Steam
Part 1
by Caroline
"I can't believe I let you talk me into coming here, Quat," Duo said, glancing around uneasily, idly fingering the edge of his ceremonial towel, making sure it was in place.
His blond half-Turkish friend laughed at his obvious discomfort as he slapped Duo's hands away and helped him secure the red and gold pestemal around his waist. "You said you wanted to try something... adventurous... while you were here, didn't you? Trust me when I say there's nothing more 'adventurous' than a hamam."
"A Turkish bath isn't exactly what I had in mind," Duo mumbled, casting yet another furtive look at the entranceway that led to the baths. He turned his attention back to his blond friend and their tall companion. "And how did he talk you into this, Trowa?"
The tall, green-eyed man smirked as Quatre laughed again. "It was his idea, Duo."
The long-haired American gaped at them for a moment before shaking his head. "You two are incorrigible," he muttered.
"Maybe, but you still love us. Now, are you ready to go in?" Quatre asked, securing his own pestemal with ease, as if he'd been doing it his whole life. And he probably had, Duo mused as he reached behind him to secure his long braid into a loose knot on the back of his head with a pair of sticks he'd brought with him. Quatre had been born and raised in Istanbul. For all Duo knew, his friend been coming to the baths since he was a child. He'd have to ask Quatre about that sometime... and about how Trowa knew about them, as this was his first time in the Turkish city as well.
"I guess," he said, answering Quatre's questioning gaze, still fidgeting nervously.
"Duo, you don't have to go in if you don't want to," Trowa said, taking pity on his friend.
"N... no. It's okay," Duo replied, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. "It's just... well, what exactly does one do in a Turkish bath?"
"Bathe. Relax," Quatre replied. "Or you could have someone bathe you, give you a massage, or if you're looking for something... more..."
"Quatre, that's enough. Don't scare him," Trowa said, softly rebuking his smaller lover.
"Fine, fine." The blond turned his gaze back to Duo. "The front rooms are private rooms. Go into one of those if you want some privacy. A little further in and you'll find the public rooms. You can get a massage or wade in one of the smaller baths. Or, if you want something a bit more... shall we say exotic... you can..."
Quatre was cut off by one of Trowa's large hands, clamping down on the blond's mouth. "Duo's not ready for that, demon." He turned his emerald gaze to Duo. "Stay in the front rooms or the public baths. Don't go past the brown marker unless you're feeling brave."
Duo looked again at the entrance to the baths, puffs of steam rolling out on currents of warm air. "And where will you two be?"
Trowa wrapped his free arm around Quatre's waist and began pulling him to the archway. "We'll be in one of the private rooms, should you need us." He lowered his mouth to the back of Quatre's neck, causing the blond to gasp and turn in his lover's arms, pulling him through the arch.
"Try not to need us for... a while..." His voice trailed off into a peel of giggles as he and Trowa disappeared through the steam. Duo sighed and adjusted his pestemal one last time. He couldn't stay out here all day. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? When in Rome, or at least, in Istanbul and all that.
Crossing his arms in front of him, he took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped through the arch and into the steam.
*~*~*~*
The steam almost literally took his breath away. It clung to his skin, plastering the loose tendrils of hair to his neck and shoulders. Quatre had warned him it would be hot in the hallways, where there was little ventilation. He just hadn't been prepared for the sauna-like atmosphere. But his blond friend had promised the rooms would be cooler (or hotter, should he so choose). He just had to find one of them.
Beyond the door was a long corridor of doors, the private rooms Quatre must have been talking about. As he passed the doors, he could hear murmurs of private conversations, sharp laughter, and what sounded suspiciously like a moan. He felt himself blush, his mind conjuring up mental images of his roommate and his boyfriend. He knew what Quatre and Trowa did at night. He was no virgin himself, but a couple of fumbling encounters in a dark dorm room his second year of university didn't make him an expert either.
Quatre often teased him about his social life, or lack thereof. Duo was no prude. He went out, had a good time, but he never felt as comfortable with his body as Quatre seemed to be. In truth, he was shy. Almost painfully so. How he let Quatre talk him into coming today, he wasn't quite sure.
The corridor opened up into a larger hallway, this time with open doorways leading to larger, public rooms. Duo could make out figures lounging around the rooms, on small benches or on a large dais in the center. He chose one at random, feeling not quite apprehensive, but assured by Quatre that no one would bother him in the public rooms.
Stepping through the open doorway, he immediately noticed a change in temperature. A soft breeze caressed his cheek. He looked up to see several ventilation shafts, open to the sky above, cut into the domed ceiling. The steam wasn't nearly as dense in this room. He took a deep breath of the cooler air before looking around at his surroundings.
The room was round. Along the wall ran a small step which, judging from the two men currently occupying separate sides of the room, were for lounging on. Interspersed evenly around the room were small sinks, inset into the wall. Next to each was a bowl, which Quatre had explained was to pour the water from the elaborate faucets set into the wall over your body. There were no wash cloths or sponges. Pure, clean water was all that was needed. Quatre said it was more of a place for purification, rather than for bathing.
In the center of the room was a large, round, raised dais with similar basins carved along the raised edge. Duo shuffled hesitantly to the dais and sat down, eyeing first one, then other man in the room. But both were content to ignore him. One appeared to be asleep and the other was humming a little tune under his breath as he filled a small, shallow bowl from the sink before tipping it over his head.
There were several of those bowls scattered around the room. Duo picked up the one closest to him and bent over, filling it with water from the basin near his feet. He glanced at the other man again and shrugged.
'When in Rome...' he again thought to himself as he tilted the bowl and let the water stream down over his chest.
It was deliciously cool. He shivered slightly as he set the bowl aside, leaning back on his elbows with his legs stretched out in front of him. He sighed, letting his eyes fall shut, wondering what Quatre and Trowa were up to.
He grimaced. He could very well imagine what they might be up to. Truth be told, he envied them. Lying awake at night, in the apartment the three shared while at school, listening to the soft laughter and passionate moans coming from the other room, he envied the closeness they shared. He was a very tactile person, but he had yet to experience the kind of closeness Quatre and Trowa had. He yearned for it. He wanted someone to look at him the way Trowa would sometime look at Quatre. No, it was more than that. He wanted the closeness, yes. But he wanted more. He wanted to be... consumed.
He felt himself blush. He would never, ever admit that to anyone, especially not his two best friends. It was one of his secret fantasies. A stranger in the dark, a guy down the hall, the piano player at the bar... the person and locale in his fantasies changed from night to night, but the scenario was always the same. A large, strong man pushing him to the bed, to the ground, stealing his breath and consuming his very being with large hands and an even larger...
He blushed again, fumbling for the bowl and the cold water. This was the wrong place to be having those kinds of fantasies. Then again, those soft moans behind the closed doors of the private rooms and Trowa's remark about not going past the brown marker ... maybe this was that kind of place.
He wouldn't put it past Quatre to bring him to a place like that. God only knew he'd tried it before, but Duo had always left early, pleading headache or an early morning so he wouldn't have to stay. He'd never felt exactly comfortable in those clubs or at those parties. No matter how curious he was, he always found some excuse to go home early.
The man who had been humming stopped. Duo watched as he stood up, then averted his gaze as the man opened his pestemal in order to wrap it more securely around his hips. Duo tilted his head to watch surreptitiously through his bangs at the man. He was... deliciously handsome. Duo hadn't really noticed before, so intent was he on not making a fool of himself in the hamam.
The man stretched. Duo's breath caught in his throat as strong muscles rippled under wet, golden skin. Messy wet brown hair clung to the man's neck, his Asian features causing Duo's stomach to make strange little fluttering sensations. He had long legs and strong-looking hands. Just the thought of those hands on his skin made Duo blush yet again and turn his head. Damn it. What was wrong with him?
The man started humming again, walking around the dais where Duo was sitting. Duo looked up, startled, as the man stopped in front of him. Piercing blue eyes looked him up and down, his full lips turning up in a small smirk before the man turned again and walked unhurriedly toward the door, throwing him one last "come hither" glance before disappearing through the archway and out into the steam.
Duo let go of a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Had he just imagined that last look? He shook his head. Perhaps he had just been around Quatre and Trowa too long with no companionship of his own. Then again ... he glanced at the doorway.
When would he have another opportunity to be in a place like this? A place where no one knew his name, his family, where he lived. Quatre and Trowa were occupied with each other. Maybe he could just look around ... see what there was to see.
Gathering his courage and tightening his pestemal, he stood, forcing himself out into the steamy corridor before he could talk himself into changing his mind. The man was nowhere in sight, but Duo could still hear the soft tune he had been humming drifting through the steam to his right. He followed the song through a maze of corridors, led like a child to the pied piper until it abruptly stopped and Duo found himself facing a new archway, one marked with a brown marker.
He hesitated. He knew very well - or thought he knew - wait lay beyond the marker. Was he sure he wanted to see for himself?
Thoughts of another lonely night in his room at school listening to his roommates in the bedroom next to his gave him the courage and determination to step through the door.
Almost immediately he heard it. Small moans, a gasp of surprise, a sharp cry. He was glad it was hot in the hamam, making his skin rosy pink. It would help to hide the blush that was creeping over his skin as he walked deeper into the baths.
He peered around corners and doorways, feeling like a peeping tom, unable to look away or to watch for very long. Bodies moved in the steam, wet muscle writhing against hard flesh, undulating, crying out in almost animalistic pleasure. Duo was finding it difficult to breathe. His skin felt hot, and he knew it wasn't because of the steam.
There were other men in the corridor. A dark haired man pinned a blond against a wall, sucking on his neck, hands roaming slick flesh. Duo brushed past them only to come face to face with a tall brunet, who looked at him like he was a choice piece of meat.
"Merhaba."
"H-Hello," Duo stammered, momentarily forgetting what little Turkish he knew.
"Ah, English." He reached out and touched Duo lightly on the shoulder. Duo shivered. "You wish to join?"
His English may not have been very good, but Duo knew by the man's leering expression exactly what he wanted. He shook his head and stepped back.
"N-no. Thanks. I... I'm looking for someone."
"Ah, how sad." The man's brown eyes raked over Duo's body again. "You come see, OK?"
"Uh, yeah. OK. Maybe later," Duo said, stepping around the man and hurrying down the hallway. It hadn't been the first time he'd been propositioned, and it probably wouldn't be the last, but he didn't like feeling like a choice cut of meat.
The corridor was crowded, but not unbearably so. He'd been in clubs before where you'd had to push your way through the throng like fighting the tide. He could feel eyes on his skin, devouring, hungry looks. A hand brushed his arm, his ass, a finger traveled over the back of his neck. Duo gasped, keeping his eyes down, glancing up only occasionally, idly searching for the singer he had followed earlier, but trying to keep himself invisible - not easy in a hall of half naked men.
He ducked into one of the rooms, thinking to clear his head, but stopping dead in his tracks at the sight laid out before him.
An Asian man - not the one he had been following - sat on a low bench, his head thrown back, black hair clinging wildly to the sides of his face. He was naked, his legs spread wide, but Duo couldn't see much, since there was a blond man kneeling between those legs, his head buried in the Asian's lap.
Duo stopped breathing again, the erection he'd managed to keep half at bay, returning in force. The Asian was moaning softly, his hands buried in the blond's long hair as his head bobbed up and down in the other's lap. Dark eyes fluttered open, looking straight at him, his gaze heavy with passion. Duo swallowed but found himself unable to look away. The Asian smirked at him, then stiffened, throwing his head back and crying out as his body shuddered underneath the blond. Duo moaned quietly to himself, his eyes glued to the tableau before him.
The blond lifted his head, wiping at his chin before glancing over his shoulder at Duo. Hard ice blue eyes studied him for a moment, before turning his attention back to his companion. Standing, he lifted the Asian, carrying him over to another raised dais and laying him on his back. He draped the Asian's legs over the side, spreading them wide so Duo could see the proud cock, still standing stiff and ready.
The blond dropped his towel and Duo thought he might pass out from lack of oxygen. The other man's skin was nearly lily-white, his erection standing tall, a dusky red against the white skin. The tip was slick and Duo licked his lips unconsciously, wondering what it would be like to taste it.
He sat down beside the Asian, one hand running the length of the darker man's body from neck to groin. Duo bit his lower lip, keeping himself from whimpering along with the Asian. The blond brought his hand to his mouth, inserting two fingers, sucking on them for a moment before returning to his companion's body, cupping his balls in the palm of his hand and pressing his now-slick fingers against the puckered opening.
The Asian moaned. Duo felt faint.
All the blood in his body seemed to be rushing ... elsewhere.
He moved to sag against the wall, his knees suddenly becoming the consistency of jelly. Instead of the cool marble wall, however, his back met a wall of warm flesh. He jumped at the touch, only to find strong arms encircling his body, keeping him from escaping.
A hot, moist breath whispered across his neck. "Like what you see?"
Duo turned his head, his breath catching in his throat as he saw the deep blue eyes he had followed earlier staring intently at him, the man's lips curled up into a smirk.
"I... ah..." For some strange reason he couldn't form a coherent thought. And neither could he find a reason to remove himself from the arms enclosing him.
The man chuckled, soft and low. Duo could feel his heart trying to pound a hole through his chest. The jelly knees returned. He felt light-headed, as if he were in some kind of weird dream and would wake up right before it got to the good part. His eyes dropped to the other man's lips, licking his own as if he could almost taste them.
A long, languid moan caused him to snap his gaze back to the blond and his companion. The blond had turned the Asian onto his side, one leg hooked over the blond's shoulder. He had seated himself inside his partner, slowly rolling his hips, pausing before withdrawing, then pushing back inside swiftly. Pale hips moved in rhythm, in, out, in, out. The Asian man clawed at the marble, his eyes closed, body moving in time, pushing against the blond.
Duo let out a strangled mewling sound in the back of his throat, his dick straining painfully against the tight restriction of the pestemal. A hand that was not his own rubbed smooth circles over his lower abdomen, causing him to gasp for air, a cold chill rushing down his spine.
"Do you wish to join them?"
That voice again, like velvet against his ear. That voice could bring a man to ruin him or make him see heaven.
Duo's eyes were glued to the couple before him. The Asian was moaning, urging his partner on in a language Duo didn't understand. He swallowed hard. Join them? As much as the idea made his cock painfully hard, he didn't think he could handle it. Not yet. Not when the only experience he had involved a dorm room, a bottle of hand lotion and fumbling hands in the dark.
He shook his head, swallowing, trying to find his voice. "N-no. I ... I can't..."
He felt lips ghost across the back of his neck. "Would you like to go somewhere less ... occupied?"
Duo's eyes slid shut. His knees finally gave in and he slumped against that strong, smooth chest. Should he? Dare he? His body wanted to... really, really wanted to. But he wasn't the type to let his dick do the thinking.
A loud cry pierced the air. Duo's eyes fluttered open. The Asian had his own cock in his hand, his face contorted in a silent scream, body shaking, sweat glistening over their bodies, the dark skin and the white merging together in some kind of erotic yin yang. A hand cupped Duo's arousal through the ceremonial towel and every last objection fled from his mind.
"Take me." He whispered it, so quiet he could barely hear it himself.
The lips returned to his ear. "What was that?"
Duo turned his head. He was drowning in sapphire. "T-take me ... somewhere else."
The smirk returned, and a hand covered his own. "Follow me."
hamam = Turkish bath
pestemal = ceremonial towel you wear in the baths (though I only found this term in reference to the women... if it's called something different for men, I don't know what it is)
merhaba = hello
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