DAY 2
Wufei sighed as he picked at his breakfast. He felt oddly tired, like he'd dreamed all night, but he didn't remember any dreams. He'd opened his eyes at the usual time and got up to do his katas, leaving Duo curled up in a ball under most of the bed covers.
He'd forcibly restrained himself from just standing and staring at the boy. Duo was too kawaii for his own good.
Definitely too kawaii for Wufei's peace of mind!
So he'd escaped, and meditated for a long time, done his katas, and now he was staring at a bowl of plain oatmeal, wishing he didn't have to eat healthy food for once. For some strange reason, he was craving muffins.
The door crashed open, and Duo blew in, a bag of groceries in one hand and a bakery box balanced in the other. "Hey, Wu!" he called cheerfully, thumping the box down in front of him, narrowly missing the oatmeal. "Wanna muffin?"
Wufei stared at him. "...muffin?" he asked blankly.
"Yeah, Wu, a muffin! You know, little round things, kinda like cupcakes? Only they're for breakfast. Want one?" He lifted the lid on the box, and the aroma of fresh, warm muffins filled the kitchen.
Possibly more of the house, too, since Heero and Trowa suddenly appeared.
"Where did you get those?" Heero demanded, stalking over and glaring at the box.
"Downtown. There's a little bakery, and don't freak, 'cause I cased* the whole town before I went in. No OZ in sight."
Heero grunted, and snagged a strawberry muffin.
Duo grinned. "Hey, Tro, want one? I got all kinds!"
Trowa nodded, and silently surveyed the selection.
"There's apple, and raisin, and all kinds of berry ones. Wu, which one do you want? Oh, wait - don't tell me! Let me try ESP!"
"ESP?" Wufei raised his eyes from staring at the luscious muffins and quirked an eyebrow. "You think you have extra sensory perception?"
"Yup!" The braided boy replied cheerfully. "And I'll prove it! Let's see..." his hand hovered over the muffins for a moment, then snatched one. "Here!" he plunked it down in front of Wufei. "Blueberry!"
Wufei stared at the muffin like it was a snake. How... how could Duo know that was his favorite? He glanced up at the grinning baka and quickly scowled. "Lucky guess."
"Was not! I'm psychic!"
"More like psycho..." Wufei muttered, but he grabbed the muffin anyway.
It was a really good muffin.
*
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*
"I really do have ESP, you know." Duo draped himself over the back of the chair Wufei was sitting in, trying to peek at his book to see what the other boy was reading. It was in Chinese, so he didn't have any luck.
"I'm sure you do," Wufei said calmly, turning a page.
Duo scowled darkly. He wanted the boy to pay attention to him, and damn it! Wufei was going to pay attention to him! "I'll prove it!"
"How?"
"I'll tell you... hmm... what month your birthday is in!"
Wufei smirked. "After all those questions, you're just going to guess?"
"Yup! Now... lemme think..."
"Don't strain anything," Heero remarked, glancing up from his laptop.
Trowa, who had been half-napping on the couch, looked up, too. His face was mildly interested, nothing more.
"I think... I think... December! Yeah, definitely December! Am I right?" Duo turned innocent violet eyes on Wufei.
05 was staring at him, his own ebony eyes wide with surprise.
"I was right, wasn't I?!" Duo cheered, mentally smirking. Man, this was worth money, seeing Chang Wufei so shocked. He wondered if he could turn this even more to his advantage?
"Is your birthday in December?" Heero demanded, his eyes narrowed at Wufei. He didn't believe for a second that his idiot friend was really psychic - but he had definitely found some way of getting information about Wufei. Heero himself had tried to hack into the L5 database to get Wufei's birth date for Quatre and Duo, and he'd failed.
But only because it wasn't listed.
Wufei was too stunned to deny it; he just nodded, still staring at Duo.
Heero, uncharacteristically, grinned. "So, that makes you the youngest."
"Yes..." Trowa joined in, a tiny smile gracing his own lips. "Quatre's birthday is in October."
"Huh?" Wufei jerked his eyes away from Duo and stared at them. Too late, he realized what he'd given away. He tried to hide a blush behind his book, but Duo had no plans on leaving him alone.
"Guess that makes you our baby..." he crooned, hanging over the back of the chair again.
"I am not an infant!" Wufei growled, keeping his eyes on his book.
"You're the youngest, so you're our baaabbbyyy..." Duo continued to croon, reaching down to stroke Wufei's hair teasingly.
Or not so teasingly, since he'd been wanting to do that ever since the first time he saw that sleek, dark head.
Wufei growled again and dodged away from his hand. "Maxwell..." he warned.
"Don't tease the baby, Duo," Trowa said softly, nearly laughing when Heero and Wufei both stared at him.
Duo grinned. "Okay, Tro. I'll leave our precious little one alone."
Heero gave in and snickered.
Wufei wished his sword wasn't in his room.
Duo was true to his word, though - he wandered over to the television and turned it on. Trowa started watching with him when he picked a nature program, and Heero turned back to his laptop. Wufei subsided back into reading...
...but he kept a wary eye on Maxwell.
NIGHT 2
Duo watched as Wufei got up and walked toward the bedroom. It had been an incredibly boring day, after his little 'fun with ESP!' was over.
Well - not that it was exactly over, but he hadn't wanted to embarrass Wufei in front of Trowa and Heero with his last amazing revelation.
He waited until Wufei had taken his night clothes and vanished into the bathroom, then he hurried to the bedroom. He was changed and under the covers by the time Wufei came in; the Chinese Pilot gave him a suspicious look but slid under the quilt on his side of the bed.
"Hey, Wu?"
"Yes?" The word was still laced with misgiving.
"You really don't believe me, do you? About being psychic?"
"No."
"Then how do you explain the muffins and the right month?" Duo asked teasingly.
"You found it out somehow. Probably hacked into O's database."
'Now why didn't we think of that? And Heero wasted all that time on L5's security!' "No, Wu, I swear no one tapped into O's info. Besides, why would he list that you like blueberry muffins?"
Wufei frowned. "So you found that out somewhere else. Or it was a lucky guess. I'm not discussing this further, Maxwell. It's time to sleep." He lay down, turning his back to Duo. "And, Maxwell?"
"Yeah, Wu?"
"My name is Wufei."
"I know. I also know... that... you don't wear underwear. Doesn't that get chilly?"
Wufei made a startled noise and pulled the pillow over his head.
Duo grinned. He loved being evil.
*
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*
Duo stayed awake long after Wufei's breathing had settled into a gentle rhythm. He watched as the minutes ticked slowly by, until an entire, excruciatingly long hour had gone past.
Then he was hovering over his bed-mate.
"Wufei?" he whispered softly, trying not to actually wake the boy up.
"Mmm?" was the reply he got.
"What's your favorite food?" Besides blueberry muffins, of course.
"...spaghetti..."
"Spaghetti?" he hadn't expected that. He'd been guessing something Chinese.
"With meatballs..." Wufei affirmed, still speaking in a far-off, dreamy tone.
Duo grinned. So - he knew how to make that. He'd be able to play psychic again with no problem, at all. Well, so long as the others didn't get suspicious over the fact that his ESP only worked on Wufei. Maybe he'd let Heero and Trowa in on the joke.
Maybe not. Heero might decide Wufei's sleep-talking was dangerous to their security, and try to train it out of him. Then where would all his fun be?
"What's your favorite color?" Not only fun, but he was learning so much about the boy he loved; he had practically no information at all, before.
"...green."
Well, that was a surprise. He'd expected white. "Why green?"
"...alive..."
Okay, he could see that. Green was the color of growing things, therefore green meant life to Wufei. "Mine's blue," he told the sleeping boy, knowing Wufei wouldn't remember but wanting to tell him anyway. "What's your favorite movie?"
Wufei just frowned, and Duo remembered he'd never seen him watch a movie. "Okay, forget it. Wufei... why won't you let us get close to you?"
Where had that come from? He hadn't meant to get so serious.
"...go away..."
"What?" He leaned closer. Was Wufei telling him to go away?
"You'll just go away," the smaller boy said clearly, his expression unhappy.
"No, we wouldn't," Duo whispered, feeling his heart ache.
"Everyone does," Wufei sighed, and cuddled closer to his pillow.
Duo couldn't resist reaching out to stroke his hair again. "I wouldn't, Wufei."
"...everyone," Wufei whispered, and sniffled slightly.
Oh, gods, he didn't want to make Wufei cry! But he could stop himself. "Will you ever let any of us close?"
"...dun' know..." Wufei slurred slightly, his eyebrows drawing together.
"If you were going to let one of us close, who would it be?" Duo whispered, and waited in breathless anticipation for the answer. Please, please, please...
"...baka..."
"You mean Duo?" His heart started climbing up his throat. Wufei would let him close?! Talk about your dreams coming true!
Wufei nodded slightly. "Baka." he said again.
"Why Duo?"
"...like him. Smiles... laughs... no one else ever..." It was hard to follow the muffled words, but Duo managed it.
"Because he's happy? But what if that's just an act?"
Wufei nodded again. "...is an act... but... not always..."
Wufei knew it was an act. Knew it was a mask. Realized that sometimes he didn't feel as joyous as he acted.
Realized that sometimes he did.
No wonder he loved the boy...
"Do you like Duo?" he whispered again, leaning even closer to Wufei.
"...mmm."
What the hell did 'mmm' mean?! Was that 'yes' or 'no'?!
"Do you?" he prompted.
"...mmm...hmm..."
Well, that sounded affirmative. Now - to find out how Wufei liked him.
"Wufei... would you kiss Duo, if you had the chance?"
"...kill me..."
"No, he wouldn't. He likes you. Would you kiss him?"
"...likes me?" Wufei looked puzzled.
Duo stopped stroking his hair and cupped his cheek. "A lot."
"...okay."
"So you would kiss him?"
Wufei nodded.
Duo nearly crowed.
Wufei liked him!!!
He pulled his hand away from the boy reluctantly, resisting the urge to just jump him, then and there. He couldn't do that yet; Wufei would freak out.
He had to make plans...
* A/N : My beta reader Discordia (hugs Discordia) found this confusing, so I thought I'd explain it: to 'case' something is a thief's term for checking the security of a place. It's pretty much an American term, since Duo is both American and a thief, I thought it was appropriate.