"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND"

Written By: Stone Angel

 

Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^

AN: Yet ANOTHER question marathon. I have to put this shit in here to explain some stuff or all ya'll would be SOOO confused. Like you won't be confused WITH the explanations. Oh and a bedtime story that is a classic between me and my equally as strange as me friend Adam. It's great in its pointlessness.

 

SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:

CHAPTER 5: BEDTIME STORIES

Heero glanced at the clock for the hundredth time in the last twenty-five minutes. It was 11:32. "Duo, where are you?" He said aloud in the empty apartment. 'I hope he's alright.'

He stood up and paced back and forth on the kitchen floor for a few moments before he heard a knock at the door. He rushed to the door and flung it open.

Duo stood with a tired expression on his features as he smiled at Heero. "Sorry I'm la_"

Heero flew into Duo's arms and began kissing his face all over.

*

Duo's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards with the unexpected impact and fell to the floor, Heero still kissing his face. 'It seems I can't come here without falling down as soon as I do.' He thought. "Nanda tanda hario?" Duo tried to pry Heero off of himself to no avail. "Hee-kun, you're squishing me." He complained.

"I was so worried that you were hurt, you baka." Said Heero between kisses. "Or worse."

Duo chuckled at Heero. "Well as you can see, I'm alive and kicking. I'm perfectly fine, save for a sore ass from falling on it that is. Can I get up now?"

*

Heero kissed him on the lips then stood and offered a hand to help Duo stand as well. Duo took it and Heero pulled him to his feet, marveling at how light Duo was.

Duo grinned at him. "Arigato."

Heero hugged him and walked backwards into the apartment still holding him. "What happened? Where were you? I was so worried. Are you Ok?" He asked rapid fire.

Duo smiled. "Hey, I've been playing this game for a LONG time. Don't worry about me, I can handle my own. I just got held up, that's all."

"What happened?" Heero asked, frowning.

Duo sighed. "It was nothing interesting."

Heero sat Duo down at the table and glared at him.

Duo smiled up at him and waved his hands in front of himself. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, turn off the deathray, it's getting hot."

Heero smiled and sat down, turning the list upside down so Duo would not read it.

Duo took a deep breath. "Alright. I live out in the middle of nowhere, right? I rent a small house from this old farmer couple who have a guest house but a very serious lack of guests. My house is about a quarter mile from theirs and hidden by a hill in their vineyard. They've suspected me for some time but have never done anything about it. Until a month ago."

Heero's eyes widened. "What did they do?"

"They let themselves into my house. I guess they were looking for a coffin or something, who knows? But when I came home, their scent was all over the place. I'm just glad they couldn't get the fridge open. That thing's a pain in the ass and they are elderly. I'm still going to put a lock on it though. Anyway, Mrs. Jones, the landlady, came over to try to catch me red handed or something. She made me eat some pie she had made. Funness ensued." Duo said sarcastically, making quotation marks in the air around “funness” . "Yeah, so I got sick. I'm Ok now, I just feel like crap." Duo smiled wryly. "Yep. That's what happened."

"Woah." Heero said, still wide eyed.

"Ah." Said Duo solemnly before grinning. "Duo Maxwell, master of the double life." He chuckled.

Heero grinned. "Wow. And I think *I* have problems with my landlord. What would happen if they found out for sure?"

"I don't know. I don't particularly want to find out, either. I had to lie through my teeth. And I'm not especially good at lying. Um... I kind of said you were a buddy of mine." Duo said, looking at the table meekly.

Heero blinked. "What did you say?"

"I told her that you drove me to school every morning and dropped me off at night because my car is a gas hog. I said that in payment I fill your gas tank every other week." Duo paused and glanced at Heero. "She kind of...um...invited you to dinner on Saturday." Duo glanced at him again to see of he was angry. "You don't have to go. I'll tell her that you had work or something."

Heero smiled at him. "I'll go. I'd do anything to make sure you were Ok, Duo-kun. If that means I have to eat an old woman's cooking for a night, that's Ok with me. I just want to make sure that you don't get found out. I love you and I don't think your landlords would deal well if they did find out. I'll go. For you."

Duo looked at him with wide eyes before a grinning widely. "Domo arigato, Hee-kun. I owe you big time."

"Ok." Heero said with a sly grin.

Duo blinked at him. "What?"

Heero smiled gently. "I have a list of questions I made while you were out. I'm just curious. It doesn't mean I'm having second thoughts, I just want some answers. That's all." Heero said as reassuringly as possible. "I mean...well...would you be curious?"

Duo seemed to think on this for a moment before smiling wryly. "Hai, hai. I just thought I had said enough last night. But I'll agree to this. Under protest." He looked at the paper Heero had flipped over when he had sat down at the table. "Is that it?"

Heero nodded and turned it over. "Hai. Um, do you want to start now?"

Duo nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Let's get this over with." He smirked. "Why am I suddenly reminded of a famous book?"

Heero laughed. "Yeah, I know. Well, let's start?"

Duo nodded and looked up at the ceiling.

Heero looked down at the list in his hands. 'What should I start with?' "Ok. Is there a God? Or anything of the like? A deity of some sort?"

Duo grinned at him. "How should I know? I suppose your next question would be 'What is the meaning of life?'." He chuckled.

Heero looked down at the list. "Yes, actually."

Duo laughed. "I'm just as confused and clueless as everyone else. I suppose if I cared that much about it, I could go to Tibet and be a munk but they don't allow braids, ya know?"

Heero grinned. "Ok, scratch that. Next question. Um... Why do you dress like a priest?"

Duo sighed. "That started over fifty years ago. I went into a church because I was feeling particularly lost, and I wanted to pray. I guess it was an attempt to save my damned soul. I was seeking answers like many humans do. I caught a priest beating his wife in the pews. It was late at night. I suppose he was not expecting anyone to come in so late. She was nearly dead. I killed him and took her to a hospital. She lived but had bad scars all over her. I stayed with her until she was well enough to leave the hospital. She didn't remember how I had killed him, just that I had saved her from meeting a similar fate and she didn't tell anyone that she knew I had done it. According to the police, he died of unknown causes. She took me to her house and said that I must have been sent from God to have been there at just the right time. She then gave me her husband's old priest uniform and said to take it. That I would always be her angel. I took it and never saw her again. Then I got to thinking that sweeping the scum from the earth is a way of evening things out. I looked at things much differently then, rather than seeing what I did to live as evil, I saw it as something that had to be done, even if I didn't like it. Then I got to thinking, that what if that's how God felt. If there is one, that is. So I wore this for a while and it grew on me. I felt a kinship, like I was doing god's work. In a very strange way. I know that must sound pretty weird, ne?" He asked, grinning.

Heero shook his head. "Actually, it makes perfect sense. When you hear people talk about doing god's work, they always mean to send them money so they can feed children that are starving. You defend innocents from those that would do them harm. I can't think of a better way to do god's work." He smiled. "I actually feel safer knowing that there are more... Um... People like you out there to watch out for us who don't know."

Duo smiled at him. "It's worth it just to hear you say that." He said softly.

Heero moved closer to him. "I love you, Duo-kun."

Duo grinned, his eyes sparkling before he leaned forward and kissed Heero.

The two parted after a moment and Heero blushed. He cleared his throat and looked down at his list. "Um... Shall we continue?"

Duo nodded. "Sure thing."

"Um..." Heero looked over the list. "So I take it coffins are just a myth, right? Seeing as how you slept right next to a patch of sunlight this morning. How are you by the way?"

Duo smiled. "I'm fine. I just had a headache and was tired for...well... I still am. But I also didn't get very much sleep. My skin and eyes hurt for a while but they're better now. And, yes, the thing about needing coffins is a little something I like to call 'bullshit'." Replied Duo with a smirk.

Heero grinned at Duo's choice of words. "What about the dirt thing?"

Duo looked puzzled. "What dirt thing? I don't believe I've heard that one. What is it?"

"You know. The legend that vampires need their native soil to survive. Like they have to have some with them or they have to sleep in it. But you already answered the question. What about holy water?"

Duo scoffed. "I could drink the stuff and it wouldn't hurt me. That whole thing about us being chased away with articles of religious purpose is all nonsense."

"Ok. What about mirrors?" Asked Heero as he crossed out all the questions he had already asked.

"That's also untrue. We have reflections as we have mass. All things that have mass reflect light. However, many of us have trouble looking in the mirror and dealing with what we see staring back at us. It's a matter of self-loathing, really. That's where that legend came from." Duo said softly.

Heero surmised that Duo had been doing just that for quite some time. "Um... You said you lived out in the middle of nowhere. Where exactly? And for how long?"

"I live off of Vineyard Drive. Or as I like to call it, Bum Fuck, California." Duo said with a smirk as Heero laughed. "It's way out there. I mean, laws apply, but only when it's convenient. Out there, people just don't give a shit. And I've lived there for nearly two years." He said, answering the second half of the question. "It's crazy. Everyone's got a gun, and they use it for everything but opening their beer cans. Mail boxes are blown away by bird shot every so often, my neighbors eat road kill at times, and everybody kills deer, even when it's not legal."

Heero blinked. "Wow. No one would get away with that in town."

Duo nodded. "Ah. It's like a whole other culture out there. I like it though. No one really bothers me much."

Heero nodded. "Where are you from? Originally?"

"I'm an American, born and raised." Duo replied. "I grew up in Virginia. I've been moving all around ever since I left when I was thirty. I have to keep moving so people don't suspect anything when I don't age at all. I learned that the hard way, too."

Heero thought about that. "When are you moving from here?" He asked quietly.

Duo looked at him sadly for a moment. "Soon. In the next year or so."

Heero looked sadly down at the table.

"Hee-kun." Duo gently lifted Heero's chin. "I don't want to. But it's something I can't avoid. You understand, right?"

Heero nodded. 'I don't want to think about this now.' He changed his train of thought forcibly. "Anou.... How much...blood...do you need every night?" Heero asked, eyes cast downward but steeling a glance at Duo who was pale and obviously didn't like the question.

"At least one person." Duo said quietly. "It's better if I get more, but I usually don't. That circumstance with the three young men was rather rare. The catch is that I have to leave enough that it isn't too suspicious when the body is given a postmortem. But I also have to kill them. It's tricky at times. I often have to hunt twice a night. It's not like the good old days anymore, where if someone died, it just was, and nobody questioned. Now they do tests and procedures to determine the cause. Of course, every so often, I come across a real piece of work and I make sure he has no one who would miss him. I get enough for a couple of nights from him and then bury the body somewhere or other. No body plus no one to wonder where he went equals no questions. Um... I'm supposed to...feed...more than that, but I don't. Most others take anywhere from two to four a night. I don't like to, though. I should, but I can't. As a result, I'm constantly hungry. If I did, I could skip a few nights at a time. But it's hard enough just taking one life. I can't imagine taking more than three. And that's only once every few decades."

Heero could tell that Duo didn't like talking about it by the forced and rushed way he said it all. "Anou... If you bite someone, do they automatically die?"

"Iye. It all depends on how much blood they lose." Replied Duo.

Heero decided to give Duo a break from the uncomfortable questions for a while. "Um, what about finger prints? Forensics can pull finger prints off a body."

"I don't have a record. I'm not on any file anywhere. But I also don't produce oil. I have no fingerprints. It's as good as wearing gloves." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

Heero blinked. "Hontou ni?"

"Ah." Said Duo. "Come take a look." He stood and walked to the window by the table, opening the curtains so the glass was exposed.

Heero stood beside him.

Duo ran his fingers down the glass, pressing them hard against the smooth surface. He took his hand away and moved aside so Heero may examine the glass.

Heero looked at the lack of fingerprints in awe. "Segoi." He whispered to himself as he closed the curtains before looking back to Duo who was looking over the list. Heero lunged forward and grabbed it from Duo's hands.

Duo looked at him. "Are all those really necessary?" He asked softly.

Heero could tell that Duo had read most of the questions by the sad tone in his voice. "I just want to know some things, Duo. They're questions. They're not going to hurt you." He sat back in his seat and stared at the next question. "Um... What's the deal with the fangs exactly?" He asked.

Duo simply glared at him without menace.

Heero sighed. "Duo-kun, answer these questions and I'll never ask you to do this again. Alright?"

Duo smiled. "Agreed." He leaned back in his chair. "What exactly do you mean by 'What's the deal.'?"

"I mean, like, if you're really hungry do they come out automatically? How long until they go away? How sharp are they?"

Duo counted off his answers on his fingers. "Yes, they can. But by then, you're half-insane with hunger and you don't care. They can come out after just one night of not hunting or adrenaline can do it. It can be scary sometimes. They go away when your body decides that it has had enough for the time being. That can be anywhere from five seconds to half an hour afterwards. They are very sharp. I drew blood today just from touching one with a thumb. They need to be so it is a clean kill and there is very little struggle."

Heero nodded. "Which brings me to my next question. What does it feel like to get bitten?"

Duo looked down and shifted in his seat. "Anou... We have this way of making it feel... Good. I guess it's so the person doesn't scream or try to get away or something. They feel weak immediately and following that, they feel pleasure. Some humans who have lived after being bitten become addicted to the experience. Not many, but it does happen. It's rather sad to see. But it's also a small, hassle free meal." Duo shrugged.

"That explains why it's so easy for you to turn me on." Said Heero quietly, blushing and looking at the table, glancing to Duo.

Duo blushed as well. "H... Hai."

Heero looked up. "Um... What are your hunting habits? I mean, like, where and how?"

Duo looked down. "I usually Hunt. Sometimes I Call. That's where I sort of urge those with red auras_which is bad_to come to me. They just feel drawn. Just enough to bug them into going. Tonight I cruised Down Town and felt around for a bad apple."

Heero nodded. "What is your source of money?"

Duo smirked. "I take more than blood from those I kill. Jewelry and money. Drug dealers have a lot of cash on them. It's how I pay rent. And my dealer."

"Dealer?" Asked Heero.

"Well, yeah." Duo said. "I have to pay for the bags of blood that I have in my fridge. The suppliers work at hospitals or butcher shops and smuggle them out. It’ s usually hospitals and they smuggle mostly the blood that is not usable to ningens. They already know about us and want to make a buck or two."

"Hn." Heero processed the new information. "Um. Why can you move with so much grace? It's like nothing I've ever seen."

Duo smiled. "It's all part of the allure thing. We're supposed to be seductive so people want to be near us. It makes it easier much of the time."

Heero thought about that. "Ok. And how strong are you? And how fast?"

Duo shrugged. "I don't know. I've never actually tested myself to find out. I can run and move pretty fast_almost faster than you can see, my reflexes are way better than ningens' and as for strength, I've never had a problem. So I don't really know."

Heero thought about that. "What happens if you get trapped in the sunlight for, say, an hour?"

Duo looked slightly afraid. "We die. Plain and simple. Once dead, we do turn to dust."

"So you can die." Said Heero, looking down. "I was hoping you couldn't. How can you die?"

"Stake through the heart. Decapitation. Blood loss. And as I said, sunlight." Said Duo.

"What about garlic?" Asked Heero.

"Yeah. We hate garlic. There's reason for that, though. That stuff wreaks. And we have extremely advanced senses of smell. We also hate the smell of death on an instinctual level. It's just... The scents are stronger to us." Duo explained. "I got no problem with garlic when it's still in the husk. But ground up, no way in hell am I touching that with a ten-foot pole. I can get close to it if I have to. It's not the same nonsense that states it chases us away or that we can't go near it, I just don't like to. Would you want to spend time breathing air that wreaks?" He asked rhetorically.

Heero smiled and looked at the last question, blushing when he saw what it was. "Um. Just one more."

Duo looked relieved and pretended to wipe sweat from his brow with a grin. "Whew! The interrogation lights are hot when they're on you, ne?"

A smile. "Anou...." Heero squirmed in his seat. "Can you...have sex?" He asked at last.

Duo blushed as well. "H-Hai." He replied.

Heero looked up. 'Thank god!' "Would you...? ...With...me...?" He asked shyly.

Duo blushed even deeper as he looked to Heero with wide eyes. "Hee-kun...Heero. There is no doubt in my mind that we will make love. It's just a bit too soon for that sort of thing. Don't you think so?"

Heero nodded reluctantly. 'I'll wait until you're ready, Duo-kun. I know this is weird for you, too.' "Hai."

"So. Did you still want me to cut your hair?" He asked with an eager grin.

Heero blinked at him before smiling. "Hai."

* * *

Heero stood in front of the mirror with a towel around his shoulders and neck like a cape, looking at the reflection of himself and the vampire behind him.

Duo was examining Heero's hair and seemed to be trying to figure out how to best go about the task of cutting it. He ran his fingers through it and Heero shivered, feeling blood rush to his groin. Not enough to be obvious, just enough to make him blush. "Gomen, ne?" Smiled Duo. "I think we should wet it first."

Heero nodded and turned on the shower, bending over and holding his head under the spray for a moment. He turned off the water and shook the water out of his hair. He turned back to Duo who was blushing slightly. Heero looked down to see Duo was semi erect. He saw Duo blush deeper when he noticed Heero's eyes on him. 'Payback's a bitch, ne, Duo-kun?' Heero smirked and stood before the mirror again.

Duo picked up the brush from the sink and gently brushed Heero's hair into the way it fell naturally when it was dry. Then he picked up the scissors and began to cut.

Both of them continued to blush for the duration of the hair cut.

* * *

Heero looked at his reflection with wide and astonished eyes. He smiled in approval, meeting eyes with Duo's reflection when he saw Duo seemed nervous. "Duo. This is so much better. I love it." He said, turning to Duo and hugging him tightly. "Arigato."

*

Duo let out a breath, elated. "I'm glad." He snuggled into Heero's embrace, smiling. 'I love it here. I could stay in these arms forever.' He was slightly nervous because of the aroused scent Heero was giving off, but he knew Heero would wait. He looked up to Heero and grinned when he was released.

Heero ran his fingers through his hair, still looking at it in awe in the mirror.

Heero's hair was not shortened so much as slightly reshaped. It was much more appealing. It still looked slightly unruly, but it looked much more like normal hair. It was trimmed slightly, so it didn't fall so much into Heero's eyes and was, altogether, much tamer.

*

Duo shook the trimmed hair from the towel into the small trash bin and bundled it up. "I need to shake this out outside." He said.

"It can wait." Said Heero, taking the towel from him and dropping it to the counter. He looked down into Duo's eyes, noticing for the first time that he was a few inches taller than he.

Duo looked up at him with nervousness and love. "Hee-kun?"

Heero bent down and kissed him. He felt Duo respond immediately, circling his arms around him and pressing himself against him. 'Does he realize what he's doing to me?' Heero wondered.

Duo broke the kiss, blushing, and Heero knew he felt the bulge in his shorts. "Hee-kun. It's late and you have school tomorrow. You'd better get to bed."

Heero pouted. "I'm not tired."

Duo smirked at him and lifted him off his feet, taking him by surprise. He cradled Heero against his chest and walked from the bathroom. "I know. That's because you slept in the day. But if you don't go to sleep now, you're going to be tired at school. You gotta get your sleeping schedule back to normal." He walked into Heero's room and gently laid Heero on the bed, pulling the blanket up around him.

"No, Duo." Heero whined. "Stay. Don't go yet. Will you spend the night again? Er, day?"

Duo seemed to consider for a moment before grinning. "Yosha. But only if you go to bed now."

Heero pouted again. "Can you just stay with me for a little while? Talk?" 'Or kiss some more?' Heero knew Duo was trying to avoid being in his bedroom with him. He really didn't want them to have sex. Yet.

Duo grinned to hide his unease. "What? You want a bedtime story?"

Heero smiled. "Yes please."

Duo laughed. "Alright. I'll humor you." He flopped down beside Heero on the bed and put his arms around him, looking down into Heero's eyes.

Heero circled his arms about Duo as well, looking up at him excitedly. 'I've never been told a bedtime story. This is nice. He's probably got a really wise and old story. I love those.'

Duo thought for a while then grinned down at Heero. "Ok. So I'm in Holand._"

Heero's eyes widened. "You've been to Holland?"

Duo smiled at him. "Hee-kun, I've been everywhere. But let me finish. Ok. So I'm in Holland. And I'm walking. And I come across a park and want to run around without my shoes. So I look down and see a little mushroom sitting in the grass. And I say; 'Hey, Man, will ya watch my shoes?' And he says; 'Sure, Man, I'll watch your shoes.' So I take off my shoes and go running through the park. So I come back and that little mushroom's still sitting there, right? And I say; 'Hey, Man, you got my shoes?' And he says; 'Yeah, Man, I got your shoes.' So I put on my shoes and leave."

Heero was completely lost and confused by this point but looked to Duo for the rest of the story.

Duo grinned. "And you know what the moral to the story is?"

Heero shook his head wordlessly.

Duo grinned wider. "Mushrooms in Holland will watch your shoes, Man."

Heero stared at Duo for a short moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. "That...has got to be...the lamest...'moral to the story'...I've ever heard!" He squealed out between fits of laughter.

Duo grinned. "I know. Isn't it great?"

Heero continued to laugh for a few moments before calming to giggles. "Arigato, Duo-kun. I loved that story." He leaned forward and kissed Duo lightly. "Will you just stay until I fall asleep?" He asked tiredly. 'Why am I suddenly tired? I feel safe and protected and loved and comfortable. And happy. I guess that's what it is. This is so nice.'

"Ah, Heero-kun." Heero heard Duo say before he felt Duo snuggle against him above the blanket.

Heero tightened his arms around Duo and smiled. "Arigato."

"Ah, Hee-kun." Said Duo, kissing Heero's forehead lightly.

Heero felt himself drifting off to sleep. 'It was weird, but it was the best bedtime story I've ever heard.'

And Heero slept.

*

Duo carefully tried to free himself from Heero's slumbering embrace but he tightened his hold around him. 'I don't want to wake him up.' He thought, looking down at Heero's face. 'Maybe I should just wait until he shifts then get out of here.' He yawned. 'I'll just wait.' He snuggled closer to Heero. 'It'll be any minute now.'

Duo drifted off to join his lover in sleep, his exhaustion finally catching up with him.



Chapter 6

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