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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 "
Chapter 7
Wufei stood beside the French doors, his face drawn,
gazing out at the low lights edging the night-dark garden. "I hope you don't mind," he said softly, glancing
at Duo over his shoulder. "I helped myself to a bottle of your
wine." He raised his glass to his lips and took a deep swallow.
Tonight he wore khakis and a light pullover as electric
violet as his eyes. Still damp from the shower, his hair was pulled
into a ponytail drying to a rich chestnut color. Nothing could dim
the vivacity that glowed in his eyes, but his expression was more
somber than Wufei had seen. "After last night, the least I owe you is a glass
of wine. There are things I can do to make sure nothing like that
happens again." He dropped into the chair behind his desk and
studied Wufei, admiring his shorter, unbound hair. "I'm sorry.
There are gracious, charming vampires, and there are thug vampires.
In future I'll exercise greater care in choosing who I invite into
my house. We'll install the strongest door and the best locks money
can buy on your apartment door. Renfield? Are you listening?"
Wufei started. "I'm sorry. There's something I
have to tell you." His gaze sharpened. "Let me look at you. Have you
been crying?" Turning away from the windows and the moonlit garden,
he pushed a hand through his new shorter hair, then collapsed into
one of the wing chairs. "Duo... Quatre's dead." His body jerked and tightened. He stared at him. Dropping
his head against the back of the chair, Wufei closed his eyes. Tears
gathered beneath his lashes. "Dorothy's assistant called after
lunch. He said Quatre set his house on fire at dawn, cutting off any
hope of changing his mind. Then he sat in a chair on the lawn, facing
east, and waited for the sun to rise." "Oh, hell." Duo dropped his head in his hands.
He stared blindly down at his desk blotter. He didn't speak for several
minutes. "Any vampire who has ever felt the first faint light
of dawn knows what a terrible way it is to..." He shook his head,
then struck the desk with his fist. "Quatre knew we're searching
for the crystals! Damn it, why couldn't he wait?" "That's the other news," Wufei said in a listless
voice. It surprised him how desolate he felt about Quatre's suicide.
He'd been weeping off and on since Dorothy's assistant had phoned.
"I broke past the bank's first barrier." Duo covered his mouth with a hand and swiveled his chair
toward the bookcase, turning his anguish away from Wufei. "What
did you discover?" he asked finally, his voice hoarse. "Not much, actually. Just a list of names."
Wufei drained his wineglass, and considered pouring another. "Maybe
two thousand names. Yours is there, and Dorothy's and Quatre's and
Zechs Merquise. Each name is followed by code letters. I'm guessing
the codes form part of another password, but nothing I tried worked.
I didn't get any further than the list." Standing, he walked
to the drink cart and refilled his glass. "The process is so
damned slow! If I was faster and more clever, maybe Quatre would still
be alive!" "Don't blame yourself, Renfield. Quatre's been
talking about suicide for eighty years. He never really accepted what
he was." After a pause, he added, "Besides, there's no definite
confirmation that the crystals even exist. It's possible we'll never
locate them." "I know," Wufei said, rubbing his fingertips
hard against his forehead. "But in a way I understand how Quatre
felt. He told me over and over that he longed for sunlight, dreamed
about it, yearned to see the sun again and feel its warmth on his
face and skin. And I understand that, Duo. I don't know how anyone
can live always in darkness. If only he'd been patient a little longer."
A fierce look of determination burned in his onyx eyes. "I swear,
if they exist, I am going to find those damned crystals if it's the
last thing I ever do!" Duo turned his chair around to inspect Wufei's flushed
face. "I'm glad," he said in a low voice. "I was afraid
that after last night you'd quit and leave me." The wine deepened his flush and made him feel light-headed.
Wufei returned to his desk chair and stared at his computer screen.
"Fair enough," Duo said, his voice strained.
"Meanwhile, I'll make sure there are no more Trants to trouble
you." "What happened to him? Where did he go?" "I don't know and I don't care." Wufei gazed into the ruby depths of his wineglass. "He
left very close to dawn..." "Mine is an old and sometimes violent culture,
Renfield. But the fact is, people die. Mortals, if they're lucky,
die after a brief illness, in their own bed, surrounded by family
and friends who love them. A vampire's death is more… dramatic."
"I can't bear to talk about this anymore."
He paused and drew a breath. "One last thing--will there be a
funeral or a memorial service for Quatre?" "No," Duo said shortly. "That isn't our
way." He stared at a point in space for a long moment, rubbing
his gold earring between thumb and forefinger. Then he jumped up behind
his desk. "Come on, Renfield, enough of this moping. That isn't
what Quatre would have wanted. Find your car keys--we'll going shopping."
"Shopping?" he repeated, gaping in surprise.
"That's right." He glanced at his watch. "If
we hurry, we can get to the Cherry Creek Mall in time for an hour
of frenzied buying." A forced grin crinkled his expression. "You
need a new wardrobe to go with your terrific new hair. We both need
something to take our minds off... things." "Duo, slow down" "I'll buy. Think of it as a bonus for breaching
the bank's first line of defense. We'll start with Sak's. I see you
in something sleek and form-fitting that shows off your legs. Dark
reds and purples, white and blue. Move it, Renfield. You need a night
away from the computer, and we need something to make us laugh. So
hustle along, sweet thing. The stores are calling us." His charm and exuberance drew salespeople like iron
filings to a magnet. Standing before the men's dressing room, wearing
a woman's broad-brimmed flowered hat and a silk shawl he had scooped
from a display, Duo directed operations, sending saleswomen scurrying
to the shoe department or to accessories. He pulled strangers into
discussions of the outfits Wufei modeled for him, delivered a hysterically
funny dialogue about women's underwear through the ages and roguishly
volunteered to bite the neck of those who recognized him as the God
of Death and gushed about his radio program. In the excited melee
he created around him, Wufei was almost forgotten. But not by Duo. Each time he emerged from the dressing
room wearing some kinky outfit that he would never have chosen for
himself, he held him at arm's length, his violet eyes striking sparks
of appreciation and he said gruffly, "Hold still and let me look
at you." And when he looked at him, his sharp penetrating gaze
saw everything. Blushing, Wufei had the impression that his acute
eyesight burned past leather or silk to the skimpy new underwear next
to his skin. He saw the effort he made not to think about Quatre.
He saw his secret delight in the clothes he selected for him. Duo
watched him move toward confidence in the new clothing and saw the
shy sickly child he had been and the exciting man he was gradually
becoming. And there was another moment he remembered when he recalled
that night, one long intoxicating instant of recognition. He looked deeply into his eyes and understood this man
would never allow anyone to harm him, understood that somehow he had
penetrated his defenses. The silly woman's hat he'd plucked from a
mannequin's head, and his easy charm and humor disguised a deep loneliness
and a depth of strength and purpose that few comprehended. With a small shock of surprise, Wufei suddenly realized
that Duo Maxwell was a very serious man, not the whimsical boyish
devil-may-care person he pretended to be. The anguish he had glimpsed when he told him about Quatre
flickered behind his gaze, at odds with the smile on his lips. Tonight
he had seen the man in the Photographs with the previous Renfield,
a man capable of deep and abiding emotional involvement, a man who
cared to the point of pain about the people he allowed into his life.
"Renfield," Duo whispered, "when you
look at me like that..." His voice sank and he lifted a hand
to cover his lips. A troubled frown furrowed his brow. He stared at
him for a long moment then signaled the saleswoman. "Wrap it
up. We'll take everything." His remarks were addressed to the
saleswoman but he didn't look away from Wufei. They said little during the drive back to the mansion.
Nor did they get out of the car after Wufei cut the ignition in front
of the porch steps. They sat in the darkness listening to the engine
cool, listening to the quiet sounds of a spring evening. "Duo...if we locate the crystals...do you ever
wish that…" "No," he said quietly but firmly, gazing at
him across the car seat. "I'm happy with who I am. I have no
desire to be mortal again." Drawing a breath, Duo turned his head to the window,
watching things that Wufei could not see in the darkness. "If someone like you were to become a vampire,"
he said softly, choosing his words with care, "you would never
again have to fear sickness or disease. You could throw away your
reading glasses, and any pills you may own. The aging process would
halt. You would remain as beautiful as you are now for all of eternity,
There would be endless time to see and do everything you ever wanted
to see or do..." The suggestion trailed. "There are things about vampirism that exert a
seductive appeal," Wufei admitted after a silence. His heart
sang with the knowledge that he thought he was beautiful, but began
to shatter as he understood any romantic relationship was hopeless.
"Vampires can see bark growing on a tree or ants
marching through a forest of freshly mown grass. We see things with
a clarity that mortals only dream of. The stars shine brighter for
us. The night is alive." Gently he took his hand in his. "But you see artificial color--all grays and dark
hues," Wufei whispered, feeling his hand tingle where Duo held
it. "Not the bright colors of daylight" Looking down, Duo watched his thumb stroke the back
of his fingers. "Time is not the taskmaster for us as it is for
you. There's never a need to rush. There is time to explore the world
and all the pleasures it has to offer." "But only the pleasures of the night." Wufei
drew a long aching breath. "I don't want fangs, Duo. I don't
want to give up sunshiny mornings, or ice cream on a hot day or peanut
butter or all the other wonderful tastes and foods." He couldn't
restrain the shudder that trembled down his body. "I don't want
to live on human blood no matter how it's obtained." Duo frowned as if trying to remember the mornings he
described, aglow with golden sunshine. As if trying to imagine the
taste of peanut butter, something that had been invented long after
he had lost the ability to taste mortal foods. "With your help I've made a lot of changes, but
basically I, too, am happy with who I am," Wufei said softly.
He lifted his eyes to his face. "The idea of eternal health is
vastly appealing, but.., is it true that vampires are sterile? That
none of you can have children?" "Yes," he admitted after a pause. Wufei shook his head hopelessly. "The trade-off
doesn't work for me. Eternal youth and health comes with too great
a price. Someday I want children. And someday I want to hold my children's
children. I want to watch them grow in the sunlight." Unshed
tears clogged his throat and moistened his whisper. "I'm sorry,
Duo. I can't live in your shadow world. If I tried, I'd end up like
Quatre, consumed by regret and despair." They sat in silence, separated by an unbridgeable abyss,
not looking at one another. Finally Duo squeezed his hand with false
heartiness. He summoned a grin. "Well, Renfield, it appears we're up against that
age-old conflict--morning people versus night people." Startled, Wufei laughed. Then he did the wisest thing
possible in the circumstances, though it broke his heart to do it.
He stepped back from deepening emotions, and intentionally placed
a distance between them. "Thankfully that's exactly what we need in this
particular employer-employee situation," he said, trying to lighten
his tone. "If I were a night person, I'd be out of a job"
Opening the car door, he stepped outside. "Will you give me a
hand with these packages? We Renfields can't do everything, you know."
Deliberately he reminded him of reality and their relationship,
which was not that of lovers. They were night and day. Ageless and
mortal. As different as marble and clay. They could not cross the
chasm that yawned between them. But it was too late to pretend that it didn't matter. Wufei passed drinks to those few who dung to mortal
habits, exchanged greetings with a couple of Renfields who had accompanied
their employers, then withdrew to his office to study the list he
had found in the Blanc et Cie's files. Memories of Quatre's despair
kept him at his computer day and night, trying to progress in the
search for the Crystals of Change. "Excuse me. May I join you?" Wufei glanced up from his computer screen and discovered
Dorothy's Renfield standing in the doorway. Swallowing the frustration
of being interrupted, he summoned a welcoming smile. "There's wine on the drink cart and a bowl of popcorn,"
he said. Actually he was curious about the other Renfields. He'd encountered
several at previous events but hadn't had an opportunity to do more
than exchange superficial greetings. After a few minutes of small talk, he inquired curiously,
"How long have you been with Dorothy? And does she insist on
calling you Renfield?" Dorothy's Renfield was male, about fifty Wufei guessed.
His blond hair was thinning and turning gray; he wore wire-rimmed
glasses. Despite an expensively tailored pin-striped suit, he was
not a man one would immediately notice. Only his eyes were remarkable,
bright lively eyes that brimmed with intelligence and natural empathy.
Wufei liked him at once. "Calling assistants Renfield began as a joke, I
believe. Now most of the vampires do it out of habit. Dorothy refers
to me as Renfield in public. She calls me Ian in private." He
returned Wufei's smile. "I'd like you to do the same. And you
are... ?" "Wufei Chang. I'm the new kid on the block, still
feeling my way along. I've only worked for Duo for two months."
"I know. I knew your predecessor well." Ian
inspected the office, admiring the efficiency of the layout, then
chose the chair next to Wufei's desk, setting his brandy snifter beside
a stack of papers. "I've been with Dorothy for twenty-five years."
"What is she like?" "Dorothy is a remarkable woman," Ian said
with a hint of wistfulness that made Wufei wonder if he was in love
with his employer. He shifted in his chair and his voice firmed. "An
excellent person to work for." Winking, he pointed to his ears,
reminding Wufei that the vampires could easily overhear everything
they said. Reaching for a pad of paper and a pencil, he scribbled
a quick note, all the while chatting aloud about various places in
the world that he had visited while in Dorothy's employ. Wufei turned the note to face his, his smile fading.
Be careful. V mistrusts you because of Duo. "Dorothy seems like a lovely person," Wufei
commented aloud, frowning at the note. "I know Duo was delighted
when she arrived in the Denver area." On the notepad he wrote,
Why? "Duo and Dorothy have been friends for nearly two
centuries." On the pad Ian scribbled: DC made Duo a vampire.
A love affair. DC very possessive. Thinks Duo becoming too fond of
you. "Duo speaks very highly of her." Wufei took
back the pad. When did she make Duo a vampire? Ian wrote, Not sure. Early 180Os, I think. "Dorothy
has a lovely house in the foothills. Have you seen it?" "Not yet," Wufei answered absently, thinking
about the ritual of becoming a vampire. The date it happened would
be unforgettable, a cataclysmic life-changing event. Like joining
a select, very exclusive club, after which life would never be the
same again. He swiveled to peer at the bank's list of vampires, then
scrolled up to Duo's name. Yes. He had remembered correctly. The code
letters following his name were DORCAT. Quickly he scrolled to Dorothy
Catalonia's name. "Ian," he said, trying to keep the excitement
out of his voice, "would you happen to know who made Dorothy
into a vampire?" One blond eyebrow lifted curiously. "What an odd
question. But I guess it's no secret. Have you met Treize Khushrenada?"
There it was, after Dorothy's name. TREKHU Now that
Wufei knew what the code letters represented, whole families of descent
jumped out at him. But he already knew these letters alone would not
open a file. He needed more, and Ian had given him an idea. Jumping up, he excused himself and ran down the hall
to the living room, pushing through the crowd until he located Duo.
At the moment he was too excited to remark on the lack of hors d'oeuvres,
or the inaudible music. Gripping his arm, he turned sparkling eyes up to him,
his excitement so great, he could hardly stand still. "Duo! Do
you recall when you became a vampire?" "Of course," he said, smiling down at Wufei's
tight black jeans and red muscle tee. "June 10, 1815." "Great! I think I'm on to something." Spinning, he dashed back to his office and threw himself
into his chair, ignoring Ian. His fingers flew over the keyboard as
he highlighted Duo's name on the list and requested entry to his personal
file. When the password prompt appeared, Wufei typed DORCAT.1815.
The screen flickered, then a menu appeared, offering
him a choice between Duo Maxwell's financial history, his geographical
moves, his personal files and notes from the Council of Six. "Yes!" Wufei closed his eyes and his shoulders
sagged with relief. He had broken through the second line of defense.
His hair bounced around his flaming cheeks when he turned to Ian with
a burst of gratitude. "I think I love you! Thank you." Almost instantly Duo appeared in the doorway, glaring
fiercely at Dorothy's Renfield. Immediately, Ian jumped up and left
the room. Wufei stood behind his desk, beaming. "We did it! You tell me when someone became a vampire,
and I can get into his or her personal file!" "ALL Riiight!" Duo twirled him out from behind the desk, lifted him
by the waist and swung him in a circle, both of them laughing with
triumph. At the end of the impromptu celebration, Duo brought him
close to his body and smiled into his eyes, his gaze dropping to his
laughing mouth. When he set him on his feet, Wufei was trembling. Although
Duo's hands on his waist had been strong but cool, he imagined a circle
of heat. And he wondered suddenly if Duo could hear the blood pounding
in his heart. Frowning, Duo hastily ran his tongue over his front
teeth and turned slightly away as if he were concentrating. "The
information we seek will most likely be in the files of the elders,"
he said thoughtfully, deliberately glancing away from Wufei's flushed
face. "I can't tell you exactly when Zechs or Treize Khushrenada
became vampires, but we can make a close guess and work it forward
and backward from there." Wufei cleared his throat and smoothed down his jeans.
"Great." "Damn." Duo consulted his watch. "I have
to leave for the station in thirty minutes. Can you stand to delay
checking Zechs and Treize until tomorrow night? I want to be here
when we get into their files." "We've waited this long .... " Sudden helpless tears brimmed in his eyes. He could
no longer deny the truth. He loved Duo. But their situation was hopeless. ~ * ~ |
