Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Essential Elements ❯ To Be, or Not To Be ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 5

Warnings: AU-ish, yaoi, language, Duo's POV

Rating: (changed to R) language, violence

Pairings: 2x1/1x2, 3x4, 5xS (changed m' mind!; later in the story) Y/L, A/D

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the G-boyz (a fact that makes me cry to this day). I do, however, own everyone in this fic who's not in GW. Go me!

A/N: Hey. Whoo, guess I've got a lot to clarify, so here goes: First of all, I do NOT hate Wufei; I, in fact, love him very, very much. I really had no idea what a prick he was coming across as, so I promise that in the future, Wu will be much… better. And to all that have pointed it out to me, yes, Heero is kind of OOC, isn't he? Not to worry, though, I will fix him! He will also be… better. (As a side note, Chapter 3 has been revised, so take a look and see if I fixed them right, okay?) And yes, there are lots of new characters in my story, but, again, not all of them are important, and they won't be there forever, so please don't freak. However, if you are absolutely, 100 percent adverse to and hate new, original characters, you may want to slowly back away from this story. And, that about finishes everything I had to say! Thanks a bunch guys, for sticking with this story, it really means a lot to me! Now, onto the new chappie! (Sorry, it's a lil' shorter than I'd planned it to be...)

“Speech.”

Thoughts.

Telepathy.

Chapter 5: To Be, or Not to Be

:ooooo:

“I hate you.”

“You know, you keep sayin' that.”

“No, really, I hate you.”

“Yeah. I think we've established this, already you've said it, like, fifty times.”

“I want you to die.”

“We've had this conversation before, too, man, I know already.”

“Slowly.”

“Oookay.”

“I hope-”

“For God's sake, Yoriko, shut up, I get it!” I snapped, turning to face him on the bench in the gazebo we were currently occupying. He made a face at me, that was supposed to be intimidating, but it was ruined by his sudden wince. He turned accusatorially to his brother.

“That hurts, damn it,” he growled. Aedeka shrugged and continued his ministrations.

“Well, you shouldn't `a started a fight you couldn't finish, Brat,” he said calmly, ignoring the rage on Yoriko's face. I looked over at Veda and Wufei, who were meditating, and then up at the perfectly clear blue sky, wishing that it was as tranquil over here.

One of the Elders, looking incredibly uncomfortable, had come back into the Drawing room and escorted us into the gigantic lush garden we'd passed through before, informing us that the Heads of our respective temples would be coming to collect us shortly. After that, we would be shown to our rooms, and there, we would get ready for the Welcoming Ceremony to be held later in the evening. The entire time, the man had watched Yoriko warily, as though if he didn't keep an eye on the demon, injured or not, he'd be killed. Yoriko, of course, had taken offense to this, and had snarlingly informed the man that he wasn't a savage. This little display of ferocity only caused the Elder to freeze up, and then run into the temple, as if the hounds of Hades were hot on his heels.

For an old guy, I tell ya, that guy could move!

Yoriko's rumbling growl brought me back to the present. “I didn't fucking start it, you saw what happened! I didn't do anything to anyone at all, and he acts like he has the right to come barging in there, accusing me of shit! And I would've finished the damn fight, if it hadn't been for him,” he sneered, jerking a thumb in my direction. I rolled my eyes and threw up my hands.

“So what, you wanted to get killed? Urai told me to stop you, and I did. Besides, you were getting your ass kicked! That guy was three times bigger that you, man, and he was armed! What were you gonna do, kiss him to death? Seduce him `till he surrendered?” He bristled and hissed, narrowing lime-colored eyes in anger.

Let me back up. You remember the demon dude who burst in the room with his big-ass spear and bigger-ass vendetta against my amplifier? The one who nearly freakin' ran me through? Yeah, that's the one, good job!

Ok, so, yeah, that new demon and Yoriko decided it would be cool to try and kill each other in the Drawing room, but Urai decided that wouldn't be the best idea, for some reason….

/Flashback/

“Duo, stop him!” Urai panicked, grabbing the front of my shirt and shaking me a little. Loeke was screaming to Yoriko what an idiot he was, Aedeka and Veda were arguing, and Dakora was… grinning widely, watching the fight through half-lidded eyes. I had no idea what the fox-boy was doing, but I didn't have time to think about him, at the moment.

Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre were standing around me and Urai, doing nothing as they watched the old woman physically assault me. Some friends I had….

Urai shook me again, harder this time, just as something heavy slammed into the ground. Let me emphasize this: into the ground. We all looked over to see Yoriko roll nimbly out of the small crater he'd created in the Drawing room floor. He raised a questioning hand to his face, feeling the blood trickling steadily from his mouth, eyes widening. He pulled his hand away, stared at it in disbelief, then glared blackly up at the brown-haired demon hovering above him. “You bastard son of a bitch!” he raged, starting towards him. The other demon grinned and began twirling his pike like a baton.

“Come on, little Yoriko,” he boomed overhead. “Surely this isn't all you've got? Where's your legendary temper? Show me, boy, what powers you've acquired since we last sparred. Reveal to me the reason for your curse, what's causing elders in this temple to quake in fear.” His grin widened as Yoriko stumbled a little. “Unless it's not really true? Are your so-called-immeasurable powers an exaggeration? Have they played up your abilities over the centuries, Yoriko? Have you-”

“Do you ever shut up?” my amplifier demanded. I looked up at Yoriko, and I could tell something wasn't right. His eyes seemed weird to me…. Urai cursed.

“Duo! You have to stop him, now! Are you listening to me, Duo? Stop him, now, before it's too late!”

Too late for what, man? Why does everything have to be done in such a rush around here?

However frustrated was, though, I valiantly shook myself out of my funk and nodded to the woman, taking a quick look back at my friends who were all still staring at the spectacle before them. Alright, time for Duo the Man to take control. I took a deep, cleansing breath, and started cautiously forward, hoping that stopping the demon wouldn't be any harder than before.

“Yoriko!” I shouted, close enough for him to hear me, but not close enough to be in danger of becoming a human shish kebab. Yoriko turned to me, fangs bared in a cruel snarl, eyes flickering between the hovering demon and myself.

“Don't you dare,” he warned. I got a clearer look at him, and knew something was definitely up. His eyes were glowing and it felt like some sort of field was gathering around him. It gave the term “negative aura” a whole new meaning. I ignored the fact that it made my skin crawl, and started again.

“Yoriko, stop it,” I commanded. He made an agonizingly frustrated sound in the back of his throat, but turned back to face the other demon, anyway. I could tell it hurt him, though, because he flinched as soon as he did it. The pike-wielding demon snorted.

“That's your new Master, then?” he scoffed. Hey, hey, hey, now, where does he get off scoffing at Shinigami?

When Yoriko stiffened defensively, he laughed. “You're slave to a child, Yoriko? Hm, he fits you, I think.” Disregarding the pain of disobeying me, Yoriko snarled and jumped, launching himself into the air.

I was ready for him.

“Yoriko, I demand that you ignore him, stop fighting altogether, and get your ass back on the ground right this second!” I shouted. Oh, yeah, those were orders so precise, I think even Dr. J may have given them at one point in time. I'm glad he's dead.

Yoriko froze in midair for a second, struggling against his commands. He doubled over (something that looked really silly when you were flying) and managed to turn and glare at me. I can honestly say that it was one that put Heero's to shame.

“Y-You little-” he started to say, but was cut off, as the demon above him decided to play really, really dirty. He raced towards the immobile Yoriko and ran him viciously through, the cruel tip of the enormous spear exiting cleanly out of the smaller demon's back. I stared, horrified, and heard Quatre scream.

What the fuck, man? I stopped him because Urai said something bad was gonna happen if I didn't, not so this bastard could have the opportunity to kill him!

And who was going to amplify my magic powers now?

Yoriko opened his mouth in an `o' of shock, eyes wide and unseeing. He made a tiny, choking sound, and the other demon took the opportunity to ram the spear in further, bringing himself and Yoriko nose-to-nose in the air. Grinning sadistically, the monster murmured something in Yoriko's ear that made the black-haired demon curl his lips in disgust. “Bastard,” he gurgled. The other demon shrugged, then suddenly spun his weapon in a huge arc, with Yoriko still impaled on it. He swung it sharply downwards, sending my wounded amplifier hurtling to the floor. I still couldn't do anything but stare in mute horror as he hit the ground hard, a small jet of blood bursting from his open mouth. The demon in the air chuckled darkly before beginning his descent, towards the prone figure on the ground. He was intercepted, however, by a pair of narrowed yellow eyes.

Veda (who'd `a thought, huh?) glared ferociously. “I dare you,” he threatened coldly. “Dishonorable coward.” The brown-haired demon sneered, and made as if to go around him, when a loud, forbidding growl alerted him of another presence.

Dakora had changed into his fox-self, and stood bristling beside Yoriko, every hair on his sizeable body standing on end, two-inch teeth bared in an enraged snarl. He snapped his jaws pointedly and took a step towards the pike-demon, a very clear threat.

Huh. So Dakora really wasn't just a cute, pretty face, after all.

Speaking of pretty faces….

“Get out.” Aedeka whispered softly. He looked emotionless, but it was clear that he was anything but, as he stared down the unwanted presence. When the demon made no move to obey him, his eyes flashed. “Now.”

I decided he was perfect for Heero.

The way they could instill terror with just one word, one dark look, was uncanny.

The demon sniffed, but clearly understood that he would be brutally maimed if he stayed any longer, and headed towards the door. At the same time, Loeke walked towards his felled lover. They passed each other, and as they did, the brown-haired demon leered nastily, looked over at Yoriko, and did something unthinkable.

He reached out and grabbed a handful of the Loeke's ass.

Gasp!

I didn't even have time to blink before the pike-demon was roaring in agony, his face now a gory mess. Loeke, seemingly unruffled, continued his trek towards his Yoriko and the others, placidly licking his dripping red fingers. I shuddered, indescribably disturbed. (C'mon, wouldn't you be?)

Urai sighed deeply. She escorted the howling demon out of the room, murmuring under her breath how impossible this was going to be, and shut the door behind her. Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Heero and I stared after her.

We stood there for a moment before a low groan reminded me of what had just happened. “Yoriko!” I shouted, and barreled over to where he was laying. The others followed, not two steps behind me.

I shoved my way between Veda and Dakora to kneel next to my fallen amplifier. He looked terrible, the gaping wound in his torso notwithstanding. His face was spattered with blood, and there were cuts and bruises all over his body; his upper lip was split, and one of his wings was bent out at an odd angle, broken.

I choked back a groan. Damn it! I didn't mean for this to happen, this wasn't supposed to happen! Both Quatre and Loeke looked at me, having picked up on my feelings. Q's face filled with concern and understanding, Loeke's with fury.

“Well, then, you shouldn't've stopped him, then, should you?” the towheaded demon snapped coldly. I hung my head. What do you say to the grieving lover of the person you practically handed to his killer?

“I'm sorry.” That's always a good one.

Loeke sucked his teeth irritably. “Well, you should be. Thanks to you, there's no way I'll be doing anything other than sleeping with him tonight.”

Whaa?

Is that a normal response for a person who's one and only lover lay dying before them? Was Loeke only with Yoriko for the sex? Were they-

“No, Ke-ko.” Daaamn, daaamn, DAAAMN you for interrupting my deep, brooding thoughts! But, wait… was that…? “I'll be fine, I promise,” Yoriko whispered quietly. As if his body were mocking him, he suddenly coughed harshly, blood spraying between the fingers covering his mouth. He grimaced. “Shit. Okay, so it'll take a while, baby, but, please, come on, honey, I-”

“You're going to be alright, then?” Heero asked, interrupting Yoriko's (pathetic) pleading. He was eyeing him in a way only a soldier could; evaluating damage, calculating blood loss, estimating recovery time. Yoriko looked offended.

“Please, you think this is bad? That bastard's just lucky I'm outta shape, and all my powers haven't returned yet, or I would've fuckin-”

Something dawned on me.

“Wait, you're really okay? You're not gonna die?” I asked, excited. (So what if I'm a little behind everyone else, I figured it out, didn't I?) Yoriko looked at me, sneering.

“No, you half-wit, I'm not going to die… no thanks to you.” Aedeka turned to his brother.

“Well, Yori, if he hadn't stopped you, you might have killed all of us.” Yoriko snorted. Or, at least, he tried to, but it was interrupted by another cough.

“Like I give a flying fuck about any of you.” I could tell by the low hiss of air Loeke sucked in, and the tiny whimper Dakora let out, that Yoriko had just said the wrong thing. Even Aedeka stiffened.

Ooooohh.

“Oh, well, not you guys, per se. I mean, aw, come on, Lok, Dako, I didn't mean-” But he might as well have not been saying anything. By that time, Loeke had already risen and stalked to the other side of the room, to his Master, and Dakora plodded, ears lowered and tail between his legs, to his. Trowa reached out and gently began scratching behind the fox's ears, eliciting a tiny smile and a slow tail-wag from the demon. Loeke was practically hiding behind Quatre, and the two were conversing in low voices.

Well, fine, nobody wanted to hear your dumb secrets, anyway.

Veda had somehow mysteriously floated away, and Aedeka sighed and got to his feet, muttering darkly under his breath. “You don't care, huh? Then how come I'm always the one you look to patch your sorry ass up, huh Yori? Fuck it, this gets so old.” He trailed off, still murmuring to himself. I dared to look down at Yoriko who was now scowling petulantly.

“So, looks like you're in deep shit with your friends, huh?” His glared balefully up at me.

“I hate you.” I sighed, and stood up.

“Whatever, Yori.” His scowl deepened.

“No, really, I hate you.”

/End Flashback/

“You really think that's all I can do, don't you?” Yoriko asked me with a sly grin. I looked up at him quizzically.

“What?” His grin widened and he shifted his weight on the marble bench, allowing himself to get a better look at me.

And, let's not kid ourselves, who wouldn't want to get a better look at me?

“You really think all my powers are- fucking hell, Aedeka, that hurts!” he screamed. The silver-haired demon muttered an insincere apology and went back to setting the broken bones in his wing. Yoriko growled darkly at his brother and turned back at me, his breathing a little rough. “You really do think all my powers are sexual, don't you? That all I can do is seduce people and put them in thrall?” I shrugged.

“Well, you haven't exactly proven to me you're good for anything else, yet. I mean, you got totally trashed by that big guy, and all you've done other than that is get on my nerves and make out with Loeke.” It was my turn to grin, now. “Looks like you won't be getting any anytime soon, though, pal. He's still mad at you.” Yoriko hissed at me, turning away for the moment.

It was true, Loeke was the only one who hadn't forgiven him yet. With a kiss, a smiling apology, and a few scratches behind the ears, he'd weaseled his way back into Dakora's good graces, and Aedeka seemed to be used to his brother's callous behavior, so he'd shrugged Yoriko's insult off pretty quickly. But no, Loeke wasn't having any of that. The moment Yoriko came near him, Quatre's shouted warning was all he got before the ice demon lashed out at him, fangs bared and claws at the ready.

Yoriko hadn't yet found the courage to try his luck again.

“Shut up,” he sulked, crossing his arms over his chest. I noticed then, that his tattoo was in the same place as mine, winding in a serpentine pattern around his right arm. Huh. Neat.

“So, what, other than being a pervert and getting people pissed at you, can you do then, oh great and mighty demon of mine?” He seemed to perk up at the opportunity to brag on himself. Aedeka groaned behind his little brother.

“Oh, boy, here we go,” he muttered. Yoriko poked his tongue out at him.

“You're just jealous, Aedeka, you know you wish you were me.” Aedeka growled and pulled Yoriko's now-splinted wing a little more roughly than necessary, causing the other demon to shriek in pain.

Man, Aedeka was so cool.

“No, Yori, I don't wish I were you, and I don't want your tainted powers. Unlike yours, my abilities were attained without the sacrifice of my morals, and they don't weigh on my conscience.” (Oooh, I was so intrigued!) Yoriko was still frowning at the pain in his wing, but managed to scoff at his brother.

“Ha, that's a good one, bro. But, unlike you, any morals I had died a long time ago, and I don't got a conscience, so nothin' I did bothers me any. Good thing, too, cause if I hadn't been gifted with these powers, I woulda never met dear Duo.” He threw a casual arm over my shoulder. “And I would have never been able to share them with him.” Suddenly, he leered at me. Dear God, why me? “You call yourself Shinigami, God of Death, do you not?” Well, I hadn't been expecting that one. I nodded dumbly, wondering where this was going. “Well, welcome to the club.”

Huh?

“What? What're you talking about, man?” Just then Dakora bounded over, looking so much like an overgrown puppy, I forgot about Yoriko's senseless blathering for a moment.

Hey, Adeki-ko, what'cha doin? he inquired, wriggling and squirming in that way only dogs can without actually moving. Aedeka looked up and smiled at his lover.

“I'm patching this ungrateful little bastard up, baby, why?” He said this, even as he thwacked his brother soundly on the back, eliciting a loud yelp.

So, so cool.

Dakora wiggled some more, making little whining sounds in the back of his throat. I'm bored, Aedeka. I wanna plaaay. He cocked his head to the side and bowed the front half of his body low. Play with me. Aedeka laughed, leaned forward, and kissed him on the tip of his wet nose.

“In a minute, I just gotta finish setting this wing-” he tugged aforementioned wing mercilessly, and Yoriko, predictably, howled (so effing cool.) “-and I'll be all done, okay?” Dakora growled a little, but said nothing. Aedeka smiled and ruffled his ears. “Why don't you go play with your Master, then, hon? He looks lonely over there.” I turned to see Trowa, indeed alone, sitting on a rock in the middle of the huge garden we were in. He was smiling the tiniest bit, and following his intense gaze, I immediately knew why.

That dog!

In his enraged swipe at his lover, Loeke had accidentally ripped Quatre's shirt, shredding most of it. Quatre apparently gotten fed up with the useless shirt and was in the process of taking it off. Very slowly. Judging from the way Q was deliberately showing off the curves of his body, though, I'm guessing he knew Trowa was watching. In fact, I'm willing to venture a bet that Trowa's watching was the only reason he took his shirt off in the first place.

That dog!.

In the meantime, Dakora seemed to find his lover's idea to be a good one, and he barreled over to the rock and his seemingly pensive Master. Trowa had just enough time to let out a startled “WAUGH!” before he landed hard on his back, with a chestful of fox. From our vantage point, all we could see was a frantically wagging tail and flailing arms. Yoriko chuckled.

“You gonna tell me you're not jealous of that, too?” he asked, inclining his head towards to two. Aedeka answered him with a sharp tug to his ebony tresses. Yoriko winced and rubbed the sore spot on his head, glaring at him.

“Shut up, and, no, I'm not. At least my lover isn't threatening to castrate me the next time I come within ten feet of him.” I laughed at that and was rewarded with a dark look. When I didn't shut up, Yoriko slapped me hard, on the back of the head. Oww!

“At least I have a lover,” he jeered. I looked away.

Curse him for being right.

I looked back to the rock, where Quatre seemed to have stop trying to actively seduce Trowa, and the two were engaged in a seemingly futile attempt to wrestle Dakora to the ground. I sighed, a thing that went unnoticed by neither of the demons beside me. Yoriko was suddenly too close to me.

“What is it?” he asked. I jerked myself out of my reverie and stared into his bright green eyes. I shook my head and looked away.

“Nothin'. I just don't know how two people could be so damned blind. I mean, look at them!” I'd chosen the perfect moment to point to them, as Dakora had abruptly stood up, deciding sniffing the grass would be more interesting that playing, with Quatre still on his back. The blond, unprepared for the sudden movement, fell off the fox's back into Trowa's outstretched arms. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, then blushed and looked away. “God, they're so sweet together, they make my teeth hurt! How do they not see that?” I threw myself backwards, and looked up into the dome ceiling of the white gazebo, totally missing the pointed look the two brothers shared over the top of my head. Grumbling to myself, I sat back up and noticed Dakora staring at us from across the garden. Aedeka tilted his head, smiling, and made a shooing motion with his hands. The fox-demon suddenly did a crazy little jump-wiggle thing, and bolted across the lawn, barking madly. He stopped, once, to suddenly drag the side of his head along the plush grass.

Okay, that was weird.

“So, you don't understand how two people can be obnoxiously, emotionally blind to each other, either, huh, Duo?” Aedeka asked. Hearing the smile in his voice, I looked over at him, to see that he did, indeed, look smugly amused about something. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable, I turned to my other side to find Yoriko wearing a similar smirk, one long, clawed finger on his lips.

Now, I may not be the fastest car on the racetrack sometimes, but even I could figure out that this had “bad” written all over it.

“What do you want?” I asked warily. They shared another smile.

“You really like him, don't you? My Master, I mean?” I sighed.

Yep, this was bad.

Yoriko laughed like the deranged lunatic he truly was. “Aw, come on, now, Master, you can't deny. You run, you hide, but you never lie, right?” Frowning I turned to him.

“Hey, first of all, you stay the fuck outta my head, you got that? I don't need you throwing my own damned catch phrase back at me, thanks much. And second of all….” Both of them were leering at me, now.

I guess it's kinda pointless to try and keep secrets from people who can read your mind, huh? “…yes.” Their smirks grew broader.

“Well, Master, you remember when you asked me what else I could do?” I nodded, hope blooming in my heart. What if there was some way he could convince Heero to come out to me, or me to him? Could he come up with some sort of spell to make us more bold? Yoriko laughed. “No, but I could possess you.” I blanched.

“Huh?” He shrugged, his grin still firmly in place.

“You know, possess you. I could enter your body, your mind, and make you do whatever I wanted. I could make you to admit your feelings to the one you love, whether you felt ready to or not.” He chuckled again. “Although, in this case, I don't think I'll actually need to enter your body. I have other ways of making people do what I want.” At the sinister tone of his voice, I paled even farther. I was only dimly aware of the door to the temple opening on the other side of the lawn.

“W-wait, you're telling me you could… make me admit it to him? Force me to? But… you'd have taken over my body… you'd be… me….” Viridian eyes, framed by long sable lashes rolled irritably.

“Yes, Master, that's what I'm telling you.” I couldn't decide whether I was relieved or terrified.

Was that really what I wanted? To have no control over such an intimate act as confessing my true feelings to Heero? Granted, it would take the constant niggling fear of rejection away, but then, it wouldn't be me telling him. I might as well ask Trowa to tell him for me. And that would be cowardly. Did I want to have Heero think I was a coward, hiding behind my friend, or my demon when I should be at my most vulnerable? Wouldn't he be at his most vulnerable if he asked me? Would I-

“For pity's sake, stop with the internal running dialogue, please, you're giving me a fucking headache!” Aedeka laughed at his brother's dramatic outburst and looked back to me. I suddenly became aware of heavy panting behind me, and was alerted that Dakora had return from his crack-induced romp in the grass.

“Well, Duo?” I took a deep breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Raz, Kyo and the other Heads of the temple had come to take us to our rooms.

“No. I… I'd rather do it myself. Number one, Yoriko, because I don't ever want you in my body.” I ignored his raised eyebrow. Lecherous perv. “And number two… I do want to do it myself. I'd rather tell Heero how I feel, and face the possibility of rejection-” Aedeka rolled his lavender eyes “-than cower behind someone else and have them do my work for me. I really like Heero, and I respect him too much to take any chances. When I'm ready to tell him, and believe me, eventually, I will be, I will.” Yoriko nodded slowly, still smirking.

“Well, I hate to break it to you, Master, but if I really wanted to possess you, I would anyway; you'd have not choice in the matter.”

“What?” I cried out. Friggin' no way in hell was I gonna let him control me! Aedeka nodded in agreement, sobering somewhat.

“It's true. All demons can possess their Masters, but the catch is that with them, it has to be consensual. We, as incubi, however, are a special exception to that rule.”

“S-so, you could make me tell Heero I wanted him… anytime you wanted?” Yoriko nodded gleefully. Oh, Lord….

“Uh-huh. But, like I said earlier, I don't have to possess you to do that.” I eyed him.

“Why do you say that?” Sudden, sinister images of how he would force me to tell Heero began racing through my mind. “Why won't you have to possess me?” I asked cautiously. You can never be too cautious around these types of crazy people, you know? One minute they're talking to you, and the BOOM, they're in full control of your mind and body. He shrugged.

“Because I already have.” I stared at him, uncomprehending, until he tilted his head up, eyes flicking over my shoulder, indicating that I… should… turn around….

Ohgoddamholymotherfuckingshit!

Dakora was still behind me, and obviously very pleased with himself, bushy tail wagging crazily. And I didn't blame him. For in his jaws, was Heero's shirt.

And in Heero's shirt, was Heero.

“Good job, baby, thank you,” Aedeka lauded. Immediately, the little fire demon changed back into his human…ish form and leapt into his lover's arms, giggling and nuzzling his neck.

“That was fun, but can we go please go play now?” He bit his lip and grinned suggestively, looking up at Aedeka through lowered lashes. “Just you and me?” The older demon laughed and kissed him soundly. He said something else, and began walking towards the direction where the others were gathered, waiting for us, but I wasn't paying attention to him.

Heero's incredible blue eyes were locked onto my own, drowning me, and I swear, for all the pretty words I spewed earlier, I'd never felt so unguarded.

Hell'd I'd've felt more secure facing a horde of Ozzies, butt-naked with a block of ramen as a weapon!

We stood there for what felt like hours, staring at one another before I opened my mouth. “Oh, ah, uhm, hey.”

Pure. Genius.

He smiled at me with the only smile in the world that had the power to pump my stomach full of butterflies, and returned my (retarded!) greeting. “Hey, Duo.”

We stood there a little longer, just staring at each other. He had just opened his mouth to say something else when Razyo called us.

“Hey, come on, guys, if you wanna have a chance to get cleaned up before the celebration!”

I wanted to KILL him.

All of a sudden, Heero looked uncertain. “I… uh, Duo…-”

“Come on Duo, Heero!” That time it was Quatre.

Very well. He would die, also.

Heero took a deep breath and let it out as an explosive sigh. “Uh, can I talk to you later? Like, tonight? At the party?” He was blushing, and I found that it was easily the most endearing thing I'd ever seen.

“Yeah. Yeah, sure, Heero.” He gave me a small, almost shy smile, nodded once, and trotted across the lawn.

I'm sure I must have looked ridiculous, with my head cocked to the side and a loopy grin on my face, (shut up, what would you have been doing in my place, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought!) so it should have come as no surprise when Yoriko laughed beside me. I remembered with a start that he had tricked me, and turned to face him, glowering.

“I hate you.” I snarled. To my complete and utter shock, he smiled, a slow, genuine, friendly smile. He leaned forward and dropped a light, chaste kiss on my forehead.

“You're welcome, Master,” he said softly. And with that, he began walking across the garden.

Well, hot damn. Will wonders never cease?

I stood in the gazebo for a few moment longer, before starting across the lawn, smiling to myself.

Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.

At least, that's what I thought until I walked across an oddly squishy plot of land.

“Awww, sick, Dakora!”

TBC…

:ooooo:

And that's Chapter 5! It didn't take me as long as I thought it would, and for that I'm glad; I owe you guys after that 5 month break. I'm hoping I'll have another lull in my classes so I can get Chapter 6 up by next weekend, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I'd like to announce that the “winner” of the “contest” is MousyCoon! Congratulations to you, and thanks to everyone who sent me ideas, they were all really great! So great, in fact, that I might ask if I can use some of them (I promise, I'll reward you!).

Please R&R and let me know what you think of the story so far!