Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Forged Together ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10

 

“Don't…” said Duo as his friend disappeared, leaving him alone with Wufei who was regarding him calmly through half open eyes, head turned to a side, resting on his stomach. He tried to collect himself before putting on a 100 watt smile. “Hey, how are you feeling today? Man, you won't believe the way your back looks. I mean, Heero looks better, even with those scars from trying to self-distrust. You look as if someone scraped the skin off your back with a blunt knife but Trowa says it could have been worse. No muscle damage or anything and it'll heal over. Hurts like bitch but isn't bad at all.” He walked to the side stand and picked up a glass of water. “You must be thirsty. Those painkillers do the same for me.” He helped Wufei turn around, fluffing up a pillow and making him sit up. “You should still have a headache but Sally says it'll die down in a couple of weeks. I'll just tell everyone that you're awake.”

 

Wufei did a body inventory. Headache, backache…nice pillow, which didn't scratch his back so it must be Winner's, and someone had dressed him in a pair of sweats. Yes, he was not wearing any underwear but he'd deal with that later.

 

“Winner must have done that already,” Wufei said in a low voice, sounding scratchy. He reached for the glass of water and winced as his back pulled. “So… when were you checking out Yuy?”

 

“What!” Duo, who had been in the process of reaching for the glass for Wufei, exclaimed.

 

“You said I have more scars than him just now,” Wufei pointed out with a brief smirk. “How would you have known unless you were checking him out?”

 

“Here's your water,” said Duo as he handed over the glass to the other pilot, blushing furiously. “We were in spray in the Peacemillion's crew quarters, all right?” he said, moving away jerkily. “I mean, it was where everyone covered in grease cleans and …and…drink your water and I'll get you something to eat. You'd better have something in you when you take your pills.”

 

“You have made a valid argument,” Wufei said dryly as he sipped some more of the water.

 

“Yeah, well,” said Duo, edging towards the door. “I'll get you some food.”

 

“Is there a washroom close by?” Wufei asked, swinging his legs off the bed. He grimaced and grabbed the edges of the bed as the world titled and he had to stay in that exact position until the world stopped shaking. “I…need to clean up.”

 

“Oh, no you don't,” said Duo, walking back towards the bed. “The washroom's round the corner but you stay here until I come back. Falling flat on your face is not going to help.”

 

“How long was I in bed?” Wufei asked as he tried to steady his heartbeat enough to stand up.

 

“A day and a half,” Duo answered, placing a hand on Wufei's chest and pushing him down gently.

 

“That long!” Wufei exclaimed in shock. “In bed.”

 

“Must be the white pajamas you run around in,” Duo quipped. “Makes everyone think you're beddable.” The moment he had said it, he blushed crimson and stepped back. “Stay here…” and stopped when another person came storming into the room. “Trowa,” said Duo, ignoring his thunderous expression. “Think you can stay here a bit so I can go get something for our restless patient.”

 

Trowa stared at Duo as if trying to decide something, then nodded once, firmly. “I'll stay,” he said, moving towards Wufei, picking up his legs and putting them on the bed again.

 

“Well,” said Duo. “I'll be right back. The two of you behave.”

 

“Maxwell,” said Wufei before the braided pilot could disappear. “Think you can bring a toothbrush or something…”

 

“Will do,” said the chestnut haired pilot cheerfully, before walking out leaving Trowa with a look of indecision on his face.

 

“What do you want, Barton?” the Chinese pilot asked bluntly as soon as Duo was out of hearing range.

 

“Quatre was here,” Trowa replied. “And he didn't look too pleased when he came out. Did you say anything to…?”

 

“You'll have to ask Maxwell,” said Wufei looking around. He had only heard a part of the conversation by the time he'd awaken, and he was not about to point out who was talking with who about what as he was not into finger pointing. “Did you just come here, as Maxwell would say, to beat me up if I'd hurt his feelings?”

 

Trowa did not reply straight away. “I don't like it when people …distress him,” he finally answered.

 

“And you do that to him all the time,” Wufei said bluntly.

 

“What do you mean?” Trowa asked, though his voice said he knew what Wufei was referring to.

 

“Let me tell you something,” said Wufei, pushing his legs off the bed again. “You make him feel terrible every time you go off with Yuy.” He stood up, staggered and sat down hard, panting.

 

“You should stay in bed for at least another day,” Trowa said in his emotionless voice as Wufei stayed half-seated on the bed, trying hard not to double over since it would strain his back. “Lie back and wait until Duo comes back.”

 

“I didn't thank you for picking me up,” Wufei said slowly, refusing to lie back. His body was his own to command and he was going to conquer it as he had been doing all his life.

 

“You would have done the same for any one of us,” Trowa answered and Wufei realized that it was true. A month before, he would not have cared if any of them had crashed their Gundams into the sun, but now, he would go rushing after them to the rescue. Curling his upper lip in disgust, he looked away, not wanting to answer to the emotions which rose within him.

 

“Guess what,” said Duo walking in, sounding overly loud. “Food, out of a can and it's not even cat food. Tro, why don't you feed him while I…”

 

“Stay,” said Trowa already walking towards the door. “You two need to talk.”

 

“We don't need to talk,” said Duo standing by the door. “I never talk. Who said anything about talking when…” he was apparently talking to Trowa's back as the taller boy walked out silently. “What's there to say?”

 

“We could start with how I became slant-eyed and oily-haired,” Wufei said dryly, as he reached for the plate. The last thing he needed was food; his stomach was already rebelling that the thought. His headache wasn't all that bad and he knew he would heal faster than what was predicted by Sally but still his body needed energy to heal and he was going to provide it with substance whether it felt like it or not.

 

“Ow, man,” wailed Duo. “Do you have to bring that up? I was angry with you, all right? But now…” he stopped, looking guilty and a little out of his depth, making Wufei curious as to what was about to happen. “We'll talk about it later, like when you can stand on your own two feet.”

 

“You seem to have bitten your tongue, Maxwell,” he bullied, looking at his food, which was a pitiful brown mess that reminded him of dog excrement . The thought of putting it in his mouth was already making him wish he was dead.

 

“Don't call me that!” Duo exclaimed in disgust. “It's always Maxwell this and Maxwell that. Call me Duo like everyone else does. Even Heero calls me Duo.”

 

“Fine,” said Wufei and trust a spoonful of the stuff into his mouth, nearly chocked on it and swallowed it. The lump of goo stuck to his throat and made a painful decent halting every half a second to try and climb back up. “What is this?” he gasped once he was sure he was not about to decorate Duo's feet with it.

 

“High energy, high protein food for pilots, sworn to be free of those pesky crumbs, which get into your space suit and console panel,” Duo said as if reading off the back of a can, which he probably had. “Heero likes it so I thought you might as well.”

 

“The day Yuy and I have similar taste will be the day we slow dance at one of Relena's balls,” Wufei growled, not wanting to admit that he might have actually found the whole thing edible, had he not been suffering from a headache, which was getting worse.

 

“I'd like to see that,” Duo said with a cheeky grin. “How about a cheese sandwich with onions and tomatoes…?”

 

Wufei leaned back, taking deep breaths to fight his nausea. “No,” he said sharply. “No food just yet, Max…Duo.”

 

“That was a start,” Duo said noting the hesitation over his name. “Why don't you lie back and I'll get you some painkillers and…”

 

“I need to brush my teeth,” Wufei confessed. The inside of his mouth tasted as if he hadn't brushed his teeth since the he had been extremely sick on…Trowa's shoes.

 

“Thought you might feel this way,” said Duo. “Think you can stand up…and lean against me for a bit? The washroom's just down the hall.”

 

“Where are we?” Wufei asked taking an interest in where they were for the first time. He was in a large room with padded white walls and a broken pool table in the corner. It was definitely not a bedroom by any means.

 

“Rec room,” said Duo. “I think this is some big house and there are four bedrooms upstairs and since no one was using this, we decided this would do as the fifth.”

 

Four bedrooms up and Wufei knew who would use which. He had a feeling he might have gotten the downstairs room in any case; after all, he was the loner and the odd one out. He was not going to complain but once in a while, the isolation did cut into him, as if he was cut off from the rest. “So, I'm in the correct room,” Wufei said.

 

“Actually,” said Duo, probably catching onto part of Wufei's thought process “Your room is upstairs. Heero wanted this room so he can guard the entrance and stuff.”

 

“Help me up.” The request cost him as much as it did for him to stand up. For a moment, Wufei was sure he was going to pass out and from the semi-panicked look on Duo's face, it was obvious he thought the same.

 

“Maybe you should stay here while I bring you a…”

 

“Forget it,” he gritted out and started the long trek out the room. “You…can tell me why you were angry with me before I left,” he said, more to distract himself from the pain.

 

“I was angry,” Duo answer shortly. “You were snogging with Heero when you…you should have …”

 

“Been with you?” Wufei asked in stopping in mid-stride. “Are you suggesting that we were exclusive or something?”

 

“Yes, no…I mean, I don't know,” Duo floundered. “I'm not good with this relationship crap and all that and …we are sixteen for god's sake so…”

 

“Relationship,” repeated Wufei, wondering just how serious his head injury was. “I think I'm going to be sick.”

 

“Well, no need to panic,” said Duo. “I didn't suggest we get married or anything. Just forget I said that. Oh…shit sorry man, you mean you're going to be sick as in throw up not because of what I…?”

 

They barely made it to the washroom before Wufei emptied the pitiful contents of his stomach into the sink then leaned against it, dry heaving. “I know this is a bad time to ask but…” said Duo holding out Wufei's toothbrush with a dollop of Super-Mint Toothpaste on it “…it wasn't what I said that made you barf, right?”

 

Wufei was not feeling up to it at all. The last thing he needed was Duo's prattling when his head was about to explode and his insides were trying to climb out, including his liver and lungs by the feel of it. As he opened his mouth to tell Duo exactly what he felt like, he went rigid. The purple eyes were wide with worry and Duo was fiddling with his braid, hopping from one foot to another, which made Wufei remember he had a full bladder Those eyes looked at him anxiously from under the fringe, waiting and waiting, hopeful and braced for pain at the same time. It was an important move, even Wufei understood. The L2 pilot had just bared himself to someone and he was waiting for …for a confirmation one way or the other.

 

Wufei was not so blind that he didn't know he was no prize. Heck, Duo could have done better with any one of the other pilots. He was bad tempered, anti-social and near-sighted to the boot. And he wasn't sure as to what he felt for the other boy. He was new at this personal feelings department.

 

“All right, don't answer,” said Duo, looking worried. “You know, I've done some pretty odd things and you might not find them acceptable with your code of ethics and all…” And Wufei remembered Duo defending prostitutes the night he had been brought in. The memory was faint, overshadowed by pain, but he remembered it nonetheless. He should have been shocked, but he had stopped looking at things in black and white a long time ago and …he found he couldn't judge Duo for that. He knew Duo had grown up in the streets so maybe he had sold himself but Wufei also knew that it wasn't that simple. Duo was a damn good pilot and that was what mattered.

 

Wufei turned around and spat, then rinsed his mouth, using the time to phrase his answer. When he looked around the other boy was silent, his eyes full pain but his back was straight and his mouth firmly shut.

 

“I … don't know how I feel about you,” he admitted finally.

 

“Oh, well,” said Duo. “Can't be all bad. You just forget I ever said those things and wash up… you have blood on your hair but Trowa says you can't bath for another week or so. If you get your stitches wet they might get infected and…”

 

“Doesn't mean I'm about to reject what you're offering,” Wufei said softly. “I'd like to get to know you better, maybe as more than friends.” There, he'd said it…not exactly what he'd expected but he'd never had a choice with Meiran. Now he did and he was…

 

“You mean it?” said Duo, his eyes shining brightly. Wufei nodded, feeling lightheaded and unsteady. But at that moment, his headache was gone and he was thinking very, very clearly.

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wufei was actually happy to get back to bed, if he could believe it. He was grateful for the fluffy pillow, the smooth bedcover and the soft mattress; things that would have had him running for cover some time back. He truly did not have any use of luxury items, but just then he thought he might thank Winner for his thoughtfulness.

 

“Duo, wait,” he said when he'd caught his breath. “We need to talk.”

 

“Maybe after you've gotten some sleep,” Duo said reaching for the medication.

 

“No, just… about us,” said Wufei. Here was something he was not used to talking about. Had it been about anything else, he could have strung two sentences together but when it came to human relationships he was lost. “I was hoping to keep this to ourselves for the time being.”

 

“I think that's a good idea,” Duo agreed as he sat on a corner of the bed.

 

Wufei relaxed, trying not to react to the intimate gesture, knowing that if they were to be `more than friends' then they'd be spending a lot of time in each other's personal space. He suddenly smiled. “How about a kiss, Duo, as a way of sealing our…”

 

“…whatever,” said Duo leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss of the Chinese pilot's lips. It was tender a loving, definitely not pushing it and then he continued to place small kisses on his neck and chest. Wufei had to smile at the feeling; he was going to enjoy this part of the relationship.

 

“I think we'll have to continue this another time,” Wufei said as he yawned. Yawned… “What did you give me?” he demanded.

 

“Sedatives and painkillers mainly,” Duo said without a blush. “Something for possible infection and fever. Nothing I'd not want in me if I looked like you.”

 

Wufei did not answer, knowing he must look bad. But there had been no mirror in the small washroom and he had not requested for one. Good looks were the last thing the five of them needed to worry about. Their lives were spare, clothes in a bag, bare necessities and quick conversations. If the war was finally over for real, maybe, they'd have the right to at least have an extra blanket without feeling guilty about excess weight in the gundam.

 

He could do that. Read a few more books, talk to people and shout at, and he could have a relationship with Duo Maxwell. He shifted to the side and made a little more room in his bed. “Lock the door,” he said. “If I'm going to be in bed, then you might as well spend some time with me in it.”