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"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND" Written By: Stone Angel
Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^ AN: Well, well. This is the last chapter. After this are two epilogues but you don't have to read them. It really depends on how much you like the end of this chapter. If you think it should not have ended this way, then the epilogues are for you. If you like how this ends, DO NOT read the epilogues. I MEAN it. (menacing glare) This chapter wraps everything up. I hope you took notes because many things in the fic come back to influence this final chapter. Well. I hope you like "the end". ^_^'
SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:
Someone shaking him to consciousness awakened Duo. He opened his eyes briefly and looked at the new clock he had brought into the room. It wasn’t even Six. The sun had barely set, the night not even half an hour old but the darkness came so much sooner in winter. He smiled, still half asleep. ‘Hee-kun…’ He thought as his hands reached out to the other side of the bed to find his lover. When he noticed a distinct lack of Heero, reality came crashing back to him, forcing a groan of pain from him. "Maxwell!" He opened his eyes and looked up into Wufei’s black ones. "What?" "Do you feel that?" Wufei hissed with narrowed eyes. Duo was about to ask what he meant when a tingle on the edge of his mind that was NOT Wufei made itself known. He gently scanned it, masking his presence so the vamp would not know him. "SHIT!" It was a mark. A scream made its way to his ears from afar. He bolted upright and leapt from the bed, grabbing two stakes from a drawer and throwing one to Wufei. He took a hold of his favorite broad sword and glanced to Wufei who had his katana. "Let’s go." He sprinted to the door and they were at his landlord’s house where they felt the vamp before three seconds had passed. ‘Oh, god. This can’t be good. Please, if there is a god, don’t let anything happen to them.’ He threw the door open to see Martha in the hold of a young mark, his fangs buried in her neck and Patches growling and barking viciously at the vamp. ‘I thought so.’ He rushed into the house and brought the scull crusher on the butt of his sword handle down over the vamp’s head. The mark released his victim and dodged, the hard piece of metal grazing his temple. Martha fell bonelessly to the floor. Duo glanced to his side to see Elmer holding a shotgun but frozen in place from terror. The mark took off for the door in the back of the house, Patches chasing him and still snarling. "Invite him in!" He yelled to Elmer about Wufei. A ningen had to invite a vampire to cross a threshold for them to enter and he really needed Wufei. Elmer turned to Wufei, his mouth opening and closing before he could speak. "Come in." Wufei was by his side as Duo knelt and looked over Martha. "Kisama!" ‘Oh god, Martha, this isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.’ Hands shaking with fear for his friend, Duo checked her pulse and found it weak but not dying. "Ok. She’s alive." He grabbed the phone off the small shelf against the wall and threw it to Elmer. "You call 911. Chang, go get him." "Hai." And Wufei was gone. "What?! Where is he going?!" Demanded Elmer. "He’s going to go get him." Said Duo. He lifted his landlady and friend to a sitting position. He bit a thumb with a fang long with adrenaline and moved to apply the drops to her throat wounds. Elmer stopped him with a hand, nearly throwing himself in-between him and his wife. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!" Duo gave him a somber look. "I’m saving her life. Place your trust in me or not at all." He said softy but quickly, knowing his fangs were plain to the man but also not caring. Elmer nodded after a second of hesitation. Duo carefully applied the drops to both wounds and they healed instantly. He hefted her to the sink, past Elmer who was just gaping at him. "CALL!" He yelled. "She’s alive but she needs to get to a hospital!" Elmer quickly made the call while Duo looked about the kitchen for a knife. At last, he located a clean one and made a careful but swift incision on Martha’s palm, though the wrist would bleed more, it would be suspicious but more importantly dangerous, the wound shallow, but bleeding a lot, letting it drip into the sink for a few seconds. Making certain that the river of red, mingling with the water that coated the porcelain traveled down the drain, he decided to tend the wound. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Elmer demanded when he saw the cut as he tried to get his wife away from him. "Trust me." Duo grabbed a clean looking towel off the counter and applied pressure to the wound. "She can’t go the hospital with bite wounds. And if she didn’t have a cut, they might not think she needed a transfusion. She will live and her hand will have no damage. I will fix it later. For now, this is not fatal and very necessary." He carefully lowered her to the floor and gestured for Elmer to sit down with him. When the man did so, he moved Martha so her head was in his lap, knowing they both needed to be together in a situation like this. He continued to apply hard pressure to the wound. "Ok. Here’s the story. Martha was washing dishes and she cut herself. She fainted right when you got in here, but you don’t know how much blood she lost cause when you walked in, she had already cut herself and you don’t know how long it had been." Elmer nodded and cradled his wife’s head. "You cut her." He said tonelessly Patches re-entered the house at that time and sat by their side, unsure of what was happening but knowing it was bad. "I had to. I will heal the wound later and she’ll have not even so much as a scar." He said as he counted the ticking of the clock on the wall. "How soon did they say they would be here?" "Seven minutes. Will she last that long?" "Definitely. Don’t worry." "What are you going to do?" Asked the man in a calm tone and it was obvious that he was in shock. ‘Can’t blame him.’ "I will wait with you for the ambulance. Then I will go to the hospital to make sure she is alright." "What about the vampire?" "I will kill him before I step foot off this property." He swore. As if on cue, Wufei’s voice rang through his mind. ‘"I have him, Maxwell. He is not going anywhere."’ Duo nodded. ‘"Do not kill him. That honor goes to me. He is mine."’ Wufei sent him a mental nod of ascent and the connection became mute again. "He has him. He’s not going to let him go and I will kill him." He said to Elmer who nodded. "The bad ones are really bad, aren’t they?" He nodded silently. Elmer seemed lost in thought and Duo opted to keep him talking so he did not fall into shell shock. "What happened? Did you see?" Elmer shook his head. "No. I just… I walked in and he had her like that." Duo nodded. "Ok. She’ll be alright; we got to him before he could take enough to kill her. But she WILL need a blood transfusion." Elmer nodded. After a few minutes that seemed to stretch on for eternity, Duo heard an engine outside. ‘"I’ll see you later. I have a vamp to kill."’ He sent to Elmer who startled but nodded. Grabbing his weapons, he stood and ran out the back door as the front one exploded inward with paramedics. Once outside, he extended his mind to find Wufei and the mark. ‘There.’ He rushed towards the edge of the field to where the forest began to see Wufei standing with his foot atop a young mark who was thrashing to no avail. He saw that Wufei was holding his katana’s point mere centimeters from the mark’s throat, but the vamp did not seem to care. "YOU!" He shouted as he ran towards him. "ARE ONE STUPID BASTARD TO ATTACK *MY* NEAR AND DEAR!!!! ALONE!!! Marks NEVER act alone! What the HELL is wrong with you?!" The vamp struggled in a way that his face became visible to Duo again. "YOU KILLED MY SIRE!!!" He shouted with anguish, tears falling from his eyes. Duo froze. ‘He was the one from the group Heero and I took care of. He was the one that got away.’ "YOU!" He shouted as he gaped at him. "You killed my sire! He was a father to me! So I took something dear to you!" The mark continued to yell. Duo felt remorse but quickly crushed it. It was a serious blow to any vampire to kill their sire; it was like losing a parent when they had only the one. But this was a mark. He was evil and so had been his sire. ‘And besides, he’s not going to care in a minute. You don’t care about things if you’re dead.’ "He was my sire, too." He said as he approached his ‘brother’. "He made me, as well. But he made a mistake and became evil. You made a mistake and came here. I’m going to have to kill you for it. You don’t attack my friends and get away with it." "Leaving here alive was not part of the plan." Said the vamp as his struggles ceased. Duo nodded in understanding. "Wufei." Wufei turned to him. "Let him up." "NANI?!" Wufei looked incredulous. "WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT, MAXWELL?!" Duo waved a hand to silence him. "He’s my brother. Let him die on his feet with honor." Wufei nodded, though it was obvious he hated the idea. He removed his foot and stepped back, one hand grasping the handle of his sword so hard his knuckles were white. The mark stood and smiled slightly. "Thank you." He said to Duo, thanking him for the kind gesture. Duo nodded silently and drove the stake into the mark’s chest. The mark still smiled slightly for a moment before he embraced his end, turning to dust. Duo stepped back and looked at Wufei who looked as though he really didn’t want to be there, almost ill. "It’s Ok, Chang. I’m Ok. But I have to go to the hospital. I have to see Martha and Elmer and help them through this. You just go in and get some sleep. Thank you for helping me, Fei." He placed a heavy hand upon his friend’s shoulder. Wufei nodded but did not meet his eyes for more than a half a second as he took off in the night towards Duo’s house. Duo ran back to the house and peeked in the back window to see Martha being put on a gurney and carried outside by a group of three paramedics. Running his tongue over his teeth to feel that his fangs had retracted, he sprinted to his house as well and got in his car, waiting for the ambulance to head down the "Y" shaped driveway first and then followed at a distance. ‘It’s a good thing I have nitrous. I can keep up with them on the freeway.’ He thought. He knew that he would not be admitted to the same entrance as she but he wished to waste no time getting to the hospital. * * * At the hospital, Duo entered the emergency room after a few minutes of being delayed in the parking lot for lack of spaces, looking about the lobby, and gagged. The smells of medical substances, vomit and blood mingled in the air to create a powerful concoction fit to bring him to his knees. ‘I hate hospitals.’ He thought as he looked around for Elmer. Not seeing him he went to the desk to the woman behind a window. "I am a friend of Martha Jones. She was just admitted for a cut to the hand and blood loss." The woman looked over the charts. "Yeah. She’s ICU. They’re giving her a blood transfusion and stitches. You can’t see her. Go take a seat." He shook his head. "I HAVE to see her." He growled. The woman glared at him. "No one gets through that door without me opening it. And I am not opening it for you. Now sit down." He was glancing around to make sure no one was watching so he could MAKE her open the damned door when he saw Elmer right behind him. "It’s Ok. He’s family." Said the man to the nurse. She seemed unimpressed. "What is he to you?" "Grandson." The woman glared at Duo who glared back at her, but pushed a button and the door to his side clicked. He smiled slightly to Elmer and the two of them walked through the door. "How is she?" Elmer sighed. "She’s still unconscious. But they said she’ll be fine. They also said that it was really close and if I hadn’t found her when I did and called 911, she would be dead. Her hand is going to take fifteen stitches." He said with more than a little bitterness. Duo quickly tried to put him at ease. "Will they use the modern stitches that disappear?" Elmer nodded. "Yeah. You said something about healing it and I figured it would be easier if we didn’t have to come back here to get them removed. He nodded. "Yes. I will heal it as soon as she is released and there will be no damage. I would not have done that if I could not fix it." Elmer was quiet for a moment and Duo noticed that he was keeping his distance. ‘I guess that’s to be expected after all this.’ "Um. I killed the one who attacked her. If that makes you feel any better." He said softly as they turned down a hallway. "Thank you. It does." Said the man. After a moment, they came upon a door. Duo stood on his toes and look through the window to see a nurse stitching the wound on Martha’s hand and an IV in her other arm connected to a bag of blood that hung from a rack to the side of the bed. Martha was still unconscious. Duo looked to Elmer who looked back down at him. "They said as soon as the stitches were done I could go in." He nodded. "Ok." "I had to wash my hands of all the blood. That’s why I was in the lobby when I was." Duo nodded silently. They both watched in silence as the nurse finished her stitches and tied them off, bandaging the hand carefully before heading to the door. She opened it and stepped out side, nodding to Elmer. "You may go in now. I don’t think she will be awake for a few hours, though." She smiled to Duo as she walked away, pulling off her gloves to deal with the next patient. Duo and Elmer walked into the room, Duo closing the door behind them. He watched as Elmer sat by his wife’s side and cradled her hand tenderly in his. ‘God. He must be so shaken up.’ Duo thought. He moved to stand against the wall, waiting for Martha to awake. * * * After two hours, Elmer stood from his chair and stretched his back. "I’m going to go get something to drink." Duo nodded silently. When Elmer walked out of the room, Duo took his chair and gently held Martha’s hand in his, giving it a light squeeze. "Please wake up soon, Martha. Elmer needs you." He said to the unconscious woman as he released her hand. He leaned back in his chair, resting his head upon the back and closing his eyes, guarding her from further harm with his presence by her side. ‘God. What else can go wrong?’ He wondered. * * * "Duo." "Hnnn." Duo rolled his head to the side, still half asleep. "Duo." "Heero?" He opened his eyes to look into Martha’s sad ones. He blushed immediately. "Sorry." He sat straight in his chair and glanced at the clock on the wall. "It’s almost Nine." Said the woman. Duo stared at her. "How are you?" She nodded but did not smile. He looked to her side and saw that Elmer was sitting on the bed. He suddenly wanted to shrink into the chair. "Are you Ok?" He asked rhetorically. She nodded. "Elmer told me what happened." She said. "Thank you. You saved my life." He shrugged. "It’s Ok. It’s not like I could have just stood idly by." "Even so. What you did was very noble." She said seriously. He shrugged again and gazed at the floor. "I’ll mend that hand when they let you go home. …Um. What happened? I mean… How did he get in? We can’t get in unless a human invites us." She seemed ashamed. "He… Came to the door and said he was looking for you. I asked him if he was the other friend that Quatre had said was coming." Duo paled and realized that this was his fault on two levels. The mark had come after him. The mark had sensed his pain over Heero and found his way to his dwelling but most likely sensed that he was not alone, Wufei was in the house. So he decided to go after helpless mortals, most likely thinking that he would deal Duo a serious blow by killing those he cared for and protected. And then, he was invited into the house, claiming to be a friend of his of which they never would have known if not for him. This was his fault. He had brought this on those he loved as family. It was all his fault. "And then, things are a little fuzzy." She continued, thinking hard. "I invited him in cause he said that he wanted to talk about you. And then… I’m not sure. It all happened so fast and then I woke up here. Is that who he was?" Duo shook his head vehemently. "No. Trowa did come over. You never met him, however. He is not evil and never would have done this." He began to shake as the weight of the situation hit him. "Oh, god, Martha. This is all my fault." She shook her head. "No, Dear, this was none of our faults." Duo nodded. "Yes. It is my fault. That vampire was a bad one that escaped the group of seven I had fought with over a month ago. He found me and attacked you to get to me because I killed his family. So he went after mine. I brought this on you." He finished, barely noticing the tears in his eyes. Martha and Elmer were quiet for a moment, neither meeting his eyes. A nurse opened the door and walked into the room, looking up from her chart at all of them and then back to Martha. "Oh. You’re awake. That’s good. How do you feel?" She asked as she shone a small flashlight in Martha’s eyes to test her body’s responses. Martha nodded. "Fine. Just a little tired." "Yeah well that’s to be expected." Replied the nurse. "You lost a lot of blood. Your husband saved your life. If he hadn’t gotten you help in time, I wouldn’t be shining this light in your eyes. Be thankful." She said with a hint of humor. She checked a machine by the side of the bed and the intravenous. "Well. You are alright now, out of the woods, but we still have to keep you here for observation for a day." She turned her gaze to Elmer and then Duo. "And as for you two, visiting hours end in ten minutes. You can come back tomorrow." Duo gave her his best charming smile. "I’ll go before then. But do you think you could make an exception?" He asked, gesturing to Elmer. He smiled sweetly to the woman, winning her over easily. She got the look in her eyes that meant she had just melted and smiled back. "Ok. But just this once." Duo smiled brightly and he and Elmer nodded. The nurse checked a few things and walked out of the room, closing the door. "That was classic, Duo." Elmer smiled slightly. He blushed. "It’s the least I can do." There was a long moment of silence, the beeping of the machines in the room deafening. "What does she mean by observation?" Asked Martha, staring at the machine by the side of the bed. Duo smiled wryly. "Basically, that means that there is nothing terribly wrong with you but they have to keep you here to cover their asses from law suits." She chuckled dryly at that and turned her gray-blue eyes to him. "Can this happen again?" Duo gazed at the floor but nodded and answered truthfully. "Yes. It is highly unlikely, but it can." Martha sighed and leaned her head back on the pillow. "Duo…" He nodded and stood from the chair. "I understand. I will do whatever you tell me." She sighed again. "I just… I have to think about this. We both do. Will you come visit me tomorrow?" He nodded and smiled through his tears. "Yes." She smiled back and he saw her eyes get glossy. "Good." He nodded once to her and once to Elmer and headed silently out the door. He put a hand over his lips as he walked away to keep himself quiet as tears fell from his eyes. ‘This is why I stayed away from ningens. They all get hurt. God. What is wrong with me?’ He left the hospital and headed to his car, getting in and driving home. * * * Once Duo arrived at home, he saw Wufei packing his things into his car. ‘Nani?’ He reached out and touched on his friend’s emotions and found them to be joyful and sorrowful at the same time. ‘What is that all about?’ He wondered. Once his car was in its spot, he turned it off and stepped out. "What’s going on?" He asked his friend as he put a box in the trunk of his car. "The onna called me. She asked me to come home." Duo grinned widely. "Hontou ni?! That’s great! I’m happy for you." Wufei closed the trunk and turned to him with a solemn expression. Still grinning, Duo waved his hands in front of himself. "Oi, I was living alone for a long time before you ever made the scene. Don’t give me that, ‘Maxwell can’t be left on his own; it would be an injustice.’ look." Wufei nodded but continued to gaze at him. Duo dropped his smile. "I really will be Ok, Fei. Honest. And it might be better if you got out now. Things are really complicated now that this has happened, you know? But I will be alright." After a long moment, Wufei held out his hand. Duo grinned again and shook it. "Xie Xie." Wufei said softly, thanking him for the hospitality he had been shown. For some reason, he seemed to always find it easier to thank people in Chinese rather than the language they spoke. Duo often wondered if he EVER thanked anyone back in China as they all spoke the same language. "No prob." Duo replied in English. "You would have done the same." His friend nodded and got in the driver’s side of the car. "I will contact you." Duo grinned. "I’ll be holding my breath, Justice-boy." Wufei bristled but said nothing as he closed the door to his car and started the engine. Duo watched his friend go with tears hanging in his eyes. "Kuso." He wiped them away as he turned and headed into the house. He knew that it was wise for his friend to leave after the night’s events, but it made it no easier. ‘God. This is so complicated now. I wonder if things could possibly get any more so. Somehow, I think they could. Nay. Shall.’ He threw himself onto the FINALLY made up couch, once again adorned with cushions, and let his mind wander. "Hee-kun." * * * Directly after school, Heero walked into his place of work, his feet dragging more than a little from weariness, depression, and an intense desire NOT to have to deal with Relena. He had checked the chart and she was working with him tonight. And he hated it. Every time he worked with her since he and Duo had made her change her mind about him, she had been making his life difficult in any way possible. She was either making a mess of his area or hiding his logo’d shirt so he would have to find it and start work late, being stuck in late and getting reprimanded by his boss for his tardiness. When he entered, he noticed a distinct lack of his arch nemesis and let out a sigh of relief. ‘Things are finally looking up.’ He thought as he walked to his boss. "Where’s Relena?" Mr. Dorlian looked up from the computer terminal at the desk. "She’s not coming in tonight. She called and said that she had something important to do." Nodding and turning his back to begin working, Heero smiled slightly as he walked away. ‘Yes. Not making my life Hell is important.’ He started to stock the CD’s onto the shelf as he organized. * * * Duo walked into the hospital and waited before the desk with the woman nurse who had given him trouble last time, glaring slightly. She sighed. "You can stop glaring, kid. She’s not in ICU anymore. They moved her to a different wing. Her room is 256 A." ‘Shit. That "A" means that it’s a double-bedded room.’ He thanked her and walked down the hall, following the signs on the ceiling to guide him. He reached the room and took a deep breath to calm himself before entering. A quick look about showed that it was indeed a double room, however, the other woman was asleep. He looked to the far bed and saw Elmer sitting in the chair by it and Martha propped on her pillow in a semi-sitting position. He smiled as brightly as he could as he walked towards the two but he knew it was not that bright, walking to them against a current of emotion that seemed to have a tangible strength to it. One look from the two in the room. That was all it took. Just one look at their expressions, and he knew why he felt such sorrow from them. "Duo… Dear." Martha’s eyes welled. "Elmer and I have been talking…and…" He nodded as his gaze fell to the floor. "I understand." Martha held out a hand that no longer had an I.V. in it. "Duo." He stepped forward slowly and took her hand limply in his. "It’s Ok. I’ll pack." "God, Duo. I’m so sorry." She said as the tears fell from her eyes. "I don’t want to, but…" He nodded but did not meet her gaze. "I know. …It’s for the best..." * * * Not even bothering to take his laptop out of the compartment over the back wheel, Heero got off his bike and headed for his apartment, clad in his jeans and the jacket Duo had given him and he held onto like a lifeline as of late. He quickly walked up the steps to get indoors so he could take that damned sleeping pill and get some rest. ‘All I want right now is a dreamless sleep. I’m tired of dreaming about Duo. And there’s no point to it. He hates me now. I need to accept that. Kuso. It still hurts so badly.’ He stopped at the top of the stairs when he saw his landlord standing outside his door and stapling a paper to it. "Mr. Lewis?" The greasy man turned to him and sneered, something that Heero was sure was meant to be a smile but was a gesture beyond the man. "Mr. Yuy." Heero looked at the paper but was unable to read it by the angle. "Well, since you here." The man ripped the paper off the staple in the door and handed it to him. Heero read it. ‘Eviction Notice.’ "WHAT?!" He glared up at the man. "You’re kicking me out?!" "I got more complaints about the noise." Said his landlord with a passive expression. "I warned you and you ignored it. I have to ask you to leave. Please be gone by the end of the month." He tried to walk off past him, but Heero stepped to the side and blocked him. "You can’t do this! I haven’t made ANY noise! This is bullshit and you know it! What you’re doing is illegal and morally sick!" The man shrugged. "I’m sorry, but I have the complaint papers and you signed a contract. This violates that contract. I have grounds. You do not have a leg to stand on. Be gone by the time the month is up." Heero was too stunned to stop him the second time when the man walked by. ‘He… He kicked me out for being gay. Even though I’m not. HE KICKED ME OUT FOR BEING GAY!!!’ He thought about the last time had seen his landlord. ‘He saw me with Doug. He saw me pull Doug into the apartment and thought he was my lover.’ He thought as he walked into his residence. He looked to his side to the open window. ‘And then he saw Doug hug me and us walk to the couch. Oh, I hate him. That greasy little worm kicked me out because he misinterpreted EVERYTHING!’ He stormed to the window to close it and looked outside to the parking lot. What he saw made him stare in shock. Relena stood on the black asphalt, smirking up at his window. Heero scowled at that and walked out to the walkway to peer down to her. She turned and began to walk away. ‘Oh no you don’t.’ Heero ran at full pace down the stairs to the parking lot. "Relena!" She turned and saw him and began to run but he caught her and held her from behind. "What are you doing here? Don’t you know that stalking is illegal?" He growled in her ear. Relena turned to him and smiled in a way he DID NOT like. "Hello, Heero. How is Sara?" Heero’s eyes narrowed. "WHY are you here?" Shaking him off her, Relena glared at him. "Why am I here? Why don’t you ask Sara? She’d know. Oh, wait, that’s right! SARA is a MAN!!!!!!!" Heero felt his blood run cold and stared at her with wide eyes for long moments. "….What…?" "I met ‘Sara’ in an alley in Atascadero two nights ago! Funny thing is: She was a he!" Heero grabbed her wrist. "What did he say?! Why was he there?!" She shook her arm free. "He chased away some guys that actually found me attractive. He told me everything. I’m getting you back." He blinked. "For WHAT?!" "For making a fool out of me! For loving a MAN before you went out with me! For being a sick PERVERT AND FUCKING SOME STUPID GUY INS_" She didn’t finish her sentence. Heero brought his hand back from her cheek and glared at her with more anger than he had ever felt for a girl. "You are disgusting, Relena." She smiled even as she held a hand over her reddened cheek. "I’m not the sick one here, Heero. And I will get you back for all this. I got you kicked out. Your landlord was going to do it anyway after he saw you drag your little boyfriend into your apartment, but he wasn’t sure he had the situation right. I told him he hit everything right on the head and he decided that you had to go. Now I’m going to get you fired. Assault is illegal. I won’t press charges, but I will tell Uncle and he’ll fire you." Heero gaped at her. "Why are you doing this?" Her eyes filled with tears and she snarled at him in a human manner as she spoke. "I LOVED YOU!!! But you hurt me. And if I can’t have you, you can’t stay here. If I can’t have you, you both will suffer." Heero glared at the insane girl. "You know, I never like you. You never gave me a moment’s peace. I’m not gay, Relena, but you sure as hell make me want to be. I almost considered you when we first met. But then you began hounding me. I’m sorry you pushed me away. Now get out. Tell your uncle that I quit. Leave. Before I hit you again and this time you won’t stay standing." Relena gaped at him for a moment before backing away and then turning and running off to the bus stop. Heero turned to walk back to his apartment, his hands twitching to be wrapped around the bitch’s throat. He stepped inside and slammed the door closed behind him, slinking against it when it closed. "Where do I go? What am I going to do? Duo?!" He cried in anguish as tears fell from his eyes. "Please guide me! Duo!" * * * Duo put the last few of his belongings in the back of his car. ‘I really don’t have much stuff. I never noticed it until now. Aside from the CD’s, most of my things are weapons. That’s kinda depressing.’ All his business had been taken care of. He had emptied the bags of blood that had been in the refrigerator into a hole in the ground outside and then covered it well. He had dug up the weapons he had buried around his domicile and had washed and packed them. His heater was packed in his car as was everything else he wished to take with him, including a shoe box with almost enough money to buy a small house inside and another with enough jewelry to sink a ship that he had acquired from all kinds of targets. He had left a small stack of cash on the dinner table in the house for Martha and Elmer to find later. Ten-thousand dollars. ‘They should take some time off from working. Or at least be able to hire helpers now that she’s going to need rest for a while.’ He justified. But he knew it was a farewell gift. He wanted them to enjoy life. As he closed the gate to his car, he looked to his side to see Elmer, Patches and Martha by their truck, Elmer standing behind Martha who was in a wheel chair due to weakness and was in the process of crying her eyes out. Walking towards them, he smiled sadly at her. "Martha, it’s Ok. I wouldn’t have stayed anyway. I wouldn’t want you to be hurt because of me again." He looked down to her bandaged hand. "Will you let me fix that?" She nodded silently as her breaths came in small sobs. Duo gently took her hand in his and carefully unwrapped the white tape. He took away the gauze and looked on the wound. Smiling sadly, he pierced a thumb deeply with a canine and carefully applied the blood to her palm. The wound healed within seconds and he smiled at her. "I have a gift for you." He said as he pulled something out of his pocket. "I know you are religious, and I have a feeling that knowing me might have curbed your faith." He gently pressed a platinum, diamond and sapphire crucifix pendant on a silver chain into her palm. It was large and the stones were big and flawless. "Sell it if you like. It would fetch a high price. But never lose faith in the things in which you believe." Martha gazed down at the object in stunned wonder as her eyes filled with new tears. Duo looked down to the dog that seemed absolutely devastated. It was obvious that he knew this was a tearful farewell and it was just as obvious that he hated it. Bending down, Duo scratched behind the dog’s ear and smiled as his leg began to thump on the ground. "Be good, Patch." Patches stretched upwards and licked his face before sitting back down and whining. Duo stood straight and regarded Elmer. "For you, my gift is wisdom." Elmer seemed confused but Duo smiled wryly. "Life is short. And people die or drift apart and you never get a chance to say ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘Goodbye’. Ask Calvin and his family to live in this house. He might decline, but what if he did not? Think of it from this perspective: You have but one son. Do not let him disappear from your life for some old grievance. And you would be the better for asking him to rekindle the bond. …I hardly remember my father." He lied as he gazed at Martha. "And I never knew my mother. You two were the closest I ever had to parents." He smiled. "Don’t you think Calvin deserves the same thing you shared with me? You only get one chance. And if you lose that, you have nothing." Elmer nodded and Martha continued to cry. After a moment to get herself under control, she spoke. "Do you want to take Patches? He likes you a lot more than he ever liked us. If you want, you can take him with you. He would be happier." Duo smiled wryly. "I would, but there is no way for me to take care of him. If I can’t get a house with a yard, I wouldn’t be able to walk him during light hours. Besides, he really does like you. More than you know." She nodded and wiped away a few tears only to shed more as Elmer nodded respectfully and Patches whined pitifully. He smiled brightly. "Thank you for letting me know you. You two are truly wonderful and I will miss you deeply." Martha smiled through her tears. "Duo…" He smiled as his own eyes welled. "I’ll call you when I find a place to let you know I am safe. Ok?" His voice wavered with the tears he held back. She nodded and Elmer spoke with a smile. "We’d like that." He nodded and flashed them his famous, albeit tearful, grin before stepping around and getting in his car. He started it and waved to them as he drove away. ‘I wonder if I could…see Heero… Tell him goodbye before I left. I don’t want to leave and not say goodbye. God. I know he hates me but I have to see him. I just… Even to see him just one more time, that would be enough. But… I’ll ask him…if he’d… Maybe he’d go with me… I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t ask. It is true that people only get one chance…’ Half a mile outside the Templeton City limits, Shinigami began to falter. Duo checked his gauges and realized that he was out of gas. ‘Those trips to the hospital and back, coupled with how distracted I’ve been over everything, I forgot to put gas in the car. Kuso.’ He pulled over to the side of the road and got out of his car, kicking the tire in anger. "GODDAMN IT, SHINI!!!" He turned to look at the lights that were Templeton and took the keys out of the ignition. Stuffing them in his pocket, he started walking. * * * Heero was sobbing silently against the door. ‘So where do I move to? I have enough money to buy a house. Quatre gave me more than enough. But I don’t want to stay here. I want to leave and never come back. But I don’t want to alone. I should go see him before I leave. Tell him I’m going. Maybe he’d come. My aunt and uncle are going to be mad that I dropped out of school but they’ll get over it. They don’t care that much about me anyway. I’ll go. I want to leave and not look back.’ A quiet knock at the door startled him from his thoughts and he stood up and opened the door. He gasped as his very reason for living gazed at him from the doorway. "Heero…" Duo had tears in his eyes as he spoke softly. Heero merely gazed at him and both were silent for long moments. Duo spoke, at last breaking the silence, as his gaze fell to the floor. "Heero… Let me talk for a minute… I… I’m leaving. Leaving the county. If I asked you if you would go with me_" "Yes!" Heero said quickly as tears fell from his eyes. "God, yes, Duo! I would go!" Duo looked surprised and Heero flew into his arms, holding him tightly, afraid to let go. "I would go anywhere to be with you, Duo." Heero continued as he sobbed onto Duo’s shoulder as Duo embraced him equally as tightly. "I would follow you anywhere." Duo shook with sobs and he kissed Heero’s hair. "Ai shite ieru, Heero." "Ai shite ieru, Duo-kun." Heero sobbed. Duo waited a moment as he got his breathing under control. "Let me finish. I don’t know where we’d go. I don’t have very much money." "I do." Heero said as he stood back. "I do. Quatre gave me Three Hundred Thousand dollars after what happened in the basement." Duo’s eyes widened. "What? Why didn’t you tell me?" "I knew how you felt about the whole thing. I didn’t want to hurt you." He felt new tears fall from his eyes and cupped Duo’s cheek in his hand. "I never wanted to hurt you, Duo. It’s not why I followed you." Duo smiled sadly as his own tears fell from his eyes. "It doesn’t matter now. It’s of the past." Heero nodded emphatically. "Hai." Duo embraced him tightly then and Heero met him, the two sharing a soul searing kiss for long moments before Duo pulled back. "Pack your things, Hee-kun." Heero shook his head. "I have everything I need." Duo smiled again and Heero kissed him as he continued to hold him tightly, unsure if he was a dream, a cruel joke of his mind. As Duo kissed back passionately, Heero knew he wasn’t. Duo was in his arms and he loved him. ‘And that’s all I need.’ The two walked out and down the stairs to the parking lot, holding each other’s hands tightly. Noticing that Duo’s car was nowhere to be seen, Heero looked to him. "I ran out of gas on Vineyard Drive. It’s a long story that I will tell you later. Right now, we have to find someplace away from here to go before sunrise." Heero nodded and led him to his bike, sitting on it and scooting forward so Duo could get on behind him. Duo straddled the bike and wrapped his arms around Heero’s waist, holding him tightly as he leaned against his back. Heero started the bike and the two left for Vineyard Drive to do something about Duo’s car. As they drove away, an errant thought ran through Heero’s mind. ‘Hn. That’s funny. I forgot the pictures of my parents.’ The welcome presence of Duo’s arms around him reminded him of how easily he could leave them behind. ‘It’s the past. Right now, all I care about is the future.’ He dropped a hand from the handle and placed it on one of Duo’s that rested on his chest. ‘Ai shite ieru, Shugotenshi.’ Duo kissed his shoulder tenderly through the jacket. ‘"Ai shite ieru, Heero Yuy."’ Heero smiled as they rode off, away from their pasts. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK! IF ANYONE LIKED HOW THAT ENDED, DO NOT READ THE EPILOGUES!!! I MEAN IT, PEOPLE! IF YOU HAVE A SINGLE DOUBT IN YOUR MIND THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIKED THIS ENDING, STOP HERE! GO NO FURTHER! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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