Crimson Ties Part 30

By the time Duo had wrapped up his first of two tests of the day, the rumor mill was working at full speed. He hadn't been to look up from the answer sheet that he was filling the circles on to know that there were eyes on him. Those glances were practically burning into him when they focused on him.

Funny thing was it didn't bother him as he thought that it would. In fact, it didn't affect him at all.

His braided head held high in confidence, Maxwell grabbed his coat and handed his answer grid and question book to his professor before he headed from the classroom. The whole time, he could feel the gazes of his classmates still inside watching his back in his retreat.

In the hallway, any and all discussions that were taking place came to a halt as those standing around stared at him as he headed down the main corridors whistling a bright tune.

Snickering to himself when the whispers began again when he was no longer around, he shook his head in amusement and pulled his coat on before stepping outside. Quatre had texted him to let him know he was solidly booked with finals until lunch. Meanwhile, Duo had time kill before his only other exam of the day.

And even though they had only been parted for a couple hours, he missed Heero. So, he headed for the library.

There was no surprise at all when he found his Vampire already delving deep into work. No doubt the head librarians were thrilled to have him back from his extended leave of absence. When he found the Infected, Maxwell remained hidden around the bend to take a moment to watch him.

Stronger than ever, Yuy carried a stack of books under each of his arms as he stocked the new shelves that had been installed. Easily sliding his heavy bearings into place with a small smile of content on his face, his gold-and-blue eyes ran over the titles on their spines as he brushed his fingers over them lightly.

"Already plotting out your next reads," the braided living snickered as he fully rounded the end of the bookshelf to approach the Infected.

Grinning at him, Heero straightened himself and replied, "There are a few titles that I've been looking forward to getting my hands on. One of the nicest things about books is that there are always new ones to enjoy, so there is never a shortage."

The Vampire glanced around, noting the staff and students present peeking around the shelves and sculptures to watch them. Shrugging, he paid no mind to them and stepped forward to give his Other a quick squeeze of a full embrace anyway. He was pleasantly surprised when Duo not only accepted the contact, but leaned into it.

Every head around ducked away once more and the whispers resumed.

Pulling back, Yuy took up the next stack of books to file them onto the remainder of the shelf he'd been working on. With a glance over his shoulder, he inquired, "So, how did your first test go this fine morning?"

"I'm pretty sure I aced it," Duo shrugged. "History never was much of a challenge for me since I have a good memory retention for names and dates." Groaning, he sighed, "It's my Algebra test in three days that I'm more worried about than any of my finals."

Yuy grinned reassuringly, "Well, you'll have two days to work with Quatre to prepare for it. And you're smarter than you give yourself credit for, so I know you'll do fine." Without so much as wincing in effort, he hefted three packed boxes one-handed before he walked around to the barren second half of the shelving unit.

Whistling through his teeth, Maxwell muttered under his breath, "Damn. I can't believe that a pint of my blood was able to make you that strong."

"I can handle even more than this," Heero snickered. Lowering the boxes onto the floor, he shrugged, "But I don't exactly want to be feared by anyone around here by demonstrating what I'm capable of."

A thoughtful expression washing over his face when he turned back to his would-be Companion, he stated, "Every day, I feel myself getting stronger. I had no idea that drinking of you would have this kind of effect either, but I'm enjoying it."

That small smile returned as Heero added, "After I was weakened for so long, needing my family to carry me for the last couple of decades, it's a welcomed change in me."

Duo grinned back, sincerely happy to see his Vampire so content and healthy. And he admitted that he wasn't about to complain over how absolutely magnificent Yuy looked in his top form. There was little doubt the stares the Infected was getting were not only due to his unannounced return, but the physical differences in him from when he was last seen on campus.

Hanging onto that word of 'family,' the braided teenager thought of his next task at hand. With a deep breath, he sighed, "I'm going to head back to my dorm to call Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. I know Midi is off mailing those invitations to the party this morning, so I better give them the heads-up."

Yuy was instantly at his side, rubbing his back gently as he reassured, "I'm sure that it'll be fine. As you adoptive parents, I can't see them as wanting you to be anything but happy." A deep frown marred his perfect face and he asked softly, "You would be happy with me, wouldn't you? You're not having second thoughts?"

It was humbling to Duo, to have this amazing creature so captivated by him... so in love with him. He never would have dreamed for such a flawless being to have him be the center of their existence.

But the proof was in the pride in the Infected's eyes that morning when they walked hand-in-hand at their arrival to campus. Not one other time in his life did the braided living ever feel more important than he felt whenever they were together.

Still... Heero was so strong and sure in who and what he was that to see him this openly distraught with worry that Maxwell might still not want him was an overwhelming thing.

The braided living nudged the Vampire, chuckling, "No, I'm not having second thoughts, you idiot. And yes, I am happy or I wouldn't have agreed to the arrangement."

His emotions getting the better of him, he met the gold-and-cobalt eyes on him and swallowed roughly. Shaking his head, he all but whispered, "I've already tried living without you once and I don't ever want to go through that hell again."

It was pretty evident that Heero was taken aback by the deep feelings poured into that statement when he blinked his widened eyes. Then, a loving grin warming his face, his eyes drifted closed as he leaned in to press a firm kiss against Duo's forehead. Leaning into the cold touch once again, the teenager's own eyes sealed on him so that he could take the gesture in.

The whispers around rose to such a clamor that it was impossible to ignore.

Reluctantly pulling away, Maxwell stepped backwards as he snickered, "Well, wish me luck."

"Good luck," Yuy responded, the amused grin on his face telling how he didn't believe that there was much of a need for the request. Still, he threw in an offered, "You know where to find me if you need me."

Nodding, Duo grinned, "Yea. Thanks." That said, he turned on his heels and hurried from the library before he lost his nerve in calling his guardians.

...or felt the urge to really give his peers something to talk about.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Only moments later, Duo was sitting before his vidphone, staring at its screen to watch both Father Maxwell and Sister Helen blinking in shock over his blurted out announcement.

Ducking his braided head after a long silence, he smiled nervously, "Um... I'm sorry that I never mentioned anything sooner to you, it's just... I needed time to come to terms with all of this for myself."

"O-oh, Duo," the nun spoke up first. Folding her hands together over her heart, she beamed, "This is such wonderful news! To think that this whole time God was leading you right where you needed to be."

Father Maxwell shook his balding head, "And for you to start off as one of the last people who could have seen yourself accepting Vampires, let alone being a Companion to one."

Shoulders slumping in relief, the young scholar stammered, "Y-you mean you're okay with this? You're okay with my moving on?"

Laughing, Sister Helen replied, "Son, we always knew that you were never meant to stay with us. There's always been something unique and special about you. It was our honor to raise you for as long as we could, but we were aware you would have to follow whatever your calling was." The old man beside her nodded.

The weight that Duo had felt bearing down on him was lifted instantly. Of course his Vampire was right in believing that everything would be fine. There were no two more understanding people in the world than his guardians. He should have had as much faith in them, himself.

"We have a lot to catch up on when you're out here," the teenager chuckled. "You'll love Heero when you meet him. He's a really great guy."

His eyebrows rising, Father Maxwell snickered, "Well, he must be since you're not referring to his as a 'monster' or 'demon' as you normally would."

A stabbing pain shot through Duo's chest at that. Forcing a smile, he nodded, "Yea, imagine that." Leave it to his 'father' to remind him how much easier it was to forgive and accept.

Clearing his throat, he checked the time on the wall clock just above him. "Gotta run pretty soon here. I'm going to be meeting up with my friends for lunch shortly." With a wide grin, he waved to the kind faces on the screen, "Can't wait to see you at the party next week."

"We're looking forward to it!" Sister Helen cheered as she and the priest waved back, their smiles wide. "Good luck in your finals!"

Exchanging a few more pleasantries, Maxwell turned the vidphone off and closed the screen. The breath that he seemed to have been holding all morning came out in a long, deep sigh as he sagged heavily in his desk chair.

One successful announcement down and a whole bunch more to go at once when the braided living sat with his classmates in a few minutes. Thankfully, this announcement was going to be a whole lot easier on him than the last. His friends would be accepting once they were over the initial surprise.

Gathering up his backpack and jacket, Duo rose from his seat to head out and reunite with his other extended family.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Sylvia and Catherine were practically vibrating with anticipation when Maxwell joined their table. The pair hadn't even bothered to go up for food when they spotted their friend, opting instead to go into a barrage of run on questions before he could even finish taking his seat across from them.

Raising his hands, Duo let out a sharp whistle through his teeth that brought their frantic interrogation to a stop. Eyes wide, the girls closed their mouths with audible clicks from their teeth. "Thank you," the braided human chuckled. "Good to see you both, too."

In the chairs alongside him, Alex and Mueller laughed and shook their heads. Trent, a little more distracted with his attention on the opened text that he was speed-reading over let out an amused grunt without looking up. Beside the girls, Quatre smirked and folded his arms behind his head to see how his roommate played this out.

"No point in drawing this out anymore than necessary," Maxwell began. A wide grin spreading across his face, he informed, "In case you haven't guessed from the rumors, it turns out that Heero and I are tied to each other."

When the squealing blonde and redhead opened their mouths to pick up a new tirade of questions, he raised his hand again and smirked, "I do intend on becoming his turned Companion eventually, but I'm going to be living with him for a while first, starting with the end of this semester."

Alex was the one to frown first, "Just like Quatre. He told us about his own moving plans, too. So... you won't be hanging out with us any more? That really sucks."

Lightly slapping his arm, Duo snorted, "I'm still going to go through with finishing my studies here, so nothing will change with our time to hang out before and after classes. The only real change is that I'll be living off-campus."

"That won't be too bad, then," Mueller grinned in relief. "You and Winner are good people, so it would have been rough not having you two around." The roommates beamed in appreciation at that.

All but bouncing in her chair, Sylvia demanded, "Well, when you and Heero make it official, we'll be invited to the ceremony, right?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Catherine added, "You know that we'll just find a way to sneak in to be a part of it, anyway. There's no way we're going to miss out on that."

Duo's head fell back with a roar of laughter. It took some doing for him to compose himself enough to tell them about their arriving invitations for the party at his family's estate. And of course the girls demanded more details, at least the ones that he was comfortable sharing.

Nothing was going to be the same at school for the living now that the word was officially out. The word would be through the whole student body by the end of the day that he was forever linked to a Vampire.

But with that Vampire being Heero, he couldn't have been happier about it. Yuy made it known how proud he was that they were tied... and now he was realizing they shared that same pride.

At the end of their lunch, the pack of friends all bid their farewells for the day before they headed out to their next round of tests. Out of eyesight of the others, Trent ducked into a darkened, empty class room and closed the door behind him.

Reaching for his cell phone, he held down one of the keys for an automatic dial before he lifted the receiver to his ear. Not waiting for the greeting voice to speak when the call was answered, he announced, "It's me."

His eyes narrowed as he warned quietly, "Things are starting to get a little... complicated for me here. I'll be at the meeting tonight to go over the details."

*   *   *   *   *   *

That evening, the sun was setting in its early winter descent over the horizon when Heero and Duo stepped back into their home hours later... laughing.

As they'd expected, it had been an entertaining day for them to say the least. There was practically a line of people around the parking lot when the Vampire had ended his shift at the library to see them leave hand-in-hand.

"Considering how long they've seen me on my own, I can understand their surprise," Yuy snickered as he removed his Other's coat to hang it in the entrance way closet.

Maxwell hummed, "Well, I can also grasp the disappointment that a lot of those girls had in seeing that you're taken now. I guess a lot of them were hoping that you might notice them."

On their way towards the living room, the Vampire nudged the braided youth, snorting, "How do you know that they weren't upset to see that you were the one spoken for?"

He raised an eyebrow when blinking violets peered at him and smirked, "You're one hell of a catch, Duo. I'd easily bet that more than half of the student body and faculty, male and female mind you, admires you every bit as much as I do."

Blushing, Maxwell rolled his eyes and nudged his Infected. "Again. Biased," he huffed with a light swat to his bonded's arm.

Their quiet laughter came to an abrupt halt when they reached the doorway to find Wufei typing away diligently at his laptop. He hadn't left the spot at the table since that morning when the pair had left. Seeing the driven focus in his dark, gold-rimmed eyes, the Vampire and his Other frowned deeply.

For Duo, it hit particularly hard to see his would-be-brother-in-law burying himself in his work as he was. Wufei was not a creature to ever really let onto his feelings much, but it was evident that he needed to keep his mind occupied in Anna's absence.

Just the night before, Chang made the request to Yuy and Maxwell if he could stay in their home because his own estate felt too empty... was filled with too many reminders of his wife. Of course his brothers agreed without hesitation, heavy-hearted in seeing how he was silently dealing with his concerns.

It was only when he now saw the scaly Infected in such a state that the braided living realized how empty the estate seemed without his sister there to greet him with a tight hug and a kiss on his cheek or the end of his nose. He'd had enough to keep him distracted from how much he missed her, worried about her.

Biting his lip, Heero turned to his Other and gestured with his head for them to head down the hall so that Wufei could have his space. Following his Vampire, Duo sighed to himself. On the deep breath that followed, he picked up the pleasant smells of a fine meal being cooked as they neared the dining area.

To neither of their surprises, the bonded pair found Midi delving into her own source of distraction in the form of cleaning and cooking in the kitchen while Trowa read the local newspaper at the small table away from the stove. It was an almost comical contrast- the hurricane of activity that the 'little mother' was in her moving about the room and her husband a serene calm that was all but oblivious to the storm.

Duo would have laughed... if there were Anna's bright ring to start him off.

"Oh," Midi blinked in surprise when she finally turned from the stove to notice her cousins. Beaming, she rounded the counter that blocked her off and embraced the two, pecking their cheeks. "And how were your days?" she asked before she headed back to the pots that were about to bubble over.

Shrugging, Maxwell smirked, "Exams were fine and everyone close to me knows about my being with Heero now." Yuy gave him that proud grin again, his thrill over the boy's content in telling the world about them shining in his golden cobalt eyes.

The busy brunette's head peered over her shoulder, a couple wisps of her hair falling from her ponytail to frame the sides of her lovely face as she beamed, "That's wonderful. And they all took it well?" His own interest piqued, Trowa folded up the paper that shielded his face as he looked onto his cousins.

Moving to sit across from the tall Latin, Duo nodded, "They couldn't have handled it better, actually. They're all looking forward to coming to the party to meet all of you, Father Maxwell and Sister Helen especially."

"Very good to hear," Barton smirked. "It must be a huge relief to know that you have everyone's blessings."

At that, the braided youth shrugged, "Yea, it's nice. But it wouldn't have changed anything even if they didn't." Interestingly enough those words came out without much thought to them on his end, making them even more sincere.

Heero was standing behind his Other in an instant, squeezing his shoulder in appreciation as he looked down on him with a warm smile meant only for him.

Breathless for a moment when he stared up at the Infected, Duo took a second before he could work his mind about returning the grin.

Yea. There was no way he would have changed a thing. Life was already way too good.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Trent lowered the hood that shielded his face when he turned into the familiar darkened alley deep in the heart of the city. When he reached the closed, black door at the end of the stretch that belonged to a long-abandoned warehouse, he peered behind him to see that he was not being spied on.

Runoff from the snow melting off the roofs created the only sound and movement as it trickled down like rain to fall into building puddles in the cracked cement. Down the long corridor, the passersby walked to and fro in the glow of the streetlamps without a glance over at him.

Sighing, the teenager turned to raise his hand and gave the door three sharp knocks. There was a brief pause before the cover sealing off the lookout hole slid away. A pair of green eyes glowing in the light of the full moon pouring down blinked before the hole was closed up again.

At the familiar sound of padlocks and chains behind undone, Trent stood back. When the door opened out to him, he nodded firmly to the familiar guard as he entered. His steps heavy and purposeful, he traveled deep into the darkness until he found the meeting room where his 'brothers' and 'sisters' were gathered and waiting for him.

Bowing his head to the candle-lit faces, he muttered their names in greeting and headed to the center of the ring that they made to join their leader. A strong hand fell on his shoulder and the man's voice said in its gritty tone, "Your call sounded urgent, Trent. What news do you have for us, son?"

Slowly raising his head, the boy looked back around to the curious team around him. Then his eyes fell onto the wall covered with weapons of every kind behind his leader, taking comfort in knowing that he was where he belonged... where he would be protected from those filthy vermin plaguing the world...

He was back with his fellow Hunters.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Another Original gone.

Sighing deeply, Lady Une shook her head with a deep frown of sadness. There were so many of them fading over the last year, all of them content to die before they turned the wrong human into their permanent mate.

Heero had been very fortunate to have found Duo when he had, or he surely would have joined their fate.

Just the thought of that caused a shiver to run down the Infected's spine. Closing the notification report folder that she had been reading, she jotted down the date of the service to take place in Spain so that she and Treize could be present to say a few words to the friends and loved ones of their lost brethren.

Though she didn't need the lamp light in her private study to see, the light provided Une a sense of warmth and comfort as she worked the case of the Rogues. When she came to a wall, she went through the rest of the Preventers' paperwork to follow-up with her teams around the world.

It was a never-ending business, this protecting the humans and looking out for the preservation of the peace treaty between their kinds.

When her vidphone rang, the Commander's head shot up in surprise at the unexpected sound. Reaching to accept the call, she adjusted the screen on her desk as the image of one of her agents appeared. "Amara," she smiled widely in greeting. She easily fell into the dark-haired Vampire's native tongue as she asked, "How are you, my dear? I do hope the weather in Greece is lovely."

Bowing her head, the other Infected replied, "Commander, my apologies for calling you at this late hour." As soon as the words escaped her, she giggled, "Even if we do not sleep." Clearing her throat, her grin fell away and she stated, "There's something that I've been tossing around in my head that I just did not think that this could wait."

"That's quite alright," Lady Une chuckled, folding her arms at the edge of her desk. She tilted her head, inquiring politely, "What is on your mind?"

Amara chewed on the inside of her cheek as she responded, "Well, I received your notice of what is happening with the Rogues out in your area and I could possibly have something. It's all just theories for now, but..."

Her brown-and-gold eyes blinking, the Commander leaned forward with an urgent, "Yes? By all means, any theory is more than welcome as we have so little to go on right now."

Running a hand through her shoulder-length locks, the agent shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "With all due respect, Lady Une," she frowned, "I would come right out and tell you if I could explain it so easily over this call. I ask that you please come here to see for yourself what has me so concerned. I think that time is running out on one of our own who resides here."

'Not another one,' the Council woman thought to herself, heart sinking in her chest.

The Grecian Infected seemed to read what her leader was thinking and quickly shook her head, "This is different, ma'am. He's not an Original, in fact far from it. He should have had more time than this."

Lady Une sat back in her chair at that, blinking in confusion. "How old is he?" she pressed.

Swallowing roughly, Amara answered, "Only two-hundred years, Commander."

Two hundred.... but there would still be plenty of time for the Vampire to find his Other, Lady Une silently reasoned. Something else had to be wrong with him.

With a deep, shaky breath, the young Preventer leaned forward and declared in a whisper, "Commander... I believe that the Rogues are targeting Companions."

TBC...

 

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