Crimson Ties Part 24
He'd worked this conversation a couple million times in his head. It was only inevitable that this meeting was going to take place and he wanted to be prepared for it so that everything he needed to get off his chest was addressed.
Only now that he was actually in the same room with Heero again and given the floor to speak, Duo was at a loss over where to even begin. There was still the fresh and overwhelming relief that the Vampire had returned home safely as well as the struggle to keep down urges that were fighting to scratch to the surface to deal with.
Yuy was patient in his silent wait for the teenager to find his footing. Hunched forward in the recliner across from Maxwell, the Infected's arms were propped up on his thighs. Those intense cobalt-and-gold eyes held only acceptance of whatever was to come as their gazes remained locked.
Finally, Duo managed to get a hold on his battling emotions enough to work out his opening. Shifting on the couch that he was occupying, he took a deep breath and started, "So... you and I are bonded."
'Way to open up with the obvious,' the voice in his head chuckled snidely.
Ever understanding, Heero swallowed roughly and gave a firm nod in a silent urge for him to go on. That natural, reassuring nature of the Vampire's was only making it more difficult for the living to keep those urges of his in check.
Shaking his head, Maxwell frowned, "This is all pretty new to me. I admit that I'm coming around to the idea, but it's not exactly easy for me after everything that I've been through." The corner of his mouth curled up as he snorted, "I mean a decade of hating won't just change overnight, even with knowing I had the wrong impression to begin with."
At the word 'hate,' knowing that it was how his Other had felt about him, Yuy shuddered.
The braided teenager was quick to raise a hand and threw in, "And I don't feel that way any more, I know everything that happened at the Harvest and I don't hold you responsible for my parents' deaths anymore. So, I don't want you blaming yourself for another second since I don't."
Duo paused, blinking his surprise at not only how easy those words came from him but how sincere he was in the sentiment. Yes, he did forgive. And it was an even more liberating thing than he could have imagined it'd be.
He was not the only one who was stunned by the proclamation. His own eyes wide, Heero's jaw had opened. There was such a deep relief, such a profound wave of gratitude for the blessing bestowed on him that he almost looked ready to collapse when his strong body trembled for a heartbeat.
When his eyes began to shimmer, the Vampire turned his head away to clear his throat and collect himself. Slowly looking back at the teenager, he breathed with every ounce of earnestness, "Thank you."
Hearing that simple and yet complex appreciation, Duo nearly lost his own resolve as he felt a sting in his own eyes. For as long as he had hated Infected, only now did he truly grasped how Heero had hated himself for that terrible night.
Now, they could both start moving beyond the darkness of anger and despisal towards the light of acceptance and healing.
A bitter chuckle breaking from him, Duo reached up to wipe a stray tear and shrugged, "It's not your fault my parents decided to abandon me. I think I always knew that they were the ones who made the choice to leave their only kid behind, but it took a long time for me to come to grips with that."
Back straightening, the Infected's expression saddened deeply. And it looked as though he were fighting his own desire to be closer to his Other to comfort him. But Heero remained in place, making certain that the teenager had his space until he said everything that remained on his mind.
Clearing his throat, Maxwell banished the line of thought that he was etching and shook his head, "Anyway, that's in the past." He waved his hand in the air, sighing, "It's not like I can ask them what they were thinking."
Roughly swallowing past the lump that did not seem to want to leave him, the braided youth sniffled and controlled himself again to get to the next order of business in this conversation. "So," he began, his voice more steady, "what exactly happens for me now, if I'm meant to be your Companion?"
Heero blinked at that. Rubbing the back of his neck, he shrugged, "Well, normally speaking, we would go to the ritual of you drinking my blood for your own shift so that you could enjoy the same ageless immortality that I have. There could be a ceremony of a wedding of sorts, if you'd like that..."
Seeing his Other tensing again, the Vampire smirked, "Or... since this is all still new to you and you're adjusting to the thought of being changed as well as tied forever to me, there is another option."
"What's that?" Duo asked, his interest piqued at having another path that he could take.
The Vampire leaned back in his recliner, answering, "Since it's just your presence and essence that I need to survive, I could manage without you taking that permanent step until you're ready by just drinking your blood if you would allow it to be drawn by Anna."
As soon as he said his sister's name, Heero's face twisted into that deep regret once again and a frown marred his face before he lowered his head. Biting his lip, Maxwell remained quiet as his own heart wrenched in recalling how as broken the redheaded Infected was over the remark that her brother had made.
Even though he didn't know the story behind what Yuy had begun to say to her in the heat of their fight, it was pretty clear to the living that it was a low blow meant to hit her hard... only it nearly tore her apart.
Wringing his hands together, Heero kept his eyes downward as he muttered under his breath, "Wufei is going to kill me." He reached up to dry wash his face with his hands. Behind them, he groaned, "God, I never meant... yes, I was mad, but she didn't deserve that from me of all creatures.."
"Anna will forgive you," Duo reassured, his tone as certain as he was in that comment. "She probably already has." And one of these days, he was going to know what human in her life had been forced to do something against their will.
For now, he needed to focus on working on his relationship with Yuy. He would only do Anna an injustice by not doing so after she had stuck her neck out for them and paid the price for it.
Sitting back, the braided scholar looked at the Vampire in silent consideration. It was common knowledge that Infected and their Companions were lovers and soul mates. Considering how little he still knew about Heero, the last thing that Duo was ready for was rushing into anything permanent yet.
A life long commitment was a damned long time when a person potentially had eternity in front of them.
One good thing was that there was time now.
With a smile spreading across his face at the idea that he was working out in his mind, Maxwell nodded, "Alright. I agree to have my blood drawn for you." Taken aback by that, Heero's head snapped his wide eyes back to the teenager.
Shrugging, the boy smirked, "And I'll move in here with you, if that's alright. I'm okay with being linked to you, but if I'm eventually going to spend eternity with you, I want to have a chance to really get to know you first. It's only fair that you get to figure me out, too."
Yes, this was an acceptable arrangement, Duo determined. He could live with this in his preparation of eventually becoming a Companion. Already, there were feelings on his part for the Vampire, but he needed to sort them out before he could appreciate them. Having the pressure off of him to just come to really understand his bonded...
...and quite possibly there could eventually be love between them. It definitely wasn't out of the question.
"I-I..." when he began to stammer, Heero shook his head to keep his excitement at bay. Smiling, he breathed, "I'd really like that. Thank you, Duo."
Maxwell shivered.
Softly, he chuckled to himself at that familiar reaction to hearing his name come from the Infected's lips. Their agreement settled, he rose to his feet along with Heero. For a moment, they just stood there, a few feet apart of each other... just watching and silently wondering how to proceed.
That stillness was broken when Yuy closed the gap between them to pull the teenager into a tight embrace.
Gasping, Duo's eyes grew at the contact, but quickly eased and he grinned as he returned the hug. Slowly closing his eyes, he rested the side of his head against a firm shoulder and reveled in finally having those strong arms around him for a few heartbeats.
And he didn't allow himself to be scared by how right it felt, this first embrace between them.
When they broke apart, Maxwell's stomach growled loud enough that he blushed. "Yea, it's way past my usual time for breakfast," he snickered quietly.
"Come on," Heero smirked, reaching out to take his Other's hand before he led them from the room. "I'm sure it's safe to check in on Trowa and Midi now. Our little mother of the family will be offended if you didn't let her cook for you."
Quite sure of that, himself, Duo snickered and allowed the Infected to lead the way. As they headed out into the hallway, he tightened his hand around the cool one wrapped around it.
* * * * * *
"We have so much work to do!" Midi cried as she rose from her seat at her dining room table. Looking to her cousin, she half-asked, half-demanded, "Have you designated which room will be Duo's so that I can have it cleaned and ready for when he moves in?"
Heero gave a sharp laugh, replying, "Every guest room is spotless from top-to-bottom thanks to you already! All that he has to do is choose which one he wants."
Engaged in the conversation as Yuy was, the living beside him knew he was distracted. Every now and then, Duo caught those cobalt-and-gold eyes glancing to the windows that peered to the back of the estate. Watching for Anna, no doubt.
A couple of hours had passed since the redhead disappeared. Every bit as concerned over her, Maxwell didn't get to enjoy the meal that Midi had made for him as he normally would. For once, his plate hadn't been cleared when it was taken away from him.
Midi pouted in realizing that her cousin was right in that there was not a single chore she could see to in preparations for the move. Then, brightening, she rubbed her hands together and thought aloud, "Well, there's always the celebration party that we simply must have."
Placing a finger on her bottom lip, she looked to the ceiling as she muttered, "I'll have to get the guest list together, make a list of refreshments and decorations... I need to start writing this down." In a flash, she disappeared and reappeared before a whole second passed with a pad and pen in hand that she used to jot down her new assignments.
In the chair next to her, Trowa just rolled his eyes with a loving, knowing smirk on his face.
The braided teenager shook his head to bring himself back to the present to rejoin the conversation at hand. "I do feel pretty bad about abandoning Quatre," he frowned deeply, now having had time to let his decision to move in with Heero set in. "He's had a hard time with roommates before."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Midi giggled as she glanced up from her notepad. As she and Trowa turned to face each other with matching smirks, the bite marks in the sides of their necks were in plain sight.
Practically glowing in her happiness, the brunette announced, "We've been talking about offering Quatre a place to stay with us."
His violet eyes growing, Duo exclaimed excitedly, "Really?!"
Barton's mouth curled into a lopsided smirk as he met the boy's eyes, nodding, "My dear wife and cousins have been all too happy in playing Cupid to him and Relena. It would only help the cause if Winner was here more often. We also know his family quite well, so I have a hard time imagining they'd have a problem not having to pay for his board."
Stretching his arms out, Trowa snickered, "And as you know, it's not as if we don't have the room." Midi nodded her head, the merriment over bringing her good friends closer together shining in her brown-and-gold eyes.
Relieved to know that his roommate was being looked after, Maxwell's shoulders relaxed as he grinned, "That'd be awesome."
All of a sudden, Heero's back went rigid. Looking over at the Infected, the teenager noted that he was outright staring through the windows before he rose to his feet in a rush to announce to his cousins, "We'll discuss more details on Duo's move later. We have a couple of things to handle on our own before Treize and the others call for our meeting."
Instantly, the living was standing in his realization of what had the Vampire so tense and anxious to leave. Anna had returned.
Midi and Trowa blinked in surprise, but nodded all the same. When the 'mother' of the family rounded the table to embrace him, Duo smiled sincerely, "Thanks for breakfast. You're the best."
"You know I'm all too happy to do those things," the brunette giggled. Pulling back, she cupped the boy's face and grinned, "I am just so happy that you're coming to join us. Our family's finally whole."
Family. The one thing that Duo wanted more than anything. It took some doing for him to keep his eyes from misting over at the sentiment as he squeezed the Infected again and kissed her cheek.
Trowa approached to pull the braided youth into a one-armed embrace as he whispered, "Welcome, cousin. It's been a long time coming." Patting the Vampire's back, Maxwell chuckled quietly.
Yea. He could definitely get used to this feeling like he belonged. It was a nice change to have others around him that he actually felt as one with.
Nodding in appreciation to his cousins for the ever gracious hospitality, Heero stood beside his Other and gently took his hand. Duo held on to the cold palm and followed his tied Vampire from the house, grabbing his coat along the way. Their pace quickened when they were outside and heading straight for Wufei and Anna's home.
Once they were back indoors, the braided teenager shivered in his siblings' foyer against the chill of the frozen late morning. Freeing his hand, he removed his coat and met Heero's gaze when the Infected turned to face him.
"Go on," Maxwell urged. "This is between the two of you." Not needing to be told twice, Yuy all but sprinted down the hallway towards the back of the house.
Biting his lip, Duo hung his coat in the entrance way closet and slowly followed after him. Even if this moment really was between Heero and Anna, he had to step between the Vampires once already and he wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be the need again.
Simply recalling the heated fight that had transpired hours before, Maxwell shivered. It was not the kind of thing he ever wished to see again, especially knowing how close the siblings were.
Once the empty back porch was in sight again, Duo slipped back into the same side room that he had hidden in before. Peering beyond the door frame, he watched as Heero stepped out onto the enclosed deck to stare at the short hill behind the house when a blur flashed through the door that had opened seemingly by the wind.
Anna materialized before her brother, her blue-and-gold eyes filled with sadness as she looked at the floor at her brother's feet. Biting his lip, Heero closed the distance between them in a rush, pulling her into a fierce embrace as he buried his face in her hair.
The redheaded Infected closed her eyes and rested the side of her head against his shoulder while she held onto him just as tightly. After a long silence between them, her lips curled up in a smirk as she snickered, "Do you have any idea how terribly annoying it is that I can never stay angry with you for very long?"
Heero's body lost its stiffness as he sighed deeply in relief.
Pulling back, he held his sister's face in his hands and pressed their lips together in a soft peck before he rained other kisses on her cheeks and forehead. Tears shimmered in his eyes when he rested their foreheads together. "I love you," he breathed, his voice soft and cracking. "And I am so... so sorry."
"Love you, too. And you're forgiven," Anna smiled. Clearing her throat, that grin fell away and her eyes narrowed. "But. Do. Not. Ever. Go there again, no matter how mad you may be at me," she warned in a near growl.
Without hesitating, Yuy nodded firmly as his vowed, "Never." And he meant that, even Duo could feel how seriously the Vampire was in that promise. This was the one and only time that they would ever have those words between them.
More than satisfied with her brother's pledge, Anna beamed and threw her arms around his neck. Chuckling quietly, Heero wrapped her tightly against himself and spun her around a couple of times.
From the hallway, Maxwell grinned widely as he watched, reminding himself just how long the two had walked the world together... much of that time only having each other. That kind of a bond was a rare and beautiful thing to behold.
At the sound of a car motor purring into their street and pulling into the driveway, the two Infected broke away. His eyes widening, Yuy gave his sister a panicked look.
Snickering, Anna reassured him, "Don't worry. Wufei will never know, you have my word on that."
Heero sighed deeply, physically relaxing. Taking a deep breath, he mouthed a sincere 'thank you.' As the muffled motor died off in the garage, Duo stepped from his hiding place to join the Infected before his scaly 'brother' could get a hint that something was up.
In spotting him, the redhead gave the living a brilliant smile and launched herself at him to nearly crush him in a swift embrace. A laugh croaking from him at the contact, Maxwell held her back as she kissed his cheek.
Just as she stepped back, Wufei entered the back room to blink in confusion. Looking from one face to the next, the dark-haired Infected asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, everything is perfect," his wife chuckled as she neared him to kiss him soundly.
And it was in the desperation that she put into that gesture, so scorching that it took Chang by surprise before he closed his eyes and returned the kiss in kind, that Duo's eyes widened.
Was what these two Infected had, this seemingly perfect love between them, what Heero had attacked with his words?
Gripping the front her husband's black sweater in a tight fist, Anna whispered by his ear huskily in her accent, "Right now, ye better get your arse in our bedroom so I may return you home properly."
Still reeling from their passionate kiss, Wufei blinked in surprise when the redhead dashed off in a blur. A shiver running though his body, the scaly Vampire rushed to strip himself of his sweater and chuckled deeply to his 'brothers,' "I love it when she gets all demanding and Celtic on me." The smirk on his face growing, he turned to rush off after his wife.
Yuy rubbed the back of his neck as he shook his head in amusement, "Well, on that note, we should give them their privacy head back to our house."
Our house. Both the Vampire and the living blinked their enlarged eyes at that statement. It was the first time that the estate wasn't described as Heero's and Heero's alone.
And they both liked the sound of it.
Grinning, the Vampire held his hand out to his Other. "Shall we?" he asked politely. Duo returned the smile and accepted the hand into his own as he nodded firmly.
It was all very strange and new, this arrangement that they'd forged. But they could already tell that it was likely to be a very good thing for the both of them.
TBC...
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