Crimson Ties Part 15
The weeks turned into months in a blur for the students at VCU.
Just when it seemed summer had only begun, the air chilled and the leaves had fallen from the seasonal trees while the evergreens remained thick enough to retain the campus' seclusion from the rest the world. The grounds were covered with a sheet of white from the last flakes to fall from the gray skies to replace field games of frisbee and baseball with sledding and snowball fights.
But all these things went virtually unnoticed by one.
Instead of the days speeding by, they went excruciatingly slowly for him, drawing out the painful need to fill every minute with something to do just to keep his mind occupied from noting that a certain red bike was still missing from the rack outside of the library.
Since his last encounter with Heero, Duo had been thrilled to learn that the Vampire had taken an extended leave of absence from the staff for personal reasons. At least, that was all that the other librarians and the students knew. As far as the braided teenager was concerned, none of them needed to know the details behind those 'personal reasons.'
This is what Maxwell wanted, to never see that damned Infected again... it was! There was another explanation for the emptiness that continued to flood his every fiber. It had to be the fact that he finally had his closure in his parents' deaths. Having that anger for so long and now having it released had to be like losing a friend of sorts.
...Yes, that had to be it. There was no other explanation. He couldn't possibly actually miss that monster.
But then, why the hell was he checking the bike rack outside of the library every day with a strange sense of hope that he would see that red bicycle? It didn't make sense. And it was starting to rip at his sanity with his constantly wondering what was happening to him.
Staring at his plate of food but not really seeing it, the braided living pushed the contents inside his dinner bowl with his spoon. Midi could definitely teach the cafeteria chefs a few things about cooking a good stew.
Across from him, Alex leaned forward and smirked, "Um, Duo, I don't think there's any saving the beef in there by poking at it like that."
His violet eyes blinking, Maxwell shot his head up and grinned sheepishly at the snickers that spread throughout the crowded table. "Yea, I was just thinking about something," he shrugged, fighting the urge to crawl under the table from embarrassment.
The only person not laughing was Quatre. Lowering his head, he covered his deep frown of concern. He'd seen his roommate slowly drifting further and further away like this for weeks. And it was causing him endless worry.
Duo was still unaware that he was Heero's Other. But even in that ignorance, he was deteriorating in the absence of the Vampire's presence. As the only living aware of his friends' connection and the harm that their separation was causing the both of them was becoming all too difficult for the Arab to simply sit back and watch.
In time, Heero would fade away in a slow and painful death without his Companion, while the braided living would continue on in life but always feeling like an empty shell of himself.
Already, the early signs of what was to come had begun. No matter how their classmate friends tried to pull the drifting teenager back, there were only brief glimmers of success in that. But they still tried, even if they had no real idea of what was wrong.
Finishing his glass of milk, Mueller wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and asked, "So, what are your plans for the winter break coming up in a couple of weeks here, Maxwell? Heading back to Maxwell Church, I take it?"
"We'll be happy to help you with packing whatever you plan on taking," Trent offered. Smirking, he commented, "You're not exactly one to travel lightly, since you have a long ways to go in getting home."
His back straightening in his return to the living, Duo grinned, "Actually, I volunteered to stay on-campus for all but Christmas and New Years' week to help out at the mail room and the library. They have to stay open since the mail and book deliveries never stop while faculty and staff work through the break. The living in the dorm is free and I can get a nice paycheck for the hours I'll get."
Along his half of the table, Quatre, Catherine and Sylvia blinked at him in surprise. On the other side, the upperclassmen were equally taken aback by the announcement.
For Winner, especially, he mentally reeled over how his roommate would fathom working at the library. It seemed Maxwell's subconscious was not ready to let go of Heero, regardless of how hard he tried.
"Well, that's unexpected," Bloom commented after a long silence. "I would have thought that you'd want to get back to Father Maxwell and Sister Helen as soon as you could."
Turning his eyes back to his tray, Duo muttered under his breath, "So did I... at first." He smirked back to his friends, "It'll be good for me since this whole college experience is needed to get me ready for being off on my own. No better chance of that than being one of the few people around here."
It really was that simple a reasoning, wasn't it? He only wanted to experience some sense of self-preservation and not want to stay where there was some hint of 'him' around, right?
Once again, Maxwell could feel his 'voices' bickering back and forth over his choices. Maybe he really was going crazy.
Sylvia smiled encouragingly, "This probably is just what you need in time away from everyone. For a while now, you just haven't seemed yourself."
"Yea, since that Vampire, Yuy, disappeared," Trent snorted. Instantly, he regretted his words when violet eyes snapped up to glare at him. His jaw opening and closing, the junior choked on whatever excuse or apology his mind tried to supply.
This was the unspoken understanding of everyone present- that it was Heero's departure that marked the change in their braided classmate. But none of them dared to come right out and say as much since he never so much as uttered 'his' name even after their time away from campus together.
For weeks, it had become quite the white elephant. And now they all knew just how appreciative their braided friend was at the mention of its presence in the room.
Quickly catching himself, Duo shook his head and put on a smile. "Yea, well, there's no connection to that. I've just had a hectic semester with my classes."
His first outright lie. Took some doing getting it out of him and he hated every false syllable of it as they came out.
'You're running and hiding,' the voice returned to warn. 'You always were good at that, but you know very well that what you're try to avoid always comes back to find you.'
Fighting the urge to slam his fist in the table and scream in protest, the braided youth swallowed down his growing frustration. 'Go the fuck away!' he demanded through his thoughts. He would eventually get over whatever this strange coming undone was.
He would! Just as Anna reminded him, even this shall pass.
Envisioning the redheaded Infected nearly sent Duo over the edge. He needed air. Now! Whatever it took, he needed to forget those damned demons and their kindness that they'd shown him.
Quickly shooting up to his feet, he gripped his tray and forced his best grin as he said, "I'm going to go stretch my legs. Today was my long day of classes, so I need to get out and move around." With a wave of his free hand, he headed for the doors to discard his nearly untouched meal as his friends looked on in worry.
Biting his lip when Maxwell stepped out of the cafeteria, Alex turned to face the scientist and stated, "You've been unusually quiet, Winner. Do you think there's more than what he's letting on?"
"If there is, we'll be the last to know it," Quatre sighed in as honest an answer as he could give. No one else needed to know his roommate's personal issues... especially the like of this.
No, this needed to be handled between Heero and Duo alone- no matter how badly he wanted to step in and help.
To keep their classmates from worrying to the point of involvement, Winner looked to them and smiled, "But you all know that he doesn't lie. We're up on hell week with finals and he's a perfectionist when it comes to performing well. We've all seen freshmen who needed space to adjust pressure of college in their first semester. I'm sure that's all it is."
Sylvia snorted, "I'll back that sentiment up. This is my first semester, too, and I'm trying to cope." All around the table, heads nodded in agreement and acceptance of the excuse.
Puffing out a quiet breath of relief, Quatre turned his head to peer back over his shoulder at the cafeteria doors. He wouldn't be able to defend his braided friend if he continued to pull away at the rate that he was.
At least for now, it was enough.
* * * * * *
Heero retracted his fangs from the slender wrist that he held against his mouth. As the surges of euphoria wore off, he wiped a thin trail of blood that trickled down the side of his mouth. Though he felt stronger than he had before his feeding, there was still that dull ache that persisted in the pit of his chest.
Releasing the arm in his hold, he sighed, "Thank you, sister."
As she came off her own natural high of having her blood absorbed, Anna loosely wrapped a white cloth around the leaking bite marks in her wrist as she reassured, "Of course. Better?"
"Much," her brother nodded. He was not about to trouble her by letting her know that he could feel the overall effects of his drinking from her ebbing off even more. Such a thing was to be expected. She didn't need to hear it from him to worry more than she already was.
In the months since Duo had cast him away, Heero had become all but shut-in. Being outside, he would have only been all the more tempted to try and go to his Other... to try and have him hear his side of the story.
But he was not about to go against the wishes of his chosen. Never before had the Infected had such anger and hatred befall him. And it was not unwarranted. The bottom line was that Duo had lost everything dear and innocent about his childhood at the loss of his parents at Yuy's hands.
How could the Vampire ever earn Maxwell's trust let alone his love in light of this devastating course of events that had linked them?
Anna bit her lip and tilted her head as she watched the changes in her drifting brother's eyes. "I know that it still hurts," she told him in little more than a whisper. Shaking her head, she frowned deeply, "And there is nothing more in this world that I wish for more than to have the power to take it away from you, brother."
With a soft chuckle, Heero smiled at her and pressed the end of their noses together in an Eskimo kiss, telling her softly, "I know. And your being here for me is more than I could ask."
It wasn't enough for Anna... not as far as she was concerned. There was nothing worse than how absolutely helpless she felt. After everything that her brother had done for her over the centuries... after he'd saved her life back in Ireland... she should have been able to do more for him.
Pushing himself to rise from the couch that he had been sitting on, Wufei approached his family as he suggested, "Heero, I still think that you should go on this next hunt with Trowa and Zechs. It would take your mind off all of this, considering how much you enjoy having a mission of sorts to focus on."
"He makes a good point," the redhead nodded, running her fingers through Yuy's bangs to see his gold-and-cobalt eyes clearly. "I'm sure that they would appreciate having you around, knowing how valuable your speed and strength are for the task. It'd get you out of the house and give you time to clear your head.
The notion was one that Heero had considered already a few times over. He couldn't remember the last hunt he'd been on. There was something about the thrill of the chase and the success of finding his target. Nothing would ever truly fill the emptiness in him, but this would be a most welcomed distraction from it.
Drawing a deep breath, the unruly-haired Vampire smirked, "Alright. You convinced me. I'll go call Trowa and Zechs. They were planning on leaving at first light tomorrow, so I best set to packing as well." His mind already set to the things he needed to do, he walked from the room.
Practically collapsing with relief when she and her husband were alone, Anna muttered, "Thank God. He finally has something to look forward to."
A sad smile tugged Chang's mouth as he closed the distance between them to wrap his arms around his wife. Kissing the top of her head, he buried his mouth in her thick hair and said quietly, "You know... Midi will be busy helping Trowa prepare for the hunt for the better part of the night. And I could keep Heero's attention preoccupied from noticing if you were to return home late from work tonight to... tie up some loose ends."
The redhead's eyes widened and she stepped back to stare at the scaly Infected in disbelief. "Are... are you actually suggesting that I get involved by talking to Duo when I promised Heero that I would stay out of this?" she whispered.
Shrugging, her husband replied, "I'm not suggesting anything. All that I'm saying is that should you take a while getting back I'll cover for you. There hasn't been an opportunity like this where you could go unnoticed for a time. I thought that you might want to take it up."
"But... Heero will kill me," Anna frowned. Biting her lip, she shook her head and declared, "I couldn't go against my word like that."
Wufei rested his hands on her shoulders, willing their eyes to lock onto each other as he told her, "Dear wife, you forget that I know you better than anyone. You can't tell me that you haven't wanted to do more than just quench our brother's thirst when we all know that it won't be enough to keep him alive."
Instantly, tears welled up in his lover's eyes. There was no way around that grave reality. Silently wishing and hoping for something to happen wouldn't be enough to bring Heero and Duo back together. It wouldn't be enough to save Yuy in the long run.
Action had to be taken. And as Wufei mentioned, another window of opportunity like this might not come around again.
With a shuddering breath, Anna nodded firmly, "I'll think about it... weigh the options."
"That's my girl," Chang smiled before he pressed a kiss to her soundly. "I'm sorry to have upset you by bringing up our brother's fate if things continue as they are now. But, neither of us wants to see that happen. As far as Duo's concerned, you would have a better chance than I would in talking to him. He seemed to connect with you when he was here."
Not wanting to put any more pressure on his wife than what was already on her shoulders, he rested their foreheads together and vowed, "Whatever you choose, I know it will be the right thing and you'll have my wholehearted backing of it."
Swallowing roughly, the redheaded Infected gave a shallow nod. This may work, or it would make the situation worse. With Heero's existence at stake, everything had to be taken into account in deciding what the right thing to do really was.
At the very least, it was good to know that she had her husband's support either way.
"God, I love you," she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek to be gently kissed away.
Wufei smiled, "And I you, my Celtic Rose."
* * * * * *
Meiran was not happy.
Though she managed to get rid of the biggest threat for Heero's affections, her plan was not entirely successful. Not yet, at least. By now, she should have already had the Original's full attention when instead she was no closer to winning him over.
Between having Relena's looming and Yuy's retracting from everyone, there was little that could be done to improve the dilemma. And it was infuriating Meiran to no end.
Sitting at the dining room table of her cousin's home, the raven-haired Infected ran her finger over the rim of her teacup filled with blood as she silently stewed. From of the corner of her eye, she watched Relena and Noin as they discussed the new matters they would need to bring up at the next Council of the Vampires.
That boy, Winner, had the whole family in a frenzy over his findings. Having just returned from an extensive session, it was proving to be quite the challenge to call all of the Infected leaders back to Council so that they could meet privately over the news.
But soon they would meet which would force Relena, Treize and the rest of Meiran's family away to oversee the proceedings. Then she would be free to carry out the last of her plan with no one left to stand in her way of claiming her prize.
Stepping into the kitchen with his cell phone in hand, Zechs announced, "I just received a call from Heero." His mouth curling up in a smile as his family spun to face him, the tall blonde Infected informed, "He's going to be joining Trowa and I on the hunt tomorrow."
Noin gasped, beaming, "T-that's wonderful! It's quite the step for him, considering how he hasn't left his family's cluster of homes in weeks now." Blinking her wide eyes, Relena grinned and nodded excitedly.
All but leaping to her feet in seeing a window of opportunity, Meiran folded her hands against her chest and begged, "Oh, cousin, could I please go along as well? I promise that I wouldn't be in the way."
Frowning at her, Zechs leaned against the door frame and shrugged, "You know that I wouldn't be able to allow it. We hunt in small packs, if not pairs, so as to not draw attention from the humans. If there were more than three of us running around, we could compromise that. And you know full well what that would mean for our kind if questions were raised."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to punch something. Instead, the dark-haired beauty swallowed her anger and pride to bow her head, giggling, "Yes, of course. How silly of me to forget." All eyes were on her, she could feel them on her without having to raise her head to see them.
Rather than stand there and draw more focus on herself, Meiran cleared her throat and excused herself before she stepped from the room. On her way past Zechs, she lowered her head all the more so that the rage in her dark eyes remained hidden. Keeping up a steady pace, she never looked back as she left the house all together.
Back in the kitchen, Relena peered to her brother and sister-in-law as she sighed, "You see what I mean?"
"Yes," Noin bit out as she glared at the doorway that her cousin had disappeared through. Folding her arms, she shook her head, "We have no solid proof of her involvement in what transpired between Heero and Duo, but the more I have observed her over the weeks, I cannot deny that I'm suspicious of her as well."
Zechs pushed himself from the door frame, his own displeasure clear in his expression. "Now I feel even better knowing that Heero will be away on this hunt tomorrow," he commented. "Even if she is not responsible for the fallout between him and his Other, Meiran clearly will do anything she can to make the most of the situation to her benefit."
Looking to his sister, he requested, "Keep your eye on her, as you have been. If there is anything out of the ordinary, be sure to tell Noin or I right away. If there is any truth to your concerns, I want to be certain of it before the Yuys or Bartons need to be troubled by it."
With a firm nod, Relena asked, "And if it does hold true that Meiran is reason behind all of this?"
"Then we let Heero and his family decide her fate when she is tried before the Council," Zechs replied, his tone clear and without reservation.
* * * * * *
Duo climbed the stairs to his floor in Excalibur following his late visit to the library. Having researched and typed for hours to have his last term paper for Literature finished well ahead of its due date, he'd just about spent the candle that he was already burning from both ends.
His backpack felt heavier than it actually was as it hung from his shoulder. The steps he took were labored, sluggish with his joints protesting against the movement.
Sore and tired as he was, Maxwell was happy for it. Maybe he'd exhausted himself enough that he might actually get a full night's sleep for a change. He couldn't remember the last time he had that. Nearly every night for the last few weeks he was haunted with nightmares of his parents' deaths... or he'd dream of those gold-and-cobalt eyes that he just couldn't escape from.
Not tonight, the braided teenager told himself. Tonight he would sleep.
When he reached the door to his room to open it, he found a note on the wipe board that had been moved to the front. "I'll be working late in the lab tonight, don't wait up for me. Quatre," Duo read aloud.
Not very surprised by the message, he shrugged and reached into the pocket of his jeans for his key. Unlocking the door and dragging his feet inside, he tossed his backpack aside to relieve his aching shoulder while his free hand sealed the room off again before he flipped the light switch.
The moment piercing light filled the darkened space, Duo half-jumped back with a startled gasp in finding that he wasn't alone. Heart racing from his scare, the boy's initial shock wore off and his violet eyes narrowed to glare heatedly at the creature sitting on the edge of his bed.
"You," he gritted through his teeth.
A pleasant smile curling her lips, Anna rose to her feet and greeted, "Hello, Duo." The grin slipped away as she said simply, "We need to talk."
TBC...
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