Fic: Don't Lie

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Otherwise known as Vamp!Heero(sorta), which still hasn't been beta-ed. But I have in fact edited it and done a very slight rewrite, which means there are probably dozen's more errors, but at least it's not as bad as it was last year. Today is the 21st so I have about 10 days to get some more done and posted, wish me luck!

Don't Lie
Gundam Wing
Duo/Hilde, Heero/Duo
PG-13 (at the moment)
Yaoi, blood, graphic violence (mostly off screen)
15,000+ words

There are somethings Duo never sees coming


"You don't have to dress up or anything. Just wear black like you always do, that'll be enough. I just really want you to come. Okay? I promise I'll make it up to you," she finished in a very suggestive tone.

Duo looked over at Quatre, despairingly.

Quatre put his hands up, "Don't look over here; you're not gonna get an offer like that from me."

Duo leered at Quatre until Hilde hit his shoulder to get his attention back.

"Come on, Duo," she pleaded.

Duo sighed, "Hilde—"

"Oh no. No. No. No no no. You can not do this to me!" She shook his arm, "Duo, please!” Seeing that he was still unmoved she took a deep breath and changed tactics.

"Look, it's just a party for a couple of hours," she said reasonably. "And the only reason I want to go is because I missed it last time. This is your fault, anyway. Last year when you went you talked about this party for over a month after. You loved it last year, what's the big deal?"

"I just... I have a weird feeling."

Hilde's eyes widened, "What kind of a weird feeling?"

Duo shook his head, "It was nothing, don't worry about it."

"It's never 'nothing' with you. Spill," Quatre ordered. They had all know each other for a long time, and if there was one thing they knew about Duo, it was to take his 'feelings' seriously.

Duo looked over at Quatre again, "Traitor."

"She's my best friend," Quatre said with a smirk, "you're just some guy she picked up at a playground."

Duo was about to reply to that but Hilde grabbed his chin, turned his head to her and kissed him. "Focus. What kind of weird feeling? What happened?"

Duo shook his head minutely, (Hilde realized she still had his chin and let go.) "It was just..."

"Spit it out, Man." Hilde prodded him.

Duo laughed, grabbed her around waist and pulled her in. "I don't know. When they made the announcement for the time and location this morning... it was like... I can't really describe it. It was like I got hot and cold at the same time," he shivered a bit at the memory. "There something about The Mansion."

"Duo, we've been to The Mansion about a million times. You've never had a problem with it before." Hilde was thinking about all the summers they spent running around there; it was the community Arts and Rec. Center.

"I know. I didn't even get a flash of anything, it was just a feeling. Like I said, it was weird."

"Well," Quatre said, trying to look at the bright side, "at least weird doesn't mean bad. Right?"

"Yeah," Duo nodded, "I'm just making a big deal outta nothing. We can go to the party."

Hilde still looked concerned, "Are you sure? It's just a party; we don't have to go, especially if you think—"

He grabbed her hips and rocked them back and forth, gently. "Hey, you wanted to go, we'll go. Besides," He continued with a smirk, "I want to see your costume."

Hilde threw her arms around him and gave him a huge hug. "You're the best. Gotta go." Then she ran off towards her house, dragging Quatre with her.

***

The week that past between the conversation and the party was unremarkable; except every time the party was mentioned, Duo continued to get the “weird” feeling.

He ignored it.

Silly boy.

***

When Duo gets an urge to do something, he usually follows it. But, contrary to the typical urges of a young man of his age and disposition, Duo’s usually kept him out of trouble.

Usually.

A certain amount of precognitive ability can only take you so far.

For instance:
If you get a sudden and unexplained urge to go search out some unknown thing… your common sense should tell you that leaving the crowded and noisy party on the first floor to sneak into the restricted basement storage area of a creepy mansion on All Hallows Eve would not be the time to do that.

***

"Jesus Christ!" Duo jumped and turned around, clutching at his chest. His eyes were wide as he stared at the dark figure standing in the doorway. "Whatcha tryin' to do? Kill me or something?"

The person still hadn't moved or reacted to Duo at all.

The light outside of the room put the person in silhouette but somehow Duo could still see the person's eyes clearly, starting blue; it was unnerving.

"Hey, you got a name or something? What are you doing down here? This area is off limits," Duo said. As if he, himself, had not just sneaked into a restricted area.

"My name is Heero Yuy and I am looking for someone."

Duo really couldn't resist that bait, "Who?"

"You," Heero said evenly.

Duo cleared his throat. "Well then, I guess you found me. Um look, I was just curious. I'll go back up to the party." He took a step forward to exit the room but his obstruction didn't move. "Um, you kinda hafta get outta the way."

"Why would I do that?"

"So I can get back to the party..."

The man took another step forward and Duo backed up again, suddenly tensed.

"Why would I let you get back to the party?"

"What do you want?"

Heero's upper lip curled and Duo would have sworn he saw a flash of light from an extremely long tooth but before he could get a second look the door to the room slammed shut plunging him in darkness.

"Hey! What the—!" Duo choked on his words as he felt something flicking the end of his of his braid; he spun around but he still couldn't see anything. He resisted throwing his hands out and searching the area, he felt foolish enough already. Something else brushed past him and his goose bumps rose. "What is the big deal? Stop that!"

Then something caught him by the throat and dragged him forward several feet. His eyes widened as he found himself staring into that bright piercing stare despite the darkness in the room. His hands reached up to grasp the wrist of the hand that held him but he could not get free. He whimpered.

"What is my name, Mortal?"

"...He...Heero," Duo choked out. His feet were barely touching the ground and the guy was looming over him.

"Your last word." Then Heero bent his head down and all Duo felt was a sharp pain in his neck.

And then,

Nothing.

***

"What is..." his throat was dry and he coughed violently for a few long seconds before he could catch his breath and try again. “Where am I?"

"Duo! Oh my Goddess!" Suddenly Hilde was over him, kissing him all over his face; incidentally smothering him in the process.

"Hil! Hilde!" His throat was raspy and it sent him into another coughing fit.

"Oh my Goddess!" She ran to the door and started screaming for a nurse.

Two came rushing in just as his second fit subsided. They checked him out, his responses, his vitals.

“Can I get some water?” Duo asked in a plaintive tone.

Hilde poured him a cup from the pitcher that was on the little table next to the bed and one of the nurses helped him sit up so he could drink it.

“So… what happened?” Duo asked the three other people in the room. There was a bit more fussing and they moved his bed so he could sit up without assistance.

“We were hoping you could tell us,” the first nurse answered. “There are some police officers waiting to hear from you on the matter.”

“You’re not in trouble,” Hilde cut in, seeing the look on Duo’s face.

"You should probably rest some more before you speak to them."

"The doctor will be in shortly to see you and give you more information."

"How are you feeling?" The other nurse asked.

"Kinda like I got hit by a truck," Duo said.

"We can get you something for the pain," the second nurse said. He turned like he was going to get something right then.

"Don't," Duo said suddenly. "I'd rather not. I get loopy on medication; it's not that serious, really. I can deal with it. What I'd really like is a couple minutes to talk to my girlfriend."

Both nurses gave him a look. Duo sighed and said, "Just talk, I swear. She looks wiped out."

And she did, too; Hilde was very pale and trembling slightly.

"I'm guessing you guys aren't gonna let me go today and she's only gonna make herself sick if she stays here any longer. Give me a couple of minutes."

"The doctor will be in shortly," The first one repeated as she turned and left. The second nurse followed her out, closing the door behind them.

"I'm not going anywhere," Hilde said, shaking her head.

"Yeah you are, but not right this minute. Come here." Duo said waving her over.

There were fresh tear tracks down her face and she looked for all the world like she was about to burst out crying again. When she walked over her eyes started tearing up.

"Hey. I'm fine. I'll be okay." Duo said poking at her to get her to laugh.

"Stop it, Duo. I was really scared. You've never let yourself get hurt like this before. I should have never made you go to that party."

"Knock it off," he said, poking her again. "It wasn't your fault. It was supposed to happen."

She took a step back. "What do you mean it was supposed to happen?"

"I was supposed to meet him, but I wasn't supposed to die. It wasn't supposed to be a good thing... well, not a completely good thing."

"What? Who were you supposed to meet? Who did this to you?"

Duo waved her off, "How did you guys find me anyway?"

"When Catherine started screaming. She left the hall to go to the bathroom and you were just outside the doors. Oh Duo, you looked..."

"I can imagine."

"What happened to you?" Hilde asked again, she looked about ready to shake the answer out of him.

"I was attacked,” Duo said, simply.

"How? You never let yourself get into fights you can win."

"It was a Vampire."

"I... Duo. That’s—" Hilde was at a loss for words.

"Hilde, I know what I saw."

"Okay, but... couldn't it have been some kid...." And Hilde knew she was saying something ridiculous but it was still much easier to believe than a Vampire.

"I get what you’re saying but as hard as it is to believe.... If it were some punk kid with fake fangs I woulda seen this coming—"

"You did see it coming, Duo. You said—"

"I really didn't. I knew something was going to happen, I didn't know what it was and I always know what's coming. This was different Hilde, it wasn't... Human.

"It was an honest to God Vampire, corny B-movie dialogue and all. He was too fast and strong and... his eyes glowed and when it bit me I was out like a light."

"Bit you?! He tore open your throat! It looks like someone attacked you with a hacksaw."

"He meant to kill me."

Hilde gasped. "And you were going to let him!"

“I only said he meant to kill me. But he was never going to kill me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Hilde was starting to get really concerned; everything Duo was telling her was just crazy.

“I know. I know. Listen. He was going to kill someone, probably the first person he found. It might have even been Catherine. It would have been anyone else but me. Don’t you get it, it saved somebody’s life.”

“It nearly got you killed!”

“But it didn’t. Hilde, I’m fine, really.”

“No. You’re really not. This is crazy! Why wouldn’t he just kill you like anyone else?”

“I don’t know… But I’m gonna find out.”

“Oh no!” Hilde said, recognizing that look in Duo’s eyes. “Whatever you’re planning, stop it right now! You can go looking for him!”

“I’m not. He’s coming to me.”

“Duo…” Hilde felt faint.

“Hey, I’d love to tell you that I’d be out that door so fast if I thought he was coming here to finish the job, but I can’t. Whatever he’s coming here for, it’s not to hurt me and I don’t think I could run far enough anyway. And that’s why I want you to go, he’s not gonna hurt me, but I’m pretty sure he’ll kill anyone else he finds here. I really need you to go Hilde, I want you alive tomorrow more than I want your company.”

“Jerk,” Hilde said, with no feeling behind it.

“Truth,” was Duo’s standard reply.

“I don’t believe this,” Hilde shook her head.

“Would I lie to you?” Duo asked.

“Never.”

“Then stop arguing with me. What time is it anyway? There’s something I’d like you to do before you go.”

“It’s just after three in the afternoon.”

“So you still have three hours of daylight to work with—”

“It gets dark at five.”

“That’s…” Duo paused. “I missed Daylight Savings? How long was I out?”

“Three days.”

“… Wow,” Duo said a little stunned.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“No I mean… He’s been waiting around town for me to wake up for three days… Has anyone else been attacked?”

“I don’t know. Nobody's come through here with wounds like yours, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, anyone else would have gone directly to the morgue.”

Hilde choked on a sob.

“Aw, Hilde," He said, sympathetically. He was not used to seeing her so emotional. "Have you gotten any sleep at all?”

“A little, none of it very good,” she admitted.

“Just go home. I’m fine here. Go get some sleep, I don’t want you to get caught out tonight anyway.”

“Duo!” Her temper flared for a moment, but then all the fight drained out of her. She sighed and said, “I live six blocks from this hospital, I think I can make it home. What do you need me to do? It’s not like I’ll be able to sleep tonight anyway.”

“I wanted you to see if you could talk people into heading home tonight, but it’s kinda late for walking around town… plus he probably won’t be picking out strays tonight anyway.”

“Wh-,” Hilde shut her mouth. She was going to ask why, but it was pretty obvious where he thought the vampire would be tonight instead.

“They probably called G when I woke up,” Duo speculated. “He might be on his way.”

“He was very concerned about you,” Hilde offered. Duo’s relationship with his guardian had always been very strained.

“I bet he was,” Duo said, sounding only slightly bitter.

Hilde wasn’t in mood to defend G; he didn’t really deserve it anyway. He had a habit of treating Duo more like a pet science project then someone he was supposed to be fostering. She knew Duo was probably thinking G was more concerned about his ability than about Duo himself and Duo was probably right about that. “If he left when they called he might be arriving in a couple of minutes, I’ll catch him at the door and turn him around. And I’ll call Quatre and let him know you’re alright.”

Duo smiled softly, “Thanks. You’re the best.”

Hilde stepped closer again and laid a gentle kiss against his lips, “Just be careful, please.”

“I always am.”

Hilde shook her head, “You never need to be.” She turned to leave to room, but she paused in the doorway before exiting. “Duo?” she asked, looking back at where he sat in the bed.

“Hmm?”

“What are you going to tell the police?”

***

See the thing about Duo is… he won’t tell lies.

However, lying by omission and telling a truth so vague that people draw the wrong conclusion is something he is perfectly comfortable with.

It a personal preference, really. He’s really good at noticing when people are lying to him, it probably has something do with flashes of insight he gets when their story doesn’t quite match up to future occurrences. He finds lying distasteful, especially when the desired outcome can be reached by other means.

So, generally speaking, Duo is a pretty truthful person. He never lies to his friends, never. And to everyone else, well they take what they give, and that’s about as truthful as he can be.

***

A couple of minutes after Hilde leaves the doctor comes in with the male nurse in tow. Duo sits through the second examination and then listens to the wealth of unwelcome information the doctor bestows.

Deep wound to the neck and shoulder junction, multiple contusions to the neck and upper torso and severe blood loss requiring fifteen stitches and nearly three pints of blood…

Duo realizes he’s lucky to be alive, he doesn’t need the commentary.

He’s being held for at least the night and he’s being confined to his room, his bed. They ask if he’s comfortable and if he needs anything. They tell him dinner will be brought by at 5:00 and of course the police are waiting to see him.

Duo wonders if he can talk them into foregoing the dinner service (five o’clock is cutting it kinda close) but decides against it; he’s pretty hungry. He tells them that he’s ready to see the police right away, there’s no point in putting that off.

The conversation with the cops is way more interesting that the one with the doctor. For one, it’s a bit more challenging to figure out what he wants to say. It’s perfectly obvious that he can’t tell them the absolute truth; he’s well aware of how crazy the thing about the vampire sounds. He definitely wants to get them to put some sort of general warning about being out after dark, but he doesn't really see a way to do that without being committed in the process.

They do tell him that he’s the fifth person in the last couple of weeks to be attacked in this manner and he is the only one to survive. Duo is of very unsurprised by that news, but he does suspect that he’s only the fifth person that they know about. Though he doesn’t tell them that. In any event, it means the police are extremely interested in hearing whatever details he can give them.

So he tells them what they want to hear.

He tells them something about a guy with fangs like in the movies; they interpret that to mean fake costume from a Halloween shop. He tells them vaguely about the conversation they had, they interpret that to mean that he’s ritualistic and therefore a serial killer. That is not too far from the actual truth, in a manner of speaking, so Duo’s happy he got that point across.

However, Duo completely leaves out any part of the story that mentions Heero’s strength, speed, eyes, or name; it works out better that way.

When the officers leaves he hears them mention something about the F.B.I. and Duo feels like he’s really accomplished something. At least they'll have a general idea of what to look for, though he doesn't think they'll be prepared to stop an undead creature of the night.

The dinner is cruddy hospital food as expected, but either it’s not all that bad or Duo is really hungry. By the time he finishes it, it’s fully dark outside and Duo is filled with anticipation.

So he waits.

But Heero doesn’t come.

At six o’clock another nurse comes by to collect his dinner tray and moves to lower his bed again. He waves her off, he’d rather remain sitting. She shrugs and leaves.

By seven, Heero still hasn’t shown up.

By eight, Duo suddenly feels really stupid. It’s not that Heero isn’t coming; it’s that Heero is planning on making an “entrance.” And he can’t do that if Duo is waiting for him.

So Duo settles into the hospital bed until he can find a comfortable position.

Then he goes to sleep.

----

Duo woke rather abruptly but he didn't do anything more than take a deep breath to gain his bearings. He was still in the hospital bed and he was not alone in the room.

He wasn't really sure how he knew Heero was there, since he couldn't hear him or smell him, but if he had to guess it was probably something like what little kids feel when they think the Boogie Monster is watching from the closet and plotting to eat them. Actually, Duo thought that was probably an uncomfortably close analogy.

"Heero," he said into the dark room when he finally opened his eyes.

Heero was perched on the wobbly railing at the foot of the bed, and he was making it look about as easy as standing on flat ground.

Duo added inhuman balance to his mental list of Heero's supernatural attributes and then waited to be acknowledged.

After a long moment Heero said, "You are very unusual."

"You’re one to talk," Duo replied.

"You do not fear me, though I have come to kill you."

Duo's face scrunched up like that lie actually smelled bad, "No you didn't."

"Hn."

Duo sighed and said, "If you were going to kill me you would have already. You would have killed me on Halloween."

"Your confidence is foolhardy. Perhaps I plan to question you before I drain you dry."

Duo stared at him for a moment deciding if he was in the mood to play this game, he suddenly realized he was not. "You have cliche vampire dialogue and it's not really menacing at all."

Within the space of a heartbeat Heero was sitting on his legs and leaning into his face. "Is that so?" he sneered. His eyes were glowing faintly again and his fangs were out, Duo was too close to see them but he could hear Heero speaking around them.

"Ok," Duo conceded, "maybe a little menacing."

Heero sat back abruptly; all the weight of presence that had been pressing down on Duo was removed, though Heero was still sitting on his legs.

"Though to be fair," Duo added, just to irritate Heero, "it was mostly because I don't like anyone in my face.”

"What is your name?" Heero asked instead of snarling which was the kind of reaction Duo had been hoping to see.

"What? Is 'Mortal' not working for you anymore?"

Heero actually grinned at him; it was all teeth and no mirth. "If you would prefer I call you something false I will make up a name of my choosing."

"My name is Duo," he said, rolling his eyes. Duo did not want to find out what a vampire would nickname their lunch.

"How... appropriate," Heero said as he climbed off of the bed.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean? Where are you going? You’re not leaving, are you?"

He turned around and walked back to the side of the bed. "Are you asking me if I am leaving? Or are you begging me not to go?" Heero asked, one eyebrow raised.

Duo covered his face, "I am so embarrassed." He said it loudly, though the words were muffled by his hands. He was used to talking too much and saying nothing meaningful, but for once he surprised himself by how anxious that had sounded.

"Look at me, Duo."

"That is a bad idea," Duo said still through his hands, he closed his eyes too, for good measure.

"So now you fear me?"

"I'm not afraid of you. I just know from years of movies, TV shows, comics and books that if a vampire tells you to look at them, you don't."

Heero pulled Duo's hands away with little resistance and turned Duo's head by a loose grip on his jaw. "Open your eyes, Duo. Look at me."

"You're not going to let this drop, are you?" Duo asked, already knowing the answer to that question. After a few seconds where Heero did not answer Duo said, "Crap,” and opened his eyes.

Heero was in his face again, but he wasn't trying to intimidate Duo this time. His eyes were still glowing faintly but Duo could see the individual shades of blue, it looked like dancing. "Unreal," Duo said. He could see how it could be mesmerizing.

"Interesting," Heero said and then he dropped his hand and walked away. He stopped at the door to room and turned around to lean his back against it.

"What are you doing?

“Come here,” Heero said softly.

“Umm, I’m supposed to stay in the bed.” Duo said it like he had no intention of moving, but he already had one foot on the floor by the time he finished the sentence. Duo tried and failed to get back in the bed until he was half way across the floor. “Motherfucker! You rolled me!”

“It was a Suggestion,” Heero said. He was completely shadowed except for eyes which, if Duo was not mistaken, were glowing brighter than a minute ago.

“Oh, well then, ‘suggest’ that I turn back around and get in bed.” It was kind of pointless by then, he had reached Heero. Duo stood in front of him shifting from foot to foot, his feet were cold on the floor.

“No.”

“Let me go, Heero.”

“I don’t believe I can,” Heero murmured as he shifted their position so that Duo leaned against the door and Heero stood before him.

“What do you mean?” Duo asked quietly. Heero was very close, but no longer touching him, his hands were hovering just over Duo skin. It wasn’t unpleasant at all and Duo could feel himself start to flush.

“I will drink of you again.”

A little huff of laughter escaped Duo, but he chose to ignore Heero’s choice of words; the intent was clear enough. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

Heero stopped. He leaned back slightly and looked Duo in the eyes, “What would you say?”

Duo opened his mouth… and then closed it again. He just realized he didn’t have any intention of telling Heero to stop. Logically, he had known Heero was going to try to drink his blood again, but did Duo actually want him to? “You hurt me. You nearly killed me. Why would I want you to do that again?” Duo asked aloud. The question had been more for himself than for Heero but it was Heero who responded.

“I would not do this to you again.” Heero said, laying his fingers on the stitches in Duo’s neck.

The slight flush Duo had been feeling ignited through his entire body, like a sudden fever. “Oh God,” Duo gasped, flattening his palms against the door. He was getting hard.

“I could heal this.” Heero was well aware of the effect he was having on Duo but he was ignoring it for the moment. “I could remove the stitching and close the wound, but it would cause too many questions.”

“And… two fresh punctures aren’t going to?” Duo was trying to keep his breathing even and voice steady, it was very difficult.

“There will be no marks,” Heero said easily, still running his fingers along the neckline. Duo was trembling under his hand.

“I think they’ll notice if they come in tomorrow and I’m missing another three pints of blood.”

“It will not be so much. You will be released from the hospital tomorrow so that the next time—”

“Next time?” Duo moaned slightly, he couldn’t help it. Heero had shifted slightly so that his hip was pressed against Duo’s crotch. Duo was trying not to rub against it and not meeting success with his effort. “Oh… Most of this blood isn’t even mine,” Duo said, really reaching for another excuse. This was a really bad idea, he just couldn’t remember why at that moment.

“Your body has accepted it, it is yours now. Enough, Duo. What do you say?”

Duo’s eyes slide close as he tried to catch his breath. Heero was close, so close, so dangerous, but the only thing pulsing through Duo’s mind was… want.

“yes”

Heero tilted Duo’s head the other way, exposing the unmarred side of Duo’s neck and once again bent his head down.

The experience was completely different from Duo’s point of view this time around. He felt Heero fangs slid into his neck, there was a brief flash of discomfort but it was gone before he could truly register it. Instead it was about as intrusive as fingers through hair. Then Heero lips settled and it was something else entirely. Duo gasped and his eyes flew open, Heero was sucking on him. True, it was only on his neck but every single tiny little pull felt like it was on his cock.

Duo’s knees gave out and he tried to grasp Heero’s shoulders to keep from falling to the floor. Heero held him firmly though, trapping him between the door and Heero’s body. Duo’s breath came faster as he helpless rubbed against him. Heero continued to suck at him relentlessly, pulling him closer and closer…

He came with an explosive huff just as Heero released his neck. Duo’s head snapped back but Heero, ever so much faster, managed to cup the back of his head and keep it from slamming into the door.

They stayed like that for a few long seconds, Heero holding Duo to himself and Duo focusing on trying to breathe and not pass out from the combination blood loss and orgasm.

Heero picked Duo up and carried him back to the bed, depositing him under the thin sheets. He leaned over Duo and licked the skin on his neck where he had just finished biting. Duo whimpered slightly a shiver running through him like an after shock. He took Duo’s hand and rubbed his thumb across the skin so Duo could feel it was unbroken.

“Oh,” Duo sighed, practically melting back into the bed. “Neat trick.”

“Go to sleep, Duo,” Heero said.

“Another suggestion?”

“Advice,” Heero answered, but as he turned to leave he noticed Duo had a firm grip on his shirt. Surprisingly lucid eyes watched him from the serious expression on Duo’s face.

“Why haven’t you killed me yet, Heero?”

Heero carefully removed Duo’s hand from his shirt and took a step back, his unerring ability to find the deepest shadow in the room to stand in. He stood there watching Duo and it took Duo a couple of seconds to realize that Heero’s eyes were no longer glowing.

Just as Duo was sure he wouldn’t answer, Heero said, “I’m not sure that I didn’t.”

And then he disappeared.

---

It wasn’t so much that Heero disappeared; he just left really fast.

---

Duo stared at the blank space of floor where Heero had been standing for almost a full minute until he realized that Heero was no longer there. At that point he had no reason to remain awake, so he went back to sleep.

---

It wasn’t so much that Duo went to sleep; it was more like he passed out.

***

So in the morning, in the light of day, Duo’s first thought is:

What The Hell!

Yeah, he isn’t suffering from memory loss, but he kinda thinks he suffered a lapse in sanity.

He let a vampire suck his blood, and he liked it.

Nay.

He gave Heero permission to suck his blood, and he got off on it.

And, because Duo is so truthful, he can admit to himself that if he could go back he wouldn’t change anything. If he got the opportunity, he would definitely do it again.

So the nurses find him in the morning pretty much beating his self in the head with a pillow.

They get the wrong idea.

It’s ok, though; they don’t think he’s crazy, they think he’s overreacting.

On the bright side, they are super professional about the state they find him in… yeah, because it’s not like he had the opportunity to take a shower since the previous night's activities.

Duo gets the time to wash up before they bring him breakfast. After breakfast he gets yet another examination. The doctor tells him that he’s healing nicely and that he’ll have those bruises for a couple more days but no lasting damage. His blood pressure is apparently low, but they’re not concerned about it, so Duo’s not concerned about it. The doctor gives him a date to come back to get his stitches removed and then she leaves.

That leaves Duo waiting for his guardian to show up so he can be released.

Actually, that leaves Duo trying to figure out what to tell his girlfriend.

***

"I don't.... G! God, can't you give it a rest? I just got out of the hospital." Duo huffed as he opened the door of the house. They had been having this particular argument since Duo had left the watchful gaze of the hospital staff. It was a continuation of the same argument they had been having since Duo was old enough to realize he hated being poked and prodded.

"That is the point, boy! You should have never been in the hospital! I trained you better than that."

Duo turned to glare at the old man, "You did not train me."

"We need to do some testing, to figure out if you've lost your gift."

"I can assure you, I haven't lost anything. In fact, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there will be no more testing in my future." And no, he wasn’t really getting flashes of insight about that, but he was damned if he was going to willingly subject himself to that shit again.

G frowned at Duo, "We both know that is not the case. Have you taken to lying as well?"

"Oh go fuck yourself, G. You don’t know me, you don’t care about me and you don’t get to act like you’re my friend.” Duo walked down the hall to his room and very deliberately, closed the door on whatever G was saying behind him.

He sat on his bed and let himself fume at G for five minutes, to avoid thinking about anything else. But eventually, he pulled it together and started to consider his situation.

Heero was... confusing.

Duo was mostly hung up on the last thing that Heero had said. And, ok, maybe he had been drifting in and out of consciousness at that point, but he was pretty certain Heero said that he had killed Duo. That didn't make any sense, so maybe Duo had misheard him. But there were other things that Heero had said, seemingly random, but maybe they weren't. There were parts of that conversation that were pulling at Duo, making him think they were more than they had seemed. And then, of course, there was that part where Heero was biting him while he dry humped Heero's leg. And then he came all over himself.

Duo put his head in his hands, he really needed help, and he needed somebody to talk to. Well obviously the people he need to speak to were Hilde and Quatre, they were his best friends and he trusted them, he told them everything.

But of course, that was part of the problem.

He really didn’t want to tell Hilde about what happened with Heero. He was going to tell her though, he just didn’t want to. He knew that they had been friends for way longer than they were a couple but he had still betrayed her.

Duo took a deep breath and pulled out his cell phone; no point in putting it off. Besides, he hadn’t told them he was out of the hospital yet.

They should have been in class so he sent them a text:
'Guys I broke out about a half hour ago. Clean bill of health. We should talk.'

He sent another to Hilde specifically:

'We should talk first. Privately.'

Quatre’s reply came first:

'Great news Duo! Was going to come see you after class. Was so worried. My house after school @ 3:30. Unless you need to talk now. Just say when.'

Hilde’s reply came a split second later.

'I was worried you wouldn’t make it outta there KWIM. Quatre wants to meet at his house at 3:30. See you there. LUV U!!! XOXO'

Another just after:

'OMG Jerk! Made me LoL in class. NEthing U need 2 say 2 me U can say infront of Quatre. I’d just tell him l8r NEway. Save me the trouble.'

And another:

'He already knows about the vamp :-P'

Duo lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. God help him, he loved her, but she was stubborn as shit. He could try to convince her but she would just laugh at him again. And in any event, she was right; Quatre would find out, one way or another.

Still, there was still about two hours left of school so he shot her another text:

'Hey, if you want quatre there when I collect my prize for going to the halloween party… kinky!'

Five minute she replied:

'Nice try! You would have said you needed to SEE me not TALK to me. And we can do that after you talk to quatre. He was worried sick '

And then Quatre texted:

'Stop txt Hilde. If she keeps laughing she’ll get detention :-( you must be bored either go to 7th period or go shoot some zombies.'

Duo laughed. A choice between school and the arcade was really no choice at all.

Duo texted Quatre back:

'House of the dead 2 it is. See you at 3:30'

Duo got off the bed, grabbed his jacket and headed for the window. The last thing he wanted was to get dragged into another argument with G, so he was going to avoid the rest of the house and that meant going out the window instead of the front doors.

So, right around the time Duo had realized that it really wasn’t normal for your guardian to be taking blood samples and testing you in a lab weekly, G had decided to beef up security; he put bars on all the windows on the first floor. Duo had figured out how to pick the locks in about a week, now he just used the second key he had made. G knew he could get out too; it didn’t really matter though because every time G thought about getting some permanent bars or bricking up the windows, Duo would leave very detailed notes on exactly how he would destroy parts of the house to make alternate exits. It was a great deterrent.

Duo made short work of the window, briefly wishing it was on the second floor, just to make it more of a challenge.

The Arcade was fun for about a hour but he had to leave early; he had gotten a flash about a truancy officer showing up, he didn’t want to have to explain himself.

It was only 2:30 by then and he decided to head to the Starbucks around the corner from Quatre’s house. The Barista behind the counter looked surprised to see him, apparently news of his attack had gotten around. Duo didn't really know the guy personally, he had graduated a couple of years ago, but his little sister was in Duo's Lit. class. So, Duo showed off his stitches and he got a free Espresso Macchiato for... still being alive, he guessed. Duo wasn't complaining, he took his espresso to the corner and sipped it while playing a crappy game on his cell phone; not a bad way to spend an hour.

He waited an extra ten minutes before heading for Quatre's door. He didn't want to get there first because he didn't know how many of Quatre's sisters would be around, they could be a little overwhelming.

Quatre opened the door before he got close enough to knock, reached out and pulled Duo into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright!"

Duo chuckled, "Well I was gonna be alright, but I seem to be suffocating at the moment."

"Hey, you Tart! Get your hands off my man. I saw him first." Hilde said as she came up to the doorway.

Quatre laughed and let him go, but Duo grabbed his arm and said, "Technically, Quatre saw me first. You just beat him to the punch."

Hilde rolled her eyes, rushed past Quatre and hit Duo in the chest, much softer than she had the first time they had met years ago. She had been trying to shake his hand but was overly exuberant and ended up knocking him over; she was embarrassed about it for days.

"Anyway," she said, grinning. "Who said I was talking about Quatre? You're the Tart around here." She grabbed Quatre's other arm.

"Oh! Fighting over me again? Don't make me choose." Quatre shouted dramatically.

"Alright. Alright. Let's go inside before Quatre makes a scene," Duo said.

"More of a scene," Quatre agreed.

When they went inside they headed upstairs to Quatre's room they didn't pass anybody on the way, unusual.

"Where is everybody?" Duo asked.

"They're around," Quatre said vaguely.

Hilde laughed, "Quatre asked all of his sisters to give us some space; he knows they make you nervous."

"Not nervous," Duo said, defensively. "More like... weary."

"Oh, whatever," Hilde said with a smile as they entered Quatre's room.

Quatre's room was the biggest Duo had ever seen; his own room was tiny by contrast; maybe about 6 of Duo's room could fit in Quatre's. But they had been friends for years now so Duo was well used to the size. He ran across the room and jumped on the couch there, flopping on his back and stretching out like he was in a therapist's office.

"Doc, I think I'm losing it," Duo said.

"Can't lose what you never had," Quatre said as he and Hilde walked over at a more sedated pace.

Quatre took one of the other seats the study nook and Hilde made Duo move and shift until she was sitting on the couch with his head in her lap.

"So, what's up, Duo? What did you want to talk to us about?" Hilde asked, stroking her fingers through his bangs.

"I figured you guys would want to know what happened, and I need some best buddies bounce some ideas off of. So..."

"Oh absolutely, I am dying to know all about it. Was it really a vampire? Did it come back last night?" Quatre asked.

"Yes and yes." He looked up at Hilde when he felt her shift. "What?"

Hilde shrugged, "I was still kinda hoping it was a case of mistaken identity."

"Nope."

"Well," Hilde said, "Vampires are real, who knew?"

"So, what kinda Vamp was he?" Quatre asked, leaning forward in the chair.

"What do you mean?" Duo said trying to tilt his head so he could look at Quatre. "And get over here, I can't see you."

Quatre got up and moved over to the couch, sitting Duo's feet in his lap.

"He means," Hilde said as Quatre was switching seats, "Was he the beautiful stranger, graceful, smooth and seductive? Or was he the Hell spawned Demon, ugly, vicious and bloodthirsty?"

"Or was he glittery?" Quatre added smirking.

Duo stuck out his tongue at Quatre and said, "I've only seen him at night so I've never seen him glittery. But his eyes glow, very blue."

"Ok. Vampire with blue glowing eyes, check," Quatre said, starting a mental list.

"So what about the other stuff, Incubus or hobgoblin?"

"Actually, I've never gotten a good look at his face; it's always been dark when I've seen him. His shape seems human enough. His voice is pretty normal too, maybe a bit nasal when he wasn’t talking around his fangs,” Duo shrugged.

“So retractable fangs and a preference for darkness,” Quatre added.

“Hmm, I guess. So, what does that mean?”

“It’s not enough information really. I mean you don’t know about garlic or silver or holy water. You don’t know if he flies or changes shape. You don‘t know if he has a Kiss or he’s a lone wolf. You don’t know if he sleeps during day or he just hangs out somewhere dark. For that matter, you don’t know if he has a simple aversion to light or if it will kill him, let alone sunlight.”

“Ok, Hilde, we get your point,” Duo laughed.

She shrugged, “Hey, you asked.”

“Maybe you should start all the way at the beginning, like how you were supposed to be at a Halloween party with two hundred people and you end up getting attacked by a vampire in front of no one?”

Duo laughed again. “Have I told you guys I love you? I tell you vampires exist and you want to know why I wasn’t at some party. You’re both taking this so calmly.”

Quatre nudged him, “Hilde and I got our screaming and gibbering out of the way last night. Now, spill.”

“I went down to the storage area,” Duo admitted.

“Duo!” Hilde hit him, “You know the lower floors are off limits.”

“Why did you go down there?” Quatre asked.

“Ow,” Duo rubbed his chest, “I know it’s restricted. Like I told Hilde already, I was supposed to go. I just knew I was supposed to leave the party and go down there for something.”

“Ok,” Quatre said. “Then what happened?”

“I was looking in the rooms, poking around down there because I didn’t know what I was looking for and I got startled.”

“Startled how?” Quatre asked.

“I’m… not sure. One second I knew I was alone down there and then the next I knew there was someone behind me. He was in the doorway. I couldn’t get a good look at who it was cuz the hallway light was behind him.”

“So he’s not completely repelled by light,” Hilde reasoned.

“Well, I don’t really know that. I mean, the light was at his back the whole time. I’m not really sure how he got there; it wasn’t necessarily through the hallway.”

“Are you saying you think he can teleport?” Hilde asked, incredulously.

“Yeah, it’s possible. I mean, I’ve never really seen him come or go.”

“Wow, that’s scary. Possible teleportation ability,” Quatre added.

“Get a pen and some paper,” Hilde told him. “This list is getting a little weird.”

Quatre went to get them and something to write on. When he settled back into place Duo continued the story.

“He told me his name was Heero Yuy and he was looking for someone.”

“Hero?” Hilde said looking at Quatre.

“Heero,” Duo corrected.

Quatre said, “Oh, That’s what you were talking about.”

“What?” Duo asked, looking at the both of them.

“You said his name, one of the times you woke up.”

“I think you said ‘Heero come. Heero’s coming for me,’” Quatre said. “You weren’t really making sense at the time so the doctors gave you some sedative and you went back to sleep.”

“Heero’s coming for me. Gonna take. Gonna save. Gotta save. Gotta take.”

“What?!” both Duo and Quatre said, looking at Hilde startled.

“It’s something else you said, after Quatre had to leave.” Hilde said, looking down at Duo. “I may have misheard you… you were babbling.”

“That… concerning,” Duo said carefully.

“Do you know what you meant?” Quatre asked.

He did, “Heero’s gonna to take me then save me. I’m supposed to save him then take him.”

“Where and from what?” Quatre asked again, writing something else on the pad.

“I…,” Duo paused, thinking about it and not getting any more flashes of insight. “I don’t know.”

They stayed silent for a long minute, each thinking about what Duo’s words could have meant and not coming any closer to a definite answer.

Finally Hilde said, “Look. Obviously, if Duo doesn’t know, then it doesn’t really matter at the moment. Let’s move on.”

“Okay,” Quatre said, “He told you his name and that he was looking for someone. Then what happened?”

“I asked him who he was looking for and he said me. Well he said, ‘You,’ like that.”

Hilde giggled, “Is that what he really sounds like?”

“Kinda. He has a bit of an accent, I couldn’t place it though.”

“Well, his name is Japanese,” Quatre offered.

“Maybe. It’s just a slight accent.”

“So, do you think he meant you specifically, or was he being a jerk?” Quatre asked as he was taking another note.

“I kinda thought he was just being an asshole, but now…”

“Now what?” Hilde prodded him.

“Maybe he did mean me specifically. I mean maybe he didn’t even know he meant me specifically but, he was supposed to find me after all.”

“Hmm,” Hilde said.

Quatre took another note.

“Anyway, that’s when things got weird. He stepped into the room and the door closed.”

“Wait,” Quatre interrupted. “Did he close the door, was it like telekinesis or did the door close on its own?”

“The door slammed shut with a lot more force than it probably would have if it had just swung closed. I didn’t see him move to close it, but that doesn’t mean anything: he’s really fast and it was really dark in the room. He could have closed the door with his mind… I guess.”

“Creepy,” Hilde said.

Quatre just nodded as he wrote something else down.

“Ok, so then he taunted me for bit.”

“What do you mean, taunted?” Hilde asked.

“It was dark and I couldn’t see anything, and like I said he’s really fast, so he was running around me… or flying I guess, I didn’t really hear his footsteps, and like poking at me and messing with my hair.”

“Ohhh, he messed with your hair? It’s time to stake him,” Hilde said with mock seriousness.

Duo laughed.

“Actually, you don’t know if he’s a stake through the heart Vamp or a cut of the head and carry the heart into the sunrise kinda Vamp.”

Duo blinked, "Um, Ok Quatre..."

"I don't think Duo's ready to kill him yet," Hilde said, smiling down at him.

Duo looked up at her surprised.

I know you, she mouthed, winking at him in the process. "Ok, so the jerk was toying with you, and then what?"

"Then he grabbed me by the neck and dragged me across the room; he’s like super strong too. He asked me what his name was, told me those were my last words, and then he bit me."

"He made you say his name? That's kinky," Quatre leered.

"Oh, shut up," Duo said, kicking softly.

"Then what happened?" Hilde asked.

"I blacked out. I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in the hospital yesterday."

"That's interesting," Quatre said in a manner that meant there was actually something remarkable going on.

Duo and Hilde waited for Quatre to finish speaking but he continued to writing on the pad.

"Quatre!" Hilde said after a half a minute, "What's interesting?"

"Hold on a second," He said, still writing.

Hilde huffed, Duo rolled his eyes and then made a silly face her. She laughed and poked him just under his ribs which started a mini-wrestling scuffle.

"What's interesting," Quatre said, looking up from the pad but ignoring their antics, "is that Duo was attacked in the basement but found just outside of the party."

"And?" Duo asked.

Quatre blinked at Duo, sat the pad down and said, "He meant to kill you before he bit you, he told you so. He still meant to kill you after he bit you, he ripped a hole in your throat and that really should have done the job. But not only didn't he kill you, he left you someplace you were almost certain to be found by someone who would get you help. Why? What changed his mind? Why didn't he kill you?"

Haltingly Duo said, "I'm not sure that he didn't..."

"What?!" Hilde and Quatre shouted in unison, stunned.

"It's something he said to me last night. Something I think he said." Duo sat up abruptly swinging his legs off of Quatre and jumping off of the couch.

“Duo?” Hilde said, standing behind him.

“I don’t know!” He started pacing. “It didn’t make any sense. It still doesn’t make any sense! I’m not even sure I heard him right; I was pretty much unconscious again. But what if I did die? Why am I not still dead? Why would he save me from dead if he had been planning….” He paused suddenly, horror slowly creeping over him, “What if he—” Unwilling to finish the sentence, he turned and stared at Hilde with wide eyes.

Hilde felt and immediate flash of panic as she realized what Duo was saying. She managed to cover it with reassuring smile. “Don’t be silly. I’m sure you just misheard him.”

“We don’t know how vampires are made,” Quatre said from the couch.

“Quatre!” Hilde shouted, turning to glare at him.

“It’s true.” Quatre pointed out. “We can’t change what’s already happened but being willfully oblivious about future possibilities is foolish and dangerous.”

Duo still looked stricken.

Quatre stood up and walked over to Duo, giving him a hug. “Hey, you’re still alive. Freaking out about something you're not sure about is only gonna make you sick.” Quatre let him go. “Right?”

Duo nodded.

“Have you had any flashes about this?” Hilde asked.

“No,” Duo shook his head. “But what if—”

“Quit it,” Quatre said, stern. “I’m sure you would have had a flash about something like that so it’s not a pressing issue. Let’s just agree not to worry about this right now, but you should definitely ask Heero about this tonight.”

“He’s not coming tonight.” Duo looked surprised that he had just said that.

“He told you that?” Hilde asked.

“No, I got a flash about that one. I don’t know when he’ll be back but, not tonight.”

“Great, that means I won’t have to hang crosses all over my bed tonight,” Quatre said rolling his eyes.

“Actually, we don’t know if crosses work.” Duo pointed out.

“Come on, let’s go back to the couch,” Hilde said pulling both of them. “Duo can tell us about last night.”

Duo sighed but let himself be pulled, along. They settled back in their previous positions.

“When I woke up last night he was in my room. Oh! And you can add crazy supernatural balance to that list."

"Crazy supernatural balance, check," Quatre said as he wrote it down.

"We bantered for a bit," Duo said.

"Oh no," Hilde said, "I want details. You had a conversation with a vampire, spill."

"Umm he called me weird, I called him a liar—"

"Why? You are weird."

Duo stuck his tongue up at her. "I called him a liar cuz he said he was there to kill me."

"Hey," she plucked him, "You didn't say that. Quit skipping over stuff!"

"I don't remember the whole conversation," Duo said.

Hilde, tilted her head all the way down to look at Duo. "Try, okay? You're the one who said you needed sounding boards, it's what we’re here for."

"Ok," Duo said. He was really worried about telling them exactly what happened last night but he had already decided, before he left G's house, that he would. "When I woke up in the hospital I knew he was there so I called him out, that's when he call me weird, 'Unusual' actually. He thought it was weird that I wasn't afraid of him even though he was there to kill me. I knew he wasn't there to kill me, though. He knew he wasn't there to kill me either, so I told him that. He thought I was being foolish, 'foolhardy', and threatened to kill me again, so I told him he was cliché and corny. Then he like... it was fast. One second he was crouching at the end of the bed, the next he was literally in my face. It's kinda hard to explain because he was sitting on me, but it was more than that. It was like he was smothering me with his..." Duo fumbled for the word, "... aura or presence or something."

"Do you think it was a psychic attack?" Quatre asked.

"What?" Duo asked, picking his head up to get a better look at his friend.

Quatre shrugged, "Sometimes a psychic attack can manifest in a physical way like a pressure or wind."

"Quatre, my man, I would really like to know how you know these things." Most of the things he knew about how his ability worked he learned from Quatre.

Quatre shrugged; he never had an answer to that question more detailed than 'I just know'.

So Duo let it go. “It could have been, I guess. I'm not sure I'd have the knowledge to tell the difference.”

"So possible telepathy," Quatre added to the list.

"Wouldn't telepathy make telekinesis and teleportation more likely?"

Quatre hesitated before saying, "Not necessarily. Having one or more wouldn't confirm the possession of all of them, but it would be an indicator of overall power, but not really an indicator of the power of each ability."

"Huh?" Duo asked.

Hilde laughed and started to play with his hair again, "You know like in a video game, where the overall power would be like the character's level but the power of each ability would be like the skill ranks or mana or whatever that had been put into each ability."

"Exactly," Quatre said, smile beaming.

"Oh ok. And then how many ranks you have in each ability is how well you can use it."

"Right," Hilde said.

"But were not in a video game," Duo pointed out.

"It's an analogy; The more you use an ability, the better you get at it, just like studying helps you learn or lifting weights makes you stronger."

"Ok... But how would you gain new abilities?"

"I guess it would be like any other thing, either you find out you can do it spontaneously or someone teaches you to do it." Quatre said.

"Oh, don't forget quest," Hilde said. "Like people that go through traumatic experience and then they can see ghost."

"Hold up," Duo said swinging himself up to sit between them again. "Are you saying I could be taught how to fly?"

"Well," Quatre looked perplexed.

Hilde pulled Duo until he lay back again. She said, "It would depend on your character class, wouldn't it? You can only gain abilities that are available for your character to learn. So like... we don't know what your character class is exactly... but since you have Sight you might be able to do something along that vein like.... Scrying. Flight might be a little out of your abilities range, but that doesn't mean you couldn't."

"You can Scry." Duo said looking up at her.

"Yeah, but maybe you could do it naturally without preparation or materials."

"You could teach me."

"Yeah," she said, smiling softly.

There was a moment of silence.

Then Duo laughed and said. "Wow. We got way off topic."

"You were talking about how he jumped in your face," Quatre said helpfully.

"Right," Duo said. "I told him he wasn't scary so he proved that he kinda was. When I told him he was a little scary, he backed off. Then he asked me my name and when I told he said it was appropriate."

"That's...weird," Quatre said.

"I know. Normally when I tell someone my name they say it's unique or unusual, not appropriate.”

“Do you think he meant something by it?” Hilde asked.

Duo said, “I don’t really think he said anything to me that didn’t have a deeper meaning.”

“So, what happened next?” Quatre asked.

“Hmm,” Duo thought about it. “Oh, that’s when he jumped off of me and started heading for the door.”

“Wait,” Hilde said laughing, “He was still on you? I thought you said he got off.”

“I said he backed off; he got out of my face but he was still sitting on my legs. It wasn’t really uncomfortable, he didn’t weigh much, or at least he wasn’t putting a lot of weight on me.”

“I bet,” Hilde said, leering at him.

“Hey,” he said defensively, “I spent all of that time trying to piss him off.”

“Was that really wise?” Quatre asked.

“He wasn’t there to hurt me,” Duo repeated. “Anyway, I acted a little bit like a girl and embarrassed myself.”

Hilde hit him, softly.

“Then he turned around, came to the side of the bed and told me to look at him."

"That definitely sounded like a bad idea," Quatre said.

"I know. I told him as much, but he didn't seem to care. Actually, he asked if I was afraid of him, which I was totally not."

"You totally looked at him, didn't you?" Hilde said with a knowing smirk.

"Of course I did! But look, I was curious. I mean I had been staring him in the eyes when he got in my face and nothing happened. So I did. And it wasn't like I got wammy-ed or something; I didn't lose consciousness or fall madly in love or anything like that. His eyes did look different though, deeper like more individual shades of blue that swirled together. And I could see the light from the glow highlighting each speck, it was amazing. I gotta admit that it was a little hypnotizing, but I didn't think I was being hypnotized."

"You didn't think?" Quatre asked, catching the implication.

"Well, nothing happened at first. All he said was 'Interesting' and then he walked away."

"What was interesting," Hilde asked.

"I don't know, but listen. I thought I was in the clear, right? But he only got as far as the door. He turned around and told me to walk over there. Actually, he said 'Come here' and while I was in the midst of telling him that I was supposed to stay in the bed, I got out and walked over to him.

"Whoa," Hilde said.

Quatre started writing something.

"Yeah," Duo agreed. I tried to turn around but I couldn't. I accused him of rolling me, but he just said it was a suggestion."

"That is interesting," Hilde said.

"So definite telepathy," Quatre said.

"Not necessarily."

They both looked Hilde, she looked like she was about to burst out laughing.

"What?" Duo definitely didn't see what was funny.

"A Suggestion is a spell, like a Compulsion only you can't force someone do something they don't want."

"Okay, first, I did not want to get out of the bed, I tried to turn around. Second, I didn't see him cast anything."

Hilde laughing silently, "Did you? I mean did you really try to turn around? You had certain expectations about what was supposed to go down last night..."

"Hey!"

"Look, all I'm saying is maybe you didn't try hard enough," Hilde pointed out. "So maybe it wasn't a spell but something like one, we have already established he is supernatural in more than one way. Magic isn't exactly a science, you can accomplish a lot with straight intent. Now, this is definitely not something I would be up to attempting, I am not interested in circumventing free will, but if I were trying to do something like that I would start by finding something personal to focus on. If I could get a favored personal possession that would be good but something better would be something that came from the person, like hair or blood..."

"Oh crap," Duo said.

"Yep," Hilde nodded. "But what's really interesting is that he told you it was a Suggestion. I mean, that's like he was daring you to resist it, and by not resisting, in a twisted sort of way, it's like you outright consented."

"I did."

"What?"

"I did consent. Look," Duo said, sitting up once more. "I'm really kind of embarrassed about what happened after this, especially considering what you just told me, so... just let me tell the rest and get it all out."

Hilde and Quatre nodded.

Duo sat back on the couch and started up at the ceiling. "When I got over to him I asked him to let me go, but he said he didn't think he could and he told me he was going to drink me again. I started... I asked him if I got a say in the matter and that's when he asked me what I would say." Duo swallowed and took another second to collect his thoughts. "He told me he wasn't going to hurt me again and when he touched me... I got hot and bothered. But it's not like I didn't know what I was saying or doing, okay? I kept trying to think of reasons why I shouldn't let him but he shot them all down and when he asked me again I said yes.

"When he bit me it was... unbelievably good. He had me pinned against the wall and I was rubbing against him and one thing lead to another and..." Duo took a deep breath and said, "I came.”

Duo blew out a huge breath of air and continued, “Afterward, he took me back to the hospital bed and did something to fix my neck. It felt like he just licked me but when he finished the fresh bite marks were gone. That's when I asked him why he hadn't killed me and he gave me that weird answer, but I was so tired at that point I can't be sure of what he said or did. Then he left and I went to sleep." Duo sighed and closed his eyes.

Hilde touched his shoulder and said, "It's ok."

He cracked an eye open and looked over at her. "I messed around with someone else and it's ok?"

She snickered, "You so did not. You didn't know his bite was gonna be orgasmic or whatever."

He opened both eyes and turned to face her, "It's not like I didn't know what was going on! By the time I told him he could bite me—"

Hilde laughed again.

“—I pretty much knew what was going to happen. Hilde! I’m serious.”

“I just can’t understand why you think I should be upset. Duo, we have always been friends before we have been anything else. I told you when we first got into this relationship that I wanted you to keep your options open. The only think you owe me as your best friend is veto rights,” She grinned wider, “And details.”

“Oh my God,” He said turning to Quatre, “She is crazy. Tell her she’s crazy.”

Quatre was laughing too. “Duo, for the first two weeks of your relationship, she kept trying to push you at me.”

“She was joking!”

“She was not,” Quatre said.

“I was not,” Hilde agreed.

Duo threw his head back, “Oh my God, my best friends are both crazy.”

“You had to know I wouldn’t be upset about this. Why are you…” Hilde’s eyes widened and she looked over at Quatre.

Quatre nodded.

“Oh.” She said, “Oooh.”

“What?” Duo said, looking at her again.

“You liked it… No, more than that, you like him.”

“What?” Duo shrieked.

“You want me to be upset about it so you have an excuse not to go after him,” she said, clearly enjoying this too much.

“You’re crazy. He is a Vampire.”

“And you like him.”

“I don’t even know him!” Duo said.

“But you wanna know him,” Hilde insisted.

“I don’t know how many different ways I can say this. He. Is. A. Vampire. Vampire! He killed five people. He tried to kill me. I don’t—”

“Actually,” Quatre said, “you don’t know that.”

“What?” Duo asked.

Quatre said, “You don’t know that he killed those other people.”

“Umm,” Duo looked at him incredulously. “Five people with their throats ripped open and drained of blood and you’re trying to give him the benefit of the doubt? Who do you think did it, some crazy person who just happened to have the same M.O.?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t a vampire, I just said it might not have been him.”

“Oh, Quatre, that’s a good point,” Hilde said. “I mean, when is there ever just one vampire?”

Quatre nodded, “It was something you said earlier. He healed the wounds on your neck.”

“Yeah…”

“It seems like it would be kinda foolish to reveal yourself like that when there is a way to relieve people of blood without their knowledge and then cover up the evidence; like if he did hypnotize someone, or even if he attacked someone and then Suggested that they forget what happened.”

“Oh, that would be easy, too; no one would want to believe they were actually attacked by a vampire.” Hilde nodded.

Duo thought about it for a second then shook his head, “Nope, not buying that, because I know he was the one who ripped my throat open.”

Quatre shrugged, “I’m just saying you don’t know the whole story.”

“Exactly. All I know about him is he’s dangerous.” Duo looked over at Hilde, “Which is why I can not be interested in him.”

Hilde put her hands up in surrender, “Whatever.”

“What did you get on that list?” Duo asked Quatre.

“Vampire powers include: glowing eyes, retractable fangs, super speed, super strength, 'crazy supernatural balance', hypnotizing eye effects, orgasmic bites and he’s definitely a Jerk.” Quatre paused, and then he continued rattling off the next list. “Other things include: possible light aversion, probable sunlight aversion, possible teleportation, possible telekinesis, and likely telepathy or telepathic-like ability.”

“Survey says, you’ve got yourself a Sexy Stranger Vampire,” Hilde said. “Especially in light of the orgasmic bite thing, Incubus he is. Congratulations.”

Duo ignored her and looked down at the pad Quatre was reading from. “You wrote more than that down, what’s that other list about?”

“I was also writing down things you want to find out more about.” He read down the list. “Find out how he’s supposed to take then save you. Find out how you’re supposed to save then take him. Find out what made him decided not to kill you. Find out what he meant when he said he’s not sure he didn’t kill you, that one is underlined. Find out how vampires are made and if he is trying to turn you, that one is triple underlined. Find out if crosses work, holy water, garlic, silver, etcetera. Find out what he meant by your name being appropriate. Find out if he killed those other people. Find out if there are other vampires around.”

Duo blinked. “That’s quite a list.”

“It’s not complete,” Quatre pointed out. “But these are some things you definitely want to find out about sooner rather than later.” He tore the sheet off of the pad and handed it to Duo.

“Hey,” Hilde said pulling his attention back to her. “I meant everything I just said. I want to make sure you know that. But I do get that this is… crazy. I don’t think I need to tell you to trust your instincts, don’t fight the good things.”

A smile slowly formed on Duo’s face, “You are such a dork.”

“Look who's talkin’,” she said back.

“Are you going back to school tomorrow?” Quatre asked.

Duo shrugged, “I might as well; no use putting it off.”

“Well, I’m sure no one would fault you if you wanted to take another day.”

“I got a free espresso today,” Duo said, indicating his neck. “I think I wanna try to milk this for all it’s worth.”

“Sure,” Quatre said brightly. “You guys are welcome to stay tonight, if you don’t mind putting up with my sisters in the morning.”

“For all it’s worth,” Duo repeated smiling.

****

Duo has a problem. Well, Duo has more than one problem but there’s only one that’s apparent to him at the moment: he doesn’t know what he wants.

He knows that’s the problem he’s having, he knows how to solve it, but he’d rather ignore it.

The funny thing about Duo, when he ignores his problems, is that one way or another, the problem will be solved. It’s that thing he can do, the thing where he knows the future, which makes avoidance an acceptable plan of action. Really, ignoring things is the only way he get’s surprised; so not only does that make it acceptable but it's also preferable. And he knows he’ll get enough forewarning before anything horrible happens that he can change it.

He is, perhaps, too dependant on his ability.

After all, he hasn’t seemed to notice that his flashes of insight are less accurate where Heero is concerned.

***

Duo is fawned over by Quatre’s sisters and fawned over at school. Everybody wants to know what happened.

And Duo doesn’t lie.

But Duo’s not opposed to withholding the truth.

His official story is that he doesn’t want to interfere with the police investigation, but he is telling people to stay in at night.

Nobody wants to hear that, especially the bit about staying in at night. It didn’t help that the police never issued a warning, and the news never cover the murders.

It’s too bad that Duo has his own problem to deal with; he might have wanted to wonder why no one was talking about it.

***

Duo decided to go home the next night, not because he knew Heero was coming, but because he wasn’t sure if Heero would be there. So he wasn’t specifically waiting for Heero to show up, but he did lose track of time and crashed in front of his computer, face smashed against the keyboard.

He was completely unsurprised when he woke up and realized he was not alone in his room.

“Heero?” His voice was groggy but he was fairly lucid. He took a moment to try to rub the imprint of the keys off of the side of his face before turning around. “Oh.”

Heero was leaning against his window seal staring at him impassively, but of course that was not what had surprised him. Duo had not turned off the light in his room so this was the first time he could clearly see Heero and… Duo was quite stunned for an embarrassingly long moment; Heero was beautiful, of course, with his sharp features and unruly brown hair. He was wearing a loose green tank top and a pair of form fitting blue jeans that made him look absolutely sinful, delicious, desirable, fuckable.

Duo winced and put his head in his hands; oh how he wished he could blame that thought on Hilde and all her sexy incubus talk.

Taking another moment to collect his thoughts, Duo cleared his throat before attempting to look up again. Heero’s expression had shifted to slightly amused and Duo had a sneaking suspicion that Heero knew exactly what he had been thinking moments before.

Well here was the perfect opportunity to start knocking things off that list Quatre wrote for him. The first thing Duo noticed was that Heero seemed to be having absolutely no problem with the level of light in the room, so that meant no light aversion, that still didn’t mean anything about sunlight. And also, he managed to miss how Heero had arrived again. The door and the window were both locked, at least they had been before Duo had sat down at the computer earlier that evening.

“How did you get in here?” he asked quietly.

“The door,” Heero answered.

Duo looked over at the door; it looked undisturbed, but he couldn’t tell if it was still locked because it locked from the outside. He didn’t think Heero’s answer was a lie, though.

“The man that lives in this house is not your Sire.” Heero said apropos of nothing.

Duo turned to look back at Heero, “No. He’s my legal guardian, and you might want to keep your voice down because I think he keeps my room bugged or something; he’s got freakishly good hearing.”

“He will not be disturbing us.”

“Huh…” Duo’s eyes narrowed, “You didn’t kill him, did you? That would be difficult to explain.”

“I have not harmed him.”

“Huh,” Duo said again. Although Heero had said he hadn’t harmed G, Duo got the impression that he kinda wanted to. Duo left that alone; he wanted to seriously injure G most of the time so he couldn't really fault Heero for that. He backtracked instead, “Hey, how did you know that G isn’t my Father? I mean, we don’t exactly look alike but stranger things have happened, I could favor my mother.”

“I think you do.”

Duo’s eyes narrowed again, “What would you know about my mother?”

“I have tasted you.”

“Right, so now since you’ve had a taste of my blood you would know my parents anywhere?”

Heero just shrugged.

Duo had the feeling he was missing something here, but he couldn’t quite pin down exactly what he should be asking to find out what it was. Duo shook his head, “Why are you even here, Heero?”

Heero took a step forward, his eyes taking on a slight shine.

Duo smiled and then that turned into a laugh, “Oh, I get it. Your eyes glow whenever you’re about to drink blood. That’s real cute.”

Heero eyes glowed brighter as he took another step forward.

Duo stood up and crossed his arms, “Oh Hell no, you don’t just get to come here and treat me like a soda fountain.”

Heero’s eyes narrowed but the glow dropped out of them. “You’ve been talking about me,” he said flatly.

“Do I look crazy?” Duo said evasively.

“You look like someone who has a great deal of questions and thoughts you did not have before.”

“Hey, I had a lot of time to think, of course I have questions.”

“Who have you been talking to?”

Duo watched Heero’s face, he didn’t look uncertain about this at all. He supposed there was no point in avoiding this topic, and it would be a great time to make his point perfectly clear about this. “It was no one you should be concerned about, especially if you’re thinking about going to find them. They are my friends; I don’t want you anywhere near them.”

“They know about me.”

“I know about you. What are you going to do about that?”

Heero’s eyes starting glowing brightly again and he took another step forward, this time with his fangs out.”

“Whoa,” Duo said, putting his hand out against Heero’s chest and pushed; surprised for a moment when Heero stepped back. “I still have those thoughts and questions you so kindly noticed a moment ago.”

Heero’s fangs retracted again and the glow softened but did not disappear. “What questions do you have?” he said, taking Duo’s hand and pulling him closer.

Duo slipped his hand out of Heero’s grip and crossed his arms again. “Like what the Hell you meant when you said you thought you had killed me?”

Heero took another step forward. “I never said that,” he placed his hand on Duo’s jaw, caressing it.

Duo felt heat flash through him again but this time he managed to knock Heero’s hand away. “Stop that,” he glared.

Heero caught his hand as he tried to pull it back, “Stop what?”

“Stop… making me… Don’t do that!” Duo said as Heero brought his hand up.

Heero tilted his head to run his lips across Duo wrist. Duo tried to pull his arm back again, but could not.

“It is really difficult to concentrate when you do that,” Duo said.

“Hmm,” Heero hummed in agreement, licking Duo’s wrist.

“Ok, look, just stop.” Duo said firmly. “If you don’t stop I’m going to throw you out. I’m not sure how I would go about doing that but I bet I can. And it’s going to be pretty difficult to keep your word and not hurt me while you do this if you don’t have my full cooperation.”

Heero dropped Duo’s hand and glared at him sullenly, the glow was gone from his eyes though. “I thought you were dead, Duo. But I am happy that you are not. I do not wish to anger you. Ask your questions.”

Duo swallowed then asked. “Are you trying to turn me into a vampire?”

“No.”

Duo couldn’t help the small exhale of breath he made, he was truly relieved.

Heero turned and walked over to Duo’s bed, shifting the pillows out of the way.

“What are you doing?” Duo asked suddenly alarmed, not sure what the sight of Heero in his bed was going to do to him.

Heero sat at the head of the bed with his back propped against the wall. “We’re having a conversation; we do not need to be standing. Come here, Duo.”

Duo was happy to realized he had not even twitched, but then it could be because he knew what had happened before. “I don’t want you to Suggest me anymore. It’s not—”

“Not a Suggestion,” Heero interrupted. “I would like you to sit on the bed with me, you are free to sit in the chair however.”

“I think I’d rather stand.”

“Don’t stand just to spite me. I can not force you to do anything you do not want to do. I will not Suggest you anymore. Please sit.”

“Ok,” Duo took a deep breath and sat in the chair. “Did you kill those other people?”

Heero stared at him for a minute. Duo never got the impression Heero wasn’t going to answer, actually he got the feeling Heero was trying to soften the blow. Duo closed his eyes, squeezing them shut.

He said, “I have killed many people, Duo. If you are referring to the seven people that I—”

“Seven?” Duo said, opening his eyes, “The police only know about five.”

“I assure you, all seven are known about by the authorities.”

“Why, Heero?”

“I can not justify my actions to you; I will not try. Certainly many of those people did not need to die, but I can not change things I have already done. I have not killed anyone since I met you.”

Duo snorted, “I suppose I’m special then, huh?”

“You are very special.” Heero watched him.

He glared at Heero, “See, no. Don’t do that. I don’t need you to tell me I’m special or I’m beautiful or whatever. I’m not looking for a vampire boyfriend, ok?”

Heero’s lips curved into a small smile, but he nodded.

“How many other vampires are there?”

Heero blinked, “I know of no others of my kind.”

Duo’s eyes narrowed, it wasn't a direct lie but there was something not true about that statement. “Then where did you come from? Who made you?”

Heero actually snarled, “I will not speak of that.”

“Why did you even offer to answer my questions if you're just going to prevaricate and refuse to answer?” he said, outraged. Almost nothing Heero ever said to him felt completely truthful; it always had felt slippery, like there was something else just out of reach. He had been attributing it to Heero’s secretive nature, now it was just seeming duplicitous. Duo was getting sick of it.

They glared at each other for a long moment until Duo finally said, “You should just leave.”

Heero's face lost some of the aggression, “Duo.”

Duo got out of his chair and walked over to the door. He wasn't interested in playing this game with Heero, double talk and subterfuge.

“Duo, look at me.”

If Heero was going to waste Duo's time, if he was purposely misleading Duo. It called into question everything Heero had said, would ever say. Even something as simple as the damn door knob. Would it turn if he tried it? Would that even mean that Heero had lied? What if Heero was just trying to lock Duo in the room with him. What if...

“Just come away from the door.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I don't want you to leave.”

Duo tried the doorknob, it turned; unlocked. He took a deep calming breath and turned around to level a glare at Heero again, “It's my room, I don't really think I'm the one who should be leaving.”

“I apologize.” Heero said, inclining his head. “I did not mean to upset you, I did not come here with that intention.”

“No, you've made your intentions pretty clear. But I don't think this is going to work. I can tell that you're not being truthful with me.”

Heero stood but did not come closer when he saw Duo tense, “I have not been lying.”

“Oh, I know. But you're hedging so much you might as well be.”

Heero nodded slowly, “I will be truthful, but you must understand there are some things I will be unwilling to discuss with you at this time.”

“At this time,” Duo repeated. “If not now, when?”

“When you're ready,” Heero said, advancing slowly.

Duo frowned, “Ready for what?”

“The truth, Duo. The whole truth.” Heero said getting closer still.

Duo crossed his arms, subconsciously trying to keep space between them. “What makes you think I'm not ready for the truth now?”

“Because,” Heero said, coming just inside of Duo's personal space, “once you know everything I'm leaving, and I'm taking you with me.”

Duo gasped, staggered. It was... Truth. Truth through and through; Duo could never remember having a reaction as strong as the one he was having. It was like Heero's words took him to another place, the future where Duo could actually see Heero and himself walking out of the front door and out into the night without looking back, not even to close the door behind them. Duo's own words, the ones Hilde had repeated the evening before, came back to him in stunning clarity, 'Heero's coming for me. Gonna take. Gonna save. Gotta save. Gotta take.' Now it was starting to make sense, at least the first part. Heero had come for him, and Heero was gonna take him away. It felt unavoidable, unalterable; it felt like prophecy.

When Duo regained his senses he had fallen back against the door, one hand gripped on the doorknob. He tried to take a deep steadying breath but came out ragged and alarming to his own ears. “I can't,” he said, even as he knew fighting it was futile, “Heero, I—”

“I know. Not yet Duo, you're not ready.” Heero had backed away a bit, giving Duo the space he needed to compose himself.

Something about Heero's words or actions had a calming effect on Duo; his breathing slowed and his fight or flight receded, but Duo still felt lost. Even as he knew his visions were never wrong, he also knew he could change them; this was something else.

“Duo,” Heero waited until he had Duo's attention before continuing, “Come and sit with me again.”

Duo followed him on autopilot, mind still trying to adjust. He didn't know when it was going to happen, but it felt soon. He didn't think he could stop it, and he wasn't sure that, when the time came, he would want to.

Heero hand brushed his shoulder, touching his neck right at the end of the stitches. Duo was startled, he hadn't even realized that he had sat on the bed right next to Heero. He could feel a flush start to creep up his neck from Heero's proximity.

“Do you have any more questions?”

Of course he had more questions! There was a whole list of things and Duo couldn't remember a single one of them. Suddenly he was having trouble thinking of anything that wasn't Heero and how close he was. Duo practically jumped off of the bed to get the much needed distance back. He put his hand over his neck and the stitches and tried to get himself back under control, the slight sting from his touch was helping a bit. He felt so off balance, it was like Heero was driving him crazy.

“Come here, Duo. I will fix the wound on your neck now.”

Duo whirled around to look at him, Heero was standing now, staring back at him calmly. He slowly shook his head, “I’m supposed to go to the hospital and get the stitches removed next week.”

“There will be no need for that.”

“Heero…” Duo faltered.

“Allow me to do this.”

“I... How?”

Heero's mouth quirked in what could have possibly been a smile, but then smoothed out. He took two careful steps forward stopping right in front of Duo, “I'm going snap the stitches and pull them out,” he said simply.

Duo frowned, “I don't think—”

Heero moved very slowly and deliberately, he grabbed Duo's hand and carefully moved it away from his neck then it tilted Duo's head slightly to better expose the area. “It will be quick.”

Duo made a face, straightening his neck back, “Yeah but you—”

Heero made a slight ‘shh’ noise and tilted Duo's head back into position. “Please.”

They stared at eachother for a long moment, Heero's eyes weren't glowing they weren't even doing that swirling thing, he just looked really... sincere. Crap.

“Fine,” he said, sighing and closing his eyes.

“This may hurt a bit," Heero said softly. "It will be brief, allow me to finish."

Duo made a small noise of the assent and waited. He didn't know what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't Heero's lips. Duo gasped as he could feel Heero using his fangs to snap the stitches and pull them out, tongue sliding down the skin and smoothing the way.

God it was... intense. Duo had to grasp Heero's shoulders to stay on his feet. There was pain, but rather than distracting from the sensation it was enhancing it. Duo was panting hot and heavy within seconds.

Luckily, it didn’t last long. Moments later Heero pulled away, “I am finished.”

That was ridiculous! Duo tried to hold himself as still as possible to get his body back under control, trying for deep even breaths to calm his heart rate. How could Heero keep doing this to him? It seem like every time Heero touched him Duo lost it, while Heero didn't seem perturbed at all.

“There is a scar,” Heero said, running his fingers lightly across Duo’s neck.

Duo’s breath abruptly hitched.

“Where the skin has already begun to heal,” Heero continued speaking as if he had not noticed Duo’s reaction. “I will fix it,” and Heero lowered his lips onto Duo’s neck again.

“Don’t!” Duo snapped as his eyes flew open. Heero tense but he slowly picked his head back up.

“The mark is there because of my imprudence. I do not think I can fully apologize but I can fix this.”

"Leave it," Duo said firmly. "I want the reminder."

"I see," Heero said quietly, turning away slightly.

It shouldn't have been possible for Heero to look like a kicked puppy but he was doing a damn good job of it. And Duo was actually starting to feel bad about it, which was plainly bullshit. “I don't even trust you!” Duo said into the awkward silence.

Heero nodded, “I haven't given you much reason to.”

“Does it even matter?”

Heero turned back to look into Duo's eyes for a long moment. He said, “I think it does.”

Duo kissed him.

It was so easy to lean in that last distance. The hands Duo had on Heero's shoulders slid up to cup his neck, pulling him closer and Heero just went with it. He had a light grasp on Duo but he was letting Duo control the situation, he was just responding to Duo's actions. Kissing Heero felt right, it felt good, it was...

Duo suddenly pushed Heero away, backing up until he hit the window seal behind him. He was horrified with himself, what the hell had he been thinking? “Oh my God!” He looked at Heero with shock wide eyes.

Heero had back away with no resistance and he was still standing there passively, just watching Duo.

“I'm sorry, Heero. I shouldn't have... I didn't mean—”

“Don't apologize.”

“I have a girlfriend for fucks sakes!”

“Duo...”

“I can't do this with you, it's not fair to her.”

“It's not fair to you.”

Duo paused and stared at Heero.

“You're tired; you should go to sleep. I will leave.” Heero said, slowly walking over to Duo and leading him over to the bed.

“Heero...”

“Sleep, Duo”

Duo laughed, “Why? Is that supposed to make everything all better in the morning?”

“If that's what you want,” Heero said, gently pushing Duo to sit down.

Duo flinched and pulled away from him, “Don't... don't do that. Don't lie to me, even if it's to tell me what you think I want to hear. If there is something you can't tell me I'll understand—”

“Will you?”

“I can't promise that I'll like it, but I will understand.”

Heero nodded with a small smirk, “You should go to sleep. You're exhausted; while the situation will be the same in the morning, you may be able to handle it better.”

“All I want from you is the truth. You still have something to say to me before you leave. Don't lie.”

“Sleep, Duo,” Heero repeated and then he turned away and exited the room.

Duo sat at the edge of his bed and waited, he knew Heero was coming back.

He didn't have to wait long; half a minute later the door reopened a crack, Heero stuck his head in the room and said, “I don't know any Vampires.” Then he left.

“...Wait. What?”