Notes: This is a short chapter, I know, but it's choc full o' sap, so I guess that's okay. And for those of you who haven't read the side-fic of Wufei's thoughts, you should probably go read it, because it's gets sort of fleetingly mentioned in this chapter, and I think I'm gonna use it more later on. Anyway, the next chapter will be along in a few days (my muse is back!!!) and the boys will be *sob* leaving Marianne's. Enjoy and review!
Remember that mysterious thing Wufei had going? Where I knew he was up to something, but didn't know what? Well, I got my answer that morning.
He was grinning all through breakfast, managing to look very pleased with himself and very unsure all at the same time, sort of like Duo before someone triggers one of his pranks, where he's really proud but still not sure of the welcome it, and he, will receive.
Quatre kept glancing at him and rubbing a hand over his heart, frowning, and I knew that he was sensing some weird things from our Chinese friend, but didn't ask what.
After we'd all done our chores we went into the living room to watch Wrong Turn, a movie with someone called Eliza Dushku in it. Duo said he'd seen her on something called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that she was a really good actress, so he wanted to watch it. None of us argued, though Quatre seemed hesitant because of his dislike of horror movies. Still, he curled up with Trowa on the sofa, ready to close his eyes at the really scary bits.
The movie was actually pretty decent, and Eliza Dushku was a very good actress. Plus, the movie had cannibals in it, which gave it automatic points in my book.
After the movie, Wufei asked me and Duo to wait in the living room for a moment. We shrugged and waited obediently while he went up to his room.
"What's this about?" Duo murmured to me, and I shrugged again.
"Don't know."
Wufei returned carrying a large manila envelope and wearing a very large grin. He held the envelope carefully, as if afraid to damage whatever it held, and just looked at us for a moment.
"This is something for the both of you," he eventually said. "And... well, it's... just something that... I wanted to do. So... here."
He handed me the envelope and I looked at Duo with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged again and waited for me to open it and reveal what was inside.
It was a portrait. Of Duo and me. I was behind Duo, my arms draped casually over his shoulders, chin resting on his left shoulder so that my face was next to his. We were both smiling. It was done in black and white, but still incredibly realistic and detailed, right down to the little scar along Duo's hairline. Speaking of hair, Duo's was done... perfectly. Each strand was drawn individually, giving just the right thickness and... texture, though I don't have any idea on how he managed that. His braid was over his right shoulder, trailing down next to my arm, and it looked as if Wufei had somehow taken Duo's real braid and flattened it onto the paper.
We both blinked at it, not speaking, not even thinking. It was just so... incredible. I'd never seen a picture look so damned realistic before. It was almost like a window or a weird black and white mirror. Only, the mirror didn't show the bad, only the good. That haunted shadow was gone from Duo's eyes, leaving them bright and cheerful. The scowl was gone from my face, leaving my expression relaxed and open. It showed what we could have been like if we weren't Gundam pilots. It was perfect.
I looked up at Wufei and tried to think of something appropriate to say, but couldn't. What words could express the gratitude I felt for this gift?
Duo didn't bother with words. He just leapt up and hugged Wufei so hard I thought he was going to break the raven-haired teen's neck. Wufei blushed and smiled and hugged back, murmuring something in Chinese that I didn't quite catch.
Well... this was unexpected.
I knew Wufei liked Duo, possibly more than I thought, but... this was a gift to me as well, a chance to see Duo without any of the hardships that had haunted his heart and mind. If it was only a gift to Duo, he wouldn't have been in the picture, and he wouldn't have handed it to me.
I knew that Wufei was a lot more sensitive than he let on, that once he gave his loyalty and protection to someone, it was forever, and that he liked me as a comrade and fellow warrior, but... I had never realised that he liked me as a friend. He didn't just respect my fighting skills and strength, he liked my personality, what little I had and what little I showed. He was... my friend, and not just because I was a fellow Gundam pilot, not because I was the Perfect Soldier, but just because I was me.
I would've liked to hug him, but I didn't for two reasons. One: I don't hug anyone but Duo. Two: Wufei doesn't let anyone but Duo hug him. So, I just looked at him and nodded my thanks. He smiled at me, still holding Duo tightly.
After a moment, he untangled himself from Duo and cleared his throat, staring at his feet. "It was... just something I've been working on."
Duo hesitated, biting his lip, and then blurted, "Can you draw me something?"
Wufei looked at him, surprised, and said, "Of course. What do you want?"
"I want... all of us. A picture of each of us, bodies and everything. I know that's a lot to ask, but...."
"It would be my honour. But I'm not really very good at self-portraits."
Duo grinned. "That's alright, I can help. I mean, I can't draw to save my life, but I can tell you how I see you."
"It's a deal. Now, I have to go practise my katas."
He left us alone then, and Duo curled up beside me, the picture still in my lap. He trailed a finger along picture-me's jaw.
"He really is very talented, isn't he?" he murmured, and I hummed agreement. "I wanna do something for him now, but I don't know what. I mean, this is so precious and he must've worked so hard on it. What can I do to repay him?"
"Get better; he'd love to see you well again."
"Yeah, but... I dunno. I'll think of something."
"I'm sure you will."
He was quiet for a moment then, just staring at the picture in my lap. Then he asked very casually, "What're we gonna do today?"
There was something in his voice that told me he was thinking something but didn't want me to do something I didn't want to, so I just said, "I hadn't planned anything. You got any suggestions?"
"Well... I was kinda wonderin' if you would kinda like to... gointotownwithmeanddosomeshoppingmaybe?"
I blinked and replayed that sentence in my head, breaking it down into actual words. When I had it figured out, I smiled.
"Sure, we can spend the day, have mall-food for lunch." Do not ask me why, but Duo likes mall-food, and has inflicted it upon me a couple of times. Everything tasted very flat and artificial, and the cheese on the pizza tasted like rubber. But, Duo likes it, so I ate it with him.
Duo grinned at me and gave me a light kiss before standing up, pulling me with him. "Great, let's go!"
I laughed and made him wait while I told Quatre where we were going, grabbed my cell phone, and pulled on shoes and a jacket. Duo had already put on his boots and jacket when I talked to Quatre, and stood by the door, bouncing up and down impatiently.
"Come on, come on, come on, I wanna get there real soon."
"Is there some deadline that I'm not aware of?" I asked as he pushed me out the door.
"Well, no, but the mall's a big place and I wanna see EVERYTHING and that takes time."
"Right."
So that's what we did for the next few hours. Duo was... almost childlike in his joy. He had to look at all the CDs in the music store, read all the slogans on the tee shirts in the clothes store, pet all the puppies in the pet store, try all the keyboards, drums and guitars in the music store.... Well, you get the idea.
He seemed to have limitless energy and bounced from store to store to store, dragging me behind him.
His favourite store was an old second hand one, and seemed to love all the old cheesy romance novels with the beautiful woman on the front and some really weird plot twist at the end. He ended up buying half a dozen of them, and would've bought more, but I talked him out of it, assuring him that when he finished them he could buy some more.
He also bought several little toys from Kinder Eggs and McDonalds Happy Meals. I blinked when he began planning just where to put them in Deathscythe's cockpit, but didn't comment.
To go with the toys and novels, he bought three pairs of jeans, one sweater, an old DVD of a show called Red Dwarf, and a bottle of hand lotion.
I finally lured him away from the store with the promise of mall food. I attempted half-heartedly, to get him to agree to eat at McDonalds, but he had his heart set on mall food, so... that's what we ate. It was as horrible as I remembered, but I didn't complain, partly because it was actually a small step up from military ration bars, and partly because it seemed to make him even happier. I don't think I will ever completely figure out Duo. He will forever remain a mystery.
We finally made it back to Marianne's just before dinner, carrying Duo's new purchases and talking about The Simpsons.
Dinner was some chicken-in-breadcrumbs with mash and vegetables affair, and Duo talked almost constantly about the mall and his new things. He managed to start a lengthy conversation with Quatre over what effects long-term isolation in space would have upon the average human's psyche, when he briefly mentioned his new DVD and explained what it was about.
He also told them all about the portrait Wufei had drawn for us, and seemed to forget completely about punctuation and individual sentences and just use the word 'and' a few hundred times. For example: 'And he's drawn my hair so absolutely perfectly ya know with all the thickness and each strand is drawn individually and it falls over my shoulder next to Heero's hand which is also on my shoulder and we're both smiling and the look in Heero's eyes is how he looks when he doesn't think anyone's watching him and he looks really totally gorgeous all wild and feral but so tame and loving at the same time and yes I know that's a contradiction but that's what I saw and even though it's all in black and white you can somehow see the colour in our eyes and...'
"Maxwell, they will see the drawing after dinner, will you please just pause and take a breath before you faint?" Wufei asked, smiling, and Duo blushed.
"Sorry, 'Fei, I just like it really much."
"Yes, I think we all got that impression."
"It's good to see you so happy, Duo," Quatre said, sipping his water.
"Well, who wouldn't be happy with such an awesome sketch of me and my SO? Ooh, did I tell you about how Wufei even got that tiny little scar on Heero's left thumb and this little scar on my temple right here see and did I tell you-"
I very calmly put my hand over Duo's mouth and shushed him, until he blushed again and shut up. I smiled at him, and he gave me one of those warm, sweet smiles that I love so much. But in his eyes, I saw a dull shadow of the knowledge that we would be leaving this place soon, and return to the war.
Remember that mysterious thing Wufei had going? Where I knew he was up to something, but didn't know what? Well, I got my answer that morning.
He was grinning all through breakfast, managing to look very pleased with himself and very unsure all at the same time, sort of like Duo before someone triggers one of his pranks, where he's really proud but still not sure of the welcome it, and he, will receive.
Quatre kept glancing at him and rubbing a hand over his heart, frowning, and I knew that he was sensing some weird things from our Chinese friend, but didn't ask what.
After we'd all done our chores we went into the living room to watch Wrong Turn, a movie with someone called Eliza Dushku in it. Duo said he'd seen her on something called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that she was a really good actress, so he wanted to watch it. None of us argued, though Quatre seemed hesitant because of his dislike of horror movies. Still, he curled up with Trowa on the sofa, ready to close his eyes at the really scary bits.
The movie was actually pretty decent, and Eliza Dushku was a very good actress. Plus, the movie had cannibals in it, which gave it automatic points in my book.
After the movie, Wufei asked me and Duo to wait in the living room for a moment. We shrugged and waited obediently while he went up to his room.
"What's this about?" Duo murmured to me, and I shrugged again.
"Don't know."
Wufei returned carrying a large manila envelope and wearing a very large grin. He held the envelope carefully, as if afraid to damage whatever it held, and just looked at us for a moment.
"This is something for the both of you," he eventually said. "And... well, it's... just something that... I wanted to do. So... here."
He handed me the envelope and I looked at Duo with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged again and waited for me to open it and reveal what was inside.
It was a portrait. Of Duo and me. I was behind Duo, my arms draped casually over his shoulders, chin resting on his left shoulder so that my face was next to his. We were both smiling. It was done in black and white, but still incredibly realistic and detailed, right down to the little scar along Duo's hairline. Speaking of hair, Duo's was done... perfectly. Each strand was drawn individually, giving just the right thickness and... texture, though I don't have any idea on how he managed that. His braid was over his right shoulder, trailing down next to my arm, and it looked as if Wufei had somehow taken Duo's real braid and flattened it onto the paper.
We both blinked at it, not speaking, not even thinking. It was just so... incredible. I'd never seen a picture look so damned realistic before. It was almost like a window or a weird black and white mirror. Only, the mirror didn't show the bad, only the good. That haunted shadow was gone from Duo's eyes, leaving them bright and cheerful. The scowl was gone from my face, leaving my expression relaxed and open. It showed what we could have been like if we weren't Gundam pilots. It was perfect.
I looked up at Wufei and tried to think of something appropriate to say, but couldn't. What words could express the gratitude I felt for this gift?
Duo didn't bother with words. He just leapt up and hugged Wufei so hard I thought he was going to break the raven-haired teen's neck. Wufei blushed and smiled and hugged back, murmuring something in Chinese that I didn't quite catch.
Well... this was unexpected.
I knew Wufei liked Duo, possibly more than I thought, but... this was a gift to me as well, a chance to see Duo without any of the hardships that had haunted his heart and mind. If it was only a gift to Duo, he wouldn't have been in the picture, and he wouldn't have handed it to me.
I knew that Wufei was a lot more sensitive than he let on, that once he gave his loyalty and protection to someone, it was forever, and that he liked me as a comrade and fellow warrior, but... I had never realised that he liked me as a friend. He didn't just respect my fighting skills and strength, he liked my personality, what little I had and what little I showed. He was... my friend, and not just because I was a fellow Gundam pilot, not because I was the Perfect Soldier, but just because I was me.
I would've liked to hug him, but I didn't for two reasons. One: I don't hug anyone but Duo. Two: Wufei doesn't let anyone but Duo hug him. So, I just looked at him and nodded my thanks. He smiled at me, still holding Duo tightly.
After a moment, he untangled himself from Duo and cleared his throat, staring at his feet. "It was... just something I've been working on."
Duo hesitated, biting his lip, and then blurted, "Can you draw me something?"
Wufei looked at him, surprised, and said, "Of course. What do you want?"
"I want... all of us. A picture of each of us, bodies and everything. I know that's a lot to ask, but...."
"It would be my honour. But I'm not really very good at self-portraits."
Duo grinned. "That's alright, I can help. I mean, I can't draw to save my life, but I can tell you how I see you."
"It's a deal. Now, I have to go practise my katas."
He left us alone then, and Duo curled up beside me, the picture still in my lap. He trailed a finger along picture-me's jaw.
"He really is very talented, isn't he?" he murmured, and I hummed agreement. "I wanna do something for him now, but I don't know what. I mean, this is so precious and he must've worked so hard on it. What can I do to repay him?"
"Get better; he'd love to see you well again."
"Yeah, but... I dunno. I'll think of something."
"I'm sure you will."
He was quiet for a moment then, just staring at the picture in my lap. Then he asked very casually, "What're we gonna do today?"
There was something in his voice that told me he was thinking something but didn't want me to do something I didn't want to, so I just said, "I hadn't planned anything. You got any suggestions?"
"Well... I was kinda wonderin' if you would kinda like to... gointotownwithmeanddosomeshoppingmaybe?"
I blinked and replayed that sentence in my head, breaking it down into actual words. When I had it figured out, I smiled.
"Sure, we can spend the day, have mall-food for lunch." Do not ask me why, but Duo likes mall-food, and has inflicted it upon me a couple of times. Everything tasted very flat and artificial, and the cheese on the pizza tasted like rubber. But, Duo likes it, so I ate it with him.
Duo grinned at me and gave me a light kiss before standing up, pulling me with him. "Great, let's go!"
I laughed and made him wait while I told Quatre where we were going, grabbed my cell phone, and pulled on shoes and a jacket. Duo had already put on his boots and jacket when I talked to Quatre, and stood by the door, bouncing up and down impatiently.
"Come on, come on, come on, I wanna get there real soon."
"Is there some deadline that I'm not aware of?" I asked as he pushed me out the door.
"Well, no, but the mall's a big place and I wanna see EVERYTHING and that takes time."
"Right."
So that's what we did for the next few hours. Duo was... almost childlike in his joy. He had to look at all the CDs in the music store, read all the slogans on the tee shirts in the clothes store, pet all the puppies in the pet store, try all the keyboards, drums and guitars in the music store.... Well, you get the idea.
He seemed to have limitless energy and bounced from store to store to store, dragging me behind him.
His favourite store was an old second hand one, and seemed to love all the old cheesy romance novels with the beautiful woman on the front and some really weird plot twist at the end. He ended up buying half a dozen of them, and would've bought more, but I talked him out of it, assuring him that when he finished them he could buy some more.
He also bought several little toys from Kinder Eggs and McDonalds Happy Meals. I blinked when he began planning just where to put them in Deathscythe's cockpit, but didn't comment.
To go with the toys and novels, he bought three pairs of jeans, one sweater, an old DVD of a show called Red Dwarf, and a bottle of hand lotion.
I finally lured him away from the store with the promise of mall food. I attempted half-heartedly, to get him to agree to eat at McDonalds, but he had his heart set on mall food, so... that's what we ate. It was as horrible as I remembered, but I didn't complain, partly because it was actually a small step up from military ration bars, and partly because it seemed to make him even happier. I don't think I will ever completely figure out Duo. He will forever remain a mystery.
We finally made it back to Marianne's just before dinner, carrying Duo's new purchases and talking about The Simpsons.
Dinner was some chicken-in-breadcrumbs with mash and vegetables affair, and Duo talked almost constantly about the mall and his new things. He managed to start a lengthy conversation with Quatre over what effects long-term isolation in space would have upon the average human's psyche, when he briefly mentioned his new DVD and explained what it was about.
He also told them all about the portrait Wufei had drawn for us, and seemed to forget completely about punctuation and individual sentences and just use the word 'and' a few hundred times. For example: 'And he's drawn my hair so absolutely perfectly ya know with all the thickness and each strand is drawn individually and it falls over my shoulder next to Heero's hand which is also on my shoulder and we're both smiling and the look in Heero's eyes is how he looks when he doesn't think anyone's watching him and he looks really totally gorgeous all wild and feral but so tame and loving at the same time and yes I know that's a contradiction but that's what I saw and even though it's all in black and white you can somehow see the colour in our eyes and...'
"Maxwell, they will see the drawing after dinner, will you please just pause and take a breath before you faint?" Wufei asked, smiling, and Duo blushed.
"Sorry, 'Fei, I just like it really much."
"Yes, I think we all got that impression."
"It's good to see you so happy, Duo," Quatre said, sipping his water.
"Well, who wouldn't be happy with such an awesome sketch of me and my SO? Ooh, did I tell you about how Wufei even got that tiny little scar on Heero's left thumb and this little scar on my temple right here see and did I tell you-"
I very calmly put my hand over Duo's mouth and shushed him, until he blushed again and shut up. I smiled at him, and he gave me one of those warm, sweet smiles that I love so much. But in his eyes, I saw a dull shadow of the knowledge that we would be leaving this place soon, and return to the war.