Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and am making no profit off of this fic.

AN: Written for the GW RarePair Big Bang over on tumblr! Check out gwrarepairbigbang . tumblr . com to read all the entries.

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Erase and Rewind by luvsanime02

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Chapter 1

"Trowa?"

Chang Wufei cursed himself in the next moment, but by then it was far too late. Trowa Barton, his ex-lover, was already turning around at the sound of his name being called.

Wufei could blame the slip-up on his surprise at seeing Trowa in the same office building where he worked. He could even blame it on being up most of the night before going over a recent court case, and not having time for more than a quick shower before driving back into work this morning after too-little sleep.

Really, though, Wufei had spoken up without thought because suddenly seeing Trowa again after their disastrous break-up two years ago had greatly unbalanced him.

Trowa turned, and he gave Wufei a mildly polite look. "…Yes?"

Well, that was… unexpected.

Not that Wufei was necessarily upset at the lack of a personal greeting. Even though two years should theoretically be enough time for both of them to forgive each other for the way their relationship had deteriorated and devolved into one endless fight after the next. It's not like Wufei was expecting Trowa to look happy to see him, but…

But maybe, if he was being honest with himself, Wufei had been expecting something more.

Perhaps he should be grateful. After all, Trowa could have gone the route of biting sarcasm, or given Wufei the cold shoulder and ignored him entirely. Thinking of the worse-case scenario, being ignored, Wufei let go of his minor irritation at the lackluster greeting.

"It's been awhile," he said, despite the inanity of such a comment, the kind he usually hated resorting to.

"…Yes."

Okay, now Trowa was just being annoying on purpose. Wufei resisted the urge to grit his teeth, or at least, not too much. He sent Trowa a look that he hoped conveyed his displeasure with the game.

What Wufei was absolutely not expecting was for Trowa to flinch back from Wufei's glare as though he'd been struck. Wufei was stunned. What was that all about? A mixture of confusion and concern and, damn him, guilt flooded through Wufei.

"Are you alright?"

He didn't know what else to say, to ask. It aggravated him that he cared so much, but then, that had always been one of Wufei's greatest assets and worst weaknesses; he cared too damn much, most of the time. He was passionate, and he didn't know how to let go of anything, especially during an argument.

Wufei had thought he'd at least learned how to let go of Trowa, but apparently not. The tightening in his chest at the way Trowa was even now returning his face back to that placid and unnatural smoothness pulled at Wufei, filling him with a sense of wrongness. Even as he irrationally resented Trowa for this sudden concern, Wufei couldn't deny its existence.

"Yes." That was Trowa's only response, it seemed. Wufei was reaching critical levels of anger, of worry. "I'm fine," he added on half-heartedly, questioningly, as though Trowa could tell that he was somehow causing Wufei distress, but couldn't pinpoint the source.

"Clearly," Wufei bit out in response. "What are you up to?"

Reduced to small talk. Wufei almost walked away, but he couldn't bring himself to just let Trowa walk out of his life without looking back. Not again.

Trowa looked upwards, at the ceiling, as though he could see through the tiles and into the offices above. "I have an appointment," he answered, after a long minute of silence.

Well, at least that had been a complete sentence, although a short one. Something in Wufei relaxed, just a little, though he was by no means satisfied. Abruptly, he wondered if Trowa was coming to the law firm's offices for some legal matter. Wufei was only a paralegal, not a lawyer who handled the court side of cases, but he could probably arrange to handle all of the paperwork for Trowa's case, if there was one, no matter which lawyer ended up actually taking it to trial.

He was being a bit ridiculous. Wufei knew that there were many different businesses in this building, including some doctors and specialists who had offices on the top floors. There was nothing to say that Trowa was in need of legal advice, and even less to imply that he was in need of Wufei's assistance.

Speaking of the office, though, Wufei looked across the lobby he and Trowa were standing in and caught sight of the time on the wall clock. He wasn't late to work, but he was pushing it if he stayed here talking to Trowa for much longer.

Irritated anew, Wufei walked over to the elevator and pressed to go up. As though his movement had been a catalyst, Trowa followed him, standing beside Wufei while they waited for the doors to open. It should have felt awkward, but it really didn't. The silence was familiar, like slipping into an old sweater that had been thrown to the back of the closet for months, only to be unearthed while foraging for something else.

The others in the elevator moved aside to create a space for them to stand in, and they entered side by side. Everyone was paying attention to their phones or staring blankly ahead, almost desperate to escape the potential faux pas of accidentally catching someone else's gaze. One of the interns where Wufei worked was there, and she gave him a tired smile and murmured a greeting that Wufei nodded at before turning away. Wufei himself would usually be scanning some papers already, his mind turning to the cases awaiting his research even before he finished the morning drive over, but today his thoughts had been thoroughly derailed by running into Trowa.

Not seeing any reason in pretending disinterest, and not caring to present such a front anyway, Wufei found himself looking over at Trowa, who stared at the doors for only another second before he returned the look.

Wufei didn't know what to say. Maybe there wasn't anything to talk about. Trowa was not his lover anymore, hadn't been for two years, and it was no business of Wufei's why he was in this building, or what he was doing with his life now.

It shouldn't matter to him whether or not Trowa was currently seeing someone. Wufei had been the one to actually end their relationship, though really, he'd only given voice to what they'd both already known. Trowa had given up months before that, long before Wufei did.

That knowledge still hurt.

Now, he was faced with a similar choice. Should he say nothing, and let Trowa walk away again? Was it even his decision anymore?

They both shuffled around as people got off on different floors, everyone starting their work day, but Wufei's eyes never left Trowa's. He didn't know what emotion he saw there, but he knew what wasn't present. Anger. Resentment. Pity.

Well, no one had ever accused Wufei of being a coward. If Trowa refused, then that was that, but the only thing stopping Wufei from speaking up was himself, and he refused to back down from a challenge.

"Would it be alright if I called you later, and we met up somewhere so we could talk?"

Trowa blinked at him, a look of surprise and pleasure flashing across his face, and he nodded wordlessly before pulling out his phone. Wufei felt his own pleasure at Trowa's acceptance of spending more time with him voluntarily, and they exchanged numbers before his floor came up.

"I'll contact you later," he promised. Just before the door closed, Wufei glimpsed a small smile on Trowa's face. Interesting.

There was still something wrong. Trowa was acting peculiar, and Wufei didn't know what to do about that. He doubted that it was his place to say anything. Reluctantly, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he entered the office, slipping his phone back into his coat.

Later, he'd call up Trowa and set up a day for them to meet. Whatever was wrong, he'd find out about it then, most likely, or the entire situation would already be resolved. Either way, Wufei could be patient.

He couldn't stop his own smile at the thought of Trowa coming back into his life again after all this time.