Chapter 4
Trowa wandered the streets alone that night, trying to work out his confused thoughts. Quatre actually wanted to see him again. It was something he hadn't expected, and couldn't really understand. Why would the boy want to be around him, knowing what he was? Curiosity, perhaps. Maybe Quatre wanted to know more about the dead girl, though he hadn't seemed all that attached to her.
The bigger question was, would Trowa ever go back to see him? The vampire still couldn't identify why he went to Quatre in the first place. It wasn't because he wanted the boy to know what happened to his betrothed, hell, he hadn't even known the relationship between them when he came. Trowa knew he probably shouldn't have told him how the girl died, it could easily cause problems later on. No, the only true reason he had purposely met Quatre was because he was immensely attracted to him. Not in a sexual way, though the blonde boy was undeniably gorgeous, but something else.
Maybe it was because Quatre was an empath. Those with empathetic skills had the ability to not only to feel the emotions of others, but also to take away pain and promote healing. It was a rare and very powerful talent, and Trowa had never known another to posses the gift. Briefly, he thought about his own feelings. Most people thought that vampires were devoid of all emotion, and they were partially right, but the truth was that while they were not nearly as emotional as humans, vampires still possessed some human-like feeling.
Currently, Trowa felt lost. He couldn't remember the time before he was a vampire, but he wondered if it really could have been worse than what he felt like at the moment. Heero had made him into one of them a long time ago, and he had been willing. Now he wondered why. The loneliness and self-loathing tormented him constantly. He hated what he was, hated the fact that he couldn't feel contentment and never would, and was haunted by knowing that the only way the suffering could ever end was to take his own life.
His thoughts returned to Quatre. Something had been different when he was with the boy. He hadn't felt the way he did now, or any other time. He felt... calm. Trowa stopped dead in his tracks. Quatre had used his empathetic powers to make him, a vampire, feel better. Even stranger, it had actually worked. He suddenly longed to be back with there, if only to feel that way again. Regardless of what Heero and the others thought, he was going to visit that boy again.
**** **** ****
Heero was waiting for him when Trowa walked down the abandoned alley near where they lived. Trowa noticed him quickly, and was rather surprised to see that Duo was nowhere visible; usually, he was inseparable from Heero.
"I've been looking for you," the vampire said quietly, his cobalt eyes black in the darkness.
"That's surprising," Trowa replied coldly. He had been irritated lately with Heero for ignoring him, and a little jealous of his attention to Duo.
Heero frowned. "You're still my companion, Trowa. I have the right to know where you are."
"Since when? You don't own me."
"Oh, really," he laughed. "I don't know what makes you think that. You belong to me."
"Like hell I do," Trowa retorted. Where what all this coming from?
Suddenly, Trowa felt himself lifted into the air. He was slammed backward into the brick wall, pain exploding inside him on contact. He fell in a crumpled heap. Dizzy with pain, he looked up at Heero, who hadn't moved an inch.
"Get up," he said, and Trowa found himself standing against his will. Try as he might, he couldn't get away, either. I had no idea he had this kind of power over me, Trowa thought as he glared at the other vampire.
Heero seemed to be reading his mind. "I never wanted to do that to you, Trowa," he whispered. His eyes grew cold again. "Where have you been, anyway?"
"I visited Quatre Winner." Trowa was furious. He couldn't move, and obviously couldn't control what he was saying, either. He'd never have told Heero where he had been if he hadn't somehow been forced.
"That's utterly stupid of you. I told you that boy is important to the humans, if anything suspicious happened to him, it would be bad for us."
Trowa felt the strange paralysis over his body dissipate. Unprepared, he fell face downward, only to be caught by Heero, who held him gently.
"Don't ever do this again," Heero said as he stroked the back of Trowa's head. "You can never go back to see that boy again."
He held the unconscious Trowa close a moment longer then abruptly dropped him when a shadow materialized from the darkness.
"C'mon Heero, you didn't have to be so mean." The figure's lavender eyes, usually bright and cheerful, were melancholy, and his beautiful face was slightly drawn.
Heero sighed. "I had to teach him. He'll be fine soon, anyway." He paused. "How long have you been here?"
"Long enough. Listen, Heero, I know you care about him, and I'm okay with that. You don't have to hide it from me."
Heero walked up to black-clothed figure and ran his fingers down the boy's long chestnut braid. "It's nothing," he whispered. Together, the pair walked away, leaving Trowa alone in the dark alley.
**** **** ****
Finally, after three days with almost no rest, Quatre collapsed on his bed and sighed deeply. Today had been grueling. After staying awake all last night with Milliardo in the church, he had only time for a few hours sleep before he was awakened to attend Relena's funeral. Surrounded by mourners, his empathetic senses went haywire with all the emotions around him. At the end of the day, he was left with a splitting headache as he excused himself and retired early.
Now that he was away from all the people, Quatre felt much better. He thought about everything that had happened in such a short span of time, and especially about Trowa. In fact, he couldn't stop thinking about him. Quatre had never imagined that he would be visited by a vampire, even though he had heard rumors say that they were all over the city. It was just uncanny... Finally, Quatre fell deeply asleep, and didn't awake all night, even when a pair of cobalt eyes were watching, staring daggers into him.
**** **** ****
Trowa awoke slowly in the alley, cold and alone. How long he had been there, he had no idea, but the sky was getting lighter. It wouldn't be long until sunrise. Painful memories of the last few hours flashed through his mind as he stood up. Heero... Heero loved him, obviously, but not as much as he cared for Duo. He was so... possessive, though ... too jealous to let Trowa try and fill the void that he was leaving.
He pondered for a moment. It would really be wisest to go inside now, before sunrise. Anger flooded him, so violent it was surprising. Damn Heero for trying to control his worthless life! It wasn't going to happen anymore. Trowa began walking, heedless of wherever he was going. It didn't matter. It would all end the same way.
There weren't many ways a vampire could die, but without a doubt the most horrifying way was to get caught in the sun. Skin melted away as if the very air was acid in the form of light. Eventually, all that would be left was a heap of ash. Vampires who were killed by their own kind were usually put to death in this way. Sometimes, they found themselves caught in the sun purely by accident...
The first gleam of sunlight hit the city as Trowa found himself in front of walled gates and beautiful buildings. Ah, the Winner palace. He smiled at the irony, and wondered if fate had led his footsteps to this place. He needed a place to sit unnoticed. There had to be somewhere around here he could go. Trowa wandered outside the stone walls until he suddenly came upon the gardens. Here, the walls were iron rails that allowed him to see the glorious view inside. If he looked, he could see Quatre's balcony from here, just the same as he had only last night. He was so tempted to go up there again, just to see the boy one more time, but no. Heero would never let it go on. Silently, he cursed Heero again. Thoughts of Quatre made him feel worse than before, a longing of what could have happened. Sighing with despair, Trowa sank to the ground and leaned against the hard railing. This place was as good as any. Almost fitting, actually. With determination born of anger and torment, Trowa waited patiently for the sun.
Trowa wandered the streets alone that night, trying to work out his confused thoughts. Quatre actually wanted to see him again. It was something he hadn't expected, and couldn't really understand. Why would the boy want to be around him, knowing what he was? Curiosity, perhaps. Maybe Quatre wanted to know more about the dead girl, though he hadn't seemed all that attached to her.
The bigger question was, would Trowa ever go back to see him? The vampire still couldn't identify why he went to Quatre in the first place. It wasn't because he wanted the boy to know what happened to his betrothed, hell, he hadn't even known the relationship between them when he came. Trowa knew he probably shouldn't have told him how the girl died, it could easily cause problems later on. No, the only true reason he had purposely met Quatre was because he was immensely attracted to him. Not in a sexual way, though the blonde boy was undeniably gorgeous, but something else.
Maybe it was because Quatre was an empath. Those with empathetic skills had the ability to not only to feel the emotions of others, but also to take away pain and promote healing. It was a rare and very powerful talent, and Trowa had never known another to posses the gift. Briefly, he thought about his own feelings. Most people thought that vampires were devoid of all emotion, and they were partially right, but the truth was that while they were not nearly as emotional as humans, vampires still possessed some human-like feeling.
Currently, Trowa felt lost. He couldn't remember the time before he was a vampire, but he wondered if it really could have been worse than what he felt like at the moment. Heero had made him into one of them a long time ago, and he had been willing. Now he wondered why. The loneliness and self-loathing tormented him constantly. He hated what he was, hated the fact that he couldn't feel contentment and never would, and was haunted by knowing that the only way the suffering could ever end was to take his own life.
His thoughts returned to Quatre. Something had been different when he was with the boy. He hadn't felt the way he did now, or any other time. He felt... calm. Trowa stopped dead in his tracks. Quatre had used his empathetic powers to make him, a vampire, feel better. Even stranger, it had actually worked. He suddenly longed to be back with there, if only to feel that way again. Regardless of what Heero and the others thought, he was going to visit that boy again.
**** **** ****
Heero was waiting for him when Trowa walked down the abandoned alley near where they lived. Trowa noticed him quickly, and was rather surprised to see that Duo was nowhere visible; usually, he was inseparable from Heero.
"I've been looking for you," the vampire said quietly, his cobalt eyes black in the darkness.
"That's surprising," Trowa replied coldly. He had been irritated lately with Heero for ignoring him, and a little jealous of his attention to Duo.
Heero frowned. "You're still my companion, Trowa. I have the right to know where you are."
"Since when? You don't own me."
"Oh, really," he laughed. "I don't know what makes you think that. You belong to me."
"Like hell I do," Trowa retorted. Where what all this coming from?
Suddenly, Trowa felt himself lifted into the air. He was slammed backward into the brick wall, pain exploding inside him on contact. He fell in a crumpled heap. Dizzy with pain, he looked up at Heero, who hadn't moved an inch.
"Get up," he said, and Trowa found himself standing against his will. Try as he might, he couldn't get away, either. I had no idea he had this kind of power over me, Trowa thought as he glared at the other vampire.
Heero seemed to be reading his mind. "I never wanted to do that to you, Trowa," he whispered. His eyes grew cold again. "Where have you been, anyway?"
"I visited Quatre Winner." Trowa was furious. He couldn't move, and obviously couldn't control what he was saying, either. He'd never have told Heero where he had been if he hadn't somehow been forced.
"That's utterly stupid of you. I told you that boy is important to the humans, if anything suspicious happened to him, it would be bad for us."
Trowa felt the strange paralysis over his body dissipate. Unprepared, he fell face downward, only to be caught by Heero, who held him gently.
"Don't ever do this again," Heero said as he stroked the back of Trowa's head. "You can never go back to see that boy again."
He held the unconscious Trowa close a moment longer then abruptly dropped him when a shadow materialized from the darkness.
"C'mon Heero, you didn't have to be so mean." The figure's lavender eyes, usually bright and cheerful, were melancholy, and his beautiful face was slightly drawn.
Heero sighed. "I had to teach him. He'll be fine soon, anyway." He paused. "How long have you been here?"
"Long enough. Listen, Heero, I know you care about him, and I'm okay with that. You don't have to hide it from me."
Heero walked up to black-clothed figure and ran his fingers down the boy's long chestnut braid. "It's nothing," he whispered. Together, the pair walked away, leaving Trowa alone in the dark alley.
**** **** ****
Finally, after three days with almost no rest, Quatre collapsed on his bed and sighed deeply. Today had been grueling. After staying awake all last night with Milliardo in the church, he had only time for a few hours sleep before he was awakened to attend Relena's funeral. Surrounded by mourners, his empathetic senses went haywire with all the emotions around him. At the end of the day, he was left with a splitting headache as he excused himself and retired early.
Now that he was away from all the people, Quatre felt much better. He thought about everything that had happened in such a short span of time, and especially about Trowa. In fact, he couldn't stop thinking about him. Quatre had never imagined that he would be visited by a vampire, even though he had heard rumors say that they were all over the city. It was just uncanny... Finally, Quatre fell deeply asleep, and didn't awake all night, even when a pair of cobalt eyes were watching, staring daggers into him.
**** **** ****
Trowa awoke slowly in the alley, cold and alone. How long he had been there, he had no idea, but the sky was getting lighter. It wouldn't be long until sunrise. Painful memories of the last few hours flashed through his mind as he stood up. Heero... Heero loved him, obviously, but not as much as he cared for Duo. He was so... possessive, though ... too jealous to let Trowa try and fill the void that he was leaving.
He pondered for a moment. It would really be wisest to go inside now, before sunrise. Anger flooded him, so violent it was surprising. Damn Heero for trying to control his worthless life! It wasn't going to happen anymore. Trowa began walking, heedless of wherever he was going. It didn't matter. It would all end the same way.
There weren't many ways a vampire could die, but without a doubt the most horrifying way was to get caught in the sun. Skin melted away as if the very air was acid in the form of light. Eventually, all that would be left was a heap of ash. Vampires who were killed by their own kind were usually put to death in this way. Sometimes, they found themselves caught in the sun purely by accident...
The first gleam of sunlight hit the city as Trowa found himself in front of walled gates and beautiful buildings. Ah, the Winner palace. He smiled at the irony, and wondered if fate had led his footsteps to this place. He needed a place to sit unnoticed. There had to be somewhere around here he could go. Trowa wandered outside the stone walls until he suddenly came upon the gardens. Here, the walls were iron rails that allowed him to see the glorious view inside. If he looked, he could see Quatre's balcony from here, just the same as he had only last night. He was so tempted to go up there again, just to see the boy one more time, but no. Heero would never let it go on. Silently, he cursed Heero again. Thoughts of Quatre made him feel worse than before, a longing of what could have happened. Sighing with despair, Trowa sank to the ground and leaned against the hard railing. This place was as good as any. Almost fitting, actually. With determination born of anger and torment, Trowa waited patiently for the sun.