Crimson Ties Part 16

Three hours ago...

Sitting at her desk at the nurse's station, Anna sighed deeply and leaned forward to prop her face up in her hands. So many thoughts were running through her mind that she couldn't sort them out properly.

Perhaps Wufei was right in suggesting that maybe she go to Duo. But then there was also the risk of pushing the braided living even further away should she go through with it.

"You're not one to usually be so distracted at work," a familiar voice spoke up, breaking the Vampire from her thoughts to peer up at the source. A small smile tugged the lips of the braided, white-coated young woman standing on the other side of the counter.

Blinking in surprise, Anna shook her head to clear her mind and grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Doctor Po." With a shrug, she frowned, "Family troubles."

The kind doctor chuckled deeply, "So even Vampires aren't immune to those?" Raising an eyebrow, she added, "And you know that you can call me Sally, Anna. Doctor Po is a little too formal for my liking, especially seeing how we're more friends than anything."

Her grin returning, the redheaded Infected giggled, "Right. Sorry, Sally. To answer your question, unfortunately my kind experience family strife every bit as much as humans."

Reaching up to accept the clipboard passed to her by the doctor, she began to type the information on the top sheet into the database as she said, "This issue in particular has me preoccupied. I apologize. It won't interfere with my work again."

Sally tilted her head and offered, "I'm in charge of the staffing for the night and I know you only have a couple of hours left in your shift. You could always leave early, seeing as how we're overstaffed with how slow it is."

Raising her head from the screen, the Vampire's fingers stopped their typing as she sputtered, "Y-you wouldn't mind?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I did," the braided living smiled. "If there was ever anything that my family needed, I wouldn't hesitate to do everything in my power to help them."

Hesitating a moment to bite her lip, Anna peered down at the bite marks on her right wrist. Lightly running her fingers over the marks, she continued to stare at the small holes and asked, "Even if they don't want you to get involved?"

Doctor Po lowered the new clipboard that she'd taken up onto the counter and tilted her braided head to consider her response. "Aren't you already involved if you're worrying like this?" she answered with her own inquiry.

When the Infected's eyes grew, Sally smirked, "When I have a patient, my instincts tell me what they need, what's wrong and how to give them the care they need before they are seen through any of the expensive machines at my disposal here. And more often than not, my hunches are proven right."

Folding her arms on the counter, she stated, "That said, whether it be medical equipment, family or anything besides our instincts, our instincts tend to know what's best more often than not. So, I would go with what your gut tells you to do."

That... was all that Anna needed to make her difficult decision.

Hopping from her chair, she rounded the desk to hug the doctor tightly, smiling sincerely, "Thank you, Sally." The stunned living only had a second to react and return the embrace before her head nurse was off and running down the hall for the changing rooms.

With a glance back over her shoulder, Anna continued to hurry off as she waved and called, "I'm back on in a couple of days! See you then!"

Sally chuckled, as she waved back, "Good luck!"

*   *   *   *   *   *

Present time...

The Irish Infected watched as Duo's face turned a shade of red as vibrant as her hair. His fists clenching tightly at his sides, the braided teenager closed the distance between them until they were almost nose to nose in the middle of his dorm room. Fire burned from his glaring eyes as he growled deeply, "Get. Out."

Unwavering, Anna's own eyes narrowed as she hissed in a low breath, "Make me. You'll have a time trying, I promise you that." In the short space that there was between them, she folded her arms and declared, "I stuck my neck out going against Heero's wishes by coming here to talk to you, so I am not leaving until you hear me out."

Every possible emotion surged through the braided living in that second. On one hand he wanted to take the Vampire up on her challenge and force her from the room... and then there was the desire to embrace her at the longing that he'd had to see her again after their long separation.

Part of that must have been because she was his sister. It was only right that she stir a wave of such confusing feelings.

Not trusting himself to act out the right way, Maxwell all but jumped back a couple of paces to force a space between them again. But he never lost the ire in his expression. "There's nothing to discuss," he gritted. "Your brother killed my parents. Are you here to deny that?"

It'd been months now... and he still couldn't being himself to say his name.

Without hesitating, the redhead replied calmly, "No, I'm not."

A sharp, bitter laugh shot from Duo at that. "Then enjoy the rest of your fucking revolting existence!" he barked out as he moved for the door. "I'll just have campus security come to remove you."

"It really is easier to hate than it is to love, isn't it?" Anna yelled as her arms dropped to her sides. She knew she'd struck a nerve by quoting Midi's psalm when the teenager froze, his hand on the door and his back to her.

Taking the opening, her glare softened as she asked quietly, "How's that working out for you? The hate may come easier, but not without a price. Sleeping well? Not even a second thought of Heero or any of us?"

Hand shaking at hearing that name, Duo slowly released it from the doorknob to turn and face the Infected. Much of his rage had pulled back from his face, but not all of it was gone. He needed to hold onto some of it, or his wish to hold onto her would have won. "What the hell would you know about any of it?" he snorted.

"Enough to know that I hit the mark," the Vampire responded with a smirk that quickly faded away. Taking a deep breath, she stated, "I promise you I'm not here to fight."

Pausing only for a second, she shook her head, "From what my brother told me, you didn't give him a chance to reveal his side of the story of what happened to your parents. All I want is to give you that and I will gladly disappear along with my brother when I am finished, if you so wish."

It was... a reasonable request, Maxwell thought to himself. But he needed to be certain that the deal wasn't too good to be true.

As he folded his arms, he questioned, "That's it? I just sit and hear your side of the story and I never have to see you or... him again?"

Completely aware of the living's purposely never mentioning her brother's name, Anna decided to push him a bit by tilting her head and saying, "Heero." A visible shudder ran through Duo like a bolt of electricity as he choked back a whimper.

Oh, their bond was strong, she thought to herself.

Nodding firmly, the Infected promised, "You have my word that we will never bother you again if I can just have the chance to speak."

If that was all that he needed to endure to not have to be reminded of him again, Duo couldn't see how he could pass up the request. "Fine," he grumbled. Walking around his desk, he removed the chair and set it before his visitor before he sat on the edge of his bed.

Anna smiled in gratitude, bowing her head as she took the offered seat. Tugging at the hem of her purple tank top in an rare showing of nerves, she saddened. Suddenly catching herself, she folded her hands in her lap to keep them from fidgeting.

When her gold-and-blue eyes locked onto the violet watching her, she frowned deeply and announced in little more than a whisper, "Heero is dying, Duo. He has been for years now."

Physically reeling back at her words, Maxwell's eyes grew in shock and disbelief. There was no way he'd heard right. Hee- he couldn't possibly be...

His mouth opening and closing a few times, he finally found his voice to stammer, "D-dying?" Shaking his braided head, he tried to form sentences, but he could only manage, "What are you... How... I... I don't."

"My brother is an Original," the Infected reminded. "And he has gone nearly five hundred years now without the companionship and blood of a chosen, Vampire or human. He's walked this world for as long as he has waiting to finally find the one person, or creature with whom he is bound to. Now, his time is running out in finding them before it's too late to sustain his existence."

Compelled by this revelation, Duo swallowed roughly and leaned forward as a concerned frown marred his face. Death was never a prospect that he'd wished on... Heero. Not even when Maxwell was his most furious over what had happened did he want the Vampire to die.

Anna's eyes began to shimmer as she cleared her throat and continued, "The Harvest was created for Infected like my brother. Since he did not have a Vampire or a Companion tied to him that he could drink from, fresh human blood was required somehow... and a lot of it. Every year, I watched him grow weaker and weaker by the time the yearly offerings time came around."

Biting her lip when a sob tried to escape, the redhead sniffled. When her body began to shake, she wrapped her arms around herself and sighed, "He was so starved for strength at the Harvest your parents attended that Wufei and I had to carry him into the building," she whimpered. "If he didn't feed soon, he was going to die."

Only pausing to reach up and dry the tears that had fallen, she sighed, "Never before had there ever been a flaw in the preparations. We went in certain that all was right, that the humans giving up their lives fit the criteria. So... I took Heero to the tables."

Duo swallowed past the lump in his throat. Strange. He was sure that there would be a return of his rage at the mention of that dark night. There was pain to be certain, but it seemed oddly... different.

Fighting off another sob, Anna shook her head, "You didn't see him, how frail he was. It scared me to have him that close to the end. I didn't know anything about the humans that were being presented."

Her back straightening in the chair, she went on, "And I admit that while grateful as I was for their sacrifice, I also didn't care to. I was just desperate to see Heero well again, to keep him from slipping away."

An unintelligible sound bubbled from the Infected when she tried to speak further. Closing her eyes, she cleared her throat to have that moment to pull herself back together. Slowly opening her damp eyes, she breathed, "Then, everything changed when we heard your scream just when Heero was at the end of his feeding."

Tears were rolling down Duo's face at that horrific memory, so fresh in his mind now. He remembered Heero's wide eyes when their gazes met. There was instant panic, horror, remorse and something else that the braided teenager couldn't place that bore right through him.

"We may never know why what happened did happen," Anna sighed as she dried her face. "Blame can be pointed all around, from our organizers to even your parents for deceiving them, but it won't change a damn thing. Apologizing will not bring your mother or father back."

Roughly brushing the back of his hand against his cheek to wipe away a stray tear, Maxwell's thickened voice commented, "You said that H... Heero was nearly dead at that Harvest. Does he get that bad every year?"

Drawing a deep breath, the Infected replied quietly, "He no longer needs the services of the Harvest to sustain him... at least not for a while."

Confused, Duo frowned, "But how could that be? As bad off as he was by your description, I have a hard time thinking that even if he did attend the Harvest every year, it wouldn't have been enough for him." As soon as the words came out, his eyes widened in realization. "That's why you became a nurse," he whispered.

"That was a big part of it," Anna grinned, "It was very difficult to be accepted into that world, to be around all that blood." Raising an eyebrow, she smirked, "You probably noticed that there aren't many Vampires who work at hospitals. I wasn't exactly welcome and had to go through a lot of board councils to be approved to even try to become a nurse, but I got through it for Heero's sake."

She shrugged, "I needed to know how to draw and store blood. At drives, many would willingly donate blood to any of my kind in need as they would for other humans. By working there, I always had a chance to stake a claim on the supplies. So, I went through the schooling, the interviews and did everything I had to for my brother's sake."

Her hand twining a long strand of her loose red hair around her fingers, the Infected smiled, "Though Heero was my primary motivation to become a nurse, I came to really enjoy the work of helping people. As far as I'm concerned, it was worth every challenge."

It was a lot for Duo to take in, the sheer love and devotion that these creatures had for each other. He'd already known that they were capable of it, but he was no less humbled to hear of situations like Anna's. Such a selfless act could only be respected and admired.

But there was more. The tension in her shoulders said as much.

For some reason, the braided teenager almost feared asking, but he did anyway. "What else is there that's on your mind, Anna?" he heard himself question softly.

Gathering up her courage, the Vampire's smile drooped away as she commented, "Along with that, a new timeline began the night of your parents' deaths, extending Heero's deadline so to speak."

Only all the more baffled, Maxwell shook his head, silently asking for more of an explanation. Licking her lips, the Vampire informed, "Heero chose his Other."

Nothing could have prepared Duo for that. Like a blow, the news struck him hard enough that he almost doubled over himself with a startled grunt. His Other? Heero... had chosen an Other for himself?

The sudden rise of jealousy in him was unexpected, and he fought to cover it as he blinked and stuttered, "O-oh. I didn't even know that he... he never mentioned..."

Questions ran rampant through the living's mind. Why in the hell would the Vampire never have told him of the more important being in his existence? In the weeks that they'd known each other, Duo couldn't understand how this Other was never mentioned or why they never met when he'd been to Yuy's home to meet his family...

...And why was it that Maxwell felt like his heart was breaking? If anything, there was one relief that came from this news.

Swallowing roughly against his constricting throat, Duo struggled to keep his breathing even as he chuckled forcefully, "Well, that means Heero will be fine, right? He wouldn't be in danger of dying if he has his partner."

"It's... a little more complicated than that," Anna winced. Her hands began to fidget with the hem of her tank top again and her gaze fell to the floor. "See, he wasn't of age when we first met him. He needed to age before the bond could truly be forged between him and my brother when they reconnected," she muttered.

Violet eyes growing anew, the braided scholar felt a chill shoot down his spine. Pieces of the puzzle were suddenly falling into place before he was ready for them to make the picture all too clear. His heart began to race as all too quickly things were beginning to make more and more sense when it came to how he'd been so drawn to Heero.

There was something in his eyes that had the redhead sitting up and her eyes watching him closely with what could only be akin to hope.

Having to swallow again, this time to dampen his dry mouth, Duo breathed, "W-who is he? Heero's Other?"

Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she met his gaze again. "I think... you already know the answer to that," she replied just as quietly.

'No. No!' the teenager's mind screamed. Springing from his bed, he paced the floor of his room, shaking his head and laughing, "There's no way in hell! You can't be serious if you're going to suggest that I'm..." He couldn't even speak it, he was so scared and furious at the same time over the possibility.

Slowly rising from her seat, the redhead followed him with her eyes as she stated clearly, "You knew it the moment you met Heero, but you wouldn't admit it to yourself. From the first time your eyes met, they started to haunt you. Over time, even with your hate for our kind, you found yourself wanting to be around him every chance you had. When you were together, you felt alive... complete."

Glaring at her when he spun to face her, Duo's hands shot up to cover his ears as he screamed, "Stop it!"

"You would have started to dream about him by now, even after you sent him away," Anna went on without pause, unflinching at the boy's rage. "Since you sent him away, you've been adrift without his presence. It's hard for you to concentrate, to keep your head all together. And there's an emptiness inside the core of your being that's tearing you apart that you can't explain or reason away."

Crumbling in on himself when his body began to shake beyond his control, Maxwell returned to his bed to hunch forward on the edge. Fresh tears rolled down his face as he wrapped his arms around his frame against a chill that didn't exist. "O-oh my God," was all that he could manage in a broken whimper.

Her own eyes wet, Anna knelt before the living, resting her hands on his jean-covered legs. "I don't need to go on," she sighed. "You already know the truth of it." The hand that she reached up with stalled just before it reached the boy's face. That hesitance was short-lived and she chanced running her fingers through the long bangs shielding the eyes that were squeezed closed tight.

Encouraged when Duo didn't pull away at her touch, the Infected told him sincerely, "I am so sorry that you had to learn this through me in such a way. But, there really was no other option. You needed to hear it as both your sanity and my brother's existence are at stake."

Sniffling, the redhead frowned, "I took a big gamble coming forward like this, arming you with the information that could very well destroy Heero if you choose to deny your bond and allow him to go on without you at his side as it is your decision to make."

Anna cleared her throat when her voice began to break and whispered, "The new deadline on his time amongst us is running out again. Now, not even my own blood is able to sustain him the way that it has for centuries. And no amount of human blood I provide from the hospital will ever be enough. The only thing that will save him is your agreeing to become his Companion."

With a quiet chuckle, she confided, "My brother did not want you to know any of this so as to not have you feel any guilt in rejecting him. He has already contented himself to dying since you sent him away." She stopped herself when a sob escaped her. Groaning, tears fell freely as she shook her head, "But I'm not ready to lose him. Not without a fight."

Duo blinked his shimmering eyes open at that. Heero was dying without him- his Other. The one chosen to become the Vampire's Companion.

Too much. It was all too much for him to comprehend... to accept... to take in.

"I- I can't do this right now," he pleaded so softly that were it not for the Infected's heightened sense of hearing she would have missed it entirely. Biting his lip, he moaned, "I need more time to think."

Nodding, Anna stood up and wiped her face dry as she vowed, "You'll have that. As I promised, I will take my leave and you'll never see Heero, or anyone from my family again if that is what you want. Otherwise, you know where to find us should you wish otherwise."

The pair nearly jumped when the doorknob suddenly turned and the door was pushed in to reveal Quatre. Freezing in the doorway when he got a good look at his red-eyed roommate and the red-headed Infected, Winner's backpack fell away from his hand as he gasped, "By Allah!"

All but slamming the door closed behind him in his rush to close the rest of the dorm off, the blonde focused on the braided teenager, insisting, "Duo, I swear that I had nothing to do with this! I had no idea-"

"'Ey, Quatre. Don't get yer panties in a bunch, lad," the Irish Infected snickered, her accent slipping out. "I was just about to leave."

Turning back to face her brother's chosen, she smiled sadly, "Love you... little brother. Whether you want to hear that or not and regardless of your choice, you'll always be family."

Duo closed his eyes with a sniffle when she bent down to press a kiss against his forehead. Cool as her lips were, the gesture came with nothing but warmth and for a second, the teenager leaned into it. Then it was gone.

On her way for the door, Anna chuckled and wrapped her arms around the scientist. As he returned the embrace, she requested, "Take care of him for us. He's going to need all the help he can get through this." Pulling away, she pecked Winner's cheek and hurried off before she lost control of her emotions again.

Still getting over the shock of finding the two in the same room, Quatre stared at the closing door before he faced his roommate. "Everything okay?" he asked timidly.

Collapsing onto his bed, Duo stared up at the ceiling and breathed, "I don't even know where to begin in answering that. Can we not discuss anything of what just happened until tomorrow? I have no idea what the hell to think anymore right now."

Quietly scrambling through his mind what it was Anna had told the braided teenager, Quatre relented to his wish and nodded firmly, "No problem."

Moments later, the two were stripped down to their nightwear and the light was turned out before they turned in.

For Duo, the emotional and physical exhaustion had taken enough of a toll on him that he was able to sleep through the night for the first time in weeks...

...but those gold-and-cobalt eyes continued to fill his dreams.

TBC...

 

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