Duo dropped onto the couch with a frustrated sigh. "I swear, I am *never* going to understand him!"

Heero looked up from the computer and raised one eyebrow. These evening melodramatics had become a way of life ever since the vibrant pilot of Deathscythe had decided to pursue Wufei. The silent Chinese boy, who usually kept himself at arm's length from any of them, was finding it increasingly difficult to do so with a clingy Duo around. He finally resorted to locking himself in his room in the evenings to get a little privacy. Which perplexed Duo to no end.

"I mean, he's perfectly fine during the day... even though he does get a bit embarrassed by P.D.A.s....(1)"--at this understatement Quatre, Heero, and Trowa sweatdropped--"then right after dinner BAM! Locked away in his room again! Am I doing something wrong here?"

Quatre shot a look at Trowa and cleared his throat. "Maybe you're coming on a bit too strong, Duo-kun," he offered politely. "Wufei isn't exactly the type to jump right into anything."

Duo actually seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking his head. "Wu's not exactly the shy type either, in case you hadn't noticed. Or did you miss that little display earlier?" Duo was talking about the kiss Wufei had managed to steal only a few hours ago in the kitchen.

The braided pilot had been rambling about wanting to get Zechs good and drunk just once so that he could take that damned mask off of him--for twenty minutes on end with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"I don't think he's ever going to stop talking," Trowa said solemnly; Heero nodded in agreement and wondered if they would be able to get the bloodstains off the wall if he had to resort to shooting Duo to shut him up.

Wufei, who had until that point been leaning against the wall, flashed a tiny smile and moved across the kitchen within a matter of seconds and proceeded to shut Duo up in his own way. All four pilots had been taken aback by the fact that the Chinese boy initiated the kiss; the three *not* involved in it were amazed that it lasted as long as it did.

And then things had slipped back into their normal routine.

"I don't like playing games, man," Duo said, crossing his arms over his chest and sulking. "If he don't want to be involved with me, then he should just *say* so and quit it with the cold shoulder routine."

Unknown to any of the occupants of the room, a fifth person was listening to their conversation... and trying to come to terms with his own behavior.

//I didn't realize he felt that way,// Wufei thought with a frown as he returned to his room. //I'm not used to thinking about anyone other than myself. Haven't *had* to since Meiran, actually, and now I'm doing a terrible job of it.// He closed the door quietly and dropped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

//How can I explain it to him? He's so used to sharing everything, so open, it must be hell trying to figure me out.// He rolled his head to one side, eyes falling upon the phone next to the bed. An idea came to him suddenly as he remembered the lyrics to an old song that he had heard once when he was younger. A slow smile crossed his face, and he reached for the telephone.

~~^~~^^~~^~~

Duo paused outside Wufei's door. He could have sworn he heard the other boy talking to someone, but the rest of the pilots had long-since gone to bed. With a small frown, he knocked lightly on the door.

There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. Wufei opened the door as he hung up the phone, and almost seemed to brighten as he caught sight of Duo. //That's a good sign,// the braided pilot thought.

"Can I come in for a minute?"

To his surprise, Wufei nodded and moved aside to allow Duo in before closing the door again. "I was just about to go to bed," he said, keeping his tone even as he turned on the radio. It was tuned to one of his favorite radio stations; one Duo was hooked on as well. He moved over to the bed and sat down, patting the space next to him in invitation.

"You listen to the radio at night?" Duo asked, quirking an eyebrow at his boyfriend as he dropped onto the bed. Wufei nodded in reply.

"In fact, I called in a request just before you knocked."

Duo was about to speak again when the soft strains of a familiar song began to play on the radio. He snapped his mouth closed, listening to the lyrics. It had been a few years since he'd heard the song, but he still liked it:

~You tell me you're in love with me
Like you can't take your pretty eyes away from me
It's not that I don't want to stay
But every time you come to close I move away~

Duo turned his head to look at Wufei. The other boy had closed his eyes and was humming along softly to himself.

~I wanna believe in everything that you say
'Cause it sounds so good
But if you really want me, move slow
There's things about me you just have to know~

~Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you~

The braided pilot cringed slightly at that lyric. Wufei reached out tentatively and took his hand, squeezing it gently.

~But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time~

~I don't wanna be so shy
Every time that I'm alone I wonder why~

Another sidelong glance at the Chinese pilot revealed that his eyes were still closed, but a tiny smile was on his lips.

~Hope that you will wait for me
You'll see that you're the only one for me~

~I wanna believe in everything that you say
'Cause it sounds so good
But if you really want me, move slow
There's things about me you just have to know~

Duo smiled slightly himself and wrapped one arm around the other boy. Wufei made a soft sound in his throat and shifted closer.

~Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time~

~Just hang around and you'll see
There's nowhere I'd rather be~

Wufei wrapped his own arms loosely around Duo; the braided pilot smiled and closed his eyes contentedly.

~If you love me, trust in me
The way that I trust in you~

~Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time~

The song ended, but neither pilot paid any attention to that fact. They remained seated as they were, wrapped in one another's arms for a long time, eventually drifting off to sleep.

~~^~~^^~~^~~

"Good morning!" Duo said cheerfully the next day as he bounced into the kitchen with his usual flair. Heero gave his usual non-answer and continued to type away at his lap top(2) while Trowa simply looked at the braided pilot and nodded.

"Good morning, Duo," Quatre said with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"Sure did!" He grinned as Wufei walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table next to him. "Morning, Fei-chan!"

"Don't call me Fei-chan," came the usual response; only now, Duo could hear the affection hidden in the words and smiled to himself.

If time was what his Fei-chan needed, then time was what he'd get. The slight pressure on his hand(3) under the table was sign enough that everything was going to work out after all.

OWARI

~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~

(1) Public Displays of Affection in layman's terms.
(2) I swear, that boy is never away from a computer. Bet he'd make one hell of a fic writer, ne?
(3) Bet you hentais thought I was gonna say something else, didn'tcha? ^_^

~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~^^~~^~~