Next chapter!!!!! ^^ Thanks once again to all you guys that
have been reviewing to my little crappy story!!
Warning: Duo says the 'f' word. That's right, he says fuck. And not just once. Multiple times in a row. Six times to be exact. Just thought I'd warn you for absolutely no reason whatsoever except for the fact that your insane author here (Yep, that's little ole me) just downed an entire two liter bottle of Mountain Dew and is in an elated state of hyperosity as she posts this next chapter. ^^;;;
***
Duo's eyes fluttered open and he groaned softly. His head felt like it had been split in two and he was soaked in cold sweat. The murky cabin was dimly lit with cloud-shrouded morning sunlight, but it was enough for him to get a grasp on his surroundings. 'Did Wufei let me sleep while he went off on the mission alone?' Duo thought fuzzily, sitting up on his elbows. A sharp stab of pain in his shoulder immediately brought him to his senses though and the events of the night before trickled into his clearing mind. But the last thing he remembered was passing out in the woods, not ending up in the hideout. Then came the return of his dreams. Duo eased himself back down, feeling as if all his energy had left him again. He hoped to God he hadn't said anything aloud, he didn't want Wufei thinking he really was just a pathetic excuse of a Gundam pilot. Duo turned over onto his side and nearly had a heart attack. Speak of the Devil.
Wufei had fallen asleep sitting Indian style on the coffee table with his chin drooping down onto his shirtless chest, one arm hung stretched in front of him as if he was reaching out for something in his slumber. His face had the most expression on it that Duo had ever seen, except for when the Chinese pilot was pissed off at him; it was pinched and slightly upset. Maybe he wasn't the only one who had had bad dreams that night. The thing that really got him though was that Mr. Justice and Morality was just sitting there half dressed like it was nothing. If he weren't so dead tired or stressing over if he had given himself away, he would have done something completely mischievous and evil to use as blackmail against him. But seeing how Duo was dead tired and really didn't want to keep on stressing, he decided to flip back and fall asleep to alleviate the lingering effects of the drug and the fever.
The abrupt movements roused Wufei from his light, troubled doze however and he jumped to his feet, not appearing to recognize where exactly he was for a second before relaxing.
"Shit, you really are tryin' to kill me, aren't you Fei?" Duo chuckled feebly as he dropped down with a heavy sigh, a few loose wisps of black hair straying from the ponytail. "Nearly gave me another heart attack."
"I'm sorry Duo- I just got caught off guard," Wufei mumbled, pushing the strands away, only making it worse as more came undone. "I didn't even realize I drifted off." His head suddenly snapped up as it finally dawned upon him that Duo was awake.
"Obviously." A ghost of a smirk spread across Duo's parched lips. "Wouldn't've been surprised if you busted a whole in the roof with how high you flew. That and you said 'Duo' instead of 'Maxwell'."
Wufei shifted uncomfortably and Duo cringed slightly, waiting for the usual loud tirade to ensue. But it didn't, only an odd look flickered in Wufei's eyes. To make it weirder, he got nervous and went in search for his tank top to hide his discomfiture.
Now that Duo was awake, all sorts of questions had popped up unawares in his mind about all the incidents he had heard about and this curiosity unnerved him. He wasn't even supposed to know these things. They a driven him to go reencounter his own painful memories and question his ethics as a soldier. Wufei could sense Duo's perplexed gaze watching him from the couch as he hurried off into the bedroom where he had left his shirt on the bed.
As he disappeared into the room, Duo looked about as disturbed as Wufei felt. 'Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...This isn't good. He's bein' weird, he knows something. But he isn't acting all self-righteous...Weird...' he thought uneasily, beginning to stress again, except this time about what made Wufei react the way he did. The look he had given him before hastily walking away was the last one that Duo would have expected to see.
Compassion?
***
Wufei stayed hidden in the bedroom long enough to regain his composure before going back out. He knew Duo had noticed his unease by the way he immediately changed the subject as soon as he came back.
"So has Heero contacted yet?"
"Yes, a while ago." Wufei answered rather stiffly, precariously sitting on the edge of the table again. Maybe Duo did only imagine the look; he sure seemed to be acting just like himself.
"So that means their part of the mission went unsurprisingly perfect- We should be clearing out too, before OZ starts poking around here for us," Duo paled a little as he pushed himself up in an upright position.
"No, we're not going anywhere until you're well." Another shocker for the braided pilot as Wufei firmly opposed. "I don't know what exactly happened or what that scientist used, but I'm not risking anything that might make you relapse into another fever."
Duo's expression went sheepish. "Ah- well, I can't really handle any drug harder than antibiotics or extremely light anesthetics..." he mumbled. "After the AC 187 epidemic was brought to L2 when I was kid..." The haunted sadness flashed for a fleeting second but it was just as quickly banished and replaced by a feigned, hollow laugh. "Why am I tellin' you this, eh Wu-man? Just might give you even more ideas on how to kill me." Duo forced a playful grin.
"I would never resort to such low methods of elimination!" Wufei said indignantly, though the queer look gleamed again in his eyes. So Duo didn't imagine it earlier. Great.
"Hey Wu- when Heero contacted...You didn't happen to say anything about this whole little incident, did you?" The last thing he needed was for -everyone- to think he was pitiful.
"No- I only mentioned that you were injured, but not the extent, and said we would be back within the next or two." Wufei appeared uncomfortable once more, shifting his gaze from him and suddenly finding the window behind the couch very interesting.
Duo couldn't decide if he was angry or if he was relieved. He -must- have just imagined the look if Wufei was just brushing aside his bad reaction to whatever the scientist had injected him with as nothing, but then at least the other pilots didn't know. All the stressing was beginning to stretch what little regained energy he had thin and all Duo felt like doing at the moment was just going back to sleep, not trying to figure out Wufei's strange behavior or anything else for that matter. For all he cared, they could turn into detrophiliacs [1] and go find a nice little tree to screw, so all he actually replied was a weary, "That's peachy."
Wufei scrutinized him closely; over the course of their conversation Duo had paled further and grown somewhat haggard, and he instinctively reached out and tested his forehead with the back of his hand. "You getting warm again, you should try and get more rest to get the remnants of the drug out of your system before we move on to anything else."
Duo blinked rapidly as Wufei withdrew his hand and walked off without another word. In his voice had been the same cool distance, as if he had only spoke about needing some part or another for Shenlong, but the contradicting gentle touch could still be felt like static under his messy bangs, even with it having been long removed.
Extremely confused, Duo burrowed himself under the mountain of quilts with his mind reeling in spite of his resolve to put off trying to figure it all out.
Was there more to Mr. Justice and Morality than he thought there was?
***
[1]I dunno if detrophiliacs is right, I just know that the scientific name for people who like to have sex with trees starts with a 'd' and ends in 'philiac'. (Don't ask, I just thought it would be one of those funny things that Duo would come up with.)
Warning: Duo says the 'f' word. That's right, he says fuck. And not just once. Multiple times in a row. Six times to be exact. Just thought I'd warn you for absolutely no reason whatsoever except for the fact that your insane author here (Yep, that's little ole me) just downed an entire two liter bottle of Mountain Dew and is in an elated state of hyperosity as she posts this next chapter. ^^;;;
***
Duo's eyes fluttered open and he groaned softly. His head felt like it had been split in two and he was soaked in cold sweat. The murky cabin was dimly lit with cloud-shrouded morning sunlight, but it was enough for him to get a grasp on his surroundings. 'Did Wufei let me sleep while he went off on the mission alone?' Duo thought fuzzily, sitting up on his elbows. A sharp stab of pain in his shoulder immediately brought him to his senses though and the events of the night before trickled into his clearing mind. But the last thing he remembered was passing out in the woods, not ending up in the hideout. Then came the return of his dreams. Duo eased himself back down, feeling as if all his energy had left him again. He hoped to God he hadn't said anything aloud, he didn't want Wufei thinking he really was just a pathetic excuse of a Gundam pilot. Duo turned over onto his side and nearly had a heart attack. Speak of the Devil.
Wufei had fallen asleep sitting Indian style on the coffee table with his chin drooping down onto his shirtless chest, one arm hung stretched in front of him as if he was reaching out for something in his slumber. His face had the most expression on it that Duo had ever seen, except for when the Chinese pilot was pissed off at him; it was pinched and slightly upset. Maybe he wasn't the only one who had had bad dreams that night. The thing that really got him though was that Mr. Justice and Morality was just sitting there half dressed like it was nothing. If he weren't so dead tired or stressing over if he had given himself away, he would have done something completely mischievous and evil to use as blackmail against him. But seeing how Duo was dead tired and really didn't want to keep on stressing, he decided to flip back and fall asleep to alleviate the lingering effects of the drug and the fever.
The abrupt movements roused Wufei from his light, troubled doze however and he jumped to his feet, not appearing to recognize where exactly he was for a second before relaxing.
"Shit, you really are tryin' to kill me, aren't you Fei?" Duo chuckled feebly as he dropped down with a heavy sigh, a few loose wisps of black hair straying from the ponytail. "Nearly gave me another heart attack."
"I'm sorry Duo- I just got caught off guard," Wufei mumbled, pushing the strands away, only making it worse as more came undone. "I didn't even realize I drifted off." His head suddenly snapped up as it finally dawned upon him that Duo was awake.
"Obviously." A ghost of a smirk spread across Duo's parched lips. "Wouldn't've been surprised if you busted a whole in the roof with how high you flew. That and you said 'Duo' instead of 'Maxwell'."
Wufei shifted uncomfortably and Duo cringed slightly, waiting for the usual loud tirade to ensue. But it didn't, only an odd look flickered in Wufei's eyes. To make it weirder, he got nervous and went in search for his tank top to hide his discomfiture.
Now that Duo was awake, all sorts of questions had popped up unawares in his mind about all the incidents he had heard about and this curiosity unnerved him. He wasn't even supposed to know these things. They a driven him to go reencounter his own painful memories and question his ethics as a soldier. Wufei could sense Duo's perplexed gaze watching him from the couch as he hurried off into the bedroom where he had left his shirt on the bed.
As he disappeared into the room, Duo looked about as disturbed as Wufei felt. 'Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...This isn't good. He's bein' weird, he knows something. But he isn't acting all self-righteous...Weird...' he thought uneasily, beginning to stress again, except this time about what made Wufei react the way he did. The look he had given him before hastily walking away was the last one that Duo would have expected to see.
Compassion?
***
Wufei stayed hidden in the bedroom long enough to regain his composure before going back out. He knew Duo had noticed his unease by the way he immediately changed the subject as soon as he came back.
"So has Heero contacted yet?"
"Yes, a while ago." Wufei answered rather stiffly, precariously sitting on the edge of the table again. Maybe Duo did only imagine the look; he sure seemed to be acting just like himself.
"So that means their part of the mission went unsurprisingly perfect- We should be clearing out too, before OZ starts poking around here for us," Duo paled a little as he pushed himself up in an upright position.
"No, we're not going anywhere until you're well." Another shocker for the braided pilot as Wufei firmly opposed. "I don't know what exactly happened or what that scientist used, but I'm not risking anything that might make you relapse into another fever."
Duo's expression went sheepish. "Ah- well, I can't really handle any drug harder than antibiotics or extremely light anesthetics..." he mumbled. "After the AC 187 epidemic was brought to L2 when I was kid..." The haunted sadness flashed for a fleeting second but it was just as quickly banished and replaced by a feigned, hollow laugh. "Why am I tellin' you this, eh Wu-man? Just might give you even more ideas on how to kill me." Duo forced a playful grin.
"I would never resort to such low methods of elimination!" Wufei said indignantly, though the queer look gleamed again in his eyes. So Duo didn't imagine it earlier. Great.
"Hey Wu- when Heero contacted...You didn't happen to say anything about this whole little incident, did you?" The last thing he needed was for -everyone- to think he was pitiful.
"No- I only mentioned that you were injured, but not the extent, and said we would be back within the next or two." Wufei appeared uncomfortable once more, shifting his gaze from him and suddenly finding the window behind the couch very interesting.
Duo couldn't decide if he was angry or if he was relieved. He -must- have just imagined the look if Wufei was just brushing aside his bad reaction to whatever the scientist had injected him with as nothing, but then at least the other pilots didn't know. All the stressing was beginning to stretch what little regained energy he had thin and all Duo felt like doing at the moment was just going back to sleep, not trying to figure out Wufei's strange behavior or anything else for that matter. For all he cared, they could turn into detrophiliacs [1] and go find a nice little tree to screw, so all he actually replied was a weary, "That's peachy."
Wufei scrutinized him closely; over the course of their conversation Duo had paled further and grown somewhat haggard, and he instinctively reached out and tested his forehead with the back of his hand. "You getting warm again, you should try and get more rest to get the remnants of the drug out of your system before we move on to anything else."
Duo blinked rapidly as Wufei withdrew his hand and walked off without another word. In his voice had been the same cool distance, as if he had only spoke about needing some part or another for Shenlong, but the contradicting gentle touch could still be felt like static under his messy bangs, even with it having been long removed.
Extremely confused, Duo burrowed himself under the mountain of quilts with his mind reeling in spite of his resolve to put off trying to figure it all out.
Was there more to Mr. Justice and Morality than he thought there was?
***
[1]I dunno if detrophiliacs is right, I just know that the scientific name for people who like to have sex with trees starts with a 'd' and ends in 'philiac'. (Don't ask, I just thought it would be one of those funny things that Duo would come up with.)