By: Isabella Kraft

The Devil Made Me Do It + Part 2

"Trowa Barton, eh?" Duo's candid little smirk flashed brilliantly across his face as he twirled his braid in his fingers- wings twitching with excitement. "And a monk at that. So... what's the big deal? You've corrupted lots of religious types. How's this one so interesting?"

"He is, in a word, striking, one. Two, it's not that he's religious, it's that he's somehow both completely innocent and devilishly cunning -- the type that sins in ignorance.."

"What a poor bastard... innocent as a babe but going straight to hell anyway..."

Quatre twirled his long black pen idly in and out of his fingers, finally resting it on the edge of his lip thoughtfully. "No, God goes very easy on those types... but... I don't know... I suppose I'm curious as to how far one could go and still remain pure."

"Meaning?"

"Oh, his crimes are small, white lies mostly, conning poor innocent girls with their own dreams--"

"Sounds like my kind of demon."

"But his soul is pure."

"Are you sure?"

Quatre snorted, wrapping a few strands of his golden hair around the pen. "Of course I'm sure. You think I don't know a pure soul when I see one?"

Duo surrendered his arms, shrugging the offense off casually. "Sorry, sorry..."

"Yes, indeed. If Trowa Barton were to be struck dead right now, he would go straight to heaven..."

"But not if you have anything to do with it, right?"

"No....no...that's not it at all. You see God's laws have rather tricky loop holes here and there, one of which is if you are not aware that what you're doing is wrong then it cannot be counted against you. I want to see how grand Trowa's crimes can become without corrupting him."

Duo blinked. "For what possible purpose?"

A wide menacing grin the likes of which Quatre had become quite famous for spread across his face. "You have no imagination, Duo. Robbing people of their chance at eternal happiness just to piss off God is getting boring. Think about it -- if I succeed, fifty, perhaps sixty, years from now, Trowa Barton stands at the Pearly Gates, a few murders, rapes, probably a decent crime spree behind him and they have to let him in anyway."

The small realization of what that meant took a few minutes to process in Duo's evil little mind. When it finally hit him, he looked as if he had reached some higher form of ecstasy. "Sir... You are one evil bastard..."

"Yes, yes that I am. It's a win-win situation really. If it can be done, we rock the foundation of the heavens and who knows what kind of delightful chaos will be released in the process. If I fail, well then I have Trowa Barton's immortal soul as a souvenir."

"So?! So?! When do you start this little project? And can I watch?"

Quatre smirked, "Tomorrow night, and no you cannot watch....at least not when it counts."

+

If Trowa Barton had trouble focusing before he met Quatre, it was impossible for him to accomplish it after. The strange man somehow had weaseled his way into Trowa's brain, chibified perhaps, and attached himself to the backs of Trowa's eyes so that everything he saw reminded him of the unusual guest.

Every thought was captivated by the presence of Quatre. Every calculation dedicated to decoding the foreigner's fascinating allure.

The fall leaves made patterns that looked like Quatre....

Hey, look -- that gold leaf actually looks like Quatre!

Trowa picked up the leaf, turning it over in his finger. It was dying, as all tree leaves do, but its skin was still soft, like Quatre.

Trowa hadn't realized how much imagery the world held day through day. Until now he had no idea how much everything reminded him of Quatre....and well that probably had a lot to do with not having known Quatre before.

There was a figure walking up the stone paved mountain path to the shrine. He looked like Quatre, Trowa thought as he continued sweeping the leaves off the pathway.

"Hello, Trowa,"

The broom flew out of his hands as his legs instinctively jumped away from the sound. It was a carefree, soft, yet openly seductive voice. More specifically it was Quatre's voice.

"Uhh..Hell--lo!" Trowa fumbled, feeling his voice raise about an octave. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head, trying his hardest not to look like an idiot. "Ummm...back again?"

Quatre laughed and took a rather offensive and teasing step forward, which Trowa countered by stumbling back a few paces. "I want you to have dinner with me tonight."

"M--me? Again?"

"Yes, you.... I find your company so delightful, and frankly, as a foreigner, I don't know many people here or the lay of the land. I figured you could show me a good time."

The suggestive overtones in Quatre's request made Trowa squirm. The man had an unearthly appeal to him, something so strange, so foreign that Trowa was drawn fatally towards him as if he were the hot fires of light that eventually slays the foolish moth. Trowa could not refuse the request and he silently nodded to his delighted companion.

"Oh good, I was afraid you'd say no," Quatre grinned. Then he looped Trowa's arm with his own and trudged the monk down the path toward civilization

"We're leaving ...n-now?"

"Just walk with me a little," Quatre said softly, and again Trowa was helpless to refuse.

It must be his exotic appearance, Trowa figured. Or his charms, there's just something... magical about him.

Quatre's eyes were glowing with excitement as he chattered on about his homeland and job. "It's very stressful sometimes, all these people wanting different things from me, begging for mercy..."

"Begging for mercy?" Trowa repeated.

"Ahhhh... yeah... Well, I have a rather vicious line of employment," Quatre fumbled, scratching his head and smiling brightly at Trowa.

"Ohh....."

"And, well, I've been around for a while, I know how the business is run and I get all these newcomers who want to change this, alter that. They want everything to be done on big, like apocalypse big. They don't realize I've been through all that, it gets boring after a while. They haven't learned to enjoy the simple pleasures like......ahhh.... dealing with the individuals...."

Trowa nodded, "Many people are too focused on the big picture now'a days...."

"Hmmmm..." Quatre nodded then he pressed the side of his face up against Trowa's arm and nuzzled him affectionately. "It's so nice to be able to come to a place like this where everything's so peaceful and cool...."

Trowa tensed and fumbled with a response, "Well...ahhh....I hear it's quite hot down there...."

He was surprised at the reaction that yielded from Quatre. The young man nearly froze, pulling away from Trowa and casting him a cold suspicious look, "Have you?"

"Ahhh....yeah...well...it's hot in the desert right? Didn't you say you were from around there?"

Quatre blinked, his pupils contracted until it seemed like his was staring at his own nose, and then laughed. His body abandoned its sudden chill quickly. "Oh..yes, yes I suppose it is really hot down there."

Trowa felt relieved. The idea that he had offended Quatre in some way had terrified him for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

They soon found themselves walking down the main road in a small town. This was a modern road - not like the ones they had been walking before - dirt paved, old worn paths. Walking down the cement street, with Quatre's hand intertwined affectionately with his own, he felt a strange sensation of peace.

He liked Quatre

He liked him a lot

"Quatre...." he said.

"Hmmm?"

"When do you go back?"

Quatre blinked and stared at Trowa through blank, vacant, almost opaque eyes. "Huh?"

"To the desert," Trowa elaborated.

"Oh..... OH! Ummmm...Why?"

It was an excuse to avoid the question; after all, he didn't want to set limitations on himself. He didn't want to tell Trowa that he was staying a week only to find out that it would take more time to seduce him.

"I just... I don't know... forget it."

Inwardly Quatre snarled. He had a feeling this was going to be a bit more tricky than initially planned. Although what he had planned in the first place was beginning to allude him now that he was in Trowa's company. He wanted to trick Trowa, but he also wanted to be with him. The feeling of the other man's blush was so clumsily exotic. He wondered if he could take Trowa home with him just once.

No, he scolded himself. People do not just pass through hell and come out unfazed. It would ruin everything.

But wanted to.....he really, really wanted to.

It wasn't long before Quatre spotted something to distract him from his naughty thoughts about Trowa and get him back on track with his plan. A small delicate shop sat on the side of the road, flanked by other stores though set apart from them by the very nature of its appearance. It was an old shop and seemed somewhat strangely unique resting in-between the rows of modern shops. The other buildings appeared as if they had all been cast in the same mold. They had the same structure, same design, and the same colors. It was only this small antique store that opposed their conformity.

Quatre excitedly tugged Trowa towards it.

"Come on! Come on! I want to find something to take home with me."

"Besides you," his own thoughts added.

Trowa didn't put up too much of a fight, and soon they were gazing at rows of old costume jewelry. Pretty glass beads strung on old cords glistened in the midday sunlight that had managed to penetrate the dusty old glass windows of the shop. It was all wondrously delightful to Quatre. Even though it was all fake, it reminded him of the days when he was still young; years filled with empires and outstanding treasures. Those days were long gone, their treasures filtered and refined until only the highest quality remained. It was never the actual riches of that time that made life grand, it was the illusion, the promise of wondrous things that were to be had.

Time, science, competition had taken away that wonderment. Now a diamond was not just a diamond, it was a certain amount of carets and a certain level of purity. Some riches were greater than others.

He longed for the days when life was more flamboyant. Humans were always about appearances. They wanted the shiny things to show to their friends as a symbol of status, but now they would not accept just any shiny things. It made life so........dull.

But the beads, as glass and worthless as they were, seemed to him to be the most opulent objects he could behold. Heavily polished, brightly colored, they couldn't have been worth more than a few dollars.

But still......

The pads of his fingers rubbed over a string of bright teal spheres. They were so smooth and felt so good rolling over his soft skin. Without a second thought he slid it over Trowa's wrist.

Trowa looked down at him, curious, but said nothing when Quatre did not acknowledge his interested. Instead the blond dragged him over to another corner of the store to look at the antique tea sets.

+

"What is this?" Quatre inquired hesitantly as he poked the cylinder shaped rice roll that had been presented to him as food.

"Eel," Trowa answered between munches. "Try it, it's good."

Quatre made a face, his eyes squinting closed and his tongue peaking out of the corner of his mouth. "Eel?....Ick..."

"No, it's really very good," Trowa assured him, pushing the roll towards him. The unpaid for beads slung around his wrist clanked together happily. "Try it."

Quatre continued to poke at it with his chopsticks-- utensils he had so far failed to master, "Primitive people...eating with sticks....heathens," he mumbled. "This is how we eat where I come from."

He gripped the chopstick in his fist and speared the center of the roll with it, swiping it off the plat and ripping the helpless morsel off the chopstick with his teeth.

Trowa just stared at him.

"Actually," Quatre said thoughtfully. "The eel isn't that bad."

+

"Heero let me give you some advice as a friend..."

"We're not friends, demon!"

Duo rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at the irritable ex-archangel, his horns appearing to twitch slightly. "All right, fine.... Then as some one who stands to gain a great deal through your success....."

Heero turned up his nose and continued his patient vigil by Quatre's door.

"Oh you idiotic jackass! Do you know how long I've been standing by his Darkness' side? No one knows him better than me, and yet you're going to ignore me when I'm offering you the key to his heart!!!"

Heero considered this for a moment, then stared at Duo coldly. "Go on," he commanded.

Normally Duo would have told Heero off, then refused to say anything more about the secret he held from him. But in a very rare moment he had told the truth -- he did stand to gain a lot from this, everyone did. He didn't like the direction Quatre's plans were leading. Sure, it was delightfully evil, but after careful consideration he realized something -- Quatre, was actually going to encourage someone to make it into heaven. This small fact overshadowed the details about Trowa Barton's impending crime spree. He didn't like it. This new mission could be a individual adventure, or it could also be a whole new chapter in Hell.

A really bad chapter.

"Listen, Heero....God you are so completely dense....Now let's start from the beginning.... Who is Quatre?"

Heero snorted, "Don't insult my intelligence demon. Quatre is the most beautiful creature to ever have existed."

Duo sighed and slapped his forehead, "No idiot...I mean what is he? Who is he?"

"Ohhhh.....Satan of course."

"Right.... Now given that, did it ever occur to you that the Prince of Darkness may not be too big on the flowers, candy and love poems?"

Heero blinked. "What are you saying?"

Another sigh, "Look, angel boy, get this through your head. Quatre's got two horns and a tail, all the way. He likes to trick little grannies, ruin royal families, and generally start huge blood feuds whenever possible. He likes his men bad. I mean B-A-D. Really gets off on it. So give it up, because courtship to this kid goes something like this -- you torment him, he tortures you with all the wonders he has in the fires of hell.... eventually you fuck like rabbits and the cycle repeats itself."

"I can do that," Heero replied calmly.

"The hell you can...." then leaning closer to Heero he added with a smug little smirk, "you haven't got the balls for it."

Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously.

[part 1] [part 3] [back to Singles a - k]