AHDDITDOH19

And he Doth Descended Into the Depths of Heaven
Part Nineteen
Kuriyamimizu
11/7/00

Copyrights: The G-boys aren’t mine, and I don’t see this condition changing in the foreseeable future. They’re the property of Sotsu Agency and Sunrise and not to poor little me. So don’t bother to sue, I’m so broke that if I had a checkbook it would be squealing in pain. Alex and the other ethereal beings are my property. ^-^ (You will respect my authori-tay!)

Note : << >> denote personal thoughts

Warnings: erm, other than ooc-ness nothing much ^-^ Nothing as bad as the previous part! I’m fairly sure there will be no more con-consensual sex! ^_^;;;;;

Copyrights: after 170 pages you’re still asking? Just don’t steal my original charas or sue me.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Quatre woke up slowly, he was warm, and held, and close to someone. Their heart beat in time with his own, his rhythmic pulse matching the one that filled his ears. As his eyes became more adjusted to the light he smiled. There was Trowa, always there for him. He’d woken up on top of his tall lover’s chest. He was more indebted to the taller man that served him then he could say…as he rose he frowned. That wasn’t the feeling of silk on his skin. It was a different sort of a material, much different. Then realization hit him, where he was, -when- he was. His smile became bemused as he pulled out of the taller boy, causing him to shift in his sleep.

“So sorry sweet one, sleep on…sleep on.”

He whispered the words in Trowa’s ear, brushing his fingertips over Trowa’s face lovingly; the sound of his speech sounding like butterfly wings in spring. With a small groaning of the bed he was up and into the cool air of the morning. The house was completely silent, even though the screams from last night echoed through his ears in a rhythmic and mocking sort of a way.

“Forgive me my friend, that was one ordeal that I could not save you from..”

With silent steps he walked over to his desk, pulling a navy blue robe over his slim shoulders. The scrolls were all translated, all done. Everything was recorded and set down, even his plans for what he was going to do. He had known back then just as well as he knew now. Stealing a glance back to the sleeping figure on the bed he smiled, a warmth firmly established somewhere deep inside of his heart. He opened the door and stepped out into the chill hallways, turning on the thermostat as he passed on his way downstairs. A look over at the calendar shocked him. It was the day before Christmas! That caused him to shake his head, his blonde tresses flying this way and that., time was certainly one to fly.

Slowly he stepped from room to room, checking on everyone. When he came to Duo and Heero’s room he paused, almost afraid to see what had gone on in the evening. As he entered he found Duo sleeping heavily, his entire body, emaciated as it was, covering the bed. His wings were folded over him, acting as a blanket. Alex was curled up in a chair, staring in Duo’s general direction and out the window. She looked pale and drawn, as if she were in great pain.

<<What ails you divine one?>> His query was meant only with the greatest worry for her well-being. She graced him with a slight smile and a reply.

<<Nothing Quatre-sama, nothing that you could help me with. It’s an ailment neither of flesh nor bone. Simply the burden of fate making itself known. >>

Quatre frowned as he looked to Duo, feeling her residual resentment toward the boy even as he stood there.

<<Take good care of him Alex, that’s a favor that I have to ask of you.>>

She glared at him, her eyes very dark in comparison to the light and almost carefree violet that she had possessed when in a younger state of mind.

<>

He nodded, his deep blue eyes flashing. <<That you even hear me out is good enough. I bid you goodbye for now dear lady.>>

She nodded, unfurling her wings slightly in the gesture of a curtsey that didn’t require getting to her feet. Quietly he went into the bathroom and picked up the soiled sheets, an unconscious mime of his newer self. The little Arabian pilot was forever cleaning things in a vain attempt to keep things nice. Quatre walked down the stairs, wrinkling his nose at the smell of blood that washed over him with each step. When he got all the way down and had put the sheets into the washing he found Heero.

The angel was laid out on the couch that Dorthy favored, a single wing held at the correct position and the other drooping down as it was broken. With a quiet murmured spell and a few hand motions all was set to rights with the divine being. He wasn’t going to play sides, had Duo been the one hurting then he would have received the care as well. All that was on his mind in that moment was keeping the two combatants healthy so that everyone might live a little longer.

Something flashed in the back of his mind and he spun, his eyes darting around the dimmed room with the likeness of a cat. There was something out there, something was….he stopped, the presence had faded. It had seemed rather familiar in an unpleasant sort of a fashion. With more silent steps he went into the kitchen to start breakfast, perfectly synchronized with the habits and mannerisms of Quatre Raberba Winner.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dorthy woke to the smell of eggs and various other breakfast items cooking. Craving nothing more than coffee she crawled down the stairs taking them slowly, step by step until she entered the kitchen. Any normal person would have fallen over backwards at the sight that greeted her. There was Heero, his wings folded neatly behind him, perched on a stool at the counter, reading the paper and sipping a cup of tea as if it were the most normal thing in the entire world. Quatre sat beside him, a mage’s staff that was taller than he was resting next to him, also sipping a cup of tea and staring out of the big French window nearby.

Instead of saying anything she entered, poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot that was sitting out along with the tea and looked at Quatre.

“Where’d you get the stick?”

He smiled at her, winking once with eyes that weren’t his own. “It came to me.”

Dorthy felt something inside of her adjust and she had the queerest sensation that she wasn’t speaking with her own voice anymore, even though it sounded identical to the one that she had just been using.

“I see.”

Trowa appeared out of the woodwork, ruffling Quatre’s hair slightly as he looked out of the window. A frown rested on his lips.

“What are those doves and crows doing out there?”

Quatre peered at the assortment of winged beings sitting outside of the house, on the porch, and on the neighboring roofs and then shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you.”

There was a shuffling sound at the top of the stairs and everyone watched quietly as Duo sauntered down the steps, his stride slow and unhurried, seeming only a third of the way awake. At the last two steps he stopped and hopped down, his wings brushing the bottom step as he landed neatly on the carpeted floor. For a moment Quatre’s heart lurched, Heero was in the kitchen, and Duo was en route to the kitchen. When he looked to the stool where the angel had been sitting, he found Heero gone, a few white feathers fallen onto the linoleum. With a sigh he let a smile trail leisurely onto his lips.

“Good morning Duo, I trust you slept well last evening?”

Duo giggled, a dark sound. “Nah, didn’t get too much sleep. You know how it is; young, in love, full of fire for-“

“Thank you Maxwell, we don’t need to hear about your sex life.”

Wufei’s sharp and rather cold tone cut off any commentary that the demon might have made about the sadistic goings-on of the night previously. Ever the peacemaker, Quatre smiled.

“Tea, coffee, or cocoa? We have all three, and other delightful breakfast beverages as well, for your consumption.”

Duo raised an eyebrow and then grinned, his loquacious attitude beginning to surface from some sheltered part of himself; or else a fairly good mime thereof.

“Gimme one of everything.”

Dorthy raised an eyebrow. “You sure you can handle all of that Duo? You don’t want to be sick all Christmas eve now do you?”

Duo raised an eyebrow at her, his lips moving in what looked to be an interesting combination of a smirk and a frown at once. “Really?”

It was entertaining in itself to watch Duo pick up an interest in something. His face went through all sorts of interesting contortions as he thought about whatever it was that had caught his fleeting fancy.

“Yes; really. Look at the calendar if you won’t take my word for it.”

The overly vibrant teen, (especially for a person who was recovering from a narrow brush with death and the wasting fingers of cancer) bounded over to the wall and peered at the calendar.

“Well I’ll be damned all over again! It is!”

Dorthy raised one of her exquisite eyebrows but chose not to comment. She didn’t feel that she wanted to know the answers to the idle questions that stalked leisurely through her mind, wandering in and out of the shadows of her thoughts like tigers in the wood.

Duo turned to her, grinning, almost unpleasantly. “Well, seeing as Heero has disappeared completely, Dorthy, would you be so kind as to help me weave appropriately festive ribbons into this mess?”

Dorthy’s eyebrow continued its exodus up her forehead. “You want me to do your hair…?”

Duo peered at her as if contemplating her state of mind. “Yeah, I want you to do my hair, the whole nine yards. I’ve got the basics down but I don’t know all the nifty little tricks that girls seem to know. I’m just asking for a little assistance, that’s all.”

Dorthy nodded her approval. “I’ll help then. I was simply under the impression that your hair was off limits to the idle hands of the masses.”

Duo chuckled, throwing his head back and brushing the bangs from his heart-shaped face. “You’d damn well better believe it. No one touches the mop without express permission. Feel special.”

Dorthy nodded, quasi-serious. She hopped down off the counter with barely a hint of sound save that of her hair sliding off the tiling. She smiled at the demon as if she didn’t know what he was, as if there weren’t large dragon-like wings flowing down from his shoulders.

“That’s fine then, I’ll grab a shower and then help you with your hair. We need to get a tree today too.”

Duo nodded. “We’re such an ethnically diverse group here, I feel like we should be celebrating other things too, besides Christmas.”

Quatre perked, his indomitably cheerful personality going full force. “Don’t worry, there’s other holidays, in fact, there’s one from my background coming up sometime soon. It’s just the fact that we’re here in the States for now, therefore we’re working with whatever comes our way.”

“Whatever you say Q-man.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _

Heero sat out on the roof, putting his hand up to receive one of the doves that fluttered his way. He pointedly ignored the black mass of crows on an opposing roof and simply looked at the single occupant of his hand. She was a pretty little thing, feathers the color of pristine snow and eyes of deep onyx. She cooed at him softly, her gentle voice breaking the crisp silence of the morning. He flapped his wings once, smiling at Quatre’s handiwork. She fluttered in response, finding a more comfortable position in his hand. He looked at her, smiling as he saw his slightly distorted reflection in her onyx eyes.

“Hello sweet one…”

He peered into her dark eye for a moment, contemplating the depths there and then threw her into the air, where for just a moment she obscured the sun, unfolding her wings and shattering the light that filtered through her wings. He smiled at the sight, ignoring the blood that slowly trickled down his wrists from two precise points in his wrists. It was just another nice little quirk he had been given, reminding him that –he- was God’s chosen, no way out. Somewhere back in the dark recesses of his mind he quietly wondered why he felt like a caged animal. The same feel of cold blood trickling down his ankles joined the first. He sighed, hoping that the crimson fluid would come out of his clothes.

He turned at the presence that suddenly presented itself next to him, and coiled a wing in front of him reflexively.

“What do –you- want?!” He hissed sharply, glaring at Duo through a small crack in his feathers. Duo smirked, the tarnished metal of his cross glittering in the frosty light of the morning. Unconsciously Heero backed up over the slightly moldy tiles of the roof, glaring bloody murder at the demon who sat perkily on the edge of the house. ‘Duo’ smirked at him, holding up a hand.

“Peace, you disgustingly holy thing. Boss man says we have to play nice until January 5.”

Heero’s eyes were narrowed to slits that were enviable a cat’s. “Now why would he want that?”

Duo shrugged, every movement seductive and deadly. “Guess he gets off to it, how should I know? All I heard from my –very- pissy guardian was that we were supposed to be all snuggly and nice this evening and then in five more days we get to hack away at each other.

Heero caught the decidedly hungry and vivacious look in ‘Duo’s’ eyes as he mentioned hacking. His mind flashed briefly back to a sound, sights, a feeling, horrifyingly sharp metal biting into his side, the copper smell of blood baking in the sun, the sickening thud as metal impacted with flesh. It was all there, real as anything in his mind. He shivered slightly and re-arranged his wings, bringing them away from ‘Duo’s’ idle hands.

‘Duo’, ever so casual spoke, his eyes on the flock of crows and ravens that were perched close, sitting on telephone wires, roofs, and whatever other surface they could find to sit upon. “Don’t like ‘hacking’ o-great winged one? Does the thought of blood repulse you?”

As the other boy spoke the angel could hear overtones of dangerous lust filling the boy’s voice. A small, yet significant tremor ran through his lithe frame as he spoke of death and its effects and vices.

“The thought of blood…entices me…it’s alluring… it’s –delicious-“

The demon had bitten his lip and was sucking at the bleeding flesh rapturously. A look of primal ecstasy cavorted across his beautiful and frightening features. ‘Heero’s’ eyes narrowed.

“Let –him- have control and I’ll play at whatever little mind game you have planned.”

‘Duo’ looked at him innocently, his voice of that sweet and playful timbre that the real Duo always had. The mischievous look that always played in his features was there, the body movements were correct, but there was frozen ice where warm violet should have been. Heero growled slightly.

“I’ll always see exactly what it is you are…don’t even think you can fool me by putting on an innocent mask!”

‘Duo’ managed to look hurt. “That was –cruel- Hee-chan…”

The demon watched the angel’s reactions carefully. Somewhere in the background Fusei was lingering, and assuming that he wasn’t seeing things, she was cracking her knuckles. Under the circumstances, he was positive that Alex would perform her duties, yet she would probably let him get rather roughed up before diving in. That was fine. With a scornful look at the angel bleeding he let out a sigh, letting his tight control slip.

“For God’s child, he sure doesn’t treat you well…”

With a quick and rough motion Duo grabbed the angel’s hand and kissed his wrist fiercely, his nimble tongue darting out to lap up the blood quickly, and look into the angel’s eyes. Part of the ice was gone, the ethereal being could tell that ‘Duo’ was still in control of the real one, but there was something different about him.

“God makes you suffer much more than Lucifer ever would. With him it’s simple, you fuck up, and you die. With the big holy man, it’s so much different. I don’t envy you your position.”

The eyes rolled back into a pale forehead and ‘Duo’ began to topple back off of the roof, his neck sure to snap at the angle he was falling. Looking like something out of stained glass window, Heero leapt off of the roof, sneakers slipping slightly against the moss. He had caught Duo mid-air before he had even realized that he was airborne. With a couple of careful flaps he landed, careful, cautious and frightened. What had happened there? He looked at his (trembling?) wrist and then shook it off, Heero deserved to be in control if their lover was indeed back in his correct mind.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Heero sighed, still sitting on the cold sands of the desert. He had been sitting there for a long time and assumed, though he wasn’t entirely sure, that he would continue to sit. Maybe he ought to sleep like Duo had, that might be the correct thing to do, sleep until the living hell ended and he would live like the semi-normal soldier that he was. There was someone with him. He turned slowly, feeling his hands reaching for a gun that wasn’t there, and that would have been ineffective at any rate.

Duo stood there, the shadow boy that had killed his lover. The voice that had joined the angel inside of him, telling him to relinquish the rights to his own body and mind in order to serve the common good. He was tired of the common good, it hadn’t done anything for him as of late. He glared, rising to his feet and blinking as harsh winds began to howl around them, whipping sand into his sensitive eyes. He was still human, even in the form of a misguided psyche. And humans felt pain, even if it was illusional. Was he also illusional? Just a phantom figment in an angel’s mind? Before he could ponder the question further he found the wind blocked; and the dull, biting cold that had torn at his skin for as long as he had sat within his own carefully constructed purgatory, ebbed off of him. It scraped down his skin in one last desperate attempt to stay with him, then faded completely.

When he looked up he found the demon sheltering him with his wings, his face masked in shadow and silence. He leaned down and caught Heero’s slightly open mouth fiercely, and in that instant a burning through raced through his mind and heart strongly, in the moment he realized the demon’s intent.

“You can’t be serious?”

A slow nod from the figure cloaked in dark. Heero’s knees felt weak. “But you’ll-“

His words were cut off by a slim and chill finger against his lips. Once again the fire of the demon’s voice, ripped and raped its way through his mind. There was no other way for the demon to speak, he couldn’t help it.

Heero trusted the demon not to threaten idly. With a single glance back over his shoulder he faded back into reality, frowning slightly. The demon waved almost jauntily, running his fingers over the nude steel and living iron of his blade.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

When Wufei found them he could have sworn they were both dead. They were lying on the ground, sprawled out, limbs askew and faces ashen.

“Shimata.” He found the utterance passing his lips like an irreverent prayer, hoping that they were dead, hoping that they were alive. Dorthy walked out next, partially in response to the feelings she was catching from Wufei and partially because she had felt the balance of powers shift.

Duo sat up first, moaning quietly as he found he was sitting on one of his wings. She could tell that it really was Duo and not the stranger she had met in the kitchen this morning. This was the young Duo Maxwell that her younger self knew well. She offered up a sufficiently creepy smile and offered a hand down.

“Need a hand up?”

Duo blinked, his eyes wide. “Dorthy?”

She smiled and hauled him up anyway.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*DUO POV*

When I first looked at him a thought raced through my mind like fire. –I killed him!- Panic flew through my poor, berated mind for another minute before I realized that there was no blood on the ground. I hadn’t gone and raped the poor boy again, and he was still breathing and in once piece, just in the transition between personalities. I’d had the upper hand there, my inner asshole had let me out faster. Yet not before I’d had an interesting chat with the inner Heero. I wish that I was the one with the –NICE- personality, and not the uber-ass who had fun all the way through deconstructing my psyche. He –wanted- to keep my body, and make sure that I died!

Involuntarily I felt my hands clenching tightly at my sides, cumbersome wings that I didn’t want unfurling slightly in response to my anger. I’d never felt anything like this before, this sort of raw power. Dorthy’s mind floated through mine, her tone quiet but with an undercurrent of warning to it.

<Don’t even get ideas Maxwell!>

I felt the old smile perching faithfully on my lips even though I didn’t feel the emotion behind it anymore. I was sure that I was the possessor of two dead violet eyes. The things I had seen, felt…ye Gods, the things I had done. Inwardly I resolved –not- to have a nervous breakdown and enjoy the little bonus time that I had been given with Heero. It had started to reach into the afternoon and snow fell down like frozen tears from heaven, staining the frozen ground white. It was COLD out there in the front yard!

Reflexes perked as Heero slowly, but steadily rose to his feet. I smiled at him, for once my –own- real, warm smile.

“Ne, Heero, you look a little cold. Suffering shrinkage there my friend?”

He snorted, the usual lack-of emotion coloring his face. Yet I could see his eyes and he was just as glad to be free as I, even if it was only a temporary respite. There was a sadness there too, I think we both had finally come to terms with the facts. There would be no waking up from this nightmare. No going on to finish the war. There had to be an ending and every part of us realized this. Endgames were tricky indeed, and viciously subtle.

<Heero?>

It was so odd to speak without a voice, and the antiquity of it just didn’t surpass the strangeness.

<Nani?>

I glared at him playfully, my eyes saying all that I needed to say.

<Don’t speak funny words, you realize I don’t understand them and all of this time I’ve just been picking up bits and pieces from you?>

Heero’s eyebrow twitched faintly. A smile hovered in his icy blue eyes but didn’t crash down onto his lips.

The playfulness fell out of us both in the same instant. Time was too short, too precious to be wasted on triviality, even necessary as it was.

I couldn’t even think correctly! I sighed quietly. Perhaps I was just as stupid as I had first thought. He didn’t give me time to think any further than that.

A smile between us, masked, only for us, not for the others. Then I dived back outward, unaware that I had been conversing with Dorthy about God-knows-what for the last fifteen minutes. She smiled at me, fully aware of what had been happening. I couldn’t place it, but I was aware that I wasn’t speaking just to Dorthy anymore. There was another layer there, older, wiser, more capable, cunning, willing to survive.

“Shall I do your hair now?”

I smirked at her again, surprised by the force of my own plastic grin. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Wufei gave me a knowing glance. “I’m going to get a tree.”

I turned on the puppy-dog eyes, full force, knowing that he couldn’t resist them. “Silver Tip Pine, PLEASE?!”

I saw a little bit of the outer walls of fire part and a little Wufei smile creep through. “I’ll see what I can do. I think you both ought to get a little rest. It’s going to be a -busy- few days upcoming.”

I nodded and wandered inside the house, following Dorthy obediently, like a hound at a mistress’ heels.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*Heero POV*

It was a long and intensely cruel wait, sitting on the sofa and staring at the closed door that Duo and Dorthy sat behind. I could just barely make out their murmuring voices as they spoke, and as she moved her deft fingers through his silky hair. She was touching ‘my’ love’s hair. Something seemed wrong with that to me. I brushed it off as possessiveness and continued my silent vigil. When They emerged, Duo was looking stunning, as he always did. His wings were almost solid, he still hadn’t learned how to make them immaterial yet. Perhaps he didn’t want to learn. I could understand why his alter-ego disturbed him so much. Mine seemed like a little bit of a wuss. With a snort and a repositioning of myself I waited patiently on the couch, waiting for him to join me.

He hopped onto the couch and looked at me quietly, his eyes full of questions and half-doubts. At some point someone had started a fire in the fireplace and the poor logs inside sighed and cracked as the heated fingers of the flames moved over them, consuming them. I almost felt sorry for the logs, and unconsciously my thoughts moved to Duo, what would become of him after-? I let the thought trail into extinction. The demons’ words weren’t for this present. At this time I just needed to be with him, to absorb the final bits of human dignity, love, warmth and comfort that I could. Pretty soon Quatre would be coming. I could feel him.

It was almost intriguing having this sixth sense to deal with. On an emotionless level it would have been an invaluable asset on some missions that I had gone through. Yet this wasn’t the time for the lack of emotion. In response to the crisis threatening my, and my lover’s life, I had evolved into something more, something closer to human and less of a machine.

Duo had leaned quietly against my shoulder, the glowing fingers of the fire reflected in his large eyes.

I nodded quietly, resting my head against his. His presence was warm, reassuring, something to completely fill the nameless void inside of me that I could never quite pinpoint. Unconsciously I had wrapped a wing around him. It just seemed like second nature to me now. The great things were just another part of my being, such as fingers, toes, eyes, ears.

Duo smiled, pulling close to my chest. “You’re warm.”

I felt a smile tugging at my lips and out of habit I only let a little of it show.

<It’s because you’re such a shrimp, you have no body mass, so you get chilled.>

He socked me lightly in the ribs, showing that he indeed had a little force behind his motions. My breath escaped my throat in a soft ‘woof’. He giggled slightly and rubbed the place he had punched with careful fingers.

Again, the tiny hint of a smile crawled ever so slowly onto my lips.

Why, oh why couldn’t I smile for him? No time! It felt as if there were a giant stopwatch racing endlessly through the precious seconds of the day that we sat in, mocking us. Back in my sub-conscious clocks ticked all in a malevolent rhythm, promising me how short a time we had together. Without thinking about it (I had been doing a lot of things that way recently) I caught his chin and tilted it up, running my hands slowly over his gentle features.

“You’re so beautiful.”

The tone in my voice sounded alien to my ears. Was that affection there? That it was, that caused a smile, unrestrained, to fall onto my lips, a warm gesture when it really counted. Duo’s face registered shock first and then an affectionate joy.

“There’s that smile. I knew that I would see the fabled Heero Yuy smile one day.”

My mouth was caught in his own before either of us thought about it too hard. It was an innocent kiss, full of the wonder coming with emotions that ran pure for the first time. Somewhere in a dark part of myself a light turned on and a part of me opened up, another part dying entirely. This was what love felt like.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Quatre entered the living room several hours later. They were lying together, a blanket pulled over them, resting wrapped in each other’s wings. It was a beautiful sight to behold, lovers from two entirely different realms. His nerves had been jangled all morning, but the feeling had left, the spell of Christmas falling into all of them. Even if it was an American holiday, there was something magical to it, a certain air of icy mystery that captivated all that took a moment to stare into the swirling flurries of snow. Wufei had returned a short while ago, bringing in a Silver Tip Pine, per Duo’s request, they had set it up and decorated it, leaving the topping of the tree with a little star to Duo. Everyone had agreed through consensus that he would be the one to top the tree.

The whole house was lit up with candles and lights brought from a closet with various decorations in it. Whomever lived there had known how to decorate. With a happy sigh he fell into one of the large armchairs of the place, wrapping his bare feet under him and resting the –very- large mage’s staff at the side of the chair. The century that they were in was quite comfortable. He would have to say that he much preferred his time and place, but this place had its antiquity.

Trowa appeared once again, it astounded him just how silent his tall lover was. With old ease he reached up, twining his fingers into Trowa’s, a smile working across his boyish face. Trowa leaned down and kissed him from there, a sweet gesture. Wufei snorted from the doorway that he leaned in, clad in a loose tee-shirt and slacks, and looking entirely too comfortable for his own good.

<What’s for dinner? > was his lightly bored sounding query.

Quatre smirked as he disengaged himself from Trowa’s advances. “Ham, I bought it earlier.”

The slender Chinese boy shrugged, not particularly caring one way or the other, only driven to ask out of mild curiosity. The smell of pine had stealthily crept through the house, giving everyone a whiff of high mountains, and misty mornings. Quatre smiled quietly to himself.

“Never smelled pine before…it’s a nice scent.”

Trowa grinned, well the Trowa equivalent of a grin which was in fact a very small smirk, and wandered off to the kitchen.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _

Dinner was eaten and there was much making of merriment. Dorthy went off somewhere halfway through the evening, claiming that she had previous engagements to attend to and promising that she would be back later in the night. They didn’t wait to open presents the next morning. Between Duo’s whining and a few subtle hints from Quatre that opening presents early would be a good idea, they did. The gifts were small things, they weren’t in need of anything huge.

Duo received more hair things than he knew what to do with. He seemed to be deeply in love with a satin and lace hair clip though. Wufei had picked it out, there were bits of spidery looking lace tumbling about in a mass of crimson satin. It suited Duo perfectly. He had stuck it in his hair and wandered around for the rest of the night preening.

Quatre received some very interesting things as well, a painting of himself staring out the window with a steaming mug of something in his hands and starlight bathing his frame, painted by Towa. There was something unmentionable from Duo, who watched its opening with an irresistibly sassy grin.

Other gifts were given and received. Trowa seemed rather amused when he received a half-mask, ribbons trailing down the side of it, and its painted expression haunted. “Very fitting” he murmured as he packed it back into the protective tissue paper it had come in.

Wufei was absolutely enchanted with am armband that he received from Duo and Heero together. It was a serpent that twined around his arm five times before resting its silver head at the intersection of his upper arm and elbow. Its ruby eyes glittered and a serpentine smile lingered on its shining jaws.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*DUO POV*

Heero and I laid down together on the couch again. I could feel the other thing inside of me stirring quietly, getting ready to lash out once again, ripping through the fragile curtain of my sanity to bring his bloody soul out to play once again, leaving my battered and slashed psyche to survive as it would. I clamped him down just as tightly as he held me down before. I was beginning to understand that if I tried very hard then I could hold him down and out of sight. I had unconsciously been doing it for all of my life.

Everyone was lounging about in the flickering firelight. Quatre and Trowa were curled back into an arm chair, molded into each other, limbs and bodies fit together perfectly, even though there were clothes in the way. They were so perfect for each other that it made me sick in a pleasant and slightly jealous way. Trowa was allowed to throw himself in front of the bullet for his beloved. That was a right that was denied me. Such a strong word there, beloved. It didn’t fit me, my personality, my upbringing. I knew all sorts of interesting words through various mediums and yet that word wasn’t one that I would readily use. It was because –he- was there, adding his shadowy influence into my mind. It was all his fault.

My eyes were falling slowly closed, more and more weight falling onto leaden eyelids. I was curled close to my soldier, lying on his chest, out hands close together, fingers interlaced, hearts moving close to one another. I was falling asleep in my lover’s arms again. That was all that I wanted out of life.

Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Wufei and Sakura (that was her name, but how did I know it?) close to each other, drawing ever closer, he sneaking a playful kiss onto her cheek and then sitting back as innocent as a Catholic school boy. (Watch your own terminology there bud, you were a Catholic school boy once too) the thought of me, young and innocent made me laugh. It was just plain funny. They looked so perfect together, it seemed right and yet that hidden away part of me knew that heads would roll if they were caught. (Why is it that they can’t be together?)

(Because angels, the divine ones, can’t love what they protect, it just can’t work that way) the answer whispered its way through the levels of my subconscious and came to me clearly.

“Poor Wu-man,” I murmured as I dropped off, sleep’s willing captive once again.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Wufei watched Duo sleep with a small twang of affection still gracing the edges of his consciousness.

“Sleep well Maxwell..”

A hand on his shoulder made him turn to look into Sakura’s finely crafted features. She smiled at him with a trace of sadness lingering in her face.

He pulled her close, feeling the silk of her gown flow against his fingertips as she moved into his arms. He leaned his head against hers as she snuggled into the crook of his neck and shoulder.

<I’ll always care… They’re all like brothers to me.>

Her cherry red lips were brushing against his skin, silently taunting him. How far could they push before they were caught? How did they know if they weren’t all ready? How close could he get to this spirited angel before he crossed a line too many? It was beginning not to matter anymore. Things were drawing to a close and he didn’t want to have to think about it anymore. He just wanted her close to him, with him. Man and woman were meant to fit together, they were made that way weren’t they?

In the background the fire whispered, speaking of things to come. It surprised him how handily he had accepted the things that had come to him recently. Sakura wrapped her wings around them both, her ethereal body warm against his, her arms as solid as anything had ever been. Wufei scanned the room and found Quatre’s lazy eyes resting on them, a little smile resting on his lips. After a moment his gaze had shifted to other things entirely. Trowa was passed out, his chin resting against the little blonde’s shoulder. Various guardians lounged about the room, looking like a bunch of stained glass windows come to life. With a sigh he placed a kiss on Sakura’s temple.

She stared up at him quietly, from ruby red eyes that absolutely burned with inner fire and passion for her ideals and beliefs.

Wufei looked to everyone, stretching quietly, grabbing his half-empty wine glass and carrying it to the kitchen. Everyone had been drinking a little bit, just a tad, as part of the holiday spirit. It had been Quatre who had found the bottle of wine in the cupboard and decided that a little bit of wine wouldn’t do anything to dampen the holiday cheer.

“I’m going to bed.”

A sleepy, “good night” from Quatre was all the reply that he received. With a smile he walked up the stairs, feeling Sakura trailing weightlessly after him, an invigorating combination of air, light, and warmth.

At around three that morning Dorthy got in, just as she had promised. She noted the two couples passed out on the couch and sensed the third in the upstairs. She trailed up the wooden risers without a sound, opening her door and shutting it once again, falling into a deep and soundless sleep.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The few days before New Years seemed to pass in a blinding and chilling flash. The week moved by as if the universe had decided to hit the fast-forward button. The angel and the demon, as everyone took to mentally calling them, appeared once again after Christmas eve, no trace of the old Duo or Heero to be seen. Quatre also went through a metamorphosis, becoming the old master of magic and sand that he once had been. There was a distinct tone in his voice and a shifting of his manner that made everyone tread carefully around him. If it wasn’t the sheer different-ness about him that made everyone wary, it was the big staff that he carried around with him. No one particularly looked forward to being hit with the staff if the occasion ever arose for him to feel a need to do so.

Duo became very silent, creeping around the house like a shadow during the day and haunting the living room in the evenings, sitting and talking with Alex, who seemed more and more vindictive with each passing day. No one was ever sure exactly what sorts of words passed between Duo and his demon, yet from her reactions they could gather that the words weren’t pleasant.

Heero took to greeting the sunrises and sunsets on the rooftop, sitting on the frost covered shingles, the white feathers of doves littering the space around him, and a few of the avian creatures always around him as well. When Dorthy asked him why he enjoyed watching the sunrise so much he had smiled at her and replied,

“Because I love to hear them singing.”

It had taken her a good long time to realize that he had meant that he heard the heavenly choir in the sunrise, their divine voices filling the birth of each day and lamenting its passing at sunset. She had given up talking to the angel, just as she had given up talking to the demon.

Wufei and Sakura seemed to be constantly together, sparring, verbally or physically. Trowa had noted them kissing from time to time but had no outward opinion to share with the rest of them. What the angel and her protectorate did together was their own affair and certainly not his. He had an Arabian mage to look after. The older Quatre was just as loving as his younger self; and the older version had a bittersweet sadness in his manner that colored everything that he did, including sex. It seemed as if he had finally found something that had been missing from him for a long time. Trowa was perfectly aware that he had died the first time, he would die again if that was what Quatre needed, but it felt deliciously wonderful to be in his arms once again even though in truth he had never left.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

Quatre looked at the clock, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. It was nine o’ clock and he was sure that he wasn’t the only one that could see the shades of the damned and divine alike massing outside and around the house, stretching on for miles. The griffin was out there somewhere, he was sure of it. It was getting so close, midnight that night and it would all go down. With a resigned sigh he started the trappings to craft a spell that would shield the world from the force of this fight…it was going to take a while.

Duo stepped out of the shadows, looking at his little one. He smiled at her, an unpleasantness coloring his manner that would have upset the casual observer. She turned to face him and cocked her head to the side slightly, asking what he wanted of her, even though she already knew the answer. He stepped forward, brushing a hand over her pale cheek, his cold fingertips seeming like burning ice against her flesh.

“It’s time m’dear….”

She closed her eyes and nodded, silent and resigned. All of the fight had left her in the previous days, she seemed to be drained of all energy, all of the resiliency and fire that usually shone within her. All that was left was a dull mask of pain, and a tortured soul glittering behind violet eyes, yearning for release.

He smiled. “It would be impolite to end the world without a little notice Alexandria darling, of course I’ll wait! It’s a part of the game don’cha know? I just want to be familiar with my blade…”

She sighed, furling her wings back, exposing her slim body. Her hands trembled with every movement, and her breaths came in small and harrowed gasps.

<As…you wish…..Duo-sama.>

He smiled, a wicked expression, that was the first time that the little slut had ever spoken to him with the proper tone of respect. He smiled, running an approving finger down her cheek, following the lines of her neck to rest a hand on her shoulder. She knew that he could crush the bones there, his hands held that kind of force. The fear drained away from her to be replaced with cold resignation. At least it would all be over and done with sometime soon, then she could go back to being normal again, spending day after endless day milling with the bats and watching the cold abyss. Hell shaped itself to match the fears and paranoia of its occupants. There was no fire and brimstone, only that which the mind conjured.

Duo watched with perverse fascination at the transformations of emotion that flowed easily over his little demon’s face. He couldn’t say that he hated the spirit, anymore than he could say that he adored her. He found his middle ground in a grudging obsession, something close to what he felt for the angel. All of the conflicting pulls at his heart and mind produced a pleasant insanity that his mind relished in.

“One two…buckle my shoe…three four…shut the door….five six…pick up sticks…seven eight…lay them straight…”

Alex stared over at Duo warily…the man was completely and utterly insane. One minute he was looking at her like she was a piece of meat and the next he was singing children’s nursery rhymes with the same off-key innocence that was reflected in every child’s voice when they sang. With a small ooof, her breath left her body as he sunk his hand into her mid-section, pulling the long blade from inside of her. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as it made shreds of the internal workings of her corporeal body on it’s way out. When the cold metal object was all the way out Duo sat back, completely fascinated with the new plaything he had acquired.

<SHIT! THAT HURT!>

He looked over at her, his violet eyes amused. “ If I had told you what I was going to do my dear, it would have hurt all the more. I did you a favor. Don’t bitch about it.”

She sighed, folding her wings back and out of the way again.

Duo giggled quietly. “Of course I’m right. Why wouldn’t I be?”

The demon sighed, feeling some of her old energy coming back to her now that the accursed blade was out of her and out of her possession for good. It was Duo’s now and nothing in the entire world would separate him from it.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Trowa watched Quatre with worried fascination. The little blonde had been sitting there quietly for hours, rocking back in forth with some unfathomable beat, whispers of people that were not visible filling the air. Whatever the spell was, it was huge. Trowa could tell that reality was going to be largely shifted from the preparations that the blonde mage was making. The exact details were not clear to him though.

<Quatre?>

The mage didn’t move, didn’t make any outward acknowledgement to the fact that Trowa had spoken to him, but even so the taller pilot felt the mage’s mind brush back against his own, in a reassuring manner. Trowa smiled, folding himself into a chair.

Agreement, that was what flooded back to Trowa. The lanky pilot took that as his cue to exit the room. Dorthy was sitting in the next room, sharpening her sword. He still found it deathly amusing to see the blonde woman with a sword that was so obscenely heavy and almost as tall as she. Sticking his head in the door she looked up, her sapphire eyes glittering in the light of the lamp on her bed-side table.

“What brings you in here Mr. Barton?”

Trowa couldn’t answer her at first, he couldn’t bring forth a reason for his presence.

“Because I’m making sure everyone’s ready. I don’t want to loose him again.”

The words flowed out of his mouth easily enough. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that he hadn’t particularly felt the inclination to speak them. They had fallen off of his tongue as uncontrollably as water yields to gravity and falls of a cliff to become a waterfall. Dorthy smiled at him pleasantly. //Or perhaps it isn’t Dorthy?// Things had gotten so confusing as of late that he didn’t know what to think. She , (whoever it was that she was) nodded slowly, a frightening little smirk tugging at her lips.

“You seem…ever so slightly confused Mr. Barton. Am I the root of that confusion? Or is it the greater chaotic elements around you that confuse you?”

Trowa stuck his hands in his pockets. “Honestly, I’m not all too sure about that Dorthy.”

She laughed, not at him and not at anything that was particularly apparent to him at that moment in time. Her voice echoed off the close walls of the little room she was staying in and filled the moment with her own private mirth. When she stopped, her clear blue eyes were set unerringly at his own, staring him down.

“You’d better get damn sure boy, otherwise, you’re going to die. Three hours hence and it begins.”

Trowa smirked at her, an unusual expression on his usually somber lips. Out of nowhere in particular a small dagger flicked into existence, light dancing off it’s sleek blade.

“I’m sure in some things dear lady…just not others.”

Dorthy smiled.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Quatre smiled, something knotting in his chest as the final words were said in the spell. It was done and this world, the future existence which everyone treasured so; the place where the abused the Earth and each other, that place would remain untarnished. Instead they would again return to the first battleground to pull a repeat showing of the spilling of the blood of innocents. He flinched as he felt the other sword drawn out into their existential plane. Heero had finally gone and done it then, he’d pulled the thing out of Fusei.

“Now it begins.”

In the background the grand old grandfather clock chimed midnight, it’s voice was somber and old. The oak frame housing the dignified face and chimes reverberated with the sound of the chiming. One, two, three, four times and onward, counting up to twelve. The sounds echoed through his mind, piercing his memory and engraining their chilling finality deep into his heart. Holding his staff at his side he walked slowly to the door, aware that Dorthy and Trowa had fallen into step behind him, his silent angels.

As he opened the door to the house the hot, golden sands of the desert greeted him. The midnight wind passed over his cheeks as if offering a blessing and a prayer. He brought his hands up and forward, his staff glittering with the malevolent moonlight.

“Tonight my friends, we do this again, for the last time…”

He turned to watch as they both strolled out in front of him an old Shakespearean slipped its way into his consciousness to mingle with everything else there.

CRY HAVOCK! AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!

-To be Concluded

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