Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Manhattan Secrets ❯ Memories ( Chapter 2 )

Hey everyone! I know you've all been waiting patiently (*snork* yeah right) for the sequel to Manhattan Secrets, and I hope you're all pleased with my efforts at a second chapter. I plan to continue this story, as this chapter may not satisfy you, but you know me and my plans. ^_^; I'll need all the encouragement I can get, so PLEASE leave your comments in a review or an email. Otherwise I tend to put things on a back burner, and then it's a year before they get updated. ^_^;;

Disclaimer: I own my muses, but since they're almost completely useless, you can have them if you want. I do not, however, own Gundam Wing, so you'll have to talk to someone else if you want that.

*Manhattan Secrets*

Chapter Two

Wufei groaned as a searing pain shot through his skull. He immediately pulled his sheets over his head, intent on blocking out the morning light. He was successful for a few seconds, but then the enclosed space made him aware of the smell of alcohol and smoke coming from him and his bed. Gagging slightly, he threw the covers back and slowly rolled sideways so he was sitting, feet on the floor and hands balancing him on the mattress.

After regaining his sense of up and down, the Chinese man carefully stood and took gliding baby steps to his bathroom, where he promptly relieved himself and downed four aspirin.

Stumbling to the kitchen and rooting through his refrigerator in an attempt to find something to fill his stomach along with his painkillers, he eventually gave up and eased himself into a chair. He probably wouldn't have been able to eat anything even if he'd found food.

He rubbed his eyes, then blearily looked around his kitchen as he tried to finger-comb his "morning hair," which was comparable to Yuy's in the messy department. Finally looking to his coffee machine and wanting to hit himself for not thinking of it sooner, he noticed a folded note taped to the pot. Blinking slowly, he briefly debated the pros and cons of moving before leaning as far as he could and lifting the pot towards him with his fingertips. Pulling off the note and unfolding it, he instantly recognized his comrade's handwriting.

'Hey Wu-baby, how's it hanging? Wait, on second thought, don't answer that.'

Wufei snorted but continued reading.

'I figure you're bound to have a nasty headache this morning and more than a few questions, so I thought I'd try to help you out. First of all, take some painkillers and a shower, and for God's sake, get some caffeine in your system!

'Anyway, I got a call from Une last night, so I got to pick you up. Honestly, Fei, Frenchie's? Even I don't go to Frenchie's. Their bouncer was pretty cool, though. Well, I dragged you home, took off your shoes, blah blah blah. It was all pretty standard. I figure you owe me something, though. Maybe a gift certificate to that little chocolate shop by HQ? Think about it!

-Duo

'PS What were you doing at Frenchie's in the first place!?'

Wufei dropped the note on the table and buried his head in his arms. Of course, of all people, Duo had to be the one to find him in that seedy little bar. He'd had a bad week and was feeling depressed, so he decided to try and drown his sorrows. Other people did it all the time.

Unfortunately, Wufei's system was unused to alcohol, so its effect was much more drastic than he had expected. Who knows what he could have done while so incapacitated? Thank God OZ had never thought of that interrogation tactic.

Sighing and trying not to think about it, Wufei put some coffee on and returned to his bathroom, emerging ten minutes later showered and feeling refreshed. Noting that it was almost noon, he poured himself a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, which he now felt he could successfully hold down.

After eating his lunch (of sorts), he decided that a call to Duo would be appropriate. I did, after all, drag him from his own plans on a Friday night, he thought. Fairly certain the American would be awake by this time, he turned on his vid-phone and called the number he had memorized. In case of an emergency, he justified to himself.

He waited for three rings before Duo picked up, looking bright and cheerful as always and finishing off the end of his braid.

"Hiya Fei!"

"Maxwell," gritted out Wufei, trying to ignore the slaughter of his name. "I wanted to thank you for taking me home last night and to apologize for taking your time."

"Apology accepted," said Duo blandly, seeming to know that Wufei wouldn't believe an 'it's no big deal.'

There was an awkward silence over the line for a few seconds as Duo tried to avoid bringing up last night's declarations, and Wufei battled with his pride and nearly overwhelming embarrassment.

"Maxwell," Wufei finally blurted out, "I didn't do anything, uh-"

"Oh no," said Duo with a snicker. "Aside form informing me that Mel Gibson was hot, you didn't do anything too bad."

Wufei abruptly paled, then turned bright red. "I, um-"

"Of course," interrupted the other man smoothly, "I always thought Brad Pitt had nicer shoulders."

Wufei choked.

"Look," said Duo gently after a moment, "why don't you meet me for coffee around three thirty, ok? That'll give you some time to think, and then we can talk."

Nodding mechanically, Wufei took down the address and hung up the phone. He stared at the machine for a minute, thoughts whirling around in his head. He was gay. Duo knew he was gay. Duo was gay. Oh dear gods.

The embarrassment of the situation alone was enough to send him into a state of shock, but the added surprise of Duo's admission made it ten times more confusing. He couldn't seem to get his thoughts in order. Why did Duo have to be the one to pick him up? Would it have been better for him to humiliate himself in front of a complete stranger? And why the hell had he been talking about Mel Gibson?!

Glaring at the phone one last time, Wufei quickly went to his room and changed into his white robes. He needed to clear his mind, and the best way to do that was to exercise. A few hours doing his katas in the park would be an excellent way to spend his afternoon.

Until he had to meet Duo.

Gods.

He managed to distract himself until he got to the park by counting cracks in the sidewalk, and when he arrived at the grassy area he usually claimed, he began his first routine before his mind had time to spin itself in any more circles.

His warm-up kata was relatively short and mainly composed of stretches. Once he had completed it, he centered himself for his second, slightly more complicated routine. He began with a step to the right and followed the movement with a jab of his right hand, then swept his left hand out as he pivoted.

He continued in this fashion, each move clearing his mind further, until he forgot everything but his body, moving in it's graceful dance of power and concentration. He didn't notice when sweat started pouring down his chest. He didn't notice when people stopped to watch on their way through the park. He didn't notice when one woman slipped a large, professional-looking camera off her neck and snapped a few quick photos. And he didn't notice when the short hand of his watch slipped from the one...to the two...and on past the three.

When he finally slowed his movements and held the last position, the stream of people on the walking paths had narrowed down to a trickle, and a light breeze had picked up. Unwinding his body gently into a standing position, he bowed to his imaginary opponent, then wiped his face with the hem of his shirt. He grabbed a drink from a nearby fountain before checking the time, his eyebrows shooting up when he saw how late it was. He had exactly 18 minutes to get home, shower, clean up, and get to the cafe to meet Duo. He hoped, as he ran to his apartment, that Duo had kept up with Maxwell Standard Time, which ran about fifteen minutes later than everyone else's.

Unfortunately, it was just his luck that Duo was sitting patiently in a booth, sipping his water and idling looking at the paintings on the walls when Wufei pushed through the cafe doors. Wufei froze just inside the doorway as he saw his friend's attention shift from the cafe's decor to him. He was sure he looked like a deer in the headlights, standing stock still and gaping slightly, but he couldn't seem to get his mind to hold back the blind panic that was pushing its way to the front of his brain.

Then Duo threw an easy smile at him, and he moved forward, reluctantly admitting that there was no getting out of this situation. Duo was a curious creature by nature, and Wufei was sure he wouldn't let the subject drop until he was satisfied.

"Hey, Wu!" Duo greeted Wufei as he slid into the booth. "How's it going?"

"Fine," answered the Chinese man with an automatic smile. "I trust you're doing well also?"

"Couldn't be better!"

"Mm." Wufei nodded, his conversational skills deserting him.

There was an awkward silence. Wufei tried to avoid looking at Duo without being too obvious about it, and Duo bit his lip, looking hesitant. Then they both spoke.

"Wufei-"

"So-"

Stopping, they looked at each other and laughed nervously. Wufei slouched down in his seat and put his hands over his face.

"Gods, this is so humiliating."

Duo snorted and threw him a lopsided grin. "I find it rather amusing."

Wufei glared through his fingers half-heartedly. "You would."

"So you've been keeping secrets from me, huh?" asked Duo, refusing to be sidetracked for long. "I thought we didn't keep secrets."

Wufei sat up suddenly. "You didn't tell me you were...either." He flushed, not quite able to say the "g-word" yet.

"Details, details. The point is that I spent weeks trying to get you and Sally together, all for nothing! No wonder I can never get you out on any dates!!"

"What about Hilde, then?" countered Wufei, attempting to defend himself.

"Oh come on. She got a boyfriend months ago. I haven't seen them apart for weeks. And for that matter, I'm bisexual. So there." Duo tossed him a cocky grin, knowing he'd won the argument.

Wufei huffed and glared at his napkin.

"Hey, come on, Fei," said Duo soothingly. "I didn't mean to make fun of you. This has got to be unsettling, at the least."

"Extremely." Wufei was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"When I was younger, I was a scholar. I couldn't stand fighting, no matter how much my teachers tried to inspire me. Of course I did everything they asked; I learned several types of martial arts and practiced several hours a day, but I never enjoyed it. If given a choice, I would have spent all my time in the library or meditating on my thoughts. This, of course, drove my instructors insane. I was an accomplished fighter, but I took no pride or joy in it.

"They had one other star pupil, though, who loved fighting more than anything and even spent more hours practicing than I did. This student was as talented as I was, as quick as I was, and more dedicated than I could ever hope to be. Unfortunately, this student was a woman.

"Her name was Meiran Long, and I think I frustrated her more than anything in the world. She simply couldn't comprehend how I could enjoy anything more than fighting. What made it worse was that I had opportunities she didn't, because of her gender. A woman couldn't take the positing I was to have, ensuring the continuing success of the Dragon Clan. A woman couldn't carry the title of Master, no matter how good she was. I was wasting something she would give anything to have.

"She hated me for it, but when our clans decided our marriage would be best for their future success, we both agreed simply because it was our duty. We could hardly stand to be civil to each other the day we took our vows." Wufei shook his head. "It was torture.

"Most of our clans seemed to agree with her. I was ridiculed by warriors for wishing to spend time on books instead of martial arts and looked down upon by true scholars for being a fighter, no matter how unwillingly. No matter what I did, I could never please anyone."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Wufei picking at his napkin and Duo watching the patrons of the coffee shop. After a time, the braided man 'hm'ed under his breath, drawing Wufei's attention. Still looking around the cafe, he spoke softly, almost to himself, it seemed to Wufei.

"I was about seven at the time, I think. It's hard to be positive, you know, but it was several months after the Church took me in, so I'm pretty sure I was between six and eight years old.

"Anyway, it was a Saturday, and Sister Helen - I told you about her, remember? She said it was high time that we all got cleaned up, because we looked like a pack of wild dust bunnies." Duo smiled ruefully. "Unfortunately for her, 'cleaning up' included hair-cuts.

"I absolutely refused to let her give me a bath or cut my hair. My hair was special to me, and the bath was part of the deal, though I avoided that more on principle than a real dislike of it. I ran and hid from her that morning, and I managed to stay away from her for most of the day, and when she finally caught me, I fought so hard she couldn't hold me still enough to cut my hair without stabbing me. She finally decided that it wasn't worth it, and if I wanted to look like a dust bunny for the church service the next day, it was my own fault.

"I thought it was a great idea, and I was extremely pleased with myself for outlasting Sister Helen's stubbornness." He shook his head and chuckled. "I must have looked like a rooster, all puffed up and proud.

"Anyway, the other kids weren't as happy about it as I was. I suppose they were mad that they had to sit still and get cleaned up when I didn't, but at the time I couldn't figure out why they were so mean to me. They took it out on me, of course; made fun of my long hair now that theirs was short, made fun of me for being proud about it, made fun of me for not being cleaned up with a bath." Duo absently pulled his braid over his shoulder and began stroking it, lost in his memories.

"After a few hours of being mocked I just couldn't take it anymore. I ran to Sister Helen, crying, and asked why everyone was being so cruel. She patted my long hair and told me that people didn't like it when other people were different than them. I reminded her that just a few days ago she had told us that we were all different and unique, and how could I be more different than my friends if nobody was exactly like anyone else?"

A smile crossed Duo's face again. "She said everyone would always be different and special, and my friends just didn't understand it as well as I did. So I told her that I didn't want to be different, I just wanted my friends to like me again. And she said, 'Duo, if the Lord had wanted you to be like everyone else, he would have made everyone exactly the same. But He didn't, because He loves everyone for what they are, not what other people think they are.'"

"She was a very wise woman," said Wufei respectfully.

"She was amazing," affirmed Duo. "I've tried to remember all the lessons she taught me and live by them, no matter how difficult. That's another reason I've never cut my hair."

Wufei nodded, his gaze trailing down the long braid resting on Duo's shoulder. "You're a very strong person, Maxwell."

"So are you, Fei," replied Duo, cobalt eyes darkening. "I think if you can get through this, you can do anything."

"I hope so." Wufei's eyebrows pinched in a frown.

"It's not that bad, believe me. And you know it's not a secret with us anymore, so I can help whenever you need me to."

Wufei smiled slightly, though he couldn't bring himself to look Duo in the eye. "You're a good friend, Duo. I hope I can repay you somehow."

"Oh, don't worry," said Duo cryptically. "I'm sure something will come up."

*End*

To Be Continued...?

If you'd like, I guess I could try to get a few more chapters out. ^_^; It's been almost a year since this came out, and it wasn't a gigantic hit at first, but I guess the 2x5 fandom is gaining popularity. Sugoi!

I'll do my best to update this quickly, but if you know me, you know it won't be instantaneous. Give it a couple months, at least.

Also, my sincerest thanks go out to: anna may, SanosukeLover - Milly Maxwell, Madoka, Ash Lee Brodford, meghan, Dia, Mystik-chan, KawaiiShinigami, MegHead88, Devy, Jenza1202, Shaman Dani of the Flamingos, sovita, ms. trunks, Princess Mei, Spite, Tanya Dairyu, Tori Sakana, mistressg, Lassy D, Landlady of the Universe, onyxsun, Kwobtchan, HarunoKaze, Sita Seraph, Jenn, Grinning Reaper, Persephone, Vegetes, and QueSeraSera.

Almost every single one of you said I needed a sequel, so here's part of it. ^_^; I hope you all enjoy it!