Howdy, y'all! ^_^ Some of you may know that I recently hit 40,000 on my GWA page. Megan K. was my 40,000th visitor, and her request for a gift fic was a flufflet with Wufei and Duo. Now, I really did intend to write a brand-new story for my gift-fic, but... Tzi and I had this one already mostly done and collecting cobwebs. So! I dusted it off, and we tweaked it a little, and here it is - one genuine fluffy Duo and Wufei-type thingie! Megan, I hope you enjoy it, and thank you!
I guess I should go ahead and mention that we don't own Gundam Wing, and this fanfic is not meant to be taken as a claim to copyright of the characters or situations which were not created by us. Also, we're not making a penny off of this, and no offense or disrespect is intended towards the creators and rightful owners. There are characters from other anime series making cameo appearances later on, and we don't own them, either, nor is any offense intended by our misusing them the way we have. *^_^*
"...and he REFUSES to get his shots *or* have a titer drawn to prove his immunity! What are we going to do?" Wufei finished. "I think he's afraid of the needles..."
"Hn," Heero said, wistfully glancing at his laptop. Quatre had informed him that it was considered rude to type while someone was talking, but damned if it wasn't a hard urge to resist! "What do you expect me to do?"
"Get him to take his *shots*, Yuy!" Wufei sighed. "What if he got sick and died? Then what?"
"He's never followed the rules before," Heero pointed out.
"You could look at it like a mission!" Quatre said, nodding. "It IS terribly important!"
/It is?/ Heero blinked.
"Ninmu ryokai."
Wufei heaved a sigh of relief. /Well. That's that!/ he decided. "Thanks," he said evenly.
"Oh, no problem, Wufei!" Quatre replied cheerfully.
"No problem," Heero repeated, nodding to Wufei politely before turning to Quatre. "Is it polite to use my laptop now?"
"Now is just FINE," the tall blond said with an adoring smile, making it difficult for Wufei to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
"Well, I have an appointment in another three weeks to get the next round of shots, so we might want to take him then," Wufei said.
"Don't say anything about it," Heero said, still typing. "Don't give him any kind of warning at all." The response was utterly predictable, as any other answer would be unacceptable. It, however, *was* accompanied by the roll of velvet eyes.
"Yes, Heero."
"Nh." Heero didn't even notice the rolling eyes or overly-patient, my-aren't-you-gifted-at-stating- the-obvious tone of voice, because he was too absorbed in the joy of computing.
"Pong," Quatre explained sheepishly. "And Tetris."
"Well, I've got to go, anyway," Wufei said. "I have some things to do."
Heero was silent until a gentle jab from Quatre got his attention. "Have a good evening," he said, frowning as the distraction lost him the game.
"Thank you, Heero," Wufei said wryly, and headed out into the hall.
Later that week, Chang Wufei slept the slumber of the righteously innocent... even when the fire alarm went off directly over his bed.
Duo Maxwell, who was generally neither righteous nor innocent, woke up screaming when the alarm started blaring -- not that his voice could even be heard in the ear-splitting din. Heart racing, yelled, "WUFEI!!! WAKE UP!!!"
No response. Duo slid his feet into a pair of slippers and threw his pillow at Wufei.
No response. Duo scowled at the peacefully-sleeping Chinese boy and crossed to the sink, filling his rinse cup with cold water.
"Feet, don't fail me now!" he shouted, his ears ringing with the volume of the siren. He opened up the door, waved to Heero and Quatre as they scrambled down the hallway, and checked the pathway. All clear. With a brief glance heavenward as though asking for protection, Duo threw the glass of water at Wufei and ran out of the building as though Death itself was nipping at his heels.
Death itself *WAS* nipping at his heels, in the form of one pissed off naked little Chinese boy.
"MAXWELL!" Wufei shouted, following the other young man, oblivious to the strange looks it was gaining him from the other young men going down the hall. "OMAE O KOROSU!"
Duo was panting breathlessly by the time he got outside and joined the other students gathering on the lawn.
"Heero!" he cried gladly, ducking behind the glowering dark-haired boy. "Don't let him kill me!" In he throng of sleep-dazed students, Heero was the only one fully dressed, his usual Spandex and tank top providing little protection from the night chill. He quirked an eyebrow when he noticed that Duo wore nothing but plaid flannel boxer shorts and a pair of scuffed slippers. His hair was mussed, but still bound up in its customary braid.
"Why shouldn't I?" Heero asked, privately wondering why Duo never undid the braid. In all the time they'd known each other, he'd never seen Duo's hair down.
"Because if he kills me, I'll be DEAD!" Duo shouted, clutching at Heero's tank top. "Quatre, you'll protect me, won't you?"
"Oh, my gosh, he's NAKED!" Quatre croaked out as Wufei neared, already stripping off his own robe. "Wufei...!"
"I'm going to KILL him!" the wet naked Wufei cried.
"Hn. In that case, your mode of dress is appropriate," Heero said. "Easier to wash blood off when you're naked."
"HEE~ERO!" Duo whined.
"But you probably shouldn't kill him, since there are so many witnesses."
"W...w...witnesses?" As he saw Heero's lips move, Wufei became very still, aware that there were a great many other people near him and suddenly VERY aware that the grass was cold and wet beneath his feet, that he was naked, that there were...
....onnas.....
....coming out of the dorm across the way!
The mortification on his face wasn't stopped by Quatre swaddling him in a robe that puddled at his feet as he simply stared across the way in shock before whispering slowly, "Maxwell, this was NOT funny..."
"Man, I wasn't TRYING to be funny!" Duo shouted. "How you could sleep through a fire alarm is beyond me! What was I supposed to do -- leave you to BURN to death?!?!?!"
Wufei didn't seem to be going to answer, and then he reached up, pulled out a green foam earplug and said, "What?"
"You-you!" Duo sputtered. Heero smirked slightly, taking advantage of the distraction Duo and Wufei were causing to rake his eyes over Quatre's lean, muscular frame. Since he had given his robe to Wufei, Quatre was clad in nothing but his pajama bottoms. Heero had never been much into art appreciation, but the sheer perfection of Quatre's beauty just about undid him at times.
"He said he's not trying to be funny," Heero offered helpfully, tearing his eyes away from Quatre with some effort.
"And I asked if you'd rather I left you to burn to death!" Duo added, furiously eyeing the earplug. That obnoxious, irritating Chinaman! No wonder he'd been so hard to wake! He had the nerve to leave that damn light on all night, and complain about the tick-tock clock, when all this time he'd been sleeping with earplugs in!
A shudder spread through Wufei's frame as he clutched Quatre's robe closer.
"No, I don't want to burn to death! You COULD have shaken me, you know!" he mumbled, face hot as he stared at the ground. He wondered just how many people had *seen* him before Quatre had put the robe on him!
"Sh-yeah, right. And you'd rip my arm off and beat me over the head with it," Duo snapped. "No, thank you."
"It's all right, guys. ALL of the fire alarms seem to have gone off. Maybe it's a drill?" Quatre suggested, sleepily trying to soothe both of them.
Heero sniffed the air. "No smoke."
"Well, at least that much is good," Duo said, then rubbed his eyes wearily. "Man, what a time for a damn fire drill! I had *just* gotten to sleep, too!"
Quatre sighed and lightly tried to warm his arms with his hands as they stood there, an awkward silence filling the air as people who were still half-asleep dozed while student life workers went around to check and make sure that everyone really *had* vacated the building. "Yeah," he agreed softly, glancing thoughtfully at Heero and then at Duo's roommate.
Hands clasped in front of him, Wufei continued watching the intricate folds puddled at his feet and debated whether or not it was possible to die of intense mortification.
"Don't worry, Wu-chan," Duo said, leaning in conspiratorially so that only Wufei could hear him. "Nobody saw but guys, and they were watching me to see if I'd die."
"Hn," Heero said, watching Quatre. "Cold." He leaned up against Quatre, sharing warmth but not quite daring to put his arms around him.
"Promise?" It was weak of him, Wufei knew, but it was okay to be weak in front of the only friends... only *family* he could lay claim to in the world. That was all right.
"We promise," Quatre said quietly, nodding.
"Of course! I run, and I hide, but I *never* lie!" Duo said, grinning. "The ladies didn't come out 'til a good five minutes later -- guess they took time to get dressed first."
THAT earned him a glower, proof-positive that Wufei was going to be just fine. "Hmph!! I'll bet no one soaked them with cold water!"
"Here we go," Quatre muttered, shifting closer to Heero.
"I'll bet they heard the alarm all by themselves, because they weren't wearing earplugs out of sheer obnoxiousness!" Duo replied.
"Hn," Heero said. "If the fire drill's over, why aren't they letting us in the building?"
"Maybe they found a girl in one of the rooms?" Quatre suggested.
"I wasn't being obnoxious!" Wufei protested. "I *just* bought those earplugs because I couldn't sleep! The constant ticking..."
"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CLOCK!" Duo bellowed, and several of the students turned to gape at him and Wufei in surprise. "It's your blasted light that causes all the problems," he continued, quietly enough that only Heero and Quatre overheard him.
Arms crossed tightly over his chest, Wufei remained quiet, staring at his feet again. He was more than unhappy, he was *hurt*. If he was such a miserable roommate, Duo ought to get rid of him, he supposed, but *he* wasn't leaving! No way! And neither was his light! Sure, he was hard to wake, and cranky, but... but... well, there was just no reason to do things like that to him. He wasn't going to rip off *anybody's* arm. He wasn't the one who went around saying things like 'Hi, I'm the God of Death!' or 'Omae o korosu'! It was awfully unjust, and it was truthfully all he could do not to wilt then and there, the terrible weakness that always seemed to be inside of him welling up, dark and horrid to swallow him whole.
Duo sighed as the fight went out of him in a sudden rush, and a distinctly guilty feeling descended on him as Wufei's head lowered. "Look... I'm sorry I threw water on you when the pillow didn't work, but I just didn't want you to react like you were under attack if I woke you suddenly. And I guess... I can live with the light."
"All right," came the faint answer, almost swallowed by the words Heero spoke in reply to Quatre.
"Or maybe there was a bomb threat," Heero said, his eyes shining with enthusiasm at the thought.
"Or MAYBE...." Quatre's tourmaline eyes widened as he looked up at the building next door to theirs. Oh, NO. The Maguanacs..."
"Quatre-sama," Rashid said, jogging up to the small group. "Quatre-sama, what are you doing out here without coat or shoes? You'll catch cold!" Heero's lips twitched slightly as Rashid spoke -- it didn't take a Perfect Soldier to figure out that the motherly act was just to distract Quatre from the wisps of smoke trailing behind Rashid.
"Rashid..." Quatre began warningly. "TELL me you weren't making shish-kebabs in the dorms!"
Duo spun to face Rashid, his eyes widening.
"Oh, no, Quatre-sama, no shish-kabobs... we were only grilling some lamb and vegetables for dinner. My humblest apologies... but we were so tired of hummus!"
Duo glanced back at Wufei and then turned back to Rashid. There was just something about the sight of that huge man, sheepishly facing gentle Quatre with his singed hair smoking... As Duo watched, Rashid dug one toe into the ground, looking for all the world like a naughty child who'd been caught in the middle of doing the wrong thing.
Before Duo knew it, he was laughing -- not his customary dark chuckle, but an all-out laugh! He laughed so hard he ended up gasping for breath and leaning on Wufei because he could barely stand, and the best he could do to explain himself was to waggle his finger helplessly at Rashid.
The pleasant pressure and the sound of Duo's laughter drew Wufei out of the well in which he'd gone to dwell, and he looked up in surprise, an arm going out to lightly touch Duo's back. "Maxwell...?"
"Delirious from lack of sleep," Heero guessed, and Duo only laughed harder.
"Oh, dear. I *DO* hope you were using the kitchenette!" Quatre moaned.
"No, Quatre-sama. Abdul brought his Hibachi with him... you're displeased," Rashid said, ducking his head.
Quatre could only groan. "Oh, no."
Duo's laughter finally eased and, as he became aware of the warm pressure of Wufei's arm around his waist, ended with a slight hiccup. For a brief instant of weakness, he swayed against Wufei, turning so that their lips almost met...
...and he backed away hastily, grateful for the darkness that hid his blush and the neediness in his eyes.
"Sorry, Wu-chan," he said, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "I don't know what came over me." Heero snorted, but refrained from rolling his eyes at the sheer obtuseness. Even *he* knew an almost-kiss when he saw it!
The answer, when it came, was just as startled, and vaguely husky. "No problem. I won't kill you. Okay?" Wufei's heart was beating so loudly that his ears almost couldn't pick up anything aside from the sound of his frantic pulse, and the urge to lick his lips and lean closer was overwhelming. /Weak, weak, WEAK!/
"Oh, good!" Duo said with a little nervous chuckle. "I'd hate to be dead, you know. Too much fun stuff I'd miss out on." /Duo Maxwell, you are a first-class MORON! He's been married, for crying out loud! How straight can a guy be?/
"You'd give the Devil indigestion," Heero said. "It's the only thing that's kept you alive this long."
"Heero!" Quatre said, turning. "I'm going with Rashid to see about the fire. Oh, dear..."
Heero paused, torn. Would it be impolite to follow along? On the other hand, would it be impolite to stay behind?
"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked at last, knowing that Quatre would recognize that he was at least making an effort.
"Of course!" Quatre encouraged, nodding. "The more the merrier... So long as Duo doesn't upset anyone's tummy while we're gone."
Heero's lips twitched in what passed for a pleased smile, and he nodded back, so warmed by Quatre's approval that he didn't even notice Duo and Wufei falling into step behind them.
"I would not give the Devil indigestion," Duo was saying, blithely oblivious to the fact that Heero and Quatre weren't listening to him at all. No, Duo's attention was captivated by the slow slide of that oversized robe down Wufei's arms, gradually exposing caramel-colored flesh and toned muscles. Damn if Wufei wasn't attractive... for a straight guy. "I'm Shinigami! We'd get along just fine. Right, Wufei?" He threw a companionable arm around Wufei's shoulders, surreptitiously tugging the Chinese boy's sagging robe back into place.
"Unless you turned on the tick-tock clock," Wufei answered blithely, flushing slightly at the warm feel of Duo's arm around him. It felt so *nice*....
"Naw, man, you're always saying that whoever designed that clock must've been evil. I bet the Devil has twenty of 'em. Cuckoo clocks, too!"
THAT drew a shudder from the Chinese man and a laugh from Quatre. "Don't tell me you like those, too, Duo?" the tall blond asked.
"Oh, heck, yeah!" Duo answered, grinning cheerfully. He probably shouldn't be so happy about it that Wufei hadn't protested the arm around his shoulders... probably all it meant was that Wufei was cold. But still. It felt so...
"I'd like to have at least one of 'em," Duo continued.
"Because you relate to it," Heero snorted.
"Whaddya mean by that?"
"That you're cuckoo."
THAT drew laughter, not only from Quatre, but also from Wufei in the form of a surprised snicker that was quickly swallowed.
"Heero!" Quatre chuckled. "That was a joke!"
"Yeah," Heero agreed, his lips twitching into a tiny smile. Quatre was laughing and smiling at him, and all was right with his world.
"I didn't know he could make jokes," Wufei agreed. He was entirely *too*pleased to have Maxwell's arm around him, and he wasn't sure what he thought about it. /Okay, all right, I'm weak and I like it. So what?/ the belligerent thought asked the ghosts of his past. No answer came, for once; they were remarkably quiet.
"That was a pretty good one, Heero," Duo admitted, still grinning. /He's right, I'm nuts. What the hell else kind of guy drools over a STRAIGHT man?/
"It's all in the timing," Heero replied, and Duo had to join in the laughter then, because Heero sounded so purely smug about it.
Reaching the entrance to the dorm where the Maguanacs were staying (thanks to several large donations from Winner Enterprises, Inc., Quatre's stubbornness, *and* his reputation for blowing things that upset him to bits), all four boys strolled up and into the building to check out what was going on.
"This the 'man in charge' you were telling me about?" the Fire Chief snapped as Rashid walked up with the four pilots.
"Yes, sir, and we're very sorry for the inconvenience, sir; we only wanted our dinner," Rashid replied, still shamefaced. Duo withdrew his arm from around Wufei's shoulders when he noticed some of the pointed looks they were drawing, and he had to hide a smile as Rashid continued his "naughty schoolboy" act for the Fire Chief.
"Well, I'll have you know these people caused a world of trouble with their Hibachi!" the Fire Chief snapped, seemingly impervious to the Yuy Glare o' Death which now fixed itself on him unerringly. Nobody messed with Quatre while Heero was around. "I don't know what kind of place you people think this is, but we don't allow those kinds of goings-on around here! Why, just think of all the damage that the fire could've caused!"
"I'm sure that they're all very sorry, sir," Quatre said, frowning. There really wasn't any cause to take all of them to task so! "I assure you that I'll make certain everything is taken care of to your satisfaction. If you'll just contact me tomorrow, my name is Quatre Raberba Winner and my number is..."
"You mean... THE Quatre Raberba Winner?" the Fire Chief asked, paling slightly as the bluster went out of him. He had no urge to scold the famous Winner heir -- Quatre was known to get violent when he was... irritated. And he certainly wasn't looking too pleased at the moment...
"There's more than one?" Wufei muttered under his breath.
"Just like Tiggers," Duo replied, just as quietly. "He's the only one."
"Yes, sir," Quatre announced politely, "and my number is available from Student Life."
"Er... yes. Well, Mr. Winner, I'm sure everything will work out just fine without our having to disturb your studies," the Fire Chief said, and within a few minutes, he and his men had cleared out.
"What a weenie," Duo said, rolling his eyes. "And speaking of weenies..."
"Duo..." Quatre began.
"I'm hungry," Duo finished with a grin. "Oi, Rashid, what's say we fire up that Hibachi and have a weenie roast?"
"... I don't think that would be wise, Master Duo," Rashid replied, mournfully gazing at the Hibachi and the foam-covered lamb and vegetables he'd meant to eat.
"Hn. The fire was contained," Heero observed.
"Oh, yes, of course!" Rashid replied. "We were very careful. I guess someone smelled the smoke and got carried away."
"There's a Krispy Kreme down the street," Wufei murmured, still standing remarkably close to Duo. "And an all night sub shop right next to it..." Personally, he hoped Duo would take him up on that quiet suggestion.
He *REALLY* wanted a creme-filled doughnut right about now!
"Doughnuts!" Duo cried enthusiastically, all but drooling at the prospect. "C'mon, guys, don't you wanna get doughnuts and subs? Please, can we go, please, please, please? I hate eating by myself, you know, and it's not like any of us is gonna get back to sleep any time soon. Please?"
"Wee~eell..." Quatre said. "We're still in our pajamas... as it were." The words brought a bright flush to Wufei's face as he looked sheepish and pushed Quatre's robe back up on his shoulder again.
"Oh, yeah," Duo said, and had the grace to look at least a *little* embarrassed to be wandering around in his boxer shorts. "But that's easily remedied, ne? C'mon, you know you want a big, squishy filled doughnut to eat! You can lick the sugar off and suck the filling out of it and -"
"Duo!" Heero snapped, and for a brief moment Duo entertained the thought that Heero Yuy might actually be *blushing*. "Enough."
"So you're gonna go, right?"
"We DO have class in the morning," Wufei said, hedging more because he thought someone should say it than because he didn't want to go.
Quatre was looking at Heero speculatively when he said distractedly, "Let's go."
"Woo-hoo!" Duo cried. "Last one dressed is another something bad that I can't say because of Quatre's delicate sensibilities! Yeeeeeeeah!" With that he ran off, tearing across the lawn with his braid trailing behind him as he headed toward the dorm, where the other students were wearily filing back indoors.
That left the other three to wander behind him, Wufei only shaking his head as he watched Duo go. /God help me, maybe I shouldn't have suggested sugar at this time of night.../
End Part 4
Yoiko
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