Crimson Ties Part 14

His hands shaking, Duo read through the article in his hands. Sitting on the edge of his chair, his glaring eyes ran over the words that were blurring from his seething rage.

An unfortunate accident. That was what the report had claimed the incident at the Harvest to be. A miscalculation in the background checks that would be remedied immediately to never happen again.

Well, a lot of fucking good that did him! Such an 'accident' should never have happened.

There was a reason why those cobalt-and-gold eyes seemed so familiar the first time he saw them. Wherever the warmth that he felt from them came from, it was all a farce. Nothing good could come from that damned creature that had killed his parents.

Face reddening, the braided teenager's fingers clenched so roughly onto the pages enough to crinkle them. Finally, after all of these years, he knew the identity of the true monster that had destroyed his life. And that bastard had the nerve to try and win him over.

Heero Yuy could go fuck himself! Nothing could redeem him from what he'd done. Duo was going to make good on letting the Vampire know exactly what he thought of him, and he would demand to never see his vile face again.

The slight ache in his heart at the thought of being without the presence of the Infected would pass. It would just have to. He would never be able to have a kind thought for the wretched immortal.

A glance at the clock revealed to Maxwell that needed to leave if he wanted to get to the library in time for class. Folding the article and stuffing it in his backpack, he stormed from the room to slam the door closed behind him.

Somehow, through his red-rimmed vision, the braided living was able to navigate from Excalibur and up the hill for the library. Only when he walked through the opening doors to feel the heated entrance did he realize that he'd reached his destination. Slowly scanning the first floor, he found his target typing at one of the computers at the librarian's station.

Raising his head, Heero began to smile when he spotted Duo in his approach. That grin quickly faded as his golden cobalt eyes widened and expression became one of concern when he took in the tension of the boy's body. Even at the distance between them, he could feel the burning heat of untold anger radiating from him.

As he propped his hands on the edge of the counter, the mortal leaned forward to hiss under his breath, "Out back after my class is done. We need to talk."

Taken aback, Heero blinked and swallowed hard before he nodded firmly, not about to risk upsetting his Other anymore than he already was by asking questions. Whatever Duo wanted, he would have it, even if the Infected was clueless to what that was at the time.

Pushing himself upright, Maxwell clutched the straps of his backpack draped over his shoulder and turned on his heels to stomp off, completely oblivious to the people quickly getting out of his way.

Still fuming, he descended the stairs and headed into his classroom to claim his usual desk. And blessings of blessings, Sylvia even seemed to get the hint to not talk to him as she blinked her widened eyes and quickly removed her books from her desk.

Gripping his own pen and notebook, Duo awaited the arrival of Professor G and willed himself to somehow focus through his rage to pay attention to his lesson. Once his class was over, he could deal with his demon that had haunted him for a decade once and for all.

...It was going to be a long hour and ten minutes until then.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Meiran hummed to herself as she dabbed a bit of perfume at the base of her slender neck. Adjusting the straps of her sky-blue dress, she stepped back to have a look at herself in the tall wall mirror.

The short skirt of her outfit just covered her pert rear and accentuated her toned legs while the sweetheart neckline of her dress curved her breasts perfectly. Pulling her black, long hair up in a clip she let the excess fall in romantic wisps and stepped into a pair of black heels.

Yes, everything was put together perfectly to make Meiran just the person to console Heero when he returned from his day at work. There was no doubt that he was in for an unpleasant run in with his Other. He was going to need her supportive and supple presence to deal with the grief of letting his childish crush go.

Giggling to herself, the beauty slipped from the confines of her room to take the stairs down into the entrance way of the mansion. On her way to the door, she was stopped when a familiar voice called, "Meiran?"

Her teeth gritting, the raven-haired Infected turned to watch as her cousin walked up. Forcing a smile, she greeted her cousin, "Hello, Relena. I was just heading out to visit the Yuys and Bartons."

An eyebrow raising, the blonde Vampire asked, "Dressed like that? It seems a bit... much for a casual visit as opposed to a night on the town." Folding her arms, she frowned, "I do hope you're not hoping to harass Heero again." The tone of her voice made it known that she already suspected as much, regardless of what the answer was.

"Dear cousin," Meiran gritted as she folded her arms across her chest, "Do try to give me a little more credit. I'm hardly the desperate type. I could have whomever I want. Clearly, Heero does not see me for a suitable mate and that's fine. I simply wish to stay in touch with our own since, as Treize says, we really should stick together."

Relena took a deep breath and physically backed off at that, her face softening a bit. "Very well," she conceded. Grinning, she shrugged, "Then you wouldn't mind my coming along with you. I only had a brief moment to reunite with them yesterday and I missed them over the course of my time at Council."

Trying to conceal her disappointment, the Chinese Vampire shrugged nonchalantly, "Great." Inside, she fought the urge to growl and protest.

So much for trying to be an open outlet of support. Now knowing that there would be eyes on her, Meiran would have to watch herself with her reaction and her behavior around Heero. But no matter, there would be a time for her shot at him... it would just be a little more delayed than she would have liked.

Family really could be such an annoyance sometimes.

*   *   *   *   *   *

No one bothered to say a parting word to Duo when class was dismissed. And he was glad for it. Shoving his books and pen into his backpack, he gave his teacher and classmates time to leave the library before he set off out of the room.

There did not need to be witnesses to what was about to happen. This was between him and Heero alone.

Pushing his fists into the pockets of his jeans, the braided teenager took to the stairs and headed out through the sliding front doors without so much as a glance around to be sure that the Vampire was not waiting for him inside. Somehow, he just knew that Yuy would abide his demand and be outside for his arrival.

Life continued on normally for the students around. No one stopped to watch Maxwell, conversations already taking place went on without pause and games being played in the field continued on as he rounded the library to step into the thick cover of tall bushes and vines away from all ears and eyes.

Even the heavens seemed to react to the storm within his heart, filling with an overcast of dark and billowing clouds that blocked all of the sun's warm and bright rays. The world had turned as dark and cold as his life had become at the loss of his parents. Now, there would finally be a sense of closure to that.

The time had finally come for Duo to banish the monster that had pulled him down into the depths of Hell back into the flames that he came from.

Pushing aside a branch of leaves, he found the demon standing in wait with a blank expression. The sight of that face had the living reacting without a thought and his fist wheeled around his body to slam onto Heero's jaw. Only turning his head slightly from the force of the blow, the Infected kept his eyes away and face turned as his Other bellowed, "You son of a bitch!"

Tears filling his eyes, Maxwell's whole body shook when he threw his backpack aside to stand close to his enemy. "You're the one who took my parents from me!" he growled. "All this time you've been trying to charm me, impress me with your family when you kept this secret the whole time! There's no not a chance in hell you didn't recognize me!"

Heero bit his lip, closed his eyes and whispered, "Duo, I-"

"Not another fucking word from you!" the teenager cried. "I can't even stand the sight of you, let along the sound of your voice! You destroyed everything, my childhood, my future and whatever I could have had as a family!"

Slowly turning his head to look on his chosen, Yuy remained silent as his expression shifted to one of sadness. At the sight of that, Duo's glare heated even more and he snapped, "Don't you dare show me any sympathy. You're not going to weave whatever the hell kind of power you've had over me again. Never again! You no longer have the right to hold anything over me anymore... not when you've done plenty of that by robbing me of a normal life!"

Nearly unable to control his tremors, he finally stepped back to pant for air while the tears rolled freely down his face. "I hate you," the living gritted. "And even the word 'hate' doesn't begin to scratch the surface of how much I loathe you and everything about you."

Straightening himself, Maxwell took a deep breath and slowed his words to make sure they were clear as he declared, "I never want to see you again. Whatever the cost, make sure our paths never cross from here on out. Do you understand me?"

With a firm nod, the Vampire replied quietly, "I do understand. And you have my word that you will never be in my presence again." Bowing his head, he rounded his Other and walked through the foliage to disappear through the cover of the greenery.

The moment he was alone, Duo let out the breath that he had been holding as his body all but completely collapsed at the release of the tension that had wound him tight enough to stand upright. Catching his hands on his knees to keep himself from falling over, he crouched down to pull in more deep pulls of much-needed air.

A moan escaping him, the braided youth slapped his hand over his mouth at the lurch of his stomach to empty its contents. Only barely managing to swallow down the bile, he shuddered violently. His face drenched by tears and sweat, he shakily rose again to take hold of his backpack again.

Numb from head-to-toe, he moved through the vines and branches to take a back road for Excalibur. Last thing that he needed was to be seen broken like this. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this shattered right down to his soul.

...Well, no... he remembered the last time. And it also involved Heero Yuy. Damn that creature to Hell without mercy for his soul, if he still had one.

'Of course he has a soul,' a nagging voice sighed. 'You saw how sad he looked back there.'

Shut the fuck up!

When only blissful silence answered him, Duo sighed deeply and washed his damp face with his hands. The tears were still coming. Why was he still crying when he should have felt relieved? He should have been reeling with empowerment, liberation?

This feeling of loss was so out of place. It was like he'd lost his parents all over again... only this was something felt even more dear to him that left him feeling like a hollow shell of himself in its absence. He couldn't explain away the hole that he felt in the pit of his chest as if someone had reached in to tear his heart out.

Shoulders sagging heavily, the braided teenager practically dragged his bag into the dormitory and up the stairs to his room. Unlocking the door only through auto-pilot, he stepped inside and allowed his belongings to fall away as he sealed off his quarters again.

Then, crawling onto his bed, he buried his head in his pillow to muffle his loud sobs as he cried.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Anna smiled to herself as she stepped into her home at nightfall following an extended shift at the hospital. Pulling her hair up with a violet ribbon that one of her youngest patients had gifted her at the ICU following an accident that morning, she moved through the first floor as she called, "Wufei? Where are you, love?"

There was no immediate response. Not exactly a common thing since her husband knew her shift and always was around to greet her back home.

Smirking, the redhead headed for the stairs to climb them. "Is this a kinky version of hide-and-go-seek that you're playing?" she guessed. Her teeth growing in, she chuckled, "I'm definitely up for the challenge."

Just then, the sound of the front door opening had her freezing in place. Wide-eyed, she peered over the railing to see Wufei walking up quickly. "Anna," he sighed deeply.

At the look of worry and urgency on his scaly face, the female immortal's fangs reeled back. "What is it, love?" she frowned deeply, descending the steps she'd climbed in a couple of bounds as his hands rested on her shoulders.

"It's Heero," Chang sighed deeply.

That was all Anna needed to hear. Swallowing roughly, she walked side-by-side with her husband in rushed steps from their house. In that brief walk to her brother's mansion, Wufei quietly brought her up to speed on everything he knew about their clan leader's meeting with Duo hours before.

By the time they reached the house, the redhead was keeping her emotions together by a thread. Grasping her hand, Chang led her around the back of the dark-hued mansion to enter through the hidden door there.

When they passed by the dining room, Anna almost lost the fight to cry at the sight of Treize, Lady Une, Zechs, Noin, Relena and Meiran sitting around as they spoke quietly amongst themselves. Trowa and Midi were with them, their eyes reddened from tears that they'd already cried.

The whole scene was all too like one at a funeral- the families and friends of Heero gathering together to mourn his loss. And in many ways... the Irish Infected knew how what had happened to her brother was no better than him actually being taken from them.

He'd been sentenced to death by Duo's rejection.

Climbing to his feet at the sight of the new arrivals, Treize sighed deeply and opened his arms to Anna. All but collapsing into them, she clung onto him and whimpered against his shoulder. Lady Une was there in a blink, lightly running a hand over her dear friend's wet, red hair as Relena stepped close with a deeply saddened expression on her face.

"Heero is going to need your guidance through this, our Celtic Rose," Khushrenada whispered in the ear of the Vampire shaking in his embrace. "You've been in his shoes before, so you understand what he's going through."

It was a charge that Anna had expected. And her mind was already set to the task of helping her brother as best she could before anyone else needed to make the suggestion.

Pulling away from the Chairman, she took a needy breath and nodded firmly to him. Gently cupping the side of her face, Treize smiled sadly, "Good girl. We will give you some time alone with him, but do not hesitate to reach us if you need anything."

As he turned to find Trowa and Midi behind him, he requested, "Please keep us updated. I want to know any and every change in Heero's condition. Our plan to handle our other situation will wait until we know that he'll be alright."

Unwinding her arms from their hold around her husband, the brunette sniffled and hugged their representative tightly. Anna went through the motions of thanking and embracing their honored guests and friends. Not really taking anything of it in, she could only think of wanting to see her brother.

While the rest of her family exchanged their parting words, the redheaded Infected walked towards her husband in the doorway. Pulling her close, Wufei gave her a chaste kiss, one that still managed to convey his love and sympathy for the situation. "Go to him," he breathed when they pulled away.

Nodding, Anna reluctantly slipped from the security of his arms and moved down the hall. From the other side of the dining room, Noin looked on and shook her head as she said softly to her sister-in-law, "This is just terrible. I can't see how Heero will ever be able to win his Other over now, knowing what he now knows."

Her gold-and-blue eyes turning onto Meiran as her cousin pressed the front of her dress down at the back of the group, Relena replied just as quietly, "One can only hope that there be some way. We've seen all too many times that the tie between a Vampire and their Other can stand the test of fires."

With any luck, such would be the case for Yuy. In the meantime, the blonde Vampire was going to make sure to keep an eye on her cousin. She really did not want to think so badly of Meiran as to accuse her of being responsible for this fallout... but then, she also did not believe in coincidence.

Regardless of who was responsible for Duo's discovery, the raven-haired immortal would have to be watched to keep her from overstepping her boundaries at a time like this.

Meanwhile, Anna stepped into the doorway of the darkened living room. Not needing a light to see her brother sitting on the recliner, her gold-and-blue eyes took in his sunken frame as he stared through the large window just beside him. It'd been years since she'd seen him with such a lost expression on his face.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, the redhead stepped into the room with a quiet, "Heero?" A soft gasp escaped her when he turned his shimmering cobalt eyes onto her. "Oh, Heero," she whispered as she sat in his lap so that they could cling onto each other tightly.

With a soft sob, Yuy buried his head in her shoulder and gave into the tears. "I... I don't think I can survive this pain, Anna," he managed as his voice cracked. Simply talking, reminding himself of Duo's words that came to him with such hatred tore him in two all over again.

"I'm here," his sister reassured him, her own tears falling silently as she rubbed the back of his head. The feeling of the trembling of his body nearly undid her. "We're all here for you, Heero. Just let it out. I'm not going anywhere."

Staying like that for some time, the siblings simply held onto each other in the darkness as they had countless times over the course of their existences when each other was all that they had. Only then, it was Heero who'd been the strong one most of the time. Now it was Anna's turn to take the helm.

And she was going to do everything in her power to keep him from falling away into the abyss.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Quatre avoided returning to his room as long as he could since he'd received Trowa's warning text of what had happened between his friends earlier that day. Duo would need his space while Winner wanted nothing more than to be out of harm's way until his roommate was ready for company.

Carefully approaching the door, the blonde unlocked it and stepped inside to find the braided teenager typing away at his laptop as he sat up in his bed. The glow from the screen was the only light to be found, but it was bright enough to make it easy to navigate through the small quarters.

Of course. Class assignments. They were always used as a means of distraction whenever Maxwell had a lot on his mind that he needed to escape from.

And judging from the redness in what should have been the whites of his friend's eyes, he'd left the other lights off out of necessity. Brightness would have irritated his vision after crying for what appeared to be a long time.

Maybe it was still too soon for his return to the room, Quatre thought to himself. But since he was halfway through the entrance, he fully committed himself to stepping inside and closed the door behind him.

His fingers never pausing in their typing, Duo peered over his computer monitor and greeted casually enough, "Hey, Quat."

Smiling, the blonde nodded firmly, "Hello, Duo." Instead of potentially muddying the waters by asking his roommate how his day was, he set to lowering his backpack and changing into his nightshirt and shorts as he did his best not to show his concern.

This was bad... for both parties involved. If Maxwell was escaping by burying himself in work after a long spell of tears, Quatre dreaded wondering how Heero was faring.

Just as his head rested on his pillow, Winner stiffened under his covers when the braided teenager said, "Hey, Quat, do me a huge favor, man?"

There was a pause as if he was silently second-guessing what he was about to say before he cleared his voice and requested firmly, "I don't want to get into why, but don't mention Heero Yuy around me again."

Bad was not the right word to describe this situation, the scientist decided. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Ok... I won't ask why, but I'll respect your wish."

"Thank you," Duo sighed quietly before the tapping clicks from his keyboard filled the air again.

Even as preoccupied as he was with what was going on, the sound lulled Quatre to sleep... and continued on well into the early morning.

TBC...

 

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