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"All Through The Night "Written By: Honor Disclaimer: They aren’t mine. The boys are
actually quite grateful for this. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Shonen-ai, language, wacky humor, emotional
angst, romance, yaoi, and I’m acting like the war lasts two years
and Eternal Waltz didn’t happen Spoilers: Er…yeah, maybe. It would help if
you watch the series first. Pairings: 2x5, 3x4 established Summary: Sequel to Persistence ~dream/ thought~ /thought/ *emphasized* " All Through The Night " Chapter Three
The other occupant of the living room immediately groaned. The current safehouse for all five pilots was high up in the mountains, far away from most civilization (one did not count the little tourist town at the base of the mountain as a ‘civilization’, it was far too small for that). It was in the dead of winter, and there was already three feet or so of snow on the roads. Most of the pilots considered the sign of *more* snow a bad sign. Duo, naturally, was the exception. “Wufei! Come play with me, man!” Wufei looked up from his book, and his very cozy position
in what was quickly becoming his favorite reading chair, in order
to give Duo a Look. “After what you did to me yesterday, you
expect me to willingly go back out in the snow? Alone with you? Duo waggled his eyebrows, grinning impishly. “You can always look at it as an opportunity for payback.” “That’s what you said yesterday.” The braided (and bored) bundle of mischief was not at all happy when Wufei went back to his book. He’d learned over the past several months that Wufei was much more fun to play with than Heero. Wufei reacted. The problem was, whatever he did to get Wufei’s attention rarely worked more than once. Coming up with new ways to win his friend’s attention proved…challenging. He loved challenges. With a nonchalant shrug he walked outside, pulling on
a thick coat and gloves as he went. What he was about to do was completely
written off as Wufei’s fault—he could hardly be blamed,
after all, if his invitation had been refused. ‘No’ wasn’t
the right answer, and he was just going to have show Wufei the error
of such thinking. He went outside just far enough to scoop up The snow sailed beautifully through the air, and landed squarely in the middle of Wufei’s chest. *SPLAT* Then it slowly slid from his torso and landed semi-on his book. Wufei carefully brushed the snow from his beloved book, marked his place, and set the novel down on the coffee table at his feet. With easy grace he stood and glared at Duo. The braided idiot of course wasn’t feeling the intimidation he should—he was, in fact, grinning like a loon. “You’re dead.” Duo edged slightly to the door. “Really? I don’t feel dead.” “I just haven’t killed you yet,” Wufei rumbled ominously, taking a step forward. “Well, no offense, Wu, but I don’t think you can do a lot from across the room.” “I wasn’t planning on it.” Duo eeped and dove through the front door, laughing victoriously. Wufei had to delay a precious five seconds, just long enough to shove his feet into some shoes and snag a heavy jacket, then he was right behind Duo. …and met with a snowball full in his face. “DUO!!!” + From inside the house, Quatre’s ears perked at the very familiar sound of Duo’s name being yelled in fury. Oh Allah, now what had he done? Abandoning his post near the boiling tea pot, he went to the window and turned his head a little to see if he could spot his team mates. Ah, there was Duo, armed with two snowballs in either hand it looked like. No surprise there. Craning his neck a little further he managed to spot Wufei—also armed with snowballs and letting them whiz at Duo at high speeds. Trowa came up behind him, slipping both arms around his waist. Quatre relaxed into those arms with a contented sigh. Eight months they had been together, and still he felt an almost magical thrill whenever Trowa touched him. It was something he would never take for granted, this feeling. “So Duo got him out of the house again?” “It looks that way,” Quatre acknowledged with a rueful smile. “Sometimes when I watch them play like this, I have a hard time remembering when I first met Wufei.” Trowa snorted in wry agreement. “It is difficult to accept, isn’t it? That underneath all of that cold arrogance was a completely different person.” “Thank Allah Duo realized it. I never even suspected.”
“…I did, didn’t I?” He even vaguely remembered sayin it too. “But I didn’t think it had affected his personality that badly. I just thought it was the reason he couldn’t interact with us very well.” “Well, it was the reason, in a way. I just wish that Duo had possessed the same luck with Heero as he did with Wufei.” Quatre blew out an irritable breath. Heero had been practically hiding in his room since they had arrived at the safehouse. Actually…he had slowly been withdrawing from them for a few weeks, now. Quatre had tried everything to get him back out again, but nothing had worked. “He had been opening up to us more. I just wish I knew what had changed that.” “Hm,” Trowa offered noncommittally. Quatre twisted to stare at him suspiciously. “You know, don’t you?” “No. Only a guess.” “I’m amiable to guesses.” Trowa translated that as ‘Tell me. *Now*.’ “For a time, I had expected to see Duo and Heero become involved.” Quatre blinked. “I thought I was the only one getting that vibe.” Trowa shook his head thoughtfully. “The signs were all there. I’m not sure what happened, but something changed that. It was like…Duo just started to give up on having Heero as anything more than a friend.” “It’s strange…” Quatre murmured to himself. “Now that you mention it, Duo had better luck drawing Wufei out of his shell right about that point. Trowa, am I jumping to conclusions I shouldn’t?” “I’m not sure. If you are, you’re not alone.” The rest of the conversation was interrupted as the two Snowmen came tramping in. Duo was still beaming, Wufei grumbling. They knocked off snow as they came in, discarding jackets and shoes. “See, Wu? You needed a little physical exercise.” “Duo, I will never in a million years believe that you dragged me out there for my benefit. You’ve got snow all in your braid, by the way.” Duo twisted fruitlessly, trying to see. “Really? Nuts. I guess I better brush it out.” Wufei smirked. “Yes, I suppose you’ll have to.” Halfway through the process of shaking snow out of his hair, that statement penetrated. Duo turned to glare at him. “…you did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Ignoring the suspicious glare he was getting, Wufei sniffed the air, homing in on the tea pot sitting on the stove. “Is that tea?” “Chamomile,” Quatre confirmed. “Do you want a cup?” “Please.” He blew on his hands to warm them up, having forgotten gloves in his desire to return retribution for the first snowball. Duo, of course, was not much on tea. He rustled around in the pantry for the can of hot chocolate instead. “So, ‘Fei, whatcha want to do next?” Wufei paused in the act of taking his first sip. “Why am I being dragged into this?” “Cause I’m bored. Let’s do something.” “Duo, in case you’ve forgotten, I *was* doing something.” “You’re always reading!” Duo’s head popped out of the pantry, can held in front of him. “Let’s watch a movie or something.” The casual way this was proposed did not fool Wufei one whit. “You already have an itinerary worked out for today, don’t you?” Duo winked at him. “That’s why I like you ‘Fei—you’re sharp.” Sighing, Wufei took a sip of his tea. “Alright, what are you going to inflict on me this time?” “Jackie Chan movies.” “…come again?” Quatre started snickering. “Duo, are you sure that’s a good idea?” “Sure. Wuffers loves martial arts, right?” “Yes, but…” Helplessly, Quatre started snickering again. Wufei eyed this reaction, wondering whether he should bolt for safety now or wait until Duo’s back was turned. Of course, Nataku was a mile away and they were surrounded by snow. Taking a trek out there was not an appealing thought, and he could hardly stay in the house. He didn’t have a place to really run to—Duo could pick any lock in the house without blinking. “Duo…” “You’ll get a kick out of them, cross my heart.” Wufei sighed and gave in. In the end, it wouldn’t be worth the effort anyway. + “That is not possible.” “Will you stop saying that and just enjoy the movie?” “If I tried that, I’d end up with my back broken in three places.” “Well, maybe he’s better than you are.” “…” “…” “…would you care to repeat that?” “I was kidding!” “Hn.” “Oh man, don’t pull a Heero on me.” Silence descended as they went back to the action film. Duo was secretly delighted to see that Wufei’s hand would steal into his popcorn bowl every few seconds. He wasn’t even sure if Wufei was aware he was doing it. There wasn’t enough junk food in the Chinese teen’s diet anyway…so he decided not to mention it. “Okay, that was actually plausible.” “See? It’s not all just Hollywood.” Wufei rolled his eyes, but he still watched the movie.
In spite of his comments, he was actually enjoying the film. Even
he was in need of mindless entertainment from time to time, apparently.
And this movie certainly qualified. When the credits started rolling, “You don’t have to!” Duo assured him brightly. “I have the whole collection—” There were *more* movies like that?! Wufei caught Duo by the waist as he started to get up and change out DVDs, yanking him back to the cushions. “Hey! I was just going to switch—” Wufei had quickly learned on becoming friends with Duo that if you wanted to have any prayer of derailing him, physical touch was the best way to go. Catching an ankle, he swung it up into his lap and stripped off the sock. Duo yelped in protest…then moaned in pleasure as a pair of very skilled hands started kneading all of the tension out of his foot and ankle. Wufei snorted, amused at how quickly Duo responded to physical touch. *His* touch. /No…I can’t think like that. I don’t think he’s entirely given up on Heero yet. He’s just…not sure what to do next./ “Damn, ‘Fei,” Duo sighed. “I bet you’re great in bed.” *Choke*…*gasp*…“WHAT?!” Duo peeked open an eye. Oops…that didn’t come out quite right. Hm. “Ever heard of the phrase that a good foot rub is as good as sex?” “Er…no.” “Oh. Well, anyway, I was just thinking that you are REALLY good at foot rubs. I’ve never met anyone better at it. So it stands to reason that you’re even better at sex.” “…actually, no, it doesn’t. That’s a rather large assumption.” Letting his eyes fall closed again, Duo smirked. “Naw…not really. You really do know what to do with your hands.” Wufei beat his blush down furiously, glad that Duo wasn’t looking at him in that moment. He’d noticed that the closer they’d become, the more comfortable Duo was in just blurting out whatever he thought. It was both amusing and embarrassing. He wasn’t going to discourage it however. In fact, he was more inclined to tease back. “You know, Duo…you have very dainty feet. It’s hard to believe you’re not a girl sometimes.” Duo peeked open an eye to glare meaningfully. “Wu-man, you have absolutely no room to talk. Have you looked at yourself recently?” “I,” Wufei replied with great dignity, gathering up the other foot to work on, “am a small, wiry build.” “Well, you got the small part right.” “…are you suggesting I’m weak?” “No, I’m saying you look like a strong wind would blow you over.” “I do not!” “Oh yes you do.” “Oh no I don’t!” “Face it, ‘Fei. Trowa is the only one that has a prayer of looking at least semi-imposing.” “That’s insulting.” Sitting up, Duo raised a hand. “Okay, I’ll prove it. Put your hand against mine.” Suspiciously, Wufei pressed his palm against Duo’s, lining them so they matched. He was dismayed to see that Duo’s hand was actually a quarter inch longer than his. A little more than that, truth be told. “See? You’re smaller than I am!” “That doesn’t prove anything!” “Stop that,” Heero snapped from the doorway. “You both sound ridiculous.” “Oh-ho!” Duo’s eyes snapped up, hand dropping from Wufei’s. “Look who finally crawled out of his cave.” Wufei sighed. For nearly a week Duo had been almost hostile toward Heero…he had to admit, though, that Heero had started it. It didn’t make the situation any easier. He placed a calming hand on Duo’s wrist and squeeze once. /Calm down. Sniping at him won’t do any good./ Unfortunately, the same thing could not be done with Heero. He glared back, mouth in a flat line. “Stop it, Heero,” Wufei ordered softly. “Just glaring and being rude doesn’t do anything. I wish you would just tell us what’s bothering you.” Without a word he turned and went back up the stairs. Duo relaxed when a door slammed shut upstairs. “Man, I really don’t get what his problem is. At first thought he was just worried about something, or the stress was finally getting to him or something, but four weeks straight?” Wufei knew why Heero was in such a foul mood. And he knew who could be blamed for it, too. He had yet to decide whether he should do anything about it, however. Revealing his position would mean revealing how he knew, and…other things. Right at that moment, he wasn’t sure if he was willing to do so. Duo sank into himself on the couch, mouth set in a very unhappy droop. “Wufei…can I ask you something?” “Certainly.” /I just pray I can give you the answer you need without revealing too much./ “Was I ever really serious about Heero? I mean,
he’s been a jerk now for over a month, and it’s kinda understandable
to feel irritated after that long, but…I started losing patience
with him after the first three days. You don’t do that if you
really care about /I think…I am neither logical or reasonable at this moment./ “Duo…my experience in these relationships are so limited that I would not put much weight on my opinion. I can only answer with what I have observed. You’ve tried for months to bring Heero to the point where he was interested in you. Maybe he wasn’t ready to take things to that point.” He wet his lips, being very careful in how he phrased his next point. “You…devoted quite a bit of attention to him when you were still trying to gain his interest. And some o that attention shifted to me when you stopped trying.”
“Yes. And with no idea how to handle it.” “But…it’s not like I dropped him completely!” Duo looked indignant at the very idea. “I’m still good friends with him. I just…I just wanted to be really good friends with you, too.” “It’s not the same, Duo. And you know it.” “…yeah.” Duo kept thinking, eyes fixed on his fingers. “But…I just don’t know what to do. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it was just hormones that made me chase him like that in the first place Being friends with him was enough for me. It’s why I stopped focusing on him like that—it felt like a lie.” /And you hate lies…I know./ “I didn’t think I had to say anything to him, I mean it’s not like we were actually together or anything, it would have sounded weird if I had tried. He wasn’t interested in me like that anyway, so I figured it was okay to stay at friends. Besides, I was damn tired of seeing you up at all hours of the night because a nightmare had woken you up. I wanted to help you.” Wufei accepted this with a very slight smile. /And so you did, Duo. And so you did./ “Your only mistake in this whole affair, Duo, was assuming too much. You assumed that since Heero didn’t respond, he wasn’ interested. That might not be true. You need to talk to him.” “...you’re right.” Duo’s mouth quirked up into a dry smile. “You’re always right.” “Not only that,” Wufei disagreed sardonically. “I’m never wrong as well. Get going, sha zi.” “How is it that I get called ‘idiot’ in four languages around here? Can’t you guys choose a different insult?” “No. That one is remarkably apt in describing your personality.” “…love you too, ‘Fei.” “Stop delaying,” Wufei ordered. “Get moving.” “Yes, master.” Duo hopped up, and over the back of the couch. Two steps away, he paused to look back at Wufei. “Hey ‘Fei…thanks.” “For what?” “For listening. You’re the only one who really listens to me.” With a half wave, he was thundering up the stairs again. “You’re welcome,” Wufei whispered. ~*~*~*~
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