Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Warnings: Slash, lemons, blood-letting and vampirism.

Chapter Three:

Between the loud music and the multi-coloured flashing lights, a tall vampire in the form of a lithe young man, stood quietly in a corner of the crowded room. Heero basked in the shadows, silently stalking his next prey, his eyes searching for a good candidate to satisfy his thirst.

He was in a bar surrounded by humans dancing to the wild beat of a fast song.The vampire watched the bodies whirl around in time to the music, knowing that one of them will be caught unawares tonight, and will die for that mistake.

Thankfully, the music calmed into a slower beat song, and couples gathered to sway to the soft words pouring from the speakers. The lights came on at the bar, and a cheer went up through the crowd, who were as eager to begin drinking as Heero.

Heero pulled himself from the shadow and eyed a bartender. 'A drink would be nice,' he thought and made his way silently to the bar. He sat where a man had just recently vacated swiftly, oddly before taking the drink that he had paid for. The bartender watched the other man leave, shrugged, and set the brimming shot in front of Heero. "Must be your lucky day, buddy. You get a free shot".

The speakers began pumping loud rock again as Heero watched a fight unfold beside him. A figure was sitting atop the bar, flirting, when the crowd parted and let through a muscled and tattooed man. This guy was so pissed off, you could almost see the red emitting from his bulky body.

The muscles rippled when his arms shot out and sent the person sitting on the bar to the floor behind the counter. The bartender rushed over and helped the man to his feet. All eyes were on the teen, while the base pounded in the background, waiting to see how he would react to the violence. Heero turned his attention back to his thoughts, only half tuned in to the storm brewing near him and picked up the shot glass.

"You were hitting on my boyfriend," a voice growled. Heero sucked down the Jack Daniels, the spicy liquid burning his throat on its decent.

Electricity in the victim's fast retort to this comment hummed as he made his way around the bar. The venom in his voice made even the vampire lift his gaze to see who spoke. With a slight build, he barely looked old enough to be admitted into the club, let alone be served drinks. Still, the braid that fell past his waist and bounced behind him made his appearance almost feral. With the narrow hips and flat stomach, he looked extremely edible. Heero watched his walk intently.

The boy moved like a cat, all defences raised, and growled, "You boys don't wanna be messing with me tonight, or you might find yourselves craving sanctuary, in just...a few...seconds." His voice was low and was almost lost in the music.

The attacker sneered while his posse gathered behind him. They were all big, biker-burly types, and Heero just knew the boy was going to be smeared all over the bar.


Duo almost hit himself for not wearing his Sythe jacket, but then again, the whole reason for tonight was to sit back, relax and forget about the blood sucking undead. Knowing this problem wasn't going to just disappear, he sighed and waited for the guy to either back the hell down, or hit him. Duo's first night off in a month, and he still had to fight assholes that think they were stronger than him.

Seeing the tattooed fist pull back, Duo 'Shinigami' Maxwell, Leader of the Reapers, sprang into action. The world didn't end for just one fight, but it did for a brawl. The pounding music stopped mid-song while the entire club erupted like Mt. St. Helens. Fists flew and bodies tumbled.

And Duo was in his element.

Lashing out, Duo took out three of his earlier attackers, while more circled him. They were waiting like vultures watching the predator catch his prey. But he wasn't prey, hadn't been since the safehouse crumbled and all of his friends had died. His family.

These thoughts spurring him on, Duo pictured the men in green uniforms and almost effortlessly managed to down five of them. The DJ, desperate to end the all out war inside the club, turned the music back on, but that only added to the chaos that had flooded onto the dance floor.

As if on silent command, the men that were left standing advanced slowly, making Duo lose his advantage by pressing his back to the bar. Outnumbered, alone and slightly tired, the magic in Duo's blood was slowing dwindling. Wisps of his aura escaped the bonds he had in place, but he was sure if there were any vampires in the room, they were too lost in the confusion to notice.

With all of his senses on alert, one thing escaped his notice. A guy had come up behind him with a steel pole from the bar.

A loud thwack and sparks danced in front of his fluttering eyes, as his body slid to the ground.

Heero watched the young boy defend himself against his attackers furiously. It was as if he was in a trance, caught in the middle of a dance only he could hear the music to. The vampire longed to hear it too, for his body moved like the wind, and his hair-if anyone were to touch his hair they would probably have more trouble then they could handle.

He felt more than heard the metal smash into the boy's skull, but he also knew he would live since the man who wielded the pipe was weaker than an average human. His body slid to the ground slowly, defying all laws of physics, and his braid was unravelling. It was the most perfect image Heero had ever seen, and he felt a need to protect the human boy's unconscious body.

Swiftly, Heero stood and picked the unknowing body off the floor, and raised his glance to the men who surrounded him. The glare on his face told the others to back down or be laid down. Silently he made his way through the crowd, unchallenged.

Once outside, the vampires' car wasn't to far away, and, with a cat-like grace, he proceeded to place the boy in the passengers seat. He made sure all hands, feet and braids were securely in before shutting the door. Leaning against the side, Heero tried to calm his nerves and steady his heartbeat. Funny notion, that. What was left of his soul pulling at him, begging him to feed.

Heero knew it was only a matter of time before it took over, the powerful urge too terrible and sweet to resist. He should have left the boy inside with the drunks, at least they might have let him live. He might have had a chance. He sighed, letting the moonlight wash over him, wishing it was the boy's hair, his lips. Pulling himself away form those thoughts, he turned them to the war instead.

Overall, in the war between the two gangs, the two races, Heero knew it was only a matter of time before the Reapers would become overall victorious. They had only one weakness-humanity, and if they lost that they would be no better than the monsters with which they fought. The Crimsons downfall would be the bloodlust. The all powerful, all consuming, bloodlust. He closed his eyes, breathing deep, feeling the breeze pull at his clothes.

He knows he didn't want to kill him, the boy wasn't completely innocent and he was street smart to say the least, but he wasn't a blood-crazed psycho like him. The braided beauty didn't deserve to die from his hands, and Heero was determined to save this boy from himself. If that were at all possible.


At the sound of a small click, Duo awoke sharply, inhaling a breath way too quickly for his comfort. Pain exploded in his head and the lights in front of him flickered on and off.

He grabbed the nearest solid thing available.

The magic in his system calmed the pain, and lulled it to a dull ache. This allowed Duo to notice a presence sitting beside him, silent and unmoving.

"Are you alright," Heero asked, his voice monotone and struggling internally with the hunger. Duo's magic had already cleared his head enough to make out the guy's form sitting next to him. Releasing his hands from the dashboard he realized he was sitting in a moving car. He dropped his hands to his lap and nodded slowly.

"What happened," Duo asked sheepishly, looking down at the interior of the car, "I was doing fine."

"A man came up behind you with a pipe," was the answer. Duo grimaced in remembrance.

"And you got me out of there. How? That place was a mess."

The man shrugged and looked back out the windshield.

'Very articulate,' the slayer thought smiling.

Heero turned to the human and Duo was awe-struck. Moonlight laced through the windshield, and fought with the shadows on this boys face. He looked like he was the same age as Duo, and he didn't miss the muscular figure hiding under his clothes, nor the solemn look on his face. Speechless, for the first time in all his eighteen years, Duo waited for the unmoving man beside him to speak.

Both of their auras were well hidden, quelled under their bonds and the violet-eyed Reaper didn't have a clue that the one thing he had sworn to kill was sitting inches from him. Nor did he have any reason to suspect that his saviour was one of the undead. But he was very aware of the intense cobalt eyes that held his.

Licking his dry lips, the vampire pulled his gaze away, knowing he would have to be the one to start this conversation. Sinking lower into his seat, Heero wondered what the boy would do if he knew that he should've been dead centuries ago. Would he run, scream, fight or maybe he would just sit there, like many had before him, held under Heero's stoic gaze alone, with no need for physical restraint.

"Your bleeding", he said.

"I'm aware," was the short reply he received from the violet-eyed wonder beside him. In the club, the boy had chatted up a storm, literally. Heero turned his head to see what had made him so incredibly silent. Cobalt met violet, clashing and sparking until they both had to pull away, watching the invisible air twirl the tree leaves into mini-hurricanes through their respective windows.

Duo was furious with himself. 'What in the hell is wrong with me?' Silently cursing his inability to communicate. Pulling himself out of his ridiculous state, he lightened his features and proclaimed, "Well that was a hell of a party!"

Heero shook his head, questioning the boy's sanity. As Duo rubbed at his bleeding wound the air in the confined space of the car filled with the tangy smell. Heero slammed on the breaks, shoved the gear into park and plowed the door open.

Apparently Duo was concerned for his rescuer because he followed him out onto the street. The object of his attention was watching the line of people waiting to get into a club, breathing too deeply for something to not be wrong.

Duo approached him cautiously, not realizing that the still figure was in pain, mostly because he did not show it. His face was still set, grim and uncaring, and yet the Reaper knew that something was different about him. His own pain had long since gone away, a blow to the head was nothing compared to other injuries he had sustained in rumbles with the Crimsons.

Duo sat on a bench just a few feet from Heero. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and stifled a yawn. He examined the figure in front of him in the pale moonlight. He was decked out in jeans and a tee-shirt, common for teens his age, along with a short black jacket. He looked ordinary, but Duo knew that something was different, and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to find out what that difference was.

Heero turned abruptly and said, "Wait here."

Duo looked up, startled and shaken out of his thoughts, and asked, "What?"

"Wait here. Wait here for me, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Heero sprinted down the street, passed the bar and down three or four streets and halted when he found what he was looking for. A lone woman, probably only in her early twenties, was walking candidly down an empty street towards him.

Sighing, he pressed his back against the brick wall, waiting for her, mentally spurring her along so he could get this over with and get back to the boy he left on the bench. He didn't know how long the guy would be willing to wait for him. Maybe he had already left and Heero was hurrying himself for nothing.

The woman reached him, turning the corner as Heero turned it as well, slamming her body into the worn brick. She smelt of liqueur and had a slightly bloody lip, so he figured she had been in an earlier fight already.

He brushed her hair away, the bloodlust almost making him retch before he could sink his teeth into her neck. The human blood wasn't the best he had tasted, but the only thing that would compete with another vampires blood, would be the blood of a slayer. They don't walk up and announce themselves very often.

He let the liquid slide past his lips, feeling the metallic taste warm his insides, and satisfy his hunger. Once he was sated, Heero pulled away, watching her expression as he did so. He always watched them die. Seeing the mindlessness as they passed on to the underworld, numb and unknowing and lucky.


Oh, for pities sake! What in all that is Shinigami am I doing waiting here, like a complete idiot for that freaky guy to come back? Duo berated himself. Earth to Duo, but you know why. Yes, but he'd never admit to it. Not under pain of death.

So here he was, sitting on the bench, it was past the killing hour, midnight, the time when most of the vampires did their killing. It wasn't a rule, per se, but it was when they felt the urge to feed more violently. So all in all, he should be out there, in the streets, killing off Crimsons and regular vamps, not sitting out here for a guy that may not even come back. He felt guilty, but a part of himself told him that it was his night off anyway, so whoever was dying at the hands, or teeth rather, of a vampire, wasn't in any way his fault.

Yeah, right, it doesn't work like that in this shadow valley, baby.

Duo lifted himself off the hard wooden bench, determined to contact his second-in-command, Quatre Winner and get the hell back to work, when a hand abruptly stopped his movements. Turning quickly and sensing danger, he reached out blindly, knowing where the attacker was before using his eyes to see him. Unfortunately, the attacker had the advantage of surprise, and whoever it was knocked the leader flat on his back with a single shove.

He blinked, thinking that if any member of his gang thought that he could be knocked down that easily, he'd probably have more challenges than he could handle. But, fortunately he wasn't that weak and brought the other man down with him.

The un-braided fool was flat on his back, hair tangled around him, and he realized that the other man had recovered first. There were two hands resting calmly on either side of his head, fingers laced through his hair, mixing with the grass, while the attacker had the rest of his body pinned.

Duo would've fought back, but recognizing the haphazard hair and truly scrutinised figure as his saviour from the bar. Duo relaxed a bit, knowing it was his mistake for swinging first. Heero tore his body off of the boy's reluctantly, and waited for him to pull himself up. Standing so close, he could see that the violet-eyed boy was considerably taller than him.

"Follow me,"

Duo was stunned but complied anyway. He never let people tell him what to do except for Quatre, but he was an exception. So when his feet moved along side of Mr. Cold-Gaze-Follow-My-Hot-Ass, he was definitely surprised.

It was mostly curiosity, he reasoned in the back of his mind. Duo chuckled as he walked, as they turned corners for more than half-an-hour, but the Slayer wasn't lost. This was his city, of course he wasn't lost.He passed the time by re-braiding his hair.


Heero's hunger was gone, so the boy was safe for now. The vampire and the slayer, both ignorant to the fact that their job was to kill the other, waltzed down streets, up alleyways and through crowds, arms brushing occasionally, sending shivers to the un-dead and the very much alive youths. Heero knew where he was taking the human, to a place he frequently habited when he wasn't with the Crimsons.

You could hear the base pounding inside, the sound seeping through the walls, making the other bars seem weak to this one. The line for humans to get in was long, it stretched way down the block, and turned a corner. Some were here because they were lured here, others because they didn't know any better and the rest were the "lost puppies", the ones that were there only to be bitten and fed off of.

Duo could sense at least ten unmasked vampire auras in the place, and it almost doubled him over. He closed his eyes and added a stronger block to his slayer's subconscious, hoping that none of the big-gun Crimsons were there. Like Trowa or Heero. He shuddered at the thought, even though he was the Leader of the Crimsons it was still hard to believe that two beings, vampire or not, possessed that much power, even though he had never fought them before.

But he knew one thing, there's no way in hell he was going in there.

Heero, upon swinging his arm and brushing Duo's while they made their way to the final destination, grabbed hold of his wrists and pushed the slayers body against the wall. He growled a statement that was seductive and yet left plenty of room for argument. Duo froze with Heero's warm body so close to his, and hearing the words float out of the boy's mouth.

"Dance with me," he said, and was waiting for an answer. Heero was lost in the violet purple of his eyes and couldn't speak to try and convince him any more then that.

Duo couldn't breathe, the wind was playing with Heero's hair again, so he replaced the breeze with his fingers.

He figured this was going to be a long night.