Light Glows Anew Chapter 8

Duo woke up warm and fuzzy. Or at least, that was the thought that entered his head upon waking.

//Warm and fuzzy? How can you be warm and fuzzy? I am warm, that's for damn sure. Mmmm comfy...//

He cuddled into the large, soft, squishy mass of something beside him.

//Heero isn't this squishy. He's bony and prickly...oh yeah. He's gone... I'm alone...then what is this??//

Still not opening his eyes, he squeezed the body next to him.

//Body?...Oooooh...Wufei. Wufei??!? I'm snuggling with Wufei!!//

His eyes flew open. There was Wufei, still asleep, with a child like scowl on his face. The rest of his body was buried beneath masses of fluffy blankets.

//He's gonna kill me for cuddling like that when he wakes up. Maybe if I can just...//

Duo began to maneuver away from Wufei so that he wouldn't wake the sleeping boy. But as soon as Duo began to pull away, Wufei snorted, grumbled, and yanked Duo back into place.

"Mmm...'snot time to put the sauce back in the telephone...mmm..." Wufei muttered incoherently.

Duo began to giggle.

//What does this guy dream about? Sauce in the telephone?//

Pretty soon Duo couldn't control his giggling and he began to laugh out loud. Very loud. So loud that Wufei woke up, looking grumpy and confused.

" Jeez Duo...Where the hell am I? What's so funny?"

Wufei blinked and tried to clear his hazy thoughts.

//Bed...Duo...Heero...oh yeah...what is he laughing about?//

Duo had tears in his eyes now and was gasping for breath.

"You....sorry...I...phew...okay...I'm better now." Duo said sitting up.

Wufei noticed it was dark outside.

"What time is it, and why the hell were you laughing?"

Duo looked over at the alarm clock.

"It's 9:45 and I was laughing about something you said in your sleep."

A blush crept up Wufei's cheeks.

"W-what did I say?"

Duo smiled.

//Why is that dolt blushing? Ooooh, he must think he said something embarrassing...//

"Wouldn't you like to know? You're little secrets out now. Too bad I have such a big mouth..."

The color left Wufei's cheeks immediately. He sat up in bed and looked at Duo.

//He knows. Shit!....Wait a minute...he's bluffing.//

"What, that I'm a girl? Everyone already knows that Duo, you're just slow."

Duo's jaw dropped.

"Y-you're a girl? No fucking way. No way! Are you...serious? No way!! You don't look like a girl! All I heard you say in your sleep was that you wanted to put the sauce in the telephone-"

"Aha! You liar! You're such a bitch! Of course I'm not a girl! You idiot. I can't believe you actually fell for that."

Duo gasped.

"You rat! That's not fair!..But wait a minute, you DO have a secret. What is it? Tell me! Tell me!...You really aren't a girl, are you?"

"Jesus Duo, I'm not a girl! Do I look like a girl?"

Duo paused for a moment.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Wufei growled. "Yah? Well look who's talking!"

"I'll have you know that I am a very attractive person, feminine or not. Besides, guys are more attracted to the feminine types. That may be why you don't have a boyfriend Wufei. You're just too manly."

Wufei gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't have a boyfriend because every guy I meet is a freaky, screwed up loser. Besides, I wanna meet the right person."

//I already HAVE met the right person. In fact, he's lying in bed next to me. Now if only he was in love with me and we had just gotten through a night of wild love making...Well, I guess I may be asking too much.//

Duo was silent.

"What's wrong Duo?"

"Do you think I'm the kinda person who DOESN'T want to meet the right person? That I'm easy?"

"No. If I thought you were easy I wouldn't be your friend. I don't associate with those kinds of people."

//Friend. Didn't Trowa say that? That he's my friend? Yeah...he also has feelings for me. I knew it before I heard him say it that night. He was always jealous of Heero. But I...I do want him. But I couldn't possibly be good for him. He needs someone clean and healthy. My opposite.//

"Duo, did you hear me? I don't think you're easy, or a slut. You're a good person. You're a wonderful guy."

"How can I be wonderful if I let him do that to me? I let him use me...I wanted him to use me maybe..."

Wufei crawled over in front of Duo and looked him in the eyes.

//Those eyes...//

Those eyes that made Wufei feel like his head was spinning. Those beautiful, deep, pools of oblivion that made him want to cry out for heaven.

//Those eyes...//

"Duo, you wouldn't be hurting if you WANTED him to use you. You're not a sadist. You loved him. You're not dirty because of what he did. You're beautiful. He is the one with the problem, not you...."

Duo met Wufei's eyes.

//Those eyes...//

Those dark, midnight, eerie eyes that Duo would willingly lose himself in. Those eyes that captivated him. Those eyes that saved him. That kept him from falling out of grace. Those eyes that kept him breathing.

//Those eyes...//

"How can I be happy again Wufei? Was I even happy then? I always wanted him. It was perfect. The God of Death melts the Perfect Soldier's heart. They fall in love and live happily ever after..."

"Nothing is ever that easy Duo. You will continue to live and breathe. It's not the end. You will be stronger than before. Don't forget this experience and be bitter. Learn from it and move on. It hurts I know. Lots of things do. But it doesn't have to be the end of your happiness. It can be the beginning of something better. Something real."

Duo saw those eyes. He saw them filled with love and concern. Sympathy, guilt and regret. Want, desire, restraint. They were filled with a wisdom that someone of Wufei's age shouldn't have. A loss of innocence but a gain of knowledge. Duo wanted to be like him. He wanted Wufei to look into his eyes and see all those things.

Duo's hand reached up to Wufei's face and caressed his cheek.

"...How did you become like this...?" Duo whispered.

"Like what?" Wufei whispered back.

"Like you are...I want to be like that...wise and perfect."

They were lost in each other's gaze. Neither moved. Duo's hand remained resting on Wufei's cheek.

//Wise and perfect huh? I'm the most flawed fool there is. Falling in love with you the way I have...//

Wufei broke the gaze and reached up for Duo's hand. He placed it between his own and sighed.

"I only know as much as I do because I've suffered many losses. To be wise is to be scarred." He looked up at Duo again. "Meiran is dead. My colony is gone. I killed Treize. I betrayed you all and entered under Marimeia's service. These events are what gave me wisdom. I wouldn't even call it wisdom. I'd call it caution. The REAL reason I don't have a boyfriend is because I don't want to hurt anymore. I might lose him, or hurt him, or something might happen. I don't want to FEEL anymore. So I stay away and never show myself to anyone. I'm surprised at myself for even making friends with you or Quatre or Trowa."

//It's true though. I shouldn't have made friends with them. But they survived. I've even betrayed them, and they still stuck by me. And now I've fallen in love with this one...good job there Wufei. You're gonna regret it...//

That little taunting voice in Wufei's mind only got louder.

"I've digressed. The point is Duo, you don't want this knowledge. It's better if you live and learn through love. Not war. And you will come through this. Heero isn't the world. The world is what you make it. Anymore clichés I haven't said?"

Duo smiled.

//That's better. They say humor is the way to a man's heart after all...//

"Thank you Wufei. I really wouldn't have made it through this day without you. Through this past week."

//Duo Maxwell, I believe you've made up your mind.//

Duo agreed with himself with a little nod and yanked Wufei into a hug.

"Oof." Wufei said, caught off guard by the sudden movement. "Duo, are you okay?"

"Mmhm." Duo said and let go of Wufei. "I've just made up my mind about something. Are you hungry? I haven't really eaten since breakfast."

"Uh...yeah...do you want me to make you something?"

"Nah, let's order some Chinese."

"This late?"

"Second thought, let's just go to the place. It's open 'til midnight. Let's go!"