A/N: I'm back, posting part 8/ chapter 7! Up until lately, I've been averaging a part a day, the rate I've been going on this one. That's pretty damn impressive, if I do say so myself. (which I just did )

Standard disclaimer. Don't own them. Just wish I did.

And if you don't like bad language, you probably shouldn't read. It's not every other word or anything, but it's there.

Chapter 7

Duo was unstoppable, almost literally bouncing off the walls. His door was locked, no one would see this sudden bout of insane hyperness unless he let them in, but by God he had way too much energy to just sit there! WuFei hadn't run from the room! He'd actually been in the kitchen, with Duo, for more time than it took him to eat!

Maybe it's not as bad as I thought! He was acting just like he used to, before…eheh… Well, anyway, he was actually being normal! Well, normal for him, anyway…And I couldn't ask for more! I feel like screaming…but Heero'd kill me for it. What a spoil-sport.

WuFei definitely seemed to be in a better mood after his talk with Trowa…Wonder what they talked about…

A knock on the door stopped Duo's bed-bouncing. He bounced to the floor and ran to the door, desperately hoping to see WuFei's face when he opened it.

"Oh, hi, Quat," he said disappointedly once he'd opened the door.

"Gee, Duo, could you be any less excited to see me?" Quatre teased with a laugh.

"I was just hoping…well…you know…"

"That I was WuFei?"

Duo nodded vigorously. "C'mon in!"

"So I take it you were celebrating that WuFei didn't avoid you?"

"Hell yeah! It was just like normal! Fei being just as grouchy as he always is!"

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "You say that like it's a good thing," he said with a smile.

"It is, Quat! It's like he's trying not to let what happened affect him!"

"But don't you want it to affect him?"

"Not like that. I don't want him running every time he sees me. If it's that, or acting like nothing happened, I'll take nothing happened any day. If I had my way, he'd run up to me and pounce on me, and…" Duo felt his face turn bright red. "Ah, well, you get the picture."

Quatre laughed. "I certainly do. So, now that he's making the effort to be normal, are you going to try to talk to him about it?"

"I dunno. I mean, the more he acts like himself, the more I want to, but…what if he doesn't know all of what happened, and I tell him, an then he hates me? I'd rather leave it that he doesn't know."

"But he'd be upset if he ever found out that, even though you may not remember, you knew what happened that night and never told him."

"Ah, damn. You're probably right. I would be if I were in his shoes. Well fuck."

"Isn't that what got you in this situation in the first place?" Quatre teased again.

Duo stuck out his tongue. "Shut up, you."

Quatre laughed. "Well, it's good to see you in so good a mood, Duo. You being somber was getting to us all, I think."

"And to think. All it took to get me hyper like this was WuFei actually staying in the same room as me. It's almost absurd, if you think about it."

"It is absurd, Duo. It's ridiculously absurd. Anyway, I just came to say goodnight. I'm going to bed, and you should do the same. You didn't get much sleep last night."

"I'll try, but damn, I've got so much energy right now, I don't know if I'll be able to," Duo replied with a shrug.

"As long as you try, Duo. At least try to rest, alright?" Quatre asked as he turned to leave.

Duo nodded. "I will. Night, Quat."

"Night, Duo." Quatre shut the door behind him, leaving Duo to revel in his hyperness.

Damn. I haven't felt this good…ever, I think. I hope WuFei keeps this up…it'll be easy to just fall back to the old routine as long as he's in it too. If it's just me, I don't think I'll last.

Duo changed out of his clothes and into a pair of loose black pants and a purple T-shirt for pajamas. Quat's right, I should try to sleep. Duo let out a yawn. I am tired. I didn't realize it til now. Maybe I'll have good dreams tonight…ehehehe…

With that thought in mind, Duo flicked off the light and crawled into his bed. G'night, Fei. Pleasant dreams…

.

.

.

Duo awoke the next morning around 9. Damn. Not late enough. Oh well. Guess I should get up. With a groan, Duo rolled himself out of bed. He headed to his bag and grabbed a fresh pair of boxers and a pair of jeans, then left his room and headed down the hall toward the bathroom. Showertime!!!

He stepped into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. He turned on the water and stripped down, throwing his pajamas and boxers into a pile on the floor. He then began the tedious task of unbraiding his rope of hair, humming to himself.

With his hair successfully unbraided, he stepped into the shower and began singing to himself.

"It's so all right!

Maybe too right!

Sono uchi kitto come to light

It's so all right!

Maybe too right!

Hey you! Gaman-zuyoi n' da ne

Mou machikutabireta…"

Duo continued the song as he cleaned himself, taking extra care not to tangle his hair in the process. When the water started to run cold, he turned it off and stepped out, wrapping one towel around his waist and another around his hair. He hurried and dried off, still humming, then pulled on his clean boxers and jeans. He wrung out his hair with the towel, then tossed both wet towels over the shower rod to dry. With a bit of a bounce in his step, he unlocked and opened the door.

"Anyone ever tell you you take too long in the shower?" WuFei asked, leaning against the hall wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Mm…just you," Duo replied with a smile. Oh, shit, he's seeing me with my hair down! ……Oh well…

WuFei arched an eyebrow. "You didn't use all the hot water, did you?"

"Sorry, but, I think I did. You sure you don't need a cold shower?" Duo played with a wink.

"Very sure, Maxwell."

Duo shrugged. "Suit yourself," he replied, heading back toward his room.

After shutting the door to his room, Duo fell back against the wall.

Oh. My. God. I can't believe I just said that! What the hell was I thinking?!?! ………Okay, calm down. Breathe, Duo. Breathe… Duo pushed himself off the wall and walked over to his dresser. He picked up his brush and ran it through his wet hair, brushing out the tangles. He didn't…seem angry or anything over that comment, though…

I wonder if he saw my hair down that night…Probably not, since it was braided when I woke up…which means…This is the first time he's seen my hair down! Oi…

Duo finished brushing his hair and braided it quickly, snapping a hair band around the end. He pulled a purple shirt from his dresser drawer and put it on as he walked out of his room and toward the kitchen, hurrying to quiet his growling stomach.

WuFei was seated at the table, a piece of paper in his hand.

"I thought you wanted a shower," Duo asked as he seated himself across from the Chinese pilot.

"Not a cold one," WuFei answered, sliding the paper across the table to Duo.

"What's this?"

"From Quatre. He, Trowa, and Heero have missions. They'll be gone for at least a week," WuFei replied.

With a hard swallow, Duo read the letter slowly

Duo and WuFei,

Trowa, Heero and I received missions very early this morning. We'll be gone for a week, assuming everything goes smoothly. If not, we'll definitely be gone longer.

Given the tension between you two, I am loathe to leave, but this mission is imperative. Please try to get along, okay?

See you BOTH when we get back.

Q

Duo suddenly felt nauseous. No! Quat! I need you here! You're my only string to sanity!

WuFei arched an eyebrow. "Are you alright? You look pale…"

"Huh?...oh…y-yeah, I'm alright…I think…"

"Maxwell, your hands are shaking."

Duo looked down at his hands and the paper they still held. Sure enough, they were shaking hard. No…I can't let him see me like this…not panicked…gotta…get to my room… "Heh…" He slowly stood up, his hand letting the note fall to the floor. "I…I think I just need to lie down…for a bit…" Duo swayed as his vision blurred, and vaguely picked out the sound of WuFei's voice calling him before everything went black.

A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Next one should be coming soon! Sorry this one was so short!

Oh, and for those of you who aren't familiar with the song Duo was singing, it's one of his image songs, called "It's So All Right". Lyrics can be found at animelyrics.com