Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
I wrote this a long time ago, and haven't have the time to look over it. If this is a really trashy fic, I apologize ahead of time. I'm going to revamp it sometime, maybe in the summer. Welcome to the wonderful world of laptops, right?
Wufei sat next to the locked door again across the room from Anthony who had been sitting in the same spot for hours. The laundry had been hung up on the ceiling fan and was drying. Slowly and deliberately, Wufei turned through the pages of Amrita, re-reading his favorite chapter where Sakumi and Ryuchiro went to visit the albino man and his empathic wife. The back of Wufei's neck began prickling, and he could tell that he was making Anthony uncomfortable. He smirked inwardly and gave himself and mental pat on the back for being subtly abrasive without getting his head chewed off.
The click of the door latch brought both boys to attention.
Artax stepped inside his home tiredly, concentrating on keeping his eyes open. The Alliance had folded quickly and that worried him while some others rejoiced. Everything had gone too fast. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur and took a well-timed stumble forward. Anthony completely missed him while Wufei shot up, dropping the book he'd been reading, and caught him even though he was doing a good job of catching himself.
He slumped a little on Wufei's slender form and looked about with half- closed eyes. What was Anthony doing there?
Anthony seemed to shrink in light of the whole situation, the half- annoyed/puzzled look he got from Artax, and the venomous look he was receiving from pilot 05. He really hadn't thought of a plan up to this point. The moment was extremely awkward all around.
As much as he'd loved to complain about and mortify Anthony, Wufei conjured up an excuse for him, "Anthony came over today to help me clean the house before you got back, and now that you're here," he said with emphasis, "he is leaving. Isn't that right?"
Reluctantly, Anthony caught on. A furious blush crept up his cheeks as he said goodbye and made a hasty retreat. Wufei smirked to himself feeling incredibly smug, and then turned his attention to Artax, who looked ready to sleep in his arms. Carefully, he gathered him up in his arms as much as Artax would allow and helped him over to the beds.
"Are you alright," he asked in a rare show of compassion.
"I'm fine," Artax replied sitting down looking ahead of himself, but not really seeing anything.
"I'll make something for you to eat," Wufei said gently pushing Artax down on the bed and then making his way to the kitchen.
"It's alright. You don't have to," Artax protested sleepily, but Wufei was already hastily putting things together. By then, it was too late, pilot 05 sets before himself a list of tasks and carries all of them through regardless of the cost to himself or how much others protest.
Artax was drifting off to sleep when he heard the soft footsteps of his Chinese charge. He sat up slowly and watched Wufei approach balancing a tray on the tips of his fingers, walking casually as if it were second nature to him. I wonder if he knows how wonderful he looks when he isn't trying to be a gundam pilot…he wondered. When he's guarded, it's so sad…
"You didn't have to go through so much trouble," Artax said looking at the condiments of food: a bowl of rice, an egg, spinach soup, green tea, and a few other little dishes.
"I like cooking," Wufei admitted quietly as Artax carefully ate. "Do you have a television or a vid screen in here?"
When Artax started to get up, bowl of rice in hand, Wufei gently pushed him back down. "No, tell me where it is. You don't need to do everything around here."
"It's on the underside of the floor table."
"Thanks," Wufei said as disappeared beyond the doorframe.
He came back after a few minutes with a clipboard like metallic box in his arms. He stuck it on the wall and stood there questioningly for a moment before messing around with the buttons, magnifying the screen and setting the channels to auto-flip.
"We won the first battle, if that is what you want to know," Artax frowned.
"Really?" Wufei stated more than asked as he reclined on his elbows.
"It was too easy."
"Are you gloating?" Wufei asked.
"No, I'm just saying that it was too easy. There has to be something to it. To why they fought so hard but died all the same."
"Your troops are far more advanced," Wufei reminded him.
"It has to be something else," Artax said.
The vid screen became nothing more than a hum in the background as Artax spoke, "They were all chanting. All of them, I could hear them. All of them were saying 'Heero. Heero. Heero.' Over and over again, even as they died. I have a feeling that the Alliance has turned all of you into war gods…something to draw power from."
"Where were you during all of this?" Wufei prodded.
"I was working. I'm not directly tied to the war as of yet. None of the guardians are."
"What were you working on?"
"Amrita."
"All day?"
"Yes."
"Where are all the other pilots?"
"Heero and Duo are in the animation sect. Quatre and Trowa are working in the political sect."
"Your duel with Heero is approaching fast," Wufei sighed.
"…Yeah."
"I feel rotten here. Useless…Why do you think that is?" Wufei said looking away from Artax and at the television. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. "Everyone is busy with something, benefiting someone else…"
Artax frowned and dropped his gaze staring intently at the pale white of the sheets he sat on. He gathered up his half eaten dishes and left Wufei to think.
--
"A thought just occurred to me…" Artax said as he stared at the bubbling mass of Amrita in the containment chamber. Heliclos exhaled deeply and rolled his shoulders. Everyone else in the room turned their attention to him. "We never tried any normal revival procedures…"
"What exactly are you getting at, sir?" Hannah asked leaning out of her seat. Her curly brown hair tumbling from her shoulders, and her thin legs crossed oddly in an effort to maintain balance.
"A heart massage. Zap her," Artax replied.
"No kidding?" Totoya piped up.
"I'm on it," Heliclos said pulling up innumerable program screens from the med facilities. "I can have a pulse program written for her by…Wednesday. Two days. Until then, everyone gets a few days off to study."
"Hallelujah," Totoya exclaimed pulling on his jacket.
"Bye," Hannah said, already out the door.
Artax watched them leave, and turned back to his computer monitor. "I could write the program," he offered quietly.
"No, sir. I got dibs," Heliclos smirked. "You, my dear boy, are taking a short break from all this."
"…Does it bother you…that it doesn't seem like we're at war?" Artax asked tapping the frame of his glasses lightly.
Heliclos gave Artax a short look of confusion out of the corners of his eyes, "Where did that come from?"
"I'm just curious…" Artax said reproachfully, bowing his head.
"There's nothing wrong with it," Heliclos said lightly to strip away the dark mood. "I just didn't know that you'd be thinking about it. Um…I guess it would bother me if I wasn't told everyday that the colony would be under siege when I least expect it, and I'd have to defend it, yadda yadda yadda. But, the funny thing is that I'm not defending it. I get to sit back here and work like I always do, and hope this bitch will wake up soon before I go awol. Does the war bother you, sir?"
"…It feels like we're in the eye of the storm. Do you think we'd be feeling differently if we were on the front lines? Like it isn't part of our daily routine."
"I don't know. I have this gut feeling that the Alliance is trying to play us for fools, and that's not going to work. This is a situation you'd look up in a textbook. But, the bad thing is that the simplicity of it is bound to confound some people."
"…What if it isn't a textbook war?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at."
"It's nothing…"
--
"What do you want to do today?" Artax asked Wufei who was sedately sipping at a mug of coffee full of cream and sugar. He never cared for the smoke like taste of the stuff, but since coming to the colony, he found it was preferable to moping around the house half-awake after Artax left every morning.
"I don't know…watch tv? Walk…something…I don't care, really," Wufei stated ignoring the prompt twisting in his stomach. His mind was screaming for divine intervention to make his clueless guardian say something hopelessly romantic or glomp him. He took another sip of his chai flavored coffee and leaned back on the wall, reclining further into the bed.
Artax frowned and leaned back so that he and Wufei were on the same level. They sat that way for a while, just staring at the far wall and listening to each other breathe.
"They're starting the second wave today, right?" Wufei asked breaking the silence.
"Yes," Artax replied.
"Do you feel guilty?…about not being on the front lines…"
"It's not my place to decide where I go and when. I cannot feel regret for something that I have no control over."
An agitated sigh filled the room, "I want to work around the house today. Cook…does this colony have a food market, or is all your food rationed?"
"There is a market. I'll take you there, if you want."
"I would like that."
--
Wufei reclined back into Artax's chest, closing his eyes and losing himself in the feel. Every move of his muscles, ruffle of his clothing, hesitation, Wufei felt and savored. A sudden surge of sadness, billowing like clouds, rose up in his chest, clinging coolly to his consciousness like mist to grass. He sank further into the chaste sanctuary of his guardian's tense frame and pressed his lips together, fighting the tightening in his entire body. His vision was slowly becoming hazy, his brows furrowed, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Are you alright?"
The words almost didn't register. "I'm alright," he replied sitting up, composing himself. Reluctantly, a smile formed on his lips, and he leaned forward on the handlebars completely befuddled as to why he was feeling and acting the way he was. "I'm alright."
Artax leaned forward so that his chest was resting lightly on Wufei's back, and the bike surged forward making Wufei fall back.
--
It was surprising when they pulled into the lot of a gymnasium like building. The glass of the building was stained green, and the outer wall was overrun with green moss and tiny blue blossoms, presumably of an engineered plant. Artax steadied the bike as Wufei hopped off and stretched his sore limbs, though he wouldn't have minded the ride to have lasted a lot longer.
Artax walked the bike up to the stand and hooked it up. Then he returned to where Wufei was and lead him by the hand even though it wasn't necessary. Wufei smiled inwardly fully intending to make the most of the day.
There was no code lock on the double doors, they yielded easily enough to a whole different world. Small shop stands lined the edges of the building and streams of people mulled about in their various daily chores. Men, women, children, and all sorts of people converging in one spot for a common purpose. And now, Wufei was sharing that purpose with all of them. He'd never thought of it before, not in terms of the whole. It was a comforting thought. Like a warm blanket a mother wraps around her child.
He had no real idea of what he wanted at the market. It was pure impulse that he'd suggested it. A list of dishes ran through his mind that he mentally marked with checks and exes. Oddly, the thought of food made him think of Merian. She never seemed like a mother or a cook, someone he wouldn't want as a wife. He'd admired her as an equal, but never as an arduous suitor. So, why was he thinking of her now?
He shook himself out of his thoughts realizing that he and Artax had been standing in the same spot for a long time. He was a little upset that Artax hadn't said anything, he was just staring blankly at the produce stands. Wufei followed his gaze past some passer by people at the pomegranate fruits.
"You like pomegranate?" Wufei asked.
"I used to eat it on holidays," Artax replied, unconsciously squeezing Wufei's hand.
Wufei gave him a quick look before approaching the stand.
"How much is it for one of these?" he asked looking back momentarily at his guardian.
The aging woman behind the split wood counter grinned with amusement lighting her golden eyes. "Oh, you must be one of them! Boiya, just take what you need. There is no money here. What belongs to me belongs to you and so on and so forth." Her words dissolved into colorful peals of laughter. Men and women tending other stands laughed with her.
"Then, why are there stand tenants?" Wufei asked.
"Oh, we are here to help, boiya. Help you choose the best produce we have to offer. But, very few people ask us anything. Everyone is too happy thinking that they are always right."
Wufei bowed his head, an almost unreadable expression of amusement and pity etched on his face. "Would you give me your best pomegranate?"
"Such a fine young man! Let me look for you," the old lady laughed rummaging through her orange tinted, round fruits. They looked a little like squished globes. "Oh, this is a good one!" She exclaimed picking out a fairly large fruit. "It is of the best quality!"
Wufei graciously took it out of her worn, leathery hands and cradled it in his arms remembering that he'd neglected to bring a bag to carry things in. Then he remembered that he couldn't have known he'd need a bag in the first place. He said a formal goodbye to the old woman, who just playfully shooed him off. He returned to Artax who hadn't moved an inch and took his hand.
Artax was almost disappointingly submissive in the way he let himself be led around, but Wufei wouldn't let that get to him. He simply pressed on, walking down the rows of stalls. When he was getting herbs from a small stand belonging to an old man and a youth confined to a wheel chair, they gave him a bag to put his things in. Feeling a little more than insignificant at the moment, Wufei bowed a little wrenching his eyes away from the girl in the wheelchair.
When he and Artax were walking again, he turned to face him. The humidity in the market was making his hair cling to his face, and his clothes stick to his body. He seemed a little out of place and miserable around so many people talking with each other so happily.
"Do you not like being here?…around people?" Wufei asked.
Artax frowned, "I like it. It's interesting."
"But you feel out of place," Wufei insisted.
"…Maybe," Artax resigned. He gave Wufei a "what can you do?" look and sighed.
It had been a long time since Wufei had taken the time to notice Artax's slight deformity. His miss colored eyes, one so expressive and beautiful, and the other like a target. The diversity between them was alluring to Wufei who took time in considering his next course of action.
I wrote this a long time ago, and haven't have the time to look over it. If this is a really trashy fic, I apologize ahead of time. I'm going to revamp it sometime, maybe in the summer. Welcome to the wonderful world of laptops, right?
Wufei sat next to the locked door again across the room from Anthony who had been sitting in the same spot for hours. The laundry had been hung up on the ceiling fan and was drying. Slowly and deliberately, Wufei turned through the pages of Amrita, re-reading his favorite chapter where Sakumi and Ryuchiro went to visit the albino man and his empathic wife. The back of Wufei's neck began prickling, and he could tell that he was making Anthony uncomfortable. He smirked inwardly and gave himself and mental pat on the back for being subtly abrasive without getting his head chewed off.
The click of the door latch brought both boys to attention.
Artax stepped inside his home tiredly, concentrating on keeping his eyes open. The Alliance had folded quickly and that worried him while some others rejoiced. Everything had gone too fast. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur and took a well-timed stumble forward. Anthony completely missed him while Wufei shot up, dropping the book he'd been reading, and caught him even though he was doing a good job of catching himself.
He slumped a little on Wufei's slender form and looked about with half- closed eyes. What was Anthony doing there?
Anthony seemed to shrink in light of the whole situation, the half- annoyed/puzzled look he got from Artax, and the venomous look he was receiving from pilot 05. He really hadn't thought of a plan up to this point. The moment was extremely awkward all around.
As much as he'd loved to complain about and mortify Anthony, Wufei conjured up an excuse for him, "Anthony came over today to help me clean the house before you got back, and now that you're here," he said with emphasis, "he is leaving. Isn't that right?"
Reluctantly, Anthony caught on. A furious blush crept up his cheeks as he said goodbye and made a hasty retreat. Wufei smirked to himself feeling incredibly smug, and then turned his attention to Artax, who looked ready to sleep in his arms. Carefully, he gathered him up in his arms as much as Artax would allow and helped him over to the beds.
"Are you alright," he asked in a rare show of compassion.
"I'm fine," Artax replied sitting down looking ahead of himself, but not really seeing anything.
"I'll make something for you to eat," Wufei said gently pushing Artax down on the bed and then making his way to the kitchen.
"It's alright. You don't have to," Artax protested sleepily, but Wufei was already hastily putting things together. By then, it was too late, pilot 05 sets before himself a list of tasks and carries all of them through regardless of the cost to himself or how much others protest.
Artax was drifting off to sleep when he heard the soft footsteps of his Chinese charge. He sat up slowly and watched Wufei approach balancing a tray on the tips of his fingers, walking casually as if it were second nature to him. I wonder if he knows how wonderful he looks when he isn't trying to be a gundam pilot…he wondered. When he's guarded, it's so sad…
"You didn't have to go through so much trouble," Artax said looking at the condiments of food: a bowl of rice, an egg, spinach soup, green tea, and a few other little dishes.
"I like cooking," Wufei admitted quietly as Artax carefully ate. "Do you have a television or a vid screen in here?"
When Artax started to get up, bowl of rice in hand, Wufei gently pushed him back down. "No, tell me where it is. You don't need to do everything around here."
"It's on the underside of the floor table."
"Thanks," Wufei said as disappeared beyond the doorframe.
He came back after a few minutes with a clipboard like metallic box in his arms. He stuck it on the wall and stood there questioningly for a moment before messing around with the buttons, magnifying the screen and setting the channels to auto-flip.
"We won the first battle, if that is what you want to know," Artax frowned.
"Really?" Wufei stated more than asked as he reclined on his elbows.
"It was too easy."
"Are you gloating?" Wufei asked.
"No, I'm just saying that it was too easy. There has to be something to it. To why they fought so hard but died all the same."
"Your troops are far more advanced," Wufei reminded him.
"It has to be something else," Artax said.
The vid screen became nothing more than a hum in the background as Artax spoke, "They were all chanting. All of them, I could hear them. All of them were saying 'Heero. Heero. Heero.' Over and over again, even as they died. I have a feeling that the Alliance has turned all of you into war gods…something to draw power from."
"Where were you during all of this?" Wufei prodded.
"I was working. I'm not directly tied to the war as of yet. None of the guardians are."
"What were you working on?"
"Amrita."
"All day?"
"Yes."
"Where are all the other pilots?"
"Heero and Duo are in the animation sect. Quatre and Trowa are working in the political sect."
"Your duel with Heero is approaching fast," Wufei sighed.
"…Yeah."
"I feel rotten here. Useless…Why do you think that is?" Wufei said looking away from Artax and at the television. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. "Everyone is busy with something, benefiting someone else…"
Artax frowned and dropped his gaze staring intently at the pale white of the sheets he sat on. He gathered up his half eaten dishes and left Wufei to think.
--
"A thought just occurred to me…" Artax said as he stared at the bubbling mass of Amrita in the containment chamber. Heliclos exhaled deeply and rolled his shoulders. Everyone else in the room turned their attention to him. "We never tried any normal revival procedures…"
"What exactly are you getting at, sir?" Hannah asked leaning out of her seat. Her curly brown hair tumbling from her shoulders, and her thin legs crossed oddly in an effort to maintain balance.
"A heart massage. Zap her," Artax replied.
"No kidding?" Totoya piped up.
"I'm on it," Heliclos said pulling up innumerable program screens from the med facilities. "I can have a pulse program written for her by…Wednesday. Two days. Until then, everyone gets a few days off to study."
"Hallelujah," Totoya exclaimed pulling on his jacket.
"Bye," Hannah said, already out the door.
Artax watched them leave, and turned back to his computer monitor. "I could write the program," he offered quietly.
"No, sir. I got dibs," Heliclos smirked. "You, my dear boy, are taking a short break from all this."
"…Does it bother you…that it doesn't seem like we're at war?" Artax asked tapping the frame of his glasses lightly.
Heliclos gave Artax a short look of confusion out of the corners of his eyes, "Where did that come from?"
"I'm just curious…" Artax said reproachfully, bowing his head.
"There's nothing wrong with it," Heliclos said lightly to strip away the dark mood. "I just didn't know that you'd be thinking about it. Um…I guess it would bother me if I wasn't told everyday that the colony would be under siege when I least expect it, and I'd have to defend it, yadda yadda yadda. But, the funny thing is that I'm not defending it. I get to sit back here and work like I always do, and hope this bitch will wake up soon before I go awol. Does the war bother you, sir?"
"…It feels like we're in the eye of the storm. Do you think we'd be feeling differently if we were on the front lines? Like it isn't part of our daily routine."
"I don't know. I have this gut feeling that the Alliance is trying to play us for fools, and that's not going to work. This is a situation you'd look up in a textbook. But, the bad thing is that the simplicity of it is bound to confound some people."
"…What if it isn't a textbook war?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at."
"It's nothing…"
--
"What do you want to do today?" Artax asked Wufei who was sedately sipping at a mug of coffee full of cream and sugar. He never cared for the smoke like taste of the stuff, but since coming to the colony, he found it was preferable to moping around the house half-awake after Artax left every morning.
"I don't know…watch tv? Walk…something…I don't care, really," Wufei stated ignoring the prompt twisting in his stomach. His mind was screaming for divine intervention to make his clueless guardian say something hopelessly romantic or glomp him. He took another sip of his chai flavored coffee and leaned back on the wall, reclining further into the bed.
Artax frowned and leaned back so that he and Wufei were on the same level. They sat that way for a while, just staring at the far wall and listening to each other breathe.
"They're starting the second wave today, right?" Wufei asked breaking the silence.
"Yes," Artax replied.
"Do you feel guilty?…about not being on the front lines…"
"It's not my place to decide where I go and when. I cannot feel regret for something that I have no control over."
An agitated sigh filled the room, "I want to work around the house today. Cook…does this colony have a food market, or is all your food rationed?"
"There is a market. I'll take you there, if you want."
"I would like that."
--
Wufei reclined back into Artax's chest, closing his eyes and losing himself in the feel. Every move of his muscles, ruffle of his clothing, hesitation, Wufei felt and savored. A sudden surge of sadness, billowing like clouds, rose up in his chest, clinging coolly to his consciousness like mist to grass. He sank further into the chaste sanctuary of his guardian's tense frame and pressed his lips together, fighting the tightening in his entire body. His vision was slowly becoming hazy, his brows furrowed, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Are you alright?"
The words almost didn't register. "I'm alright," he replied sitting up, composing himself. Reluctantly, a smile formed on his lips, and he leaned forward on the handlebars completely befuddled as to why he was feeling and acting the way he was. "I'm alright."
Artax leaned forward so that his chest was resting lightly on Wufei's back, and the bike surged forward making Wufei fall back.
--
It was surprising when they pulled into the lot of a gymnasium like building. The glass of the building was stained green, and the outer wall was overrun with green moss and tiny blue blossoms, presumably of an engineered plant. Artax steadied the bike as Wufei hopped off and stretched his sore limbs, though he wouldn't have minded the ride to have lasted a lot longer.
Artax walked the bike up to the stand and hooked it up. Then he returned to where Wufei was and lead him by the hand even though it wasn't necessary. Wufei smiled inwardly fully intending to make the most of the day.
There was no code lock on the double doors, they yielded easily enough to a whole different world. Small shop stands lined the edges of the building and streams of people mulled about in their various daily chores. Men, women, children, and all sorts of people converging in one spot for a common purpose. And now, Wufei was sharing that purpose with all of them. He'd never thought of it before, not in terms of the whole. It was a comforting thought. Like a warm blanket a mother wraps around her child.
He had no real idea of what he wanted at the market. It was pure impulse that he'd suggested it. A list of dishes ran through his mind that he mentally marked with checks and exes. Oddly, the thought of food made him think of Merian. She never seemed like a mother or a cook, someone he wouldn't want as a wife. He'd admired her as an equal, but never as an arduous suitor. So, why was he thinking of her now?
He shook himself out of his thoughts realizing that he and Artax had been standing in the same spot for a long time. He was a little upset that Artax hadn't said anything, he was just staring blankly at the produce stands. Wufei followed his gaze past some passer by people at the pomegranate fruits.
"You like pomegranate?" Wufei asked.
"I used to eat it on holidays," Artax replied, unconsciously squeezing Wufei's hand.
Wufei gave him a quick look before approaching the stand.
"How much is it for one of these?" he asked looking back momentarily at his guardian.
The aging woman behind the split wood counter grinned with amusement lighting her golden eyes. "Oh, you must be one of them! Boiya, just take what you need. There is no money here. What belongs to me belongs to you and so on and so forth." Her words dissolved into colorful peals of laughter. Men and women tending other stands laughed with her.
"Then, why are there stand tenants?" Wufei asked.
"Oh, we are here to help, boiya. Help you choose the best produce we have to offer. But, very few people ask us anything. Everyone is too happy thinking that they are always right."
Wufei bowed his head, an almost unreadable expression of amusement and pity etched on his face. "Would you give me your best pomegranate?"
"Such a fine young man! Let me look for you," the old lady laughed rummaging through her orange tinted, round fruits. They looked a little like squished globes. "Oh, this is a good one!" She exclaimed picking out a fairly large fruit. "It is of the best quality!"
Wufei graciously took it out of her worn, leathery hands and cradled it in his arms remembering that he'd neglected to bring a bag to carry things in. Then he remembered that he couldn't have known he'd need a bag in the first place. He said a formal goodbye to the old woman, who just playfully shooed him off. He returned to Artax who hadn't moved an inch and took his hand.
Artax was almost disappointingly submissive in the way he let himself be led around, but Wufei wouldn't let that get to him. He simply pressed on, walking down the rows of stalls. When he was getting herbs from a small stand belonging to an old man and a youth confined to a wheel chair, they gave him a bag to put his things in. Feeling a little more than insignificant at the moment, Wufei bowed a little wrenching his eyes away from the girl in the wheelchair.
When he and Artax were walking again, he turned to face him. The humidity in the market was making his hair cling to his face, and his clothes stick to his body. He seemed a little out of place and miserable around so many people talking with each other so happily.
"Do you not like being here?…around people?" Wufei asked.
Artax frowned, "I like it. It's interesting."
"But you feel out of place," Wufei insisted.
"…Maybe," Artax resigned. He gave Wufei a "what can you do?" look and sighed.
It had been a long time since Wufei had taken the time to notice Artax's slight deformity. His miss colored eyes, one so expressive and beautiful, and the other like a target. The diversity between them was alluring to Wufei who took time in considering his next course of action.