Claiming Humanity

By DragonMage

Chapter 6

"Man, you look like you didn't get any sleep at all," Quatre remarked on Monday as he stared at his friend in shock. There were shadows underneath Duo's eyes and he looked pale and haggard. "What happened?"

Duo sighed and shook his head as he tried to wake up. He hadn't been able to go back to sleep at all since meeting Wufei. That boy just kept on haunting him, even when he wasn't there. Every time he was alone, he thought about Wufei. How he looked, sounded, moved, smiled. Of course, he only had a vague memory of how Wufei really looked. Every time he met the boy, Wufei was hidden in the shadows. It was weird and unnerving yet it drew him in whether or not he wanted it to.

"Duo?"

"I'm all right, Quatre. I just haven't been able to get enough sleep lately," Duo murmured.

"Obviously, what's happening?" Quatre asked worriedly.

"Nothing, really. Just a lot of strange stuff," Duo said as he tried not to collapse into his seat.

Quatre sat down in the seat right next to Duo. "Don't tell me you're actually meeting vampires?" His blue eyes glittered with slight amusement.

At the word vampire Duo felt something inside of him turn cold. Vampire? Maybe...It was possible, wasn't it? No, no way. That's crazy! Vampires don't exist! And even if they did...Well, it would explain a LOT of things about Wufei. Damn, imagine that...

"Duo?" Quatre frowned worriedly when he saw the expression on Duo's face. "You really don't think...?"

"Quatre..." Duo sighed softly. "I really don't know what's going on but all I know is that there's this weird guy who's been stalking me for the past two or three days. The first time I saw him was at the park."

"Are you sure, Duo?"

"Of course I'm sure! He has the palest skin...And, gods there's something wrong with him. He's not...natural," Duo said softly as he tried to put what he felt and thought into words.

"What do you mean by 'he's not natural'?" Quatre asked, frowning.

"I don't know, Quatre. But there's something seriously wrong with this guy."

Quatre looked very worried and thoughtful for a moment. "Stay away from him, Duo. If you don't feel good about him, stay away. In fact, how the hell did he get into your house?"

"That's the thing! I don't know!" Duo said, shaking his head in confusion.

"I think you should call the police on this guy," Quatre said seriously.

"Somehow, I don't think they'd be able to catch him," Duo said, shaking his head. "Look, next time he pops up I'll tell him off or something."

Quatre nodded. "Just be safe, Duo."

"Don't worry. I will."

~*~

Wufei smiled as he felt his father's lips against his neck. He had been reading when Treize came into the room.

"Are you going out tonight?" Treize whispered as he walked around the chair and kissed his child on the lips before sitting down on the ottoman and smiling warmly at Wufei. He loved his child so much, this dark exotic angel he and Zechs had made together that night in China. The minute he saw Wufei performing in that act he knew he wanted that boy to be his. Zechs had also known his desire and smiled as he suggested that they bring the child into their world. Well, Treize was more than happy to agree.

"Yes. I like Duo. He's so strange and new. I've never met anyone like him before," Wufei murmured as he closed his book and placed it down on the table to his left. He smiled at his father. "I think I might wanna bring him back to the lair. Is that all right, Father?"

Treize thought about it for a moment. It might be dangerous to actually reveal their lair to a mortal. What if he decided to expose them to the sun from pure hysteria, fear and disgust?

"Are you sure about this young man?" Treize asked.

Wufei merely smiled. "We can always easily wipe his memory."

"Ah, but I do detest doing that..." Treize murmured thoughtfully.

"Treize, you're too sentimental," Wufei sighed as he slid close to his father and kissed him gently on the cheek as his hand reached out and he smoothed his fingers over Treize's eyebrows. "You haven't fed yet."

"Have you?" Treize asked as he reached out to touch Wufei's cold skin. "Zechs is showering. He'll come out soon enough and we'll all go hunting together."

"Why is he showering?" Wufei asked in amusement as he easily slid onto Treize's lap and laid close to his father's heart. He could hear the steady beating and it thrilled him. It was so different from a mortal heart beat that is weaker and warmer than a vampire's heart beat. The difference was incredible.

"You know Zechs," Treize chuckled. "He loves to indulge himself in mortal ways of conduct."

"Hn. You'd think he would have stopped by now," Wufei murmured as he played with Treize's collar.

"Oh, not Zechs," Treize said, shaking his head as he ran his long fingers down Wufei's small body, marveling at the tiny body this fifteen year old boy posessed. Usually, boys of fifteen in his old home were as tall as their fathers but here you have Wufei who was so petite. Sometimes Treize felt as if he could easily break this boy in half yet he knew that the immortal blood running through Wufei's old veins wouldn't allow such a thing. His child was so very strong despite looking so delicate.

At times Treize wondered if Wufei hated him for trapping him in such a vulnerable body. He wasn't very tall and he looked so very, very feminine at times. Maybe he could have waited until Wufei matured and grew into a strong man before changing him. But, oh, he had wanted the China boy so badly he had changed him without much thought.

"What are you thinking about, Papa? You're locking me out," Wufei murmured suddenly with a small pout on his lips.

Treize smiled and shook his head as he pressed his cold lips to Wufei's own. "Nothing of importance, my child. I believe Zechs has finished his bath. Let's go feed before you meet your mortal tonight."

~*~

"Do you really want to go?" Zechs complained as he held Wufei close, enjoying the warmth radiating from the vampire child. All three of them had just fed, buried the bodies somewhere and now they were roaming the streets before Wufei left to meet with Duo.

"Yes, Zechs. I want to go. I promised him I'd come," Wufei said innocently.

"What do you plan to do to him?" Zechs asked.

"Just talk..."

"Just?"

"Maybe I'll take a small bite," Wufei said wickedly as he danced a bit away from Zechs only to be pulled back into his father's tight embrace.

"Hmm...You've got to invite him over for dinner some day," Zechs whispered slyly.

Wufei threw back his head and laughed, exposing his neck to Zechs who quickly bent down and took a small bite. Wufei gasped as he felt his father's sharp teeth against his neck, his blood seeping from the small wound only to be lapped up by Zechs' warm tongue.

"Now, why did you do that?" Wufei panted as he melted in Zechs' arms. He felt heat and ecstasy hum through his body at the intimate bite his father had given him. Oh, it was very, very different from taking blood from a mortal. When another vampire took blood from another their minds connect and the affect is incredible and bone melting. There weren't any other words to describe it.

"'Cause I want to keep you," Zechs murmured.

Treize laughed as he reached out and pulled Wufei from Zechs' arms. "Now, Zechs, we promised Wufei a mortal toy."

"I'm starting to get jealous. You're always devoting your time to this mortal," Zechs pouted as they walked down the dark street of downtown.

"Oh, if you met him you'd know why," Wufei purred.

"Ah, then take up my suggestion! Invite him over for dinner!" Zechs said, smiling wickedly.

Wufei turned to Treize for permission and the older vampire nodded.

"Wonderful! Now, I wonder what I'll serve this mortal," Zechs said, grinning as he listed off all sorts of old fashion mortal food he remembered. "Yes, and then for dessert..."

"You wouldn't," Wufei gasped as he caught wind of what Zechs planned to do.

"And why not?"

"He's mine! You will not drink from him," Wufei declared hotly.

"You're not being fair, Wufei," Zechs said, wagging his finger at Wufei reprovingly.

Wufei merely turned his nose up. Then he blinked and glanced down at his watch. "I've got to go. I want to have as much time with my mortal as possible." He kissed his fathers good-bye and dashed off without another word.

~*~

Duo was almost asleep when he suddenly felt a weight on the side of his bed. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus them but that was pretty hard in the dark. He blinked and squinted until he made out a vague form...

"Hello."

"Shit!" Duo suddenly came to his senses. He tried to get out of bed and away from that freak. How did he get into his room, again?!

He was almost out of bed when he felt a warm hand clamp on his arm and pull him back down on to the bed. He gasped and fell back down with an 'oof', his head landing kind of hard on his pillow. He laid there for a moment, disorientated. Then he gathered his senses about himself.

"Aw, don't run. I only want to talk," the same voice whispered near his ear.

"Get away from me or I'll call the cops!" Duo hissed angrily as he tried to get away from Wufei's stone grip on his arm.

"The police? What will they do?" Wufei laughed as he reached over and brushed his warm hand across Duo's smooth skin. "They haven't been able to do anything for the past few hundred years, it isn't going to make a difference now no matter how many guns or dogs they have."

"And how would you know?" Duo demanded as he tried futilely to pull away from Wufei's warm grip. Gods, he felt his heart tighten and his throat close up slightly. His breathing immeidately quickened as he tried to pull himself away from the strange, pleasant feeling of Wufei's skin against his own. He also noticed that Wufei's skin was too smooth.

Wufei laughed and straddled Duo's hips while still holding his hands. "I know a lot of things, Duo."

"Get. The. Fuck. Off. Me you freaking assholic bastard!!" Duo screamed as his fear climbed higher and higher. He had never been so scared in his whole life. All of his instincts screamed Danger and he was going to listen to them! This was more than a stalker kind of fear, it was like the fear of being hunted down and killed. A primal and old fear [1].

"Tisk, tisk, I don't like foul language. It's not proper," Wufei said with a straight face as he held Duo. He smiled when he saw the fear in the violet eyes. Then he looked over Duo, his eyes easily seeing in the dark. The boy was dressed only in a thin muscle shirt and boxers. His smile widened when he saw the wonderful pulse beating at Duo's neck. Wufei could almost taste the sweet blood that this boy promised. Slowly, Wufei bent down and kissed that strong artery.

"What the fuck are you doing, asshole?" Duo screamed. Why couldn't his mother hear him? Oh, shit, if this asshole did anything to his mother...Duo tried to kick Wufei off but it was like trying to take down the China wall with his bare hands. He finally gave up and laid there, panting harshly as his mind raced for a solution out of this problem.

Wufei smiled as he figured tonight would be a good night to feed on Duo. He didn't get enough from his last victim.

"Okay! What the hell--?" Duo gasped as he suddenly felt sharp teeth scrap against his neck before something punctured it. "OH FUCKIN' SHIT!"

Wufei merely smiled as he continued to slowly draw out the sweet nectar so that Duo was hit with immediate dizziness from the loss of blood. He lifted Duo slowly into his arms and held the boy, making it as wonderful as possible.

Duo closed his eyes as he suddenly felt a warm, fuzzy feeling wrap around him. He felt sleepy yet high at the same time. Suddenly, it didn't feel bad at all...In fact, it felt wonderful. This is probably what one of those druggies around school feel like. Everything was okay for a moment. It didn't matter that his parents were divorcing, it didn't matter that Hilde broke up with him, it didn't matter he was off the basketball team. In fact, he didn't give a shit that he was gay. All of that was wiped away as he clung to Wufei, pressing his neck tighter against that warm mouth that demanded more from him.

Pulling away, Wufei licked his lips before biting it. Then he kissed the wound and watched as it sealed up with the help of his vampiric blood. He wasn't going to kill Duo. No, he was going to keep this wonderful boy for a very, very long time. Wufei had seen the memories running through Duo's head and it almost pained him that this young mortal was dealing with so much sorrow and confusion. He reached up and brushed away a thick lock of dark hair. Beatiful. Aboslutely beautiful.

"Duo?"

Duo tried to open his eyes but only managed half mast. He felt so drowsy as the "high" feeling slowly faded away. He distantly felt himself being lowered down on to the bed with intense care. He sighed as his eyes slipped closed and he laid there, awake yet not as he was caught between conciousness and the black sea of dreams.

Wufei bent down and brushed his lips across Duo's before leaning in completely and kissed him. He parted the moist lips and deepened the kiss for a long time. Then he slowly pulled away and kissed Duo on the cheek before standing up and looking out of the window. He had wasted more time than ever. He would have to rush to get home. He hadn't realized time had passed so quickly. He looked back down at the boy he had now marked his. A slight bruise showed up where he had bitten Duo. He kissed the bruise, knowing full well that any vampire that came near Duo would have to answer to him. No one was going to touch his mortal.

Then he straightened and left the house as he ran for his own. Treize and Zechs would be waiting for him and he hated keeping his fathers up.

~*~

When Duo woke up the next day he felt so tired. He didn't want to get up at all. He just wanted to stay buried in his blankets and go back to sleep. But, ah, school called for him. He couldn't ditch, not when everything was so shitty right now. He was walking a thin line from getting kicked out of school. One more slip up and he's out. He didn't want to do that to his mother so he was just going to have to deal with it until summer comes, which, thankfully, was coming soon.

Climbing out of bed, Duo stumbled--literally--to the bathroom, wondering why the hell he felt so weak. He leaned heavily over the sink and looked up at his reflection. He sighed when he saw he was paler than usual and his eyes seemed haunted. Turning on the faucet, Duo splashes his face and began to brush his teeth.

When he was rinsing the last of the toothpaste out of his mouth he noticed something against his neck. He frowned and finished up, wiping his face before taking a really good look at the mark. He pulled back his hair and leaned closer to the mirror.

"Shit," he breathed when he saw the two circular bruises against his neck. How the hell did those get there?!

Slowly, memories of what had happened last night flooded his mind. He was almost close to hypervenilating as he stood there and tried to get a grip on himself.

Vampire.

That was the first thing that came to his mind when he managed to calm himself down a slight notch so he could think straight.

But vampires aren't real, Duo! His rational mind screamed at him.

Oh yeah? Tell it to these marks!!

Duo took a deep breath. Okay, calm down. Yes, calm down...

Aw, shit, who says I have to calm down?

Duo ran out of the room and grabbed the cordless phone up. His fingers flew as he called Quatre. He just hoped his friend hadn't left for school yet.

"H'llo?" a tired voice came from the other line.

"Oh, shit, Quatre! I freakin' vampire bit me last night" Duo screamed as he ran out of the room to check up on his mom. He rushed into her room and found her still in bed. He ran over to her side and pressed his fingers to her neck, relieved to find that there was still a pulse. Then he turned and rushed out of the room before his mother woke up and asked him what was wrong. Like he can really tell her!

"Duo, are you okay?" Quatre asked cautiously.

"Of course I'm not okay!!" Duo sighed and sat down heavily on his bed as he tried to remember as much as possible. Everything was so fuzzy. He remembered the fear clearly though...And then that wonderful feeling that had enveloped him when Wufei bit him. His hand went up and touched the bruise. It didn't hurt; it was more like a mark.

Marked. By a vampire. Oh, holy shit.

"All right, calm down, Duo. Get dressed. I'll meet you outside and we'll talk," Quatre said slowly.

Good ole Quatre. No matter how weird this is he's being sensible about it. "Thanks a lot, Quatre." Then he hung up and fell back on his bed. He closed his eyes and suddenly remembered the warm, strong arms that had held him. It was nothing like a normal hug, it was too strong yet too gentle.

He was almost asleep again when he remembered he had to meet up with Quatre. But, oh, he was so tired!

Draggng himself to his feet, Duo got dressed in a black turtle neck with a leather jacket over it and black jeans. He pulled on his boots and grabbed his backpack, which was suddenly heavier than he remembered. He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed the box of cereal. He poured some of it into a bowl and then added the milk. He was almost finished with the cereal when his mother appeared.

"Mornin', Mom," Duo said, looking for any signs that said she had been hurt last night.

But Helen looked fine as she yawned tiredly and walked over to the stove. "Good morning, Duo."

"How do you feel?" Duo asked while he placed his bowl in the sink and wiped his mouth.

"Good. I slept pretty well last night. Had the strangest dream though," Helen said, frowning slightly as she grabbed the eggs out of the fridge.

"Really?"

"Yes. It was about this very pale Asian boy. He had the sweetest smile and he was telling me that everything was going to be okay. But then he also said that I was going to lose you. Naturally, I was afraid. But then it just kind went away, you know?" Helen explained, shrugging as she poured some corn oil on to the frying pain.

Duo almost died from shock and fear.

"R-really?" he managed to say.

Helen turned around and regared her son with confusion. "Is there something wrong, Duo?"

Duo shook his head. "Everything's...okay. Look, Mom, I need to go. I'm meeting up with Quatre." He walked over to his mom and kissed her on the cheek. "And Mom?"

"Yes, Duo?"

"Don't trust ANY Asian guys for a while, okay? Especially at night." Then Duo turned and left the house before his mom could ask him any questions about his strange behavior.

Quatre was waiting outside with his moutain of books again. Duo helped him out and they walked in silence for a while before Quatre broke the silence.

"So, what's the problem with vampires?"

Duo looked at his friend and took a deep breath before going into a lengthy explanation about everything had has happened since he saw Wufei at the park...

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

All right! *grins* Wufei bites Duo! *laughs* Comments, onegai!

[1] This is what I think would happen if humans ever met up with a vampire. It's like prey and hunter all over again...And some people think we might be beyond that!