Title: Bullet with Butterfly Wings 4/?
Author: Gaia
Pairings: 1+2, 3+4
Rating: PG-13-R
Warnings: THIS IS NOT A SONGFIC!!! (I promise…) slight language, slight sexual content, self-insertion, slight OOC, AU….um... I think that's it….
Disclaimers: pouts The Gundam Pilots don't belong to me, but I love to play with them!! If you wanna give them to me for free, I'll take 'em… Also, the song belongs to the Smashing Pumpkins; I just borrowed the title…
Notes: This fic is a little different from what I usually write. It's in first person and it's Heero's POV…. grins But it's fun to write.
I want to thank everyone that has reviewed or will review. You'll never know quite what it means to me. Without those reviews, I don't think I would keep posting what I write. I'm sorry for the cliffy!!! Really, I am. It just seemed like a good part to stop the action before it gets a little more intense.
Bullet with Butterfly Wings by Gaia
A Battle of Not-So-Epic Proportions
"Not even to spare this one's life?" He hissed.
I swallowed, feeling the cold, sharp steel of the blade press deeper into the soft flesh of my throat, blood beginning to trickle slowly down to soak into my shirt.
"Take your hands off of him before I tear you limb from limb." Duo growled. His wings were flared out and his eyes were glowing with the anger that was radiating off his body.
"Why? He's so pretty…" Vega ran his tongue up the side of my neck on the opposite of the bleeding wound. "And he tastes so very good."
I shuddered in his grasp.
Vega smiled and put the knife away. He kept a hold on my shoulder with his left hand and wrapped his right arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
"What's your name, pretty boy?" Vega's breath ghosted over my ear.
I shivered, but refused to answer him.
He sighed and I felt a small nudge in my mind.
"You see, Heero, all I want is to be treated with respect. I want my daughters to recognize me as their father. I don't want to have to kill them for defying my master. Is that really too much to ask?" Vega put his chin on my shoulder and lifted his left hand to my face, caressing my cheek gently.
Duo growled, having watched the whole thing intently.
"I told you to get your fucking hands off of him, Vega. I meant what I said." Duo launched himself at Vega, determined to free me from his grasp.
Vega pulled me back as he dodged Duo. "Now, now. Do not be too hasty." He let go of my shoulders and /gave me a slight push towards Duo.
"I never said I was going to hurt him. He's very tempting. Is he yours?" Vega asked.
Duo glared at him and ignored Vega's question. "You never said you weren't going to hurt him either."
Vega nodded in acknowledgement and ran his hand through his hair. "I hope you do not mind my asking, but who are you, anyway?"
"Someone who should have been killed long ago." Duo said.
"There are quite a few people that should have been killed long ago, but none that would merit being partnered to those two." He pointed to Gaia and Dweia.
Dweia blinked in shock at the statement and then huffed. "Don't fall for his bullshit, Duo. He's just trying to lull you into a sense of comfort. That's what he does."
Vega snickered. "You know me too well, daughter."
"Don't call me daughter! You killed my mother; you never had a relationship with her!" Dweia screamed and raised her arms, balls of fire growing in her palms. She sent one racing towards Vega and laughed at his look of horror. He dodged it, but she had already sent out the second one with a blast of wind to help its speed, anticipating his actions. It hit him right on his abdomen.
His silk shirt lit on fire and was consumed within seconds. Vega cried out in pain as the fire reached his flesh.
A wave of power rolled off of Vega, extinguishing the flames and knocking Dweia back a few feet.
"I wish you had not done that, daughter of mine. I did not want to have to fight you." He smiled grimly, his canines flashing in the dim light.
He growled and moved, faster than anyone expected, instantly appearing behind Dweia and grabbing her wings.
His dagger gleamed as he drew it out and aimed to plunge it in Dweia's heart as he tightened his grip of the hand left on her wings...
She forced his hands away a millisecond before it reached her flesh and her body began to crackle with pure power that shoved Vega away from her. As he moved, he didn't release his grip on her wings, tearing out a handful of the black and crimson feathers.
"You gave me five hundred years to prepare for this. Do you honestly think you can take me down so easily?" Dweia growled as she winced. She reached up to feel the damage and her hands came back red with blood.
Vega gasped as he felt sharp nails digging into his shoulders from behind.
"I hope you didn't expect me to stand by and watch while you tried to kill my sister." Gaia said through clenched teeth as she leaned close to his ear.
The shock of his daughters' powers subsided and he regained control of his own power.
Vega drew in a deep breathe and broke Dweia's spell, spinning and striking Gaia with his fist, sending her flying back.
She landed on the ground with a thud and glared up at him. Her right hand clenched into a fist and static electricity began to gather around it. When it had gathered into a blue flame around her fist, she released it, sending a bolt of lightening streaking towards Vega.
It happened so quickly that he could not avoid it, the pain piercing his chest, causing him to back up a step.
"Your mother made you more powerful than I could have guessed. You aren't more powerful than I am, though. Do you really want to find out the hard way?" Vega hissed at Gaia and Dweia.
He gathered energy around him, pushing it in front of his chest to form a glowing green ball of energy. He released it, sending it streaking towards Gaia. Gaia blinked and threw up a shield of lightening, but the energy passed right through it.
She dove out of the way, but the ball caught her right leg. She fell to the ground, blood oozing from the gaping wound in her thigh.
"Shit." Gaia gasped and fumbled around in her pockets for her healing salve.
"Don't even bother with your useless salve. It can't do anything for wounds caused by energy." Vega smirked at Gaia as she paled.
Duo, who had been running to Gaia to help her, was suddenly standing in front of Vega. He rammed his fist into Vega's face as hard as he could.
Vega hit the ground and lay still for a second, the shock apparent on his face from Duo's speed.
He pushed himself back up, licking a trace of blood off his lips.
"Nice shot. However, you don't have enough power to beat me. It doesn't matter who your vampire parent is; you have no chance." Vega sneered.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Duo smiled at Vega, but the situation made the smile scarier than I had ever seen it.
"Why should I fear you? You cannot be more than fifty. Pitiful. A fifty-year-old could never muster up the power to beat me." Vega laughed, distracted by his pride.
Twin bolts of lightening shot past Duo, slamming into Vega's unsuspecting chest. He gasped in surprise and stumbled, feeling the lightening in every cell of his undead body. The air around Gaia sparked with static electricity and she smiled grimly at Vega.
"I'm sick and tired of your voice. You need to realize that you are not the strongest creature in the world." Gaia said as she stood slowly, favoring her right leg.
Dweia sent a flicker of flame towards Vega. As soon as it touched him, it ignited.
Vega was whimpering in pain, even as fire torched the muscles beneath his skin, consuming his flesh quickly until bone showed through.
Gaia added a touch more lightening to get him screaming more.
"You never learn… Even when we fought you before, you never realized that when powerful people fight together, they have the ability to beat you." Dweia said.
"Enough. We need him to go back to Algol and be our messenger boy." Duo growled.
Gaia sighed. "Alright." She raised an arm and Vega was doused in water, smothering the flames.
Vega took a deep breath and stood shakily. His burnt flesh was already healing, but I could see the pain clearly on his face.
Duo got right in his face. "Looks like you're not as tough as you want us to think. And don't judge me by my age. You have no idea who turned my mother, so don't fucking assume that I am less powerful than you are."
"Who could possibly have fathered you to make you more powerful than I am?" Vega asked, slight confusion marring his features.
"Who the fuck do you think, asshole?" Duo stepped back and let that thought sink into Vega's head.
"No, that's not possible. The only one who could possibly be strong enough was killed years ago. We made sure. You're lying."
"I don't lie. Tell your master that he should have made sure to kill the right vampeel on L2, not just the only one he could find. You see, I've lived my whole life hiding from who I really am. It's a good thing I had Solo to tell me of my birth, but you fucks took him away from me. Go run home to your master with you tail between your legs and tell him that I'm coming for him." Duo slammed his fist into Vega's stomach, forcing him to collapse to the ground.
He spun, his trench coat flaring out, and headed for the car.
Dweia walked over to Vega. "You're lucky, asshole. So very lucky." She kicked him hard in the ribs and walked away, following Duo.
Gaia limped over to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, for the comfort and support that we both needed. We walked slowly over to the car. Gaia retracted her wings and slid into the backseat slowly, pain flashing across her face.
"Don't you want to at least bandage that?" I asked as I slid in next to her.
"No, we need to get back. I'll take care of it there." She smiled at me. "Don't worry. I've done it before. I'll survive."
"She's a stubborn ass, just so you know. Every time she gets hurt, she refuses to do anything about it until she makes sure everyone else is okay." Dweia smiled at me.
"And Dweia always nags at me as soon as we get back until I take care of myself." Gaia stuck her tongue out at Dweia, then closed her eyes, and leaned her head back.
Dweia laughed and then made to slide into the driver's seat. She hissed slightly as her wings hit the roof of the car. They were shredded, bleeding sluggishly where Vega had ripped at them. She folded them in behind her, sitting forward in the seat.
"Thank the gods for tinted windows because I can't retract my wings like this." She started the car and, as soon as Duo was in, drove away from the site of the battle.
Duo snorted. "You and Gaia are exactly alike. You both don't worry about your injuries until everyone is safe. Let's go back to the house and take care of you two." Duo looked back at me. "Scratch that, we need to take care of all three of you."
I looked down and felt my neck. It was still bleeding from the cut Vega had given me. The stain was spreading slowly on the front of my shirt.
I wiped at it with my hand to get as much dried blood off as I could.
"Don't do that, Heero!"
I looked up in shock at Duo's outburst.
"You could introduce bacteria when you do that. Don't touch it; we'll take care of you when we get home." Duo said quickly.
My hand dropped back into my lap and I nodded.
Duo's grin was adorable and soon, we were all smiling.
Dweia pulled up in front of their house and slid out, grabbing all her things and running for the back door.
Duo followed her as I waited for Gaia and helped her into the house.
"Sorry about that, you two. I couldn't risk having my wings seen, despite the time. You never know when someone has trouble sleeping." Dweia said and then started walking up the stairs.
"Understandable." Gaia said as she limped over to her chair. Lakota ran over to her and, when she sat down, the wolf climbed into her lap, avoiding Gaia's injured thigh completely.
"Hey, boy. You're so good. Yes, you are." Gaia was petting Lakota slowly and Lakota had his head on Gaia's shoulder.
I blinked. Lakota seemed to know that Gaia was hurt was trying to comfort her.
"Is he a normal wolf?" I asked quietly.
"In a way. However, he's my familiar, so he understands me. He knows what I need and helps me do what I must." Gaia scratched Lakota's ears.
Duo stretched. "Alright, let's get you guys fixed up."
Dweia came bounding down the stairs, Taletha right on her heels. Her wings were already retracted.
I blinked. "I thought you couldn't…"
"Just a little healing salve and they healed right up." She smiled at me.
"Duo, why don't you take care of Heero's neck and I'll take care of Gaia's leg. Sound like a plan?"
"Yep, that sounds like a good one." Duo said.
Dweia sat on the floor in front of Gaia and had her put her leg in Dweia's lap.
She pulled a needled and sterilized thread out of the first aid kit she had brought down with her and held the needle over her palm.
With a whispered word, she called forth a small flame and held the needle in it. Then she wiped it down with an alcohol pad and placed it next to her on the top of the first aid kit.
Dweia looked up sympathetically at Gaia, who nodded once. Dweia sighed and began cleaning the wound. Luckily, Gaia's pants were torn so badly that the material did not get in the way.
When Dweia finally began stitching, she started chanting a spell to help the wound stay closed.
Duo put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Heero. Time to take care of your neck." He directed me towards the bathroom and I noticed that he had set up so he could clean my wound as soon as I was in there.
He turned me towards him and put one finger under my chin, tilting my head up and out of the way. He wiped gently at the dried blood with a wet washcloth.
"We need to get that stain out of your shirt." He threw the washcloth in the sink and grabbed the hem of my shirt, pulling it off over my head. I complied, lifting my arms to help him. He tossed the shirt in the corner and grabbed an alcohol wipe. He began dabbing at the wound, smiling gently when I hissed at the sting of the alcohol.
The gentle pressure that Duo was applying to my neck combined with the alcohol was enough to make the wound bleed again.
"Sorry." He said quietly.
"It's alright." I replied.
Duo had stopped moving. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and saw him looking intently at my neck.
"Duo…?"
My words caused him to move, but not in the way I expected.
Duo leaned closer, his eyes closed, and licked at the blood seeping down my neck. At the first taste, he growled, wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight against his body.
"Duo, what…" I breathed, but couldn't continue when he licked my neck again and then pressed his lips to mine.
In a moment of clarity, I realized that this was what I wanted. Duo kissing me freely. Duo holding me. Duo. I wanted Duo.
I relaxed into his arms and sighed as he deepened the kiss.
I shivered, pleasure coursing through my veins. The movement seemed to shock Duo and he pushed himself away from me.
"Oh, god. Heero, I'm so sorry!" He ran from the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Hands shaking, I put a band-aid on my neck using the mirror. I then sat on the toilet after putting the lid down and put my head in my hands.
Duo just wanted the taste of blood and had gotten caught in the moment. He didn't want me. He would never want me.
I groaned.
What was I going to do? How could I act like nothing had changed between us?
I rubbed my hands over my face and stood, cleaning up the bathroom.
When that was finished, I walked out into the living room to see Gaia and Dweia sitting in pretty much the same positions as when I had left. Duo was sitting on the far side of the couch.
I sat on the couch on the opposite end of Duo and watched as Dweia finished stitching Gaia's thigh.
She put gauze and medical tape on top of the wound and smiled.
"All done."
"Thank you, Dweia." Gaia shifted and yawned.
"I agree, Gaia. It's bedtime. You never know when Algol will want to get even." Dweia looked out the window at the lightening horizon. "Seeing as how he can't come for awhile, we should grab as much sleep as we can."
Duo nodded and grabbed the blankets and pillows as I stood and pulled the pullout bed from the couch. Dweia and Gaia said goodnight and walked upstairs to their rooms.
Duo spread one of the blankets on the bed and left the other on the floor. He put most of the pillows on the bed and dropped one on top of the blanket on the floor.
He went into the bathroom and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. I went into the bathroom after him and, by the time I finished changing into flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, he was cocooned in the blanket on the floor.
"Duo, why are you on the floor?" I asked.
Duo didn't even look at me. "No reason."
"Then get up on the bed. There's plenty of room."
"Heero, I don't want to hurt you! I can't believe I did that to you in the bathroom. I almost bit you and then, to make matters worse, I kissed you! I'm shocked you didn't kill me." Duo said quickly.
"Why would I kill you?"
"I'm sure you don't appreciate being kissed by your best friend when you have a princess waiting for you."
"Relena?" At Duo's nod, I threw back my head and laughed. "Relena and I are just friends. We both feel we're far too different for anything to work. We had quite a long conversation about it too."
"You did?" Duo looked like he was in shock.
"Yes. We decided that her pacifist ideals and my history of violence would not… mesh well. She also admitted that she only had a crush on me and that she's found someone else who has the same ideals and that her brother would approve of."
Duo was silent for a moment, taking it all in. When he spoke, his voice shook slightly. "Brother?"
"Relena does have a brother. She's only just met him. His name is Milliardo, but he likes to go by Zechs Merquise." I smiled at the look on Duo's face.
"Wha…?"
I nodded. Duo shook his head and looked to be pondering the relationship that Zechs and Relena could possibly have.
"Stop thinking about them and get up in the bed!" I said.
"But…"
"No, I don't care. You won't hurt me. Get. Up. HERE!" I hissed.
"Alright, as long as you're sure." He muttered.
I watched as Duo picked up his blanket and pillow, spread his blanket on the bed, and lay down. He was laying on the far edge of the bed. If he moved around like he normally did, he would fall off. I sighed.
"Goodnight, Duo."
"Night, Heero."
I closed my eyes and let the sound of Duo's quiet breathing lull me to sleep.
Warm. Warm and comfortable. I pressed closer to the warmth and yawned. I didn't want to wake up, I was too comfortable.
My ear was pressed against a warm, smooth expanse that was beating in my ear.
My pillow moved slightly and I was enveloped in a hug.
"Heero…" My pillow was whispering in his sleep.
I smiled, happy that he wasn't fighting, even if it was only while he was sleeping.
Whispers came from the kitchen of the house, causing me to blink. Gaia and Dweia were in the kitchen. They had gotten past both Duo and me without waking either of us up. I tensed, not understanding how it had happened.
Unfortunately, when the feeling of my tensing muscles broke through Duo's layers of sleep, he was wide awake and flinching away from me.
"Duo? What's wrong?" I asked quietly.
"You're… you're not going to hit me?" He whispered hesitantly.
"Why would I hit you?" I asked, shocked.
"I didn't mean to sleep so close to you. I should have stayed on the floor. I'm so sorry. I felt you tense up. I'm sorry! It won't happen again."
"Duo, calm down. I tensed up because Gaia and Dweia got past us while we were sleeping. I was actually rather comfortable." I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"Oh." Duo relaxed as the word slipped past his lips.
I lay back down. "I'm still tired, go back to sleep."
Duo smiled back at me and relaxed completely, snuggling up against me and using me for his pillow.
I wrapped my arm around him and closed my eyes, falling quickly back down into the comforting embrace of sleep.
I blinked as I woke a second time, sunlight streaming into my eyes from the window.
My ears picked up the sounds of movement from the kitchen. Gaia and Dweia were still out there.
In the small amount of time that we had gone back to sleep, Duo had thrown a leg over mine and was hugging my chest.
He murmured slightly when I stroked a hand over his braid, rejoicing in the silken feel against my skin.
I pondered how to get out of the bed without waking Duo, but, with the way he was sprawled on me, it was impossible.
Shrugging slightly, I settled in to study his face until he decided to wake up.
He was so relaxed in his sleep, looking too innocent by half. His mouth was slightly open, fangs pressed against the skin of my chest.
Yesterday, that would have made me nervous, but today, I didn't even care. If he bit me, I would probably enjoy it.
"Hey, Heero, we're making breakfast. Do you want to wake Duo up?" Dweia whispered from the doorway.
"No need to wake Duo up. He's awake already." Duo said with a yawn.
I laughed. I had felt him waking up and expected something like this out of him.
Gaia popped her head around the corner and sighed. "Don't you two look adorable like that? Aww…" She went back into the kitchen, humming on the way.
Duo blinked and then three his head back, laughing hysterically.
"She's priceless." He said between gasps once he finished laughing.
"She always has been. Believe me, she's insane." Dweia said.
"Yeah, we kind of figured. She's a witch vampeel with a wolf familiar AND she's related to you. You are, quite obviously, crazy as well. Who wouldn't be crazy in that situation?" Duo joked.
Dweia laughed and made a face.
Duo rolled out of bed and walked into the bathroom.
I sighed, knowing it was time to get out of bed, but I already missed the feel of Duo against me.
Dweia smiled down at me. "Well, this is a much different way for you two to wake up. What's happened since yesterday?"
I grinned at her and sat up. "We talked a little after you two went to bed. We cleared a few things up."
She nodded. "Good."
Duo walked back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
Dweia smiled and walked back into the kitchen when Duo gave her a pleading look.
Hands in his lap, Duo looked at me and smiled nervously.
"You're really not mad at me?"
I gazed at Duo, surprised that he could ask that. Before I could think of what I was doing, I leaned towards Duo and captured his lips in a gentle kiss.
He squeaked slightly, but settled quickly into the kiss, wrapping his arms around me and deepening the kiss.
I can't tell you how long we kissed, I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that the kiss was broken by the soft sound of a sigh.
Duo and I pulled away from the kiss, but stayed wrapped together, glaring at the intruders.
Gaia and Dweia stood in the doorway, gazing at us dreamily.
Dweia giggled. "See, he's not mad at you at all, Duo."
End Chapter Four
Notes:: Yet again, I'm very sorry it's been so long. I hope to be updating soon… but soon in my time is not very soon in everyone else's time. I'm taking financial accounting and it's killing me, so we'll see how it goes from here on out. I am going to try to update as often as I can.