Author's Note: Quite a few of you have been questioning me as to the reason why Wufei doesn't like Duo in this fic. That question will not be answered in this chapter but all good things come to those who wait. In the meantime, enjoy this little morsel.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: slight language, fighting

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Duo allowed himself to relax, taking in deep breathes and clearing his mind of all the cognitive clutter that had accumulated over the past few days. The meditative technique that Master Deng had taught him really was a gift that kept on giving. Now that he thought about it, he'd have to see Deng soon. He had missed him over the past few days and the guy was probably wondering where he was.

Too bad his school was always closed on the weekends; he'd have to go after school on Monday. He really needed to talk to somebody he knew would absolutely say nothing about anything he said.

Not for the first time, he wondered how Deng could be related to that stick-in-the-mud Wufei.

It was still quite early in the afternoon and the occupants of the mansion were just lazing about today. He hadn't seen Quatre and Trowa yet though he had an idea as to what those two were up to. Mr. Winner was absent, probably hiding away somewhere, not that he really cared since he had a live and let live relationship with the guy. That left only Solo who was also missing-in-action.

While the braided one did enjoy having time to himself, he almost missed the presence of the one blond that just never seemed to go away. It was like trying to deal with a case of Herpes; the guy was always popping up no matter where Duo found himself. To tell the truth, it was almost endearing.

Taking one last deep breath, Duo opened his eyes to survey his surroundings before he got down to the business that brought him into this part of the mansion. He was currently located in the Winner's home gym with the sole purpose of just exercising. He hadn't practiced since Tuesday and he couldn't let himself get rusty, at least not yet.

Standing up from the padded mat that he had sat down on, he began the first kata, just like Deng had instructed him when he first began. The old lessons came back readily to him and he performed each set easily and gracefully.

He knew immediately the moment he had company and he wasn't put off by who it was, nay. He had to admit, if there was anybody he'd like to watch him, it would be Solo… And where did that thought come from? He must really be desperate if he was looking towards his newest friend for the kind of attention he craved so much. Still, Solo wasn't a bad choice and the guy hadn't pushed him away. In fact, it had been him, Duo, who had been doing the pushing away.

Deciding to end early from his warm up, he looked at the blond and asked, "You enjoy the show?"

Blinking, Solo knew that he was caught (and how could he not, he was standing right out in the open!) and thus he closed the distance between them. "What was that you were doing?" he asked, truthfully curious.

"Just some warm-ups," Duo answered readily. "I can't let myself get too rusty."

"You know I can look out for you," Solo stated, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but what about when you're not there," Duo countered. "Whenever Heero gets out of intensive care, trauma, or wherever you put him, he's gonna want some payback. Hell, Wufei might even know and make a move himself."

"Touché," Solo said. "So what are you going to now?"

"Well, I was just going to practice but since you're here, I think I can deal with a spar," Duo stated. "You think you're up to it?"

Smirking, Solo cracked his knuckles. "I think I can handle you, Short Stuff. I still owe you for that kick, don't I?"

"Better stretch first," Duo advised. "Unlike Heero, I'm not going to let you take me down easily."

"Oh, so you know you're gonna lose?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just giving you some friendly pointers, that's all."

"You better keep them to yourself," Solo told him as he began to lightly stretch. "You're going to need all the help you can get."

Shaking his head, a thought occurred to Duo. "Hey, do we need to wear any gear? You know, to prevent serious harm?"

"Lets wing it," Solo stated as he stood up to his full height.

Eyeing the blond for a moment, Duo shrugged. "It's your funeral," he shrugged as he fell into a defensive position.

Other than giving Duo a smirk, Solo did nothing in reply as he brought his fists up, ready for a brawl. Duo's practiced eye could immediately spot out the openings in Solo's stance and a dozen ways to throw the taller, and obviously physically stronger, blond off guard and attack but he decided not to and let the blond make the first move. It would be worth it to see the guy's face after he had been gently beaten into submission.

Sure enough, it was Solo who made the first move and Duo took note of how the blond moved, storing the information away for later use. Like the street brawler that he was, Solo swung a punch at him, backing it with a lot of power. However, with a gentle swish of his hand, Duo made the intimidating fist miss him, passing his head by mere inches. The green eyes widened in surprise but Duo allowed himself to remain on the defensive as he danced back and dodged more of Solo's powerful blows easily.

In Duo's mind, Solo's first big mistake was when the blond tried to imitate a high kick, leaving him defenseless when the braided one easily dodged to a side. To reward the foolish move, Duo moved up close for his first offensive and leveled three quick jabs into Solo's ribs before dancing away again. The blond stumbled away more in surprise than actually pain, if there was any. The green eyes narrowed and Solo became more serious, determined to knock the braided one down a few pegs.

This only worked against him as Duo let him attack him wildly, giving small strikes and a few gentle slaps to the face, all the while dodging and provoking the blond. Snarling, Solo let himself go all out but he was expending too much energy with each missed punch and kick along with constantly being "love tapped" by a grinning Duo who looked like he was having the time of his life.

"Quit playing around!" he growled as he missed the braided one by a hair's length once again.

"Alright," Duo replied cheekily and beginning his first frontal assault.

However, Solo wasn't going to just stand there and take it. As Duo rushed him, he lunged to tackle the braided one but Duo miraculously lowered himself and shoved his shoulder into the blond's gut, pushing up as he did so and the next thing Solo knew, he was flipping in the air to land gracelessly on his back, his lungs robbed of air. Coughing, he scrambled up to his feet and glared.

There was no way in hell Short Stuff was beating him and making a fool out of Solomon Winner!

Duo was coming at him again and for one of the first times, Solo actually thought what he was going to do next. Settling on a course of action in a matter of seconds, he charged at the braided one, copying Duo's previous move by using his shoulder to spearhead his attack. Duo was already moving to a side to avoid him, prepared to strike the blond in either his side or his back, Solo shot his arm out at the last second and clotheslined him.

Smirking in triumph, Solo was turning his body around, still full of momentum as he did so, but Duo had recovered far quicker than he had anticipated. The moment he had slammed down on the padded mats, he spun his body and kicked his legs out, tripping Solo as he continued to move forward. Falling forward quickly to the ground, Solo stretched his arms out and balanced his weight on his hands for merely a second before pushing up and flipping forward to land on his feet. Duo wasn't the only one surprised at this since Solo hadn't even known how he had managed to do that because it happened so quickly.

"And I was about to say 'timber,'" Duo pouted.

Glaring at the mockery, Solo clenched his fists and lost all control as he ran at Duo, wanting nothing more than to pound the guy into the floor. As he threw a punch, Duo spun and the next thing he knew, the world was flying by all around him until the padded mat below became intimate with his back once again. Above him stood Duo, balancing on one leg while his other was still up in the air. All in all, there was the sense of déjà vu about it.

Of course, that was exactly how Duo looked the last time he had floored him.

Chuckling as he put his foot down, Duo inquired, "Had enough yet?"

Not bothering to answer, Solo just let himself lay there, not moving a muscle. Plopping himself down next to his fallen opponent, Duo grinned at him.

"Guess it was a good thing that nobody was watching us, huh?"

Solo just gave him a look that was more eloquent than anything he could have said verbally.

Duo chuckled in response as he patted the blond on the shoulder conciliatorily.

"How do you do that?" Solo finally spoke. "You're the only guy I know who can beat me and I've been in a lot of fights. I don't even have a scratch or a bruise on me."

"I wouldn't say that so soon about the bruises," Duo warned goodheartedly. "By this evening, you should get a big one right there," he continue, poking the exact spot he had kicked him, a dull throb of pain emphasizing his point.

"You didn't answer my question," Solo pressed.

"Lets just say I had a good teacher," Duo answered. "The guy taught me how to study my opponent and take advantage of any openings presented to me."

"If that's so, then how did Heero beat you up?" Solo asked.

"I wasn't trying to fight then," Duo explained patiently. "I was just trying to get the Hell out of there and avoid a fight altogether but the bastard grabbed me by my braid. I don't think I have to tell you how much it hurts getting your hair pulled."

Solo nodded in sympathy, frowning at this bit of information. He kinda wished that he could have worked Heero over a bit more. Hair pulling was just a cheap, dirty trick that only a coward would use, even if the guy with long hair was trying to get away like Duo had. Still, that broken leg ought to have done something; he couldn't wait to hear about what would happen to the guy once he got out of the hospital.

"Hey! Earth to Solo!"

"Huh? What?" Solo was pulled out of his musing abruptly as he focused on his braided companion.

"I was asking if I could go over to my apartment," Duo asked, exasperated. It seemed this wasn't the first time he had asked it, nor the second.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just to pick up the stuff that we left back there," Duo explained. "I've made some living arrangements with your uncle and the only things that are mine here are my clothes. I'd like to get some of my stuff, that's all."

"Okay, sure," Solo replied, then pausing. "Why are you asking me though?"

"Cause you're the guy that packed my stuff and carried me out of my place," Duo countered. "Plus, you're the only guy in this place that knows where it is and you can drive so I won't be a burden to Mr. Winner or the help."

Solo frowned. "You think you're a burden? Do me a favor and don't think like that. You can never be a burden."

Duo's eyes widened at that. That was the first time a person had ever said that to him, at least to his face. Lost in his surprise, he hadn't noticed that Solo had managed to get back up to his feet. However, he was jerked out of it as Solo grabbed his hand and pulled him up to his feet.

"Don't just sit there," Solo said. "Get some decent clothes on. You want to get your stuff, right?"

--

Having borrowed Solo's suitcases, Duo had locked himself in his apartment bedroom so that he could pack some…intimate things that he didn't want anybody to see, especially in the light of day.

Thus, that left Solo to take a good look around the braided one's apartment, to inspect it again and see if there was anything that Duo would want to take with him. Once again, he had trouble comprehending the fact that Duo had so little to call his own. Since he didn't know what Duo did want, he didn't remove anything, preferring to examine everything instead, as if searching for some sort of clue to the mystery that was Duo.

Hearing the bedroom door open again, he waited for Duo to enter the living room once more before commenting, "No matter how many times I see this place, I still can't believe how little stuff you have here."

Duo refrained from commenting, not feeling up to snapping about the innocent comment. Perhaps it was the memories he had in the place that dulled his temper or something. None of his memories here were particularly fond except for the day he had first moved in and was able to revel in his independence. After that, everything soon became consumed in loneliness and quite a bit distraught. However, that still didn't destroy the fact that this was, or had been, his home for the past few years.

As Duo began to start taking down the few pictures he had hanging, Solo watched him worriedly. He had expected some kind of retort from the smaller male but none had been forthcoming. Had he struck a nerve or something?

Not one to let something like this fester, he blurted out, "Did I do something to offend you or something?"

Jerking out of whatever daze he had been in, Duo looked at Solo and shook his head negatively. "Naw, just thinking about some things, that's all."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Sighing and taking a look around, "Is there anything I can do?"

Knowing what it was he was asking about, Duo answered, "I got almost everything; I just need a couple more minutes, that's all."

"I'll just take one of the cases down, okay?" Solo said, picking up the full suitcase. I'll wait for you in the car."

"Yeah, you do that," Duo told him absentmindedly as he began to take a last look around to be sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

Finding himself alone, Duo took the time to not only look around but think about everything. Even though he was reluctant to really go through with this, he still knew it was something he not only had to do but needed to do. This place, this small apartment was not full of happy memories. He needed to leave it and get not just a change in scenery but change of well being. He was always happy at Quatre's since the Winner family was perhaps the closest thing he had to a family, excluding Howard and his mother's friends of course.

Perhaps this would change his fortunes, maybe even his prospects. And why did that not sound right? He wasn't going to use his best friend like some clod in rich clothing. No, it was his future that looked much brighter than it ever had before. It was no longer bleak, no longer lonely. At least, it wouldn't be lonely now that there was a persistent blond shadow nipping at his heels…

Letting a smile grace his face, he zipped up the open suitcase and headed out the door to a bright, new, promising future.