Duo sighed and put his hands behind his head. Wuffy was upset. He was outside trying to chop logs in half with a dull hatchet. A tedious process, which took long enough if only one log: Duo knew very well Wuffy would probably chop several logs before he finished. Before his hands even started to cramp. And Duo had no idea how many Wuffy would chop before he would come in. Judging by how upset he seemed, Wuffy might stay out till dusk, hell, maybe even till dawn the next morning.
This alone was bad enough. But Duo had the sneaking suspicion he was the cause of Wuffy's grief. And he had no idea what he had done to make Wuffy upset. No matter how much he turned it over, he could find nothing he'd done that would be offensive. Hell, he hadn't even pulled any pranks on Wuffy lately. The only thing he could think of was the fact that he refused to call Wuffy by his proper name-Wufei.
Even so, Wufei hadn't said anything to Duo about being culled 'Wuffy' in weeks. He'd been plenty angry when Duo had first dubbed him Wuffy, but eventually he had given in. He didn't even glare at Duo anymore when he called him Wuffy. Although none of the other pilots could get away with it. And not for lack of trying.
Quatre had once teasingly called him Wuffy and nearly ate Wufei's katana. Trowa said it once with a smirk and got a black eye. Heero didn't care about nicknames, something Wufei was clearly glad of. None of the Gundam pilots wanted to fight with Heero. But Wufei never did anything to Duo about the nickname, short of a few threats and constant griping about injustice, which Duo laughed off easily.
It had been an hour since Wufei had started the dull monotonous work of chopping wood for no reason. Duo was bored off his ass, too. None of the others were there, for whatever reason, and there was nothing on TV. He didn't like reading that much, and he had just finished reading a book recommended him by Quatre anyhow. Groaning, he stood up and went outside.
"What's wrong, Wuffy?" Duo asked.
Wufei looked up briefly, then back down again, bringing the hatchet down forcefully into the log so it stuck. Looking at Duo once again, he answered, contriving to sound puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Duo shook his head. "Don't gimme that crap, Wuffy, please. You never chop wood unless you're upset over something. Especially not against the grain, with a dull hatchet, with out someone asking you to," Duo said with a scowl.
Wufei blushed very slightly. He sighed and said, "Look, Duo, it doesn't matter. Just leave me alone, please?" Onyx eyes pleaded with stubborn sapphire and amethyst colored ones.
Duo softened slightly, but was ever persistent. "Wuffy, obviously it does matter, otherwise you would have just ignored me. Tell me."
Wufei shifted very slightly, most people would not have noticed the imperceptible change in weight from foot to foot. But Duo knew Wufei pretty well, and he recognized it. Wufei glanced to the side as he said, "It doesn't concern you."
"Clearly it does. Did I do something wrong? What? Wuffy, don't you leave me in the dark on this one."
Wufei scowled. He noticed a slight burning sensation in his eyes and decided he needed to go, or get Duo to leave. "Duo, I don't feel like talking. That's why I came outside. You're always talking Duo. Why do you always have to talk? Why don't you just shut up every now and then?"
Duo was stunned. It wasn't as though Wufei hadn't insulted him before: it just never... never felt as though... it seemed there was a sense of urgency in Wufei's voice, even though he spoke rather deliberately. And never had Wufei given such a short, scathing insult; always the dull impersonal speeches, never something so... direct. "Fine." Duo turned and went inside. The sound of frenzied chopping followed him till he shut the thick door.
Tears ran hot down his cheeks, if slow. Wufei pushed all his strength into the hatchet, as though somehow, if he concentrated, he could be the hatchet, and not worry about fighting or beautiful pilots with long braided hair. Pilots with eyes as bright and vivid and rare as any gemstones.
How could he have said something like that to Duo? He had been harsh before, but he couldn't recall ever being so thoroughly rude to Duo in as few a words before. And for all his lectures, he had maintained the impression that Duo liked him: thought he was a good friend if nothing more. But Duo seemed truly mad at him now. Wufei was not used to seeing Duo mad, and he certainly didn't want Duo mad at himself!
He stopped chopping abruptly and dropped the hatchet to the ground. He shoved the log out of the way and slumped across the pedestal he had designated for propping his logs on. His face in his hands, he finally let the floods overflow the gates, shaking wretchedly. Just when was the last time he had cried? He couldn't remember. He certainly couldn't recall ever crying so much.
But then, a small part of his mind said, you've been holding a lot in. You never truly mourned Nataku's death; you kept it all bottled up. You've been trying to find some way to approach Duo for god knows how long to no success, and now...
Wufei quieted. He muttered to himself, naming himself 12 kinds of weakling and 20 kinds of moron.
