Warnings: Yaoi, sap, cursing, and lime.

Notes: This is a short story that has been pestering me over the past week or so. I'm having trouble with my other writing, so I thought I'd give in. Maybe it'll help get my muse back on track. Basically, in this, Wufei and Duo have been married for a year and live on Earth. Wufei works for the Preventers, and Duo runs a salvage yard. Which means this is set after the Preventor Five manga... sometime...

Disclaimer: I don't own GW or the G-boys! If I could get Sotsu to sell them to me, I'd share them, I swear! ::grins:: In any case, I don't make any moolah off this. I just get to have some fun!

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Lighting the last of the candles, Duo blew the match out, casting an approving glance over his shoulder. The room was bathed in a soft, seductive glow, while shadows danced and flickered across the walls. The sheets across the bed were black silk, something he had picked up on a whim a few weeks back and had never gotten around to putting on the mattress. At the foot of the bed, resting on a low-rising coffee table, sat two glasses and a chilled bottle of wine. Scattered around that, were blood red rose petals, a startling contrast to the pale white of the carpet. And last, but certainly not least, wordless music wafted out from the stereo speakers, adding warmth and mood.

It was perfect.

"Nothing left to do but wait..." Duo murmured, reaching down to pull the tie from his hair. His hair fell in silken waves down his back, a warm brown against the black silk of his pajamas. It was not sheer coincidence that his sleep wear matched the sheets either.

Padding barefoot over to the bed, he ran his hand across the top of it, smiling, before sinking onto it.

This was something he had been planning for a week now. With the way their schedules had been running lately, his business at the salvage yard growing and small crises for the Preventers erupting right and left, he and Wufei hadn't had much personal time together. Wufei's hours were stretched to the limit, which meant he worked as much overtime as they could force him to before he fell into one of his rants. That left him tired, and often short-tempered. Which meant dinner, and falling asleep in each other's arms became the norm. Not that Duo could complain overly much. Life was about compromise and adjusting. He was just getting a bit tired of sharing Wufei with his husband's dreams.

It had been exactly one week and two days since they had made genuine love. Not the wonderfully hot, intense moments in the morning shower (Although, those were very nice). What he was looking for, was hours upon hours of lovemaking in a bed, lying down. Not standing up, slipping all over the place, and only being offered a pleasing view of Wufei's backside. In his mind, they could both stand to have a little romance. Since he took work off from lunch time on to set this up, planned on being very attentive the second Wufei walked in the door, and was very certain his mood would be communicated to his husband, he could see no reason why he wasn't going to get what he wanted.

Rising, he danced across the carpet, only to turn and do the same thing back again. Patience was not one of his better virtues. Considering he had been waiting all afternoon, he thought he was doing remarkably well not to have called Wufei at work and demand he come home early. If he had a hard time sitting still, that was really mild in comparison to the urge he had gotten around three o'clock, where he wrestled himself for the car keys and talked himself into staying put. Or the way he had suddenly developed obsessive tendencies around 4:00, and had attacked every available corner with a feather duster. And that really said nothing for the way he had rearranged the pantry so that every can of food had the label facing front...

The room itself smelled of jasmine, as the candles he had lit were scented. It mingled with the spicy aroma of the entree he had picked up in the frozen food section of the grocery store. Wufei wore the apron in this family, but Duo could pop something in the oven or the microwave as well as the next person. Wufei cooked nearly every night anyway, since the Chinese refused to eat out often (he considered it fattening). Duo thought it was time he had a break, and it all fit nicely into his plan for the perfect night. According to the clock, the meal had exactly a half an hour before it came out. Which was perfect as well, since Wufei was due home any moment. It would give him time to settle his husband in.

Pretending nonchalance, though he certainly wasn't fooling himself or anything else that might be watching for that matter, Duo leaned casually against the wall and slowly opened the curtain. The well lit street lights illuminated his own car in the driveway (a vintage black Mustang), but proved to him what he had already known. Wufei's spot, which usually held his sensible, blue Toyota, was empty. Biting back impatience and disappointment in equal measure, Duo left the window and hurried into the spacious bathroom to make certain he had remembered to set out the bubble bath and bath salts. They were both sitting where he had left them, beside the spa-sized bathtub.

He really loved that bathtub. When they had time, they used it instead of the shower, which was installed separate and just off to the right of the tub. Lately, however, they had taken to sleeping in as long as possible because of late nights. That left them rushing in the morning, both with regards to sex and showering. Duo had to admit he missed getting up at 5am to take drawn out baths, where they managed to get more water on the floor than they kept in the tub. A reason he was glad Wufei hadn't insisted they get carpeting in the bathroom. It would have been ruined inside a week. Not that they had much problems with _that_ lately...

Reluctantly leaving the bathroom, he paused in the doorway, to fall against the frame. Studying it as if with new eyes, he decided that without all the decoration, it still looked very nice. There were little touches here and there that spoke of both their personalities, mostly on their separate dressers. Since they both favored darker colors (other than the floor), decorating it had not been hard. Duo liked the way Wufei's heirlooms looked against the wall. He himself had, had nothing of the sort to bring into their marriage. He had always only owned what he could carry with him, which were his clothing and whatever fit into his black bag. But Wufei had managed to spirit away some things from his Colony before it had been destroyed. And those made their way here.

The entire house was a joint effort. They had picked out the carpet, the paint, and the decorations together. The kitchen was warm yellow, the living room and dining room a soft squash, and the study a deep brown. On some days, Duo liked the study most of all. It had a fireplace, and the walls were lined with books, both his and Wufei's. The moment he had a steady place to live, he had started collecting them, startling his husband, who had been of the impression Duo only read books with pictures. Not that Wufei thought his husband was stupid, only that Duo seemed to favor manga over much else... Duo had just never taken the time to tell him that it had been because of constant travel, that he had never allowed himself to build up possessions.

Most of that was downstairs, however. Upstairs consisted of the three bedrooms and two baths. One bathroom being in the master bedroom, and the other situated between the guest rooms. They were where the others stayed when Duo could convince them they needed to come visit. Usually when they did, he managed to get them to drink enough that they had to stay over. Not that he could make Trowa do anything. He had a sneaking suspicion it was Quatre that realized his wish for them to visit longer, and made certain Trowa imbibed well past his limit. Heero didn't visit often, but when he did, it was always alone. Duo had half a mind to set him up with someone. Everyone should be as happy as he was, after all.

Wufei, however, liked to tell him that Heero needed his solitude, and would settle down when he saw fit. In layman's terms, that essentially meant he was to keep his nose where it belonged: out of Heero's business and in his own.

There it was. The sound he had been waiting to hear for hours. Rushing to the window, he looked out and caught Wufei's car just as it pulled in. Grinning now, he spun away, hurried out of the room, and down the stairs. He made it through the living room and across the small foyer just as the knob turned and Wufei walked in. Stopping short, a small briefcase in one hand, and his Preventer jacket in the other, Wufei eyed Duo oddly, head turning briefly toward the kitchen before coming back to rest on his husband.

Breathing slightly labored, Duo smiled widely, "Welcome home, Wu."

"Duo..." Wufei said carefully, "are you cooking?"

Duo waved his hand, relieving Wufei of his briefcase and coat. "Just something I put in the oven. Don't worry, I didn't make it," he added, in the event Wufei worried about being poisoned (their last bout with food poisoning had taught them never to get Duo cook from scratch again).

Wufei couldn't help but stare at Duo. It was only a little past seven, and he was already in his pajamas. Not to mention, his hair was down, and he was acting as if he had run a marathon. Duo never wore his hair down to bed because it would get tangled, and he was full of enough energy, that walking to the door shouldn't have winded him. Not only that, but Wufei had suddenly realized that the sleep wear Duo had on was new. There had been nothing wrong with his last pajamas. There were no holes, they hadn't faded... He had seen to that. He didn't let Duo near the laundry, after all. Not that he could complain too much, however. Black suited Duo. Especially with his hair unbound like that...

Then it occurred to him. "Duo, did you do something?"

Duo effected a hurt expression. "Geez, can't I make dinner and meet you at the door without you thinking I'm trying to butter you up?"

Wufei eyed him at a slant.

"I'm not!" Duo protested, motioning for Wufei to take his shoes off.

Wufei, however, was one step ahead of him. He always took his shoes off upon entering the house. This way, no dirt would be tracked onto the carpet.

With that suspicion quelled, there was little for him to take issue with. He was tired, and while he had intended to cook dinner, it was nice to have it done for him. Lately, a series of small, seemingly unrelated fires had been catching the Preventers attention. At first, they had seemed like nothing. Now, it appeared they might possibly be arson of some sort. Especially considering the last few fires had yielded the remains of at least five people. Five important people. It was only a matter of time before their identities hit the press. It was Sally Po's hope they could wrap it up before that happened. All they needed was the media lighting a fire under them... No pun intended.

"Wufei?"

Duo was waving a hand in front of his face.

Blinking, Wufei settled on the faintly exasperated, impish features of his husband.

Smiling slightly, he replied, "Sorry. I was lost in thought."

Duo made a face. "No kidding. I called your name at least five times."

"That's no record," Wufei returned, turning in the direction of the kitchen.

It took him a moment, but when the innuendo sunk in, Duo grabbed Wufei and spun him around, arms coming up to pull him close, so that the whisper of fabric was all that separated them. Dark, amused eyes stared into somewhat startled onyx ones.

"You're a real sneak, you know that?" Duo informed him with great personal amusement, as he rubbed his nose against Wufei's.

Relaxing into him, absorbing the warmth and relishing the solid press of body against body, Wufei touched his lips to Duo's. "It was the only way I could get you to marry me."

Snorting in disbelief, Duo slid his arms around Wufei's waist. "Yeah, right. I married you for the sex."

"Then you won't be hurt when I tell you I married you for the same reason," Wufei replied nudging Duo's mouth open so that he could slide his tongue along the soft line of the American's lower lip.

A sigh of contentment escaped. "Only you could make a joke with a straight face..."

This was what he looked forward to coming home to every night. The easy banter, the familiar sense of comfort, and just the sight of Duo's beautiful face. It made everything that happened during the day worth it, made it all seem so far away, as if it wouldn't touch him again the next morning. He knew how lucky he was to have this, even if it hadn't seemed that way lately. It was his hope that this arson business would all be wrapped up soon, so that they could return to their usual schedule. It was a sad fact, when he could say his last days off were over a week ago. Weekends were usually their time, but work had stolen that away from them lately. And for that, he was sorry.

"Hey Wu, come upstairs with me?"

The soft invitation in Duo's words had him forgetting dinner was in the oven, much less that there was such a thing as an oven, so that he found himself following Duo upstairs, one hand curled around his husband's and the polish of hard wood under his feet. It was only now that he noticed the lights in the house were low, or that mixed in with the scent of dinner, was something more subtle, something exotic. Duo had obviously been very busy. Wufei was going to have to make certain he fulfilled his husband's expectations, and then some. It would only be fair.

And, he recalled, it had been some time since they had forgone dinner for other things...

Duo glanced back at him once, while they climbed the stairs, and the expression on his face had Wufei stopping him, to slide his hands into Duo's hair and his lips along the base of his neck, where the pulse beat the strongest. He was fast forgetting his weariness or the demands of his job. Duo could do that to him. Now, he would fall into it, immerse himself in what they created between them, and forget. Later, if he wanted, he knew Duo would listen to him sort through what bothered him. He always did, and in return, Wufei did the same. It was amazing how much of a difference listening to his partner, and being listened to made.

Duo's laughter was low and vibrated with happiness. "Wufei... we gotta make it to the bedroom."

"Why?" He asked simply.

"As tempting as the thought is, there's a good reason," Duo returned, his teeth a wicked slash of white in his face.

Since Duo was so set on it, Wufei let himself be led the rest of the way, anticipation and arousal a heady mixture heating his blood. When they paused in the doorway, and Duo turned to look at him, an almost shy, expectant look on his face, at first he didn't have the words. The room was beautiful. It was obvious his husband had went to great pains to make it so. The warmth in him settled into a contented hum, a low beat of satisfaction that matched the smokey notes of the music Duo had chosen. In moments like these, Wufei was not certain exactly what he had done to deserve this, but he knew he was holding on to it. He was never going to let Duo slip through his hands.

"Do you like it?" Duo finally asked, unable to bear the silence any longer.

"It's... beautiful," Wufei finally found his voice, turning to look at Duo with the strength of his feelings evident in his face.

Duo's breath caught. Wufei was what was beautiful, when he opened himself up this way.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied softly. "I worked on it all day. I wanted us to have a special night. We haven't had one in a long time."

Wufei's lips settled into a wry twist. "I know..."

"That isn't anyone's fault. It's just life," Duo told him, before he got any ideas to the contrary.

His fingers still tangled with Wufei's, Duo guided him the rest of the way into the room, sinking down next to the table so that he could pour them both a glass of wine. Wufei took one sip before setting his aside.

"New sheets," he pointed out.

Duo grinned. "Nice ones."

Wufei's expression was one Duo recognized from countless other nights of making love.

/Right, remember the dinner.../ he told himself, trying to quell the rising weakness in his limbs. If he let himself, he would forget all about everything but letting Wufei touch him.

Everything was perfect.

Feeling quite satisfied, Duo began leaning toward his husband, intent on sharing another kiss. He was moments away, felt Wufei's breath fan across his face in a way that created ripples of awareness in him, when the music abruptly changed. Something hard, fast, and loud jetted out. [1] Jerking back in surprise, his elbow knocked against his glass of wine. It tipped, splattering across his new pajamas and the carpet, leaving a dark stain. Shocked and embarrassed, Duo leapt to his feet at the same time as Wufei, so close, that they knocked heads together.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized, worrying at his lower lip as wine slid uncomfortably down his leg.

"Just get a wet rag from the bathroom, Duo," Wufei told him, his tone cooler than it had been before as he rubbed his head.

Miserable, the light mood dispelled, Duo turned and rushed for the bathroom. Ignoring his face in the mirror, knowing what he would see, he wet a rag as quickly as possible. He should have known it wouldn't work out. Everything he ever put a great deal of effort into fell apart. It probably would have been better all around if he hadn't even tried...

As he hurried from the bathroom, he knocked his hip against a nearby lamp table. Wincing, he tried to ignore the pain and continue on. But, as he hadn't wanted to use the lamps tonight, only candles, a rather large one was sitting where the lamp usually was. Jostled, it fell over, and rolled across the table top, where it came into contact with the first thing it found. His hair. Immediately, the long strands caught fire, and out of instinct, Duo jumped away, letting the candle fall the rest of the way to the carpet.

"Shit!" He cursed, dropping the rag.

"Duo!"

Wufei barreled into him, sending them both into the floor. Duo hit first, and hard, so that the wind was driven from him, and he couldn't offer up any protest as Wufei grasped the wet rag and started beating it about his head. Frantic to stop the fire, wincing from the smell of singed hair, Wufei continued batting at the flames with his hands and the rag, not caring when the heat of it stung his skin. It was only luck that the candle had put itself out before hitting the floor. That did nothing, however, to alleviate the damage done to Duo's hair.

"Wufei..."

He was still pressing on Duo's hair.

"Wufei..." Duo tried again dully, "the fire's out."

Breathing heavily, Wufei pulled back, wincing as the rag brushed against a burn that was certain to be a blister.

Duo lay where he was for a few miserable moments, before he gathered up the courage to sit up and feel his hair. What was once to the back of his knees, was now burnt off to his waist on at least one side. It had taken him so long to grow that hair. But what was worse, was he had worked hard all day to get this just right, and everything had been spoiled. The carpet was stained... the music was only the kind you listened to when you were intending to bash something to hell... and he had successfully killed the alluring scent of jasmine with the smell of burnt hair.

So when the sting of tears filled his eyes, he hated them, but he wasn't surprised.

Looking at his hands, he mumbled, "I'm sorry, Wufei. I stained the carpet."

"Duo," Wufei began, only to be interrupted.

"And I burnt my hair," he went on, his words wavering some as he fingered the charred remains and watched more flake off.

"Duo," Wufei tried again.

"And I ruined the night. I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Duo! Shut up!" Wufei snapped.

Eyes wide, Duo's head jerked up as he stared at Wufei.

"It's about time you listened to me."

Holding back a sigh, he stared at his mess of a husband. Long trails of soot clung to his face and neck, mingling in with the wetness that was streaking from the corners of his eyes. What was left of the burnt hair littered the carpet around him, and the stench of it was nearly unbearable. His hand stung, and his white dress shirt was covered in wine from where he had thrown himself on Duo. At another moment in time, he might have been angry, or at the very least, annoyed. Now, taking in the absolutely miserable expression on Duo's face, he only wanted to hold him and tell him that he could make everything go away. Unfortunately, he could only hold him.

Shaking his head, unable to help the smile from surfacing, he reached out to draw his thumb across Duo's cheek. "It's all right, Duo. The carpet will clean, and we can open the windows to get rid of the smell. Your hair... I can't save, but I can even it out for you. It will grow again. That's what is wonderful about hair."

"Wufei..."

Duo should have known Wufei could take any situation and tidy it up as neatly as possible.

Leaning over, he fell into Wufei's lap, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Smiling against the top of Duo's head, Wufei held Duo in the circle of his own arms, never loving him more than in this moment, when he looked absolutely ridiculous and everything was falling apart. Only Duo could do something such as this. And Wufei wouldn't have wanted for things to be any different.

Laughing weakly, Duo pulled back and offered Wufei sheepishly. "Surprise?"

Wufei's lips twitched. That was the Duo he was used to.

Rather than answer him, he leaned in and pulled Duo more snugly into his lap, so that the other was straddling him, rather than sitting in the circle of his legs. The sharp stab of desire was instantaneous, and marvelous. No matter what happened between them, there would always be this attraction. Heightened by their love for one another, it was the closest to Heaven either could get while still living.

Duo's eyes were dark, and Wufei thought him beautiful, even with the wild array of hair and the black marks against his skin. He moved tentatively, and Wufei closed his eyes on a gasp, grateful for the fact that he was already sitting down, as his legs had suddenly turned to water. When Duo's hands braced against his chest and then pushed him to the floor, he went willingly, reveling in the way it felt to have Duo sprawled across him. No matter how many times they made love, he never grew tired of it. He doubted he ever could.

For one moment, Duo looked deep into his lover, and husband's eyes, before leaning over to rest his cheek against his chest. As he felt every nuance of Wufei's body, closed his eyes and remembered what the smooth, bare skin felt like against his hands, he listened to the beat of Wufei's heart and let the love he felt for him thread around them and wind them up in a comfortable embrace he doubted anything short of death could break. This was what he feared he would never find again, what he ran from so long, and would run from no longer.

They could have stayed like this forever, if the smoke alarm hadn't gone off.

Wufei thought it was a delayed reaction from Duo's hair being on fire. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was coming from downstairs. It was apparent he was lax in his duties. The batteries in the alarm in their bedroom were obviously dead.

"Dinner..." Duo mumbled, his words lazy. "Dinner is burning," Wufei agreed, no more urgency in his words than in Duo's.

"We should do something about it," Duo returned.

"We should," Wufei agreed again.

A few more seconds passed in silence, upon which the alarm continued to ring, and Duo continued to listen to Wufei's heart beat as his husband stroked his hair.

"We're going to starve," Duo voiced softly.

"We will eat soup out of a can."

Yawning, Duo snuggled closer. "Well, we ought to at least turn it off before the neighbors yell at us."

"All right..."

Duo grinned. Then laughter bubbled up and escaped his lips. "I have to get up first."

Wufei's lips twitched. "Yes, you do."

Duo shifted, and Wufei could feel his husband's laughter through his own chest.

A grin surfaced, and soon after, he was laughing himself.

It continued on, until they were both weak from it and even less inclined to move than before.

"What a night..." Duo managed, brushing at his face.

"The perfect night," Wufei agreed.

Duo rose on one elbow, looking at him. "You think so?"

Wufei smiled. "Yes."

Touching his hair again, Duo winced. "I suppose it could have been worse. I could have burned all my hair off..."

"Bite your tongue," his husband returned, pulling them both to a sitting position.

Duo grimaced. "Oh yeah, that'd really cap the night off."

Wufei laughed.

Duo stilled. "You look so wonderful when you do that."

Touched, Wufei reached out to finger Duo's cheek. "So do you. Now come on. The alarm is still going off."

Rising to his feet, Wufei reached out and took Duo's hand. Duo went with him reluctantly, groaning when Wufei jerked him toward the door.

"Don't you think we ought to put all the other candles out?" Duo asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Later... Let us salvage our dinner. Then we will have a nice, long bath."

The American's expression brightened. "I like that idea."

"I knew you would."

Fingers entwined, stained with wine and soot, they made their way down the stairs, as happy in this moment, as they had been in any other.

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[1] Thanks goes to my sister for the idea on blaring the music. It set the scene off perfectly.