"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND"

Written By: Stone Angel

 

Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^

AN: Ah yes. I had to put at least ONE stupid person in here. I hate people who are against gays or bisexuals. It’s very annoying to hide who you are and to have to do so constantly… Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:

CHAPTER 8: MISUNDERSTANDING

Heero awoke a few hours later, glancing at the clock before yawning and stretching his limbs. 'It's Eight. Almost sundown.' He looked to the person next to him in the small bed, feeling him shift and stretch as well.

Duo mumbled and smiled in his sleep, holding Heero tighter.

Heero smiled as well and kissed Duo's cheek. 'He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping.' He snuggled closer to Duo as well, smiling.

*

Duo felt the movement in his arms and awoke. 'What time is it? I'm hungry.' He opened his eyes and looked at the clock. 'It's almost Eight. That explains it. I wonder if Heero will let me get out of here without a fight.' Duo looked to Heero and kissed his hair.

Heero immediately stirred and looked up at him, smiling. "Ohaiyo."

Duo grinned. "Not this again. It's almost Eight. How are you?"

Heero blushed. "I feel... Great. It's weird, but I love it. How about you?"

Duo grinned even as he blushed. "Me too. But I have to go soon. I'll come back with stuff to make dinner and then we can hit the movies. Sound good?"

Heero grinned. "Yosha. Duo..." He blushed once more. "Thank you again." 'I want to ask where he learned to do that, but I think I already know. I wonder if he would teach me.'

Duo grinned. "Hekki. You don't have to thank me." He kissed Heero's forehead before standing and stretching. "I'm gonna go out for a while now. I'll be back soon." He said as he pulled his clothing from the floor, dressing himself.

Heero lay on the bed, head resting in his hand, his elbow propped against a pillow. "Ok." 'Should I follow him? Or just ask? Maybe it's too soon. But what's the harm in asking?' "Ne, Duo. Can I go out with you? There's some stuff that I need from the store."

Duo froze for a moment as he was halfway done pulling on his pants, not looking up and resuming after a few seconds. "Uh... Can you write me a list? I'd be happy to get them for you." He bent down and retrieved his shirt, pulling it over his head.

'That would be a "No.".' Heero thought. 'Ok. I'll respect his wishes tonight. But I can't be kept in the dark for much longer. I want to know what goes on. Exactly.'

Duo smiled at him as he bent down and kissed Heero gently, sitting on the bed. "So what do you want?"

Heero stared at him, confused. 'Did he read my mind?' "Nani?"

Duo grinned. "For dinner, Baka. What do you want me to make?" He asked as he pulled on his socks.

Heero thought for a moment as he smiled at the term. Duo was definitely feeling more comfortable around him. "What about hamburgers?"

Duo looked at him in mock hurt. "Oh, you don't want my cooking anymore?" He began to plait his hair, neatly and quickly.

Heero grinned. "No, it's not that. It's just if we want to go to the movies, you don't want to have to spend a whole lot of time cooking, do you?"

Seeming to consider, Duo nodded. "Ok. I'll humor you yet again." He kissed Heero's cheek before walking out the door of the bedroom. "I'll be back soon." He called over his shoulder.

"Hai hai." Heero said as cheerfully as he could as he watched him go. 'I want to go with him. Not just out of curiosity, I don't want to be separated from him. I hate it when I am.'

Heero stood after a moment and walked into the bathroom. Lying on the counter beside the sink was the towel of hair clippings of which Heero had interrupted Duo from disposing. He smiled, holding the reminder of Duo to himself. 'How does he do that? He's only been gone a few minutes and I already miss him.'

* * *

Heero waited by the door for Duo's return, having called his employer and told him of his 'illness'. 'Thank god I didn't have any homework today. I don't want to do anything else but spend time with him.' He nearly shouted with joy as he heard a knock on the door. He threw it open and stopped himself from flinging himself into the arms of the person standing there.

His landlord stood there with a pinched looking expression. "Mr. Yuy. I've had some complaints from the other tenants about the noise. Said they heard more than one voice in here, too. Another male voice. You throwing any wild parties?"

Heero shook his head. "No, sir, Mr. Lewis. I haven't. When did they say they heard the noise?"

"They complained about four hours ago. Said they wanted to call the cops. I told them that you were a good kid. They still wanted to report a possible incident, a burglary or something of the like. Nothing like that happened, did it." Said the greasy looking man. It was not a question.

Heero shook his head again. "No, sir."

"Alright. Well, just to remind you, roommates are extra. Keep it down in here. This is a good building. I can't stop them if they hear more noises and want to call the cops. And if I get too many more complaints, I have no choice but to ask you to leave. Do you understand, Mr. Yuy?"

Heero nodded.

"Good. Have a nice day." The man said in a very uncheerful tone before walking towards the stairs.

Heero closed the door and stared at it for a moment before turning and sitting on the floor, leaning his back against it. 'Why are people so closed-minded? I know that they didn't really think anything bad was happening here. They heard two men making love and hated it and wanted to get me into trouble. And my landlord doesn't like the idea either. He wants to throw me out as well. I can't believe, in this day and age, people can still be so... Cruel. I don't understand. It's just love. Why is everyone so condemning? What are they so afraid of?' He heard a second knock at the door after a moment and stood to open it.

Duo stood with grin on his face and holding a paper bag from a fast food joint and a few plastic grocery bags. "Ta dai ma."

"Shh." Heero stuck his head outside the door and looked around to make sure no one saw before quickly pulling Duo into the apartment and closing the door quietly.

"Well. Happy to see you, too." Said Duo jokingly before he saw the expression on Heero's face as he turned around. His eyes became concerned. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Heero crossed his arms. "My land lord was here. He said the neighbors have complained about the noise. They said they wanted to call the cops."

Duo paled and shook his head. "Why?"

Heero looked down. "They heard us and wanted to report it as a burglary. My landlord says that if he gets too many more complaints, he's going to kick me out. And the bitch of it is, the couple in the apartment below me are newly weds. They make more noise in bed than all of the other tenants here put together. But no one bothers them. Because they are male and female. HOW CAN PEOPLE POSSIBLY BE SO... SO...?!"

"Narrow minded?"

Heero looked at Duo. "Yes. I don't understand it."

Duo gestured with a tip of his head that Heero should go into the kitchen with him. He set the bags on the counter and faced Heero, sighing. "Hee-kun, people fear what they don't understand. If anyone has learned this lesson, it's me. They feel threatened by things that don't make sense to them." He said in a rational tone.

Heero threw his hands in the air. "It still doesn't give them the right to try and get me kicked out! I'm human! What's there to be so afraid of?!" He hissed.

Duo smiled sadly. "Heero. I don't have all the answers. But I do know that people distort what they don't associate with. It becomes something else in their mind. They begin to feel prejudice against that something. Then that blooms into hate. Therein lies the problem; people then teach their offspring to hate the same thing. The children grow up to hate it and often never know why. Then they teach it to their children. And they teach it to theirs. It's a vicious cycle that never ends. Unless someone breaks it. But the way the world is, those who would break it are taught to hold their tongues, either through violence or simple ingraining. And if they ever do stand up for themselves, they are shunned. They have no right to live their life how they would like. It's all in the hands of people who disapprove. There is no justice here. ...Heero, I hate to say this to you, but people are cattle. Sheep. They all follow the herd and when one spooks, so do the rest. I hate to compare humans to such dumb animals as these, but the analogy fits. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

Heero nodded. "I just wish it wasn't so."

Duo cupped Heero's cheek and kissed him lightly before pulling back. "As do I. However there is nothing to do but hide. At least for me. I can't get involved in politics or try to make a difference any other way. However, if any one individual or individuals tries to make you miserable, I will personally see to it that they regret it."

Heero shivered at the menacing tone. He looked into Duo's eyes and saw that he meant it.

After a moment, Duo smiled brightly and held up a wrapped burger. "Dinner?"

Heero wanted to giggle at the sudden change of mood but instead smiled at Duo and took the burger. "Arigato. For what you said. It means a lot."

Duo smiled. "Well, you mean a lot to me. I can't have anyone hurting you or trying to make your life difficult. I love you. And I don't care what anyone thinks. I do however want to keep you safe. So from now on, when we...uh...we can go to my house. K?"

Heero blushed and smiled. "Hai. Arigato."

"Nandemonai. Oh, I got you something at the store cause I didn't see any in the fridge. My guess is you finished it all." Duo pulled a ridiculously large bottle of ketchup out of the shopping bag and held it out to Heero.

Heero grinned and took it. "Alright! Now we're talking." He sat down at the table and opened the burger and the bottle of ketchup, pouring a liberal amount onto the wrapper and dipping the burger into it.

Duo sat at the table as well and watched in amazement. "So you like burger with your ketchup?"

Heero laughed. "Hai. It's best when it's two parts burger, one part ketchup. I love it like this."

Duo smiled. "Whatever turns you on."

Heero blushed. "Very funny. Have you ever had ketchup?"

Duo shook his head. "No. I was lucky to get food plain before... I never got to try out sauces. Too late now. What does it taste like?"

Heero thought about it for a moment. "It's kind of tangy. Like, sour, but in a not sour way. It's also sweet. It doesn't taste anything like tomatoes." He looked to Duo. "Am I explaining this alright? Does it make ANY sense?"

Duo smiled and nodded. "I can imagine what it's like now. I couldn't before. I've smelled it, but things didn't always taste the way they smelled. It sounds like it smells. I'd say you did a good job."

Heero smiled and took another bite.

Duo grinned back and stood to unpack the other things he had bought from the market.

Heero watched and took a good look at the things Duo had bought. Steaks, vegetables, fruits, milk, bread, juices and a few spices. "Duo-kun. You didn't need to buy all that. I mean, I appreciate it, but it must have cost a lot. I don't want you to go broke buying things for me."

Duo smiled. "Thank you, Heero. But I get anywhere from two hundred to five thousand dollars a week. And all I have to pay for is my dealer, gas, rent and electricity. You have most of those and food, and insurance, and tuition and clothes and... The list goes on. This is not a problem for me. And judging by the little amount of food you have in here, I figured you don't go shopping much. I'm happy to do it."

Heero thought about that for a moment. "I just don't like owing people."

Duo smiled warmly, making Heero feel as though he would melt. "You don't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you. You saved me from being alone for the rest of my life. I at least can think back on this should anything happen, and remember. I spoke to hardly anyone outside my targets or marks for almost two centuries. And to find someone and fall in love, and find that they love me, too... Heero, that is the only gift I have ever gotten. And had I ever gotten others, I feel that this would still be the best."

Heero smiled back. "I feel the same way. We're so much alike." Then he frowned. "What's the difference between targets and marks?"

Duo groaned and began to put the items away. "Ok. Targets are those I hunt. Marks are those I kill. Bad vamps." He said simply.

Heero stored that information as well. "I see."

Duo finished putting away the groceries and sat at the table. "So did you get the paper when you left this morning?"

Heero nodded. "Ah. Want to check times?"

Duo nodded. "Yes please. I don't want to keep you out too late. And... Um... I'm gonna spend tonight and tomorrow at my house. I haven’t been there for more than a little while in two days and I don't want the Jones’ letting themselves in again. Um, is that Ok?"

Heero nodded. 'No. I want you to be here. With me.' "Yeah, I mean, sure, you know, you gotta do what you have to right?"

Duo gave him a knowing smile. "Thank you, Hee-kun. I'll come back first thing tomorrow night if you want."

Heero smiled. "I'd like that." He gazed into Duo's eyes for a moment before blushing and rising from his seat. "Let me get the paper."

Duo smiled.

Heero walked to his backpack in the living room where he had left it right before he and Duo had had sex. 'Made love.' He corrected himself. He opened a separate compartment and took out the newspaper, bringing it to the table where Duo was sniffing the piece of burger Heero had not yet eaten.

Duo blushed and composed himself when he realized Heero was watching him, sitting straight and away from the food.

Heero smiled at him.

"What? I got curious." Duo defended. "I was wondering what burger and ketchup smelled like together. It's...interesting."

Heero smiled warmly at him. "Duo. It's Ok. I don't take offense to you smelling my food. It just surprised me is all. I didn't think I'd ever find you sniffing at a burger."

Duo smiled and put a hand behind his head. "A bit out of character, ne?"

Heero smiled. "No. I think it's cute. I'm curious about stuff, too. Like how do you_"

Duo groaned. "Hee-kun, you promised." He whined in a timid tone.

Heero closed his mouth. "You're right. I did. Sorry." He looked down to the paper and sat next to Duo at the table. "So what type of movies do you like, anyway?"

Duo grinned. "Anything but crappy romances, B comedies, or vamp flicks."

Heero looked down at the listing. That didn't leave much.

~ 8 ~ 8 ~ 8 ~

I freeking hate people like Heero’s land lord. All of those who say gay people are sick or wrong or some crap like that can kiss my ass and suck my non-existent cock. Sorry, but Christ O Fucking Mighty. Some of my best friends are gay and I get pissed at stupid people who just have to meddle in the affairs of others. I had to put this in here. It plays a role later.


Chapter 9

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