Disclaimer - I still haven't bought Gundam Wing.

Note - Many thanks to Kaeru Shisho for coming up with this truly inspired chapter title!

Chang Wufei and the Chainsaw Massacre;

God, I seriously couldn't believe all that happened since yesterday. Maybe I'd hallucinated the whole thing.

Heero, Trowa, Heero again.

Things had all gone - seriously pear-shaped in one day, not that they'd been perfect before by any means. I'd broken up with Tro, but I wasn't really sure at the time that he'd taken it in. Other people tend not to exist for him when he's focused on anything to do with Quatre.

I'd left him switching between news channels and trying to contact Rashid and headed upstairs to my room - the room Trowa and I were supposed to be sharing - to get my stuff. I knew by then that there was no way I could stay there, but I didn't want to call Wufei until I felt a little more collected about things.

Packing hadn't taken very long; most of my stuff got bundled into my rucksack; my new clothes were all still in their carrier bags anyway. There are advantages to not unpacking. Once my assorted bags were in a pile by the door, I'd just gone and slumped on my bed, trying very hard not to think about anything.

At least, Heero had gone out for the day. Really didn't want him walking in on me like this; with any luck, I'd be gone by the time he came home. Or not. The front door slammed, there were indistinct voices in the hallway and steps coming upstairs, all to the accompaniment of Honey's frantic barking. Too late to bolt the door, and he'd probably just knock it down anyway.

He looked seriously pissed. Understandable, really. Trowa was probably his best friend, and I'd decked him.

'Oh.' I glanced up uncertainly. 'You're back.'

'I saw Trowa. Are you going to tell me what happened?'

'Nope.'

'Duo. Please. What did he do?'

'Nothing. He did nothing. It was my fault, OK? As usual. And I've apologised.'

'You hit him. I assume you had a reason?'

'I'm sorry, OK? I'm sorry for punching Tro and I'm sorry for every stupid fucking thing I've ever done in my stupid fucking life! Will that do? Will you just fuck off now and leave me alone?'

Please. Just go.

I was staring at my hands, clenched in my lap, and willing him to leave, when he crossed the room and pulled me up. I actually flinched, thinking he was going to hit me, thinking I probably deserved it.

'Duo…' Oh, dear God. I was dreaming or delusional or I'd somehow missed out on the bit where I'd died and gone to Heaven, because I was in his arms and he was holding me. I was home.

'Duo, I'm not angry with you. Truly. I don't think you go around hitting people for no reason, so I assume Trowa did or said something he shouldn't have. Is that correct?'

'It was a personal thing. Just between us. It's sorted now.'

Just your typical, stupid Maxwell over-reaction. Nothing serious. Stupid, I know, but I shivered suddenly; remembering that moment, just before I'd lashed out, when Trowa had been holding me down.

'I know,' Heero sighed. 'None of my business.' The hand that had been stroking the back of my neck, drifted gently down my braid. Another sigh. 'None of this has gone remotely according to how I'd planned it.'

I looked up at him; we 'd both grown since the War and now he had a couple of inches on me. I'd have to tilt my face up, very slightly, for him to kiss me.

Bad, very bad thought.

'You don't have a contingency plan? Or ten?'

'Not for this,' He admitted. 'I hadn't computed Trowa into my calculations. Now, I'm not sure whether to abort the entire mission or not.'

My arms tightened a little about his waist, and I concentrated very hard on keeping them there. 'You could try winging it for a change.'

'Very funny. Trowa said you're planning to leave. I wish you'd reconsider. If you and Trowa need some space apart, I can arrange a hotel room for him.'

'Honestly, I'd rather you didn't.' I took a deep breath. 'He's really cut up about all this stuff with Quat; I think he needs to be with someone he knows right now. He didn't do anything wrong, really. He doesn't need to be thrown out onto the street.'

'All right. You've called Wufei?'

'Not yet. I'll do it soon.' Once I feel I can talk without sounding like I'm having some sort of breakdown. 'It's still early morning there; they should get here by this afternoon and then you'll be able to get your life back.'

'I'm not sure if I want it back to how it was,' he confessed. 'I don't want to let you go. Oh, Duo. I don't want to interfere between you and Trowa and I probably shouldn't be saying this, not now, but if there's ever a future vacancy for Duo Maxwell's boyfriend, I would love to be considered.'

Okay, I' m not quite so clueless as all that. It wasn't like I hadn't known where this was going. It was still a shock when he came out and said it, just like that.

'I've missed you. I know we need to talk and I know this is probably the worst time to say all this, what with everything else that's going on right now, but I just wanted you to know how I feel. I'll understand if you don't want to. God, I don't even know if you're in love with Trowa, but I don't know when I'll get to see you again and I had to say this.'

Oh.

'Duo, please, would you maybe consider saying something?'

'No.' Words are too bloody complicated and I was perfectly happy where I was. I'd be quite perfectly happy if I could just say there for the rest of my life.

'I'm sorry,' he murmured. 'This was a mistake, wasn't it? I just thought that…'

'No. I'm glad you did. I think. I'm just - not thinking very clearly at the moment. I'm going to need some time, if that's all right?'

'Of course, it is.' For most of his little speech, he'd been glaring fixedly at the wall above my head; but then he looked straight at me. 'I'll be here. Even if you just want to talk as a - a friend. If there's anything I can do for you. Duo, I don't want you to feel that I'm pressuring you into anything. You have my number. Just call me if you want to, that's all.'

I'd thought he was going to kiss me at that point. Instead, he leaned in and whispered that he loved me.

Then he'd left me to make my call and gone downstairs.

Okay. No big deal. Something that could be dealt with later, after everything else had been sorted out. Trowa first.

Tro turned up far earlier than I'd expected and by himself; I'd half expected Heero to be with him. The last email had said that 'we' would do some research about Quat's disappearance, but hadn't specified whether or not Heero would be part of the brainstorming session. Probably better that he hadn't come, really, given that 'Fei was roaming the Embassy grounds with a chain saw and a bad temper.

Well, this was pretty awkward. Twenty-four hours or so ago, we'd come that close to having sex, and since then I'd managed to assault him, dump him, and reveal that I'd organised surveillance on his ex-boyfriend, just on the off chance that said ex-boyfriend had any more little schemes to screw up my life.

'Duo. I'm really sorry.'

He looked like an awkward maypole standing there in front of me; a few petals had even drifted down to catch in his hair.

'Don't be stupid. I'm the one who should be sorry.' I pulled him down beside me, and into a hug. 'Maybe we can just assign equal blame and forget about it?'

'I don't want to forget it,' he murmured against my hair. 'I mean that.'

'Oh.' To be honest, I wasn't quite sure I could say the same and it was a relief when he changed the subject.

'What on earth is Wufei doing with the chainsaw? It looked like he was about to chop down a tree in the avenue.'

Good question.

'Long story; you probably don't want to know. He said to call him if we need any help. And Zechs says he's sorry if he caused any offence last night. He was a bit stressed because he'd had a row with 'Fei.'

'Is that what it was? I thought he was blaming me for upsetting you.'

'Well, maybe he was a little bit. He didn't think you'd be here so early or he'd have waited to see you. Did it go all right with the Preventers?'

'They didn't keep me for long; they've got a new suspect.' He raked his hair off his forehead and I winced at the bruises. 'Heero talked to Noin this morning; the forensic results have come in on the three bodies, and they found the murder weapon. A Glock registered in Quatre's name, with his prints all over it. They haven't found any stranger's DNA at the crime scene.'

'That just means they were professionals,' I whispered, appalled. 'He'd never do something like that. Never. He wouldn't, Tro.'

'Of course he wouldn't. I knew them, Duo. Auda was married with twin daughters. Abdul was engaged to one of the receptionists at WEI. They would have died for him.' He stopped, stricken, because of course they had. 'And Delphine was just a girl. She thought it was all such fun, all the media attention and the parties; she didn't deserve to die like that.'

'I know. We'll find him.' I tapped my laptop. 'I've been doing some research on any possible enemies. Have a look.'

He scanned down my list - business competitors, a couple of political rivals, relations of people killed during the War - and then his hands flickered over the keyboard.

Trowa Barton. Ex-lover. Bitter ex-employee. Stands to inherit a fortune in the event of Quatre Raberba Winner's death.

'Don't be so stupid,' I snapped. 'You might as well add in Duo Maxwell at that rate. Taking revenge for serious attempts to ruin his life. Anyway, can be we serious for a bit? If this is connected to the War, seven years seems like a long time to wait for revenge. And WEI seems to be quite highly regarded as global corporations go.'

'Duo, I do appreciate all of this, but honestly, Heero and I went over most it already this morning. No one's claimed responsibility for the bombings, or the deaths or Quatre's disappearance. I can't think what else we can do.'

'I suppose,' I leaned over to scan down my list again. 'I'm going with you, you know. Oh, don't look like that. Of course, you're planning to go to L4 and I'm coming. End of story. Have you looked into a shuttle yet? I assume you're going incognito, that the Winners still have that injunction against you entering L4?'

Trowa nodded. 'It'll take a day or two to arrange. Duo, I know you're not supposed to leave the city. Heero said…'

'Fuck that,' I snapped. 'This is important. It's Quatre. I don't care about some stupid Court ruling and it's nothing to do with Heero.'

'Speaking of Heero, he gave me this is for you,' He handed me a carrier bag. 'He said it's some stuff you forgot yesterday.'

Charming. He obviously couldn't wait to get rid of any traces of me, polluting his nice tidy house. Huh. Well, lucky I hadn't been expecting flowers or anything.

'Oh. Thanks.'

The first thing out of the bag was my damned cellphone. Huh. I've lost a zillion of the things and the only one that I'd actually set out to lose was apparently equipped with some sort of homing device. Well, it went flying straight across the lawn into an ornamental lily pond. Never buying another one of those things; nothing but trouble.

Next was a half-finished sketch I'ddoneof Honey asleep on the couch. Ooops. I hoped she hadn't been in trouble over that; Heero didn't officially allow her on the furniture.

That was followed by a novel I'd borrowed from Heero's bookshelf; he must have noticed I'd started reading it.

Folded neatly at the bottom of the bag was the shirt I'd worn on our aborted date; the one he'd picked out for me in the store. Another thing I'd been happy to leave behind, rolled up at the back of the closet.

Underneath the shirt was a paper bag, from something called Angelo's Delicatessen. Weird.

A fancy green glass bottle that contained truffle-flavoured olive oil. According to the very pretty label, it was olive oil that had been hand picked and pressed by Italian virgins or some such nonsense. I couldn't work out why Heero - or anyone - would send me something like that.

Dear Duo,

This might come in useful if you feel the urge to do any cooking. On the other hand, you might let me take you out to lunch today.

Love

Heero.

Smart ass.

There was also a small box of handmade chocolates, and a tin of fancy cocoa powder, which claimed to be made from an organic plantation in the Dominican Republic and have an off-the-charts cocoa content.

Who needs stupid flowers anyway?

Love, Heero.

Suddenly, I couldn't stop grinning, as I replaced everything neatly back in the bag, stroking the picture of Honey with one finger. It was odd, how I'd started missing her.

'How is Honey anyway?'

Trowa gave me a sly little smile. 'He's fine. Missing you.'

'Very funny, Barton.' Missing me, eh? 'He's asked me out to lunch. Today. I don't suppose you'd like to come too?'

'I don't suppose Heero would be too keen on me tagging along, somehow. No, you go with him. I need to make some calls.'

'OK. Don't forget what I said? I mean it. Do you need a lift back to Heero's place?'

'I've got his car. Talk to you later, all right? Have fun. I'll have a word with Wufei on the way out.'

A few minutes later, Wufei wandered over, dragging what looked like half a tree behind him with one hand, chainsaw and toolkit in the other.

''Fei, why don't you just tell him you burnt the damn thing? He'll think it's hilarious.'

'Absolutely not!'

Oh dear.

'But Zechs said it was from some really rare tree. You don't think someone will notice if you substitute a different sort of wood?'

'This is Sanque Red Oak; it's rare in Sanque, but it's traditional for every Sanque embassy to keep some trees in the grounds. It's approximately the right shape, so now all we have to do is replicate the one that got burnt.' He produced a small handsaw and hacked through one of the smaller branches.

'But we don't know anything about sculpting or carving or whatever it's called!'

'I'm sure there's plenty of information on the internet. And you're artistic; you're always drawing things.'

'Okay, I seriously don't see the point of any of this. I thought you guys were all loved-up again?'

'We are!' He snapped it out, punctuating the words by slicing off another branch. Crack! 'We're perfectly fine.'

'Wu, I've used garottes that are less tense than you are right now. Want to talk about it? Or I could just bore you going on about my problems?'

'It's nothing, Duo. Forget it.'

'Is it the wedding thing?'

He gave me a stubborn little nod.

'That's normal, 'Fei. It's a big step and everything. Remember how Sally was before she got married? It's okay to be nervous.'

No response.

'Look, he's worried about you. He knows there's something up with you and he doesn't know what he's done wrong. If he'd thought for one second that this would freak you out so much, he'd never have proposed.'

'I - do want to spend my life with him. I do, really,' he looked at me, almost defiantly, and I gave him an uncertain little nod, not entirely sure where all this was coming from.

'What if he regrets it, later on? What if he meets someone else?'

Oh, shit.

'He loves you. 'Fei. He is insane about you. He doesn't want someone else; he wants you. Come on, has he ever so much as looked as another guy since you met him?'

'All the time. You know that.'

Oops.

'OK, but it doesn't mean anything. I mean, you guys are so perfect together. And you wouldn't be tempted, would you? So why d'you think Zechsy would?'

'It's something Heero said.'

'Heero? When?'

'Years ago, back when you two were together.' He stared stonily at his little collection of tools, no doubt wishing he could hack Heero into smithereens. 'I used to envy the two of you, sometimes. How close you were. He told me once he could never imagine being with anyone except you. Ever. And that didn't last.'

'It's different, Wu. We were just kids; we were both screwed up. It's nothing like you and Zechs. You guys won't be like that.'

Damn. It was something I'd always felt guilty about; Wufei coming to terms with being gay, and me in the background trying desperately to find a way to live without Heero. He'd gone into a gay bar for the first time to drag me out; he was the one who'd spent countless nights letting me talk and cry and imagine elaborate plans to murder Heero and Relena.

I knew that at some level he'd decided then that he was never going to go through that; was never going to give that much control over his own life to another person.

'Nothing's cast in stone. You know that. But I know he loves you; he'd kill himself rather than hurt you; he'd do anything for you, 'Fei. You have to stop comparing yourself to what I went through. You wouldn't react like I did. I wouldn't let you, okay?' I reached out and tucked a little spray of blossom behind his ear, ruffled ivory petals gleaming against his hair. 'Talk to him when he gets back.'

He nodded. 'Have you spoken to Heero today?'

'Not exactly; he sent me a note, though. He asked me out, 'Fei. I'd really like to see him, just to talk.'

He shrugged. 'You hardly need to ask my permission.'

'You know that's not what I mean!' OK, deep breath, Duo. ''Fei, I've survived without him for the past five years, and that's mainly because of you. I would like to see him, but I won't if you really hate it. I don't want to risk losing your friendship over this.'

'I told you, last night, that I don't think you should get involved with him. Not after the last time. I just don't want to see you going through that again. You don't know him any more, Duo; not really. You don't know if he's even changed.'

'I know.' I picked one of the windblown flowers off the lawn and gently pulled off one petal. He loves me.

'I have thought about this, you know.' Another petal. He loves me not. 'But I've changed. I'm not sixteen now. I have my own life; I don't know if he'll even fit into it, if we'll even like each other now, but I'd just …' Loves me. Loves me not. Damn. '…I'd like to try. Just to see if maybe there is anything left.'

I let the tattered flower fall, not wanting to see how many petals were left. It's just a stupid kids' game, anyway.

Wufei sighed, picking at a piece of bark. 'Are you going to call him?'

'Yeah. I guess.'

He had written love Heero on his note.

'Um, 'Fei, can I borrow your 'phone for a sec?'