Part Four

--‘Walk this World, Heather Nova.

It was odd, Duo reflected later. After everything that had happened, he should have been more apprehensive about accompanying the vampire, Heero, anywhere. Especially alone and without any sort of back up. He really couldn't blame Dorothy if she questioned his sanity when he talked to her about this later on. If he got the chance to talk to her about this later on, that was. Yet for all the danger inherent in this, all the fear and anxiety he should have felt was curiously absent. Instead, he felt almost…safe walking next to Heero, as if some unconscious part of him recognized and accepted Heero's promise of safe passage as absolute.

Anyway, who in their right mind would attack a vampire? ‘Well, knowingly,’ he amended. ‘Then again, who in their mind would knowingly walk off alone in the dark with a vampire?' Countered a second voice. Duo frowned, noting that the second voice sounded a lot like Dorothy's.

‘There are no guarantees in life,’ he argued against that voice. Not now. Not ever. Yeah, Heero might be luring him off for chow time but he might also be prepared to give Duo the answers he desired, the answers he so desperately needed. Stacked against a possible lifetime of burning, unanswered questions haunting him… Well, Duo would take his chances.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his companion. Even now under the harsh glare of passing lamps and weak store windows, Heero far outshone the memory of the dark angel of that balcony, his allure more dangerous and immediate. It wasn't right, wasn't fair that anyone should be so beautiful, Duo thought. The beauty that Heero had most likely possessed as a mortal had been sharpened to the razor edge of perfection and it was a weapon well used. It disarmed and entranced the watcher, caused defenses to lower, and longing to set it. You wanted him to approach. You wanted to linger on the words formed by those sensual lips. In short, you wanted to be his victim; wanted that one blissful moment of death and completion. Yes, a useful weapon for a vampire, indeed. Duo caught himself wondering if all vampires shared that Venus flytrap perfection, a pleasant façade hiding destruction. No wonder Lucy had went willingly to Dracula after that first encounter. How could anyone resist such temptation?

"We’re here." Those short words gave him no warning as he skidded into Heero’s back, catching the other’s waist to keep him upright. Duo felt his cheeks warm as the vampire cast one of those smoldering glances he excelled in over his shoulder at Duo. He let the vampire go, using his now free hand to rub the back of his neck. Heero snorted, though his eyes were softer than the gesture permitted.

The place Heero had brought them to was an abandoned store, windows whitewashed and empty. The lights of a nearby street lamp pooled around the edges of the gloom, not cracking it and casting vague shadows on the pavement. Heero jiggled the door handle, the lock rattling loudly to Duo’s ears. He sneaked a glance around them. No one seemed particularly interested in them. Hell, no one even seemed to see the two of them. ‘Strange,’ Duo thought. Maybe it was Heero. That book had hinted that vampires had the power to cloud and affect the mind, a glamour it was called if he remembered aright. The thought led to another, somewhat more unwelcome one. Had Heero put a glamour on him? Maybe he hadn’t wanted to find the vampire… maybe it was just something Heero had done to him. Maybe he had really wanted to stay back in that shop with Treize and…

Duo rubbed the bridge of his nose. Well, this train of thought was getting him nowhere fast. He was just going to have to accept that his actions were his own or else he was going to give himself a massive headache trying to untangle the how or why they had become someone else’s. Besides, he was here now and there was no reason for him to stop after coming this far.

‘No reason except to save your own skin,’ that sardonic voice whispered again. The voice of practicality and common sense he supposed… He was really starting to hate that voice.

"Are you coming in or would you rather stand there all night?"

Duo blinked, noticing he was alone on the door stoop and pushed his way into the darkness. The door slid shut, kicking up a small cloud of dust, tickling his nostrils into a sound sneeze. Aside from the muted glow of a few white sheets, there was no light, no way to find his way. Hands out in front of him, he stepped, tentative steps, forward, trying to find some center or door or wall. No sound beyond that of his own breath, no light, nothingness enveloped him in a smothering cocoon. The beginning of worlds must have encompassed moments such as this. Moments where everything trickled down to the sweat slicking down his back, the sound of his blood rushing forward pumped by an overeager heart, and an impulse, perhaps newborn, searching with hands outstretched. Hands that lingered in a forever moment of space then were claimed by a cool grasp. Duo heard his own sigh of relief, allowing Heero to tug him gently forward, trusting him to see him through this when trust was that last thing that should have crossed his mind.

The room was not so large. It was only huge in its emptiness and dimness. Therefore it was with some relief when Heero walked him through one room and an adjoining passageway, his pace enough for Duo to easily keep up, his hand not recoiling from the remnants of earlier sweaty panic.

"Are these your rooms?"

"No, they’re just rooms." Heero shrugged or rather Duo thought he was shrugging from the way his arm lifted. It was hard to tell in this blindness.

"Oh."

Did vampires have some sort of underground chain of safe houses? Places to hide out or meet in? Duo wondered. It would make sense. There were things that had to be hidden, he supposed, for their safety, and for the safety of the humans surrounding them. Or did vampires interact with humans beyond being a happy meal? Maybe his meeting with Heero was a first. Maybe, but somehow he doubted it.

They finally came to a stop after what seemed like miles and hours later but what Duo’s internal clock ticked it off as three to five minutes tops. He was forced to shut his eyes against the violent blossom of light as Heero found and flipped a switch, false daylight finding a way to sear his eyes and his brain with relief. After the grays and blues and blacks unending, light was welcome even with the tears of pain its sudden emergence brought.

When he had blinked the pain away and the room came into focus, Duo made a quick scan of his surroundings. It wasn’t much at all. Just a few pieces of furniture covered with a dust cloth, some crates, and wires from long ago hanging off the wall.

"Glad this isn’t your place," he muttered.

Heero looked at him sharply. "One room is much the same as another."

"Yeah, right," Duo snorted. "Whatever happened to comfort?"

"Not all of us live in a penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side," Heero retorted.

"Excuse me, but I’m not some spoiled little rich boy, if that’s what you’re thinking," Duo sputtered, anger flickering for a moment. "My father was a priest or he was until he was defrocked. That doesn’t exactly make you eligible for great riches… Not these days."

One of those perfect dark brows lifted and Duo watched the vampire digest that little tidbit, wondering why he didn’t comment further. Instead, the boy’s face softened imperceptibly for just a fraction of a second, then he turned away, snatching the covers off a sofa and coffee table.

"You wanted to talk," Heero waved his arm at the sofa, indicating he should sit down. "So let’s talk."

Just like that. He expected Duo to just plop down and start spilling his guts or asking questions as simple as that.

‘And why not,’ that annoying little voice was back, ‘you followed him as simple as that. Didn't see you hesitating then. So why are you hesitating now? Don’t tell me you can’t think of a thing to say? Or is it you’re afraid of what he might ask you when you’re done.’

Yeah, no doubt about it, he was well on his way to hating that voice.

Duo shrugged, his tone glib. "Sure, I never was one for small talk anyway."

He took the pre-offered seat, staring Heero down until the vampire dropped down at the other end of the couch. The far, far end of the couch, glaring at him through mistrustful, strange eyes. ‘One of you is showing good sense,’ that annoying voice noted. ‘Too bad, it’s the predator and not the prey.’

‘But that was different, that was …’ Duo took a moment and forced himself to stop arguing with the voice inside his head. That way lay madness. Not that following a vampire halfway across town and being led into a lair was an action that pointed towards the path of sanity, but all things being equal, the former was worse. They had places for people who heard voices and argued with themselves . . . and by the time the night was through, he might be in need of one of those places, if he was alive at all.

Yet, he realized even as he thought it, that again, he didn't really fear death. Something deep inside of him, call it intuition or call it instinct, told him that if Heero had wanted him dead, he would be dead by now. Duo lived yet, so perhaps he wasn't the only one who wanted to talk or wanted to have questions answered. What questions the vampire could have for him, he didn't know, but he was curious to find out.

"You first." The words slipped out before Duo could stop them. Silly words, petty words, reminding him of children on a playground.

"Me first?" Heero phrased the question as though it was a foreign concept. "I never said that I wanted to talk."

"But you brought me here. You didn't have to. You could have left me back at the bookstore, but you didn't. You brought me here."

"It's private here."

"So are a million places we passed along the way. Why did you bring me here?"

"Why did you come?"

Impasse. "I really don’t know," Duo said honestly. "I wanted to talk to you, to see you again."

"Why?"

"I don’t know. Seemed like a good idea," he kept his voice light, kept his mask in place. "Guess I’m a strange guy."

"Yes."

"What about you? You normally invite your meals home with you?"

Heero’s face darkened. "I have. They usually don’t leave though."

"So, which one am I?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Duo stared at him. "You really know how to comfort a guy, you know that?" he replied when he finally found a voice.

"You asked," Heero returned. "Besides, I promised you would leave here unharmed. I keep my promises."

"I take it social skills aren’t high up on your list of important things," Duo grinned at him, liking his bluntness in spite of the nonchalant way he tossed off threatening words. "That’s okay, I like honesty myself."

"Do you? Then why do you lie to yourself?" Heero crossed his arms.

Duo stilled, smile still in place but his face felt stiff. "You’ve lost me."

"Have I? What do I need to spell out for you? You claim not to lie but everything you are is a lie. You hide behind smiles and pray that no one sees how much you hurt and how much you hate. How fast you’re dying and how scared you are of that. You hide by opening your arms to the world and pretending to be something you are not."

Each word cut and all Duo could do was sit there and feel each cut, feel the sear of the words and the blood they drew. If Heero was revenging himself in someway then he had picked a fine way to do it. Stripping away layer by layer of his armor, armor that Duo had worked years on and had fooled everyone else with, finding their mark beautifully in the tattered remains of his heart.

"But," Heero replied, voice softer, "Pretending to be something you’re not… I know something about that."

"Well, I guess we have something in common after all." There was more brine in that one statement than the sea could contain. He pushed at his bangs, "Shit, man, I’m sorry. I—"

Heero shook his head. "Forget it," he replied, curt. "What do you want to know? What I am? I think we both know that."

"Vampire. Nosferatu. One of the blood-sucking undead," Duo nodded, surprised that Heero actually flinched. "Tell me if I’m getting cold."

"If you knew all that then why the hell did you follow me? Why are you here? What do you want?" The words were rushed, a catch of something making Duo look closely at his companion.

Blue fires of hunger and need bored into him, his breath catching as he felt the force of those emotions contained and suppressed but at such a terrible cost. Pain. Terrible pain. Heero was suffering. Duo started, relentless realization hitting him. Heero was in pain because of *him*. Even if he didn't understand all the hows and whys, he knew it to be true.

He reached out, sliding his hand over the vampire's clenched ones. Heero jerked backward, nearly bolting over the sofa. "Don't," he grated.

"I want to help."

"You can't help me," Something twisted in Heero's face, some dark and devouring need that made Duo's spine ridge.

Duo watched him, realizing that any movement towards him would likely send him running for cover. So he made himself still, his voice open and soothing. "Are you so sure of that?"

"Don’t play games with me," Heero bit off. "Just ask your damn questions."

Ah the moment of truth. Duo hesitated a moment, his hand still hovering in the open void. Finally, he withdrew it, clenching his fist at his side. He backed up a few paces, putting the distance between them that Heero obviously wanted, even if distance was the last thing Duo wanted. His words would have to be chosen carefully and deliberately; he didn't want to give Heero the chance to turn the question against him, or find a way to avoid answering. He couldn't afford for that to happen.

"Why," Duo looked away from the dark gaze, but then looked back just as quickly, determined to not be cowed or stared down, "did you spare me?"

Evidently it was not the question Heero had expected to hear. "W-what?"

"Why did you spare me?" The words came more quickly this time. It was the question that had preyed upon him, the question that had occupied every waking thought since his waking up in that hospital bed, IVs in his arm and Relena hovering at his bed. "I wanted to die. I wasn’t putting up a fight. You… you were going to kill me, I think, but then you didn’t. So what I want to know is why?"

"Because you weren’t ready to go."

"What the hell does that mean?" Duo snapped. "Wasn’t I to your taste?"

Those last words tinkled in his ears, a sultry whisper of words followed by pain, a crushing force weighing on his neck and forcing the air right out of him… The moment passed and he found himself trying to swallow air, his lungs not expanding fast enough in the wake of that nightmarish wave.

Someone had him by the shoulders, tentative touches forcing him to calm down. Heero appeared suitably confused. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked.

"Damned if I know," Duo slumped down. Hell, these days freaky shit happening to him was just par for the course. "Go on."

"I’ve been a vampire for a long time. Longer than this city has been in existence, long before the English or the French set foot upon it in their race for land and riches. So long…" The glaze of centuries filmed those dark orbs with memory, hand tapping out some forgotten melody that only he could hear.

Duo watched him, entranced by how easily the other lost himself, more openly vulnerable now than ever. He mulled over his words, trying to imagine Heero in the silks and lace of an English gentleman of the early seventeenth century, his hair just a little longer and perhaps pulled away by a ribbon? Duo blinked, startled as the image rose, overlapping over the brooding youth. The blue eyes were perhaps just a bit brighter, merrier? And the hair… His fingers ached to touch that dark curtain of hair, stayed in place by a scrap of scarlet cloth, the blood of the cloth standing out in stark relief to the deep peacock of his coat. As he stared harder, trying to will more solidity into the flickering image, it misted away, leaving an older, harder pair of blue eyes staring back in wary concern.

"Sorry. I was just thinking," He crushed the skin just above his eyes and nose, letting the tingling rush it produced ground him. ‘What was all that about anyway?’

"Don't."

"Think?"

"Try," Heero looked away from him for a moment, his eyes going inward as he focused his mind upon some place and time that Duo did not know and could not see. "Mortals always want to know what we were like, how we acted . . . before. Don't try to think about me like that. I'm not that person. He's dead. He has been for a very long time."

"So, who are you?"

"Death."

"Cliché."

Heero shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm hardly the giver of life. And taking it … it's an addiction." The eyes flashed with the words, and Duo was reminded that he shared the room with a predator, one of a preternatural nature who could drain the life from his body in an instance. The reminder sent a chill that went straight to his core, but not out of fear of the vampire; rather, the chill came from the knowledge that he had no fear of the vampire. That, if the moment came, he would go willing into those arms, gladly baring his neck for the intoxicating pleasure that came from the deadly embrace.

Just thinking about it, his imagination and memory melding together, caused him to shudder and force himself to keep breathing.

‘Talk,’ Duo chided himself. ‘Answers. You came here to talk. You came here for answers. Get them.’

"How did you -- how did it happen?" Duo blurted out the question, in hindsight realizing that it was probably rude, too bold and too personal. Too late though, the inquiry was out in the open, and he could feel his face warming from embarrassment.

If Heero was offended, he gave no indication. He leaned back, his eyes seeming to soften, if that was at all possible. Again, he seemed to move away from Duo, moving away from this place to a past long gone, but never wholly forgotten. "How did it happen? Would you believe that it was a woman? Or is that another cliché?"

"A woman . . . made you?"

"Among other things."

The warning timbre in his voice told Duo that the conversation about those ‘other things’ was not only out of the question but closed before it even began.

Still, driven by curiosity if not by some suicidal impulse, he pressed on with just one more question on the matter. "What was her name?"

"Hilde." The word was wistfulness, regret, and resolve all wrapped up in one bitter pill.

There it was again. That strange, hurt feeling he had felt earlier in the bookstore at seeing the closeness between Heero and Treize. It took up residence in his chest, a hen pecking and pecking at all his sore spots until it was hard to breathe. No one had ever said his name the way Heero said this woman’s with all the shades and trembles of emotions that Duo could only hope to achieve. Hearing it from that flat monotone and the seeing the ability that name, that memory, had over him… Duo felt that pecking quickening with an emotion he was loathed to identify.

Jealousy.

He was jealous of people and place and things long dead. He was jealous of a female vampire and of the auburn-haired male he had seen earlier. And all because they had a hold over Heero, a hold that he couldn’t hope to compete with or even claim.

‘This is completely insane,’ Duo thought. That sniggling voice in his head snickered. ‘Told ya so.’

He ignored it in favor of listening as Heero continued. "We have to be careful these days. With computers and technology… It makes it harder to hide, to slip through the cracks. Even harder to feed when every body is catalogued."

"Some of us don’t. Hunt, that is. Some of us actually prefer taking their sustenance in what can be stolen from hospitals or blood banks or even from animals."

"But not you."

"No," he agreed. "I still hunt. Usually junkies or winos or the living dead, those people like you who want nothing more than a release from the pain of life. The people who won’t be missed."

"I wasn’t lying when I said you called me. I could feel your grief, your wish to die, above the thrum of the rest of humanity. I had never felt anything like. Never felt anything so strong. At the time, I didn’t question it. You were there, you were willing or so I thought."

"So what’s different? Why did you leave?" Duo repeated, the question more insistent each time he asked it.

"You," Heero admitted, searching his face. "You’re what’s different. I’ve been doing this for so long… Well, I know the ones who are ready to go or I thought I did. With you, I was wrong. And for that, I can’t even begin to make amends."

Duo shook his head, braid swinging its denial. "No, you weren’t wrong. I was ready to die. I wanted to because…"

"Because you wanted your guilt assuaged," Now Heero seemed more sympathetic. "It wasn’t your fault, you know."

"What?"

"Those deaths." In the blinking of an eye, Heero was closer to him, having bridged the distance between them with a speed that Duo's mind could not easily register. "They live in your blood, in your soul. I tasted them. I know how much guilt they carry, and how much you carry with you."

Duo attempted to back away, but discovered that he had nowhere to go. In front of him was this perfect predator, all beauty and grace, defiant and proud; behind him, a wall, hard and cold. He shook his head in denial of the words, words he had heard far too often, "You don't know anything about me. About that. You're a vampire, not a mind reader."

"I tasted you!" With a growl, the world rushed by. One moment, Duo stood defiant and ready to argue, the next, he was pinned to the wall, Heero's hands on his arms. "Lie to them! Lie to all of them, but don't lie to me! I tasted all your guilt, all your pain, all your fear … I know you better than you know yourself and you can't lie to me."

Had Heero been human, he might have been panting, his breath falling on Duo's ears in harsh rasps. But Heero wasn't human and the only thing that betrayed the vampire's desire was the dilated set of pupils just inches from his own and the hunger he felt coming off the other in waves. Not that Heero was going with it. No, if anything, he was fighting it with everything in him. Duo studied him, letting himself go limp in the other's grasp as he assessed the situation. Heero could take him anytime he wanted to; they both knew that. He was simply stronger and faster than Duo could ever hope to be. If he fought him, it was just as likely to push the vampire over the edge and this time, Heero might really kill him without meaning to. Duo found himself strangely reluctant to die. Not now. Not after stumbling onto a world he had never dreamed existed in the familiar causeways and walks of his city. Not after seeing Heero swallow him with those eyes, eyes that called to him with their pain and set him on fire with the lust he glimpsed there. Eyes that made him tremble and shudder both inside and out as they called attention to an equally potent fire that burned within Duo's soul.

His mind flickered back as he recalled their first meeting, and try as he might, he could not repress the shiver that rippled from his toes to the roots of his hair. Recalling that night should have given him some measure of wariness, but it did not. He had wanted to die that night, but in retrospect the memories of being in Heero's arms, the cool lips attached to his throat as the vampire pulled from him the very sustenance of Duo's life, only made him grow warm with . . . hunger.

Heero was not alone in his hunger that much was certain. He wanted what Duo offered to him, but Duo wanted as well. He hadn't known until now the true reason that he followed the vampire, he hadn't realized until now that he felt something -- still faint and in descript -- but some sort of connection to this beautiful creature of darkness that now held him at arm's length.

No, that wasn't true; he had always known, deep inside, what really drove him down the paths that led to him being in this place at this time. He had known it from the moment he stood before his bathroom mirror, recreating the insistent but wonderful pressure of the vampire's bite with his fingertips. Or perhaps he had known it before then. Perhaps he had known it the moment that he saw Heero on the balcony, coming to him like a fallen angel.

"You can let me go now," Duo was breathless, but more than that, he was surprised that he found the ability to speak at all.

Relief warred with disappointment as Heero did precisely that, not only releasing Duo, but shoving him away as he took several steps backwards.

"You have your answers," Heero said his voice full of harsh edges that would cut if Duo let them. "Now, get out."

"No. I don't have all my answers. Not yet."

Heero's blue eyes flashed with open frustration. "What more do you want from me?"

It was amazing how the distance between two people could be so far and so small at the same instant. Duo gave up trying to rationalize what was happening. The truth was, he didn't know. What he did know was that Heero wanted him and that he wanted the boy, vampire or no. This was like those suicide games he had played months earlier, those flirtations with death that caught him fast and furious. One cut would bring death, the other would leave him wounded but alive. Could he give himself to Heero, knowing that he might well lose control and kill him at this stage? Could he give anyone that amount of trust again?

He answered his own questions in a few swift steps, pulling Heero towards him, and watching those winter blue eyes widen, then dilate further as he pressed urgent, open-mouthed kisses against those cold, cold lips. Hands dug into his arms, and he thought perhaps Heero was getting ready to push him away again when he felt the flick of a fang against his lower lip. Duo started then pushed onward, running his tongue with a teasing flourish at the small opening Heero was giving him. There it was again, that sharp, cutting tooth. Duo ran his tongue up and down the surface of that elongated canine. He felt Heero twitch, a trembling racking up his body then transferring to Duo's like some exotic fever. So he liked this? Duo let his tongue wander over to the twin of the tooth he was making love to, feeling another violent shiver rack Heero. Those rough hands had transferred themselves from his arms to cupping his face, his tongue sliding out to meet his. Duo let Heero conquer his mouth for a few precious moments, enjoying the feel of his cool flesh inside him. If he enjoyed that simple joining, what would it be like to take in the rest of him? Would that preternatural coolness feel good...down there as well?

Duo was determined to find out.

Tongues battling, Duo forgot about breathing, forgot about anything except clutching the back of Heero's head, fingers running through the silk curls at the base of his neck. Once again, his tongue slid against one of Heero's canines, only this time, it scored the sharp point. His tongue stung, a warm bitter liquid welling up there. Heero's tongue ran over the wound, then back down, actually lapping at the tear. Duo thrust his tongue in deeper, letting the blood drip into the vampire's waiting mouth and moaning as the other boy tried to suck his tongue right out of his head. Not that Duo was complaining. No, those moans humming into the back of Heero's throat were definitely not complaints.

This went on for a few precious seconds, then Heero pushed him back at that damnable arms-length, obviously trying to regain some semblance of control. It was hard to bear especially watching Heero lick those reddened lips and realizing that some of the color belonged to him. His blood on Heero’s lips, his taste just as deeply in the vampire’s mouth as Heero was in Duo’s. His own lips throbbed anew at the thought.

"You’ve tasted my blood again, can you really stop now?" Duo husked, passion-shook fingers tracing those bruised lips, desirous to bruise them anew. "Is that what you want?"

Heero groaned, licking at those fingers pressed against him. "What I want," he hissed. "What I want."

His face seemed to hollow out, eyes hardening to a jewel-like sheen, canines sharpening and protruding just enough to rest against his lower lip. Duo blinked, fascinated by the minute changes he was seeing, changes that transformed Heero’s cold aura into something violent and wild, a bloody whirlwind that could not be tamed or caught. He no longer promised death… He was death. Death in blue jeans, death peering out under scraggly bangs and watching him with such hunger that it stole his breath. It was the culmination of every death wish, every flirtation a razor against his skin.

"You want this?" Heero rasped out, each word punctuated by a growl and a shake. "Is this what you want?"

"Yes."

The shaking stopped and he cracked his eyes to see Heero staring at him, struck and bleeding from an invisible wound. So much pain and so much wonder there. "Why?" he demanded. "Why?"

"Because you’re beautiful, because I can’t stop thinking about you, because…" The realization left him naked, open to the damage he had hid from for so long. "Because I need you."

The admission left him empty of everything except anger. Anger that he was forced to feel these things again, that Heero had forced him to care again. He raised his fists and slammed blows against those thin immortal shoulders. They were harder than he thought, the flesh absorbing the blows without even the slightest shock wave escaping. That only made him angrier. ‘Yes, poor little human,’ it seemed to taunt, ‘what can you do? You can’t even die properly and you think you can hurt me.’ "Dammit, dammit, dammit," he snarled. "What have you done to me! I can’t need you. I don’t need anyone. I won’t need anyone. Not ever again."

His words were slurring, soft breaths or sobs that he would not give voice to and he crowned each with still more ineffectual blows, wondering why Heero was letting this continue. Why he didn’t just kill him and have done with it, anything to end this misery, this hopeless desire that burned in him with no twin in his companion save hunger? Well, Duo could feed him, sate his bloodlust despite his need for something more. He was reaching, for some connection, some hope and Heero held it or withheld it. He was dead without it and if Heero was going to withhold it then the least the vampire could do was end this now.

He thought that fate had heard him when the vampire at last intervened. With movements faster than his eye could discern, faster than his senses could put reason to, his rain of blows was halted and he found himself slammed roughly against the wall. Two firm, cold hands burned the skin of his arms, holding him in place and the strong, muscular body pressed tightly against his own, making him tremble with yearning rather than with fear. He could not see the vampire's eyes, could only feel Heero's closeness, the sharp fangs pressing against but not breaking the tender skin on his neck.

The fangs pressed against the healing bruises, cold tongue flickering against the rapidly pounding pulse in his throat. Duo whimpered, not from fear but from eagerness, one single whimper that drew the dark head upward from his neck and with a swiftness that denied physics his mouth was captured, a prisoner beneath that glorious mouth. He responded, anxious, eager, reaching out with all that he was -- and giving a cry of protest when his heart's desire was taken from him.

The vampire studied him, one hand tracing the curves of his cheek and jaw with a tenderness that surprised Duo, and yet it was tenderness that his body, and the long dying parts of his soul responded to.

"I was right," Heero whispered, the words spoken so softly that Duo had to strain to hear them, "you are a witch."

"Heero…"

The word fell, captured as the distance between them once again closed. He nipped and teased the mouth against his, coyly nibbling those delicious corners. Heero growled, forcing his lips to part, hands loosening on his upper arms. Now that he had freedom of movement, Duo let his hands wandering, relishing the feel of hidden muscle and sinew as his fingers traveled over arms and chest, down lower until he felt the other boy’s abdomen tremble under his touch. He turned his face, letting Heero’s mouth graze his ear as he mouthed flesh, the other boy’s scent, rich and musky like sandalwood, spearing through him, an addict’s drug of choice. He shuddered as Heero traced his ear with tongue then teeth, claiming the soft flesh and nearly engulfing the outer shell of flesh there. He mewled, clinging to the vampire as Heero touched and found more sensitive spots around and on his ear than he had thought possible.

"Not…fair…" Duo managed. "Some of us haven’t had all that much practice with our mouths."

A deep chuckle rumbled in Heero’s chest then up until the shockwave reached Duo’s hands then up through his body to the ear Heero was lavishing so much attention on. He whimpered, thrusting his body up hard against Heero, rewarded by his lover’s sharp intake of breath. Duo took advantage of the pause, mouthing then biting down tenderly on the exposed flesh of Heero’s throat, lapping at an errant drop of sweat. He bit down just a tad harder, trying to mimick the wonderful sense of pressure he remembered from Heero’s mouth against his own throat, or his hands touching those marks.

"God, Duo." Heero buried his hands in Duo’s increasingly loosened braid, tugging his head back. Duo met his eyes questioningly, hands bunching and unbunching the rough fabric of Heero’s shirt.

"Don’t pout," Heero whispered, leaning forward to take Duo’s bottom lip between his teeth. A tentative, half-smile touched his face as he pulled back. "I’m just not sure how much longer I’ll be on my feet if you keep doing that."

Drawing in a shaky breath, Duo nodded, reaching down to twine his fingers with the vampire’s and tugging him towards the couch. Heero followed, predatory grace mixing with hesitant desire, as if he himself were uncertain of what to do or what he felt. Duo squeezed their joined hands, pushing Heero down first into the sofa’s embrace. Those cobalt eyes never left him, roaming his body with a hunger he felt in himself, felt travel through their clasped hands, a bind that Heero used to tug him down until he was, somewhat awkwardly, draped atop him, limbs twining and intertwining with no end in sight.

Heero gently pried his fingers from Duo’s grasp, reaching around to snag the tail of his braid and loosening it with such gentleness that he wasn’t aware the tie was gone until his hair fell forward, heavy and free. Long fingers stroked and combed their way through his mane, massaging his scalp and neck as they separated each hair into fineness. He closed his eyes, back arching to keep in contact with that tingling, strong touch. The action caused him to buck against Heero, eyes flying open as he felt the bulge of Heero’s erection, so insistent and immediate, pressing back against him. He paused then with a sly smile, thrust downward, biting his lip to hold in his own cry of pleasure, wanting to hear Heero. He wasn’t disappointed. Heero gasped, thrusting back in an automatic response, hands clutching the ends of Duo’s hair and digging into the base of his spine.

Duo kissed him, rubbing up against him again, loving the way he trembled beneath him, friction building between them. So tight… God, he was so tight and hard. A little more movement and …

Heero caught his hips, stilling them. The loss of that wonderful friction was so sudden he pulled back, pleasure bleared violet eyes cracking open. Heero leaned up, touching lips then letting them dust Duo’s face. Meanwhile his hands were toying then popping the buttons of Duo’s shirt, so that it fell open, just a sliver of his creamy chest becoming visible. Those cool hands stroked him, feeling their way down his neck, lingering to trace each ridge and rise of his collarbone then down further, over his chest. Duo gasped, gripping Heero’s shoulders at the first feel of that cool touch against his nipple. Light and circling the outer rim, then harder, fingers pinching and pulling. Nothing however prepared him for the rub of a rough tongue against those swollen, afire nerves. Or the way his teeth closed so swift and ruthless, tiny pinpricks of color exploding behind Duo’s closed lips as he felt their sting against his flesh, the pull of Heero’s mouth. Such a sweet, sweet feeling. Duo found himself graying out, overwhelmed by such a sexual rush he was surprised he hadn’t come right then and there. It was only when Heero lifted his head and Duo caught sight of a faint red jewel still lingering on his lips that he understood what had happened. Heero had fed from him and damn him, if Duo hadn’t enjoyed it.

Inclining his head, he darted his tongue out, brazing Heero’s lips and stealing that last drop. Warm, coppery, salt, he catalogued each taste, wondering if it tasted much different to him. He met surprised midnight-smoked orbs, fascinated by how many shades there he glimpsed. Passion dark, they were just about the sexiest thing he had ever seen. But he wanted more, more than just the promise he saw there, he wanted that promise fulfilled.

"Off," he grunted, tugging at Heero’s blue t-shirt, running his hands up velvety flesh, pale gold marble for his hands to mold and shape. He allowed Heero the opportunity to push back his loose jacket and shirt, hands splaying across his shoulder blades and spine, tracing along that cord until he was cupping Duo’s rear, kneading the flesh. Duo steadied himself, hands reaching for the button of Heero’s jeans, hesitating. A supple, reassuring hand covered his own and together they unbuttoned and unzipped, fabric sliding away. He pulled them over muscled thighs and legs, not daring to lift his eyes until he had flung them to the floor.

Before this moment, he had never seen another man naked. Oh, yeah, he’d seen himself naked but that was different. This was different and so were the feelings aroused in him. Duo realized with a start that this was the first time he’d given any thought that this was another man. Moreover, he found himself easily flinging away all conceptions of ‘proper’ sexuality. Heero was Heero and that was all that mattered.

Heero was beautiful, all sculpted planes and angles of muscle and skin that begged to be touched, with the proof of his desire standing so blatant against a thatch of glossy dark curls. Maybe Michelangelo could have sculpted better him better, but he didn’t think so.

Duo shed the rest of his clothes, khakis falling in a puddle around his ankles, head dipped and a blush spreading through his sudden self-consciousness. He peeked out from a golden brown curtain, gratified at the way Heero’s eyes stalked him. He slid down beside him, Heero catching his waist, and there was no room for thought as hands reached, yearning and finding, stroking to find just those spots. Duo reached down between their dewy flesh, wrapping nervous fingers around Heero and feeling his erection twitch and stiffen further in response. Heero groaned as he ringed the tip, teasing that reddened slit and letting his fingers coat with the pre-ejaculate there. He curling one hand around the base then sliding up, he used his other to cut and cradle Heero’s testicles together.

"Oh, God. Duo!" Heero was gripping the cushions of the chair, fabric tearing from the sound of it.

There was an explosion of movement and Duo found himself staring up at a rather dingy ceiling, water cracks drawing crazy squiggles and lines, and wondering just how he had ended up in this position. Heero leaned over him, wolfish as he claimed his mouth, tongue thrusting… Hell, his whole body was thrusting, his erection hard and hot searing Duo’s flesh as it pressed against him. His own erection throbbed in response, aching as he thrust, seeking some sort of release. Heero crawled his way down his body, mouth and hands everywhere, a wind that he could neither keep nor control. Down until…

Duo jerked upright at the first touch of Heero’s mouth against the head of his manhood. He moaned, thrusting up, enveloped by a cold, slick cavern and not finding it a deterrent in the slightest. Heero’s tongue traced up the length of his erection, applying pressure then denying it whenever Duo felt close. And it really didn’t help when he started stroking the inside of his thighs, feather touches to tease and torment. Coupled with that endless suction, the way Heero’s tongue beat against him, Duo felt himself tightening, moving inexorably towards climax. A climax that hit him as Heero’s fang gently scraped the edges of his length.

"Heero," he cried, hands digging into that dark tousled head, feeling those lips move around him still, milking him until he was dry but hungry. Oh, God, would this hunger ever end?

As if in response to that thought, Heero lifted his head, eyes wild with the hunger Duo felt, feral-seeming as those dark locks half hid his eyes, a light sheen of sweat and the scent of sex covering him…covering them both. In spite of himself, Duo felt himself twitch again at the sight and Heero smirked.

"Ohmigod," Duo groaned, reacting more to sight of that damn sexy smirk than the gentle kisses Heero was sprinkling along his abdomen and lower body. "You’re evil, you know that. You…"

That damn smirk widened just a bit and Heero licked his fingers, slowly, just enough so that Duo was forced to stop and watch wide-eyed, each touch, each coat of saliva and fluid against tawny flesh. With his unoccupied hand, he spread Duo’s legs further, rubbing comforting circles there.

"Have you ever…?" Heero let the question hang but Duo caught his drift immediately and felt his skin warm anew.

He shook his head.

"You might want to brace yourself," Heero said apologetically. "This may hurt just a little."

Duo gripped the arm and sides of the couch, much as Heero had earlier, and tried not to tense as he felt Heero’s hands quest downward, circling that ring of tight muscle. Closing his eyes and sucking a breath, Duo forced himself to relax. It was hard, harder still at the first burning penetration of Heero’s finger. He let go of a hissing breath, back arching, trying to back away from that invasive presence. Heero shushed him, cupping his face and deepening their kiss as his finger quested deeper. He took it slow, giving Duo time to adjust but he wasn’t used to this… Duo cried against their mouths as another finger joined the first, both burrowing deeper, searching as the burning in Duo’s body hit a fever pitch. Then Heero found it. Duo wasn’t sure what it was, something in him, some button or tab or something. Whatever it was, it made him see sparks and forget about wriggling away. Instead, he found himself pushing against those fingers, against the third one added, closing his legs and trying to draw them deeper.

He didn’t bother to stifle his disappointment as Heero pulled away, the wonderful pressure being created in him stilled. He reached out, determined to keep going when he found some harder and infinitely larger than a finger at his entrance. Heero stroked his hair, leaning down to whisper in his ear, soft sounds, perhaps words. He was too caught in the feel of being entered, of Heero’s cock pressing in him, further and further until his skin met that of Heero’s thighs. Duo let his back bow, languishing under the feeling of Heero, lost in the sounds of mixed groans and growls filling his ears. He spread his legs wider, forcing them to wrap around Heero’s slender waist and drawing him in.

Steadying himself, Heero began to thrust, shallowly at first, then picking up speed, drawing each thrust out until Duo thought he might scream before Heero moved again. He drew out until he was practically disengaged, then slammed back into Duo’s willing body, a body that rose to meet every thrust, as Duo scraped and clawed at his back. Heero sat back, pulling Duo with him until he was riding the vampire, setting his own pace and his hair bouncing with each beat of their lovemaking. Lips found lips, and Duo was the first to turn from that, feeling Heero’s mouth blaze down his neck, licking and sucking at the flesh there. Then he bit, flesh giving way before his advance as Duo’s body had. Duo dug his hands into the nape of Heero’s neck, lifting his face and continuing the relentless pace, the feeling of Heero’s cock inside him, stroking and pounding him with the added feeling of the delicious pressure of Heero’s mouth… He felt himself climaxing again for the second time that evening. He tightened around Heero, feeling a pulse then felt the other boy’s head hit his shoulder, body shuddering with his own release.

Duo was riding on pure sensation now, sagging limply against his lover and feeling him nuzzle his neck as he thrust a few precious seconds more before they both settled, minute tremors racking both of them, echoed by their joined flesh. Duo lifted Heero’s head, cradling his jaw and kissing him, once, twice before leaning forward and letting himself hang off of him, too exhausted to do much else. Strong arms wrapped around him, steadying him as they fell backward against the couch eliciting a soft creak from the ancient chair.

He had his answers now. More answers than he knew what to do with, and answers that only brought with them more questions. But those questions could wait until later. Everything could, and would wait until later.

He had everything he needed for the moment.

***

Green eyes stared at the building, listening with sensitive ears as the sounds of sex died away, leaving only the beat of a heart slowing with sleep, a mind radiating security and peace. He understood Hilde’s and Heero’s interest in this human. He was quite strong, quite extraordinary in his boldness. He had taken a gamble tonight and only luck had seen him safely through. Whether that would continue… Trowa shrugged. That was Hilde’s affair. He glanced at the sky, tasted the remains of the night. If he hurried, he had just enough time to get back and report this new development to her and return to his planetarium.

***End