"This Beautiful Life"

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters

Rating: R

Warnings: Romance & Friendship

Pairings: 2x5, others will be present but subtle.

Summary: 3 years after cutting ties with everyone from the war, WuFei Chang gets into a car accident in his way home from a company Christmas party and wakes up to another life.

"This Beautiful Life"

Chapter 11

The drive to Kimiko's Café took them about forty minutes into a neighboring town. They sat in an uncomfortable silence, mulling over their own emotions and thoughts. Duo hadn't denied any other part of WuFei's memories from that party. It left WuFei to wonder what would possess him to bring that other boy home.

...saved my life.

WuFei stole furtive looks at Duo from the passenger seat, studying the other boy. Again. He had so many pieces and still not enough to fit together into a complete image. Duo muttered under his breath at other drivers, sometimes gesturing at them as though giving them psychic commands: move, get out of my way, go – the light is green. For the moment, that cheer he'd managed to carry with him through this whole ordeal, was gone and Duo's mood seemed soured.

Kimiko's Café looked cutesy on the outside, with pink and gold trim and a fusion of Victorian and Roman architectural design squeezed into the small strip storefront off Main street. Duo greeted staff by name when he came in and they replied to both him and WuFei with recognition, some stopping to comment on WuFei's battered appearance and express their concern.

Duo handled their questions with practiced ease, "Oh, you know WuFei, hurt himself rescuing a bus full of nuns and orphans hurtling towards a burning building filled with kittens and puppies while fighting off fifty ninjas. Doc says he's in great shape though, a walking miracle."

"We come here frequently," WuFei noted.

"Yeah, it's one of your favorite places. They make amazing tea sandwiches and these peach pastries you love," Duo said.

They found Trowa waiting at a circular table with a heart and owl motif carved into its base. He already had a colorful iced tea drink and a plate full of tiny sandwiches in front of him. Duo immediately grabbed a cucumber sandwich and stuffed it in his mouth before sitting down. WuFei remained standing at a distance from the table, afraid to step any closer.

Trowa hadn't changed much in appearance from his days in the war. His hair was cut shorter and he wore a gray shirt with pressed orange plaid slacks. His sharp features in youth had softened over the years, he was still lanky, lined with muscle and a barrel chest, most likely thanks to his gymnastics. He sipped at his tea, his expression blank as ever. He met WuFei's eyes, a smile playing in his features. Another unfamiliar feeling washed over WuFei at the sight of his old war comrade. Nostalgia, perhaps? Relief, in a way? Something akin to...happiness?

"You're alive," Trowa said.

"Not for lack of trying, it seems," WuFei replied.

"You shouldn't scare Duo like that," Trowa motioned to the chair next to him and WuFei took the seat.

"Grim Reaper would need an army of a thousand if he wanted to take WuFei out of this world and into the next," Duo said, strapping an arm across the back of WuFei's chair. WuFei considered the touch for a moment, before he decided to give Duo a warning look. Duo casually removed the arm as a waiter arrived to take their orders.

"A pot of earl gray, please, heavy on the bergamot," Duo said, "And load us up with another plate of assorted tea sandwiches – shame on Trowa, only getting one, he knows better than that, oh, and two orders of egg tarts, one order assorted tea biscuits, a dozen peach buns, and three orders of chicken pecan salad. Thank you."

The waiter turned a charming smile on WuFei, "And what about you, honey?"

"That's all for the both of us, be sure to bring two cups for the tea. Thanks, again," Duo interjected, leaning in close to WuFei to whisper, "That's the prick waiter. See how he's looking at you like a half-starved wolf?"

The waiter left and WuFei was startled to find Trowa watching him.

"I'm told your accident left you with a different memory of these past three years. I'd like to know what you remember of me," he said. WuFei could appreciate the straightforwardness of the other boy, he'd always admired the way Trowa could efficiently cut through a conversation to its most essential components.

"Last I remember seeing you was three years ago, at Winner's Christmas party. We didn't speak that night, we hadn't spoken since the Eve Wars," WuFei said.

"I see. You don't recall calling me for assistance the following week after Quatre's party?" Trowa picked up a wheat bread sandwich with a cream cheese red pepper filling and nibbled on its corner.

"Assistance with what?" the comment baffled WuFei. He'd never sought to rely on any of the pilots during or after the wars. He might've scolded them once or twice if they began to fall or lost sight of their mission, but he refused to depend on them to accomplish his own. The very idea of asking for their help embarrassed him.

"He left that party alone," Duo said, picking at another sandwich but not eating it. His eyes downcast.

Trowa raised a brow at that, turning his attention to Duo, "So you haven't told him yet?"

"Told me what? About our relationship? He's given me many details, I'm not sure how much I believe," WuFei said, frustration growing in him. He hated how much fun the others seemed to be having with his predicament.

"We're taking our time going through it all. I don't want to overwhelm him with too much at once," Duo said, ignoring his partner's outburst.

"I see. I'll respect that then," Trowa turned back to WuFei, "The others have all been concerned for your well-being. I haven't told them of the situation with your memory but, given the lack of communication from the both of you, they sense something is wrong. For now, between Sally and myself, I think we've convinced them to give you space."

"I was wondering why there wasn't a pink limo camped outside our house," Duo said.

"I would like to hear more about your other memories. Duo tells me you lived in Bergonia. An interesting choice. If we're to believe these memories are false, we can assume your mind created them, why would your subconscious place you there?"

WuFei noted Trowa's careful choice of words: "other memories", and "if...these memories are false". It wasn't in Trowa's nature to humor someone for their sake, he truly was considering the possibility that WuFei's memories weren't false, which opened the door for other speculations. If they weren't false, what were they then? If they were, why did they exist in the manner they did? Trowa's point was clear.

"I don't know that it would. I knew nothing of Bergonia before moving there in the other life. In this life, Duo tells me we've been to Bergonia on a mission. I suppose we could focus on the mission, consider what might have made the location stand out in my mind. If, that is, we're to assume these memories are constructs of my subconscious," WuFei replied.

"It was a routine intel mission turned out to be nothing. We were there barely five hours, we ate at a taco place that gave you food poisoning," Duo said.

"Of course, there is the alternative," Trowa placed his half-eaten sandwich on the plate, took a sip of his drink.

"Alternative?" WuFei flashed momentarily on his working theory of hell.

"That this life is a construct of your mind and you are still lying unconscious from your accident. If we work from that theory, that your memories are real and this is a false narrative, why would your mind create a life for you surrounded by people you no longer see or speak with?"

"An interesting idea," WuFei hadn't considered it. It sounded more absurd than the idea that this was his actual reality and his memories were lost.

"Nope. Disturbing idea," Duo amended, "Trowa, you're suggesting that you and me are just figments of 'Fei's imagination? Nope, and nope. I mean, are you trying to start an existential crisis over here? Sure, maybe you're fine thinking you might not be real, but I don't like it one bit."

That was when their order arrived. The waiter laid out their food spread, set a vintage China plate and cup each in front of both Duo and WuFei, and poured them some tea. He left the teapot in the center of the table and disappeared again. WuFei picked out a couple sandwiches to try, he'd never had them before – at least, that he could remember. According to Duo, this was one of his favorite restaurants, it seemed unlikely in the life he remembered that he would have even considered trying an English tea style cafe. He took a bite of the first sandwich, and his eyes slipped closed as he enjoyed the sweat and creamy flavor. He took a sip of his tea and realized Duo could not have been lying.

"Sally proposed Ockham's Razor," WuFei said, confused by his comfort at discussing this with Trowa.

Duo made a face, "Who's razor?"

"The solution that requires the fewest assumptions is typically the correct one," Trowa smiled faintly, "From our perspective, selective memory loss would be the best explanation. But from your perspective..."

"I have distinct memories from these past three years. It does not make sense. Why would my subconscious create those memories? Sally also wondered about my happiness in that other life."

Duo had been zoning in and out of the conversation but looked interestedly to WuFei at that comment.

"Her argument seemed to be that if I was happy here and not there, why should I want to return? But I wonder now, if it is true that I was happy here, why would my mind create false memories of an unhappy life?"

"Perhaps, to hide from an unhappy memory in this one?" Trowa suggested, lazily eating a peach bun, and receiving a sharp look from Duo that he expertly ignored, "Were you unhappy in that life?"

WuFei hesitated in the same way he had when Sally posed the same question. He'd never found an answer.

"I...I don't know," he confessed.

~ * ~

Chapter 12

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