[personal profile] valentin
I started and abandoned this Duncan/Methos story about a year ago, inspired by the following challenge from Carson Kearns:

Duncan and...
It can be het or it can be slash or it can be a mixture... it
might be a fantasy of Duncan's or a fantasy (or intention... or a
bet...) of someone else 'about' Duncan... and...


It's nominally in the "By Any Other Name" universe, but it certainly stands on its own.


Strip Him and Bathe Him

Valentin


Methos drummed his fingers impatiently on the arm of his throne. Beside him his third advisor blanched and spun to hiss into the ear of a nearby guard, who bowed and backed hastily from the room.

Methos waited for another handful of breaths, then pursed his lips.

"Well. Apparently this barbarian Scot isn't co-operating." He stood, and the room's inhabitants prostrated themselves.

"So be it, then. I certainly have no need of another hostage. A nice, bloody war sounds just the thing to relieve my boredom. Send his head back to his father with my compliments."

He frowned; the royal court cowered.

"And do the same for whoever's making that racket in the hallway."

The steadily growing tumult outside his throne room seemed to achieve some sort of climax, for the massive doors crashed open, scattering (and in some cases damaging) retainers unfortunate enough to be caught behind them, and through them strode--

"Hell! He's used up all my oil!"

Muttering balefully about the inconsiderate, selfish nature of certain bloody nameless and unforgivably absent men, 21st century Methos heaved himself from his candlelit bath and sloshed, dripping, to a cabinet, there to retrieve various bottles, sponges, and several more candles.

The latter were lit and placed to send the room's more prosaic uses into shadow. The former were set within easy reach of his fingers beside a snifter, a bottle of cognac and the Moroccan bong he'd unearthed during a rainy afternoon spent in the attics of his London townhouse.

Now, if only MacLeod were looking at him from the other end of the tub--or better yet, drawing Methos' toes, one at a time, into that invitation to sin he called a mouth--but no, he was gallivanting across the country to deliver an idiotic lecture at some museum or other on something to do with armour, and no, Methos was not sulking at not being free to go along, and was certainly not the least bit threatened that this would be their longest separation since they'd become lovers.

Methos was sure that MacLeod had been perfectly sincere when he'd said he was sorry Methos couldn't come with him.

Hah. Well, Methos had every intention of coming. Repeatedly. With MacLeod, whether he was there or not.

He climbed carefully back into his tub, drew deep on his bong and measured a capful of his favourite oil into his bathwater. Submersing himself, he treated his cock to a tender caress. All in the name of research, of course. One had to fix the appropriate ratio of oil to water early on so as not to run the risk of ruining one's focus at a later, more critical point.

He determined that a slightly higher concentration was called for, and another judicious capful swirled into the tub. A pat or two and the mix was adjudged a success; the inner man fortified via the snifter, Methos lay back and allowed each long limb to uncurl in the warm satin embrace of his--

"Sleep wi' ye! I'd sooner tup ma' sheep!"

A normal man, Methos thought as he groped for his bong, would be fantasizing about Penelope Cruz, or Tom Cruise, or for that matter all three of Charlie's Angels, either edition. A normal man doesn't have his sexual fantasies about his lover hijacked by his own twisted psyche.

So his subconscious wanted to fight him for Duncan? Lay on, MacLeod.

Damn, this was good dope. He'd have to remember to ask Joe where he'd got it.

Another slurp of cognac and a minor adjustment to his pillow, and he settled back again. Where had he left off? He swished the satiny bathwater around his cock and shivered.

Ah, yes…

--in strode the dirtiest, smelliest, hairiest, most stunningly gorgeous creature he'd ever seen. Its dark eyes were flashing; its matted curls were flying about its remarkably broad and provocatively bared shoulders; its splendid biceps rolled and bunched as it shook its fists; its voluptuous red mouth was emitting some of the most eardrum-mutilating sounds Methos had ever been forced to tolerate. The barbarian tongue did not improve with exposure to it, in his opinion.

"Beast! Speak a human language, and kneel when you enter the presence of our lord!"

Methos thought that command might have been more intimidating had the guard who issued it been willing to venture within arm's reach of the creature. Under the circumstances it only earned them all a scornful laugh.

"I am Duncan MacLeod o' the Clan MacLeod, and I kneel tae no man!"

Blah, blah, blah. If only he were as interesting as he was beautiful. And speaking of beautiful… perhaps the beheading could wait.

After all, a man should get some return on his investment, shouldn't he? He'd been feeding and sheltering the lout for…

"Commander! How long has the creature been here?"

"Almost two days, my lord."

Oh. Well, it was the principle of the thing, surely.

Methos had, he decided, been dining exclusively on oysters for long enough. It was time to reacquaint himself with snails. (Not that he'd ever received credit for that particular metaphor, 21st century Methos thought anachronistically, and poured himself another cognac.)

"Strip him, bathe him, and… you know the rest."

He watched with interest as the barbarian's scuffles with the guards demonstrated copiously just what was worn under a plaid.

In this particular Scot's case, it was clear that nothing was worn under his plaid. No, from all offered perspectives everything under that plaid seemed abundantly and obviously in excellent working order indeed.

"I'll no' be havin' any bath!" came a muffled shout from under the pile of guards. "I'll catch ma' death this close tae winter!"

"You smell like a goat, and you probably have just as many fleas," Methos observed. "I'll catch my death."

"Aye, and good riddance, ye poxy whoreson!"

Methos was unruffled by MacLeod's disembodied insults. "On the contrary, I have no doubt that my mother was a woman of intelligence and substance. As for myself, I'm so clean you could eat off me. And you will."

Present-day Methos was distracted from his fantasy by a memory of the second time he'd felt Duncan's tongue on his body. He'd been feeding Methos bites of ripe pear, and his hair had tickled Methos' skin exquisitely when he leaned in to lick its stickiness from Methos' chest and the hollow of his throat.

Since then they'd made love so many times that Methos had almost lost count. He'd be reading on the couch or puttering in the kitchen, and would look up to find Duncan fixing him with a hot stare. It had taken him six weeks to finish a single book, and it was only recently that they'd made it all the way through a movie.

On one memorable occasion, Methos had lain in wait along Duncan's jogging route and leaped on him from the bushes. After Methos' broken neck had repaired itself Duncan had punished him severely, to the extreme gratification of both men.

Methos smiled reminiscently and toyed with the fronds of hair that drifted in the tidal pool of his groin.

And now here he was, saturated with loving, the feel of Duncan's eyebrows and wrist bones and heartbeat engraved on his fingertips, and what was he doing? Fantasizing about him still. After five thousand years of lovers Methos had not imagined that there were any more surprises for him, but that was what had made Duncan too important to lose, wasn't it? The exhilaration that lay in new discoveries, new surprises.

The exhilaration of a life that had Duncan in it.

Duncan would laugh when Methos told him of the shape his fantasy had taken, and hug him, and tell him working through his grudges was healthy. And if he was in a mood to accommodate then, Duncan would put on his plaid and growl into Methos' ear in that rich Scots burr he'd abandoned, and was that the front door Methos heard?

Thank god.

"Methos! Where are you?"

He was blushing like a schoolboy simply from hearing the man's voice. How utterly mortifying. He'd be simpering next.

Duncan opened the bathroom door and stuck his head round. Methos clutched at his knees to keep from bounding out of the tub and into his arms.

"Oi! You're letting all the warm air out!"

Duncan obligingly closed the door behind himself. "What are you doing?"

Lord, how Methos had missed that molten stare. "What does it look like, MacLeod? You've been gone for days. How long do you expect me to go without, after all?"

"I've been gone for a day and a half, you insatiable loon." Duncan was removing his clothing, his eyes on the spot where Methos' cock, gleaming under its film of oil, made an occasional Nessie-like appearance above the water.

Methos stretched out a set of long toes and briefly opened the drain, then cranked the hot water tap, all without opening his eyes or lifting his head from the pillow.

"I love this tub. Can't believe it took Western civilization two thousand years to reinvent the soaker bath." His toes manipulated the tap closed, and he sighed contentedly and sank until only his nose remained above the water's surface.

Duncan leaned over the edge of the tub. "'I can resist anything except temptation,'" he advised the nose, and tugged.

Methos sounded, sputtering indignantly, and laid tender fingers over his pinkened proboscis.

"My nose," he said severely, "is not your personal plaything."

"No?" Duncan mused. "Maybe not." His hand drifted south. "What about this?"

"Well, now. That, of course," Methos told him, making room for him in the tub, "is an entirely different matter."

Finis

Date: 2005-02-07 04:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thamiris.livejournal.com
Oh, that was fun! I loved the blending of fantasy and reality, how Methos bitches about his Duncan-obsession but clearly loves every second of it, thinking about him, touching himself, desperate after a mere day and a half without him. I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy these two, and this was flirty and entertaining and, yes, fun.

Date: 2005-02-07 03:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
::Beam::

After such a brutally long writer's block, I'd almost forgotten how much I love to torment Methos about how truly, madly and deeply he adores Duncan. Thanks for your lovely words!

Date: 2005-02-07 05:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] falzalot.livejournal.com
Yippie! Val wrote D/M again! ::does the happy fanfic dance::

And OMG, the broken neck. I about spit soda all over my computer. :->

Date: 2005-02-07 03:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Lys! Hey! *bg* Glad you enjoyed it!

strip him and bathe him

Date: 2005-02-07 07:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gwynfyd.livejournal.com
Oooh! A Duncan/Methos fantasy. Loved it. Thanks so much. I loved the broken neck too, though I'm sure it wasn't much fun for Methos at the time. I can hear him complaining, and Duncan snorting at him not to make such a fuss over so small a thing: 'You'll live!' Methos: 'Thanks a bloody lot, MacLeod!'

Re: strip him and bathe him

Date: 2005-02-07 03:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Jen! I didn't know you were into D/M. (Did I?) I know you've only written S/H, but what other fandoms do you read in?

And to you and Lys both, I have to admit being rather fond of the broken neck myself. Don't you just love a good throwaway spit-take line?

"Are you crazy? What the hell happened to those famous survivor's instincts you're always telling me about?"

"Well, excuse me for not expecting my boyfriend to kill me this early in our relationship!"

Heh.

Re: strip him and bathe him

Date: 2005-02-07 06:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gwynfyd.livejournal.com
Ah, you probably didn't know about my D/M obsession. I have mentioned it once or twice, but I don't usually go on and on about it on non- D/M lists. Not exactly the done thing. Oh, I've been into D/M since Duncan walked into Methos' apartment, and Methos tossed him that can of beer. Up until then, it never entered my head that Duncan ever looked at a guy twice. After that, I saw Slash in Highlander everywhere. Loved that show, until the final sort-of-season, when things fell apart. It was so disappointing, coming after the Horsemen episodes, and the one with Byron. Whatever it was called. Sorry, my memory's going. And I miss all that over-the-top stuff about immortality, and taking heads. :-)))

I love spit lines, too.

I'll read Slash in many different fandoms, if I can find a worthwhile story. That's really what I am, at heart. A Slash fan. I like to be able to believe in the possibility of a relationship, though, based on something in canon.

Re: strip him and bathe him

Date: 2005-02-07 11:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
That's really what I am, at heart. A Slash fan. I like to be able to believe in the possibility of a relationship, though, based on something in canon.

Hear, hear. I read in a lot of different fandoms, but I do tend to focus more on one at a time. I've been neglecting D/M as a reader, but I've been saving stories as they came down and there's lots to catch up on.

Date: 2005-02-07 12:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] killabeez.livejournal.com
Oh, god, honey, it was so good to read this! I was fanning myself and laughing out loud all the way through. Nobody captures the hot hot hot and the tender and the wicked funny all at the same time the way you do. What a delicious, unexpected treat! Methos' fantasy life is perfect and hysterical. I love his cranky-to-keep-from-embarrassing-himself and the image of him leaping out of the bushes is going to live forever in my memory, I think. I'm sick as a dog, so doubly thank you, so much, for making me feel better.

Date: 2005-02-07 03:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Killababy! I'm so sorry you're still sick!

Nobody captures the hot hot hot and the tender and the wicked funny all at the same time the way you do.

This is among the most gratifying comments I've ever received. *bounce* Thank you!

I love your icon so much! I need a D/M icon. I finally found the DVD set for a price I can manage (and at the HL store yet--who'da thought?), and I can't wait to make a few.


ETA: one of the most fun things about posting to lj is the spell-checker. As alternates for "Killababy", they suggest "Kielbasa" and "Syllabub". Hee!

Date: 2005-02-07 04:02 pm (UTC)
ext_1637: (canon HL by beeej)
From: [identity profile] wickedwords.livejournal.com
Oh, this was so lovely hon! It's sweet and hot and wickedly fun. (And you know how much I appreciate wicked fun. *g*) Thanks.

Date: 2005-02-07 04:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Rache, you have no idea how wonderful it feels to be writing again after five long and barren years. I'm so relieved that you think I haven't lost my touch. Thank you!

Date: 2005-02-07 04:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] darthhellokitty.livejournal.com
This early in the morning, I'm giggling my head off over, oh yes, the dreaded Springing From the Bushes, and the faaaabulous Barbarian Scot Daydream.

Also? References to Those Toes made me shiver.

I can see I'm going to have to do some research into your previous work. :-)

Date: 2005-02-07 11:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Ah, The Toes... they deserve a mention in any story, methinks.

I hope you enjoy my other stories, too! Thanks for letting me know, darthhellokitty (and how much do I love your username?).

Date: 2005-02-07 05:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hllurker.livejournal.com
Methos' cock, gleaming under its film of oil, made an occasional Nessie-like appearance above the water.

Sorry fairly new with lj and wasn't sure how to italicize the above comment - I laughed all the way through this but when I read this, my cat who was on my lap at the time, got sprayed with a mouthful of tea.

Lovely work, thanks for sharing

Date: 2005-02-07 11:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Couldn't help it, hllurker. I tend to be less than reverential about the wedding tackle, no matter who's wearing it. *g*

Thanks!

Date: 2005-02-07 05:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dswdiane.livejournal.com
Hmmm, me, I want to know exactly how Duncan "punished him severely" after the leap from the bushes and the broken neck (g). Otoh, maybe it'll be fun to fantacize about exactly how.

Thanks Valentin. This was fun and funny.

I look forward to visiting your website when I get home from work today.

diane

Date: 2005-02-07 11:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Diane, I have complete faith in your ability to imagine how Duncan would punish Methos. *g*

Glad you enjoyed the story!

Date: 2005-02-08 01:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dswdiane.livejournal.com
Moi? You have complete faith in *my* ability to imagine how Duncan might punish Methos? Gee, I can't imagine why that would be the case (g).

And I did enjoy the story. Good to see you writing again. It's been awhile, hasn't it?

diane

Date: 2005-02-07 06:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jotribe.livejournal.com
WooHoooo!!!! You're writing D/M again!! I am soooo happy.

I never wrote you feedback on your stories (bad bad me) but I *LOVE* them. Really really LOVE them!!
And this story is as sexy and funny and twisted and spot on as I remember :)

thank you so much!

Date: 2005-02-07 11:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Thanks so much, Jo! And always remember it's never too late for praise. *g*

Date: 2005-02-08 01:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elistaire.livejournal.com
This was *marvelous*! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Yum! Methos' fantasies! Yum! Methos in a tub! Nekkid Methos and nekkid Duncan together! Yay!

*so happy*

Date: 2005-02-09 08:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
So glad to have made you happy, elistaire. *g*

Date: 2005-02-08 04:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bigtitch.livejournal.com
Hmmm - that was lovely and hot indeed.

Methos fantasising about Mac in a kilt. It's a favourite kink of mine. This made me very happy.

Thank you.

Date: 2005-02-09 08:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
Thanks, bigtitch!

Date: 2005-02-08 03:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rochefort.livejournal.com
I enjoyed this so much -- playful and sexy and hilarious all at once! I laughed out loud several times (especially when Methos 'groped for his bong'). And watching annoying reality intrude on Methos's fantasies was fun, especially when in the end reality turned out to be better than the fantasy after all. This really cheered me up -- thank you.

Date: 2005-02-09 08:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
in the end reality turned out to be better than the fantasy after all.

So, so true, rochefort. Thanks for the feedback!

Date: 2005-02-08 04:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pat-t.livejournal.com
this was so wonderful. Funny and hot. Love the easy way the guys are with one another.

When I started reading Highlander slash, yours was one of the sites I visited. Loved your stories. So glad to see you writing about my favorite pairing again *g*

Date: 2005-02-09 08:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
So glad to be writing again, pat. Thanks!

Date: 2005-02-08 04:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blackchaps.livejournal.com
Oh, this was fun. Who hasn't lain in the tub fantasizing about Duncan a time or time? Thanks for starting off my day right!

Date: 2005-02-09 08:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tovalentin.livejournal.com
My pleasure! :-D
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