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Two
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Once Zechs had been revived, he apologized and then hurried to his dressing room to change. He was just finishing adjusting his shirt when Dorothy appeared in the doorway. He smiled at her from the mirror and then turned to face her. “Well?”
She smirked at him. “Absolutely stunning. What happened out there, anyway?”
Shrugging lightly, Zechs replied, “I apologize. Just a fainting spell.”
Dorothy studied him a moment but didn't press it further. “Now, you go on and wait. I will find our dear noble.” She tugged out a wrinkle in the front of Zechs' shirt and then sent him off with a wink.
Zechs headed down the hall towards his rooms. He began ascending the stairs that led up to the narrow hallway outside his rooms. In the courtyard of the Moulin Rouge was a large elephant decorated with an Indian headdress and a top balcony. The luxurious rooms where Zechs stayed and “treated guests” were within the elephant body.
He approached the door and turned the knob, entering. He stopped short, surprised when he saw that his guest was already within the room. It seemed that the other had not noticed his presence yet, however. Smiling faintly, Zechs stepped all the way into the room and closed the door with an audible click.
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Duo had directed Treize towards elegantly decorated chambers where he waited nervously. His mind kept wandering from what he should have been thinking of. He wondered, again, how it was possible for a man to have such a beauty as he had seen earlier that evening. Switching his hat from hand to hand, Treize kept his back on the section of the room that held a freshly made bed.
He wasn't so sure he wanted to do this anymore, he was feeling so strange and something just didn't feel right. It was his first day being in Paris and yet he was standing in some bizarre, exotic room when he should have been writing. After all, he had come to this area to write... about love, actually, even though he had never been in love.
Just as he was about to make up his mind and leave, Treize heard the click of a door shutting. Feeling an odd shiver come over him, he turned around carefully, fingering his hat nervously. Leaning against the door wantonly was the beauty from earlier. Swallowing carefully, Treize attempted to introduce himself but found that words were escaping him at the moment.
“Well...” the tone was low and vaguely amused. “I hadn't expected you to already be here.”
Still gathering his jumbled thoughts, Treize was frozen in place as the vision sauntered forward, cool gaze locked with his. “I-if I wasn't supposed to... to be here, uh, I apologize... I...”
Zechs cut him off, one slim finger resting over Treize's lips. His other arm draped lightly over Treize's shoulder. He leaned in close, murmuring, “When we start is all up to you...”
Breaking away, Treize turned around, walking a few feet away and fidgeting again. “Uh... th-then, I'll start the, uh, poetry reading.” He swallowed, not looking towards the other man. He felt terribly uncomfortable and hot, his heart racing and a strange feeling washing over him.
Amused, Zechs eyed the other. “Poetry reading.”
Treize chanced a glance back. “Yes... of course...”
Letting it go, Zechs moved over towards the bed and eased back, his posture welcoming and seductive. “All right. Start your... `poetry reading' then...”
`The way he sounded...' Treize shuddered, and turned a bit again, the strange feeling increasing with his heartbeat. “The... uh...” he was pressed for words, his mind all a jumble and his thoughts anything but straight. “The moon... is...”
Zechs was eyeing him with a bit of impatience although amusement was also making its way to his lips. “Is so romantic, isn't it?” he breathed, shifting slightly on the bed. When the sapphire gaze flickered over to him he arched up, catlike, and rolled onto his side, hand resting on the bed in front of him.
Treize tried again, his mouth dry. A pleasant sort of pain was making itself known to him and he shifted uncomfortably as he averted his eyes yet again. It was getting harder for him to do that, however. Especially when Zechs lost his patience and began to run a hand along his own chest and stomach. He trailed a hand down his side, giving out pleasured moans.
`What the hell is he waiting for...?' Zechs wondered, rolling onto his back and arching up as his hands traveled over his own body. He rolled his hips, a hand drifting low and then back up again. He continued his solo show of passion, waiting for the other to join him. `There isn't any way I could have misinterpreted what Dorothy said.'
Torn between the confused feelings rushing through him, Treize continually found his wide-eyed gaze turning to the man pleasuring himself on the bed. Attempting to speak again, Treize tried to focus on what he was supposed to be doing there. `Dear God he's making it difficult!' He licked dry lips, still fighting for words, feeling the ache in him grow as the beautiful man rolled over again, kneeling on the bed as he rocked his hips upwards, head thrown back, still giving off varying volumes of groans and pants.
Sure that he was about to go stark raving mad with the vision before him, Treize opened his mouth to try one last time.
Amazingly enough, what left his lips was a sung line of a song, “My gift is my song...” As he paused, breathing carefully, his eyes shifted to meet Zechs'. The beautiful vision had stopped all his movements, his gaze open and stunned as he stared at Treize. Finally calming and feeling a comfortable warmth spread over him, Treize continued, “And this one's for you.” He took a step forward and then fell easily into the rest of the song that came to him.
“And you can tell everybody that this is your song. It may be quite simple but now that it's done. Hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you're in the world.”
He smiled faintly as his eyes caught the entranced look crossing the beautiful face. Zechs had shifted position, slowly standing and watching him. “Sat on the roof and I kicked off the moss. Well some of these voices, well they, they got me quite cross; but the sun's been kind while I wrote this song. It's for people like you that keep it turned on. So excuse me forgetting but these things I do; you see I've forgotten if they're green or if they're blue. Anyway the thing is, what I really mean...Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen.” He trailed off, having finished with the main part of the song. Swallowing, he watched Zechs carefully.
The pale-haired man was still staring at him. Shaking himself out of it, Zechs laughed lightly, a smile crossing his lips as he approached Treize. “Well... that was a surprise... I had no idea you could sing, my dear nobleman.”
Treize was smiling back although he was amused by the later bit. “Thank you for the flattery, but I'm no nobleman.”
Looking at him questioningly, his smile beginning to fade, Zechs began, “You're... not...” Treize shook his head, wondering what ever had given the other the notion that he was. Zechs' smile completely faded away. “Oh shit... you'd better get out of here. What were you doing in here?” Anger crossed his face as he headed towards the door. “Get out right now.” He reached the door and opened it.
On the other side he could see Dorothy standing with a dark-haired woman in the hallway. Eyes wide, Zechs stayed frozen, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. Dorothy glanced back at him, “Ah, are you decent for the Duchess?” Zechs shut the door, leaning against it.
He looked wildly towards Treize. “Damnit, hide, would you?”
“What's going on?” Treize was truly baffled.
Zechs pushed him towards the other section of the room and had Treize out of sight just before Dorothy opened the door and admitted the dark-haired woman. Zechs spun around, pasted on a smile, and tried to cover his nervousness.
“Let me introduce you to the Duchess Noin.” Zechs nodded politely, noting that the woman's eyes were already looking him over. Dorothy next introduced him, “You saw our Sparkling Diamond earlier tonight, but here this gem can be more intimately known as Mirialdo. Now, I will leave you two alone.” Dorothy exited the room and shut the door behind her.
“Mirialdo...” Zechs' attention snapped to Noin, his heart still racing in fear of what might happen if his other “guest” was found. Noin smiled at him, “You do not use your real name.”
“Ah... no.” He forced his smile to remain on his face as he moved towards the bed, intending to turn Noin's attention enough so that her back would be to Treize's hiding place. He eased down onto the bed, sitting at the edge. His eyes wandered towards the area behind Noin and he spotted Treize looking around part of the divider. Eyes widening, Zechs noted that Noin had begun to turn her head. He quickly jumped up and embraced her, capturing her lips. The woman seemed surprised at first but answered readily.
As Zechs distracted her with his kiss he motioned frantically to Treize to head out the door. When the ginger-haired man began to creep back into the bedroom, he guided Noin around until her back faced the door. Treize passed them, staring at Zechs again. Getting frustrated, the pale-haired man again motioned the he'd better get out now.
Treize opened the door quietly but spotted a tough-looking bodyguard outside. He quickly shut the door and looked to Zechs inquiringly.
The kiss was broken as Noin gasped for breath. Zechs motioned again at Treize. Noin turned around and Treize ducked behind a small cloth-covered table just in time. Feeling as if she had missed something, Noin turned back to Zechs with a pleasant smile.
“How about some wine?” she questioned, heading towards the small table.
“No!” Zechs shouted, panicked. He hurried over to intercept Noin. “I mean... ah...”
She gazed at him with some confusion apparent. Remembering how much rested on his actions that night, Zechs forced himself to calm as he let a seductive smile cross his lips. Stepping forward, Zechs let his arms encircle Noin's shoulders as he eased in and placed a teasing kiss on her lips. Her arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer, pressing against his lips to deepen the kiss.
Treize looked up over the table, watching the two kiss. Something that he had never felt before ran through him, but he was able to label it as jealousy. It had to be. He didn't know what was happening. Obviously, some mix-up had occurred, but it hurt to think that Zechs had been pursuing him only because he thought that Treize was the one he was supposed to meet.
They broke the kiss again and Zechs' eyes briefly flickered to the side, noting that Treize was watching them. Annoyed, Zechs began leading Noin to the bed. If the other man didn't get out soon, they would all be in trouble.
Noin's fingers weaved into his hair as they sat on the bed. “You have amazing hair...” she murmured, her lips quirked up in a smile.
“Thank you,” Zechs breathed, leaning forward and tilting his head as he nipped lightly at her neck, guiding her down on her back. Her hands stroked his back and hair and Zechs shivered, knowing that at any moment the other man could ruin the whole night. His hands began to play at the collar of Noin's shirt.
“Mirialdo... you seem rather distracted.” Zechs froze, heat pounding fast. Noin sat up, bringing Zechs with her. She studied his face, eyes slightly narrowed. “What is it?”
Fighting for an explanation, Zechs stammered, “It's... about work... um... there's so many things yet to do!” His eyes flickered away; he knew this wasn't going well. Noin raised an eyebrow in question, obviously skeptical.
Suddenly Treize stood up and cleared his throat. Zechs whipped his head around, glaring at the man; he'd ruin everything! Noin blinked in surprise. She stood quickly, Zechs following soon after. “What are you doing in here?” she demanded.
“Ah... excuse me,” Treize said, licking dry lips. “I had forgotten my hat in here when I left!” He looked at Zechs. “There's still some more scenes to be written; we need them right away. Are you sure there's no way you can work on them tonight?”
Zechs stared at him but he had no choice but to play along. “... Um... yes... the scenes.” He looked to Noin. “I'm so sorry! This is the... writer for `Spectacular, Spectacular,' and there's so much work to be done. Writing and rehearsing and such...”
“Just you two work on it?” Noin asked, still not believing.
“Uh...”
“Of course not!” Everyone's attention turned to the five young men who suddenly appeared from the other part of the room. Zechs wondered how the hell they had gotten in, but he wouldn't worry about it right now. If this worked... things could still go well.
Noin glanced over the group with a critical eye. The door opened and Dorothy came in looking around with slightly panicked eyes. “Excuse me, Dorothy, what is going on here?”
The woman looked around at crowd. Quatre smiled, saying, “You remember... we had to call an emergency rehearsal...”
“Right, a rehearsal.” Dorothy nodded and looked to Noin, smiling kindly. “I apologize but a rehearsal was needed right away....”
Frowning, Noin inquired, “So what is this `Spectacular, Spectacular' about?”
“It's a romance set in Switzerland...” Duo ventured.
“Switzerland,” Noin echoed dryly.
“No, he means India!” Dorothy broke in, smiling. “And...”
Treize spoke again, heading towards Noin. “That's right... it's set in India. And there is a courtesan... sent to meet a maharani... but who instead mistakes a penniless sitar-player for the one he is to meet.” He looked around the group, eyes resting on Zechs, the pale-haired man's eyes gazing at him in surprise. “When the mistake is found out, the courtesan is furious... thinks himself tricked. But,” he looked around the group again, “in actuality the sitar-player never meant any trickery. In fact he falls in love with the courtesan!”
“Yes! That's exactly it!” Duo picked up the story, grinning. “The courtesan is torn between loving the kind sitar-player and serving the maharani because he cannot live on his own.”
“So secretly the courtesan and the sitar-player meet and become lovers,” Quatre added.
Dorothy went next, “The courtesan serves the maharani, however, to keep her from finding out the truth!”
“But, the sitar-player's instrument is magical,” Wufei began.
“...it will tell the truth on any subject,” Trowa finished.
“So the lovers are given away by the sitar,” Zechs entered. Looking to Noin he explained, “The courtesan is faced with the decision of choosing the one he loves or the person whom he needs to make a living.”
Everyone looked expectantly at Noin. She stared blankly back at them. “And then how does this end?”
The group looked from one person to another, it seemed no one was positive as to how it would be completed. Duo motioned for a huddle and everyone moved in as Noin watched with an inquisitive gaze. Heads together, a number of people began talking at once.
“Well what should we do?”
“Treize, you're the one who started this thing; what do you think?” Trowa questioned.
`Treize...' Zechs studied the ginger-haired man with sapphire eyes. There was something about the attractive man that was nagging at him.
Dorothy looked over the new writer. “When did you get into this thing?”
“We'll explain later, don't worry,” Duo assured her, grinning. The blonde rolled her eyes at him.
“Got it!” Treize announced, pulling back and continuing the plot. “Torn between following his heart or his head, the courtesan does not make his decision immediately... The evil maharani threatens to kill the good-natured sitar-player, however, and so the courtesan is pressed to leave his love and marry the maharani. But the sitar-player goes to the courtesan on his wedding night and they leave together, getting away from the evil maharani. True love, it wins in the end!” He nodded to Noin, “Although of course this is not all official quite yet. Scenes are still being written.”
Noin eyed him. “Of course.” She shifted her gaze to rest on Zechs, studying him carefully. “And the cast?” she asked, looking to Treize again.
He looked about him. “The main role of course goes to the star of the Moulin Rouge,” he said, motioning to Zechs. “The sitar-player will be -”
“I play that part,” Heero broke in, nodding to Noin.
“I have taken the part of the maharani,” Dorothy added.
Noin studied the group as everyone waited, breathless. Finally she looked to Dorothy. “I think this is rather radical. You are placing two men as lovers.”
Dorothy hurried to say, “But perhaps the ending could be tweaked a bit... The rest could remain as planned... for interest's sake. I'm sure the audience will understand...”
Looking over the group once more, Noin let her eyes trail over Zechs' form. “Zechs will play the courtesan...?”
“The lead, yes,” Dorothy assured.
“I'll speak with you in your office tomorrow morning, Dorothy,” Noin announced. The blonde woman nodded energetically assuring that it would be possible. “I'll leave you to your work, then. Good night.”
“Good night!” they echoed.
Noin cast them one last, odd, look before leaving the room.
As soon as she was gone, Dorothy turned to Zechs. Smiling slyly she said, “We've got it! You're going to be a real actor!”
Zechs laughed, a smile coming to his face as he embraced Dorothy and spun her around. “My God! And to think I thought this night was shot to hell!”
Dorothy pushed away from him shaking her head. “What did go on here?” She looked to Zechs in question, but he looked to Treize and Treize looked to Duo.
The young man shrugged, grinning. “Guess some big mix up!”
Zechs glared at him. “You got this set up?” Duo gave a squeak of fright and ducked behind Wufei and Heero. “You idiot!” he snapped. “Do you know how much trouble you caused and what you almost ruined?!”
Gulping, Duo peeked out from around Heero, “Actually um.... yeah...”
“What?” Zechs stared at him, thrown-off.
Looking a bit nervous, Duo replied, “Eh-heh... um, we were just outside?”
“What?!” Zechs demanded, this time advancing on the braided-haired man.
Dorothy touched his arm lightly, “I don't think I want to know anymore. The thing is that we managed to work this out, thank God. Zechs, you know what we need to do now.” She looked to the six others in the room. “And you, behave yourselves and please the Duchess. If you screw up, you're in big trouble.”
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