The Angel's Decision

By DragonMage

Notes: Again, it's taken a while, gomen-nasai! I got a new fic on my hands and it's been occupying my time. *sweatdrop* Getting on with _this_ fic...

Key:

<Thoughts>

_Emphasis_

* -- Mind speech

Chapter 7

The next night Duo and Wufei went downstairs--leaving Treize and Zechs to their own fun--and met up with Quatre. The blonde young man had dressed in a simple turquiose blue shirt and black pants, his longish hair combed back from his eyes. Duo whistled in appreciation which caused Quatre to blush.

"You look wonderful, Quatre. You've really filled out and grew up on three years. Look! You're taller than me!" Duo quipped as he stood next to the blonde and saw that, yes, Quatre was taller than Duo by at least two inches.

"It's nothing much," Quatre said, shaking his head. <Only that I grew up and you didn't. Oh, Duo, why did you pick this life? I can't seem to understand it.>

"Come on, let's go and have some fun," Wufei said, his low, smooth voice carrying over Duo's chatter. Quatre looked at the Chinese vampire and tried not to feel fear--but it was damn hard! Wufei was a pretty intimidating person. Again, Quatre was baffled over Duo's choice in life. How could _anyone_ like Wufei? He was so cold, teasing, blood thirsty, the classic vampire. Duo as someone who was kind and warm! He was totally different from Wufei yet he loved him.

"Sure, fun," Quate agreed weakly. He nodded and the three started down the hall to the elevator. Duo was clinging to Wufei's arm, talking to Quatre about all sorts of things they could do together.

"We have so much to catch up on! Hey, I heard this new band is coming in and they're supposed to be pretty good. They're called Fearless." Duo laughed, a loud sound that made Quatre's ears hurt just a bit. "Let's see if we can test their name, huh? Do you think they'll live up to it?"

Quatre was confused. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"He means to scare them and see if they're truly 'fearless'," Wufei answered, smiling coldly. "Why don't we try? It'll be fun. It's been a while since I last drove an human insane."

"Wufei!" Duo adomished although he was still chuckling. "You promised me you wouldn't do that anymore. I was supposed to be your last victim."

"Yes, well, that was three years ago and you weren't sane to begin with," Wufei answered in an infuriating calm.

Duo stuck out his tongue at his lover. "Nyah!" He was high on just the pure delight of having Quatre there, right next to him after such a long time. He was, quite frankly, more active today than any other night before. He was all smiles, his heart swelling with joy. He had his lover on one side and his best friend on the other. How wonderful can life get?

"I don't want to drive anyone insane," Quatre said, shaking his head. "Isn't there anything less...outrageous to do?"

"Of course. There's always visiting a vampire club. He can be our, ah, pet," Wufei said, a wicked smile playing on pale lips.

"That's evil, Wufei," Duo said, snickering. He looked over at Quatre with an almost evil look in his eyes. "Unless you want to..."

"No thank you," Quatre said hastily. He was starting to realize how different Duo was now. Before Duo would have never considered doing things like that. Yes, the fomer Duo had liked going to clubs and stuff but he always knew the limit of how far to go. This Duo didn't have _any_ boundaries at all.

They reached the elevator and stepped inside, pleased that the box was empty. It _was_ pretty late in the night so you really couldn't expect to have people on them. Duo continued to name all the things they could do while Wufei listened patiently, adding his own comments once in a while. Quatre just stood back and watched as his friend--?--act around Wufei. It seemed, with Wufei, he was more tender, nicer, gentler. He always asked for Wufei's opinion and his eyes lit up every time Wufei spoke, as if every word from Wufei's lips was a jewel to be cherished. <He really does love him,> Quatre realized as he watched. It was insane. Here he was, watching to vampire lovers--one of them someone he knew and cared about--before going to hit a club together. When had life went this nutty?

Vampires were real. That was the one thing that shocked the bejesus out of him. Vampires were real. Blood drinkers, things of dark fairy tales, were real and--excuse this--alive. And his friend was one of them! He was one of those beings who hunted down humans and drank their blood to survive. To see Duo, a once living mortal, do this surprised and set Quatre's view of everything a bit off. He never expected Duo to be seduced into this kind of life. His always friend seemed too compassionate about human life to take it away.

But then he had heard Duo's reasons and he guessed anyone who had had it that hard would like to have it all go away, to just leave it all behind. It was a very tempting thing and Quatre suppose he would have done it as well but he wasn't so sure.

The elevator 'dinged' and they stepped out, walked past the night security and right into the night streets of Boston. Quatre took a deep breath and smiled at Duo and Wufei, hoping that this night wasn't going to be his last.

~*~

The music pulsed loudly into Quatre's ears as he tried not to suffocate in the mass of bodies at the club Duo had dragged him into with Wufei looking coolly at him the whole time. He had tried--very hard might he add--to have a good time but it was pretty hard. Clubs had never been his thing, not even back in high school. He just couldn't get into the mood of dancing against so many people to music so loud he could feel his bones tremble from their force.

"What's wrong?" Duo asked, frowning at Quatre's expression, his pale face flushed slightly from the heat and exertion of dancing. For a moment, he looked almost human in Quatre's eyes. Then he changed back.

"Nothing," Quatre said, shaking his head. "It's just...you know I've never been into clubbing."

"I know. Hey, why don't you go back and sit down? We'll go some place else after this, okay?" Duo smiled sweetly. "I just love this song!"

Quatre nodded weakly and started pushing through the crowd to the table the table that they had reserved for themselves. But as he neared the table he saw that it had been occupied while the rest of them had been dancing. Annoyed and upset, he was about to go and look for another table when Wufei appeared at his shoulder. He started and tried not to jump away from the cold Chinese vampire at his side.

"You don't have to go. I'll get our table back," Wufei said, a detached expression on his face. Quatre was about to protest when Wufei moved forward and leaned on the table, his cold hard body melting into smooth, commanding movements.

"Hey, what are you doing?" one decidedly drunk man demanded.

"This is my table," Wufei said calmly. "Get off."

"No way! We didn't see you sitting here. You shouldn't have left!" a petite girl said in a high pitch sneer. "This is _our_ table now."

Another man looked ready to punch Wufei if any trouble was made between him and his friends.

Quatre moved forward and placed a hand on Wufei's elbow. "Wu--"

"I don't think you heard be correctly over the music. This is _my_ table. I want you off it," Wufei said in the same calm voice except this time there was an underlying edge. "If you don't get off I might have to hurt you and I don't want to do that."

"Fuck off, ass hole!" the girl said angrily.

Faster than the human eye, Wufei moved forward and grabbed the girl. He pulled her bodily out of her seat and sank his fangs into her small throat.

Horror and fear filled Quatre. His eyes widened and he suddenly couldn't breathe as he watched Wufei feed on the girl--in front of everyone!! <Gods...Ohmygod!! Where's Duo?!> Panic filled him and he whirled around to find his friend, who as probably the only one could stop Wufei from doing anything--like killing the girl.

When he couldn't find Duo, Quatre whirled back around. "Wufei, stop! Please, it's just a table!"

Slowly, agonizing slow, Wufei lifted his head from the girl's neck, his lips pink and slightly moist. He smiled at the group gawking at him before bending back down and kissing the girl on the neck. The wound that only Quatre had seen disappeared and Wufei dropped the girl onto one of the men's lap.

"My table. Go, now!" the Chinese vampire snapped.

Quatre had never seen anyone move that fast before.

Trembling, Quatre collapsed onto a chair and stared at Wufei in stunned horror. "I can't believe you did that." He clutched his stomach, paling. "I can't...Oh gods..."

Wufei sat down across from Quatre. He reached out and touched the boy warmly on the cheek. "Breathe, Quatre. It's okay." He smiled a small smile, hiding his fangs. "It's okay. Sometimes mortals just need to be taught a lesson. You get used to dealing with them after a while."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm one of them," Quatre croaked, still shaken up--badly--from what he had seen. He had never seen either Wufei or Duo feed until now. And he was pretty sure that was nothing compared to true feeding.

"Not if you don't want to be," Wufei purred in a velvet voice.

Quatre's head snapped up and he stared at Wufei, his eyes wide. "What?"

"You're Duo's friend and I know Duo would hate to lose you, no matter what he tells me. But if you decide to become a vampire, you can stay with Duo forever and he'd be happy," Wufei explained calmly, his dark eyes never leaving Quatre's face. "Well?"

"No way," Quatre said vehemently. "I can't do what you do. I just can't!"

"Obviously. You have no stomach for it." Although his voice was cold, Wufei wasn't being cruel, he was just being honest. "But if you ever want to be a vampire, just come to us. Or call out. We'll hear you."

"Wufei, please, stop it." The Arabian boy was now shaking even harder. "Please..."

Suddenly Wufei was in front of Quatre. He reached out and kissed him softly on the lips. "Don't be afraid. It's okay." His voice was tender, soothing. He reached out with his mind and eased Quatre's nerves, feeling just a _little_ bad for scaring him like that. But he wanted to show Quatre the power of a vampire. He could have easily manipulated the minds of those disgusting mortals into submitting to him and it would have ended easily, simply. But he didn't want to. He wanted to show Quatre what being a vampire _truly_ meant. He wanted to show him what Duo had become, what Duo will always be. Quatre had to realize that Duo wasn't the same Duo he knew three years ago. He had changed into something stronger, better. And, maybe, if he was tempted into the magic of being a vampire Zechs could make the pretty boy into one. His father always did adore blondes like himself.

Eventually, Quatre was soothed and he was breathing normally again. He looked into Wufei's dark eyes and for the first time didn't feel fear. What had the Chinese vampire done?

"Are you feeling better?" Wufei asked in the same tender voice. It was hard to believe this was the same vampire only a few minutes ago. Was this the side that Duo loved?

"Yes," he whispered softly. "I just wished you didn't do that. It was...unnerving."

"Well, I can't help what I am," Wufei said softly, his voice still nonthreatening. He smothed back Quatre's hair with long, strong fingers. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Bii~da! I leave you two alone for a few minutes and you play without me," a teasing, playful voice said behind Wufei.

Quatre looked up, startled, and Wufei turned around to smile at his vampire lover. "Hardly, lover."

Duo smiled and draped himself over Wufei, kissing the other vampire tenderly on the ear. "You shouldn't have done that, love. That was mean of you," he whispered into Wufei's ear, knowing that his lover heard every syllable.

"I know," Wufei murmured in return. "But I just wanted to show him what a vampire was."

"It still was cruel of you to scare him like that." Duo's lips moved to Wufei's cheek. "But at least you calmed him down."

Wufei smiled. "I'm not that bad."

Quatre watched almost in fascination as the two spoke softly together, their lips barely moving yet they could hear each other. That was pretty clear since there was comprehension on their faces, knowing exactly what the other had said. Being a vampire sure had its advantages.

Duo suddenly straightened, pulling Wufei with him. The Chinese vampire wrapped an arm around Duo's waist and Duo rested his head on Wufei's shoulder.

Holding out a hand, Duo smiled. "Come on, Quatre. Let's get out of here. I don't think this is really your thing."

Nodding gratefully, Quatre took Duo's offered hand and stood up. He didn't expect it though when Duo wrapped an arm around his waist and started walking. He blinked and tried to keep up with his friend and his lover's steps as they left the club together.

~*~

"Aaah, look at _all_ this food!" Duo cooed, his violet eyes feasting on the sight of all the food they had ordered at the Italian restaurant they decided to stop at since Quatre was hungry. Duo and Wufei had immediately picked up the menus and started ordering everything that looked good, including a few _very_ expensive wines--and none of them were of drinking age. Well, Wufei probably was. He _was_ over 300 years senior everyone in the restaurant. But both vampires also had fake IDs so that settled the matter.

Quatre was also gawking at all of the food laid out in front of them. "H-how are we going to eat all of this?"

"We?" Wufei asked innocently as he picked up a glass of wine and began to swirl it around with an expert ease. "Who said anything about 'we'? Duo and I don't eat."

"Then why--"

"Because it's fun, Quatre!"

"And how are you going to _pay_ for all of this?" Quatre demanded.

"Credit cards, Quatre," Wufei said dryly as he set the glass of wine down. "You know, plastic cash. Don't worry. We can easily pay for all of this."

"But we can't eat it all!"

"Don't worry," Duo said soothingly. "They're going to go to an orphanage and homeless center. We always do this. We order plenty of food, never touch it, pack it up and then give it to anyone who needs it. It's not going to waste. Now why don't you eat? We got all of your favorites!"

Quatre sighed and shook his head ruefully. "You two are impossible."

"Naturally," Duo said cheekily as he leaned against Wufei affectionately. "Now eat! I wanna watch!"

Quatre would have sweatdropped if he could...

~*~

"No more food," Quatre groaned two hours later. "I'm stuffed."

"Wow...You did pretty good work," Duo said appreciatively as he played with a plate of what used to be spagetti. Now it was a pasty red, white and yellow mix of noodles and beef. He had been playing with the same plate of food the entire evening, just smashing it together and watching it goop.

Wufei had just played with the wine, pouring it out into the fluted glasses and then soaking _his_ own plate of lasagna with it. He also soaked the bread in wine as well. Then he had smeared butter over it and dared someone in the next table to eat it.

Both of them seemed to get a kick out of messing with their food and ignoring the strange looks everyone was throwing at them. It had been difficult for Quatre in the beginning but he soon got used to the unwanted attention and just allowed himself to relax and have fun, watching as Duo and Wufei played with food they couldn't even eat.

"So, you pack all of this up and give it to the needy?" Quatre asked as he sipped some wine. He had been careful with his alochol and now only a dull, warm buzz was going through his system and nothing more. He didn't want to end up drunk and have a hang over tomorrow morning. He had school, after all.

"Yep. Do you want desert?" Duo asked with a rather evil sparkle in his voilet eyes.

"No, thank you. I'm very full," Quatre said, shaking his head.

"Aw, but desert is so fun! All that cream and fruit!"

"Duo..."

The American vampire laughed. "What? I'm having fun here! Have you ever microwaved a roach before?"

Quatre placed a hand on his stomach. "Duo, please, I just ate. I don't want to throw it back up."

Wufei laughed and shook his head as he pushed his plate forward, done playing with it. "I think this dinner is done, love. Quatre has school tomorrow. Lets pay for this, pack it up, drop it off and go back to the apartment."

Duo sighed. "All right...You're such a stick in the mud."

"Yes, I am love." Wufei raised his hand and signaled for the check. "But you love me anyway."

Duo stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry.

Without warning, Wufei reached out and bit him on the tongue. Duo yelped. The Chinese vampire snickered and leaned back in his seat, throwing a sly look at Quatre who was gawking at them in shock.

"Kinky," the blonde murmured.

"I can't believe you bit me!" Duo exclaimed. He touched his tongue gingerly, happy to find that it healed already. "Yeesh!"

"I've been you more than once before, Duo, I thought you'd be used to it already," Wufei remarked mildly. The waiter appeared with the check. The Chinese vampire pulled out his wallet and handed the waiter his credit card. The waiter nodded and walked off.

"Yeah, well, when you bit me those times, we were--"

"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, his cheeks warming. "Please!"

Duo snickered but didn't say anything else.

The waiter came back with the receipt and Wufei signed it before requesting that the food get boxed up. Duo and Quatre watched in amusement as the waiter eyed the untouched food before moving off to get the needed boxes and bags.

"This night was really fun," Quatre commented softly. And it was. He had learned that vampires weren't so bad--he was almost over his distinct fear of feeling like meat to Wufei--and he had ate pretty good as well as getting to know Duo again. They hadn't seen each other in a long time and it was nice to hear Duo recount everything that had happened to him. He couldn't believe that Duo had been living in San Francisco all those years Quatre thought he was missing. Three years and no one ever noticed him, never recognized him. Of course Quatre never went out at night unless he was going to a party with some friends, and those places Duo _never_ went to.

"Yeah, it was," Duo agreed as he placed his head on Wufei's shoulder and smiled warmly. Although...Quatre noticed that Duo looked a bit fatigued around the edges. His friend seemed tired, weakend. Quatre wondered what was wrong.

"Duo...you look kind of, well--excuse this--pale," the Arabian said, frowning.

Wufei frowned ever so slightly at Duo. "I told you not to skip out..."

"But if we did hunt it would have taken time away from Quatre," Duo protested weakly.

"It's not worth this." Wufei was still frowning disapprovingly when they left the restaurant with the bags of food. Quatre hailed a cab and they were soon driving to the nearest orphanage. They dropped off the food before heading back to the apartment complex.

Wufei helped Duo out of the taxi and held his love close. He nodded politely at Quatre. "I'm sorry. But he needs to feed. I suppose we might see you tomorrow."

Quatre nodded, suddenly feeling dazed. Duo needed to feed...He had seen Wufei bite that girl but to have _Duo_ feeding...It didn't seem like the same. Wufei looked like someone made for it, but Quatre couldn't see Duo doing it.

"Yeah, okay. Good night, Duo. Wufei," Quatre said. He reached out and touched Duo lightly on the shoulder. "Ah, I hope you feel better."

"I will," Duo said, smiling. "Now...Go get your rest, Quatre. You have school."

"Okay. Night!" Then Quatre turned and walked inside.

Wufei turned to Duo in his arms. "Come on, love, you need to feed. I think Quatre was too strong of a temptation, wasn't he?"

Duo nodded, sighing. "Yeah. I was pretty close to biting him..."

"Then let's go." Wufei kissed Duo lightly on the lips.

"Mmm...Let's."

~*~

Later that night, almost near dawn, Duo was curled up on their bed, sleeping peacefully. His skin was flushed a light reddish color, alive and warm from his feeding. He looked satiated with a smug smile on his ruby lips. Wufei leaned down to kiss those lips, sliding his cool arms around his lover's warm body, loving the wonderful heat that seeped into his limbs. He buried his face in Duo's neck, breathing in the scent of his shampoo.

<Well, I believe tonight proved that Duo won't crave humanity. He's too much like me. He likes being a vampire.> Wufei planted soft kisses along Duo's neck. <And that is _such_ a relief.> Smiling, he settled himself comfortably against his love and allowed the hard pull of vampiric sleep to take him down into the darkness just as the sun rose over closed curtains.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah-ha! Finally...done...*wince* I am so slow...*sniff*