Heero was just unable to believe he'd allowed the worst possible thing to happen. A human living in his castle and it's a child no less! Sometimes Duo just won't listen to reason and things such as this end up happening. Yet the vampire had a hard time refusing Duo after he was reminded of his own past.

Not wanting to think about it, Heero decided he just needed to sleep for a few more hours until he felt like figuring out what to do with the current situation. As he fell onto his bed he felt an urgent longing for Duo to be there.

"Stupid body... you're just hungry for something that can't be yours yet." He knew that he was yearning to drink more of Duo's delicious blood, but the half-vampire had yet to agree to this. "Sally should've been able to at least mention it by now. Then again, that child is going to make things even more complicated since Duo will most likely spend a lot of time with him..."

There was nothing the vampire could say or do to make Duo abandon the orphan. Even though Heero knew the connection Duo felt because of his own childhood, the vampire knew that their world was not meant for a child. His theory of why vampires are infertile is for that very reason.

No young child should have to be in the world of the undead.

A world of death, suffering, and isolation; that most aren't able to handle. That's also the reason vampires take on permanent lovers, because if they don't find someone they end up alone. Usually a vampire will find someone by the early hundreds, but Heero had been later than most and for a while he'd feared the worst.

Along with finding a companion for eternity, a vampire is capable of losing himself completely without someone there. That had always been Heero's worst fear, and already he knew it was happening again. Constantly his body needed more blood to continue showing signs that he was own his way to becoming a monster.

So now it was only a matter of months before Heero was completely lost to his fate, and it meant Duo no longer had time to constantly change his mind about his choice. Either the half-vampire decided to become his eternal lover or else Heero had to destroy himself soon. Unlike most other vampires that are cowardly and allow this transformation to happen, Heero would never allow himself to taint Duo's world.

Even if Duo didn't want to join him.

"Shit... I'm thinking way too far ahead for my own good. People who do that tend to go insane trying to map out every possible future that may come..." Heero let out a sigh, something he didn't do often, and then rolled onto his side. "I might as well be dead than live alone without Duo by my side."

Just as he thought this he remembered the first time he'd learned of his curse, and even though most of that night was a blur... Heero still remembered that feeling of drowning in the possibility his destiny was to be nothing more than a mindless creature who feasted on the living.

----

'It doesn't take long for it to completely control you Heero, so you'd best find someone soon.' The vampire who had brought him into the world of vampires just gave a smug look as he left the young man lying on the ground in shock.

He'd just died and yet... he could still see the man as he left him there so vulnerable and even heard the guy laugh at him. Was it really that funny that he had just killed some random person without reason?

Heero didn't believe that to be true, but the man laughed as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Not only to just kill somebody, but he had crushed Heero's future under the heel of his boot as he turned away.

----

Duo was sitting under the shade of a tree as he watched Thomas happily decide which flowers would be most suitable to decorate his room. It gave the half-vampire too much time to think, and that was the last thing he wanted right then. So after thinking hard about it, Duo came to the conclusion that the only way to distract him for the moment he would be to pick flowers with Thomas.

There were so many plants in the garden that Duo had never really taken the time to actually look at. In fact it made the half-vampire wonder why he had been too stupid to actually walk outside in the garden and relax.

Instead, he would usually coop himself up in the castle or go to town if Heero allowed him to go. Which again brought his attention back to the clothes problem Thomas was having, and this gave him the excuse to go 'shopping' tonight. Once again Heero might be uncomfortable with him going, but the vampire would know that Duo would refuse to take no for an answer at this point.

Especially once Heero saw the boy dressed in clothes that had been ripped up to fit him.

"Hey Thomas, would you like to go to town tonight after we see Heero?" Duo saw Thomas frown at the mention of Heero, but then the boy soon forgot as he thought about the question.

"Will I be able to tell everyone I have a daddy now?" The orphan's smile was hopeful, and it made it even harder on Duo to shake his head. "Why not, Daddy?"

"You just have to promise not to tell anyone, alright? Sometimes people have to keep secrets from other people for their own good... but I know you don't really understand yet. When you get older, you'll understand what I mean."

Another fear of Duo's was how will Thomas react once he'd old enough to realize what a vampire really is? Not to mention what would happen to Thomas were he to ever tell anyone in town about who his 'parents' are?

Surely they would not only ostracize him and despise the naive orphan; the people might actually be driven to point of killing even a young child for associating with the 'evil' vampires.

He wasn't going to trouble himself with thoughts of a grim future at that moment, and instead found himself being pulled by the wrist over to some flowers. They were just ordinary daisies except for the fact that they were some unusual shades of purple and Thomas wanted to pick one for Sally.

"Why don't you pick two or three? That way you won't have to be stuck on just choosing one." Duo watched Thomas' dilemma immediately solved by the look on the child's face. He reached out and carefully pulled on two and then handed them to Duo very cautiously.

"Can we give them to Ms. Sally now?"

The half-vampire hesitated and then shook his head, "Not now, but we can leave them in a vase in her room for her."

Thomas seemed happy with the alternate choice and then held Duo's hand as the two of them headed back inside. It took them quite a while to actually find a vase for the flowers, but finally they managed to find one that was just sitting empty on a table in the hall.

Duo decided not to let Thomas into Sally's room in case she became angry with someone for invading her space. So he put the task upon himself to place it in the room where Thomas was satisfied. After a few moments he decided the best place would just to leave it on her dresser in plain view, and then he left the room silently.

"Okay Thomas, now Ms. Sally will be able to see the gorgeous flowers you picked for her." He could feel himself smiling and couldn't really bring himself to think about how Sally might really react. She didn't seem like the type who liked flowers in her room, but perhaps Duo had the wrong impression about her.

His next thoughts were about Heero and how he was going to make all of this up to him, but Thomas wasn't giving him any time to really think. The boy was constantly tugging on his hand for attention, and after a few hours of being pulled all over the castle Duo was getting tired of it.

The half-vampire made sure not to lose his temper with Thomas, but he did suggest that the boy be with Hilde for a while. After a few more minutes of convincing Hilde to do him a big favor and look after Thomas until dinner, Duo was successful in his plan.

As he headed up the stairs he thought everything over again, Hilde would watch him until dinner, Thomas and Heero would properly meet at the meal, and then he would go into town with the orphan for clothes.

For what he was going to at the moment... Duo thought that maybe he should go see Heero in their room. In fact it was something he needed at that moment, and felt a grin on his face as he skipped two steps at a time while going up the stairs. As the half-vampire stopped to open the door he noticed Quatre walking down the hallway away from the library which was unusual for the blonde to do so at this time of day.

"Are you going to take a nap or something?" Duo asked playfully, but Quatre didn't seem to hear him as he just passed the half-vampire by.

Duo couldn't help but feel a little insulted, but he put it in the back of his mind as he decided to go into Heero's room.

----

Thomas just didn't understand the relationship between his new father and that other guy Heero. Just by looking at him, the orphan was able to tell that he would never be able to like Heero as much as he liked Duo. The man was one of those people who never have compassion for other people, and are only interested in their self-gain.

But listening to Hilde talk about the guy as if he was an angel... Thomas was getting tired of it. All he really wanted to do was be with Duo and go back out into the garden.

"You were in the garden for a long time with Duo already, and besides I'm surprised you're not excited to meet Master Heero." The chef smiled happily as she continued mixing spices into the food she was in the process of making. "Master Heero is generous and kind, not to mention attractive... but that's not my place to say."

"Why isn't it your place to say that?" The boy was genuinely curious about the expression Hilde got, and he automatically recognized it. Many people in town often carried that look on their faces whenever there was mention of the vampires.

"You wouldn't really understand Thomas... you're too young."

"Why do you keep calling that guy 'Master', but not Daddy Duo?"

Hilde looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well I have to call Master Heero by his real title since he brought me here. And Duo's scolded me many times for calling him by anything other than his name."

Even though Hilde had explained it to him, Thomas still didn't really understand the different statuses between Heero and Duo. Not to mention he still didn't really understand the relationship between his foster father and Heero.

Instead of asking Hilde, Thomas decided to go try to find Duo himself to ask. The chef wasn't paying attention for a few moments and it gave the orphan just enough time to slip out of the kitchen unnoticed. He walked quietly through the large hall until he reached the entrance hall, and then he wasn't quite sure where to go from there.

Already he knew that Duo was somewhere upstairs, but he couldn't say where for sure. There were two ways he could choose to go once he had ascended the stairs, and he chose to go to the left because he remembered Ms. Sally's room being that way as well. Perhaps if he could not find his father by himself, Thomas could just ask Ms. Sally for help and she could guide him.

Maneuvering the corridors was much more difficult than Thomas had originally anticipated, and soon found that he was lost. As he wandered around he noticed many people dressed in dull clothes, but all of them shied away from him whenever he got too close. He wasn't sure whether they just didn't like him or if they were all just really timid.

Either way he was going to have to corner one of them in order to get some information, and he managed to pick out one maid all alone. She had yet to notice him sneaking up on her, and so Thomas was thankful for the element of surprise.

"Ma'am please help me!" Thomas had gotten right beside her when he practically yelled at the maid, but her reaction wasn't what he'd expected.

She whipped around to face him and let out an angry hiss as she laid eyes on the boy. Thomas could see traces of abnormally sharp teeth and it was enough to make him realize his mistake. But already he could tell there wasn't any chance of escaping now that he'd created this mess.

"Back away from him now," A cold voice commanded the maid and instantly she returned to looking meek and frightened. Thomas looked over his shoulder at his savior and found it to be just the person he was looking for. "I could've sworn Duo warned you not to go off on your own."

"But I'm trying to find Daddy right now, and I got lost. So I asked this lady for help, but she was just being mean and scaring me." He pouted, trying to come out as the victim in the situation, but Sally didn't seem to be accepting it as the truth. "You've got to believe me, Ms. Sally! This lady really did it all on purpose just make me afraid of her."

"No, she did it in reaction to you frightening her. The servants of Master Heero know not to get out of control with anyone other than intruders, and so I find it odd she just happened to think of you as an invader." The blonde woman shooed away the humble maid and then grabbed Thomas' arm tightly. "We're going to have to talk with Duo, and have to get your behavior in check."

Thomas really didn't understand what was happening anymore... what happened to the nice lady at breakfast? Why was she acting like all of the other adults he'd ever been around? Duo wasn't mean like her, but her iron grip wasn't going to relent no matter what he did.

At least he'd be able to see his father now, and he knew how to push Duo's buttons to get sympathy. So he wasn't all that worried about his meeting with the foster father, and while pretending to struggle against Sally he tried to contain his excitement.

Finally he'd be able to talk with Duo and straighten everything out, and then they could go be together until he had to meet that guy Heero.

----

Quatre had passed Duo in the hall, but was too distracted to really be listening to the half-vampire. As he wandered through more of the corridors the blonde vampire then saw Sally struggling with the orphan Duo had adopted just recently and noticed similarities between the child and Duo.

In fact it was almost an exact replica of Duo minus the long hair and odd amethyst eyes. That was most likely the reason the half-vampire wasn't capable of leaving the pitiful child abandoned on the streets where every day was a fight just to survive. Duo saw himself in that child and had automatically wanted to protect what his mind probably thinks of as himself.

Sally seemed thoroughly agitated at the child as he dragged him along behind her, but Quatre could see the boy wasn't really reluctant to go with her. The truth was he was putting on a brilliant act for her just so he could go where he wanted to. He thought about pointing it out to the vampire, but Quatre decided it was not his business to interfere with Sally's affairs.

This made him start to wonder about how his own family was holding up after losing two children mysteriously. He'd heard numerous times from Duo that there were still missing posters of him and his deceased sister Elena, but Quatre knew better than to go into town. Duo had the fortune of no one ever really questioning his disappearance, while it was a cruel thing to think it was still the truth.

Whether or not the half-vampire was able to accept that as a blessing Quatre wasn't sure. But in Quatre's case he had a family who now were missing him amongst the rest of them, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to comfort them. Heero had already warned him that it wouldn't be a good idea to appear before his father with the news he was now a creature of the night and his sister was dead.

For some reason this also made Quatre's thoughts drift back towards Trowa. The mysterious vampire hunter had ended up leaving so abruptly that it hadn't been exactly fair to Quatre. Something about the man had triggered an unexplainable emotion inside of the blonde. Even now just thinking of the brunette made Quatre long for him unbearably and almost made the blonde wish he could turn off that feeling.

"I will find you Trowa... no matter where you run, no matter where you hide... I will find you. Even if you can never accept or return my feelings, I will confess to you. At least I will be able to die of heartbreak rather than the regret of never seeking you." Quatre murmured as he reached his own room and opened the door.

Giving the room a quick glance made Quatre wonder exactly what he was going to bring on his journey. There wasn't anything of any real sentimental value to him anymore as he decided to bury all of his sister's belongings after her death. He sat on the bed and pondered the most important question of that moment.

Where would he start his search?

----

Duo stopped outside the door as he thought over exactly what he had planned on doing, and felt an unexpected hesitation. He wasn't sure what was making him doubtful all of a sudden, but he brushed the feeling aside and entered the room. Almost immediately he regretted doing so as he found Heero dead asleep on the bed.

Not even a single candle was flickering around the vampire's room as the darkness swallowed Duo whole. Yet the half-vampire had been given extraordinarily sensitive eyes that allowed him to see in the dark better than any human could. He found a route to the oversized bed and then climbed on top being careful not to wake the sleeping vampire beside him.

He ran a hand through Heero's hair, and suddenly Duo saw deep Prussian blue eyes on him.

"Hey Heero, I thought I'd start fulfilling that promise now while we have a chance to be alone." Duo smiled thinking he'd been considerate of Heero's feelings, but as he leaned down to kiss his lover he just got a hand in his face.

"Don't you have another responsibility that needs your immediate attention? A certain child who is most likely searching for you as we speak because he's still afraid of being abandoned. Why are you here when you're supposed to be caring for that orphan?" Heero's accusing eyes made Duo want to shrink back, but he didn't.

Instead he defended his actions hastily, "I was just thinking of you! Is that so selfish to think of your lover?!"

Heero let out a loud sigh as he sat up in his bed, "Don't you realize a human being is a responsibility you can't throw on other people? He's officially your adopted son, and treating him this way will only make him bitter towards adults and you. Haven't you ever heard that a parent must always put the child's needs before their own?"

The half-vampire was silent as he contemplated the statement. Of course he understood what Heero was trying to tell him, but it was so hard to restrain himself. And it finally hit him that he'd rushed into adopting Thomas way before he was ever ready.

Yet if he hadn't, then Duo knew nobody would have. Still the half-vampire realized the reality of the situation, and that was that Heero was absolutely right. He hadn't even thought about Thomas' feelings or needs really. He crawled out of bed after lightly kissing Heero, and headed towards the door.

Before he opened the door, Duo turned around with a deceptive grin. "Don't think you being all philosophical and deep will get you out of dinner plans tonight. I am going to have you and Thomas start to bond so that you two can at least tolerate each other."

Duo opened the door to find Sally outside the door looking completely agitated, and then he saw what was the cause of it. She pulled Thomas into clear view of Heero and Duo, and then let go of the child's now pink arm.

"I believe this belongs to you."

----

Another satisfying chapter hopefully? I want to thank all of my readers and those of you who have left reviews. I'm sure most of ya'll are writers so you can empathize with me as I feel so wonderful reading those reviews. Even the ones with constructive criticism are nice to read once in a while.

So I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to click that little button at the end of each chapter to leave a review. And I promise to keep updating as often as possible and hopefully with even better chapters each time!

Please R & R!

Shari Maxwell