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"When Love Bites Back "Written By: Hemlock Inyx Disclaimer: This chick does not own any of the
Gundam Wing characters because they belong to Bandai and Sunrise.
I am borrowing them for this fict and will return them in good (if
somewhat sticky) condition.This fict is written out of love and not
for profit, don't sue. Thanks and enjoy! Rating: NC 17 Warnings: yaoi, lemon, alternate universe, vampires,
violence, suicide, mild-ooc Pairings: 2x5, past: 1x5, 2xH, 2x3 Summary: He wanted one taste of passion…
Duo Maxwell’s sexy voice seduced him every night
with his late-night radio talk show. So Chang Wufei couldn’t
pass up the chance to be his personal assistant—despite Duo’s
insistence that he was a vampire. Vampires didn’t
wear faded jeans. And they were dark and brooding, not vibrant and
fun. Yet…with one glance of his silver violet eyes, Duo could
hypnotize him. With one nibble of his passionate lips, he could bend
him to his will. Duo insisted Wufei had nothing to fear from him.
But why then was Wufei so conscious of his exposed neck? " When Love Bites Back "
Wufei expected cold, dripping, gray stones. But the room they were locked into could have been a suite in a luxury hotel, with a few exceptions. There were no windows, the air was damp and almost frigid and a small freezer unit hummed just inside an empty closet. He stared at the freezer for a long moment before deciding he didn't care to look inside. "Emergency rations," Duo explained with a thin smile. He took him in his arms and held him for several minutes. "I'm so sorry, Wufei. I should never have involved you in any of this." Wufei clung to him, feeling safe for the moment in his strong arms. "Stealing the files and the crystals was the right thing to do. No matter what happens, we'll have changed the future for the better." Tilting his head back, he gazed up at Duo, his eyes brimming with love. "Oh, Duo, I wish we could kiss." "So do I." A grin curved beneath the tips of his teeth. "And I wish to hell I didn't lisp every damned time I hold you. It does a number on my manly image." Wufei laughed and pressed closer to him, his fingers trailing along the line of his jaw. "Quite honestly, I don't notice the lisp anymore." All the vampires experienced difficulty speaking when their fangs extended. It suddenly struck Wufei as ludicrous that he and Duo had been condemned by a council of ancient men, all lisping like babies. Duo's hands slid from the sides of his chest and curved over his waist to his hips. "What I'd like to do is ravish you," he said, his voice a low rich rumble. He glanced at the bed behind Wufei. "But..." "We need to figure out the crystals," Wufei agreed, but he didn't step out of Duo’s arms. When he held him, an excited thrill heated his body. He loved the solid vibrant feel of Duo. "Are you trembling with passion?" he murmured against his black hair. "Or are you freezing to death?" "A little of both," Wufei admitted, smiling against his chest. After another moment, he reluctantly moved away from him, wishing he had a cup of steaming coffee. But this was a vampire's lair; few mortal comforts had been provided. "Here. Wrap up in this." Duo stripped a decorative spread from the bed and draped it around Wufei’s shoulders. When he sat down, he tucked the bedspread around his legs. "Better?" "Thank you." Thick maroon carpeting covered the stone floor and richly woven tapestries trapped some of the chill along the walls, but the room was still very cold. The bedspread felt good. "Where do we start?" Wufei asked, looking up at Duo. Loving him. Reaching into his pocket, Duo withdrew the crystal Khushrenada had agreed they could examine. He studied it with awe. "We all half believed these crystals were only a myth," he marveled softly. "But they exist, and they will change our philosophy and our lives. From this moment forward, vampirism will not--cannot--be the same." "Unless we fail to decipher how they're used," Wufei reminded him quietly. They each looked at the crystal in Duo's palm. And suddenly the tremendous weight of what was at stake descended on them both. It wasn't only their lives that hung on the question of the crystals' use, but the possible future of vampires all over the world. Duo turned the small stone in his hand. His energy level was too high to ponder the question while sitting. He dropped down and performed a few rapid push-ups, then paced the length of the room, passing in front of Wufei, his brow furrowed in thought. "All right. How to use them. Rub them on the body?" Absently, he moved the small stone over the back of his hand. "Too obvious. Burn them and inhale the smoke? Do crystals burn?" Wufei racked his brain. "Maybe you have to combine them with something…. Maybe they dissolve?" Instantly, Duo lifted the water pitcher atop the bureau and filled a glass. He dropped the crystal into the water and watched. It lay there like a rock in a glass, doing nothing. "Maybe you swallow it," he suggested after a minute. Fishing the stone out of the glass, he dried it on the tail of his shirt, then frowned in thought. But he didn't swallow the stone. Wufei rubbed a hand over his forehead, trying to concentrate, but no answer came to mind. "I have a strong suspicion that the council is absolutely confident we can't figure it out." Zechs Merquise's hot eyes rose in Wufei’s mind. "Therefore, I doubt the answer is an obvious one." "I'm not sure. It seems to me the answer should be obvious,'' Duo said after five minutes of thinking and steady pacing. "I keep coming back to your point about something happening to the council. Let's assume you're correct. Let's assume the council has protected the crystals for centuries to give themselves the option of changing their minds about making them available, or in case something happens to the present council members and they don't want the crystals lost to a future council." "I see where you're going. You're saying, what good are the crystals unless you know how to use them?" "Right." Wufei considered, watching Duo drop to the carpet for another series of push-ups. His shoulders swelled and the muscles on his neck stood out. He made adorable little puffing sounds. "The problem with the most obvious answers is the destruction of the crystals. Burning, dissolving or swallowing destroys a crystal. There are only six of them." "It's a problem in today's world," Duo agreed, sitting up and clasping his arms around his knees, "but maybe it wasn't a problem in the beginning when there weren't many vampires." Wufei told him about sending the second crystal to Heero for analysis. "With luck, the elements can be reproduced in the right combination and we'll be able to ensure a plentiful supply. We should know more by the time we get home." If they got home. Duo came to him. Kneeling, he wrapped his arms around Wufei and the bulky bedspread, and dropped his forehead into his lap. "I'm so sorry, Wufei. I've seen the cages," he said in a low voice. "The bars are iron. There's no escape." "Don't talk about it," Wufei whispered, stroking his hair. "About a minute before the sun lifts above the horizon, there's a glorious infusion of warmth. Memory floods back. You want that rapturous moment of forgotten warmth to last forever. It won't be that way for you since you know how it is to feel warm inside, but that's how it will feel to me." Wufei closed his eyes, letting his fingers explore the fine silken texture of Duo’s hair. "Then, second before the sun rises, the heat begins to sting. It's like a million hot needles stabbing the skin inside and out. A second later...it's like roasting in the flames of hell." Wufei felt Duo’s horror and the tensing of his body. "Hollywood aside, death does not come quickly." They sat in silence. Finally Wufei cleared his throat and spoke in a strangled voice. "What will it be like to be made into a vampire?" Duo hesitated and held him tighter. "There is pain involved, but it's slight compared to sunlight. Whoever does it will drain your blood almost to the point of death. Then you will drink from him. The mixing of blood is volatile and turbulent. You'll lose consciousness for a brief period. When you awaken you will immediately be aware of enhanced sight and hearing. For a short period, even artificial light will sting your eyes." "I won't drink Zechs's blood!" "I'm sorry, Wufei, but you will," Duo said harshly, lifting his head to look into his eyes. "Once you've lost your own blood, you'll crave replenishment. It's a compulsion you won't be able to control." He hesitated, then forced himself to continue in a whisper. "And you will enjoy it." "Never!" Wufei swore, staring into his eyes. "You will meld with the vampire who makes you a new-made. You will penetrate his very soul and find rapture. It will be unlike anything you have ever experienced or imagined. It's orgasm and ecstasy, joy and splendor, something transcendental that cannot be described. It's the satisfaction of a hunger you didn't know you had, and a thirst so deep, it feels like a part of your being. Your mind soars and spins through the universe." Wufei stared. Nervously, he wet his lips. "You make it sound..." No, he didn't dare think about it. "Have you ever made a vampire?" "No," Duo said hoarsely, gazing intently at the vein throbbing on Wufei’s throat. "I would have made Hilde a vampire but she refused." "I... Why didn't you make others…like Trowa?" Sudden anguish darkened his eyes. "The loneliness! The godawful, terrible misery of solitude!" The words burst out of him, erupting from a deep reservoir of suppressed pain. "The hiding, the fear. The fight to hold on to human emotions." He stared at Wufei. "Oh, God, Wufei. I've been deceiving myself for so long!" Wufei framed his face between his trembling hands and gazed into his vibrant violet eyes, filled with anguish. "My dearest, darling Duo, listen to me. You mustn't allow yourself to think like this. No regrets, remember?" A tear brimmed over his lashes and slipped down his cheek. "You can see! And you're not alone. You have friends." Other vampires who moved in and out of his life with little impact, sometimes with a gap of several decades between visits. "And you have me." Who would occupy but an eye blink along the vast span of his life. With a tortured sound Duo scooped Wufei into his arms and carried him to the bed, placing him gently on silk sheets. "Wufei," he whispered, stroking shaking fingertips along the length of his throat. "My beautiful, wonderful, brave Wufei. My love, my hero." "Your hero?" he whispered, touched. "It was you who stole the crystals and changed history for my kind." With every fiber of his being, Wufei yearned to wrap his arms around Duo’s neck and kiss him, The longing was so strong, it was painful. A powerful desperate need to kiss him deeply, passionately, to say with his tongue and lips what mere words could not express. As if Duo guessed the urgency of Wufei’s need, he hastily covered his lips--and his emerging teeth--and sorrow darkened his eyes. "No," he whispered hoarsely. "Kissing would repulse you and embarrass me," "Just hold me, Duo. Hold me." Opening his arms, he enfolded Duo within the spread and pressed his body along the hard length of his. Duo held him tightly, his face buried in his hair. Then his arms slackened. Surprised, Wufei eased back to examine his face. Duo’s eyes had grown heavy-lidded and his gaze was slightly unfocused. His teeth retracted as Wufei watched, and he could once again see the firm shapely curve of his lips. "Duo?" Concerned, Wufei lifted on an elbow. "Damn," Duo muttered, blinking and struggling to hold his eyes open. "What time is it?" Rolling away from him, he let his head drop on the pillow. "I'm sorry, my darling Wufei…" He yawned helplessly and his eyelids closed. "Damn! Sun...must be rising...embarrassing...make it up to you…and the crystals! I..." Wufei stared in amazement. In less than an eye blink Duo was dead asleep. He called his name and gave him a tentative shake. Nothing. Half-panicked, he shook Duo hard, and when he didn't respond, he pressed his ear against his chest. Wufei started breathing again when he heard Duo’s steady heartbeat. Still, it was simply astonishing. Wufei had never seen anyone fall so soundly asleep so fast. And he couldn't believe that even a vampire could sleep when his life hung by a thread and the fate of thousands of fellow creatures rested on the solution to a puzzle that had to be solved in a few hours. Or that he could fall asleep in the early exciting stages of lovemaking. Dropping back on his own pillow, he watched Duo sleep, studied the way his eyelashes formed a thick dark crescent against his cheeks. In sleep, his mouth was soft, his lips slightly parted. Leaning forward, he gently kissed him, fighting the excitement he immediately experienced. Duo didn't respond, didn't stir, and it occurred to Wufei how helpless and vulnerable he was in this state. No wonder vampires hid away during daylight hours, or locked themselves behind impenetrable metal doors. Watching Duo sleep made Wufei yawn, and he felt the depth of his own fatigue. After removing Duo’s shoes and his own, he loosened his collar, than nestled his head on Duo’s shoulder and draped his arm around him. His body pleaded for sleep, and he was sorely tempted. Wufei smothered another yawn. But there were the crystals. And not much lime to solve their mystery. Instantly all thoughts of sleep vanished from his mind. Duo had no choice, but he did. Wufei had the rest of his life to sleep. But there would be no rest of his life unless they figured out how to use the crystals. Panic brought him out of the bed. Trailing the bedspread like the train of a gown, Wufei paced up and down the windowless dungeon room, chewing fingernails and commanding himself to think. He had to unravel the secret of the crystals. How many different things could you do with a little rock? Wufei couldn't drag up a single idea that they hadn't already discarded. Instead, his mind wandered along mundane paths. He felt guilty about taking the bedspread and leaving Duo uncovered, although he knew Duo didn't feel the cold. Wufei longed for a pot of coffee and something to eat that was loaded with fat and cholesterol, something like a tray of chocolate doughnuts. He suddenly missed his mother, and experienced a tide of regret that things were not right between them. If somehow he survived the council's test, he vowed to mend his relationship with his mother. Gradually Wufei noticed the deep intense silence and grew queasy at the thought that he was the only one awake in the entire castle. No one knew where he was. He wasn't sure himself. The only thing he knew about Noventa's castle was that it was situated on top of a hill two hours outside of Budapest and sleeping vampires littered the place. Sitting on the side of the bed, he took Duo's lifeless hand and held it in his lap so he wouldn't feel so terribly alone. "Focus! Think about the crystals, damn it, the crystals!" Wufei rubbed his eyes and fought to point his tired mind toward the problem. Okay. What good are the crystals without instructions as to how to use them? No good at all. Okay. Therefore, it followed that instructions would he included. As with medicine. Except, of course, no instructions were etched on the crystals. Just to be sure, Wufei checked the crystal they had been given, looking for any kind of etching. There was none. Then he held the cloudy stone to the bedside lamp, hoping to spot something embedded inside. No such luck. But he sensed he might he on the right track. If the way to use the crystals was not obvious--and they had rejected the obvious possibilities--then there had to be instructions. And the instructions had to be on, with or near the crystals. It was the only logical conclusion. Except--and here came the brick wall again--there were no instructions. Wufei fell back on the bed across Duo's legs and stated at the ceiling as if the answer could be found in the gray stones overhead. Instead, his mind veered. They had no future together. Duo had been right. Duo was the ultimate night person. He was the ultimate day person. They would never sleep or awake at the same time. The things they could do together were limited by their wildly variant inner clocks. He was correct about other things, as well. The idea of becoming a vampire frightened and horrified Wufei. He could never do it. The possibility of Duo returning to mortality--and blindness--was unthinkable. He couldn't even consider it. Their love was hopeless. "Think about the crystals!" he insisted aloud, wiping tears from his eyes. Wufei kissed Duo again, wishing with all his heart that Duo could kiss him back. Then he resumed pacing, wading through waves of fatigue. "Instructions, instructions, instructions. There must be instructions. Where would they be?" Rubbing hard at his forehead, Wufei tried to think. "Picture the museum display, see it in your mind." Straining, Wufei tried to recall if the crystals had been arranged on a sheet of paper, something with printing on it. His mind was too tired to be exact, but he didn't think there had been any paper inside the glass window he had smashed. "Wait a minute!" Spinning, the tail of the bedspread flapping around his ankles, he searched his pockets, excitement thudding behind his chest, praying that he still had his notebook. When he found his notes, a huge sigh collapsed his shoulders. Falling into a chair, he pored over the paragraphs he had copied from the legend beneath the crystal's display. This museum owns the only hold of Vlad Diamonds. Note the fingernail shape, length, width and small size of the six pieces of crystal. The original cache was discovered on the east side of the Tongue Carpathians by brothers Johan and Will Zerotski, Zerotski Company elected to dissolve following disputes over the crystals in 1698, causing dissension and spilled blood. Financial gain, however, was always uncertain due to the lack of success in cutting the Vlad Diamonds. Shattering occurs on cutting, eliminating all possibilities for commercial or industrial use.
Using notepad and pencil, he tried copying every other word to see if a message was hidden within the legend. No. He tried every third word. Nothing. Then he listed the first letter of each word, hoping instructions would emerge, but nothing came of that idea. Nor of trying to build new words from the last letter of each word. Although instinct insisted the solution had to be simple, Wufei advanced to more difficult and complicated code systems. None worked. Finally, frustrated and depleted to the point that his mind reeled and the words blurred on the page, he threw the pencil and notebook across the room, then dropped forward to rub his burning eyes. A yawn felt so good, and his eyes turned longingly toward the bed. He was too exhausted to think. Maybe if he dozed for a minute…he'd bounce up refreshed and ready to tackle the problem from a new perspective. No, he couldn't waste a single minute. But by now he was nestling his head against Duo's shoulder and pulling his arm back around him. Wufei yawned, unable to recall crossing the room or climbing into bed. He curled against Duo. He would just close his eyes for one little minute.... * * * * * * *
Wufei came awake with a start to find Duo leaning over him. Struggling to sit up, Wufei rubbed his eyes, which felt as if sand had been poured into them. "What...? I just... What time is it?" "Eight o'clock." "Oh, no!" His hands fell limply to the bedspread and he stared at Duo in horror. "We only have a few hours left! Why didn't you wake me?" Throwing back the spread, Wufei bounded to the floor, gazed wildly around him, then sank back to the bed and dropped forward, burying his face in his hands. There was no place to go. No answer to the riddle of the crystals. Sitting beside him, Duo gently brushed the hair back from his cheeks. "They allowed Cathy and Dorothy to bring you a thermos of coffee and some sandwiches." He pulled one of Wufei’s hands from his face and curved his fingers around a hot paper cup. Wufei looked at the coffee and the plate of sandwiches on the bedside table. "Actually, I planned to order a sausage pizza for my last meal. With triple cheese." Duo smiled grimly and nodded at the pile of wadded papers he had collected from the floor. "Some are yours, some are mine. I haven't had any better luck than you did." Nothing ever tasted as fine as that first sip of coffee. But the caffeine needed a minute or two to kick in. Wufei still felt sluggish and disoriented. Blinking, he looked around him. "The lights are on, Cathy and Dorothy came and went, you were pacing and wadding paper…and I thought you slept soundly! I must have been dead." The smile instantly faded from Duo's lips and they stated at each other. Then he took the coffee from Wufei’s hands, wrapped him in his arms and held him as he burst into tears and wept on his chest. "I'm sorry," Wufei apologized, angry at himself. "I can't stop crying." "It's all right," Duo murmured in a gruff voice. He stroked him, smoothed his dark hair, held him tenderly until the storm of weeping wore itself out. Then he pressed him back on the bed, rubbing his cheek against Wufei’s cheek and throat, his hands roaming, doing wonderful things to his body, tender things, exciting things. Between gasps of pleasure, Wufei managed to blurt, "But shouldn't we--" He bit off the words. He had tried everything he could think of to decipher the hidden message--if there was a hidden message--in the crystals' legend. Duo had given it a valiant try while he slept. They had both failed. It was a waste of the precious hours remaining to them to spend the time frustrating themselves in a fruitless pursuit. Wufei kicked out of his jeans and shirt then opened his arms. His voice was husky with desire. "Come to me…" Duo did. Again and again. * * * * * * * They sat together on the side of the bed, studying the words on Wufei's notepad. Tension gripped them both. A glance at the bedside clock informed them that they had only minutes left. "I love you, Duo, but I hate your vampire world," Wufei said softly. He squeezed Duo’s hand. "I hate it that they'll make me a vampire first. And I hate it that they'll use the sun to kill me." The thought was so hard to bear. His beloved sunshine would be the instrument of his destruction. Duo turned Wufei’s hand in his lap, traced the lines on his palm with his fingertip. "You brought joy into my life," he said quietly. "Remember your first motorcycle ride? And the night we went shopping?" He shook his head. "I'll enter the cage willingly. I'd rather die than live knowing I caused your death." Wufei frowned and tapped his pencil against the Vlad legend. "The answer is here somewhere. I just know it! If only..." "Darling Wufei, it occurs to me that you are not a romantic." A smile curved Duo’s mouth. "Shouldn't we be exchanging final words? Pledging to meet in heaven or something like that?" "I think you were right. The code has to be so simple that if the council were wiped off the earth the average vampire could figure out how to use the crystals!" Duo examined the concentration drawing Wufei’s brow, then brushed his lips across his forehead. "I see why you're so good with computers. You have an analytical mind. But we've tried everything. Right now, my heart, I'd rather hear how much you love me." "You know I love you," Wufei said impatiently, glaring at his notepad. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear it," Duo said dryly. He pressed his leg against his, needing to touch him. "There has to be a key," he said after a moment. "Every code has a key," Wufei agreed. He frowned into Duo’s eyes. "Maybe the words correlate to the words in a different reference. Is there a vampire book? Maybe a set of rules or, I don't know, philosophy or something?" "The only rules are those imposed on IV members. And I helped set them up. They aren't old enough to correlate to the crystals." "There's something obvious that I'm not seeing," Wufei said, grinding his teeth with frustration. "Damn it, there's got to be a key!" "We aren't going to find it. Give it up, Wufei." Gently he took his shoulders and turned him to face him, "I'm trying to say goodbye to you, my love." His voice was husky with emotion. "I'm trying to find the right words to tell you what you've meant to me and how much I love you." "Oh Duo, I..." They both froze and looked toward the door at the sound of a key turning in the lock. When the door opened, Mueller scowled at them, and his fangs began to extend. Wufei gripped the notepad so hard that his knuckles turned white, and he felt his heart lurch. Mueller's narrow gaze fixed on Wufei’s pale throat. "Your time is up. Come with me," he snarled. Duo stood, placing his body between Mueller and Wufei. He extended a hand to him. "Forgive me," he said in a low voice, agony bleaching the color from his eyes. "It's not your fault." Standing, Wufei tried to loosen his muscles, but the tension was too great. He touched his fingertips to his pale cheek. "I love you, Duo. Whatever happens, I'll always love you, and I'll always be grateful for the time we had together." "I can't stand it that I finally find you, and--" "You will come now," Mueller growled from the doorway. They followed him into a stone-faced corridor, Wufei stumbling as he feverishly tried to study his notepad in the dim light. He'd read the Vlad legend so many times that he knew the two paragraphs by heart. If he could only find the damned key! Torches illuminated the stone walls of the council chamber. The air was damp and cold. After Mueller led them to a table placed below the podium, he rejoined the Council of Six. In a show of loyalty, Dorothy and Cathy waited at the table. Anxiously, they examined Duo and Wufei's faces as they approached, looking for a hopeful sign. "Did you find the solution?" Dorothy asked, speaking rapidly so only Duo could hear. "Please tell us you found the answer," Cathy implored. Duo shook his head, his face grim. He glanced at Wufei, his heart in his eyes, but he didn't see. His head was lowered over his notepad, his hair had swung forward on his cheeks. Stepping up behind him, he circled his waist and pulled him against his body, feeling Wufei’s vibrant warmth. Like everyone else in the chamber, he heard the rising beat of his heart, smelled the sweetness of his blood. Although Duo had fed from the freezer in the suite's empty closet, a surge of love caused a sudden, almost violent hunger to taste him, to meld with him and know his spirit in a way denied to mortals. His upper lip twitch and the tips of his canines pressed his lip. His arms tightened compulsively around Wufei’s waist and he felt dizzy with wanting him in the dark way no mortal could know or understand. "Your time has expired," Treize Khushrenada announced from the podium. Torchlight gleamed on his yellowing fangs. "Tell us how the crystals are used." Duo examined the parchment faces staring down at him and wondered which of them had been chosen to make Wufei a vampire. Which of them would know him in the intimate way he craved? Had they drawn lots? Narrowing his eyes in hatred, he studied their stoic expressions, searching for a hint of eagerness or anticipation. Only their fixed stares betrayed their expectation. They all leered at Wufei with blood thirst glowing in their ancient eyes. "When the Council of Six speaks, you will answer!" Zechs Merquise stared at Wufei's pale throat and salivated with anticipation. A drop of spittle leaked from the corner of his lips. "Can you or can you not te11 us how the crystals are used?" Duo clenched his fist against Wufei's waist. From the corner of his eyes, he could glimpse the cages. Iron monstrosities just tall enough to permit a victim to stand, narrow enough that the bars would almost touch the body. His imagination showed him Wufei standing inside, cringing in fear of the sun he loved so much. If he had believed that he had even a minuscule chance of victory, he would have leapt onto the podium and torn the elders limb from limb. He stepped in front of Wufei, instinctively protective. He heard Dorothy and Cathy suck in a deep breath and hold it. Every eye steadied on him. Waiting. Certain of his answer. Duo opened his palm and looked at the crystal. Then he lifted his head and stared at the council with frustration and hate. "I don't know how to use the crystal." "Wait!" Wufei gripped his arm and narrowed his eyes on the faces of the council. "Of course," he breathed. A long sigh dropped his shoulders and he murmured a quick prayer of gratitude. Then a radiant smile lit his face. Excitement deepened the color of his eyes to a sparkling midnight sky. "I know the answer," he announced in a ringing tone. "I know how to use the crystals to restore mortality!"
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