"Custos"

Written By: YojiKato

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing nor any of its characters. I only own the original characters. And nobody's paying me to write this.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: AU, OC, Yaoi, Lemon, Language, Violence

Pairings: 5x4, 1x3x1, 2x6x2

Summary: Just as things begin looking up for the Gundam boys, Wufei disappears.

" Custos"

Chapter 17

“Cincinnati,” Duo murmured softly as he stared at the ceiling. “That's a huge fuckin' city.”

Zechs looked up to his face. “We'll find her.” He continued kissing down the brunette's stomach.

Duo sighed, running his fingers through his bangs. “You're awfully optimistic. You think I'll let you fight this time?”

Zechs nipped at his hip. “You better.”

He looked down to the blond. “Well, I won't.”

He raised up to his elbows. “I can help, Duo.”

“I don't want you hurt.”

“And I don't want to be left behind. Duo, I'm not as weak as you think.”

“I don't think you're weak.” He sighed and tangled his hands in soft blond locks as Zechs raked blunt nails over the short curls at the base of his manhood. “I just don't like seeing your bones through your skin. Geez, are you trying to drive me crazy.”

He smirked and ran his tongue up the underside of Duo's length. The brunette shuddered slightly, violet eyes remaining locked with pale blue as full lips wrapped around his erection. Zechs moved up and down on the hard length several times before lifting off of it.

“I don't want you insane. I just want you to need me with you every second.”

Duo pulled him up to kiss him softly. He rolled over so the blond was beneath him and ran the back of his fingers across his cheek. “I do need you,” he whispered. “That's why I don't want to put you in danger.”

He shook his head. “I'm a fighter, Duo, you know that as well as anyone. Don't make me sit on the sidelines.”

Duo kissed him again, running his hand down his side until he reached his hip. He lifted the blond's thigh until his foot was planted on the mattress and grabbed the lube, never breaking the kiss as he coated his fingers. Zechs' moan at the intruding finger was swallowed by Duo's mouth.

He pulled back after the initial penetration so he could watch the blond as he stretched him. Half-lidded eyes gazed up at him and a small smile came to Zechs' face. “It's a good thing I don't mind exhibitionism, for you, at least.”

Duo smirked. “I don't know, it'd be cute if you blushed on occasion.” He pushed his finger into the bundle of nerves and Zechs bucked against him, moaning softly as his sweet spot was massaged. Duo added a second finger and he spread his legs further apart.

“Sorry, I'm not the blushing type.”

“Hm. I've seen you blush once.” He leaned down to lap Zechs' nipples. “But you do get a nice flushed when you're turned on.”

“Are you gonna talk all day?”

He chuckled softly and added a third finger for good measure. “No, I'm gonna make you beg.”

“That will never happen.”

Duo maneuvered between the blond's thighs. He lapped at his erection until it was wet and raised up, blowing lightly at the tip while relentlessly stroking his prostate.

Zechs bit his lip but couldn't stop the tremors that ran through him. Duo drove him higher and higher, but never let him find release. He alternated between sucking heavily at his length and then lightly teasing it with the tip of his tongue.

“Duo.”

“Hm?” He twisted his fingers inside the blond while sucking the head of his erection into his mouth.

He thrust his hips, trying to push himself deeper, but Duo merely moved with him. He tried to sit up, but Duo's free hand pushed him back down and he couldn't fight against the vampire's strength.

He clenched his eyes tightly shut as tendrils of pleasure shot through him, teasing him, but never bringing him far enough. He was so hot he could hardly stand it and Duo was too stubborn to give in when he wanted something.

“Damn it, Duo, just do it already.”

“That was a demand, I said beg.” He swallowed Zechs almost to the hilt and his back arched.

“Shit! Please, Duo. Take me. Please.”

He grinned and pulled his fingers free before covering his hard length with lube. He pushed Zechs' knees to his chest and slammed all the way in.

Zechs sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden answer to his request and released it in small gasps as Duo plunged into him in a heavy rhythm. He gripped his knees tightly and slit his eyes open. Violet orbs were gazing down at him as if soaking in his every expression.

Duo slowed the mad pace and pulled Zechs legs to wrap around his waist. He leaned down, kissing the blond softly but passionately. Zechs folded his arms over Duo's shoulders, gripping his braid in his hands. He pulled it up until he reached the end and pulled the tie off, running his fingers through it until it flowed over then in chestnut waves.

Duo ended the kiss and raised up, rocking into the blond in slow thrusts. Zechs licked his lips and opened his eyes. “Why are you slowing down?”

“I just realized something.”

“What?”

He twirled a strand of blond hair around his finger where his hand rested on the pillow by Zechs' head as he reached down to stroke his erection with his other hand. Pale blue eyes slid closed and his legs tightened around Duo. He clenched his hands in the brunette's hair, grunts and gasps slipping from him on every thrust.

Duo rubbed the tip of Zechs' length with his thumb, smearing the pre-cum over the sensitive head before sliding his hand back down. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to the outer shell of Zechs' ear.

“I love you.”

The blond arched into Duo's chest as he came, the brunette's name falling off his tongue on a heavy moan. Duo thrust into the spasming heat twice more before he found his own release.

Zechs kissed Duo's temple. “Love you, too.”

Duo pulled out and leaned over the side of the bed to grab his shirt and clean them up.

“You're going to let me fight.”

He sighed and tossed the shirt back to the floor. “We'll talk about it tonight.” He stretched out beside his lover, but the blond got up.

“Wiping off is fine for you, but I need a shower.”

“'Kay.” Duo snuggled into the pillows and Zechs shook his head as he ducked into the bathroom.

“Mighty Custos, my ass,” he muttered.

“I heard that!”

******

Heero pulled his knees to his chest as he leaned against a large green arm. “Do you have any friends?”

Daeon looked down to the faerie. “I've had acquaintances over the years, but I had to be careful.”

Heero nodded. “I can imagine. It must have been lonely.”

“At times.”

They sat in silence for several minutes. Heero clenched his teeth. “I need to get back into my other form.”

“This form is not so bad.”

“I can't move around freely like this. I can't even wear a shirt without cutting it up to fit my wings, but then it doesn't fit.”

Daeon laughed softly. “I have that problem myself.”

Heero looked up to him with a quirked eyebrow. He moved away as the dragon shifted and closed his eyes. A moment later, his massive body melted into that of a human, albeit, his skin was a green tone with almost claws for hands and slits for pupils. He turned to face Heero, legs crossed Indian style and hands on his ankles. He was rather tall but very thin, with wiry muscle winding over his toned body.

“Well, my problem is finding clothes that are long enough without being too big.”

He nodded. “Either way, you still couldn't blend in with humans very well.”

He shook his head. “No, but sometimes I walk through your cities, encouraging no one to see me.”

Heero's eyes narrowed slightly. “Can you do that to other people?”

“No, I'm sorry.”

He sighed. “Maybe I should just rip them out.”

“Now that would be a shame.”

Heero grunted. “Not in my opinion. Of course, it'd hurt like a bitch.”

Daeon tilted his head to the side. “You are tired. You should rest. We'll be leaving tonight.”

Heero nodded and stood, looking up to the bright sky. “I suppose saying goodnight doesn't quite work now.”

Daeon smiled. “Sleep well, Heero.”

He returned inside and went up to his room. Trowa and Quatre were sitting on the bed, talking softly. The blond looked up with a grin.

“I came up with a solution to your problem.” He held up a black shirt. There was a hole in the back with a button holding the bottom strip together. Another piece of material folded down to hook at the same spot. Quatre opened them and held it toward him.

He took it and pulled it over his head. He slipped his arms through the sleeves and waiting for Quatre to button it up. The blond stepped back.

“What do you think?”

He turned, amazed that Quatre had managed to get the hold the perfect size to set just against the base of his wings. “I think I'd be better if the wings were gone, but it's nice to have something to wear. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “You're welcome. I'll let you two get some sleep.”

******

“My lady.”

She glanced over her shoulder as her mate stepped into the room. He handed her a letter and she moved from the window, sitting by the lamp to read it. She pursed her lips.

“My lady?”

She looked up to her made. “Merrick lost Chang, and his compound in the Congo... along with his best Seer.”

He grimaced. “How did that happen?”

“Antonio said that in his rage, Merrick went personally with his men to Jason's Island. Somehow they missed Chang going to Africa at the same time. All villages that were cowed are now free and he doesn't know where Chang is.”

“How does he know it was Chang?”

She gave him a flat stare. “Who else could have accomplished such a feat?”

He nodded slowly. “I suppose you're right.”

She sneered. “You suppose?”

He grimaced. “No, you're totally right. I just chose the wrong wording.”

She pursed her lips. “Go see to it that Erik gathers the appropriate humans to bring to me.”

He bowed deeply. “Yes, my lady.”

******

“Can't you ride with us?”

Daeon shrugged. “I suppose so, but will it not be crowded in there?”

“Not at all. There's plenty of room. Please join us.”

The dragon shifted his form and climbed into the jet with the others, Zechs and Duo manning the cockpit.

The conversation ranged from heavy to light, but Quatre and Wufei couldn't help but notice how quiet Galen and Aidan were. The mates were huddled together in the back, Aidan curled to Galen's chest.

Wufei frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Galen raised his eyes and shook his head, a small smile coming to his face. “He's just tired.”

Wufei dropped his eyes to Aidan's pale face, which appeared even more so due to the dark curls that framed it. “Have you not gotten enough to eat? We brought some stuff with us.”

Aidan shook his head, not bothering to look over or even open his eyes. “That's not the problem. Don't worry about it.”

Galen dropped his cheek to the top of Aidan's head and closed his eyes.

The few hours it took to reach Cincinnati passed in silence, though none of them were able to rest. They arrived shortly before eleven and Wufei and Duo left the others at the jet to search the town.

“What's it like?” Duo asked as they moved through through the crowds.

“What?”

“Being joined to someone like and you and Quatre are.”

He smiled. “It's like finding the other half of your soul.” He chuckled softly and Duo had the suspicion it was at something Quatre had said.

“I don't think I'd like someone else being in my mind.”

Wufei grunted. “I don't think anyone would want to be.” He paused and looked to the side. He crossed the street and walked down an alley. When he reached the end, he pressed his lips to a fine line.

“What is it?”

“The largest coven I've ever felt. At least a hundred.”

“I thought there were more than that in Vegas.”

Wufei nodded. “There were, but they mainly moved in packs of no more than five. These are all together. She must be here.”

He jumped up the wall, followed quickly by Duo. They sat on the edge, looking at the various buildings. “Which one is it?” he whispered. His vision shifted and he reached for Duo to steady himself. The brunette studied the Chinese man as blank eyes shifted with whatever it was he saw. A moment later, he shook his head and looked to Duo.

“Guess this means we don't have to be touching to see the visions anymore.” He pointed to the left. “See that condemned building?” Duo nodded. “It isn't nearly so bad off on the inside.”

“All right. Let's get back to the others.”

******

Duo paced the jet, bottom lip caught between his thumb and forefingers as Heero and Quatre presented opposing views on what they should do. Heero wanted to wait until they went out to hunt before attacking. Quatre didn't want any more people at risk. He understood both options, and didn't like either. But they didn't have much choice. It was either attack while they were gathered, or attack when Miranda had less subordinates around.

He shook his head. “We broke into OZ bases that held a lot more enemies than this.”

“True,” Heero said quietly, “but we're not dealing with mere humans here.”

“In case you failed to notice, Heero, no one here is a mere human anymore. It's no different from sneaking into a base, except for the fact that Wufei will know where they all are.”

Heero leaned forward. “They'll detect Quatre, Aidan, and Zechs.”

Violet eyes narrowed as he thought it over. “I really don't think that'll be a problem. For one thing, the mates have the smell of the vampires on them. On top of that, they already have humans there, so they probably won't notice a few extras.”

Aidan cleared his throat softly. “Duo is right. This is the way it needs to be.”

Wufei frowned and looked to him. “Did you guys have a vision we didn't?”

Aidan looked to Galen and the blond nodded slightly. “We didn't see if the fight would be won, or if it was the only way.”

“What did you see?”

Galen's face hardened. “Something that I won't let happen.” His arms tightened around Aidan.

The dark haired mate closed his eyes. “You know it's impossible to stop these kinds of visions.”

Quatre's brows drew together. “What was it?”

Dark eyes opened and looked to the blond. “My death.”

He bit his lip. “There has to be a way to stop it; otherwise, you wouldn't have been shown it. Right?”

Aidan forced a smile to his face. “Perhaps.”

Duo stared at him for a long moment. “If you stayed here-”

“That's not an option. You're going to need every fighter you can get.”

He nodded. “All right. Just don't keep your mind fixed that you can't change things. You know what might happen, try to avoid it.”

“I'll do my best.”

Duo turned to Zechs. “You will stay here.”

The blond jumped up. “Don't order me around, Duo. I'm going and that's final.”

The rested watched as they glared at each other. Duo sighed and shook his head. “It's too much of a risk.”

He pursed his lips and grabbed Duo's wrist, pulling his lover outside of the jet. “Why are you treating me like a child?”

“I'm not. I'm trying to keep you safe.”

“I'm not weak.”

He took Zechs' arm and spun him, pressing the blond to the jet and holding him tightly. “Get free.”

The blond struggled for a full five minutes before he sagged against Duo and dropped his chin to his chest. “I can't.”

“You are strong, Zechs, but you don't have the strength to fight against this particular enemy and we don't share power like the others do.”

He looked to Duo out of the corner of his eyes. “But we could.”

He relaxed his hold. “What?”

“Aidan said that, when necessary, the previous Custos shared some of his power with his wife.”

“How?”

Zechs turned and gripped Duo's forearms so the markings on the inside of their wrists touched. He sucked in a breath as he felt the power stored inside his lover. He looked into Duo's eyes. “Now all you have to do is will it,” he whispered.

Duo's brows drew together. “You get yourself killed and I'll never forgive you. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Duo kissed him and his wrists burned like fire, the sensation racing up his arms and spreading through his body until he was trembling. Duo pulled away and Zechs fell back against the jet, folding his arms over his middle.

“Are you okay?”

He took slow breaths. “Is this how you always feel?”

“It's a little muted for you, but yeah.” He pulled the blond into his arms. 'Please, be careful.'

“I will.”

Duo jerked back, eyes wide. “Did you just...” He licked his lips. “You could hear me?”

Zechs smiled. “Yeah.”

“Well, that's just weird.”

He rolled his eyes. “We have an ancient vampire to kill.”

He nodded and moved to the door of the jet. “You guys coming or do Zechs and I need to take care of it by ourselves?”

They filed out of the jet and Wufei raised an eyebrow. “What made you change your mind?”

“I'm sharing power with him.”

Galen's eyes narrowed. “Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“I only gave him a small amount and I'll stop it well before he's in danger.”

The blond looked to his mate. 'You told him how to do it.'

Aidan raised his chin. 'Yes.'

'Why would you do that? It almost killed Mia.'

'But it didn't.'

“Y'all can fight later,” Duo said softly, expertly translating the silent glares the two were sharing. “We need to get a move on.”

They nodded and followed Duo and Wufei through the maze of buildings that made up Cincinnati. Daeon wore only a pair of jeans that came to mid-calf. The pants were more for the comfort of his companions as the few people they passed couldn't see him.

Heero walked behind Zechs and Duo, with Quatre and Wufei on either side. Daeon, Galen, and Aidan walked behind. They hadn't come across many people and it was very dark, so it was easier to hide the faerie than they thought it would be. Duo and Wufei stopped at a wall and jumped up and over, followed by the others. They studied the supposedly condemned building. “How are we going in?”

Duo shook his head. “I haven't decided yet.” He looked to Wufei. “Can you tell where they are?”

He crept closer to the building. “Upstairs. I'd say second or third floor.”

Trowa's lips thinned to a fine line. “There are humans in the basement.”

Galen and Wufei nodded. The scent would have been overwhelming if they weren't mated.

“All right. We'll go in through there and set them free before taking care of the others.”

No one questioned the exact 'how' of the second part of that sentence, but they followed him around the building to a small grated window on the ground level. Duo laid down and peered into the room. A mass of bodies were huddled together in the middle of the room on the floor.

He grabbed the metal and pulled at it gently before sitting back on his heels. “It'll be too loud. I don't want to scare any of them into screaming.”

Quatre looked to Heero. “Your sword gives off light. If we can use that to draw their attention and explain, this will go better.”

Heero shook his head. “Don't have to use the sword for light.”

He knelt down, holding his hand palm up between the bars of the grate. Blue light flared above his palm and the inhabitants of the room began to stir.

“Are y'all all right?”

“Who are you?” a frightened voice asked.

“We're here to get y'all out. Stay quiet,” he ordered softly. He pulled the grate free in one yank and everyone held their breath for a long minute as the loud screech of the metal giving echoed through the room.

Duo released a breath and slid through the opening, dropping to the floor silently. A man moved in front of the woman next to him. “How did you do that? And why is his hand glowing?”

“Well, we needed light and Heero's good at that sort of thing.” He shrugged. “You want out or do you want to be vamp food?”

They jumped up and he held up his hand. “Single file and don't make a sound till you're well away from here. Oh, and it would be wise not to mention any of this to anyone.”

A woman stepped forward. “Please, sir, they have my brother.”

“Others were taken not too long ago, too,” another woman said.

“We'll do our best to get them back,” Quatre said gently. “But you must leave now before this place becomes a war zone.”

They nodded and Zechs and Quatre helped them up and out before meeting up with the rest of their group. Wufei pressed his back to the wall as he slid down the hall. He glanced to Duo.

“Two,” he mouthed, “just around the corner.”

“Strong?”

“I can take care of it. Wait for a minute.”

Duo nodded and motioned for the rest to wait while the Chinese man slipped around the corner. They heard soft grunts followed by quiet thuds to the ground before Wufei leaned around the corner.

“All clear.”

They continued through the hallways until they found a winding staircase and made their way upwards until Quatre grabbed Wufei's arm.

'What?'

'Intense fear from several people.'

He nodded. 'At least that means they're still alive. We're almost there.' He led them through an archway to the third floor and listened at a door.

******

Miranda circled the kneeling man. He was strong and very easy on the eyes with a careless toss of chocolate curls and piercing blue eyes. She stopped in front of him, roaming her eyes greedily over his naked body.

“What is your name?”

“Raven.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Is that your real name?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me, Raven, would you rather be my mate, become a child of the night, or die?”

He kept his face carefully neutral, even as he heard pounded in panic. None of the options sounded particularly good to him, but one did give him a measure of freedom. “Child of the night.”

She clenched her teeth. “Am I not appealing to you?”

“No, it's difficult to find you're abductor appealing.”

“If you look at it that way, I suppose it would be.” She knelt down in front of him. “You could call me lover.”

“Somehow, I don't get the feeling love is an emotion you're too terribly familiar with. I refuse to be your play toy. I'm at peace with death, if that's what it takes.” His mind was screaming at him that now was not the time for bravado, but he couldn't help it. He always faced his fears with snide remarks and huge talk.

The door burst open and Miranda looked over his head as he turned to look over his shoulder. She hissed through her teeth. She didn't know all of them, but she knew Galen by description and had seen Chang. It didn't take much to figure out who the others were.

She threw the human aside and he smashed into the wall with a sickening crunch. “Chang is here!”

Duo stood before her in a flash, gazing down into large dark eyes. “Chang isn't the one you should be worried about.”

TBC...


Chapter 18

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