The Shadow and the Spark

by Quicksylver

This is a weird fic that i wrote last night, i just caught a vaps and sat down at the puter. I was listening to DMX at the time , his song The Omen (great song) on the Fesh of my Flesh album. which kinda gave me some inspiration. I don't know if i'll add any more parts or if i'll leave it standing alone.
Let me know if you want to see anymore.

Standard Disclaimers apply. Warnings: mild yaoi, dark... i dunno.

Unauthorised posting prohibited.

Duo collapsed unto his bed, exhausted. He and Heero had just completed another grueling mission and were now back at the boarding school in which they had taken cover as students. Duo groaned, his arms were ready to fall off, they were burning from fatigue. With a strained moan he looked over to where Heero was sitting. The blue eyed pilot was typing away at his laptop, his eyes glued to the screen.

Duo shrugged, though somewhat painfully,at the sight. Heero's stoic concentration didn't fool him any, the wing pilot was running on pure adrenaline. In a few minutes he would finish his report and collapse comatose onto his bed until the sun rose. Duo lay back and stared at the ceiling, craving sleep yet to tired to surrender.

In his semi conscious state, his sub-conscious mind took over all trains of thought. All the thoughts he had stuck into that dark box and all the demons he had stifled now took centre stage in his stagnant mind. Out of the void came voices, thousands of voices of people he'd met, loved... killed. Hordes of them were shouting, screaming... cackling obscenities; their leery eyes staring, burning into his brain.

Duogroaned again, this was some freaky shit. He didn't know if he was still awake or not. The room had dissolved away into nothing. Was he even standing? He was too tired to stand. He was too tired to move. It was times like this when he couldn't fight the darkness that it would creep in, enfolding him in it's velvet blanket.

He looked around... this place is huge, he admitted to himself. The floor was black tile with red lining that went on forever. The walls were shrouded in a thick black fog that seemed to swallow the ground. Duo; ma boy ... you are one sick puppy! He shook his head.

Suddenly the din softened. He had grown so accustomed to the racket that the absence of it caught his attention. The hordes seemed unnaturally quiet and he wondered what his twisted mind would come up with next. He turned to the sound of low thunder.

Soon the low growl turned into a deafening rumble as four pitch-black horses burst from the thick shadows, drawing behind them a grand, black carriage. The giant steeds bucked wildly as the ancient looking driver pulled on the reins, their blood red eyes crazed and glassy. So large were their iron hooves that Duo was sure they would crack the tile as they stamped and reared.

He looked up at the carriage door, which opened with that familiar slow and eerie creak. The hordes were dead silent now, Duo almost laughed at the pun but decided against it. The decrepit old coachman turned to look at the young pilot with watery eyes.

"Get in" he croaked and turned back to the front.

Duo looked at him, at the horses, at the horde and then back into the open carriage. The interior was decadent in its decor almost to the point of being gaudy but not quite. Plush red velvet lined the entire inside while dark burgundy shades covered the small windows, blocking out all light. Duo shrugged, might as well.

He quickly boarded the carriage, which jolted into motion almost instantly. Duosettled against the comfy seat, his fatigue filtering through even to his sub- conscious. He was about to doze off when...

"Tired are we... Mr. Maxwell?" a soft alto resounded through the small compartment.

That brought Duo back to the here and now. Sitting next to him was a beautiful young man with a crop of thick black curls on his head and onyx eyes. His skin was white marble and his body slender clothed in dark velvet and thin white lace. He gave a small smile and matched Duo stare for stare.

Duo recovered quickly, reminding himself of where he actually was. He nodded slowly, easing back into the comfy niche he had made for himself in the soft seat.

"You're seem rather calm" the boy stated, leaning back as well.

"'Well... considering the circumstances, I don't see what the point of panicking would be." Duo; shrugged, lacing his fingers behind his head.

"Yes" the boy agreed, '; ...that would only upset things."

Duo looked at his young companion closely."'Who are you exactly?"he asked, "...for the record of course'

The boy laughed, a small and wispy laughed that would have looked like spider web had it been visible.

"'Blunt as always... "'the boy blinked ebony lashes daintily, "Who do you think I am?"'

Duo thought on it, studying the delicate face before his. The face itself was familiar, but not quite. Like deja vu and a feeling you get when a word is on the tip of your tongue all mixed together. A thought dawned on him at that moment and he gasped. The face, the carriage, everything, pointed to the answer. It was so simple.

"Shinigami"' he breathed and the boy clapped his pale hands together, his smile wide.

"Just one of the many names I am called Mr. Maxwell"'He said, "Very sharp of you to figure it out so quickly...but then again, that is why I chose you."

Duo shrugged and looked over the slender boy once again.

"Not quite what you expected was it?"' the boy chuckled as Duo raised an eyebrow. "I come in many forms Mr. Maxwell, I chose this one so that you would feel more at ease. Do you like it?"'

"Why am I here?" Duo asked warily, suddenly wanting to avoid all the small talk.

"'Why... you summoned me of course" the boy stated, matter of factly.

Duo's eyes widened. "Summoned you?"'

The boy brought a glass of red wine to his soft lips. Duo didn't remember any wine before but expected no less from his own warped mind. Over the thin rim onyx eyes sparkled with a dark shimmer all their own. Like the full moon over oil, Duo thought absently to himself.

"'You call to me endlessly Mr. Maxwell"' the boy licked his wine stained lips, now slightly stained blood red.

"'You call on Shinigami without even knowing. You should really take more trips into you sub-conscious Mr. Maxwell. You may learn a great deal if you don't fight it."'

"Should I embrace the darkness within or something?" Duo asked dryly.

"Why... yes"; the boy replied sincerely. "One must ride the dragon before one can control it Mr. Maxwell."

"What do you mean?"

The boy smiled serenely and took another sip of wine. "'You push so many things back here, in your sub-conscious mind... things you don't want to deal with... things that you are afraid to face. They won't go away just because you want them too? they never will. Your guilt, your sorrow... your desire for Heero Yuy..."

Duo started. How could he know? He had kept his feelings for Heero under a two-ton deadbolt.  All the stolen glances, all the lurid, blood boiling, wet dreams and fantasies were all stuck into the vault.  It was scary what he wanted to do to the Wing pilot. When the lust would drive his already overactive imagination into a volcanic frenzy. He shook his head.

"What's that got to do with anything?" He demanded, testy and defensive.

"Everything."The boy replied solemnly. "What you feel for Heero... affects you, even if you don't realize it. You may not see the changes, but they are there... subtle and ever present and will escalate until you can no longer stifle it. If you do not tame the beast Mr. Maxwell... it will devour you. And I so hate to lose one of my own."'

"So what should I do?"' Duo asked.

The boy tilted his head to one side as if deep in thought.

"Confront these feelings, confront Heero... ride your dragon Mr. Maxwell."

"What if he doesn't love me... what if I'm feeling is not love at all?"

"I cannot tell you of love Mr. Maxwell... I know not of it. I am Death and Death cannot feel such things as love. But I can tell you that love, when present and pure can be a very powerful force. The two of you are destined to be together Mr. Maxwell... be it in love, hatred or the horrors of war. You are the shadow to his spark, the darkness to his life..."

"The yin to his yang?" Duo smirked.

The boy chuckled. "'Something along that line ...yes."

Just then the carriage came to a halt. Duo drew aside one of the heavy blinds and squinted. The light outside the compartment was a blinding morning gray. He let the thick material fall back into place and turned to find the carriage empty. Well...easy come, easy go, Duo sighed.

The carriage disappeared and Duo found himself back on his bed. He brought a heavy arm over his eyes to block the early rays of the sun, which were shining through the open window. Duo groaned, his body was still made of stone.

With great effort he flopped over onto his side and opened his eyes once more. On the opposite bed Heero lay where he had most likely collapsed, one hand and leg hanging off the side of the bed. His mouth was slightly open as a gentle snoring echoed through the silent room. Heero was absolutely georgeous.

Duo smiled weakly, sleep threatening to claim him once more.

'Ride the dragon Mr. Maxwell' the soft alto wafted through to his sleep hazed mind. '... before it devours you.'

I will, Duo promised before surrendering to blessed sleep, Shinigami as my witness... I will.

Finis

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