Bound by Strings of the Soul

By DragonMage

Notes: This was written when I was in a ghost story kick. *grin* It only lasted for a few days though! But I had _so_ much fun writing this sucker!

Key:

<Thoughts>

*Emphasis*

Chang Wufei sighed softly as he dropped the last of the moving boxes on to the hardwood floor and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. He had been moving all day long and he was exhausted. He planted his hands on his waist and looked around the spacious living room of the large mansion he had just purchased. He had no idea why he had bought it but it had been done purely on impulse. Before he realized what he had done, the money was going through and he was now the owner of this old yet beautiful Victorian mansion.

<I'm going to like it here even if I am going to be living here alone,> he thought to himself as he stood there and admired the place. Everything had almost been brand new yet still matched the original decor and plan of the house. The last owners had tried to make sure the house was sold with these new improvements.

Wufei had no idea why the place had been so cheap or why the last couple had been so desperate to get rid of it, but he really didn't care that much about it. He loved the house and he knew he was going to love living in it. The neighborhood was nice and quiet and everything was in walking distance, or he could ride his motorcycle when he wanted to. And it was quiet, something he liked the best. His last neighborhood had been so loud with constant parties down the block and people hanging out on the streets shouting at each other. He could never get a decent night's sleep there. Now, he would have no trouble at all.

He had already gotten a job at the local bookstore as the manager of the place. Sure, that job probably wouldn't pay enough to take care and maintain the house he had just bought but his old family money had supported him enough. He had more money than he needed and he worked because he wanted something to do. Being the last member alive in his long, old family, Wufei had inherited the entire family fortune upon the death of his parents a few years ago in a car accident.

"I hope you like the new place."

Wufei turned and smiled slightly at the real estate agent who had sold him the place. "I do. I love it. I can't wait to get settled here."

"Yes, it's a very beautiful place," Dorothy Catalonia said, nodding thoughtfully. Her long, light blond hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail down her smooth back and she was dressed in a black cotton dress and a thin white silk sash around her slim waist with black slippers on her small feet. The young woman--and she really did look young, almost as if she was barely out of her teens--was very strange in Wufei's opinion, but she had been very nice and helped him every step of the way during his investment on the house.

"You know, you never told me the history of this place," Wufei started, finally asking the question that had been nagging him for a few days. He loved the place and would never leave it, but he was very interested in the history of the house. He had minored in history in college and his curiosity was still there.

"The history?" Dorothy smiled slightly. "There's no real history. It was built in the early 1800s by a man for his new bride. They lived here for many happy years and then they died. Afterwards, a family purchased it and lived in it for a few years before finally moving away."

"Why?"

"There was never a reason," Dorothy said hesitantly. "But some people say something had been wrong with the house." She looked at Wufei with almost worried eyes. "But don't listen to me. It's just old stories. You know how these places are. Old houses carry old stories with them."

"Of course. That's why I love it so much. There's so much to learn from it," Wufei said, smiling wistfully. "I want to learn about this place and it's inhabitants if you don't mind. I love history."

"Yes, well, some of the neighbors here know some stories. I don't really. But you can ask them," Dorothy suggested as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "But don't believe them. Some people here are too superstitious for their own good. Everyone likes to claim some house is haunted on their block."

Wufei smiled understandingly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to sell the house because of stories. In fact, I think I'll like it even more if I knew them all."

"You're positive?" Dorothy asked. "The last...family wasn't exactly happy with the stories that accompanies this house."

"Oh, come on," Wufei protested. "They couldn't have all been bad."

"Some where. Some weren't. You can learn from the neighbors. I've got to go now," Dorothy said, looking down at her watch. "I have another client. I'm glad you're settled in, Mr. Chang, I wish you a good and happy life here."

"Thank you, Ms. Catalonia," Wufei said, nodding at her. She flashed him a smile before turning around and disappearing from the arch way of the living room. He distantly heard the door slam shut and a car pulling out of the spacious drive way.

<Old stories, huh? Hmmm...> Wufei mused thoughtfully. He then smiled and began to unpack.

~*~

"Hey, neighbor!"

Wufei turned away from the rose garden he had been trying to bring back to life and smiled at the cheerful young blonde leaning on the edge of the brick wall separating his property with his neighbors.

"Hello," he called out cheerfully. "I'm Chang Wufei."

"So, you're new to the neighborhood, aren't you? It's great that you moved into the old Khushrenada place. It's been quiet for too long," the blonde said, grinning. "My name's Quatre Raberba Winner."

"Really? For how long?" Wufei asked curiously as he dropped his shovels and clippers. He pulled off his gloves and walked over to the wall.

"Years. Before I was born. Gods, when I was younger we used to imagine a ghost lived in there or something," Quatre said, laughing lightly. His laughter died away slightly but a smile still played along his lips. "I remember once, I was sleeping in my room. I woke up all of the sudden and saw a light in the window across from my own. I stared at it for a really long time before I saw this shadow move across it. I almost screamed for my nanny when the light disappeared and the shadow was gone. I was terrified. That house had been empty before I could remember. There wasn't suppose to be a light."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Which window did it come from?"

Quatre looked at the side of the house and looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he pointed.

Wufei looked at the direction of where his neighbor was pointing. It was at the master bedroom. His bedroom.

~*~

Wufei was very thoughtful as he cooked dinner. He had talked with Quatre for a pretty long time in the afternoon and then the cheerful man invited him over for lunch. He really liked Quatre and his husband, Trowa Barton; they were really nice people. And they had told him a lot about the house. Apparently, Quatre had lived in the neighborhood all his life and made it a hobby to collect stories about the house when he had been a child.

"The first couple to move into that house were totally in love," Quatre had told him over lunch which consisted of pasta, salad, soup and bread with tea and cookies. It had been a simply yet very filling meal. "The man had been a Russian man named Treize Khushrenada. His family had been around for the longest time and he had been terribly rich from smart investments and business deals. That's how he was able to build this house for his new bride.

"The bride--her name was Leia--was very, very beautiful, but she was poor. That was what startled people and caused them to disapprove of the marriage. No one married out of their station then but apparently, these two had been deeply in love and married despite what the people thought of him. Besides, he was too rich for anyone to dare tell him in his face that this marriage was wrong and that he should marry a pretty rich girl who would add to his growing fortune.

"You see, the problem was, that these two thought they had been in love. Maybe they had been. But that love died soon after their first year of marriage. The problem was that Khushrenada ended up falling in love with someone else. I believed he always loved his wife in a way, but this other person was someone who had stolen his body, heart and soul," Quatre had said thoughtfully as he sipped some of the thick soup.

"Who was this girl?" Wufei had asked, utterly captivated by this tale.

Trowa had smiled slightly in what could be called amusement and Quatre had shook his head. "The person he fell in love with wasn't a woman. It was a man."

Wufei had been so stunned he dropped his fork and stared at Quatre. "You're not serious, are you? Back then?"

"Don't be so narrow-minded. It was very possible. Homosexuality has been around for a very, very long time. Just people tend to ignore it than approach the subject," Trowa had said quietly.

Quatre had smiled and nodded in agreement before continuing his story. "Well, Khushrenada fell in love with another man and from what I've heard, this man was absolutely beautiful. Any man or woman could have easily fallen in love with him. And he was Chinese." The Arabian looked at Wufei, his eyebrow raised a bit. "Isn't that something?"

"Most definitely," Wufei had murmured as he picked up his fork and shoved some more food into his mouth. He had swallowed and nodded at Quatre. "Please continue."

"Well, like I said, he fell in love with this Chinese man. His wife found out and went into a fury of jealousy, anger and hate. She screamed at her husband and their argument could be heard all the way down the block. She would throw things, curse him, cry and scream some more before locking herself away in a room and crying. The people talked behind their hands but said nothing to the married couple. It wasn't their business to pry," Quatre had said seriously.

"People have caught glimpses of this young man," Trowa had continued from where his husband had left off, "that was how they knew of his beauty. He would come to the house every night when Leia was gone and stay until the next morning. But he would always leave far too early for anyone to spot him. The more insomniac neighbors would though. He would be dressed in a thick, black cloak that hide everything from sight but at times they caught his face in the first morning light as he made his way back home."

"Who was this man?" Wufei had asked softly, his eyes wide and he realized he had been leaning forward in his seat.

"No one knows his name. He's been a secret all these years. No one has been able to find out where he lived or who he was. He was an absolute mystery." Quatre had paused and looked thoughtful. "Even after his death, no one knew who he was."

"Death? What happened?" Wufei had asked, desperate for Quatre to continue the story.

"One night, I believe it was Christmas Eve, Leia had stormed out of the house after another heated and violent argument with her husband. It was at that moment that the Chinese man had appeared. He had thought Treize gotten rid of Leia for the night and was shocked to see the woman standing in front of him with a knife in her hand. She took one look at him, knew who he was, and shoved her knife into his chest, killing him instantly.

"Treize had seen from the second story window, at the master bedroom, and ran downstairs, screaming for Leia to get away from his lover. His screams had been so distorted that no one ever caught the name of his lover.

"When Treize came flying down the flag stone, Leia whirled around with the bloody knife and stabbed her husband as well. She was in a mad rage! But Treize didn't die right away. He had managed to crawl over to his lover while his wife screamed and screamed in her horror and madness. People who had seen the murder saw Treize gather his dead lover into his arms and hold him. He kissed him deeply and murmured something before dying, his arms tightly wound around the man who had loved and risked everything for.

"When the police came, Leia had been smeared in her husband and his lover's blood. Her white dress was a horrid sight and she wouldn't let anyone near her, threatening them with the murder weapon. After a while, they caught her unaware and took her down. She went kicking and screaming to the jail. She was later convicted and executed for her murders. Of course, that never did make up for the two lives she had taken that night," Quatre had ended sadly.

Wufei had sat there in silence, staring down at his meal as he took in what Quatre had just told him. It was absolutely amazing. What a story! He could barely contain his excitement and barely held it in check. He had so many questions to ask!

"They say that after the murders, Khushrenada still haunts the place, searching for his love that had been so cruelly taken away from him," Trowa had said softly. "And people have seen some hauntings."

"Really? What kind?"

"Sometimes they would hear music being played in the music room. Khushrenada had been an expert at the piano and some rumors said he would teach his lover at night after or before making love. I don't remember," Trowa had said, his expression thoughtful and his green eyes a bit distant in memory. "Anyway, you could hear the sad music being played through the halls at night. It's as if Khushrenada is playing for his lost love, someone he is waiting to be returned to him."

"Why doesn't his lover haunt the place?"

"I don't know. Maybe he had never had any true regrets like Khushrenada. I imagine Khushrenada had been heartbroken and heavy with guilt with the death of his lover. He probably believed it was all his fault his lover died at his jealous-mad wife's hands," Quatre had said, looking sad. "It's a really tragic story, but you have to admit it's pretty good. And it's true."

Wufei had nodded, absolutely stunned.

As Wufei remembered the lunch, he wondered if he could go over and bother Quatre with more questions. He was really curious about this story and wanted to know the finer details. Maybe he could find an old newspaper clipping on the event. All he had to do was go down to the library.

Wufei was lifting a butcher knife to cut up the meat on the meat-cutter when he suddenly felt something cool brush against the back of his neck. He immediately stiffened and almost dropped the knife, his hands had been shaking so bad. <No. No. I'm just imagining things,> he told himself firmly, but he couldn't stop the racing of his heart or the fear that pounded through him like a rapid drum. His limbs suddenly felt heavy and his breath fastened. He prayed to any god that was listening that this ghost leave him alone.

But the ghost didn't. More cold touches were brushed along his neck and he swore he could feel lips pressed against them before quickly moving off. He could feel cool fingers trail down the sides of his arms and goosebumps made themselves known. He trembled in fear and in excitement as he stood very still and allowed whoever this ghost was to touch him.

"...wufei..."

Wufei sucked in his breath sharply and dropped the knife. He turned to run out of the kitchen when the door slammed closed and the windows locked. He stood in the middle of the kitchen, absolutely terrified out of his mind. He had never been so scared in his life before. Everything trembled and quivered and he felt tears threaten painfully at the back of his neck. He wasn't going to cry! Not over this...not over this. But he couldn't stop the fear rushing through him. He felt lightheaded and off balance. Everything became surreal.

"Leave me alone," he whispered, his voice trembled with fear. He wrapped his arms around himself and dared not move, he was so scared!! "Please, please leave me alone."

"...wufei..."

"Leave me alone!!" Wufei screamed. He fell to the ground and pushed himself against the island counter in the middle of the room. He pressed himself tightly against the back of the counter and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Leave me alone! Go away!"

"Wufei...my love..."

"No! I'm not him!" Wufei screamed, his voice cracking from the utter terror he was feeling.

"...came back...you came back..."

"Nononononono," Wufei whispered over and over again as he tried so hard not to cry in his fear. "No, please go away. I beg of you! Go away...not now...please..." He buried his face in his arms and struggled to hold back tears. He had no idea he could be reduced to fear like this so quickly. But he couldn't help it! The supernatural...he had never had experience dealing with them. He could deal with real, alive people. But not ghosts. And especially not after hearing that story from Quatre. He had spooked himself.

"My love." The voice was so close, so firm, so much more real than the soft whispers before.

Wufei raised his head and screamed as the ghost reached out to grab him.

~*~

Chang Wufei gasped and choked back a scream as he shot up in bed and stared off at nothing in the darkness of his room. He sat there, gasping as he tried to catch his breath and recover from the nightmare he had just experienced.

When he finally caught his breath and managed to slow the rapid pounding of his heart, Wufei ran his fingers through his long black hair and tried to calm his nerves. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, the moon helped, and he saw that it was midnight. He had went to sleep early because the whole day had been tiring and he needed the rest.

<I can't believe I let Quatre's story scared me,> he thought ruefully as he sat there. He took another deep breath and was grateful for the cool air coming in from the open window in his room. He had a habit of sleeping with his window open, even in the dead of the winter, because he enjoyed the cold for some strange reason. He adjusted the thin white night shirt he was wearing and grimaced slightly when he felt the damp, warm sweat there. He sighed heavily and fell back down on his rapidly cooled sheets and rested his head on his soft pillow.

"Okay...everything is okay," he murmured out loud, comforted by the sound of his own voice. He laid there with his blanket half off him and half on him. He suddenly pulled it up and covered his body with it. He felt exposed and vulnerable with the blanket pulled off so far from his body. He felt much better with it now wrapped around him, almost like a shield.

Before long, he was deep asleep again, the day's work catching up with him quickly.

~*~

Sometime in the middle of the night, Wufei was half-roused from a dreamless sleep. His eyes were still closed as his mind slowly came aware of something...

He could feel something cool move along his skin, but he was still wrapped in the hazy fog of sleep and he couldn't panic as he would if he had been fully aware and awake. The feeling against his skin suddenly changed to hands, large hands with long slim fingers. He could feel them trailing down from his neck down to his elbow, causing a shiver of delight go through him. He moaned softly and laid on his back as he felt the hands continue to explore his body in such an intimate way.

"Wufei," a soft, rich voice whispered in his ear and he sighed softly in response. His body was chanting 'yes, yes, yes' over and over again as he felt those hands continue to explore him and that voice whisper his name. His heart beated just a little faster as he felt lips against his neck, up to his chin and brushed ever so softly against his lips.

His shirt was pushed away by those cool hands and he felt his skin exposed to the cold air in the room. He shivered but it wasn't really from the cold. It was from the lips and fingers pressed down on his shoulder and collar bone. The lips continued to work along his collar bone while those talented fingers move down to his chest and trailed a single finger down to his belly button. He trembled and moaned, his eyes still closed as he felt all of this through his hazy fog of half-sleep.

He was suddenly being lifted by those hands to sit up slightly, all the while his eyes remained closed. He felt lips kiss down his chest and tease him in those special places. The hands on his back warmed and pressed him against soft silk and lace. He gasped at the feeling of the cloth brushing against his bare skin and the heat between his legs rise and burn with need.

Fingers worked through his hair, pulling his head back to expose his neck to further exploration done by those wonderful lips. His blanket fell away and he could feel something tugging at his pants. He lifted his hips slightly and sighed as he felt his pants slowly slid off his body.

Suddenly a loud wail of the ambulance siren broke through the calm, shattering it to thousands of pieces and waking Wufei up from his fog. He gasped and screamed as he felt the hands tighten around his body before disappearing. He sat there for a long time, breathing hard as he tried to figure out what the hell just happened.

Fear and desire made his limbs weak and he fell back down on the covers in shock. His body was still burning with great need and yet the fear was even greater. He laid there for a very long time, fear paralyzing him from actually moving it. It was long after the siren disappeared that he managed to sit up slowly in the dark room and pull his pants back on. He found his shirt on the floor and quickly slipped it on without bothering to button it. His fingers shook too hard.

Lying back down on the covers and resting his head on the pillow again, Wufei knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep in a very long time. His body--the traitor--ached for the sweet, erotic touches he had experienced only a few moments before.

~*~

"You didn't have any trouble getting settled in, have you?" Quatre asked the next morning when Wufei had been invited over for brunch.

"No. Not at all. I managed to finish unpacking my clothes earlier this morning and I'll start with the furniture later today," Wufei said, smiling as he bit into the cheese and meat omelet he had requested. He wasn't really used to such foods but it was good so he had no problems with it. It was a difference from his noodles or porridge in the morning.

"Trowa can help," Quatre offered. "He's busy right now, but later today he won't have anything else to do."

"No, I don't want to burden him. Besides, I want to do this on my own. This is the first time I've owned a house. I've been living in apartments before now," Wufei said, smiling.

"Why? If you were able to afford the Khushrenada place..." Quatre trailed off questioningly.

"Well, I always moved around a lot so I never could bear to have a house. It would be too much trouble selling it while in an apartment, I could just move out," Wufei explained.

"You moved around a lot? Did your job demand it?"

"No. I just liked to travel. I've been to almost every part of Asia and I'm going to start on Europe this summer." Wufei swallowed some milk and chewed on more of his delicious omelet.

"Wow. I love traveling as well. I haven't stopped but I've slowed down since I married Trowa. He's really a settle-down type of guy," Quatre told him with a warm smile on his lips.

"It must be nice to be married," Wufei said, cocking his head to the side. "When did you two get married?"

"When I got out of high school," Quatre said with a small blush on his delicate, milky skin. "I know we married pretty young, but we hadn't been able to wait."

"Makes sense. You're very much in love with each other, aren't you?"

Quatre nodded, still smiling. "I love him with all my heart. He's the most sweetest and wonderful husband anyone can ask for."

"I feel bad for the female population that never got a chance at him," Wufei teased.

Quatre laughed. "It's nice to know you, Wufei, you're really nice."

"Thank you. So are you," Wufei returned the compliment.

They started talking about lighter things and continued to eat their breakfast as the servants moved in and out, clearing the dishes and putting down more, refilling the glasses with juice and asking if they needed anything else.

"I should get a servant or two to help maintain the place," Wufei said thoughtfully as he raised his newly refilled glass of juice to his lips.

"It would help. It's pretty big to take care of on your own," Quatre agreed, smiling slightly.

"I know. And I love it. Although...I had the most strangest experience last night," Wufei admitted as he set his fork down and looked tense and thoughtful.

"What happened?" Quatre asked, setting his glass of juice down. "Nothing bad?"

"No. I just had a nightmare about the ghost of Treize Khushrenada. It was really scary. And then, after I woke up, not an hour later I was woken up to something else..." Wufei trailed off and blushed as he remembered exactly what he had woken up to.

"What was it?" Quatre looked very worried as he waited for Wufei to tell him what had happened.

"Someone--or something--had been touching me. On my face and stuff like that. It was really, really weird. I woke up when the siren suddenly blasted as it drove by," Wufei said quietly.

"At least you're not hurt," Quatre said in relief. "I seriously think that house is haunted, Wufei. It really is." He paused for a moment. "I've heard of other things that had happened after that murder."

"What?" Wufei asked, looking at Quatre with curious dark eyes.

"I don't know...I've already scared you enough with the other story," Quatre said doubtfully.

"I'm just letting my imagination getting the better of me. Really, I want to know. I'm very curious," Wufei said honestly. He really did want to know. What other secrets and stories did this house hold? He wanted to know.

"All right," Quatre said, nodding. He looked thoughtful for a moment, obviously gathering his thoughts. "Well, after the murder, another family moved in. They only lived in there for a year or two before moving out.

"Before they left, people had asked why they were moving away from such a beautiful home. Of course everyone knew of the murder that had happened there but it was a thing of the past and no one mourned it anymore except for the older residents of the neighborhood.

"Anyway, when they were asked they told of the music being played at night when the house was asleep save for some servants and those woken up by the music. There were some strange sightings of a ginger-haired man walking through the halls of the house, calling out for his love. And every Christmas Eve some claim to have seen the murder played out over again. They could hear the screams of a heart-broken Treize and the shrieks of his crazy wife, and if they look out of their windows they'd see the shades of the murdered lovers and the crazed wife playing out the scene again and again till Christmas Eve was over at midnight." Quatre fell silent and watched Wufei's reaction. The other man really did look disturbed. Quatre immediately felt bad. "I'm so sorry, Wufei. I had to go and open my big mouth. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"No, no. It's okay. I asked for it," Wufei said with a weak smile. "Thank you, Quatre. I said I wanted to learn as much as I wanted about the house. I am with asking you these questions." He paused and took a deep breath. "What other incidents occurred?"

Quatre was reluctant to continue but not many people asked him about the Khushrenada house and he had been fascinated by during his childhood and his early teen years. It was actually kind of nice to tell someone beside Trowa about it, and even then Trowa wasn't really interested. Wufei was.

"Well...Another murder had occurred at the house during the early 1900s," Quatre began. "A girl had brought her lover over to the house one night without anyone being the wiser. They had been discovered by their father who suddenly went into a rage. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and murdered both his daughter and her lover. When the police found him a few hours later after his wife called for help, he had been screaming that his body had been possessed by a woman and *she* had made him do it. Of course, no one believed him and he had been put in jail for the rest of his life."

"Leia strikes again," Wufei murmured knowingly.

"Yes, it was her."

"It's almost the same situation. She found them together and she killed them. The father found his daughter and her lover together so he killed them. It's so smiliar," Wufei said quietly. "Does this mean Leia also haunts the place?"

"Well, that was probably the first and only story I know that could have involved her. If she does haunt the place, she's been quiet."

"No doubt," Wufei agreed.

"I don't know if all three of them haunt the place. I think it's only Treize, but Leia and Treize's lover could be haunting the place as well," Quatre said slowly as he forked some food into his mouth. "It's really hard to determine it. But, I know Treize definitely haunts the house. There's been too many occurrences that involved a ghost fitting his description."

Wufei nodded thoughtfully and continued to eat the brunch.

~*~

Later that afternoon...

Wufei grunted in effort as he shoved the bookcase against the wall until it was at the exact place he wanted it to be. In was in the study setting it up to his tastes but he had to admit it was hard doing it by himself. He was strong but having help would be nice. Maybe he should have accepted Quatre's invitation to hire Trowa out for the day. Oh well, too late now. He'll just have to ask tomorrow. Quatre had left with Trowa downtown for some business. He still hadn't found out what those two did but it really wasn't important.

Turning around, Wufei tore open the box that contained all his precious books and began to take them out when a cool breeze filled the room and the first chords of a sad melody filled the air.

Wufei froze and his hands tightened almost painfully on the leather bound books in his hand. The music continued serenely at the beginning before getting dark and plunging into the sadness that the player was trying to express through each haunting chord.

Dropping the books without another thought, Wufei followed the music out of the study into the hallway. He looked down the hallway and walked slowly towards the music room. All the doors down the hallway were open and bright sunlight spilled onto the hardwood floor boards and lit up the long hall.

He stopped at the doorway of the music room and stared at the ghostly apparition sitting on the black bench of the grand piano in the corner of the room near the wall to ceiling window. The lace curtains he had hung up two days ago were fluttering from the wind blowing through the open window. Sunlight poured into the spacious, fresh room, lighting it from all angles, and he absently thought that it seemed like something out of a book or movie.

This couldn't be real.

Yet it was. He was seeing this man seated at the piano, playing slowly and most sorrowfully. His long, elegant fingers seemed to caress the black and white ivory keys, and Wufei remembered how it had felt to have those same fingers against his skin.

The music stopped and the man turned around. Wufei met cornflower blue eyes framed with ginger-gold lashes. He drew in his breath sharply and tried to run away but he couldn't force his legs to move. He just stood there, rooted, as he watched the man slowly walk towards him. He could see the sunlight through him. The ghost had such a sad expression on his faced, mixed with sorrow, happiness and desire.

A hand reached out and caressed Wufei's cheek and Wufei resisted the urge to lean into the hand he felt against his skin. How could he feel the ghost against him? Weren't ghosts transparent? He wasn't suppose to feel this hand against his skin like a solid thing, was he? And he wasn't afraid. Oh no, he wasn't afraid at all. It had passed a long time ago. Now he was just fascinated and drawn in by the beauty of the ghost's sorrow. Who knew such human expression of pain could be so beautiful?

Reaching out towards Treize (oh, he *knew* this ghost was Treize), Wufei pressed his hand to the ghost's face and started when he "felt" the skin there. He didn't really feel it, yet he didn't really *not* feel it. What a strange experience.

"Wufei," the ghost sighed, and Wufei felt the cool breath across his cheek.

"Treize?" Wufei tried.

The ghost smiled and nodded. "Wufei. Oh, my Wufei."

"How do you know my name?"

"How can I not know my love's name? I'm so sorry. Leia had done you a great injustice when she took your life so many years ago. I've been waiting for you," Treize whispered as he leaned closer to Wufei. Wufei had to raise his head to meet Treize's eyes. The ghost was so much taller than he was.

"Waiting for me?" Wufei suddenly jerked away and stumbled into the hall. He stared at Treize with wide eyes. "Stay away from me!" He turned and ran down the hall, having no idea where to run to but he knew he had to get away. Gods, he had been talking with a ghost!

He tripped and fell to his knees half way down the hall. As he struggled to get up he felt a hand brush his and he started, stumbling back and falling down on his bottom with a loud 'thud'. He scrambled backwards and slammed into a wall.

"Why are you so scared of me? What's wrong Wufei? You were never scared of me," Treize said with the most saddest expression on his ghostly face as he bent down and brushed his long fingers across Wufei's silky cheek. He pressed his cool lips to the trembling man's forehead and sighed. "You're so beautiful. I missed you so much. I love you, do you know that?"

"Stay way," Wufei whispered weakly as he battled fear and desire raging inside of him. He couldn't understand or believe the emotions he was feeling. He was actually desiring the ghost in front of him but at the same time he was terrified and could only think of getting away.

"Why?"

"You're dead!" Wufei screamed.

Treize nodded slowly. "Yes, and you've been reborn. I've been waiting for you. Gods, it's been a very, very long time." He grabbed Wufei's hand and laced it with his own. "Come with me, Wufei. I've been waiting for you for so long. Now that you're here we can leave this house together."

"And go where?" Wufei demanded.

"Where ever souls go after death," Treize replied matter-of-factly.

"I am not dead!" Wufei shouted as he pushed himself up and turned to run again. But something stopped him. He had seen the expression on Treize's face and it shattered his heart. He turned around slowly and bit his lower lip as he forced himself to raise his head and look at Treize. He swallowed hard and fought back on the guilt and pain overwhelming him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered shakily. "I know...I know being dead must hurt. And I'm sorry. But there's nothing I can do for you! I'm not whoever you loved so many years ago. I'm a different man."

"No, you're not. You're still the Chang Wufei I knew then," Treize said firmly. His blue eyes were so very sure as they stared at him with so much love and compassion. No one had ever looked at him with such eyes.

"That was his name? He had the same name as me?" Wufei asked numbly.

"*Your* name. You're still the same person; you even look the same! My precious beauty, why do you turn away from me? I love you so much," Treize said softly as he took a single step forward closer to Wufei. Wufei didn't step back.

"I'm not him," Wufei protested.

"Are you sure? How can you be sure? Have you ever seen him?" Treize asked, taking another step forward. Two more steps and they'd be touching again.

"Please, I don't want this," Wufei said, shaking his head. His limbs were trembling and he didn't know if he could stand any longer. His heart hammered in his chest cavity and everything just seemed off. His breath came in faster and he felt sick.

"How can you be sure?" Treize repeated his question as he took two more steps and his hand was on Wufei's face again. His other arm wrapped around Wufei's waist and he pulled him closer.

"How can you touch me? You're a ghost!"

"I am stronger on certain days. These are one of them," Treize explained.

"Please, no," Wufei said again before ripping out of Treize's hold and running to his room. He locked the door and threw himself on to his bed and hid there for the rest of the day. Eventually he fell asleep and when he woke up it was dark. His stomach complained but he didn't want to face Treize anymore and he felt safer in bed so he fell back asleep and thought nothing more of the ghost who haunted him so passionately.

~*~

A few days later...

Wufei cracked open his book and lounged comfortably on his bed in his room. He had just had dinner and felt satisfyingly full. Having been working all day this whole week, he didn't have to face Treize for a whole day anymore, only in the evening when he came home. Thankfully, the ghost behaved and only came to him a few times and didn't touch him at all.

He had just bought a new book and couldn't wait to get started on it. He was half way down the page when he felt another presence in the room. He looked up and saw Treize sitting on a chair beside the window. He was dressed in his usual white shirt and black breeches with those dark old fashion boots. It was simple yet elegant on the handsome Russian ghost. His ginger-gold hair was combed back yet messy in the front with his bangs falling into his cornflower blue eyes. He looked like one of those men from the trashy novels in the romance section of the bookstore. All that was missing was a woman with her clothes falling off her in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Wufei asked bluntly. He had gotten used to Treize and his fear was starting to slide away. He was only startled out of his mind when the ghost made a sudden appearance he wasn't prepared for.

"I just wanted to watch you read," Treize answered honestly.

Wufei stared at him for a long time. He sat up on his knees and looked down at the book on his bed. The ghost seemed to wistful and sad that sometimes it caused Wufei's heart to ache. He was such a goddamn softy.

"Why...why don't you read it to me?" Wufei offered as he slowly looked up at the ghost.

"You'll let me?" Treize asked in surprise and delight.

"Sure? Why not? Read me to sleep," Wufei said, nodding as he held the book out. Treize swiftly came to his feet and took the book from him. The Chinese man crawled underneath the covers and turned on his side, his head resting on his pillow as he watched the ghost sit down on the side of the bed--and *very* close to him--and stare down at the book for a moment.

"Forgive me if I don't do this right. Your English and the English of my time is very different," Treize said apologetically.

"It's all right, just read," Wufei said, nodding.

Treize smiled and began to read. Somewhere along the way, Wufei drifted off and finally fell asleep. The ghost stopped reading and stared at the beautiful young man that had once been his dear lover in the past before Leia took both their lives that horrible night on Christmas Eve.

Smiling softly, Treize bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Wufei's forehead, breathing in the wonderful, musky scent that Wufei always carried with him, mixed in with the books he loved to read and the garden he loved to tend.

Standing up, Treize placed the book on the night stand, and disappeared.

~*~

Wufei stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. It had been several weeks since Treize last appeared to him and he didn't know if he should be relieved or disappointed. Rather than dwell on his thoughts, lately, he had been throwing himself into his work. It was fun and every day he met new people at the book shop/cafe. He was also brushing up on his reading and life seemed pretty at ease. Well, except for the fact that he had a ghost in his house that believed he was his old lover. Ah, well, life can't be *perfect*.

As he combed his wet hair and pulled on his clothes, Wufei thought about the Christmas decorations he and some of the employees had put up today. It was only a few more days before Christmas rolled by. He smiled as he thought of buying something for Quatre and Trowa for Christmas as a thank you for being such a wonderful neighbors while he adjusted to everything. He had met his other neighbors and it was fun talking to them. Of course the subject of the house being haunted always came up and he would try his damnedest to avoid them. He didn't want to sound crazy but he didn't want to lie as well. Strange as it was, he knew Treize would be offended somewhat.

When he was dressed and his hair was somewhat dry, he went into his bedroom and started reading.

~*~

Christmas Eve...

Wufei woke up to those hands touching him again. It had been so long since he felt them against his body. He sighed and moaned softly as he turned in his bed and allowed the hands to continue their exploration of him. This time his shirt and pants came off almost right away and he laid there, naked to whomever was touching him.

His eyes never opened as he felt himself being caressed with ghostly touches all over his body. He was so tired and his brain was in a fuzzy place it didn't want to leave under any circumstances. He didn't even start or realize something was wrong as he felt a finger suddenly slide into his entrance and push in deeper, brushing against the one sweet spot that caused him to shiver and tremble from its affects. It felt so right and pleasurable that he wasn't going to do anything to stop it.

Before he knew it someone as thrusting inside of him and he was crying out with each thrust. He gasped and moaned, throwing back his head as the pleasure overwhelmed him to the brink of almost tears. Then he came, this seed shooting out and spilling across the sheets as he felt that well endowed cock continue to push inside of him. He cried out again and gasped sharply before falling on to his bed and laying there. He felt weak and sated all over the place.

"My Wufei," a voice whispered.

Wufei gasped and woke up. He looked down at himself and his eyes widened as he realized what had just happened. He had just had...he had...Oh gods!!

Embarrassment, shame and something else flooded him as he looked up and met blue eyes.

"Why did you do that?" he asked hoarsely.

"Because tonight I am stronger than any other night. And I love you. I wanted to show you that," Treize whispered as he reached out and touched Wufei.

Wufei realized Treize was telling the truth as he felt the touch. Yes, Treize was stronger. He was more material than any other time Wufei saw him. He couldn't even see through him!

"Tonight...Tonight is Christmas Eve." Just as the words left Wufei's mouth, he realized what Treize had meant. Tonight was the night Treize and his lover died at his crazy wife's hand.

A sudden piercing scream split the air and Wufei started. He stared at Treize with wide eyes and watched as the Russian ghost's eyes widen and dart over to the window. He stood up and walked over to the window to watch whatever scene was going on down there.

<...every single Christmas Eve the murder is played over and over until Christmas Eve ends,> he remembered. He stumbled out of bed, not caring that he was naked and sticky from his own seed, and walked over to the window. He stood there and drew his breath sharply as he watched the scene unfold.

A woman was running out down the flag stone path with a knife clutched in her hand. A young man appeared in front of her and she stared at him in shock for a moment before plunging the knife into his chest. He fell. Treize suddenly appeared, running towards his fallen lover. Leia whirled around and stabbed her husband as well. Treize fell but crawled over to his dead lover in his last attempt to be with him.

Throughout this scene, Wufei felt a shock of familiarity of it. He knew this. He *knew* it. He looked over to find Treize gone. He looked back out of the window. <I...He wasn't lying.> Wufei panicked as he realized that, yes, he had been Treize's lover at one time in the distant pass. But that was...No, he wasn't going to say was impossible to be reincarnated. Treize was a ghost for pete's sake!

Suddenly, without warning, the door was thrown open, almost torn off its hinges and there stood a woman with tangled hair and in a blood-stained red dress. She was holding a bloody knife.

"You!" She shrieked. "You took my husband away from me! You SLUT!"

Wufei stood there, scared out of his mind. <Oh gods...no! Don't let this happen again! She's dead!>

"Stay away from him, Leia!" Treize appeared, glaring at the woman. "It's not his fault I stopped loving you! You did it to yourself! You became too troubling. I knew I shouldn't have married a woman like you. You did nothing for me; only for yourself."

"No, Treize! I loved you! I did! You just had to go off with that slut back there. Look at him! He's a man! How could you? How could you embarrass and humiliate me by sleeping with a man!?" Leia shrieked furiously, waving her knife. "How could you! And a damned Chinese! A damn barbarian with no belief in God!"

"You shut your mouth, Leia! I've had enough of you!" Treize shouted furiously. "For almost two hundred years I've had to deal with you! I don't want any more of this! Wufei is back; I have nothing to regret."

"NO! You will NOT do this to me again! You are NOT going to leave me for that fucking slut!" Leia rushed at Wufei with the knife.

Wufei stood there, stunned and paralyzed with fear. He couldn't move. He wanted to! He wanted to run, but he was so scared!

"Leia! NO!"

Treize appeared in front of him and started to wrench the knife away from Leia's hand. He pushed her back and threw the knife away from him. It stuck in the floorboards and then disappeared.

"No more of this madness, Leia. Move on! I don't love you anymore. There is no reason for your existence. I have Wufei again. I will not remain any longer," Treize said, shaking his head almost sadly. "You're just hurting yourself, Leia."

"Nooo," Leia wailed, sobbing. "After so many years...So many years! How could you, Treize? How could you?"

"Leave, Leia. Please go and rest. It's time you put away your hate and anger," Treize said gently.

Leia shook her head and lunged at Wufei, latching her supernaturally strong fingers around his neck. Wufei gasped and felt his breath leave him as Leia tried to crush his windpipes, her nails digging into his soft flesh. He choked and tried to push her away but she was too strong!!

Treize tried to pull Leia away from Wufei but the woman wouldn't release him as she continued to strangle him mercilessly. He could hear screams and Treize begging Leia to let go. He could feel his breath stopped and the world fill with dark spots. It continued for a very long time before Wufei finally fell away into the darkness waiting for him.

~*~

April of the next year...

"Oh, look at this house! Isn't it great, Heero?" Duo Maxwell said excitedly as he clung to his husband's arm. "We have to buy this!"

"It's at a pretty reasonable price including furniture," Dorothy Catalonia said, nodding. "The last owner left everything in there from his will and wanted it sold to anyone who wishes to buy it."

"What happened to him?" Heero Yuy asked.

"That's not important, Heero! Let's go inside and check it out!" Duo suggested as he tugged and pulled his husband inside.

Dorothy smiled sadly before following them inside.

Wufei and Treize stood at the edge of the lawn to the old mansion. They smiled at each other and kissed before turning their backs on the place that had bound their lives together in the past and afterlife. Then they disappeared in a glimmer of white.

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

Okay, that was sucky. I think I rushed the ending too much. *sigh* Oh well; it was getting to be too long. Tell me what you think!

Started: March 29, 2001

Finished: March 31, 2001