Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Love Beyond Dimensions ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Love Beyond Dimensions

By

Michalyn and Rogue11

Chapter Three

Warnings: AU, 13x6x5, lemon, humor and general silliness

Wufei yawned and lay in bed for a minute without opening his eyes. What an incredible dream: swords and guardians and alternative dimensions.... Wufei blinked. He must have really been tired to have wandered so far off the path of normal. Well, the good news was that he had slept marvelously -- dreams and all. Even better, it was Saturday which meant no assignments due, no work and no obnoxious customers to deal with. Wufei flung his arms and legs out, moving them like he was making a snow angel amidst the tangled sheets: Ahh perfection.

The sun slatted through the blinds made warm patterns against his arms and chest and Wufei smiled. It looked like it would be a pretty day too, not at all wet and dreary like yesterday. Wufei rolled out of bed and padded to the bathroom. Standing with wet hair after his shower he peered at himself in the foggy mirror. Hmm.... Wufei stood on tiptoe to lean closer. Was that finally a chin hair he saw there? Wufei fingered his wet skin, he rubbed a little.... Oh ... his shoulders drooped ... guess not.... He hated to even think it, but maybe Duo was right: maybe this was it: He had actually stopped growing and was forever destined to be a baby-smooth elf-man. Wufei's shoulders drooped even lower as he remembered something: even that crazy blond in his dream had called him puny. You knew things were bad when even your subconscious started calling you names.

Wufei raised his chin. Well, he wasn't going to give up hope. There was that cousin of his who was five foot four. A second cousin, but still.... Wufei tied his hair back and pulled on a tee shirt and a pair of boxers with renewed optimism. The first thing he would do to help that growth spurt along was to get a hearty breakfast. There were some eggs in the fridge and he thought he had cereal somewhere about, though it wasn't much. It was past time he went to the supermarket. Thank goodness he only had to prepare a meal for one.

--Or not.

Wufei stared at the two men curled in each other's arms on his sofa. What ... what ... how.... He gulped, clutching at the door frame. It had not been a dream.... Wufei swayed. It had not been a dream. His gaze fell to his broken cookie jar and mangled phone. They were here, in his living room and very much alive from the looks of it. It was bad enough he had aliens in his home but this ... this ... this was a development Wufei was not quite prepared for. Milliardo's arms were wound around Treize's torso while Treize's fingers were tangled in the great, pale swath of his hair. They had said they were partners much like crime-fighters in their world, but Wufei was pretty sure the way Milliardo's rather ... powerful ... thigh was locked about Treize's hips was not part of the standard police handshake.

Wufei pressed a palm to his hot cheek. Well! That was certainly a new way to start the day. He tugged on the edge of his tee shirt, stretching it till it concealed most of his suddenly ... uncomfortable ... boxers. Wufei crept back towards the bathroom....

Maybe breakfast could wait.

**

"See here, Treize." Milliardo lifted a small, white box from the counter. He peered at the four glowing slats. "This box holds a flame. When you depress this lever it glows from within."

"Indeed?" Treize ambled over with a yawn. His hair was adorably mussed and Milliardo could not help smiling.

"What?"

Milliardo hid his smile. "Nothing"

"Humph. What is this you say about a fire box?"

"Look."

Treize stepped closer. He read the large letters printed near one of the corners of the box, "Toe- staa." Treize tested the foreign word on his tongue. "What do you think it means?"

Milliardo snuck a look about to make sure they were alone. "Whatever it is, it must be dangerous. I for one am not convinced by this concept of "technology". What could one mean to do by trapping a flame?" Milliardo shook his head. "I wanted to seal it with my most gelid frost but I feared the wrath of our prickly host."

Treize nodded sagely, "A wise decision. Never since our encounter with Hagrith of the fire world have I encountered such a hot-tempered urchin."

"He was most gracious to us last night, loaning us the low bed structure, but he may not be so kind in the future. We must be circumspect in all things. Though Chang Wufei has been rather abrasive to us, this small abode is still a haven of sorts till we become more familiar with this world."

Treize nodded. He held his palm over the box. "Hmm ... as son of the phoenix if it really does hold a flame I should be able to control it."

"I thought of that as well." Milliardo peered over Treize's shoulder. "Why don't you give it a try? It will be a good exercise, for we still do not know the true extent of our abilities here."

"That is true." Treize began lowering his finger into one of the orange slots.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Treize and Milliardo froze. Gods save them.

"I leave you two alone for five minutes and already you're getting into trouble."

Chang Wufei was standing with his hands on his hips and a most fearsome frown on his face. Milliardo gulped at the sight of a vein pulsing at his temple (though it was hard to tell whether its feverish throbbing was because Wufei was furious or because his circulation was impaired by the stubby ponytail his hair was scraped back in).

Milliardo cleared his throat. "There is an explanation for this. You see, the flame-box--"

Wufei pressed a hand to his forehead. "It is called a toaster. You put in bread or waffles and it cooks them. It is not a flame box, it does not work by magic and--" he shot a meaningful look at Treize "if you put your fingers in there you will get burnt -- badly. I can't afford to take anyone to the hospital and since neither of you seems to be carrying a Mages R' Us insurance card, kindly step away from the counter and have a seat at the table."

What a rude little creature! Reminding himself of their vulnerable position here Milliardo tamped down a surge of anger. Beside him, Treize had withdrawn his hand from the flame-box and was staring at his fingers with a look that managed to be sheepish and affronted all at once.

Milliardo bristled. "How dare you address us in such an impertinent manner? Furthermore we have not depended on Mages R' Us for healing solutions for many a winter. Since Treize's mishap battling the faerie-king, Lyranth we have been covered by the Guardians' Guild."

Wufei stared. His lips parted and shut much like a fish's. "I won't even ask.... Wh--whatever you just said." He pointed to the table. "Can we just eat, please?"

Finally some civil treatment! Milliardo went to the small table and pulled up a chair. Treize sat next to him and they watched as Wufei went to another box and lit yet another fire. This time he was careful to not ask any questions, but Wufei prevented it in any case. He seemed to have guessed what he and Treize might be thnking and was quick to explain:

"This is the stove -- sort of like an open fire, but not quite since the fire is on top here and not on the ground. These knobs control how high the fire gets. And here--" Wufei opened a door below," is the oven."

"It is so small. How can that be?" Treize's brow furrowed in confusion, "In our world an oven is large enough to roast two oxen. Do people in this world eat so little? Is that why you are so diminutive?"

Two spots of color appeared on Wufei's cheekbones. "No that is not why I'm short and one of the main reasons your ovens are different is because they use wood for fuel. We use gas or electricity -- "controlled lightning" if you will -- to heat our food. The other reason is nobody owns oxen anymore -- unless you live on a farm. I go to a supermarket to buy raw meat."

"Super-market?" Milliardo raised an eyebrow, "What is so great about the place? Can one buy potions there? I for one could use some horn of elk to--"

"No!" Wufei threw his hands up. "It's just a food market enclosed in a building. Nothing mystic about it at all…." He turned back to the stove with a huff.

What did he say? Milliardo looked to Treize who shook his head and shrugged. Humph ... There was no telling what would set Wufei off. Milliardo for one was going to make sure that he wasn't on the receiving end of his temper if he could help it.

He watched as Wufei cracked some eggs into a skillet then popped some strange, square-shaped bread into the small fire-box. While the eggs were sizzling away Wufei bent to retrieve a transparent container from one of the lower cupboards. He was wearing breeches of a rough blue cloth and Milliardo couldn't help noticing that he filled them out rather nicely. Wufei had a pert -- perfect -- behind firm enough to bounce a silver coin off of. Too bad he was such a sour lemon ... an arse like that just begged to be groped. Milliardo sighed. Ah well....

Treize caught him staring and grinned. He leaned closer to whisper something, but Wufei turned around just then. He eyed them suspiciously as he set two plates on the table. Wufei doled out some food for himself then went to the ice-box. He stuck his head in and after a bit of rummaging around returned with a carton of with oranges painted on its sides. He looked from Treize to Milliardo.

"Whatever you're planning it's a bad idea."

Milliardo laughed, focusing on the meal before them. Wufei's meal smelled delicious. He peered at the fluffy eggs and golden-brown bread and his stomach gave a loud growl.

Treize gave him an affectionate nudge, "Hungry, Milliardo?"

He grinned, "Just a little."

Wufei shifted from one foot to the other. He was biting his lip and Milliardo could tell he was embarrassed for some reason. "I know the food's not much, but if you can wait till after breakfast I will go to the supermarket."

"Do not fret," Milliardo reached for his plate, "I shall not wither away." He scooped some egg up with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. Hmm, it was actually quite good.

"What are you doing?"

Milliardo looked up to see Wufei staring at his hand with a look of horror. "What?"

"You're eating with your fingers," Wufei pronounced each word very deliberately.

"Yes?"

"Is that not the normal way?" Treize asked, his own graceful fingers poised over his plate.

"The normal way?" Wufei repeated. "Don't you use utensils to eat where you come from?" He threw his hands up at the blank expressions on Milliardo's and Treize's faces, "Forks, chopsticks?"

"Chopsticks?" Treize was shaking his head, "your speech is unfamiliar."

Wufei sighed. "Chopsticks are-- forget it, this is easier." He picked up a small three-pronged object that was somewhat similar to a cook's flesh hook in their world. He pierced his eggs with it and shoveled some into his mouth. "See? Now you try."

Milliardo picked up the strange utensil and stabbed it into his eggs. It scraped the bottom of his plate -- which gave a little leap off the table, sending his bread flying. "Like this?"

Wufei pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose. "No." His hand covered Milliardo's, taking the fork from his hand and rearranging his fingers around the cool metal. "Like this."

Milliardo watched him. Wufei's palm was small and soft and he found himself fascinated by the contrast of his dusky fingers against his paler skin.

Wufei frowned. "Are you paying attention?"

"Aye," Milliardo's tone was languid. He slid his palm out from beneath Wufei's and wrapped it around the fork so that their positions were reversed and the smaller man's hand was beneath his. Wufei stilled. He had gone all wide-eyed and his lips trembled just a little. Milliardo smiled. "Like this, no?"

"Yes." Frowning, Wufei shook his head. "Good," he said primly "you catch on quickly." He began tugging his hand away, but Milliardo's fingers tightened, trapping him.

"Your hands are wondrous soft." He rubbed the delicate webbing between Wufei's thumb and forefinger, "Are you part of the nobility in this land?"

"No, I--"

Milliardo watched the color return to Wufei's cheeks. He was flustered by the simple touch in a way Milliardo had not expected. His eyes met Treize's across the table. Perhaps there was something else in this place worth their investigation.

Treize leaned forward on his elbows with a smile. He was staring up at Wufei with a look of open expectation. "You are...?"

Wufei licked his lips. He darted a glance to Milliardo and then Treize. He was nervous and something within Milliardo gave a little purr of satisfaction. He and Treize were like babes in this world and it was frustrating, to say the least. It was good to see Wufei the one thrown off balance for once.

Wufei cleared his throat. He tugged on his hand again. "I'm not. We don't really have a nob--"

Ding-Dong!

A strange ringing suddenly filled the abode. Both he and Treize sprung to their feet with a start. Were they under attack of some sort? Milliardo reached for his dagger. "What in the seven hells--"

Wufei was staring at the door with a look of horror. He turned around, shooting them a warning glance. "It's all right," he hissed, "Just... just... please stay put. Someone's at the door."