Title: The Ribbon and the Ring 12?
Author: Seraphim Grace
Archive: if you want it ask, I'll probably say yes. Always appreciated and replied to.
Rating: 18 (This is an open rating so I don't have to worry).
Pairings: 1x2
Warnings: Angst. Some gore. Lime this chapter.
Notes: AU, and features necromancy. There is a glossary I made for my own reference, if you want it, just ask.

The tower of Gwen Ystrat was like nothing that Duo had ever seen. The tower of Meirin was a lady's wrist risen from the grey granite of the town, but the Termigent forest, which had claimed the forest centuries before, showed a white spar like a tooth. It was as perfect as the day it was finished. "The tower of Gwen Ystrat." Gereint said quietly. "Prison to the Red, we'll camp here tonight."

"Who were the Red?" Wufei asked as he swung down from his horse. His thighs were growing sore from the long days of monotonous riding and he was tired and cranky.

"The red vanguard." Cedric said, "they raised an army and destroyed a kingdom, eventually the Garvem who feared them rose up, and rather than make them martyrs trapped them here and left them to die. It was before the tower was swallowed by the forest."

"Beware, Tennosha." Achren whispered in Duo's ear. "The Red hunger." Duo waved his hand at his ear as if swatting a fly.

"The river pools here." Gereint said, "you might want to take a bath whilst you have the opportunity. Aia, don't go too far." He lowered his head in his hands and took a deep sigh. "And Dog," he insisted on calling Fenrir Dog despite the fact that it really was obviously a wolf, "some fresh meat would be really appreciated." Fenrir cocked an ear and then looked at Duo who nodded, before loping off into the undergrowth beside the road.

"How did you know he would do that?" Trowa asked.

"Call it a hunch," Gereint answered expansively.

"Where's the water?" Heero asked, he had long since come to the conclusion that he stunk of horse, Duo who had been in the wagon was considerably fresher and it offended him to curl up beside him. He could imagine in the darkness Duo's nostril's twitching.

"Just past those trees, don't go off on your own." Gereint said, "Acuya, I sound like my father." He snorted. He started to build a fire. "I suggest you go off in twos."

"Come along, Duo," Heero said holding out his hand.

"Are you saying I smell?" Duo asked with a laugh.

"I cannot tell," Heero said, "my own stench overpowers my sense of smell."

Duo smiled at his joke and then took Heero's hand within his own as behind them Trowa clasped his hands to his heart and pretended to swoon. "Bite me." Duo told him.

"Where?" Trowa asked with a cocksure grin, "do I get to choose?"

"Surely that's Yuy's prerogative." Wufei answered slyly. Trowa choked back a laugh.

Duo just smiled, "someone's just jealous." He said, "after all Mei Lan never let him."

Wufei's face turned frosty and then sank into a kind of sadness Duo had never seen before. "I'm sorry, Fei, that was below the belt." He said quickly, "it came out worse than I intended. I'm sorry."

"Speak of her again in such a manner and I shall cut out your tongue, make what aspersions on my character that you wish, but do not talk so of her." Wufei growled out.

"Threaten him again and I will kill you." Heero snarled out.

"Yadda yadda," Duo said, "there you go again, Ro, threatening to kill everyone, and you never do, I mean there's that Pieceofcrap chick finding cliffs to shout your name from and compromising your cover with that distinctive squeal and though you keep promising to kill her, you never do." He patted him on the shoulder, "don't worry, Fei, he won't kill you, and I am sorry," Duo had successfully diffused the situation although Trowa had taken a step back. If there was one fight he did not want to be caught in it would be Wufei and Heero, simply because although he didn't doubt Heero would win he knew Wufei would go down fighting and anyone caught in the middle would just get trampled.

The pools were small but clear with overhanging willows that draped into the water. It was quite a picturesque setting. The summer breeze was warm and soothing on his skin as Heero pulled the jacket from his shoulders.

"Phew," Duo said, "You weren't kidding about the smell, were you, lover?" He leaned forward, "you stink like week old horse."

"And you are lemon and soap fresh?" Heero asked as Duo undid the ties around his waist to step into the water. He leant in and pressed his face the length of Duo's face and up against his ear, like an animal scenting him, "I must say that you do not smell like a field of daisies." He reached behind Duo as he undressed, unbinding his braid. "A pity that you do not smell as lovely as you look to me."

Duo lowered his eyes. "Beware the Red, Tennosha, they hunger." Achren repeated in his ear and for the second time he waved her away like an annoying bug. He had more important things on his mind, this was the first time he had been alone with Heero since they had left Sidi a week before.

They waded into the hip deep water wearing only their undergarments, although they had both seen the other naked it had before the change in their relationship and now both were wary of what before had been commonplace. As he stepped forward Duo tripped on an underwater branch and with a clumsy laugh fell forward unto Heero, pressing their lips together. It was a swift kiss, quickly over, but Heero pulled his arms up and dropping the soap into the water held Duo instead.

"As courtships go," Wufei said to Trowa over the firepit, "theirs is clumsy indeed."

"it's just so out of the blue." Trowa conceded, stirring the polenta in the pot with a stick, "I mean they're hardly the most obvious couple."

"I think they're sweet." Aia said quietly, "they obviously care a great deal for each other."

"Onna," Wufei mumbled, "they find the strangest things sweet, they are both trained killers, if they fall out then there will be problems within the team."

"You don't understand," Aia said offering Wufei a winning smile, "they are Tennosha and Senshisha, it's destiny. They can't help it, and they make each other happy."

"They make each other crazy." Trowa corrected. "They're like chalk and cheese, and neither know what they're doing. I've met tanuki with more sexual instincts than the pair of them put together."

"Which is good." Gereint said calmly, "because I don't care what you've done or seen, you're babies. You're no older than the prince and I changed his diapers. If people his age are having sex then I'm old."

"You can't be old, Gereint," Aia said brightly, "what are you, thirty, thirty five human years?"

Gereint mumbled an answer.

"Forty," she exclaimed, "why you're positively decrepit, why we'll be digging your grave soon." It was charmingly sarcastic. It also made her look very young. She stood up and stretched, making sure her green dress was tight across her curves, "I need to go relieve myself," she said, "I shouldn't be long."

In his arms Duo felt very warm and soft. Heero could feel his heart beating where they were pressed together, like the mad flapping of a butterfly. Although Duo was a soldier, and he knew how deadly he could be, when they stood like this, Duo felt incredibly vulnerable to him, as if he would shatter if he pressed too hard. Nevertheless he wanted to crush Duo into him, as if, if he pressed hard enough, they would become one being and he wouldn't have to worry about him being hurt, or lost, or without him.

"If I could," Duo whispered, "right now, I would swallow you whole." The words were hot against Heero's ear. His hand was tracing strange designs on his chest, playing against his pectoral with the rough edges of his pectorals as their lips slipped and slid against each other.

Wufei looked up at the sky. "Where is that girl?" He asked, Cedric looked at Gereint who looked at Trowa. "She's been gone some time."

"Okay," Trowa sighed, rolling his eyes as he stood up and lifted his crossbow. "I'll go look for her."

In the water Heero began to notice something strange with Duo when the tip of his tongue pressed against his lips. Duo had never done that before, and Heero was only vaguely aware that people would even want to do that. "Kiss me, lover," Duo crowed in his ear and the hand that had made the arcane designs on his chest fell lower, pressing for a moment against his stomach before dipping below the water and running itself along the line of his cock which was stirring to Duo's touch.

Heero jerked back like he had seen a snake. "I, what, I." He stammered.

"Don't you want this, lover?" Duo asked, "don't you want me?" He ran those maddening fingertips the length of his own chest and smiled a rather vulpine smile, "I'll make it so sweet, lover, as sweet as candy."

"You're not Duo," Heero said batting away the hand as it reached for him. "He wouldn't do this, he doesn't call me that."

"Of course not," Duo said tilting his head, "call me Verdande."

Aia looked at Trowa who looked back, she had gotten herself caught in a rabbit snare and was now dangling from her ankle from a tree. He wondered whether it was politic to laugh as she hung there pulling her skirt down so it came to her knees at the front. "It's not funny." She said but it clearly was. "Will you please cut me down?"

"What have we here?" A man said from behind Trowa, "it looks like we caught ourselves a rabbit and a fox."

Trowa sighed, "you've seen me now," he said, turning around and raising the crossbow, Heavyarms, he fired three shots off in quick succession, killing the three men that had followed them into the glade, "I'll have to kill you." Then he turned back and shot through the rope that held Aia upside down from the tree.

"You saved me." She said and then dived to hold him, "Thank you, thank you, I didn't think you would, I mean you could have just left me to them, and you didn't."

Trowa frowned under his bang. "Come on," he said, "before Gereint gets worried."

She nodded and wrapped her arms about his elbow, determined not to let him go.

Heero burst into the camp wearing only his loin cloth with a similarly undressed Duo in his arms, "There is something wrong with Duo," he said laying him out. Duo's body was jerking and twisting in his arms, and he was mouthing a word that might have been tasukete. "He was acting strange and then he said to call him something strange and then he started fitting and."

Gereint reached into his pouch and stirred some herbs into the tea he was brewing, "hold him still, let's get this into him, it will help him sleep until we reach Dathyl the day after tomorrow."

"It will not hurt him." Heero pressed.

"No," Gereint said, "it is the same tea I gave your friend, it will just put him to sleep until we can find out what's wrong."

"He's possessed." Aia blurted out from where she had draped herself over Trowa. "One of the wicked spirits has taken him over."

"Superstitious onna." Wufei muttered, "there is no such thing. It is probably something much simpler, like epilepsy."

Without saying anything Gereint added cold water to the tea to cool it, and then carefully poured it into Duo's mouth, "swallow for me, son, come on, drink this down, it will make it all better."

Duo choked one and then swallowed down the sweet red tea. "Ro," he mumbled tiredly, "I'm sorry."

"Shush," Heero said, picking him up and wrapping him in the cloak beside the fire. "It is all right, shush, rest now."

"Take him inside the wagon." Gereint said, "I'd be happier if he bedded down in there tonight."

Heero nodded, "Chang, could you please fetch our clothes? I left them beside the water, I did not stop to collect them in my panic."

Wufei went to ask him why he couldn't get them himself, but saw the delicate way that Heero lifted Duo to carry him to the wagon, and then looked at Trowa. "I'll be back in a moment, save me some supper."

In the wagon Quatre was leant against a bag of grain and snoring happily as Heero laid Duo down carefully, "I'm sorry," Duo murmured again, "I'm so sorry."

"There is nothing to apologise for." Heero told him brushing aside the strands of wet hair from his face. His large eyes were set in deep hollows and his skin looked bruised.

"Tell me you liked it." Duo murmured sleepily as his eyes drifted closed.

Leaning down he laid a kiss on his forehead, each of his closed eyelids and then on the tip of his nose, "baka," he said softly and then he watched over him all night.

Author's Note:

A lot of the dialogue between the characters from here on in could be construed as rather vindictive but it's teasing, it's a particularly British habit to "take the piss" in this fashion..