Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Brownies (He Always Comes Back) ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

Little red and orange demons of consciousness were flitting around Duo's head, poking at him with little sticks of reality, threatening him to keep his eyes closed longer. Everything came fumbling back to him in one giant headache, and he gave a loud groan.

He was lying down. His legs were stretched out across a soft surface, something thick, like a wool blanket, was thrown across his body. He felt like he had been bandaged up. The contact of gauze against his skin was like an old flame being lit again.

As warm, safe, and relaxed as he should been, Duo felt uneasy. Even that hand on his was comforting to a small extent, but he was feeling very uneasy.

"Julie..." He groaned again, remembering her faint, dream-like sobbing he had heard. Well...he might have heard it. His self-conscious was an unfortunately sensitive one. "Stop crying babe...it's gonna be okay..."

Something soft pressed against his forehead, followed by something warmly dampened-a washcloth, supposedly. Gentle fingers went back to stroking Duo's wrist idly. The American sighed, his worries going away somehow. The unknown concerns were forgotten, and he enjoyed being alone with whoever was in the room with him.

"Who 's it?"

"It's me, Maxwell." Came a soft tenor voice. Duo cracked one eye open to see a flash of onyx, then winced. Even the dim light of a single candle was too bright for him.

"Wufei? No kidding?"

He was met with silence. The candle was blown out, he noted, and opened his eye slowly again. Sure enough, a black haired head sat by him in bed. Duo sighed, preparing to turn over. Lying on his back while sleeping had never been comfortable.

"I really wouldn't do that…" Wufei said. Duo guessed the Chinese boy was keeping a steady eye on him. Heaving another sigh, he reached out to grasp Wufei's sleeve.

"Tell me what happened…please?" Duo pouted.

"You remember nothing? Nothing at all?"

"Up to…" Duo sat back, his mind reeling. "Up to when I fell over into the glass…I heard Julie scream…and…"

Wufei picked this moment to continue Duo's pickup. "You have your daughter to thank. She called me on my cell, a number I have never given to you or…" He trailed off, and saw Duo nod curtly in understanding. "…Yes. Of course I rushed down here…the poor thing was going into spasm attacks, it seemed. You lost consciousness because of blood loss, I believe. But…you've been out for the past four days…"

Duo nodded, slipping his hands under the covers to finger the bandages around his chest. "You fixed me up?"

"A doctor seemed highly overrated."

Duo smiled, nodding. "Where's Julie? I remember crying from somewhere."

Wufei looked Duo in the eye, his face hard. "Did you know she has a strong case of insomnia?"

Duo shrugged. "Only when…when…her father was away. She wakes up every now and then, crying at night. I usually let her sleep in here."

"She was hysterical while you were out. It took all of my concerns as a mere uncle to comfort her."

"You? Concerns as an uncle?" Duo joked, smiling. They settled into silence after that, until Duo stated, "I don't feel bad, you know…"

"I'm not going to say I'm not surprised." Wufei rested a hand on Duo's shoulder. "In any case, I'm intrigued if you're not feeling any kind of guilt."

"I'm not entirely clean." Duo stated softly, pulling his knees up. "I just don't feel depressed, you know? I feel like it's all been…one big dream…" He was nodding now. "It's a dream…Wufei, it's a mere dream!"

Wufei was shaking his head sadly. He stood to his feet. He reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled something out. He laid something heavy on the nightstand. "A reminder, Maxwell. I'm to start dinner in a half hour. Attend if you wish." He slipped from the room in quiet Wufei fashion.

Duo stared in disbelief at the gold band, gleaming maliciously at him from its place on the cherry oak. His eyes closed in silent tears, as the reality slammed into him like an 18-wheeler.

His head tucked against his chest, raindrops beginning to pound softly against the window.

By 7:30, dinner was on the table, and Wufei was pouring three separate glasses of sweet, iced tea. Julie wandered in, fresh from her afternoon nap. "Uncle Fei!" She said joyously, stumbling to hug her uncle around the leg. "Did Daddy wake up yet?"

"He's awake, little one. But you best not disturb him until he's ready." Wufei warned with the gentlest of tones. Julie nodded solemnly, toddling over to the table at her place. She folded her elbows across the table, propping her chin on her arms.

"Will Daddy eat dinner with us?"

Wufei was setting a large pot of soup in the table. "Maybe…maybe not, Julie-chan. It depends on how he is feeling."

Julie nodded, not saying anything more. Wufei grabbed her bowl and scooped a small, yet hearty, serving of the fancy tomato soup, filling the bowl. "I promise it's delicious." He amended at her uneasy stare.

Julie nodded. "I trust you, Uncle Fei…but soup don't settle with my tummy, as Daddy says."

Wufei offered an apologetic smile. "I'll have the soup then. What would you like then?"

It was then, when Julie suddenly burst into frantic tears. They streamed down her round cheeks, onto her grubby pink shirt. Wufei set down the bowl and ladle with speed, and slipped into a kneeling position beside her chair. "Now, now, what's this about?" He asked gently, pulling her into a tight, comforting hug. "What's it about, little one?"

"'S my fault, Uncle Fei." She whimpered into his shirt. "I saw Poppa sending a mail…I couldn't understand the words, but some were bad to Daddy…It's my fault Daddy almost died…I hate myself!" She sobbed.

Wufei held her tighter, his shirt dampening without his care. "Now, hush that. This would have happened regardless. You stop that talk…"

"But I didn't tell Daddy." She sniffled. "I should 'ave told him…but Poppa said I'd be hurt if I told!"

"He…what?!"

Both of them looked up to see Duo in the doorway, face red with anger. He strode to Julie, falling down on his knees. "That bastard did what?!" He repeated.

"Daddy said I'd get hurt if I told you!" Julie sniffled. "I'm sorry Daddy! I was so scared…"

"Oh, sweetie…" Duo took her from Wufei into his own arms. He stroked Julie's thick hair lovingly. "No, no, no…don't be sorry, don't be like this! You bring so much light to me…don't you worry about any of that…you understand me? Just don't worry about it."

Julie nodded, curling up to her father's chest. "I love you Daddy."

Duo smiled, looking over at Wufei, who was taking the scene in calmly. But when Duo's eyes fell upon him, they both smiled understandingly.

Somehow, that night, Duo found more love than he'd ever hoped to gain.

***

Duo looked out among the crowd of little jovial childish faces, none of them appealing to him. Finally, a blonde glint, bathing in sunlight, caught his eye. A little girl sat by the window, staring out carelessly.

Duo, putting on a trademark smile, strode over to the girl. He sat down next to the girl, still smiling. "Hi there."

The girl gave him a glance, blinking once or twice. "…Hello." She said quietly, and went back to her car watching.

Duo didn't give up. "What's your name?"

"Julie." She answered without looking at him.

Duo was feeling some exasperation. "Have you ever been-"

"You don't wanna adopt me, mister." The girl interrupted, now looking at him. "No one wants me for their daughter. I'm bad. So just…go pick somebody better." Once again, she turned back to the window, visible hurt in her eyes.

Duo nodded, not letting down his smile. He stood. "It was nice meeting you…Julie." He said serenely. The girl made no response.

Duo went back to the social worker's office.

"She's rebellious!" The woman proclaimed. "Surely you can find another child…"

"She seems to be misunderstood in her…misery." Duo said airily.

"She's rampant. She talks too much. You would tire of her…"

"Madam, you have never heard a chatterbox turned over until you have met me." Duo drawled. "Besides, it gets lonely sometimes. A kid with energy may bring some spark into my life."

The social worker was losing patience. "Her therapists diagnosed her with ADD! Mr., Maxwell, I beg you to reconsider-the girl is positively rude, unsophisticated, and furthermore-"

"She's perfect." Duo interrupted with a happy, sighing tone. Then his voice switched to one with a tone of finality. "Give me the papers, ma'am. I adopting her…"

***

Duo woke up, sunlight poking into his eye brusquely. "Not another morning…" He muttered.

"Daddy!"

Duo smiled, turning over to see his daughter's round face full of cheery color. With weak morning arms, Duo reached out to ruffle her hair. "Morning, cutie. Are you my sunshine?" He asked.

She giggled, leaning down and pecking a small kiss on Duo's cheek. "Uncle Wufei says that breakfast is ready when you are!" She hopped from the bed and bounded toward the door.

"Sweetness?"

Julie turned around, all smile. "Yeah Daddy?"

Duo was smiling mischievously. "Call him…Fei-Fei."

"How long do you intend to stay?"

Wufei set his mug down, clearly thinking his answer over. "Until you're better, I suppose." He pulled one knee to his chest and wrapped his arms around the white material. "It depends on you. I'm in no hurry."

Duo smiled warmly. "Thank you, 'Fei. That makes me happy."

"Then we're one step ahead." Wufei declared kindly, smiling back. His face suddenly clouded thoughtfully. Duo watched the Chinese boy for a few moments more, and then sighed.

"Somethin' on your mind?"

Wufei shook his head, staring down at his hands. "I'm just…mad, Maxwell. Have you ever had that feeling? Not during the war, but in normality? You just want to…kill someone."

"Oh dear." Duo said, laughing bitterly and biting his lip. "Is that all? Oh my. Are you okay, 'Fei? Maybe this is affecting you more than me…"

"It's nothing, Duo." Wufei said softly. "No need for you to worry." He looked up.

Duo was smirking happily at him, positively bouncing in his chair. Wufei blinked.

"What?"

"You called me Duo."

Wufei looked back down into his lap. "So I did…" He mumbled loosely.

Duo noticed the discomfort. "Whoah…sorry there. Won't point it out again."

"It's not that, Duo, really…I just found it ridiculous that we're friends and I'm calling you by your last name. Forgive me…"

"Oh, 'Fei, stop sounding like you've just committed a horrendous crime." He stood, stretching the morning from his bones. "I was thinking we could go out today. Julie needs to stretch her legs."

Wufei nodded, standing to clear the breakfast dishes from the table. Duo promptly jumped on him. "Go wash up." Duo chided, a cheesy grin mocking his features. "You do too much work. My towels didn't have one stain in them last time I used them."

Wufei chuckled, shaking his head as saved his own plate. "At least let me do this one bit…"

"No, because then you'll take that as an excuse to do the rest. Now go clean up and shove it!"

Wufei was laughing silently with joy that Duo was beginning to sound normal. He slipped into the guestroom he had accommodated for some clean clothes, glad that Duo was taking this so well…

That night, Julie woke up crying again. Wufei and Duo would have bumped heads if they hadn't been trained to recognize stealth in the dark. They both slipped into Julie's room, comforting her on both sides of her bed. Wufei wasn't extremely pleased with his new nickname, but decided against showing his feelings outright. Nor was it the right moment, anyhow; the slightest little thing could have triggered some inner emotion inside Duo. So he just rubbed in circles on Julie's back as she cried for her "bad Poppa."

"There, there…" Duo was saying, running his fingers through her damp hair, the results of late night showers. "It was just a bad dream…Poppa's happy where he is…"

"But I'm not!" Julie wailed, and buried herself into Duo's shirt again. Duo shot Wufei a look that purely called for help. Wufei nodded, crawling closer. "Julie-chan…" He murmured, pulling her from Duo into his arms. The girl didn't seem to care who she cried against, but now sobbed against the navy blue of Wufei's evening tank top.

Duo smiled gratefully, slipping from the room. Wufei wondered if he had just left them there alone, but had his thoughts proved negative when Duo returned with a moistened cloth and a small tower.

"Here, babe." He said, addressing his daughter. Julie lifted up from Wufei, now overcome with hiccups. Duo dragged the washcloth across her forehead, wiping away the tracks of salty sadness that trailed down her red cheeks. He used to the large towel to pull through her hair. "We need to brush this, young lady." Duo said softly. He glanced at Wufei, and then tossed his head towards the metal dresser in the corner of the room, where a purple-colored hairbrush sat. Wufei retrieved it, handing it to Duo.

"I'm sorry, Daddy."

"It's fine, sweetness." Duo said, running his fingers through her hair again. The brush soon followed. "I'm not mad."

Wufei just watched the brush glide through Julie's tow blonde hair. He saw the serene look on Duo's face, and figured that the other boy had a thing for hair. Smiling to himself with his thoughts, he continued to watch.

"Dammit, we're gonna be late!"

Julie giggled, pulling her tiny boots on as fast as she could. Her Daddy suddenly rushed past the doorway of her bedroom. A moment later, he scooted back on one leg. "Julie-san, hurry up! Where's Fei?"

"I don' no." Julie drawled, her voice having a light edge to it. "The kitchen?"

"That makes sense. Hurry up now, off to the car you go!" He ushered her towards the front door. Julie scooted outside, rushing towards the Porsche boxer sitting in the driveway. A black head sat still in the driver's side. Julie opened the passenger's side door. "Daddy's lookin' for ya!" She huffed, smiling, her face rosy and cheerful.

Wufei rolled his eyes and slammed his fist on the horn. The shrill honk set the nearest birds flying. And, for good measure, Wufei yelled, "DUO!"

Julie covered her mouth as she crawled into the backseat. A moment later, her Daddy bolted from the house, locking the front door like the keys were a time bomb, and diving secret-agent style into the seat beside Wufei. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Let's go!"

Wufei shook his head, pulling out of the driveway, bound to Quatre's Christmas Party.

As Julie had long since gone to sleep, Duo humming along to a song that had been on the radio at least twice before, Wufei leaned over to say quietly, "You realize who might be here…"

Duo looked over at Wufei thoughtfully. "Yeah…I know…I kinda had this idea, but I don't think it's worth sharing."

Wufei was studying Duo's eyes carefully. If he's referring to what I think he's referring to…it's a damned dream come true. "You mean, like…revenge?"

"Sort of. It will kill two birds with one stone with me. I suppose you'll benefit, depending on how you look at it…"

Wufei blinked, now utterly confused. He pulled the car to a halt at a stop sign. 'What do you mean…'I'll benefit…depending on how I look at it?'"

Duo smiled cheesily. "I dunno, 'Fei. I'm not sure how you might react to my idea."

Oh, gods, that's exactly what he's talking about…oh my…

"Stop beating around the bush and explain, Maxwell."

"Ooh." Duo cooed. "Using the last name now. Guess that means business." Wufei grumbled. Duo sought out this moment to reveal his plan. "I think…that…er…" He looked uncomfortable now. "IthinkyoushouldseduceHeero."

Schreeeeeeeech!

"NANI?!"

Duo chuckled, smiling. "Just kidding." He reached over and pat Wufei's thigh. "Only kidding. You can go now." He looks so cute when he's mad…hmm. Why bother asking?

"Maxwell, don't ever do that again or I'll-"

Duo leaned forth, pressing his lips sternly against Wufei's. The Chinese boy was abruptly cut off from his chastising by the passion and need in that kiss. As he felt Duo's tongue slide across his opens lips and into his mouth, he couldn't suppress a groan…from the physical treatment and a thought that had crossed his mind.

I want him.

Not until now had he realized that Duo was so beautiful in his own light. Wufei found he could probably get used to that mouth constantly going…though Duo was getting better at that sort of thing, lately.

Not being able to contain his actions, Wufei let out an emotion-ridden moan, closing his eyes and letting his worries fly from his chest. It was the big relief that summed up all others. His anxiety could rest now.

Duo pulled back, smiling. "Well I'll be damned…"

Wufei groaned, now leaning back against the door. "Be glad there aren't any cars coming, Duo…" He sat straight in his seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Let's…go now." Duo smiled, leaning back in his seat pleasantly.

In the back seat of the car, one Prussian eye closed, and a small, satisfied smile matched her father's.