Mel: Okay! A 2+5 fic in progress!!!

Daichi: …

Mel: *grins* Let's just get to work, I haven't done one of these in a long time…

Tsuru: Have you ever done one of these?

Mel: Well if I haven't, It's been a while, hasn't it?

Tsuru: …

Disclaimer: I own squat. You get the idea.

Warnings: Shounen ai. Young boy love for those you that know no japanese.

Setup: because I am too lazy to write an introductuion* Duo and Wufei are living in a small house and attending a school in an undercover mission. For the past week, Duo has made the two of them late, and Wufei threatened to leave without him the next day. This is that next day….

Mel: See? I am lazy!

Daichi: I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, *continues to chant*

Mel: O.o I think I scared him….

Phases of insanity

"Maxwell, you've been in there long enough! If you don't come out soon, I'm coming in!" Wufei pounded on the door to the bathroom. "American baka, you're going to make us late for school again." Wufei paused and waited for some smart reply. He didn't get one. "Duo?" There was no sound coming from the room, not even the running water that should have been heard considering that Duo was supposed to be taking a shower.

Wufei hesitantly carried through with his threat, not wanting to invade his friend's privacy. It was a good thing that he did.

"Oh my God…." Duo was lying on his back in the bathtub, completely submerged in water. His violet eyes were wide open, but unmoving, much like the rest of him. His lips were white, lined with a deep blue, and slightly parted. The thing that scared Wufei most was his skin, deathly pale and thin, patterned by the underlying veins. "Duo!"

Wufei shivered as he shoved his arms into the water to pull Duo above it. It was like liquid ice. He grabbed Duo's shoulders, and pulled him into a sitting position. His head rolled back, then over his shoulder, and came to rest on his chest, letting water spill out of his mouth. He wasn't breathing.

"Shimatta!" Wufei hoisted Duo's bare form out of the freezing water, and laid him down on the floor on his back. "What happened to you?" He checked for a pulse. It was there, and it was even, but slow and weak. Wufei carefully placed one hand on Duo's forehead and pressed down while using the other to lift his chin slightly, opening the airway. Duo's body remained cold and still.

Wufei pinched Duo's nose, then took in a deep breath. He carefully sealed his lips over Duo's mouth, then slowly exhaled. He took in another breath, and blew into Duo again, then checked for a pulse again. It was slightly faster than last time. Good.

The Chinese boy again blocked Duo's nasal passage, then breathed into him. He counted to five, and then exhaled again. He knew that air was getting into Duo's lungs because he could feel Duo's chest press against him, then relax.

"Come on Duo…" Wufei was running out of breath, but he didn't dare stop helping Duo. He prepared to blow into Duo again, but he was caught off guard when the air was sucked out of his lungs. Wufei quickly took his mouth off of Duo, and coughed. Duo began to breathe slowly on his own, but it was bubbly from the water still in his lungs. His eyes closed, then opened again, but they didn't move. Wufei lifted Duo up, and the boy wrapped his arms tightly around Wufei, his breathing becoming much more labored. "D-Duo…" Duo's face contorted with pain, and he twisted his hands into Wufei's shirt. He put his head over Wufei's shoulder, and pressed his chest up against the confused boy.

Wufei realized that the only way to get Duo to calm down was to get the water out of his lungs. He gave Duo a quick upward smack on his back, and he began to cough violently, shaking Wufei with him. He could feel water trickle down his back as it left Duo's mouth. When Duo finished coughing, Wufei gently tried to pry the braided boy off of himself.

"N-n-no!" Duo clung tightly to Wufei, and pulled his legs up to himself.

"What is it?" Wufei tried to turn so he could look Duo in the eyes, but he would have none of it.

"No, no, no, no, no…" Duo continued to chant to himself as he buried himself in Wufei's chest.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here." Wufei ran his hands over Duo's back in slow, comforting circles. Duo felt colder than the water had. If he didn't warm up soon, his muscles would seize up. Wufei twisted slightly, and slid his arm under Duo's knees. The boy let out a small cry of protest as his legs bent. "Does that hurt?"

"Y-yes…" Wufei briefly debated his options. Move Duo Quickly, causing only a sharp jolt of pain, but risk tearing the tendons in his legs and lower back; move Duo slowly, causing him incredible pain, but be at no risk of tearing his muscles; or leave him where he was to die. The choice was obvious.

"Duo, this is going to hurt." Wufei slowly bent Duo's legs, preparing to lift him. He tried to ignore the soft cries being emitted from the cold form in his arms. As he lifted Duo into the air, the boy shifted his grip from the shirt, and dug his nails into Wufei's back, drawing blood. "Don't fight with me…"

Wufei began to walk out of the room. The shock of footsteps made Duo lose his grip, twisting his waist painfully as he fell away from Wufei's chest. His cries of pain stopped abruptly, and he stopped moving completely.

"Duo!" Wufei gently shook the half dead boy, trying to get a response out of him. Duo's eyes stayed open and still as his head rolled lifelessly from side to side. "Chikusho!" Wufei ran into the nearest bedroom, which happened to be his own, and laid Duo down on the bed. "My God…"

Wufei's eyes traveled across Duo's body. His skin was opaque now, but still as pale as the sheets on the bed. A dark patch of purple caught Wufei's attention. He gently moved Duo's mass of wet hair to the side to inspect his shoulders. Large bruises had formed where Wufei had touched him. His wide violet eyes twitched slightly, and his breathing became violent again.

Wufei quickly gathered the covers in the room, and piled them on top of his ill friend. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and lightly ran his hands along Duo's chest, trying to get him to relax. Duo's breathing slowed, and his eyes blinked.

"W-Wufei…" Duo's voice came out raspy, and he looked surprised. "Wh-what happened? Wh-why can't I move?"

"You don't remember?" Duo stared at Wufei for a few moments, then shook his head slightly.

"N-no, I d-don't." Duo sneezed, then began to shiver. "It's c-cold…" Wufei pulled the blankets tighter around the frail boy, and sighed. "What happened?"

"I found you in the tub, unconscious. I don't know how long you were under water." Duo shifted to lift himself up, then winced in pain and fell back on the bed.

"How the hell did I get there?" The question had not been directed at anyone specific, so Wufei didn't answer. He simply shook his head, and turned to get something to clean the wounds on his back. "Who did that to your back?"

"You did," Wufei replied, turning to face Duo. The boy's eyes widened, and he held out a shaky arm. "It's alright., You just rest now." The pale boy blinked slowly, then relaxed.

"Gomen nasai…" Wufei shook his head, then headed to the bathroom.

"Where did I put that…" He pulled various bottles out of the medicine cabinet looking for the alcohol. "Argh! I can't find it!" Wufei gave up looking, and pulled off his shirt. At least now he wouldn't irritate the wounds.

A soft thud made Wufei tense up. He and Duo were the only ones in the house. Wufei stuck his head into the room he had left Duo in. The boy had fallen half way off of the bed, his head twisted so his left ear was pressed against the floor. He was tangled in the blankets from the bed, and hopelessly pulling at one that had wrapped around his neck.

"Don't pull at it. you'll only make it worse." Wufei knelt down beside the capsized Shinigami, and gently tried to untangle him. Duo narrowed his eyes at the Chinese boy, and tightened his grip on the sheet constricting his windpipe. "Maxwell, I'm not fooling with you. Let go." Duo pulled on the sheet, and coughed. Wufei grabbed his hands and pulled them away from the sheets. As he attempted to untangle his friend, Duo struggled, pulling a blanket tight around his stomach. "Duo! Stop it!" Duo pulled hard away from Wufei, flipping his feet over his head to hit Wufei in the face, and sliding his upper body under the bed.

Wufei waited for his vision to clear, then gently slid Duo out from under the bed. He now had deep purple rings around his neck and stomach. He had gone back into his trance-like state. Wufei carefully lifted the thin boy up onto the bed, and sat down next to him, waiting for him to respond.

After a few minutes, Duo gasped, and began to shiver violently. Wufei pulled a blanket up off of the floor, and over the boy. Duo grabbed onto Wufei's arm and curled up against him for warmth. Wufei sighed, and wrapped his arms around the feeble 02 pilot, and soon fell asleep.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Mel: So? What do you guys think? Can you think? Is that a valid question?

Tsuru: O.o Uh huh… I think she's lost it…

Mel: Nope! But I know someone who has!! Can anyone figure out what's wrong with Duo? Should I continue this story? Should I have just left this one on my computer and not tortured you with it? Should I stop babbling and work on my fics?

Tsuru: SHUT UP!!!

Mel: ^__^ Daichi-chan!

Daichi: Hai?

Mel: Remove this thing.

Daichi: *looks way up at Tsuru* Has she gotten any sleep recently?

Tsuru: No, but she's a few minutes away from being late for a Kat appointment.

Daichi: Ahhhhh…