"Intricacies" Wufei lay motionless on the cold white linoleum. Humiliation penetrated his thoughts and feelings... the humiliation of loss in battle and the humiliation of what followed. The white Chinese robes he wore in mourning of his wife and people were literally ripped off of him so that a strip search could be performed. Even his hair tie was removed. When they were finished strip searching him and beating him they threw him nonchalantly into this four walled white prison with bright lights shining upon him from all angles, and now, he still lay there, cold and bare and wishing they had finished him in battle. He knew he was weak for having lost to a mere seven of their new type of mobile doll suits. His pride had been crushed as it had when L5 was lost to him. He knew deep in his soul that he could have saved L5 had he chosen the path of a warrior just a bit sooner. He blamed himself. Now, his only hope lay in the boy sent as his partner for the mission. He prayed that 02 would complete the mission for him. Wufei’s hopes were crushed as the squeaky door was flung open and the loud slap off skin hitting linoleum echoed through the room. The door was quickly slammed shut. *~*~* Duo lay on the cold, hard unforgiving tile, his braid partially untwisting from its lack of tie and his skin forming bruises from the punishment he had taken. He supposed it wouldn’t stop there. He waited for Wufei to speak up and tell him what a baka and a fool he was for fucking up any minute, but nothing left the Chinaman’s lips. Duo lay there for a good five minutes pondering the intricacies of the universe along with the right codes for setting a VCR before rolling over to face Wufei. The dark skinned boy lay facing away from him, curled into a small ball. The thought suddenly occurred to Duo that he might be hurt. Duo managed to crawl towards Wufei and lean over him to look at his face. "Are you ok?" *~*~* Wufei was meditating quietly and hoping Maxwell would remain stoic when the braided one suddenly leaned over him, looking him in the face, and asked if he was ok. How was he supposed to answer a question like that?! It, of course, didn’t help that the long golden chestnut rope of hair of his, now slowly unwinding, brushed ever so slightly on his bare skin. Wufei blushed hotly and shoved Duo away roughly, moving to sit against the wall, his knees to his chest. "Don’t touch me, Maxwell." "G-gomen, Wufei." Wufei merely huffed at Duo. *~*~* #Man, who pissed in his Wheaties?! Well, that will teach me for worrying about *him*. I was merely worried and wanted to make sure he was ok, and he goes and throws me half across the room. What a jerk! .....Man, look at the way he is sitting. Something *is* wrong. Too bad he won’t let me help him. There has got to be something... I know, if I piss him off he will be too annoyed to be upset by whatever is upsetting him.# Duo looked over at Wufei, and a spry grin spread across his face. "Oi Wuffie, I think you should do your hair up in pigtails next time with big pink bows." *wink* #This otta do it!# Duo was surprised when Wufei merely tucked his head behind his knees, not answering. Had he said something wrong, or had something *really* bad happened, Duo wondered. *~*~* #Why did it have to be pigtails. *She* wore pigtails. Oh Meiran, I have failed you. I have failed everyone. I am a failure.# Wufei snorted irritably at Duo as he looked back up at him. "Leave me alone, Maxwell." "Well, that would be all fine and good Wufei, but in case you haven’t noticed I am not locked in a white room with you butt-ass naked out of some sick pleasure of my own, although..." *grin* "Shut up, Maxwell." Wufei couldn’t believe this. Was the braided boy a total pervo or something? Then the thought crossed him that *he* himself must be or he wouldn’t be picturing Duo’s beautiful pale nude body laying among a huge pile of black feathers, a naughty grin across his face. Wufei shook his head to clear it, visibly blushing. *~*~* Duo briefly wondered why Wufei was staring at him. He soon wrote it off, however, figuring he wouldn’t want to know. Wufei was probably plotting various painful and tortortous ways to make him suffer for that last comment such as taking away his pocky, or hiding his CDs, or even worse, burning his naughty yaoi Kaworu x Shinji manga. Duo shuddered at the thought, but determined keeping Wufei from being so messed up was more important at the moment. Suddenly, the walls began to move all around the boys, closing in.