Part 5: Miscommunication
"What the hell are you talking about?" yelled Duo. "You're giving me a lecture on communication problems? Excuse me if I'm missin' somethin' here, but I'm not the one who decided to lock myself in my room for three days and not tell my partner until he picks the lock and breaks in himself."
"That had nothing to do with you, and it was none of your business," Wufei hissed irritably at the equally irritated boy in front of him. 'Why can't he admit he has to communicate with me better instead of going off on a pointless tangent,' Wufei thought angrily to himself.
"Wufei, get the facts straight. You locked yourself in for three days and I'm..." Duo paused to struggle for the right words and concluded, "Yeah, I'm concerned. Who sleeps for three days straight while listening to music deafeningly loud then says he's ok? I think I could really use some answers here. I mean, we're partners, right? There's gotta be some trust."
Wufei scowled at this. He couldn't tell Duo what broke him. He just couldn't. Not yet anyhow. He simply retorted, "There also has to be some privacy and lines drawn. Whatever that was about is none of your business."
"That doesn't mean I don't want to help you. I honestly do."
"I don't need your help, Maxwell."
'Great, he's calling me by my last name now,' Duo thought bitterly. Things certainly weren't progressing anywhere.
"So maybe you don't need my help," Duo offered. "Fine. Can't we just agree that we both have communication problems and need to work on them?"
'Finally, he admits,' Wufei thought, relieved at last. "The next time you go out, you better tell me where you're going and how long you'll be out for. I'm not going to wait around till 11 o'clock at night for you to get back, and I'm not going to be the clueless idiot in front of Heero again."
"Alright, done. Next time you decide to lock yourself in your room, you better tell me how long you expect to stay in there and if you're planning on eating or not so next time I won't be the clueless idiot in front of Heero either," Duo cracked a smile at his joke.
Wufei just snickered and smiled to the side. "Done," he said while his smile evolved into a laugh. Duo laughed along with him and wondered why things couldn't always be this easy with Wufei. He expected to get punched in the face for mocking the stoic Chinese boy, but things turned out for the better.
With content eyes, Wufei solemnly regarded Duo, letting the braided boy's warm laughter surround him in a comforting embrace. His violet eyes seemed to laugh with his voice; everything radiated warmth and beckoned Wufei to an unfamiliar, inviting world. Such an alien feeling would have normally caused Wufei to react negatively, but he had no fear. He stopped denying to himself his weaknesses and felt himself drawn to that warmth, to that rich laughter. If only, if only he could capture it, bathe in its glow, and be freed. If only he could touch its purity, only for a short while, since he was too craven to linger. If only he had the courage...
Duo let the laughter die in his voice when he looked up at Wufei. The joke had come and gone, and now with estranged eyes, Wufei was staring at him seemingly stuck in deep thought. Yet, he wasn't. His mind was right there. Panic and nervousness gripped Duo's heart. Wufei was unreadable to him unless he was angry, and right now he was anything but angry. Such a predatory, lustful look on his friend's face was strange and never-before-seen, but it was there, and it was directed at him. His instincts instantly kicked in, and they told him: You're a coward. Gain some distance before it's too late.
So that's what he did. Taking a small, hesitant step back, Duo commanded himself to breathe right. He let a tiny, nervous laugh out in a poor attempt to break the silence. What was going on? Wufei followed with a giant step forward which caused Duo to spin around only to find the wall half a foot behind him. He cursed under his breath and decided it was best to get to the front door straightaway, only he was too late. Wufei grabbed his arm and forced him to turn back around, knocking his back into the wall. His wrists were then pinned above his head while Wufei's body weight leaned against him, making it impossible for him to flee.
'Good God if I'm not gonna piss in my damn pants right about now!' Duo thought, feeling his knees uncontrollably tremble. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest and ears, he felt like he would explode that very moment. 'Breathe, come on breathe,' Duo told himself, expecting the worst.
The taller boy with lonely eyes stared at his frozen captive. His whole body and heart wanted, needed warmth from the other boy so much that he had not noticed reality while being caught in his illusions. His body shared an unfamiliar yet pleasant physical warmth with the other boy, but the body pinned under him was rigid cold with fear except for the trembling knees. When had fear and nervousness replaced Duo's inviting laughter? His gentle smile? Why hadn't he noticed this.
Wufei exhaled and finally looked away from Duo. What a thoughtless idiot he had made out of himself, again.
Looking back into still frightened violet eyes, he asked in a deep, hoarse voice, "Are you afraid of me?"
Duo gulped. What should he say? If he said yes, that might be seen as an invitation to do more while disagreeing might offer Wufei to prove otherwise. His only response was even more involuntary trembling of his knees. 'Damnit, since when was Death ever afraid of anything?' Duo asked himself, yet fear still held his heart.
Black eyes became somber and somewhat saddened. The ravenous look that was full of lust just moments before was gone. The tight grip around Duo's wrists relaxed and left the burning skin to be cooled by fresh air. Wufei took a step back, ashamed of his actions.
"Duo...I..." he was at a lost for words and stared down at his feet. He couldn't believe he had caused those joyful eyes to be filled with panic. "Duo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it, I...I don't know..." He was completely lost.
'Damnit, Duo!' the shorter boy scolded himself. 'You've completely misled him.' This was a chance of a lifetime, and was he going to just let it fly out the window? 'No, way,' Duo smirked, his fear quickly subsiding.
He let a curse out under his breath and approached Wufei, "I'm sorry, too. It's alright really, I mean, I don't mind if we, y'know..." he blushed furiously. 'Now isn't the time to look like a bumbling idiot, you fool,' he thought to himself. "I mean, the look on your face," he chuckled lightly, "it was kind of unexpected. I was just, y'know, surprised."
"Are you being serious?" Wufei asked, still refusing to look into his eyes. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The boy had been scared shitless only seconds before, so what the hell was he saying now?
"Yeah, I mean I want to-"
Firm lips crushed against his, preventing him from continuing to speak while he found himself once more pinned against the wall. The kiss was rough and dominating, and Duo could only respond weakly as Wufei's hands began traveling above his waist and back down over his thin shirt. Then, one hand felt its way under the offending fabric and began to caress his right side with slow, careful strokes. He let his arms snake around Wufei's neck and broke the kiss to tilt his head the other way and initiate the next kiss. His tongue pushed against Wufei's moist lips and the boy gasped while he took the advantage to explore the hot wet cavern, gliding over Wufei's tongue and feeling the roof of his mouth.
Wufei continued to lean his body into Duo, his growing erection rubbing through the fabric of his pants against the other boy who responded with a quick thrust of his hips. He pulled away from the kiss to suppress a moan and found himself being tugged towards the couch. His need to feel warmth and to be touched was growing overwhelming, and he tugged his shirt off to feel the cool air touch his skin before hovering over Duo and settling his legs between the other's outspread ones. He leaned down on his elbows while feeling the bulge in his pants grow and he began to grind his hips at first slowly, then gradually faster into Duo's while watching his face in eager anticipation. The poor legs of the worn down couch squeaked in protest as the boys began to grind furiously against each other. Duo's eyelids fluttered shut and he let out a guttural moan while his breaths were rapid and uneven. He couldn't even see anymore from the erotic fire coursing from his hard sex throughout his whole body, completely consuming him. His mouth opened to inhale more air and Wufei quickly attacked his sweet, plush lips while picking up the tempo even more. Broad hands roughly pushed up Duo's shirt and pulled it off before his slightly bruised lips were immediately covered yet again with hot intensity and then parted relentlessly with a persistent tongue. The heat was growing between his spread legs and he broke off the kiss to draw in shaky breaths while gripping Wufei's back and helplessly throwing back his head, moaning with each of Wufei's hard thrusts.
Wufei, himself, was on the brink of losing control. Duo responded so eagerly with every touch of his lips and every push of his hips, he couldn't help but want more. More of Duo. His heated mouth moved fervently down to Duo's taut slender neck, his tongue licking in small, slow circles around the delicate throbbing skin above the madly beating pulse just below Duo's jaw line. The shorter boy elicited another weak gasp, and Wufei's lips began to work frantically all over the tender flesh of the other boy's neck. He felt Duo's body shudder and arch under him as he came, his eyes shut tight and mouth hanging open in a strained cry of ecstasy. It was too much for Wufei to handle and he began suck the smooth skin under his lips feverishly while thrusting harder into Duo. The bent, parted legs on either side of him began to tremble and the strong hands on his back tensed, gripping hard. He felt his lower abdomen tighten as he moaned and ejaculated into the crotch of his pants.
Wufei panted hard against Duo's ear after the last wave of his orgasm ceased, his exhausted body collapsing on top of Duo's, his warm breath floating over the other boy's flushed, sweaty face. Hair that had come out of his usually tight ponytail was stuck to the side of his own moist face as he watched Duo draw brisk breaths of air into his mouth and out again, his hands on Wufei's back resting limp and clammy. The boy's long, brown bangs were stuck in clumps along his forehead and his usually neat braid was left in a haphazard condition. His eyes were slightly closed and his eyelashes faintly fluttered.
Wufei tried to speak, his voice coming out strangely hoarse and husky, "Duo."
Duo weakly opened his eyes, violet rifts and crystal specks shining at Wufei. "Good God, Wufei," he said between long breaths and then mischievously smirked. "That was really damn good." 'And we didn't even have sex!' Duo thought, amused. Exhaling again, he suddenly leaned up to brush his lips against Wufei's when a loud beeping sounded. It came from the laptop sitting on the coffee table positioned right across from them, its black screen flashing with red letters that read, 'Request from Headquarters to Connect.'
"Shit!" yelled Duo as he looked at the ominous monitor like a deer caught in headlights. He quickly pushed Wufei off of him and scrambled around like a chicken without its head.
"Duo, put on another shirt that covers your neck!" Wufei panicked, seeing the large mark he had left on the other boy's neck.
"What?" Duo yelled as he ran into the bathroom across from his room and turned on the light. "Shit shit shit! Damnit, Wufei, you left the biggest goddamn hickey on my neck!"
Wufei was in no mood for theatrics and quickly put on his shirt while fixing his ponytail and mopping his face with Duo's abandoned shirt on the floor. Upon further thought, he decided to let his hair down and grabbed a towel from the now vacant bathroom. A cursory glance into Duo's room showed him that the boy was almost ready with a red turtleneck on, his braid currently being tidied up.
"I'm going to connect now Duo. Just say you were just in the shower, and I'll say I got caught in the rain."
"Sure thing," Duo called out.
Before sitting down, Wufei scowled at the sweaty cushions of the old couch and decided to turn the monitor so he could sit on the equally worn down armchair that was adjacent to the couch. Satisfied, he pressed the enter key to connect to the Preventers Headquarters. The screen read, 'Connecting...' before it flickered and Sally's amused face appeared.
"Took you long enough there, Wufei. And I can see you've been enjoying the weather in L-2, huh?"
Wufei put on his best scowl. "I couldn't like it here anymore than I do right now. Cut to the chase, Sally. Why the sudden call?"
"Well, Heero recently told me about the situation you and Duo are having over there. Seems like neither one of you can keep track of the other's whereabouts. If you two are having trouble working together, I don't have a problem splitting you up and assigning you both new teams."
"No!" Duo yelped from the hallway and bounded into the living room. He knelt in front of Wufei who frowned at him. "Hey, Sally, we're doing absolutely marvelous here. No need to make hasty decisions, eh?"
Sally hesitated, "But it's your lack of communication..."
"No need to worry about that. Wufei already gave me the lecture, and we've managed to solve our problems quite...efficiently." Duo grinned widely as Wufei's frown turned into a glare.
"Oh, really? Wufei, do you share the same sentiment?"
"Of course," Wufei retorted.
Sally smiled, "You're one hard person to read, Wufei. Seems like you're about ready to kill the poor guy."
Wufei sighed. "Woman, you are mistaken."
"Alright, alright," Sally yielded. "I'd like to brief you both on your new mission. A team of guerilla fighters have been reported to be plotting several attacks on important peace leaders, including Relena Peacecraft. These guerillas who ironically call themselves, "Peacemakers", are said to be currently stationed somewhere in the L-2 cluster. Your mission is to arrest them and bring them back unharmed to Headquarters. Heero is on his way to assist you."
"As if we couldn't handle this ourselves?" Wufei questioned angrily. He did not need or want Heero to assist him with anything.
Sally sighed and rolled her eyes, "Heero currently has the most information on these people after doing extensive research. He is essential to your mission. He will be arriving tomorrow at the Sweepers' Headquarters. Meet him at exactly 1 o'clock PM. Understood? This mission is code level red, meaning you better complete this mission successfully asap."
"Got it," Duo said in a serious tone of voice. "We understand perfectly."
"Good," Sally responded curtly. "I'm warning you both. If I hear another report that leads me to doubt your teamwork, you both will be off the case. Over and out."
"Well, I don't think we'll have to worry about that, now will we?" Duo asked without a hint of amusement in his voice.
"I hope not," Wufei answered, his face drawn and eyes dark in question. What did he mean to Duo after all that had just happened between them? Guilt was written all over the Chinese boy's face. He knew all he wanted was to steal Duo's warmth and make it his own. He wanted to know how it was like to be touched without having to wince in pain. All that had happened was the result of his selfish needs...he hadn't even thought about how Duo would react after it all happened.
"Duo..." Wufei called out to his friend, uncertain and doubtful.
"Wufei, please," Duo said, his voice flat. He had already noticed the doubt surrounding the other boy, "look at me when you say whatever you're about to say."
Inside, something broke in Wufei, and it began to tear him apart. He quickly resolved to put on his usual, expressionless mask to cover up the internal damage. "Duo," he began again, looking at Duo with cold as stone eyes, "don't take what just happened between us seriously."
A pang resounded in Duo's chest and his heart knotted. Wufei's cold eyes bore past and right through him. They did not see him anymore.
"I know, Wufei. I knew the moment you kissed me," Duo's lips curved painfully into a smile. He got up and turned his back to Wufei. He could no longer look at him without feeling his heart break into pieces. Pretending to yawn, he stretched his arms out and walked away, then stopped to say, "Well, I don't know if you're tired yet, but it's near midnight and I'm going to bed."
Wufei listened to Duo's footsteps, listened when his bedroom door was completely closed, waited till he was sure Duo was in bed, before letting his face crumble and the tears fall from his tightly shut eyes. He had hurt his friend, his only friend, beyond the meaning of words. Now, he could truly call himself a monster.
***
AN: I'm evil, yes I know ;-; this whole chapter was difficult for me to write. Bah. It's nearly 5am in the morning, talk about tired. I'm sorry, Duo. Things will get even more complicated in the next chapter.