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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?"
The party last night. Darlian. That kiss. Shaking myself before my thoughts jumped in the gutter,
I climbed out of bed. I noticed that my clothes were neatly folded
at the foot of the bed, and glanced down to see that I was now wearing
flannel pants and a white nightshirt. As much as I wanted to be pissed
that someone took the liberty to change my clothes, I really didn't
care. I was a hard sleeper. Nothing short of a tornado--if that--was
going to wake me up. So I hopped to the door to search for Wufei and,
just as important, food. After seven tries, I got the door open. Wufei's door
was made of the heaviest wood in existence. At first I couldn't open
it at all. Then I was able to pry it open by pushing against the wall
with my foot as I pulled. I damn near cut myself in half trying to
slide through the opening. Finally, I dragged a small (and also heavy)
nightstand to the door, and wedged it between the door and the archway.
Then I climbed my way out. I clamored down the stairs, looking around. The house
was almost quiet except for the slamming of pots and pans on the stove.
I made it down and saw that it was Quatre, cooking breakfast. He stopped
what he was doing and smiled at me. "Good morning Duo! You're
up early." "I am?" I asked, scratching my head. "What
time is it?" "Ten o'clock." "Whoa. I am up early." "Duh. That's what I said." "Smartass." He smiled. "That's what Trowa says, right before
I reduce him to a pile of goo using my-" "I don't want to know!" I said, covering my
ears and looking away so that I couldn't read his lips. When I was
sure he wasn't going to say anything, I looked up and uncovered my
ears. He was smirking at me. "Smirk all you want to Quatre. I'll
get even." "Humans. So shy about the body." He was shaking
his head as if my bashfulness was nonsense. That brought up a detail from the night before. I came
around the kitchen counter to stand next to him, and started to help
him chop up some green peppers. "Quatre, what are you?"
He laughed. "I remember when I asked you that question.
You gave me a bullshit answer." "That doesn't count! I had no idea what you meant
by that!" "I didn't believe it then, I don't believe it now."
"But you know what I am now, right?" "...yeah?" "So, now it's your turn." I said with finality.
"Now spill it, or the peppers won't get it." I held the
knife behind my back. "Okay okay. You act like I wasn't going to tell you at all. I just wanted to make you sweat a little..." I glared at him. "Oh, you're no fun. Alright." He started breaking
eggs. I started chopping up the peppers. "I'm a shape-shifter."
"Yes and no. They are shape-shifters in the technical
sense of the word. But they can only turn into werewolves. Shape-shifters
can change into anything we want, but each shifter has an animal they
have a special ‘affinity' for." "And your's is a lion." He nodded. "That's right." Cool! "Have you ever changed into anything else?"
I handed him the green peppers. He mixed it in with
the eggs and red peppers and poured them in the skillet to scramble
them. "I used to when I was younger. I would change into a goat
or whatever animals the farmers had so that they would feed me, thinking
I was one of their own." He chuckled at that. "No one seemed
to notice that my eyes were too blue for an animal." I laughed. "Have you ever tried to turn into a
werewolf?" "I can't. No shifter can," he said in annoyance,
as if he's tried many times. "We can change into wolves, but
we won't look anything like a werewolf. They have a very...distinctive
look." I nodded. "Quatre, how old are you?" Five
hundred years Wufei's senior didn't mean jack squat to me. "I'm not entirely sure on the age, according to
your calenders," he said, thinking hard. "They are not in
synch with what I remember. But I was born in the year Alexander the
Great died." [1] If I had a drink in my mouth, I would've choked on it.
"Whoa..." He smiled. "Yeah. I'm getting up there." I was truly fascinated. "Are there others older
than you?" "Oh sure," he said, sounding as if this conversation
was an everyday thing. "I don't know who they are or where they
live, but yeah." That stopped me somewhat. "Have you been...ousted
because you're with a werewolf?" He laughed, light and cheerful. "I haven't been
‘ousted' as you put it. Shape-shifters are nothing like the Were's.
Werewolves travel in their Packs and are very organized, if not militant.
Shape-shifters are very selfish creatures. If we had a motto, it would
be ‘Every Shifter For Himself.' We are not organized, and we
could really give a damn what happens to another Shifter. We might
organize and work together to accomplish a goal, but the second the
goal is accomplished, the alliance would dissolve and hell would break
loose over who gets what." I stopped trying to help him a long time ago. I sat
on a stool with my face in my hands, and watched his mouth as if I
could see the words tumbling out. "Then how is it that Wufei
trusts you in his Pack?" "I'm not in his Pack," he corrected. "I'm
like an extra alliance. I follow Wufei's rules because I don't want
Trowa to suffer the repercussions of my actions, and by doing so I
can go where Trowa goes. As long as I don't jeopardize the Pack, I
can stay with him." Wow. Talk about having a hold over somebody. "Plus, I genuinely like Wufei," he said with
a smile. "He's a honest, strong Packmaster, and a good one. He
isn't cruel to lesser creatures, and he thinks before he acts."
I nodded. Wufei did seem like a good guy. "Hey,
what does 'Privileged' mean?" "It means that you are able to call the Packmaster
by his name and not his title." He looked up at me. "Where
did you hear that term?" "Darlian told me." "Why?" I shrugged. "They were surprised that I bowed to
them." "Oh, yeah." He shook his head. "You're
Privileged, so you don't do that. Just nod in their direction. That's
all you need to do." "Ah." "Damn. You really have a lot to learn." "Tell me about it." I muttered under my breath.
"Hey, who else is Privileged?" "Everyone you saw in the antechamber last night,
and me." I drew my eyebrows together in confusion. "But
I've heard Heero call him 'Packmaster.' " "It's a safety issue," he explained. "In
public, we don't want Wufei's favoritism to show. If it got out who
was Privileged, they would be attacked to hurt Wufei, or taken for
ransom." I felt my heart sink. "All of a sudden I don't
feel too happy being Privileged." He gave me a sad smile. "If you are to be with
Wufei, that is something you have to consider. By being his mate,
you would be the most Privileged of us all." He gave me a stern
look. "Think about that." He had long finished with the
eggs and was making quick work of sausage and bacon. He directed me
to stir up the pancake mix. Wait. If Quatre's a shape-shifter, then how... "Quatre,
how did you and Trowa meet?" He beamed at me, and I knew without a doubt that I was
in for a hell of a story. Quickly finishing with the pancake mix,
I sat the bowl near his elbow and scooted up to the counter, elbows
planted firmly on its surface while my hands held my face. I was ready.
"Oh gosh, where to begin," he said, smiling
both shyly and excitedly. "It...it was a summer day, around 401
A.D. in August, if I'm translating the calender correctly. I was in
what you know in the bible as Canaan." I gasped. It didn't matter
that he told me when he was born. Hearing him say that name, with
the accent that was used back then, made me realize how pointless
all of the history books were. The history was standing right in front
of me. "During that time there was a massive drought,
so everything was starving. Thousands of people and creatures, from
Jews to vampires, were leaving for Egypt. So was I. Humans were becoming
fewer and farther in between, and there was nothing for me to feed
on. Everything was dead..." He trailed off before shaking himself
out of the past and continuing his story. "I could tell I was
being followed, but I was too hungry and thirsty to care. Worse yet,
I was being followed by Hunters," I jumped at the familiar word,
"and I realized that they knew I was a Shifter. Then one day
I dropped to the ground, too starved to carry on. The Hunters surrounded
me, and were ready to kill me for His glory," he said in a sarcastic
tone, waving the spatula around, "when, out of nowhere, the biggest
werewolf I had ever seen seemed to fall out of the sky." A smile
eclipsed his face. I smiled too. He poured the pancake mix into another
skillet. "There were three of them against the werewolf,
but it didn't matter. Furious, he attacked them, killing each of them
quickly by biting off their heads." Quatre's smile got bigger.
I felt a little queasy. Sorry Quat, that didn't turn me on. "Then
he turned around, and I thought he was the most beautiful creature
I had ever seen. I only wished at that point that I wasn't so starved.
I wanted to be a filling meal for him." Quatre's smile turned
wistful. "Then he dropped into his human skin, and he was just
as beautiful in that as he was as a Were. I dropped into my human
skin as well, and he picked me up and carried me all the way back
to his Pack. When I later asked why he rescued me, he told me it was
because he thought I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen."
He looked at me, and I saw the extra moisture behind his eyes. "I
was starved, three quarters dead, and hadn't bathed in months, yet
he thought I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen."
He started shaking his head. "How could I not fall in love with
him?" he whispered to himself. Damnit to hell, I was gettin' teary--eyed. Now that
was a love story. "Quatre, stop. You're gonna to make me cry."
A tear managed to escape. "Shit!" He chuckled. "Sorry Duo." "Yeah, I bet you are," I said, wiping my face
with my hands. Bastard. He shrugged, and dished out some food on a plate for
me. "Breakfast is served." "Thanks." He handed me a fork and we started
to dig in. "Say, where is everybody?" "It's Tuesday morning. Everyone's at work."
I smacked myself in the forehead. "I know Duo. You're used to
going to work too. I know when Trowa doesn't, I lose track of the
days." "Where's Mariemaia? School doesn't start for another
month." "She's at SeaWorld with Trowa and Catherine. She'd
raise hell if they left her behind." I thought about Wufei slipping out of bed this morning
as he left for work, to make sure he didn't wake me. I was feeling
kinda sad that I missed him leaving, but I shrugged it off by focusing
on what we were talking about. "Don't you work Quatre?"
"Heavens no!" He looked at me as if I asked
him if he drank babies blood. "As if I would get up early every
morning to work my ass off and miss General Hospital." He snorted.
"Trowa is the dominating male in our relationship. So he provides
for me, while I make sure everything else runs smoothly." "Like the house?" He grimaced. "Yes and no. I'm basically the Pack's
public relations person...or...Shifter, whatever you want to call
it. I'm very diplomatic. If something's broken, I fix it. If there's
a dispute or property damage because of a Were's carelessness, I handle
that too." "Oh." "It has its days," he said with a shrug. "Yeah, but it must suck." "Not necessarily. It's one of the few things that
puts me on even ground with the werewolves. In a nutshell, if I said
the expression correctly, I control nearly everything until Wufei
returns." "Ohhh," I said, waggling my eyebrows. "Sounds
like the power of authority goes to your head." He grinned back. "You bet your tasty ass it does."
As if to prove Quatre right, Darlian burst through the
front doors (which scared the tar out of me), followed closely by
his nervous-looking mate and a handful of others that were dressed
as if they were from the desert. Must be more Maguanacs. Quatre jumped to his feet, walking quickly around the
counter to meet the others head-on. "HOLD!" He boomed, his
voice vibrating in the air. Everyone stopped right where they were,
as still as stones. I was afraid to move because of Quatre's abrupt
change in mood. I felt his disgust for Darlian rolling off of him,
and his anger was so strong it smelt like a tree after lightening
struck it. "How dare you enter the Packmaster's dwellings in
such a manner! Have you so little respect for him?!" Darlian took in a deep breath, puffing himself up and
out. "How dare a Shifter," he spat out the word, "try
to criticize me!" The others shrank back at his words. Whatever
Darlian was all huffy about, the others didn't agree with, not even
his mate. And when his gaze found mine, I swear his face turned green.
I was able to read on his face that he was disgusted that a human
was in his Packmaster's home. But he didn't comment. Instead, he returned
his gaze to Quatre. "You're not even a member of this noble Pack!"
"No I'm not. But I am stronger than you."
Quatre emphasized, stepping forward. "And unlike you, I am Privileged!"
"Denied," Quatre answered right when Darlian
pronounced the 'g' in 'evening.' "You will have an audience with
him when he deems it, if at all." Darlian released a breath, obviously trying not to run
head-first into a battle he was sure to lose. "I request to have
an audience with the Packmaster as he deems fit." Quatre released a breath as well. "I will see what
I can do." "I am in your debt," he said in a voice that
made me sure he'd rather eat glass than be indebted. Quatre frowned sharply. "Get out." As one, the werewolves bowed to Quatre, then to me,
before turning and leaving. Quatre stood there for a few more minutes,
trying to calm himself down. I spent that time trying to force my
heart out of my neck and back into my chest, where it belonged. "Yeah Quatre, real diplomatic that was," I
joked, now that I was able to speak again. He rolled his eyes at me and started to clean up. I
helped. "Actually Duo, I was being very polite and forgiving.
I was well within my rights to eat him." I nearly dropped the plate I was holding at his words.
Werewolves were real...vampires were real...shape-shifters were real...
"Oh my god..." Quatre could see I wasn't being my usual, pain--in--the--ass
self. "Sit down Duo. I'll bring you some tea." He whisked
away, and when he came back he handed me a pretty blue and white patterned
teacup, that he poured warm tea in with some honey. After a few sips
I felt immediately better, and started to mentally berate myself on...everything.
"Sorry, all of this excitement is, well, exciting." "I can't imagine," Quatre told me honestly.
"This is all I've ever known. I never realized how much there
is until I've had to explain some things to you." I was shaking my head, still sipping on the tea. "Yeah.
Wow," I murmured, thinking about how Darlian was quaking in his
fur at a pissed off Quatre. "I can't believe I thought Darlian
was the murderer--" "Quiet!" Quatre nearly screamed, causing me
to jump and spill some tea on the flannel pants. "Wha--" "All walls have ears!" Quatre said, sounding
thoroughly pissed with me. He huffed, then snatched the tea out of
my hands. "You and I are going for a drive. Rashid!" Quatre
hollered, trying to find the giant. When that didn't work, he called
the construction office and told him to come immediately, no exceptions.
I remained on the couch as Quatre did whatever he needed to do, and
within thirty minutes Rashid was there. "Keep watch," Quatre told him, snatching me
off the couch by the wrist. "Any problems that come up will wait."
And with that we jumped into the Toyota and took off in a trail of
dirt and burnt rubber. ~ * ~ (tbc) [1] Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C.
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