Title: Gundam Diaries Part 24 ~ Duo
Author: Makoto Sagara
Archive: www.afallenangel.net/makotosagara/frames/fanfiction.html, www.wufeiduo.net, www.fanfiction.net, www.foreverfandom.net, www.geocities.com/daqdaqduck/, www.sailorandco.crosswinds.net/gundamwing/fanfiction/fanfiction.html
Category: Romance, Angst
Pairings: 5x2x5, 3x4, 1+2, R+1
Rating: R/NC-17
Warnings: Shonen ai, angst, OOC, language, pissed off Duo, lemon
Disclaimers: As much as I wish Duo et al were mine, they aren't. If they were, I would have fun making them play just like this all the time, with more sex involved. Nope, I don't have any money either. So, save your energy suing Martha Stewart, people!
A/N: Do you know what the worst thing about having two muses is? I have so many ideas to work on, and there aren't enough hours in the day. Not to mention the fact that I actually *need* sleep, food, water, etc. Oh, and muses can become very one-minded. That is why it took me two weeks to even come up with an appropriate way to start this chapter, and even longer to get it all down on paper. I'm really sorry.
Dedication: To Christy-mommy, of Mel&Christy fame, for being a wonderful net-mommy, and reminding me that there are other things in this world than just fanfiction, even if they aren't as fun.
Symbols: *blah* emphasized thought
*~*~* Major change of scene
*~~~* Minor change of scene
April 17th, AC 195... 22:43:07
I don't know whom I'm angrier with right now. Quatre, for drugging me, not once, but twice; Heero, for being an emotionally bizarre jerk; Wufei, for not telling me about his injury the night he came home; or myself, for still loving Heero, while being *in* love, and in a relationship, with Wufei. The only person *not* on my shit list is Tro, and that's because he hasn't really done anything but be nice to me the past few days. Shit, with my fucking luck, even Trowa will make it there, and then what?
I woke up the morning after I hit Heero with my head feeling as if someone was pounding on an anvil in there. Struggling to ignore that sensation, I focused on the very welcome heat source next to me. Opening my eyes marginally, I saw black hair spread wildly around golden skin. Smiling faintly, I rolled over to snuggle with my sleeping Dragon, only to have a jolting pain shoot throughout the whole right side of my body.
I yelped in pain, and was thrown onto my back when Wufei sat up, looking alert and ready to kill. "'Fei?" I whispered, moving back carefully. "You... You ok?" His eyes seemed to come into focus as he looked at me.
"Max... Duo, I am fine," he whispered hoarsely, wrapping his arms around my waist, and pulled me close. I couldn't help but snicker at his slip, even through the pain that crawled up my raw right side.
He pulled me back, confusion written all over his face. "What?" he asked tersely. I smiled, trying not to laugh at him.
"You just gave me a nickname, Fei-bebi. My first, if you don't count Heero's 'Baka'," I said. "I like."
He grumbled a response, and pulled me to him once again. Damn, my 'Fei is a snuggler. It's cute, because he always seemed so cold and distant before we became lovers. Hell, I sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. It's nice to have a warm body to curl up into, and not worry about having to move in the morning.
I closed my eyes, and was about to drift back to sleep, the pain in my head lessened, when calloused hands found their way under my shirt. I hummed in appreciation, absentmindedly rubbing a leg against 'Fei's. His hands moved lower, finding their way to my ass.
I leaned my head into the junction of his neck and shoulder, kissing the sensitive area and sucking on the soft skin right there. 'Fei moaned, and a hand found my chin, forcing my head up. I was about to complain, but soft lips cut me off, and his other hand pulled me so close there was nothing between us.
"Hmmmm, 'Fei," I whispered, enjoying the feel of this unexpected morning wake up snog.
"So, what is this new nickname I have supposedly given you?" Wufei asked against my overheated cheek, squeezing my ass tightly.
"Max... Ah! 'Fei, that feels so good," I murmured, hopping that his attentive behaviour would never stop. Needless to say, I was pissed when he pulled away and sat up, exposing me to the cold air in the room. "What the *hell* is this bullshit?" I yelled, a little louder than I wanted to be.
"I have something important to tell you," Wufei said, annoyance evident in his voice.
"Couldn't this have waited until *after* we made love?"
"No."
I sighed, trying to hide my anger and frustration. "What is it, 'Fei-bebi? What is so important you couldn't pound me into the bed first?"
"Must you be so crude?" he snapped. I was startled at the flagrant irritation in his tone. It was like the last two weeks of being lovers never happened.
I sat up, ignoring the lights that danced behind my eyes, and stormed to the chair in front of my desk. "You know, if I wanted to feel like shit when I woke up, I'd still be chasing after Heero. Say whatever the *fuck* it is you are going to say, and get the hell out of my room, Chang."
He flinched, and his face softened. He looked as if it was he that I had punched the night before. "Duo... I have something important to tell you, and I won't blame you if you hate me afterwards, or if you are upset. Also, I am sorry that I snapped at you," he said, and I could tell that his brain was working overtime to find the right words to tell me.
I felt like shit when he lifted his dark, sad eyes to my face, and I lost myself there. I was drowning in those dark pools, and all the anger I had just disappeared as I walked back over to him. "'Fei, what is it?"
"Do you remember the mission I had the morning after the last time we made love?" he asked tentatively.
"Yesssss," I hissed. "I really hate waking up alone, and that was crap." I managed to crawl up on the bed and curled up next to him, but he stopped me from actually touching him. "Wufei, did something happen on the mission that you aren't telling me about?"
He took a deep breath, and, locking eyes with me again, spoke. "Yes. I was injured."
I blinked. I refused to hear that. He would have... He *could* have told me before now. He had all day the day before, and then there was our conversation the night before that. Hell, he could have come down before dinner was done, and the whole fucked up situation with Heero escalated. "What?" I asked sweetly.
"I received an injury while heading back to Nataku. The factory had just exploded, and I was jumping over the fence that surrounded the perimeter when a lucky stray bullet struck me in the calf," he finished, his voice becoming quieter as he continued.
I blinked again, trying to absorb all the information. When I could finally trust myself not to yell at him again, I asked him, "And you didn't tell me before now, why?"
"There were... other things that prevented me from doing so," he said. "Duo... I did not mean to keep it from you. Things just did not go the way I had planned, and yesterday I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. I... I am sorry," he whispered.
I was so upset that I couldn't think straight. I needed to get away from him, so I got up from the bed and walked over to the window, staring out into the bleak April morning. I heard as he moved from off the bed and made his way to stand next to me. A hand was placed on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off.
"Duo?" Wufei asked. I ignored the pain in his voice and continued to look out the window, not seeing anything but the way Wufei looked as I took him for the first time. It hurt me to let him be in pain, but I didn't want to touch him or him to touch me. "Maxwell?"
"Just leave me alone... At least for right now, Wufei." I stopped, trying to find the right words. "I need some time to think." I turned to look at him before he left, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Wufei. I really do, but I need this time alone."
"I understand," he said stiffly, grabbing his laptop off my desk, and he left me. The sound of the door closing was so final that I fell to my knees, trying my damnedest not to cry.
After a few moments of self-pitying, I crawled back into my bed, pulled the cover over my head, and willed the world away.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I awoke to some rustling in the hallway. So, deciding that I had spent enough time in bed, I walked over to my door, and opened it a crack. I saw Wufei blocking Quatre's way to the top of the stairs. Sticking my head out better to hear, I applied all my skills as a Gundam Pilot to listen to the angrily whispered conversation.
"Winner! You drugged Maxwell yesterday, and I can only assume the night before," 'Fei bit out.
"What are you talking about, Wufei?" Quatre said, his voice dripping innocence, which made me *know* that he was hiding something.
"Don't act like you're an innocent bystander; we all know better. You had better tell him before he finds out some other way."
"I don't *need* your help, Wufei," Quatre shot back, the innocent façade dropped, and replaced by the cold and calculating tactician and pilot of Wing Zero. "I can handle my own problems. Maybe you should think about doing something about your own issues. Like your injury that you've been hiding from Duo for *two* days now."
"I *have* handled my own business, and I will *damned* if I will stand here and have you and threaten me," Wufei spat, brushing past the blond down the stairs.
I watched the retreating form of my lover descend the stairs, and as my other friend walked slowly down the hall, and I let what Wufei said take effect. "You sneaky little rat! I *knew* that soda smelled funny last night! What the hell did you *drug* me for, Quat-re," I yelled, not bothering to act like I hadn't over-heard everything.
The blond jumped about three feet, and if I hadn't been about ready to break his nose, I would have laughed. "Duo!"
"Yeah, that's my name, but yours is rat."
"Duo... I..."
"Spit it out, Winner, so I can properly thank you for sticking drugs into my drinks. Drugs that would have probably killed a normal person, seeing as how we have all had our tolerances built up to preposterous levels."
"Duo... You were in so much pain... And I thought it would help you sleep, so you could heal better. I didn't expect them to make you so weak," he replied timidly.
"Fuck you and your help, Quatre. I heal fine without that shit!" I turned on my heel and stomped back into my room before I actually *did* hit him, making sure to slam the door as hard as I could in his face.
I felt the build up of what could only be described as righteous anger, and I walked over to my bed, putting my clenched fists right into the down pillows. I needed to get some of this anger out, because hitting the pillows wasn't enough to stop the slip into Shinigami, which was neither needed nor wanted at that moment.
Quickly and assuredly, I dressed in the last of my clean clothes, pushing down the feeling of how every movement made my nerves seem as if they were on fire. When I was completely dressed, I grabbed all my dirty clothes, and walked to the laundry room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ok, let's review the house. There are eight walls to the TV room, each with a door on it. These are in no particular order, mostly because I don't really care. Door number one leads to the front. Two leads to the study. Three to the kitchen. Four to the dining room, which is attached to the kitchen as well. Five leads to the music room. Six leads to the gymnasium. Seven leads to the upstairs. Eight leads to the back yard. Now, the laundry room is actually another door in the kitchen that runs into the basement, where... Dun, dun, dun... You find the laundry room.
So, in order for me to get to the laundry room, I would have to walk into the TV room, past the back door, the dining room, finding myself in the kitchen. Which meant, I would have to pass at least one other pilot, none of which I wanted to deal with, but I'm not on the streets anymore, and wearing dirty clothes is not cool. Eh, I sucked it up like the best of them, and headed down to the basement, ignoring the typing coming from the study, and Tro's lanky form over the stove.
As soon as I had all my clothes in the washer (and let me say now that having all dark clothes was a good idea), I sat down on the silent dryer to think. And boy-o did I have a lot to think about. My love life was in the crapper, mostly because I couldn't stop seeing Heero's face right before he kissed me, therefore, I was feeling guilty about that fact when I was making out with my *lover*, Wufei.
Then there was Wufei himself. He decided to wait to tell me that he had been injured, instead of telling me as soon as possible. God damn him! I wouldn't have let him carry me at all if I had known. I'm so sick of these super-human men surrounding me. Can't one of them just act like something hurts when it does? Would it kill them? Heero sets broken bones after falling off the face of a steep cliff, moves after I shot him twice, and survives drowning, even though he can't swim. Wufei moves as swiftly and assuredly as he normally does with a fresh, new bullet hole in his fucking leg.
Oh! But let us not forget our favorite blond, running around dropping pain meds in to my drinks. I'd bet my life that Trowa knew, but he would never tell me. Nope. Doesn't want any damage to occur to his cute little boyfriend. Sometimes, it feels like they are all against me. I doubt they would like it if that were actually the case.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the washer calming down and coming to a stop. I hopped off the dryer and threw my clothes inside it once I had them out the washing machine. I had just set the temperature and timer, sat back on the dryer, and was reveling in the warmth when Heero "Mr. Perfect-Fucking-Soldier" Yuy walked into the small laundry room.
Well, he wasn't a pretty sight, but he didn't seem as surly as he had during dinner the night before, and his bruise wasn't quite as purple. Of course, that wasn't saying much. It still looked really nasty. I hid a smirk behind a calm façade, and waved lazily.
"Heya, Heero."
His shaggy brown head shot up, glare firmly in place, but not quite as intimidating as it might have been, if a fourth of his face wasn't purplish-blue. "Duo," he stated flatly.
"That's my name. So, what's up with you for the day?"
"Nothing."
I sighed. I wasn't going to get anywhere with him if he was only speaking in one-word sentences. "O~kay. Look, Heero, I'm not sorry for sucker punching you, but I am sorry that you look like shit."
He looked up, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought the Perfect Soldier was going to crack a smile and laugh at my lame ass joke. "I... It's nothing," he said quietly.
"So... What brings you down here? Laundry?"
"Aa."
"Ah, ok. Well, I'll leave you to it. I should be able to hear the timer in the kitchen," I said, making my way towards the door that lead back upstairs. I was stopped by a tight grip on my left arm, which made me hiss in pain, seeing as how that was the same spot he held me not two days before. "Fuck! Let go!" I yelled, and Heero dropped my arm as if he had been burned.
"Duo?"
"Shit," I cursed, rubbing my bruised triceps. "It's ok, 'Ro... Just got some sensitive bruises there, and you grabbed the wrong spot. I'll be fine. See ya in a bit," I said, trying to get away from him before I had to explain anything else to him. The look in his eyes was disconcerting, and definitely trouble for me if I had stayed.
I walked silently up the stairs and into the deserted kitchen, looking for something to finally eat. I hadn't had anything, and that was adding to my irritation. God damn, this day was starting off peachy keen, wasn't it? I popped some bread into the toaster, and sat down to peel the one banana I had found. I had just gotten the last of the peeling off when Wufei walked into the kitchen, looking indefinitely sexy with perspiration dripping down his sun-burnished golden skin.
I bit back a moan, and stuffed the fruit into my mouth. I watched as his eyes went from a lucid dark brown to black with lust in less than two seconds. Slowly, I bit into the object in my hand and closed my eye, savoring the taste and texture it gave off. When I opened my eyes again, there was a red tint to the Chinese boy's cheeks, and those pants he was wearing didn't look that roomy anymore. I licked my lips.
"Hello, Wufei."
"Duo," he said, moving to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water, and he left the room. I watched him leave, noticing a slight limp in his right leg. That brought me back to the reason I was so pissed at him.
Suddenly, I wasn't all that hungry anymore, and I tossed what was left of the mangled fruit in the garbage bin. I sighed in frustration as I looked out of the kitchen window, seeing the pool and some of the gardens around the house, which were all deserted. I was really starting to hate the whole area around this godforsaken hell hole.
There was a pop, and I automatically reached for my gun in the waistband of my pants, searching the room. That's when I noticed that the toast was done. Feeling like an idiot, I dropped my hand from the gun, and snatched the hot, dry bread from the metal slots, biting into a piece.
I finished off both pieces of toast quickly, and had just grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge when the timer on the dryer went off. I chugged half of the clear liquid down, capped the bottle, and threw it on the top shelf of the over-flowing refrigerator. Then, I made my way down the semi-dark staircase to the laundry room, and probably where Heero still was standing.
Sure enough, when I opened the door, I found Hee-chan waiting patiently for the washing machine to stop. I breezed into the room stiffly, dumped my freshly laundered clothes into the waiting basket I had used to carry them down in, and walked out. All without speaking to him, but I could have *sworn* to Shinigami that I heard a low moan escape him, and that did not help the fact that I still had a woody from teasing Wufei.
I made it all the way to my room without running into anyone else, and dumped my laundry basket on the floor in front of my bed. My pants were starting to feel like they were cutting off the circulation in my lower body. I decided that the best thing to do would to take a cold shower, and then head down to the hangar and work on Deathscythe Hell. That planned, I walked around the room for my brush and a few other toiletries that I knew I would need, snatched some clean clothes and two towels from the basket on the floor, and made my way to the bathroom across the hall.
The door was shut, but I turned the knob and found out it wasn't locked, so I opened it. I was hit by the mixture of steam and erotic moaning. I looked at the shadows through the curtain, and saw only one, lean, luscious form, knowing immediately who it was. I turned to leave, hoping that Heero's bathroom was free, when a series of quickening moans and then an outburst followed, sending shivers down my spine and to my pulsing cock.
"DUO!" The unmistakable voice of my sexy lover rang out, repeating over and over in my mind even after it was over. I was frozen still, until I heard the mutter of, "Nataku, help me."
As if whatever spell that had me frozen a second before was suddenly broken, I slipped out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind me quietly, and walked to the bathroom next door. Fuck him! He even calls to her when he's the shower, wanking off to images of me, calling my name, but then falls to his knees and begs his dead wife to help him. Definitely needed that cold shower then.
I quickly divested myself of my restrictive clothing, turned the water on as cold as I could stand, hopped in, and proceeded to forget about the scene I had just witnessed a few moments ago. All I succeeded in doing was freezing my balls off, and turning my skin blue after fifteen minutes. Convinced that I had the situation under control, I turned the hot water on until I wasn't an ice cube anymore, and sped through a ten minute shower, with hair washing included. I dried quickly, and was dressed in less than two minutes flat.
Then came the hard part. I had to brush my soaking wet hair. I took the unused towel I had brought in with me, and got as much of the water out of my hair as I possibly could. I had no sooner put the towel back on the closed toilet lid when the bathroom door was flung open, revealing Heero in nothing but his spandex shorts. DAMMIT! Didn't I *just* get rid of an erection?
"Duo?" he asked, voice sounding oddly hoarse.
I stood up fully, grabbed my clothes, towels, brush, and other toiletries, and quickly hightailed it to my room, but not before I heard another door slam extremely hard against its frame. Three guesses who it was, and the first two don't count.
Chalking it up to my lousy karma, I brushed, braided and tied off my hair, and sat at my desk, throwing my head on my arms. I lifted my head back up when I felt something poking the underside of my arm. I saw a little square, wrapped simply in stiff brown paper and tied off with twine. There was a card, with elegant, flowing script across the white surface. I read it, and felt sick to my stomach. It said, 'This is yours.'
I knew the handwriting, and that simple gesture made me feel like an idiot, who should have been shot. Although, at that point, Death would have been too good for me. I carefully unwrapped the gift, and what I saw made my heart sting. 'Busted Stuff' by Dave Matthews Band. Wufei went through all the trouble of picking it out, wrapping it, and giving it to me, but all I had done was push him away, tease him, eavesdrop on his shower, and get caught in Heero's bathroom. FUCK!
Except, when I saw Heero's face down in the laundry room, I felt a flutter of butterflies in my stomach. Before three weeks ago, I would have sold what is left of my soul to see him look at me with anything but contempt or frustration, and I had seen it. It made me nervous. It made my pulse race. But, it also brought to my mind's eye the last night Wufei and I made love.
Yes, I loved Wufei. Yes, I was in love with him. Yes, I still am in love with *my* Wufei, but for a moment, and just a moment, I forgot about that and felt the old pang of want for Heero. And I felt like shit. It got worse after I heard Wufei in the shower, and then finished my own, only to see Heero in those spandex shorts that hug every inch of his ass, hips, and thighs.
There is no denying that Heero Yuy is a sexy man, but then again, so is Chang Wufei. Heero is very mission orientated, and then again, so is Wufei. Heero has his own code of ethics and behaviour. So does Wufei. But, I'm afraid that is where their similarities end.
Wufei has shown me that he can be extremely giving (the CD was just the icing on the cake for that factor). He has shown me that he is very tender and very exacting, but only when the need arises for either. He knows his emotions, and when he says he loves me, I feel the truth in his words, and I love him more.
Heero has only called me names, hit me, demeaned me as a human, and overall, has played Ice Prince. The one time he decides to show me any emotion, he waited too long, and then bruised me. And yet... The butterflies were still there when his cold mask was forgotten for a moment.
Fucking butterflies. They suck.
Trying to gain control of myself, I booted up my laptop. There was no mission from G, and there didn't seem to be any coming up soon, so I opened up my email program, and typed off a quick letter to Howard. It had been too long since I last saw Howie and the rest of the Sweepers, and I needed to get away from the others for a while. I asked him if it would be alright if I came to visit for a while.
I was rewarded with a fast reply, saying of course I could come and see the gang. I was welcome any time since I was one of them, and I should remember that now that I was off trying to save the world. He also said that I could bring any, or all, of my anti-social comrades, if I wanted, because they were welcome as well. He told me that my room was ready on Peacemillion at any moment, and that he was looking forward to seeing me.
I wrote back, telling him to expect me in the next couple of days, and that I would see what I couldn't do about bringing along some company, but not to hold his breath. I also told him to tell everyone to make sure they had lots of food and that I missed them.
Feeling a little better, my eyes drifted back to the CD still in the factory-sealed plastic. An immense wave of self-hatred hit me hard, and I snatched a piece of stationery out of the desk and a pen. I quickly scratched out a letter to Wufei, and packed my things into the duffle bag by the door. When I had everything up and out of the way, the room looked like it could have belonged to anyone. My CD binder was under one arm, my duffle strapped to my back, and my laptop with the CD and letter to Wufei in the other.
I took a deep breath, and headed out of the room that was no longer mine, walking towards the stairs. I stopped outside of Wufei's room and knocked. There was no answer. "Wufei?" I called out, swallowing a huge lump in my throat that I was sure was my heart. Still no answer, and I felt my spirits dashed across a few hundred pointy rocks. Giving up trying to reach him for that moment, I slid the CD with the letter under his door, and made my way down the stair case.
I walked through the TV room to find Q and T on the couch with Heero on the love seat, his hair wet and sticking out at odd angles. Worse thing about air drying your hair; it's a bitch to tame afterwards. They were bent over papers and such, looking as if they were plotting something. I ignored the curiosity welling up in me, and made my way towards the kitchen.
I had almost made it until a voice called out to me. The one that I didn't expect to hear for a long time. "Maxwell? Where are you going?"
I closed my eyes to gather strength, slapped my casual grin on, and turned around. "Going to see the Sweepers on Peacemillion. Care to join? Howard said you guys are welcome to see them at any time with me," I said, the cheer in my voice sounding false to my own ears. "Any takers?"
Everyone looked confusedly at one another, no one saying anything. I stole a look at Wufei, who looked as if he was trying to read me. I nodded, allowing a small genuine smile for only him to ghost across my lips, turned and walked through the door in the kitchen that lead to the basement, and in turn, to the passageway that lead to the hangar.
I knew then that no one would be joining me. Damn, but I *am* an idiot, aren't I?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After a long and boring ten hour flight in Deathscythe Hell, where I kept hearing Wufei's resigned voice as I asked him for time alone and then the slamming of a door over and over in my head until I drowned it out with any kind of music I thought would make my brain stop ticking the seconds off, I landed on Peacemillion. The ship was off the coast of a small tropical island and Howard was on the deck, his usual gaudy apparel in place, from the ugly Hawaiian shirt to the sunglasses. It was a sight for my sore eyes and weary heart.
I had no sooner sipped down with my things from Deathscythe's cockpit when I was surrounded by Howard and about fifteen others Sweepers.
"Hey Duo!" "Hey, kiddo. Long time, no see!" "You didn't bring the thieving blue eyes again, didcha?" were some of the various comments that assaulted me. I waved at everyone tiredly, hoping they would go the fuck away for a while.
"Dammit! Let the boy breathe! He just got here, and already you are trying to suffocate him. Back off, you jackals!" Howard shouted. Since he was the boss, everyone but him dispersed.
"Thanks, Howie," I said, feeling some of my real cheer kick in. Nothing like being with family, eh?
"Hi, Kid. You look like shit, and you don't have J's pet with you, so what the hell happened?"
"Long story. Too long, in fact. I just wanna collapse on my bunk for a few days, and pretend that the last three weeks were a dream, or nightmare. Whatever you wanna call it." I snorted.
"That bad, eh? Well, your room is where it has always been. Anything wrong with Deathscythe that I need to know about before you go get some much needed beauty sleep?"
I gave him an 'Oh-aren't-you-a-funny-man' Look, and sighed. "Yeah, left knee's busted. I think the hyper jammers are starting to go to shit. Might have been that week long stay in a fucking cave in Siberia. My Buddy doesn't like the cold anymore than I do."
Howard cocked an eyebrow over his ridiculous glasses. "Siberia?"
"Part of that long story. Also, he needs to have a few scratches and dings fixed. OZ just ain't as nice or considerate as they used to be. Soldiers are slipping, all over 'Scythe." I scowled. The last battle before this shit happened, some moron managed to land right on top of me before he exploded. If he hadn't fallen on me from behind while I was busy fighting some idiot in a space Taurus, it would never have happened. Fucking dimwits. They don't know not to play with the God of Death.
"That it?"
"Yeah, should be. I'm gonna head to my room. Come get me in about ten hours, or if there's an emergency."
"I know the deal, Kid. Seriously, go get some sleep. 'Scythe here should be in good working order then," Howard said affectionately, placing a hand on my shoulder before shoving me towards the door that opened into the rest of the ship.
I dropped my bag unceremoniously by the door of my room, set my laptop up in case something happened, and curled up on my nice and neat bunk, not even bothering with the sheet. I was asleep before I knew it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I think I slept all of five hours when I awoke to someone roughly shaking me. I swung a fist up, and it was caught in a tight grasp. "Dammit, Yuy, if you don't fuck off, I will kill you," I swore, not bothering to open my eyes.
"That would not work, even if I *were* Yuy," someone whispered hoarsely in my ear, dropping my arm. Oh my god, I knew that voice, and if I hadn't been lying down, I would have sunk to the floor in relief.
"'Fei?" My voice was quiet and unsteady. No, I was dreaming, I was sure of it.
At least, until a warm body slid on the bunk next to mine, and strong arms wrapped around me. "Yes," he answered.
"You're really here, right? I'm not dreaming again, am I?" I whispered, snuggling against the warmth of Wufei's body. I was pulled tighter against the flat stomach and strong legs.
"Yes, I'm here," he said, kissing the back of my neck.
"Why did you come?"
"Did you not want me to?" His voice sound a bit pained and his grip lessened.
"More than anything... But, you seemed upset earlier today, or yesterday... Or whenever that was." I pressed my body until I was flush with his. "I know that I gave you the exact coordinates, but I wasn't sure if you were going to use them after you didn't answer your door."
"It took me a while to think about whether or not I would. You asked for time, and I was willing to give, but it didn't mean I had to like it, and when I saw you before you left... I just wasn't sure if I was..."
"If you were what?"
"Worthy," he said sadly.
"Of what?"
"You."
I was floored. He didn't feel as if he was worthy of me? I sure as hell didn't deserve him, but now that I had him, I wasn't going to let him slip out of my hands. "No, I don't deserve you, but I am sure as hell going to work to change that," I said confidently, turning over in his hold to face him. "You know, when I first saw you emerge from Nataku that first time, and all you did was curse us other four for our rash behaviour, the only thing I noticed was how great looking you were, even scowling and insulting me."
He weakly chuckled. "Ah, well, that moment was disrupted, was it not?"
"Yeah, watching a friend self-destruct tends to make the mind forget about the libido." I leaned my head to kiss his jaw.
"So it does..." he whispered, leaning his head up and allowing me better access to the delicate skin I wanted to taste again.
"How did you find my room?" I asked, during one of my breaks in the assault upon him.
"Howard. The man with the horrible shirt and sunglasses, even though it was well past moon rise out," he replied, moving his free arm to pull our hips together.
We both moaned as our growing erections touched through layers of fabric. I took that opportunity to capture his perfectly kissable lips into an intimate and passionate embrace with my own. I ran my hand until I found his ponytail, and removed the tie, so that his soft, silky hair fell around his neck.
"I missed you," I whispered when we parted.
He snorted in reply. "We were in a similar position less than twenty-four hours ago."
"I know, but you broke that up."
He kissed me again, and took care as he unwound my braid until my hair was surrounding us like a half blanket. He ran a hand through my long locks, and had I been born a cat, I would have been purring my little kitty heart out. As it was, I just hummed happily.
"'Fei-bebi? I..."
"Don't talk right now, Duo. I'm tired, and I woke you up so you wouldn't kill me in the morning," he said, the weariness evident in his voice. "We can talk about it later, ok?"
"Sure," I said, yawning, and relaxing my whole body as sleep stole over us.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunshine. The torturer of all that love to sleep in late, and it was doing just that to me the morning after 'Fei came after me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore, and instead, I went searching for the warmth of my lover. That's when it hit me. I was alone again.
I sat up straight, panic hitting me hard as the thought of the night before being a horrible dream. I searched around the small room, and that's when I spotted the two laptops next to each other on the desk, the shoes by the door, and the two large bags there as well. I took a deep breath, the thought of 'It wasn't a dream' soothing me. And that's when I heard the water in the small shower going.
I smirked, and stripped down to nothing. I opened the door and was assaulted by the hot steam that wafted from the stall. But my reward lay beyond the heat and discomfort of the steam. And I could see flashes of golden skin through the fogged glass doors. Oh yes... Definitely time for me to receive my reward. I removed the last of the tape on my chest, stretching a bit, reveling in the pain.
Ok, I am *not* a masochistic person, but the pain was extremely lessened from what it had been three days ago, and the fact that I had kept my ribs taped that long would tell any intelligent person that I don't play around with injuries. I knew for a fact that I would be okay with out anything binding my movements from that point on. Oh, the joys of being a Gundam Pilot. Speedy healing and high drug tolerances. Yippee! Excuse me while I scoff.
Walking of the tips of my toes, I crossed the two feet to the shower doors, and slid it back carefully. Oh, that firm ass, sculpted thighs, and strong, broad back were the first things that greeted my hungry eyes. I stepped in, sliding the door quietly behind me, and wrapped my arms around his slim waist.
"Wish I could wake up to this everyday," I whispered in his ear.
He made an animalistic sound in the back of his throat. "Yes, that would be nice." He leaned his head against my temple. "Duo?"
"Mm?" I was too busy enjoying the feel of his tight ass resting against my awakening member to make any real words.
"Why did you return the disk I left you?"
"Hmm, so you could give it to me in person." I moved ever-so-slightly so he could feel me.
"Is that the only reason why?" he asked hoarsely, as I wrapped a hand around his thick and fully alert cock.
"No. I don't deserve it yet," I whispered, biting his fully exposed jaw line softly. He just moaned a reply. "Let me make love to you again, Wufei."
"Are you in... ahnnnn... Duo, that's not fair," he protested.
"Uhn, uhn, Fei-bebi, all's fair in love and war. Since this is both, then anything goes," I said, squeezing his weeping erection. "And by the way, I feel just fine. In fact, I feel more than fine." I licked his neck, marveling at the way our slick bodies rubbed against one another in the confined space.
He weakly nodded, and I removed my hand from his shaft, searching for the bar of soap that had to be there. After a few moments of fumbling, I found it, shoved my hand under the spray of water, and created a nice slick lather in my hand, while using the other to slowly stroke my lover.
I prepped him with my soapy fingers, not taking as long as I had the previous time, but still being very careful with my Dragon. When I was sure that he was ready, I soaped my hand again, and then began to lather myself, all while still pumping on Wufei's arousal with my other hand.
Quickly and roughly, I bent him over and drove inside his tight and warm heat, moaning as his muscles clamped down over my cock. "I'm gonna take you fast and hard, because I don't want any interruptions for this," I growled at him. He nodded, and braced himself against the wall, but not before grabbing a hold of some of my hair.
I pulled out, until all but the head of my shaft was exposed, and then slammed all the way in. I used my other hand to brace Wufei as I felt his knees almost give out. I chuckled at that show of weakness. "God, Wufei, do you know how good you feel?" I asked as I slammed home again.
He pushed back against my body, driving my cock deeper into his body, and gasped as (I can only assume) I hit his prostrate. "You... talk... too... much..."
I gave a quick laugh as I starting slamming into his slight frame harder and harder, but soon the quick pace and the sound of his sexy voice screaming for more were driving me too close. I roughly grabbed his neglected erection and started to pump on it again, matching my frenzied pace.
"AH! DUO!" Wufei screamed as he stiffened, his already tight muscles becoming unbearably so, and his seed shot all over the wall in front of him.
I was able to give a few more shallow thrusts before I came inside of him, feeling wonderful and strangely tired at the same time. "Wufei! GOD! WUFEI!" I yelled out to him, my knees starting to feel as if they were made out of Gundanium. Regretfully, I withdrew from my Fei's body, and reached for a wash cloth.
"Fuck, that was amazing," I breathed, starting to add soap to the cloth in my hand.
"Mmm," 'Fei managed, straightening up, and reaching for a cloth of his own, and letting the strands of my hair fall from his hand. I leaned into to kiss the back of his neck when there was a pounding on the outer door.
"Dammit, Kid! Other people would like some hot water too! This isn't one of the blond kid's estates! Hurry it up in there! And tell your Chinese friend to be nicer next time, for Christ's sake," Howard's voice screamed at us.
I couldn't help it. I started laughing my head off, and I was surprised to hear another voice join me. I looked up, and Wufei was laughing as well. "Looks like we're caught, 'Fei," I said between chuckles.
"It looks like," he said, straining to regain his composure.
*~~~~~~~*
Quickly and efficiently, we proceeded to wash each other's bodies. When we were done, we stepped out, and Wufei walked into the room, towel situated around his hips. I dried quickly, left my towel to dry on the open shower doors, and followed him into the room. I stopped by my bag, and grabbed a fresh set of my usual uniform when I remembered that it was actually sunny and warm as hell outside. Searching a little deeper into my duffle, I found a pair of shorts and a tank top.
I got dressed in record time, and turned to look at my lover who had just started tying off a pair of his usual white silk pants. His eyes met mine, and then raked down to take in my attire. I swear that the look in his eyes made my knees weak.
"'Fei?"
He growled, pulled his hair into its usual ponytail, and walked out of the room. I watched as the door shut behind him a little too forcefully, and snickered under my breath, starting to run a comb through my wet hair. I managed to have the beast tamed and braided again in less than ten minutes. So, happy with myself, I made my way out onto the deck of Peacemillion.
I had no sooner stepped out when I was swamped by about ten people all asking questions about Wufei, who I could just barely see practicing his katas near Altron. I held up a hand. "Whoa! One at a time. Now, what the hell do you want?"
"That... that kid, who is he?" a blond guy called Mark asked.
"He's a... friend. His name is Chang Wufei," I said, smiling at my own near-slip. I almost told everyone that he was my lover. Big no-no for this group.
"Well, what's he doing here?"
"He came because I asked him. Sheesh, everyone, I thought you knew that I only invite guys who promise to kill me and/or yell at me to shut the hell up," I quipped, waving the rest of the questions off. "Look, he's a good guy. Fighting the same war as me. Just give him a break. I bet he was an ass last night when he was looking for me, but he's cool. You have my word. Now, if you don't mind, and even if you do, I have to go see how my Buddy is doing. 'Cuse me." I pushed past the surrounding Sweepers, and made my way to 'Scythe.
He was looking better already. New paint job and some repair to the dents and burn marks on the back helped, but it was the hyper jammers and the knee joint that I was worried about. I found Howard coming around front from the back of 'Scythe.
"So, what's the diagnosis, Doc?" I joked.
"Well, son, the knee joint had to be replaced. Luckily, we had a spare still. The hyper jammers weren't too bad, and I have Jake looking at 'em right now. As you can tell, Deathscythe has had a bath, and we fixed the scratches and the burns from the back of him. He should be fine once Jake and I run a diagnostics check in about an hour," he replied.
"Great," I said, feeling relieved. I was actually kinda worried about the jammers. I couldn't use my cloak if they were out. "So, Howie, what time did Wufei pop up last night?" I stole a glance at the person in question before looking back at a scowling Howard.
"'Round one or so. Was quiet surly when I said you were asleep, and the little shit demanded to know where your room was," he bit out. "What's his deal?"
"Uh... Well..." I stalled, trying to find the words that would tell him, without actually telling him. "We're close."
Howard stared at me, and then clapped a friendly hand against my back. "Well, you certainly do have a way of attracting the anti-social Asians, don't you? I'm fine with this, but tell lover-boy there that it's not nice to yell at the man who could destroy his toy with a single blow."
"Uh, I wouldn't do that. He's as attached to Altron as I am to Deathscythe. *BUT*, I promise to have a chat about proper etiquette around the Sweepers," I said, winking and walking over to where 'Fei was. "Hey, sexy," I whispered as he took a short break.
"Maxwell," he growled, moving away from me slightly. I grabbed his arm and fixed him with a growl.
"Look, 'Fei, this isn't like at the safe house. No Heero here, and even if there was, I would do the same thing. These people are the closest thing I have to family besides you and the other guys. Just... Try and show 'em some respect, okay?" I set the puppy-dog eye trick on him, seeing how well he would receive it in front of total strangers.
"Fine," he mumbled, letting his body relax a little.
"Love ya, 'Fei. Now, are you hungry? I'm sure Cookie-girl could whip you up something to eat that you would like. She's great," I said, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the galley.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We spent the rest of that day, and today, just tinkering with our huge mecha, eating rich food, making love whenever we could sneak away from everyone, and just basically enjoying ourselves. I think the Sweepers are starting to warm up to Wufei, and no one has asked why he's sleeping in my room when there's enough space for him to have his own room. I have a feeling that everyone knows what's up, but because I have been a member of this odd family for a while they aren't gonna ask anymore questions, unless they think he isn't treating me right.
Few people asked about the bruises on my arms, and I told them I got 'em in a fight at a club. Not exactly a lie, but not the whole truth either. They aren't as ugly as they were a few days ago. In fact, the look more like sickly greenish-grey paint handprints, instead of bruises inflicted by someone grabbing on my arms too hard and not letting go.
Ok, so I'm not quite that upset with 'Fei anymore. He had his reasons, which after a while to think about, make sense, and I could see myself doing the same thing. His wound has a nice healthy scab on it, and the Sheik, the medic, said that with the way that Fei-bebi's been taking care of it, all that should remain is a light ghost of a scar. Well, we all have those on our bodies. Hazard of the job, you could say.
Still pissed with Quatre, although I received an email from him, apologizing profusely and telling me that he doesn't blame me for not wanting to be around him after that. I wrote back saying that even though I am fucking pissed at him, he's still my friend and quasi-brother, and all is good. His reply sounded pleased and he informed me on the Pink Pill Front. Seems that Heero's working on the things that should be in the cabin, and reworking the minor details of the plan so that Wufei and I can have a nice 'chat' with 'Lena.
I don't even want to think about 'Ro. I mean, I know that I still love him. Fucking butterflies. I'm just not sure if it's anything that we could ever have than what we have now, which is basic friendship. I love 'Fei too much, and part of me has always felt something more for Wufei, even if I was too blinded by infatuation to notice it. Hee-chan's a good guy, and eventually, he'll find some girl or guy who will love him the way he needs it. It just won't be me. Never.
Ok, I'm still upset with myself, but... I know that I wouldn't leave Wufei for anything that I could prevent. They would have to pry him away from my cold, dead hand. Oh yeah, but seeing as how I'm Death, fat chance in Hell of that happening. So, Wufei is stuck with me.
Hmm, I'm a bit tired, and well, that nice warm bunk is calling to me. I think I will hit the hay, but I'll keep ya informed of how things are going. So far, all things are quiet on the Southern front.
Night!
~ Duo Maxwell
Author: Makoto Sagara
Archive: www.afallenangel.net/makotosagara/frames/fanfiction.html, www.wufeiduo.net, www.fanfiction.net, www.foreverfandom.net, www.geocities.com/daqdaqduck/, www.sailorandco.crosswinds.net/gundamwing/fanfiction/fanfiction.html
Category: Romance, Angst
Pairings: 5x2x5, 3x4, 1+2, R+1
Rating: R/NC-17
Warnings: Shonen ai, angst, OOC, language, pissed off Duo, lemon
Disclaimers: As much as I wish Duo et al were mine, they aren't. If they were, I would have fun making them play just like this all the time, with more sex involved. Nope, I don't have any money either. So, save your energy suing Martha Stewart, people!
A/N: Do you know what the worst thing about having two muses is? I have so many ideas to work on, and there aren't enough hours in the day. Not to mention the fact that I actually *need* sleep, food, water, etc. Oh, and muses can become very one-minded. That is why it took me two weeks to even come up with an appropriate way to start this chapter, and even longer to get it all down on paper. I'm really sorry.
Dedication: To Christy-mommy, of Mel&Christy fame, for being a wonderful net-mommy, and reminding me that there are other things in this world than just fanfiction, even if they aren't as fun.
Symbols: *blah* emphasized thought
*~*~* Major change of scene
*~~~* Minor change of scene
April 17th, AC 195... 22:43:07
I don't know whom I'm angrier with right now. Quatre, for drugging me, not once, but twice; Heero, for being an emotionally bizarre jerk; Wufei, for not telling me about his injury the night he came home; or myself, for still loving Heero, while being *in* love, and in a relationship, with Wufei. The only person *not* on my shit list is Tro, and that's because he hasn't really done anything but be nice to me the past few days. Shit, with my fucking luck, even Trowa will make it there, and then what?
I woke up the morning after I hit Heero with my head feeling as if someone was pounding on an anvil in there. Struggling to ignore that sensation, I focused on the very welcome heat source next to me. Opening my eyes marginally, I saw black hair spread wildly around golden skin. Smiling faintly, I rolled over to snuggle with my sleeping Dragon, only to have a jolting pain shoot throughout the whole right side of my body.
I yelped in pain, and was thrown onto my back when Wufei sat up, looking alert and ready to kill. "'Fei?" I whispered, moving back carefully. "You... You ok?" His eyes seemed to come into focus as he looked at me.
"Max... Duo, I am fine," he whispered hoarsely, wrapping his arms around my waist, and pulled me close. I couldn't help but snicker at his slip, even through the pain that crawled up my raw right side.
He pulled me back, confusion written all over his face. "What?" he asked tersely. I smiled, trying not to laugh at him.
"You just gave me a nickname, Fei-bebi. My first, if you don't count Heero's 'Baka'," I said. "I like."
He grumbled a response, and pulled me to him once again. Damn, my 'Fei is a snuggler. It's cute, because he always seemed so cold and distant before we became lovers. Hell, I sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. It's nice to have a warm body to curl up into, and not worry about having to move in the morning.
I closed my eyes, and was about to drift back to sleep, the pain in my head lessened, when calloused hands found their way under my shirt. I hummed in appreciation, absentmindedly rubbing a leg against 'Fei's. His hands moved lower, finding their way to my ass.
I leaned my head into the junction of his neck and shoulder, kissing the sensitive area and sucking on the soft skin right there. 'Fei moaned, and a hand found my chin, forcing my head up. I was about to complain, but soft lips cut me off, and his other hand pulled me so close there was nothing between us.
"Hmmmm, 'Fei," I whispered, enjoying the feel of this unexpected morning wake up snog.
"So, what is this new nickname I have supposedly given you?" Wufei asked against my overheated cheek, squeezing my ass tightly.
"Max... Ah! 'Fei, that feels so good," I murmured, hopping that his attentive behaviour would never stop. Needless to say, I was pissed when he pulled away and sat up, exposing me to the cold air in the room. "What the *hell* is this bullshit?" I yelled, a little louder than I wanted to be.
"I have something important to tell you," Wufei said, annoyance evident in his voice.
"Couldn't this have waited until *after* we made love?"
"No."
I sighed, trying to hide my anger and frustration. "What is it, 'Fei-bebi? What is so important you couldn't pound me into the bed first?"
"Must you be so crude?" he snapped. I was startled at the flagrant irritation in his tone. It was like the last two weeks of being lovers never happened.
I sat up, ignoring the lights that danced behind my eyes, and stormed to the chair in front of my desk. "You know, if I wanted to feel like shit when I woke up, I'd still be chasing after Heero. Say whatever the *fuck* it is you are going to say, and get the hell out of my room, Chang."
He flinched, and his face softened. He looked as if it was he that I had punched the night before. "Duo... I have something important to tell you, and I won't blame you if you hate me afterwards, or if you are upset. Also, I am sorry that I snapped at you," he said, and I could tell that his brain was working overtime to find the right words to tell me.
I felt like shit when he lifted his dark, sad eyes to my face, and I lost myself there. I was drowning in those dark pools, and all the anger I had just disappeared as I walked back over to him. "'Fei, what is it?"
"Do you remember the mission I had the morning after the last time we made love?" he asked tentatively.
"Yesssss," I hissed. "I really hate waking up alone, and that was crap." I managed to crawl up on the bed and curled up next to him, but he stopped me from actually touching him. "Wufei, did something happen on the mission that you aren't telling me about?"
He took a deep breath, and, locking eyes with me again, spoke. "Yes. I was injured."
I blinked. I refused to hear that. He would have... He *could* have told me before now. He had all day the day before, and then there was our conversation the night before that. Hell, he could have come down before dinner was done, and the whole fucked up situation with Heero escalated. "What?" I asked sweetly.
"I received an injury while heading back to Nataku. The factory had just exploded, and I was jumping over the fence that surrounded the perimeter when a lucky stray bullet struck me in the calf," he finished, his voice becoming quieter as he continued.
I blinked again, trying to absorb all the information. When I could finally trust myself not to yell at him again, I asked him, "And you didn't tell me before now, why?"
"There were... other things that prevented me from doing so," he said. "Duo... I did not mean to keep it from you. Things just did not go the way I had planned, and yesterday I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. I... I am sorry," he whispered.
I was so upset that I couldn't think straight. I needed to get away from him, so I got up from the bed and walked over to the window, staring out into the bleak April morning. I heard as he moved from off the bed and made his way to stand next to me. A hand was placed on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off.
"Duo?" Wufei asked. I ignored the pain in his voice and continued to look out the window, not seeing anything but the way Wufei looked as I took him for the first time. It hurt me to let him be in pain, but I didn't want to touch him or him to touch me. "Maxwell?"
"Just leave me alone... At least for right now, Wufei." I stopped, trying to find the right words. "I need some time to think." I turned to look at him before he left, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Wufei. I really do, but I need this time alone."
"I understand," he said stiffly, grabbing his laptop off my desk, and he left me. The sound of the door closing was so final that I fell to my knees, trying my damnedest not to cry.
After a few moments of self-pitying, I crawled back into my bed, pulled the cover over my head, and willed the world away.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I awoke to some rustling in the hallway. So, deciding that I had spent enough time in bed, I walked over to my door, and opened it a crack. I saw Wufei blocking Quatre's way to the top of the stairs. Sticking my head out better to hear, I applied all my skills as a Gundam Pilot to listen to the angrily whispered conversation.
"Winner! You drugged Maxwell yesterday, and I can only assume the night before," 'Fei bit out.
"What are you talking about, Wufei?" Quatre said, his voice dripping innocence, which made me *know* that he was hiding something.
"Don't act like you're an innocent bystander; we all know better. You had better tell him before he finds out some other way."
"I don't *need* your help, Wufei," Quatre shot back, the innocent façade dropped, and replaced by the cold and calculating tactician and pilot of Wing Zero. "I can handle my own problems. Maybe you should think about doing something about your own issues. Like your injury that you've been hiding from Duo for *two* days now."
"I *have* handled my own business, and I will *damned* if I will stand here and have you and threaten me," Wufei spat, brushing past the blond down the stairs.
I watched the retreating form of my lover descend the stairs, and as my other friend walked slowly down the hall, and I let what Wufei said take effect. "You sneaky little rat! I *knew* that soda smelled funny last night! What the hell did you *drug* me for, Quat-re," I yelled, not bothering to act like I hadn't over-heard everything.
The blond jumped about three feet, and if I hadn't been about ready to break his nose, I would have laughed. "Duo!"
"Yeah, that's my name, but yours is rat."
"Duo... I..."
"Spit it out, Winner, so I can properly thank you for sticking drugs into my drinks. Drugs that would have probably killed a normal person, seeing as how we have all had our tolerances built up to preposterous levels."
"Duo... You were in so much pain... And I thought it would help you sleep, so you could heal better. I didn't expect them to make you so weak," he replied timidly.
"Fuck you and your help, Quatre. I heal fine without that shit!" I turned on my heel and stomped back into my room before I actually *did* hit him, making sure to slam the door as hard as I could in his face.
I felt the build up of what could only be described as righteous anger, and I walked over to my bed, putting my clenched fists right into the down pillows. I needed to get some of this anger out, because hitting the pillows wasn't enough to stop the slip into Shinigami, which was neither needed nor wanted at that moment.
Quickly and assuredly, I dressed in the last of my clean clothes, pushing down the feeling of how every movement made my nerves seem as if they were on fire. When I was completely dressed, I grabbed all my dirty clothes, and walked to the laundry room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ok, let's review the house. There are eight walls to the TV room, each with a door on it. These are in no particular order, mostly because I don't really care. Door number one leads to the front. Two leads to the study. Three to the kitchen. Four to the dining room, which is attached to the kitchen as well. Five leads to the music room. Six leads to the gymnasium. Seven leads to the upstairs. Eight leads to the back yard. Now, the laundry room is actually another door in the kitchen that runs into the basement, where... Dun, dun, dun... You find the laundry room.
So, in order for me to get to the laundry room, I would have to walk into the TV room, past the back door, the dining room, finding myself in the kitchen. Which meant, I would have to pass at least one other pilot, none of which I wanted to deal with, but I'm not on the streets anymore, and wearing dirty clothes is not cool. Eh, I sucked it up like the best of them, and headed down to the basement, ignoring the typing coming from the study, and Tro's lanky form over the stove.
As soon as I had all my clothes in the washer (and let me say now that having all dark clothes was a good idea), I sat down on the silent dryer to think. And boy-o did I have a lot to think about. My love life was in the crapper, mostly because I couldn't stop seeing Heero's face right before he kissed me, therefore, I was feeling guilty about that fact when I was making out with my *lover*, Wufei.
Then there was Wufei himself. He decided to wait to tell me that he had been injured, instead of telling me as soon as possible. God damn him! I wouldn't have let him carry me at all if I had known. I'm so sick of these super-human men surrounding me. Can't one of them just act like something hurts when it does? Would it kill them? Heero sets broken bones after falling off the face of a steep cliff, moves after I shot him twice, and survives drowning, even though he can't swim. Wufei moves as swiftly and assuredly as he normally does with a fresh, new bullet hole in his fucking leg.
Oh! But let us not forget our favorite blond, running around dropping pain meds in to my drinks. I'd bet my life that Trowa knew, but he would never tell me. Nope. Doesn't want any damage to occur to his cute little boyfriend. Sometimes, it feels like they are all against me. I doubt they would like it if that were actually the case.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the washer calming down and coming to a stop. I hopped off the dryer and threw my clothes inside it once I had them out the washing machine. I had just set the temperature and timer, sat back on the dryer, and was reveling in the warmth when Heero "Mr. Perfect-Fucking-Soldier" Yuy walked into the small laundry room.
Well, he wasn't a pretty sight, but he didn't seem as surly as he had during dinner the night before, and his bruise wasn't quite as purple. Of course, that wasn't saying much. It still looked really nasty. I hid a smirk behind a calm façade, and waved lazily.
"Heya, Heero."
His shaggy brown head shot up, glare firmly in place, but not quite as intimidating as it might have been, if a fourth of his face wasn't purplish-blue. "Duo," he stated flatly.
"That's my name. So, what's up with you for the day?"
"Nothing."
I sighed. I wasn't going to get anywhere with him if he was only speaking in one-word sentences. "O~kay. Look, Heero, I'm not sorry for sucker punching you, but I am sorry that you look like shit."
He looked up, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought the Perfect Soldier was going to crack a smile and laugh at my lame ass joke. "I... It's nothing," he said quietly.
"So... What brings you down here? Laundry?"
"Aa."
"Ah, ok. Well, I'll leave you to it. I should be able to hear the timer in the kitchen," I said, making my way towards the door that lead back upstairs. I was stopped by a tight grip on my left arm, which made me hiss in pain, seeing as how that was the same spot he held me not two days before. "Fuck! Let go!" I yelled, and Heero dropped my arm as if he had been burned.
"Duo?"
"Shit," I cursed, rubbing my bruised triceps. "It's ok, 'Ro... Just got some sensitive bruises there, and you grabbed the wrong spot. I'll be fine. See ya in a bit," I said, trying to get away from him before I had to explain anything else to him. The look in his eyes was disconcerting, and definitely trouble for me if I had stayed.
I walked silently up the stairs and into the deserted kitchen, looking for something to finally eat. I hadn't had anything, and that was adding to my irritation. God damn, this day was starting off peachy keen, wasn't it? I popped some bread into the toaster, and sat down to peel the one banana I had found. I had just gotten the last of the peeling off when Wufei walked into the kitchen, looking indefinitely sexy with perspiration dripping down his sun-burnished golden skin.
I bit back a moan, and stuffed the fruit into my mouth. I watched as his eyes went from a lucid dark brown to black with lust in less than two seconds. Slowly, I bit into the object in my hand and closed my eye, savoring the taste and texture it gave off. When I opened my eyes again, there was a red tint to the Chinese boy's cheeks, and those pants he was wearing didn't look that roomy anymore. I licked my lips.
"Hello, Wufei."
"Duo," he said, moving to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water, and he left the room. I watched him leave, noticing a slight limp in his right leg. That brought me back to the reason I was so pissed at him.
Suddenly, I wasn't all that hungry anymore, and I tossed what was left of the mangled fruit in the garbage bin. I sighed in frustration as I looked out of the kitchen window, seeing the pool and some of the gardens around the house, which were all deserted. I was really starting to hate the whole area around this godforsaken hell hole.
There was a pop, and I automatically reached for my gun in the waistband of my pants, searching the room. That's when I noticed that the toast was done. Feeling like an idiot, I dropped my hand from the gun, and snatched the hot, dry bread from the metal slots, biting into a piece.
I finished off both pieces of toast quickly, and had just grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge when the timer on the dryer went off. I chugged half of the clear liquid down, capped the bottle, and threw it on the top shelf of the over-flowing refrigerator. Then, I made my way down the semi-dark staircase to the laundry room, and probably where Heero still was standing.
Sure enough, when I opened the door, I found Hee-chan waiting patiently for the washing machine to stop. I breezed into the room stiffly, dumped my freshly laundered clothes into the waiting basket I had used to carry them down in, and walked out. All without speaking to him, but I could have *sworn* to Shinigami that I heard a low moan escape him, and that did not help the fact that I still had a woody from teasing Wufei.
I made it all the way to my room without running into anyone else, and dumped my laundry basket on the floor in front of my bed. My pants were starting to feel like they were cutting off the circulation in my lower body. I decided that the best thing to do would to take a cold shower, and then head down to the hangar and work on Deathscythe Hell. That planned, I walked around the room for my brush and a few other toiletries that I knew I would need, snatched some clean clothes and two towels from the basket on the floor, and made my way to the bathroom across the hall.
The door was shut, but I turned the knob and found out it wasn't locked, so I opened it. I was hit by the mixture of steam and erotic moaning. I looked at the shadows through the curtain, and saw only one, lean, luscious form, knowing immediately who it was. I turned to leave, hoping that Heero's bathroom was free, when a series of quickening moans and then an outburst followed, sending shivers down my spine and to my pulsing cock.
"DUO!" The unmistakable voice of my sexy lover rang out, repeating over and over in my mind even after it was over. I was frozen still, until I heard the mutter of, "Nataku, help me."
As if whatever spell that had me frozen a second before was suddenly broken, I slipped out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind me quietly, and walked to the bathroom next door. Fuck him! He even calls to her when he's the shower, wanking off to images of me, calling my name, but then falls to his knees and begs his dead wife to help him. Definitely needed that cold shower then.
I quickly divested myself of my restrictive clothing, turned the water on as cold as I could stand, hopped in, and proceeded to forget about the scene I had just witnessed a few moments ago. All I succeeded in doing was freezing my balls off, and turning my skin blue after fifteen minutes. Convinced that I had the situation under control, I turned the hot water on until I wasn't an ice cube anymore, and sped through a ten minute shower, with hair washing included. I dried quickly, and was dressed in less than two minutes flat.
Then came the hard part. I had to brush my soaking wet hair. I took the unused towel I had brought in with me, and got as much of the water out of my hair as I possibly could. I had no sooner put the towel back on the closed toilet lid when the bathroom door was flung open, revealing Heero in nothing but his spandex shorts. DAMMIT! Didn't I *just* get rid of an erection?
"Duo?" he asked, voice sounding oddly hoarse.
I stood up fully, grabbed my clothes, towels, brush, and other toiletries, and quickly hightailed it to my room, but not before I heard another door slam extremely hard against its frame. Three guesses who it was, and the first two don't count.
Chalking it up to my lousy karma, I brushed, braided and tied off my hair, and sat at my desk, throwing my head on my arms. I lifted my head back up when I felt something poking the underside of my arm. I saw a little square, wrapped simply in stiff brown paper and tied off with twine. There was a card, with elegant, flowing script across the white surface. I read it, and felt sick to my stomach. It said, 'This is yours.'
I knew the handwriting, and that simple gesture made me feel like an idiot, who should have been shot. Although, at that point, Death would have been too good for me. I carefully unwrapped the gift, and what I saw made my heart sting. 'Busted Stuff' by Dave Matthews Band. Wufei went through all the trouble of picking it out, wrapping it, and giving it to me, but all I had done was push him away, tease him, eavesdrop on his shower, and get caught in Heero's bathroom. FUCK!
Except, when I saw Heero's face down in the laundry room, I felt a flutter of butterflies in my stomach. Before three weeks ago, I would have sold what is left of my soul to see him look at me with anything but contempt or frustration, and I had seen it. It made me nervous. It made my pulse race. But, it also brought to my mind's eye the last night Wufei and I made love.
Yes, I loved Wufei. Yes, I was in love with him. Yes, I still am in love with *my* Wufei, but for a moment, and just a moment, I forgot about that and felt the old pang of want for Heero. And I felt like shit. It got worse after I heard Wufei in the shower, and then finished my own, only to see Heero in those spandex shorts that hug every inch of his ass, hips, and thighs.
There is no denying that Heero Yuy is a sexy man, but then again, so is Chang Wufei. Heero is very mission orientated, and then again, so is Wufei. Heero has his own code of ethics and behaviour. So does Wufei. But, I'm afraid that is where their similarities end.
Wufei has shown me that he can be extremely giving (the CD was just the icing on the cake for that factor). He has shown me that he is very tender and very exacting, but only when the need arises for either. He knows his emotions, and when he says he loves me, I feel the truth in his words, and I love him more.
Heero has only called me names, hit me, demeaned me as a human, and overall, has played Ice Prince. The one time he decides to show me any emotion, he waited too long, and then bruised me. And yet... The butterflies were still there when his cold mask was forgotten for a moment.
Fucking butterflies. They suck.
Trying to gain control of myself, I booted up my laptop. There was no mission from G, and there didn't seem to be any coming up soon, so I opened up my email program, and typed off a quick letter to Howard. It had been too long since I last saw Howie and the rest of the Sweepers, and I needed to get away from the others for a while. I asked him if it would be alright if I came to visit for a while.
I was rewarded with a fast reply, saying of course I could come and see the gang. I was welcome any time since I was one of them, and I should remember that now that I was off trying to save the world. He also said that I could bring any, or all, of my anti-social comrades, if I wanted, because they were welcome as well. He told me that my room was ready on Peacemillion at any moment, and that he was looking forward to seeing me.
I wrote back, telling him to expect me in the next couple of days, and that I would see what I couldn't do about bringing along some company, but not to hold his breath. I also told him to tell everyone to make sure they had lots of food and that I missed them.
Feeling a little better, my eyes drifted back to the CD still in the factory-sealed plastic. An immense wave of self-hatred hit me hard, and I snatched a piece of stationery out of the desk and a pen. I quickly scratched out a letter to Wufei, and packed my things into the duffle bag by the door. When I had everything up and out of the way, the room looked like it could have belonged to anyone. My CD binder was under one arm, my duffle strapped to my back, and my laptop with the CD and letter to Wufei in the other.
I took a deep breath, and headed out of the room that was no longer mine, walking towards the stairs. I stopped outside of Wufei's room and knocked. There was no answer. "Wufei?" I called out, swallowing a huge lump in my throat that I was sure was my heart. Still no answer, and I felt my spirits dashed across a few hundred pointy rocks. Giving up trying to reach him for that moment, I slid the CD with the letter under his door, and made my way down the stair case.
I walked through the TV room to find Q and T on the couch with Heero on the love seat, his hair wet and sticking out at odd angles. Worse thing about air drying your hair; it's a bitch to tame afterwards. They were bent over papers and such, looking as if they were plotting something. I ignored the curiosity welling up in me, and made my way towards the kitchen.
I had almost made it until a voice called out to me. The one that I didn't expect to hear for a long time. "Maxwell? Where are you going?"
I closed my eyes to gather strength, slapped my casual grin on, and turned around. "Going to see the Sweepers on Peacemillion. Care to join? Howard said you guys are welcome to see them at any time with me," I said, the cheer in my voice sounding false to my own ears. "Any takers?"
Everyone looked confusedly at one another, no one saying anything. I stole a look at Wufei, who looked as if he was trying to read me. I nodded, allowing a small genuine smile for only him to ghost across my lips, turned and walked through the door in the kitchen that lead to the basement, and in turn, to the passageway that lead to the hangar.
I knew then that no one would be joining me. Damn, but I *am* an idiot, aren't I?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After a long and boring ten hour flight in Deathscythe Hell, where I kept hearing Wufei's resigned voice as I asked him for time alone and then the slamming of a door over and over in my head until I drowned it out with any kind of music I thought would make my brain stop ticking the seconds off, I landed on Peacemillion. The ship was off the coast of a small tropical island and Howard was on the deck, his usual gaudy apparel in place, from the ugly Hawaiian shirt to the sunglasses. It was a sight for my sore eyes and weary heart.
I had no sooner sipped down with my things from Deathscythe's cockpit when I was surrounded by Howard and about fifteen others Sweepers.
"Hey Duo!" "Hey, kiddo. Long time, no see!" "You didn't bring the thieving blue eyes again, didcha?" were some of the various comments that assaulted me. I waved at everyone tiredly, hoping they would go the fuck away for a while.
"Dammit! Let the boy breathe! He just got here, and already you are trying to suffocate him. Back off, you jackals!" Howard shouted. Since he was the boss, everyone but him dispersed.
"Thanks, Howie," I said, feeling some of my real cheer kick in. Nothing like being with family, eh?
"Hi, Kid. You look like shit, and you don't have J's pet with you, so what the hell happened?"
"Long story. Too long, in fact. I just wanna collapse on my bunk for a few days, and pretend that the last three weeks were a dream, or nightmare. Whatever you wanna call it." I snorted.
"That bad, eh? Well, your room is where it has always been. Anything wrong with Deathscythe that I need to know about before you go get some much needed beauty sleep?"
I gave him an 'Oh-aren't-you-a-funny-man' Look, and sighed. "Yeah, left knee's busted. I think the hyper jammers are starting to go to shit. Might have been that week long stay in a fucking cave in Siberia. My Buddy doesn't like the cold anymore than I do."
Howard cocked an eyebrow over his ridiculous glasses. "Siberia?"
"Part of that long story. Also, he needs to have a few scratches and dings fixed. OZ just ain't as nice or considerate as they used to be. Soldiers are slipping, all over 'Scythe." I scowled. The last battle before this shit happened, some moron managed to land right on top of me before he exploded. If he hadn't fallen on me from behind while I was busy fighting some idiot in a space Taurus, it would never have happened. Fucking dimwits. They don't know not to play with the God of Death.
"That it?"
"Yeah, should be. I'm gonna head to my room. Come get me in about ten hours, or if there's an emergency."
"I know the deal, Kid. Seriously, go get some sleep. 'Scythe here should be in good working order then," Howard said affectionately, placing a hand on my shoulder before shoving me towards the door that opened into the rest of the ship.
I dropped my bag unceremoniously by the door of my room, set my laptop up in case something happened, and curled up on my nice and neat bunk, not even bothering with the sheet. I was asleep before I knew it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I think I slept all of five hours when I awoke to someone roughly shaking me. I swung a fist up, and it was caught in a tight grasp. "Dammit, Yuy, if you don't fuck off, I will kill you," I swore, not bothering to open my eyes.
"That would not work, even if I *were* Yuy," someone whispered hoarsely in my ear, dropping my arm. Oh my god, I knew that voice, and if I hadn't been lying down, I would have sunk to the floor in relief.
"'Fei?" My voice was quiet and unsteady. No, I was dreaming, I was sure of it.
At least, until a warm body slid on the bunk next to mine, and strong arms wrapped around me. "Yes," he answered.
"You're really here, right? I'm not dreaming again, am I?" I whispered, snuggling against the warmth of Wufei's body. I was pulled tighter against the flat stomach and strong legs.
"Yes, I'm here," he said, kissing the back of my neck.
"Why did you come?"
"Did you not want me to?" His voice sound a bit pained and his grip lessened.
"More than anything... But, you seemed upset earlier today, or yesterday... Or whenever that was." I pressed my body until I was flush with his. "I know that I gave you the exact coordinates, but I wasn't sure if you were going to use them after you didn't answer your door."
"It took me a while to think about whether or not I would. You asked for time, and I was willing to give, but it didn't mean I had to like it, and when I saw you before you left... I just wasn't sure if I was..."
"If you were what?"
"Worthy," he said sadly.
"Of what?"
"You."
I was floored. He didn't feel as if he was worthy of me? I sure as hell didn't deserve him, but now that I had him, I wasn't going to let him slip out of my hands. "No, I don't deserve you, but I am sure as hell going to work to change that," I said confidently, turning over in his hold to face him. "You know, when I first saw you emerge from Nataku that first time, and all you did was curse us other four for our rash behaviour, the only thing I noticed was how great looking you were, even scowling and insulting me."
He weakly chuckled. "Ah, well, that moment was disrupted, was it not?"
"Yeah, watching a friend self-destruct tends to make the mind forget about the libido." I leaned my head to kiss his jaw.
"So it does..." he whispered, leaning his head up and allowing me better access to the delicate skin I wanted to taste again.
"How did you find my room?" I asked, during one of my breaks in the assault upon him.
"Howard. The man with the horrible shirt and sunglasses, even though it was well past moon rise out," he replied, moving his free arm to pull our hips together.
We both moaned as our growing erections touched through layers of fabric. I took that opportunity to capture his perfectly kissable lips into an intimate and passionate embrace with my own. I ran my hand until I found his ponytail, and removed the tie, so that his soft, silky hair fell around his neck.
"I missed you," I whispered when we parted.
He snorted in reply. "We were in a similar position less than twenty-four hours ago."
"I know, but you broke that up."
He kissed me again, and took care as he unwound my braid until my hair was surrounding us like a half blanket. He ran a hand through my long locks, and had I been born a cat, I would have been purring my little kitty heart out. As it was, I just hummed happily.
"'Fei-bebi? I..."
"Don't talk right now, Duo. I'm tired, and I woke you up so you wouldn't kill me in the morning," he said, the weariness evident in his voice. "We can talk about it later, ok?"
"Sure," I said, yawning, and relaxing my whole body as sleep stole over us.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunshine. The torturer of all that love to sleep in late, and it was doing just that to me the morning after 'Fei came after me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore, and instead, I went searching for the warmth of my lover. That's when it hit me. I was alone again.
I sat up straight, panic hitting me hard as the thought of the night before being a horrible dream. I searched around the small room, and that's when I spotted the two laptops next to each other on the desk, the shoes by the door, and the two large bags there as well. I took a deep breath, the thought of 'It wasn't a dream' soothing me. And that's when I heard the water in the small shower going.
I smirked, and stripped down to nothing. I opened the door and was assaulted by the hot steam that wafted from the stall. But my reward lay beyond the heat and discomfort of the steam. And I could see flashes of golden skin through the fogged glass doors. Oh yes... Definitely time for me to receive my reward. I removed the last of the tape on my chest, stretching a bit, reveling in the pain.
Ok, I am *not* a masochistic person, but the pain was extremely lessened from what it had been three days ago, and the fact that I had kept my ribs taped that long would tell any intelligent person that I don't play around with injuries. I knew for a fact that I would be okay with out anything binding my movements from that point on. Oh, the joys of being a Gundam Pilot. Speedy healing and high drug tolerances. Yippee! Excuse me while I scoff.
Walking of the tips of my toes, I crossed the two feet to the shower doors, and slid it back carefully. Oh, that firm ass, sculpted thighs, and strong, broad back were the first things that greeted my hungry eyes. I stepped in, sliding the door quietly behind me, and wrapped my arms around his slim waist.
"Wish I could wake up to this everyday," I whispered in his ear.
He made an animalistic sound in the back of his throat. "Yes, that would be nice." He leaned his head against my temple. "Duo?"
"Mm?" I was too busy enjoying the feel of his tight ass resting against my awakening member to make any real words.
"Why did you return the disk I left you?"
"Hmm, so you could give it to me in person." I moved ever-so-slightly so he could feel me.
"Is that the only reason why?" he asked hoarsely, as I wrapped a hand around his thick and fully alert cock.
"No. I don't deserve it yet," I whispered, biting his fully exposed jaw line softly. He just moaned a reply. "Let me make love to you again, Wufei."
"Are you in... ahnnnn... Duo, that's not fair," he protested.
"Uhn, uhn, Fei-bebi, all's fair in love and war. Since this is both, then anything goes," I said, squeezing his weeping erection. "And by the way, I feel just fine. In fact, I feel more than fine." I licked his neck, marveling at the way our slick bodies rubbed against one another in the confined space.
He weakly nodded, and I removed my hand from his shaft, searching for the bar of soap that had to be there. After a few moments of fumbling, I found it, shoved my hand under the spray of water, and created a nice slick lather in my hand, while using the other to slowly stroke my lover.
I prepped him with my soapy fingers, not taking as long as I had the previous time, but still being very careful with my Dragon. When I was sure that he was ready, I soaped my hand again, and then began to lather myself, all while still pumping on Wufei's arousal with my other hand.
Quickly and roughly, I bent him over and drove inside his tight and warm heat, moaning as his muscles clamped down over my cock. "I'm gonna take you fast and hard, because I don't want any interruptions for this," I growled at him. He nodded, and braced himself against the wall, but not before grabbing a hold of some of my hair.
I pulled out, until all but the head of my shaft was exposed, and then slammed all the way in. I used my other hand to brace Wufei as I felt his knees almost give out. I chuckled at that show of weakness. "God, Wufei, do you know how good you feel?" I asked as I slammed home again.
He pushed back against my body, driving my cock deeper into his body, and gasped as (I can only assume) I hit his prostrate. "You... talk... too... much..."
I gave a quick laugh as I starting slamming into his slight frame harder and harder, but soon the quick pace and the sound of his sexy voice screaming for more were driving me too close. I roughly grabbed his neglected erection and started to pump on it again, matching my frenzied pace.
"AH! DUO!" Wufei screamed as he stiffened, his already tight muscles becoming unbearably so, and his seed shot all over the wall in front of him.
I was able to give a few more shallow thrusts before I came inside of him, feeling wonderful and strangely tired at the same time. "Wufei! GOD! WUFEI!" I yelled out to him, my knees starting to feel as if they were made out of Gundanium. Regretfully, I withdrew from my Fei's body, and reached for a wash cloth.
"Fuck, that was amazing," I breathed, starting to add soap to the cloth in my hand.
"Mmm," 'Fei managed, straightening up, and reaching for a cloth of his own, and letting the strands of my hair fall from his hand. I leaned into to kiss the back of his neck when there was a pounding on the outer door.
"Dammit, Kid! Other people would like some hot water too! This isn't one of the blond kid's estates! Hurry it up in there! And tell your Chinese friend to be nicer next time, for Christ's sake," Howard's voice screamed at us.
I couldn't help it. I started laughing my head off, and I was surprised to hear another voice join me. I looked up, and Wufei was laughing as well. "Looks like we're caught, 'Fei," I said between chuckles.
"It looks like," he said, straining to regain his composure.
*~~~~~~~*
Quickly and efficiently, we proceeded to wash each other's bodies. When we were done, we stepped out, and Wufei walked into the room, towel situated around his hips. I dried quickly, left my towel to dry on the open shower doors, and followed him into the room. I stopped by my bag, and grabbed a fresh set of my usual uniform when I remembered that it was actually sunny and warm as hell outside. Searching a little deeper into my duffle, I found a pair of shorts and a tank top.
I got dressed in record time, and turned to look at my lover who had just started tying off a pair of his usual white silk pants. His eyes met mine, and then raked down to take in my attire. I swear that the look in his eyes made my knees weak.
"'Fei?"
He growled, pulled his hair into its usual ponytail, and walked out of the room. I watched as the door shut behind him a little too forcefully, and snickered under my breath, starting to run a comb through my wet hair. I managed to have the beast tamed and braided again in less than ten minutes. So, happy with myself, I made my way out onto the deck of Peacemillion.
I had no sooner stepped out when I was swamped by about ten people all asking questions about Wufei, who I could just barely see practicing his katas near Altron. I held up a hand. "Whoa! One at a time. Now, what the hell do you want?"
"That... that kid, who is he?" a blond guy called Mark asked.
"He's a... friend. His name is Chang Wufei," I said, smiling at my own near-slip. I almost told everyone that he was my lover. Big no-no for this group.
"Well, what's he doing here?"
"He came because I asked him. Sheesh, everyone, I thought you knew that I only invite guys who promise to kill me and/or yell at me to shut the hell up," I quipped, waving the rest of the questions off. "Look, he's a good guy. Fighting the same war as me. Just give him a break. I bet he was an ass last night when he was looking for me, but he's cool. You have my word. Now, if you don't mind, and even if you do, I have to go see how my Buddy is doing. 'Cuse me." I pushed past the surrounding Sweepers, and made my way to 'Scythe.
He was looking better already. New paint job and some repair to the dents and burn marks on the back helped, but it was the hyper jammers and the knee joint that I was worried about. I found Howard coming around front from the back of 'Scythe.
"So, what's the diagnosis, Doc?" I joked.
"Well, son, the knee joint had to be replaced. Luckily, we had a spare still. The hyper jammers weren't too bad, and I have Jake looking at 'em right now. As you can tell, Deathscythe has had a bath, and we fixed the scratches and the burns from the back of him. He should be fine once Jake and I run a diagnostics check in about an hour," he replied.
"Great," I said, feeling relieved. I was actually kinda worried about the jammers. I couldn't use my cloak if they were out. "So, Howie, what time did Wufei pop up last night?" I stole a glance at the person in question before looking back at a scowling Howard.
"'Round one or so. Was quiet surly when I said you were asleep, and the little shit demanded to know where your room was," he bit out. "What's his deal?"
"Uh... Well..." I stalled, trying to find the words that would tell him, without actually telling him. "We're close."
Howard stared at me, and then clapped a friendly hand against my back. "Well, you certainly do have a way of attracting the anti-social Asians, don't you? I'm fine with this, but tell lover-boy there that it's not nice to yell at the man who could destroy his toy with a single blow."
"Uh, I wouldn't do that. He's as attached to Altron as I am to Deathscythe. *BUT*, I promise to have a chat about proper etiquette around the Sweepers," I said, winking and walking over to where 'Fei was. "Hey, sexy," I whispered as he took a short break.
"Maxwell," he growled, moving away from me slightly. I grabbed his arm and fixed him with a growl.
"Look, 'Fei, this isn't like at the safe house. No Heero here, and even if there was, I would do the same thing. These people are the closest thing I have to family besides you and the other guys. Just... Try and show 'em some respect, okay?" I set the puppy-dog eye trick on him, seeing how well he would receive it in front of total strangers.
"Fine," he mumbled, letting his body relax a little.
"Love ya, 'Fei. Now, are you hungry? I'm sure Cookie-girl could whip you up something to eat that you would like. She's great," I said, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the galley.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We spent the rest of that day, and today, just tinkering with our huge mecha, eating rich food, making love whenever we could sneak away from everyone, and just basically enjoying ourselves. I think the Sweepers are starting to warm up to Wufei, and no one has asked why he's sleeping in my room when there's enough space for him to have his own room. I have a feeling that everyone knows what's up, but because I have been a member of this odd family for a while they aren't gonna ask anymore questions, unless they think he isn't treating me right.
Few people asked about the bruises on my arms, and I told them I got 'em in a fight at a club. Not exactly a lie, but not the whole truth either. They aren't as ugly as they were a few days ago. In fact, the look more like sickly greenish-grey paint handprints, instead of bruises inflicted by someone grabbing on my arms too hard and not letting go.
Ok, so I'm not quite that upset with 'Fei anymore. He had his reasons, which after a while to think about, make sense, and I could see myself doing the same thing. His wound has a nice healthy scab on it, and the Sheik, the medic, said that with the way that Fei-bebi's been taking care of it, all that should remain is a light ghost of a scar. Well, we all have those on our bodies. Hazard of the job, you could say.
Still pissed with Quatre, although I received an email from him, apologizing profusely and telling me that he doesn't blame me for not wanting to be around him after that. I wrote back saying that even though I am fucking pissed at him, he's still my friend and quasi-brother, and all is good. His reply sounded pleased and he informed me on the Pink Pill Front. Seems that Heero's working on the things that should be in the cabin, and reworking the minor details of the plan so that Wufei and I can have a nice 'chat' with 'Lena.
I don't even want to think about 'Ro. I mean, I know that I still love him. Fucking butterflies. I'm just not sure if it's anything that we could ever have than what we have now, which is basic friendship. I love 'Fei too much, and part of me has always felt something more for Wufei, even if I was too blinded by infatuation to notice it. Hee-chan's a good guy, and eventually, he'll find some girl or guy who will love him the way he needs it. It just won't be me. Never.
Ok, I'm still upset with myself, but... I know that I wouldn't leave Wufei for anything that I could prevent. They would have to pry him away from my cold, dead hand. Oh yeah, but seeing as how I'm Death, fat chance in Hell of that happening. So, Wufei is stuck with me.
Hmm, I'm a bit tired, and well, that nice warm bunk is calling to me. I think I will hit the hay, but I'll keep ya informed of how things are going. So far, all things are quiet on the Southern front.
Night!
~ Duo Maxwell