Too long we've been denying, Now we're both tired of trying
We hit a wall, and we can't get over it
Nothing to relive, it's water under the bridge
You said it, I get it- I guess it is what it is
-Lyrics 'It Is What It Is' performed by Lifehouse
Crimson Ties Part 66
Not five seconds into his stepping out into the library parking lot and Duo could already feel the eyes on him without even having to look around to actually find them. Adjusting the waist hem of his tightly fitted, sleeveless black turtleneck, he closed the passenger door behind him as the other passengers climbed into the open.
When he did force himself to look around, Maxwell inwardly groaned at the dozens of students and teachers that had stopped everything they had been in the middle of to outright stare at him. There had been a small part of him that'd hoped maybe he would be exempt of the alluring effect that Companions had on livings.
No such luck of that.
Chuckling deeply, Heero rounded the front of the car to slip beside his lover and drape an arm around the small of his back. "No worries," he smirked as the braided immortal leaned heavily against him. Leaning in close to press his lips near the ear beside him, the Infected whispered huskily, "They know you're mine."
Left unsaid was how that bond made certain that none of the livings around would ever dream of giving Duo a hard time out of both fear and respect for the Infected.
Knees shaking at the way his Vampire said 'mine,' the hybrid met his gold-and-cobalt eyes and couldn't help but take in the warm comfort that they offered. Smirking, he accepted that he was just going to have to get used to the gazes on him and decided to go along with it all.
To the surprise of all watching, Maxwell leaned in to press a firm kiss against Yuy's lips. Blinking in surprise only momentarily, the Infected sighed and closed his eyes as he returned the exchange as it deepened.
Every gasp and whisper around the perimeter of the lot was picked up by the Companion's heightened sense of hearing. His lips curling in a smirk, Duo pulled back and pecked the tip of Yuy's nose. "Will you be meeting us in the cafeteria at lunch?" he asked, no longer paying mind to the growing audience around them.
"Of course," Heero grinned. "I'll meet you inside at the end of your morning classes." That said, he gave his lover a playful swat on his rear and winked on his way past to head for the library entrance, the livings standing around parting in his wake.
Shaking her head in amusement, Catherine walked alongside her braided friend as she giggled, "You two are just too cute." The Companion's cheeks burnt with a faint blush as he snorted and nudged her.
From the back of the dissipating crowd, a familiar voice called excitedly, "Duo! Quatre! Catherine!" Leading a handful of friendly faces through to their classmates, a beaming blonde waved her gloved hands in their air, cheering, "I've missed all of you over the break!"
Violet eyes widening, Maxwell laughed, "Syl!" Alex and Mueller were sprinting after the Senator's daughter with Trent slowly walking up behind all of them. At the sight of the upperclassmen, the hybrid smiled, "Hey, guys!"
The moment the lot was able to actually have a good look on their braided friend when they were a few feet away, they froze in their approach to blink in shock and disbelief... all but Trent, who kept his expression carefully trained to not reveal whatever his feelings were at the sight of the gold band on the Companion's arm.
First to recover from her surprise, the slight blonde sputtered, "D-Duo... y-you...?" Glaring, she folded her arms and stepped before him, to warn, "Please don't tell me that you got married and I wasn't invited to the wedding."
"Jeez, Syl!" Maxwell laughed, shaking his head. "I was only turned, there hasn't been an actual wedding yet. And when there is, you know you'll be invited to it," he reassured. Opening his arms, he demanded, "Now, where's my hug?"
Her disappointment melting away immediately, Noventa's brilliant smile returned as she giggled and launched herself at him. Clutching her through her thick, white fur coat, Duo looked on as Alex and Mueller were reuniting with Quatre and Catherine just before Sylvia joined them.
Then he locked gazes with Trent.
Clearing his throat, the junior raised his head of short, brown hair to the Companion and mumbled under his breath, "Congratulations, I suppose, Maxwell." He stepped up and extended a hand in offering.
Not exactly the warmest of receptions. But Duo did appreciated the fact that the young living was at least making an attempt to be nice after their talk during the party that his family had thrown him.
A lopsided smirk curling his mouth, the hybrid accepted his classmate's hand for a firm shake. "Thanks, Trent," he nodded firmly in as sincere a voice as he could muster. Seeing the effort that was put in towards an understanding, it was only fair to return it.
Back at the huddle forming a few feet away, Alex pulled away from his embrace with Catherine as he frowned sadly, "I'm sorry about your loss, Cat. We saw the obituary notice of your grandfather's death in that car wreck. If there's anything you need, you just let us know." The others nodded enthusiastically.
"You don't know how much that means, all of you," the redhead smiled, fighting the shimmer from her eyes. Trent was the last one to move in so that he could give her a tight squeeze, whispering his own condolences.
Slapping Quatre on the back, Mueller smirked, "So, any interesting findings for our young genius over the break? I can only imagine the fun experiments you came up with having so much free time on your hands."
The scientist grinned, "Oh, actually the break was pretty uneventful."
Maxwell and Bloom shared a private snicker over that comment.
"So, breakfast?" Alex asked. Wincing at the Companion, he stammered sheepishly, "Oh, uh... do you still... eat?"
Chuckling, Duo shrugged, "It's not required of me anymore, but I can still enjoy a few light things. Besides, I'm more than happy to just hang out, too." He gathered up his backpack from the ground to sling it over his shoulder with a grin as he cheered, "Let's go!"
* * * * * *
Noin certainly didn't feel any different after drinking the bag of Duo's blood that she had confiscated. Frowning to herself as she slipped back through the front door of her home, she silently wondered if her change had not gone as she had hoped.
Maybe Quatre had it all wrong about how the shifts in Vampire DNA actually worked after drinking from the hybrid. Perhaps it was not the wish of the Infected that brought on the ability they took on... or at the very least, the effects needed more time than the scientist first assumed to take hold.
With a deep sigh of frustration, Lucrezia sank into the recliner of her living room to stare at the ceiling. Her guilt catching up with her, she raised her hands to dry-wash her face. Whatever her change might be and whenever it made itself known, she would have to explain how she went behind her loved ones to acquire it.
They wouldn't be happy, but it was their right to know... and Noin was quickly deciding that it might even be better for all if she just came clean straight away when Duo, Heero and the others returned from their day at the college campus.
Yes, the Vampire solemnly chose in conclusion, that was exactly what she would do. Before she did anything else to see if her plan had worked, that would have to be handled first.
At the sound of nearly non-existent footsteps approaching the room, she lowered her hands from her face in time to watch as Midi entered the room.
Sporting a snowflake-detailed apron and carrying a billowy feather duster, the lovely brunette smiled in greeting, "Oh, hello, Noin. I was wondering where you were."
With a sheepish grin as she looked to the cleaning utensil in her hand, the 'little mother' giggled, "I do hope that you don't mind my taking the liberty of cleaning around a bit while the others are away. Zechs gave me the keys when I finished up in Treize and Lady Une's home."
Lucrezia grinned warmly, chuckling, "I appreciate the help, considering how busy we've all been. It's been days since this place has had a good wipe down, so you're more than welcome to fret clean here any time you wish, dear."
Huffing, Midi placed her fists on her hips, insisting, "I am not fretting. My hands are just happiest-"
"When they're busy," the Preventer smirked in completing her friend's usual defense. Noin winked, "I know. My apologies for mistaking your concern with the need for something to do." Of course, she and everyone else knew that the two were one and the same when it came to the Latin Infected but it was just best to leave it alone.
Her bright smile returning, Midi got right to her task, starting by dusting off the books in their shelves at furthest corner of the room. "Mind if I stay here to do some research on my laptop?" Lucrezia called as she moved to the tall table at the center of the grand space where her portable computer waited.
The other Vampire looked over her shoulder in mid-swipe of her feather duster as she replied, "Not at all. I can work around you." That said, she focused back on the shelves that she was cleaning.
Opening the top of her laptop, the Councilwoman perched atop the tall chair before it and began to access her hidden drives. Maybe there was something that she and her family had missed. 'At least this will be something to do before I have to come forward to the others over how I drank Duo's blood,' she thought to herself.
Books fell hard against the carpeted floor, their heavy covers thudding loudly and making the Preventer jump to her feet. Spinning to the source at the shelves, her eyes grew at her friend's pale and stricken state. It was as though the 'little mother' were looking on a ghost... only she was staring right into the other Infected's gold-ringed eyes.
"Midi?" Noin breathed worriedly. Tentatively stepping towards her, she asked softly, "What is it?"
Her hand falling limp at her side to drop the feather duster in her grasp, the brunette immortal whispered, "Y-you drank Duo's blood? When?"
It was Noin's turn to reel back from surprise and panic. "How did you... I mean I never even said... I didn't even speak," she stammered, shaking her head almost violently as she shook.
'Oh, God, but I did hear her,' Midi's voice wailed through the agent's mind, though the slight Vampire's parted lips never moved. 'She did drink Duo's blood. She wouldn't be reacting like this if she didn't!'
Gasping sharply, Noin's eyes grew all the more as she buried her fingers into her short hair. Not only had her plan worked but she got more than she originally bargained for.
Swallowing roughly, she frowned deeply as she thought, 'I am so, so sorry for doing this, my dear friend. Please don't tell the others until I've had the chance to sit with all of you tonight."
Only paling all the more, Midi just managed to contain a stunned cry when her hands rose to slap over her mouth just as it came on. 'Noin, I just heard everything you said without seeing a single lip twitch!' her voice cried even as her lips remained covered by her hands.
All of a sudden, Lucrezia felt very scared in light of her new ability. Swallowing roughly, she ducked her head and nodded. "I... I wanted to be able to read Josh's mind," she muttered, actually speaking out so low that her words were almost missed. Biting her lip, she shook her head, "God, I never meant to betray anyone's trust, but-"
Jumping once again, only this time at the sound of the front door opening, the Preventer and her friend spun just as Zechs entered the room. "Ah, there you are," he grinned to his wife in spotting her. "Lady Une, Treize and I were just finishing up getting Josh's image out to all of our fellow agents when I realized that you'd run off."
Were her heart still beating, Noin knew that it would have been racing as her husband approached her. Opening and closing her mouth, she gathered up the courage to tell him everything.
"Oh, she was just working away here," Midi giggled, the books that had fallen from her arms already back on the shelves when the Council members looked back at her. Gesturing to the opened laptop, she shrugged, "When I came in, I found her buried in reports, the workaholic that she is."
Merquise hummed and met his blinking bride's gaze. "Always looking for something to help a case," he smirked in pride. "You're a true tracker, love." Leaning in, he pressed a kiss against the other agent's temple.
Releasing a deep sigh of relief as she leaned into his touch, Lucrezia gave the 'little mother' a profound expression of gratitude. 'You're not completely off the hook,' the brunette Infected's voice warned as she raised an eyebrow and returned to her work. 'We will all talk more about this later.'
A thick lump formed in the back of Noin's throat that she had to force down. 'Yea,' she agreed nervously through her thoughts.
There really was no telling how her friends and family would react to what she had done, so Lucrezia knew that it was going to be a very long few hours for her before everyone was together again.
* * * * * *
"I just ran into Maxwell between our last classes," Hilde stated, a sharp bite in her tone as she caught up with Trent in the thick cover of the trees just beyond the main campus hall. Pulling on the straps of her backpack, her eyes narrowed as she hissed, "So the rumors I've been hearing all day are true. He let that Vampire change him."
Unable to rein in her disgust, the female Hunter's sighed breath came out in a plume of vapor on the cold air. "Of all people, I thought that Duo would have had more self-respect and enough of a distaste over those diseased monsters to not be swayed by their charm that easily," she growled through her clenched teeth.
Drawing deep breath to calm himself, Trent leaned against the thick tree trunk behind him and requested patiently, "Please be a little mindful that I actually still like Maxwell. He could have pressed for more from me at that party when he called me on how I was scoping out his and Yuy's mansion, but he let me go."
Hilde snorted bitterly, "But not without a warning. The way he threatened you if any harm should come to those damned Infected, you'd think that they actually were family."
The other Hunter stared ahead into his memories of that night, of how Yuy and the other Vampires interacted with and treated Duo. In little more than a whisper, he said simply, "That's because they are family now. Maybe we don't understand or like it, but that's the truth of the matter."
Blinking her growing eyes, the administrative assistant regained her composure to glare on her classmate. Her voice low and venomous, she demanded, "What the hell has been going on with you? No one hated Vampires more than you and now you're actually defending them?! After what their kind did to Dorothy, you ought to be ashamed of your-"
"Don't!" Trent snapped as he met her gaze, his own eyes burning with anger now. Raising a finger to the stunned young woman, he gritted, "Don't. Ever. Go. There. Again. You really believe that I could forget about my own sister when she's the reason I became a Hunter in the first place?"
Finally coming through the fog of her rage, Hilde frowned deeply. Admonishing herself for the words that she'd purposely used to hurt her friend, she shook her lowering head. With a rough swallow, she stared at the splotches of snow on the ground as she said softly, "Trent, I... I'm so sorry. That was wrong of me. I never should have sunk to that level."
At her sincere apology and disappointment in herself, the junior sighed and physically relaxed and his arm fell back at his side. "It's alright," he reassured in a strained voice. Running a hand through his short hair, he muttered, "This whole damned thing is a lot more complicated than we originally thought it would be."
Once again, those mental pictures from the party flooded the Hunter. After having had so much time to think over the break, the whole moment and the players were appreciated all the more.
He recalled how Heero never left Duo's side the whole night, really taking the time to meet and get to know everyone that was near and dear to his braided Chosen. And the little touches and squeezes that the Vampire gave his partner when he thought no one was looking were actually endearing.
Midi had been the picture-perfect hostess to all of the living that had shown. Her love and attentiveness towards her deemed 'family' were unmatched by every living mother that the young scholar had ever known since his own mother had died before he really had the chance to know her.
Trowa and Wufei were quiet but far from off-putting, always making sure to include Maxwell in on their conversations with a comfortable ease. And neither one of them was anything short of hospitable and accommodating to their guests.
And Anna was every bit the sweet big sister to Duo that Dorothy had been to Trent. Seeing how his friend and the redheaded Infected laugh and playfully nudge each other as they had throughout that night, the Hunter's throat constricted over how it only made him miss his sweet sibling all the more while he envied Maxwell for having that kind of connection.
What meant the most to the junior was how none of those things that he had witnessed of the Vampires were trite or put on. They really did love and look after Duo like one of their own.
As much as he wanted to hate and blame the whole thing on some charm laid on by the Infected, Trent simply could not.
"Like I said," he just managed when after clearing his throat, "they're family." Meeting Hilde's eyes again, he declared, "And seeing as how I still want to be friends with Duo, he and his relatives are off limits, so I won't betray their whereabouts to J or our unit."
The young man rolled his shoulders back in defiance as he stated, "I know that would make me a traitor and I'll accept whatever punishment would be coming to me if they ever find out-"
Biting her lip, Hilde shook her head vehemently, cutting him off. "They won't find out," she promised in a breath. "I swear I won't say anything to them."
Only finding the truth in her vow, Trent eased and nodded in gratitude. So much had changed over the couple months of their winter break. Whereas weeks before he had been completely enthralled with the lovely assistant before him, now he could see just how ugly she was with her hate. He certainly had a difference of opinion of her... as well as himself.
More than ever, he was certain that Dorothy would never have wanted him to be so taken by anger and disgust. Even in light of what had happened to her, his sweet sister would only be able to see the good in every creature. She would never hope for vengeance.
The mercy shown to him by Duo had been a gift. And he was not about to take it for granted. If it killed him to do so inside, he would do what it took to return the same leniency.
"So, that's it, then? That's where we stand?" Hilde asked softly.
It was a loaded couple of questions- suggesting that whatever may have come out of their relationship was no longer an option. Inquiries that they were, they were also meant to serve as ultimatums. The lines had been drawn between them, neither willing to budge on where they stood when it came to the Vampires.
And those differing opinions were too great to overcome if they ever could be more than friends. While the connection and attraction was there for both their parts, they simply would not be enough that they could survive as Hunters at odds.
Had it not been for this discussion, Trent would have been devastated at the loss of the potential between them before it ever really had a chance to start. But his eyes were open now. He knew that if there was a chanced for him to be truly happy in life and with himself, he needed to let go of a few things.
That conclusion made, he nodded firmly, "Yea. It is exactly what it is."
A heavy silence fell between them, only broken when the wind that had picked up rustled through the evergreen trees looming overhead.
Checking his watch, the young Hunter announced, "I better get going. Maxwell, Yuy and the others are going to be waiting on me for lunch in the cafeteria." As he lowered his arm, he couldn't help but at least extend an olive branch of some sort. "You're always welcomed to join us, if you like," he offered.
After all... if he was willing to change, maybe she might as well.
With a snort, Hilde huffed, "I might not be selling you out to J and our unit and I might still be your friend, but I'll never share the same table with an Infected or their Companion. You knock yourself out." Trent reeled back as though he she had slapped him across the face.
Turning on her heels for the narrow trail leading back to the open, she peered over her shoulder and warned, "Watch your back with that 'family.'" The last word was spat out, her face scrunched in the distaste of even having to say it. Rather than wait for her classmate's response, she hurried through the cover without looking back.
Defeated, Trent puffed out a deep sigh that clouded into a large plume of vapor. Shaking his head, he slowly took to the path when his former object of affection was no longer in sight.
Behind him, he completely missed the shift high up in the evergreens where he had just been standing.
Hidden in thick pine needles of the branch she was perched on, a very pale and wide-eyed Relena breathed, "Hunters." Slowly turning her head to the next tree, she whispered, "Did you get all of that, Trowa?"
"Yea," the Latin Vampire answered as he stepped out from the foliage surrounding him. Emerald-and-gold eyes narrowed, he stared after where the livings had vanished and grumbled, "Just when we thought we had enough to worry about."
Wufei pushed himself upright from the trunk top that he was leaning against at the appearance of Barton and Peacecraft. In seeing their concerned expressions, the scaly Vampire frowned and looked over to the bare maple tree a few feet away where his wife was standing.
Her right arm raised so that her palm was aiming forward into the open space of the clearing stretched out before the long branch that she was perched on, Anna's face was pinched in concentration, she whispered, "Come on... Lightning bolt... Fire ball..."
When nothing happened, the Irish Infected waved her outstretched arm, ordering, "Just do something, damn it!" She growled lowly when there was still no change and pulled her hand back to glare at it in frustration.
"Anna," Trowa called, breaking her from her focus.
Blinking widely, the redhead spun on her branch and hurried in a flash to stand amongst the other Vampires. "Uh oh," she said quietly in looking on her Barton and Peacecraft. "Why do I get the feeling we're not going to like whatever it is you have to say?" she asked as she slipped beside her husband.
Drawing a deep breath, the Latin immortal frowned to his cousins, "Unfortunately, your hunch would be right. We have a new and very serious problem that we're up against. And we're going to have to see to it soon."
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page