Title: Houseboat Haven 2/?
Author: Caroline (chibirei @ hotmail.com)
Rating: this part - PG, NC-17 overall (I can't seem to write a fic
without lemon anymore)
Pairing: eventual 5x2
Warnings: TWT, since this is my first time writing Wufei as a main
character, most likely OOC, PWPish elements, eventual lemon
Spoilers: slight Duo's past spoilers
Comments: please
Archive: if I've said yes, then yes.
Disclaimers: don't own 'em.  never will.  'nuff said.


.:two:.

Duo opened his eyes, wincing as the afternoon sun streamed in through
the cabin window. For a long while he stared up at the low ceiling,
trying to remember where he was. He felt weak and couldn't seem to
concentrate. If only he could get the room to stop moving.

His eyes flew open as he realized that the room actually *was*
moving… rocking back and forth. Memories of the last few days
came
flooding back - the mission, the escape, the drive down the mountain,
the boat. He groaned and rolled to one side, curling up as tightly as
possible. The last thing he remembered was Wufei throwing him on the
boat and then being sick in the little hallway.

'Oh God! Wufei must've found me and cleaned me up,' he thought,
mortified. 'He must really think I'm weak.'

Duo would have been happy to remain under the blankets, hiding from
the world forever, but his bladder was protesting. And unless he
wanted to ignore it and cause the Chinese pilot to have to clean him
up *again*, he would have to get up. Gingerly he sat up, hissing as
every muscle in his body groaned in protest. It felt like he had been
running a marathon, his muscles ached so much.

'Just how sick was I?' he wondered as he struggled to sit up.

The ceiling above the bed was lower than the rest of the cabin. Duo
was concentrating on getting his body to move that he failed to
notice. Subsequently, he sat up too fast and knocked his head against
the low ceiling.

"Ow!"

"Duo? Are you all right?" came Wufei's voice as the Shenlong pilot
stuck his head into the small bedroom.

'I must be sicker than I thought. Wufei actually sounded worried.'

He rubbed his bruised noggin and looked up at his
partner. "Hey, 'Fei," he said weakly. "The ceiling decided to attack
me."

Wufei hurried over and sat down on the bed next to him. "Are you all
right?" he asked again. "How are you feeling?"

Duo looked at him as thought he had just grown another head. "Why the
sudden concern, Wu-man?"

"Duo, you've been unconscious for three days."

The American's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Three days?" he
squeaked, hardly daring to believe it. "What… what happened?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me. I checked you for
injuries but couldn't find any. You just… collapsed when I put
you on
the boat."

Duo winced at the word 'boat'. "I'm sorry, 'Fei. I just have this
little problem with water."

"*Little* problem? Duo, you started to go into *shock*! That's more
than a little problem."

Duo closed his eyes and started trembling. "I'm sorry," he
whispered. "Please… I don't want to talk about it right now."

He felt a gentle hand on one of his own. He opened one eye to see
Wufei looking at him intently. "It's okay, Duo. You don't have to
talk about it if you don't want to. Are you hungry?"

The boat chose that moment to roll again. Duo swallowed hard and
shook his head.

"You have to eat something," Wufei insisted. "How about you go clean
up and I'll fix you some soup."

"'Fei, I'm not hungry. Really."

"Don't be ridiculous. You've not eaten anything in three days. You
need to start rebuilding your strength."

He stood up, pulling Duo up with him. The American's knees threatened
to buckle underneath him. Duo reached out to steady himself, using
the nearest thing - Wufei - for support. The Chinese pilot caught Duo
before the boy could fall and helped steady him on his feet. Duo
tried not to blush as he realized how close they were now standing,
their faces only inches apart. Wufei's sweet breath tickled his nose.
Duo closed his eyes and inhaled the heady scent deeply.

"Duo?"

Violet eyes flew open as Duo stepped backwards. "I… I…
sorry… I'm
okay. I'll go clean up. Soup sounds good. Thanks," he stammered,
turning away from the other pilot in embarrassment.

He stumbled the few feet to the miniscule bathroom, locking the door
behind him. He flipped on the overhead light, grateful to spot a
toilet in the room. He quickly relieved himself, then moved to the
sink to wash his hands. He caught sight of his reflection in the tiny
mirror above the equally tiny sink. He frowned at his appearance. His
skin was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. His hair looked
like a rat's nest. He lifted one arm and sniffed.

'Great. I smell too. Wonderful impression you've made for Wufei,
Maxwell,' he thought ruefully as he turned on the shower. Idly he
wondered how much hot water the boat had available. He almost laughed
at the irony. He hated water, but he reveled in long, steamy showers.

'That's because with a shower, the water's falling on you like rain,'
he thought as he stripped out of his boxers and the T-shirt Wufei
must have dressed him in. 'And unless my hair clogs up the drain, the
water disappears before it gets too deep.'

He sighed dejectedly, grabbing onto the wall as the boat rolled
again. 'Showering while trying to keep my balance is going to be
*such* fun,' he thought sarcastically as he stepped into the coffin-
like stall. 'At least if I hit my head and knock myself unconscious,
I won't be able to fall and drown. There's barely enough room to turn
around in here.'

He sighed again, grabbed the shampoo, and went to work.





Wufei rummaged through a drawer in search of a can opener. He threw a
worried glance toward the bathroom door as he went about preparing
plain chicken broth for Duo. The American was worrying him. He was
obviously hiding something from him, but he knew better than to push
for the information. He respected Duo's privacy, but wished that the
braided pilot would open up to him and let him help.

He'd been on the verge of panic when Duo hadn't awoken the first day.
He'd almost broken down and taken Duo to a hospital, but OZ troops
were still in the area, and the nearest hospital was a military one.
He couldn't risk it, no matter how much he wanted to. So he'd done
the only thing he could do - take care of the seriously ill boy and
pray to his ancestors that Duo would wake soon.

He hadn't realized just how worried he had been until Duo had
awakened and he felt a wave of relief wash over him like the cool
waters from the lake. His hands shook as he prepared the soup on the
small stove. He'd been so afraid of losing Duo, and he didn't know
why that thought bothered him so. He gripped the counter and closed
his eyes, trying to get his thought and emotions under control.

The door to the bathroom clattered opened. Wufei blinked and looked
down, cursing as he realized that the soup was about to boil over. He
turned the heat off and yanked the pot off the burner. Grabbing two
soup cups out of the cupboard, he poured them both a modest portion.
He was just setting the cups on the table when Duo reappeared.
Wufei's breath caught in his throat as he watched the American walk
unsteadily to the table and sit down in the far corner, away from any
view of the lake through the cabin windows. Duo had changed into a
pair of almost scandalously short blue jean shorts. He wore a loose T-
shirt that hung off one shoulder. The shirt was clinging to his still
wet torso, molding itself to his lithe form. He had his hair wrapped
up in a towel, the sopping ends hanging out of the top. Even when not
at his best, the boy still looked beautiful.

Wufei felt heat rush across his face at the unbidden thought. He
didn't know where these strange, yet not unfamiliar thoughts were
coming from. Duo Maxwell was a fellow Gundam pilot, nothing more,
nothing less. He just had to keep telling himself that over and over.
Maybe after a while, he'd even start to believe it.

The American was staring at the table in front of him, hands wrapped
loosely around the cup of soup.

"Eat."

Violet eyes looked up at him, startled. Wufei braced himself for an
argument, but the long-haired pilot lifted the cup and sipped at the
warm liquid. Wufei did the same, and the two drank their soup in
silence for several long minutes.

"I almost drowned once."

Wufei looked up sharply, not quite sure he'd actually heard the
softly spoken words. Duo hadn't moved from his position, and was
gazing down into his cup.

"How did it happen?" he asked gently, not wanting to scare Duo into
not talking again.

"I grew up on L2," Duo began, clutching the cup tighter. Wufei's eyes
widened. L2 was one of the poorest of the space colonies. He'd heard
stories about it growing up, how only the rich could survive. The
rich were all thieves and murderers and drug dealers who ruled the
colony with fists of iron. The poor didn't stand a chance. They were
all exploited in some way, and none could ever hope to make enough
money to leave to find a better life, no matter how they may have
wished it.

"Go on," he prodded softly.

"Water was like gold on L2. The rich had it. The poor wanted it. The
rare times the environmental controls broke down and it would rain
for hours at a time… it was like Christmas and birthdays all
rolled
into one. The adults would set out buckets to catch it, and the kids
would strip down to play in it. It only ever happened a handful of
times while I was at the orphanage. Sister Helen would make us kids
set out row upon row of buckets, then forming a kind of… fire
brigade
line to empty them into large barrels when they got full. I loved the
rain, but I hated what happened when it stopped."

Duo paused to sip his soup. Wufei sat in silence. He hadn't been
aware Duo grew up in an orphanage. And the way he spoke that woman's
name, she must have been a terribly important person in the
American's life. But there was also sadness there. Wufei wondered
what had happened.

"After it had stopped raining, Sister Helen would make us kids strip
down for a real bath. She'd fill a large tub with the rain water, and
we'd all have to share it, using it one at a time. Usually she was in
there with us to make sure we scrubbed every nook and cranny, but
that last time…" He swallowed hard, and Wufei could see him
trying to
hold back the tears. "One of the little ones was crying. She left me
in the tub. I must have slipped… I don't remember. I went under,
hit
my head… I don't remember much about what happened after that. I
remember struggling, trying to breathe and couldn't. The next thing I
knew, I was lying on the floor, naked and wet, coughing like mad. My
lungs hurt for days afterward. And I couldn't go near water again.
The next time Sister Helen tried to give me a bath, I had a panic
attack and ran. They didn't find me for two days. I had been hiding
in the chapel, on the cold floor. By the time they found me I'd
caught pneumonia. That was the last time she tried to give me a
bath." He looked into his cup and sighed. "Of course, she never got
another opportunity."

Wufei stared at the braided pilot. He wanted to ask Duo to go on, but
didn't think it would be wise. He must have had to build up a lot of
courage to even tell him that much. He now understood why Duo was
deathly afraid of water. Anyone would be under similar circumstances.
And the life the young pilot must have led before becoming a Gundam
pilot was totally foreign to his own. His respect for the American
grew. Anyone who could survive living through the hell of the slums
of L2 and emerge with a cheerful and sunny disposition had to have a
strong will and an even stronger heart. He'd misjudged Duo, but
planned on making it up to the boy somehow.

"Thank you for telling me, Maxwell. You do me an honor for placing
your trust in me."

The violet-eyed boy looked up with a questioning look in his
face. "Duo."

"Excuse me?" Wufei asked, perplexed.

"You called me Duo in the bedroom. Please call me Duo now."

Wufei looked at him for a long moment before bowing his head in
agreement. "Very well. So long as you remember that my name is Wufei.
Not Wuffie, Wu-man, or any other cute nicknames you can come up
with."

Duo grinned. "Okay, 'Fei."

The Chinese pilot rolled his eyes but let that one go. Being
called 'Fei was better than some of the other names Duo had come up
with in the past.

Noticing the Deathscythe pilot was finished with his soup, he took
the cup from his hands. "Why don't you go fix your hair while I clean
the dishes," he suggested, moving towards the sink.

Duo nodded and stood. He disappeared into the bedroom, leaving the
door open behind him. Wufei quickly washed and dried the few dishes
and put them away. He was closing the cupboard when he heard Duo
curse loudly from the bedroom. He rushed into the room to find Duo
sitting on the bed, clutching his stomach.

"Duo? What's wrong?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick again."

Realization struck the Shenlong pilot, and he hurried back to the
little kitchenette. He returned a moment later with a glass of soda
and some pills.

"Here, take these. I found them in one of the cupboards. They'll help
you with your motion sickness."

Duo looked at him gratefully, swallowing the pills as quickly as he
could. He handed the glass back to Wufei, and the Chinese teen
noticed how tired Duo still looked.

"Why don't you take a nap? I can handle things out there for a
while."

Duo sighed. "I need to comb out my hair first. Hand me my brush?"

Wufei handed Duo the brush, then settled back to watch in rapt
fascination. He'd always had a secret fascination with Duo's hair. It
was beautiful, the way the light would sometimes play over it,
causing the copper strands to glow like molten metal. And it was so
long and silky. He'd often wondered what it would feel like to run
his hands through it.

Duo cursed again as he hit a snag. He tried yanking the brush through
it, but the knot wouldn't budge. Without thinking, Wufei reached over
and took the brush out of Duo's hand.

"Allow me?"

The American looked at him, startled. For a moment Wufei was afraid
he would say no. But then Duo nodded and turned around. Again, Wufei
felt honored. He had a feeling Duo didn't let just anyone play with
his hair.

Gently he worked through the tangles, brushing out each one as he
came to it. As he worked, he made a mental note to buy Duo some
conditioner next time he ventured into town for supplies. Not that
he'd mind doing this for Duo every day, but he thought the other teen
would appreciate it. When he was done with the tangles, he ran the
brush through Duo's hair, noticing how relaxed the other pilot was
becoming. Duo had his arms wrapped around his legs, his eyes closed,
head leaning against his knees. He heard the boy sigh in contentment
as he continued to brush. Finally, just as Duo seemed about to fall
asleep, he separated the hair into three equal sections and braided
it, tying it off with a band he found lying on the nearby dresser. He
helped the sleepy boy lay down, drawing up the blankets and tucking
him in.

"Sleep well, Duo."

"Thanks, 'Fei," Duo murmured before drifting off to sleep.

He never felt the tender kiss placed on his forehead.