Soul Mates – Chapter 8
Wufei was ready to kill something. His meeting his wife's cousin did not go well. In the months before master Long's death the man had been trying to wheedle his way back into the old man's and thereby the family's good graces. The man was hopelessly stupid and only brought had a king's ransom in gambling debts as his list of accomplishments.
They'd refused him of course. Knowing that any money given to him would be lost forever. The problem came from the old man's growing dementia prior to his death. According to Xian and the witnesses with him, Master Long had forgiven him and agreed to help him out of his "financial difficulties". He had also heard that at the time Master Long had thought he was his long dead brother, Xian's grandfather that he was talking to.
Towards the end of Wufei's conversation with him, things got out of hand and the end amounted to either Wufei helped the man out or he left him to the mercy of his debtors.
It didn't help that on his way out he passed an unfamiliar group of men who were probably looking to collect part of that debt.
The young man took a few steadying breaths. He would deal with the Xian later, he had few more pressing concerns on his mind. He needed to talk to someone. He already knew who he wanted to talk to but he was reluctant to call him.
By the gods he ached for Duo so much. It was like a gaping hole in his chest that never healed over. He knew the boy from the such an advanced future be able to help him with his problem, but he was afraid what happened last time would happen again.
He needed to contact him when he was away from that… person… that boy. Perhaps if he waited until Duo went to bed he wouldn't have to see that pale colored brat that was hoarding Duo's attention.
Duo was just starting to fall asleep when Wufei called to him.
Duo? Wufei called feeling like he was doing the mental equivalent of pacing nervously at Duo's doorstep.
"Wufei? Wufei what's wrong?" Duo asked instantly awake. Even though they had grown apart over the past several months, Wufei knew there would never be a time when Duo would abandon him if he needed something.
Duo I need your help. He began trying to find way start.
"Do you really think you have to ask?" his long absent friend stated bluntly. There was something else in his tone a nervousness that wasn't there before and Wufei could clearly feel that he was blocking something off from him. He grieved for a moment over the loss of the openness they once shared before pushing aside the ache.
At the moment he chose to focus was on how good it felt being connected with Duo rather than the pain of his loss or his current situation. He was fairly certain he knew what Duo was hiding and why, but he opted not to mention anything. He would have time after his current crisis was over to properly lament the growing division between them.
Taking one last moment to luxuriate in the sensation that was purely Duo, he steeled himself. They want me to get another wife.
"What? Why?" Duo asked and Wufei felt the other boy's alarm along with a sharp pain when the word wife was mentioned. He had suspected that his marriage had hurt Duo but he didn't discover how much until the rift between them was beyond repair.
It's Meiran. She still hasn't conceived and people are starting to suggest that I get a more fertile wife., he explained regretting for the millionth time the necessity of him getting married. He would have given anything to get Duo back in his life again. Back to the way things were.
"How can she not be pregnant? You guys have lots of sex." Duo asked and Wufei felt how the other boy deliberately shied away from thinking about him bedding his wife.
We don't have it that much anymore. He responded honestly.
"Why? You were a natural man, a total stud. Don't tell me that little bitch started showing some attitude again?" Wufei had to smile at the way Duo was ready to instantly defend him. He missed him so much.
No, she's not the problem. The problem is with me. I just don't care for her. I know she is a good wife, but I just can't keep going through the motions for duty. That wasn't all of it, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Duo the rest. To tell him that he wished more than anything that it wasn't his wife that was under him. How being with her made him want to throw up or do something violent because she wasn't who he wanted to make love to.
Locking his frustrations down again he got to the point before anymore of his feelings tried to escape again. I just need to get her pregnant. As quick as possible. Surely your library books would have some suggestions.
"On pregnancy? Do you have any idea what a freak I'm going to look like? Aw man you owe me big time. School only just started, I'll have to try and pass if off as a project in life studies or something."
Duo's books provided a wealth of knowledge about infertility. He had no idea so many things could have affected a woman's body.
If the rest of the household found it odd how Wufei had taken a sudden keen interest in her diet and lifestyle they chose to keep their whispers to themselves. Nothing his wife did or consumed was free from his scrutiny. He even forbade her favorite blend of tea opting for one he selected himself not caring if it was unusual for a man to interfere with what was usually women's territory.
When the time came in her cycle Wufei was besieged with nausea at the thought of touching Meiran even for one night.
"Are you going to be okay?" Duo asked him his tone filled with concern.
I'll be fine Duo, I just have to get it over with quickly. He answered taking deep breaths of cool air to calm his stomach.
Duo snickered at him "You know dude, fast is not exactly something a guy wants to be in bed."
He groaned with nausea then chucked at Duo's meaning. I only have you to blame. If it weren't for you and your movies about true love I wouldn't have cared about doing my duty. He then decided to broach the idea he'd had since contacting Duo again.
Duo, can we read one of those books again?
"Huh?" he felt Duo's fear that Wufei was going to ask him to stay with him during sex and masked the hurt quickly.
You don't have to stay while I'm with her, he reassured I just need some help with motivation.
"I got ya. We need to get you so worked up you won't last more than a minute." His friend agreed heading off to find the stash of adult books they'd used before.
How many stories they had read or what they were about Wufei would never be able to recall. All he cared about was being connected with Duo while they were both aroused. He loved the way their lust created an echo effect back and forth between them intensifying it to the point where he could barely stand.
Duo was right though, it barely took him a minute to impregnate his wife.
Much to Wufei's pleasure and surprise, Duo began talking to him again. He had no idea nor did he question the whereabouts of that boy for he had Duo back in his life again. Silently he promised himself that neither his wife, the child growing in her or the unknown boy were going to come between Duo and himself again.
"Wow, it's been a long time since you and I did nothing like this together." Duo commented in his mind while the two of them watched the sunset through Wufei's eyes. The man from the past didn't say anything, opting to nod in agreement. He hadn't felt this content or relaxed in ages. Too bad he couldn't bottle this feeling. When the last light from the sun finally left the sky, he figured he had better head home soon. Turning in the appropriate direction he was horrified to see what appeared to be another sunset, only in the wrong direction.
"What is that?" Duo asked for both of them while as a unit both of them felt growing dread.
Wufei took off at a sprint and hadn't even come into view of his home when the choking black smoke and the clamor of voices reached him causing the bottom of his stomach to fall out.
When he finally made it to the courtyard the heat was a living force that smacked him in the face. There were people running in all directions panicking and smoke blotted out the night sky.
Wufei felt more than heard Duo gasp in horror and in a strange way it gave him the strength to move. He felt bad for doing it to his best friend, but the young man from the future would have to be frantic for the both of them right now. He needed to act.
Plowing into the fray he started yelling orders for people to get out of the way. It appeared that most of the household staff had made it out okay, but there was still no sign of his family.
Looking at the inferno that was already collapsing, he knew no one inside would still be alive.
Yelling at every one, "Where is my wife? Where are my parents? Meiran where are you?"
A few people pointed or gestured in one particular direction one man piped up "She went chasing after the bandits!" another yelled "She took the family sword."
Several thoughts congealed at once in his mind. His wife had escaped the fire. The fire was not and accident. There was still no information on the rest of his family. And despite her condition, his wife had intentionally put herself in danger. His feet had started moving before he even had a chance to complete his thought.
"Idiot!" Duo yelled in his head "What does she think she is doing putting your kid in danger like that!"
I will be sure to wring it out of her later. Chasing after his irresponsible headstrong wife, Wufei felt himself transcend fury to a place that was purely killing intent.
Obviously, he couldn't kill his wife, but he fully intended to put the fear of death into her and as for any one with her… well hopefully there weren't any innocent bystanders near her.
The first person he came across was one of the so called bandits. The man was armed with a cheap sword that he'd abandoned in favor of trying to keep his innards from falling out of the deep slash in his stomach. He also had the stupid sense to try and ask Wufei for help.
Without a flicker of expression, Wufei kicked the sword away and drove his fist into the bandit's wound, making his already pale face turn a sickly gray color. "I'll help you to die quickly if you tell me where the woman is."
The bandit's eyes widened when he saw nothing but cold killing intent in his supposed savior's face. Several expressions flitted across his face in succession and Wufei could almost see the man's thoughts as he tried to estimate his chances of escaping alive.
Wufei was about to jab his fist into the bandit's open wound again when said bandit decided begging for his life would be his best option.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way!" he cried. "He said it wasn't supposed to be this way!"
That caused Wufei to pause in his attack. "What way?"
"We were just supposed to scare the woman but it went all wrong."
"Why?" he asked coldly pushing on his wound some more.
"Ahh! Long! He said his cousin and her husband had the money he owes us!" the man's face was sweating and his breath was coming in heavy gasps. "We were just there to scare her and you into paying us but then she grabbed that sword and everything turned into a mess."
"Xian." Wufei growled under his breath. He should have taken care of that nusance long before.
Still completely expressionless, Wufei stood up and away from the dying man and grabbed his abandoned sword. The bandit had only had a moment to register that the other man was standing with his sword before Wufei coldly separated his head from his shoulders.
In that special place in the back of his head where his heart and soul truly lived Wufei could feel Duo trying not to be sick at the sight of him killing someone so easily. As much as he ached to comfort Duo he pushed it aside to finish the task at hand.
It didn't take him long after to find his wife. She was lying on the ground in a pool of blood in far worse state than the bandit he'd encountered before was. He could tell just by looking at her that even Duo's advanced medicines would probably not be able to save her.
Disconnected at he was from his emotions, he was both grateful and deeply saddend by the wail of regret from Duo.
Wufei knelt down to his small wife and gathered her gently in his arms. Blearily she managed to focus on him.
"Husband." She whispered weakly.
"Wife, you reckless fool." He chided gently. A small crease appeared between her brows but Wufei shushed her before she tried to say anything. "I am not as angry with you as I am with myself. I should have dealt with Xian a long time ago. If I had, this would never have happened."
Meiran's breathing became even more labored but she still forced herself to grip his hand and attempt to talk. "No, I…" What ever she wanted to say to him was lost however as the last of her life left her.
He wanted nothing more than to properly grieve for her as he laid her gently back down but there was one more thing he needed to do before he could allow himself the luxury of feeling any of the emotions that wanted break forth. Grabbing his family's sword he charged off to find his wife's cousin.
When he found him, Xian was not alone. It seemed that the would be bandits/debt collectors were a little annoyed that the idiot's plan did not go as smoothly as expected. Xian was busy trying to talk his way out of his trouble.
"It was one small pregnant woman surrounded by a bunch of servants and old people. I figured you and your men could handle her." He said haughtily but his air of arrogance was betrayed by the way he was shaking and sweating heavily.
As a group, the five men in the room scowled at the insult he'd just paid them. Certainly Meiran was a woman, and it was unusual for a woman to be trained in martial arts, but she was certainly no ordinary woman.
He felt a flash of pain from the emotions that he'd sealed away try and leak out. He had to finish this now.
Not bothering to wait to see how the confrontation between Xian and the other man would turn out, he viciously lopped off the head of one and sliced another from shoulder to hip before they even knew he was in the room.
The fight wasn't like one of Duo's fancy movies where the enemies politely came at him one at a time so he could deal with them individually with flashy well choreographed moves. These men spaced themselves out enough to not get in each other's way and prepared to attack him together. Two were carrying swords and lunged at him as a unit. Wufei had to choose the one with the longer reach to focus on while trying to dodge the other one. The third had a ball and chain weapon and chose to stay back and wait for his opening.
Judging by the way 'long reach' was waving his sword like a club; it was only a matter of time before Wufei found an opening in his inexperience movements. The bigger problem became 'short reach' that looked like he had a bit of experience in swordplay. Wufei tried to keep long reach between himself and short reach while he waited for an opening. Somehow he also manage to maneuver so that 'ball and chain' was behind both of them.
What he didn't expect was long reach's strength. Even if he was waving it around like a club, it took all his strength to keep himself from being split in two.
Long reach swung his sword down to cleave his head and while Wufei managed to effectively parry, short reach snuck in and stabbed him in his side. Letting out a yell of shock and pain both men grinned and long reach thinking they had all but won, let up on their attack a fraction.
Shutting away the pain and Duo's frantic screaming in his head Wufei took his advantage and sliced long reach open. He then altered the same swing to stab short reach in the shoulder. The man recovered quickly from the shock of thinking he'd won to being stabbed, but not quick enough to save himself. Knowing that his fighting time was running out Wufei couldn't afford to pass up any openings no matter how risky. He parried the next attack by directing the blow towards his own thigh.
Wincing as he felt his opponent's blade bite into it he took one hand off his sword and jabbed his fist into the other man's throat crushing his windpipe. The man staggered back and dropped his sword as his inability to breath became more urgent to him. With the pain throbbing in his side, he didn't even bother putting the man out of his misery. Wufei was rapidly running out of time and the guy would be dead soon anyway.
Turning to the last two people in the room he was a little surprised and annoyed that the ball and chain had his weapon wrapped tightly around Xian's neck and was attempting to hold him hostage.
"I will kill him!" ball and chain warned.
For a moment Wufei paused and was tempted to tell him to go ahead, but then he remembered the sight of his pregnant wife lying in a pool of her own blood and he lunged at them running his sword through both of them.
Painfully, he staggered out of Xian's home and back in the direction of his wife's body.
"WUFEI GODDAMN YOU! YOU ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!" Duo shrieked inside his head so loud his vision started to blur. At least he was hoping it was Duo's screaming.
I need to finish it he told his beloved best friend.
"NO! You need to take care of that wound first before you bleed to death!" Duo demanded and Wufei stumbled and fell to his knees.
I need to do this for her Duo. It's the only thing I can do for her. He announced struggling to his feet again.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS WU! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Duo screamed in his head.
That made Wufei pause. If he were in Duo's shoes right now he'd be more than half mad with worry. Stumbling again, he wobbled in the street and struggled to stay on his feet.
It wasn't fair to her Duo, he explained.
"Damn you! I don't care about her right now! There is nothing you can do for her! We need to take care of you!"
It wasn't fair to her to be married to a man who loved someone else. He lifted blurring eyes to the stars above him many of which still existed in Duo's time. "I love you Duo." He said out loud to the stars as if they could carry the message for him.
Wufei looked down at the wound in his side and the long streak of blood leading down to an expanding puddle on the ground. His time was almost out. As if his body wanted to verify Wufei's diagnosis, his legs choose that moment to refuse to hold him any longer.
In his head he felt Duo's panic reach new levels. "God Wufei don't do this to me! You have to know how much I love you! I won't make it through without you!"
That caused Wufei concern. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was dying, but he'd never forgive himself if he took Duo with him. You have to promise me to find a way to make it through beloved. He told the young man from the future no longer bothering to hide the depth of his feelings for him.
"I can't." Duo sobbed in his head. He felt Duo stubbornly refuse to accept that he could live any existence that didn't have Wufei.
I promise I'll be there with you. I don't know how, but I will find a way to be with you he vowed. Please beloved, I'm begging you, live your life to the fullest and I will be with you.
By now Wufei was lying on the ground once again staring up at the night sky. I would have given every star in the night sky if I could have just touched you once. You have no idea how many nights I wished and dreamed about touching you.
"I know. It was the same for me." Duo's mental voice was under control now but it pained Wufei greatly to feel the hollow emptiness in it.
I saw you with that boy; the pale one that looks like he was made from moonbeams. He said and felt Duo gasp in surprise.
I hated him instantly. I hated him for being able to do all of the things that I could only dream about doing. I hated him for being in the arms of the one I loved when I could not.
"I'm so sorry. I was just so lonely."
I'm not angry at you Duo, I love you. What I am trying to say is that I want you to try and find someone to love. I know that they could never love you as much as I could, but I want you to be happy. Promise me love.
As the stars started to waver and darken, Wufei was glad that mental speech didn't require as much energy as verbal or he wouldn't have made it this long.
Promise me love. Wufei begged him again.
"I promise I won't die intentionally." Duo relented.
Beloved, Wufei pleaded.
"No Wu, I can't promise to love again! Don't you get it? You're the love of my life! You are my soul mate! Nothing I ever feel will be anything more than a cheap imitation! I'll stay alive for you. I'll even try to be happy for you, but I'll never be able to love anyone but you!" the ferocious conviction in his tone made Wufei smile.
I guess I'll just have to find some way back to you for real. He quipped lightly.
"Damn straight! You're just gonna have to find a way to reincarnate your ass!" Duo demanded making him smile more.
Feeling suddenly very sleepy he asked for one more thing. Duo? Could you look in a mirror again? I would like very much to see your face again. He closed his eyes to get a clearer view of what Duo was looking at and was a little surprised to find him in the middle of Howard's junk yard.
He watched as Duo viciously ripped the side mirror off of an old truck and tried to look at himself using the meager lighting the flood lamps in the yard gave. Duo looked terrible. His eyes were red and puffy from crying and his long hair that was supposed to be neatly tied in a tail was in complete disarray. And yet he was the most beautiful thing Wufei had ever seen.
He drank in the features of the one he loved more than anything in existence. Far too quickly the face he was seeing in his mind's eye started to darken and he offered up a quick prayer to any god listening to one day let him see that face again.
I love you Duo Maxwell.
Howard stumbled around his home before dawn not very happy with himself or the rest of the world.
He'd known.
He'd known this day was coming almost as soon as the kid had convinced him the voice in his head was real. He may have told the kid not to investigate into the guy in his head's past, but Howard was under no obligation to keep his nose out of the guy's business.
He'd researched information about the area and its prominent families and one family certainly did match what the kid told him. Thanks to his research, he also new that the head of that family died at a very young age along with everyone else.
As soon as he'd heard the kid screaming in his yard late at night he knew what had happened. What he didn't expect was to find the kid passed out with his junkyard cat Guts curled up to him. Unable to get the kid to wake up, he managed to carry him back to his place and dumped him on the sofa.
Shuffling into his living room, he was surprised to find his impromptu guest awake. Although on closer inspection, perhaps awake wasn't the correct word. Perhaps eyes open but not completely there.
It took Duo several minutes to even register that Howard was there with him.
"Wu's dead." He whispered numbly in a voice that was almost destroyed from all of the screaming he did the night before.
Howard nodded in understanding. "Well kid, the sister is probably frantic wondering where you are so we better get you back and ready for school."
Like a mindless robot, the kid nodded, got up and moved toward the door. The old man had no idea what he was going to tell the nun, but he knew he would have to mention to her to keep an eye on him for a while. Perhaps since the kid was almost sixteen and would have to leave soon, he could offer him a place to stay.
AN: Okay don't be mad at me! It's not the end yet!
