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"Blood or Chocolate?"Written By: Karen Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of
its characters. Otherwise, the show would've been way different. Warnings: First and foremost, this fic is supposed
to be a humor fic. Shounen ai and Yaoi next. Violence, blood and gore,
supernatural elements, such as werewolves, vampires, evil leprechans,
trolls, witches, and other stuff I think of along the way. Expect
lemons, limes, death of insignificant characters, and angst. (heh!)
OZ people are also going to really intermingle with the GW boys, particularly
with Duo. Pairings: Will be 5x2, 3x4, past 5x1 (and we're
talking WAY in the past), Meizer+2/2+Meizer and everybody+2 (hey,
everyone loves Duo). Summary: Duo Maxwell is an almost average guy
in a small, rural town. He works at the only gas station for miles
around, is gorgeous, but single. He also gets harrassed by the town's
rich idiot. But what makes him different is that he's a clairvoyant;
he can read thoughts by touch or he can simply 'hear' them. Kind of
complicates matters. Yeah. So when he runs across a man whose thoughts
he can't hear, although trying to gives him nosebleeds, he decides
that that is a fair trade. That is until he finds out that the guy
isn't a typical 'guy,' and that getting involved with him only leads
to trouble...and a few dead bodies. "Blood or Chocolate?"
I wasn't alone in my bed. I sat up with a gasp, disturbing Mariemaia. She sat
up with a slight squeal. I guess we scared each other. "Marie, what are you doing?" I asked in a
breathless voice. "Umm...sleeping?" She had a wide-eyed and
oh-so-innocent expression on her face. Ch'. Right. As if I haven't
pulled that one before. "Cute. That's real cute," I said, lying back
down. She mimicked me. "I figured that out all by myself, believe
it or not. I meant ‘what you are doing sleeping in my bed?' "
"Well..." She started picking at the blanket,
eyes fixed on something only she saw. "I got scared, so I decided
to sneak out and stay somewhere safe and with someone my uncle trusted.
I didn't think you would mind." She fixed her blue eyes on me,
giving me that watery, chibi-eyed look. Well, shit. I couldn't very well kick her out now. "No,
I don't mind," I said, even though I knew Hilde damn well would.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" "You needed to sleep," she whispered, gently
touching my face. "I know you got hurt last night, and that the
police were here all night. They were so noisy they kept us up too.
Auntie Cathy was mad because she said she wasn't gettin' her 'beauty
sleep,' so she wanted to eat them. The Packmaster wouldn't let her
though." Despite the fact that the police were in serious danger,
I laughed. Catherine, from what I remembered, was one tough chick.
I was sure that nothing short of Wufei telling her ‘no' was going
to stop her. Then what Mariemaia said earlier registered, and my eyebrows
drew together in confusion. "You got scared? What scared you
honey?" Werewolf or not, I liked the squirt. She had guts...and
teeth. Pointy, sharp teeth. "The Packmaster," she whispered so softly
I almost didn't hear. "Wufei?" That was surprising. He seemed to
care for his Pack. I didn't understand. "What happened that scared
you?" "He was yelling at the Pack." I started to run my fingers through her hair. "But
he wasn't yelling at you?" "Oh no." She shook her red head. "The
Packmaster has never yelled at me. But you don't understand. He never
yells. I've never heard him raise his voice before, not at me, not
at anybody. But he was so mad his fur sprouted!" His fur sprouted? Guess that was as good a sign of a
pissed off werewolf as any. "Why was he mad?" She gently touched my nose. "Because of you."
I raised an eyebrow. "What?" "He knows someone in the Pack is attacking the
humans and killing them," she told me bluntly. "It's dangerous
because we could be discovered, and we don't have too many other places
to go to. But he's really mad at whoever left the head on your car.
He's afraid that has threatened his courtship to you." She shook
her head. "That's bad. Really, really bad. The only one that
can compete with the Packmaster in a courtship is another Packmaster,
and we're the only Pack here. Whoever did it broke a big rule."
She nodded vigorously. "He was so mad, he said he was going to
kill whoever did it." Someone had threatened Wufei's courtship to me? He was
trying to court me? And he was mad enough to kill whoever was responsible?
Boy, talk about feeling special... "Sounds like the Packmaster
is mad about a lot of things." "Oh yeah." She nodded her head vigorously,
again. The sarcasm was completely lost on her. Should've known
better. "Well, enough time spent in bed. You hungry?" She was being shy. "A little..." "Well, what would you like to eat munchkin?"
She blushed. "I don't know..." I thought about the night before, on the day of Luna's
murder. Hilde had cooked a big dinner. "How about some chicken
and mashed potatoes? I'm sure we have a lot of leftovers." "Okay!" So hand and hand, we left the sanctuary that was my
bedroom and went into the kitchen. It took me about twenty minutes
to reheat everything. There were plenty of leftovers for today, but
not enough for a third serving. Might as well eat it all now. It wasn't too long after that that Howard and Hilde
strolled in. To say they were surprised at Mariemaia's visit was an
understatement. Let's just say that it took some time to calm Hilde
and Howard down, and more time for the cub to stop crying. Hilde's
shout of surprise scared Mariemaia into thinking there was something
in the kitchen that would hurt her. I was plenty pissed at Hilde for
that, and they were plenty pissed at me for letting the cub in the
house. (I wasn't going to tell them that I DIDN'T let her in. That
was going to open a whole new can of worms). So Mariemaia and I finished
lunch in my room while we watched ‘Finding Nemo.' That's when
I noticed that my curtains had been pushed aside. Oh ho...so that's
how she got in. I let her jump on the bed while I took a quick shower.
I frowned at my hands after I unwrapped the gauze. The upper palms
were bruised, but other than that my fingers were only stiff. I wanted
to check out my face but just as quickly turned away. My left eye
was puffy, and that side of my face was bruised, appearing as though
I was wearing half a mask. Photogenic I was not. After I showered and dressed, I went back into the room
to find my unexpected guest napping. I laid down with her, and managed
to get another few hours of sleep before there was a hard knock on
my door. Both Mariemaia and I jumped awake. "Yeah?" The door swung open. "You have a visitor,"
Howard said. "He's come for her." He nodded at Mariemaia.
"Alright." I clawed my hair out of my face
as we got out of bed. Holding her hand, we made our way to the front
door, where a man I didn't recognize was waiting on the porch. He
had on black, rounded sunglasses, short black hair, a fez, and dressed
as if he was on his way to the desert. "Abdul!" Mariemaia shrieked, running into
his arms. "There you are!" He picked her up, settling
her on his hip. "I should've known you'd be over here to see
him." He chuckled, kissed her on the forehead, and gave me
a slight bow. I was too much in the throes of waking up to bow back.
He didn't seem to care. "My name is Abdul. I am one of the forty
Maguanacs." What the hell was a Maguanac? "Name's Duo Maxwell."
"Yes, we know," he said, and I got the impression
he didn't mean ‘we' as in himself and Mariemaia. "Oh...er...right." "You were harmed." I'd completely forgotten about my appearance. "Oh,
sorry. I'm sure it's not pleasant to look at--" "You misunderstand," he interrupted with a
smile. "The Packmaster has been very preoccupied, so he will
not be able to visit until dusk. That's only if you feel like receiving
him at all today." He was offering me a way out if I didn't feel up to
it. If this had been proposed yesterday, I would've jumped at it.
But today, I was feeling bored, curious, and...I kinda missed his
company. God, I could just puke for thinking that. Mushy I was being.
"No no, he can come by whenever. We still have a lot of stuff
to talk about." He beamed at me. "Excellent. He will be very happy
to hear that. And thank you for watching over Mariemaia. Things have
been very...disruptive." I loved his vocabulary. I bet he was one hell of a Scrabble
player. "No problem at all." I ruffled the cub's hair. She
giggled. Abdul bowed once more, turned on his heel and was gone. *** Since it was a beautiful day out, I decided to get a
glass of cool lemonade and hang out on the porch. Settled in my decrepit
rocking chair, I counted clouds, smiled at butterflies, picked my
nose, and just relaxed. I was at such peace, I couldn't believe that
my world had been turned upside down not even twenty four hours ago.
Proof that I could cope with any situation, I guess. Ch'. Right. I was just beginning to take yet another nap when I
heard a car pull up in my driveway. Squinting against the sunlight,
I was able to make out the signature brown and gold stripes of the
town's squad car. Meizer slid from the car and raced up the stairs.
He held my face carefully between his hands as he turned my head this
way and that, examining my bruises. I didn't have the energy for a
smart-ass remark, so I rolled my eyes just to make due. Once he was
satisfied, he plopped down on the porch, facing me. I needed to get
another chair out here. "You're not gonna kiss it better?"
Okay, so maybe I did have the energy. "Don't tempt me," he said, swatting me on
the knee. "How do you feel?" "Stiff, but otherwise okay." "Good." He exhaled. "I came by to hide
from work, and to let you know what's been going on." "Okay." I sipped some lemonade. "If you're
thirsty, you know where the kitchen is." "No, I'm good thanks." Pause. "The hobo
had a contract on you." I raised an eyebrow. That guy was dangerous, but he
was not part of the mafia. He smelled too bad. "Cob, please.
This is not 'The Sopranos.' " He smiled, then sobered. "We got out of him that
he was paid to attack you." This time both of my eyebrows shot
up. I wasn't expecting that. "He said a guy dressed in all black
approached him while he was smoking a joint, and paid him fifty bucks
to ‘roughen you up.' He never saw the man's face, and he was
paid in cash. We ran prints on the money, but the only prints found
were that asshole's." He had a disgusted look on his face. "Whoever
did this was careful." He looked at me. "Worst yet, the
hobo was killed today." I choked on my drink. Ack! "What?!" Cough
cough. "We were transporting him this morning when the
van he was in had blowouts on all four tires." I raised an eyebrow.
All four? He agreed. "I know. They figured someone spilled a
can of nails on the road or something. I don't know. Anyway, one guard
changed the tires while the other checked the road for the cause.
They don't remember getting clocked over the head, but when they woke
up they were safely in the van. They checked to see if their charge
was still there. He was...however, it looked like he tried to mimic
'The Exorcist' and did it fatally wrong." "So his neck was broken?" "Not only that, his head was twisted around ninety
degrees! I guess he wanted to look behind him without turning."
"Oh my," was all I could say. The werewolves.
Damnit, Wufei was going to go apeshit. " 'Oh my?' Since when is something that innocent
in your vocabulary?" "Suck my balls." We grinned. Now, how the
hell was I gonna find out what I needed to know? "Say Cob, did
they find anything weird, like a strange smell or fingerprints or
something?" "Nope," he said, shaking his head. "They
didn't find anything weird--well--other than his head being twisted
completely around. Why?" "Just asking. You know all that CSI stuff has everyone
trying to be a detective." Which was true. I loved that show!
"I'm just following the crowd." "Yeah right. As if you've ever been a follower."
He was shaking his head again. "Seriously Duo, why do you ask?
You gettin' a vibe I should know about?" Ahh...shit. "Yeah, actually." I started to
pick at the invisible lint on my shirt. "If I were you, I would
check those bodies out, sniff around," I emphasized, "and...don't
be out late at night. Okay?" He had the question in his eyes, but he knew better
than to say it out loud. The wind could carry words for miles, and
they could very possibly be heard by my new neighbors. "Okay,"
he said, standing up. "I gotta go." "Alright man. Later." He hopped off the porch
and was ambling to the car. The revelation then hit me like a bolt
of lightening. "Hey Cob." He turned around. "Yeah?" "If I were you, I would also stop by Tsubarov's."
He gave me the look one could give a grown man singing
a Britney Spears song. "Stop by Tsubarov's?" "Yeah." I started picking at my lint-free
shirt again. "See what he's been up to lately. If he's been anywhere
interesting..." I knew he figured out what I meant when I saw his face
close up. He tended to do that when he was in his ‘Pissed Off'
mood. "Oh? I think I'll do that. See if he's been...anywhere."
He jumped in and took off. I closed my eyes and went back to rocking.
Good luck Tsubarov, you're about to be visited by the one-man Spanish
Inquisition. *** I managed to doze on the porch for a good while until
Hilde and Howard woke me up as they left for work. I could tell that
my 'ability' was healing; I could feel their anxiety and confusion
rolling off of them and plowing into me. Unfortunately, I wasn't healed
enough. I was having a hard time blocking them out, and it took me
a moment to decipher what were their feelings and what were mine.
Finally, I just barked at them to go to work, and got myself sorted
out as soon as they left. Then, wonder of wonders, I fell asleep again.
The sun was halfway done setting when I woke up for
good. The sky had dyed the clouds purple, pink and red, and flocks
of birds flew across what remained of the sun. I stood and stretched,
feeling the most rested I have felt in forever. I stood on the porch
and just watched the sky, feeling the breeze race through my tattered
jeans and sleeveless sweatshirt. God, this was perfect for yoga. I
could hear the voice of my instructor now; 'Close your eyes. Relax
your eyebrows. Relax your shoulders. Slowly inhale, then exhale. Concentrate
on your breathing. Feel your muscles loosen. Find your center...then
go get some tacos.' Okay, so maybe those weren't her exact words. The idea
had merit though. A faint...something in the atmosphere made me turn my
head to the left. The wind whipped up just then, blowing my braid
around like a leaf and making it harder to see through my bangs. The
dry dirt flying into my eyes didn't help either. But I clawed both
hair and dirt from my eyes, and found that I was all alone. Still
feeling a bit off, I tried to figure out what I thought was different.
There wasn't anyone here...there wasn't a smell, almonds or otherwise...I
wasn't picking up any thoughts or feelings...damnit. The only thing
I felt was small. I felt as though I was standing next to something
infinitely big. I was barefoot, but that didn't stop me from stepping
off the porch and going around the left side of my house. We had a
fence made out of wood around five feet high, that was about twenty
yards from the house. The fence separated mine and Hilde's property
from the field next door, which was owned by the state. That was where
I was headed. I walked towards the fence, watching my steps carefully.
The wind's howl became more aggressive, slowing me down somewhat,
and the vibrant colors of the sky were now darkening and inhibiting.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I approached, and wondered what
was so important that I would wander over here. The wooden fence was
old and weak, some of the boards rotted away or simply in pieces,
hanging on to their tired nails. The section of fence I was heading
towards was worn and old, but the boards were still in place as they
should have been. I stopped maybe three feet in front of it, and just
waited. The wind quieted. Then I waited a little longer. It became
darker. So I waited longer. The crickets began to sing. At last, when
nothing happened, I took a step forward. BANG! I jumped in surprise as something ran into the fence,
causing the center to bulge out. BANG! I jumped back, and noticed that this time the bulge
was bigger. BANG! This time I heard the wood splinter. Not waiting for the final 'bang,' I took off running
back to the house. The strange feeling I had suddenly evaporated,
but I was not taking any chances until I was in my house, with the
doors locked, with my uncle's shotgun in my hands and rounds of ammunition
at my feet. I ran along the side of the house, up the porch...and
right into someone's chest. "Jesus Christ!" I shouted, then
saw that it was only Wufei. "Wufei?!" He didn't say anything. Putting his arm on my hip, he
pushed me behind him as his sharp eyes surveyed the yard. The wind
started to blow again, making the tall grass dance. The trees moaned
with the strong breeze, and the crickets became silent. Wufei continued
to scour the field with his eyes, as if he could force whatever it
was out by will alone. I heard him take a few deep sniffs, and he
glared in the direction of the fence. I peeked over his shoulder,
and saw that everything was as it should have been. Hell, for all
I knew, it was just my imagination. "Let's go inside," he said at last. I didn't argue. ~ * ~ (tbc) |
