Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Winning Duo ❯ Chapter 16
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Calic0cat 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.25.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.25.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed
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Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 16/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: NC-17
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV, Threesome
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). Feedback is appreciated.
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Heero finished off his part of the security review and saved the file. Once Wufei finished his, they would combine the files and add Duo's observations as well. Then they would send the damn thing off to Une and have the rest of the day to spend as they pleased.
Looking around the hotel room, Heero realized that he was the first to finish. That was not altogether surprising. Wufei wasn't as fast at keyboarding as he was. And Duo probably had far more detailed observations regarding the actual security measures than either of them.
Heero had to smother the urge to laugh when he looked over at Duo. He had never been able to understand how anyone could type while laying flat on their stomach on a bed or, in this case, a couch. *He* certainly couldn't. And while at one time, the fact that Duo *did* work on his computer that way would have severely irritated him, now it just seemed so very *Duo* that he couldn't imagine the braided youth doing anything else.
Watching Duo work brought to mind his realization earlier that day that Duo seemed to carry his lockpicks and knives as automatically as Heero himself carried his gun. 'Should I ask for an explanation?' he wondered. Heero certainly *wanted* to know about Duo's past. Wanted to know what forces had combined to mold the quick-witted, creative young man he loved. What the shadows that sometimes darkened his bright eyes were caused by. What lay behind the dark nightmares that had haunted Duo's sleep on at least several occasions that they had roomed together during the war.
But Heero wasn't sure that he had the right to ask those questions. Despite the eagerness with which Duo listened to his and Wufei's stories the previous evening, Heero did not think that they had entirely regained the ground they had lost with their thoughtless behaviour earlier in the day. After all, the night of the ball had ended with hugs and kisses on the cheek from Duo. Last night had ended with nothing more than a "Good night, guys" as Duo headed off to bed.
'No, I won't ask,' Heero decided finally. 'When Duo is ready - when he decides that he trusts us - he'll tell us.' He was too uncertain of just where the boundaries were to risk asking for that information. Too unsure of what Duo would and would not accept from him. He couldn't risk overstepping his bounds and losing what little ground he had won back just because he was curious. And curiosity was all it really boiled down to. It wasn't like learning about Duo's past would change how he felt about Duo. He loved him; it was as simple as that.
Duo felt Heero's thoughtful gaze resting on him. It took a major effort to keep typing. At any moment, he expected Heero to bring up the subject of his lockpicks and knives again. And he wasn't too sure that he was ready to discuss his past yet. 'Just a little more time... That's all I want, just a little more time, a few more memories, in case they don't take learning about my past very well...'
When Heero's gaze moved away from him again, Duo relaxed slightly. At least for the moment, Heero was apparently not going to insist on answers. But in a way, Duo was sorry that he hadn't. It would have been somewhat of a relief to get the whole story out of the way. To find out just how deep the love that the other two claimed to feel for him was. Whether it would survive finding out just how squalid his past was.
Duo was very much afraid that it would not. Despite all the attention that Heero and Wufei had paid to him the previous evening, neither of them had made any attempt to give him so much as a hug. When they had all decided to get some sleep in order to be ready for work today, he had lingered inside the doorway leading from the sitting area to his bedroom for several minutes before finally telling them good night. Neither of them had made any attempt to initiate a good night kiss, much to his disappointment. Nor had there been any attempts at a good morning hug or kiss before they left the suite this morning. Duo couldn't help wondering just how strong their professed love could be if they had no interest in showing the least bit of affection.
Wufei finished off his portion of the security review and emailed it off to Heero before shutting down his laptop. "All done and it's on its way to you," he told Heero as he packed the computer back in its bag.
"Shit. Sorry, guys, I'll just be a few more minutes," Duo apologized, trying to wrap up his observations quickly. He didn't want to leave anything out, but he didn't want to hold up their report either. 'Dammit, Maxwell, it's not even your fucking report and you're taking longer than either one of them. Hurry up!' The headache that had been nagging at him most of the day became a little more insistent.
"No rush, Duo. I still have to join Wufei's part of the report with mine anyway," Heero said.
'And that'll take him what - about two minutes if that...' Duo thought, hurriedly finishing off his remarks. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the steadily worsening headache. 'Damn tension headache... I don't have time for this!' He saved his file, gave it one final read-through and made a couple of minor corrections, then sent it off to Heero. "Sorry I took so long," he apologized again as he shut down his computer.
"Do not worry about it Duo," Wufei said. "As long as Une receives the report this afternoon, she will be quite content."
Heero finished integrating his and Wufei's portions of the report just in time for Duo's email to arrive. Pulling up the file, Heero couldn't help smirking a bit as his earlier guess that Duo's observations would be longer than either his or Wufei's was confirmed. Detailed notes regarding the exact model of cameras used in various locations and the make and style of locks. Comments noting that some of the security *would* have been state-of-the-art when the convention centre was built ten years previously. A very diplomatic notation that the security chief was perhaps not particularly well-suited to deal with the sort of issues that would need to be addressed during something like the trade summit.
"Was that the sort of thing that you wanted?" Duo asked a bit nervously. He hadn't been certain how much detail to include, so he'd put down everything that he had noticed. This was rather different from anything he'd had to write up before. After all, mission reports during the war were more focussed on whether or not the mission goals were accomplished along with a few notes on how that was done rather than talking about the conditions that existed at the mission location. This was more the sort of thing that he would have *liked* to have had prior to a mission; security briefings back then had tended to be very vague and inaccurate.
Heero gave him a quick smile. "It's perfect, Duo. Your observations provide the justification for our recommendation that the summit be relocated to a more suitable venue if at all possible."
"Thank you for your assistance," Wufei contributed. "The report will be much more effective with the addition of your expertise."
"Good," Duo commented simply. He relaxed slightly, but by now the damn headache had too good a grip on him for that to do much good. He surreptitiously rubbed at his knotted neck muscles as he shifted to a sitting position.
"It's going to take me a while to cross-reference your observations with the rest of the report, Duo," Heero said, his attention still on his laptop screen. "Why don't you take a look at that list I gave you earlier and see what you'd like to do for the rest of the day? If there's something else you have in mind, that's fine too."
"Okay," Duo replied. 'Good. I left the list in my room, so I've got an excuse to disappear for a few minutes. Maybe I can work some of the knots out of my muscles while I'm gone.' "I'll just go find the list."
Wufei's eyes narrowed in concern as he watched Duo leave. Duo seemed to be moving with less than his usual grace. 'As if he has a stiff neck and shoulders, perhaps?' And Duo had seemed rather distracted ever since their little run-in with Johansen...
Reaching a decision, Wufei rose and followed Duo into his room. "Duo, is something wrong?" he asked hesitantly.
Duo dropped his hands away from the back of his neck. Damn. Busted. He hadn't wanted to admit to anything as weak as a fucking headache... But it was either that or lie. So - he prevaricated slightly, "Just a little headache, that's all. No big deal." Nope. Not at all. Having your head feel as if it was being crushed by a vise was hardly worth mentioning. He felt more like throwing up than picking out an activity for the afternoon, but they'd already wasted almost half of the previous day because he'd been too moody to have fun. If he wrecked this afternoon too, he wouldn't blame the guys for being disgusted with him.
'No big deal, he says. I can *see* the tension in his muscles from here!' Wufei thought. 'What did we do wrong *this* time?! There must be *something* bothering him to make him that tense...' "Come, sit down and let me see if I can help," he invited, pulling a chair away from the small dressing table.
Obviously Wufei had not bought his attempt to dismiss the headache. Duo sat on the chair reluctantly. 'As if getting sunburnt and needing treatment wasn't bad enough, now I'm needing help to deal with a fucking *headache*,' he thought disgustedly. 'Great impression you're making, Maxwell.'
At first, Wufei's massage of his shoulders and neck felt anything *but* good. Duo's muscles were too tense for that. But as the muscles gradually relaxed, the firm pressure of Wufei's hands began to feel better and Duo was able to enjoy the contact. "God, Fei, you can keep doing that for... oh, say, forever..." he mumbled under his breath. His head still hurt like hell, but at least his neck and shoulders weren't tied up in knots anymore. And the simple physical contact was helping just as much as the actual massage.
Wufei chuckled slightly. "I am decidedly out of practice at this sort of thing, Duo, so I do not think my hands will be up to massaging quite *that* long." He was relieved that Duo seemed to be relaxing now. He did not wish to press Duo for the reason for his tension just as he was starting to unwind. 'But I will need to speak to Heero and see if he has any idea what the problem is. We *must* be still doing something wrong... Perhaps if I can get Duo to take a nap while Heero finishes up with the report, we can talk before he wakes up...'
Wufei strongly suspected that Duo would have no problem dozing off once he was more relaxed. He had been exhausted the previous afternoon and they had stayed up quite late last night talking. And sunburn could cause fatigue as well.
"Duo, have you thought about what you would like to do this afternoon?" he asked.
Now that he was actually able to think straight, despite the continuing headache, Duo said, "Well, I've always kinda wanted to see Venice Beach and the Santa Monica pier... Heero had those on his list of ideas..."
Wufei winced at the thought of taking Duo - who *already* had a sunburn, though fortunately it had not blistered - to the beach, of all places. Particularly during the hottest part of the day. "Hmm. Perhaps it would be best if we stayed here till mid-afternoon, then went? That way we would avoid the worst of the sun. And by going later, perhaps we could stay at the beach to watch the sunset?" he suggested carefully.
"Sounds like a plan," Duo murmured a bit sleepily. Despite his best efforts, a yawn escaped before he could stifle it.
"The past few days have been rather tiring, have they not? If we are going to stay here for a while, why not see if a nap will help with that headache?" Wufei asked gently. "I should go help Heero finish the report. And I will let him know what you would like to do later, if that is okay with you?"
Much as he wanted to protest that he was fine, he didn't need a fucking nap, Duo realized reluctantly that if he wanted to be in any kind of shape to enjoy their plans, he probably *did* need to take one. "Okay," he sighed.
Wufei gave Duo's shoulders a final squeeze before removing his hands. Duo immediately missed the contact. Impulsively, he twisted in the chair to wrap his arms awkwardly around Wufei's waist before he had a chance to move away. "Thanks, Fei," he said, managing to summon up a bright if short-lived smile.
"You are very welcome, Duo," Wufei told him. He bent slightly to return Duo's hug before leaving the room and pulling the door shut behind him.
Duo curled up on the bed and tried to clear his mind for sleep. It wasn't easy. His delight over Wufei's thoughtfulness and over the approval of his skills expressed by both Heero and Wufei warred with his worry over their possible reactions to his past and the fact that neither of them had actually said they loved him again since admitting it during their explanations the previous day. Feeling his muscles begin to tense again, Duo deliberately forced himself to draw a deep breath and try to think about the plans for the afternoon instead. As he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, his mind was still caught up in worrying over his past. How would Heero and Wufei react to it? And why hadn't Heero pressed for an explanation regarding the lockpicks and knives as Duo had expected him to?
***
Heero paused in his work and shot another glance towards Duo's open door. Duo and Wufei had been gone an awful long time to just find that list. With an effort, Heero forced his mind back to the task at hand. 'The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can all do something else,' he reminded himself firmly. But he couldn't help wondering what was going on in there.
It wasn't that he thought Wufei was up to something or anything like that. Not exactly, anyway. But he *was* a bit concerned about Duo. Although his reassurances after the scene with Johansen had stopped Duo's fidgeting, the other youth had still seemed far too tense. Heero just didn't know what the problem was. At least not for sure. Though judging by Duo's nervousness after he asked whether Duo was carrying weapons, he had a pretty good guess. 'I just don't understand what could be so bad in his past that he would be afraid to tell us about it,' he thought. After all, Duo had heard all about *his* miserable childhood and Wufei had as well. 'Knowing what my past was like and that Wufei was not disgusted by it, why would Duo fear our reactions to *his* past?'
Heero shook his head slightly, unable to come up with an answer to that question, and tried to focus on finishing the job of tying Duo's comments into the report. He looked up again as Wufei returned, closing Duo's door behind him.
"Is something wrong?" Heero asked immediately. Wufei's brow was furrowed in either concern or concentration, and he had a strong feeling that it was the former.
Wufei sighed and shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure. Let's get that report out of the way then I think that we need to talk about a few things."
"Hn," Heero grunted and dragged his attention back to the stupid fucking report again. He finally finished referencing the last of Duo's observations, saved the report, and sent it off to Une in encrypted format. Even as his computer was shutting down, Heero turned to Wufei and demanded, "Where is Duo?"
"Sleeping, I hope," Wufei answered. "He has a 'little' headache. A *tension* headache, and judging by the knotted muscles in his neck and shoulders, it is far more than 'little'. Any guesses as to what we've managed to do to cause that?"
Heero ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "No - well, maybe a bit - oh, I don't know..." He didn't really want to mention his suspicions about Duo's past to Wufei. He didn't feel that it was his place to do so. They *were* only suspicions, after all, and very vague at that. If there was any substance to them, then it was definitely Duo's prerogative to decide if and when to bring the subject up. In response to Wufei's questioning look, he shook his head and said, "Only a faint, vague suspicion, nothing concrete. And even if I'm right, it would be up to Duo to explain."
'Well, that was comforting,' Wufei thought sarcastically. Though if Heero felt that his suspicions were something that it was Duo's right to choose to reveal or not, he couldn't blame Heero for keeping his silence. "Well, I hope he does so. Soon. He is going to make himself ill if he keeps this up."
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Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 16/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: NC-17
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV, Threesome
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). Feedback is appreciated.
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Heero finished off his part of the security review and saved the file. Once Wufei finished his, they would combine the files and add Duo's observations as well. Then they would send the damn thing off to Une and have the rest of the day to spend as they pleased.
Looking around the hotel room, Heero realized that he was the first to finish. That was not altogether surprising. Wufei wasn't as fast at keyboarding as he was. And Duo probably had far more detailed observations regarding the actual security measures than either of them.
Heero had to smother the urge to laugh when he looked over at Duo. He had never been able to understand how anyone could type while laying flat on their stomach on a bed or, in this case, a couch. *He* certainly couldn't. And while at one time, the fact that Duo *did* work on his computer that way would have severely irritated him, now it just seemed so very *Duo* that he couldn't imagine the braided youth doing anything else.
Watching Duo work brought to mind his realization earlier that day that Duo seemed to carry his lockpicks and knives as automatically as Heero himself carried his gun. 'Should I ask for an explanation?' he wondered. Heero certainly *wanted* to know about Duo's past. Wanted to know what forces had combined to mold the quick-witted, creative young man he loved. What the shadows that sometimes darkened his bright eyes were caused by. What lay behind the dark nightmares that had haunted Duo's sleep on at least several occasions that they had roomed together during the war.
But Heero wasn't sure that he had the right to ask those questions. Despite the eagerness with which Duo listened to his and Wufei's stories the previous evening, Heero did not think that they had entirely regained the ground they had lost with their thoughtless behaviour earlier in the day. After all, the night of the ball had ended with hugs and kisses on the cheek from Duo. Last night had ended with nothing more than a "Good night, guys" as Duo headed off to bed.
'No, I won't ask,' Heero decided finally. 'When Duo is ready - when he decides that he trusts us - he'll tell us.' He was too uncertain of just where the boundaries were to risk asking for that information. Too unsure of what Duo would and would not accept from him. He couldn't risk overstepping his bounds and losing what little ground he had won back just because he was curious. And curiosity was all it really boiled down to. It wasn't like learning about Duo's past would change how he felt about Duo. He loved him; it was as simple as that.
Duo felt Heero's thoughtful gaze resting on him. It took a major effort to keep typing. At any moment, he expected Heero to bring up the subject of his lockpicks and knives again. And he wasn't too sure that he was ready to discuss his past yet. 'Just a little more time... That's all I want, just a little more time, a few more memories, in case they don't take learning about my past very well...'
When Heero's gaze moved away from him again, Duo relaxed slightly. At least for the moment, Heero was apparently not going to insist on answers. But in a way, Duo was sorry that he hadn't. It would have been somewhat of a relief to get the whole story out of the way. To find out just how deep the love that the other two claimed to feel for him was. Whether it would survive finding out just how squalid his past was.
Duo was very much afraid that it would not. Despite all the attention that Heero and Wufei had paid to him the previous evening, neither of them had made any attempt to give him so much as a hug. When they had all decided to get some sleep in order to be ready for work today, he had lingered inside the doorway leading from the sitting area to his bedroom for several minutes before finally telling them good night. Neither of them had made any attempt to initiate a good night kiss, much to his disappointment. Nor had there been any attempts at a good morning hug or kiss before they left the suite this morning. Duo couldn't help wondering just how strong their professed love could be if they had no interest in showing the least bit of affection.
Wufei finished off his portion of the security review and emailed it off to Heero before shutting down his laptop. "All done and it's on its way to you," he told Heero as he packed the computer back in its bag.
"Shit. Sorry, guys, I'll just be a few more minutes," Duo apologized, trying to wrap up his observations quickly. He didn't want to leave anything out, but he didn't want to hold up their report either. 'Dammit, Maxwell, it's not even your fucking report and you're taking longer than either one of them. Hurry up!' The headache that had been nagging at him most of the day became a little more insistent.
"No rush, Duo. I still have to join Wufei's part of the report with mine anyway," Heero said.
'And that'll take him what - about two minutes if that...' Duo thought, hurriedly finishing off his remarks. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the steadily worsening headache. 'Damn tension headache... I don't have time for this!' He saved his file, gave it one final read-through and made a couple of minor corrections, then sent it off to Heero. "Sorry I took so long," he apologized again as he shut down his computer.
"Do not worry about it Duo," Wufei said. "As long as Une receives the report this afternoon, she will be quite content."
Heero finished integrating his and Wufei's portions of the report just in time for Duo's email to arrive. Pulling up the file, Heero couldn't help smirking a bit as his earlier guess that Duo's observations would be longer than either his or Wufei's was confirmed. Detailed notes regarding the exact model of cameras used in various locations and the make and style of locks. Comments noting that some of the security *would* have been state-of-the-art when the convention centre was built ten years previously. A very diplomatic notation that the security chief was perhaps not particularly well-suited to deal with the sort of issues that would need to be addressed during something like the trade summit.
"Was that the sort of thing that you wanted?" Duo asked a bit nervously. He hadn't been certain how much detail to include, so he'd put down everything that he had noticed. This was rather different from anything he'd had to write up before. After all, mission reports during the war were more focussed on whether or not the mission goals were accomplished along with a few notes on how that was done rather than talking about the conditions that existed at the mission location. This was more the sort of thing that he would have *liked* to have had prior to a mission; security briefings back then had tended to be very vague and inaccurate.
Heero gave him a quick smile. "It's perfect, Duo. Your observations provide the justification for our recommendation that the summit be relocated to a more suitable venue if at all possible."
"Thank you for your assistance," Wufei contributed. "The report will be much more effective with the addition of your expertise."
"Good," Duo commented simply. He relaxed slightly, but by now the damn headache had too good a grip on him for that to do much good. He surreptitiously rubbed at his knotted neck muscles as he shifted to a sitting position.
"It's going to take me a while to cross-reference your observations with the rest of the report, Duo," Heero said, his attention still on his laptop screen. "Why don't you take a look at that list I gave you earlier and see what you'd like to do for the rest of the day? If there's something else you have in mind, that's fine too."
"Okay," Duo replied. 'Good. I left the list in my room, so I've got an excuse to disappear for a few minutes. Maybe I can work some of the knots out of my muscles while I'm gone.' "I'll just go find the list."
Wufei's eyes narrowed in concern as he watched Duo leave. Duo seemed to be moving with less than his usual grace. 'As if he has a stiff neck and shoulders, perhaps?' And Duo had seemed rather distracted ever since their little run-in with Johansen...
Reaching a decision, Wufei rose and followed Duo into his room. "Duo, is something wrong?" he asked hesitantly.
Duo dropped his hands away from the back of his neck. Damn. Busted. He hadn't wanted to admit to anything as weak as a fucking headache... But it was either that or lie. So - he prevaricated slightly, "Just a little headache, that's all. No big deal." Nope. Not at all. Having your head feel as if it was being crushed by a vise was hardly worth mentioning. He felt more like throwing up than picking out an activity for the afternoon, but they'd already wasted almost half of the previous day because he'd been too moody to have fun. If he wrecked this afternoon too, he wouldn't blame the guys for being disgusted with him.
'No big deal, he says. I can *see* the tension in his muscles from here!' Wufei thought. 'What did we do wrong *this* time?! There must be *something* bothering him to make him that tense...' "Come, sit down and let me see if I can help," he invited, pulling a chair away from the small dressing table.
Obviously Wufei had not bought his attempt to dismiss the headache. Duo sat on the chair reluctantly. 'As if getting sunburnt and needing treatment wasn't bad enough, now I'm needing help to deal with a fucking *headache*,' he thought disgustedly. 'Great impression you're making, Maxwell.'
At first, Wufei's massage of his shoulders and neck felt anything *but* good. Duo's muscles were too tense for that. But as the muscles gradually relaxed, the firm pressure of Wufei's hands began to feel better and Duo was able to enjoy the contact. "God, Fei, you can keep doing that for... oh, say, forever..." he mumbled under his breath. His head still hurt like hell, but at least his neck and shoulders weren't tied up in knots anymore. And the simple physical contact was helping just as much as the actual massage.
Wufei chuckled slightly. "I am decidedly out of practice at this sort of thing, Duo, so I do not think my hands will be up to massaging quite *that* long." He was relieved that Duo seemed to be relaxing now. He did not wish to press Duo for the reason for his tension just as he was starting to unwind. 'But I will need to speak to Heero and see if he has any idea what the problem is. We *must* be still doing something wrong... Perhaps if I can get Duo to take a nap while Heero finishes up with the report, we can talk before he wakes up...'
Wufei strongly suspected that Duo would have no problem dozing off once he was more relaxed. He had been exhausted the previous afternoon and they had stayed up quite late last night talking. And sunburn could cause fatigue as well.
"Duo, have you thought about what you would like to do this afternoon?" he asked.
Now that he was actually able to think straight, despite the continuing headache, Duo said, "Well, I've always kinda wanted to see Venice Beach and the Santa Monica pier... Heero had those on his list of ideas..."
Wufei winced at the thought of taking Duo - who *already* had a sunburn, though fortunately it had not blistered - to the beach, of all places. Particularly during the hottest part of the day. "Hmm. Perhaps it would be best if we stayed here till mid-afternoon, then went? That way we would avoid the worst of the sun. And by going later, perhaps we could stay at the beach to watch the sunset?" he suggested carefully.
"Sounds like a plan," Duo murmured a bit sleepily. Despite his best efforts, a yawn escaped before he could stifle it.
"The past few days have been rather tiring, have they not? If we are going to stay here for a while, why not see if a nap will help with that headache?" Wufei asked gently. "I should go help Heero finish the report. And I will let him know what you would like to do later, if that is okay with you?"
Much as he wanted to protest that he was fine, he didn't need a fucking nap, Duo realized reluctantly that if he wanted to be in any kind of shape to enjoy their plans, he probably *did* need to take one. "Okay," he sighed.
Wufei gave Duo's shoulders a final squeeze before removing his hands. Duo immediately missed the contact. Impulsively, he twisted in the chair to wrap his arms awkwardly around Wufei's waist before he had a chance to move away. "Thanks, Fei," he said, managing to summon up a bright if short-lived smile.
"You are very welcome, Duo," Wufei told him. He bent slightly to return Duo's hug before leaving the room and pulling the door shut behind him.
Duo curled up on the bed and tried to clear his mind for sleep. It wasn't easy. His delight over Wufei's thoughtfulness and over the approval of his skills expressed by both Heero and Wufei warred with his worry over their possible reactions to his past and the fact that neither of them had actually said they loved him again since admitting it during their explanations the previous day. Feeling his muscles begin to tense again, Duo deliberately forced himself to draw a deep breath and try to think about the plans for the afternoon instead. As he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, his mind was still caught up in worrying over his past. How would Heero and Wufei react to it? And why hadn't Heero pressed for an explanation regarding the lockpicks and knives as Duo had expected him to?
***
Heero paused in his work and shot another glance towards Duo's open door. Duo and Wufei had been gone an awful long time to just find that list. With an effort, Heero forced his mind back to the task at hand. 'The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can all do something else,' he reminded himself firmly. But he couldn't help wondering what was going on in there.
It wasn't that he thought Wufei was up to something or anything like that. Not exactly, anyway. But he *was* a bit concerned about Duo. Although his reassurances after the scene with Johansen had stopped Duo's fidgeting, the other youth had still seemed far too tense. Heero just didn't know what the problem was. At least not for sure. Though judging by Duo's nervousness after he asked whether Duo was carrying weapons, he had a pretty good guess. 'I just don't understand what could be so bad in his past that he would be afraid to tell us about it,' he thought. After all, Duo had heard all about *his* miserable childhood and Wufei had as well. 'Knowing what my past was like and that Wufei was not disgusted by it, why would Duo fear our reactions to *his* past?'
Heero shook his head slightly, unable to come up with an answer to that question, and tried to focus on finishing the job of tying Duo's comments into the report. He looked up again as Wufei returned, closing Duo's door behind him.
"Is something wrong?" Heero asked immediately. Wufei's brow was furrowed in either concern or concentration, and he had a strong feeling that it was the former.
Wufei sighed and shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure. Let's get that report out of the way then I think that we need to talk about a few things."
"Hn," Heero grunted and dragged his attention back to the stupid fucking report again. He finally finished referencing the last of Duo's observations, saved the report, and sent it off to Une in encrypted format. Even as his computer was shutting down, Heero turned to Wufei and demanded, "Where is Duo?"
"Sleeping, I hope," Wufei answered. "He has a 'little' headache. A *tension* headache, and judging by the knotted muscles in his neck and shoulders, it is far more than 'little'. Any guesses as to what we've managed to do to cause that?"
Heero ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "No - well, maybe a bit - oh, I don't know..." He didn't really want to mention his suspicions about Duo's past to Wufei. He didn't feel that it was his place to do so. They *were* only suspicions, after all, and very vague at that. If there was any substance to them, then it was definitely Duo's prerogative to decide if and when to bring the subject up. In response to Wufei's questioning look, he shook his head and said, "Only a faint, vague suspicion, nothing concrete. And even if I'm right, it would be up to Duo to explain."
'Well, that was comforting,' Wufei thought sarcastically. Though if Heero felt that his suspicions were something that it was Duo's right to choose to reveal or not, he couldn't blame Heero for keeping his silence. "Well, I hope he does so. Soon. He is going to make himself ill if he keeps this up."
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