by Jessie Shockey
Send comments to jessie@lemon_creampuff.org
"Shit," Duo hissed. "Duck."
Quatre hit the dirt as a spray of gunfire decimated the wooden wagon he had been using for cover. Duo was crouched behind a largish tree, and he rolled until he was behind him. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet," Duo said. "Those are armor piercing rounds. Hurt like a bitch."
"We need better cover," Quatre said, risking a quick glance out from his new position. Duo immediately yanked him back.
"No shit," he growled. "But there isn't anywhere to go. The village will be full of civilians-"
"There's a church," Quatre interrupted. "Stone walls. Quarter of a mile or so to the west, and on high ground."
"We can't lead soldiers to a church!" Duo squawked.
"We can't just wait here for their aim to improve, either," Quatre snapped. "I'm going." With that, he yanked himself to his feet and dashed across a few dozen yards of open ground toward a line of bushes. Mere inches behind his heels, the dirt erupted as another volley of gunfire came his way. He dove into the brush, and Duo felt his heart stop as the vegetation was ripped to shreds.
"Shiiiiiiit," he moaned. "Quatre..."
"I'm here," he heard from the bushes, quite a bit to the left of where Quatre had disappeared. "Go the other way and meet me there. They're advancing."
"Right," Duo said, swallowing his relief that Quatre had somehow made it through all that unharmed. He may not have wanted to take cover in a church of all places, but Quatre was all he had by way of backup at the moment, and he was all that Quatre had. Since they had split with the Maguanacs and gone into hiding on their own, they had come to depend on each other in tight spots. Granted, they'd never been in quite this tight a spot- In any case, he couldn't let Quatre rush off into the unknown without any help. And he owed it to the boy to stay alive so that he could help him if he got the chance.
Duo waited until he heard footsteps headed toward the bushes where Quatre had been a moment before. When he felt certain the guards were looking the other way, he dashed out of his hiding place and sprinted into the forest at the opposite side of the road. He felt more than heard the bullets whizzing by him, but somehow he managed to keep from being hit as he threw himself into the brush. Crawling low on his belly, he moved as quickly and silently as he could to another position entirely, much as Quatre had. The soldiers were stabbing at the bushes now with bayonets, but he was by now far from where they expected him to be. When he felt he was far enough away, he crouched and listened for a few moments. The men were heading the wrong way. Perfect.
Then it hit him. They were going the wrong way to find /him/ - but they were headed toward the church.
"Quatre, you stupid fuck," he cursed, then broke into a run.
He got to the church ahead of the soldiers and made his way through the bushes, crouching low, until he neared the half-open door. "Quatre?" He whispered, hoping against hope that, number one, Quatre was still alive, and, number two, he was here and alone.
"Here," Quatre whispered back, opening the door a bit more. Duo could just make out his face in the darkness, his eyes shining a bit in the moonlight. The effect was somewhat eerie. Quatre looked to him in that moment like the lacquered carvings of saints that had adorned the Maxwell church, eyes white and shining in the light of the votive candles at their feet even once all the lights had been turned out for the evening. "Come on," he urged. The moon emerged from behind a cloud, ruining the effect and breaking Duo's paralysis. In a moment, he slipped past Quatre into the church.
There were a few candles burning inside, as he had expected, and the moon shone in through the stained glass windows on the western wall, turning the floor muted colors that came and went as the clouds moved outside. Quatre walked through the shifting pattern without ever looking down but Duo skirted the edge of it, feeling a strange sort of superstitious dread as he watched Quatre walk across distorted figures of saints and the Savior. Before he realized he had done it, he had touched his forehead, chest, left shoulder-
"What the fuck's wrong with you," Duo muttered to himself as he forced his and into his pocket. "You don't even believe in this shit."
"What did you say?" Quatre whispered from across the room. He was inspecting the altar cloth, testing its texture between his fingers. Duo resisted the urge to yank him back.
"Those soldiers were headed this way," he said instead. "We've got to come up with some kind of plan."
"We can't get across the river because they'll be guarding the bridges," Quatre said. "And we can't get across the road because they'll be patrolling that, too. I think we should find somewhere to hide out and hope they think we got away. Tomorrow, we can sneak down to the village and blend in with the townspeople."
"Can you swim?" Duo asked. A twinkle of something caught his eye, and he moved silently toward one of the eastern windows.
"Are you joking?" Quatre asked. "I was raised on a colony, just like you."
"They're coming," Duo said. "If we're going to run, we need to run, and if we're going to hide, we need to hide."
"Behind the alter?" Quatre suggested. He turned and started that way before Duo grabbed his sleeve and jerked him back. "Only the priest goes back there." He hissed.
"Then where?" Quatre asked. His eyes lighted on the confessional. "There?"
"Fine, fine-" Duo muttered. Pushing Quatre out of his way, he grabbed one of the heavy oak pews and started to drag it toward the door.
"What are you doing?"
"Building a barricade. What's it look like?"
"But then they'll know we're here." Quatre argued. "We're better off just hiding."
"Fine," Duo said, jerking the thing back into place. It took more effort than he had expected, and he was breathing hard by the time he had it back reasonably straight. When he looked up, a trio of flashlights was advancing up the hill. Quatre apparently saw the movement, because he stood on tiptoe to peer out. "No time," Duo whispered. He grabbed the other boy by the arm and yanked him behind him into the confessional stall.
Duo collapsed onto the seat just as the door shut behind them. Quatre leaned half against the wall and half against him, bracing himself on Duo's shoulders. There wasn't enough room in the tiny cell for him to stand straight without forcing the door open. "Sorry," he whispered, shifting a little as he tried to find a more comfortable position. Duo tried to sit up a little straighter and hopefully give the other boy more room, but his movement caused Quatre to lose his balance and topple forward. He only just managed to catch himself with a hand on the wall behind Duo's head and his knee on the bench between Duo's own. He froze, his breath against Duo's ear, as the great oak doors of the chapel creaked open and the beams of flashlights became visible through gaps between the boards.
"There's candles burning," one of the men said.
"Duh," another said. "Churches have candles."
"Yeah, but lit?"
"It's not that late," a third voice said. "They're probably still burning from mass."
Duo tried to shift backward on the seat, but he was too afraid that the old wood would creak to move much at all. Quatre immediately slid his knee forward again against Duo's crotch, apparently trying to balance himself. Duo glared at him in the darkness. They had been sleeping together fairly often since that first time in the Maguanacs' home village and Quatre's proximity alone was enough to get his motor running what with his breathing so heavy into his ear and pressing juuuust there- Duo poked him in the ribs, which earned him a sharp little bite on the ear.
Fine, Duo thought. Looks like we're stuck this way. Better get comfy.
"At least it's warmer in here," the first man said. "I was just about freezing my balls off, outside."
"It wasn't that cold," one of the others said. Duo could hear them moving around in the chapel, and occasionally one of their lights would sweep past a crack in the confessional wall.
Just leave already, Duo pleaded silently. I don't care how cold it is. Right now, the rising temperature inside of the cramped cell was the focus of his attention. Quatre's breath against his ear was coming faster, too. Apparently he wasn't the only one affected by the close quarters.
A radio crackled somewhere out in the chapel and Duo could just barely make out the sound of a voice beneath all the static. He heard one of the men curse. "But it's fucking cold out there-"
"I doubt the commander cares very much," another interrupted. "He's out there, too. Anyway, they aren't here."
"What if they do come this way?" the first soldier asked. "This seems like the logical place to go, doesn't it? High ground, lots of cover, and it's out of the wind, to boot."
"Fine," one of the others sighed. "If you're so set on it, stay here. We're headed back to base."
Duo craned his head to one side, trying to get a better view of what was going on in the chapel. Though he could now see one of the men through a gap in the boards, this new position also meant that Quatre's breath was falling on his neck, just above his collar - a particularly sensitive spot for him. Duo bit his lip as he watched one of the soldiers put his hands on his hips and frown. "I thought we were going back on watch!" He said.
"Not tonight. But you can keep your lazy ass right here," one of the others said. He crossed into Duo's line of sight for a moment as he headed for the door. "Radio the base if they show."
"Yeah, fuck you very much too, pal," the soldier muttered.
"That's what you get for bitching like an old lady," the other said. There was a thump, then, and Duo could only assume that two of the soldiers had just left the building.
"Is it just the one?" Quatre breathed. Duo knew him well enough by now to know he was calculating their odds if they were to make a break for it.
"One with an AK-47 and a radio," Duo whispered back. "Shit," Quatre hissed.
"Do me a favor?" Duo asked. He broke off then as the soldier started walking down the aisle in their direction. Once he had passed and was busy inspecting the front of the church, Quatre shifted a little and rested his head against Duo's shoulder.
"I can't move my knee, if that's what you're asking," he whispered.
"I know," Duo hissed back. "But can you not cuss? We are in a church- "
"I thought you weren't really Catholic?" Quatre asked. His lips grazed Duo's throat as he spoke.
"It's just a respect thing," Duo lied. Really, he had the mental image of Quatre being struck by lightning dancing through his head. That would be decidedly unpleasant, considering he was right under the other boy. More than that, he realized, he'd become damned attached to the boy in the short time they'd been running together - and that wasn't just his hormones talking. At least, he didn't think it was just his hormones talking, out at that moment it was a little hard to tell. "Are you sure you can't move?" he hissed.
"Would you rather I sit in your lap?" Quatre hissed. "It's a bit cramped in here. I can't stand up."
Duo bit his lip again to keep from whimpering. He could handle Quatre's knee in a delicate place better than he could handle that. When and if they got out of here alive, however, he was going to have to take him up on that.
"What's he doing?" Quatre whispered, trying to peek out over Duo's shoulder.
Duo leaned forward a little to get a better view. "Hey!" he hissed, his eyes growing wide.
"What?" Quatre whispered back, startled.
"He's drinking the communion wine!" Duo whispered in outrage. He gritted his teeth and was forced to remind himself repeatedly that assaulting an armed soldier was probably a very, very bad idea. His only consolation was that now Quatre wasn't the most likely target for divine retribution - and it would definitely be in their favor if this particular blasphemer were to burst into flames.
"Let him get drunk, then," Quatre whispered back. "Better for us."
"But not the communion wine!" Duo hissed. "That's- oof"
Duo's rant was cut off rather abruptly by the intrusion of Quatre's tongue into his mouth. His eyes flew wide open in shock, but there wasn't any room to pull away. After a long minute or two, Quatre broke the kiss and rested his head on Duo's shoulder again. "You were getting loud," he whispered by way of explanation, "that guy was starting to look around."
Duo blinked in relief. "I was about to say – this probably isn't the best time..."
"I know that!" Quatre hissed. He fell silent then, his eyes fixed on the gap in the wall."
"Couldn't you have thought of some other way to shut me up?" Duo asked.
"Probably," Quatre whispered.
Duo didn't have to see his face to know that he was smirking. He rolled his eyes. With Quatre chuckling softly against his neck, sending little thrills of pleasure down his spine, he peered out at their unwitting jailor again. The man was sitting on the edge of the alter and swinging his dangling legs as he drank from the communion wine. As much as it irked Duo to see something so holy abused (even if he didn't believe in that nonsense, other people did and their faith deserved a bit more respect), he had to admit that Quatre was right - it would most definitely be in their favor for him to drink himself stupid.
As Duo was sizing up their adversary just in case of future combat, he felt Quatre's lips, soft and warm as they always were, tickling the skin below his ear. He was about to write it off as a product of the close quarters and nothing more when something distantly like a tongue slid up to the tip of his ear and back down again before thrusting sharply into the canal.
"Quatre," Duo squeaked.
"Yes?"
He shivered as the answer was breathed into his ear. "Don't-"
"Don't what?" Quatre whispered. "I'm bored, I'm squished up against you, and we're probably going to be here all night- as long as we're quiet..."
Duo let his head fall back gently to rest on the back wall of the confessional. "I'm going to pretend I don't understand what you're suggesting and go to sleep."
"Sweet dreams, then," Quatre whispered back. He shifted his knee until it was rubbing more insistently at Duo's crotch and he was straddling the other boy's thigh.
"Not fair," Duo hissed. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the soldier stood and started toward them, bottle in hand. In front of him, Quatre's face loomed close, barely visible in the darkness. It was just the whites of his eyes that Duo could see, once again, and a slight reflection off his hair. He saw a flash of white teeth as the other boy opened his mouth to speak and did not think before he acted to shut him up much as he had done to Duo himself before.
When Duo broke the kiss, gasping for air as quietly as he could, he immediately pressed his face to the wall to peek out of the gap. The soldier had stopped near the front of the church and was stretched out on a pew, bottle at his side, a stack of bibles underneath his head for a pillow. Meanwhile, Quatre was busy blessing his neck with hungry, openmouthed kisses. Duo bit his lip again. This was torture, pure and simple. The Man Upstairs was getting him back for years and years of blasphemy and general commandment breaking, and he was probably laughing his ass off as he watched.
Duo blinked hard when he realized what he had just imagined. That was nuts. Simply nuts. He didn't believe in God - didn't believe in anything but his own Shinigami - his God of Death - the only thing one could be sure of in this war torn world. Even that was mostly for show, as much a costume as the priest's collar that Quatre was loosening with practiced fingers. Duo's own hands flew up to stop him, and Quatre complied easily, shifting his attention to opening his fly and drawing out the erection which belied his reluctance.
"That's better anyway," Quatre whispered with a cheshire grin. "I think I like the collar on, considering the situation."
Duo tried to catch Quatre's wrists but the other boy was too quick, grasping his shoulders again and using them for leverage to press himself against him, rocking against the thigh between his own. Something occurred to him then as those slender hands, what had fascinated him about Quatre in the first place, found their way through an opening in his jacket where a button had burst during their flight.
"I thought you couldn't move without falling down?"
"I never said that," Quatre said. "But if you want me down..." With that, he slid down to his knees between Duo's thighs, his own legs tucked partially under the bench on which Duo sat. A band of light a few inches wide fell across his face, illuminating it for Duo's view. "It was awkward trying to stay up there anyway," he whispered, his breath brushing Duo's overheated skin. "Quiet, now."
Duo shut his eyes, unable to watch as Quatre took the head of his erection into his mouth, caressing it with his tongue. He bit down hard on his knuckle but whimpered anyway.
Quatre was on his knees, head bowed, eyes closed in concentration as in prayer, while he worshiped Duo with his mouth. This was so deliciously wrong that Duo didn't think he'd ever been so hot in all his life. He didn't fucking care if he was going to hell - Quatre's mouth in this moment was all the heaven he was ever going to need.
It wasn't like he was ever going to get to see the real thing anyway.
Quatre was stroking himself slowly through the crotch of his pants in time with the gentle bobbing of his head. His tongue, far too skilled for someone who had never even been kissed just a matter of months ago, slid along Duo's length as he sucked him in deeper with every motion of his head. Unable to help himself, Duo laced his fingers through Quatre's fine hair, urging him to suck faster - harder... And Quatre easily complied. Duo could feel Quatre's panting breath against his stomach as he neared completion. This was no time to draw the pleasure out. It was over for Duo as well in just a moment as stars spun across his vision - there was a bright burst of light and for a moment Duo touched something holy.
He came crashing back down to earth a moment later with the sickening realization that he'd shouted Quatre's name. Quatre himself made a single soft sound of surprise and dismay and then drew back, breathing on the tip of Duo's penis as he peered out of the gap in the wall.
The stack of bibles was still there. The bottle of wine was still there. The soldier's coat was still there, having apparently been used as a makeshift blanket and then tossed aside.
The soldier, however, was nowhere to be seen.
Both boys froze, their hearts pounding for an entirely different reason than they had been a moment before.
"Shit," Quatre breathed, and then the door was yanked open.
The soldier stood there, bleary-eyed and rumpled both from sleep and the drink, staring in wide-eyed surprise at the two of them. "Forgive me, Father!" he exclaimed, and then the door fell shut with a bang.
Duo blinked a few times and then looked down at Quatre, who was looking at him with his eyebrows raised. After a moment, awareness dawned on both of them as Quatre's eyes drifted to Duo's collar. It could have been that easy the whole time? Duo considered smacking himself across the face as he watched the soldier scrambling to put the bibles he had commandeered back into their pockets on the back of each pew. Could this guy really be that stupid?
Then again, dipping into the communion wine probably hadn't helped.
They watched the soldier through the crack in the wall as he shoved the bottle of wine back into the tabernacle, cast one last wide-eyed glance at the confessional, and bolted for the door. As he passed them, Duo could hear him silently swearing that he was never going to let his son become an altar boy, no matter what the boy's mother said.
A moment later, the heavy oak door swung shut with a thud.
"Thank you Jesus," Duo muttered.
"That's not my name," Quatre said dryly.
"No, it's-"
"I know who he is," Quatre said with a laugh. He opened the door to the confessional and peered out for a moment before standing up and heading out into the church proper.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be right back," he called. True to his word he returned a moment later with a damp cloth, which he was using to clean his face. He knelt down in front of Duo again and wiped him clean as well. "I think my pants are a lost cause, at least until we find a river or something."
"Where did you get that?" Duo asked. He twitched as Quatre's touch tripped oversensatized nerves.
"It's my pocket handkerchief," Quatre answered easily. "I got it out of my pocket.
"Yeah, but where did you get it wet? Did you find that bathroom?"
"No - there was a bowl of water by the door."
Duo looked down at Quatre where he knelt on the floor, ingeniously using the damp handkerchief to clean the evidence of their tryst from his fingers. He grimaced and smacked himself in the face with one hand. "Oh lord," he muttered just before he burst out laughing.
He was going to hell. He was definitely going to hell.
Quatre looked up at him as if he had just gone mad. That just made Duo laugh even harder. He grabbed the startled boy by the front of the shirt and hauled him up into his lap for a proper kiss. The door to the confessional banged shut behind him.
If Duo was going to hell, he was going to enjoy the ride, damn it.