Spoilers: Wufei�s past; little to nothing for the actual series

Wufei stabbed the elevator button again with a combination of fury and desperation.

�Very good, Wu. You have attacked the door with gusto and really shown it you�re a man. Now, just do that a few more times and I�m sure you�ll bend the stubborn knave to your will and we�ll be out of here in no time.�

The Chinese pilot gritted his teeth and glared ferociously, but made sure his companion did not see the expression, as it would only have given him more reason to tease. Schooling his features and silently counting down from ten, Wufei turned around and searched for something reasonable to say.

�It occurs to me that we probably should�ve taken the stairs.�

His companion dropped the snobby accent and flashed him what Wufei had dubbed the Grin--sharp, even white teeth highlighting a berserker�s craze tinged with a Death�s cool amusement. �No kidding! You�re just a wealth of information tonight, Wu.�

10...9...8...

�It occurs to me,� he gritted, �that you shouldn�t have booby-trapped the steps until after we used them to get down.�

The cherubic features bobbed as the other nodded cheerfully. �Yep! Probably.� The Grin was back. �Bad decisions running rampant tonight, I guess.�

...7...6...5...

�I guess,� Wufei agreed tersely, allowing his tone to supply the wealth of contempt he felt, instead of groping for the words he knew he would never find, and were inadequate, anyway. He�d never really been good at speaking his mind.

...3...2...1

The Chinese pilot let out a breath and congratulated himself on holding his temper in the face of the American�s overwhelming idiocy. Put him in a Gundam and tell him to blow stuff up, and Duo Maxwell was brilliant. Send him on a covert operation that required delicacy and stealth, and he made a moronic spectacle of himself.

Which is, of course, very unfair, a voice in his head spoke up reasonably, but Wufei wasn�t in the mood to listen to it, and to emphasize that, he punched the down button again.

�Uh...Wu?�

Some of the obnoxiousness had dropped out of Duo�s voice. The cool, reasonable part of him, that always seemed to be sitting in the back of his mind calmly drinking tea, observed that the American was very good at manipulating his tone, and the tentative good-humor in the question didn�t grate on Wufei�s nerves as it should have.

�Yes?�

�Maybe we should um, explore some of our other options in getting out of here, since stabbing the down button repeatedly doesn�t seem to be working...all that well.�

Wufei turned and felt the tension leave his shoulders as he looked at Duo, at the lop-sided smile on his pixie face and the grease smudge running diagonal on one cheek.

Kawaii, the voice cooed, startling him. He stamped down ruthlessly on the observation, but not before he found himself smiling back. It was a very small smile, he consoled himself, and very brief. But the American picked up on facial expressions with ease and experience unmatched. He was Heero�s friend, after all, and if Duo could read the Perfect Soldier�s moods, then Wufei was an open book.

Realizing he was forgiven, the Grin jumped back into place, and Duo made a flourishing gesture upward. �Out the top?�

Wufei eyed the steel-enforced ceiling uncertainly. �Think it�ll work?�

�Can�t hurt to try.�

Wufei could imagine all sorts of mishaps that could happen while trying to get the panels off the ceiling and climbing to a safe floor, and allowed one eloquently raised eyebrow speak them all. Duo laughed.

�Well, okay. Bad choice of words. But what�s a few new bruises?�

�Or a few broken bones,� Wufei muttered.

�You know what your problem is, Wu?�

�I have a feeling you�re going to tell me whether I want to hear it or not.�

�You�re way too pessimistic,� Duo continued without missing a beat, turning away from studying the ceiling to flash the Grin full force in his direction. Wufei ignored the missed heartbeat that made his chest flutter as his gaze met twinkling purple eyes. He frowned.

�I don�t know how you manage to be so optimistic about everything.�

�Well, I try to look at the good in a situation. Now which one of us do you think is lighter?�

�What about this situation can possibly be good?� Wufei studied the other boy, trying to assess weight by his height. �I think you are.�

�Well, for one thing, the surveillance cameras are off. I made sure of that.� The Chinese pilot glanced at a top corner of the elevator to observe the silent piece of machinery hung there, and missed Duo�s approach until Deathscythe�s pilot took him by the shoulders and turned him around, then pressed up against him back-to-back.

�I�m taller,� the American announced after a moment of measuring.

�That doesn�t mean anything,� Wufei insisted, his voice a little more forceful than he intended as he attempted to banish the impressively improper thoughts that had spilled into his mind from a surprisingly creative part of his brain that he had heretofore been unaware of. Or, at least, denied the existence of--very thoroughly.

Stupid hormones. What a time for them to decided to rampage...and what a target to pick.

�I�m heavier,� the Chinese pilot continued when he�d evened his tone.

�Whatever,� Duo snorted. �I think you�re just wimping out.� He bent his legs and cupped his hands. �Now come on. I�ll lift you up.�

Wufei made a show of rolling his eyes and sighing, but he stepped obediently into the linked hands and on three jumped as Duo lifted. The ceiling up close looked just as unlikely an escape as it had looked from the floor, but he was loath to abandon one of their very scarce options without thorough examination. After a few moments of silent testing and prodding to no avail, he almost jumped at the sound of Duo�s voice.

�Uh, Wu?�

�Aa?�

�Maybe...� Wufei could feel the Grin tweaking at the corners of the tone. �Maybe you are heavier.�

�Maxwell!� Wufei�s huff of exasperation destroyed the tentative balance and sent both of them toppling to the ground.

�So I take it the ceiling is not an option,� Duo observed mildly, muffled by Wufei�s shoulder.

�No.�

The Chinese pilot rolled off the other boy and grimaced as he rubbed the newly acquired bruise on his knee. Duo sat up and noticed the action, giving him a rueful smile. �Well, nothing�s broken, ne?�

Wufei felt something close to laughter tickled the back of his throat as he agreed solemnly, �And the surveillance cameras are off.�

The American gave him a startled look, but he ignored it and got to his feet, running through the short list he had compiled of possible escapes. It was pathetically small and uninspiring. Darkly, he glared at the control panel, eyeing the down button murderously. Duo followed his gaze, and looked thoughtful.

�Hotwire?�

Wufei blinked. He hadn�t considered that. �Can you do that?�

Duo sat up and dusted imaginary dirt from his pants as he considered the question. �It�s more Heero�s thing, but I could give it a shot.� As he bent to consider the panel, Wufei looked resolutely at a point just over his head.

I will not stare at his ass. You hear that, hormones? I refuse to stare at his ass. It is below my dignity.

He came to realize that his hormones cared very little about his dignity, and to distract them, he cleared his throat and said, �Any luck?�

�I think so, maybe,� Duo answered, taking a pair of small pliers out of one of the pockets in the uniform jumpsuit they had donned to blend in with the maintenance crew for this base. �Hang on.� Duo carefully tweaked something Wufei couldn�t see.

Instantly, they were plunged into darkness.

Wufei began to count silently again. �Perhaps I should have specified the luck,� he muttered when he thought he could speak without sounding homicidal.

Duo�s laughter was unexpected and close. �That�s the second joke you�ve made tonight, Wu! You�d better cut it out, before you ruin your reputation.�

Wufei was about to argue that he was not joking, when he felt Duo�s hands on his chest, steady pressure herding him backward. �O-Oi! What do you think you�re doing, Maxwell?�

�Pushing you back against a wall.�

The American�s voice was completely reasonable, and Wufei had the sudden urge to reach out and smack him upside the head. The braided pilot was too good at catching him by surprise, shattering the calm he built around himself as a wall against...well, against becoming involved. Passion, the kind that Duo possessed, had the unnerving habit of throwing a person�s focus off, of sweeping aside tediously maintained distances and creeping under barbed wire defenses and making a person care. And Wufei didn�t want to care. He had one goal in this war and it was to make Nataku proud, and he didn�t need an infuriating, distracting presence like Maxwell around to try and make him remember that there was life outside of war. If he remembered that, he knew he�d be lost. Still it got harder every day to recall why exactly he was doing this--why he was fighting and killing when he would�ve been much happier in a library buried up to his chin in books, and he was almost positive that the reason it was getting harder was the idiot in front of him talking nonsense in a pitch dark elevator in the middle of a botched mission that was likely to get both of them killed.

So he was overcome with the desire to do something violent. He was sure he could judge the distance correctly if the other boy just kept talking, and with Maxwell, that wasn�t even a question.

His silent counting had reached ten, and he made one last attempt to see if Duo would speak sense, but vowed that if the next thing that came out of the American�s mouth did not explain what the hell he was doing, he�d strangle the boy, fellow pilot or not.

�Why?�

�Well, I want you to be able to lean against something when I ask you to sit down.�

Wufei felt his hands tighten, but any murderous intent was stalled when his back hit something solid.

�There. Now sit down, Wu.�

Wufei obeyed, much to his surprise and chagrin, and felt Duo�s presence slide down beside him. Wufei opened his mouth to growl a demand for and explanation, and then went still as he felt Duo...cuddle?...into his side.

�Maxwell!� he gasped, feeling the points of contact--hips and shoulders, and soon the whole right side of his body as Duo settled in--acutely. �What are you doing?� A head dropped onto his shoulder, silky hair tickling the underside of his chin.

�Getting comfortable,� Duo answered, tone still perfectly reasonable, soothing. Wufei had the sudden insight that this was the kind of tone a person used when trying to calm a wild animal, and he bristled.

�Would you like to tell me why?�

�Well, truth is, I can�t think of anything else to do. We�re pretty much stuck, unless you have some Chinese Zen meditation technique that will let us walk through walls...or a flashlight.� He felt Deathscythe�s pilot sit up, suddenly, and tried not to mourn the loss of contact. �Do you have a flashlight?�

�No.� That was disgruntled. He didn�t bother reminding Duo that the reason he didn�t have one was because the braided boy had borrowed it the week before and then promptly lost it.

�I didn�t think so.�

Did he actually sound smug about that? But then Duo was settling against his side again, and the anger drained away.

�So, I figured, since we really can�t do anything until we get out of here, and we�re not going to get out of here any time soon, we might as well relax. I don�t know about you, Wu, but I haven�t had a good night�s sleep in, uh, too long.�

Wufei hadn�t slept well since he�d watched his wife die in his arms, but he wasn�t about to say that. Instead, he grunted, and hoped that was enough of a response. He supposed it was, because quiet breathing was the only answer he got. Duo seemed bound and determined to lay here until they were rescued, and Wufei didn�t really have any better ideas, so he settled back against the wall and closed his eyes to wait.

After about five minutes, he opened his eyes again, trying to resist the demanding urge to get up and pace. Perhaps it was the intimacy of the small space, or the comforting darkness that eased the nervousness he felt when trapped in social niceties with another person, or maybe it was the sheer boredom that had his haggard thoughts wailing at him to stop running them ragged in circles and move. He didn�t know. But whatever it was, it gave him the compelling desire to do something he�d never have considered before.

He wanted to strike up a conversation with Maxwell.

The problem was, he had no idea where to start, since he�d never actually tried it--Duo always being more than willing to supply an endless stream of commentary that allowed the recipient listener to join in or not, at their discretion. He decided that his best bet would be to prompt Duo to say something first, and hope the momentum would carry him away as usual.

�So you�re actually going to shut up for a while?�

There was a pause that stretched long enough for Wufei to wonder uncomfortably if Maxwell had actually dropped off to sleep, before the body slouching against him stirred.

�Despite popular belief and eye-witness accounts to the contrary, I do shut up sometimes.�

Wufei winced at the flat dryness of the tone and cursed silently. All right, so he just wasn�t good at this personal interaction business. �I didn�t mean it that way,� he hastened to clarify.

�How did you mean it, then?� Duo sounded curious, now.

�Well, I just...� Wufei fumbled. �Wondered...how you can talk like that all the time. I mean, how do you always find things to say? All those things...?� The little part of his mind that was observing this and drinking tea raised a derogatory eyebrow at his halting questions.

If you�re trying to charm him with your droll wit...you might want to consider a different tactic, it advised sagely.

�You�re wondering where I get all my...� Now it was Duo�s turn to stop and search for the right word.

�Rambling dialogue?� Wufei suggested.

He didn�t need to see to know when the Grin popped back into existence, which it did at that moment, as Duo shifted to angle himself to face Wufei better. �Well, I was thinking more along the lines of �interesting facts,� but �rambling dialogue� will do.�

�So? Where do you get it?�

�I don�t know.� Wufei felt the boy shrug. �Lots of places, I guess. I read a lot.�

�You read?� As soon as he said it, he knew how it would be taken. The little observing part of his brain shook its head despairingly. He hadn�t meant it to be insulting, but he�d been honestly surprised. He�d never seen the braided pilot read anything deeper than a comic book, and that was only in moments of desperation, when he couldn�t find anything (or anyone) else to entertain him. He didn�t think that kind of material would provide for the surprisingly complex one-sided conversations the other pilot was capable of carrying out.

�Of course I read!� was the predicted response.

�I�m sorry,� he said at nearly the same time. He felt the need to point out that he hadn�t meant that the way it had sounded, but felt it would be redundant. There was a moment of silence as Duo decided whether or not to continue to be affronted.

�It�s okay,� Deathscythe�s pilot acquiesced finally, loosening the knot in Wufei�s throat so he could breathe again. �I guess I really don�t make a show of being smart, so it�s not really your fault.�

Wufei thought about that, and had a sudden insight, blurting it out before he could think. �Heero knows.�

The Grin flashed in the dark again, felt but unseen. �Yeah, Heero knows. It�s why he always rooms with me.�

Wufei made a querying sound in the back of his throat.

�He likes to read too, you know. Maybe even more than I do. And I always have books with me, so he rooms with me and borrows them.�

�Couldn�t he borrow them from Quatre...or borrow them from you and take them back to his room?�

Duo shrugged again. �More efficient to just room with me...and I think he�s kinda embarrassed about it, so he wouldn�t ask Quatre.�

�You always have books with you?�

�At least one.�

�Do you have a book on you now?� the Chinese boy asked incredulously.

�Yep!�

Shifting in the dark as Duo squirmed, trying to find a way to retrieve the item in question from where ever he�d stashed it without sitting up.

�It�s okay, it�s okay. You don�t have to show it to me, since I won�t be able to see it anyway. I�ll take your word for it.� Wufei waited for the other to settle again before he continued. �What is it?�

�Charlotte�s Web.�

He blinked. �A child�s book.�

�It�s good!� Duo insisted. �It�s Heero�s favorite.�

The sudden desire for violence that had occurred earlier returned with a vengeance, only this time, it was directed at the absent Japanese pilot. The feeling was confusing enough to distract him from the conversation. The implied intimacy between Yuy and Maxwell opened something deep and festering inside the Chinese pilot that he hadn�t really been expecting. He knew he was jealous, that was something he�d admitted and accepted long ago. The ache of loneliness had been a long companion of his, and he�d thought that the other pilots would be the same: trained to distrust, keeping their distances. That they�d paired off so quickly and easily had been a sharp surprise, and only served to make the emptiness he felt more acute.

But this was new, or at least, newly acknowledged, this strong need to lash out at the pilot who shared the American�s warmth and knew him so well, without having to try or reach at all. As far as Wufei could tell, Duo had done all the reaching in the friendship that had grown between him and the stoic Wing pilot. It made him want to do something irrationally childish like whine and wonder why the braided pilot had chosen Yuy over him-- if the choice had been due to nothing more than the chance of meeting the other boy first, or if it had been something deeper. He wasn�t used to feeling this way, the want to do something as ridiculous and immature as pout, so he covered with anger, striking out at the perceived injustice with violence, as he always did, and, as always, it failed to solve any of his problems.

He was so deep in thought that he didn�t feel Duo shift, didn�t feel slender fingers curve around is arm and fingertips settle against the sensitive skin of his inner elbow until the hand gave a quick, insistent tug and a deep voice spoke near his ear.

�Wufei, are you brooding?� Soft breath tickled his cheek. �No one can brood like an Asian man. Since I room with Heero, I should know.�

The sharp stab and twist in his gut at another reminder of the closeness of the two pilots warred with the awareness of Duo�s hand on his elbow and breath on his face.

�My arm is going numb,� he deflected rather lamely, flexing the limb trapped under the Duo�s weight for emphasis.

The purple-eyed boy�s warm laughter soothed the acidic feel of hurt in his chest, eased some of the crushing tension. �So move it.�

He shifted awkwardly, trying to accomplish the slight relocation with as little movement as possible, and as soon as his arm was free, he realized there was no place to put it besides over Duo�s shoulders. He froze momentarily, but before he could begin to panic, Duo sat up a little, and he felt warm fingers close around his wrist and pull his arm down, but instead of over Duo�s shoulders, he ended up with his hand on Duo�s knee, palm up, the press of the other boy�s fingers on his wrist keeping him still when he would�ve jerked away. He nearly did so anyway when he felt a finger from Duo�s free hand trace the line on his palm that ran from the web between thumb and forefinger to his wrist.

�Duo?� he gasped, arm tense.

�Relax, Wu. I just remembered--I used to read palms. It�s the first thing I could think of that we could do in the dark.� There was a pregnant pause that gave birth to the Grin. �Well, actually, it�s the second thing I thought of, but I didn�t think you�d be up for the first.� Duo�s voice deepened slightly and took on a purring quality that Wufei had never heard before, but his hormones seemed to recognize readily enough. �You�ll let me know if I�m wrong, won�t you, Wu?�

Wufei didn�t ask what the first thing was. His raging teenage urges were making damn sure he knew.

�H-hai.�

�Good! Now, hold still. It�s hard enough to do this in the dark without you jumping around.�

Wufei tried to voice his indignation, but had to clamp his teeth shut over a gasp instead as Duo�s fingers slid over his own and down to his palm, sending a shivery tingle up his whole arm. Duo seemed content to map Wufei�s hand through touch for a few moments, while the Chinese pilot thought diligently about missile ratio calculations, the cosine of an isosceles triangle, Treize in a mini-skirt--anything to remove his awareness from the warmth that was spreading slowly through him and distinctly downward.

�Hm,� Duo commented as he finally settled on tracing a line that began under Wufei�s little finger, ran across the top of his palm and ended just under his index finger. �Well, you don�t sleep around, Wu.�

�Nani?�

�This is your Heart line. Since it ends under your index finger, it means that you�re choosy about who you form relationships with. And it�s not curved, which means,� the Grin peaked out around the corners of his scholar�s tone, �that when it comes to sex, you�d rather think than do.�

The heat changed directions and crept up his neck to burn his cheeks. For once, he was glad for the cover of darkness. �Maxwell...� he ground out. His inner voice snickered.

�Now now, Wu, I�m just telling it like it is.� Duo�s finger searched for another target. �This,� he said as he settled on a line that was below the one he�d just left and ended a little past his ring finger, �is the Head line. It�s long, which means you like to think a long time before you act, and it�s straight, which means you�re pretty set on the choices you make...�

Duo continued to talk, tracing the Life line and the Fate line, murmuring of good health and early decisions that had shaped what his life would be from the beginning. Wufei listened, only half believing the magic Duo wove with his low, steady voice and light fingertips, snorting at the incongruities in the information he derived and making appropriate appreciative noises when he was accurate.

In a few moments Wufei had relaxed, and found the sliding touches weren�t so unsettling. It wasn�t as if he�d never had any intimacy--he had been married, which was more than any of the other pilots could say. But he and Meiran had never been openly affectionate. It simply wasn�t done, not even between married couples, and especially not between two men who were supposed to be nothing but comrades-in-arms. But Maxwell�s charm was so easily encompassing--the playful innuendo as natural as breathing--it was as if he expected that the person he was flirting with should feel at ease with what he was doing. And since he felt that way, rather suddenly, Wufei was.

After he stopped worrying about Duo�s motives, he found he was actually impressed with Maxwell�s knowledge in palm reading, and as his curiosity got the better of him he closed his hand, trapping the questing fingers and stilling the rambling tongue.

�Where did you learn all this?�

There was a pause, and Wufei got the impression that the other boy was uncomfortable, which was something of a surprise. He�d never seen Duo squirm before, and even though he couldn�t technically see it this time, either, he could feel the flutter of uncertainty disrupt the easy connection that had grown between them. He didn�t understand; Duo was always quick to offer up information. Then Shinigami�s pilot began to talk, and Wufei knew the reason. Maxwell was always cautious when he spoke of his past, like he was afraid of saying too much.

�Well...when you�re on the streets, you learn as many ways to earn money as you can. Palm reading...is on of the less dangerous ways, though it�s not as... profitable as some of the other...professions.�

Wufei tightened his grip slightly, enough to offer comfort, responding automatically to the pain he heard in Duo�s voice with a compassion he�d no longer thought he possessed. The silence was comfortable.

�What about your childhood, Wu?�

�My childhood?�

�Sure. You did have one, didn�t you? Or did you just fall out of the sky one day, fully grown and equipped with a sword and ranting about justice?�

�I don�t rant--� Wufei�s protest was cut short by Duo�s snort. �Okay, so I rant,� he conceded. Then settled back to consider the question. He was as hesitant to talk about the past as Duo, knowing that there were too many quicksand memories that would suck an unsuspecting person down into a bout of depression. Finally, he settled on a fairly neutral topic. �I used to read a lot.�

�I always figured. You seemed like a book person.�

�I do?� Wufei wondered if he should be affronted. �Even ranting about justice and waving my sword around?�

�Yeah...those things never really seemed to come all that natural to you. You talk too much for fighting to be your first instinct.�

�You talk a lot, too,� Wufei huffed.

�Yeah...but I don�t really say all that much. When you talk, you�re always trying to make a point. You should be an ambassador, or a politician or something, and I don�t mean that as an insult.�

�...Thanks,� Wufei said finally, and felt himself blush again. �You too. You let things slip sometimes that are really profound, Maxwell, when you think no one�s really listening.�

There was a movement at his side that felt like Duo ducking his head, and Wufei would�ve given anything at that moment to have a light so he could see Duo flustered. He settled for affecting his own variation of the Grin as he shifted his weight and felt something hard press into his thigh. He blinked, and then came to a sudden realization. His grin became harder, more like a baring of teeth. �You can pretend to be an idiot, but you�ll never fool me,� he declared triumphantly, while his little voice raised an eyebrow and pronounced Oh really? in dubious tones, but Wufei wasn�t listening. Every angry and violent thought he�d had while sitting here, sweating in the dark in this tiny, enclosed space with Duo the Braided Leech pressed against his side had crystallized into a gleeful sort of fury with the evidence of Duo�s deception pressing against his leg. If Duo could have seen his smile, the boy who called himself Shinigami would have known to be concerned.

�Honto?� As it was, Duo thought he was back on solid ground, the purr back in his voice as he moved even closer, hot breath brushing over Wufei�s lips. �Then I guess I�ll just have to settle for seducing you.�

Wufei�s hormones cheered, but his more rational part wasn�t quite finished, and somehow, he managed to get a hand against Duo�s chest to keep him at bay. �Okay,� he said easily, and he felt the butterfly kiss of Duo�s lashes against his cheek as the other pilot blinked in surprise. �But first, do something for me.�

�Uh...sure, Wu. What�s that?�

Still grinning and thoroughly enjoying the fun of keeping the braided pilot off-balance, he purred, �Take my flashlight out of your pocket and get us out of here.�

There was a pause. Wufei fought hard against the cackle that tickled his throat and waited, straightening his spine and folding his hands neatly in his lap, as the other pilot processed the words. Duo disentangled himself abruptly, sitting back.

�What makes you think that�s a flashlight?�

�Maxwell, if I�m willing to credit you with a brain that is not always obvious, please do me the courtesy of giving me the same.�

A large sigh, and the flashlight clicked on, pointing up to highlight Duo�s face and transforming it into a mask of odd shadows and light. �Okay, okay...� Shinigami�s pilot sounded honestly regretful and even a bit...hurt? But with the lighting, it was hard to tell his expression. �But I still think there�s some serious unresolved sexual tension between us that should be addressed.� Duo showed off his famous shrug of indifference. �But if you don�t think so--�

It was Wufei�s turn to sigh. �Maxwell...�

The flashlight flicked away to highlight the control panel. �No, no... that�s okay, Wufei. I guess I just read the signs wrong. I should stick to reading palms.�

�Duo.� Wufei reached as his eyes adjusted to the light and caught the trailing braid, pulling himself to his feet as Duo swung to face him, light hitting him right in the face as the braided pilot brandished the flashlight between them like a sword. Squinting, he pushed it down and away and stepped in as he tugged forward on the captured wrist, bringing their bodies together. He paused to look into the bewildered purple eyes for a moment, then smiled and bent his head to touch his lips with Duo�s...and waited.The braided pilot regained his reasoning ability with a start.

�Wufei, na--umph!�

Wufei tightened his grip slightly on the slender wrist, his other hand releasing the braid to cup the back of Duo�s neck as he allowed his tongue to flicker into the open warmth, cutting off the other pilot�s panicky inquiry. But he didn�t go any further, just teased with a slick tongue and the hard edge of teeth until he felt all the protest drain from the body against him, until Duo reached up, sank his fingers into his hair and pulled him down. Their tongues tangled and their bodies pressed together almost desperately. Distantly, Wufei sensed the shift in light and heard the thunk as the flashlight slipped from Duo�s grip and hit the floor. When they finally separated, both were a bit dazed. Even Wufei�s smug inner voice was momentarily stunned.

Oh my, it said, finally. Let�s do that more often.

�Duo,� Wufei managed, voice rather husky. �I�m not saying that we shouldn�t resolve this...tension. But I�m not going to have sex with you in an elevator. So if you want to take this further, I suggest you get us out of here as quickly as possible.�

Duo blinked. �Out. Right. I can do that. Wait a second while my knees solidify.�

Wufei�s inner voice was grinning evilly. Hmmm...if I�d known kissing him would make him so succinct, I�d�ve done it sooner.

Duo let him go eventually and groped a bit for the flashlight. �You know, Wu, you�re a lot smarter, and a lot less innocent than we give you credit for,� he said before sticking the flashlight end in his mouth and training the light on the panel.

Wufei was slightly alarmed at the �we,� and was almost tempted to ask who that encompassed, but decided to play along instead and save that question for another time. �That�s because I know more about everything than you think.�

Duo took the flashlight out of his mouth and looked over his shoulder, eyebrows rising to disappear under the thick bangs. �Everything?�

Wufei allowed himself a smirk. �Hai.�

Five minutes later, they were out of the elevator.