"Duo, are you sure you wouldn't rather sit?" Quatre asked, cutting his blueberry pancake into strips.

"Nah, man, I'm fine here, really," Duo said, leaning over the center island. "What can I say? I just don't feel like sitting." He shoved a fork-full of pancakes into his mouth and chewed.

"Well, if you're sure…" the blond boy said doubtfully sipping his tea.

"Leave him be," Trowa said in his normal--which meant quiet--tone of voice as he served Quatre another pancake. "If he wants to stand, let him stand."

"Thank you," Duo said stiffly as the outside door opened. Wufei walked in, barely sparing a glance towards anyone as he walked straight to the sink and began to wash his hands. Duo looked the other way, not saying anything. 'Don't look, don't look,' he told himself fiercely. 'And for God's sake, don't blush!'

"The interface program has been removed," Wufei said, scrubbing his hands as though he could scrub away the feeling of dirtiness he felt towards his deception. He could only begin to repay the debt owed to his friends by this small act: undoing what he did… but it still didn't feel like enough. There was still much retribution needed. Or so he felt.

"Thank you," Trowa said, shifting some of the pancakes onto another plate for Wufei.

Wufei studied his hands as he dried them. "I believe you have a message, Quatre," he said, finally looking at someone.

The blond's interest perked up and he jumped from his seat and dashed out the door.

"I guess this vacation is going to end sooner than we expected," Duo grumbled, stuffing more syrupy pancakes into his mouth. 'Not that it had gone the way he'd originally planned,' he thought. 'Of course,' he added, squeezing his backside muscles testingly. 'It didn't necessarily go completely sour, either.'

"There was no vacation," Trowa said softly, turning to look at Wufei. "Was there?"

Wufei bowed his head. "No. There wasn't."

Duo's eyes widened as his head snapped up. "What?! But--"

"It was decided that downtime was needed," Wufei said cutting the braided-baka off.

"Decided? Decided by who?" Duo snapped, his fork cluttering to his plate. He steered around the island, until he was face to face with his new lover, saying, "Heero? You? Dammit, Wufei! You're playing god with our lives again!"

The Chinese boy said nothing, just bowed his head and waited for the tirade to end. He felt the heat, the anger, the sheer volume of emotions pouring off of Duo, slapping him across his entire body. But he didn't move or react. Duo sighed exasperatedly, and jumped up on the counter to sit and pout. He regretted it the second his backside hit the counter top.

"Ow! Oww! Ow! Ow!"

Wufei and Trowa were at his side in an instant.

"Here, get down from there," Wufei said gruffly, his hands slipping around Duo's waist to help lift him off the counter. Duo's hands found support at Wufei's shoulders. He wasn't aware of his feet hitting the ground. He wasn't aware of anything… except how remarkably *black* Wufei's eyes were.

Wufei's breath hitched. He was so close… he could just *step* right into the other boy… and feel his body pressed flushed against his. He swallowed, his eyes searching that beautiful face. It would be so easy to just lean over and touch his lips to his…

"Here," Trowa said, handing Duo two pills. "They'll help ease the pain." He slipped the pills into Duo's unresponsive hand and sighed. "And, if you don't mind my suggesting, next time you try something, you might want to bring a tube of lubricant along."

"Huh?" Duo said, snapping out of it and pulling away from Wufei just as quickly as the other boy pulled away from him.

"Lubricant. KY. What not," Trowa said, heading back towards the table. "Hand lotion works, but is not recommended. Also, stay clear of the petroleum jelly. It's okay for softening the skin and easing the burn afterwards, but it will hurt like hell during--"

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about, Tro-man," Duo said, licking his lips, swallowing hard, and trying vainly to ignore the red flush staining his checks. He stuffed his hand in his back pockets and tried to foster up a smile. Damn! It wasn't like he'd got caught with his pants down…err, well, not exactly anyway…

Trowa didn't comment, just gathered the dishes from the table, leaving one there for Wufei, and proceeded to the sink. "If this is a mission coming in for Quatre then I'm going to follow him out. If not, then we will be leaving anyway. You have my personal code if you need me."

"Wh-where you heading?" Duo said, trying to loosen-up the sudden tightness in his throat. Trowa and Quatre were leaving? That left… Wufei and him… alone. And when was Heero supposed to be back?

Trowa turned away from the sink and looked at him. His green eyes seemed to try and talk to him---but Duo wasn't proficient in Trowa-esse. Heero-esse he'd managed to learn… Sighing softly, Trowa turned back to the sink.

"Quatre and I should not be here when Heero returns," he said softly.

"Hn." Duo shot a look towards Wufei, but the other boy wasn't looking at him, he was looking at Trowa. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Don't mention what?" Quatre asked happily, bouncing into the kitchen, his cheeks flushed.

"Nothing, love," Trowa replied, bending over to place a kiss on top Quatre's blond head.

"Hmphf. Fine. Don't tell me your plans. See if I care," the boy huffed.

"Mission?" his tall lover asked softly, rinsing off the dishes.

"Yes!" the blond said excitedly. "To Hawaii! Can you imagine? And you're coming too. Isn't that great?!"

"Hawaii, huh?" Trowa said, a small smile playing across his lips as a hand reached up and brushed flushed cheeks. "You better make sure you bring some sun block and that lotion Rashid sent you."

"Oh! Yes! I better go pack now!" He leaned up on tippy-toes and placed a kiss against Trowa's cheek before rushing out. Trowa set the last dish in the dishwasher and turned, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.

"Hawaii?" he asked, staring at Wufei with a raised brow.

The Chinese boy shrugged. "There is an OZ base there…"

Silence.

"Oh, what would you have preferred? I sent you to China?" the normally calm Chang Wufei asked explosively.

"Jamaica would have been nice," Trowa replied, stepping past a stunned Duo and Wufei. The tall boy had left the room before either one recovered.

"You sent 'em a bogus mission?" Duo asked suddenly, turning on Wufei.

"No, of course not," the Chinese boy replied, sitting down at the table and staring at his pancakes. "I just forwarded your mission to Quatre and included Trowa."

Duo's mouth opened but no words came out. His jaw worked but no sound was produced. Finally, it snapped shut and he just stared at the other boy. Was he for real? Didn't they just talk about this last night?!

"Stop staring at me as if I'd grown two heads," Wufei snapped.

"I'm not sure that you didn't," Duo returned, sitting down at the table across from him. He hissed as his weight repositioned itself, but was too angry to back down. "Wufei, you're doing it again. You're playing god with our--"

"No," Wufei said, the calm in his voice deceiving against the passions burning inside him. "I'm not. You're in no condition to go play around *and* you are needed here first."

"But--"

"No." Wufei stood up, feeding the uneaten pancakes to the garbage disposal. "Trowa knows that. He understands. Please, try and understand as well. You are needed here, Duo. Trowa and Quatre are not."