Warnings: This is yaoi, i

Warnings: This is yaoi, i.e. boy/boy. Do not read if that kind of thing bothers you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or any of its characters.

Notes: 2+5. There's just a little more until the ending.

Counting Stars

Part 5: Clouds and Coffee

Duo woke up with Wufei's smiling image still in his mind . . . only to meet the very angry and confused face of the real-life Wufei staring down at him.

Wufei woke feeling a little . . . strange. His head hurt; the tiniest sound reverberated in his brain until the slight ruffling of his blankets sounded like the ocean. An indistinguishable sound to his right smashed his skull into a thousand pieces, from the inside.

He had a sudden flash of memory. He remembered himself, and Duo, drinking brandy straight from the bottle.

Something moved against Wufei's arm, but he ignored it.

What had they done? And why couldn't he remember? He strained his memory, searching. A slow trickle of memory began to return. If only this pain in his head didn't surge whenever he started to remember something important.

That annoying thing to his right shifted again.

He glanced at his clock on the left. It was one in the afternoon. Thankfully, the other pilots had yet to return, so he didn't have to deal with them yet. Wufei felt his face grow slightly warm; he still had to deal with Duo. What had they done, dammit? Duo had said something that had ended up getting both of them upset, or something.

That weight against his right arm was really irritating. Wufei glanced over, and had a heart attack.

Duo, his hair all undone, was curled up against his arm.

Wufei looked at the clock again. Yes, it was still one in the afternoon. He looked back to his right. Yes, Duo was still there, and waking up.

The question was very insistent now. What the hell had they done?

The two boys are sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. Between them there is a large bottle of brandy, half empty.

Duo is leaning with his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. He is rocking back and forth, staring at Wufei, "What were you looking at, before, Wu-man, when I walked in on you?" he asked, rocking slightly back and forth.

Wufei narrows his eyes in suspicion, and copies Duo's stance. The two boys are now staring straight at each other, "Jus' the sky. I couldn't sleep. Why were you still awake?"

Duo broke the gaze and looked up at the ceiling, "Sometimes . . . I have dreams. Nightmares, act'ly."

Wufei nodded, "Yeah," and they sat a moment in silent drunken understanding.

Duo, inevitably, broke the silence, "Wufei, what do you think of me?"

"Why?" Wufei asked softly, his mind elsewhere.

"Just because," Duo said, taking a drink directly out of the bottle, "I don't really dislike you anymore."

"Anymore? Well, I guess I don't think you're as annoying as I did before . . ."

Duo nodded, and took another drink. He handed the bottle to Wufei.

Duo stared at Wufei a moment, before pushing him away. Damn reality; where was the Wufei from his dream?

They were now sitting on the floor of Wufei's room. The brandy was long gone, and Wufei was laughing at something Duo had just said.

Duo was smiling, with a strange look in his eyes, "You look good when y' smile, Fei."

Duo saw the panic behind Wufei's eyes and comforted him, "Nothing happened, Fei. We just both passed out in here," he noted the relief in his friend's eyes with grim amusement. He wondered how quickly that expression could disappear, "Were you married, Wufei?"

This question only made Wufei confused, "What? I don't remember telling you about that . . ."

"Yes, then?"

Wufei sat on the edge of the bed, pushing his loose hair out of his eyes.

What was this feeling? Duo closed his eyes. Why did he feel such regret? His dream- should he tell Wufei?

Wufei nodded, "It was arranged," he said, standing uneasily, "She's gone, now."

Duo wondered at how Wufei could talk about her death with such a detached nature. The image of a well flashed through his mind.

"I remember why I never drink," Wufei mumbled, stumbling off to the bathroom.

Duo lay back in Wufei's bed.

"And then Quatre told me I wasn't real, and left with Trowa. Then Heero left, and it was just us. Then you asked me if I could 'see the stars,' and you said I couldn't," Duo explained. He and Wufei were lying on the floor of the hallway.

"Really strange," Wufei said, fascinated. He stood up, almost overbalancing, and stumbled into his room. He didn't hear Duo come up behind him, "Can you count the stars, Duo?" he asked, mostly to himself.

"It's cloudy out, tonight," Duo said, suddenly, causing Wufei to lose his balance. Duo tried to catch him, and ended up falling, as well, "Ow, Fei, get off!"

Wufei started to laugh, "Is it? I didn't even notice!"

Duo pushed him off and, seeing Wufei's expression, started to laugh with him.

Ten minutes later, Wufei walked back in the room. He looked a little better, "I'm making some coffee," he told Duo, turning immediately away.

Duo got up, his head still pounding. He cleaned up in the bathroom before entering the kitchen. He saw the empty bottle in the middle of the table where they had left it.

"I had another dream last night, Fei. Like the one I told you about last night," Duo said, sitting down at the table and pushing the bottle into the garbage can.

Wufei looked confused a minute, and then nodded, "I remember now," he actually smiled slightly.

Duo watched the other pilot set their cups on the table before speaking again, "No tea this morning?"

Wufei shuddered mockingly, "I don't think I'll ever drink it again."

Duo laughed. Then he leaned forward, "You don't want to hear about my dream?"

Wufei took a sip of the coffee. He didn't really like coffee much, either, "Tell me later."

Duo nodded. He would have to remember to do that.

The two boys slowly stopped laughing. Duo turned to Wufei, to ask him what had been so funny, when he realized the other boy was crying.

"Fei, what's wrong?" Duo put his hands on Wufei's shoulders, and looked into his eyes. He had never seen him cry before.

Wufei shook his head, "All this time, I never saw . . ." he bowed his head and didn't finish.

Duo pushed Wufei's head back up and looked in his eyes again, "You didn't see what Wufei?"

"They weren't there in the first place!" Wufei cried, slumping forward onto Duo's shoulder.

Duo didn't understand, but he held on to the other while he cried.

Wufei was never going to drink again.

Duo watched Wufei slowly turn an interesting shade of pink.

Wufei looked Duo deep in the eyes. They were so close that their noses were almost touching.

Duo met Wufei's gaze for a minute, then closed the remaining gap between them. God, Wufei was so warm.

They avoided each other's eyes; each hoping the other would speak first.

"Why are you blushing, Fei?" Duo asked, softly. He felt his own face grow warm.

"I just-I just remembered something," Wufei explained into his coffee.

Duo fell away, leaving Wufei feeling confused and cold. But he couldn't show how the kiss had affected him, "Why did you do that, Maxwell?"

Duo smirked, "I can see them, can you, Fei?" he asked.

Wufei brushed the mix of perspiration and tears off his face, "Let's just go to sleep," he said, wearily, "And talk about this later."

It was later; Duo leaned across the table and kissed Wufei, firmly.