Let's Pretend At Love

Yes, it's an old and overused plot. But I'm going to use it anyway. :) All rights to Gundam Wing don't belong to me, just in case you had the tiniest suspicion otherwise.

If Wufei got another paper cut, he was residing from his office duties at the Preventers and reserving himself only for mission work. He stuck his abused thumb in his mouth with a sigh. He hated having to work overtime at his home. He hated having to pay for the two-bedroom house located in the boondocks alone. He hated knowing he needed the desk job to pay for the house.

The next time he saw Duo, he was going to kill the idiot for refusing to write reports in legible print. Or in a language Wufei was fluent in. He tossed Duo's folder to the side, picking up the wonderfully last folder in the pile. He always saved Trowa's folder for last when in came to monthly filing. The French man was always clear, concise, and neat.

Flipping quickly through the pages, a red marking on Trowa's personal information card caught his eye. According to the mark, Trowa's place of residency had been changed. With another sigh, he reached for his cell phone and hit speed dial three.

"Salut?"

"Barton, I was reviewing your file and came across a problem."

"I'm fine, Wufei, thanks for asking. How are you?"

"In your file—"

"Not until you answer the question."

"I'm tired and growing more irritated by the second."

"Sorry to hear that. Please continue."

"You're worse than Maxwell."

"Am not."

"I have in your file that your residence was terminated eight days ago."

"Why is that a problem?"

"There's no new address."

"I'm staying at a hotel until I can find a new place. Not many apartment complexes downtown enjoy having a tenant in law enforcement."

Wufei understood Trowa could not afford a nicer apartment or a house outside of the city. Staying in a hotel was probably eating up what little he had saved, also meaning that whatever hotel he had found was most likely of poor quality. Wufei frowned into the phone. "Why haven't you told anyone you needed a place to stay?"

"This coming from the man of pride himself?"

"Quatre would have happily opened his home to you."

"He's been busy."

Remembering Quatre's sudden announcement the week before concerning his relationship with Relena Peacecraft, Wufei quickly decided to terminate the subject. The admission made by the Winner heir had made a negative impact on Trowa, making him noticeably cheerless and quieter than normal. Also remembering how Trowa had offered his ear and shoulder to Wufei when Sally had terminated their relationship, he realized he owed Trowa the courtesy of a bedroom. "You can live here."

"Really?"

Wufei would've had to been deaf not to have heard the relief and pleasure in Trowa's voice. "Of course. You can come over tonight to work out the details."

"Great. Thanks Wufei."

"You're welcome."

Rubbing his temples, hoping he hadn't made a mistake, Wufei chose a book from a nearby shelf and settled down into his armchair for some well-deserved relaxation. Through the course of an hour, he only took a break to boil water for some tea. The sky was dark by the time he heard the wheels of Trowa's pickup truck crunch on the dirt path outside.

Opening his front door, he ushered Trowa in, taking off his worn civilian jacket and laying it over his own on the coffee table. "Take your shoes off by the door, please."

"Right. Sorry."

"Are you hungry? There's plenty of food in the fridge if you don't oppose to cheap Chinese."

"Actually, I have a plan I want to run by you first. There's an overwhelming possibility that you'll reject it, but I'm going to try anyway considering it'll help us both out."

"Go ahead."

"Let's pretend to be in love."

Wufei felt mouth drop open slightly, but he snapped it shut. He decided Trowa deserved to be heard out before he was dismissed. Violently dismissed, if necessary. He sat back down in his armchair, placing his book on the coffee table on top of their jackets. "Elaborate."

Sensing the refusal waiting on Wufei's tongue, Trowa kneeled down in front of chair and laid his arms across the Chinese man's lap. He knew Wufei would listen better if his personal space was intruded upon, giving him less room to be confident in his own ideas. "Before Quatre started dating Relena, I told him that I had a crush on someone. I'm obviously in love with him and I thought he was in love with me too, so I allowed my descriptions to get a little too close to the truth. Ever since he told us, I've been depressed, and he's noticed. I need someone else to name as my crush."

"And how would I benefit?"

"You know everyone around the office still believes you to be heartbroken over Sally. No more pitying looks, no more false flirtations to make you feel better, no more soft condolences from Lady Une…"

"Your point is made." And the point was much better than Wufei had expected. He was growing sick of the manner his coworkers were treating him. He wasn't heartbroken, not anymore. He simply wasn't ready to start dating like Sally had. To him, dating was false and ridiculous. He wanted whole deal or nothing at all.

"If we acted like boyfriends, I wouldn't humiliate myself in front of Quatre and you would be left alone. You mentioned once that you are bisexual, right?"

"I have never been in love with a man, but I am not closed to the experience."

"Then this won't be too hard for you to pull off?"

Wufei turned his onyx eyes on the long, slender arms crossed on his knees. He had no trouble admitting to himself that he would never have trouble finding Trowa attractive. Even now, the fire burning near his armchair was being reflected in emerald gems, dancing along with the teasing knowledge Trowa always held in his gaze. "I suppose not."

"How do you want to start?"

"You can blame your recent depression upon stress over losing your apartment."

"But I have a place to stay now and I'm bound to stay depressed over Quatre's girlfriend in later situations."

"You have to act as if you're not. If you fail and anyone asks why you are melancholy, tell them I was hesitant to begin our relationship, making you concerned about the true depth of my feelings."

"You're surprisingly good at this."

"If we are going to pull this charade off, Barton, we have to do it right. Your strengths hardly lie in strategy, so I'll be creating the majority of our plans."

Trowa let out a low laugh, arching up in an elegant stretch and tapping Wufei's nose with his index finger. "You're right. You're the better strategist out of the two of us. But I am more adept at infiltration and performance. The most important question is whether either of us is any good at romance."

Wufei rubbed his nose, standing up and brushing past Trowa to pour a cup of tea. "How much romancing does an ex-mercenary need, exactly?"

Trowa followed his friend into the kitchen, crossing his arms and leaning on the counter. "I happen to enjoy being romanced, thank-you very much. Not that I ever have been, but the idea is appealing."

"Don't get your hopes up."

"I can romance you in return."

"No. I'm the man in this relationship. You are the woman."

"It doesn't have to be man and woman, Wufei. But if you'd rather play the dominant position, I'm fine with that."

"Only because you won't have to dish out money for the flowers."

Trowa smiled, reaching over and plucking Wufei's cup from his hand and taking a long sip. "You'd buy me flowers? This needs more sugar."

"To fool the others, yes. I don't buy sugar."

"Make sure they're gardenias. You do now."

Wufei jerked back his cup with a glare, but there was no anger within it. To be honest with himself, he was glad to be getting a roommate after weeks of oppressive silence since Sally had moved out. Although Trowa often frustrated him with pointed gibes and unshakable cockiness, he was capable of intelligent conversation and comfortable silences. Trowa was also very clean, which would help the condition of his organized but rather neglected house. "Where are your belongings?"

"In my truck."

"You want to move in tonight?"

"If you don't mind. The guest room is across from yours, right?"

"Yes, but put your clothes in my dresser and closet. I have space to spare and it will help our act if anyone decides to snoop around."

"Excellent idea. All I have left then besides bathroom items are my laptop, my gun, a picture of Catherine, and my flute."

"Place as you wish."

"I'm not burdening you, am I?"

"You can earn your keep by helping me repaint this weekend."

Trowa nodded at looked around at the overflowing sink and the trashcan full of paper plates. "Not to mention some housekeeping. And some yard work. The deck could use some refinishing as well."

"You're willing to do all that?"

"I'm nothing if not a hard worker, Wufei. And as a former mercenary, I hate being in anyone's debt."

Wufei turned and fixed a second cup, sweetening the herbal liquid with honey. He placed the warm drink in Trowa's hand. "Welcome home."

Trowa smiled down at his tea before wrapping his arms around Wufei in a light hug. "So we're agreed on this?"

Taking a deep breath, Wufei patted his friend's back before disengaging. "Agreed."