Quatre's Pov.

The cold, that was all Quatre could think of, could feel. It was just too cold. He knew what was happening, it happened every couple months. The government would shut down the heat hoping to kill off some of the street urchins, lowering the homeless numbers by half in one night. Quatre knew he was going to be among the dead on this night. He could already feel his body giving up on shaking as his body slowly shut down trying to reserve energy to all his major organs. He didn't want to die of course. Even living on the street, begging for food was better then death.

Normally staying warm was surprisingly never something he had had to worry about, not at least since becoming friends with Duo. Just an added bonus of being friends and a little more with a werewolf, or part werewolf. They were naturally hot blooded so a little cold never bothers them, and if you sit or snuggle close enough they gave off heat like no other. Natural heat blankets.

But Quatre would make no moves towards his normally overly affectionate friend. To move that close to the American boy seemed wrong tonight. Quatre would have said before tonight that Duo and he were close, best friends if they had been in a time when they had the luxury of having friends. But Quatre would have thought that he could rely on Duo and Duo on him to insure their survival. They had shared food, body heat and other things for the last couple years, helping each other survive. But Duo had been acting weird all day. He was cold pulling away from Quatre at every turn. Quatre just didn't know what to make of it. He know he can be overly sensitive, but his 'feelings' have never lead him wrong before, Quatre know something was wrong, he just don't understand why Duo won't tell me. Quatre could help, he know he wasn't as pyscially strong or brave as some but he was good at other things, especially these types of things.

Quatre slowly curled into himself, his empathy was at full force as he felt those around him slowly dying. His body giving small flinches as the life force of those around them blinked out. He knew that with time he would be among those dead.

Quatre knew he was considered a high level empathy. But he right now that empathy was doing nothing for him, it was just torturing him with what his future held for him. Right now he would give up nearly anything just to be warm.

Duo's Pov.

Duo hated himself right now. He was just laying here with trash heaped around him. He couldn't decide what was worse the smell through his nose or the taste it on his tongue. Either way he felt nausea but one way or another he had to breathe. He could feel the small blonde shivering next to him. His body causing the whole pile of garbage to shudder with each twitch of his body.

Duo missed Quatre's smell. No matter what, Quatre always smelled like peppermint, and something else, something that calmed even the beast with in him down. It was one of the best parts of sleeping beside the petit blonde, even among trash the boy smelled good.

Duo wanted to desperately move closer to Quatre, to stop his shivering, to share the heat his body naturaly produce. But he was just too worried that Quatre wouldn't accept him. Duos lips pulled back at the thought of how cruel he had been to the boy that day.

It had hit him hard the day before how much Quatre had begun to mean to him, how firecly he would protect and love this boy shivering to death behind him. Far more then he should. Having an attachment to someone often got you and that someone killed or in deep shit, especially on the street where Quatre and he spent their lives. Duo have been so very cold to Quatre's, hurtful in any way he thought he could. He had wanted Quatre to leave before Duo got his blonde killed, and it would be him who got his boy killed. Duo fully believed that he was the weaker of the two, he had done horrible things to survive, and the wolf in him was always ready to do them again.

The wolf in Duo demands so many things, Duo know sooner or later it would come to think of Quatre as either its mate, or its pack member, after that it wouldn't matter what he or Quatre wants, the wolf would have claimed him. So now Duo lay here having spent all day trying to drive the small blond away yet nothing seems to have worked. No one stayed around this long. Quatre should have realized that what a hard, cold, unloving animal he was and taken for the hills. He hadn't though, he merely gives him sad, sideways glances and continues to work by my side. Now he lays mere feet away slowly dying of cold, and he will die. Duo could feel his body temperature slowly lowering, soon Quatre wouldn't want to move, then he wouldn't be able to move, then slowly he would fall into a blissful sleep, and never awaken again. It wouldn't be the first time Duo had seen it happen.

A part of Duo wants to let him die, let him leave this life before he can cause him more pain, but Duo knew that it was too late. Quatre ment to much to him already and he couldn't leave him, not to suffer, not to die. So turning over Duo reached across the space between Quatre and him, a space the normaly felt like inches but tonight felt like miles. He reached forward and pulled Quatre flushed against his body. He waited a moment, feeling the blonde tense against him for a couple seconds before leaning forward to whisper his apologies into his ear.

Duo whispered to him not to fear, he would never hurt him again, not if he could help it. Duo didn't relax until he felt Quatre do the same first. Duo gave a soft growl feeling Q snuggaling back, his silken blond covered head under my chin. Duo felt Quatre's breathing even out and right before sleep takes him he couldn't stop himself from sending out a silent prayer up to any god that still stands watch over the pathetic, hell on earth. He prayed that they would watch out for the third member of their party, make sure he found some where warm to sleep, keep him alive till Quatre and he could find him tomorrow.

Heero's Pov.

"Heero, are you going hunting?" Heero turned to look at Relena, fighting the urge to roll his eyes, and maybe strangle the pink drenched pyscho.

"For a walk." Heero responded, his voice monotone even though he knew that Relena would feel his hate, you couldn't hide anything from your sire. 'her beautiful fledgling' that's what she calls him. She was an emotional vampire and enjoyed the feed from her children as mush as from her slaves.

"Don't worry Heero I'm leaving tonight. You really should get a handle on those emotions of yours." Heero made no comment but even if he had, he know Relena would have pretended not to have heard it. "Heero what ever happened to the fine toy I bought you last time I was here?" Heero could feel his heart clench at his makers words, he knew she saw the look on his face and Heero quickly pulled down his well formulated mask to hide his pain form her. She'll only use it to hurt him more, one of her greatest pleasures was to make sure her grip on my life never slips.

"That was 60 years ago." Even to his own ears Heero's voice was cold, though strained, and Heero could have cursed himself for allowing Relena to gain that much emotion from him. At Relena's laugh Heero know she had noticed his pain and was basking in it as Heero knew she would.

"Dead and buried then? To bad, she had been a cute little thing." Heero couldn't hold back the wince as Relenas laugh seemed to be as if nails were running across a chalk board. "Well I guess I'll leave you to your devices then, have fun my sweet." Heero eyes followed the smiling she demon as she walked past him, leaving a small kiss on his cheek as if she truly cares, or as if they had been talking about nothing more than the weather. To her that's what slaves were, toys that once used and broken were useless. Heero barely held in the sigh at the memory of his Gabriella, so much beauty, a true and loyal friend.

"Damned women!" For an instant Heero let his anger take control and glare to inteseafy on her retreating back. Heero stood there many moments, concentrating on his breathing, trying to calm himself back down before the urge to destroy something overwhelmed him. He would need to feed tonight and it would do no good to go out this angry, he didn't want to kill someone.

Heero walked outside then down the street, he eased his mind by watching the patrols moving inside alleys and abandoned homes to pulling out the dead, those who hadn't made it through the night and the unlucky few who had. Heero knew these freezing, were needed to keep the vermin population down to a degree they could control but he couldn't help feeling something. Some of his best slaves had come from the street, and he knew that any time they could have been one of the ones having their bodies pulled from dupsters. Hearing his name Heero stopped and turned his head trying to catch the person saying his name.

"Heero… Heero?" Snapping around Heero was met by Trowa's calming facade, "You all right?" Trowa looked worriedly at me, his black wings folding tighter against his body to stand closer. Trowa was normally much more standoffish to those who didn't know him well, but to those who did like Heero and his sister Cathleen Trowa was actually very dotting.

"Yes, I just had a visit by Relena." Heero saw Trowa wince viably, he knew well of Relena, having been Heero's friend since his turning. Trowa also knew how Relena showed her love, how she feed off the pain and suffering of others and how her greatest feast were thouse of her youngest fledgling. All her other children had already flown the coop, found others to protect them, or had gained more power than she. He was her last, and Heero feared he would never get away from her.

"I'm going to meet Trezie at the pens would you like to come with me? You might be able to find yourself a new toy." Heero gave Trowa one of his rare smiles knowing his friend was truly worried for him, though he would never say it, and Heero would never acknowledge it. This was just how there relationship worked. They cared for each other but felt no need to run their emotions all over each other.

"Yes, it's not like I have anything else to do." Heero was rewarded with one of Trowa's rare smiled as well, who knew maybe he would find the answers to everything within the pens. Maybe he would find a new pet to drive away the loneliness.