Disclaimers: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing nor it's characters. Merely borrowing them for a little torture.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, OOCs, angst (I think)

Life Altering Decisions

Part 2

Duo jumped up from his seat, nearly overturning the pizza and deftly caught it. Shit, Wufei? Could there be another Chinese man named Wufei? He stared at Devon's back who was currently blocking the newcomer. As Devon moved aside to let the man enter, Duo's mind worked furiously. Could there be another man with that same raven hair, that same intense onyx eyes, that same reserved smile, that same….

Shit, Chang Wufei.

What in all that was holy was he doing here?

Three years, it had been three years since Duo had seen Wufei, hell, since Duo had seen any of the pilots. He had been busy with school and work. He knew it was a pretty lame excuse but that had been the truth. During breaks, his job had required him to work full time there and since it paid well, Duo had decided that getting through college without being broke was more important. He had kept up contact with Quatre and Heero through emails and phone calls, but it had been a long time since he had met anyone of them in person. And why did it have to be Wufei? He was the last person Duo wanted to meet. He still had scabs from their previous encounter and that hadn't exactly healed properly, even after all this time.

Chang Wufei had matured into a breath taking young man. The last time Duo had seen him, the Chinese Preventor was still very much a boy. He had grown lean and tall, muscle and sinew, and all angles. There was nothing boyish about him anymore. Physically at least. All his fellow pilots never had a boyhood and besides looking physically young, their childhood had been effectively burnt away from hours spent strapped to the harness in their Gundams, fighting for everyone's lives and for peace. Right now, Wufei looked good enough to eat. He was wearing a white button down and dark grey slacks. It looked completely different on him as it was a break from his traditional dress whites.

No, Duo told himself firmly. No more thinking of Chang Wufei like that. The man was straight for God's sakes and sure as hell not interested in me in the past and sure as hell not now.

Still, the American couldn't seem to take his eyes off the vision Wufei had become. Duo was dimly aware of Devon talking a mile a minute, introducing him to Wufei and vice versa, completely oblivious to the fact that the two of them couldn't seem to take their eyes off each other. Duo could only send a prayer heavenward that his amethyst hued eyes didn't betray the hunger he felt when he stared at the Chinese man's fit form.

"Duo… hey, Duo," the other man came back abruptly to himself when Devon's hand waved in front of his face. "Are you okay?" Devon asked, concerned at the apparent inattentiveness of the normally alert Duo.

Duo shot him a glance. "What?" He asked Devon, raising his eyebrows, trying to focus on what his roommate was trying to tell him, instead of how broad Wufei's shoulders were in that shirt.

"Come meet him," Devon tugged at Duo's hand, pulling at him like a child.

The America, still shell shocked at the sudden appearance of his past, allowed himself to be hauled towards the one person he dreaded to meet after all this time.

"Change Wufei," Devon began formally. "This is my roommate and my best friend, Duo Maxwell." He gestured with a flourish.

Best friend? That's new, Duo thought with a smile but thought it was true.

"Devon, I…" Duo was cut off by Wufei's hand being stuck into his face.

"Nice to meet you, Duo. I'm new here." The Chinese man shot a narrowed gaze at Duo that clearly said 'Play along'.

Confusion and a large amount of suspicion furrowed Duo's brow but he let it go for now, knowing there would ample opportunity for the third degree later. "Hi," he said simply, not bothering to say anything else. After all, Duo Maxwell didn't lie. He may have during the war going undercover but it was not the war anymore and he didn't need to cover for anyone. Wufei had better had a damn good explanation for asking him to be party in this. Duo had declined a position for the Preventors because he didn't want to fight anymore and Wufei putting him in a spot that was wholly unwelcome.

"Come, dinner awaits," Devon announced proudly.

Wufei gingerly stepped around the piles of books littering the floor but otherwise, it was cleared of any laundry and such. There was a slight look of disapproval in Wufei's expression and all Duo could think was 'tough'. The American didn't need to please anyone anymore and they can very well get the hell out of his room if it was so distasteful. The Chinese ex-pilot threw him a glance that clearly said 'I so remember this from the war', causing Duo to return a look that said 'What's it to you?'.

Devon watched the by play between the two a little uncertainly, wondering for the first time if this was a bad idea. "Am I missing something?" He frowned at the two of them who jerked their gazes towards the slightly confused man.

Duo shook his head hurriedly. "Nope." Turning, he ignored Wufei and lay stretched out on his bed, picking up his text book and began leafing through it. He listened with half an ear at the conversation between the two, still keeping an eye on his 'little brother', now that he knew his new friend was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Whatever Wufei was doing here, he wasn't going to let anything slip and Duo's best chance at finding out what the hell was going on was to corner the man later. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Wufei casting surreptitious glances at him ever so often and wondered for the first time how did he appear in the eyes of the Chinese. He felt like a fool. No matter how time had passed, he still wanted very much to make a good impression on Wufei. Pathetic, he told himself, utterly, completely pathetic.

The American knew he had changed almost as much as the Chinese man. He had hit a growth spurge lately and shot up to be almost six feet, just a little shorter than lanky Devon. He had toyed with the idea of being one of those buffed football quarterbacks and had tried weight training. It was either his genes or some other odd factor, but all it did for him was to define his muscles, leaving him deceptively slender, though enormously strong when the situation required it. Some of Devon's bullies had been intimately acquainted with his strength. Like Wufei, his boyish softness had been completely eroded to lean angles, although his features still retained the elfin quality that was the cause of all his problems with the female population and now, because of his big fat mouth, the male population as well. His amethyst eyes and hip length braid were still his signature features but that only added to the overall slightly effeminate quality to Duo Maxwell. Even so, everyone that knew him could tell he was all man and sexy as hell.

"Hey, it's almost end of the semester, how did you manage to get in here?" Devon was innocently enquiring, catching Duo's attention.

Good question. Hell, perfect question.

Finals were starting in two days and summer break would start in a few weeks. No one would be able to get into a college at this time unless there was some major hanky panky going on. Duo smiled mirthlessly, and wondered with some twisted satisfaction how Wufei was going to wriggle out of this. He put down his book and levelled the Preventor's agent a carefully contrived look of innocence.

"Yeah, Wufei," Duo piped. "How?"

Wufei shot Duo a dark glare as the other man with almost bit of a smile asking 'Heero? What are you doing in Wufei's body?' and cleared his throat several times. "Actually, I'm going to start only the next semester, but my parents sort of have some connections with the Dean and he allowed me to see if I would enjoy studying here."

Duo was trying hard to resist the urge not to laugh at Wufei. He was sure that was the fastest way to get his clock cleaned. That was the lamest excuse he had ever heard. It would probably do the Chinese better to come in as a janitor than to come up with something this transparent. Duo idly wondered how so many purported geniuses at MIT didn't call him on this. Then he remembered the glare that Wufei could turn a person. Not as intense as Heero Yuy's patented Death Glare that said 'Omae O Korosu ' at every turn but it was enough to have someone who wasn't immune running in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for Chang Wufei, ex-Gundam pilot, Preventor's agent extraordinaire; one Duo Maxwell was completely unaffected by said glare, having been trained by one considerably more frightening.

"Really?" Devon gaped. "That is so odd, I mean I wanted to try that and I was a…" He cut himself off abruptly, staring at the other two men, eyes wide, almost frightened.

"Devon?" Duo asked, staring at his roommate with a slight frown. If he hadn't been mistaken, it was a slip. What Devon almost let slip, Duo didn't know, but he was shocked that the secretive man before him nearly forgot himself. The American was under no illusions about his roommate. Devon, by all outward appearances, seemed shy and reserved, but Duo could see he was extremely shrewd. That was one of the reasons why he superimposed Quatre onto this lanky young man. He had Quatre's diplomacy and apparent innocence, but there was a steel grit under all that bashfulness. Devon kept something from Duo, but the braided American didn't pry. Since he had his own set of secrets, he didn't think it was fair to ask Devon to tell him all of his.

Devon laughed uneasily. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Duo's eyes narrowed contemplatively as he threw a glance at Wufei, who was watching Devon carefully, like one would a skittish horse. It was also a look Duo remembered from the war, a look that told him Wufei knew something. Still, he appalled by the quality of the lie Wufei had spewed. Duo didn't believe it for even second and was shocked that apparently Devon swallowed it whole. It seemed that his lanky roommate was the centre of all this and he was going to find out exactly what was going on.

"Thanks for dinner," Wufei got up. "It's late and I think I should be going."

Devon fairly leapt to his feet. "Not a problem. I'll show you out," he offered.

"Devon," Duo barked. "Sit." He pointed to a chair. He didn't want the man to go out so late at night when God knows what would be crawling outside. 'Torture the dork' was evidently a national hobby for all jocks.

Devon sank back into his chair with a decidedly petulant air. "Pooper."

"Be a good boy," Duo smiled and walked up to Wufei. "I'll show you out." But it was unspoken that Duo wanted more information and from the stubborn set of Wufei's jaw, it will be hard prying it from him. "Lock the door."

"Yes, mom," Devon teased, but obeyed, locking it after the two stepped out into the hall.

Two ex-pilots, ex-comrades walked side by side, matching stride for stride, even though Duo was now the taller of the two. They kept their silence for a while, feeling a little uncomfortable after years of separation, both trying to reconcile each other from the boy they once knew. Duo followed Wufei quietly from behind, already figuring out the Chinese man knew exactly where he was going.

"Wufei," Duo called out, halting the other man. "What are you doing here?"

Wufei turned to face Duo, shrugging. "Watching you protect your lover?" There was a hint of disapproval written in his tight expression.

The American started to say something, then decided to just shut the hell up. Too bad if Wufei wanted to get all prissy ass about it. If he didn't swing that way, there was no reason for him to be critical about those that do. Funny, Duo had never seen him this critical with Quatre and Trowa going at each other, so he could only guess Wufei had something against him personally.

Well, too damned bad.

"Hope you enjoyed the show," Duo sniped and enjoyed the shocked look from the Chinese man. "Now, tell me, what's the whole deal with Devon."

"Why do you think there's something?" Wufei hedged. "I could just be coming to see you."

Duo smile mirthlessly. "I guess playing the fool for you had lowered your opinion of my intelligence. I'm not a fool, I saw the looks you gave Devon." He crossed his arms in front of him. "Besides, you didn't have to introduce yourself to my lover, if you wanted to see me, did you?" He saw Wufei flinch at the attack. Good, he thought. And it really felt wonderful. He had been dying to get this off his chest for years now.

"Maxwell, I…" Wufei decided to just shut up.

Shut up before you dig yourself a deeper hole, Duo glared at him. "So, what's he? Terrorist? An Oz sympathiser and revivalist? Ex White Fang?"

"You know my missions are classified, Maxwell," Wufei told him shortly.

Duo almost crowed with victory. "So you agree that he's the mission." He noted that Wufei turned red and looked ready to bite off his own tongue. "I've known him for a long time and he hardly knows anything about the war, lies like Quatre…" And you. "So I can conclude that you are protecting him." Another hit. Wufei was getting so transparent. "So who's he?"

"The less you know, the safer it is for you," Wufei informed him.

The braided American hissed in frustration. "Damn it, 'Fei." He reverted back to his nickname for the Chinese in moments of irritation. "I can't protect him if I don't know from what!"

"You're not a Preventor's agent…"

"That's painfully obvious. But I don't believe that's the answer to my question." Duo raked his fingers through his bangs, the other hand flipping his long braid over his shoulder. Who could Devon possibly be that the Preventors have to get involved? The closest he could think was that Devon was the son of an important diplomat.

Wufei looked displeased. "Damn it, Maxwell, I told you…"

Duo shook his head at Wufei in resignation, cutting him off with a sharp gesture of his hand. "Fine, whatever. Classified, I understand. Just make sure he is not hurt in any way because you weren't here to protect him and I didn't have enough information to do it."

"Maxwell," Wufei sighed harshly, defeated. "He's someone that needs to be protected at all costs. He could be the key to avoiding more bloodshed. As to who he really is, that information is truly classified."

Duo stared silently at Wufei, slightly mollified. It wasn't enough, but he had a little to go on. If he reflected enough on Devon's oddities, it merely showed the American how sheltered he was from the harsh realities of life. So, Devon Clay was either a real mother's boy, or very well protected prodigal son. Either way, he understood the reasons behind protecting his roommate, from whatever the threat, be it from brawny jocks or other outside threats.

"We haven't seen you in a long while," Wufei told him softly, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Duo said, exhaling loudly. "Been really busy with work and school."

"That's hardly an excuse," Wufei admonished.

Duo flashed him the prized Maxwell grin. "I think that's the perfect excuse. How's everyone?" He was willing to carry on a perfectly civil conversation for now.

"Quatre's getting more obscenely rich by the second, and Trowa's his assistant of sorts while not being my partner at the Preventors. The man joked about the benefits of sleeping with boss," Wufei smirked at the long haired man.

They shared a smile for the first time in years. "For a man that silent, he sure has wicked sense of humour," Duo observed.

Wufei laughed. "Some might say he got it from you."

Duo laughed uproariously, then made an effort to quiet down, realising that there were many who were burning the proverbial midnight oil.

"Heero's still the head of security on Relena's staff. They are about to get engaged next month," Wufei informed Duo with an odd look of pain. The long haired man saw it, but didn't know what to think of it.

"Yeah, they timed it so I could be on my summer break. I mean, finally. Our Queenie has been stalking Mr Perfect Soldier for ages now."

"Maybe because Heero was stalking you during the war?" Wufei told Duo softly, dropping his gaze to the floor.

Duo flinched. Now that was a low blow. He didn't expect Wufei to bring up the implication of the fact that his break up with Heero had been informed to the others months after the fact. Heero had sent him a pretty nasty email that spoke volumes regarding irresponsibility and abandonment of a good friend to face three annoyed pilots. According to Heero, his friends had been 'pissed as hell' at the sight of him going out on a date with Relena and had nearly ripped him a new one. All in all, it had been amusing to Duo, although the ex-Wing pilot would beg to differ.

"We parted amicably." Duo hesitated for a fraction before asking, "How's Sally?"

Wufei smiled hugely. "That woman." There was unmistakable affection in his tone. "She's the lead medical officer at the Preventors and still as meddlesome as always."

Suddenly, Duo didn't want to hear anymore. It merely reminded him that Wufei was something he could never have even if it meant he tried for the rest of his life. "Look, you obviously know where you are going and clearly don't need my help. I've got to hit the books for finals, my scholarship depends on me passing. So, good night, and don't worry, I'll take care of Devon." He spun on his heads and curbed the desire to run away from his past.

~*~

Wufei watched as Duo practically ran from him, his heart constricted in so many ways it hurt to even breathe. Once again he had been too late. During the first war he had been too late and now he was late once more. It was as if fate conspired against him to take the one thing he wanted more to possess in the world away from him. At first Heero Yuy got to him before Wufei could then it was his charge, Devon Clay. Was life ever going to give him a break?

Duo Maxwell had changed so much Wufei almost didn't recognise him anymore if it wasn't for the foot long braid and unforgettable eyes. The endearing boy was gone, disappeared forever in the passage of time and will only still exist where it burnt deeply in Wufei's memories. What was left was a charming young man that left an unforgettable mark on those he met. Duo no longer had a jester mask on, smiling to cover up his own hurts and pains but now seemed to be more at home with himself. Of course, he still was the same cheerful Duo Maxwell Wufei knew from the war, but the difference was tangible.

Yes, Duo Maxwell was very much a man now and that made him even more desirable to Wufei. While Wufei had achieved the broad shouldered and slim hips that were the epitome of every man's ideal body, Duo Maxwell maintained a slender, whip cord strength.

Wufei buried his face into his hands, wishing the ground would just swallow him whole.

Duo Maxwell, I love you, he wanted to scream. Why do you hate me so?

tbc…

Tsu: Don't worry, we love you Fei-kun

Fei: Well, you had better, you are writing about me.

Tsu: Note the warning, I borrow you guys for torture.

Fei: Damned onna! Review her, tell her not to torture me!