm of public indignation'. . . fuck. . . I guess I've been so busy feeling sorry for myself that I really didn't think. So . . I'll just wait until he . . .what, sends up a flare?"

Heero shrugged. "I'm not sure what he has up his sleeve, but it's nasty. He's putting out ‘spot fires' as quickly as he can. Meanwhile, his sisters are starting to be a real nuisance . . . again. But he has most of them under his thumb now and the rest agree with him whole heartedly. So . . . we wait . . . keep as low a profile as we can. And . . .eat greasy burgers and fries and make that Leo walk. Come on."

Duo just nodded, he needed to go through his email and catch up. Quatre wouldn't keep him in the dark. So obviously he was going to have to do some serious reading.

Grumbling to himself he opened the door of the car and followed Heero into the restaurant.

~ * ~

As they sat down, Heero got a funny feeling on the back of his neck, the kind of feeling that told him they were being watched. He glanced around but didn't see anyone obviously out of place, so he marked it down to normal paranoia and forgot about it.

When the waitress came, she handed them both menus and asked if they needed time to decide. Duo just nodded in a rather distracted manner and stuck his nose in the folder. After some study Heero settled on a curried shrimp salad and tea. Duo took number four, double patty, double cheese bacon cheese burger with mustard, lettuce, pickle, onion and a side of chilli fries. He also ordered a beer.

The waitress just looked at him for a second then sighed, "ID."

Duo produced the laminated card and waited.

"Sorry, not old enough." The waitress handed the card back to Duo who gave her a surprised look.

"Excuse me? What ya mean I'm not old enough?"

With a roll of her eyes she informed him that drinking age on Earth was 21, and who did he think he was trying to fool.

Duo grumbled that he wasn't trying to fool anyone, "There's no legal age on L2, if you're old enough to see over the bar you're old enough to drink . . . never mind, chocolate malt instead."

"Ok, honey, sorry about the attitude. I just get tired of smart ass trouble makers coming in here and getting all snarky about not getting served. Even had some idiot in here telling me he was a Gundam pilot and had the right to do whatever he wanted. Set him straight real quick. I don't care if you are a Gundam pilot. No valid id, no booze."

Heero nearly choked himself trying not to laugh in the woman's face. Duo kicked him under the table while struggling to keep his own face straight.

The waitress caught Duo with a steely eye. "Knock that off. I'm not having you two horsing around in here. Sit up straight and act like civilized humans. I'll be bringing your food shortly."

Duo gaped at her retreating back for several seconds then dissolved into giggles. Heero struggled mightily but gave up and guffawed.

"If she only knew."

Heero wiped his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, she'd have a heart attack. Nice lady."

Duo nodded back but grumbled. "I'd really rather have a beer. Sucks."

Heero eyed Duo for a second then figuratively clutched his nerve with both hands. "You really need that beer? You . . . er. . . um. . . fuck."

"Later baby." Duo leered at Heero, then became serious. "What are you trying to ask . . or tell, me?"

"Duo, you know what my counselor says about alcohol? He says it can become a crutch. If you . . ." Heero trailed off at Duo's loving expression.

Duo reached over the table and took one of Heero's hands in his. "Love, let me tell you about beer. One is enough. If you're not careful, one gets lonely and sends for a friend. That friend calls a friend of his. That turns it into a party with a whole lot of beer. So, one's my limit, no exceptions and not without food. So . . . don't worry about me. Although I love it that you do."

Heero felt the tightness in his chest loosen. "Yeah and drinking to forget your problems is stupid."

Duo walked into that one with both eyes wide open. "Yeah, but . . ."

Heero grinned. "You drink to make your problems go away, and they do. But they're back in the morning with their friend the hangover. I think we both don't have to worry about the other, do we." It was a statement not a question.

"Nurp, no worries."

"Where did you get that Aussie stuff?"

Duo grinned at Heero and let go of his hand. He settled into the corner of the booth like he was getting ready for a long story.

"Well . . . when I first joined Sweepers, Howard turned me over to some old Aussie guy. He was great, didn't get all bent out of shape when I didn't know something. He'd just smile at me and say, ‘No worries, mate.' and explain stuff. I picked up some of his expressions . . . hey! Food!"

Duo pounced on his sandwich with ‘glad cries', in other words he whooped like a cowboy. Heero thanked the waitress and settled himself to eat his salad and watch Duo stuff that heart attack on a bun down his throat. He still couldn't believe that Duo could eat the stuff he did and not get fat. But Duo didn't put on an ounce.

"Wa'? Oo ookn' a' ‘ee ‘ike I'm a . . ." Duo swallowed his mouthful of sandwich and took a drink of his malt to clear his throat. "heathen or something. What?"

Heero managed to translate the first part of Duo's sentence and connect the two parts. "You're going to choke yourself. Why do you eat so fast? It's not healthy."

Duo had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "It's better on the inside where no one can get it. Just old, old habits. You'll notice that I only do it when I'm stressed. This suit is really a mess. You see the servos?"

Heero grunted. He'd seen them, and the joints, and the computers and several other things. He wasn't feeling very good about getting this thing to do more than a walk a few steps, then freeze up completely, forever.

"Yeah, and the gyros aren't any better. You'll have to rebuild them." Duo groaned and put his head in his hands. "Stop that, you'll get that pseudo-cheese stuff in your hair."

Duo sat up straight, wiped his hand on a napkin and pulled his computer out of his pocket. He opened a file and typed quickly. Then he closed the computer and went back to his food.

~ * ~

As they finished eating there was a disturbance in the back of the diner. The waitress cried out, then there was a crash of dropped dishes.

Duo hopped out of the booth and headed that way. Heero stayed three steps behind and as far to the left as he could get in the aisle.

They heard the fight before they saw it. The waitress was hissing at someone to ‘quit that and get out.' Whoever she was talking to wasn't cooperating at all.

Duo narrowed his eyes and said in a quiet voice that warned anyone who knew him to back up and try again. "Excuse me. Something I can help you with?"

The waitress turned and tried to warn him off. "No, honey. Just a little family discussion. He'll be on his way now." She turned to the boy behind her. "Won't you, Billy? You go home, and we'll talk about this tonight."

The big boy was obviously not interested in going home now or anytime soon.

"I'm not going anywhere until you sign this. I wanna be a soldier. I wanna work on mecha. I'm gonna do what I want. Sign the damn paper." The kid shook the paper in the waitresses' face.

"Look here. I'm your mother and you'll do what I tell you. You don't know anything about it. Working on mecha isn't like it is on vid cast . . ."

Duo patted the waitress on the shoulder gently. "Lady, let me handle this." He turned to the boy and snarled, "You're a dumb ass. You wanna work on mecha? Come with me. We got a mecha to beat them all. You'll learn . . ."

"I'm gonna learn from the best. You know what you can do with your . . . urk!"

Duo had the boy by the throat. "I am the best. Duo Maxwell, at your service, or rather your mother's service. You don't know jack shit. You're coming with me whether you like it or not." Duo looked at the lady, who nodded her permission. He grabbed the boy by the collar and hauled him out into the restaurant. "Come on, ‘Ro. Pay while I haul lard ass out."

Heero just shrugged, paid and followed Duo and his sulking apprentice to the car.

~ * ~

The boy didn't say much on the way to the warehouse, mainly because Heero had pinned him with an arctic glare and told him to ‘shut up' in a voice that brooked no denial. He wisely shut.

Heero took out his phone and called Wufei. Duo, behind the wheel this time, made an enquiring noise.

"Zechs"

"Oh, say hi for me."

"Hn."

Heero spoke to Wufei who informed him that he'd put pseudo skin on the blisters at last and they showed every sign of healing within a day. Zechs spoke to Heero for a second, then hung up.

"Well? Don't keep me in suspenders."

"That's suspense. And . . . Zechs is bored. Wufei is threatening to tie him to the bed. He wants to come help us. Wufei won't let him, his hands are just beginning to heal well. Etc. Etc. As if we didn't know already. But I had hopes."

Duo snickered. Billy wondered what the hell was going on, but his only attempt to ask a question was met by ‘shut up!' in stereo.

Duo pulled into the warehouse and parked at the feet of the Leo.

"Well, there you are, a real mecha. All ours to play with. If we can get it going . . . ok, Bill, come on."

The kid looked at Duo. "My name's Billy."

"Not anymore. That's a kids' name. You wanna work on mecha, you're a man. So . . . come with me and I'll set you your first job."

Bill was excited, his first real chore on a mecha job, until he saw the broom. "What the hell is that? I thought you were going to let me work on the Leo."

Duo smirked at him. "Nurp. You'll do it just like I did. You get to clean up after me n' Heero. We're gonna be neck deep in shit for the rest of the day. We start this and we can't stop. You bring coffee, pick up messes. And jump when I say frog. Got it."

"And who the hell do you think you are to give me orders. I'm bigger than you and I'll . . ."

Bill didn't get any farther. "I'm 02, he's 01. Wanna start something? Do it on your time, not mine. Get to work. Sweep up all around the benches, sort the trash. Metal in there, paper there. Garbage out back. And don't look at me like I'm gonna explode. Work!"

Bill went to work, finally realizing who he was mixed up with.

He swept, cleaned, followed orders and wondered if he was going to survive.

Duo watched him for a while but gave up and turned him over to one of the volunteers, who said he'd make sure the boy learned his lesson.

Duo felt bad about grabbing the boy then dumping him on someone, else but he knew he wasn't the one to fix this. He was way too rough for the boy, he was more used to dealing with mercenaries. He knew that Felix would do right by Bill, so he promptly forgot him.

~ * ~

Wufei snarled, snapped his phone shut and turned on Zechs like the fire breathing dragon he was named after.

"Have you completely lost your mind? Neither one of us is really up to working on that Leo. My hands have healed but I haven't built up any calluses yet. You . . . you have barely begun to heal and you want to go back to fixing up that junk? Not a chance. No way."

Zechs held up his mittened hands in surrender. "Very well. I give up. I know you're right. I just don't have to like it . . . so . . . what now?"

Wufei realized that he was going to have to find some way to distract Zechs or he would do something foolish.

"Well, what would you like to do? I'm up for anything reasonable."

Zechs raised an eyebrow. "I'd really like to go visit my orchids."

Wufei blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Trieze loved roses, but I always preferred orchids. I have quite a collection. I donated them, one at a time, to the local botanical gardens. I haven't seen the collection in quite some time. I'd like to see it. If you don't mind."

Wufei nodded. "I'd like that. We'll change clothing and leave in . . . an hour?"

Zechs shrugged. "Fine. But I'm not going out of the house in these mittens. You better think of something else."

He walked out of the room, back ramrod straight, heading for his rooms and a change of clothing. His ‘man' helped him change clothes. He went from loose sweats that he had donned himself, to jeans, button down shirt, and loafers. He turned down socks as being too hard to get on.

Wufei entered to see if he was ready. Zechs eyed Wufei's jeans, t-shirt and trainers with appreciation.

"Nice. But you better do something about this. Because I'm not going out in public wearing mittens. Not a chance."

He left the room, stalking stiffly into his sitting room to wait on Wufei's decision. The stubborn tilt to his chin said, no matter how much he wanted to go, he wasn't budging until the mittens were replaced with something more acceptable and dignified.

Wufei calmly fetched Zechs an old pair of his once famous white gloves. Zechs made a face.

"You think those will still fit? I think they stretched out."

"I'm sure they did. That man servant of yours was highly indignant. But they'll work fine. They have to be too big so you can get them on without disturbing the pseudo skin."

Zechs just nodded and started trying to work them on without pealing off the healing scabs or the pseudo skin.

Wufei reached out to help. "Here! Let me do that. You can't get it without hurting yourself. Silly man."

Zechs submitted to Wufei without comment. He found himself gazing at a pair of pursed apricot lips and wondering if they would taste as good as they looked.

Wufei looked up suddenly and blinked, then blushed. "Something wrong?"

Zechs shook his head. "No, everything is fine. Thank you." He pulled the gloved into a more comfortable fit, made easier now that his blistered fingers were padded by the leather. "I'm ready to go, if you are."

Wufei nodded and led the way to the limo, the driver opened the door for them then asked where they wanted to go.

As the limo pulled smoothly away from the portico, Wufei wondered aloud about a warrior who liked flowers.

Zechs gave him a sad look. "I never wanted to be a warrior, I only wanted revenge dressed up in a pretty lie. I am the last of the royal line of Sanq, beside Relena. They killed everyone else. But now that it's all over, I have to wonder where my mind was. I like poetry, flowers, music; things a warrior isn't supposed to like. Dr. Terry is a great help, but some days I . . . don't even want to get out of bed. My life is empty . . . cold . . ." Zechs sighed and turned to look out the window.

Wufei cleared his throat and wondered if he was about to alienate Zechs. "I was trained as a warrior. All I ever wanted to be was a scholar. I wanted to study ancient Chinese poetry and calligraphy. But in my culture being a warrior and a scholar aren't mutually exclusive. Some of the greatest warriors were scholars. I feel the same way you do. Some days I just . . . could we change the subject. I'm depressed enough today as it is."

Zechs nodded then reached over to turn on the stereo. "This is good. Perhaps we could stop for ice cream on the way back. Hhmm?"

Wufei smiled slightly. He had a secret weakness for chocolate mint chip almond. He thought Zechs might have figured that out.

~ * ~

The limo pulled under the portico at the botanic gardens' large green house and they exited in a patter of officiousness. Someone had called ahead and the general manager met them at the door.

He escorted them to the large and exquisite wing that housed the Merquise collection. Wufei was quite impressed. Some of the orchids were extremely rare.

Zechs deftly got rid of the manager, politely but firmly telling him that he wanted to look and enjoy, not have someone telling him about culture and care taking. He knew all about that and he wasn't about to endure a lecture from some half baked bureaucrat.

They wandered around the enclosure and Zechs told Wufei anything he wanted to know and some things he didn't about orchid culture. He was surprisingly knowledgeable and Wufei's heart broke a little. Zechs so obviously wanted flowers of his own.

Wufei didn't understand why he denied himself, his silent question was answered.

"I would love to have kept some, but the facilities I had available were inappropriate for a mother-in-law's tongue, never mind orchids. No matter how hardy they are, they do need specific conditions in order to thrive."

"I see, and could you keep them in the conservatory at the house?"

Zechs gazed at a particularly awful looking specimen, which Wufei was sure was dying.

"Spectacular."

"It is?" Wufei's disbelieving stare made Zechs laugh.

"Yes, it is. It's nearly a hundred years old. Not part of my collection but it's sort of there. Must weigh in at several stone. It's extinct in the wild."

Wufei blinked. It was certainly ugly enough to be old.

"It's a brassavola, I don't particularly care for them. I like Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium and ‘Slipper' orchids best. They're easy to take care of and quite beautiful. Come."

Wufei followed Zechs into the back regions of the large conservatory where he was met by a nondescript man in dirty coveralls.

He watched as the man filled Zechs in on what had been done recently, Zechs looked so happy that Wufei had to do something.

"Zechs, I'm going into the shop, catch up with me when you're done."

Zechs looked guilty. "I'm so sorry. Zhengde. I'll come with you."

Wufei just smiled. "You'll do no such thing. You'll break that poor man's heart. He's obviously been waiting for months to have you to himself. I'll be fine. I want to look at some books and things. Take your time. If I'm not in the bookstore, I'll be in the tea shop."

Wufei made good his escape and sighed with relief. He had things to accomplish and not much time.

He asked the information desk lady to get the garden manager for him, which she kindly did.

When the man came, Wufei explained the situation to him and asked if he would help. The manager was glad to help Wufei surprise Zechs.

Wufei made a call to the house and got the head gardener whom he turned over to the manager. Then he handed the man a credit card.

"Charge it all on that. I'll be back for the card in . . . ." He glanced at his watch, thought for a moment. "…An hour. If you're done before I come to you, I'll be in the tea shop. Do not say anything in front of Mr. Merquise. It's a surprise."

The manager looked at Wufei, started to say something then decided to scan the card first. This upright, stern looking young man didn't seem like the type to set up something like this for a prank. If he didn't have enough money to cover what he wanted, the manager decided he would help him pick something within his budget.

The infinity symbol that came up when the card was scanned made the man blink. Then he went to work.

Wufei looked at the invoice then signed without a blink. "You're sure? I mean about the plants?"

The manager smirked happily. "Oh, yes. I'm completely sure. Most people like the young master donate plants that they like. So I just had the under gardener pick out spiked plants of the same plants that he donated. They're ready to bloom, or putting out spikes. The selection should have something in bloom almost continuously. I'm sure you'll be pleased."

Wufei eyed the man for a moment. "It makes no difference at all whether I'm pleased. Only that Zechs is happy. I'll take your word. If anything fails to please, I'll be in touch. Thank you for your help. I'm sure that everything is in order."

"Thank you. I sent along a journal for the Head Gardner. It explains specific cultural needs for each plant. I'm sure that Mr. Merquise will be much better prepared to care for most of them, but better safe than sorry . . . ." He glanced at his watch. "I better get going, before he shows up and rumbles us."

Wufei just nodded and went back to his tea and book.

~ * ~

When Zechs finally came to find him, Wufei was full of tea and cakes, and had finished most of his book. He now knew enough about orchid culture to discuss the flowers intelligently, or at least ask halfway intelligent questions.

"I'm sorry it took so long. About the time I thought I'd get away from him, he came up with something new." Zechs settled his long legs under the table and signaled the waitress.

When she came over, he ordered a pot of tea and some scones. She smiled at Wufei as she took the order.

"You better be careful young man, you'll get a tummy ache. All that tea and cake, now tea and scones?" she walked away shaking her head.

"You already ate?" Zechs realized that he had really taken quite some time.

"Yes. But I know you're probably starved. Go ahead and eat. I'll just sit here and enjoy the peace. It's nice to watch people without having to check for weapons, drugs or explosives."

Zechs snickered. "But I still check for clean fingernails and straight ties. And other things. I can't help it. And that fat man behind you is about to drive me to distraction. He's got his tie on crooked and the knot is awful. He has one button undone halfway down his shirt and his socks don't match. Change places with me."

Wufei just changed places without comment. But Zechs noticed that he sat where he couldn't see the man either. Zechs pulled off the gloves, remarking with a grimace that he couldn't eat with them on.

After Zechs devoured an entire plate of cakes and drank the tea, in the most negligent manner possible, they had the head waiter call the limo around.

Zechs asked Wufei if there was anywhere he wanted to go but Wufei remarked that being around such a crowd had exhausted him. He said that he'd rather go home, if Zechs didn't mind. Zechs said that he didn't, but asked the driver to drive through the park on the way back.

Wufei had dropped into a light doze, so when the car stopped he snorted inelegantly and straightened to see what was happening.

Zechs got out of the car, was gone a few minutes and got back in with a carry out bowl.

"Here. For you."

Wufei glanced into the bowl and realized that it was the promised chocolate mint chip ice cream. Zechs had a bowl of his own.

So they finished the drive in companionable silence, eating ice cream and watching the scenery go by. Wufei just hoped that he didn't get sick, after all, he'd had three pieces of cake with his tea.

~ * ~

When they finally reached the house, Wufei asked Zechs to wait in the car for a moment. Zechs gave him a puzzled look but readily agreed to wait.

Wufei hurried into the house to ask the butler if his surprise had arrived. The butler smiled at him and relieved his anxiety by telling him that the men from the gardens had finished not fifteen minutes ago and the clean up was just done as well.

Wufei thanked the butler and the housekeeper for all their help and went back out to the car.

He'd bought a silk scarf at the book/souvenir shop, which he now produced. He held it out to Zechs.

"May I?"

Zechs nodded and stooped enough to allow Wufei to tie it around his eyes. Wufei was flattered that Zechs would trust him enough to allow this without question.

He tied it carefully, just tight enough to keep it from falling off, Zechs reached up and tied it tighter. "So it doesn't fall off before you get me wherever it is we're going."

Wufei guided Zechs to the conservatory. He was glad to see that the gardeners had arranged the orchids in with the plants already there. It was beautiful.

He guided Zechs to the middle of the room by the central fountain, then he removed the scarf.

Zechs looked around and made a small sound of delight. The orchids had been placed to show to their best while still looking like they should in the wild. A few were mounted on slabs of tree trunks with the bark still on and hung from the ceiling by chains. Others were just blatantly potted and set around the central area on pillars.

"Oh, Yazhen, it's beautiful. Thank you so much. How did you manage this?"

Wufei felt a sudden surge of delight at being called ‘Cultured Treasure', he knew Zechs had taken the trouble to look up the names. No one had ever called him pet names before, except Duo. But he only did it to annoy.

"I just told the Garden Master what I wanted and he did it. I asked for ‘pups' from as many of the plants you donated as possible. Then I left the rest up to him. I think he did quite well."

Zechs was amazed. "You mean you just . . . trusted him to do it all?"

Wufei thought for a moment. "I don't see the sense in hiring an expert then second guessing him. Why pay a salary if you won't take advice you've paid for? Senseless, if you ask me."

Zechs walked up behind Wufei to see what he was looking at. Wufei had his head tipped back, looking up into one of the trees. Zechs stooped slightly to try to see what Wufei was seeing.

Wufei turned his head to see what Zechs was doing and somehow their lips met. It wasn't a kiss, at first. But neither one pulled away and suddenly it was.

"Zechs."

"‘Fei."

Zechs turned Wufei to face him. "I . . . don't know whether to apologize . . . or jump you."

Wufei slid his arms around Zechs. "Don't do either. Come."

Zechs turned so that he had one arm around Wufei's shoulders, while Wufei had an arm around his waist.

They headed up the stairs holding each other.

When they got to the bedrooms, Wufei guided Zechs into the older man's rooms. Zechs let him lead the way. Wufei was thankful that he seemed to be so compliant, he wasn't up to arguing about whose bed they were going to wind up in.

Zechs wiped his sweating hands on his thighs and wondered if he'd lost his mind. Wufei was going to be a handful, in more ways than one. But a handful that he wanted more than water or food.

Wufei slipped into the bathroom and washed his hands, then rinsed his mouth out. He was worried about what Zechs would do. He figured they were in for a battle right off. Wufei was not a submissive, in any sense of the word.

When he got back to the bedroom, he could only blink at the picture Zechs presented. He had stripped and was laying in the middle of his incredibly huge bed half on his back, half on one side, with his left hand resting on his hip, his right supporting his head. He was long and lean, beautifully muscled. Wufei wished he could sketch Zechs.

"Well?"

Wufei cleared his throat. "I'm speechless. You . . . you're beautiful."

"You've seen me naked before." Zechs couldn't resist teasing just a bit.

"Yes, but you're well aware that I would never be so . . . rude as to actually look . . . down."

Zechs smiled, a secret sort of smile. "You can look now, if I get to look at you. Please?"

Wufei smiled gently, Zechs was well aware of the ‘rule of the bath', that you saw without looking. In other words, you noticed people enough to stay out of their way, but you did not look, most especially at their private parts. The episode of the scars was an exception to the rule.

Now Wufei took advantage of his invitation to look. Zechs was muscular without being bulky, long and lean, a runner rather than a body builder. His penis was just like the rest of his body, and Wufei knew there was no way he could accommodate it, even if he was willing.

Zechs could practically read Wufei's mind, it was good that he could. He held out his hand and called softly, "Come to me. We'll work it all out. I swear, I won't hurt you. Or allow you to really hurt me. Please?"

Wufei just gave a jerky nod and started taking off his clothing. He removed his shirt and hung it over the back of the dressing table chair, his pants were folded carefully and put on the seat. He didn't realize that when he bent to do this he gave Zechs a very nice view of his backside. The shoes he'd toed off to remove his pants were scooted under the chair, his socks stuffed in them. He returned to his place wearing only his boxer briefs.

Zechs allowed his eyes to coast from Wufei's face to his chest and on down to his briefs. He raised an eyebrow and pointed, "Off, please."

Wufei removed them as he walked the rest of the way to the bed. He broke all his training and just tossed them over his shoulder.

As he crawled onto the bed, Zechs turned onto his back and held out his arms. Wufei snuggled down onto his chest and kissed his chin.

"What do you like? I was trained very carefully. Remember what I told you? Tell me."

Zechs sighed, this was the crux of the whole matter. He was trained too. Trieze had taught him to be what was usually called a ‘bottom.' He could top, but he didn't like to. He wanted to be told what to do. He did too much ordering around during the day to want to spend the night issuing orders too. How he was going to explain that to Wufei was beyond him. He should just let the beautiful young man go now, before they were both disappointed.

Wufei saw the thoughts flitting across his new love's face and read them as if he'd said them out loud.

"Zechs!" Wufei took his chin between strong fingers and made Zechs look at him. "If you want something specific, you have to ask for it. If you want me to take command just say . . . no, just nod. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You don't want to hurt me and you don't what me to harm you. We're both willing, so there is no shame or dishonor here. I forbid it."

Zechs nodded and sighed. "I just want to be loved . . . is that so bad. I . . . just . . . " Wufei put his hand over Zechs's mouth and started loving him.

"First, know that I will always honor you. You are beautiful beyond belief. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad you want me." Wufei couldn't help a small smile. "There's considerable evidence that we are truly interested in each other."

Zechs flushed slightly as he realized that he was hard enough to cut diamonds and leaking pre-come. Wufei just took matters in hand and let Zechs know that he wasn't the least bit ashamed.

Wufei set himself to make Zechs scream. He kissed his way across the wide, sweaty chest and touched one nipple with his tongue. He blew on the wet spot until Zechs moaned softly.

"Oh, I like that. More, please." Zechs shivered slightly.

"Would you like to get under the covers?"

Zechs rolled his head from side to side. "Nuh, I'm fine. Feels so good."

Wufei slid further down Zechs and began a nibbling attack that made Zechs squirm and whimper. Wufei continued his ministrations until Zechs pulled him up before he lost all control.

Zechs kissed Wufei, exploring his mouth, he tasted of cinnamon and cloves. Wufei realized that sometime or other Zechs had sucked on a peppermint. Nice.

After some grappling and shifting, Wufei wound up on top, with Zechs on his knees, backside in the air.

"No. I will not. This is not proper." Wufei levered himself up enough that Zechs looked over his shoulder in disappointment.

"What? You . . . want to stop. I thought . . ."

Wufei tugged and pushed until Zechs rolled over.

"Face-to-face. We're equals and don't ever forget it. I will cater to your needs, but for now we need to . . . create a bond. And we can't do that if I'm not looking you in the eyes. You understand?"

Zechs didn't and said so, but he obeyed Wufei. If Wufei wanted it, he'd do it happily.

Wufei made sure that Zechs was ready for him then carefully pushed into his body. He watched Zechs as his eyelids fluttered and his expression changed to one of ecstasy. His body went limp.

Wufei slid his arms under Zechs's knees and pushed his legs up, catching his knees with bent elbows. He found the sweet spot and stroked over it. Zechs moaned.

"Scream for me, my sweet. My beautiful Ice Prince." Zechs did, and gained release with such violence that Wufei felt the convulsions stroking him. The force was so strong that Wufei exploded too.

After a moment to catch their breath, Wufei lowered the limp body to the bed and crawled up against his side.

"Like that?"

"Umm. Like."

Zechs was messy and slick, so was Wufei, but they couldn't have done anything about it if their lives depended on it. They fell asleep cuddled together.

~ * ~

Zhengde Upright Virtue

Orchid plants in ‘spike' are just about to begin blooming. Most orchids will bloom on one to three spikes and will stay in bloom for up to six months, if properly cared for.