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Chapter 5

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Wufei was not pleased. He thought that he was going to have the whole house to himself for once and that he would be able to have Duo over without embarrassment. But then he found out he had been chosen to watch his brothers all day. At a carnival.

Wufei hated carnivals. The rides made him nauseous, the food was awful and the games were not only boring but rigged more often than not.

He was going to protest but his mother was so stressed out over her meeting that he couldn't bring himself to do it. His father's wife had given birth a while ago and there had been a picture of the happy family in the newspaper. His mother had been acting strange ever since.

But Wufei couldn't claim to be totally unaffected by the picture of a happily smiling Tommy standing next to his father who had his arm around his wife and child. It probably hadn't even occurred to his father to include all his children in the picture. It was a family photo after all.

The younger kids probably didn't understand what it all meant but Wufei knew, their father had abandoned them.

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It was with a heavy heart that Wufei canceled their 'study date' as he liked to call it in his head.

"Okay, no problem." Duo said uncaringly like he could think of a thousand better things to do. But Wufei saw the hurt in his eyes and quickly tried to explain. "It's just that mom is going out of town and the family who was going to watch my brothers have two sick kids and I was 'volunteered' to watch them instead."

A smile that for once reached his eyes appeared on Duo's face. "So you are going to spend the day being attacked with plastic swords?"

"God, I wish. No, the family was going to take them along to the carnival and now I have to go with them instead." He grumbled.

"You don't like carnivals?" Duo asked in disbelief.

Wufei shook his head.

"But carnivals are great." Duo protested. "Can I come?"

"You want to come?" Wufei asked before his brain desperately connected the dots and screamed at him that him that he was being offered to spend the day with Duo. "Of course!" Wufei blurted out quickly. "If you want to."

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

Wufei's day was suddenly looking up.

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It was a bright sunny day. The birds were singing and everyone was happy.

"This can't possibly be worth the effort." Wufei grumbled as they finally got to enter the carnival ground after standing in line for far too long. The sun had been shining down mercilessly and Wufei was sweaty and uncomfortable. Really not how he wanted to spend his day.

"Cheer up Dragon, it'll be fun." Duo snickered, putting a hand on his shoulder to push him forward.

Wufei suddenly felt a lot better but the carnival had nothing to do with it. He had a nickname, a nice one that wasn't intended as an insult. It was even a cool one. Dragon. He wouldn't mind having Duo call out that name out while- Wufei cut the thought off. He really needed to stop thinking with his cock. Especially while holding his little brothers hand.

"Wuuuu! Can we go on that one?" Chuanli, asked, pulling his hand towards the 'shark pit' as the ride was called.

Wufei have the tall steel construction an unhappy look. "You and Jian can go, I'm staying on the ground."

The boys protested but Wufei stood firm, he was not getting on one of those things. Instead he got them tickets and stood with them in the line while they were talked in excitement. In the corner of his eye he could see Duo looking at them in obvious amusement. Wufei just hoped that Duo didn't think he was a complete coward but not even the chance of looking less like a childish loser in front of Duo could get him into one of those things. Thank god his brothers didn't need him to go with them, Wufei just had to stand where he could be seen and wave at them every time the ride passed him.

He had a faint memory of his father doing the same thing to him when he was younger. It felt wrong that he was the one to stand there as a substitute for the real thing. But on the other hand, his brothers didn't appear to care as they waved as the ride raced by. Wufei was getting dizzy just looking at the shark shaped wagon as it passed him.

"I'll be right back." Duo said, bumping him with this elbow.

Wufei nodded before turning back to the ride just in time to wave yet again. He couldn't believe that thing was considered to be a ride for children. There was clearly something wrong with the world when children wanted to be driven around on a track and be scared to death. Wufei had never enjoyed any faster rides then the spinning teacups and the last time he had been on one he had thrown up as soon as he stepped off. He had felt so sick that his father had carried him around for hours afterwards. Wufei could therefore not understand why someone would step onto that horror ride and enjoy it. It was leaning from side to side and some parts of the ride were really high up. Wufei found himself holding his breath as the 'shark' tipped over the edge and -

Something pink suddenly blocked his view.

"Want some?" Duo offered, holding out a cotton candy stick before him.

Ride forgotten, Wufei carefully pulled a piece of the fluffy pink mass lose. "Thanks." He mumbled, putting it in his mouth.

It was sweet and soft as it melted against his tongue. He glanced up at Duo and suddenly wished he hadn't. Because that was just not fair. Duo was sucking the sticky sugar off his fingers like he was giving a blowjob. Or at least how Wufei envisioned how a blowjob would look. He should stop staring... any second now. Or maybe when Duo managed to get the last of the sugar off the bottom of his forefinger.

Duo blinked when he noticed the staring. Wufei tried not look as embarrassed as he felt but his friend just held out the cotton candy, totally oblivious to what the fingers that was still firmly lodged between his lips were doing to Wufei's mental health. Wufei focused on ripping off a piece of the soft candy.

Together they had just finished their treat when two hyper boys ran over, hanging on to his arms as they chattered in accelerating excitement.

Wufei smiled at their happiness. "How was it?"

"It was great! Did you see high it was?" Jian responded with a grin.

"Sure did."

"Can we go again?" Chuanli cut in and the boys waited impatiently for his answer.

"Wouldn't you rather go on something else?" He asked, wanting a change of scenery.

"No." The boys denied instantly.

"There's a pretty cool ride over there." Duo said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. "But it might be a bit much for you guys."

Apparently that was all the encouragement they needed before starting to run in the direction Duo had suggested. Wufei cursed and hurried after them. He could only assume that Duo, opposite to him, ended up in the category of 'cool' and did therefore have a greater impact on their decision.

The ride turned out to be a swinging Viking ship. It was a lot bigger than the 'Shark pit' and didn't just swing back and forth, it spun around in a circle so that for a moment you would be hanging upside down.

Wufei thought it looked horrifying, his brothers couldn't get on it fast enough.

He looked over at the boy next to him. Duo was watching the ride with great attention, smiling slightly as the passengers screamed. "You want to go on it?" He asked in dread.

Duo gave the ship a dismissive look. "Don't feel like it right now." Duo, who for once wasn't wearing his leather jacket, pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Wufei didn't question the obvious lie, he was just happy that he would have some company down on the ground.

About a half an hour later the boys were back, just as excited as the last time. Wufei tried not to be annoyed with them since they were clearly having fun but he was having such a nice time with Duo. They had been talking and joking around in a way that made Wufei feel like he was on top of the world. He really didn't want to have his brothers hanging off him at the moment. Unfortunately it didn't appear like he had a choice as the two boys latched onto his arms and dragged him along.

"Wu, I want one of those." Jian told him, pointing into one of the game booths.

Wufei shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. It's most likely fixed so it's impossible to win."

"But I want it." The boy complained, pulling on his hand.

"Which one did you want?" Duo cut in as he started walking with long steps towards the booth.

Jian quickly ran ahead, leaning against the counter as he pointed at a pretty big black robot with blinking lights and a gun that made a loud blast sounds. It was cheap and ugly but to a seven year old it must have been the coolest thing ever.

"Hey man, what do I have to do to get one of those?" Duo asked, nodding his head towards the toy.

A short man with thin white hair shuffled over to him, taking his cigar out to answer him. "The robot soldiers are a thousand points, you need to either shoot ten space rockets, twenty UFO's, fifty aliens or two hundred of the little duckies." The man finished with a leer, showing off teeth that were more brown than white.

Wufei eyed the set up. From what he could guess the only thing you would be able to hit was in fact the yellow plastic ducks on the bottom. The aliens walking around on the green hill above them were a lot smaller and further away while the UFO's were even worse. The space rockets were the smallest and would just be plain impossible to hit.

The man behind the counter clearly considered Duo to be a easy target just by implying that he wouldn't be able to do it could make Duo spend all his money on proving him wrong.

"Come on, let's get out of here. It's just a waste of money." Wufei said trying to steer his brothers away. But Duo was already fishing up his wallet with his eyes on the space rockets. "How many in a round?" He asked.

"Five." The man grinned, picking up one of the rifles from the shelf behind him.

"I'll take two then." Duo said, looking determined. Or stubborn, depending on how you saw it.

Wufei sighed. "At least let me pay then."

"Sure." Duo replied as he picked up the rifle that had been placed before him, looking it over with a look of concentration.

Wufei paid the smirking man and stepped back to let Duo do his thing. Duo lifted the gun and aimed carefully. They all watched in silence, waiting in anticipation. They waited… And waited…

"Hey kid you need me to show you how to pull the trigger?" The booth owner chuckled, putting the cigar back in his mouth.

Duo didn't answer, he just aimed, took a slow breath and pulled the trigger. One of the small space rockets fell off the sky. Jian and Chuanli cheered and Wufei damn near joined them..

"Nice shot kid, nine to go." The old man nodded in approval.

Duo took aim, not moving a muscle as he stared with one eye at the next rocket. Silence fell over the watchers as they waited. Then Duo let away another shot, making another rocket fall with a small snap.

They stood there almost ten minutes before the last rocket fell to the sound of the two boys screaming in excitement.

The toy was handed over to them accompanied with the sound of applause from the people who had gathered around.

"I want one too!" Chuanli called out, looking pleadingly up at Duo.

Wufei was just about to tell him no when Duo agreed with a shrug.

Duo didn't appear to be in a hurry as he turned back to the game and picked up the rifle.

The man was glancing over at the crowd around the booth. They most likely wouldn't have the patience to wait around until Duo was done.

"I know you can do it." The game owner chuckled as he took the money Duo held out. "Here kid." He handed over one of the plastic toys over to Duo who accepted it with first a look of surprise, then one of understanding as the man moved on to several gun happy kids standing next to him.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Wufei asked, looking over at the thrilled boys who were examining their robots.

"My uncle Howard owns a lot of guns." Was all Duo said as he pushed his hands into his pockets and turned away dismissively.

The boys were thrilled, they loved their new robot soldiers and Duo was officially their new hero. Wufei just knew that he would never be able to have Duo over undisturbed now.

They walked aimlessly for a while among the booths, lines of impatient people and screaming children. Strolling next to Duo, Wufei had a feeling that he couldn't explain. Wufei hadn't had any friends for years but he couldn't remember that it felt like this. It was thrilling and comforting at the same time. He felt like he was growing more confident in Duo's presence, like some of Duo's indifferent and confident attitude was rubbing off on him.

He hoped he was right and that he one day would be able to be more like Duo.

The boys soon found another ride that they wanted to go on and Wufei dutifully stood with them in the line to go on some kind of rollercoaster that was going to shoot them up into the sky before dropping them down towards the ground again. Duo had wandered off somewhere and Wufei desperately hoped that Duo didn't feel bored or thought he was being too attached to his brothers. But they were pretty young and they shouldn't get to run around too much on their own. They might get lost or go somewhere they shouldn't and get hurt. He was actually surprised that no one had protested against their presence on some of the rides they had gone on.

As they reached the end of the line, Wufei took a couple of steps back not to be in the way and smiled at his brothers as they got strapped into what he considered to be torture machine. The ride boosted up and Wufei held his breath as the seats started to slowly rise into the air. He felt more nervous than the boys appeared seemed to be and he could feel cold shivers run down his back as they reached the top.

"Here." Wufei blinked as he was being handed a blue stuffed dragon.

"I thought you should have some back up against the knights." Duo grinned as he stepped up next to him.

Wufei didn't know what to say as he stroke a hand over the soft dragon's back. The gift meant a hell of a lot more to him then Duo could realize and would ever understand. For a heart stopping moment Wufei felt like they were dating and that his boyfriend had just won him something. Then reality started to nag at him that Duo were just teasing him for being hit over the head with plastic swords on a regular basis. But still, even if it was just a gift from a friend it was more precious to him than any other gift he had received.

"Thank you, I think I'll need it." He smiled, trying to contain some of his happiness that that he wouldn't look too happy over a cheap stuffed toy. Duo seemed happy too, his smile even reached his eyes something that made him even more handsome to Wufei.

Feeling a blush coming on, Wufei looked away and over to the ride. He had totally missed the boys fall and they were now being shot into the air instead of the slow rising in the beginning. Why someone would pay to let that be done to them was beyond Wufei's understanding.

"You couldn't give me enough money to go on that thing." He said out loud, even when he had planned for it to stay in his head. The gift had unsettled him and he felt a need to be as close to Duo as he could, even if it was just to talk about how much he hated roller coasters.

Duo smirked. "What? So if someone offered you like ten million to ride it, you wouldn't do it?"

Just then the people on the ride screamed all at once as they were dropped in free fall from high up in the air.

"Does that go for all rides?" Duo teased, flicking the dragon in his arms on the nose.

Wufei figured that he would probably get on the Spinning Tea Cups again for two million but that would be it. "More or less, I never go on any rides, haven't in years."

"Oh come on, you have to go on at least one ride while we're here." Duo urged like it was a universal law.

Wufei frowned unhappily, hugging the dragon against his chest. "I rather not, you go right ahead if you want to go on one."

Duo shrugged, looking over to the rocket launcher. "Naw, don't feel like it right now. But we should at least go on one ride."

It was the 'we' that did it. Wufei figured that if he got to sit next to Duo then he could probably stand being nauseous and uncomfortable. "Okay, which one?" He asked, pointedly not looking over at the Love Tunnel to their right. What he wouldn't do to get to sit next to Duo in a plastic swan in a dim tunnel.

"You don't like the fast rides do you?"

"My stomach doesn't" Wufei confessed.

"Ferris wheel?" Duo suggested, pointing over at what they could see of the big wheal further away.

Wufei nodded gratefully. He wasn't scared of heights and it didn't move very fast so he shouldn't be affected by it.

"Cool, I'll go get us some tickets." Duo grinned as he started walking. "I'll be right back." He called over his shoulder.

Wufei watched him go until his brothers ones again attacked him, describing the ride in details until Wufei almost started to feel motion sickness. They started walking in the direction of the Ferris wheel and Wufei suddenly wondered how many tickets Duo was going to buy. He would have loved going on the ride alone with Duo but what about his brothers? He couldn't leave them all alone at a carnival. They were too young to walk around on their own and god knows what they would do if he wasn't with them.

His worries didn't stop until Duo showed up.

"Ready for standing in another line?" Duo asked, waving a small bundle of tickets in front of him.

"But it's boring!" Jian protested. "It's so slow."

"That's a good thing." Duo said confidently. "If it went any faster we would all fall off and we would be nothing but guts and blood splatter on the ground. I heard that one guy who fell out was split completely in two when he hit one of the wires on the way down." Duo said with an evil grin.

"Wicked!" The boys suddenly looking a lot more eager to get on it.

Duo handled out the tickets and Wufei accepted his with small smile. "I'll pay you back."

"Naw, don't worry about it, this one's on me." Duo said as they started walking towards the pretty short line. Apparently there were more people who thought the ferries wheel was a bit boring.

Wufei was actually looking forward to it. It was pretty pointless to walk around among all the rides without going on any of them. Not to mention that you couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with you since everyone else seemed to enjoy being tossed around like a sock in a washing machine. Wufei was really grateful that Duo had stayed with him even if he suspected that Duo would most likely enjoy several of the rides.

The line in front of them soon came to its end and a cart that reminded Wufei of a giant muffin with windows came to a stop in front of them.

The boys just about ran inside while Wufei felt a moments of hesitation. It only lasted for a second before Duo put a hand on his shoulder. "I was lying about the falling and the blood splatter thing, you know." Duo whispered.

"I know." Wufei said and with a quick breath he stepped off the platform and into the cart.

The boys were standing on their knees on one side, looking out as they talked in excitement. Their beloved robot warriors lay forgotten beside them.

Duo took a seat furthest in, one leg resting on his knee with his arm up on the backrest. The cart wasn't very big and that gave Wufei the perfect excuse to take a seat right next to him, knowing that Duo's arm was resting behind him, almost like it was around him.

The wheel started moving and slowly they were rising into the air. The cart was cool, a refreshing change to the harsh sunlight outside.

"Wuuu! Look! That's my school." Jian called out in excitement, pointing out towards some specific building out there.

"Cool." Wufei answered to show that he was paying attention. Slowly he leaned back against the seat, hoping that Duo wouldn't move his arm. He didn't.

Wufei glanced over at Duo to see how he was reacting but the other was looking out towards the ocean in the distance. He most likely hadn't even noticed that Wufei was more or less snuggling in under his arm. Wufei was going to enjoy it as long as he could.

The wheel turned slowly. All around them the world spread itself out. The carnival area seemed pitifully small, houses and roads as well while the ocean looked like an endless blue blanket spread out in the distance. The people bellow didn't seem bigger then plastic toys and the earlier so intimidating rides looked ridiculously small from up there. The boys were happy, Duo looked content and Wufei's neck was brushing against Duo's arm every now and then when he turned his head. The world was perfect and Wufei didn't ever want to come down.

But of course, nothing lasts forever and the cart soon reached the ground again.

"That was pretty cool." Wufei confessed as they had gotten out and were walking away through the crowded square in front of the wheel.

Duo gave him a small smile. "Good." Was all he said as he looked back towards the boys who had stopped to wait for them. Chuanli reached out and tugged at Wufei's hand. Wufei shifted the dragon over to his other arm so he could hold his brothers hand as he listened to the happy chatter that never seemed to end. Chuanli had still not reached the age where he thought it was embarrassing to hold hands and Wufei couldn't pretend that he didn't enjoy it. But apparently Chuanli wasn't the only one as Jian snuck up on his other side, pulling on his arm.

Wufei fumbled with the dragon and the robot Chuanli had forgotten on the seat as he tried to get a hold of his little brothers hand without dropping anything. The sound of Duo's chuckle reached him and the toys were easily pulled out from under his arm. Wufei gave him a grateful look before focusing on where he put his feet as he kept up with the two smaller boys. For having so short legs, they were terrifyingly fast and Wufei was glad that he was holding on to them in the thick crowd around them.

Jian led them over towards the ride that he had seen from the Ferris wheel, making Wufei sigh when he saw it, wondering if there was a line to what people would put themselves through. The gigantic ride contained several seats that was lifted up into the air and then tossed around in a way that really couldn't be healthy. Reluctantly he led his brothers over to the line, cursing the genes that made his brothers so tall for their age.

The line was closed in by several chest high fences and his brothers reluctantly agreed to let him wait for them on the sideline with the promise that he was going to wave as soon as they got on. Duo had once again wandered off and Wufei uncomfortably shifted his feet as he found himself a relatively quiet spot where he could lean back against a light post. He was getting a bit tired and he wanted nothing more than to go home.

"Here." Duo handed him a paper cup.

Wufei blinked down at the orange soda in it. "Oh, thank you."

Duo shrugged nonchalantly looking out over the passing stream of people.

Wufei gratefully took a sip. The fluid was cold and sweet against his tongue and he sighed happily."God, just what I needed." He said, licking his lip to catch a straying drop.

"You look hot." Duo mumbled as he searched through his pockets.

Wufei took another sip of the soda. "Yeah, the sun is freaking killing me. Wonder if there is anywhere to sit in the shade"

Duo made a thoughtful sound. "Maybe, but the benches are probably already taken."

Wufei nodded his agreement.

It hadn't started out so bad but as the afternoon stretched on, the weather had gotten a lot hotter. The ice cream man probably makes a hell of a lot of money on days like this.

"There was a tree over by the cotton candy stand, maybe we can sit there." Duo suggested, pointing with the unlit cigarette that he had mange to find.

"Hopefully they're done soon." Wufei groaned, indication his brothers who were about to reach the end of the line.

"Shouldn't take that long to be shaken like a ragdoll." Duo remarked dryly.

They waited quietly, sipping their soda as the line slowly moved. Then as the boys reached the ride, Wufei dutifully waved together with Duo who was joking about feeling like he was waving of a space shuttle.

The sun was shining down on them and by the time his brothers returned Wufei was starting to feel a bit faint. It really was time for him to rest. Following Duo he got his brothers some ice cream and took a seat next to his friend under the tree he had found. With sigh he leaned back against the rough bark, feeling Duo's arm brush against his arm. The sun was flickering gently over them through the leaves and Wufei lazily watched people rushing by. He looked over at his brothers to make sure that they weren't making a too big mess before glancing over at his friend. Duo's eyes were closed, his hands lying in his lap as he rested. Wufei noted that Duo was starting to look a bit red from the sun, he was most likely going to burn.

Just then Duo jawed and opened his eyes. "We should get going or we are going to miss the parade." He said, stretching his arms up over his head.

Wufei agreed, looking away in embarrassment over having been caught staring.

"Do we have to?" Jian suddenly spoke up as the rest of them got to their feet.

Wufei frowned in confusion. The parade was one of the things the boys had been talking about the most, and now one of them suddenly didn't want to go.

"No, we can do something else if you want but I thought you wanted to see it."

At first it seemed like the boy wasn't going to answer, then he made Wufei lean down before whispered in embarrassment. "Simon said that they have clowns and I don't like them." Jian confessed quietly.

Wufei blinked. This was news to him and he had no idea how to convince him that clowns wasn't dangerous, they very just obnoxious men in too much make up.

"Me neither." Duo said, looking down at the boy through his bangs, clearly having heard every word. "I tell you what, if they come anywhere close to us I'll punch them."

"Really?" Jian sounded far too happy about it and was most likely hopping that there would be some intrusive clowns coming their way.

"Sure, I'll hit him straight on the red nose." He said, holding up a tight fist before the boy.

Jian giggled happily and they started walking.

'Thank you' he mouthed to Duo over his shoulder and his friend nodded in response. Wufei held on tightly to both his brothers as they started to close in on their destination. It was becoming more crowded and he didn't want to lose them. They tried to find somewhere to stand but it was proving to be more difficult than they had first thought.

"Here." Duo called out suddenly, taking a hold of Wufei's arm and pulling him into an empty spot right at front. It was a bit tight with a large man with a beer belly to his right and a couple of teenage girls to his left. He could fit one of the boys in front of him but if he tried to get both of them was most likely going to get an elbow in the head or something.

"I can't see." Jian complained then squeaked as Duo took a hold under his arms and lifted him up on his shoulders. Wufei blinked as he looked up at his brother who seemed to think he was sitting on top of the world as he held on to Duo's hair like it were handles. Duo really was turning into his brothers' biggest idol. Not that Wufei could blame him.

They didn't have to wait long before the distant sound of marching band was heard. Wufei wasn't very fond of them but he waited patiently until they had passed, closely followed by a drill team of girls in short skirts. Wufei sighed. He really couldn't care less.

After then came a somewhat modest floater with people dressed like they shouldn't have been allowed to leave the 80's. After them the floater with the pumped up music came and brought some life into the whole thing. The dancers, especially the male ones made things more interesting.

A float clearly influenced by Charlie and the chocolate factory were throwing out candy. Jian seemed to be able to catch his body weight in sweets from his spot on Duo's shoulders. "Be careful." Wufei scolded when he saw, Jian opened up one of the wrapped candy pieces. "Don't drop any on Duo." The boy gave him a look like he was an idiot and why the hell would he drop any of his precious candy. Wufei sighed and turned back to the parade just as a floater with fairy princesses drove past and right behind them there were several colorful clowns. "Would you please not hit the clowns?" Wufei asked quietly, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Duo glanced up at the nervous looking boy on his shoulder. "Sorry, no can do. I always keep my promises."

Wufei rolled his eyes but still felt pleased that Duo was getting along with his brothers. It was nice.

Luckily for the clowns they didn't come anywhere close but that might have had something to do with the glare Duo was giving them.

Then the float from one of the boys' favorite morning cartoons appeared. Wufei had seen far too many episodes with them and was embarrassed to realize that not only could he remember all five characters names but also their veesel's names and he could also tell what space colony the float itself was meant to be. He really was spending too much time with his brothers.

More floats and dancers passed but what Wufei enjoyed the most was how the lack of space pressed Duo up behind him. By just shifting his weight Wufei could easily lean back again the other boy. He didn't, but that didn't mean that he couldn't feel Duo's chest against his back. It was nice.

But no matter how nice it was Wufei couldn't help but glare at the girls next to him when he realized that they were watching Duo more than the parade. The three girls were giggling and whispering as they gave the tall boy looks that had no business being on their faces.

"More clowns." Duo whispered against his ear, his arm resting against his shoulder as he pointed down the road. "Think I can get away with it if I claim the kid kicked him?"

Wufei tipped his head back, giving his friend a grin. "Probably not."

"Damn." Duo muttered with a repressed smile, making Wufei snicker.

They turn back to the parade and Wufei felt warm as Duo didn't remove his arm from him at once, letting him soak in the closeness for just a moment first.

The parade lasted for about forty five minutes and they all seemed grateful to see the end of it.

The younger boys were tired and Wufei couldn't claim to be much better. Jian was still sitting on Duo's shoulders, now leaning down over his head, looking like he was going to fall asleep any second. Wufei had lifted Chuanli up on his back when the smaller boy started to stumbled and drag his feet.

They headed for the exit, sidestepping families with crying children, cleaners and strolling couples. Wufei focused on trying to keep an eye on Duo so he wouldn't lose him in the crowd until they finally found themselves on the sidewalk outside.

"Well that was fun." Duo said as they steered their steps towards the bus stop.

"Yeah, it was." Wufei admitted.

Duo leered. "Told ya."

Wufei nodded. He was not going to mention that the only reason that he had enjoyed it at all was because of Duo.

They managed to catch a bus back and the ride home was uneventful if you didn't count brushing against Duo's arm as the bus took a tight turn.

It didn't take long before they reached the familiar street and got off.

Wufei had been hoping that Duo was going to stay with him for a while but his dream was shattered as Duo handed back the dragon. "I'll see you in school then."

Wufei held back a sigh over the fact that he was going to have to go a whole day without seeing Duo. "Yeah, thanks for coming along."

"Sure, later." Duo gave him a small wave before turning to walk down the street.

Wufei quietly watched him leave. The dragon smelled faintly of Duo's cigarettes and he pressed his nose against the soft fur and breathed in deeply.

For once, Wufei could hardly wait until Monday.

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A/N

Well, once again, that was it for now. Please, if you feel like you can spare a second then tell me what you thought about it :D