I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song... With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
-Lyrics to "Hallelujah' performed by Jeff Buckley
Crimson Bonds Part 3
China was every bit as impressive as Broderick had expected.
And out in the suburbia stretched off the cusps of the Sông Shân mountain ranges, there was not the over-crowded hubbub to deal with. Instead, there were scenic backdrops of rocky peaks and crystal clear lakes with the ocean only a couple hours of a drive away.
Of course, none of these things would be dwelt on. They were all distractions from the goal in mind. Aside from the occasional visit to the sites for research, there would be little time spent taking in the sights.
Stepping into his apartment, the Hunter lowered his two bags of luggage. Light traveling. It was required on this mission, allowing him a quick get away if he ever needed to pick up and leave town within a moment's notice. Such a thing had yet to come to pass, but one always needed to be prepared. And Broderick Dawson was always prepared for anything.
When the weapons, clothes and laptop were secured away, the stocky man took the time to actually assess his place for however long he decided that stay in China would be worth his presence.
From top to bottom, the rooms of his lavish penthouse hotel quarters were fashioned to appear more industrial than cozy. The appliances, tables and edges of the furniture were metallic and even the large windows were structurally purposeful as opposed to artful.
It was just as Dawson wanted. A reminder that he was here on business and not pleasure. He would be able to keep his focus, hence his detailed search for such a space.
Perhaps others on the hunt were a little more excited by the perks of travel enough to actually enjoy a few lavishes. But they were also not the best of the best. Those who sacrificed a bit of luxury were in and out of their target zones and onto the next.
Covering ground was what concerned Broderick. Everything else only got in the way.
And what he gave up was worth his being able to land in this particular hot spot before any other. Standing before the great window overlooking the countryside, he muttered under his breath, "The old stomping grounds of Wufei Chang. I look forward to seeing what secrets I might uncover here."
* * * * * *
Running a hand through his hair, Treize released a deep sigh of relief as he sagged heavily into the couch that he had risen from for the news he had just received. "Thank God for small favors," he smiled tiredly.
Quatre chuckled deeply, "We thought that you would be happy with the test results." Nodding, Relena giggled at his side. Instinctively, they walked over to the flanking sofa where Zechs and Noin were posted.
Her hand reaching over to take hold of one of Treize's atop his lap, Lady Une squeezed it. "Thank you for looking into that so quickly for us, dear," she praised the scientist. Under her breath, she muttered, "It is very good to know that we have one very big less thing to worry about than what we are already facing."
At that, the returned Councilwoman frowned deeply, "You are a great deal more stressed over these upcoming meetings than you were prior to our leaving. Has something new developed since we have been away?"
It was her brother to reply with a frustrated growl, "A new memo was just released to all board members that there is a new angle to be taken for a push in opposition to the Harvests and to tighten the registrations."
Noin hissed, "Our dear friend, Senator McAdams has taken this matter by the horns. He will be making opening and closing arguments in support of these changes to the policies monitoring all Vampires."
An audible groan came from Relena at the name. Nancy McAdams made no apologies for not trusting or caring at all for the Infected. If ever a sanction was suggested that put additional restrictions on the immortal beings, she was always behind it in some fashion.
If she were able to have her way, there was little doubt that she would have preferred all Vampires be either removed from the face of the planet or forced to live amongst only their own behind high, guarded walls not unlike the Jewish ghettos that the Nazis had arranged during the days of the Holocaust.
Having such opposition to the Infected on the Council was a necessary evil so that all representation of humans had a voice. But it was also quite the pain that such an extremist could have found their way into a seat of any power.
Still, just as Relena had assured her friends earlier, any even remotely in agreement with McAdams were greatly outnumbered in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Suggested laws from their camp were always shot down by an overwhelming majority who allowed the history of peaceful coexistence between mortals and Vampires to weigh their decisions.
"Have you begun your counter arguments?" Relena asked her cousins.
Treize smirked, "Of course. I hope that you do not mind canceling any other plans that you may have had for the next couple of days and nights so that we may all sit and work out the details of our statements before we resume council."
Shrugging, the immortal young woman grinned, "Such were my only plans to begin with." Upon that, the family rose to their feet and filed from the room to ascend to their private meeting quarters that was the top floor of their mansion.
Relena remained behind to kiss Quatre soundly. "I hope that you do not mind my absence for the next few days, love," she told her husband softly.
With a loving smile, Winner replied sincerely, "I know how important this is. Between my books to read and samples to study, I can always entertain myself. We will just have to have fun making up for the lost time when you have worked out your arguments to send McAdams back into her corner for a while again."
"You know I will make good on that," Peacecraft grinned wickedly and closed in for a deeper kiss. When they separated, the Vampire winked to her Companion and slipped out of the room to catch up with her family.
Rubbing the back of his neck as he stared after his wife, Quatre sighed deeply to himself, "Nothing is ever easy for these poor creatures."
Before he became too down, he opted to collect his digital reader and proceeded to bury himself in a few books for the next stretch of hours to occupy his thoughts.
* * * * * *
Days Later...
With a deep sigh content, Anna lay stripped of anything to cover her body save for her long hair. Lying on her side, she stared out at the water running off the sides of the mountain across the wide gully stretched out before her in great falls.
The cliff where she and her husband were stretched out led on to an amazing tapestry of lush grass and moss speckled with a variety of colorful flowers here and there amidst the rock formations of the high peaks of the lower tipped ranges.
It was all a private little corner of the world that had been stumbled upon by the pair not long after they had first moved back to Switzerland years before. And it had become their favorite getaway to leave everything else behind for a while.
At the tightening of the arm draped across her thin waist, the Irish Infected giggled and leaned back against the naked, scaly body pressed flush against hers. Closing her eyes, she asked softly, "Finally sated, love?"
Even as she asked the question, she could feel the fresh reminder of the recent bite at the side of her neck. Were her body able to bruise and ache like a normal human, she knew that she would have been sporting quite a few marks and a limp for days after their most recent love making session.
"You know I can never get enough of you, Anna," Wufei chuckled huskily as he raised his head enough to kiss her cheek. "I am just soaking everything in." Nodding, the redhead let out a low hum of agreement and they went back to taking in their surroundings and the serenity of it all.
It had been five whole days and nights of heaven for them. Just enough to rejuvenate them before the call of the most honored and sacred responsibilities called them back.
Under her breath, Anna announced, "We should get back to our family." Grunting an affirmative, Chang nodded and released her only after they shifted enough to share in a deep kiss first.
Slowly pushing herself back up to her feet, the Irish Vampire made her way to the small pile of clean clothes waiting for her.
Taking her time to pull her hair back into a high ponytail before bothering to dress, she continued to look out to the roaring falls a couple miles on the other side of the gully. Unbeknownst to her, Wufei had paused to admire the view that her nude body made against the colorful backdrop.
A sigh escaping him, the scaly Infected slowly walked up and wrapped himself around her from behind.
Blinking widely, Anna quickly eased against him once more with a warm smile when he rested his head on her shoulder and whispered by her ear, "I often find myself frustrated in not having the right words to tell you how exactly much I love you."
The redhead gasped softly, turning her head to meet the onyx-and-gold eyes focused on her. Shrugging, her husband went on, "That sentiment on its own is not enough to convey everything I actually feel. But then, I don't think that the right thing to say would ever be invented."
Her surprised expression melting into a profoundly loving one, Anna giggled through the shimmer in her eyes.
"Well, you just did a pretty damned nice job explaining it there," she breathed. In a blink, she spun herself in her soul mate's scaly arms to hold him back and captured his lips for a fierce kiss that conveyed everything she longed to get across to him.
Easily the most wonderful thing for the Siren was that her past fears and doubts had been long buried, leaving her to only take in every sentiment from her Chang as true. There was never a question or hesitation in accepting whatever he had to offer her, matching her own intense adoration and conviction towards him.
Now with nothing in the way of their love, it really felt as though there was nothing that the world could possibly throw at them that they could not handle together.
Pulling back, Anna chuckled as her husband reached a hand up to wipe away a couple of stray tears from her cheek with the pad of his textured thumb.
"Alright," Wufei snickered as he roughly wiped away his own large droplet that had broken past his defenses. "We better get dressed and back home before we end up spending another near week out here and the kids start wondering if they're ever going to see us again."
Thee Irish immortal laughed, "Good idea."
Pecking the end of her Chosen's nose to seal their agreement to return to their sacred parental roles, she bent at the waist and dressed quickly. Nimbly set to her task, she slipped into her purple tank top, jean shorts and sneakers before anything else could possibly stall her.
By the time she peered back at the Chinese Infected, he was already wearing his dark brown T-shirt, jeans and work boots. Mentally, he mused over why they had even bothered to pack changes of clothes when they'd spent most of the time away naked.
A wide smile spreading across her face, Anna challenged, "Race you back home. No using any powers to cheat!"
Raising an eyebrow, Chang smirked, "You're on."
Side-by-side, they vanished in blurs of themselves.
* * * * * *
"Uncle Heero?"
Peering up from his focus on the comb that he was running through the last few strands of Mao's wavy dark hair, the Original was met by the girl's blue-and-gold eyes. "So, you bit my Mommy to turn her, right?" the child in his lap questioned, her face the picture of curiosity that every little seven-year-old had.
With a firm nod, Yuy smiled, "That's right." His practiced fingers made efficient work in separating thick chunks of her locks to begin braiding them together.
The inquisitive look deepening in though, Mao went on, "Then mommy bit daddy to turn him."
Humming in agreement, the Japanese immortal twined the ends together and secured them with a thin rubber band as his niece frowned, "But Uncle Trowa and Aunt Midi don't have the same blood ties if they weren't bitten by any of you then?"
When there was not an immediate response, she tilted her head, pressing on, "Don't all families have some kind of blood connection? At least that's the lesson my home school books are saying."
Standing atop a step stool to reach the top of the bookcase at the far end of the living room with her duster, Midi peered over her shoulder with a sadness in her eyes as she continued listen in. Perched on the couch below the shelving unit, Trowa lowered the book that he was reading to take in his 'cousin' and 'niece.'
The remainder of the youngsters were lying about the floor with their toys, coloring books and other means of entertainment when they turned their attention to their sister. And even Duo sitting amongst them looked a bit uncomfortable as to how to proceed in the discussion.
Already sensing where the girl's musings were headed, Heero chewed on the inside of his cheek and stammered, "Well... y-yes... that is true-"
Cai lowered the building blocks that he had been playing with to tell his twin, "Momma told me that family does not always have to have blood ties, Mao. She says Uncle Trowa and Aunt Midi are every bit a part of us as they would be if they were bitten and they always will be because we all want them to be."
Nodding, Solo added, "That's right, sis. Mom and Dad both said that they're even more special that way 'cuz they were asked to be part of us without having to be Chosen's or nothin'."
Rosie, Ian, and Fiona all blinked widely in reflection before beaming and resuming their games. If their biggest brother present confirmed their parents' words, that was all that they needed to hear.
Taken aback, Midi could feel her face splitting with the warm, close-mouthed smile that etched across her face. Reaching up to wipe away a stray tear, she went back to her cleaning. Trowa cleared his throat to remove the small lump that taken form as he grinned to himself and returned to his book.
Relieved to have been saved by the boys, Yuy exchanged a proud smirk with his lover before training his cobalt-and-gold eyes back on the little one in his lap. "Did that answer your question, Mao?"
"Yep!" she chirped brightly. And there was no doubt that she would never have the need to ask it again. Taking hold of the end of her braid for a close appraisal, she quickly spun herself to throw her arms around the Original as she exclaimed, "Thank you, Uncle Heero!"
Chuckling deeply, the Japanese Infected helped her down to the floor and she hurried to pull herself up onto the opposite couch to curl up against her Uncle Trowa. Never missing a beat in his reading, Barton snickered and draped an arm around the child. Running a hand over her hair, he shook his head in amusement.
Suddenly, Ian's impeccable hearing picked up the low whooshing sound that was coming towards the house.
"Mom and Dad are home," the ten-year-old announced with a wide smile as he sat upright from his handheld videogame. Not needing to be told twice, the little ones bolted off through the front door in blurs of themselves at only a heartbeat's warning for their babysitters.
Duo snorted, "Fast little buggers, that bunch." That said, he was off on their heels in a blink with the rest of the family right behind.
Once they all materialized on the front porch, the lot caught sight of two streaks quickly approaching the cottage cluster. One was ahead of the other bolt by more than five body-lengths and highlighted by a familiar streak of red.
That swirl reached the front steps of the estate only to turn back to collide with the other blur, making them collapse and spiral across the grass until Wufei appeared on his back with Anna straddling him.
"Yes! I win again!" the redhead cheered, throwing her arms in the air. Leaning down so that their noses were almost touching, she smirked, "Still haven't gotten the best of me in a fair race yet, love."
From the porch, Solo coughed to gain his parents' attention and grinned, "Uh, Mom... what ever happened to your teaching us be gracious winners?"
Anna folded her arms across her husband's chest as she peered up to the boy, smiling, "My dear boy, it is very important to be good winners as well as good losers to be good sportsmen. And that is how I would hope you would all act."
Tapping her snickering mate's chest, she continued, "But this is your father. And he is the same person who would gladly cheat with any number of the powers he can mimic unless I specifically say that we are racing without that kind of help... which is the only way he can beat me. So, in cases where I once again prove he can never best me at running, I am going to rub it in his face every chance I get."
Solidifying the point, she stuck her tongue out at the laughing, scaly Infected beneath her.
Happy to join in on the pile up, the children descended the porch steps to wrap themselves around their parents until they were all pulled into a heap of hugs, kisses and tickles in their reunion.
Trowa stepped down to the lush grass alongside his wife, calling over the commotion, "Alright. We're coming in!" Reaching Anna first, he helped his cousin to her feet an yanked her into a fierce embrace that took her by surprise for only a moment before she held him back in kind.
While Midi took her husband in with the same vigor, the Irish Infected inquired worriedly, "Is everything okay, cousin?" Shaking her head, she corrected, "Not to suggest that it's a surprise to have you be so openly affectionate-"
The Original winked his visible green-and-emerald eye, grinning, "Midi and I were recently reminded of just how special we feel being a part of this family. And we have been missing the two of you while you were away." He shrugged , "I wanted you to know how good it is to have you home again."
While she might not have completely transpired to stir those words, Anna was not about to complain. Beaming, she threw herself around Trowa for another tight hug as Midi giggled and awaited her turn with her cousin.
Sighing deeply, Heero wrapped his arms around his lover's waist from behind an pulled him back flush against his chest as they watched the sweet scene. Duo bit his lip in hesitation before asking in a whisper, "So... given any more though to whether or not we're ready for this?"
"I have," Yuy responded. "And if it is alright with you, I think we should request a meeting with our siblings after they're settled back in." Blinking widely, the Companion turned his head back to stare into his lover's gold-rimmed eyes.
There was only the utmost conviction to be found in the Vampire's gaze.
His face breaking out the widest smile he could muster, Maxwell spun in his partner's arms to thank him with a passionate kiss.
Whatever happened, at the very least they could rest assured that they were going to seek out the only missing link to their sheer joy in their existences together. And they would face it all side-by-side as their souls had vowed from the moment they had met.
In the end, that was all that truly mattered.
TBC...
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