Chapter 5: Where were you?
An alarm clock blaring.
Duo groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. A faint shifting next to him, followed by blessed silence told him that his lover had shut off the alarm. The blanket was tugged gently away, and he found himself staring at Heero, who was smiling.
He wondered how no one ever seemed to notice the kindness in that smile. He couldn't help but smile back. "G'morning." He said sleepily.
Heero's smile widened ever so slightly. "Good morning."
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Duo's faintly. Duo practically swooned. How could he be so lucky? But before he could do anything more, Heero pulled back and sat up. Damn.
This was becoming something of a morning ritual for them. Wake up, share a few moments of mushy romance, get dressed, kiss again, then spend the day pretending to share nothing more than friendship. Duo sighed. As much as he wanted to go public with their relationship, he knew they couldn't. If the teachers found out, they'd be split up for sure! Same sex relationships were generally frowned upon at an all boys' school. He rolled his eyes and sat up as well. At least their friends knew about it, so they could be lovey-dovey around them.
He rolled out of bed and began searching for his clothes. And of course there was the whole situation with Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa. That fiasco about a week ago had certainly been interesting. Duo hadn't even been fazed by the news that Quatre was gay. In fact, he'd been suspecting it for some time. Even when Trowa admitted that he was as well, Duo hadn't really been bothered. But then, like a slap to the face, Wufei had blurted that he was bisexual. Duo had been completely and utterly shocked, though he hadn't shown it at the time. What was worse, Wufei had even gone so far as to confess to Quatre that he was interested in being more than friends. And then he'd kissed Quatre! Kissed him!
And all the silly little blonde had done was sit there, wide-eyed, as Wufei full out frenched him! Duo had chosen that moment to herd Heero and Trowa out of the room to let Wufei and Quatre sort things out alone. He'd practically had to drag Trowa from the room, the poor brunette had protested the whole way out, confirming Duo's suspicions that he was head-over-heels for Quatre as well.
At last, Duo found his boxers, but just as he was about to start putting them on, a pair of strong arms snaked around him. "You know, we still have plenty of time before class starts." The tone of Heero's voice made Duo shiver.
He turned in the circle of Heero's arms, murmuring "Oh, really? I wonder what we could possibly do to keep from getting bored . . ."
Heero leaned down to kiss him. Their lips had just barely met when a knock sounded sharply at the door. They sprang apart like scared rabbits and Heero darted into the bathroom, leaving Duo to answer the door. "Damn it all to Hell." He muttered as he snatched his boxers up from where he'd dropped them on the floor.
He attempted to put them on and walk at the same time, which was a mistake. The knock sounded again, louder this time. "Just a damn second!" Duo yelled, nearly tripping.
Finally he managed to guide the soft cotton up over his hips and he took the last couple of steps to the door. He yanked it open, fully intending to chew out whomever it was, but froze as he caught sight of the person in front of him. "Wufei?"
The Chinese boy looked awful. His shirt was wrinkled and only half tucked, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Duo was especially shocked to find that he hadn't tied his hair back either; it hung in his face in lanky strands. "Are—are you alright?" He stammered.
Wufei slumped against the doorframe, panting; he'd run the entire way there. "It's Quatre!" He blurted. "He's gone!"
Duo blinked. "Gone? What'd you mean, gone?"
Wufei looked like he was either going to throttle Duo or start screaming hysterically. "I mean he's gone!" He practically shrieked, "He went out last night and didn't come back!"
"Whoa, whoa, back up. Did he say where he was going?" Duo asked, trying to calm the frantic boy.
Wufei paused for a second and thought. "Well, he did say something about needing a bath . . ."
"A bath?" Duo thought for a moment, then smirked, having figured out where to find the little blonde. "And who do you know that has a tub?"
Duo could swear he heard wheels turning as Wufei thought about it. Realization dawned on his face and he tapped his closed fist against his open palm. The motion looked odd, considering his disheveled state. "Trowa." He said simply and took off again, leaving Duo to yawn and go back in his room.
"Oi, Heero, you can come out now." Duo said, stretching.
The bathroom door opened, and Heero peered out cautiously. Seeing that no one else was in the room, he stepped out. He eyed Duo for a moment, then, with no warning, tackled him onto the near bed, which was still neatly made from the day before. "We have to make it look like someone used this bed, or the cleaning staff will get suspicious." His voice was a heated whisper.
"Heero, there is no cleaning staff." Duo replied with a cheeky smile.
Heero grinned wickedly, and Duo was thrilled to know that he was the only one who ever got to see this side of him. "I know." He murmured, pulling Duo to him.
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Wufei sprinted down yet another hallway. Why did Trowa's room have to be so damned far away from Duo and Heero's? Wufei glared ahead determinedly. If he did anything to Quatre . . . Wufei thought, frowning. Then a thought came that almost stopped him in his tracks. What if Quatre had wanted Trowa to do something? Wufei forced himself to keep going. Trowa had kissed Quatre . . . but then again, so had Wufei . . . but Quatre hadn't told Trowa no, had he?
His thoughts were veering so wildly in his head that by the time Wufei noticed the person coming around the corner, it was too late. They looked up from the papers they were carrying just in time for –BAM!
Papers went flying everywhere as both of them went down. "Wufei! What the Hell!" An angry voice sounded.
Wufei sat up to find Zechs glaring at him and rubbing his shoulder. "Ah! Zechs! I'm sorry! I—" He started.
"Damn, Wufei! You should play football or something. That hurt!"
Wufei smiled sheepishly, unsure of whether that was a complement or not. "I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."
Zechs stared at him for several seconds, Wufei's untidy state finally registering to him. Suddenly he gave a reassuring smile and started gathering up the papers he'd dropped. Wufei immediately began helping. After all, it was his fault that they were scattered in the first place. It was only after he'd picked up several of them that he realized what was on them. "Wow, Zechs, I didn't know you could draw."
The picture in Wufei's hands was of a young man sitting at a desk. He blinked; the boy looked familiar. Recognition struck and he blinked again. "Hey, this is Heero, isn't it?"
Zechs craned his neck to see which drawing Wufei held, then nodded. "Yeah. Well, he's perfect for drawing. You know, he just sits there and looks stoic during class."
"Yeah, he does." Wufei smiled and began rifling through the other drawings in his hands.
There were a couple more of Heero, one of Trowa looking spacey, even one of Quatre. "Did Quatre pose for this?" Wufei asked, noting the planned look of the picture.
Zechs moved a little closer. "Oh, yeah, he did. Unfortunately he's not the best model. He fidgets too much."
Wufei nodded. That sounded like Quatre. Looking down, he noticed another drawing in Zechs's lap. It was two people, no, two men. One with long hair, left only mildly shaded to show light coloring, and the other with shorter, but still longer than average hair. Black hair. Wufei knitted his eyebrows together. What were they doing? It seemed like a rather awkward position . . .
Suddenly, Zechs, noticing the direction of Wufei's gaze, snatched the drawings from his hands and tucked the odd one behind them. "Zechs, what—" Wufei started.
"Hey, what are you guys looking at?"
Wufei whirled around at that soft, familiar voice. "Quatre!" He cried.
The slender blonde was standing over them, a curious look on his face. Wufei's heart sank as he took note of Quatre's grin and too baggy clothes. "Oh, hi Quatre." Zechs said, standing. "Wufei managed to bump into me and scattered my drawings everywhere. I guess he's never seen them before."
"Really?" Quatre blinked. "So that means you haven't posed for him yet, right, Wufei?"
Wufei simply stared at him. He's acting like nothing's happened! Like he didn't just keep me up all night worrying. Like he didn't just . . . He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. "Wufei?" Quatre asked. "You alright?"
"Where were you?" Wufei's voice was unnervingly calm and quiet.
"Uh . . ." Quatre blushed.
He didn't want to say, not while Zechs was standing right there.
"Ah, we got caught by lights out." Trowa said; at some point he'd come up behind Zechs.
"Holy shit!" Zechs jumped away, completely freaked out by Trowa's sudden appearance. "Jesus, Trowa! Make some noise or something. Dammit, I'm gonna have to put a fucking bell on you or something! Sheesh!"
Trowa chuckled softly. "I'm sorry. Anyway, Quatre and I were studying for that British Literature test we have coming up, and I guess we lost track of time. I was in the middle of quizzing him when the lights just shut off."
"Yeah, and you know that the doors all automatically lock as well, so I couldn't come back to the room." Quatre added. "I would've called you, but you don't have a cell phone."
Wufei's eye twitched. They'd really thought this out, hadn't they? "So, did you share the bed?" His voice was still dangerously low.
Both Quatre and Trowa stiffened, and Trowa frowned at him, though it wasn't out of anger. Concern or worry would be better words. "What do you think?" He said softly.
Zechs watched all of this silently. So, I was right about Wufei liking Quatre . . . He chewed his lip thoughtfully. And now it seems that Quatre and Trowa are involved. We have a love triangle on our hands. And I'll just bet that Wufei and Trowa have a past relationship as well. This is worse than a soap opera! Suddenly Wufei shoved past them and headed in the direction of his room. "You know, Quatre, Trowa's clothes are really too big for you." He tossed over his shoulder, not caring who heard him.
Oh, bitter. Zechs thought as Quatre and Trowa turned to look at him, wide-eyed. He looked back and forth between them. Damn, they have that puppy-dog thing down. "Uh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He forced a smile.
Both practically sagged with relief and they turned towards each other, bemused smiles on their faces. "Err, I'm gonna go make sure Wufei's alright." Zechs walked away quickly.
I hope they don't start making out or something. Yeesh, they must be a new couple. Man, if they want to keep their relationship secret, they're gonna have to not do that. Mooney eyes are a dead give away. I can't believe Wufei didn't notice if they've been doing that. He started trotting to catch up with the Chinese boy. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid.
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Once again Wufei found himself in the library, staring at a book he had no interest in. Class was going to start soon, but he didn't want to leave just yet. He sighed and scooped his hair out of his eyes. He hadn't even taken time to brush it that morning. He'd simply pulled his clothes on and left.
Why does this always happen? He thought dejectedly. Am I not allowed to be happy and stay that way? The last time he remembered being truly happy had been when he was with Trowa. I should've waited longer to break up with him. Then maybe it wouldn't have hurt him so much, and maybe I'd have a few more happy memories . . . I just felt like I was cheating on him, the way I felt about Quatre . . . Wufei rubbed his eyes. Damn it all to Hell! With no warning he buried his hands in his hair and scrabbled them around, trying to contain his aggravation and not scream. Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!
Someone behind Wufei laughed, and he stiffened. Oh, shit. He put his hands down and turned slowly, trying his best to fight off the blush he knew was rising to his face. Zechs stood there, his drawings balanced on his hip, one eyebrow raised. "You're pretty entertaining when you're upset." He smirked.
Wufei glared at him, which only made him laugh again. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I've ever seen you so . . . flustered before. You usually just space out when you're upset."
Wufei blinked. "Am I that obvious?"
"No, I'm just observant. Although now, I would say that, yes, you're being obvious."
Wufei grimaced and looked down. Zechs spoke again. "Well, it's not just the way you're acting—though that helps considerably—it's the way you look." He paused. "Disheveled would be the best word, I think."
"I wasn't exactly thinking about the way I looked when I left this morning." Wufei muttered, blushing.
"That worried about Quatre, huh?"
"Of course. Wouldn't you be worried if your roommate went out and didn't come back?" He snapped.
"Good point, but I think this goes deeper than that." Zechs said, all hint of teasing gone from his voice.
Wufei looked up slowly and found Zechs staring intently at him, concern plain on his face. "I'm worried about you, Wufei. I don't want to see you get hurt. If it would help, you can talk to me." There was something that sounded suspiciously like hope in his voice.
Wufei stared at the older boy for a few seconds, then made a split-second decision that he didn't even understand. "Actually, I think that would help. But not now, how about after school?"
Zechs grinned at him. "That's fine with me. Where do you want to go?"
It sounds like we're setting up a date. For some reason that thought made Wufei blush. "Er, you have a single, right? Let's go to your room."
Zechs smiled even bigger. "Great! I'll find you and we'll walk together. But right now we need to fix something."
Wufei blinked. "What?"
"Your hair. You can get away with an un-tucked shirt, but even the most dense person will notice how messy your hair is." He said matter-of-factly.
Wufei glanced at the clock on the wall. "I don't have time to go to my room and fix it."
"Ah, and this is where I come in handy."
Zechs set his drawings down and went to stand behind Wufei. He began running his fingers through the Chinese boy's hair, de-tangling it and smoothing it out. Wufei's eyes rolled back and he practically melted. He'd never tell anyone else, but he loved having his hair played with.
He sighed and tilted his head back slightly, letting Zechs' talented fingers reach the front of his hair. After several moments, Zechs paused. "Do you happen to have an elastic?" He asked, praying that the answer was no.
Slowly Wufei shook his head, enjoying the feel of Zechs' fingers brushing against his scalp. The fingers withdrew hesitantly and Wufei stiffened. He didn't want Zechs to stop. Not yet. It was so soothing . . . Another couple of moments passed, then Wufei felt the fingers again and he relaxed, tilting his head still farther back.
Zechs scooped the hair away from Wufei's face and watched it fall back into place. He did this several times, fascinated by the fluid silkiness of it. He stared at it, and suddenly he had the urge to press his face against it, to see if it smelled as good as it looked and felt. He bit his lip and forced his attention away. Unfortunately, the next thing he found to focus on was Wufei's lips, which were slightly parted in pleasure. He wondered if those lips were as soft as the hair in his hands, or if Wufei tasted good. He found himself leaning forward, his own lips parting in anticipation.
Someone cleared their throat loudly, making Wufei and Zechs jump. They whirled and found the librarian watching them, an amused, knowing smile on her lips. "Sorry boys, I hate to interrupt, but the bell rang a couple of minutes ago. Shouldn't you two be getting to class?"
They blinked at her, then, realizing how they must look, both blushed. "Yes, ma'am." Wufei said suddenly, standing and heading for the door.
"Uh, yeah." Zechs snatched his drawings and followed hastily.
She laughed. Ah, to be young and in love! She thought as she returned to her books.