Author: Blue
Note: Not mine, don't sue. Even if you did, it wouldn't do you any good. Try mugging a rat, it'd be more profitable. I had a lot of great feedback, and I had a great time writing it, so I kept going. Hey, at least I'm enjoying myself, right? Right?!
See part 1 for warnings

Dance With the Demons + Part 2
Dance with the Devil

Sunlight filtered through the flimsy curtains covering the open window. A slight breeze blew the fabric, causing the curtains to waver and send dapples of light dancing across Duo's face. Long lashes fluttered as he gradually woke up, sighing happily in the warmth of his bed. Duo stretched and rolled over, digging his head deep into the pillow. He sighed again, opening his eyes slowly to check the bedside clock. But instead of seeing the cluttered night table, he was treated to the sight of two heavy-lidded eyes staring out at him from a mass of back hair, stirring lightly in the breeze. Duo blinked for a minute, trying to get his sleep-fogged brain to work. The owner of the eyes smiled, "Morning, Duo. Sleep well?"

"Jesus!" Duo sat bolt upright in bed as last night came back to him in a rush. "Wufei! What are you doing in my bed? Check that, what am I doing in my bed?" He paused, taking a deep breath as the Chinese man stretched and flipped the covers off himself. "Wu . . . where the fuck are your clothes?" Reaching out, he tugged the sheets back over the other man.

Wufei grinned, pointing at the floor. A trail of clothing led from the bed out into the living room. "It's not very comfortable to sleep in dirty clothing, Duo."

"No shit, Wu. But what are you doing sleeping with me without your pants on?" Duo stopped as the implications of that statement formed in his brain. "No. Oh no." He raised the blankets and glanced down. "Fuck, Wu. Where the hell are my boxers!?" Duo clenched the blanket tightly around his hips.

Wufei chuckled. "Wherever you dropped them, I think. I lost track."

"You've gotta be kidding me. I didn't . . . and you, we didn't . . . ?" The blood drained from Duo's face. "Did we?"

Wufei looked convincingly baffled. "Did what? What are you talking about?"

"Christ, Wu, we didn't fuck, did we? I can't remember a goddamn thing!"

Wufei blinked, then smiled evilly. "What do you think?" Duo's face paled even more and his eyes grew wide as saucers. "No, no, we didn't, alright? Not like I didn't offer," he grumbled, oblivious to the sigh of relief that exploded from the man beside him. "If we did, I'd be insulted you forgot."

Duo was still rejoicing silently in his head. "What? Oh." He relaxed his death grip on the sheets. The early morning was coming back to him in quick flashes. "Hey, I thought I left you on the couch?"

Wufei managed to look sheepish. "You did. But you're my top now, so I'm supposed to sleep with you. Even if you won't fuck me." He was actually pouting.

Duo rubbed his fingers over his temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "Wufei," he began, "I don't understand half of the crap that comes out of your mouth, but, I am not, I repeat, am not your 'top', whatever that is."

Wufei pursed his lips. "You really don't know, do you?"

Duo had the decency to not punch him. "No, I don't."

"How can you be with Quatre for years on end and not know? Don't you ever talk?"

The braided man shook his head. "Hey, we're casual acquaintances. Casual. I didn't even know he was a stripper."

Wufei blinked. "Really? So you and him weren't lovers or anything?"

Duo shot him an exasperated look.

The black haired man held his hands up in mock defense. "Alright, alright, I get it. You weren't."

"Damn straight."

Wufei rolled over, settling his leg in between Duo's, and resting his head on the other man's chest.. "So, what do you know about Quatre?"

Duo narrowed his eyes, shifting his leg out from under Wufei's. "Would you quit that already?" He sighed and closed his eyes; it was going to be one of THOSE days. "Look, go get a shower and get dressed, for Christ's sake. Then I'll go make something for you to eat, and then you fill me in on the whole thing, okay?"

The Chinese dancer seemed to weigh this in his head, then rose languidly from the bed. "Okay. Are you coming with me?" He gazed down at Duo.

"Just go, Wufei. Just go," he grated out in response.

Sighing, Wufei wandered into the adjacent bathroom. What was his owner thinking? If they kept this up, nether one of them would have any fun.

+

Duo gathered up any clothing that he could get his hands on and hurriedly dressed. Events and facts turned over in his mind as he tried again in vain to sort it out. What did Heero mean when he had said the monsters were 'his'? And why was he so concerned about Duo eliminating the ones who posed a threat to human life? He busied himself with finding something edible for breakfast, finally settling on some coffee, saving the half stale bagel for Wufei.

He was sipping on his coffee when Wufei wandered out into the living room with a towel hitched dangerously low on his hips.

"Put on some clothes, Wu," Duo said, sighing again.

"I am, I am. My things are out here." Rummaging through a bag, Wufei dragged out black linen pants and a matching shirt. Dropping the towel, he hauled on the pants, tying them loosely. He shrugged on the shirt, leaving it unbuttoned. Then the dancer searched through the bag again, this time emerging with a small hair tie. Walking over to sit with Duo, he gathered together his hair back and deftly wrapped the tie around it. Duo watched him silently over the rim of his mug.

"So, what are you doing today, Duo?"

Setting his coffee down, Duo rose and retrieved the bagel for Wufei. The black-haired man looked at the bagel, then at Duo. "Aren't you having anything?"

"Eat it, Wuffie, and be happy I've even got that. My fridge is empty."

"Shopping then."

"What?"

"If you have no food, then we have to go shopping."

Duo leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, I suppose we do. But before I go anywhere, I'm getting a shower. Watch some t.v. or something."

Taking a bite out of the bagel, Wufei nodded.

Duo downed the rest of his coffee, severely wishing it was something with more of a punch. Pushing back his chair, he walked into his bedroom, pausing at the door to glance back at Wufei. Then he firmly closed the door behind him.

+

About ten minutes later, a naked, slightly damp Duo was frantically searching for some clean clothing. His wardrobe seemed to be diminishing rapidly lately, suffering from fates far worse than simply wearing out. Over the last thirty years, monster activity had increased, mostly in suburban areas. It seemed like the monsters disliked highly populated, busy places. Easier pickings outside the pulse of the continuous life in the cities. Of course, there was a time when trolls and werewolves, ghosts and goblins, were myths, but that was decades ago. Steadily, the creatures moved from myth to reality, then from distant threat to terrorizing rural areas. All in all, it was good for Duo; his relatively new business was booming. Yet with the increase came problems. Like what to do when you encountered an unfamiliar species. Last month, Duo had come head to head with a lamia. The encounter left Duo with one less outfit, several new scars and a desire to delve into some serious research.

Settling on a pair of new, dark blue jeans and a white tank, Duo flung the clothes over his head so they landed on the bed. He quickly shook out his hair and went back to the bathroom in search of a brush. Raking it through his long hair, he deftly separated the mass into three sections, then twined them together in his usual braid. Duo came out of the bathroom, intending on getting dressed. Wufei was reclining comfortably on the bed, propped up by several pillows, facing the bathroom expectantly.

"Dammit, Wu!" Duo lunged back into the bathroom, grabbing the nearest towel and wrapping it around himself. "What are you doing!?"

"Waiting for you, you said we were going shopping."

"Why didn't you stay in the living room like I told you?"

"You didn't say to stay in the living room, you said to watch some television. There was nothing on, so I came in to watch you instead." Wufei shrugged his shoulders.

"And just how long have you been there?" Duo demanded, wondering why he hadn't heard him come in.

"You almost hit me in the head with your pants."

Unable to help himself, Duo grinned at Wufei's statement.

"Quatre was right, you know," the Chinese dancer said, mirroring Duo's grin.

"Huh?"

"You do have a nice ass."

Duo threw up his hands in frustration. "You've got a one track mind, you know that, don't you?"

Wufei nodded happily.

"Oh, screw it," Duo mumbled, turning his back on Wufei and hauling on his clothes.

"I'd much rather you screw me . . . ." he caught Wufei muttering under his breath, but Duo chose to ignore it.

+

After much arguing, Wufei had agreed to wait in the apartment while Duo went out. He needed time to sort things out, not to mention he had work to do today. A Mrs. McNally had called while Wufei was in the shower, stating she had a problem with her son. Despite what Duo had said, the woman had insisted that he was best suited for dealing with it.

On arriving at the McNally residence, Duo had at once seen the problem. The woman's son and his dog were playing fetch in the front yard while Mrs. McNally stood on the front steps, wringing her hands. The problem was, the dog was dead. Oh, it was jumping around and barking happily after the tossed ball, but it was definitely dead. In fact, it looked like it was at least two months dead. But the young boy didn't seem to care, and neither did the dog, for that matter.

Mrs. McNally rushed up to him as soon as he climbed out of his old car. Near swooning in the street, she told him how her little Luke was so upset that his dog had died, they tired to make him feel better by getting him a new one. Apparently, that didn't go over so well, and Luke was still unhappy. Then, about a week ago, she woke up to Luke laughing happily outside. Rushing out, she saw her boy romping in the grass with the dead dog. Flustered, she didn't know what to do, hoping that maybe the zombie dog would cheer Luke up, but now she was worried. It wasn't healthy to keep a decomposing dog around the house, was it? And Luke didn't want to lose the dog again. Oh, and the dog's name was Buddy. Terribly original, if you asked Duo.

Of course, she wasn't asking. The dog had to go, but Luke wouldn't listen to her. Maybe he would listen to Duo? Duo was well known for his dealings with monsters, he should go talk to them.

Sighing, Duo had looked over the two playing happily in the front yard. He really didn't see a problem, the dog would be good for another few weeks. Zombies didn't really actively decompose, they usually paused at the stage they were in when they rose. But, work was work, so he sat Luke and Buddy down, explaining the situation. Luke's eyes swam, but he bravely said goodbye to Buddy, telling him to be a good dog. The dog whined once, then wagged its tail when Luke patted him on the head. Satisfied, Duo told Luke he was doing the best, by letting Buddy go, and watched as the dog obediently followed Luke into the back yard where he had been buried.

Minutes later, Luke had bounded back around the house, saying Buddy was asleep. Duo went back, checked on the dog, and then filled the grave back in. Sprinkling a little salt on the grave for good measure, he told Mrs. McNally to sprinkle a little on the grave each day for the next three days, just to be sure the dog didn't dig its way back out again.

Thanking him the whole way, Mrs. McNally had walked Duo to his car. It was such a small thing, Duo had at first refused payment. The woman was adamant, however, and Duo accepted a small fee. Curious, he asked what happened to the other dog. Mrs. McNally's face clouded over, then, wringing her hands, she said it seemed Buddy hadn't really been all that fond of the other dog. It looked like Buddy had eaten him.

+

Duo had thought the entire situation infinitely hilarious, but he managed to get through it without even once laughing. Once he was in the car, he succumbed, tears running down his face. Then he went on with the rest of his errands.

+

Much later that day, as dusk was falling, Duo returned to the apartment. He juggled his packages, searching for his keys. Triumphant, he unlocked the door and dragged the bundles inside. Glancing around, he spotted the dancer asleep on the couch. Duo brought so many of the packages to his bedroom, dumping them on the bed, which was, he noted, made. Wufei must've done it. Duo shook his head; he still hadn't figured out what was going on, and Wufei hadn't had a chance to fill him in on it yet. He'd let him sleep for a little longer while he put the groceries away and fixed something for dinner.

Duo putted around the kitchen, cursing on the oven and his own inability to cook. Finally, satisfied with his efforts, Duo went back into the living room to wake Wufei. Naturally, Wufei was already awake, watching Duo move about the small apartment.

"Oh, you're up. Hey, sorry I was gone all day. I had work."

Wufei just smiled. "It's okay. I don't mind waiting."

"Ah . . . yeah," Duo said, scratching his head. "So, umm, do you work tonight?"

"No, tonight's my night off. I'm yours for the evening," Wufei replied, leaving the invitation hanging.

"Right. Anyway, you hungry? Dinner's ready, and it even might be edible."

"I'm starving. You have absolutely nothing that even resembles food."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Why didn't you go grab something somewhere?"

"You told me to stay in the apartment."

"Shit, Wuffie, you could've gotten something to eat. I wouldn't have killed you or anything."

Wufei didn't reply, he just stood and walked into the kitchen, getting plates out of the cupboard. "Sit down, Duo, I'll get it."

Flopping down into a chair, Duo mentally shrugged. Fair enough, he had cooked, hadn't he? Or at least he had tried to.

Coming back with two plates of what looked suspiciously like mush, Wufei gave one to Duo and put the other on the table for himself. He went back, emerged with two glasses of something to drink, and set himself down on the floor at Duo's feet.

"Any calls come in while I was out?" Duo asked.

"Quatre called, asking how we were getting along, but that's it."

"And how are we getting along?"

Wufei paused, chewing. "I don't know, I don't understand you."

"Christ, that makes two of us. I don't have a bloody clue what you people are about. You, Quatre, Heero. You don't make any sense. None of it does."

"Tell me what you did today, Duo," Wufei said, changing the subject.

Resigned, Duo told him about his day, saving the McNally incident for last. Wufei listened attentively as Duo rambled on, adding his own comments every now and then. The braided man began to enjoy himself, telling Wufei of other stories, weirder ones that had happened in the last few years.

"And the husband just kept the statue that was his wife on his lawn? He didn't try to cure the basilisk's stare?" Wufei asked, incredulous.

"Nope, kept her right there, said she was much easier to get along with as a lawn ornament."

For the first time since Duo had met him, Wufei laughed. He laughed so hard, tears started pouring down his cheeks. Soon, Duo joined him, laughing at Wufei as the dancer struggled to catch his breath.

+

Dinner was long done, and Duo relaxed, Wufei still curled at his feet with his head resting on the cushioned seat of Duo's chair.

"Duo, what do you do?"

"What?"

"Your job, what is it? In all your stories, it seems like you solve minor monster problems, like garden gnomes and zombie dogs."

"Oh. I wish it was all like that, but no, that's not what I do. Those are just odd things that have happened to me. Mostly, I kill monsters."

Wufei's body tensed, but his voice was calm when he spoke. "Monsters? Like trolls? Man-eating zombies and ghouls, those kinds of monsters?"

"Yep, I'm your friendly neighborhood Ghoulie Killer."

"Do you go after them? Kill them just because they're monsters?" Wufei's voice was quiet.

"No. I'm not a bounty hunter or anything. I don't want to eradicate them, I just eliminate the ones who prey on humans."

"Vampires?"

Duo paused, thinking. "No, I haven't encountered any vamps. Oh, sure, I've seen vamp bites, but never a fresh dead body with them. Honestly, I don't think vampires kill, for some reason. All the old myths say they do, but that's mostly revenants. They're more like zombies than vamps. But I've never met a vamp. Not sure what I would do if I did. They prey on humans, but they don't kill, so if the victim is willing . . . ." he left it hanging in the air.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you kill monsters? Why not let someone else do it?"

"I dunno. It's like I told your dear Erus, I always have."

"What about shape-shifters?"

"Huh? Shape-shifters? As in werewolves?"

"Werewolves, wererats, weres in general."

"Some. All violent, preying on people, leaving people and animals half eaten and killing for no reason. Same as when an animal goes nuts, I suppose. Animals only kill for food, and weres don't need to kill. When they do, there's a problem. As a last resort, I kill the were. One life to save others."

Wufei seemed to think everything over in his head, and Duo was silent for a long time. Finally, the violet-eyed man asked, "Are you gonna explain this whole 'top' concept to me now?"

When Wufei didn't answer, Duo said, "Wuffie?"

Slowly, the Chinese dancer moved his head, resting it against Duo's thigh. "I like it when you call me that."

"What, call you 'Wuffie'?"

"Yes."

"Like it enough to tell me what the hell you're doing here?"

Wufei sighed. "It's odd, you not knowing. I was anybody's meat until Quatre claimed me, and now I'm with you, and you don't know the game."

[cont]