A/N: I'm back with another chapter. Things are going to get a bit more interesting since I've so conveniently gotten rid of the 'obstacles' (Q, T, H) And sorry this took so long! Got really busy with school and helping to run an anime convention (Ikasucon)…but here you go!

Chapter 8: WuFei

WuFei rushed over to Duo and managed to catch him before he hit the floor.

"Duo! Duo, wake up!" WuFei checked his pulse, fearing something odd, but noted with a sigh of relief that he was fine…just passed out, nothing more. "Dammit, Duo. What got into you?" he asked the sleeping bundle in his arms.

Carefully, WuFei bridal-carried Duo to the living room couch. He lay him down gently, then knelt on the floor in front of the sofa.

He brushed the bangs from Duo's face as he whispered, "Why did that note scare you, hm?"

Could he be nervous about it being just us? ……I know I'm trying not to be…

WuFei got up, retrieved a spare blanket from the hall closet, and lay it over Duo, covering him from the shoulders down.

He returned to his kneeling position and stayed beside the unconscious pilot, his hands nervously fidgeting in his lap. What am I going to do now? How…how am I going to deal with it? With Trowa and Quatre, and hell, even Heero, around, it was easy to act like nothing had changed. But now… Duo…if you're scared about them being gone, I'm sure I'm every bit as scared as you are. "I have to be strong…to get us through this…" he whispered aloud.

.

About half an hour later, WuFei watched as Duo began to slowly regain consciousness. He allowed himself a small smile as the violet eyes fluttered open.

"Welcome back," he greeted softly.

Duo groaned. "What happened?" he asked as he tried to sit up.

WuFei pushed the American back down. "You passed out. You should probably stay lying down for a little while longer," he replied.

"I…passed…oh…right. Q's letter…" Duo let out a tired sigh.

WuFei nodded. "Duo…If I may ask…what about it got you so worked up that you passed out?"

Duo stared up at the ceiling for a moment, then, suddenly, turned his gaze to WuFei. "Did you just call me Duo?"

WuFei nodded. Is it really such a big deal?

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"You never have before. It's always been Maxwell to you."

"Would you prefer I call you Maxwell?"

"Well, I-uh…no…it's just…ah, hell. It's just…weird. Do you plan to keep calling me Duo, or is this just a one time thing?"

WuFei couldn't help but smile. "Which would you like?"

Duo blinked, as though in surprise. "Does…does it…really matter?"

WuFei shrugged. "The question here is, does it matter to you?"

Duo grabbed one of the sofa pillows from behind his head and threw it into WuFei's face. "Stop being so damn cryptic! Give me a straight answer for once!

WuFei smiled. "It's good to see you back to normal," he told him, keeping the sofa pillow in his lap.

Duo sighed loudly. "Why the hell do I put up with you?! And what the hell's with you, anyway? You've been smiling like crazy. That's just…out of character for you."

WuFei turned his gaze down to the pillow in his lap. What should I tell him? I…I should tell him the truth…I suppose… "I'm just…doing something I haven't done in quite some time."

"And just what would that be?" Duo asked, his expression confused.

WuFei sighed. And out it goes… "I'm not hiding behind my usual mask. I'm letting out the side of myself that hasn't been seen in years." He slowly turned his eyes back to the other pilot. "You're seeing a side of me I haven't shown to anyone since I was twelve."

Duo gasped. "But…why? Why now? Why to me?"

WuFei shrugged. "I…I'm not sure, really. All I know is how scared I was when you passed out…and how relieved I am now that you're awake."

"You were…scared? You, the great solitary dragon, Chang WuFei, were scared?" Duo began to laugh. "That's a great one. You…scared! I don't believe it for a second."

He's…laughing?!?! I tell him I was scared, and he laughs about it?! "Damnit, Duo, I'm just as human as you are! I'm not some emotionless bastard!" WuFei exclaimed, pounding his fists into the defenseless pillow. "I'm not Heero, for the gods' sake! I feel things when I run around murdering people, enemy or not! I think about the families I'm tearing apart, the sadness I'm causing! I think about the husbands, wives, brothers, and sisters that are losing family members at my hands!" He paused, looking away from Duo and blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. When he spoke again, his tone was soft. "We're all human. Us, OZ, Romafeller…ultimately, we're no different. We all care, on some level. We all are affected by what we do, who we're near. We just have different ways of showing it…"

WuFei felt Duo's hand upon his shoulder. "'Fei…I…"

"It's alright." He took a few deep breaths, hoping to calm himself.

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have laughed. I mean…I dunno. I guess I'm just so used to seeing your 'mask', as you called it…I never…really thought that you might be hiding behind your behavior… I never thought I wasn't the only one who hid from it all," Duo replied softly. "I'm sorry."

A/N: Okay, I know, crappy place to end the chapter. But I want to show a bit of what Duo's thinking while all this is going on, and I refuse to switch p.o.v. in the middle of a chapter….at least in this story. More to come, I promise!