Wufei yawned as he stepped out of the bathroom, shoving wet black hair out of his face. He'd had to wait a while for the cabin's small water heater to recover from Duo's cleaning spree, but it had been worth it. Today had been a long day, with the trip to town, and a tense one, what with contacting the rest of the pilots, then confessing his feelings for Duo aloud. A hot soak had been just the thing. He'd gotten some take-out in town, which he and Duo had already eaten, so there was nothing left to do now but sleep.
Duo, seated on the bed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, was still folding articles of clothing as he reentered the bedroom. Not that the two boys had all that many clothes, but Duo had forgotten to bring what there was in from drying until he had realized he had nothing to wear to bed, and Wufei had nothing to put on once he was finished bathing. After fielding the barrage of ecchi suggestions that brought to the American's mind, Wufei had gone out to fetch the wash. Duo had offered to do it, but Wufei didn't like the way he was favoring his bad leg, and didn't want him on his feet any more than necessary.
"Here, let me help you with that," Wufei said, moving to stand beside the bed where Duo was sitting. He grabbed a shirt, missing the way Duo's eyes flickered hungrily over his bare chest and shoulders -- he was clad only in a pair of black sweatpants -- as he finished the rest of the clothing with a few fast, efficient motions.
"There. We--" Wufei was cut off suddenly as Duo reached up, grabbed him firmly, and pulled him down onto the bed, rolling him over the newly folded clothes, sending shirts and pants tumbling to the floor. "Ack! Duo!"
The Chinese boy's sputtered protests were cut off as Duo claimed his mouth, kissing him deeply and almost violently. Duo flung his good leg over Wufei's body, squirming on top of the stunned boy. Between the shock of this unexpected move, Duo's weight on his chest, and the force of his wild kiss, Wufei was definitely having trouble catching his breath. He grasped Duo's bare shoulders, but didn't have the strength, or the will, to push him away. Dark motes were dancing before his eyes when Duo finally released his mouth, and it wasn't completely due to passion.
"Duo--"
Without missing a beat, Duo's kiss moved to Wufei's neck, his lips hot and wet, suckling, his tongue swirling over the soft, water-heated flesh in skilled patterns. Wufei shuddered, wave after wave of pleasure breaking through his body from the contact. Duo's hands were hot and hard on his chest, and then Duo rocked his hips against him and Wufei gasped, his body jerking on the mattress, pushing back without his willing it, into the flare of furious fire that suddenly burst into existence between their bodies.
"Duo!" he tried again, his voice strangled.
Instead of replying, Duo moved back to his mouth, his lips working over Wufei's, his tongue darting and lapping, as he braced himself over the other boy, his hips still moving in shallow, rhythmic thrusts.
Wufei gave utterance to a throttled moan, his whole body arching under Duo's. This was too much too fast, and now Duo was moving down his torso, his lips on the flesh of Wufei's chest, capturing and teasing the small brown nipples as his stomach pressed tightly between Wufei's thighs, where a hot hard ache was begin to burn its way into the forefront of his attention.
"Duo," he practically sobbed, as the American boy's fingers curled under the waistband of his sweatpants, tugging with determination while Duo's tongue played about his taut stomach muscles and the dimple of his navel. Duo stripped him swiftly of the pants, then wriggled back up, lying beside Wufei, kissing him again as his hand closed gently but firmly over the upthrust of his arousal.
Wufei let out a small cry against Duo's mouth, his hips surging without his conscious control, then Duo was back between his legs, only lower this time, kneeling on the floor, and a wet tongue flicked out to taste his burning flesh. Wufei writhed against the bed, clutching handfuls of the sheets, tight moans jerked out of his throat as Duo grasped his hips and engulfed the head of his throbbing member in the hot, wet well of his mouth.
His world narrowed to a single focus, but it was more than the deep rhythmic suction Duo was currently applying to his erection. It was the fact that is *was* Duo, that Duo was touching him, tormenting him, that Duo was willing to do this for him -- or *to* him; he couldn't decide. The intensity of emotion combined with the new sensations, never before even guessed at, threatened to overwhelm him, and he was in danger of losing his sense of self.
Then his body clenched, and something inside him that had been growing steadily tighter suddenly released, his world exploding into a rush of pure pleasure, white lights dancing through his mind, as he gave up all that he was and embraced this utter purification of his soul.
"Duo..." he breathed, as the other boy moved once more to lie beside him, tugging Wufei's lax form up against his own body.
"Wufei... gomen..." Duo kissed him softly. Wufei wrinkled his nose at the bitter, salty taste of Duo's lips, then his cheeks heated even more than the flush already warming them when he realized what that was. He blinked his eyes open, looking hesitantly at Duo.
Duo's face was flushed as well, bangs clinging to his sweat-damp flesh. His eyes were heavy-lidded, filled with a strange sort of sorrow.
"Gomen..." he said again, shame in his voice.
"Why are you apologizing?" Wufei asked in confusion, curling closer to Duo, and reaching up to stroke away some of the bangs falling in Duo's face.
"B-because... you weren't ready. Not really, I mean. Slow would have been better." Duo sighed unhappily and pressed his face into Wufei's shoulder. Wufei could feel a few hot tears leak out against his skin, but he didn't comment, just held Duo more tightly. "I mean..."
"Daijoubu," Wufei said, stroking Duo's hair with a gentle hand. Then a thought struck him. "Duo, do you need... Are you still..." He blushed furiously.
"Iie. I... er... took care of that while... um..."Duo sounded embarrassed as well.
Wufei blushed more deeply. In a way he was disappointed, but mostly he was relieved. He didn't think he felt up to returning the gift Duo had given him. Not yet, at any rate.
Wait. The gift Duo had...?
"Duo?"
"Ah?"
How could he say this without presuming too much? "You... You..."
"I messed up," Duo sighed, sitting up.
"No, you didn't," Wufei said firmly, pulled Duo back down with a startled squeak. "But, Duo... tell me why you did that." He wanted to know, but mostly he wanted to help Duo work it out for himself, so that he could stop feeling guilty.
"I..."
Wufei wrapped both arms tightly about Duo, holding him close. "You...?"
"I... I guess..." He could feel Duo frowning against his shoulder, in thought. It felt so good to hold Duo close, to be able to hold him close. He closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation, then opened them again as his drained body threatened to shut down. He was hovering on the verge of falling asleep, and only the urgency he felt toward Duo's emotional well-being was keeping him awake.
"I..." Duo shifted uncomfortably. "I guess it was 'cause... 'cause I wanted to show you how I felt, since I couldn't say it."
Wufei's heart jolted. "Honto ni?"
"Ah." Duo nodded. "I... I can't..."
Wufei placed a gentle hand over Duo's mouth, stilling anything further he might have said. That was enough for him. It was so much more than he'd ever expected, more than he'd ever dared dream. He felt as though his soul would die from the happiness he was feeling. Even if Duo didn't love him, he felt something very strong. And maybe someday...
No, best not to think so far ahead. Right now...
He sat up, pulling Duo with him. "Let's get to bed."
"Un." Duo stretched and yawned widely as Wufei retrieved his pants from the floor and blushingly pulled them on.
"Well, there went all your work," he commented, still blushing, but amused, as he started tugging the scattered clothing the two of them had been rolling around on off the bed, plucking shirts and pants from the tangles sheets.
"K'so!" Duo scowled, then suddenly broke into giggles. "And you wasted your bath!"
Wufei grinned sheepishly. "Oh well."
They snuggled into bed together, arms wrapped tightly, legs twined. Wufei tumbled swiftly into slumber, exhausted by Duo's earlier ministrations.
He drifted weightlessly in a sweet dream, where Duo's lips brushed his gently, and Duo's voice whispered in his ear, "I love you..."
Wufei woke to the smell of coffee. He rolled over and reached... but there was no Duo in the bed. Well, of course not; if there was coffee being brewed, that meant Duo was already up.
The sunlight on the greenery outside the window was rich and golden. It was late morning already. He must have slept in.
Wufei stretched and yawned widely. Why did he feel so--
Suddenly memories of the night before struck, and Wufei turned a bright shade of red. Then he cursed and jumped out of bed quickly, worried about Duo. Hopefully the other boy had gotten over the utterly misplaced guilt he had been feeling last night...
Duo was at the kitchen counter, singing a popular song as he wielded a knife cheerfully. Wufei winced, but as he drew closer, he could see Duo was only making sandwiches. Not even Duo could screw up sandwiches... could he?
"Ohayo, Duo," he said softly, wrapping an arm around Duo's waist. Duo was wearing jeans and a teeshirt, and looked too delicious for words this morning. He just hoped the American boy wouldn't feel too uncomfortable with him now.
Duo started in surprise, dropping his knife. Wufei grimaced.
"Oi! Wufei! You just about gave me a heart attack!" Duo protested, as he turned within Wufei's loose half-embrace and wound his arms around the other boy's neck.
"Gomen," Wufei managed to say, a moment before Duo's lips closed on his. At least Duo wasn't rejecting his touch. But there was desperation in Duo's kiss he didn't like, and the gleam in Duo's eyes when he finally pulled away was a little too bright.
"Ne, Wufei, go take a quick bath! We're going on a picnick!"
"A what?" Wufei felt his heart sinking. The jester's mask was back in place. Shit. He'd have to see if there was anything he could do about that.
Maybe it was his own fault, for telling Duo he loved him. Duo obviously wasn't sure of his own feelings, probably still hurting from Heero's rejection, and yet he felt bad for not being able to return Wufei's feelings, no matter how many times Wufei told him it didn't matter.
No. No, he wasn't going to regret telling Duo. He would just have to help Duo work through his true feelings, no matter what they were, even if it came out that Duo would never be able to love him, and then they'd see what could be salvaged. Wufei had been a coward too often in his life -- he wasn't going to back away from this.
"A picnick, baka!" Duo was caroling, shoving Wufei firmly toward the bedroom. "Go get some clothes and get washed up and I'll finish making our lunch, and then we'll take a hike into the hills!"
Wufei paused just inside the bedroom door and turned. Duo's eyes widened, and he looked at Wufei a bit apprehensively. Wufei wanted to tell this achingly beautiful boy that he loved him, again, but that might do more harm now than good. He reached up and traced the side of Duo's face, then leaned forward and kissed him gently.
"Make sure you don't cut yourself."
"Aa-Ah!" Duo fled back into the kitchen.
Wufei sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Grabbing some clothes off the chair, he moved to the bathroom.
"Aaaah! Smell that air, Wufei!"
Wufei found, instead, he was admiring the snug way Duo's jeans slid over his tight rear, that tantalizing braid twitching back and forth across this view, as Duo stretched, inhaling deeply. Of course, the fact that Wufei was sitting on the grassy hillside directly behind Duo might have had something to do with that.
Then again, maybe not.
"That's because you've been shut up in that cabin too long. Sit down and get off your leg, Duo." Even though it was a shame to lose that view...
"Aw, my leg's feeling a lot better." Duo nonetheless threw himself down on the blanket next to Wufei, unzipping the duffel bag he'd packed the lunch in, as they were lacking anything so picturesque as a basket. "I got all the way up here with no problems, didn't I?"
"Mm." Wufei raised a brow as Duo moved a bit uncomfortably, surreptitiously shifting his bad leg. But he had to admit Duo had made the long trip, uphill all the way, to this mountainside clearing pretty easily, only limping a little and hardly whining at all.
They really were going to have to rejoin the others soon. It was past due time for them to be ordered on another mission, and justice was not going to happen by itself while he selfishly enjoyed spending time alone with Duo. The war had to be fought, and if possible, ended.
But he wasn't going anywhere until he had cleared up with Duo exactly what their relationship was. Even if doing so left them with no relationship. He could live the rest of his life with Duo not loving him in return, as long as they were together... but Duo couldn't. It wouldn't be fair to ask him to. So Wufei had to risk breaking his own heart, because Duo's happiness was infinitely more important to him than his own.
But he had to do it now, or he'd lose his courage completely.
Duo was unpacking the bag, chattering inanely away, perhaps sensing something of what Wufei intended, or maybe just still discomfited by the night before. Wufei listened with half an ear, but Duo was hiding behind his familiar old mask and was carefully not saying anything of any consequence. It hurt Wufei to see him like this, so he thought carefully, trying to figure out the best way to draw the real Duo out.
Shit.
He knew the best way. It wasn't anything he wanted to do, or say. But it was really the only way he was going to be able to get Duo to confront his feelings. Whatever those feelings were.
"Duo?"
Duo looked up, eyes wide and almost frightened. Wufei winced, hating himself for the fact that it was he who had made Duo look like that. The sooner he got this over with, no matter how much it was going to hurt, the better.
For Duo, if not for himself.
"N-nani?"
He drew a deep breath. He was about to utter a name that had been resolutely avoided by both of them since the first day they had arrived in the cabin. He didn't want to, but he had to.
"Do you still love Heero?"
Duo's eyes, if anything, grew huger, and all color drained from his face. Wufei *hurt*, seeing that stricken, betrayed expression, but he resolutely ignored the agony ripping through his heart. He was doing this for Duo, and no matter how much it pained both of them right now, it was for the better in the long run.
Knowing this did not help much however.
"I... I..."
He held Duo's eyes captive, afraid he'd lose the other boy utterly if he looked away. Duo stared back, eyes round, dark with anguish, almost pleading.
"I..." Duo's gaze suddenly turned inward, and he seemed to be giving the question some deep, serious thought.
Wufei waited patiently, his heart pounding, a small trickle of sweat running down his temple. This was the crux, the most vital moment in the strange coupling he and Duo had somehow built for themselves. It wasn't so much how Duo felt about Heero -- though that was part of it -- but it was that he was forcing Duo to examine how he had felt about the cold pilot of Wing Gundam, and how that compared to how he felt about Wufei.
What that comparison would result in was something both Duo and Wufei would have to live with. And Wufei was suddenlyscared to death.
"Wufei?"
He started and blinked at Duo. "Ah?"
Duo had a peculiar, unreadable expression on his face. "Why do you love me?"
Wufei stared. He hadn't expected Duo to answer with another question. "Duo..."
Duo shook his head sharply. "I'm not avoiding the question, Wufei. I just... I'm just wondering... I'm not sure, anymore, what love is. Why people love. I... I need to know why you... How can you...?"
Wufei chewed on his lower lip, thinking. Duo might be stalling or he might not, but he *did* have a legitimate point. Still that was a hard question to answer, hard to pin down.
"Because you're you."
Duo blushed. "Wufei..."
"Because you're beautiful, inside and out. Because you keep giving to your friends, to the colonies, to the world, even when it hurts. Because you're open and warm and intelligent and--"
Duo leaned forward and clapped a hand over Wufei's mouth, his cheeks burning. "All right, all right. That's enough."
"I was only starting," Wufei said softly as Duo removed his hand, reaching forward to tangle his fingers in the hair at the base of Duo's braid.
Duo flushed further. "Wufei..."
"Duo, do you--"
"I'm not sure." Duo grimaced. "I... I thought I loved Heero, but now I'm not sure what love is. Maybe. Maybe I love him. But I love you more."
Wufei felt his jaw drop. Literally. He was so stunned by that one small sentence that he couldn't react. His brain was frozen. Duo looked equally surprised.
"I love you..." he mused, lifting his hands to gently close Wufei's mouth for him, then to stroke back the loose black hair from his face. "I really do. It's... it's real, isn't it?" There was a look of enchanted wonder on his face. "But how could I not? You care. You're brave. You're strong. You're definitely good looking..."
"Duo!" Wufei sputtered instinctively in protest.
Duo laughed lightly, and Wufei's heart lifted at the carefree sound. He finally allowed the reality to begin to penetrate his mind. Duo... loved him?
"Duo..."
Duo leaned forward and kissed him soundly. Wufei pulled back after a blissful moment. He had one last question before he gave himself over to utter joy, one nagging question.
"Duo, what if... What if we join the others, and Heero tells you he made a horrible mistake, or was lying? What... What would you...?"
The indigo-blue eyes flashed. "Did Heero come rescue me from OZ? Did he patch me up and put up with my shit and make me feel like living again? Did he spend six hours replacing my ruined clothes? Did he ever brush my hair, much less enjoy it? Did he--"
Utterly embarrassed, Wufei silenced Duo again, only with his mouth this time. It worked pretty well, and he got to enjoy the benefits in addition.
Duo wrapped his arms around Wufei, kissing him back eagerly, and they tumbled over onto the blanket, their lunch forgotten.
He loved Duo, and Duo loved him...
Duo loved him!
"Is that everything?" Duo stood back, his hands on his hips, and glared at the three stuffed duffel bags sitting on the bed.
"Hm." Wufei looked around the tiny bedroom, which was looking very bare and forlorn. Everything they weren't taking with them had been burned or buried, so as to leave no evidence of their presence. It was disturbing, in a way, to see a place where they had spent over a month, nearly every day of that time, look so empty and impersonal. Not that he hadn't gone through this cleansing many times before as a Gundam pilot, but... But this was his and Duo's... home. It *had* been a home, for most of their time here had felt like "home".
It was pretty depressing.
"I think so." He didn't see anything under the small bed or on the tiny table. Nothing stuffed in the corners. He'd already checked the kitchen and the bathroom several times. There was nothing remaining of he or Duo aside from the bags on the bed, and themselves, standing in the barren bedroom.
"I don't wanna go!"
"Eh?" Wufei started in surprise at Duo's outburst.
Duo spun and took the two steps to bring him into Wufei's arms, which he gladly wrapped about the other boy. Duo's own arms encircled his waist, squeezing, and Duo kissed him fiercely.
"Can't we just stay?" Duo asked, his eyes gleaming suspiciously. "We were happy here!"
Wufei grimaced. Duo was being overly-emotional, which wasn't helping his own mood any. "We'll be happy somewhere else, Duo."
"Hmph!" Duo buried his face against Wufei's neck, lips moving hungrily over the flesh they encountered, teeth nipping lightly. Wufei shivered, then slid his hands down Duo's back, to caress the black material of his pants, over his taut buttocks. Duo responded by pushing his hips forward, into Wufei's, his arms tightening, his mouth growing more urgent against Wufei's neck.
"Duo!" Wufei gasped. "We're going to be late!"
"So?" Duo suddenly pulled away from Wufei and dragged the bags off the bed, letting them land on the floor with loud thuds.
Wufei felt his lips quirk in an amused smile as Duo turned and gave him a challenging look.
"So, we're going to be late," he said, crossing the room and allowing Duo to drag him down onto the bare bed.
This was as good a way to say good-bye as any.
End Part 5
(:./knm/time5)
