Author: Blue
Category: AU, 2x5, 2x3, 4x3, 4x5, 1x2
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU, OOC, yaoi, language, lime, supernatural creatures, and itty bit of blood.
Spoilers: No, no and . . . no.
Note: My notes keep getting shorter and shorter. Anyone for a little Heero and Duo interlude?

Dance With the Demons + Part 13
Of Life's Blood

By the time Wufei and Duo returned to Devil's Bliss, the sun had long since crested the horizon. In the early morning, the busy city had finally fallen quiet. The happy chirping of birds and the warm rays of the sun chased away the night. Duo found himself smiling. It was hard to believe, at times like this, the darkness that plagued Duo's life. Wufei was walking beside him, talking about something that only barely registered on the braided man's mind.

Would it be better if none of this had ever happened? But that wasn't even a possibility. Mariemeia had begun to watch Duo long before now . . . years, possibly. It had been only a few years since Duo had met Quatre. Heero probably had the blonde watching him. Hell, Heero was probably watching Duo himself. But why so much interest in him? Mariemeia, Lucrezia, Heero, Sally . . . and now the man from St. Jerome's.

Mariemeia's explanation of Duo's abilities seemed accurate enough. She hadn't mentioned one thing though, and Duo wisely neglected to call it to her attention. If a catalyst absorbed, magnified and transferred power, then it may well be that Duo was in fact a catalyst. But Mariemeia had said nothing about altering the power that had been drawn. And that was what Duo had done. He had stolen Sally's life and then increased it, and yet, when Duo had given that power to the others, it wasn't Sally's power anymore. It was his. Duo had taken it and changed it into his own; it bore no resemblance to the power that had been Sally's.

" . . . and Trowa suggested Heero and Quatre join us on stage for a grand finale orgy," Wufei said, cocking an eyebrow and looking pointedly at Duo.

"Okay, Wu -" Duo's eyes widened as Wufei's words sunk in. "What!?"

"Are you listening to me, Duo?" Wufei asked in a small huff.

"I am now, that's for damn sure," Duo mumbled under his breath.

Wufei sniffed. "Bah. You never heard a word I said."

"Does this mean no sex?"

Both of Wufei's eyebrows shot up.

Duo laughed. "Sorry, Wu, I was busy thinking."

"About?"

Duo sighed. "Everything. All this," Duo waved a hand in the air, "mess."

"Did you have a brilliant flash of insight?" Wufei asked, opening the door to Devil's Bliss. Inside was dark and quiet. The chairs and tables had been put back into order; the floors swept clean. They picked their way through the tables and to the underground rooms as they talked.

"Huh. Do I look like I've suddenly got all the answers?" Duo snorted.

"You look like you haven't slept in days," Wufei pointed out. "The Erus was right, you do need to get some rest."

Duo's expression turned sour. "Yeah, yeah. Heero's ALWAYS right."

"He is the majority of the time." Wufei led Duo through the red and black entry room and down the hall to Heero's chambers.

"Where is the Eternally Annoying One anyway?" Duo asked, eying the door meaningfully.

"He's resting with Quatre, inside," Wufei nodded his head at the door. "Trowa is keeping watch. Lucrezia explained to the Erus what happened, Duo. He's not happy."

"I didn't think he'd be jumping for joy," Duo sighed. "So, Heero knows all about it?"

Wufei nodded.

"And the rest of you?"

Wufei opened the door, motioning Duo inside. The chestnut haired man shot Wufei a puzzled look, but went through the door. Trowa looked up from a book he was reading, smiling a little when he saw Duo. Wufei closed the door silently.

"Hey, Tro. Miss me?" Duo said, grinning.

The shifter cocked his head to the side, eyes sparkling. "It's really very quiet without you around."

Duo looked sadly at Wufei. "That sounds more like a complaint that I came back," he sighed.

Trowa slid a bookmark between the pages and set the paperback down on the couch. He rose to his feet smoothly, picking up a bundle of clothes beside him.

"Here," he said, handing the bundle to Duo, "now you won't have to steal my clothes to sleep in."

Duo held up a piece of clothing. Black silk pants, and a matching tank. Should've known. Still, the material was so soft and cool against his skin. . . it was bound to be comfortable.

"This is a not-so-subtle hint to haul my ass to bed, isn't it?" Duo said.

"Exactly," Wufei said, smiling.

"Awfully pushy for pets," Duo mumbled under his breath.

They were right, though. Duo felt exhausted; just mentioning the word `bed' had him yawning. Glancing around, Duo resigned himself to stripping where he was. He dropped the clothes on one of the couches and shrugged out of his coat.

"What about you two?" Duo asked, fumbling with the buckles of his shoulder holster.

"Its daylight now," Wufei said as Trowa made his way over to Duo's side, "we'll take turns keeping watch. Its what we usually do," Wufei added quickly when he saw the frown on Duo's face.

Duo didn't like it, but he couldn't refute the logic. With Mariemeia back in town now, along with Sally, Duo was actually a little relieved. He trusted Wufei and Trowa. With them around, he'd probably be able to get a good night's - day's - rest.

"Thanks, Tro," Duo said as the shifter helped him remove both gun holsters and the wrist sheaths.

"You're welcome," Trowa quietly said, starting to unlace the ties on Duo's shirt.

Again, Duo felt an urge to protest. He was pretty sure he could manage to undress himself. But it wasn't like protesting would do any good. And right now, it was just too much of an effort. Somewhat resigned to his fate, he let Trowa slip the shirt off.

Placing his palm on Duo's chest, Trowa said, "Sit down."

Duo sat on the edge of the couch and tugged the sleeveless top on over his head. It settled against his skin, wonderfully cool and soft, even if it was a little snug. Trowa knelt down in front of him, untying his boots.

"Did Heero fill everyone in on what Mariemeia had to say?" Duo asked.

"Only us three," Wufei replied, settling down on the couch where Trowa had been reading. He picked up the book and glanced at the title. "He still doesn't think the others need to know."

"At least I agree with that," Duo said, bending over to unlace his other boot.

Trowa stopped mid-motion in sliding one of Duo's boots off. A smiled tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he silently offered Duo the Derringer that he had hidden in his boot.

"I've probably got a dent in my leg from that," Duo grumbled, taking the small gun and laying it with his other weapons. It was quite a sizeable pile.

"You do," Trowa said, rubbing said dent with his fingers.

"Stupid pint-sized gun . . . ." Duo toed off his other boot, his socks, and stood. He undid his pants, automatically stepping away from Trowa and turning his back to them. He really wasn't in the mood for casual nudity. Grabbing the silk pajamas, he shimmed out of his pants and underwear, breathing a sigh of relief. Trowa always stuck him in the tightest pants the shifter could find.

As Duo was stepping into his new sleepwear, he felt a hand ghost up his naked thigh. Naturally. As if either one of them would pass up the chance to grope him. Hauling up the pants the rest of the way, Duo turned back around, tying the strings together. He bit back a sigh and looked down, meeting the green-eyed gaze of Trowa.

"You said I was yours, Duo." Trowa's voice was barely above a whisper. Duo sat back down on the edge of the couch, leaning forward so that his forehead touched Trowa's, mimicking the panther's gesture in the van.

"I know," Duo said, running his fingers through the soft hair at the nape of Trowa's neck. The texture was exactly like Wufei's. Soft and silky didn't describe it right. Saying it was like velvety fur wasn't right either. It was warm and smooth, and Duo loved it. He moved his head to the side, so his lips were close to Trowa's ear. The shifter's warmth pressed against Duo's face, filling his nose with his scent. Trowa smelled like heat and clean air. It was what Duo expected a forest to smell like. Fresh, and alive.

"I know," Duo repeated. "You are mine."

Duo felt the surge of pleasure racing through Trowa at his words, then the answering surge that flowed through his own mind. Closing his eyes, Duo took a deep breath, then pulled away from the shifter.

"You know," Duo said, "these clothes seem to fit me amazingly well." When he opened his eyes, Trowa's characteristic impish smile had returned.

"They should, Heero bought them for you," Wufei said.

Uh huh. The vampire was buying clothes for him. Duo really didn't know what to think about that. To be pissed or to not be pissed . . . decisions, decisions.

"And you look good in them," Wufei added.

Trowa nodded, then gracefully got to his feet. "You're tired, Duo. Get some sleep."

Duo put his hand on the couch, then pushed himself up. "I'm beat," he agreed. He looked at the curtains dividing the room. "I guess I sleep there, right?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Wufei scooted down on the couch, making room for Trowa and handing him back his book.

No, he didn't have to ask. It all still felt . . . odd, though. Duo sighed. And it starts again, his thoughts were running back around chasing themselves and nipping each other on the ass. Fuck it. He was too tired now to care. He grabbed the Glock out of its holster, making his way past the couches. Trowa raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. Duo always slept with a gun nearby lately.

He shoved the gauzy curtain aside. "G'night, Wufei, Trowa," he said. "Or is that good morning?"

Wufei smiled and shook his head. "Sleep well, Duo," he said, before settling himself back on the couch. Trowa merely looked up from his book and smiled once, then went back to his reading.

Letting the curtain drop behind him, Duo walked towards the bed. Quatre lay near the center of the bed on his side, his face relaxed in what Duo assumed was sleep. Did vampires sleep? Quatre had told him that sleep was more of a convenience, but maybe in the daytime it was different.

Duo shifted his gaze to Heero. The dark haired vampire spooned Quatre, an arm flung over the smaller vamp's chest. The blood red sheets were pulled up as far as their waists, and Duo stared at the light bronze toned skin of Heero's chest. The contrast between Heero's skin and Quatre's paler tone was almost mesmerizing. Duo felt his eyes drift over Heero's exposed body. The dark hair falling softly around his face, the curve of his arm as it wrapped around Quatre. The hard, muscled planes of Heero's chest were softened by the dim glow coming from the other half of the room. Duo's gaze was drawn down to where the vampire's body disappeared under the crimson sheet.

Jerking himself out of his self-imposed daze, Duo walked around the bed to Heero's side. He set the Glock down on the table with his reach. His eyes wandered back to the two vampires entwined on the blood red silk.

Quatre's blonde hair mixed with Heero's darker shade in much the same way as their different skin tones met. Heero's hand was splayed over the blonde's chest, his thumb barely brushing one dusky pink nipple. Duo quietly sucked in his breath when his gaze transferred back to Heero's chest, noticing for some reason the much darker shade of the tiny bud there.

Damn it, now was not the time! There was NEVER a time for this. Okay, he could come to grips with the fact that maybe, just maybe, he would be willing to trust Heero. Trusting him did NOT mean salivating over him. Or Quatre. It was time to sleep now, and one could not sleep when plagued by a raging hard on. At state which Duo was rapidly approaching.

Determined to push all thoughts of a half-naked Heero . . . a very accessible, half-naked Heero curled around an equally accessible and half-naked Quatre, out of his mind, he sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from them. If he kept as close to the edge of the bed as possible, and stayed facing away from them, maybe he might be able to -

"Duo . . . ." Heero's voice was soft and heavy.

Shit. Duo heard the rustle of silk sheets against skin as the mattress moved under him. Swallowing the tight feeling that had suddenly appeared in his throat, Duo turned partly around, pulling one leg up on the bed and leaving the other firmly on the floor. He faced Heero, keeping his eyes resolutely on the vampire's. That may not have been such a good idea. Heero's cobalt eyes were heavy-lidded and cloudy with . . . something. Duo tried to wrench his eyes away. And, he noted, not particularly surprised, that it was impossible to do so.

"Yeah?" Duo said, surprised when his voice sounded shaky in his ears. Duo heard the sound of sheets falling away from Heero's body, and he saw the top of one slim hip bared out of the corner of his eye. Heero had rolled over onto his back, keeping Quatre close beside him. The blonde hadn't stirred.

The dark haired vampire reached out slowly and tugged at the sheet Duo was sitting on. "Get in," he said.

Duo obediently crawled under the thin sheet, facing Heero. The vampire was moving sluggishly, like it required a great deal of effort.

"Are you alright?" Duo asked. Now, he hadn't meant to ask that. He hadn't meant to say anything at all. Just go right to sleep. Why should he care if Heero was alright or not? He cut off that trail of thought before he answered his own question.

"Fine," Heero answered. "It is day," was all he offered in way of explanation.

A tiny measure of understanding hit Duo. Even if daylight didn't knock Heero out completely, something about the time weakened him. Duo realized then how much Heero must trust him. If he wanted, Duo could have the gun in his hand and fired before anyone could stop him. Sure, they could rip him to shreds afterward, but Heero would still be dead.

"Oh," Duo said with a tiny smile. His eyes were drawn to the small bit of fang just barely visible behind Heero's lips. Simultaneously, he found himself wondering both what it would be like to kiss those lips and to have those fangs pierce his skin. A shiver ran down Duo's spine, but not from revulsion.

A slight frown furrowed Duo's brow. The fact that that thought didn't disturb him, well, disturbed him. What was he doing, entertaining thoughts about having Heero bite him?

Heero was still watching him.

Duo rolled over onto his back, removing Heero from his immediate field of vision. He closed his eyes, but all he saw in the darkness were the twin blue flames of Heero's eyes. Duo drifted off to sleep with that image dancing in his mind.

+

[cont]