Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Touched ❯ Chapter 3

Touched

(3 / 7)

Pairing : 2x5x2

Rating : R overall

Warnings : Yaoi, lime, mild angst/sap/violence

Disclaimer : GW belongs to Sunrise, Sotsu and Bandai. I wish I owned it though.

Summary : A mission finished at the expense of one pilot getting hurt. Two boys find themselves sharing space in the same safehouse, and finding a connection while learning to live with each other.

+++++ : Change of scene

~~~~~ : Scene break

< > : Recalled speech

// // : Thoughts

A/N : This doesn't follow the canon storyline. ^_^ Feedback appreciated!

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He slowly clenched his hands into fists, squeezing them as tightly as he could, before relaxing them again. He was pleased to see that his hands had stopped quivering. He looked up and stared at his reflection.

His shirt was opened down the front, peeled open to reveal his chest. He ran his hands over his skin, over the assortment of faded marks - all souvenirs from his career. His fingers paused right above where his heart was. That was where the bullet would have gotten him, most definitely killing him, if Wufei hadn't suddenly leapt out of nowhere and shielded him.

A sharp rapping on the door startled him out of his thoughts.

"Duo Maxwell! I would appreciate it if you would hurry a little."

Duo sighed inwardly. Taking one last quick look at the mirror, he quickly buttoned up his shirt. His smile was firmly in place. It was getting a little easier moderating his moods and smiling at Wufei was becoming a little more comfortable by the day.

"Okay, okay!" Duo put on his most exasperated tone. "Quit yellin' at me!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Wufei's fist was poised before the door, ready to knock again, when it swung open and Duo emerged.

The Chinese pilot stared up into twin violet sparks. Maybe he was hallucinating, but it did seem to him the gleam in those violet depths was just a little too bright right now. And…it also seemed Maxwell was too geared up for the occasion. It was as if the entire form of the American's body was thrumming with energy.

"Hell yeah!" Duo affirmed, bouncing his weight from one foot to the next, then back again. His hands had caught his braid over one shoulder and thin, pale fingers toyed feverishly with the chestnut coil.

"Are you well, Maxwell?" Wufei himself didn't know where the question came from; it just popped out of his mouth.

"Well?" Duo halted abruptly, all motions coming to a stop. For the most fleeting moment, his jester grin faded in uncertainty. Then, the usual exuberance took over. "Of *course* I'm well! All the way from last night."

Wufei looked completely unconvinced.

"So, what's up with all that screaming just now?"

"Screaming?" Wufei blinked, then shot Duo his snootiest glare. "I don't scream, Maxwell," ignoring Duo's snickering, he held out the band that he used for his hair. "Please?"

Duo stopped snickering and grinned instead. "I like the way you say 'please'," he took the band and slipped it around his wrist. "Turn."

Stiffly, Wufei obeyed. For the first time in his life, he was glad he wasn't fair-skinned, or his cheeks would have been bright pink. As he felt Duo's fingers on his head, he distinctly felt his cheeks grew even warmer and he chided himself inwardly. It was getting ridiculous, his reactions to Duo's presence. Trying not to flinch every time Duo's fingers brushed against his scalp, Wufei held himself still. It wasn't helping that some annoying little voice in his mind was reminding him that even though he had to fully recover from his injuries, he could have done this himself without Duo's help.

"Done!"

Wufei jumped a little at that sudden exclamation. His head nodding in satisfaction, Duo appeared in front him in open appraisal.

"Nice," Duo said, looking all pleased with his own handiwork.

As if on cue, several escaped strands of hair flitted into Wufei's eyes. He swiped at them. "You call this done?"

"Uh-huh," Duo cocked his head to one side. "You look cuter like that."

Wufei went rigid, his cheeks positively blazing now. It was hard for him to even look appropriately stern with Duo eyeing him with that teasing little smile on his curving lips. Feeling distinctly inadequate now, Wufei reached up quickly for his own hair.

"I'll redo it myself," he also heard himself saying.

He was stopped by pale hands clamping over his own. He blinked as Duo's violet eyes suddenly loomed nearer to his face, and the American's amused smile grew...wistful?

"Keep it a bit, longer. It makes you look human," Duo said quietly. Then, abruptly, he recoiled with a bright chuckle. "Besides, all you gotta do is *this*," with that, he leaned in and blew at the raven strands, laughing as he did so.

++++++++++

The day was warm, though not exceptionally so, but still it was warm. They had already set up the necessary communications equipment and were awaiting further instructions, or contact from the rest. Seriously speaking however, they weren't really expecting any email to come in so soon. Quatre had earlier sent an abrupt message telling them to stay put.

Since they were going to have to do just that, might as well make the most of it.

<Are you well, Maxwell?>

Duo pinched the bridge of his nose hard. Now when he thought about it, he was admittedly, rather worn out. He suddenly recalled Wufei's expression at the mention of 'last night'. More accurately, Duo had been referring to the couch-versus-bed fight they had last night. Wufei had indicated very clearly to Duo that the latter was to have the bed for that night and Wufei would take the couch. In trademark fashion, Duo had casually plopped himself on the couch and told Wufei to pry him off it if he could. That had stumped the Shenlong pilot as expected, and Duo had gotten his way.

Now he was wondering if he should have just taken the bed. If he were picky, he'd say his frame was definitely unsuitable for the damned couch. He just couldn't fold up properly on it. The hell! It wasn't even really a couch, more like a clothed *thing*. Besides, Wufei did seem much better these days...maybe Wufei sleeping a night or so on the couch wouldn't hurt...?

Duo sighed loudly and gave up that thought. The one who was injured was Wufei, not him. A sharp pang of guilt stabbed him without warning. And Wufei wouldn't have been injured if he hadn't -

"What are you doing?"

Duo jumped in surprise, letting out an undignified yelp. He spun around and shook a fist at the offender. "Would you quit sneaking up on me? And interrupting me?" he demanded even as he was manoeuvred aside rather unceremoniously by an insistent Chinese pilot.

"I was not sneaking up on you," Wufei pointed out absently as he began examining the contents spread out on the table. "And I was not interrupting you. You weren't doing anything. How could I interrupt you when you weren't doing anything?"

Duo rubbed his nose again. He did wish Wufei would stop talking like he was reasoning all the time. "I was thinking," he informed the insufferable Shenlong pilot.

At this, Wufei's head lifted and a suspiciously amused onyx gaze was suddenly on Duo.

"Don't," Duo warned. "No brain jokes."

Wufei just shook his head innocently. "I was going to ask what you plan to do with these," he poked at a sad-looking stump of carrot.

"I'm cooking," Duo said and snatched at that carrot like it was his baby.

"Are you sure you can cook?" Obsidian eyes widened in comical surprise.

"Are you doubting me?" Duo stuck his hands on his hips.

"No," Wufei shook his head again, and strands of hair he had tucked so neatly behind his ears fluttered about his eyes. "Shall I...help?"

Duo grinned and began rolling up his sleeves. "The great God of Death doesn't need help!"

++++++++++

He really was taking a much longer time than estimated. It was probably past normal lunch time by at least several hours! Not that it *really* mattered; Duo himself was used to taking his meals at whichever time he could, but he hadn't planned on starving his safehouse-mate. Very gingerly, he lifted the lid of the little pot and peered into its contents. Should be okay...

Speaking of the Shenlong pilot, Duo hadn't seen Wufei all the way since morning. However, he had heard many weird shuffling and scraping noises coming from outside the kitchen. Really got him horribly curious, those noises, but Duo couldn't leave his cooking alone.

He straightened his back and stretched, sighing as he felt all the kinks popping in his limbs. He briefly rested his head one hand. God, now he felt much better. And *now*, he could go check out the source of those noises. Almost stealthily, he approached the living area. Let's see how much Wufei liked it to have people sneaking up on him.

He halted in his tracks as soon as his eyes made the connection with his mind. The strangest feeling - some mixture of surprise and amazement - swelled in his chest and Duo just stood there staring dumbly like a block of wood.

The living area had been tiny to begin with...with no more than a fireplace, the couch and some space to actually move around in. Now it looked distinctively smaller, because of the addition of a mattress - single sized - several feet away before the couch. Duo recognised that mattress all right. It was the one belonging to the bed in the *bedroom*. How and why it ended up in the living room was, at the moment, beyond him.

Not that the youth currently lying on the mattress was offering any plausible explanation at the moment too, of course. Arms and legs spread out, Wufei's eyes were closed, his jaw slack. For a sickening second, Duo felt the sting of deja vu as he recalled that this was exactly how Wufei had looked when Duo brought him to the safehouse, all bloody and wounded. But...this time was different. True, his cheeks were still too pale for Duo's liking, and perspiration was beading his temples, but Wufei looked like he was resting after a whole morning of strenuous work.

Ho, strenuous work. Duo smiled wryly as he contemplated the presence of the mattress, then he turned and eyed the recent additions of equipment on the table. Clearly Wufei had been busy as well.

Stepping forward, Duo braced his arms on the back of the couch so he could look down on the resting Chinese pilot.

"Good afternoon,"

Duo had the pleasure of watching his object of study snapping open wide onyx eyes and scrambling into a sitting position. Wufei looked properly mortified to be caught in such a vulnerable situation, if his furiously-blushing cheeks were anything to go by.

"Duo. I - " the Shenlong pilot said stiffly, tone veering dangerously close to a croak. "I was taking a break."

Duo decided there and then he liked an embarrassed Wufei. There was something about seeing normally disciplined-as-a-board people caught off-guard. "A break," Duo nodded thoughtfully, doing little to conceal the fact he was teasing the stern Chinese pilot. "Usually you would have heard me coming by a mile - "

"Then I fell asleep," Wufei continued rather sheepishly. He ducked his head, suddenly very interested in the fabric of the mattress sheet.

"How's the injury?"

"Much better," Wufei replied quickly, seemingly relieved to be able to talk about something more clinical. He began dutifully examining his own arm as though proving that his self-diagnosis was valid.

"So much better that you practically moved the whole bedroom here," Duo observed.

Instantly, Wufei went rigid again. Duo sighed inwardly. The Chinese pilot was behaving in an increasingly antsy fashion by the day and he was starting to wonder if he was the one responsible for it.

"It - " Obsidian eyes darted quickly around the room. As if some divine intervention had provided a reply for him, the same dark eyes brightened as they focused on the fireplace. "It is warmer here," Wufei said solemnly, pointing to the fireplace.

Duo raised an eyebrow. The fireplace hadn't been used since Wufei had woken up. He stared evenly back at Wufei, noting the discomfort in the pilot's stiffly-held shoulders. Whatever it was, Wufei had obviously intentionally rearranged the living room to his whims and wasn't about to come clean with his real reason. Duo decided to let it go for the moment. No need to make the atmosphere more tensed than it already was.

"Whatever," Duo grinned. "Hungry?"

Wufei placed a hand on his stomach, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Now that you've mentioned it," he said seriously. "Yes."

"Good!" Duo pointed to the only table outside of the kitchen. Incidentally, it was also the one on which that all their communications setup was placed. "Sit there and wait. I'll bring out everything."

"I will help."

"Just wait there." Duo didn't bother to hang around for Wufei's further objections. Just before he head off to the kitchen, Duo sneaked a sideways glance at the living room again. Maybe it was his imagination, but perhaps the area did look a little better with an additional mattress next to the couch.

And for the first time, his mood was not in tandem with the weather outside. The sky was still remained overcast as it always did, but his mood was just a little bit brighter. Even the throbbing headache that refused to go away in days was completely tolerable by now.

++++++++++

Both of them stared at the array of dishes.

Duo felt a ridiculous urge to chew on his knuckles out of nervousness. It was stupid to feel this way, admittedly, but he felt like he was on trial. For the past few days, they had been surviving scraps of edible anything. This was the first time Duo had managed to snag proper cans of stew and cookable foodstuffs, and had actually *cooked*. And why the hell was Wufei taking such a long time studying the dishes?!

Duo shot a glare at the various electronic equipment sharing table space with the food. Right now, he really did not need to be reminded of the fact they were technically still on the run from OZ.

He continued watching anxiously as Wufei picked up the pair of sticks of wood on the positioned before him. It was not only until Wufei's lips curved into a near-smile that Duo relaxed.

"Chopsticks?" Wufei said in wonder, turning the makeshift wooden utensils this way and that. "How did you manage to get these?"

"Improvisation," Duo replied with an enigmatic grin.

"And those?" Wufei gestured to the dishes with his new-found chopsticks.

"Same case," Duo admitted.

Those dishes weren't really dishes. They were made up of stuff Duo could possibly mash together. The only one Duo could actually be proud of was the soup. Still in its pot - Duo couldn't find anything to put it in - it stood in the centre of the table like the crowning glory of the meal.

Duo had remembered Wufei mentioning, during an earlier inane conversation a couple of days ago, that as a child, every time he fell ill, Wufei would be fed herbal soup. It was nothing compared to the whole gamut of available advanced medicines and drugs, but the soup always made Wufei feel a little better.

And sometimes, like times like these, everyone needed a little reminding of their pasts.

"Shall we?" Wufei was truly smiling now.

Duo grinned and picked up his own utensils.

They ate in silence for the next twenty minutes or so. This felt comfortable; a comfort Duo was grateful for. It just felt suitable sitting here having a meal like this, even with evidence of their guerilla lifestyles surrounding them, and the memory of the same table covered with blood-crusted swathes. Duo quickly fisted his hands to stop them from quivering. He felt vaguely annoyed at this physical reaction to his thoughts. It was getting to be pretty obvious, though he hoped Wufei hadn't noticed it.

"What did you put in this?"

Duo looked up quickly. "The soup?" he said automatically.

"Yes," Wufei affirmed.

"Try and you'll know," Duo challenged. Truth was, he basically dumped anything and everything he thought to be healthy into it.

"You hadn't tried it yourself?"

"Nope," Duo grinned sheepishly. He had wanted to, but had conveniently forgotten in his haste to leave the kitchen and into the living room earlier.

"Very well," Wufei said with the tiniest sigh as though he expected that answer anyway. "I shall attempt to."

Duo watched as Wufei carefully tilted the pot and filled his cup with the broth. The Chinese pilot took a sip, funnily dainty in his cautiousness, before casually downing the whole cup.

"How is it?" Duo pressed.

Wufei set down his cup, then looked up at Duo. "Good."

"Really?" Duo felt relieved. His worries were over for the day. Mimicking Wufei, he filled his own cup with the soup. Well, he couldn't possibly poison himself since Wufei still looked fine after drinking it. Besides, Wufei had said it was good.

Duo brought the cup to his lips and took a huge gulp.

He spent the next minute sputtering and trying not to choke. The liquid was, to put it accurately, tasteless. As a rule, he considered himself to have pretty enviable capacity for any kind of food, but even this was beyond his limits. And slowly, painfully, Duo was beginning to recall exactly which ingredient he had forgotten in his carelessness.

"How can you drink it?" Duo exclaimed incredulously. Inside, a coil of mounting disappointment was slowly settling deep in his guts.

The Chinese pilot remained unperturbed. Folding his hands, his face took on a accepting, solemn expression. "I was drinking the effort," he said quietly.

"Effort tastes like shit," Duo shot back, now absurdly and openly disappointed that the whole meal had been ruined single-handedly by himself, the great Maxwell. All he wanted was something resembling normalcy for once in this safehouse.

"It's still effort," Wufei said levelly. His obsidian eyes softened momentarily, before taking on its usually steely gleam. "Especially when it's too much effort in exchange for only one bullet."

<Especially when it's too much effort in exchange for only one bullet>

Duo kept silent. He stared at the dishes around them, the goddamned equipment, the *laptop* which might beep any moment with new instructions, and he saw them for what they were - just a show. He felt foolish. Who was he kidding? Normalcy was not for them. Was it like Wufei said? He was just doing all these things because he was feeling guilty over that one bullet that had played God over their life and death? That his actions were always only efforts and never results? His head throbbed with the thousand and one replies to his questions.

"Duo?"

The Deathscythe pilot stood up abruptly. "I'll clear the table," he said without looking at the other youth.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'll clear the table."

Wufei's jaw tightened as he watched Duo stand up and proceed to do just that. The earlier genial atmosphere - no, comfortable atmosphere - had just been totally ruined because of what he had said. A wave of guilt and self-directed anger crashed over him.

He *knew* Duo had been taking care of him ever since he was injured, and he *knew* Duo was trying hard for something, even if he had no idea what that 'something' was. The least he could do was to be as agreeable as humanly possible as he could, and he had tried hard to accomplish that. And for today, Wufei had felt it working. They had managed to get through the whole morning and afternoon without a word of true exasperation. But no, he had to spoil it by opening his mouth when he should just have kept quiet.

He watched Duo stack the cans together with a grimace on his usually smiling face. Without the smile, Duo's face seemed haggard, somewhat, and tired.

"I'll help," Wufei said as he stood up as well. He wasn't sure what else to say.

"It's no big deal," Duo waved him back, picking up the remnants of the ruined meal and turning away from the table.

Wufei hovered next to the table. He probably should persist...Duo couldn't possibly be feeling all right now. Perhaps he should apologise too for his words, even if he didn't know why they were wrong. His thoughts were rudely cut off by a harsh clattering of metal coming from the...

Kitchen.

The kitchen.

Duo!

~*~ fin Chapter 3 ~*~