This is not an update, just a note... I am sooooo very sorry about the length of time since I posted the last chapter--I really feel bad about having such a long delay. I did get stuck on this chapter for quite awhile, and had severe writer's block in general for a few months. Also a number of real life things have made my life a misery this last year. For one thing, I've had to move back in with my parents, which gives me very little privacy and makes it hard to write, and I've been working nights, which plays havoc with my sleep schedule (not that I sleep all that well anyway...).
In any case, I do intend to finish this, and the fic has not been abandoned, I swear. I have the next chapter almost ready to post, so I will hopefully have that done by the end of the month. I also want to say I've been very bad about responding to reviews lately, and I'm truly sorry--I do appreciate each and every one of you who has taken the time to leave a comment. I will try to eventually answer all of them, but I'm afraid some of you may not remember leaving them, le sigh. If you email me directly you have a much better chance of getting an answer in a fairly short amount of time.
Since you've all been waiting so patiently, here's a preview of the next chapter--I know it's not much and it's rather a teaser, but there will be a full chapter soon. Promise. X3
-Kagi
------SSD:6, part one-----
Wufei congratulated himself on the fact that when Barton had suggested they ensure that Maxwell and Yuy were not sharing a room, he had managed to avoid ending up with Maxwell as his roommate. He and Yuy might not always get along, but they understood each other in a way that he would never understand the pilot of Deathscythe if he had a hundred years. Wufei was certain that Maxwell was at least half crazy, and he tended to make anyone else that way who spent much time with him. So he had volunteered to share a room with Yuy, leaving the crazy one for Winner or Barton; either of whom seemed to have a great deal more patience for Maxwell's quirks than Wufei did.
Unlike Winner, he had not been concerned by the other pilots' delayed return. Maxwell and Yuy were formidable enough each on their own, and together he had no doubt they were a match for whatever they had run into. So he had remained sitting calmly on his bed, reading, and looked up with only a mild curiosity when Yuy finally walked into the room.
Yuy went straight to the desk, and dropped everything except his laptop case on the floor beside it. He took the laptop out, his hands lingering almost caressingly on the smooth outer casing as he set it carefully on the desk. When he had raised the lid and powered it on, he relaxed almost imperceptibly as soon as it was up and connected to the nets again. There was an air almost of reverence about his movements, and if Wufei had been a more expressive individual, he might have rolled his eyes, or shaken his head.
Instead he merely watched as Yuy, having taken care of the really important things, turned to survey the empty bed. He contemplated it for a moment, almost wearily, as if debating whether or not to just crash and leave the rest till morning. Discipline won out, however, and he bent to retrieve his belongings, methodically going about his minimal unpacking.
"Trouble on the mission?" Wufei asked him, simply to make an opening if Yuy wished to elaborate.
"Maxwell," was stated curtly by way of an answer. Apparently, he did not wish to elaborate.
"Ah." Wufei really needed no more explanation than that; but he was curious. "What happened?"
Yuy snorted. "Idiot almost got himself caught; soldiers picked him up outside the base on a recon."
Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Almost?"
Yuy shrugged, a mere twitch of his shoulders as they slumped in weariness. He was kneeling on the floor, sorting through the contents of his duffle for the items he needed tonight. Brushing his messy hair out of his eyes, he threw a glance up at Wufei. "Talked his way out of it, as usual."
Wufei considered that. He was sure that Maxwell could talk his way out of such a situation; it would have been interesting to watch. Then he frowned. "How did he get caught?"
"Fell asleep, he said," Yuy answered absently. He began to change his clothes for the night with the carefully precise, mechanical motions of controlled exhaustion. Which was not so very different from his usual careful precision in everything he did--but looking closely, Wufei could observe the signs of tired abstraction. He seemed to have something on his mind.
Thoughtfully, Wufei replaced his bookmark and followed suit, changing for bed and then heading to the bathroom to clean his teeth. He would have asked another question or two, since that explanation struck him as being rather odd, but he had a feeling he wouldn't get much of an answer.
When he re-entered the room, Yuy was sitting on the edge of his bed, outstretched arms supporting him as he sat with his head bent, staring intently at the floor. Wufei was a bit surprised; he had expected to find the other boy in bed, perhaps half-asleep already. But Yuy was biting his lip, as if debating whether or not to say something. Wufei watched him warily for a moment, wondering what the problem might be. He waited, but Yuy said nothing, so after a minute he shut off the light and crawled into bed.
Closing his eyes, he felt himself sink into the mattress, gradually relaxing all over, gravity pulling him into sleep as he cleared his mind and centered himself. He was startled then, half a minute later, when Yuy's voice suddenly brought him fully back to wakefulness.
"Chang... could you do me a favor?"
-tbc-
