Warnings: AU, TWT, angst, shonen ai, some language, mentions of yaoi.
Author's Notes: My muses spent a LONG time vacationing with Shira's muses. Duo and Wufei finally decided to come back and they brought with them the inclination to write this little fic start to finish. Don't blame me!
Main Pairing: 2+5
Dedication: This fic is dedicated to Shira for sending my muses back to me and to Rhina for allowing me to care about her. The part of Vow is written in memory of Patches.
Dark Clouds and Silver
A Gundam Wing Fic
By: Yuuki Miyaka
Chapter Five
Damn them, Wufei thought miserably, wincing with every movement. He suspected that if he actually looked at himself, he'd find his skin a patchwork quilt of black, blue, and the sallow green of fresh and fading bruises. Everything he did, even breathing, hurt. He was afraid to open his eyes for fear of his lids proving bruised. Besides, the longer he lay in darkness, the more likely he was to fall asleep. And surely it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to fall asleep and wake up later, once he'd been healed. If he ever was healed, that was. If he ever woke up at all . . .
He pushed aside the thought as unworthy, raising leaden eyelids and wincing when he realized that yes, indeed, his eyes had been blackened. He sat up, then swallowed back the bile that threatened to rush past his lips at the motion. His last meal had been just before the most recent beating, but he couldn't remember whether or not it still resided in his stomach. He groaned softly, then jumped at an answering groan. The startled motion set his head whirling and he clutched at it, doubling over so that his forehead rested between his knees in a vain attempt to calm his stomach and stop the tilt-a-whirl of the room around him.
The second groan caused him to look up slowly, mindful of his condition. But when he gazed in the direction of the pitiful sound, all he saw was blank wall . . .
Blank wall . . . His room, in his house. Wufei sighed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and tentatively standing. When the room didn't start spinning, he took a chance and went to the doorway, opening it just in time to catch another moan clearly emanating from Duo's room. Checking his clock served to tell him that he'd awakened earlier than usual this night. Hearing Duo's misery made him quickly decide that there was nothing wrong with his greeting Duo's wakefulness with a mug of calming hot chocolate. Pleased at the idea, he hurried to the kitchen. Since time was short, he ignored the stove in favor of the microwave, heating the mugs of water quickly and efficiently, then dropping in a mesh ball of loose tea leaves and three spoonfuls of Duo's homemade hot chocolate. Duo's recipe had been much richer and thicker than the stuff he could find at the store. He'd yet to get Duo to give him the recipe, but he'd have to make sure to get it before Duo left.
That thought led to a road he didn't want to contemplate, so Wufei ignored the implications of the last word in favor of mixing the drinks and heading to Duo's room. As he neared, he could hear the slow movements of someone who'd just awakened, and pushed the door open with his foot. It swung open soundlessly. Duo sat on the bed, hair streaming around his shoulders and trailing out of his bedtime braid as he rubbed at his eyes. Seeing that, and seeing the way his sweat-soaked bangs matted to his forehead, Wufei nodded once. The Chinese pilot approached, thrusting the mug under Duo's nose. Indigo-blue eyes peered up at him, huge and surprised, and Wufei smiled gently. "You were moaning. Sounded like you needed something comforting, and according to you, nothing is more comforting than chocolate."
"Not true," Duo mumbled wearily, sipping at the hot liquid. "Friendship is more comforting." He glanced up at Wufei's poleaxed expression and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Shall I set up the chess board or are you going back to sleep?"
Wufei opened his mouth once or twice, looking like a trout before he finally managed to form a coherent word. "Friendship? Are we friends?"
Duo's chuckle was warm and caring, and it swelled Wufei's heart. "Well, 'course, 'Fei. What else would we be?"
"I . . . don't know, Duo. Set up the chess board. I feel the need for a good game or three."
"'Fei, I hurt," Duo complained, wincing as he tried to stretch out on the couch. Wufei chuckled softly, hiding his own discomfort and promising himself he would NEVER stop exercising again. The pain that came from restarting was too much and too easily avoided.
"You're the one who pushed us too far, Duo, with your comments that you could handle 'just one more.'" Wufei's response elicited a weak chuckle from the happy-go-lucky man.
"Yeah, I know, but I thought I could. Y'know, 'Fei, you're a really great teacher," he said out of the blue, leaving Wufei gaping in his direction. The comment was enough for Wufei's brush to shiver in the air as it awaited the chance to touch canvas again. Wufei had finally managed to capture the panther-grace of his companion, and was adding the final touches to this latest painting. The compliment caught him off-guard, making him blink in wonder. "You're patient, even when I'm trying show off, and you don't get angry with me for screwing up."
"That's because you actually try, Duo. No one can learn these arts easily. It takes time and practice, and you can't be perfect immediately, no matter how you try. Besides, I, too, showed off at first." Duo laughed, pulling Wufei out of his shell until Wufei had shared story after story of the L5 pilot's childhood. For all that Wufei was a sober, serene man, his stories of a misspent and playful youth had Duo rolling on the ground in laughter, tears streaming from his eyes and all thoughts of stiff muscles forgotten. Something about the image of Duo so happy constricted Wufei's chest with happiness, leaving him giddy and warm all over.
"Man, 'Fei, and I thought I was the king of the practical jokes!" Duo gasped out, laying on his back on the floor, staring up at Wufei, who did his best to look affronted.
"They were hardly practical jokes, Duo. Consider them, instead, lessons to my teachers. Haven't you ever heard that you should learn from your students?"
Duo nodded, sitting up. It was only then, as he looked past Wufei to the canvas, that Wufei remembered what he'd been painting before he'd been called away to share stories of his past. He froze, only his heart moving as it beat a tattoo of anxiety in his chest. Duo slowly moved to a standing position, walking directly to the canvas and examining it for minutes on end before slowly looking at Wufei. The eyes held a question too important for Wufei to answer. He swallowed, his own eyes shifting away from that deliberate gaze.
"That's me," Duo said softly, one hand hovering over the still-wet oil paint. Wufei nodded. "You've been painting me. How long?"
"Since you came to stay with me." Wufei mumbled the answer, risking a glance up at Duo. The stunned look on Duo's face pulled the explanation from him. "You're such a marvelous subject," he said, a little more clearly. "Your face is always so expressive, and your eyes are full of emotions and memories. Your hair is an incredible challenge to capture. It's got a life all its own, do you realize that? And the way you move . . . I could never hope to capture that . . ." Wufei trailed off, suddenly aware that he might have said too much.
Duo considered for a long time, then smiled quietly. "You think it's hard to capture me?" At Wufei's nod, he chuckled softly. "You ought to try a self-portrait sometime," he whispered, then left the room. The Chinese man stared after him, not knowing quite what to say to the compliment.