Title: Shadows of Night
Part: 2/?
Author: focsfyr
Pairing: 2x5
Warnings: yaoi, blood, strangeness, bit of swearing. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Chapter rating: maybe...PG-13? Certainly nothing worse...
Disclaimer: I don't own them and have no money. No copyright infringements are intended.
Archive: my site others please ask
C&C: would be very much appreciated. And yes, that means criticism as well as comments.

Authors note: as of yet, this piece is unbeta-ed. The revised part 2 will be posted once I get it back.

::thoughts::

SHADOWS OF NIGHT

The distant clatter of pots and pans trickled up from the kitchen, worrying at the edges of Wufei's half-awake thoughts. He wasn't usually a morning person as he much preferred the subtle brilliance of the night to the noise and bustle of daytime. There was just something about being awake and aware while the world slept, a mystique, an energy that drew him.

Perhaps it was due to his adventures as a child, when it was a great act of rebelliousness to stay up past bedtime, to wander the gardens in the colony's false night with no one knowing where he was and no one awake to care.

The first time he dared his midnight expeditions was when he was ten years old. Terrified of what would happen if one of the servants spied him, he snuck downstairs and slipped out through the tiny basement window, his child's body escaping easily where an adult's never could. There he stopped, and stared speechless at the fanciful sight spread out before him.

The winding gravel paths seemed to be made of molten silver, the white pebbles of granite reflecting the colony's 'starlight' until they fairly glowed with inner radiance. The small forest of bamboo that surrounded the fish pond showed slivers of brilliance upon the leaves, but sank into shadow so dark it seemed to be a great void. Everything was gilded in shadows and light, the edges cut sharp and details defined. Night air filled his lungs until they seemed ready to burst with the torrents of wild energy that poured into his veins.

It was exhilarating and enchanting, a fascinating faery land concealed by day beneath the mundane world. It didn't matter that the dewy grass was soaking the cuffs of his pajama pants, or that his fine hair was getting tangled as it floated on the breeze. This was real. This was fantasy. This was everything he was forbidden due to custom or education, everything that he had longed for, all unknowing because he had no idea what was missing, only that something was.

This was freedom.

For the first time in all his young life, he felt like he was alive. And it was something he clung to in the following years as a source of sanity and outlet for imagination. There were no restrictions at night...at least, none he abided by.

But even though he was on his own now and no longer had to sneak out, even the faintest scent of the midnight world sent a shock of energy through his soul -- a buzz, so to speak.

Duo had once called it 'getting high on night air.' Somehow that seemed infinitely appropriate.

A tantalizing smell drifted up the stairs, drawing Wufei unwillingly into full consciousness. Unable to ignore the rumble of his empty stomach nearly as well as he could the racket from the kitchen, he slid out of bed into a full-body stretch...and collapsed back onto the soft mattress, biting back a pained squeak as every wound on his body clamored for attention.

He ached all over, except for his injured leg, which was blessedly numb with only a faint throb that beat in time with his heart.

After recovering from that first abortive attempt at movement, Wufei struggled to his feet by using the bedpost to take most of his weight off his right leg. Once the tiny surge of triumph that followed had faded, he realized that not a stitch of clothing graced his battered body. ::How..?:: His mind dug up a hazy memory of Duo holding him close and tending his wounds, but he couldn't remember anything after that. He certainly didn't recall either removing his clothes or dragging himself into bed.

::Duo stripped me.:: The Chinese boy blushed and resolutely turned his thoughts elsewhere.

After a brief moment of wondering whether he was expected to wander about wrapped in nothing but a sheet, his eyes fell upon a stack of clean clothes laying neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Moving ever so carefully, he slipped them on, glad of the feel of soft cloth against his bare, clean skin.

Wufei had actually worked his way almost to the door (with the support of a helpful wall) when the thought really sank in -- and his burning blush returned with a vengeance.

Apparently Duo had washed him as well. There was not a trace of blood to be found, only the slight sheen of a medicated salve the energetic pilot had applied to his bruises. All his bruises, including the one darkening the skin only a few inches below his left hip.

Wufei knew, with that dreadful sinking feeling that sits heavy in your stomach, that this was going to be one of those things he would never hear the end of. When it came to most things, Duo's selective memory never ceased to amaze with how much he could unconsciously forget on purpose, but when it came to gossip and blackmail material...

Wufei sighed. When it came to having dirt on anyone, Duo had a mind like a steel trap...and all of it carefully catalogued (for easy reference, of course) as to when, where and to whom it occurred.

He could only hope...

"Great! You're awake!" Duo bounded into the room, a plate stacked high with pancakes skillfully balanced on one hand.

::I'm doomed.::

An hour later found Wufei on the bed with a pleasantly full stomach stuffed with the best pancakes he'd ever had. Well, the only pancakes he'd ever had, really...unless you counted that time Quatre...

Wufei shuddered and resolved to focus on something else. Like how comfortable it was to be sitting on a bed, propped up by fluffy pillows with a good book. He hadn't really had time to sit down and read in what seemed like forever, let alone had someone to keep him company.

Ebony eyes peeked over the edge of the book and settled curiously upon the braided boy stretched across the foot of Wufei's bed.

Duo was terribly cute, lost as he was in his baggy jeans and t-shirt with the sturdy chain of his necklace being worried by his teeth. Having never had a chance to properly acquire a nervous habit -- what with being raised to always behave in a 'manner befitting his status' -- Wufei puzzled over that for a while. It seemed an odd thing to do, since Duo was such a physically active person. Fidgeting would have seemed more appropriate, or playing with his braid...hell, anything that would have kept his hands busy.

But instead, he was reading a book while he tongued his necklace, the faint click of teeth touching metal emerging every so often as he nibbled lightly upon the cross. It was strange...but then, this was Duo, the guy who left his mouth running even when his brain wasn't connected. The more uncomfortable he was, the more he chattered about nothing. It was a kind of oral fidgeting, so maybe it did make sense after all.

"Hey Wu, watcha staring at?" ::As if I didn't know!:: Duo smirked to himself::I've been watching him for long enough!::

Duo smiled as the other boy jerked in surprise, looking guilty as a child with his hand in the cookie jar, and then determinedly fastened his gaze on the pages of his book. It was an instinctive reaction to being caught while lost in thought...but while it did prevent eye contact, it couldn't hide his blush from Duo's amused eyes.

Sometimes Wufei resented his prideful upbringing. It kept him from giving in to embarrassment and burrowing beneath the comforter. Deprived of that course of action, Wufei slumped lower into the blankets and held his book in front of his face, trying unsuccessfully to discretely disappear.

::Oh, god, that's too cute!:: Duo's mind squealed in a voice disturbingly reminiscent of Relena. He wrinkled his nose at that. Ick. ::But just look at that blush!:: The Chinese boy's cheeks and the bridge of his nose were ever so slightly tinged pink. When you threw in the downcast eyes and wisps of fine hair that framed Wufei's face, his Asian good looks became downright adorable. That shy, embarrassed expression made you just want to pull him into your arms and cuddle him to within an inch of his life!

'Course, Wufei'd throw a hissy fit if he knew what Duo was thinking, and then he'd make sure to never look like that again.

Ah, well...if Fei didn't know it wouldn't hurt him. Embarrass, yes, but the only thing that would be hurt was his pride...if he found out...which he wouldn't.

Ever.

Duo's lips were rarely sealed about anything other than the pilots' activities, but if he decided not to say something, he damn well wouldn't.

Duo Maxwell didn't lie and didn't break his promises, not even ones that'd been made to himself. Nobody else would spot the transgression, but he would know he'd lied, and that was what counted. Pilot 02 -- no, Duo Maxwell -- refused to give in to hypocrisy.

He'd lived for years on the streets of L2 and had learned the hard way that trust is a rare treasure indeed. A person who trusted no one risked turning away friends. Someone who gave it too freely risked being robbed, beaten, prostituted or killed...and chances were no one would care.

That was one reason Duo had never taken to robbing the occasional dead body found in alleys or gutters, you never knew whose face might be staring back at you once you rolled the corpse over and got a look at its face. Far too often, the victim was a street-rat. Every once in a while, it had been a friend.

True friends were few and far between. You rarely meet a person you would trust with your life, someone that you would do almost anything to protect.

Some people get lucky and find one or two friends -- almost soul mates -- that they trust utterly. But many go their whole lives without ever feeling the intimacy of that bond.

Duo had found it twice. Once in a childhood friend who lay dead of the plague and now again in a shy pilot who had somehow wormed his way into Duo's heart. The other three pilots had Duo's affection as well, but something had happened when he and Wufei had been stuck in that OZ cell with the fans turned off and the air running out. They had barely spoken to one another -- a course of action born of both survival instinct and the bare facet that they had nothing to say -- but for the first time since the L2 plague, Duo hadn't felt the need to keep up the pretense of careless humor. There had been a wordless comfort that they derived from each others presence as they awaited death, and a sense of companionship that would bear the test of time.

Duo wouldn't risk that friendship for anything.

Duo smiled affectionately as the Asian boy's blush slowly began to fade. "Oy, Wufei." The braided boy poked at one delicately boned foot and grinned as it flinched away. "'Feiiiii." He ran his fingernail along the arch of Wufei's left foot, other hand gripping the ankle...but not too tightly. After putting so much effort into treating Wufei's injuries, he didn't want to aggravate them...only Wufei.

A snort that sounded suspiciously like a laugh emerged from behind Wufei's book.

Wufei lightly bit the inside of his cheek to keep from giggling and tried to hold his leg still. ::Damn him! Why'd he have to find my one violently ticklish spot!?:: He felt his knee twitch as Duo's fingers began another round of ticklish caresses. :: No. I will not laugh, I will not pull away and dammit, I will not give in!:: His toes began to flinch and curl, laughter threatened to burst from his throat. ::Oh, shiiiit!::

Duo grinned in anticipation as Wufei squirmed, trying to pretend that the braided boy's touch didn't tickle, it really didn't! Duo wasn't buying it, but neither was Wufei giving in.

It was time to change tactics. Duo extended one finger and touched it to the outside edge of the other boy's foot. It was hardly more than a feather-light brush, but it's always the light touches that tickle the most. Duo's finger ran up and down the edge of Wufei's sole, dragging out a grudging giggle.

To Wufei's utter horror, that giggle was followed by another -- and another, and another -- until he was curled up on his side, desperately trying to stop laughing long enough to escape.

"Duo!" he choked out, "Don't -- " Another burst of laughter interrupted his speech.

"Yes 'Fei?" Duo asked. Wufei had such a wonderful laugh. It was intoxicating, addictive and contagious as all hell. Duo had to make a huge effort not to join in himself. The only reason he didn't was that, if he started laughing, he would miss the rest of this delightful little show. That wouldn't be nearly as much fun!

He watched intently as, one by one, Wufei's defenses fell.

"Stop!...please?"

Duo cocked his head and leaned in closer. "What was that 'Fei? I couldn't quite hear ya."

Wufei pressed his lips together and remained stubbornly silent, his pride not letting him repeat himself.

Duo shrugged. "Okay, if that's the way you wanna be about it..." Without a moment pause, Duo continued his torture, this time moving on to include the sensitive skin just below the ankle. Wufei whimpered and began to struggle in earnest and the braided boy's grip began to weaken.

Knowing better than to let go long enough to get a fresh grip, Duo grudgingly let Wufei pull his foot away. Then he caught site of his new target. There was no way Wufei would ever expect this!

The Chinese boy blinked with surprise as Duo rose to his knees, cobalt blue eyes focused so intently upon him that he almost expected Duo to lean forward and kiss him. People simply don't stare at others like that! What drew the braided boy's eyes?

Duo's hand moved to rest on Wufei's bent leg, the other boy's skin like fire beneath his palm as he leaned forward slowly. Sensuous lips drifted ever closer to the injured pilot's skin, hot breath washing in deep sighs across Wufei's calf.

The Chinese boy watched, entranced, as Duo parted his lips and...

Bit his knee[1

"GYAAAAA! What the FUCK?" Dear lord that tickled!

Luckily for Wufei's sanity, Duo took pity on the squirming boy and rested his cheek against Wufei's knee, grinning broadly.

Then he felt a hand brush soft over his hair, and the unrepentant grin faded to an expression of shock. Duo stared at dark brown eyes gone unusually soft.

"Wufei?" Duo asked.

"I never did thank you for what you did last night," the Asian boy said, the pad of his thumb grazing Duo's cheek before withdrawing its touch entirely. "I think I probably would have passed out in the shower if you hadn't helped me."

Duo couldn't help but marvel at how easily the words were spoken.

Wufei was a very proud person. He had never been comfortable with accepting help, nor willing to admit that he needed any. That he did so now warmed Duo's heart, for it was an act born of trust. And perhaps it was also a sign that Wufei's soul was beginning to heal from whatever haunted his past.

Duo hoped it was.

Both boys had lived in the shadows for quite long enough. It was time and past for them -- both of them -- to start laying their ghosts to rest.

TBC

[1 Believe it or not, this tickles like hell. I can control my ticklishness, but my sister is so violently ticklish that you can torment her for hours. However, on one very hot day (nearly 110╨ F >.