Note: This is my pet pairing for GW. Most of my GW stories have centered around them. I wrote this under another name, and I think the only place I posted it was GWAddiction. I probably won't be posting much more of my GW works, as I'm not too impressed with my earlier works.
Twilight. Of all the times of day, he loved it the most. Everything had such a hushed, peaceful feel to it, as if for a moment time was frozen. The air was chilled, the ground beneath him damp, and the sun slowly stretched across the horizon like a child's face,flushed from sleep, above the hem of a blanket. And for the span of a breath he had his center.
Slowly lowering his gaze, he picked up the tea cup from the edge of the rooftop and sipped from it quietly. Hardly anyone came up here, least of all at dawn. For the amount of people that actually lived in this apartment building, none of them touched upon each other's lives in any significant way. For the busy life of a Preventer, that solitude and isolation from the other tenants was acceptable, even preferrable.
But today was something rare. A gift to some, an inconvenience to others. It was a day off. A day off in which he intended to spend his time as he did every other day off: reading or catching up on cleaning. He wasn't swayed in the slightest by any so-called brilliant ideas Sally Po might have. He never was.
While he didn't expect to run into someone on the roof, he was hardly going to wander around in his sleep attire. So while he was barefoot (he liked the cool pavement on his feet), he was wearing a pair of pressed slacks and a light-weight, knitted sweater. The slacks were simple black; the sweater white. He wasn't overly interested in fashion beyond the function it served.
He heard it as he was lifting his head from his tea. The barest of sounds, but the click of the door shutting alerted him that he was no longer alone. And the surprise of it had him turning before he spoke.
With all the negligent grace of a cat, Duo Maxwell folded his arms over his chest and rested his lanky frame against the closed door. He wore faded jeans that fit like second skin, a simple white T-shirt, and a well-used leather jacket. The ridiculous braid was still there, longer than he remembered it being, and he held a motorcycle helmet in one hand.
He couldn't say what astonished him more; seeing Duo, or the fact that he was up at this hour of the morning.
A few more seconds passed before Duo shook his head and grinned that same, easy assurance that radiated self-confidence, welcome, and good cheer all in one measure. How anyone could be so positively... radiant, was beyond his grasp.
"What, aren't even going to say hello? Same ole Chang Wufei. You'd think we didn't know one another at all."
Nodding his head, Wufei found his voice. "Duo. What are you doing here?"
Unwinding himself, Duo began walking toward him, stopping short of actually physically touching him to roll his eyes. "To see you, obviously."
Growing irritated, because Duo had that effect on him, Wufei set his tea aside and folded his own arms, viewing Duo from a slant. "That's your only purpose?"
"I went to the Preventer's and they told me you had the day off. So, being the wonderkind that I am, I figured you'd be at home. Unless you'd suddenly gone sociable on me, which you obviously haven't."
"It's too early to go out," Wufei pointedly informed him.
"You're totally missing the point," Duo returned, casually setting his helmet on the ground to climb up on the edge and comfortably sit, braced only by his hands.
"What are you doing?" He demanded tersely, trying ineffectively to keep the panic from his tone.
Raising an eyebrow, Duo unsucessfully tried to smother a grin. "What, are you afraid of heights? Afraid I'll fall?" He began leaning back.
Wufei never appreciated having his weaknesses dissected, but at the moment the thought of Duo tumbling over the edge lent his complexion a white, pinched look that mated in ferocity with the knot in his stomach. Both had him darting forward and snatching Duo roughly by the shoulders. With one, swift jerk, he had him down and sprawled unceremoniously on the ground.
Staring up at him in open-mouthed wonder, Duo tried to speak, had to clear his throat, and then managed, "Jesus, Wufei. You only had to ask me to get down..."
Suddenly, violently embarrassed, Wufei grasped his teacup with a faintly trembling hand and took a long sip, averting a face no longer pale, but unnaturally pink.
Coming to his feet, Duo brushed his jeans off. "If you're afraid of heights, why do you come up here?" He asked, falling next to Wufei.
"The view," he answered stiffly, still refusing to look at Duo.
Laughing, Duo shoved his hands into his back pockets. "The view. Sounds funny coming from a former Gundam pilot."
This time Wufei's head did whip around, and he stared at Duo through dark, narrowed eyes. "Are you mocking my fear?"
Duo blinked. "Uh, no... I just always saw you as... infallible, I guess."
He stared at him a moment longer before his face relaxed and he looked away. "Well, I'm not."
A heartbeat passed between them, before Duo said softly, "Yeah. Guess none of us are."
Refusing to give the view below the attention it deserved now that Duo had drawn attention to it, Wufei carefully laid his arms to rest on the edge and stubbornly continued to watch the sun rise. He knew that having lived to see this at all was a miracle in itself.
"I have to admit I'm surprised you're taking a day off."
Wufei snorted indelicately, fully prepared to tell Duo to shut-up. In truth, however, he knew he wouldn't have taken a day off without Sally forcing him on direct orders from Lady Une. He simply saw little point in it when he was better served there, than sitting at home doing next to nothing.
"And I'm not surprised to see you /are/," he returned easily and without rancor.
Duo only grinned. Wufei strongly suspected that one of his favorite things to do was argue. Whether or not it was amusing (most likely on Duo's part), he generally found himself exchanging insults, however childish. Maybe, in some small way, he appreciated that aspect of his friend. He would just never admit it aloud.
Half-turning so that his hip rested against the brick, Duo slanted his head and studied Wufei with an expression he was loathe to admit as being openly perceptive. "Sally says you've settled in. Seeing you here, I'd have to agree."
He didn't think he appreciated Duo discussing him with Sally. He said as much.
Shrugging, the other man lifted his face to the sun. "I like knowing you guys are doing well. Shoot me for being a friend. It's been almost seven years since Mariemaia..." he let the remaining thought trail off.
Wufei watched the golden light bring Duo's skin to life, revealing aspects of it he otherwise wouldn't have noticed. Strange, but his hair wasn't simply brown. There were auburn and gold highlights.
"I like where I am," he admitted, dropping his gaze to his own hands.
"Enough never to change?"
Bemused, he looked at him again. "What?"
But Duo was only smiling. Yet Wufei felt the barest stirrings of... excitement? What else could he call this awakening in the depths of his center? It felt like being off balance, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. In some small measure, it was that initial lift-off in Nataku when the thrusters first kicked in.
Shaking his head, Duo looked away. "Nothing."
Nodding, Wufei left it alone and the feeling began to fade. Retreating into the place of not knowing seemed safer, somehow. Safer, yes, but perhaps the slighest bit disappointing? And since when had he been a coward? Since it came to his own feelings, he knew, answering his own question.
"If it was nothing," he found himself saying, "then why did you ask?"
When they swung around to fully face one another, Duo looked genuinely startled. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because you asked."
He held still while Duo stared at him, seeming to be looking for something. Impatience threaded through him, however, when the silence stretched thin. He didn't always understand this other person he called a friend, and now was no exception.
With a short, annoyed breath, he turned and reached for his tea. "Nevermind."
Duo's own hand lashed out, grasping his wrist to hault the movement. "Do you know what flying feels like, Wufei?"
Once again, Duo made absolutely no sense and he was beginning to think the peace of his morning was, in Duo's sort of words, shot to hell.
"Yes, Duo, I know what flying feels like," he returned, not bothering to keep the shortness from his tone.
Duo grinned then, brilliantly. "I don't think you do."
On an exasperated sigh, Wufei started, "If you think I'm going to continue having-"
With a quick, neat jerk, Duo had them fitted snuggly against one another. Before Wufei's mind could focus on the blue of his eyes, he was being kissed. Soft, hesitant movements from equally soft lips that seemed to know what they were doing, but were afraid to ask. Dimly, he heard himself saying 'Yes, Duo, I know what flying feels like.' Only, he hadn't until this moment.
He gave a sigh of capitulation, and knew what the inside of Duo's mouth tasted like, felt like. The feelings of earlier came back with startlingly sharp clarity.
Pulling back slightly, face flushed, Duo murmured, "Feels like heaven."
"Did you come here to do that?" He blurted, wincing at how rushed the words were.
"Ah... yeah," Duo admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed.
He knew his expression reflected his incredulity. "You came all this way to kiss me?"
"It's not like I haven't wanted to do it for a long time!" Duo shot back, appearing annoyed for the first time himself.
Wufei stared a moment, before finding his voice to laugh. "Well..." And he, for once, couldn't think of a proper rejoinder.
Eyebrow raised, the other man grinned. "What, no scolding? I can hardly believe it."
"Shut-up, Duo," he growled, and jerked his elbow, knocking the tea cup from its perch.
Watching it fall, Duo swallowed. "Well... Guess I won't be sitting up there again."
Ashen-faced, he hadn't realized he was gripping Duo entirely too tightly until it was pointed out to him.
"You know, I don't think being up here is really good for your health. C'mon. I'll take you for a ride."
"You'll have me ride on a motorcycle behind /you/?"
"I know you ride. Besides, I happen to be a good driver."
Wufei uttered a sound of disbelief, but he allowed Duo to drag him from the rooftop. And the neighbors, not used to Wufei having visitors, were quite surprised to see him riding off on the back of a stranger's motorcycle.