by Arithkenshin
Disclaimer: Stop rubbing it in, I don't own them, just playing.
Thanks Bronze Tigress for letting me bounce and to CYT for her wonderful musings, betaing and ranting. It wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining and easy to get through without her.
~#~ indicates flashback
Light slowly bathed the room once more as Duo crouched down, checking Wufei's vital signs. A slightly derisive snort sounded from behind him, though he didn't bother acknowledging it.
"Ahhh, but Mr. Chang, your plan has a flaw. You're assuming that I can die. Aren't you being a little melodramatic today?"
"You can't talk when it comes to melodrama, Fallen."
"I've told you not to call me that, Duo!"
Finally Duo turned and rose from his position next to the man he had just rendered unconscious. Looking at the angry flashing blue-green eyes level with his own, he chuckled. "Fine, Quatre, I'll try to remember that."
The anger in those eyes lessened, leaving only familiar scrutiny. Running a hand through soft blond hair, Quatre looked through Duo and frowned. "You really shouldn't do things like that when you're running on empty, Duo."
Shrugging his shoulders, Duo reached forward to tousle that same hair. He grunted with laughter when a hand snaked out to stop him, fast as lightning.
Those blue-green eyes narrowed with annoyance. "Behave, Duo. I'm not in the mood. You're not supposed to flaunt things like that."
Somewhat exasperated, Duo sat himself on the lounge-chair and propped his boot-clad feet up on the coffee table. "For Christ's sake Quatre, settle. I just wanted some fun; it's my domain. No one can touch me here." The shadows in the room seemed to swell in agreement, lending weight to the look in Duo's eyes.
Quatre backed off a little, not liking it, but knowing that it was useless to push the other man when he was like this. "Fine." So he changed the subject. "The first one has arrived then, I see."
A predatory smile spread over Duo's face. "Why yes, yes he has. And he is rather perfect, even if I do say so myself." His gaze had shifted to the Chinese man cluttering the floor of his sitting room.
"I'll make sure Traiten has a room ready."
"He does." A smirk crossed Duo's features.
Quatre lost his temper. "Stop it! Damn it! Duo. Do you just not think, or are you stupid!"
Duo was on his feet so fast, the movement hadn't been visible; his eyes had deepened in colour. His anger was palpable. "I am not stupid, Fallen. I am bored and restless."
"Then stop wasting power that you might need. Stop overdoing things just to get a fucking rise, Duo." Quatre clenched and unclenched his fists. "And stop calling me Fallen."
Suddenly Duo's hands were gripping Quatre's shoulders tight enough to bruise. A cruel smile crossed his face for an instant before he savagely pressed his lips to Quatre's. He pulled back to an outright glare from the other's flushed face. His voice low, Duo whispered.
"Do not seek to tell me what to do, or you can go back to being what you truly are, Fallen."
Quatre's eyes narrowed again, trying not to feel the absence of Duo's heat as the other man exited the room. Glancing back, he took one last look at Wufei, and carelessly waved his hand. The young man vanished and Quatre set off to follow Duo, to see if some part of the night could be saved.
Hilde looked up briefly as Quatre walked passed her work place. "Kitchen." Was all she said, her curious eyes turning once more to the tome, fingers pressing a tablet in indented spots.
Not for the first time Quatre wondered why the hell Duo indulged in the kitchen. Nothing considered food in this world could give him any nutritional value whatsoever. Arriving at his destination, Quatre leaned against the wall, and watched Duo. Of course, Quatre also knew that-considering how much Duo had been using his abilities- there was no way he didn't know Quatre was there. He wasn't disappointing.
"What do you want, Fallen?" His voice was clipped. Duo was still pissed off. Quatre knew he had a little work still in front of him. Making his way over to Duo, he walked until he was standing in front of the other man. Duo would either have to talk to him or move him out of the way.
A fiery glance was what Quatre received in response to his effort, but it didn't deter him. A grim look of determination on his face, he spoke. "Stop being so childish Duo, I just."
"Now I'm childish! Watch your step, Fallen. I might choose to replace you."
"Oh shut up. You can't replace me and you know it." Although his voice was strong, Quatre wasn't entirely sure that he couldn't be replaced.
"Of course I can." Suddenly Duo looked a little weary and slumped down into a seat. "But that would be a waste of energy."
Taking pity on him, Quatre took Duo's hand in one of his, holding it between the thumb and index finger. He laid the other hand above Duo's solar plexus and focused on the other mans' face. The eyes grew heavy and became a little dazed, as Quatre let go of his own ability and poured energy into Duo. Energy to heal, or refill spent energies flowed through the tentative link. That same energy could be used to achieve the exact opposite as well. Stopping the flow, Quatre looked up into violet eyes, which were regarding him fondly.
"You know you didn't have to do that. I would have regenerated easily on my own in a short while." Duo's voice was soft. It held a more intimate tone than he had been using a short while before.
Quatre shrugged. "Yes, but now you have energy. now you don't need to regenerate." A suggestive undertone accompanied those words, only half serious and playful.
"Ahhh, I see. I can now use my energy for better things can I, Quatre?" The violet eyes sparkled.
Grinning wolfishly Quatre replied. "Well, either you can use it freely, or I just might make you use it."
Duo laughed, the darkness dancing once more at the sound. "You cheer me up Quatre, I need that sometimes."
"Yes, you do. You become too melancholy." Quatre sighed, knowing that there were still things to accomplish before they went to bed. It was nice being what they were, sleep was almost irrelevant. The blond changed the subject once more. "Wufei should be awake by morning, I'm thinking. We need to be there when he wakes up. So we now have one down and three to go, yes?"
A groan emerged from Duo's throat as he put his head in his hands. "Yes, we do."
"But." Quatre knew there was more to it than that.
Looking back up at the blonde, Duo sat up straight again. "Only two will come."
Quatre's jaw fell open. "Excuse me? What?"
"I said.only two will come."
Standing up abruptly, Quatre disregarded the chair that went crashing to the ground. "We can't do this without all six of us Duo. You need to wake them.it's not.."
"I know Quatre, you don't need to tell me this. He won't come over. Not of his own accord, and definitely not before we have to start this."
"How are we going to." Quatre's ire changed. He glared at Duo. "You should have told me. I need to know these things. I can't plan without them, Duo."
"It's not like I wasn't going to tell you. I was waiting to be sure." The shadows were rippling, which meant Duo's temper was fraying. Quatre knew not to push him too much further. There were few things he knew with such absolute certainty.
Changing his demeanour, Quatre realised that getting pissed off with each other was not going to accomplish anything. "I know Duo. I'm just a little frustrated."
Calmed a little, Duo flashed Quatre a smile. "Yeah. None of this has been easy, and it doesn't look like it's getting any easier." He took a tentative step towards Quatre, reaching a hand out to brush a pale cheek.
Leaning into that touch, Quatre's eyes sparkled; they were alive. Situations like the one they were in made him thrive. "Yeah, but where's the fun without a challenge?" Leaning their foreheads together, they both let loose and laughed a little. One of the other things Quatre knew with absolute certainty was just how he could relax Duo. Slipping an arm around his partner's waist, he led him out of the kitchen and up to their room.
Traiten tended the Chinese man who was lying on the bed in the waking room. Careful not to disturb the boundary lines, he made sure that the room was free from interferences. He knew that the master was just, but he also knew that the master had a bad temper. Duo certainly didn't approve of incompetence and Quatre was no better.
Assured that everything was well prepared for the Waking, Traiten left the room. As the door closed behind him it once again fused with the wall, allowing it to appear seamless. He failed to see the man inside the room restlessly thrash on his bed as he fell into the throes of a nightmare.
~#~
Chang Wufei stood on the rise, staring in disbelief at the site before his eyes. Returning to his place of birth, he had expected the usual site to greet his eyes as he crested the hill. Instead of the leisurely estate sprawling across its land, what greeted him was utter devastation. His home lay in ruins, charred frame still smoking. The scent of burned flesh floated through the air as he stumbled in shock towards the spot where the building had stood.
It was painful to look at the surroundings. Even more so, it was painful to breath, because he felt like he was tasting the burnt flesh and not just smelling it. He wanted to gag, but he didn't have time. He needed to find them; maybe there was still hope. His eyes scanned the charred innards of the large house and located what they sought.
Taking what was left of the steps two at a time, he made it to the top of the landing. Staggering as part of the railing fell away under his hands he managed to avoid falling to the floor below. He could see the bunching of material reverted to ash, and he knew. he just knew. Making his way as fast as his cautious steps would allow him, he knelt next to the two bundles of ashed cloth. He knew who they were, who they had been; Meiran and his little sister.
The charred arms of the larger body were clinging to a smaller bundle wrapped in its embrace. Tendrils of human hair still stuck in clumps to the charred skull. Their faces were pushed almost together, both jaws opened in an eternal cry of agony.
A tear rolled down Wufei's cheek, unnoticed, unlamented. His brain wouldn't function. It didn't want to. He could hear people moving around the ruins. Not even the clang of items being stashed into bags as the house was plundered was enough to bring him out of the shock. The first thing he even vaguely registered were the voices that spoke near him.
"He survived?"
"I don't think he was here."
"We need to kill him whilst he's still in shock."
There was a smacking sound. "No you idiot, Maxwell said to leave the heir alone. Don't you ever pay attention? He has the hair clasp."
"Oh."
"We kill him, Duo will have our hide."
Out of the entire exchange, there were two things that etched themselves into Chang Wufei's mind as he sat cradling the dead bodies. The names Duo and Maxwell. As the tears coursed down his face, Wufei swore he would find who was responsible and make them pay.
He would make them pay dearly.
~#~
In the waking room, the body on the bed thrashed wildly as the nightmare gripped him. A light sheen of sweat covered his body as he relived that same nightmare over and over again.
Duo was restless. But then again, Duo was usually restless. He was also a little pissed off that his own overactive brain had refused to let him be as distracted as he would have liked by Quatre's ministrations. Thinking of whom, Quatre was looking out the window, a small frown etched on his features.
"I'll give you a quarter for your thoughts, Angel." His voice was still a little husky.
"A whole Quarter Duo?" A small laugh trickled from Quatre's throat, making the light in the room flare momentarily brighter. "My thoughts aren't worth that much." He turned his attention to the window once more.
With a sigh Duo got up and walked over, slipping an arm around Quatre's shoulders. Voice soft, soothing, he let his breath warm Quatre's skin. "Tell me, Angel."
That smile returned to the blonde's face, as he leaned into the embrace comfortably. Placing his head gently on Duo's shoulder he looked out the window once more, a thoughtful look on his face. "Don't call me that either, Duo. It isn't true."
Duo shrugged slightly. "Depends on your viewpoint, Quatre. Everything is relative."
Laughing Quatre pushed Duo away. "Great, now you're a philosopher."
"Maybe, but at least you smiled."
"Oh great: Duo the therapist. The world is doomed."
An evil grin spread across Duo's face. "Let's certainly hope so, Quatre. Let's certainly hope so." [*laughs*]
A shudder passed through Duo's frame, making him shiver and close his eyes. When he opened them again, they were that deep purple violet that meant he was experiencing some intense emotion.
The grin that spread across his face was predatory. Dragging Quatre by the arm he exited the room. "Our boy is waking up."
Quatre needed no further encouragement.
As soon as he arrived at the wall, Duo made a gesture over it. Silently the door appeared, moving in and to the side to let them pass. The room was dimmed, permeated by a soft red glow. It cast somewhat eerie shadows over the figure on the bed. Duo narrowed his eyes and made an impatient gesture with his hand. Tendrils of darkness reluctantly left the still sleeping figure in peace and sulked in the corner.
Wufei began to stir and Duo almost didn't breath. It was like watching a wild animal wake up. He wasn't really sure what to expect as he watched those eyes slowly open and try to get their bearings.
They watched him as he moved, needing to time it right. Quatre needed to lend Duo the strength he required. Energy was essential for the Waking.
Duo saw it, that ever so slight shimmer of the air. Closing his eyes, he pulled energy from Quatre. It was a move honed by a long history of knowing how to work with one another. He knew that familiarity would be invaluable to them in the future that was to come.
Gathering the power he needed he let himself merge with the slowly awakening figure. His awareness searched for what he needed. He needed the lock, because without that, the key was naturally useless. It was taking too long, and he almost started to panic. As usual Quatre's presence soothed him, anchoring him.
He found it in the last possible second, and an audible click sounded. Only seconds had passed but he felt like it was an eternity once he was fully back where he should be.
They watched the figure on the bed become fully aware. He sat up and shook his head. Sweeping the room, his gaze took in everything, finally resting on Duo and Quatre. His gaze narrowed, onyx eyes penetrating.
A cruel smile settled on his face as recognition hit and he bowed his head in greeting.
Resisting the urge to sigh in relief, both Duo and Quatre bowed in return. Once finished Duo locked his gaze with that of Wufei's, relieved at what he read in those eyes.
He allowed himself a small smile of triumph before he spoke. "I welcome thee, Arioch."
Everything that Wufei was could be read in his eyes right then; predatory, dangerous, cunning, and bloodthirsty.
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