"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 4

Dark eyes met shimmering blue as Duo took a seat in the chair by the bed. He wasn't certain yet if WuFei had been paying much attention to the conversation he'd had with Dr. Po. Reading lips was never WuFei's specialty but all of the former Gundam pilots had been trained in it. It took Duo a moment to realize WuFei was glaring at him. He hadn't seen that hard look on the other boy's face in years; it made him feel almost nostalgic. Almost.

"So..." Duo started, "How are you feeling?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" WuFei spat and Duo flinched subconsciously.

"I don't know if you've noticed, babe, but you're kind of in a hospital."

"I've noticed, Maxwell. Thank you," WuFei's response was a snarl, his eyes became dangerous slits, "And stop calling me that. And why are you here? Sally is one thing, but you?"

Duo swallowed hard, fighting his natural instinct to respond to WuFei's harsh tone in kind. This is not his fault, Duo reminded himself, he has a bump on his head the size of a golf ball...blame the golf ball bump.

Bracing himself for whatever would come, Duo leaned forward, focusing his eyes on the blanket, and took WuFei's hand in his own, mildly surprised when the othererdf boy didn't immediately yank it away. Cautiously, he began anew, "The thing is, ba...uh...'Fei, you were in an accident."

"I remember..."

"And you lost part of your memory."

Silence.

Duo peeked up at WuFei. The young man was staring at their hands, now intertwined. After a moment, he pulled away; though not near as roughly as Duo anticipated.

"What part exactly?" WuFei challenged, "My memory seems whole to me."

"Well...for starters, the part that explains why I'm here," Duo whispered, picking at a loose thread on the hospital blanket, "Sally says about three years."

"And how would she know? I haven't heard from her in almost that long."

"No," Duo cried, eyes jumping up to meet WuFei's own, livid with undirected rage, "True, workng in different departments, the two of you don't see each other often, but you had lunch with Sally just last week. She acts like your mother most of the time...she wouldn't let three years, let alone three days pass without checking in on you."

"But I don't work with Sally," the bedridden young man protested.

"Yes, you do. Remember. The Preventers?"

"I left the Preventers," WuFei argued, "Nearly a year and a half ago, which was the last time I saw or spoke with Po!"

Duo massaged his forehead, trying to settle his emotions. He'd forgotten how stubborn his lover could be when a puppy-dog pout and magic fingers were no longer bargaining options.

"Think, WuFei," he started roughly, "If you left the Preventers, if you live in Bergonia, if you haven't seen me and Sally in so long...then why are you here and why are we here?"

"I...I don't know."

Again, Duo took WuFei's hand, squeezing it tight between his trembling fingers, "Baby, you took a dive on your bike, messed your head up real good. Po says you've got something called 'selective memory loss', that's when a person loses..."

"I know what it is," WuFei interrupted, and though his tone was harsh, it was barely a whisper.

"Of course you do," Duo chuckled, it sounded sad, "Anyway, you're missing three years about, and as far as I'm concerned, they're the most important three years of your life. Our life. You see, the reason I'm here is because...well...I care about you, 'Fei."

"Wha...what?" WuFei stammered, flustered. He gaped openly at Duo rubbing a thumb soothingly over the back of his hand.

"I more than care about you, actually. I love you. And before you banged your head and forgot the past three years, well, you loved me too."

"That's impossible," WuFei gaped.

"What? That you could love me?" Duo's voice sounded light when he asked the question but his eyes flickered with hurt.

"No, that's not what I mean," WuFei growled, exasperated, but his words faltered. He wondered, what had he meant. He sighed, furiously rubbing his face, "None of this makes sense. I remember the past three years, Maxwell, and I'm sorry, but you weren't in them."

"I know," Duo cut in, hiding the pain those words brought him with practiced ease, "Sally explained the false memories to me."

"False...memories..."

The door to the room opened and both boys startled. Sally Po stood in the frame looking expectantly down at them. She held a folder under her arm.

"Everything taken care of?" she asked.

"Uh...yeah," Duo stammered answer, straightening and clearing his throat, "He's caught up, at least."

"Good. There's no need to worry, Chang, the memory loss is temporary," Sally said turning her attention to WuFei as she entered the room and closed the door behind her, "Now I think sending you home will be in your best interest. Perhaps familiar surroundings will help to stir up your memories. I'm releasing you into Mister Maxwell's care."

WuFei stared blankly, mouth agape, at the both of them. When he found his voice, he demanded, "You really expect me to believe that I hit my head and dreamed I was a well-paid accountant in Bergonia?"

Sally sighed, looking sympathetically to Duo, "I suggest trying to go about your life as normally as possible. Don't be discouraged if his memory takes time to return, be patient, try to answer any questions he has as candidly as possible," she flickered an uncertain glance at her glaring patient, then back to Duo, "I'm prescribing a painkiller, to be taken as necessary, and you'll need to replace his bandages in the morning. I've scheduled him for an MRI tomorrow."

WuFei lay back as Sally spoke, looking angrily over his shoulder at the far wall. This was utterly ridiculous, he told himself, and there was no way the last three years were nothing more than a figment of his rattled imagination. But he couldn't think of another explanation for why he was in that bed, in that hospital, talking to strangers from his past. He realized his hand was still clasped by Duo. There was warmth and tenderness in the other boy's touch and WuFei couldn't quite place the emotion it stirred in him but it wasn't altogether unpleasant.

~ * ~

Chapter 5

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