When I went to check on Heero later he was asleep, but his fever was up again. I spent a few hours trying to get it back down. When it did go down he suddenly got the chills, so I put Wing and Scythe under the covers with him to keep him warm. Lord knows how much I wanted to crawl under the covers with him, but I had to get some food into him so I went back to the house and made some soup. The storm-cellar is inside an old shed on the property. I was thanking God for it since the house didn't actually have a basement. I knew that the sun couldn't kill him, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt him.
I wasn't really afraid that he would die from his sickness, but vampires could slip into a coma-like state for years if their bodies were under too much pressure. I really didn't want to wait that long and I didn't like to see Heero suffer. So I woke him up long enough to swallow a few spoons of soup, then sat beside him and stroked his hair.
When Quatre and the others arrived late that night, it was a godsend. Quatre took over all the cooking because he was the best cook and knew what kinds of food Heero would need. Wufei made herbal teas to wash the drugs out of Heero's system and combat his raging fever and chills. Which left Trowa and I to go hunting and take care of the scrap-yard.
Heero got worse the first couple of days to the point that he was delirious. Trowa and I had to take blood from animals and feed it to him, but he didn't want it even if his body begged for it. In the end it took all four of us to hold him down and pour the blood into his mouth while Heero screamed. His words will forever be etched in my memory. "No! No please, Dr. J, don't! You promised I wouldn't have to kill anyone! No more! Please, no! Duo help! Get me out of here! Duo! I don't want to hurt anyone! Please! Duo"
I never want to hear those words again, to feel so helpless that I'm right there and can't do anything to save him... Never again.
After about four days Heero came back to his senses, but he still didn't want to drink any blood. When we were alone, I asked him why. "I don't like killing," he replied and I almost couldn't help but gape. A vegan vampire. Who woulda guessed?
"Heero... everything has to eat. It's the natural order for the predator to kill the prey. I know it's not pretty but"
"I won't think of humans as mere prey"
"Uh... well... that's good," I said, utterly confused, "but what does that have to do with anything? I mean, humans aren't really prey"
"Then what do you expect me to eat?" he asked, bristling in annoyance. "The same thing you have been for days; animals"
"But... I can't take blood from animals. It's bad"
"Animals die every day, it's a natural part of... well... nature. It's not like we're bringing a live animal down here. They don't even suffer. It's just blood"
"But you had to kill someone to get that blood! I feel like I'm stealing their soul"
"You're not steeling a soul, and while I can't support killing... everybody's got to eat"
"But I eat people! Don't you get that? Humans, Duo, these are people we're talking about"
"And I told you, we're not feeding you humans. It's just animal blood. If you want human blood you're on your own, because I need most of mine and..." "But animal blood doesn't work. I know, I tried it," he replied, looking utterly confused. "What animals did you use?" I wondered. There were certain kinds of animals that could be eaten and certain kinds that couldn't, just like plants. "Cats and dogs when I was younger, and a cougar when I was out in the forest. I couldn't drink the stuff, though, it didn't do any good"
"Hee-man you were drinking from the wrong animals. They were predators, you need herbivores or at least omnivores. You can't consume plant life, so the animals you consume have to have consumed plants pretty recently or the blood won't have enough of the right nutrients"
"So...I took all those lives...needlessly?" Heero said, his face ashen. If no one had told him about the animals, then he must have been consuming humans for all those years.
"No, for the first ten years of being a vampire you need human blood to be in your system. Human blood is the most... well, almost the most nutritious. The closer you can get to your own species, the more of the correct nutrients the blood will have. You can even feed from another if the other has fed recently. But, for the first few years, it's probably best to feed off of humans. They generally don't miss a pint of blood or two. I guess Trowa and I just guessed you had been a vampire for a long time, but since you don't know any of this I'll assume not"
"How do you know all this?" Heero asked me innocently, without a hint of suspicion. "I-..." What was I supposed to say? "I'm not exactly human and I know all the aspects of a vampire except how you managed to hide it from us for all this time?" No good, how about, "I left the bath tub running!" I yelled and bolted up the stairs. Not one of my best escapes, I'm afraid. It was the end of the week when Wufei and Quatre finally deemed Heero partially recovered. We decided that we should have a small celebration between all of us because of it. I decided that it would be a good time to reveal the truth to Heero then. Well, actually, I decided if I didn't do it then I'd probably never get up the guts to do it, and Trowa was getting awfully pissed about hiding it from Heero. Trowa was a pack animal, and he didn't like any secrets or mistrust among us, his pack. Heero's secret had hit him harder probably than the rest of us. It was Sunday night just after sunset when we had the celebration. There was food but we were all a little tired so we simply curled up on the couches and waited for Heero, who was still sleeping. Wufei was curled in the armchair, absently stoking Wing's head. Wufei was probably the most anxious of us all to get back to his life. After all, he was just settling into his relationship with Zechs. It seemed to me that they were just close enough for Wufei to miss him, but not close enough for FeiFei to bring him along. But that, along with trust, would come in time. Wufei was nothing if not cautious about his feelings, but he was terribly loyal to those who were close to him.
Quatre and Trowa were curled together on the sofa, Quatre in Trowa's lap and Scythe in Quatre's. Those to looked so peaceful together that it only made my longing more bitter. Would Heero and I ever have that? Or would the truth only separate us more? I had just gotten him back, could I bare to lose him again? Should I simply be happy with what we had? But I couldn't do that. Honesty was crucial between partners, and lovers. I was sitting on the love-seat, waiting until I was sure Heero would be awake to go and get him. He was still weak enough that we had to keep him in the cellar lest the light get at him. I sighed impatiently. I wanted to get it over with, whatever I decided to do. The anxiety of waiting was harder to bare than anything. The room was well lit even though it was night. There was a soft song playing in the background, and cool summer breeze drifted through the open windows. It was almost picturesque, like a scene from some kind of brochure.
Something stirred behind the house and the back door opened. I came alert abruptly, narrowing my eyes but not moving as the back door closed. Wing and Scythe shifted their heads but didn't seem alarmed. I instantly relaxed as I saw Heero stumble in from the kitchen. He looked half asleep and exhausted from his walk, but I knew better than to go and help him. Lately I could tell that he had been doubting his own skills, so helping him would only be an insult. Instead, I called to him softly.
"Hey, buddy. How ya been? Ya wanna sit down over here?" I asked motioning to the seat next to me. Heero looked at me, then stumbled over and collapsed in my lap. I stared at him for a moment, then pulled his lower half off the floor so he was sitting totally in my lap with his head resting on my shoulder. I smiled softly and stroked his back, but the feeling of eyes on me brought my attention back to the room only to find that everyone else was staring at us. Their reactions varied, but they had all known about the crush I had on Heero. Quatre winked at me while Trowa blushed and looked away. Wufei rolled his eyes, but was grinning anyway. Running a hand through Heero's tousled chocolate locks, I prayed that he would be able to accept me.
Heero got worse the first couple of days to the point that he was delirious. Trowa and I had to take blood from animals and feed it to him, but he didn't want it even if his body begged for it. In the end it took all four of us to hold him down and pour the blood into his mouth while Heero screamed. His words will forever be etched in my memory. "No! No please, Dr. J, don't! You promised I wouldn't have to kill anyone! No more! Please, no! Duo help! Get me out of here! Duo! I don't want to hurt anyone! Please! Duo"
I never want to hear those words again, to feel so helpless that I'm right there and can't do anything to save him... Never again.
After about four days Heero came back to his senses, but he still didn't want to drink any blood. When we were alone, I asked him why. "I don't like killing," he replied and I almost couldn't help but gape. A vegan vampire. Who woulda guessed?
"Heero... everything has to eat. It's the natural order for the predator to kill the prey. I know it's not pretty but"
"I won't think of humans as mere prey"
"Uh... well... that's good," I said, utterly confused, "but what does that have to do with anything? I mean, humans aren't really prey"
"Then what do you expect me to eat?" he asked, bristling in annoyance. "The same thing you have been for days; animals"
"But... I can't take blood from animals. It's bad"
"Animals die every day, it's a natural part of... well... nature. It's not like we're bringing a live animal down here. They don't even suffer. It's just blood"
"But you had to kill someone to get that blood! I feel like I'm stealing their soul"
"You're not steeling a soul, and while I can't support killing... everybody's got to eat"
"But I eat people! Don't you get that? Humans, Duo, these are people we're talking about"
"And I told you, we're not feeding you humans. It's just animal blood. If you want human blood you're on your own, because I need most of mine and..." "But animal blood doesn't work. I know, I tried it," he replied, looking utterly confused. "What animals did you use?" I wondered. There were certain kinds of animals that could be eaten and certain kinds that couldn't, just like plants. "Cats and dogs when I was younger, and a cougar when I was out in the forest. I couldn't drink the stuff, though, it didn't do any good"
"Hee-man you were drinking from the wrong animals. They were predators, you need herbivores or at least omnivores. You can't consume plant life, so the animals you consume have to have consumed plants pretty recently or the blood won't have enough of the right nutrients"
"So...I took all those lives...needlessly?" Heero said, his face ashen. If no one had told him about the animals, then he must have been consuming humans for all those years.
"No, for the first ten years of being a vampire you need human blood to be in your system. Human blood is the most... well, almost the most nutritious. The closer you can get to your own species, the more of the correct nutrients the blood will have. You can even feed from another if the other has fed recently. But, for the first few years, it's probably best to feed off of humans. They generally don't miss a pint of blood or two. I guess Trowa and I just guessed you had been a vampire for a long time, but since you don't know any of this I'll assume not"
"How do you know all this?" Heero asked me innocently, without a hint of suspicion. "I-..." What was I supposed to say? "I'm not exactly human and I know all the aspects of a vampire except how you managed to hide it from us for all this time?" No good, how about, "I left the bath tub running!" I yelled and bolted up the stairs. Not one of my best escapes, I'm afraid. It was the end of the week when Wufei and Quatre finally deemed Heero partially recovered. We decided that we should have a small celebration between all of us because of it. I decided that it would be a good time to reveal the truth to Heero then. Well, actually, I decided if I didn't do it then I'd probably never get up the guts to do it, and Trowa was getting awfully pissed about hiding it from Heero. Trowa was a pack animal, and he didn't like any secrets or mistrust among us, his pack. Heero's secret had hit him harder probably than the rest of us. It was Sunday night just after sunset when we had the celebration. There was food but we were all a little tired so we simply curled up on the couches and waited for Heero, who was still sleeping. Wufei was curled in the armchair, absently stoking Wing's head. Wufei was probably the most anxious of us all to get back to his life. After all, he was just settling into his relationship with Zechs. It seemed to me that they were just close enough for Wufei to miss him, but not close enough for FeiFei to bring him along. But that, along with trust, would come in time. Wufei was nothing if not cautious about his feelings, but he was terribly loyal to those who were close to him.
Quatre and Trowa were curled together on the sofa, Quatre in Trowa's lap and Scythe in Quatre's. Those to looked so peaceful together that it only made my longing more bitter. Would Heero and I ever have that? Or would the truth only separate us more? I had just gotten him back, could I bare to lose him again? Should I simply be happy with what we had? But I couldn't do that. Honesty was crucial between partners, and lovers. I was sitting on the love-seat, waiting until I was sure Heero would be awake to go and get him. He was still weak enough that we had to keep him in the cellar lest the light get at him. I sighed impatiently. I wanted to get it over with, whatever I decided to do. The anxiety of waiting was harder to bare than anything. The room was well lit even though it was night. There was a soft song playing in the background, and cool summer breeze drifted through the open windows. It was almost picturesque, like a scene from some kind of brochure.
Something stirred behind the house and the back door opened. I came alert abruptly, narrowing my eyes but not moving as the back door closed. Wing and Scythe shifted their heads but didn't seem alarmed. I instantly relaxed as I saw Heero stumble in from the kitchen. He looked half asleep and exhausted from his walk, but I knew better than to go and help him. Lately I could tell that he had been doubting his own skills, so helping him would only be an insult. Instead, I called to him softly.
"Hey, buddy. How ya been? Ya wanna sit down over here?" I asked motioning to the seat next to me. Heero looked at me, then stumbled over and collapsed in my lap. I stared at him for a moment, then pulled his lower half off the floor so he was sitting totally in my lap with his head resting on my shoulder. I smiled softly and stroked his back, but the feeling of eyes on me brought my attention back to the room only to find that everyone else was staring at us. Their reactions varied, but they had all known about the crush I had on Heero. Quatre winked at me while Trowa blushed and looked away. Wufei rolled his eyes, but was grinning anyway. Running a hand through Heero's tousled chocolate locks, I prayed that he would be able to accept me.
