A/N: Done with new costumes for a few months and finally have time to write. I don't think I have much to say this time, just that this chapter was a brat to write. To say the usual, I don't own Gundam Wing, Dracula, or Hellsing. I hope you enjoy the chapter, so read and review.

P.S. Ah, now I rembember! I wanted to ask my readers' opinions on if I should try to add in Pip and Anderson's accents. I'd be basing their spelling and extent on how it's written in the manga.

"Violet Turned Red"
Chapter Thirteen
Meeting of the Maxwells

When Duo was allowed to leave the grounds again, it was on the condition that he went nowhere near any of the pilots' homes or tried making contact with them in any other manners. As much as he wished he could have gone to see Wufei again, he doubted that he would be able to leave this time if he tried. He'd just end up staying there beside him until Wufei woke up and it became too late to escape.

Even with that thought in mind, he wasn't sure what prompted him to head north, or what odd turns ended him directly outside the fence of what he clearly recognized as a church run orphanage... and a Catholic one at that.

Duo smiled wistfully as he watched the kids play from his tree branch. In his position, he was mostly out of sight unless someone stood directly underneath him, a spot that was a good few feet from the edge of the yard. Not a bad way to spend an evening, if he said so himself.

So relaxed, he barely heard the dinner bell that sent the children running inside and only vaguely noticed the tall man standing in the doorway.

"Somehow, I'm thinking that you're no orphan."

"Somehow, I'm thinking that you'd be wrong," Duo said, imitating his speech. He twisted to look down through his (stolen) sunglasses, not that he had far to look, at the man who wore the tell tale uniform of a priest. "Father."

"Aye, perhaps, but not one of ours," he said, a humorous grin on his face. "Which brings to question why you were watching the little ones that are."

"Just a bit of nostalgia," Duo said with an answering grin, though he was careful to keep his teeth hidden. No need to scare a man the size of Rashid. "Once lived in a church a bit like this, a long time ago."

"In that case, would you care to join us for the evening meal and mass?" the priest offered. "It's simple fare, but we have enough to go around."

"Can't say I'm too hungry right now, but I wouldn't turn down a warm place to sit with good company for a while." Duo let himself drop down from his perch and turned his face up to look at the man.

The Father's eyes widened behind his glasses when he caught sight of exactly what pair of sunglasses the former pilot wore. He stepped closer to get a better look at him. "What did you say your name was, lad?"

"Didn't, and I'd rather not," Duo said, grin unfaltering. He had too much practice at this. "Too much opportunity to get into trouble with the boss, you know?"

"Fair enough, fair enough."

With a last glance at the sunglasses, the Father turned his back to head back inside, waving for Duo to follow him. "In that case, come in before you catch your death and we have to bury a nameless corpse in the yard. It would upset the children."

"Well, can't have that," Duo said with a chuckle, following him with his hands in his pockets. "Kids in places like this have enough troubles without adding a ghost or two."

Sitting in the front of the dining hall with the Father and a few of the other caretakers, it was easy to slip into relaxed conversation. It was just so much like the Maxwell church got whenever other priests visited. He nursed a glass of water to help keep up appearances even though it made his stomach twist with every swallow. There would have been no way he could have handled food.

Things went well until the doors to the dining hall opened and a late dinner guest came in... a blond haired priest only a few years older than Duo, and with similarly long hair. Duo made the mistake of looking up when the very tall Father paused in their conversation to acknowledge the other man, and there was instant recognition.

"Father Anderson, why have you let that thing in here?" the newcomer all but snarled. A few of the younger children near him cringed.

"Oi, we may not have gotten along when we were kids, but there's no need for name-calling," Duo said as both he and Anderson stood, the elder looking between the two long-haired men with narrowing eyes. "You're gonna scare the kids."

A firm hand clamped down on Duo's shoulder, the friendly warmth that Anderson had been projecting all evening vanishing as he felt the pilot's undead chill through his shirt. "Can't have that, now can we. Let's go outside and have this little reunion in private."

"Sounds good to me. What do you think, Father?" Duo's innocent smile was definitely at odds with the tense situation. The blond didn't answer except to growl as they were both pretty much herded outside by Anderson. The young vampire allowed it right up to until the church door had been shut behind them. There, he dug in his heels and refused to move. "Looks like a good enough spot to chat, Enrico."

The larger of the two started while Enrico all but bared his teeth. "You'll not be so familiar with me, vampire."

"Got nothing else to call you. Not calling you blondie, 'cause that's my buddy's name. And you know why I'm not calling you Father Maxwell, even if you made it further than I did," Duo said with a rather pointedly sharp grin.

Anderson looked between them, fingers twitching as though they were itching to reach for something. "I be understanding that the two of you know each other?"

"We lived at the same orphanage for a time, before I was sent away," Enrico said slowly, not taking his eyes from Duo. He sneered at the other orphan. "The Father would kill you himself if he saw you like this."

Duo growled and would have leapt for the other man's throat if it weren't for Anderson grabbing a tight hold on the collar of his shirt. He struggled against him with a snarl. "You take that back! Father Maxwell never raised a hand to anyone and you know it!"

"Even that foolish pacifist would have destroyed a monster!" the younger priest shot back.

"You both can calm down. I won't let any blood be spilled on holy ground, you hear?" Anderson yelled, grabbing hold of Enrico's shirt for good measure as he held the pair apart. "Now you get on before I drag you past the fence and destroy you there, vampire. And I'd better not see you coming around here again."

"Yeah, I gotcha," Duo said, shooting a glare at the blond man. The moment he was released, the vampire was off and running. He wouldn't be going north again. Duo didn't need that bitter of a reminder.