I landed in front of the house not to long after sunrise, Heero still clasped in my arms, asleep. I folded my wings back into my body and entered the house. Quatre and Wufei rushed to meet me. I assured them both that Heero was fine and Trowa was on his way home.
I carried Heero into the den and grabbed some blood before settling on the couch, Heero across my lap. It took almost an hour for Heero to wake up, not that I was surprised after all that running around he did. Trowa was already back and we were all seated in much the same way we had been before.
Asleep in my arms, in the soft light of the den, Heero looked so young and innocent. To most people he would be a monster and a murderer, an assassin who killed millions, but how could that compare to a God of Death? And besides, Heero really couldn't have killed that many people as a vampire, he simply wasn't old enough. If he had been older his powers would have let him know that we were not human. But then again, he was old enough to shield that fact from us.
Or maybe we just didn't want to see it. Maybe we were all hoping that there had finally been born a human who was as powerful as the demons that walked the Earth. Maybe we helped him hide that fact ourselves by excusing his odd behaviors and not probing too deeply into his mind. We thought we were protecting a human from being tainted, but were we really just isolating Heero on accident? If we had found out his secret, what would have happened? Would we have accepted him? Would he have run?
I guess it really doesn't matter now, I thought looking down into Heero's sleep-relaxed face. Heero awoke slowly and gave me the most dizzying smile when he saw my face. I smiled back and he turned his head to look around the room. This time he didn't seem bothered by the fact that Trowa had a tail and Wufei had huge scaly wings. It was still a little disorienting to him, obviously, but he didn't seem afraid, merely curious.
While Heero reoriented himself, I tried to figure a polite way to ask him where he came from. You know, just the general questions, like his entire past and family history. Wufei beat me to it. "Alright, Yuy. I'm sure Maxwell has told you a bit about all of us, now out with it. Where the hell do you come from and how were you able to hide so well?" he asked bluntly. I reflexively tightened my hold on Heero, lest he panic and run again. He looked up at me, amusement in his eyes. "It's alright, Duo, I'm not going anywhere." Yeah, not ever, if I have my way, I added silently. I loosened my hold, but I couldn't quite bring myself to let go. Heero didn't seem to mind, though. Wouldn't have mattered if he did, because I wasn't letting go, but he didn't.
"As to where I came from, I was born on Earth in Japan. My parents both died in a car crash and I was taken in by my uncle, Odin Lowe. He was an assassin, or more like a hired gun who mainly worked for drug dealers. Life with him was hard, but he treated me alright," Heero said, then paused in memory. After a moment, he continued. "Then one night, he came home from a shooting. I remember it was really late and I had just come out of my room still in my pajamas. I was the same age I am now, but I was a child. My body is still the same age, but my mind is older now. I was"
"You were a child then," Wufei put in. "If anyone can understand what it is to have your body be young and your mind be old, we can. There's no need to explain to us," he said. Heero nodded. "These two weird guys followed him and he just had time to push me in the closet before they broke down the door. I watched from the closet as the drank his blood and killed him. I wanted to help him, but I knew better. I was unarmed, and they were bigger than me. My uncle had always told me that he would probably be killed in his line of work, and not to die because of it. I thought I'd be able to abide his wished. I thought they didn't see me and I might be alright if I stayed quiet, but when they were done with Odin they came right for me," he said, pausing again. This seemed hard for him, but I could only comfort him by running his back. I didn't want to say anything for fear that he wouldn't be able to speak again. After a moment, he began again on his own. "I don't remember much about them. Only that one was a blonde and the other had brown hair. The blonde yanked me out and held me in front of him while the other came over and ripped off my top, saying how nice my skin was and how pretty I looked ready for bed. I knew they were going to kill me too, so I dropped to the floor and grabbed my uncle's knife and started cutting them. They were so surprised that it took them a minute to unarm me and by then I had already made some shallow cuts in them. They grabbed me again in much the same fashion, the blonde behind me and the dark haired one in front. The blonde bit me from the back on the left side of my neck and the other bit me on the right. The pain was unbearable. Then all of a sudden, the dark one let go and pushed the blonde off. He grabbed my head and held it to a cut I made on his arm and said, "Here, if you want this so bad, take it." He laughed and made me drink his blood. My body started to change. I think I fainted." Heero stopped again, and for a moment I thought he'd finished, but the story wasn't over, as much as I wished it was. "When I woke up I was on the ground. There was blood all over me, from myself and the vampires. They were talking, but I was too tired to listen. That's when the wall exploded and these big guys in capes came charging in and slaughtered the vampires. They either didn't see me or thought I was just another dead body, because they didn't kill me. Knowing what I did of vampire legends, I pulled myself down to the basement before sunrise. After that, I started drinking blood and hiding in abandoned buildings. My knowledge about my new powers came slowly. It was almost a year before I realized I could go out in the sun and a few years before I realized I didn't always have to kill my victims. That was how Dr. J found me. He had been looking for a vampire to put in operation meteor, but he knew he'd need someone young without much experience"
"You mean without a clan," I couldn't help but interject heatedly. A fledgling out on his own without any protection from the rest of his clan? That was unheard of! Apparently the vampires decision to turn Heero had been spur of the moment, other wise the rest of his clan would have tracked him down. To be all alone at that stage.
"What?" Heero asked me, looking confused. It startled me out of my thoughts. I tried to laugh it off.
"Oh, sorry. It's just that...umm... the vampires that turned you, they did it because they were mad, right? It didn't seem like they planned it"
"No, why"
"Well, it's just that vampires aren't supposed to just turn humans, they're supposed to consult with the rest of their clan so that even if the master vampire dies, the fledgling...the newborn vampire will have some protection"
"What's a clan? What's a master vampire"
"Most vampires are like... well... like wolves and werewolves. They live in small secluded groups. Sire and fledgling is the way vampire lineage is traced. The sire is a vampire old enough to make a fledgling, and a fledgling is pretty much that vampires child. It's the sire's responsibility to care for the fledgling until it matures into a full vampire"
"Oh"
"A clan is never supposed to leave a fledgling of a clan member. They adopt it until it grows up. Either your clan didn't recognize you or"
"Or they were all destroyed," finished Trowa. "Or maybe Heero was never supposed to survive at all. Maybe the vampires were playing with him. Vampires are known to be sadistic like that." Trowa and I glared at each other for a moment. Hostility levels in the room began to rise. Heero and Quatre both nervously looked back and forth between us. Heero's heartbeat began to pound against my chest. Then we both just quit, knowing that this kind of contest wasn't going to solve anything and was making our loved ones worry. I guess it was instinctual, the both of us glaring. It was like the growling of dogs. When both dogs realized that neither were going to make a fight, the point of growling disappeared. "So, Heero, what happened then?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Heero sat up, so that he was only sitting half on my lap and his arms were wrapped around my neck, and leaned his head on my chest.
"Yes, go on," Quatre seconded. "Dr. J caught me and penned me up for a while. He finally came in to see me and brought a man with him. The man was tied and gagged. I fell on him in an instant. I didn't mean to, but I killed him. After it was done, I started crying. Dr. J said that I needn't cry. He said that if I served him and got rid of all my emotions and let him use me, then he could turn me human again"
I gasped. Wufei looked startled. Even Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Oh Heero," Quatre said sympathetically. Everyone knew that there was no way to turn a vampire human again. It was impossible. Just how little did Heero really know?
"I-I thought he could turn me back. I thought I'd be human again. But when he captured me and kept making me... making me.. I knew I wouldn't...wouldn't..." Heero's voice was laced with pain. He had his eyes slammed shut and was biting his lip while clenching his fist. I quickly wrapped us both in my wings so the other's couldn't see and let him cry his tears into my chest. I held him and rocked him until he was done and even a little after, then folded my wings back so we could continue to "Origins of Heero" discussion.
"Heero, listen closely to me know. No one can turn a vampire into a human. Understand? Anyone who says they can is lying. Alright?" I told him seriously. Heero nodded sadly. I turned to everyone else, "Any more questions"
"Yuy," Wufei called, "how old are you? How long did you spend in training"
"I spent about twenty years in training. I spent fifteen by myself before Dr. J. I was sixteen when I was turned. I spent five years with all of you and it's been three years since then.. So I'm close to sixty years old. I was around fifty-one when Operation Meteor started"
"An infant..." I heard myself gasp. Heero was barely a vampire, just out of the fledgling stage. It took me a moment to realize that everyone was staring at me.
"What"
"Duo, I realize that all of us have elongated life spans, but if fifty is young, what age is old?" Quatre asked. "My age is probably considered old"
"And how old are you"
"Hey wait a second! When the heck did this become "Question Duo," huh! Besides, I don't see any of you volunteering your life spans here"
"As you know, telekinetics can live as long as they want by switching bodies. I, however, have never done that. I'm seventeen," Quatre volunteered. Wufei went next.
"As you know, Dragons can live forever. I am currently the oldest Dragon alive at seventeen also, because of the destruction of my clan"
"Oh man Trowa, don't tell me your seventeen too!" I said desperately. I was starting to really feel my age. "No, Duo, as werewolves can live forever I am nearly eighty years old"
Well that didn't make me feel much better. Not a single person here had hit the triple digits. Crap!
"Alright Duo, your turn," Heero commented determinedly. "Do I really have to tell"
"Yes!" came three voices at once. I sighed. "Alright, you all know that we've simply been using this after colony 196 system for the past 200 years, right. Well, I was born before that," I told them, hoping that would be enough. Three of the people around me were shocked. Heero either wasn't or didn't show it. "How long before that?" he asked. "I was born in the early 1700's around the Elizabethan age. That time period lasted a while, then gave way into this one"
"How long?" Damn Heero's curiosity. "About 3000 years"
"What!" Wufei yelled, "Do you expect me to believe that you are nearly 1500 years old"
"Believe it or not, it's true. Actually, that's how I got my funny accent. It's a mix of British, New York, and Brooklyn. The places where I used to spend the most time"
"Well, I guess by that standard Heero is young and your just a horny old man!" Quatre giggled. I couldn't help but blush and tried for a change of subject.
"At least it explains why we couldn't sense Heero," I said. Trowa was suddenly very interested. "How"
"Vampires don't show many visible signs until they are out of the fledgling stage. Heero just recently changed"
"I don't feel any different," Heero commented.
"That's not unusual. The change from fledgling to vampire is so subtle that most people don't notice it unless they're looking. It's like vampiric puberty. You won't know when it starts but you'll sure as hell know when you're in the middle of it"
I found it a good time to cast knowing and threatening glances at Trowa while the others digested this information. I stopped when I felt something heavy leaning against my chest. Heero had unconsciously began to curl up in my lap, his eyes were glazed over in exhaustion. Without missing a beat, I stood, scooping Heero up in my arms. "C'mon Hee-kun, let's get you back into bed before you get sick again," a crowed, smiling brightly and trying to lighten the mood. Heero just sighed. "I don't understand why you're so concerned with my health. It's not like I can die. You know that"
"Look, bud, don't think you're totally immortal just because you have fangs. You can still die if you get your head chopped off or your heart ripped out or poisoned too. But the thing is if you get too weak you'll go into a coma. All vampires do it when things get to much for them, they just lie still until they can't move any more. Then you stop noticing the things going on around you, you sort of turn in on yourself. You replay things you did in the past, things you wanted to do, things you wish you'd done. It's not pretty, it's like your own little piece of Hell if you have a past like mine. You wake up sooner or later, but it's a long time and I'd rather not have to wait any longer, ya hear"
"How long"
"Always straight to the point, huh? Sometimes ten years, twenty, up to a few hundred. It all depends on what goes on around you and whether or not your disturbed and if you want to wake up or not"
"I wouldn't be out long at all then. I wouldn't want to stay out now that I've found you"
"I'd rather you weren't out at all"
"Alright Duo. Let's go to bed"
I bent and kissed his forehead before carrying him up the stairs. Once I had made him comfortable and ready for bed, I slipped under the covers with him and snuggled close. Heero's breathing evened out soon enough to tell me that he had been exhausted and I lay there with him in my arms, just basking the feeling. I hadn't had nearly enough of it when I had to leave him. But there were things that needed done before my love would be safe and we could start our new life. My perfect soldier of the night.
I guess it really doesn't matter now, I thought looking down into Heero's sleep-relaxed face. Heero awoke slowly and gave me the most dizzying smile when he saw my face. I smiled back and he turned his head to look around the room. This time he didn't seem bothered by the fact that Trowa had a tail and Wufei had huge scaly wings. It was still a little disorienting to him, obviously, but he didn't seem afraid, merely curious.
While Heero reoriented himself, I tried to figure a polite way to ask him where he came from. You know, just the general questions, like his entire past and family history. Wufei beat me to it. "Alright, Yuy. I'm sure Maxwell has told you a bit about all of us, now out with it. Where the hell do you come from and how were you able to hide so well?" he asked bluntly. I reflexively tightened my hold on Heero, lest he panic and run again. He looked up at me, amusement in his eyes. "It's alright, Duo, I'm not going anywhere." Yeah, not ever, if I have my way, I added silently. I loosened my hold, but I couldn't quite bring myself to let go. Heero didn't seem to mind, though. Wouldn't have mattered if he did, because I wasn't letting go, but he didn't.
"As to where I came from, I was born on Earth in Japan. My parents both died in a car crash and I was taken in by my uncle, Odin Lowe. He was an assassin, or more like a hired gun who mainly worked for drug dealers. Life with him was hard, but he treated me alright," Heero said, then paused in memory. After a moment, he continued. "Then one night, he came home from a shooting. I remember it was really late and I had just come out of my room still in my pajamas. I was the same age I am now, but I was a child. My body is still the same age, but my mind is older now. I was"
"You were a child then," Wufei put in. "If anyone can understand what it is to have your body be young and your mind be old, we can. There's no need to explain to us," he said. Heero nodded. "These two weird guys followed him and he just had time to push me in the closet before they broke down the door. I watched from the closet as the drank his blood and killed him. I wanted to help him, but I knew better. I was unarmed, and they were bigger than me. My uncle had always told me that he would probably be killed in his line of work, and not to die because of it. I thought I'd be able to abide his wished. I thought they didn't see me and I might be alright if I stayed quiet, but when they were done with Odin they came right for me," he said, pausing again. This seemed hard for him, but I could only comfort him by running his back. I didn't want to say anything for fear that he wouldn't be able to speak again. After a moment, he began again on his own. "I don't remember much about them. Only that one was a blonde and the other had brown hair. The blonde yanked me out and held me in front of him while the other came over and ripped off my top, saying how nice my skin was and how pretty I looked ready for bed. I knew they were going to kill me too, so I dropped to the floor and grabbed my uncle's knife and started cutting them. They were so surprised that it took them a minute to unarm me and by then I had already made some shallow cuts in them. They grabbed me again in much the same fashion, the blonde behind me and the dark haired one in front. The blonde bit me from the back on the left side of my neck and the other bit me on the right. The pain was unbearable. Then all of a sudden, the dark one let go and pushed the blonde off. He grabbed my head and held it to a cut I made on his arm and said, "Here, if you want this so bad, take it." He laughed and made me drink his blood. My body started to change. I think I fainted." Heero stopped again, and for a moment I thought he'd finished, but the story wasn't over, as much as I wished it was. "When I woke up I was on the ground. There was blood all over me, from myself and the vampires. They were talking, but I was too tired to listen. That's when the wall exploded and these big guys in capes came charging in and slaughtered the vampires. They either didn't see me or thought I was just another dead body, because they didn't kill me. Knowing what I did of vampire legends, I pulled myself down to the basement before sunrise. After that, I started drinking blood and hiding in abandoned buildings. My knowledge about my new powers came slowly. It was almost a year before I realized I could go out in the sun and a few years before I realized I didn't always have to kill my victims. That was how Dr. J found me. He had been looking for a vampire to put in operation meteor, but he knew he'd need someone young without much experience"
"You mean without a clan," I couldn't help but interject heatedly. A fledgling out on his own without any protection from the rest of his clan? That was unheard of! Apparently the vampires decision to turn Heero had been spur of the moment, other wise the rest of his clan would have tracked him down. To be all alone at that stage.
"What?" Heero asked me, looking confused. It startled me out of my thoughts. I tried to laugh it off.
"Oh, sorry. It's just that...umm... the vampires that turned you, they did it because they were mad, right? It didn't seem like they planned it"
"No, why"
"Well, it's just that vampires aren't supposed to just turn humans, they're supposed to consult with the rest of their clan so that even if the master vampire dies, the fledgling...the newborn vampire will have some protection"
"What's a clan? What's a master vampire"
"Most vampires are like... well... like wolves and werewolves. They live in small secluded groups. Sire and fledgling is the way vampire lineage is traced. The sire is a vampire old enough to make a fledgling, and a fledgling is pretty much that vampires child. It's the sire's responsibility to care for the fledgling until it matures into a full vampire"
"Oh"
"A clan is never supposed to leave a fledgling of a clan member. They adopt it until it grows up. Either your clan didn't recognize you or"
"Or they were all destroyed," finished Trowa. "Or maybe Heero was never supposed to survive at all. Maybe the vampires were playing with him. Vampires are known to be sadistic like that." Trowa and I glared at each other for a moment. Hostility levels in the room began to rise. Heero and Quatre both nervously looked back and forth between us. Heero's heartbeat began to pound against my chest. Then we both just quit, knowing that this kind of contest wasn't going to solve anything and was making our loved ones worry. I guess it was instinctual, the both of us glaring. It was like the growling of dogs. When both dogs realized that neither were going to make a fight, the point of growling disappeared. "So, Heero, what happened then?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Heero sat up, so that he was only sitting half on my lap and his arms were wrapped around my neck, and leaned his head on my chest.
"Yes, go on," Quatre seconded. "Dr. J caught me and penned me up for a while. He finally came in to see me and brought a man with him. The man was tied and gagged. I fell on him in an instant. I didn't mean to, but I killed him. After it was done, I started crying. Dr. J said that I needn't cry. He said that if I served him and got rid of all my emotions and let him use me, then he could turn me human again"
I gasped. Wufei looked startled. Even Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Oh Heero," Quatre said sympathetically. Everyone knew that there was no way to turn a vampire human again. It was impossible. Just how little did Heero really know?
"I-I thought he could turn me back. I thought I'd be human again. But when he captured me and kept making me... making me.. I knew I wouldn't...wouldn't..." Heero's voice was laced with pain. He had his eyes slammed shut and was biting his lip while clenching his fist. I quickly wrapped us both in my wings so the other's couldn't see and let him cry his tears into my chest. I held him and rocked him until he was done and even a little after, then folded my wings back so we could continue to "Origins of Heero" discussion.
"Heero, listen closely to me know. No one can turn a vampire into a human. Understand? Anyone who says they can is lying. Alright?" I told him seriously. Heero nodded sadly. I turned to everyone else, "Any more questions"
"Yuy," Wufei called, "how old are you? How long did you spend in training"
"I spent about twenty years in training. I spent fifteen by myself before Dr. J. I was sixteen when I was turned. I spent five years with all of you and it's been three years since then.. So I'm close to sixty years old. I was around fifty-one when Operation Meteor started"
"An infant..." I heard myself gasp. Heero was barely a vampire, just out of the fledgling stage. It took me a moment to realize that everyone was staring at me.
"What"
"Duo, I realize that all of us have elongated life spans, but if fifty is young, what age is old?" Quatre asked. "My age is probably considered old"
"And how old are you"
"Hey wait a second! When the heck did this become "Question Duo," huh! Besides, I don't see any of you volunteering your life spans here"
"As you know, telekinetics can live as long as they want by switching bodies. I, however, have never done that. I'm seventeen," Quatre volunteered. Wufei went next.
"As you know, Dragons can live forever. I am currently the oldest Dragon alive at seventeen also, because of the destruction of my clan"
"Oh man Trowa, don't tell me your seventeen too!" I said desperately. I was starting to really feel my age. "No, Duo, as werewolves can live forever I am nearly eighty years old"
Well that didn't make me feel much better. Not a single person here had hit the triple digits. Crap!
"Alright Duo, your turn," Heero commented determinedly. "Do I really have to tell"
"Yes!" came three voices at once. I sighed. "Alright, you all know that we've simply been using this after colony 196 system for the past 200 years, right. Well, I was born before that," I told them, hoping that would be enough. Three of the people around me were shocked. Heero either wasn't or didn't show it. "How long before that?" he asked. "I was born in the early 1700's around the Elizabethan age. That time period lasted a while, then gave way into this one"
"How long?" Damn Heero's curiosity. "About 3000 years"
"What!" Wufei yelled, "Do you expect me to believe that you are nearly 1500 years old"
"Believe it or not, it's true. Actually, that's how I got my funny accent. It's a mix of British, New York, and Brooklyn. The places where I used to spend the most time"
"Well, I guess by that standard Heero is young and your just a horny old man!" Quatre giggled. I couldn't help but blush and tried for a change of subject.
"At least it explains why we couldn't sense Heero," I said. Trowa was suddenly very interested. "How"
"Vampires don't show many visible signs until they are out of the fledgling stage. Heero just recently changed"
"I don't feel any different," Heero commented.
"That's not unusual. The change from fledgling to vampire is so subtle that most people don't notice it unless they're looking. It's like vampiric puberty. You won't know when it starts but you'll sure as hell know when you're in the middle of it"
I found it a good time to cast knowing and threatening glances at Trowa while the others digested this information. I stopped when I felt something heavy leaning against my chest. Heero had unconsciously began to curl up in my lap, his eyes were glazed over in exhaustion. Without missing a beat, I stood, scooping Heero up in my arms. "C'mon Hee-kun, let's get you back into bed before you get sick again," a crowed, smiling brightly and trying to lighten the mood. Heero just sighed. "I don't understand why you're so concerned with my health. It's not like I can die. You know that"
"Look, bud, don't think you're totally immortal just because you have fangs. You can still die if you get your head chopped off or your heart ripped out or poisoned too. But the thing is if you get too weak you'll go into a coma. All vampires do it when things get to much for them, they just lie still until they can't move any more. Then you stop noticing the things going on around you, you sort of turn in on yourself. You replay things you did in the past, things you wanted to do, things you wish you'd done. It's not pretty, it's like your own little piece of Hell if you have a past like mine. You wake up sooner or later, but it's a long time and I'd rather not have to wait any longer, ya hear"
"How long"
"Always straight to the point, huh? Sometimes ten years, twenty, up to a few hundred. It all depends on what goes on around you and whether or not your disturbed and if you want to wake up or not"
"I wouldn't be out long at all then. I wouldn't want to stay out now that I've found you"
"I'd rather you weren't out at all"
"Alright Duo. Let's go to bed"
I bent and kissed his forehead before carrying him up the stairs. Once I had made him comfortable and ready for bed, I slipped under the covers with him and snuggled close. Heero's breathing evened out soon enough to tell me that he had been exhausted and I lay there with him in my arms, just basking the feeling. I hadn't had nearly enough of it when I had to leave him. But there were things that needed done before my love would be safe and we could start our new life. My perfect soldier of the night.
