Duo's POV

Duo's POV

"Are you ready?"

I looked up from the newspaper I was trying to read. I'd been trying to read by feeling the raised print through my fingertips, but I'd only succeeded in getting inky fingers so far. "Where are we going?"

"To the art museum," Wufei answered matter-of-factly as he opened the refrigerator.

"Why?"

"To see the art," Wufei answered. I could hear him pouring something.

"I highly doubt they'll let me touch anything," I said bitterly. "You go. I'll stay here."

"No," Wufei put something down in front of me. "Drink."

I sipped the liquid he's given me before saying, "Have you forgotten I'm blind?"

"No. Here," he pressed something into my hand.

I sighed. If Wufei didn't want to answer a question, he wouldn't. "What's this?" I asked, feeling the cool plastic of what he'd given me.

"They're glasses."

"I don't *need* glasses."

"Dark glasses. So you won't feel so self-conscious about your scars," he explained and put them on me. "You can hardly see your scars now."

"Oh…" I felt the glasses. "Is my face that bad?"

"What?" he sounded shocked. "Your face is fine! You just always seemed so conscious about the scars, I thought-,"

"It's okay. I know my face is a mess."
"Dammit Duo, you have a very attractive face and you know it so stop fishing for compliments. Are you ready to go?"

He said my face is attractive I smiled happily, "Yes, I'm ready."

"Okay, let's go."

I'd expected to be bored out of my mind, sitting on a bench in the lobby and waiting for Wufei to finish with the museum. I was wrong however.

Wufei literally dragged me into the museum and through it. "Stop complaining, I'm going to make it so you *can* see," he said firmly, propelling me towards a bench. I hit it hard on and sat down, glaring at him as I rubbed my shin.

"Right now, we are looking at a picture entitled 'The Laundress'. It's an oil painting with brush strokes that curve towards your left," and Wufei went on, describing every detail down to the way the artist had signed his name.

I sat there, not listening at first; amazed he was taking the time to do this for me. And once in awhile, when he saw an employee, he managed to persuade them to let me touch the paintings or sculptures, whatever happened to be in the room at the time.

After awhile, I guess he saw my amazement and shock that anyone wanted to spend that much time on me because he sat down next to me and said, "Is this too much? Do you want to leave?"

"No, it's okay," I said.

"You said you'd never lie to me." I could almost hear his smile as he said, "Now, do you really want to stay?"

"…No," I admitted.

"C'mon then," Wufei grabbed my hand and helped me up. "We can go back to the apartment and yell obscenities out the window."

I stared at him. He laughed and led me out of the museum.

Wufei's POV

"Let go of me."

I turned, "Duo are you *positive* you can make your way through here?" We were in the middle of the bus station at rush hour.

"Yes! I've done it before!"

"But not in this big of a crowd!" I protested, reaching for his hand again.

"No!" He jerked away from me and crossed his arms, making it so I couldn't reach him.

"Duo…"

"Wu…"

He glared at me, "You have to let me prove that I'm not completely useless!"

"But you're not…" I said. Oh, he was much more than he thought he was.

"Wufei, please," he whispered.

I shrugged helplessly, "Okay…" If he gets hurt or lost I'll kill myself

"Thank you!" his face lit up. I smiled reluctantly and turned to weave my way through the crowds and onto the bus.

When I turned back…he was gone.

Duo's POV

I was ecstatic Wufei trusted me, had enough faith in me to let me do this small task for myself. I suppose I was too caught up in my thoughts that I never noticed the casual jostling of the crowd-until I called Wufei's name and no one answered.

"Wufei?" I whispered.

"Are you lost dear?" said a woman near by. I wondered if she knew I was blind. By the slight gasp that evoked from her, I figured she had just noticed my face.

"N-," I began. I change my mind though, "Yes. Can you help me?"

"What's your address?"

I stood, stumped. Wufei had drilled me on the knowledge of our address and phone number until it was firmly lodged in my brain-but now, my mind was blank and I could only think, I told Wufei I would be all right…I was wrong. I can't even remember my address! "I-I-can you show me the way to the park? I'm meeting someone there."

I was lying, but I hoped that once at the park I could find my way home. Wufei and I had often gone there in the afternoon and I was almost positive I could make my way back.

"You sure?" her voice was shrewdly suspicious.

"Yes."

"All right…" she sounded reluctant; "I'll take you to the park."

"Thank you."

Once at the park, I sat myself down under a tree, feeling too vulnerable out in the middle of the park on a bench. I had to think, take a moment to gather my thoughts to myself and try to figure out what to do. Okay, I can do this. I've done this often enough, I just need to find a familiar landmark and- "What the hell?" I yelped as I felt someone grasp my arms.

"Hey kid," a gruff voice said.

Kid… I started beating at him. "Relax, I ain't gonna hurt ya-," Trowa said he wouldn't hurt me…said it would feel 'nice'…it was *our* little secret…I screamed and kicked out. "Shuddup! You're gonna get me in trouble!"

"Get *away* from him!" I heard someone else yell.

"Stop! I hate you; I hate you! Get away! I hate you! Don't touch me! Stay way from my room! I hate you!" I screamed, kicking and slapping, scratching with my nails, trying to get away.

"You bastard stay away from him!" I heard someone scream. I screamed in terror as I felt someone wrap their arms around me.

I think went crazy for a moment. I was scared, afraid, and lonely with only the memories of my past…so I lashed out. "STOP! I HATE YOU! Don't touch me! It's not nice! It's bad! Bad! I hate it; I hate you! Stay away!"

"What did he do to you? I could kill him!" I heard someone swearing savagely as their arms tightened around me. "Hush. Shh, its okay, just lie still-its me, I won't hurt you…"

Wufei I went limp and threw my arms around him, sobbing.

I cry differently from other people. My eyes are scarred so bad that the tears don't come. They're all held inside and hurts, it hurts so badly. "He came in my room," I sobbed into his neck. "Wufei, he came into my room. He said he wasn't going to hurt me, but he did. He made me feel dirty and he hurt me."

"It's okay, Duo, its okay, I won't let him touch you again…if he comes near you I'll rip him apart with my bare hands, I swear, only please, don't cry!"

I took a deep, shaky breath, and slowly relaxed y hold around Wufei's neck. I went limp and he wrapped his arms around me. "I was only a little kid, I was barely ten and I didn't know any better! Wufei, I *let* him touch me, its all my fault!"

"No its not. It's never your fault. It's that sick, twisted pervert's fault."

I was over-whelmed by a flood of emotion then. I loved him more than ever…but I didn't know if he loved me…I wanted to see his eyes then. If I could just see his eyes, I would know!

"I hate this darkness. I hate it!"

Wufei's POV

As I held Duo in my arms then, I felt a rush of mixed emotions, tumbling about in me; not knowing what to do. I half wanted to hold Duo and kiss him until all his fears had disappeared, and I half wanted to shake him until he promised to never leave me again. And for the first time in my life, I wanted to kill somebody. I was filled with a murderous rage, I could have killed Trowa with my bare hands and not felt any remorse at all.

Suddenly, I felt his hands on my face. "What are you doing?" I asked, reaching up to grasp his hand.

"I want to know what you look like! I hate this! I want to see you!" he cried, wrenching his hand from mine. "Wufei, I don't even know what *I* look like! I don't know what color my eyes were or what color my hair is-Wufei, I don't know anything about myself!"

"Oh Duo," I said unhappily. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I need to see!" he said fiercely, running his hands through my hair. "What color are your eyes?"

"They're black Duo," I answered, removing his hands from my face.

He sat still for a moment, "I hate black," he whispered.

"I know…" I clasped his hands in mine, but he shook me off.

"But…" he gazed at me. "I like your kind of black?"

"*My* kind of black?"

"Its not like this cold-this evil-this horrible darkness that surrounds me. Yours is…" he waved his hands helplessly. "Different."

Different?" I repeated, looking at him blankly.

He smiled tiredly, "Your heart's not black, Fei. It makes all the difference."

"Your heart can't be black if you're in love," I said without thinking. Shit. I *know* what he's going to ask

"Who do you love?"

The word was on the tip of my tongue, but I refused to say it. "Don't make me answer that Duo, please," I whispered.

"I love you Wufei."

I'd longed to hear those words for a long time now, but I knew he couldn't mean it. "Don't say that Duo. You don't mean it" I said quietly.

"But I do!" he said, wrapping his arms around me. "Wufei, I love you!"

"Don't say that!" I cried out, "Don't do this to me-don't do this to yourself." Duo had only known three people intimately in his life-one who had raped him, another who had physically abused him…and me. He didn't know enough of the world; he hadn't met enough people to know what love was.

"Do what to myself? Do *what* to you? Wufei, please," he whispered, "Don't make me stop."

"Duo," I whispered, feeling an agonizing pain ripping through me. He loves you. You idiot, he loves you. I argued with myself though, How can he when he only has two monsters to compare me too? He's mistaking friendship for love!

"I know you feel something for me Wufei. I feel it when you touch me, I hear it in your voice, in the way your breathing quickens when I'm near, the way your heart's racing now."

"Stop it!" I hissed, "Don't make me say something we'll regret."

"Wufei…" there was a vast note of pleading in his voice. "Tell me."

I had to be cruel now, "Duo, you're a friend and nothing more. You won't ever be anything more."

His face drained of all color. "Fine," he choked out. "Lie to me."

"Please, let's go home now,' I said, jumping to my feet. "And forget this ever happened."

"You can forget," Duo said, standing up also. "But I won't."

I knew I wouldn't forget, but I refrained from answering as we started back home.