December 31st
"I don't know which was more fun. The party or the mission." Duo's voice was thick with sarcasm, a tone Wufei had been ignoring for five minutes. The comment, however, managed to gain his attention.
"You didn't like the party?" he asked.
Duo made a face as they stumbled up the last flight of stairs to their floor. The elevator had been out, a fact they had been unhappy to see but were able to do nothing about. "The party wasn't so bad, it was just all the food at dinner."
"You didn't like it?" Now there was definite surprise laced with the fatigue in Wufei's voice. At least Duo knew he had his full attention now.
"Um. No?" Duo pushed open the stairwell door at their landing. "There were eight plates of food put in front of me, Wufei. I wasn't even going to try to eat all of them. I had a couple of bites from the first two, didn't touch the green stuff they served on the third plate or the odd fish-like thing they had on the fourth. I had some more off the last two, but the middle plates were all too weird for me. I figure it had to be one of those plates all the rich folks like." He smiled slightly at the joke. There was an odd note in his voice, as if he felt awkward making the comparison of his own background to all of those 'rich folks.'
"I tried everything," Wufei admitted. At Duo's odd grimace that looked half surprised and half disgusted, he explained, "It's rude not to at least attempt to eat the fare presented by the host. Or hostess."
Duo snorted and started down the hall towards his door. The seventh day of Christmas had opened up to a sunny day. Duo wasn't in much of a mood to enjoy it, however. He and Wufei, and Heero, who had left them a few landings before for his own floor, were all tired from traveling from Sanq in the middle of the night for a mission. Their tuxedos were ruined, they were tired and dirty, and Duo wasn't brightened much by seeing the envelope taped to his door.
Wufei, shuffling behind him, also came to a stop as Duo took the envelope down and opened it. He simply held the sides of the top apart and looked inside, then turned to Wufei with a tired smile and handed the envelope over. "Free tonight?"
Duo waited as Wufei took the envelope and carefully pulled out the tickets within, fingers just barely touching the corners. There was another pause while Wufei frowned and looked closer, then realization seemed to sink in and he looked at Duo with a perplexed look. "You like the ballet?"
Wufei was glad to accompany Duo to a performance of Swan Lake. The mission the night before had come as Relena's party was ending, making it a late enough evening. Added to the mission debriefing and the speed with which they were required to act, and Wufei would have expected to drop into bed and slumber quickly. Instead, he stayed up for several hours struggling with his acceptance of Duo's offer to the ballet and wondering if there was a way he could compete with someone who had the connections and wealth Duo's admirer did.
He gave up on sleep sometime around noon and made himself some tea. The coffee would wait until later, when he needed it to keep him awake. At least the following day was his day off. He could sleep after the ballet and not have to worry about getting up early in the morning for his shift.
As water boiled on the stove, he tried to finish reading the book Duo had interrupted two days before, but his focus was almost entirely on Duo and the present situation. He was jealous of a person he didn't know, but more than that, he was scared to lose Duo in any capacity. Duo was the person closest to him, not just in proximity but also emotionally. During the war, they had been little more than allies the few times Wufei had accepted help from any of the others. Only towards the end of the war had he started to open up to any of them, and in turn, had started to see them for who they were.
Then things events had transpired beyond their control, Merimaia and Dekim Barton rose to power, and Wufei made choices he would always second-guess. Now, with the both of them working together and the past seemingly far behind them, other than their use of their training for Preventor matters, Wufei could almost imagine he and Duo had been friends, or at the least on the edge of friendship, since the very beginning of their acquaintance.
He might lose all that if Duo's admirer managed to gain his affections. Duo would undoubtedly move closer to a lover when he had one. He was the type of person who would put his all into that relationship first, and while Duo would never neglect his friends completely, the majority of the time he now spent with Wufei would then be spent with his lover, instead.
That brought Wufei back to envy, and the cycle of thought repeated over, with him trying to rationalize his feelings and failing at every turn because when it came to love, rationality was a commodity no man had.
His thoughts were making his stomach queasy and his head ache.
Duo was impressed with the ballet. Having never been to one before, his entire knowledge of ballet had been that girls wore funny skirts and danced on their toes, and men danced in tight tights. Afterwards, though he wouldn't be able to recall every song and move, he would take with him the impression of grace and romance that followed many fans of the ballet. They had both been silent during the performance, Duo enthralled by the new experience, the music, the dancing. Wufei had sat beside Duo, a silent and equally concentrated member of the audience. His awe was not so complete as Duo's, but there was a definite edge of appreciation in his gaze as they watched the stage and listened to the orchestra.
Afterwards, as they hailed a taxi back to their apartments, Duo spoke excitedly of the parts he did remember and of the intricacies of plot he hadn't realized would be so well expressed through the dancing. Wufei was quiet for the most part, making occasional agreements or comments, but Duo could tell he was tired and on the edge of napping. Several minutes yet from their apartments, Duo lowered his voice and talked quieter, his voice taking on a mellowed edge that allowed Wufei to rest. By the time they were only a few miles from the barracks, Wufei was asleep on his side of the taxi and Duo was watching him as best he could by the illumination of the occasional streetlight.
At the building, Duo got out before gently shaking Wufei's shoulders. Bordering on exhaustion, Wufei allowed Duo to support his weight as they walked inside and to the elevator, his arm around Duo's neck -- put there by Duo -- and his side flush with Duo's side, from armpit to hip.
"Did you sleep at all, Wu?" Duo asked, his hand on Wufei's far hip to hold him closer, making it easier for him to support his friend.
Wufei gave a small sigh and struggled to stand on his own, but Duo refused to relinquish the hold he had on the chinese teen. After a moment, in which Wufei's struggling was as much with his own body as with Duo, he settled back against Duo's side and answered the question. "Yes."
Duo smiled a little at that. The elevator doors opened and he focused on getting them both into the little box before continuing their conversation, such as it was. "Yes, you got some sleep. But not a lot, right?"
"No," this time, Wufei didn't even bother trying to get out of the question. Instead, as if signaling his defeat, he sagged against Duo even more and rested his head on Duo's shoulder. It was a little awkward, with both of their coats in the way, but Duo had to smile at the move anyway. He tilted his own head and rested it on Wufei's hair.
"Poor Wu-baby. How about we get you into bed, hm?" Duo's tone was a level above patronizing, but still very close to it.
"Maxwell, don't mock me." There was enough snarl in Wufei's voice, Duo knew he was treading thin ice. Duo made a face at the metal plating covering the interior side of the elevator doors. "Duo, the doors are steel. I can see you."
"Wufei, I'm not blind. The doors are steel and I can see you, too." He made another face to illustrate his point, crossing his eyes at their reflections.
Wufei gave a soft chuckle. "You're like a child. Annoying most of the time, but too cute to scold."
Duo laughed and wrapped his arm more firmly around Wufei, turning it into a one-armed embrace. "I always knew you loved me, Wu."
There was another laugh-like sound, but there was no verbal response from Wufei. The elevators opened on their floor and they shuffled into the hall. Wufei's apartment was closer, and he managed to get his key out while they walked. It was Duo who opened the door, though, after Wufei had tried to squint in the general direction of the knob.
"Have you slept at all in the past week?" Duo asked, more than a little worried by the way Wufei was acting. A sleepless night Duo could understand and sympathize with. Duo knew how tiring those were, especially when you were physically active nearly the entire day. Missing a single night's sleep shouldn't have put Wufei in the condition he was in.
January 1st
"Influenza," Sally said softly, putting her medical supplies back in her bag. Duo frowned and looked at the door to Wufei's bedroom. "He'll be okay. It's just a bug, one strong enough to make him sick and weak, but not enough to kill him. He hasn't been sleeping right, and exhaustion coupled with over-exposure to the cold on yesterday's mission has served towear his immune system down."
Duo bit his lip, feeling oddly guilty that he and Wufei had gone through the same mission, and he had no ill effects. "How long will he be down?"
"I'm not quite sure," Sally answered, shrugging into her coat. "He's strong and determined, so it most likely won't take him long to recover. I'll give Une my report and my recommendation to exempt him from duty. It will be good for a week, and I'll force him to have a physical before I release him back to work. I'm going to go ahead and give you a similar exemption for the next couple of days so you can look over him." She paused and gave Duo a sideways look. "If that's acceptable?"
"It's fine," Duo was quick to assure her. "He's too stubborn to call anyone for help, so I'll just stay here until he's actually better. No sense letting him try to say he's not sick before he's actually over it."
"Good," Sally said approvingly. She grinned at Duo. "The trick to dealing with a stubborn patient is finding a nurse who's equally stubborn."
Duo saluted her, bringing his heels together sharply. "I'm your man, doctor." He dropped the pose as quickly as he had taken it and looked at her seriously. "What do I do?"
She handed him a pill bottle. "Make him take three of those a day and drink a lot of water. I mean a lot. He needs to flush the toxins out of his body. At the same time, you need to make sure he's eating good, so his body has the nutrients it needs to fight back on its own."
"Good nutrition is your remedy?" Duo questioned, giving her a skeptical glance.
"Good nutrition is the remedy to a great many things," she answered glibly, picking up her bag and heading to the door. Duo moved ahead of her quickly and opened the door for her.
"Thanks, Sal. Happy New Year," he said sincerely. She smiled at him, returned the wish, waved, and was gone. Duo shut the door behind her and went to check on Wufei.
"I'm not sick," Wufei growled, trying to push the covers down. Sitting on the bed beside him and holding the blankets determinedly in place, Duo rolled his eyes.
"Sure, Wu. You're not sick. You're perfectly healthy, we can tell." The sarcasm seemed lost on Wufei; he kept up his struggles to get out of bed. It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd promised to accept Duo's offer of help while moving around, but the persistent bastard was determined to do everything on his own, despite the fact that he'd been in bed only twelve hours and was still oddly weak. Duo hadn't heard from Sally yet if that was normal for a simple flu, but he was glad he hadn't fallen ill along with Wufei. He could imagine the both of them struggling like idiots in separate apartments.
"Maxwell-" Wufei started.
Fed up, Duo let go of the blankets and instead pushed on Wufei's chest to hold him down. He shifted as he did so, until he was sitting over his friend, their faces close together. "Chang, you scared the shit out of me last night. You're going to stay in your damn bed until you're actually better, and the only way you're getting out of bed is if you let me help. I'm not going to let your stubbornness lead to some accident that's going to leave you bleeding just so I have another thing to worry about. Got it?"
One of Wufei's hands came up and fisted in Duo's shirt, pulling him just a little closer. "Maxwell, I'm not an invalid or a child. I can get up on my own and you're going to let me, or I'm going to leave you bleeding just so I can go to the damn bathroom by myself. Got it?"
What was it Sally had said? Duo wondered. A nurse as stubborn as the patient? He hadn't quite expected Wufei to be such an idiot about being unwell. Time for a new tactic. Duo leaned closer, until his forehead was pressed against Wufei's. "Please, Wufei." Duo's expression softened, until his worry was showing in his face. "Let me help."
There was a hesitation, but then Duo's change in attitude seemed to trigger a similar one in Wufei's attitude. "Fine. But damn it, Maxwell, you're leaving me in the bathroom to deal with it by myself."
Duo smiled, making sure to keep it toned down from the victorious grin that was threatening. "Whatever you want, Wufei."
Wufei wasn't sick enough to forget himself entirely. He attempted to ask Duo a couple of times if the eighth gift had arrived, but there was never an answer. Around nine that night, Duo said he had to go back to his apartment for something, but would be right back. Before Wufei could tell him he could just stay there, he would be fine, Duo was gone.
A few minutes later, the door opened and closed again, and Wufei saw Duo pass by the door with something in his hands. He couldn't tell what it was, however. He went back to his reading when Duo didn't immediately come back into the bedroom. Some twenty minutes later, Duo again walked in front of the door. Then he was coming into the room, a tub in his hands. On the normally plain white container, cows and stick people -- girls if the triangles on their lower half were skirts -- had been drawn on in marker. In Duo's other hand, he carried two bowls and two spoons.
"Ice cream?" Wufei guessed. He recognized the tub. Duo often bought ice cream in the same sort of container. It was one of his favorite treats in the summer, when it was hot. Wufei wasn't normally one to indulge, as it wasn't a real food, but he wasn't about to argue with Duo. The brunet looked pleased with his little present, as he sat down in the chair he had pulled into the room and set the bowls and spoons on the edge of the bed.
"Of course," Duo confirmed what Wufei had figured. "How many scoops?" he pulled the lid off and picked up the first bowl and spoon.
"I do not care. Just a few, please." Wufei hated being any kind of sick, but whatever had brought him down this time, whatever type of poison it was, he hoped never to hear of it again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten so weak so quickly, and his need for assistance was embarrassing. He wouldn't have wanted anyone to see him in such a condition, but at least it was Duo. After nearly dying with the other teen multiple times, there wasn't as much shame as he might have been burdened with had it been someone else. The only other person he would have rather watch over him was Trowa, but that was only because Trowa had seen Wufei at his very lowest.
"Okay," Duo said in response to Wufei's request. He spooned some into the bowl and then passed it on to Wufei, who was grateful to note there wasn't very much in the bowl. It wouldn't take him too long to eat it. He was three bites into it when he happened to catch sight of the pile of ice cream in Duo's own bowl. "I was hungry," Duo said defensively, when he saw where Wufei's gaze was concentrated.
"I'm sure." Duo would have tried to pout, Wufei knew, but the teen's mouth was full of ice cream and the best he could manage was a wide-eyed look of hurt. The look was ruined, however, by the ice cream dribbling down his chin and the insistent tugging at one corner of his mouth. Wufei sat up a little, just enough to lean forward and wipe up a drip of ice cream at the corner of Duo's mouth. "You need a bib."
"Who needs a bib when they have Mother Wu to clean their chin," Duo teased back, most of the ice cream in his mouth swallowed. He already had a spoonful ready for reload.
Wufei smiled and wiped the liquidy drop on Duo's cheek. "Whose Mother is whom, Duo, since it is you playing nursemaid. I believe it's Mother Duo."
Duo stuck his tongue out at him, spoon lowering towards the bowl, still full of ice cream. "I'm only going to let you get away with that because you're sick."
"Which reminds me," Wufei started. "Where's the eighth gift?"
The grin on Duo's face widened at the complete non-sequiter of Wufei's comment. He let it slide, though. "This is it, Wu." He handed his bowl to Wufei. "Eat up and don't let it melt, hm? Papa Wu. I'm going to get myself some more." He turned and jogged out the door before Wufei could send a rejoinder after him.
"Papa Wu." Wufei snorted, but couldn't stop a silly smile from slipping across his face for a moment. He waited until Duo joined him again. "Were the geese really your only gift two days ago?"
Duo blinked, looking up from his bowl. Wufei made note that Duo had used three bowls total for just the two of them. It wasn't important. Just something he could possibly tease him about later. "Yeah, that was it. Why?"
"Just wondering." Wufei shrugged casually, but inside, he was trying to figure out how the dinner arrangement at a large party, one which Duo was merely attending as a favor to Relena, could constitute a gift. Also, amidst all the gifts, Wufei could not imagine a simple container of ice cream being given by the same person who gave Duo tickets to the ballet and live birds.
January 2nd
Wufei watched, amused, as Duo struggled to fit his arms behind the television stand to plug in the wires to the video player. It would have been easier if the 'standard issue' stand and television hadn't been bolted to the floor.
"Wouldn't it have just been easier for us to go to your apartment if you're so determined for us to watch this video?" Wufei asked. Duo turned his head away from his work long enough to stick his tongue out at Wufei. He resumed playing with the cables, leaving Wufei to amuse himself on the couch.
The 'ninth day of Christmas' had passed relatively quickly. The day before, Wufei had been sick enough that the time had dragged on while he struggled against the influenza. As Duo talked about the movie they would be watching, he felt a lot better, as much of it seemed to have been purged. Duo still refused to let him get up more than he thought necessary. He was allowed to walk by himself, however, and Wufei put it in his mind as a compromise. He got Duo's company and attention, and he only had to sit down and let Duo fetch him things, touch him, sit with him. Wufei was pretty sure he was getting the better deal.
"Got it!" Duo crowed triumphantly, getting to his feet. He grinned at Wufei. "See. Told you it wouldn't take any time at all to hook it up." The standard televisions, the same ones bound to the floor, came with no accessories, including no cables to hook up to feed access. The only thing Wufei had seen previously when he turned the appliance on had been snow. Duo hadn't seemed satisfied with that, since he himself had hooked his own television up to numerous devices. His, oddly, had been missed when all the others in the buildings had been nailed to the floor. He hadn't had to struggle with just his hands to guide him as he had with Wufei's television.
The player hooked up, Duo moved to get the movie he had gotten for the occasion. Wufei had asked what Duo had received for the day, and a movie had been dropped into his lap. By the fact that there was no presentation with this one, and that it seemed hardly likely the same person to give Duo ballet tickets also gave him a cheap film, Wufei figured Duo had improvised so they could 'share.'
It hit him hard, the knowledge Duo had chosen to ignore the gift he'd been given just to watch movies with Wufei. He could have amused himself well enough with a book, and he was obviously well enough to be out of bed. There was no reason for Duo to stay there with him until night came. No reason other than Duo seemed to want Wufei's company. The mingled relief and happiness felt odd, but lighter than the jealousy and resentment. Wufei smiled as Duo pushed the power button on the player. He couldn't resist heckling him, at least a little.
"What was my choice again?" Wufei drawled the words out, lacing them with a fair amount of teasing as Duo loaded the player. "A dance recital away from this stuffy apartment, or a movie with your feet in my lap and popcorn to clean up later?"
Duo finished with the player, turned on the television, and then sat down heavily next to Wufei. He turned his body so his head was in Wufei's lap. "How's this, then? And no popcorn. There's nothing nutritious about butter and corn."
"This wasn't quite what I was going for," Wufei said softly, smiling down at Duo.
"Sh," Duo said back, holding Wufei's gaze for a moment more before turning onto his side. "Watch the movie."