My beta pointed out that since a lot of people reading this are American, they don't use the same measurements as I do, but since I don't feel like adapting myself I'm going to explain it.

Okay, here we go. Your pinky is about one centimeter (probably not exactly, but just about). Now imagine ten pinkies lying next to each other (mmm bloody), that' a decimeter. Now imagine ten of those next to eachother, that's a meter. Simple :)


Chapter Fourteen

"Hey Duo." Was the greeting he got as he climbed into the waiting car.

"Hey Cupcake." He replied as he climbed gracelessly into the car with his large gym bag in his arms.

Wufei watched him in amusement as he tried to fit his long legs into tight space before starting the car. "I talked to my mother earlier today and they - the entire family - are coming to visit me this weekend on my birthday, if you wanted to see them."

Duo's eyes lit up. "Yeah..." He hesitated, fingers curling tightly around handles of his gym bag. "You don't mind... do you?"

Wufei checked the traffic before pulling out on the street. "I wouldn't have asked then would I? Mom will be happy to see you, and so will Dad."

"I'd like that. I - I've missed them." He confessed, squirming slightly in his seat. "Are they mad at me?"

Wufei looked over at him for a second with a sad smile. "No, they were more disappointed in me for not telling you sooner."

Duo was silent for a moment, staring out of the car window. He didn't really want to ask, because he knew that it would bring both their moods down, but he wanted to know. "So why didn't you?"

Wufei sighed as he shifted gear. "Isn't it obvious? I was pretty sure that what happened was going to happen. I didn't want to risk losing you before I was sure that I was going to get the surgery. "

"Oh..." Duo thought for a second, absently playing with a lose thread on his bag. "So how does that whole surgery thing work anyway?"

Wufei slowed down to a stop in front of a red light. "Well, I went through several sessions with a psychologist and a lot of medical exams to confirm that I really was transsexual and not just a little fucked in the head. Did you know that you can actually tell by looking at someone's brain what gender they have?"

"No." Duo didn't make a habit out of thinking about other peoples brains.

"It's really fascinating. My doctor actually showed me some x-ray pictures and pointed out what made it obvious that a brain was male or female, despite what gender the body had." Duo barely had time to blink before Wufei went on, telling him about all the different parts of a brain that was different for the sexes. Duo was silent as he listened.

He never thought about it that way, but slowly it started to sink in. All the talk about brains, not to mention that word, -transsexual- somehow made it more real. He guessed that a part of him had still thought that Meilan just woke up one day and felt like being a man instead.

He looked over at Wufei who was trying to change lanes while talking rapidly. Maybe it was true, that there never was a Meilan, just Wufei trapped in a body that wasn't his own.

He leaned back against the car door and took a good look at the man next to him. Meilan had been a pretty masculine girl. Wide shoulders, almost no waist, nonexistent ass and small breasts. It all helped Wufei now, making him a more believable guy. That he had plenty of muscles also helped. It gave you a feeling that Wufei might be shorter then the average man, but you couldn't shove him around, even if you tried.

He lifted his eyes to the face and the still talking mouth. Meilan had not been a beautiful girl, but as a man he was pretty good looking. Shapes and lines that had made Meilan look angular just made Wufei look striking.

"What? Am I boring you?" Wufei asked, meeting his eyes.

Duo shook his head. "No, just thinking. Go on, I'm listening."

"If you don't give a shit, just tell me. I'm not going to get offended."

"No, I care... I want to know."

"Okay." Wufei gave him a happy smile and Duo wondered if Wufei had ever been given the chance to talk about this with anyone.

"Well, as I was saying, the number of neurons in a female-to-male transsexuals brain is similar to that of a male, it's the same in male-to-female transsexuals and females."

Duo had a hard time following what Wufei was talking about but he had a feeling that it didn't matter; it just needed to be said out loud. The other man looked so involved in what he was talking about, waving his hand around as he rambled. It was kind of cute.

Meilan had done the same thing. She would just go of into a seemingly endless lecture about the strangest things. The difference was that Meilan, more often then not, was angry over something instead of just being exited over sharing something that she found interesting.

"What is fascinating is how the number of neurons was 81% higher in homosexual men than in heterosexual women, it makes-"

Duo felt slightly guilty for not being able understand what was so interesting about neurons but he nodded along to everything Wufei said. Very much like he had done when Meilan started talking about the socialistic revolution or something else that made absolutely no sense to him.

He was just happy that Wufei had not asked for his opinion on anything by the time they arrived. Parking the car on the other side of the street, Wufei looked over at the Dojo. "It looks nice." Wufei remarked.

"Yeah." Duo had seen it before, but never been inside it. It represented too many things from his old life, that the mere sight of it had been painful. He never did get over the habit of driving the long way around this place so he did not have to see it.

It was a large, white painted building with the dojo's logo in gold hanging above the entrance. Large red pennants were hanging between each window, proudly showing of kanji signs that barely anyone in that country could understand. A couple of trees stood in a neat row in front of it, giving you the illusion that you were out in the open country, not in the middle of the city.

Wufei opened the door to step out. Duo took a second, taking a new grip on his bag before doing the same. By the time he arrived on the other side of it, Wufei had taken his bag out from the back and was ready to lock the car. Together, they crossed the street and pushed open the somewhat heavy door. On the other side was a large, open room. Decorative golden dragons spread across the white walls, all the way up to the impressive round skylight that took up most of ceiling, high above their heads.

A koi pond, complete with rocks, a fountain and colorful fishes was sunken down into the floor the middle of the room.

"How much did you pay to rent a mat here anyway?" Duo whispered, eyeing his surroundings. It looked really expensive and he didn't know if he dared to take another step, scared that his boots would leave dirty footprints on the clean, white floor.

Wufei didn't answer him, he just walked towards the far wall that had an large golden arrow with the word 'reception' engraved on it. "I'll find out what mat we're on."

Duo nodded. Seeing a similar sign on the other side with the words 'Dojo' and 'changing room' on it, Duo started walking towards it. "I'll go change." He told Wufei as the other man walked towards the reception. A dismissive wave was all he got as an answer.

He was glad to see that the changing room was far from as fancy as the rest of the place, just row after row of yellow metal lockers. He picked an unoccupied one, not far from the showers, not wanting to walk further then he had to.

He changed into his traditional white training outfit. The thick texture felt familiar but at the same time very foreign against his body. It was a bit sad that he'd given up on his training after they split up. But it was far from the only thing that he had given up on. A lot of things that he used to do were swept under the rug after he broke up with Meilan.

Duo shook his head, trying to scatter his dark thoughts as he tied the belt around his waist. Meeting Wufei really was opening up doors for him. He was going to start dating again, he was training again and he was happier then he could remember being in a very long time. Finally, after so long, he was moving on.

He sat down on the bench in front of the lockers, wiggling his naked toes over the cold plastic floor. He was really looking forward to this and he could hardly wait to start.

Time went by and when Wufei didn't show up, Duo got bored. He turned around and closed the yellow metal door, locking it with the same padlock that he used back at their old dojo. Fondly he rubbed his thumb over the pink glittery unicorn sticker on the lock. Meilan had put it there after he glued the Barbie logo on hers. With a smile he left the changing room and wandered out to the mats. The dojo was big, a lot bigger then their old one. There were four bigger mats and at least ten smaller ones that all had several bamboo room dividers between them.

It was still early and there were not that many people around. A couple of training pairs were warming up further away and a class of younger children were going through one of the basic katas on one of the bigger mats.

Duo leaned against the wall, watching them as he remembered how he first started training. It was through one of his mom's old boyfriends, one of the few that didn't treat him as an annoying appendage to his mother. The man had taken him along during one of his own trainings and Duo was instantly hooked. Maybe he should try to look Zechs up to see what he was doing now days?

He had actually been pretty sad when his mother broke up with the blond after two years. But by that time he was fifteen and the dream of having a real father felt kind of pointless anyway.

He kept up his training though, even when Zechs never came back to the dojo.

Duo left his first dojo when he was seventeen. He was frustrated with the teachers and he felt like he wasn't getting anywhere. Then someone recommended a smaller dojo out in the middle of the concrete suburb, saying that it was a good place to go.

His first visit there was the first time he had seen Meilan. She was instructing a beginner's class in how to fall and Duo had been mesmerized.

She was confident and in total control, not to mention cool and funny. He wouldn't say that was love at first sight, but it was definitively puppy love at first sight. He would follow her around everywhere, talking a mile a minute, find any excuse to be around her, do anything to make her smile. And she let him.

He never thought he had a chance. She was older, and more experienced with such a wicked personality that he thought it was strange that she didn't have guys hanging off her arm. Or maybe it wasn't so strange. Meilan wasn't one to put up with people that she didn't like and she did not like a lot of people. He always considered it to be something of a miracle that she wanted to date him. A dream come true.

He was brought out of his thoughts as someone bumped into his arm. Wufei appeared next to him, also dressed in the standard outfit. Duo noted with a mental pout that Wufei was still a grade over him. He fought hard to reach this level and earn his green belt. Meilan breezed through her upgrading like it was nothing. He could at least be relived that her belt was still brown and not black, that would be a bit much.

"We are on the corner mat." Wufei said, nodding his head towards the other side of the large hall.

"Cool."

The smell of sweaty bodies and that distinct smell of the mats rolled over him as they walked across the hall. The sound of instructions being called out, the students responses and the sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed through the hall. It brought back a lot of memories.

Their mat was in the furthest corner, with a bamboo room-divider on the two open sides. He was grateful that they were slightly out of sight since he had a feeling that he was going to have his ass handed to him pretty fast.

The men bowed respectfully to the mat before walking out on it to start. They did the warm up together, push-ups, sit-ups and a few basic katas. Duo was horrified to see just how much of his training he had forgotten. Wufei might not have practised all that hard the last few years because of all the surgeries and his studies, but he had at least tried to keep it up.

It didn't take long before Duo realized that he now days had even less of a chance of winning then before. Wufei was stronger, his grip was tighter and he was a lot heavier then before. Duo might as well have rolled over on his back before they even started.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo slapped his hand against the mat once again, signalling that he was giving up. Wufei let go of his arm and rolled off his back. With a sigh Duo got back on his feet and pulled his clothes straight.

"Giving up?" Wufei teased, getting into position.

Duo glared. "No."

Wufei just smirked.

Duo swore that he was not leaving until he managed to take him down at least once.

They bowed, starting all over again. A kick was delivered towards his head and he quickly blocked it, aiming a fist at Wufei's chest. Miss.

Wufei elegantly moved to the side, avoiding Duo's punch easily before gripping his forearm. Duo hardly got a second to think before he was thrown over Wufei's shoulder, landing heavily on the mat. But with a quick roll he still managed not to get pinned under Wufei.

Wufei's leg glided over his thigh in a try to get a hold of him. Duo twisted to the side again, barely managing to get away. He rolled, got to his feet and quickly turned back to his opponent who was already moving towards him.

A kick, block. Punch, duck, kick, hit. Back and forth they danced together.

Duo remembered a time when training used to be foreplay for the two of them.

They used to spare in the dojo, getting all hot and bothered before going home to fuck. Sometimes they didn't even make it home. He remembered one time when then they ended up having sex in the car that was still standing on the parking lot, barely ten meters from the entrance.

Duo feigned a high kick but in the last second twisting to aim at the back of Wufei's knee. He caught Wufei by surprise and as the knee gave out from his kick, Duo caught Wufei's arm and twisted it behind the other man's back. They tumbled to the floor, Wufei on his stomach with his arm locked behind his back, Duo leaning heavily over him. Wufei tried to get away but Duo's grip was too strong.

The sound of those two slaps against the mat was among the most satisfying Duo had ever heard.

"Yes!" He let go and raised his fist towards the sky in victory, attracting some attention from the people practising on the mat next to theirs.

Wufei rolled over and sat up. "One time out of, what? Ten?"

"Ignoring the sad loser. Time for the victory dance." Duo improvised a quick dance involving a lot of fist pumping and a air guitar solo before turning to his sparing partner. Wufei was standing with his arms crossed with a look on his face that, on Meilan, Duo would have called a pout. On Wufei it looked like he was trying not to kill him.

"Again?" Wufei asked hopefully.

"Hell no! I have to milk this all I can. I won, you lost, you were defeated. I am the champion!" Duo did another victory dance.

Wufei just grabbed his things and walked away. Duo picked up his water bottle and hurried to catch up to him. This was just a too good opportunity to not annoy his friend. He waited until they were out of sight from the training hall before he started.

He swaggered flamboyantly along the corridor next to Wufei. "I feel good, na na na na na na na, I knew that I would, na na na na na na na, so good, so-" Duo sung happily, only to get cut off by a sharp yank of his braid.

"I get the point." Wufei grumbled.

Duo stuck his tongue out, restraining the urge to rub the back of his head. "Damn, Wu. You are such a bad loser."

"Shut up." Wufei muttered. "I'm not, you are just rubbing it in."

Duo cleared his throat. It was going to take a lot more then some hair pulling for him to let this go. "We are the champion my friend!" he ducked Wufei's fist, still singing. "And we'll keep on fighting to th- oww!" Duo rubbed his abused shoulder.

Wufei lowered his fist. "God, you are such a brat."

Duo grinned, bouncing a bit on his toes. "God is a brat? Oh damn, that explains so much."

Wufei glared.

Duo skipped a head a few steps before raising his voice. "The winner takes it all!" Wufei bared his teeth, quickening his steps. Duo did the same, trying to get away. "The loser standing small!" Duo jumped out off the way from Wufei's flying punch. "Beside the victory!" He never got further with the song since he needed the air for running.

They came to an abrupt stop outside the door of the changing room. Luck was on his side as Wufei was restrained from hurting him when a couple of guys opened the door to walk past them. Panting Duo put his hand up against the wall, leaning down towards Wufei. "Are you sure that they didn't give you too much testosterone? You are getting a bit aggressive." Duo teased quietly, knowing that if he had been dealing with Meilan right now, she would have dislocated his balls.

Wufei shoved him into the doorframe as he walked into the changing room. Duo just snickered and followed him.

Duo felt good. Victory was sweet and he intended to keep pushing his luck. Duo rarely won before and by the looks of things, he was going to have to celebrate this opportunity big time because the next one was most likely far away.

Wufei was already unlocking his locker with his back turned slightly towards him in a childish but cute move to signal 'I'm not talking to you.' Duo wanted to ruffle his hair, hug him and place a kiss on that stiff neck. Instead he snickered loudly, making Wufei glare at him over his shoulder.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop." Duo laughed. "For now anyway."

Wufei just muttered.

Duo decided to give his friend a break. Besides, this would be much more fun if he brought it up at a later time. So instead of bothering Wufei, he unlocked his own locker. After taking his sweaty white outfit off and throwing it into his bag, he fastened a towel around his waist. He had a quick thought of trying to shower faster then Wufei so that he could slip the salt and pepper pot into his bag. He could try, but it might be a bit obvious. It really would make this day so sweet if he managed it. Not only did he defeat Wufei on the mat, he also would have won the next round of 'who owns the pots.'

He easily twisted his braid into a large bun on top of his head, securing it with a couple of long hair pins that he kept in his bag for this exact purpose. He took a second to flip a snickering Wufei off before closing his locker.

He was just about to remind Wufei of the disaster area that was his own hair when he did a double take to stare at his ex-girlfriends dick.

It looked very real where it was hanging from a bush of dark curly hair. If you knew that it wasn't, you could kind of tell that it was a bit too smooth and that there was something about the head that looked slightly off. But if he hadn't known he probably wouldn't have noticed a thing. Because it was a dick. A dick that was attached to his ex-girlfriend.

"Duo." The other man hissed. "I might not be an expert but I don't think males stare at each others cocks."

Duo blushed bright red as Wufei wrapped a towel around his waist. "Sorry." He apologized in embarrassment, happy that there were not a lot of people in the dressing room.

"Who was the gay one again?" Wufei whispered teasingly as he walked past him towards the showers.

Duo groaned as he followed, barely remembering to take the soap with him. Wufei was never going to let him live this down. "I was just a bit curious."

Wufei smirked over his shoulder as he walked in to the, thankfully empty, shower area and hung his towel up on one of the hooks. "Whatever, just keep your eyes to yourself, faggot."

Duo snorted in laughter as he did the same. "Yeah, well you better hang on tight to that soap, who knows what might happen if you drop it."

Wufei throw his soap up in the air, catching it easily. "I think I better watch my ass then."

At those words, Duo couldn't help but let his eyes wander down to the ass in front of him. It was a bit more masculine, but it looked more or less the same as Meilan's. It was a pretty nice ass.

"Duo!" Wufei hissed in warning.

Duo stumbled, feeling his face burn. "Sorry."

"Let me guess, just a bit curious." Wufei gave him a halfhearted glare over his shoulder as he turned on the shower. "You are an asshole." He stated.

Duo's eyes automatically went back down to Wufei's ass.

"Duo! "

"Sorry!" Duo hurried over to the shower, using the shower nods as an excuse to look down and hid his red face. "Not doing it on purpose."

"Could have fooled me." Was the amused snort coming from the man next to him.

"Well if you would just stop talking about asses." He muttered, wishing that he could melt and run down the drain.

Minutes later, Duo lost his grip on the slippery soap, making it slide over the tile floor. They both broke out in a almost hysterical laughter as they watched its journey. It was with a rush of relief that the tension fell away. Wufei was laughing, leaning against the wall while Duo himself was bent over with his arms wrapped around his stomach, trying but failing to stop laughing.

It made a couple of guys turn in the doorway, for some reason not wanting to shower at the same time as them.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N

hihi, I made a Dogbert joke. Did you see it?

Well, the next chapter is the last one and it will most likely be posted on Friday.

Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and put this story on alert.

Cinnamon Selkie - I'm glad you liked it :) Ah yes, the return of the shakers, Wufei sure wasn't going to give that fight up, this combined with a Duo who can't watch his mouth. Lovely :) princess cythera - I do believe that Duo will grow a brain in the next chapter. If he doesn't, then I know quite a few people who would be a bit upset with me. ShinyObsessed - Well I'm happy to see you hooked -evil laughter- Yes, being in love with your straight ex really does not sound all that nice, does it. Poor Wufei. DeceptiveInnocenceXIII - Now why didn't Duo think of that? Moving in would sure solve a lot of problems for the both of them :) Yes, it's a bit sad to see this story end, I've had a lot of fun writing it. Oh well, there are a lot of new plots out there, I should be fine. BigSister2 - Well, I got you a dojo scene. Happy? XD Oh and thank you, I had a great time at the music festival. Actually, I had a -fantastic- time. At one point I actually thought "Life could not get much better then this." This was when I found myself in the middle of a dance floor, dancing to an amazing DJ while surrounded by about ten half naked, very attractive guys who danced like gods. -Happy sigh- Yeah, life is good. Droaerion - Yes, shakers and pots are exactly the same thing... I think. I totally relay on my beta for these kind of things but in my mind they are the same :) I think you're right, even the wallpaper wants them to get back together. Sorry boys, you're doomed XD