Duo cracked a single eye open and surveyed his surroundings. Judging from the light filtering in between the blinds he guessed it was about 11 AM. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and stretched his slender arms in front of him. Slipping out of bed he opened his mouth wide and let out a deafening grin, absentmindedly scratching an itch on the back of his neck.
"I really hate getting up this early…" He muttered sleepily. Pulling on a black tank top and a matching pair of jeans he walked sluggishly into the bathroom as he did every morning in order to take care of his pride and joy: his three foot long chestnut hair. Flipping on the light, he squinted slightly at the sudden brightness. He grimaced when he looked in the mirror and saw the shape his hair was in; this was going to be a challenge. He grabbed a bush and went to work, easing out the knots and tangles, wincing whenever he accidentally caught a snag. He shook his head lightly and mumbled to himself.
"Sometimes I wonder why I continue to put up with this." When he had finally finished he fashioned the hair into a perfect braid which was securely tied off with a tie. Pausing for a moment he looked at himself closely in the mirror, the corners of his mouth folding lightly into the semblance of a frown. His hands closed tightly over the braid and he held it against his chest the way one holds a precious possession.
"So I will not forget." He muttered stolidly in response to his earlier remark. Duo flipped of the light and went out of the bathroom and down the hall. As he walked down the stairs he painted a grin on his face just in case he should run into one of the others. It was an easy way to gloss things over, it had become second nature to him and he hardly had to think about it anymore. He didn't see anyone at all on his way to the kitchen and it was then that he noticed how quiet it was in the house, a very odd thing considering there were four others beside him living there. Then he remembered that the others had planned to go into town today for supplies; he had wanted to go with them but hadn't gotten up in time.
"Oh well, there's always next time." In the kitchen he pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out a Tupperware with some cold pizza from the night before. He sat down at the table and began to eat one of the slices, not bothering to heat it up. Glancing to the side he noticed a folded piece of paper with his name on it; picking it up and examining it he recognized the handwriting as that of Wufei's. He opened it up and read:
'Listen Maxwell, you need to learn to keep it down at night. You are keeping everybody up. Try to learn a little respect.'
Duo sat openmouthed at the written chastisement. How dare he be so rude! Despite the fact that he kinda liked Wufei he wasn't going to take this lying down. Suddenly an idea smacked him upside the head; he chuckled lightly and his violet eyes shone with delight.
Duo snuck silently into the room next to his own, which was occupied by Wufei. At the moment nothing gave him more pleasure in life than to irritate the Chinese boy, it made him turn the most delicious shade of red. He flipped on the light and surveyed the room. It was amazingly clean, there was nothing on the floor and the bed was nicely made; the complete opposite of his own. He headed for the closet first shuffling though the little amount of clothing and other items he found there. In his search he came upon a shelf in the back upon with sat a long slightly curved shaft. Picking it up Duo found that it was a scabbard.
"So this is where Wufei keeps his katana." He turned it over in his hands, it was indeed very pretty, even if it was only the case. He contemplated taking the sword out to get a look at it, but stopped. He knew that if Wufei found out he would blow his top, he didn't allow anyone to touch his katana. The moment of indecision passed as soon as it had come, Wufei had written him a mean note so he had a right to touch his things. He pulled the blade out and examined it up and down; he noticed that when the overhead light hit it that it shone like nothing else. It was very beautiful, after all Wufei kept it in immaculate condition.
"Such is the beauty of steel, finely honed and sharpened, tempered by courage and passions that run dark and deep." He was surprised he remembered that, he had heard Wufei say it one time and reciting it now made Duo think of him. Though he had never actually seen Wufei use the sword he could picture it clearly in his mind: the moonlight shining off the blade mixing playfully with the boy's amber hued skin, a fine sheen of sweat covering his forehead, his jet black hair falling about his lithe shoulders. His ebony eyes focused intently before him. Duo shook his head, what the heck was he thinking. He stuffed the sword back into its sheath and quickly set it back on the shelf. That had been really odd, he forced his mind off its current track and on to more important things. He turned and looked around the room and spotted what he was looking for, the small dresser that stood in the far corner. Moving over to it he slid out the top drawer and there it was, the entire reason he had ventured into this forbidden territory. He snatched it up and hopped out of the room, flipping off the light and grinning like a maniac.
Later that evening Duo sat in the main room reading the comics in yesterday's newspaper when the other boys got back from their trip into town. Duo helped them carry in the supplies and with placing the food in the refrigerator. He stayed well out of Wufei's way during this time and for his part the other boy seemed to ignore him. After about a half-hour of resting Duo asked them all to follow him into the main room saying that he had an announcement to make. The four walked into the room to find that a white towel had been tacked up on one wall, which Duo stood next to grinning widely.
"Up until now I have made it my business to find out a single thing about each of you which I could use to my advantage if I the situation called for it. I had so far succeeded in securing such information on three of you and I had merely to move on to the last…"
"What is all of this about Maxwell?" a frowning Wufei interjected.
"This, my fine friend, is an exhibition of a small piece of information that I stumbled upon today while I waited for your return. But I won't keep you waiting any longer." Duo grabbed one edge of the towel and held it up to reveal what was underneath. There tacked up on the wall was a pair of black underwear.
"MAXWELL!" Wufei roared and instantly sprang at Duo who was barely able to dodge a fist aimed at his head. Duo shimmied up the stairs with Wufei hot on his heels; he ran into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. He had just locked the door when he a loud slam on the other side as well as someone trying to turn the handle.
"I am going to get you for this Maxwell! This injustice will not be forgotten!" Duo could hear his footsteps recede from the outside. He leaned heavily against the wall next to the door the smile fading from his face. He knew that it would be best for him to stay out of Wufei's way for the awhile. He wouldn't lie to himself it really had been some fun, but for some reason he really didn't enjoy it as much as he should have. Though he wasn't sure why, he really did like Wufei and wanted to remain in his good graces.
"Who is it?" Came the wooden reply.
"It's me…" Duo began but was cut off.
"Haven't you done enough in one night?" Duo couldn't be certain but he thought he noted a sad tone in that voice and it made his heart ache to hear it. He placed his right hand on the doorframe holding on to it ever so slightly for support.
"Listen Wufei, I just wanted to apologize for what I did. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you…" Duo stopped speaking as the door suddenly opened inward and Wufei's face appeared merely inches from his own. His countenance was hard but upon looking into his eyes Duo saw a hidden pain buried deep down that Wufei would not admit to, even to himself.
"I…" He was again stopped by Wufei who placed his hand lightly over Duo's mouth.
"Just don't do anything like that again, okay?" It was all Duo could do to nod yes but he somehow managed it and in that same instant Wufei pulled back into his room and shut the door behind him. Stunned, Duo walked back into his room and pulled off his shirt, slipping into bed a genuine smile, albeit a small one, spread across his delicate features. He knew that Wufei had forgiven him for what he had done and it made him happy to know that. He swore silently to himself that he would keep the promise he made to the Chinese boy, his word was his bond and he wouldn't go back on it, no matter what happened.