4. Walking in the Forest

Wufei tried to be inconspicuous about his nerves while Duo calmly and silently read the first question on the sheet. But really his nerves were eating him raw. It didn't mean anything, this stupid test – quiz – questionnaire – whatever it was. It didn't mean anything.

Right?

Wufei was biting on his finger – Change Wufei never indulged in such weak nervous habits but in this instance the action was entirely subconscious – when Duo lowered the piece of paper.

"'You are walking in the forest'," Duo read.

Wufei snorted – shifted – looked at the far corner of the room. Basically, he did anything that would allow him to avoid looking at Maxwell and more importantly avoid showing that this was bothering him – this question.

"Who's there with you?" Duo asked gently. So gently, in fact, that it caught the dragon off guard.

Wufei whipped his eyes away from the ceiling tiles to Maxwell's capped head with a questioning exclamation.

"Who's there with you? It's on the paper," Duo clarified with a wave of the mentioned paper.

Wufei pulled on his ponytail – another subconscious gesture. Then he chuckled – a wary and self-conscious chuckle.

"Ah … well, everyone … I suppose," he answered with a shrug, not looking at Duo. "Friends. My ancestors. Even Meiran." Wufei's brows furrowed as his gaze drew inward.

"Not that I specifically saw every single person." A half truth and Wufei knew it.

"The doc – psych – had me visualize everything," he explained. "But I knew – could feel – that everyone was there."

"Everyone?" Duo said, searching for something.

Wufei suddenly felt like he was in the interrogation room – like the person in front of him was seeing right through his denial. Or maybe Maxwell couldn't at all. Maybe Wufei's mind was just trying to force him to come to grips with something – the very reason he was angry and annoyed.

"Yeah, everyone," Wufei huffed. "You know … Yuy, Barton and Winner. Po, Marquise, Une – "

"I'd'a said you," Duo cut in.

For thirty seconds on the clock a world of silence passed in the plush, comfy lounge. Tick-tock went the electric timepiece while Wufei stared with a lax jaw at Duo, whose eyes were still covered by that damned black cap, pose still reclined and relaxed.

Wufei didn't know what to do. He couldn't even blink. The honest words just slipped from his lips – like grains of sand slipping between his fingers.

"I saw your braid." Wufei couldn't believe himself. "You were the only one I actually saw."

Without another word he got up and ran out of the room.

--

--

The shock wore off as soon as the door slammed after Wufei. Duo instantly stopped pretending and jumped forward, grabbing the stack of papers Wufei had left behind.

Riffling through them he found the right sheet and carelessly discarded the rest. His eyes were glued to the page and scanning for the one question that mattered now. He stopped at the third to last question.

The paper fell from his lax grip.

"Porcelain?" he asked the empty room.

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A/N: THANK YOU guys for any and all forms of feedback!! ^_^ xoxo
p.s. I promise, the answers are not far away! They'll be posted soon!