Prologue
(First story of the Death and
Dragon Arc)
Key:
minor scene change (from person to
person at the same place, someone waking up from a dream, etc):
----------
major scene change (at another place, some time later, etc): * * *
* *
flashback starting or ending: ~*~*~*~
thoughts:
*Tadah!*
electronics (phone, TV, intercom etc):
<<Tadah!>>
The war was over and the party was in full
swing at Quatre's. Everyone was well on their way to being drunk; especially
Wufei and Quatre, who almost never drank alcohol, and Duo, who seemed to be
trying to out-drink everyone.
When Wufei spilt quite a lot of good
whiskey because he couldn't decide which of the two visible glasses he should
pour it into, he decided that maybe it was time to take a short break and
get a little fresh air; so he wove his way across to the balcony door. On the
way there he passed Relena, coaxing a scowling Heero through the steps of a
waltz, and Quatre and Trowa swaying gently in each others' arms. The Manganacs
were singing in surprisingly good six-part harmony; it was just a pity that the
song had nothing in common with the music playing on the stereo
system...
He leaned on the balcony railing, gulping in the cool night
air, gazing up at the moon as some of the buzz in his head slowly cleared. The
party noise was muffled by the closed doors behind him; then the volume rose
briefly as another set of doors, a little further along, opened and a figure
wobbled out.
"Oh, hey, 'Fei!" Duo's voice burbled happily. "Just the
person I was hoping to see. Whatcha doin'?"
"Watching stars. Getting some
air," Wufei answered, smiling for no particular reason.
"Yeah, it's
really pretty out tonight. Just right for the end of the war, don't ya think?"
Duo leaned on the railing next to him, looking up.
Wufei found himself
staring at the other boy's profile and blushed in the darkness, looking away.
*Maybe I should go back in--*
"Hey, look! Fireworks!" Duo pointed
excitedly at the bright flashes and starbursts in the distance.
They
spent a few minutes watching, relaxing together in the comparative quiet; then
they both turned to say something, and found themselves staring into each
others' eyes at extremely short range.
"Ah-- um--" Wufei
stuttered, whatever he had been going to say completely forgotten.
Duo
stared, drinking in every detail. Wufei's eyes were wide and dark in the
moonlight, a faint flush spreading over his cheeks... his mouth slightly open as
he fumbled for words...
*Screw it. You never know until you try!*
Duo thought with drunken bravado, and leaned in.
Wufei froze as the first
tentative touch whispered over his lips. *Duo is kissing me. Duo is
kissing me. Duo is kissing-- oh gods I've wanted
this!*
Duo squeaked as Wufei clutched him tightly, left arm around
his waist, right hand grabbing his braid and winding it tightly into his fist;
then he didn't have room to squeak, as the kiss turned into something
deep and passionate. He relaxed blissfully into the embrace, hands gripping
Wufei's shoulders as he returned the kiss with all the passion he'd been
fighting to hide for so long. Judging by Wufei's reaction as Duo's hands began
to roam down his back, he'd been hiding a few things as well...
They drew
back, breathing heavily, and stared at each other; then Duo's face melted into a
wicked grin. "Why, 'Fei," he purred, leaning in again, "I woulda done this a
long time ago if I'd known you were such a good kisser."
Their
lips had barely touched when the door next to them slammed open. They sprang
apart, hearts pounding suddenly with shock and fear instead of lust, then
watched incredulously as Quatre barrelled across the balcony, hit the rail
between them, and was noisily sick over it into the bushes below.
Duo
stared as Trowa followed Quatre out and bent over him, holding his shoulders as
he heaved. "It'll be okay in a minute... it's okay... I told you to stay
away from those tall blue things Rashid was mixing!"
A semi-coherent moan
managed to convey that they hadn't tasted nearly this bad going
down. Duo blinked and looked up to see how Wufei was taking this sudden
disruption of the mood.
He wasn't there.
Duo jumped to the door
and looked wildly around the room, but no sleek black head and white Chinese
shirt met his eyes. He sagged, holding onto the doorframe.
*He's...
gone? Why? Was he embarrassed? Did he change his mind?* His eyes widened in
dismay. *Did he even mean to, or was it the booze? He didn't say
anything -- he never showed any signs before -- I mean, I never tried
anything before either, but surely...*
Confused and unhappy, he got a
fresh glass of wine and went looking for privacy to think things
over.
----------
In Quatre's study, away from the sound of the
party, Wufei was pacing a furrow into the carpet.
*What was I
thinking? I wasn't thinking -- I just let my desires take over.
Duo can't have meant it! It was just-- just the drink, surely... I mean,
he's never... and he and Heero...* His mind spun in alcohol-dazed
circles.
The door opened and Duo walked in.
"Oh! Um, sorry -- I
didn't think anyone was in here -- I'll, uh, go somewhere else--" he babbled,
brought up short by the sight of Wufei staring wide-eyed at him. *Oh shit, he
doesn't look happy to see me!*
"No! No, uh, don't go -- it's okay--"
*Gods, don't let him think I blame him!* "I, uh, don't mind if you
don't -- I mean, if you want to be alone I'll go--"
"No, um, that's
fine--"
They looked away from each other, blushing. Behind Duo, the door
swung shut with a loud *click*.
Wufei swallowed. *I have to
leave, or I'll do something he might never forgive me for.* "Look, uh, I
should... I should go." Determinedly, he made for the door, refusing to look at
Duo.
"No!" Duo jumped in front of him and clutched at his shirt. "Don't
go! I don't want to be alone!"
Neither of them was sure exactly
what or how much Duo meant by that; but, staring into beseeching violet eyes,
rational thought short-circuited by alcohol, Wufei decided it was
enough.
----------
Wufei suppressed a moan as he opened his eyes.
His head was pounding, his mouth was dry, and his stomach was not happy
at all. On top of all that, he was cold all down his right side and he couldn't
feel his left arm at all. He swallowed, blinking the ceiling into focus, and
then wished he hadn't as the headache got worse and the horrible taste in his
mouth made itself known.
Squinting against the midday sun streaming in
the windows, he raised his head to look at his surroundings, and
froze.
He was lying on his back on the wide leather couch in Quatre's
study, naked except for his shirt, which was hanging open. That explained why
his right side felt cold. The reason why his left side didn't feel
cold was cuddled up to him, completely naked except for his unbound hair. Duo's
head was resting heavily on the nerve cluster in his shoulder, which explained
the lack of feeling in that arm.
Wufei let his head drop back, staring
wide-eyed at the ceiling as he desperately tried to remember how he'd got into
this situation... and exactly what he'd done.
*Did we-- did I--*
He could remember the balcony.
He remembered kissing Duo
passionately, pulling him down on the couch, starting to pull off Duo's clothes
as hands worked at the closures on his shirt.
He remembered Duo pulling
the band off his hair, and taking that as an invitation for him to undo Duo's
braid and run his fingers through the silky waves.
He remembered quite a
lot, actually. But he couldn't remember if he'd... taken Duo... the way he knew
he'd wanted to.
*What if I did? I don't know how to
tell!*
*What if I hurt him?!*
*What if he didn't really want to--
what if it was just the drink?*
*What do I do if he hates
me now?!*
Duo stirred against his side, mumbling something incoherent,
and Wufei panicked.
----------
The loud *click* as the study door
closed woke Duo up; he rolled onto his face, squeezing his eyes shut against the
light. "Oooh... never again," he groaned, then shut up because the echoes in his
skull were too painful. *Then again, I always say 'never again' when I
wake up with a hangover; it's never worked before. Ow. Okay... what happened
last night?* He rolled onto his back, one arm thrown over his eyes, and
started hunting through hazy memories.
*Rashid singing and mixing tall
blue drinks... Relena teaching Heero to dance... watching fireworks on the
balcony... Wufei kissing me... Quatre throwing up over the--*
Duo
abruptly bolted upright, eyes wide open. *Wufei did WHAT?!* Then he
clutched his head and moaned as the room spun around him.
*Okay,
think, think... we were kissing, then Quatre interrupted, and Wufei was gone.
Then I came in here, and... oh. Oh boy.* Duo blushed bright red and
started taking stock. *Well, um, nothing hurts-- he blushed harder
--so I don't think we, um... and there's no, uh, evidence... I think
we just passed out on the sofa before anything serious
happened.*
*So... where's 'Fei?*
There was no sign of the
Chinese boy in the room. The only clothing left scattered on the floor was
Duo's.
*Oh fuck.*
Duo slowly crumpled in on himself, hiding
his face against his knees.
*He left. He woke up and just left. He didn't
stay to say anything...*
*It was just the booze. And now he
hates me, or he's scared, or...*
*Oh
fuck.*
----------
Wufei walked into the huge kitchen, eyes
squinted against the light, and discovered a collection of very ill people
taking refuge in various hangover cures. Half the Manganacs were wearing
sunglasses; the other half were watching Rashid mix up an evil-looking
concoction in a large jug, wincing at the noise every time he cracked an egg.
Relena and Heero were nowhere to be seen, but Quatre was face-down on the table
with Trowa gently massaging his temples.
Trowa glanced over at Wufei out
of one bloodshot eye. "Painkillers," he said softly, pointing at several packets
on the bench, "and water," he pointed at the large carafe and glasses next to
them. "Drink a lot. It helps."
"I'm glad wars don't happen often," Quatre
whimpered as Wufei nodded 'thanks'. "Celebrating their end is more dangerous
than fighting in them!"
The Manganacs chuckled very
quietly.
As Wufei swallowed the last of his water and turned to the sink,
Duo peered tentatively around the door. Everybody was too wrapped up in their
own pain to notice him pale and swallow as he saw Wufei.
"Uh... hi.
Everybody still with the living?"
A chorus of quiet moans answered him.
Wufei concentrated very hard on putting his glass down in the sink
without making noise. *I can't turn around. I can't face him. I don't want to
look in those eyes and see hate, or fear, or-- oh gods, Duo, just go
away!*
"Want some painkillers?" Trowa asked.
"No...
I'll be fine. I guess I'm not really hungry, though, so..."
Quatre put
his hands over his ears. "Oh Allah, don't even mention
food!"
Outside in the corridor, Duo leaned briefly against the wall, eyes
closed. *I guess that answers
that.*
----------
"You're leaving? But, Duo... you know
you're welcome to stay with Trowa and I for as long as you want!"
"Or
with us," Relena put in.
"'Us'?" Trowa quirked an eyebrow, and she
blushed.
"Heero and I are... um..."
"Hey, congratulations,
ojousan! Took you long enough!" Duo cheered.
"What will you do?" she
asked, concerned.
"Oh, I dunno... travel around, I guess." He shrugged.
"There's a lot of places I've never got to see, and a lot more I've only seen
while I was stomping 'em flat. I've got plenty of time to decide what I want to
do later."
Leaning on the wall next to Wufei, Heero frowned slightly.
"The way Duo was talking at the party," he muttered softly, "I thought he was
planning to stay here with Quatre and Trowa until he found an apartment, and
spend a few years going to school for real... not just as a cover. I wonder what
changed his mind?"
Wufei stared resolutely out the window. "Don't ask
me," he growled.
----------
Duo said his goodbyes on the
porch, duffle bag at his feet. It held everything he owned except his Gundam,
safely tucked away in a bunker under one of Quatre's properties; he'd never had
the chance to acquire much. Finally, he slung it over his shoulder and turned to
Wufei, standing a little away from the rest, arms folded.
"'Fei?" *Ask
me to stay. Please, ask me to stay. One word. One look, even -- we
can fix this if you're willing to give me a chance, I know we can. Even
if I can't have your love, I want your friendship back!*
"Maxwell."
Wufei met his eyes, his 'arrogant dragon' mask firmly in place. Behind it, his
stomach churned with fear. *Don't go. Oh, god, Duo, don't go-- I've no
right to ask you, but please--*
"Chang, then." Duo
smiled, a bright false face over his breaking heart. "I lo-- I'll, uh, keep in
touch, okay?"
"Do that."
Both of them knew that he
wouldn't.
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