A/N:WuFei may be a bit OOC here, but I think, given the circumstances, the poor boy's allowed to be.
Warning for language, standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 6
I can't believe I'm going to do this…but it's driving me nuts. I have to talk to someone, and there's no way in hell I'm talking to Maxwell about this. I don't want to deal with Winner and his space heart crap, and Yuy's a fucking brick wall.
WuFei led Trowa to the back yard of the safe house.
"What's this about, WuFei?" Trowa asked once the Chinese boy stopped leading and started pacing.
Here goes nothing. "I'm sure you've noticed the…tension…"
"Between you and Duo? WuFei, even Heero felt it."
WuFei sighed.
"What's all this about, WuFei? It seems like something happened between the two of you on your last mission together, and it's bothering you still."
"Astute as ever, Barton. The problem is, I don't remember exactly what that something is," WuFei replied, still pacing.
Trowa arched an eyebrow. "You don't…remember?"
"We completed the mission. Maxwell insisted we go out to 'celebrate'."
"Which is Duo for 'I'm dragging your ass to a nightclub'. He's done that to us all, I believe."
"He insisted on getting alcohol, despite our being underage."
"That's never stopped him before."
"At one point, I remember thinking, 'I can barely stand, and there he is, ordering another drink?!' Next thing I know, I'm waking up with a hangover in an unfamiliar room. Once said room stopped spinning, I realized it was Maxwell's room in the safe house. He was gone, and this morning was the first time I've seen him since. That's all I know."
WuFei had stopped pacing and was now standing, arms crossed behind his back, staring at his feet.
"Why don't you just ask him what happened?" Trowa spoke after a few minutes of silence.
WuFei laughed, a deep, haunting, near maniacal laugh. "And let Maxwell know I can't hold my liquor like he can?"
Trowa sighed. "WuFei, don't be stubborn. It takes an immense amount of strength to admit one's weaknesses."
WuFei chuckled, but the sound was light, defeated. "Then let me admit something, Barton. Since the day I met that braided fool, I haven't been able to get him out of my mind. Despite the harsh tones and name calling," Why the HELL am I telling him this?!?! I must be out of my mind! "I know he's not as foolish as he seems. There's more to him than he lets on…"
"You have a crush on him," Trowa interrupted matter-of-factly.
"Yes, damn it!" WuFei shouted, letting loose the reigns of control he always held so tight. "I can't explain it. I've even dreamt of him…and I don't dream…" He had lowered his voice, but the emotion was still running rampant, and he made no move to restrain it. It felt good, to release like this.
Trowa crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall of the house. "You do know he flirts with you…"
WuFei's gaze shifted, wide-eyed, to meet Trowa's. "What?!"
Trowa covered his chuckle with a cough into his hand. "You didn't know."
"Should I have?"
"Even Heero does."
I must be more of a brick wall than I thought. "He…"
"The way he flirts with you, it would seem he shares your feelings, WuFei."
WuFei blinked a few times in surprise, thinking of how the braided pilot acts around him. "He's like that with Yuy, too."
"No. There's differences. He shrugs it off when it's Yuy. When it's you, however…it's much more serious. The rejection in his eyes when you ignore him is genuine, WuFei."
WuFei struggled to understand what Trowa was telling him. Duo…flirts with me? And is serious? Am I truly so clueless that I've never noticed? How…how could I have never seen it, as much as I watch him? Despite his inner surprise, he kept the expression on his face relatively calm. "You're not serious."
"I am. I wouldn't joke about something like this, WuFei."
"Fuck."
"So. Now that you know, what are you going to do about it?"
"Is there anything I can do? I don't even know what happened that night…if anything happened…"
"I have reason to believe something happened. On what level, however, only Duo, and possibly Quatre, knows."
"Wait. Winner?"
"He mentioned something to me about Duo having talked to him after that mission. He wouldn't tell me what Duo told him, however, saying it wasn't his place."
WuFei sighed. This didn't help things at all.
"Duo seems shaken about it, from what was said in my room."
"Damn. What in the hells happened that night?!"
"I can see why Quatre keeps insisting Duo talk to you about it. I have to agree with him. The two of you need to talk about…whatever it is that happened that night. Until then, you can't make any decision on how to handle it," Trowa said calmly.
"I know, I know. But what if he takes offense to the fact that I don't remember it? What if…" What if I kissed him…or worse…
"What if what?"
"What if…I did something to show my interest in him? He could take my not remembering as my not really meaning it."
"True, or he could take it as you were drunk and blacked out. Possibly didn't even mean to say it."
"But I'm brutally honest when I'm drunk, I do know that much."
"But does he?"
WuFei paused his resumed pacing and thought. "I don't know," he replied pensively.
"Here's what I would recommend, WuFei. Talk to him. See what he remembers…if anything. Tell him what you remember. Then, go from there. Base what you say to him on his reactions and his words. If you want to tell him how you feel, go ahead. But you're the only one who can decide to tell him or not. And he's your only source of information," Trowa advised.
"And Winner."
"But I doubt Quatre would tell you. He'd most likely tell you to talk to Duo about it."
"Point. Damn. There's no way around talking to him, is there?"
"You could avoid him for the rest of your life, but what good would that do you, never knowing what happened, never knowing what could have happened between you two?"
WuFei thought about Trowa's words, resuming his pacing, but in smaller circles. He's right. Could I live asking myself if there could have been something between us? Could I live…with no clue of what happened that night? He shook his head. No. It would make me crazy. Better to sort things out sooner rather than later. What if nothing happened, though? I'm going crazy over this for nothing. But if something did…then what? Will he be mad? How far did it go? Did I tell him…? Damn!
"WuFei."
WuFei pulled himself out of his thoughts at the sound of Trowa's voice.
"It's raining. We should get inside."
WuFei nodded, following as Trowa headed back toward the house. Trowa stopped him just outside the door, however.
"WuFei. Try to be normal with him. I would imagine he's having a difficult time dealing with complete avoidance. Being ignored is one thing. Avoiding is a whole other story."
WuFei took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll try."
They entered through the door to the kitchen together to find Quatre and Duo puttering around, most likely making dinner.
"Oh, hey guys," Quatre said with a smile.
Trowa nodded once with a smile before taking a seat at the kitchen table.
Duo looked up from chopping vegetables, his eyes wide and his face paler than it should be.
Why…does he seem afraid of me? ...Just…don't run, Chang. "Winner. Maxwell," WuFei acknowledged with a nod.
"Hey, Trowa, …WuFei…" Duo spoke, a hint of hesitation in his voice.
My full name. Something had to have happened. He never uses my full name. Don't run. Sit. It won't be as awkward with Barton and Winner in the room. They won't let it get awkward…right? WuFei silently took the seat beside Trowa.
Quatre gazed out the window. "Start raining on you, did it?" he asked with a smile.
Trowa nodded.
Duo turned back to the vegetables, cutting them more slowly. From his seat, WuFei could see Duo's hand shaking slightly.
"Don't cut a finger off, Maxwell," WuFei warned, his tone bored. Tease him about it…like you would have before……
Duo stopped; WuFei saw him swallow hard. "I won't…" he answered, his hand shaking harder than it previously was.
WuFei rolled his eyes. At this rate, he won't get anything done. WuFei stood up and walked toward Duo, only letting a slight bit of annoyance show. "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. Winner, how many times have I told you Maxwell should only be in the kitchen when he's eating?" He grabbed the knife from Duo's hand and proceeded to finish chopping the vegetables.
Duo backed away, but the corners of his lips twitched, almost as though they wanted to smile.
That's it, Maxwell. Relax…It's not like I'm going to kill you or anything…
WuFei set the knife down next to the cutting board, then returned to his seat.
Duo also headed to the table, taking the seat across from Trowa, and rested his cheek on his fist. His eyes darted around the room, occasionally glancing to WuFei, but never lingering, never meeting the other's gaze.
What happened that night that he's so nervous around me? Damn, if only I could remember!
Silence ruled in the kitchen, but it wasn't awkward. Well, maybe a little, between WuFei and Duo, but it was the most relaxed it'd been all day. And the longer WuFei stayed in the kitchen, the more evident Duo's smile became. And though he didn't show it, WuFei felt like a weight had been lifted from him. He was still heavy with the questions, but that was to be expected.
A/N: Okay, this one was definitely longer than the last. Hope you guys enjoyed it, getting another peek into WuFei's mind. More to come, I promise!
Wow, I'm really flying through this one…At 7 parts, it's the longest fic I've posted here yet!