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"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND" Written By: Stone Angel
Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^ AN: You may come to dislike Duo's
landlords after this bit but it was not my intent. They turn out to
be good people and equally good friends. I don't like this chapter
or the next one they are in, but the chaps absolutely MUST be here.
They are not as bad as Mind's Eye, tho, so I don't despise them. God
I hate that chapter. It was so hokey and just total crap. Well this
one is uncomfortable but not bad.
SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:
"Ok. I think this shirt with these pants. What do you think?" Duo held the clothes in a way that it looked as if someone were wearing them, holding the shirt above the jeans. Heero looked them over. It was a long sleeved medium blue button up shirt and black jeans. "I think you're right. What about shoes, though?" Duo seemed to think about it. "Let's see what they have." He took Heero's hand and walked over to where the shoes were kept in the large store. "I can't believe how much bigger than me you are. It's not fair." Duo pouted as he dragged his lover to the shoe department. Heero laughed behind him. "I can't help it if you're short." Duo whirled on him, mock anger upon his face. "I am NOT! I'm height challenged." He joked. Heero grinned. "Whatever makes you feel better, Koi." Duo shot him a snide look as he pawed through the shoes. "What about these?" He held up a pair of light gray sneakers. Heero looked them over. "Ok. Should I try them on?" Duo nodded. "Yes please. You should try everything on. But start with these and then we'll go to the dressing room and you can try on the clothes." Heero nodded and sat upon one of the many benches that lined the walls of the shoe department. He took the offered shoe from Duo and tried it on. It was a perfect fit. 'Why do I feel like Cinderella?' Heero looked up to Duo as he tied the laces. 'Is it really so strange? I'm trying on a shoe that my Prince Charming gave me. Baka.' "It fits perfectly." He said as he stood and walked around a bit. Duo grinned at him. "Good." He picked up the box when Heero placed the shoe back with its mate and pushed Heero towards the dressing room. "Now. Try these on." Heero groaned and took a number from the bored clerk and walked to the stall, Duo still pushing him from behind. "Yosha, yosha. Hanase." Heero shook his shoulders and Duo let him go. He glared at Duo who grinned back at him and flashed a victory sign. Sighing, Heero stepped into the changing stall. He quickly stripped of his usual clothes and pulled the new pants on before pulling the new shirt over his head. He examined himself in the mirror. 'Wow. Duo can really pick out clothes.' He turned to his side and checked his reflection. 'And these pants make my ass look great.' He thought with a blush. 'I sound like a girl. None of that.' He smiled at his reflection and ran his fingers through his hair. The shirt brought out the blue of his eyes in a very stunning way. The pants were slimming and made him look more muscular at the same time and the shoes ended the ensemble elegantly yet casually. He smirked. 'Duo's just gonna die.' He turned around and opened the stall door, stepping out and facing his lover. Duo's eyes widened as he looked like he would faint. "Hee-kun...?" He looked him up and down. "Oh, this won't do." Heero looked down at the clothes and back to Duo. "Nani?" Duo smirked as he moved towards him gracefully, running a hand up Heero's chest. "How am I gonna keep my hands off you?" Heero smiled. "Arigato. I love them. Can I get them?" "No." Duo smiled. "Of course you can, Baka. I brought you here to buy them. You don't have to ask." He looked Heero up and down once more. "We need to go shopping again. I wonder what else looks this good on you." He gently pushed Heero back into the stall. "Get changed. We have to go soon. I told them we'd be there at Eight-thirty." Heero nodded and closed the door, changing quickly into his usual attire. He looked back to the mirror as he gathered the new clothes. 'I always liked this outfit. But now I wonder why. These new clothes look so much better. Oh well. It's too much money to dress like this all the time." He walked out to Duo who was waiting for him. Heero handed the number back to the clerk who watched them with something akin to disgust. * Heero ignored him as Duo glared at him, but dragged Heero to the front of the store, taking out his wallet with enough money to buy half the things in the men's department inside. The young woman working the cashier smiled at them and took the clothes, scanning them for their prices. "Wow. These are gonna look great on you." She winked at Heero and he blushed. Duo had to suppress the urge to put a hand around Heero's shoulders. The woman was nice, but she was overstepping her bounds. Heero was his. Duo handed her the cash and smiled at her, taking the bag of clothes and walking towards the push open door, not wanting to risk the Electric Eye not seeing him as they were wont to do from time to time. As he walked he swayed his hips slightly and let his braid swing to and fro. "Matte!" Heero's footsteps ran quickly towards him. Duo smirked. 'Like a moth to a flame.' He turned to smirk at Heero. "Nani?" He blinked innocently but the act was countered completely by the smirk still playing at the corners of his lips. Heero laughed as they walked through the door. "Tease." Duo chuckled. "I suppose." As the two walked down the semi busy street to the parking complex that held Duo's car, they came upon an old woman. She scowled at them both and said something about "sinful" and "abomination". Duo glared at her as did Heero for a moment before an idea came to him. He turned to Heero and kissed him deeply, Heero responding. The two parted after a moment and walked away, Duo sliding his hand into Heero's back pocket and smiling when he felt him do the same. He looked back to the now pale woman who watched them go with shock on her face. '"Thanks, Koi. That was great."' He giggled. Heero nodded and chuckled. 'No prob.' * * * Duo pulled up before his landlord's house. He looked at the house, fearing what lay within. 'Do I have to do this? Maybe I can still get out of it.' "Duo-kun?" Duo looked to his right to see Heero looking worriedly at him. "I'm fine." "You don't look fine. You're really pale and you look like a scared rabbit. I can feel the fear rolling off of you. Are you sure you can do this?" 'I was wondering that the whole time we got dressed at my place. I don't think I can. Oh well. I'm glad my skin is warm at least. Even though those blood bags are obscene. I need to have every normal factor I can get around me tonight.' He grinned. "Ah. Of course I can. Come on. Let's not be unfashionably late." He stepped out of the car, Heero doing the same, and walked to the wood porch so much like his own. "Ok." He whispered to Heero. "Remember. We're not lovers. You go to school with me in the day, I fill your tank every other week as payment for a ride to and back from school. You have a car, not a bike. Oh, and no cursing. These people are old fashioned. They can blush of you say 'Darn' too loudly. I'll help you if you run into trouble. K?" Heero nodded. Duo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, straightening his posture and raising a hand to knock at the door. He had only finished knocking when the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Jones standing there and smiling at him. "Hello, Mrs. Jones." He grinned. Patches bounded out of the house and jumped up on Duo, stretching his body to be at his tallest so he could lick Duo's face. Duo laughed. "Hey, Patch. How ya been?" Mrs. Jones chuckled at the dog and Duo's behavior. "Hello, Duo. So glad you could make it." She turned her attention to Heero. "Hello. Heero I presume?" Heero nodded and extended his hand. "Yes. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Jones." She smiled at him and shook his hand. "Please, the two of you, call me Martha." She stepped backwards into the house, gesturing for them to enter and Heero automatically followed her. Duo remained on the porch. 'CHIKUSO!!! She knows about this!!!' He looked to Heero who stood inside the door. He did his best to hide his panic but Heero still saw, and no doubt, felt it. "Duo? Why aren't you coming in?" Asked the woman with a pout. 'Ohhh, do I hate you.' He looked to Heero again. '"Invite me in! You're on the other side of the threshold! If you invite me in, I can enter! Hayaku!"' "Duo, stop being silly." Heero said with a smile. "Come in." Duo stepped into the house, Patches following him. He heard Heero's voice in his head. 'Why didn't you tell me that you had never been in here before?' '"It slipped my mind."' He smiled at the woman who seemed somewhat peeved. "Duo?" Said the woman, looking closely at him. "Are you alright? You look pale." Duo grinned sheepishly. "I'm actually not feeling too well to tell you the truth. I've been sick for a few days." "Oh, you poor dear." She said, leading him into the kitchen. "You'll feel better tonight. I made turkey and mashed potatoes and yams and peas and..." Duo tuned her out as the woman went on and on and on about all the food she was going to force down his unwilling throat. 'Oh, god, kill me.' Duo thought with disgust. He saw Heero sit next to him at the table as he was all but pushed into a chair. He waited for her to turn around to do something in the kitchen before he looked back to Heero and made a pretend gun with his hand, aiming it at his head and pulling the imaginary trigger. Heero smiled wryly but nodded in understanding. 'You going to be Ok?' Duo nodded and smiled wryly. '"Yeah. I'll live."' He scratched Patches' head when it was placed on his knee. Mrs. Jones returned to the table after a few seconds. "Elmer should be down any minute. You know how old men are." She laughed as she set a large turkey down onto the table before heading back into the kitchen. Duo felt like he was going to vomit right then and there. 'THAT BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' He scooted slightly away from the turkey, turning his head to the side and breathing through his mouth, doing his best not to smell it. He glanced at Heero who was more than a little concerned. He sneezed softly. '"The bitch marinated this thing in garlic."' Heero's eyes widened. 'I could make an excuse to get us out of here.' '"Iye. If we do that, she'll know for sure. There's still a chance that I can make her think differently. I have to try. Oh dear GOD it wreaks!!!"' Again sneezing quietly, Duo smiled at Elmer when he came down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Glad you could make it, Duo." He turned to Heero. "And, if what Martha told me was true, you're Heero." Heero nodded and stood up to shake the hand Elmer held out to him. "Yes. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Jones." Elmer waved at the formal name. "Call me Elmer. We're all friends here." He sat down at one end of the table. "So." He leaned back in his chair. "How long have you known, Duo?" '"Six months."' Heero shrugged. "About six months." "Ah ha. And you two are in school together?" "Yes." "What are you planning to major in?" "I'm trying to major in math. I want to be a teacher." Said Heero. Duo knew it was a lie. Heero had no plans for his future. He had nearly died once, and he now realized how fragile life was and so he never thought that he would make it far enough to consider a future. Duo knew this. He had been the same way as a human. Elmer turned to Duo. "And you?" "I'm hoping to major in veterinary science." Elmer nodded. "Both good choices. And Duo is always good with animals." He turned to the kitchen. "Martha! Hurry it up will ya? I'm starved." "Oh, you're always starved!" She called playfully from the kitchen. "Good things take time." "Yeah, that's assuming quite a bit, now isn't it?" He joked, mumbling under his breath and the two 'boys' laughed. "I don't know." Said Duo. "It doesn't look so bad." Elmer sighed. "Yeah, thanks for coming. Now when you eat something, maybe Martha will get off my back about this whole thing." Duo smiled and turned to Heero. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you; Mrs. Jones thinks I'm a vampire." He whispered with a smirk. Heero's eyes widened and he laughed. "Really? That's funny." He looked to Jones, seemingly nervous. "Sorry. I just.... I never thought I'd hear someone say that. About Duo, nonetheless. He messes around on the campus fields all day. And he eats like a pig." Duo shot him a look. "Hey! I do NOT! And besides! Look who's talking, Mr. Don't-Chew: Inhale, and Look-Everybody-I-Can-Shoot-Peas-From-My-Nose!" Heero shot him the Yuy Glare-O-Death, making him giggle mentally. Elmer laughed as Mrs. Jones walked into the room and set down a few bowls of horrendous smelling food and a bottle of wine. Duo smiled at the bottle. "Heero. They have the best wine. They make it themselves by the cellar in the back. It's SOOO good." Heero smiled. "You make it yourself? Wow." Elmer nodded as he opened the bottle. "Yeah. Things taste better when you make them yourself." He poured some of the wine into Duo's glass, then Heero's and then his own, setting the bottle down and swirling the wine in the glass to smell it. "Pinot noir. Ninety-four. This was a good year." Duo politely waited as Martha came back into the room and set a few more serving dishes of food down on the table before taking a seat next to her husband to take a sip of his wine. "What are you boys talking about?" She asked with a smile. "We were just talking about the wine." Said Elmer, smelling the glass again. "Oh. Yes, Elmer makes the best wine. He's won many awards for it at the county fair." She looked about the table and smiled at Duo. "Shall we say grace?" Duo smiled and he took Heero's hand, squeezing it lightly as his other took Elmer's hand. '"Thanks for being here."' 'No problem. I'm glad I'm here. Thanks for asking me.' Duo sent him a mental caress, squeezing his hand tighter as he closed his eyes after a quick glance at the large wooden cross on the wall over the table and Elmer began to say grace. He peeked open an eye too quickly for anyone to see and saw Martha studying him intently. 'I hope tonight goes better than I think it will. I have a very bad feeling.' Duo watched as Martha piled garlic mashed potatoes, pieces of pork chop, turkey, peas, salad, yams and cranberry sauce onto his plate. Most of the things that could be seasoned were in garlic salt. 'I think I'm gonna die.' He thought as he picked up a fork and a knife. 'Oh man!' He cried in his head. Feeling a hand on his thigh, he looked to Heero. Heero looked to him, a smile on his face. Beneath the smile, Duo could easily see the fear and concern for him. '"I'll be fine, Heero. Thank you."' 'Don't leave me. I'm too scared. Ok. Get a grip. You can do this. It's just one meal and then you have another year to live here and they won't bother you again.' Duo felt like he was being beaten into this. He took a firm grip on his fork and speared a piece of turkey, using the knife to cut it into small pieces. He looked at the piece on his fork. 'Be a man.' He stuffed the piece of meat into his mouth and gagged. It was obvious to anyone that he had. 'This has WAY too much garlic on it! How can they eat this?!' He chewed and swallowed without further mishap, reaching out and picking up his wineglass, taking from it a generous sip. He smiled at Martha's smirk. "It's really hot." Martha's look seemed to die slightly before it was replaced by a sweet smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps we should wait." 'NO!' "No, that's alright. I was just surprised is all. It's really good." He took another forkful and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly to move on to the next piece. 'Please kill me.' He thought, wondering if it would be so bad to choke and pass out as an escape. 'No. Bad idea. I'll just get through this the hard way.' He stuffed the food into his mouth. Deciding that he had eaten enough turkey to convince the couple that he had liked it, he moved on to the mashed potatoes. 'These are even worse.' He didn't eat very much of the garlic infested food. Quickly moving on to the cranberry sauce, he sighed mentally. 'This isn't good. But it doesn't have garlic on it. I suppose I have to count my blessings.' He felt a hand on his thigh again and looked up to Heero. Heero looked to him with unmasked worry. 'You Ok?' Duo smiled. "What?" '"I just want to get out of here ASAP."' Heero smiled back at him. "Nothing." Duo shrugged and began to eat the yams. 'I have to get
out of here.' He looked at the clock over the window. 'I have about
twenty minutes before I throw up. About fifteen until I start shaking.
I have to be Duo stood. "It was delicious. Thank you, Mrs. Jones. I have to take Heero home, though. He has work in the morning and so do I." "Duo, sit down." Said Mrs. Jones, smiling sweetly, though it had been an order. Duo dropped back into his seat as if he had been pushed. He looked to Elmer and then to Heero. "Ok." 'How the hell does she do that?' "It's rude to leave the table until everyone else is done." She admonished. Duo looked down. 'She's going to make me sit here. I can't believe how much I hate this woman! I never thought I'd hate her! At first she was nice, then she just pissed me off! But this is just... GGRRRRRR!!!!!!!' Duo looked back to the clock after a few minutes of waiting for the elderly couple to finish their meal. 'FIVE MINUTES!!! *FIVE* FUCKING MINUTES!!!!!!!' He sipped his wine and looked to Heero who watched him with something akin to fear in his eyes. '"I have five minutes."' Heero looked to the elderly couple. 'Do you want me to do anything about it?' '"If you can, that would be so great I'd owe you for the next ten years."' Heero nodded and cleared his throat. "Um. Excuse me. I really have to go. It's late and I have to be up early." Martha smiled. "Ok. Can you just manage another fifteen minutes?" Duo screamed mentally when he heard the tone. 'That
wasn't a question.' He thought, feeling his mind begin to stray as
his body became ill. 'This is like some crappy old horror movie: "You'll
never get out of this house alive! Mwahahahaha!".' Duo laughed
suddenly, earning himself strange looks from everybody else at the
Heero was really worried about him now. Shrugging to himself, Duo downed the wine left in his glass. Duo waited for a few more minutes before he felt himself
begin to shake. He held his hands together in his lap, trying to hide
his tremors. 'OH GOD I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!' He screamed mentally.
Patches was standing by him again, his head resting in his lap for support. "Duo?" His head whipped forward to his landlady. "Are you alright? You're shaking." She said with a concerned tone. "I'm..." Duo felt himself begin to shake more. 'Be strong. Just stop it. Che. Like that was ever possible. Once this thing starts, there IS no stopping it. "I'm... Cold." Heero immediately took off his leather jacket and placed it around Duo's shoulders. "Better?" Duo nodded as he shook harder. "I... I have to go." He said but found he couldn't stand. "...SHIT!..." Heero looked to him and then to the old couple and said something that Duo thought was a very good attempt to save his sorry ass. "Mr. and Mrs. Jones. I'm sorry. Duo has a problem. He... He's anorexic. And bulimic. So when he eats he starts to shake like this. That's why he's so skinny. We're getting him help, but things like this take time. I'm going to take him home before he throws up." "Duo." Mrs. Jones said, dropping the act. "I know you're not either of those things." Duo looked back at her. "What do you mean?" He hated the way his voice shook. She rested her chin in her hands and gazed at him. "I know you're a vampire." Duo eyes widened and he attempted to laugh, barely managing a grin. "That's a good one." The woman didn't laugh. "Duo. I know. I got into your house and saw the swords and wooden stakes. I don't know why a vampire would keep wooden stakes around his house but you do." Duo began to shake for an entirely different reason. "I like to whittle?" "No, Duo." She shook her head. "There's more to it than that. Why are you never out in the day?" Duo gave her a smile. "I go to school. And work. And plus, look at me; I'm so Irish it hurts. I get sunburns easily." She continued. "You told me and my husband totally different times of your schedule. They don't add up." Duo sighed. "I made a mistake. I'm sorry." The woman sighed as well and turned to her husband. "We found the deer." Said Elmer quietly. Duo felt his blood run cold and knew that he had suddenly paled. "We followed your foot prints from the hole in the fence you helped me fix." Continued his landlord. "We found a dead doe on the edge of the forest. All its blood was gone but it had no wounds. I tried really hard to ignore this, Duo, but I can't anymore. That deer had had nearly every drop of blood sucked from its body. Things started to make sense after that. I realized that that was why the deer never came into the vineyard at night. You'd bite them." Duo stared at them incredulously. "ARE YOU TWO LISTENNING TO YOURSELVES?! VAMPIRES?! STAKES?! DEAD DEER?! THIS IS INSANE!" He felt himself become so afraid that his fear turned to anger. Anger towards his landlords, anger towards the fact that he couldn't stop shaking, anger towards himself. Adrenaline was surging through him now and he knew the only thing keeping his fangs hidden was sheer willpower. Elmer and Martha merely looked at him. Martha then looked to Heero. "Are you one, too?" Heero blinked. "What?" "Duo." Elmer spoke. "Martha and I did a lot of talking since we found the deer. We're not going to kick you out. Or tell anyone about you. I think I know you well enough to know that you would never hurt me or my wife. She feels the same way and Patches has always been a good judge of character. I can see no reason to send you away." Duo's jaw was hanging so far down he felt as though it should have been resting on the floor by then. "...Huh?" Patches whined aside him. Martha smiled. "We like you, Duo. I just wanted to know for sure. Now I do. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like." Duo blinked. He scanned both their minds quickly. 'They're being truthful.' "...Ok." He felt himself begin to feel nauseous, knowing the pain was near and gripping his abdomen, leaning forward and resting his head against the cool surface of the table. "Heero. I have to get out of here." He mumbled softly. * Heero looked to the man and woman and they nodded their consent to let him take Duo from the table. He picked up his lover and ran for the door. He carried Duo to his car but Duo gestured to take him to the collection of willow trees where the stream was. Heero carried him there. "Duo, are you Ok? You're shaking so bad. Is everything going to be Ok?" Duo nodded as Heero put him down on his knees on the ground and then yelped, gripping his stomach as he hunched forward. Heero quickly took hold of Duo's braid, holding it and keeping it out of the way as Duo vomited repeatedly. 'Well. I guess being a vampire isn't all glamour.' Heero thought, wincing at the pained groans Duo was making as his body heaved. At last, Duo stopped heaving and fell to his side with a whimper, curling up into a ball and shaking, trying to pull the jacket around himself more. "Duo-kun?" Heero rolled him onto his back. "Duo-kun?" Duo opened glazed eyes and looked up at him for a moment before closing his eyes again. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" His voice was husky and tired. Heero suppressed a nervous giggle. "Duo, are you alright? Are you done throwing up?" Even as Duo nodded, tears began to leak from his closed eyes. "I'm so stupid." He chuckled mirthlessly, the sound gaining intensity until he was laughing hysterically. "So fucking stupid!" Heero shuddered at how hollow the sound was. He looked
to the tears streaming down Duo's cheeks and listened to the insane
laughter. 'Can vampires have nervous breakdowns?' He watched for a
few more "So stupid..." The tears were flowing faster now. "Watashi wa hounto baka. I can't believe what an idiot I am." "No, Duo." Heero sat next to him and cradled his head in his lap. "This is not your fault." "Yes it is." Duo chuckled coldly. "It's always my fault. No matter how long you live, nothing ever changes." The tears were alone now, the laughter gone. "It's so cold. Hee-kun? Can you take me home?" Heero nodded, even though Duo couldn't see him. "Ah." He gently lifted his lover and carried him to his car, setting him down and retrieving the keys from his pocket. He unlocked the doors and set Duo on the back seat gently. "Ok, Duo, I'm taking you home." Duo nodded weakly. "Ari... Gato..." Heero looked to the window of the house to see the farmer couple standing there, watching them. He backed up and drove the car towards Duo's house slowly, not wanting to shake him too much and cursing the bumpy road. "Duo, we're almost there." There was no answer. Heero drove faster out of fear, figuring that if the car could take it, so could Duo. He flew over the potholes and bumps until he was parked in front of his lover's house. He quickly opened the back door and lifted Duo, carrying him inside the unlocked door. "Duo?" Duo didn't answer him. Heero shivered as he realized how cold Duo felt to the touch. "Duo?!" He laid his lover on his bed and looked down to his eyes. The expressive purple orbs he loved so much were closed. He looked lower and saw that Duo's teeth were chattering, his lips slightly blue. 'He's gone into shock.' Heero quickly stripped out of his clothing and then carefully removed Duo's as well. Once they were only clad in a pair of boxers each, he lifted Duo off the bed and threw back the covers, slipping them both inside and tugging the thick blanket around them. He circled a leg around his lover and held him tightly to himself with both arms, trying to communicate his body heat to Duo. Duo felt like ice against him. Heero was certain that the only humans that ever had a temperature so low were dead or dying of hypothermia. 'He's so cold. Should I put him in a hot bath? Doesn't that put the body into shock even worse? I DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THIS!!!!!' His eyes widened when Duo's body cuddled closer to him, seemingly of its own accord. 'I guess this is good enough. Duo-kun... All this for nothing. They knew already. I'm so sorry that you had to go through this.' Heero kissed Duo's hair and waited until the body next to his felt somewhat warm before leaving the bed. He looked down at Duo's curled up form, stroking his hair. "Duo. I'll be in the other room. Ok? I'm here. I'm not leaving you." Duo didn't move. Heero bent down and kissed a cold cheek before walking to the door and closing it partway, wandering into the living room. 'I don't want to leave him but he said that he would be dangerous when he woke up.' He thought back to the people Duo had to associate himself with as he plopped onto the couch. 'What a horrible thing to do. To make him think that he had a chance and then take it from him. I can only imagine how scared he was. Is. Those waves of fear...' He shuddered. 'I've never felt such terror. What now? Is he going to move anyway? They said they would let him stay. That's the one nice thing they did. But is that really the best thing for him? Maybe he should move in with me.' Heero leaned against the back of the couch, waiting for his lover to wake. An hour later Heero heard a shriek and a loud thump from Duo's room. 'I guess he's up.' He walked slowly into the hallway, peeking around the corner to Duo's bedroom. There was no movement that he could see from the door. He moved closer until he was peering around the doorway into the room. Duo sat hunched up in the corner of the room, a sword in one hand, a large Ki-ball in the other, looking around frantically for enemies. "Duo-kun." Heero said softly, not wishing to startle Duo in such a state. Duo's head jerked up to him, his violet eyes cold as ice, fear playing behind the animosity. "How did I get here? What is this taste in my mouth? Where are my clothes? Your scent is all over me. What did you do?" His voice was hard and demanding, making Heero want to shiver. Heero blinked. "I brought you here. Your clothes are over there. You were cold so I made you warm again. Duo... Don't you remember me?" Duo looked back at him for long moments, his eyes hard. Heero was getting scared. "Duo, your land lords made you eat. You got sick and I took care of you. You remember, don't you? It's me. Heero." Duo looked into his eyes for a moment before his eyes softened as the Ki-ball dispersed into nothing. "Hai. Heero. I remember now. Gomen, ne?" He looked brokenly at the floor. "That wasn't a dream. Was it." Heero shook his head and stepped the rest of the way into the room, crouching in front of Duo and gently reaching a hand out to his cheek. Duo jerked away from the touch before recovering himself. "Gomen. My nerves are shot to hell." He looked up into Heero's eyes, speaking in a whisper. "I'm sorry." Heero shook his head. "Don't apologize, Duo. You didn't do anything wrong." Duo looked back to the floor. "They know. I... Shinji nai." He whispered as tears welled in his eyes. "This is a nightmare." Heero placed a hand on his knee. 'He's still so cold.' "Duo. ...What do you want to do? I'm behind you, no matter what." Duo looked up to him from beneath his bangs. He smiled weakly. "Arigato. Hee-kun." He leaned forward and rested his head against Heero's shoulder for a moment. "I... I don't want to think right now." He stood up and walked to the bathroom, Heero following him, gargling with green mouthwash and then spitting only to do it again. He turned to Heero. "I don't want to deal with this now. I can't. Just..." He looked up to Heero as he walked forward, embracing him gently and resting his head on his shoulder. "Just hold me." Heero encircled his arms about him and rested his chin on his head as he rubbed Duo's back in an attempt to comfort him. "Ok." He wasn't surprised when he felt cool wetness on his shoulder. * * * Heero carried the paper cup of tea over to where Duo sat on the couch in a ball, hugging his knees to himself and staring forward with an empty expression. "Duo. Drink this. It's hot." Duo looked at the cup blankly for a moment before taking it and cradling it in both hands. "...Arigato." Heero sat next to him on the couch, watching him intently. Duo sipped the tea, the blank look never leaving his face as he swallowed the steaming liquid and lowered the cup, still cradling it as if to draw warmth from it. He continued to stare forward as if lost in his own world. "Duo?" A mechanical reply. "Ah?" "Duo." "What?" "Duo." "What?" "Duo." "What?!" Duo looked at him, slightly annoyed. Heero smiled. "Made you look." Duo blinked before smiling slightly as well. "I suppose so." Heero moved forward and hugged him. "See? Everything is better when Duo is smiling." Duo chuckled. "Hee-kun. ...Baka." Heero smiled at the name. "Ah. Watashi wa omai no baka. Ne?" "Hai." Duo chuckled again and held him with one arm. Heero moved back after a moment and looked into Duo's still somewhat lost looking eyes. "So did you do any thinking about this while you were lost in there?" He asked, pointing to Duo's head. Duo smiled wryly. "...Ah. I will stay here... For now. I'll save up my money and move into my own house as soon as I am able. But I can't do that yet. I can't move out because I don't have enough money for it now. Houses here are expensive. I can't live in an apartment cause I'd be going in the wrong directionsavings wise. It's pretty cheap to live here. I'll stay until I have enough money and then I'm outta here." He looked to Heero. Heero looked worried. "Will they do anything...bad?" Duo shook his head. "No. They meant what they said tonight. They won't harm me. They'll probably bug me about keeping the deer out of the vineyard from now on, though. Che." Heero placed a hand on his shoulder. "Um... Duo... You can move in with me. If you want. I don't mind having the windows covered." Duo smiled wryly at him. "Thanks, Hee-kun. But I'm gonna stay here. I don't really like apartments. Too much can go wrong too easily. If one of the other tenants falls asleep smoking a cigarette in the day and the building catches fire, I have nowhere to go. Here, the risks are less." Heero nodded. "Ok." Duo smiled warmly at him, once again working his magic and making Heero feel warm inside. "Thanks for the offer though, Heero-kun." Heero smiled back at him. "Ah. Ai shite ieru, Shugotenshi." Duo moved forward and kissed him lightly. Heero shivered at how cold Duo's lips were and Duo moved back, taking another sip of the hot liquid in his cup. "Yeah. I feel cold to me, too. I must feel freezing to you." He took another sip. Heero tried to make him feel better. "Not so bad. I've felt colder." "Just not colder people." Duo smiled wryly. "This'll help." He said, holding up the cup. "It's pretty hot. I should get some warmth from it. But I think..." He stood, slamming back the rest of the tea. "I'm gonna go take a hot shower." He tousled Heero's hair as he walked past into the kitchen to dispose of the cup. "Ok." Heero whispered to the empty room, knowing what kind of shower Duo meant. * Duo stood under the hot spray of water. 'I love this. It feels great. I'm still cold though.' He turned the water hotter and began to scrub himself of the smell of garlic. 'I can't believe I ate that much. I haven't eaten that much since Quatre found me and told me what was up. God. I feel like crap.' Duo resisted the urge to take one of his three-hour sob showers and stepped out of the shower stall/bath tub when he no longer reeked of the food he had been made to consume. He looked at himself in the mirror. His hair clung to his skin as he dripped water to the steam filled bathroom floor. He was still pale, but he was certain that at least his skin was warmer. He tried to grin at himself, but the best he could manage was a small, weak smile. 'I can't fake it right now. I hate this. I hate surprises. Why am I so surprised? I'm not. I just thought that if I tried hard enough I could play the part and make them believe that I was human. I should have scanned the situation before I ever stepped foot in that house. I should have known it was a massacre. I'm so stupid.' He slipped on his boxers and walked from the bathroom, drying his hair slowly as he went to go see Heero on the couch. Heero gave no indication that he had heard him. He simply stared forward with an expressionless mask that Duo knew too well. Duo realized that his instincts were still dictating what his body did to some extent, his footsteps perfectly silent. "Heero." Heero startled slightly and looked up to him. His eyes looked sad and worried as he gazed up at him. Duo sighed and draped the towel over the back of his neck. "Some way to spend our one week anniversary, huh?" Heero seemed to think for a moment before smiling gently. "Ah. But it's Ok. I'm with you." Duo smiled back at him and sat next to him on the couch. "I'm glad." He sighed and resumed drying his hair, not caring that he was getting the couch wet. "Duo?" "Ah?" He looked into Heero's concerned eyes. "I'm Ok, Heero. I'm just still a bit weirder out. I know that must sound strange, coming from a vampire, but it is SO the truth. I... I told you I don't deal well with things. Especially change. It's a trait all of us share. This changes a lot of things. I don't want them to change. I want things to go back to how it was a year ago. But I can't make it be so. So I have to deal. It might take a while; it's still kind of sinking in." He rubbed at his hair with the towel more and jumped slightly as he felt Heero's hand on his. Heero took the towel from his grasp and began to use it dry Duo's hair. Duo blinked at him before giving in and relaxing against him as Heero gently removed as much of the water as he could from his nearly meter long hair. "Ne, Duo?" "Mmm-hmm?" "Can you leave it down today? Just for a little?" Duo smiled. "Sure, Hee-kun." He moaned lightly as he relaxed, closing his eyes and accidentally voicing his thoughts. "You're so different. Solo liked my hair in the braid. You like it down. I guess that's what makes you you. The little differences." "I guess so." Duo startled, his eyes flying open and looking back to Heero. "Go-gomen nasai! Heero! I-I didn't mean to_" Heero smiled sadly at him. "It's Ok, Duo." He kissed Duo's crown. "It's Ok. I'm not offended." Duo looked into his eyes for another moment before relaxing again as Heero continued to work the water from his hair. "Gomen." Heero kissed his hair and chuckled. "Can I brush it?" Duo smiled and purred. "Hee-kun, do whatever you like to it. I'm pudding." Heero chuckled and moved out from under Duo, earning a groan of disappointment from him and Duo heard him walk to the bathroom. He soon returned and Duo sat up from where he had collapsed lazily on the couch when his support had left him to get the brush. He sat down and Duo rested against him again. He began to gently brush out the tresses of wet, chestnut silk. "So." He spoke softly. "Tell me about him." Duo was confused. "Nani? Who?" Heero chuckled behind him. "Baka. Solo. For a guy who used to be him, I don't really know all that much about him." Duo felt himself blush. "Oh. Um... What do you want to know?" Heero shrugged against him. "I dunno. How are we alike? How are we different?" Duo sighed. 'I really don't want to talk about this. What if he starts to pester me about making him a vampire again? I don't want to fight with him. I felt like I was emotionally dead that night.' "Um... Solo... He looked kind of like you. He had the dark wild hair and the deep blue eyes that seemed to go on forever." Heero chuckled, still brushing his hair. "Um... He liked running. He loved going fast. Feeling the wind. He liked to tease girls about everything. Especially the rich ones. He was good looking, though, so he never got taken to the stocks. The girls would just giggle like the mindless lot of morons they were supposed to be in those days. He loved water. Swimming. He taught me how when I was young. I've loved it since. He was... He was full of life. Always smiling and playing around. He taught me to look at the lighter side of things. I... I was in love with him since a very young age. I was devastated when he died." Heero was silent for a long moment. He set the brush down in favor of combing through Duo's hair with his fingers. "How are we alike? Save for the loving to go fast thing?" Duo sighed. "Neither of you have auras. At least that I can see. And... You both are my everything. He was. Now you are. You mean everything to me. That's how I am. I devote myself entirely to those I care about to the exclusion of everything else." He turned and faced Heero with a warm smile. Heero was looking down at him with the same smile. Duo moved forward and kissed him lightly, just brushing his lips against Heero's before Heero opened his mouth and he deepened the kiss. The two broke apart after a moment and Duo nuzzled Heero's neck, making him shiver and moan. With no intentions to take it any further, Duo merely lay his head against Heero's chest. "What did you mean?... What you said when we...were arguing?" Duo cringed inwardly. 'I thought that I had hinted enough that I didn't want to talk about that.' "Duo?" "...Ah." He took a breath to calm himself. "He..." Duo held tightly to Heero. "He knew what I was. After Quatre came and found me, I was freaking out. I told him, trying to make him understand. I so desperately needed him to be a friend in this. I knew that I would fall apart if he hated me. He demanded that I make him one as well. He said that he was tired of living in filth and stealing to pay for food. He... It was so unlike him. I was in shock. And then I realized how badly people want to live forever, without knowing what it is like. Without caring. He... He said that if I wanted a friend, he would be mine if I did it. I...ran. We didn't talk for a few months. He was always searching for me, though. Finally, I went to see him. I took Quatre with me. He sat him down and explained things. Solo... He didn't react well. He tried to take it from me forcefully. I was in too much shock to stop him, but Quatre saved him. Quatre also made him forget I had told him anything. It was all for safety reasons. He had not shown himself to be able to handle knowing. Still... I was a wreck after that. I saw him from then on and he laughed and smiled. But he always seemed confused about something. We stayed friends by night until he was hanged." Heero didn't say anything. "Quatre was my only friend who knew about me after he made him forget." He continued. "Until I met Wufei and, later, Trowa. We formed a coven for a little while in the early Nineteen hundreds. But eventually, after fifty years or so, we all just kind of...split up." Heero seemed to think on that for a moment. "What happened?" Duo sighed. "Oh, Hee-kun. People change. Grow apart. It happens so fast, and the next thing you know, they're just a silhouette on the horizon." Heero nodded. "Very insightful." Duo scoffed. "Che. When did I become the philosopher?" He sighed again, returning to the subject. "I run into them from time to time. Until a few nights ago, the last time I saw Quatre was in Nineteen, Seventy-six. He was with Trowa. I haven't seen Wufei since the Fifties. He kind of disappeared. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again on Monday." He said with a smile, certain that Heero would hear it and hoping that it would lighten the mood a little. "Q said that he would even hunt down the Wu-man and make him come. I'm really excited." Duo hugged Heero closer. "I'm so glad you'll be there. I want you to see everyone. They're all great in their own extremely strange ways. I think you'll have a blast." Heero chuckled. "Me too." Duo felt him kiss his hair and purred. "Let's go to bed." Said Heero, his deep voice rumbling in his chest beneath Duo's ear. Duo smiled. "Hai." ************* I named this chapter "Exposed" because after everything, masks and lies are stripped away like so much clothing, leaving Duo-kun metaphorically naked. And you were expecting sex. Tsk tsk. ^_^ Back to
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