"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 8

WuFei startled awake the next morning to a blaring alarm clock. His head was pounding furious, and he was mildly aware of a little drool dribbling down his chin. His hair had come loose in the night, sprawling around his face, and he noted he was still fully dressed. His first thought was of the Christmas Party then the accident and he decided he must have driven home afterwards, passed out in bed. He didn't often drink much and he recalled having one glass at the party. It may have put him over.

Bleary eyed and determined to sleep in, WuFei reached for the alarm at the side of his bed and his hand hit empty air. The bedroom door creaked open and soft feet padded in, silencing the screeching alarm. WuFei sat frozen in the ocean of blankets and pillows, eyes remaining stubbornly closed. Maybe if he didn't open them it would all just fade away and he could finally wake up from the nightmare back into his real life.

"Sorry, 'Fei, I should've thought to turn that off last night," Duo said, "I'll let you get back to sleep. You need the rest."

Duo waited, possibly for a response from WuFei, but when none came he crept out of the room again, closing the door lightly behind him. WuFei counted to ten and opened his eyes. Nope, he wasn't home, the nightmare was still rolling. He bit back a frustrated cry and flopped back into the bed. He waited for his heart to stop raging against his chest and his head to slow in its spinning before untangling himself from the blankets and sitting up on the bed's edge. It was probably time to go back to the 'dead and in hell' theory.

In the closet, WuFei found a change of clothes – blue jeans that felt far too large and a swampy black long-sleeved shirt – then he slunk out of the bedroom and down the hall. He paused, searching the living room for Duo but other than a rumpled quilt on the couch, there was none. Noises were coming from the kitchen along with a faint smell of coffee.

Following his nose, WuFei peeked into the kitchen. Duo bustled around inside, he'd pulled out a carton of eggs and frying pan and appeared to be setting up to make breakfast. WuFei watched the other boy for a prolonged moment, scrutinizing his movements and expression. For all intents and purposes, the boy seemed to look and act much like the Duo that WuFei recalled from the war. Energetic and deceptively carefree.

That image of Duo three years ago flashed into WuFei's mind. The Duo before him, the Duo from the war, didn't mesh with the boy from that Christmas party drowning in anger and...despair? WuFei struggled to remember details from that last encounter, maybe there was a key in the memory to this mystery before him. It was the last time he could remember seeing the other boy, the answers had to be there.

"You grabbed clothes from the left side of the closet," Duo said, amusement mingled with disappointment. He'd spotted WuFei standing in the doorframe and paused in his bustling to look the other boy over. WuFei flustered, realizing now, as he looked at Duo's decidedly bulkier build, why the clothes he wore felt too large.

"These are your clothes," he stated the obvious, spinning round, "I'll go change."

"But wait, you look so cute in them! Like a small child, you should wear those all day," Duo called after, which only hurried WuFei faster down the hall.

WuFei returned a few moments later in garments much better cut to his body. Breakfast smelled close to complete. He eyed the coffee pot that Duo poured himself a mug from, and Duo motioned to a teapot brewing on the counter.

"I keep trying to switch you to coffee but you are married to your Chinese stereotype," he said.

"Yeah, that must be it. It couldn't possibly be because coffee is disgusting swill that tastes like burnt trash."

Unwilling to ask for help, WuFei searched a few cupboards before finding a mug. Duo watched out of the corner of his eye but said nothing. WuFei filled the mug, an ugly novelty piece with a cartoon chicken on it making a bad pun about returning to the roost that WuFei didn't fully understand, with tea. He took a seat at the table.

"Sally wants me to bring you in for a check-up today. She's also scheduled you for an MRI. I figured we could change your bandages and head after breakfast. We'll meet with Trowa at noon, so that gives us a little time if you want to stop downtown, there's some last minute shopping we still need to do, plus we can go see the Christmas light display," Duo said.

"Why on earth would I want to do such a thing?" WuFei muttered, making a face at his teacup at the thought of participating in any kind of Christmas activity whatsoever – especially one open to the general public.

"We go every year," Duo said quietly, losing his cheerful demeanor for only a split second before plating up some eggs, bacon, and a piece of toast, and setting it in front of WuFei with a smile, "It's fine. You just got home from the hospital, sore and all. We don't have to go. We can do whatever you want."

He took a seat across from WuFei, poking his fork at his own food. His brow wrinkled.

"So...what do you want to do?"

WuFei looked at the food in front of him in silent stun. He'd never planned social endeavors like this before. His entire life, even as a small child, had always been so perfectly planned: tutoring, training, work, study – and never had there been room for friends or friendships. His one relationship, his marriage to Meilan, even that had been planned without his input or regard.

"Don't stress it. We can come back here and relax," Duo said.

WuFei met the other boy's eyes, surprised by the understanding that brimmed there. Duo made an eating gesture with his hand, motioned to the plate in front of WuFei.

"Got to get your strength up."

After breakfast, Duo cleaned the kitchen and WuFei sat in the living room lost in his thoughts. Duo appeared moments later with a well-stocked first aid kit.

"Okay, honey, strip off the clothes," he declared.

WuFei flushed, snatching the box, and hobbling for the bathroom, "I can take care of the bandages myself."

Duo waited in the living room for WuFei to reappear, shirt in hand, a few of the bandages shoddily replaced, and the other's untouched. WuFei couldn't maneuver his sore body to reach them, and Duo smiled knowingly. WuFei wordlessly handed the first aid kit to Duo and sat on the couch.

Duo, to his credit, said nothing as he removed the bandages and put clean ones in place. His touch was gentle, his expression thoughtful. He reapplied antibiotics to open wounds, examined them with an expert eye. The Gundam pilots were not doctors by any means but they'd been trained in field medicine, and Duo was no exception. Once he finished replacing bandages, he went to work re-securing the ones WuFei had attempted to put into place.

WuFei sat rigid, struggling to keep the blush down from his face. He would not give Duo that satisfaction. But there was something comforting in that moment, something becoming a fast familiarity in the way Duo's hands brushed across his bare skin and the warmth that lingered long after those hands had pulled away. Duo wasn't an unattractive man, he'd always leaned towards the beautiful side with his flowing hair and brilliant eyes. He'd filled out more in those three years, though he remained skinny and lithe, his shoulders were broad and muscles more readily defined. He'd outgrown WuFei in height by several inches and though WuFei would have expected to feel envy, instead he felt awed.

~ * ~

Chapter 9

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