"Heero... Where's Wu-chan?" Duo asked curiously. "I want pizza and I wanted to see if maybe he wanted some too..."
"No anchovies, Duo." Heero's voice was adamant.
"I just don't get what you two have against anchovies!!!" Duo groaned pitifully.
"Anyway, I saw him going out on the veranda. He's probably cold by now. You might want to take him a jacket..." Heero glanced up from his last final, the take-home Chem final which had been kicking his ass thus far. Make sure he's not a block of ice."
"He seems kinda lonely, doncha think? I guess he's like me... doesn't really wanna go home." Duo sighed. "It isn't that I don't miss my folks 'cause I do but... damn, Heero. I'll miss you worse for those four weeks, you know?"
"Yeah." Heero's voice was soft, contemplative. "I'll miss you, too..." The tone of his voice changed, becoming brusque. "Go get Wufei. I'm tired of Chemistry, and I'm almost done, anyway. I'll get Trowa and Quatre and we can play Trivial Pursuit...."
"Wooohooo! I'm gonna kick yer ass, koi!!"
"Don't call me koi!"
"Whatever you say, koi!"
Heero groaned as the door shut behind Duo, two jackets and Duo's braid. He was *never* going to win with that boy!!
Well... unless he managed to stack the Trivial Pursuit deck against him...
With an evil chuckle, Heero went to work.
"I want to play with it," Meiran announced, her little face determined as she put her hands on her bare hips.
"No!" Wufei's expression was horrified as he clasped his hands across his penis, black eyes going wide. "You can't play with my pee-pee! See, you even broke yours off, Mei-chan!" he protested. "Tell Daddy to buy you a new one! You can't play with mine!"
Two three year old feet stomped in quick succession. "I never had one! Don't be stupid, Wufei! Now, let me play with it!"
Wufei's grubby fist raised to rub a tear-stained eye as he sniffled. "I'm not stupid. That's mean to say, Meiran..."
Meiran's mud-stained hand reached out to pat his face before she crawled into the tub with determination. "Hokay. You're not dumb."
Her brother climbed in after her, the water rising high. "Momma won't like it when she sees our mud-pies in the kitchen... Maybe we shouldn't have brought them in..."
"But they're really *good* pies, Wu-chan! Momma will be proud when she sees, we even used rocks for decoration! And the flowers you put on were nice, too!" Meiran protested.
"Yes, but she got mad when we put our frogs in the dresser, Mei-chan," Wufei reminded her worriedly, rubbing soapy hands over himself in a rather haphazard manner.
"Maybe..." Meiran began only to be interrupted by their mother's bellow.
"WUFEI!!! MMEEEIIRAAANNN!!!!!"
Identical pairs of black eyes met, rounding out with sudden worry. "If we hide in the closet, maybe she won't find us until she's not so mad anymore..."
"Let's go!" Wufei whispered. The twins scampered out of the tub and remained naked, leaving their muddy bath water to chill as they trotted along to hide, leaving a trail of muddy soapy water behind.
The spider.... was.... HUUUU~UUUUUUGE.[1]
A shriek split the air and Meiran turned and ran, screaming hysterically. Oh oh oh! Ohhhhhh, that was the biggest spider in the wholewideworldspiderspiderspiderspider! "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" Wufei's shriek was almost as loud as hers and he tumbled pell-mell after her, both running full tilt, stubby five year old legs churning frantically as they headed towards the house, never slowing down.
Hands settled beneath Wufei's arms and picked him up to keep him from running further as he continued to shriek loudly. "Wufei!" Their father's voice, stern, interrupted his loud squeak and he looked up into eyes so much like his and Meiran's it was eerie. "What on *earth* are the two of you yelling about!?"
One blink.
...two...
"...idon'tknow," Wufei whispered, appalled.
"You don't know." His father's face was a cross between annoyance and amusement. "You were shrieking like a banshee!"
"...well..." Wufei began, thoughtfully. "Meiran was shrieking," he noted. "And she's braver than me, Poppa. If Meiran was afraid, it musta been just awful, ne? And so first we yelled and then we runned!" His child's face was so solemn as he tried to think about it rationally that his father couldn't help but settle him down and ruffle strands of silky black hair that were far too long for a boy.
"Wufei, why were *you* screaming?"
"Well... Meiran was screaming!"
His father groaned. "Wufei, yesterday when you saw Meiran running, what did you do?"
"I laughed at her?" he asked tentatively, a finger coming up to touch his lower lip.
"That's right. And why were you laughing?" his father prompted.
"...because she was running away from a spider and shrieking like a girl?" Wufei asked again.
"And where was the spider?"
"In the orchard!" Wufei responded, beaming proudly.
"And what does Meiran do when she's afraid of something?" The sheer amusement in that voice was barely hidden.
"She goes back to do it again." The realization that he had *probably* been running from a spider hit him between both eyes like a brick and he shuddered. Well... it *was* an awfully *big* spider and they really *did* scare him as much as they did Meiran but...
"But you aren't afraid because you're going to be a man about it, aren't you, Wufei." The expression on his father's face made him feel just awful. He couldn't help it that he was afraid of those things! Well, ok, Meiran was more afraid of them than he was but if Meiran was afraid then there must be a really good reason and... and...
"No, Poppa. I won't be afraid. I'll be a man," he whispered, little face set with shame.
"That's good, Wufei. I'll have to have a talk with Meiran. She's making you too girlish. You're spoiled by her," their father noted as he turned back to the flower bed in which he'd been working.
...spoiled by Meiran...
Wufei did not shriek when Mousse dropped the granddaddy longlegs spider over his shoulder. "Hey! Whycome you didn't shout?" the other boy frowned as he settled down next to Wufei, his glasses pushed up to tangle in strands of dark hair.
The shrug that Wufei gave was no real explanation. "You shrieked last summer," Mousse noted solemnly. It was a yearly expedition for him, coming to visit his father's people and playing with the twins. It was also a welcome relief from Shampoo's relentless pursuit. You'd think they were grown and not just twelve!
"Nah. That was Meiran," Wufei told him, looking up and biting into his sandwich, his own glasses pushed up like his friend's as he dangled his feet in the water from the edge of the dock and lifted the most poisonous spider in the world[2]. "I don't shriek over spiders." With that, he dropped the little spider into the water and watched it skitter away over the edge before pulling his glasses from atop his head and sitting them down beside him.
"You used to," Mousse reminded him, doing the same with his own optical wear. "It was kind of cute, too."
A vibrant flush crossed the ten year old's cheeks and he looked at his friend shyly. "You think?"
"Yeah," Mousse answered him. "Yeah, I think."
"Arigatou, Mu Tsu."
"Anytime, Wu-chan!" the other declared cheerfully and cannonballed off the end of the dock.
"You wet my sandwich!!" A second splash and happy shrieks echoed out over the water's surface.
On the other side of the lake, Meiran smiled. It was good for Wufei to have a friend other than her... Except for Mousse, there was no one! And she didn't want her brother to be alone... not ever...
"I can't bear a single moment longer in this oppressive... hell hole!" Meiran burst into tears and Wufei clasped her close, his arms hugging her tightly. "[3] wants me to go and..."
"If it will make you happy, Mei-chan... Go." Her brother freed her with a single word and she lifted her face. "Can I c... c... come with you?"
With care, she brushed away the tears beginning to spill down his round cheeks, the darkened paths of them obvious even in the barely-there glow of the moonlight. "Don't cry! You have to be brave! You can't come with me, Wufei. You're the male and the heir..."
"But you're the oldest!" he protested quietly, torn. "You're my other half! I can't..."
"You *CAN*, Wufei," Meiran whispered. She took his face in both of her hands. "You can be whole without me. Trust me. You just need time by yourself to figure it out. I promise... Everything will work out for the best. Things always do, right?" With those words, she turned and lifted her small bag. "I'll be seeing you, Wu. Don't worry about me. I'll be back. And... Wufei?"
"Y... yy... yeah?" He lifted his face in time to see her flash her blue-ribboned panda at him even as one leg sprawled out of the bedroom window.
"We've always got pandies... ok? Don't forget..."
He rushed forward and clasped her to him one last time. "I can't without you, Mei-chan! I c... can't!"
"Be brave, Wufei. I know you can." And then she was gone.
Which led to here and now and things *weren't* working out for the best. In fact, things were just miserable. Christmas...
Duo shut the door that led out onto the patio with a violent shiver. Man! All of those years in tropical and sub-tropical climates sure didn't prepare you for weather like THIS! There hadn't been any snow yet... it was only the tenth, after all! But he figured they'd get a few flurries before they all got out on the sixteenth and by the time he got back from the four week break, the whole campus'd be covered! Still, thinking about snow didn't help the reason he'd come out here, so maybe he should... "Oi! Wufei!"
The dark-headed boy lifted his face, expression solemn. He was sitting on the stone steps, knees pulled up to his chest, wearing only a pair of thin taichi, white sweat pants and a navy-blue t-shirt and how the *hell* he could stand it was beyond Duo's ability to figure out! "Here." He handed the Chinese boy the coat Heero never *would* wear, no matter how cold it got, and when Wufei didn't move fast enough to suit him, he took it back and draped it over the other boy's shoulders. "You're gonna catch double pneumonia, sitting out here like that! You don't wanna get sick right before break, do you? I mean, we're about to go home and all! Not that I wouldn't rather stay here with you guys, 'cause I would, but yanno, if you have to go, you've gotta go! Right?"
Wufei didn't answer him for a long time, only kept looking out over the star-sparked night-dulled surface of the lake as if there were some kind of answer there. Duo's nerves were stretched to the limit and just as he opened his mouth, Wufei finally replied. "I'm not going home."
"...Huh?" The concept of NOT going home hit Duo between the eyes. "But Wu-chan! W..." And then it occurred to him. Of course! All of that stuff Quatre had told him about when school started! Man, that sucked. But still, Wufei was going to get a surprise in the present Trowa was cooking up for him and that would be good, and maybe it would cheer him up a little! "That sucks, Wu-chan. Where you gonna go?"
Slender caramel-tinged fingers reached up to stroke a lock of black hair behind an ear as Wufei's arms wrapped more tightly around his legs. "I guess I'll ask Khushrenada-kouchou if he can find somewhere for me to stay..." {Or if I can stay with him... Funny, I don't even know if he has a family to stay with for Christmas!} That thought was even *more* depressing and thus he heaved a deep sigh. "Or maybe I can stay with Chihaya and Kagetsuya-sensei now that they're back..."
Duo's voice was soft as he slung an arm around Wufei's shoulders. "I'm sorry, man. I'd ask you to come with me, but you'd be miserable. I sure will be. Lectures on Hell to people who're already in it... mosquitoes, weird food made with peanut butter and bugs... I love my parents but, man! I wish they did somethin' else for a living. Even tent revivals would be better than missionary stuff, you know?"
"At least they want you," Wufei answered softly. "At least they *want* you to come home. Mine say they do, but they don't really mean it. It's what they're supposed to say. It's all right, though. Meiran... that's my twin... She won't be home, anyway. So there's no point in me going, all the same."
An arm snaked around his shoulders and Duo pulled him close for a minute. "C'mon inside," he told the other boy quietly. "You're freezing and after a night's sleep, everything'll look better. I'll bet Khushrenada-kouchou will let you stay with him. He likes you, after all!"
That declaration brought a look of startlement to Wufei's ebony eyes as he blinked at Duo repeatedly. "You... You think so?"
A husky laugh rang out as Duo pulled Wufei to standing. "Are you kiddin'? You think he'd be willing to put up with *me* every Saturday like he does you? Kyah! Right! I see that!!"
The smile that began to stretch across Wufei's mouth was reluctant but there was a certain brightness to it that made Duo reach out and ruffle those black locks with quick fingers. "Wauk! Maxwell!" Wufei cried, pushing the other boy's fingers away and trying to straighten out those tangled ebony strands.
"C'mon, Wu-chan. Let's get inside and get warm and, hey! You think we could get some pizza? With mushrooms and anchovies?" Duo demanded as he pulled the other boy up and started to herd him inside.
"NO mushrooms!" Wufei declared. "And anchovies are right out! No anchovies!"
Duo groaned. "Man, you're gonna make me order cheese again, aren't you!?"
"I like cheese!"
"You're as bad as Heero!"
"I am not!"
"You are so!"
"I AM NOT!"
And the door clicked shut quietly behind them.
(unfinished)
Notes:
[1] Someone here... is an arachnophobe. Three guesses who and the first two don't count. *--*
[2] Granddaddy Longlegs spiders *are* the most venomous spiders in the world, so far as we know; but their fangs are *so* big that they can't bite you. *shudders* I'm just expecting a mutation any day now... the first person to be bitten by the mutated spider will be none other than the Original Arachnophobe (ie, me) --;
[3] I really so *badly* want to put Nakago here because, well, they're twins and while I don't know a *lot* about Nakago, it just seems that he'd be enough like Treize that they'd both want a Treize or a Nakago and, um, but, well, I can't, for two reasons. 1, I know diddly about Nakago! And... 2.... even knowing diddly about Nakago, I'm telling you, *that* man would never be a circus clown... *SIGH* ^_^ The only other person I can think of is Tsubasa, though. @.@;; *grins* Personally, I adore Tsubasa! ^_- But I'm just that way... ne? ;)
Tzigane -- Please send feedback to the author at: wufeinomiko@crosswinds.net
(:./knm/wilmington24)
