A time to be still TD {pont-size: 10pt; pont-family: ms sans serif, Arial, Helvetica;} TH {pont-size: 10pt; pont-family: ms sans serif, Arial, Helvetica; pont-weight: bold;} .outils {pont-size: 8pt; pont-family: ms sans serif, Arial, Helvetica;} #PETIT {pont-size: 8pt; pont-family: Arial Narrow, Helvetica;} A {pont-size: 10pt; pont-family: ms sans serif, Arial, Helvetica;} .titre {pont-size: 8pt; color #FFFFFF; pont-family: ms sans serif, Arial, Helvetica;}

Cherry Blossom: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "why the hell
is she starting a new series when she hasn't finished up her other ones".
Duo: Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a pocky party but, to
each his own.
Wufei: Can you never think of anything but food, Maxwell?
Duo: I think of a lot of things besides food. Like sex--
Wufei: ::nosebleeds:: I don't want to hear it!!
Duo: What? Sex?
Wufei: ::stuffing kleenex in both his nostrils and his ears:: I can't hear
you, la, la, la…
Duo: ::singing:: Se~ex, se~ex, hot, smutty se~ex!
Wufei: Arrrrrgh!
Matteo: As interesting as this is, shouldn't we get to the fic?
Cherry Blossom: Uh…sure.
Duo: Sex!
Wufei: Maxwell, shut UP.
Cherry Blossom: On with the fic!




Disclaimer: I presently own two pairs of jeans, one tie dye t-shirt, five
sticks of chocolate covered pocky, one overworked muse, one can of Mountain
Dew, one crappy word processor, and a bag of Chee-tos. ::looks back over
list:: Now did I mention Gundam Wing on the list of things I own? No?
Good.

Warning: This fic contains shounen ai. Very mild shounen ai. In fact
there is almost NO shounen ai in this specific part, but seeing as how this
fic has Duo in it, I expect things to progress to the point where shounen ai
will become apparent. Therefore, anyone who dislikes shounen ai and thinks
it is "ecchi" should leave the fic now. If you perhaps decided to ignore
the warning and then find yourself traumatized by all the "ecchi"
homosexuality, I cannot be held responsible for your stupidity. After all,
I warned you.

Notes: The idea for this fic actually came to me while walking down the
quiet streets of Siena in Italy (yes I am STILL in Europe. For reports on
when I am likely to return, see my bio) when it was siesta time and
everything was completely still. That and the fact that I have pitifully
few 02x05 fics. Dedicated to Rebecca the Great, whose story entitles "Ye
Gods" has accompanied me to Europe and has inspired me to no end. Also for
Kismet, who encourages me to write more. Special thanks to green-chan for
posting my stuff for me while I'm away. ::sniffle:: I have such great
friends ::sobs::

Wufei: Stop that blubbering and get on with the fic, onna!

….sorry. On with the fic!




A Time To Be Still
~Cherry Blossom~






Wufei sat in complete silence, counting and holding his breath in quiet
meditation. He let his mind clear entirely, all his concentration focused
on taking deep, even breaths, the steady flow of air through his lips the
only movement in the room. After a while, Wufei managed to still and
control his breathing so that everything was completely quiescent. Time
seemed to stop, frozen like a picture or painting…

"Oi! Wu-bear! You alive?"

Wufei groaned and unwound his legs from the lotus position he had been
holding them in. He blinked open his dark chocolate-coloured eyes to find a
pair of wide crystalline indigo ones staring back at him.

"The name," Wufei snarled. "Is Wu-FEI. Is that so hard for your puerile
brain to remember Maxwell? Wu-FEI. Not, Wu-bear, not Wuffie, not Wu-man,
not Wu-bu, not Wu-wu, nor any of the other ridiculous abbreviations you have
attached to my person."

The braided Shinigami cocked his head to one side and chirped, "Whatever you
say, Fei-babe."

"What do you want, Maxwell?" Wufei demanded, silently cursing the American
for interrupting his meditation.

"Well…" Duo started. "Since we haven't had any missions lately and aren't
likely to be getting one tonight, I thought we could go out and do something
instead of being all cooped up in here like always. Whadduya say?"

Wufei snorted and started to return his legs to their former lotus position.

"Go away, Maxwell. I'm too busy to follow you along on one of your idiotic
escapades."

Duo's grin twisted into a disappointed pout. "Aw, c'mon Wufei, you're not
doing anything. It would do you good to get out of this place once and a
while."

"For your information," Wufei retorted. "I am meditating. Something you
have neither the patience, nor the mental capacity to do. And I need
absolute quiet. Why don't you ask the others to go with you?"

"I already asked Heero," Duo whined. "But he's busy with Wing. And Quatre
and Trowa went off to visit Catherine at the circus. Please come with me
Wufei! Pleeeeaaaasssse?"
"No! Now leave me alone."

Wufei closed his eyes once more, ignoring Duo completely, indicating that
all discussion was closed on the matter. Sulking, Duo settled himself on
the floor beside Wufei and tried to force his legs into the same lotus
position as the Asian boy's. After a few minutes of listening to this
struggle, Wufei's eyes snapped open in exasperation.

"What do think you're doing, Maxwell?"

Duo pulled at one of his ankles unsuccessfully and grunted, "Meditating."

Wufei smirked.

"You," he said. "Could not meditate if your life depended on it."

"I could so," Duo replied. "If I wanted to. But..." Here Duo paused while
he tried to shove his right foot up onto his left knee yet again, "I just
think that it's a boring way to spend your time."

"Then why do you want to do it now?" Wufei asked, reasonably.

"Because," Duo answered, "I wanna spend some quality time with you, Wu-bu."

"For the last time, Maxwell, the name is Wu-FEI."

"And for the last time, my name isn't Maxwell. It's Duo. D-U-O."

Wufei glared at the braided boy…and then had to repress a smile when he saw
the strange position he had somehow managed to twist himself into.

"Umm…" Duo said. "Could you help me out a bit Wu-bear? I seem to be
stuck."

Wufei sighed and grabbed hold of one of Duo's limbs, yanking it back into
its normal place.

Duo winced at the sharp tug.

"Ow! Watch it! I'm not Heero, you know."

"That's true. Heero is able to keep his mouth shut for more then five
minutes."

"Why you--"

"Hold still," Wufei advised. "I'm almost through."

Another twist of Duo's leg and he was loose. Duo rubbed his sore limbs
ruefully.

"How do ya get your legs to go like that Wu-man?"

"Years and years of practice," Wufei answered. "And the name is Wu-FEI."

"Yeah, yeah," Duo muttered.

"If you're serious about meditation," Wufei continued. "Then you'd better
start with a half-lotus position instead of a full lotus position. Anyone
with the least bit of flexibility ought to be able to do that. Put one of
your ankles up on your knee like this."

Wufei demonstrated the pose and Duo copied it.

"Now close your eyes and concentrate only on breathing in…and out. In…and
out. Clear your mind. Focus only on breathing."

Duo closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his breathing.

'I'll show Wufei that I can be just as good as he is. This isn't so hard.
This isn't hard at all! In fact it's…'

Boring. Meditation was really REALLY boring. Duo twiddled his thumbs in
his lap. Then he began to recite times tables in his head. Then he started
to hum under his breath.

Annoyed, Wufei spoke. "Meditation is supposed to be completely silent.
Focus, Maxwell!"

Duo stopped humming and sat completely still, more determined then ever to
show Wufei up.

'I can do this. I just have to clear my mind. Take deep breaths. Slow
breaths. Even breaths…'
When the room finally went quiet, Wufei peeked out from beneath his lowered
lashes at the boy sitting beside him. Duo was perfectly still, eyes closed,
breathing deep and even.

'Maybe the baka really can shut up for more then five minutes,' he thought
to himself. 'I'll have to give him some credit--'

A loud snore interrupted Wufei's train of thought. Wufei's eyes opened
completely and he rolled them in exasperation.

"Maxwell you baka!" he yelled. "Wake up!"

Duo awoke at the sound of Wufei's voice and blinked sleepily. " Huh? Wha?
What's going on? Whadduya want? Oh. Hi Wu-wu."

"You fell asleep, moron," Wufei scowled. "I should have known that
meditation was beyond you."

Duo glared back at him. "Well maybe if it wasn't so BORING I could do it
without falling asleep! Honestly, Wu-man, how can you just sit there and do
absolutely nothing?"

"I'm not doing absolutely nothing. I'm strengthening my mind by cleansing
it of unnecessary thoughts."

"Well why can't you do that by moving around? Like at, say, a club?"

Wufei's scowl grew deeper.

"I would not set foot in one of those sleazy establishments that you call
"clubs". Meditation is a much better way to occupy one's time then mischief
and debauchery," Wufei lectured. "There is a time for action and a time to
be still. And this is a time to be still."

Duo sighed and then cocked his head to one side, thinking.

"What if I managed to sit completely still for ten minutes--"

"Without sleeping," Wufei cut in.

"Without sleeping," Duo agreed. "Would you come out to a club with me
then?"

"I will not make deals with you, Maxwell."

"Aw, c'mon."

"No!"

"Are you scared that I'll win?"

Wufei's face turned red with anger. "I am most certainly NOT afraid! You
couldn't sit still if your life depended on it!"

Duo waggled his eyebrows up and down. "Care to make a wager on that
Wu-bear? I win; you come to a club with me. You win, I'll leave you alone
for the rest of the day."

"Week," Wufei amended. "For the rest of the week. Alright Maxwell, I agree
to this wager. Let's begin."

Wufei set the timer on his wristwatch and observed as Duo got back into the
half-lotus position, back straight, head slightly tipped downward, hands
placed loosely over his knees, palms down, and closed his eyes. The braided
pilot slowed and regulated his breathing until it was deep and even. Wufei
watched Duo's chest rise and fall with each breath and found himself
considering the slim strength that Duo used to his advantage so often, the
wiry but well toned muscles that were evident beneath the tight black fabric
of his T-shirt. Wufei's traveled from Duo's chest, to the braid that lay
carelessly thrown over one slim shoulder, to the golden tanned neck, the
heart-shaped face, bowed as if in prayer, to the full, slightly pursed lips,
to the thick lashes lowered over those incredible indigo eyes, and the few
wisps of messy bangs curled and curved around the smooth skin of his
forehead. Duo's serious expression, so seldom shown, reminded Wufei of an
angel's, peaceful and serene.

'He's beautiful.'

Wufei's cheeks grew hot and he berated himself furiously for even thinking
such thoughts. Duo was a comrade. Nothing more. But still…

'No no no. I refuse to dishonor myself by going any further in this
ridiculous train of thought. Maxwell is an annoying baka that I have to put
up with. That's ALL.'
Still, Wufei couldn't quite control the flush that had crept up into his
cheeks and for every slow and even breath that Duo took, Wufei's came more
ragged.

'This,' Wufei thought. 'Is stupid.'

And it was. But the fact that his body was betraying him didn't bother
Wufei as near as much as the fact that Duo was actually winning the bet.
There was only one minute left and he hadn't so much as sneezed.

'If he wins this bet then I'll have to accompany him to this stupid club.
Oh well. Spending time with Maxwell is not that bad. If I can withstand
OZ's torture then I can withstand the braided baka for one night...maybe.'

The alarm on Wufei's watch went off, indicating that ten minutes were up.
Duo's eyes snapped open and the peaceful look on his face vanished, replaced
with a manic grin that many a soldier prayed never to see. He curled out of
the half-lotus position and sprang to his feet, braid swinging like rope
behind him.

"I won!" He danced around Wufei waving his arms in the air like a madman.
"I didn't move or talk or fall asleep or anything! Now you have to come to
a club with me! You promised, Wufei!"

Wufei scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You are despicable, Maxwell."

Duo pouted. "You're not backing out on me are ya, Wu-man?"

"Of course not," Wufei snapped. "I would not be so dishonorable as to go
back on my word. I will do as I have promised, Maxwell. Even if it is a
stupid waste of my time and yours."

"Great!" Duo exclaimed, clapping his hands just like a spoiled child who has
gotten its way.

Wufei sighed, defeated. "Let's just go to this stupid club and get it over
with."

"Not so fast Wu-man," Duo interrupted. "You can't go to a club wearing
that."

Wufei looked down at his regular blue tank-top and pristine white pants.

"Why not?" he asked. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Duo shook his head. "The only person I can think of who has worse fashion
sense is Heero. And he wears spandex shorts with a shirt tucked into it.
That's just sad."

"Injustice--"

"Let's go get you something a little more up to date," Duo interrupted
before Wufei could break into a rant, dragging him by the arm to his room.
Briefly surprised at the tingle of shock that ran through his arm where Duo
grasped it, Wufei could do nothing but helplessly follow, a feeling of doom
settling in his chest.

'Oh Nataku, what have I gotten myself into this time?'


~To Be Continued~


Matteo: Well…that turned out nothing like you intended.
Cherry Blossom: Oh well. Let's just post it anyway and see what type of
response it gets.
Duo: Sex!
Wufei: Urg… ::fainting from lack of blood::
Duo: Uh…Wu-man, you okay?
Wufei: ……
Duo: Wufei?
Cherry Blossom: Medic!
Duo: Hey, where's Melpomene anyway? Isn't she supposed to be your new angst
muse?
Matteo: ::deadpan:: I killed her and ate her liver.
Duo: No…seriously?
Cherry Blossom: ::rolls her eyes:: This isn't going to be an angst piece.
Just pure sap and fluffy humor.
Wufei: X_X
Matteo: Review, please. And donate blood.
Wufei: X_X
Cherry Blossom: Ja!!