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"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND" Written By: Stone Angel
Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^ AN: Ok. I think I think I figured it out.'"Text"'
is telepathy on Duo's part. Does that look Ok? Speech within thought?
Sorry for any confusion in the previous chaps.
SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND: Heero and Duo stepped into the apartment, neither meeting
eyes for longer than a second at a time and saying nothing for long
moments. Clearing his throat, Heero spoke. "Look, Duo, just...
Can we just pretend I never asked?" He looked up to meet eyes
with Duo. Duo smiled weakly. "Hai." Heero smiled as well. "Thanks. Um... " He
looked to the hall, taking Duo's hand. "Will you stay till I
fall asleep again?" "Ah." He looked to the clock on the microwave,
visible from the door. "You'd better get to bed soon. It's almost
midnight." "Hai hai, 'kassan." Heero joked. He walked
to his bedroom, pulling Duo behind him. He sat Duo on the bed and
held a finger up to him. "Wait here. I'll be right back, K?" Duo smiled and nodded. "Sure." Heero smiled at him before heading out of the room and
to the bathroom to get ready for bed. * Duo sat on the bed and watched his lover leave the room.
As soon as Heero was no longer visible, he closed his eyes and dropped
his head into his hands. 'How could he have asked me that?! I can't
do that to him. I can't do that to anyone! It would be unfair and
cruel. Doesn't he realize how hard it is to survive as a vampire?
I can't believe he even said that! How can he think he has nothing
to live for? Granted, his life has been wrought with troubles, but
doesn't he know that he would be taking a step down, rather than up?
Maybe I should explain things better. When he asks again. He will.
I know him. He'll ask again. He's persistent. So much like Solo.' Startling slightly, Duo turned his head to the voice
being cleared in the bedroom doorway. "Am I interrupting?" Asked Heero with a small
smirk. "You looked deep in thought." Duo grinned. "Naw. I was lost. It was unfamiliar
territory." Heero laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure." He advanced
on Duo and knelt before him. "You Ok? What's wrong?" Duo realized that he had dropped his grin and was instead
watching Heero intently with a look akin to suspicion. "Hekki."
He grinned, placing a hand behind his head. He looked to the clock
on the dresser. "Heero. Get up here." He patted the bed
beside him and Heero smiled, crawling onto the small mattress. "It's
time for all good Heero's to go to bed." He picked him up easily
and set him with his head on his pillow. "Let's get you undre_"
Duo reached for Heero's shirt and pulled it upwards. A smack resounded through the small room. Duo leapt off the bed and held his cheek. A red handprint,
evidence of its abuse, marred the skin. He stared wide-eyed at Heero.
"...Hee...kun...?" * Heero looked to Duo with wide eyes, then down to his
hand that throbbed with the pain of hitting something so hard with
such force. "Go-Gomen Nasai! Duo-kun! I... I didn't mean to...
Did you see anything?" He tugged his shirt down. Duo rubbed his cheek. "I wasn't exactly looking,
Heero." He grumbled almost angrily, but not quite. His voice
lacked the menace it required to be angry. Instead he sounded surprised
and insulted. Heero pulled his shirt down again to make sure to cover
the area he wished not to be exposed. "I... I'm sorry, Duo-kun."
He stood up. "Please, don't be mad. It was an accident." Duo smiled. "It's Ok, Hee-kun. My jaw's not made
of glass. Um... What is this all about? Will you tell me? Hee-kun?
Nanda...?" "I...... I'm a little shy. I was just surprised
is all. I wasn't expecting it." Heero wanted to cry. 'He's not
stupid. He's gonna see through that. I should just tell him. But...
I can't. I can't believe he's not mad at me for hitting him. Arigato,
Duo. For understanding.' * Duo looked to him sadly. "It's Ok, Heero-kun. I was just going to say that you can't sleep in your clothes. I was going to help you get ready for bed." 'I wonder what this is really about. I've seen much more private parts of him. I even brought him off. Why is he so conscious about not wearing a shirt? He wouldn't even let me take it off when we were intimate. I hope he tells me soon. He looks like this is chewing him up inside.' "Heero... Whatever this is. I don't care. I don't.
I love you. We all have secrets. And I can wait for you to trust me
enough to tell me yours." Taking in Heero's reaction to his words, Duo became
concerned. Heero was trembling as tears made paths down his cheeks.
He rose from the bed and stood before Duo, cupping his abused cheek
gently in one hand, seeming thankful that Duo didn't flinch away from
his touch. "I do trust you, Duo. I just...I... Not yet. Soon.
But not yet. Arigato. Ai shite ieru." He leaned forward and kissed
Duo lightly for a moment before breaking and smiling shyly. "I'll
go change into my bed clothes." And then he was gone, out the
door having grabbed a pair of pajamas from a dresser drawer. * Heero stepped into the bathroom and closed the door
behind him, leaning against it and closing his eyes. 'I can't believe
how stupid I am. I should have told him. The longer I put this off,
the harder it'll be.' He stripped off his green muscle shirt and gazed
at the scars. 'He said he didn't care. Why should I? I'll tell him.
If it ever comes up again, I'll just get it over with and tell him.'
He ran his hand along the scar on his lower chest and felt his eyes
begin to burn with unshed tears. * Duo stood in the room, waiting. 'Wow. That boy can hit.
Itai.' He rubbed his cheek again, the pain at last easing to a dull
throb. He looked about the room. Recognizing the wrinkles in the sheets
from Heero's passion, he blushed lightly. 'I can't believe this has
all been one day. It feels so much longer.' Footsteps brought his
attention behind him to the door. Heero stood, looking at the floor, light blue pajamas
trimmed with white lines along its edges. It was a simple outfit.
A long sleeved button up shirt and pull up pants. "Anou..."
His hand cupped the elbow on the opposite arm. Seeing Heero's obvious discomfort, Duo stepped forward
and embraced him gently, lightly kissing him. "Ready for bed?" * Heero nodded. "Hai." He let Duo lead him to
the bed and watched him as he pulled the covers back so he could get
between them and the sheets. He slid into bed and felt Duo pull the
blanket up around him as he closed his eyes. "Arigato."
He said quietly, feeling Duo get onto the mattress aside him. Silence ensconced itself in the small room with them. Heero hated it. 'Everything is always so much better
when Duo is talking. I don't care what about. I just love to hear
him talk.' "Duo-kun?" "Mmm-hmm?" Duo replied softly. "Tell me another bedtime story?" He asked
quietly. Seeming to think for a moment, Duo nodded. "Ok.
What kind do you want me to tell you?" Heero wrapped his arms around his lover. "I don't
care. Anything. Just...talk to me." Sighing, Duo encircled his arms around Heero as well.
"Alright. I have an old Chinese story. This is centuries old.
It was something told to young children in the ancient times." "Sounds good." Said Heero, snuggling against
Duo. * "Alright. There once was a great emperor of a great
city in China. And he had a beautiful garden full of many beautiful
flowers from all over the world. He tended to his garden every spare
moment he had, making sure his plants were healthy and well cared
for. But one day, a neighboring city declared war upon his and he
realized that he may be gone for months without anyone to take care
of his flowers. He considered his servants, but none were well learned
in how to care for the delicate plants nor were they trust worthy.
So he decided, who better than a child? They would learn quickly and
follow instructions perfectly. But he knew not which of the children
in the city could be trusted with his garden." Duo kissed the
top of Heero's head when he yawned tiredly. Heero snuggled into his arms more. "What did he
do?" "He held a competition. He needed not leave for
battle for another month and thought that this was the best idea.
He asked for all the children in the city to attend and the day of
the event, he gave each one a seed. 'These are seeds for many different
flowers.' He said. 'You will all have to take extreme measures to
ensure they sprout and blossom. You must water everyday, and keep
them in the sun. Fertilize the soil in their pots with scraps from
your food. If you do these things, they will be beautiful within a
month. At that time, I wish for you all to return to me with your
flowers. Who ever has the most beautiful flower I will teach to tend
to my garden.' The children all left the emperor's palace with theirs
seeds, determined to win the honor of tending the emperor's garden."
'This may not be the best story right now. Oh well. It's too late.
Have to finish what I start.' Duo looked down at Heero as he continued
the story. "One little boy who was given a seed was called Mei Fang. He wanted very badly to tend to the emperor's garden while he was unable. So, upon his return home, he immediately planted his seed in a flower pot and saturated the soil with water from the river. He pushed pieces of his food into the soil after he had eaten, and went to bed. He vigilantly took care of his flower, wanting it to be the best. But, after a week, he had yet to see any signs of growth. The plant was not sprouting from the earth in the pot. He watered and fertilized the soil. He changed its place in the sun many times. He even changed the plant into a different pot and planted it into new soil. Still, his flower had yet to sprout. At last, it was the last day in the month. He picked up his flowerless flowerpot and carried it to the emperor's palace. As he walked he saw all the other children had beautiful flowers of all different colors. Many approached Mei Fang and asked why his pot had only soil in it. He replied, 'I don't know. I cared for it, yet it never bloomed. I am here to keep my word and return to the emperor.' The other children gave him strange looks, but he said nothing." Duo looked down into Heero's half-mast eyes, and smiled at him, returning
to the tale after only a short moment. "At last, the children all reached the palace and
were let inside so the emperor may look at their flowers and judge
who would care for his garden in his absence. The emperor walked about
the children, looking to all the flowers, very unimpressed with the
lot of them. He had nearly given up hope until he came upon a crying
Mei Fang standing by an empty pot. 'Young boy,' He said, 'Why are
you crying? And where is your flower?' Mei Fang looked up at the emperor
and said, 'Sir, that is the reason I am crying. All the other children
have beautiful flowers and mine never even so much as sprouted. I
failed.' The emperor smiled at him and reached into the pot, pulling
out the same seed he had given the boy. He picked him up, carrying
him to the center of his palace where all the children would see.
'You are all fools.' He said to the other children. 'Dishonest fools.
Those seeds I gave you were cooked. None of the flowers you have today
are from any seed I gave you. You tried to trick me so you may care
for my garden. I want no liar to tend to my flowers. This little boy
returned to me with an empty pot. His flower did not grow and he did
not try to hide it from me. He alone is worthy of caring for my flowers
while I am at war. You may all leave.' " Duo looked down to Heero who had a small smile upon
his lips. "The moral to the story is this: It is better to be
honest and try to trust in people, even when no one else is. It may
just get you where you want to be." Heero smiled and held Duo tighter. "I loved that
story." He paused, thinking about the double meaning, tears forming
in his eyes. "I will tell you, Duo. I do want to be honest. Just...
I will. Soon." Duo kissed his hair, smelling Heero's scent. "Yosha.
I will wait. I trust you." * Heero felt himself drifting off to sleep. "Oyasumi."
He murmured. His lover replied softly. "Oyasumi, Koi." And Heero was asleep. * Duo felt him enter the land of nod and removed Heero's
arms from around his waist. He kissed Heero lightly, smelling his
scent where the neck met the shoulder. Duo felt the thirst begin to
scream at him and his teeth begin to ache. 'I have to get out of here.'
He quietly rose from the bed and padded silently across the small
room, halting in the doorway, resting a hand on the doorjamb and looking
back over a shoulder at his sleeping lover. "Ai shite ieru, Heero
Yuy." He closed the door and headed for the exit to the apartment,
stepping out after poking his head outside to make sure no one was
watching a man leave Heero's apartment at midnight. He locked and
closed the door behind him and silently sprinted to his car. * * * Once home, Duo waltzed into his house, giving the air
that he had nothing to hide. As soon as he closed the door behind
him he ran to the kitchen and took out a few large bags of blood.
Not bothering to heat them, he tore the first two open with his fangs
and drank them quickly, grimacing afterwards. 'God. I hate this. It's...wrong.
Then again, what part of my life isn't? Oh, yeah. The parts with Heero.
Of course if he makes a bigger deal out me making him a vampire, it's
gonna feel wrong as well really quickly.' Duo opened the third bag
with a fang and poured it into his one pot, setting it on the stove
and turning it to high. 'I'm so tired of doing this. Hunting can be
fun at times. Only when it's a real piece of shit scumbag, though.
Rapists and murderers and the like. I'm kind of iffy on everyone else.
I'll do it. But I don't have to like it. And targets have been scarce
lately. I'll have to see my dealer about getting more deliveries.
I wonder if I can find some deer tonight. You know? That sounds a
lot better than another three fridge bags. Yuck.' Duo poured the blood into a glass and downed it. 'I
hate this. I hate this! I HATE THIS!!! That's IT! I'm going out and
finding some prey. Deer or human, I don't CARE.' He washed the glass
and the pot and walked to the door. He stepped outside, locking it
so he would feel safe about people entering against his will. 'Like
it matters. They have a key.' He thought bitterly. 'Man. I am pissy
tonight. Well, it HAS been one HELL of a day. I think a big deer is
just what I need. I need to have a whole meal. I haven't had one of
those for a long time. That trio came close. But not enough. I hate
this.' Duo stood ten yards from his house and felt around for
prey, listening, peering into the darkness, reaching out with his
mind. He felt something other than human or vampire approaching him
from the left and turned to it, taking up a defensive stance. He approached
things. They didn't approach him. He looked harder into the dark and
easily made out the form of the Jones’ dog. "Hey. What's up, Patch?" He grinned widely
as he squatted down and reached out his hands to the dog who barreled
into him, knocking him over into the dirt. He giggled like a five-year-old
when the dog began licking his face and sniffing him. "Hahaha.
Ok, Patches, I like you, too. But this just isn't my thing, you know?"
The dog continued to shower Duo with affection, whining
excitedly. Duo lifted himself off the ground and pet the dog's
head when he sat, scratching behind his ear and laughing as the dog's
leg thumped into the dirt. "You don't get enough attention. Not
nearly enough. I mean, it's obvious. Who the hell would name a black
lab 'Patches', ne? Obviously someone who doesn't look too closely
at them." Duo stood up. "So you coming?" The dog whined and stood as well, looking to Duo as
if for orders. Duo laughed. "Why is it that when ever I'm about
to hunt deer, you show up? You hardly come around any other time.
I guess dogs do have a sixth sense." He looked closely at the
lab. "But then, why would you be hanging around with me? Don't
you know? I'm evil." He said sarcastically with a grin. Patches wagged his tail and licked Duo's pants below
the knee. Duo reached down and pet him. "I guess you know
already. I'm just glad you can't talk. I'd be kicked out by now. Or
dead. Or worse." Duo shuddered to think of all the things that
could and most likely would happen to him should he ever be discovered.
"It's good to know some people can keep secrets." He beamed
a fanged grin down at the dog who barked at him playfully. He laughed.
"Ok, we'll go. Where to? I was thinking over behind the hill
on the west side. They like to hang out there. And it's easy to sneak
up. I doubt we'll find any within the fences." Duo began to walk
to a place where he knew there was a hole in the fence. He dove through,
Patches following him closely, and walked up the hill. Once reaching
the top, he looked over it into the meadow below. Deer were grazing
or lounging in the small flat area, oblivious to their hunter. Silently,
Duo stalked closer, crouching low to the ground. At last he was merely
ten feet away from the nearest one; a large doe, eating the few green
plants within the dead weeds. Duo looked to his canine companion. 'Ready?' The dog merely looked forward, hunched down in the weeds,
eyes and ears trained on the prey. Duo looked back to the deer. 'Ok. Here goes.' He launched
himself from the weeds and tackled the first deer before she had a
chance to run, sinking his fangs into her throat. The doe did not
try to escape, merely fell over onto her side, Duo falling with her,
fangs still sunk into her large throat. He drank quickly, not wanting
to risk being caught by his landlords on the other side of the hill.
Once he was certain he could not pull any more blood from the animal,
he released her and looked into large dead eyes. "I'm sorry."
He bit his thumb and used the small drop of blood to heal the two
tiny puncture marks on her. He stood and looked around. The other deer had fled the moment he had begun feeding. He felt pain is his gums and knew his fangs were retracting. 'Well. At least I'm not hungry anymore. I should be Ok for tomorrow night, as well.' He turned to the dog, watching him sniff over the carcass before looking up at him. 'Boy. If dogs could talk. Well, I'm lucky they can't.
I'll leave it at that.' Duo reached down and scratched behind the
lab's ear. He then hefted the deer carcass over a shoulder and carried
it to a farther place from his house. 'If I want to hunt here again,
I have to keep this as far from here as possible so the deer will
come back and I won't get nauseous from the smell. But I can't put
it on the property or anywhere where it might be found.' Duo walked
to the edge of the forest and flipped the deer over his head, letting
it land gracelessly on the ground with a large thud. He looked back to Patches who had accompanied him, smiling
at the dog before turning and walking the near half a mile to his
house, the dog trailing behind him. He shook some dust from his braid.
'Oh well. It was going to happen. There's no way to avoid getting
dust in my hair when it's on the ground. I'm just glad ticks and fleas
don't like me or I'd be covered with them. Yuck. Can things that already
suck blood to live become vampires? I guess they'd just live longer.
Or shorter as they would die in sunlight. I wonder if things that
aren't human can make The Change. Well, I'm gonna be wondering for
a while as I have no intention of testing out that idea.' "You know patches? People think of deer and they
think of Bambi. Or pretty paintings of them. Beautiful majestic animals
that have soft gray fur and large black eyes. They have no idea. The
fur is course and rough with years of dust, with all kinds of parasites
crawling through it, their breath is horrible and their hooves are
sharp and can do serious damage. Plus the things are stupid as fuck.
I mean, that saying 'A deer in headlights' didn't come from nowhere,
ne?" He looked down at the dog who seemed to be ignoring him,
trotting along side him as they neared Duo's house, panting. Duo smiled.
Patches was always so easy to talk to. They reached the house to find the Jones’ pickup truck parked in the driveway next to Duo's. 'SHIKUSHO!' Duo approached his house and saw his landlords
looking around for something. 'Id better diffuse this. Now. I can't
have them going in and finding the empty bags of blood on the counter.
"What's up? Mr. Jones? Mrs. Jones?" The two startled at his voice and looked down the long
dirt driveway towards him, their eyes resting on the dog that walked
along side him. "Hello, Duo. How are you?" Came the man's
friendly voice. Duo shrugged nonchalantly as he approached, grinning
at the two, giving off an air of confidence. Inside he was shaking
like a leaf. 'What do they want? It's kind late for a house call.'
"So." He said as he stepped into the old wood porch. "Can
I help you with something? I mean, is there something wrong? It's
pretty late." He noted the way the two took a small step back
from him. 'Shit.' Mrs. Jones smiled. "Actually, we were just looking
for Patches. He's been gone for a while and we figured he might have
come to visit you. He really likes you. He doesn't like anyone as
much as he likes you." Duo grinned and laughed, reaching down and scratching
behind the dog's ear, causing said dog to thump a hind leg against
the wood of the porch. "Aw. I just play with him is all. We were
just out running. Found a few dear and chased them away from the fence.
Good exercise." The elderly couple turned their eyes to their dog who was panting and drooling. "So I see." Said Elmer. "Thank you. Those damn things are ruining the crops
this year. I can't figure out how they get in. And they only come
in during the day. They used to only come in at night. Can't figure
it out for the life of me. You got any ideas?" Duo looked to his side. "Well, I did notice a hole
in the fence over there. Pretty big. That's probably how they're getting
in." "You don't say." Said the man, peering into
the darkness. "Show me?" Duo glanced to Mrs. Jones, returning his eyes to her
husband faster than they would be able to see. 'I don't want to leave
her here alone with the evidence of my dinner in the kitchen. But
what choice do I have? I have to play this cool.' "Sure. This
way." He gestured with a hand towards the hole in the fence and
began to walk to the area. "Hang on a second, there, Duo." Said the man
from behind him. Duo turned and looked back. "What's up?" The man opened the door to his old truck and took out
a large flashlight. "How can you see a thing? I miss being so
young. Having good eye sight." Duo grinned. 'Yeah. Young. I'm older than you.' "Yeah.
It's pretty convenient." The old man stepped away from the truck holding some
needle nose pliers and barbed wire, looking into Duo's eyes. Duo felt his blood freeze. He felt like screaming with
fear. 'Tell me that's for the fence.' "What's all that for?"
He was sure some of his nervousness came through into his voice because
his landlord looked at him solemnly for a moment before smiling. "I'm gonna fix the breach. I can't have all the
vines eaten by deer, can I?" Duo grinned. "Nope. Guess not." He turned
and began to walk towards the fence, Mr. Jones falling into step behind
him. Duo looked over his back at his landlady who was watching them
nervously from the porch. "We'll be right back, Mrs. Jones. It's
not far." After a few moments of walking, Duo and Elmer reached
the tall fence and Duo pointed to the hole. "Holy cow. That's a big one. And look at the well-worn
path on the other side. This is how they get in all the time. Well,
this won't do." So saying, the old man knelt down and examined
the broken wires. "Jeez. They really tore into it. Looks like
a buck did it." He pulled the wires close together and tried
to see if he could make them meet. Duo knew they wouldn't. They had been bent and broken
and were not long enough to wind around each other. "Can I help?" Elmer nodded. "I need you to wrap the barbed wire
around itself when I say so. We're gonna thread it through here and
here initially, just to pull this most the way closed. Then we can
stitch it up. Can you do that?" He began to carefully unwrap
the wire from its small spool. Duo nodded. "Sure thing." "It's so good to see that all kids your age aren't
hooligans or punks." Said Jones. "You're a good kid. Though
you're... How old now?" Duo smiled at him. "Twenty three." Jones chuckled. "Where does the time go?"
He cut the wire at a certain length and held it out to Duo. "Ok.
Loop that through the holes here and here." He pointed and took
a grip on the fence below the holes and pulled them as far together
as he could. Duo quickly looped the wire through the holes as he
was instructed and then wrapped the ends around each other several
times to ensure they would not come undone. "That good?" "Yep." Jones released the fence and examined
the work. "Well done. You're pretty strong. I could really use
some help around here. I'll pay you double minimum." Duo smiled. "Um... I only have weekend nights off.
I just got home from work before I went out running with Patches.
Then I was gonna hit the sack. I'd be happy to help out weekend nights,
though." Duo grinned. "Cool." Jones smiled at him. He looked back to the fence. "Alright,
thread the wire through all the holes, they've got to zigzag so there
are no openings. Duo immediately began to thread the wire as he was told.
'I shouldn't have said that. But how the hell was I supposed to know
he'd agree?' "I'm sorry." Came Jones’ husky voice
from Duo's side. Duo paled and blinked down at him, pausing in his work.
"Come again?" 'Did I speak out loud?' "Martha told me that she invited you and a friend
over for dinner on Saturday. I tried to talk her out of it, but she
would have none of it." The man sighed tiredly. "I know
you have better things to do that sit down and eat your landlady's
cooking and socialize, but I can't get her to back down. She's already
gone out and bought the turkey and everything. I'm sorry." Duo grinned. "Aw, it's not so bad. I can take time
out of my busy schedule to honor an invitation. And my friend agreed
to come, by the way. Is this Ok with you, though?" Elmer sighed again. "Yeah. I just... She's been
so...weird. She has all these suspicions that have no grounds. It's
getting old." He laughed mirthlessly. "You should hear some
of the theories she has about YOU of all people!" Duo smiled and continued working the wire into the fence.
'Oh, well. I guess it's a good thing he thinks their all just paranoia.
That's good to know. Or is he just acting? Christ, now who's being
paranoid?' "Oh? Like what?" 'Please don't say it. Please
don't say it. Please don't say it.' Jones smirked. "Naw. I don't want to say. You'd
probably find it insulting." "Maybe." Duo tied off the ends of the wire
with the pliers and held the tool out to Elmer. "Maybe not. How
bad can they be?" Elmer took the tool, looking deeply into his eyes for
a moment. "She...she thinks you're some kind of bloodsucker or
something. Vampire." Duo wanted to laugh hysterically. Or sob uncontrollably.
It was toss up on which one happened first. "Really? That's funny."
He chuckled good-naturedly. "Where are the fangs and cape?" "Haha! Yeah. I think I'm gonna take her to the
doctor. This might be caused by her medication. She's been this way
for a while, but in the last few months it's just been getting out
of hand. Thanks for not taking it the wrong way. I know you're a good
kid. I'll get her some help. But I can't get you out of coming to
dinner. Bring your friend. I'll have a bottle of my famous wine. Ok?"
He stood up and looked Duo over. Duo grinned. "That sounds great. I know you guys
have the best wine in the world. Thanks." Duo laughed and walked towards the house with the man,
picking up the spool of wire. 'Ohhhh...Chriiiiiist... Why does this
always happen to me? Alright. I'm hitting the drug dealers for a while.
I have to save up enough money to BUY a house. Not rent. And it's
got to be in the middle of nowhere. With a fence and a locked gate.
If I do, I wonder if Heero would move in with me. Ok, slow down, I
haven't even got the cash for it yet. I can't believe this is happening.
Until a month ago, I thought everything was going great. I wonder
what they would do if they found out. They don't seem like the type
to freak. They'd probably offer to pay me to keep the deer and rabbits
out of the vineyard. Ha! There's a thought!' Duo turned to his landlord.
"About what you were saying, how long has she thought that? I
mean, I just never knew she thought of me that way." Elmer looked up to the night sky as they walked, thinking.
"Oh, I suppose she's thought that for almost a year. She even
did research for months. We had boxes of library books all over the
house. And the thing of it is, she wouldn't even care if you came
out and admitted it openly. She just wants to know. I don't think
she really thinks beyond that point." He shrugged. "But
what's it matter? Vampires don't exist. You're not one and she needs
to accept that and move on." Duo nodded. "Yeah." He scanned Elmer's mind
briefly to see that Elmer wanted to believe that Duo was human. He
wanted to just dismiss his wife's ideas as crazy. Yet, he had trouble
ignoring the facts. Like he had never ONCE seen Duo in the daylight.
Or seen him eat. Or... Age at all. And the fact that deer were too
terrified to enter the vineyard at night. He desperately tried to
ignore those thing, holding onto his sanctuary world where there were
no vampires or things that were not supposed to be. He merely turned
a blind eye to all the things his wife wrote down in her little journal,
hoping he was right. Though he often wondered if he was. If thing
really were so back and white. Duo smiled inwardly, a small wry smile. 'Never underestimate
the power of denial.' Elmer stopped and looked at Duo for moment. "What?" The man seemed to be thinking hard on something before
speaking. "Why DO we never see you in the day, though?" Duo smiled at him. "Not you, too." Elmer smiled and shook his head, resuming his pace.
"You're right. I can't let her get to me. Sorry." Duo waved it off. "No big." The two stopped in front of the house, smiling to Mrs. Jones who rose from her seat on the porch steps. Duo looked at his watch. "Thanks for coming by.
It was good to see you Mr. Jones. But I am really tired. I had school
all day and then work. Plus I have an early class tomorrow so I have
to be up at Five to get ready. You know how it is." He shrugged. Elmer smiled. "Yeah. It was good to see you, too.
Thanks for helping with the fence. I've been looking for that hole
for a while now." He extended his hand. Duo reached out and took it, shaking it firmly and thankful
that, having just fed, his hands were warm. "Duo. Please call me Elmer. You've been here for
almost two years. I feel for you like a son. Call me Elmer."
He smiled at Duo and headed towards his truck, motioning for his wife
to get in as well. "I'll see you on Saturday? Say Eight-thirty?" Duo grinned and nodded. "Sure thing." He looked
to his side as the truck started to see Patches trying to decide whether
he wanted to stay with Duo for longer or catch the ride home. Duo
laughed and bent down, petting his head. "Go home, Patch." Patches licked his face before bounding into the truck
with his owners, looking to Duo through the window. Duo waved goodbye to the couple in the truck before stepping onto the porch and opening his door, stepping through and locking it behind himself. "Oh, yeah. This Saturday will be a blast. I can't wait." He said sarcastically. He walked into the kitchen and saw that the empty donor bags were just as he had left them. He sniffed the air. No one's scent but his in the house.
He sighed. 'That's good to know.' He washed the bags and threw them
into the trash. He then walked into the living room and threw himself
onto the couch, landing on his stomach with an arm pinned beneath
him. "I am sooo not moving from this spot." He said aloud
to no one. 'Today Heero and I were intimate. I miss him already. Are
we moving too fast? It doesn't feel that way. But we've only known
each other for a few days. No. That's not true. I've known him my
whole life. He's known me for his. And yet he's less than Twenty and
I've had a bicentennial. This is so weird. But... Who would have thought
I would ever be so lucky...' And Duo drifted off to a fitful sleep, full of dreams
of Heero, his landlords and faces he once knew. Back to
Stone Angel Fics |
