Wufei awoke to the feeling of someone shaking his arm violently. "Get up! You're ruining my routine."
He opened his eyes, seeing his little sister standing there, dressed in her training gear, a death grip on his hand. He looked at the clock on his bedside table, which read 445, and groaned. His head hurt and her jostling him was making the room spin. "I'm up! I'll be right there. START WITHOUT ME!" He roared, trying to stop her before she made what little dinner he ate come up.
He jerked his hand back, freeing it from her grasp, and she ran from the room. He had never raised is voice to her before, he had also never slept past their morning routine, not after that first week when she imposed it on him.
He sighed and crawled out of bed, dragging on his pants and robe, which she had laid out for him. Muttering, he went to the bathroom, relieving himself and brushing his teeth and hair. He was out on the veranda with her by 0500, where she was doing her katas with a scowl on her face.
She was furious. "You're lazy." She spat, beginning the form again.
"When I was your age, my master didn't start things until 0500. You are just like your sister, always trying to push the envelope."
"I've never been paid a higher compliment. Perhaps you should start calling me Nataku."
Duo was up and sitting with Lu as she fixed breakfast around 0530, in time to see the two dragons bringing their argument indoors.
"There is really no need to start so early when school doesn't even start until 0800." Wufei stated and both were scowling at each other, neither wanting to back down.
"That baka American is making you weak." Lien said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
They were standing in the dining room, not realizing they had an audience for their fight. Wufei didn't understand any of it. This girl was eleven and he was almost twenty-seven, and yet here they were arguing like little kids, the way he and Meilan used to before and during the marriage. "Lien, you need to leave him out of this. Duo has nothing to do with any of it."
"I said call me Nataku!" She stamped her foot. "And yes, he has everything to do with it. He's the reason we're on this godforsaken colony. Have you forgotten about our own, lying in ruins, worse than this one was when we got here? You wasted its legacy, my legacy, here."
"You're not worthy of that name. Nataku would understand what we are doing here. Nataku would see the injustice on this colony and try to defeat it, the way we have. What we did here was not a waste. These people have suffered much throughout the years. Our colony is naught but an empty shell."
"I know. Our people are homeless, suffering in poverty on earth. Let the Americans take care of their own mess. They made it that way long before the war. Admit it, Wufei, you did it all for him."
"I love him. He'll appreciate it. You have your palace in Beijing, the estate in Guiyang, the colony can wait, since it is naught but a tomb right now anyway."
"I have all that, but I'm stuck here with you, living in an apartment down the hall from a woman who has been in love with you forever, and you don't even truly acknowledge her existence. I don't see why she loves you. I know he'll never love you. You did all this, but inside you are still just that coward who was not worthy of Nataku. You are just lazy, and pathetic. So pathetic you let a little girl keep you hostage in your apartment. So pathetic you've never been laid, even though the object you desire is the biggest man slut in the history of mankind."
Duo recognized the look in Wufei's eyes, it was one he had seen cross the Chinese man's face many times during the war, the look of rage. The sparring of words they had been doing was one thing, but this look was the look before Wufei attacked. He got up from his seat at the breakfast bar, crossing the room to stand between the two. "I've heard just about enough, so why don't you both go hit the showers and cool off before we all sit down and have breakfast together like civilized people."
"Gomen, Duo-kun. I did not mean all those mean things I said about you." Lien said, bowing to him before retreating to her side of the apartment.
Wufei was still glaring, the rage begging for release even as he tried to rein it in. He would not have hit the girl, at least he thought he wouldn't. Duo was just standing there, staring him down, meeting his glare with his own, "Wufei, if you need to hit something, take it out on me. I can take you, we're both trained killers. You could have killed her."
The thought of being able to kill Lien was so laughable, it instantly soothed his rage, washing it away with laughter so violent that Wufei had to lean on the chair next to him for support. "She's a Long, Duo. A trained killer. She's been training from the time she could walk. But thank you, for stepping in. I'm sorry that you had to witness such an uncivilized display. I promise you, we aren't regularly like that." He said, as the laughter subsided, and bowing left the room for his own, to shower and get ready for the day.
Duo just shook his head, returning to the breakfast bar. "How often do they do that?"
Lu looked at him, baffled. "I've never seen Wufei like that, or Lien for that matter. I've never seen him raise his voice, let alone his hand, towards her. And she isn't prone to yelling or fighting either, though I've been informed that you saw the hellcat in her yesterday as well, aimed at her teacher. This is out of character for them both. She's always been the light of his eye, and he her most respected sensei."
Duo's eyes widened in shock as his mind began to run through everything. The words of their argument, little seemed to be attacking Wufei, in fact the majority of the argument she had been putting him down. Could it be that she was in love with Wufei? Her actions seemed to be those of a jealous lover, though Wufei had told him nothing was going on with him and his little sister. But she's not his little sister. She's Nataku's little sister. His mind so faithfully pointed out. She's just like Nataku.
He slammed his fist down on the breakfast bar, making all the dishes Lu had set out shake and clatter against the marble counter top. He then shook his head. Wufei is big on the family thing, she's the only family he's got. He'll always see her as his little sister, and since he even said to her that he loves me, he's not exactly straight either. He could feel hysterical laughter welling up inside of him. "She's in love with him, so she's jealous that I'm here. He's sexually frustrated, and turning back into that stick in the mud he was during the war while he was denying his body." He said, looking up at Lu who was just staring at him with a confused look on her face.
"She's his sister. She couldn't possibly be in love with him." Lu said, putting the hash browns in one of the bowls she had set out on the bar.
"No, she's his dead wife's sister. Who knows, if Master O were still around he probably would have arranged that once Lien turns thirteen she marry Wufei, the way he and Meilan had." Duo explained, picking at the potatoes in the bowl.
"That's just crazy. He's fifteen years older than her." Lu said, batting his hand away as she put a lid on the bowl, putting it in the safety of the oven, away from his pilfering hands.
"I know, but he's probably the only one alive with the suitable blood line running through his veins." Duo smiled, watching her put the other dishes in their bowls and hiding them in the oven. "He'll never have her though, his sense of honor and duty prevents him from seeing her as anything but his little sister."
"Duo, that's just ridiculous. She didn't behave that way when I first moved in." Lu said, sitting down at the bar next to him while they waited for the dragons to return for breakfast.
"No offence, Miss Perez, but you aren't exactly a threat. You aren't someone who could possibly steal his affection from her, not the way that I could." Duo got up from the bar. "If you will excuse me, I think I'll change into something more appropriate before they get back. This priest outfit is fine, but since no doubt I'll have to drag Wufei to his office, I should dress more appropriately."
Lu was still scowling after he left. "Not a threat. Not capable of stealing his affection. Don't underestimate me, Mr. Maxwell."
"Onna no baka." Lien said, hearing Lu's words as she silently entered the kitchen. "I wish you would just stop trying to get my brother's attention. He's perfectly capable of cooking and cleaning, we managed before you insinuated yourself here. He hired you to be his assistant, not his housekeeper. Have you no pride?"
"I've been living here for three years, and you're coming up with this now?"
"I thought you would have left before now. I like you, Luciana, but you really need to get a life of your own. Go out, move out. You'll still see him at the office every day, but it is time you got on with your life and quit hiding in this made up family. You'll never be his wife." Lien began to take the bowls out of the oven and place them on the table.
"Neither will you, little girl." Lu said, getting up from the bar to leave the room. She went to her own, getting dressed for work, and left the house without bothering to return to the kitchen.
Wufei entered the kitchen, followed closely by Duo, both were wearing business suits, and from the sound of what little Lien could hear, they were discussing the Maxwell Church. "Where's Luciana?" Wufei asked, noticing only three place settings on the table, Lien sitting at one of them waiting for them.
"She left. I think she went to look for an apartment before work." Lien said, as they began to pass the dishes around, serving themselves.
"I didn't know she was thinking of moving out." Wufei said.
"I'm sorry, Wufei. It's probably my fault. I pointed out to her that she didn't really have a chance of becoming your wife." Duo said, and Wufei almost dropped the bowl of eggs in his hands.
"No, Duo. It's not your fault. I asked her to move out." Lien said. "I pointed out that she was a little old to be playing house. I told her that she was just Wufei's assistant, not his wife, and she never would be."
"I hope she doesn't quit because of this mess." Wufei said, putting the bowl down. "Now will someone please pass the salt."
"Good morning, Mr. Chang. I put some reports on your desk that need your personal attention. Miss Perez called and said she'd be in a little later, something about signing papers on her new apartment. And a gentleman by the name of Mr. Winner is waiting for you in your office." A young man said, coming up to Wufei and Duo as they exited the elevator, handing Wufei a black coffee mug full of coffee.
"Thank you, Paul. This is Mr. Maxwell. Could you give him those files I told you to put away until the grim reaper came to take them. You can put him in Randy's old office, so he'll have some privacy." Wufei said, handing Paul his briefcase. "The deed to your house is in here, I already paid the taxes on it for this year. Apologize again to Heather for me, I'm so sorry I missed the wedding." He left the two of them standing at Paul's desk, walking past to the closed door with the name plate that said Chang Wufei, CEO on it.
He went inside and saw Quatre sitting in front of his desk, a long black box on his lap. Quatre turned at the sound of the closing door, his eyes lighting up when he saw the tall Chinese man. "I hoped I had found you. Do you even know how hard it was to find you. Zechs said I was being silly, Duo had only been gone a day, but someone else is living in his apartment. Wufei, Duo is missing."
Wufei smiled, crossing the room to take his place at his desk. "What's in the box, Quatre?"
"Oh! Heero said it was time for me to return the sword to Duo, but since he's missing, I figured I'd return it to you. You gave it to him, you almost killed him with it, you give it back to him when you find him. You know, as hard as it was to find you, it will be ten times harder to find him." Quatre put the black case on the desk.
"It's good to see you, Quatre. How many people know that you're here?" Wufei asked, opening the case.
"Oh! Well, just Zechs, he's waiting at our hotel room, the Drake." Quatre said, averting his eyes from the gleaming blade that lay on a pillow of velvet between them.
Wufei picked up his phone, "Paul, make reservations for two at the same restaurant Lu had you make them at last night, under the name Peacecraft, and call the Drake hotel and arrange for the suite that Miliardo Peacecraft and his guest are staying in be booked for them for the next week, as my guests."
Quatre's eyes widened. "Wufei, we can easily afford that ourselves, but we really should get back so we can find Duo."
"I suppose you already alerted Trowa that he was missing. He'll try to check in with you later. He'll find you missing too, and will then come looking for me, since no doubt you told him you were going to try to find me to let me know about Maxwell." Wufei said, smiling. "It will be good to see him again too, I dare say."
"Wufei, I love the plans for the memorial park." Duo said, running into the office with the black files still in his hands. "Oh, hi Q. Hey! My sword. Thanks, man."
"Duo! We thought you were missing. Did you know that someone else has moved into your apartment?" Quatre asked, as the Chinese and the American both smiled at each other, suppressing their laughter.
"Yes, Detective Laytner and I kinda traded apartments. He lived in Hilde's building, but now I do. Surely Hilde told you when you called her to find me." Duo said, setting the files down and picking up the sword.
"Actually all she said was that you should be home, and if you weren't she didn't know where you were. Even Heero didn't have a clue, though he was very busy when I called, and Relena told me to leave them alone before she ended the call." Quatre blushed, remembering the scene he and Zechs had witnessed when Heero had answered the phone.
"Only Heero would answer the phone mid-coitus." Duo said, laughing.
"Duo no ecchi." Quatre said, rising from his chair. "Thanks for your hospitality, Chang. We'll have to have dinner together, the four of us, tomorrow."
"Hey Q, give Zechs a big sloppy kiss for me." Duo said as Quatre headed for the door.
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Until tomorrow, Quatre."
"You can't tell me you read all those reports." Wufei said as Duo took the chair Quatre vacated, the blade of the sword resting on his jacket sleeve as he inspected the blade, looking for traces of blood.
"Nah, just the first one. I wanted to catch Q before he went away. So how long are he and the marquis staying on this fine colony?"
"At least a week. It depends on how long it takes Cathy's clown to follow him." Wufei said, smiling at the thought.
"You swore Dee, Ryo, and Hilde to secrecy, didn't you." Duo said, finally understanding things. "And Relena is to keep Heero occupied, so he doesn't reveal where you are either."
Wufei smiled, "I really just wanted to keep you to myself, let us get to know each other without everyone interfering, but this will be fun too. I missed the commitment ceremony, and the wedding, so why not bring them here, give them a little vacation from their lives. And this is also a good way to make sure that the skills we honed during the war haven't disappeared completely. If you think about it, no one has seen me since I left the Preventers, and yet no one has tried to find me either."
"I thought you didn't want to be found, so I told everyone to leave you alone, though I kept a trace on the obituaries, to make sure you weren't dead." Duo admitted, laying the sword back on its bed, and closing the clamshell case Quatre had bought for it.
Wufei opened the files on his desk, signing them where Paul had indicated and stacking them neatly in another pile, effectively going through them all in about thirty minutes, while Duo scanned the black files he had been given. "You know, Lien likes you as something more than a brother." Duo said, looking at Wufei out of the corner of his eye as he was reading the stack of messages from the previous day.
"Lien was betrothed to my second maternal cousin. He died on the colony, along with the rest. I'll soon have to find someone else to marry her to." Wufei said, not looking up from the yellow pieces of paper in his hand.
"As the only other surviving member of the royal family, wouldn't that be you?" Duo asked, returning his attention to the files in hand.
"I'm sure I can find another of the children that were fostered out when they were born. I have my contacts already looking."
Duo closed the files, he was finished, and egging Wufei on was more fun anyway. "But she loves you. She wants you. She wants to be Nataku for you."
"She's just a child. Childhood crushes go away." Wufei said, setting one message aside and discarding the rest. "Trowa has already tried to contact me. I suspect he'll be here before the end of the day."
Duo picked up the little yellow piece of paper. "The reaper is lost in the field. The prince is worried for the harvest may be late, the reaper forgot his tool. The guard was not at his post when the reaper slipped out. Will follow the prince to find the reaper. Should arrive around 1400 with family in tow." Duo read aloud, laughing that Trowa still felt the need to code the message.
"Paul, call the Drake, reserve another two rooms under the name Barton, make sure they connect, also for a week. Send a limo, actually you can accompany it, to meet the afternoon shuttle from Earth, it should arrive around 1400, and take Trowa Barton and his family to their hotel suites." Wufei told his intern over the phone before returning his attention to Duo.
"All this trouble for little ole me?" Duo asked, getting up from the chair to sit on the desk next to the Chinese man, who just wrapped his arms around Duo's waist, resting his head on the latter's lap. Duo smiled, removing the band that Wufei had tied his hair back with, running his hands through his hair.
"Wufei, have you even been to your colony yet?" Duo asked while massaging Wufei's scalp.
"Would you go with me? We can go right now, before my courage fails me." Wufei said, lifting his head to look into Duo's eyes.
Duo nodded, smoothing Wufei's hair down. Wufei picked up the phone. "Paul, call and have my shuttle ready to take off, immediately. I'll be going to L5 within the hour."
As they neared the colony, Duo sighed. Though most of the outer hull was intact, there was a gaping hole probably at the epicenter of the explosion, where the royal palace had been. Eerily still and serene, they neared the hole, it was to be their entrance point, and as they neared it, Wufei punched in a bit of code into the computer that made a flash around the ship for the briefest moment, before they slipped in, Wufei landing the shuttle on the charred remains of the palace. A field of flowers lay in front of them, a white stone structure stood alone amidst the field of green and white, bringing a tear to Wufei's eyes.
"The atmosphere still works and is stable. Has to be for that field to still be flowering." Duo said, pushing the button that opened the hatch to the cargo hold, where they had thought to bring a Jeep to survey the colony.
As Duo unloaded the Jeep, Wufei walked to the field, laying across the cold marble grave. "Nataku, I have brought your justice, now I will renew your home."
Duo called to him from where he parked the Jeep near the field, not wanting to destroy the flowers. Wufei got up and ran to the jeep, tears still running down his face. "Let's go. I've waited too long to come home. Lien was right, I was afraid to come back."
"We'll bury the dead, and restore this place together." Duo said, turning the Jeep around to go in the opposite direction of the field, toward the dojo, where Wufei spent most of his youth training.
A charge from a thermal weapon streamed past their ears between them, exploding on the roll bar behind them, causing Duo to slam on the brakes. "Shit, Wufei. Don't tell me the colony is equipped with an automated defense system.
"I disabled it before we landed." Wufei said, jumping out of the Jeep, thankful that he had thought to change into the white robes he had always worn before, which signified his right to be here.
Duo had changed too, wearing black pants and a black jacket over a burgundy top, they both looked like they did before, and this felt very much like a mission, especially now that Duo had his thermo-blaster in his hand.
"Identify yourselves, so that I may know who I am killing before you die." A male voice called to them from inside the dojo.
"I am Chang Wufei, and if you have any honor you will come out and challenge us, rather than pick us off like a coward." Wufei said, drawing his sword from where he had stowed it behind the seat. He tied its scabbard around his waist by its belt and drew it, challenging the unseen man to a duel.
A young man dressed in ragged white robes, which were so like Wufei's, only these had char marks and were torn like they had been through a battle, or an explosion. "Chang Dewei." He bowed to the two before readying his sword.
"Dewei?" Duo asked, looking to Wufei for answers and not getting any.
"Chang Dewei died eleven years ago when the colony exploded. There were no survivors. Impossible for you to be him." Wufei said, circling around to bring the duel away from Duo.
"Chang Wufei died eleven years ago, he too was on the colony when it was destroyed. You can not possibly be my brother." Dewei said, moving closer. "I was in the Dojo, The pit beneath the floor opened and I fell inside. It took me a long time to dig my self out of the rubble. I buried the dead, salvaged what food I could find, and practiced, waiting for the day when I would have the opportunity to avenge the death of my family."
"Master Long, she sent me away from the colony in Altron, so that I could, and did, defeat the devils that came and forced her to destroy the colony. The fight is over, brother. We were victorious, and the royal house is gladdened to find another of its lost members." Wufei said, putting the sword in its sheath which he had tied to his waist.
They had a quick exchange in Chinese, of which, all Duo could pick out was Oz, Ron Shirin, and Lien. Duo cleared his throat, trying to get their attention. Now that they had found a survivor, he was anxious to get off of the silent colony, it did indeed feel like a tomb.
"Who's the wairen?" Dewei asked, gesturing towards Duo with his sword.
"He's a friend, an ally. Duo Maxwell of the colony at L2" Wufei said, leading his brother closer to Duo and the jeep. Both were still laughing over whatever had been said in Chinese.
"Duo, this is my little brother, Chang Dewei." Wufei said, putting his arm around Dewei's shoulders.
"Maxwell," Dewei said, bowing deep in respect. "I'm sorry about shooting earlier. I wasn't really aiming for you, just trying to get your attention."
"Please call me Duo. And don't worry, its not a problem and you didn't hit any vital areas of the jeep. I probably would have done the same thing if there were strangers coming near my home. Eleven years is a long time to be alone, though I am surprised salvagers haven't come to harvest the metal from the colony." Duo said, extending his hand for a quick and very firm handshake. Duo was instantly impressed by Dewei's strength, and perseverance. He knew had he been alone and surrounded by death for eleven years he probably would have thrown himself out of the hole, that was just barely protected by a forcefield.
"I wasn't alone. I had holographic tutors and the spirits of the dead to keep me company. I fixed the environmental controls so I could farm. And I had vengeance to look forward to if someone tried to come back to finish the job." Dewei sighed, climbing into the back of the jeep. "Oh but what I wouldn't give for some duck, and some clothes other than my brother's."
Duo now looked at Wufei as he climbed in the jeep too. The clothes Dewei had been wearing were a little too short for his height and his arm length, but Duo had assumed it was because they were the clothes that had belonged to the little kid, then he remembered that Dewei and Wufei had stood together, Dewei was only a couple of inches shorter than Wufei, not a whole foot like other colonists were. "Is there something wrong with the gravitation of the colony?"
Wufei laughed. "We've always had less gravity than the other colonies, the gravitational force is about 8.6, same as Earth. I'm not sure how it's accomplished, but even if I had stayed up here for my growth spurt, I would be the same height I am now." Wufei was again sitting on the passenger side, and Duo turned the jeep around, driving over the rubble of the palace once again to be near the shuttle. "If you hadn't insisted on following the clan's traditions, if you hadn't decided your place was at a monastery, I daresay you could have worn the black of our cousins, but stubbornly you had the only red other than the women. Unfortunately I can not indulge your request any longer to be a chaste monk, you will have to marry to continue the Long-Chang legacy."
Dewei blushed. "Lien is just a baby."
Wufei laughed. "Dewei, that was eleven years ago. You were seven then. You've grown up and so has she. She'll be twelve next month, and of betrothal age next year."
The jeep settled to a halt, and the three disembarked, heading inside the cargo door of the shuttle towards the cockpit. They were going to leave the jeep on the colony, for future trips, and Dewei was trying to work out the Lien thing in his head. "Brother, yours is the duty to continue the clan, and you are unwed, so therefore you must marry her. I know Master O would insist upon it. What would you have done if you hadn't found me?"
"I'm looking for any of the other children who may have been fostered out or escaped. I'm too old for her, and she is under my care. I am her guardian, so it wouldn't be proper. As my brother, it falls to you." Wufei explained and Duo couldn't help but laugh.
"Besides that, your brother is in love with someone else," Duo said. Wufei glared at him, warning him not to say too much.
"So Mr. Family Duty is in love. Can I meet this girl who is preventing you from your duty?" Dewei asked as they secured the cockpit to ready for take off. It had long been rumored in the Dojo that Wufei would never fall for any woman, especially given his feelings for his beautiful wife. He, it was assumed, could show no emotion to anyone, especially a woman, given his dislike of them, so it was very curious that one was keeping him from his duty.
"You already have." Duo muttered under his breath before slipping the helmet on over his head.
Unfortunately, solitude had given Dewei a very sharp sense of hearing. His eyes widened, and it all finally made sense. Wufei was just sitting there, stoic and silent as always, maneuvering the shuttle out of the hole. His helmet obstructing his face, showing Dewei nothing.
Dewei smiled, nodding in understanding. "You're in love with a man."
Wufei nodded, still silent during the discourse.
"You don't seem surprised." Duo said, his smile projecting in his voice even through the comm.
"We were never really sure. He really hates women, or at least he did when we were kids. I remember when I was three, he and Meilan running through the palace, arguing, fighting, with fists and swords. Both of them were separated and taken to the infirmary, and there was so much blood we thought surely one of them had killed the other. He's got a scar from his right shoulder to his left hip on his back from where she attacked him from behind."
Wufei was getting irritated. "I am still in the room. Enough about the past. Duo, I'm trusting you to get him home, changed and ready for dinner, he'll have to wear something of mine until you and he can get to a shop to get him new clothes. There's a Chinese restaurant downtown, which happens to be one of Lien's favorites. We'll meet there for dinner. I have to get her from school, and we are going to be very late."
The other two seemed to sense Wufei's irritation, and so they remained silent for the rest of the trip back to the colony.
"Why not just put me in an orphanage if you are going to forget about me?" Lien asked, talking to him on his cell phone as he had yet to arrive at the school. She had called him from Fr. Stuart's office once all the other students had left and she was still waiting for him to pick her up, since Lu didn't show up either.
"I'm just pulling up to the curb now." Wufei informed her as he parallel parked the car in front of the school's entrance. "I didn't forget about you. As a matter of fact, I was on our colony, seeing how much it we would have to do to make it habitable again." He got out of the car and headed into the building.
"Likely story. You and the baka were probably out partying again," she said, hanging up the phone.
She left the office, waiting to see him in the hall. He came into view and she was overwhelmed by all the inner demons that haunted her for the two hours she waited for him to show up. "I hate you!" she screamed before running up to him and giving him a zealous hug. "And I love you so much I can't stand it."
Shaking his head, Wufei freed himself from her grasp. "Onna no baka," he playfully chided, kissing her on the forehead. "We have a guest tonight for dinner, so we're going out to your favorite restaurant."
"I don't consider Duo our guest. He's your guest, so you can go without me." Lien said, walking ahead of him toward the door.
He hurried to catch up, stopping her progress and making her look at him. "I have indulged you long enough, it is time you learned your place. I am the head of the clan, so until you marry, you are in my care, under my rule. I say we have a guest, to whom you will want to show your more pleasant, docile, and obedient side. Let me tell you this, if you upset him, you and I may be the last of our clan, The Longs will die out, and you will do in one night what the world has been trying to do since they banished the family to the colonies over two hundred years ago. You are meeting your intended tonight. He is Chang Dewei, my brother."
"So how long have you and my brother known each other?" Dewei asked from inside a dressing room stall, where he was trying on an outfit to wear tonight.
"We met during the war. We worked together for a while after the war, but lost touch when he quit to go to college." Duo said, holding up the outfit Dewei had already chosen to him.
It was in the style of Wufei's white one, only done in deep blue. It always amazed Duo that the silk fabric was woven in such away that it was almost totally indestructible and yet it still flowed with all the elegance that only silk had.
"Sounds like my brother, always the scholar." Dewei said.
Duo nodded, then felt foolish since the Chinese man couldn't see him through the door anyway. He put the outfit back on the small rack that held the others Dewei had chosen and turned back to the mirror to survey the new outfit he had decided to purchase while he waited for Dewei to make up his mind.
"So how long have you been lovers?" He asked, standing behind the American in a black suit, looking so much like Wufei did the day he left the Preventers' Headquarters, walking away from everyone he had spent the war fighting alongside.
"We aren't yet." Duo said, pulling his eyes off the young man who stood only inches behind him. He was so close he could feel the heat radiating off of him, hear his breathing, and feel his breath as it brushed past his neck. "I think you should wear that for dinner." Duo said, turning around to find an escape.
"My brother is a fool for not fully claiming you." Dewei said, moving closer.
"And you have been starved for human contact for too long for me to take advantage." Duo said, pushing him away and going out to the main part of the shop, clothes rack in tow, as if using it as a shield for his retreat.
Dewei came out moments later, still wearing the suit and carrying the one he had borrowed from Wufei when they first arrived at the apartment. Duo was already talking to the clerk, so he just went up to them. "Put it on Chang Wufei's account." Duo said to the clerk as she packaged up Wufei's suit for them too. "And have it delivered to his address."
She smiled, "It will be there within the hour."
They nodded and left, heading for the restaurant that was a couple of blocks away from the shop.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Duo." Dewei said while they waited to cross the street.
"I won't tell Wufei. I understand completely, and believe me it is forgotten." Duo said as they walked across.
Lien shifted nervously in her seat. She still wore her school's seifuku and kept looking at the door for the baka and her intended. The waiter set down a glass in front of her, a Shirley Temple that Wufei had ordered for her on a whim, and she absently thanked him, looking only briefly at her guardian, who was on his phone yet again, this time with a man he kept calling Barton. She looked back at the door and blushed as a man entered the restaurant, alone. He was about as tall as Wufei, and looked exactly like him, only younger, and his long hair was braided, swinging as he walked in their direction, she saw it almost touched the ground. She saw he was looking back at her, so she quickly turned away, staring at her Shirley Temple, very nervous, and for the first time in her life she was unsure of herself.
"You and your family enjoy your stay, Trowa. We can get together tomorrow and make a plan to find him, but he's only been gone a day, and not even Duo can get into trouble in that short of a time." Lien heard Wufei say. "Give Iria my love, and please, this trip is on me, consider it a very belated wedding present."
The stranger was coming toward them, and then she saw that Duo was behind him, a purple haired woman on his arm, and they were laughing about whatever they had been talking about.
She looked at Wufei, who smiled, seeing everyone approach. He gestured for their waiter, who appeared just as the three newcomers arrived at their table. "An extra place setting please, our party has finally arrived."
The waiter nodded and left, leaving Wufei a chance for introductions. "Lien, you know Duo, but I'd like you to meet Miss Lucrezia Noin, and Chang Dewei, my brother." Wufei started, gesturing to each one as Lien looked at them both. "May I present Long Lien, my little sister."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Long. I'm sorry to intrude on your dinner, but my brother contacted me about this guy here, saying he was missing. He asked me to meet him on the colony, but I had to take a later flight than expected, so I was on my way to find a hotel, when I bumped into the very man we were looking for, crossing the street with this young man." Noin explained, taking a seat in the chair that Duo had pulled out for her, next to his chair next to Wufei.
Dewei took his seat, still silent, a bit amused by the girl's curious stare in his direction. "A stare can be considered insolence," he said, laughter in his voice.
She blinked and looked away. "I'm glad that they found you safe and well. I'm sorry it was so late in coming." She reached out to touch his hand that rested on the table. "Welcome back from the grave."
He caught her hand, soft and tender, in his own which was hard and calloused from working the field he planted. "I'm glad to be welcomed by such a sweet girl, and glad you're not a hellion like Meilan was."
Duo had to concentrate hard not to laugh at Dewei's words. "Shall we order?"
"Wufei already ordered, there will be plenty for everyone. I hope no one objects." She was being quite civil, especially now that not only was there the fact that they were entertaining guests, but that Dewei wanted her to be sweet and docile, which she would be for him, the way she had been for Wufei when she had thought he was the last of the line and the only suitable husband for her.
They had a nice evening, chatting about different things since the war, the way their lives had been going, and the project Lady Noin had been working on in regards to the possibility of colonizing the moon. It was agreed that given the late hour, she would be staying with them, as their guest, and as the dessert dishes were being picked up, Wufei felt a sense of accomplishment, and a sense that something major was about to happen, that would right all the things that fell apart once he left his comrades behind.
"Duo, how do you really feel about Miliardo and Quatre's relationship?" Wufei asked, helping Duo separate his large bed into two single beds. Noin had been given Luciana's old room, and Dewei was moved into the room Duo had been using, leaving the two of them to double up, or one of them would have to sleep on the couch.
"It's really none of my business, But I keep remembering the final battle against White Fang. Even while he was outnumbered by the mobile dolls as we roamed the halls of Libra in our Gundams, he kept searching for Quatre, forever worrying about him. I always believed that he would end up with Quatre." Duo slumped on the naked bed. "Then you left the Preventers, and he married Iria while Quatre ran off with Zechs. I guess it shows us that some things aren't meant ot be, like Trowa and Quatre, Zechs and Noin..."
"You and Heero." Wufei finished, closing his eyes against unshed tears. You and me.
Duo looked up at his host. "Heero and I were never meant to be. It just took me a while to figure it out. Besides, you promised not to speak of him again." Duo crossed his arms in front of his chest, Wufei's question about Quatre's relationship still nagging him. "Why did you ask about Q-man anyway?"
"I just wanted to know if he was truly happy with Miliardo, like he was with Trowa."
"Not by a longshot. They are happy now, but it took them a long while to get there, and they were helped on a bit by Heero deserting them in that twisted menage a trois they had going there right after Iria married Trowa. Their relationship strengthened when they had to lean on each other to get over Heero." Duo laid back against the bed, as if looking to the past was very draining.
"I talked to Trowa today, while you were changing, before we left for the colony. He's got some news of the most joyous and the most tragic kind. Iria is pregnant, at the start of her third trimester." Wufei said, throwing him one of his pillows, the silver of the satin pillowcase reminding him of a missile fired at an enemy target. He closed his eyes, he didn't want to think of war just yet.
Duo caught the pillow, tucking it back behind his head. He looked worried about the news. "I thought she and her sisters couldn't have natural children, like their mother."
"And all they can ever have is daughters, she wanted to give Trowa a son. History, it seems, is truly forever repeating itself. In a way, this may be good for Quatre. It'll give him a chance to see that he was born, not created in a test tube, like he's assumed he had been all his life," Wufei explained before going to the linen closet he had in the room, looking for sheets to fit the new twin sized beds.
Duo came up to him, hugging him from behind. "I could've held you all night. Your virtue is safe with me." He kissed the nape of his neck. "I promised you we'd take things slow, remember?"
"I'm not afraid of you taking my virtue, I'm afraid I may demand you to take it, even though I'm still not quite ready." Wufei said, pulling out two sets of black sheets, trying to ignore the sudden tightness in his groin.
Duo took the top set off of Wufei's hands before Wufei even had a chance to turn around and had effectively made his own bed by the time Wufei willed himself to turn around.
Wufei awoke at 0400 and got up, closing the two foot gap between the two sides of his bed, he went to the bathroom that connected to his room to get ready to meet Lien on the veranda for her routine. Thirty minutes later he was out on the veranda, alone. He went to her room and found she was still asleep in her small bed. Relieved that she was finally taking time to sleep, so he went to his own room, knowing she'd get him once she was ready.
He wasn't in his bed long before he felt Duo's body pressed to his back, holding him, unwittingly stirring his body to life just by his nearness. "I love you, Fei," Duo said in his sleep and it was almost Wufei's undoing. Though somehow he slept.
At 0600 Wufei sat up, alone in his bed. He surveyed his surroundings with his ears, listening for movement. He heard the shower going and knew Duo was there. He could picture the hot water traveling down the American's well toned form, and realized it was a mistake. He quickly changed into clothes he'd wear to the office before he was tempted to join the man in the shower.
He went to Dewei's room, but it was empty, so he went on to cross through the living room to Lien's side of the apartment. Entering her room, she was still fast asleep. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead. It's 6:15. If you stay abed any longer, you'll miss school." Wufei said and his sloe eyes opened instantly. "Get dressed. Lady Noin is making breakfast."
"Why didn't you wake me before?" she asked, climbing out of bed and scurring around the room to get her things together.
"You needed your sleep, and so did I. I'll see you at the table." He said, leaving her room, heading for the dining room and the veranda, where he suspected he'd find Dewei.
Dewei was leaning on the railing, looking over the colony. "You did all of this, didn't you?" Dewei asked, feeling his brother's presence on the veranda.
"Yes, this colony was inhabited, ours was a tomb. I felt it was better to help them before I was selfish and repaired ours," Wufei said, coming to stand beside him, putting his arm around his brother's shoulders. "I didn't know you were there. I'm so sorry I waited so long."
Dewei nodded. "I understand. From what I've read last night about the war from Lien's history book, this colony was repeatedly involved. I can't imagine what it was like before all of this."
"Let's just say Lien was not allowed to leave the apartment without armed guard. Come. Enough about the past. Let's go eat." Wufei said, leading his brother into the apartment.
"I've decided to go to the monastery until Lien comes of age." Dewei said as they crossed the threshold into the dining room.
"That is to be expected. I understand, but please stay a week before you go. Trust me, I've endured my own torture longer than seven days, closer to seven years. It builds character, and tests your patience." Wufei said as they took their seats.
"Yes, Wufei is all about denying oneself." Noin said, smiling as the rest of the family filed in. Lien's eyes were still a little dazed from sleep, and Duo was wearing a smile she'd only seen once before, at the end of the Mariemeia rebellion, when he knew the war was finally over, it was the smile of finally coming home.
"Ohaiyo minna-san." Duo said, waving at them before he took his seat.
"Brother, I'd like to go to school today. Perhaps I could catch up on what I've missed these past eleven years." Dewei said to break the silence at the table.
"Lien will show you the way. I've got an early meeting with Trowa, so I really must be going. Thank you, Noin, for breakfast. You and Duo can do whatever today. Wufei said, getting up with most of his plate made into a sandwich he could eat on the way.
"We'll be in later, Babe." Duo sad, watching the Chinese man leave. "I think I just got what you were hinting at last night. I'll take Noin with me to the Drake."
"Actually, if Noin has a say, he would like to stay here. I've been alone so long, helping with the lunar terra forming project, it feels nice to be a part of even pseudo family." Noin said, rising from the table.
"You misunderstand me, Lady Noin. We have a coffee date with a Marquis." Duo said and she took her seat again.
Wufei waited until he was outside before he rang Quatre's room at the Drake. "Quatre, meet me in my office in ten minutes alone."
"Sure, Wufei. What is it?"
"I'll explain when you get there." Wufei said and hung up the phone. "Phase one, complete."
----end Chapter Three----
Original Date Posted: November 2, 2005
disclaimer: I do not own the GW characters, or any other commercially released thing mentioned in the contents therein. I do however own the personas of the characters contained within, and any resemblances to any other author's characters (of the same name or real life persons for that matter) is purely coincidental and is not done with that intent in mind.