Author's Notes: Thank you again for the wonderful feedback! Whoa...had no idea Relena would have so many fans, so to speak but drawing my inspiration from the Sixth Sense, she will be a factor as I pointed out before. She does have a role to play in this.

Many thanks and much hugs to Zan for being my third eye and again to you all for reading. Enjoy! ^^

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Three:

 

It had been a simple kiss – just the usual pressure of one’s lips against another’s. It was nothing too fancy. One could even consider it a daily occurrence among people…humans…who wished to express their love or desire for one another.

 

Desire…

 

It had meant nothing – not to him at least. He was a rational thinker, one who could not allow such petty antics to get to him. He had been kissed before – many, many times…okay just once before but it had been sloppy, hurried, and not very romantic…

 

My desire…

 

And it had been with a woman. Big difference there.

 

And just where in the world were they taking him?

 

He wasn’t walking…at least he didn’t think he was. They were passing

 

(floating)

 

through some sort of corridor with doors lined on each side like silent pathways to unseen secrets. It had been bright and quite cheerful in the bedroom, but out here…amongst these doors, the atmosphere had changed considerably. For one thing their voices had become…well…different – almost high pitched and childish. Heero knew someone was leading him, but he could barely make out who was doing so. Their pale, naked flesh seemed to glow in the gloomy darkness, their voices rising and falling as they spoke amongst themselves in a way that had Heero trying to his best to decipher its meaning.

 

The kiss…

 

Duo had done something to him, he was sure of that now. That kiss hadn’t been an ordinary one to say the least. Besides still feeling the numbing sensation of having another man touching him so intimately, Heero could feel a strange but not uncomfortable sensation of drowsiness.

 

This must be the way you feel when you’re stoned, he thought with a sudden ridiculous urge to laugh. High, high on a cloud…floating…floating away…

 

He tried to stare at the ceiling but it seemed to fade in and out of view. He shook his head rapidly and stared harder. Hmmm, it looked as if there was no roof after all. Just an infinite blackness that seemed to stretch on forever.

 

That kiss…

 

Duo wasn’t holding him that much he knew. The boy with long hair had kissed him and laughed. And through his hazy gaze, Heero had watched him go towards the one named Wufei. For a moment, he was sure he had seen two naked children giggling with mischief, but it had all been an illusion. There were no children here or if there were…then they were doing a good job of hiding themselves from view.

 

“…children…”

 

“What did you say, Master Heero?”

 

The voice was quite close to him – probably the person holding him. It sounded like the one named Trowa. And how did they know his name? He hadn’t told them that…had he?

 

“The…children…” Gods, but his voice sounded like shit – thick and groggy like he had swallowed a bottle of thick syrup.

 

Someone giggled. There it was again – childish and full of tomfoolery.

 

“There are no children here, Heero,” someone said. Heero deduced it was from the one named Quatre – the leader of the bunch. “It’s all in your mind, don’t you think?”

 

Yeah, it had to be all in his mind. But what about the boy in the garden? Had that all been another figment of his imagination?

 

“We are here,” Quatre whispered into his ear sending dull shivers of delirious anticipation down his spine. He had to admit that there was something quite seductive about the head servant. Back in the room, those bright green eyes had seemed to know too much. They had been laughing at him, only back then, he had been too stunned at the state of affairs to pay much attention to it. Had Quatre orchestrated everything? Had the blond known he would be coming here? Just what kind of power did the young man have?

 

His questions would have to be answered much later for the longhaired boy suddenly opened up a set of doors (which seemed to have appeared out of the gloom from nowhere) with a flourish.

 

“The baths!” Duo announced with barely concealed excitement.

 

And what a bath it was! It was quite odd really that such a place should have been built in the nineteenth century. It looked like an indoor pool – a really steamy indoor pool. Grecian pillars along with marble statues of naked boys in rather promiscuous poses dotted the room here and there, giving it a rather appealing and seductive atmosphere. There was the heavy smell of roses and as Heero squinted to get a better look, he saw that the pool was filled with them – dozens, thousands, no millions of white and red rose petals.

 

A loud splash and a yell of delight filled his ears as he watched them begin to play within the warm water. He blinked as he realized he could now feel sensation in his feet again. So they really had floated all the way here! The cool tiles beneath his feet had him wiggling his toes a little and a slight chill from a draft (who knew where that had come from) sent him wrapping his arms around his body as he shivered in response.

 

Amused blue eyes watched the three boys frolic like children and he felt a reluctant tug of jealousy fill his being as he itched to join in the fun.

 

“So what are you waiting for?” came the familiar croon that had Heero blushing darkly and stepping away from the smiling visage beside him. He hadn’t even heard Quatre walk up to him.

 

Of course you wouldn’t! his mind argued. He’s a ghost for crying out loud!

 

“Can…can you read minds?” the scientist asked quietly as he struggled not to stare too long at the naked young man before him. Quatre, he decided, had a physique that could be quite deceiving at first glance. Although, he looked slender in build, there was no doubt that the servant had been exposed to lots of hard work and must have lifted quite a few heavy things while alive. His shoulders were broad enough for his build with muscles that didn’t look too bulky or out of place. He was in fine shape and he knew it. How else would one explain his need to go naked at the drop of a dime? If Heero didn’t know any better, he would have sworn that they were all exhibitionists.

 

“Read minds?” Quatre’s eyes widened in surprise before he burst into tittering laughter. He managed to contain himself to grin cheekily at the embarrassed teen before him. “Oh no…I don’t read minds. Maybe Duo does or Wufei…those two worry me with that talent sometimes.”

 

A particularly loud ‘whoop’ from Duo had them staring through the mist at the boys in the pool again. Quatre laughed.

 

“Please forgive them. We don’t get to make use of this place a lot. You’re our first visitor in over…uum…in quite some time and we are just happy you can share it with us.”

 

“Stop keeping him, Quatre,” Duo said with a snicker as he seemed to leap out of the water.

 

Graceful…like a swan, Heero thought wildly, feeling his heartbeat quicken again in anticipation. For a wild moment, he entertained the thought of Duo repeating the kiss again, but it was quickly wiped out as he watched Duo walk around him only to wrap his arms around Heero’s torso with a low laugh of pleasure. “We want to play with him now,” he crooned sweetly, dark blue eyes watching the jealous black ones in the pool. “Don’t we, Wufei?”

 

He laughed again causing Heero’s knees to quiver in response at just how husky and incredibly sexy a sound it was. He all but moaned as he felt Duo’s lips caressed his ear and the feel of the naked but cool flesh against his backside. They might be ghosts, but all of this…especially Duo’s very erect penis which was beginning to nudge between his ass cheeks sent his face flooding with color and his nether regions…

 

“Oh, look!” Duo cried out with derisive laughter. “He’s getting hard! What do we do with him now?

“Duo…” Quatre began with a warning frown on his features. “Please stop that…”

 

“Stop what?” the longhaired boy retorted with a cold smirk as he tightened his arms around Heero. “I’m just pointing out an obvious situation.”

 

“We want to keep him, not chase him away…”

 

“I told you I could make him stay. Are you beginning to doubt me?”

 

Heero moaned and tried to shake away the sudden lull of weariness that was beginning to descend upon him again. They were talking but he couldn’t make out a thing they said. Were they arguing? It sounded like they were. Duo’s arms around his waist were now making it a bit hard to breathe.

 

Let me…

 

Their voices were beginning to rise and Heero knew without a doubt that they were arguing amongst themselves. He felt the pressure of Duo’s arms around him again. The pleasure was being reduced to undeniable pain. He had to get out of here.

 

Let me go…

 

“Selfish! You are always thinking about yourself, Duo! Why don’t you grow up for once!”

 

“Look who’s talking?! After all this time, haven’t you realized that you have been just as selfish?! You’re no longer…!”

 

“Let… me… go!”

 

And with that loud cry, Heero tore himself away from Duo’s grasp, almost losing his footing as he staggered away from the four men. He shook his head rapidly while forcing some air into his lungs.

 

“Ghosts…not any different from humans at least in mannerisms,” he muttered as he began to walk backwards slowly. He was at least thankful that none of them were coming after him although their surprised expressions had now become a bit…angry? Irritated? Amused? He couldn’t tell but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out either.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Duo asked a bit haughtily as he placed his hands on his hips.

 

“There’s no way out of here unless one of us shows you the way,” Wufei added with a small smile. He was now sitting at the edge of the pool with Trowa making himself comfortable beside him.

 

Heero frowned in thought but he didn’t slow his steps. There was now quite a distance between them and from his new vantage point, Heero could clearly see just how pale his ‘friends’ really were. Perhaps if he went a bit further, they would vanish completely or better yet, if he closed his eyes and opened them up again, he would be back in the graveyard with only the bugs to keep him company.

 

“It won’t hurt to find out, would it?” he countered with a light smirk. He reached out behind him, hands seeking desperately for the doorknob. Finding the cool and rather heavy object, he turned it with a forceful yank perhaps thinking it might have been locked. But to his surprise, the door gave way quite easily and he found himself being literally pushed out of the room by some unseen force, and into the pitch blackness that was the corridor which seemed to lead to nowhere.

 

/There’s no way out of here…/

 

“Where there’s a will, there’s got to be a fucking way,” he muttered harshly to himself as he stumbled upright, forcing his feet to lead him towards a possible exit.

 

 

 

~*~

 

 

The four children sat in solemn silence, their feet swinging back and forth in the water that had now lost its steam and warmth. The rose petals had withered to a dull brown that looked unsightly and quite ghastly in the pool. A sudden chill had entered the once lively room. Gone were the ornate pillars and marble statues instead ruins and broken debris – remnants of a place once grandeur remained in its wake. It had become desolate and gloomy, a far cry from the earlier scene filled with giddy euphoria.

 

Quatre sighed and scratched his head with a low sound of exasperation. “Damn it, Duo. Why? Every time! It’s always you!”

 

“Don’t start with me,” came the low mumble as the boy began to play with Wufei’s hair gently. “I didn’t do anything…”

 

“If you had just kept your hands to yourself…”

 

“Do you really think he can get out of here?” Duo scoffed. “He can’t leave. Even he knows that. He wants something that I have.”

 

Quatre eyed the boy with a small smirk. “Is that so? I’m sure you noticed it as well, didn’t you, Duo? He reminds you of someone…doesn’t he?”

 

Three pairs of eyes were now focused on the frowning longhaired boy. “What are you trying to say, Quatre?” Duo growled softly as he clenched his hands into tight fists. “Just what are you trying to say?”

 

The blond leaned closer to place a small finger against the other boy’s forehead looking quite unrepentant. “You know exactly what I’m trying to say. Master Joshua…”

 

“Don’t say that name!” came the vehement bellow as Duo rose to his feet quickly. In his agitation he had changed back to his adult form, his eyes now blazing with an anger that could not be contained. “Don’t you ever say that name again!”

 

Quatre stood on his tiptoes, a small hand reaching up to caress the taller boy’s lower back gently. It came away coated with something warm and thick.

 

“Stop getting unnecessarily angry, Duo,” the boy said firmly. “Your wounds are beginning to reopen.”

 

“You…you…”

 

Wufei rose to his feet with a light stretch, allowing his own limbs to grow back to their adult form. He wrapped his arms around his partner with a soft sigh before whispering softly into Duo’s ear. The other two couldn’t hear the words they exchanged, but whatever the Chinese man had said seemed to ease the agitated boy’s mind. With a slow nod of understanding, Duo spun on his heels and began to walk away without giving Quatre or Trowa another glance.

 

“Is he going to brood again?” the blond asked with a light huff as he continued to watch the striding servant.

 

“No,” Wufei replied with a light shake of his head. “He’s just going to rest for a while as I should too. We’ve both over exerted ourselves today.” And giving both boys a light bow, he stepped away from them to chase after his elusive friend.

 

Trowa winced at the sound of frustration from his lover’s lips – if they could really be called that. To Quatre, he would always be the ‘new boy’, the one who had come after him. They had been the first servants to be hired by the Dunhill family, Duo and Wufei had come much later. From the moment he had laid eyes on the blond boy, so many centuries ago, Trowa had felt a very reluctant attraction towards him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Quatre’s master had been quite…possessive of his servant.

 

Trowa was sure that the scars would never heal.

 

“If you are quite done thinking, Trowa,” Quatre mumbled as he wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s neck. He traced the outline of the boy’s ear and sighed heavily. “Someone has to go get Master Heero.”

 

“I’ll do it,” Trowa replied with a small smile as he watched the blond’s hand travel lower until he could do nothing more than gasp at the sharp sensation of pleasure that shot down his spine. He arched into Quatre’s slow kisses trying desperately to stop his painful seduction.

 

He doesn’t really care much…he just does it to kill time…

 

“Poor Master Heero,” Quatre drawled lazily as his hands continued its exploration of the beautiful boy before him. “He’ll be left wandering around and around in circles until he can’t walk anymore.”

 

I am nothing to him…just a distraction…to kill…

 

“In here, time stands still, Trowa,” the boy continued. He smirked as he listened to the rapid breathing from his lover. “In here, I can do whatever I want. I’ll just have to remind Duo and Wufei about that.”

 

He relished in the low cry of satisfaction that accompanied his final stroke and he held up his hand watching the thick creamy fluid run down his fingers. He licked them slowly and thoroughly making sure that he held the other boy’s attention.

 

“Go find him, my love,” he crooned as he traced the outline of the taller boy’s lips. “And bring him back to me.”

 

“I understand,” came the low reply as Trowa rose to his feet, his body still tingling with warmth and dull satiation from what he had just experienced. The cold will come seeping in again once away from Quatre. Just being without the other was enough to remind him of just how empty and hollow they all were – just mere shells of something that was once human.

 

He keeps us all ‘alive’, he thought as he gave a light bow and disappeared from his master’s presence. Without him…we really are nothing.

 

So why this incessant need to keep Heero around? Just what did this foreigner have that could make Quatre this adamant? And then there was the fact that Heero was a scientist. It was a well-known fact that most scientists who had dared to come to these grounds in search of the elixir had been turned away or denied access. It was one of the many reasons Duo was insolent to anyone who crossed the gates. It was the reason he had been shot so many years ago by a jealous alchemist. Of course, Duo had his reasons for hating humans. He enjoyed the thrill of watching them squirm in terror, the fear that came into their eyes as they faced the inevitable presence of death. They had grown cynical and critical of the living since their untimely passing. They were all treasure hunters – greedy, selfish people who only thought about themselves and nothing else. What would make Heero any different?

 

His keen eye caught the figure of the boy still staggering within the darkness of the corridors. Heero looked fatigued and it seemed as if he could barely stand. Trowa had never seen such determination in the living before. Was that what made him so different? This need to prove himself to others?

 

Quatre has his eye on him…

 

And jealousy reared its ugly head. All he had to do was allow Heero to wander around until Duo caught up to him. And if the longhaired boy was still angry…then they would have one less human to worry about.

 

But the image of his lover’s face and the firm instructions rang through his mind again causing Trowa to groan in resignation. And with a heavy sigh, he floated gently behind the weary boy for a while before placing a hand over Heero’s eyes and sending him into instant slumber.

 

 

 

~*~

 

 

The doctor hummed softly to himself as he placed the second mug of hot cocoa on the small dinning table. He wasn’t sure if his visitor would be able to drink anything but it wouldn’t do to be rude to her now, would it?

 

The fireplace crackled with golden flames as it lent a much-needed heat to the room. The tiny cottage they had rented for their stay was more than enough for their needs. He eyed the clock warily. It was already seven o’clock in the evening, which would mean that the house must have taken Heero. He had spotted the boys that had led his apprentice earlier in the evening and they had been laughing amongst themselves. He just hoped that his boy was all right or else…

 

“Coming, coming,” he muttered as the sudden chime of the doorbell broke through his reverie.

 

He shuffled towards it and opened the latch quickly, his lips forming a welcome smile of pleasure as he noticed the young girl standing with an armful of books.

 

“Miss. Peacecraft. What a pleasant surprise. Please do come in.”

 

The girl giggled softly and allowed her jacket to be taken off. “Thank you, Doctor J. It’s definitely been a weird day to say the least. I can’t seem to get into my own apartment for some reason and I was supposed to meet my boyfriend at the train station earlier but he stood me up. Can you believe it? I even tried calling him and all I get is the dial tone. I’m not speaking to him again until he apologizes! That seems fair, doesn’t it?”

 

The doctor could only nod with a warm smile. “Of course it does. Now…” He pointed towards the books in her hand. “What do you have for me?”

 

The change of topic didn’t seem to faze the intelligent girl for her eyes brightened with pleasure at the thought of speaking about something she had always loved. She sat upon the offered chair and grinned widely.

 

“In here, I have stories for you, Doctor J,” she said with a light laugh. “Everything you ever wanted to know about the Dunhills and their young servants. And now….” She eyed the pile of books she had brought it. “Where do you want me to begin, sir?”

 

The doctor chuckled softly and reached for his mug to take a sip of the hot drink. He leaned back on his chair and eyed the dying flames in the fireplace before replying softly.

 

“Perhaps we should start…from the very beginning…”

 

 

 

TBC…