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"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND" Written By: Stone Angel
Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^ AN:
SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:
Duo was quite pleased with himself. 'Ok. So the fence around the vineyard is already done, and I only have to do three more rows of vines tonight and then I'm calling it. It's almost Five o'clock. A good time.' "Hey, Duo!" Duo turned to see Martha and Elmer standing on the porch of their house in the semi-distance. He grinned. "Don't you people ever sleep?" Martha smiled while Elmer chuckled. "Not enough." "Heh." Duo hung the sheers on the post at the end of the row and walked to where the two were leaning against the railing on the porch, his hands shoved in his jeans pockets casually. He had dressed to do work that he knew would get him dirty, blue jeans and a gray Tee shirt. He had no intention of possibly ruining the priest suit. "Um. Sorry about earlier if I was a bit rude." The woman smiled. "That's Ok, Duo. You two were obviously having a discussion and we interrupted." Glad that the two could not see him blush in the dark, Duo looked to his feet for a moment before looking up. "So are you two always up this early?" Elmer smiled. "We usually start early in the morning. Just not this early. But we need your help with something." "What is it?" "We're having some trouble with the cows. They've been jumping the fence. After they knocked it down. We had it under controll_or so we thought, but we just got a call from the Lowe’s and it seems all the cows are at this moment roaming their orchard. Think you can help us get them back here?" Duo looked to the East and then checked his watch. "How long do you suppose that would take?" "Well, normally, herding all the cows with me and Martha each on a horse takes about forty minutes. But with three people, I think we can get it done in twenty. You up for it?" Elmer stood straight. Duo grinned. "Sounds like fun." * * * "Ok. This is Cherokee. He's a sweetheart. Give him an apple and he'll love you for life. Here." 'Ironic. My car is a Cherokee. Hn. But somehow I think this is going to be a lot harder than driving my car.' Duo looked down to the apple that had been placed in his hand and held it out to the large pinto horse before him. The horse, rather than sniffing the apple, sniffed his hand and backed away with wide eyes and flared nostrils. 'Shit. I hate it when I'm right.' Duo approached slowly and held the apple out again, this time piercing the skin of the fruit with a nail so the horse may smell it better and perhaps thus be more tempted to eat it. Cherokee all but roared as he reared up and struck out with his fore hooves. Duo dodged and took a few quick steps back, hearing the gasp behind him from Martha and knowing she was surprised at his speed. "Um. Maybe I should just not ride a horse." "Well have you ever ridden one?" "Yes. Of course I have. I just think this one is..." 'Too smart.' He turned to Martha. Martha was biting her lower lip, waves of nervousness and anxiety flowing from her as she looked at the large, terrified beast in the stall. "You need a horse so the cows can see you easily and head the other way. Cherokee is the sweetest one we've got. Jack won't even let anyone he doesn't know this close to him." The woman bit her lip some more and Duo picked up the faint smell of blood. 'Shit!' He turned back to the horse. 'I should have hunted as well, not just helped Wufei. Or at least had a donor bag or two. Fuck!' He heard his stomach growl and hoped the woman behind him had not. "Duo?" 'FUCK!' He didn't turn to her. "Yeah?" "...Are you alright?" Duo nodded after a moment and tried to approach the horse again, holding out the apple and doing his best to keep the rest of his body at a distance. The stupid beast reacted the same way as before and he was forced to retreat. "I don't have time for this." He groaned as he checked his watch. "Why do you think he's so scared? I mean, Patches loves you." Duo turned to the woman. "Patches is not an animal of prey. Horses are. And they are substantially less intelligent." "But they know a predator when they see one." Duo sighed. "Sure. Look, I want to do something but I need your permission." The woman's eyes widened and she took a small step back. "What?" Duo was confused for a moment before he understood. 'She knows I'm hungry and she thinks I want to bite her. Hn. Comforting that she gives me so much credit.' He thought sarcastically. "It's gonna be weird but if I need to ride a horse, then this is what has to be done. I can't hang around and get to know him for dawn is fast approaching. Do I have your permission?" "What are you going to do? You're not going to_" "I won't hurt him." Martha bit her lip more and then nodded. "Ok." Duo smiled warmly to reassure her and then turned to the horse and called his eyes to glow. ‘"Stay still."’ The horse remained standing in perfect stillness save for its breaths for a long moment. Duo smiled to himself and approached. He slowly took the horse's face in his hands and looked into his eyes. ‘"We are friends. I will not harm you, nor will you do so to me. I require riding you for a short time to help Martha and Elmer. And you will allow me to do so."’ He dropped his hands to his side and the horse merely looked at him for a moment before lowering his head and touching noses with Duo. Martha gasped behind him. "How did you...?" Duo turned to her and let her see the glowing of his eyes before he allowed them to cease. He smiled. "Trade secret. He'll give me no more problems today." Martha merely gaped at him for a moment before shaking her head and smiling as well. Smiling warmly at her while the horse sniffed his hair, Duo gave the animal the apple, which was eaten quickly. 'Great. Headache is at minimal. Thank god animal minds are a bit simpler than ningens'.' Duo looked around and spotted the saddle against the barn wall. He picked it up and quickly saddled the docile horse, bridling him as well. "So you have done that before." Duo turned to the woman. "Of course. Those new-fangled horseless carriages weren't always around, you know?" He grinned. "And, as I was never Nobility, I saddled and cared for my own horse." Martha smiled sweetly. "I don't know; I think you're pretty noble, myself." Duo blushed and looked to the ground. "Come on." Martha walked away from the barn and Duo led his horse outside He tried to help Martha tackle her horse, but the beast let him no where near it. "Don't worry." She took the light saddle from him. "I've been doing this for years. And he doesn't let ANYONE near him unless he knows them so don't feel insulted." She put the saddle on the small horse and quickly bridled him. The horse, so long as Duo kept his distance, was perfectly cooperative. The woman pulled herself up and Duo all but jumped up into his saddle. He frowned. 'Weird.' "You Ok?" Martha stopped along side him. Duo nodded as he examined the saddle around him, still scowling. "I just... It's been a while and the last time I had a horse, I was in Europe. English style riding. This Western stuff is new to me. Why are the reigns not tied? How does the horse know when and where to turn? What are the these for?" He kicked lightly at a stirrup. Martha laughed. "Ok. Just pull on what side of the reigns you want the horse to turn. He was trained differently than that knotted style. And the stirrups are for your feet. So you can lean forward or backward or stand when you want. Give it a try." Duo nodded and clicked with the back of his tongue, the horse turning his ears back to him and beginning to trot forward. Duo grinned. 'Ah, it's all coming back to me. Kind of like riding a bike. I can get used to this. Again.' "Alright!" He called out as he laughed with glee and heard Martha do the same. "Ready? West, right?" "Yep." She trotted along side him. Duo turned to her in the saddle and smiled. "Can we go faster?" She smiled at his childishness and then nodded. "Sure. The sooner we get this done, the better." Duo turned fore and leaned over a bit. "Hiya!" He grinned as Cherokee took off at a breakneck speed towards the fence separating the property from the one between it and the Lowes'. The horse jumped the low fence and continued to gallop towards their destination. He turned back to Martha and saw her horse, rather than jump the fence, go through the open gate that Elmer had no doubt used and intended to use again with the cows. "Go ahead!" She called, her voice only audible to him over the hoof beats due to his keen hearing as he sped ahead of her. "I'll catch up to you there!" He waved that he understood and turned to watch the ground move at a lovely speed beneath the horse's hooves. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the air, the smell of night and horses and leather taking him back to the days where a horse was the only mode of transportation he had. 'I have missed this. It's been too long.' He thought back on his stallion that he had had over one hundred years ago. He had named it Lightening as it moved so quickly and it's hooves sounded like thunder. The beast had been a black thoroughbred that absolutely shimmered in the moonlight. The horse had been intelligent and had been fearful of Duo for a time before he eventually began to trust him. He'd cherished the horse as one would a dog and had wept the night he had had to put him down for a broken leg. He had ridden other horses but none had taken the place of his endeared stallion. Duo buried the thought and smirked at the sound, feel, sight, and smell of riding again. "I should have done this sooner." He laughed as he rode over half a mile to the Lowes'. He pulled the reigns and the horse's canter became a trot and soon a walk. He looked to the orchard and watched a large herd of cows meander and graze from either the ground or the low leaves on the trees, many of them bellowing for some reason or other. 'Oh my god. Look at them all.' He heard his stomach growl at him again and growled low in his throat. 'I just hope my fangs stay hidden until I get back home. These two just found out about me and I really don't fancy scaring them.' He looked back to the cows and his mind began to stray towards the thought of blood. Warm, live blood that he had not had in nights as he had been helping Wufei hunt rather than doing so himself. 'Oh man. Keep it together, dammit. You can do this.' He turned his attention outward as he heard another horse approach him. He turned in his saddle and smiled slightly as Elmer pulled up beside him. The horses touched noses briefly before sniffing the ground. "Good to see you can ride well." Said Elmer. Duo nodded and looked forward at the cows. "So what approach do you want to take on this?" Martha's horse cantered up and came to a halt on the other side of him from Elmer. "Wow, Duo. You're a natural. You look so at home in a saddle. In your element." Duo smiled wryly at her and then turned to Elmer, waiting for his question to be answered. "Well, Jane called Terry and the two of them are out closing all the gates." He looked over the cows. "Duo, let's get on the other side. Martha, you head at a walk towards the pasture. Hopefully they'll follow." Duo smiled. "Ah. And you and I are the incentive to make them do so, huh?" Elmer nodded. "Yep. Come on, let's go." He walked his horse in a wide circle around the herd of cattle, not wishing to startle them into a stampede before he was on the other side of them. "Hiya." Duo rode at a walk behind Elmer, following his path perfectly. "I'll get on that side." Said Elmer pointing. "You just stay here and wait for my signal." "Alright." Duo pulled slightly on the reigns and his horse stopped his progress. He watched Elmer move slowly to the other side of the cows. After a moment, Elmer stopped and analyzed their positions. "Alright, Duo. You ready?" Duo waved and nodded. "Charge towards them and start yelling." Duo smirked. "Can do. Hiya!" His horse began galloping towards the mass of cattle. "HIYAAAA!!!!!!" The cattle raised their heads and then began to run away from himself and Elmer, towards where Martha was riding to the property. Grinning like a fool, Duo gave chase, alternately laughing and hollering at the cattle to continue. 'This kicks ass! No wonder cowboys were always happy in the movies.' He thought as he chased after the herd of frightened cattle. He heard Elmer laughing at him and smiled to himself. At the gate to the Jones' property, a few cows strayed from the heard and ran in random directions, becoming even more frightened by being alone and quickly grouping into two smaller herds. Duo immediately turned to persuade them back to the herd. He succeeded and managed to get the majority of the cows to rejoin the larger group. He then nodded to Elmer as he took off in the direction of the others. He caught up to them and surpassed, coming to a halt far ahead of them. The cows continued at their frantic pace towards him, blinded by terror. The smell of instinctual fear and blood filled the air and Duo knew that the cattle had small lacerations on them from the trees or each other. "Shit!" He sat still on his horse as the stampede continued towards him and he let his Ki flare, a deep amethyst, flame-shaped aura encompassing him. He shouted at the top of his lungs. "STOOOPPP!!!!!!!" The cattle immediately came to a more or less abrupt halt and merely stood, frozen. He smirked and let his aura die down for a moment before casting it out to flare yet again, silently praising Cherokee for not startling. He knew how loud he could yell when he wanted to. It was enough to wake the dead. He smirked at that thought and clicked his tongue, Cherokee moving slowly towards the half a dozen cattle. The cattle remained frozen for a short moment before taking off at an incredible speed in the opposite direction. Duo smirked wider and once again gave chase, allowing his aura to die down to nothing more than a mere centimeter above his skin and it soon became nonexistent. The cows quickly rejoined the group and the mass were herded back to the Jones’ property. Duo halted his horse just beyond the fence and watched as the large herd of cattle continued to stampede to the other side of the pasture, as far from him as possible. He waited, guarding the large hole in the fence where a few yards of the wooden barrier had been knocked down with force. He dropped his Ki when Elmer began to ride towards him. "I take it you'll need help with this?" He asked, gesturing with a hand to the fallen, white painted boards that had once been a fence. Elmer smiled wryly. "Think you could?" Duo smiled. "Certainly. I don't fancy doing this again tomorrow night. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to do it my way. It would be faster and I have to get indoors pretty soon." Elmer nodded. "Sure. When Martha gets back, come with me and we'll put the horses back in the barn." Duo nodded and ruffled Cherokee's mane affectionately. "He's got a good gate." Elmer smiled. "Yeah. He was born here. We had his mother but she died a while back. She was the sweetest horse I ever saw. He's not bad either. Did he give you trouble?" Duo smiled. "Just a little. But then he was golden." He sighed and looked up to the stars. They shone brightly despite the wee hour of the morning, the only light to interfere was that on the front of the barn that was nearly an eighth of a mile away, casting halogen rays towards them, illuminating things in silver and casting long shadows upon the ground. "I missed riding. I didn't realize until now." Elmer chuckled. "Tell you what." Duo looked back to him. "As long as you're here, he's yours. Feel free to go riding anytime." Duo looked to him in shock and was sure that it showed, even in the near darkness. "Mr... Elmer... Thanks. But I can't accept that." Elmer waved a hand. "Sure you can. I told you, you're like a son to me. Even though you're older than I." He looked down, shaking his head and smirking. "And besides, look at him. He needs the exercise and I'm sure the attention couldn't hurt either." Duo smiled but still protested. "I couldn't possibly_" "Yes, you could. Think of it as a favor to me." Said Elmer, holding up a hand to quiet him. "And if you don't, I'll be insulted." Duo closed his jaw with an audible click. He nodded and looked back to the horse on which he sat. "Ok. Thank you." Elmer shrugged dismissively. Duo's ears caught the sound of an ATV's engine being started from about a mile away and turned in his saddle to see a single headlight traveling over a hill quickly towards them from the Lowes’ land. The loud-engined All Terrain came to a halt beside them after a moment and an attractive woman in her late thirties with fair skin and shoulder length, curly dark hair got off the seat, leaving the light on to illuminate the area. 'Shit.' Duo thought. 'I have to be careful of angles if I don't want my eyes reflecting. That would be bad.' "Well, Elmer, this is quite the start to my Tuesday." Said the woman as she approached them. Elmer smiled. "Mine too. Have you met Duo?" The woman smiled up at him, looking him over as her eyes took on a gleam of desire. "No." She licked her lips. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure." Inwardly, Duo rolled his eyes even as he smiled sweetly to her and jumped off the horse, keeping a hold on the reigns with his left hand and extending his right to her, ever polite. "Duo Maxwell." She smiled wider and took his hand in a light grasp, shaking it delicately. "Jane Lowe." She looked him over again and he took his hand away from hers, the contact nearly unbearably uncomfortable. "You have cold hands. You want my jacket?" Duo smiled sincerely. "Um, thanks, but I'm going to be helping with the fence and I'm not that cold anyway. Thank you, though." Jane shrugged and smiled to the man before looking Duo over with a lustful gleam in her eyes. "So Elmer. This is the famous Duo." Duo looked confusedly at her before grinning. "I'm famous? Cool. I like that. Can I be rich, too? Ooh, and taller?" The woman chuckled. "I've heard about you from Martha. She had some weird...ideas." 'Shit.' Duo kept his grin up even though he felt suddenly colder. 'I didn't think she had talked to anyone about that besides Elmer. I ain't dealing with this one. If it comes to it, I'll have Q take care of it.' "Yeah. So she told me." The woman looked him up and down again. Very uncomfortable by this point, Duo shifted and looked back to Elmer in a pleading way. Elmer got off his horse and spoke to the woman. "Well, we're just gonna fix the fence and then go back to sleep." Duo rolled his eyes for effect. "Lucky. I'm off to classes. I don't get that luxury called sleep." The woman smirked at him. "Me neither. I find other ways to occupy my nights. ...And bed..." He took a step back at the predatory gleam in her eyes. 'I can't believe she's coming onto me like this! WITH ELMER RIGHT HERE!!! CAN'T I GET A BREAK FROM NINGENS?!' "..........." He suddenly felt like hiding behind his landlord, cursing his looks and the fact that ningens were so easily drawn to him. Elmer chuckled against the uncomfortable silence. "Now, Jane. He's young." The woman smirked wider and stepped closer to Duo who was by this point pressed against his horse in an attempt to put distance between them. "I like them young." She whispered to him, quiet enough that Duo was sure Elmer couldn't hear. "They can be taught easily." She lifted his chin to her. He jumped to the side, moving before she tried to kiss him, and stared at her with wide eyes. "Um. ...That's nice... I have to go help Martha!" He was on his horse and riding quickly away from her to where Martha was tending to Jack, putting a blanket on his back and giving him some brick-like cookies, before the vulgar woman could say another word. "Duo?" Duo rode to the other side of his landlady and looked back to where Elmer was talking with the woman. Jane looked around Elmer's horse to where Duo was. Duo squeaked and jumped off the side of his horse opposite to the neighbor, hoping that she would cool somewhat and cease all advances if he were out of sight. 'Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind.' Martha walked around to him with a curious smile and a cocked eyebrow. "Duo?" He looked back to her. "Is she gone?" Martha looked back to where Elmer was and then to Duo. "Jane?" Duo nodded. "No. But she's Ok. Are you..." She smiled, obviously suppressing a giggle. "...hiding?" Duo shot her a look. "No." He lied, his tone childlike in its denial. Martha did giggle then. "Why are you hiding from her?" Duo narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm NOT hiding. I'm just... Avoiding." "Oh." Said Martha in a patronizing tone as she went back to Jack on the other side of Cherokee. After a few moments, Duo heard the ATV start and drive away. He let out a sigh and peeked around Cherokee's shoulders to see Elmer riding to them, a grin across his elderly features. "Hahaha! Duo, that was probably the funniest thing I've seen in a while." Duo put his hands on his hips indignantly. "What would you have done?" He asked. "Did you even HEAR the things she said?" "What? What happened?" "Yes, I heard the first part and I can imagine the rest of it." "I think I handled that rather well, thank you very much." Said Duo. "Are you boys going to tell me what happened?" Elmer and Duo looked to Martha who looked curious and exasperated and the old man chuckled. "Jane liked Duo." Martha smiled. "Who wouldn't?" Elmer shook his head. "Not that way. She took an interest." Duo felt himself blush but continued to glare at the two of them. "Oh." Martha smiled as she blushed. "So you got hit on." Duo continued to glare at her, even as she and Elmer burst into laughter. "Well, I'm glad SOMEone finds this funny." Martha calmed down after a moment. "Sorry, Duo. But that's just grand." Elmer continued to laugh. "You should have seen the look on your face. I think you turned every color of red there is. And then the look on her face when you left. She looked like she'd had her car stolen. I honestly think she was stunned that you turned her down. She was pretty upset about it." Duo looked down. Martha giggled again and then said something that shocked Duo. "She probably went home and called one of her boyfriends or took a cold shower." Duo blushed even deeper. "Um. I thought she was married. You always say 'LoweS', not 'Lowe'." Martha smiled. "She lives with her sister. Neither of them are married." "......Oh." His landlady took his hand in hers. "Sorry, Duo. You probably should have just told her you were involved with someone else, though. She might hound you when she's over here. I guess that seductive thing is a little involuntary, eh?" Duo continued to stare at the ground and wished that he could just dig a hole and hide from the couple. Elmer spoke. "Why didn't you just say 'no'? You didn't have to run away. I don't know how things were when you were younger, but now, when you tell someone that you are not interested, they leave you alone." Duo kicked at a rock in the dirt. "Um... I just... I didn't want to be rude. People scare me sometimes and I don't want to make them mad." There was a short silence and Duo knew that the couple was stunned that HE was scared of HUMANS. Martha spoke sweetly after a moment. "I understand. Next time I see her, I'll tell her that you aren't interested, Ok?" Duo looked up and smiled wryly. "Thank you." Elmer cleared his throat. "Well, Duo, let's let Martha deal with the horses and then get the tools and get to work on the fence. I'll stay out of the way but I still have to oversee it." "Sounds good." * * * Duo pulled the first post upright and then lifted it and drove it into the ground. Some dirt and debris was misplaced and flew a short distance from the new hole. Elmer whistled aside him. "Wow. That's pretty impressive." "Hn." Duo lifted the next and did the same. "Do you have any extra pieces? I was thinking that I could put slanting braces on the other side so they couldn't knock this down again." "Sure. I'll go get them." Replied the man as he walked towards the side of the barn where there was some scrap lumber. "Thanks." Called Duo over his shoulder. He swiftly planted the rest of the posts in the ground and began to nail the planks to them. Elmer returned after a few minutes in the truck with a few extra posts in the bed. He stepped out and looked over the fence with shock. "You're already DONE?" Duo nodded and wiped his hands on his jeans. "Yep. Now I just have to put up the supports. Does it look Ok?" He asked as he looked to the East and saw the sky just beginning to lighten faintly. "Well, let's see." The man moved forward and placed two hands on the fence, shaking it with some force and finding it unyielding. "Wow. Good and sturdy. I think that's even better than it was when it was new. Thanks." "No prob." Duo walked to the back of the truck and took out the four strongest looking posts, carrying two in each arm to the fence and throwing them in a spear-like fashion to the other side before climbing over to the other side himself. He reached under and retrieved the hammer and cup of long nails. Very quickly he was done and he surveyed his work. "Test it out." He said to the man as he continued to look at the supports. The man tried to shake the fence to no avail. "Holy_!" "Now, Elmer! No swearing!" Came Martha's voice as she approached them. Elmer flustered. "I wasn't going to... I was going to say 'cow'." "Sure you were, honey." Martha smiled and kissed his cheek. Duo smiled to himself as he chuckled and climbed over the fence again, handing the hammer and nails to Elmer and flicking his braid back over his shoulder. A few of the more curious cows approached them and a calf came up and sniffed Duo's arm, leaving a streak of wet dirt on his skin. "Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically, reaching out slowly and petting the calf's head gently. "I wasn't dirty enough." He caught the scent of blood and knew the calf had a small cut on him. His stomach grumbled at him and he looked sidewise at his landlords. "Um. I'm gonna go home." "Duo." Came Martha's quiet voice. "You can... Uh..." He stared at her incredulously. "Just don't kill them and it's Ok." Duo shook his head and side-stepped away from the small cow. "Uh... No... I'm gonna go home. I think these are wild enough. They don't need any more fear of people." Pointedly turning their backs on him, Martha and Elmer turned and walked to the truck. Martha called over her shoulder. "It's Ok, Duo. Just don't take too much and we don't have a problem with it." Duo watched them get in the truck and drive away. He looked back to the calf and considered before flinging the idea from his head. ‘WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?! No way!’ And with that he sprinted home to take a few pints out of the refrigerator. He stepped inside the house and was immediately confronted by Wufei who was scowling at him. "Where the HELL were you?!" Duo snorted. "Sorry, MOM. But I have to earn a living, too." "It's almost dawn!" "So I got held up! What's it to you?" He walked past him into the kitchen and opened the fridge, tearing open a bag with a now long canine and drinking it without heating it. Wufei snorted as well, walking into the kitchen and watching as he downed the blood. "Hn." He leered. "So. He feeds." Duo shot him a look and knew that Wufei was rather surprised to see him drink as he had never seen him before, even at Quatre’s. He didn't like people watching him feed. "Isn't it your bedtime?" He asked pointedly as he poked the Chinese man’s chest with two fingers. Giving him a death glare, Wufei hissed and then grumbled as he walked out of the kitchen. Duo sighed and opened another bag, pouring it into the pot and setting it on a high flame. 'I know he was just trying to show that he was worried about me. What a weird friendship. We like each other, but he never shows it, and I show it too much. How the hell does he put up with me?' He waited for the blood to warm and once it was, he drank it and grimaced. "I need a new stock. This one is too old, almost useless." He wondered idly if taking the Jones’ up on their offer about the cows was really such a bad idea. 'Too late now. And besides, I have too much pride for that. ...I think.' He thought about Wufei again as he heated another pot full. "I should apologize. I was just grumpy cause I was hungry. He was probably worried sick that I was out so late. I shouldn’t have reacted so poorly." He mumbled to himself. Once the next pot was heated, he poured it into the glass and, wanting to vomit, drank it quickly before he washed the two items and put them away. He then walked down the short hallway to Wufei's room. He straightened his posture and knocked on the door. "What?" Came the harsh voice from the other side of the door. "It's me." "Baka. Of course it is. Who else would it be? What do you want?" Duo sighed. "I wanted to say I was sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." The door opened and Wufei was standing before him for a moment, merely looking him over. "Maxwell." He said as he leaned against the door. "You're apologizing for nothing." He smirked. "But then you always have been." Duo looked down to the floor. "You were hungry. And you need a new stock desperately. I'm not angry, Maxwell. Amused, since I rarely see you get mad, but I'm not angry." Duo smiled meekly and placed a hand behind his head. "Yeah, well I'm still sorry. I was hungry and... I'm not used to others seeing me...feed... Sorry." Wufei smiled. 'He should smile more often.' Duo thought that when he smiled, he actually looked rather charming. "You wreak." Duo blinked. "Nani?!" "You stink of cattle. Go shower." Said the Chinese man, still smiling, the words contradicting the almost sweet smile curving his lips in an odd way. Duo stared at him for a moment before barking with laughter as he walked into the bathroom. "Screw you." He called good-naturedly over his shoulder at the closing door. 'I guess this is the only way we can be friends. He pretends to hate me; I laugh in his face. Life is good when one has such good friends.' Chuckling to himself and turning on the shower, Duo stripped off his clothes and stepped into the hot water. _____________________________________________________________________________ Back to
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