I own none of these characters. Please, don’t sue. This fic contains violence, adult content, and yaoi. Read with discretion. Non-1x2x1 warning!!! Please, send feedback!!! I need it!!! *begs* "Paradox" Chapter 3 Rashid jumped into the fray and grabbed Quatre, carrying him into his room forcefully. "Trowa!!!" Quatre screamed and carried on, trying to get back to the hallway. Rashid sent a few of the Magniacs to go and retrieve Trowa. The boy was brought in and laid on the bed next to Quatre. The boys continued to protest, but the Magniacs insisted that Wufei and Heero could fight their own battles. Heero and Wufei fought long and hard till both were to tired to move, both realizing the other was a necessity to the missions. ***** Duo woke with a pounding headache, the room spinning. He looked at the clock to see it was suppertime, got up, and escorted himself downstairs, wondering how he got in his bed with his shoes off. He arrived downstairs to a room so full of tension one could see the anger-filled oras around the four pilots, all of which resembled mummies from the amount of bandages covering them. Duo looked at them strangely and then grinned. "Aww man, I always miss *all* the fun! What happened?" Quatre spoke first. "I was in my room and a huge hole was punched in it. I walked out to see Heero and Wufei dukeing it out, so I tried to break it up..." Trowa took over from there. "When I walked up the stairs I saw Quatre in the middle of a brawl between Heero and Wufei. He was grossly outmatched, so I tried to defend him." Heero and Wufei remained silent. Duo looked at the two of them. "Well... What were you guys fighting over?" Both boys refused to say anything, but Wufei got up and dragged Duo into the other room. Heero remained stoicly in place. Wufei led Duo outside and kept walking for about a block, silently. Duo finally grew impatient. "What’s going on?" "Maxwell..." Wufei swallowed hard. "What?!" "Why do you put up with Heero’s mistreatment of you?" Duo wasn’t expecting that, and he wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question. So, he decided to avoid it. "Does this have anything to do with your fight?" #What am I saying? It couldn’t possibly... Why is Wufei asking me this?# Wufei stopped, sitting on the ground, under the shade of a big tree, in a field of white daisies. He picked one and slowly started to pluck its petals, staring down at it as Duo sat next to him. He took a deep breath and began to attempt to explain. "I merely suggested that his treatment of you might be a bit unjust. I mean... sure, you are pretty obnoxious and can be quite irritating, but... I saw those bruises... They were uncalled for. I told Yuy so, and he was *less* than apologetic... So, I showed him justice..." Duo was dumbfounded. "W-what? Y-you mean you were fighting over... over me?" "Hai." "B-but... Why?" Wufei gulped and then came up with... "I told you, Maxwell, I do not tolerate injustice." "But Wufei..." "But what?" Wufei looked up from his mangled flower, his eyes meeting Duo’s. "I’m not worth it. I’m not worth some stupid argument about justice or whatever. The times Heero hit me I asked for it..." Wufei frowned, silencing Duo by putting his hand over his mouth. "*Never* say such a thing, Maxwell. I thought you never lied..." Duo gently removed Wufei’s hand, still gripping it at the wrist. "I’m not lying." "Your words aren’t the truth. How could you believe that?" "It’s easy. It’s true." "No..." Duo cut Wufei off, a tinge of bitterness to his voice. "Yes, it is. Everyone I ever get close to dies. Everyone who has ever cared about me in any way has met his or her maker in a gruesome way." Tears stung Duo’s eyes with his words, but he blinked them back. They glistened slightly in the twilight that was quickly becoming darker. Wufei suddenly grabbed him, pulling him close for a hug. Duo was bewildered once again. He had never even *pictured* Wufei hugging *anybody* much less him, and yet, Wufei felt warm and soft, yet muscular. It was... nice. Duo was paralyzed with shock. When he finally got his senses back, he wasn’t sure what to do or say. So, he just sat there and let Wufei hold him. They stayed that way for quite a while till Duo finally gathered his courage to ask one of the hundreds of questions burning in his head. Unfortunately, he picked the one with the most obvious answer. "W-what are you doing?" #Oh yes, that question screams intelligence! Duh baka! What do you *think* he’s doing, painting a house?!# Wufei wasn’t sure what to say to that. He was having enough trouble figuring out how he was dumb enough to get himself into this mess to begin with. How the hell was he supposed to know the answer to a complicated question like that?! He decided to say something he had wanted to say to Duo for a very long time. "Shhh..." Duo got the hint and went back to being silent, wrapping his own arms around Wufei, akwardly. In response he received a grunt of pain from Wufei. Duo had forgotten how beat up he was. Duo blushed and softened his grip. Wufei, in response, finally let go of Duo, backing away to stand up and walk off into the woods, not looking in Duo’s direction at all. Duo, of course, got up and followed him like a little lost puppy. "What are you doing, Maxwell?" "What does it look like I’m doing?" "Well, it looks like you’re following me." "Very astute. How long did it take for you to come up with that one?" "You really are an asshole, ya know that?" "Yep." After that, the conversation went dead, Wufei walking and Duo following till they reached a large pile of giant rocks. Wufei walked around them till he reached a particular stack of them that appeared to resemble the rest. He then pushed a bit of brush away from the area to reveal a hole large enough to enter standing, ducking slightly. He went in, not waiting to see if Duo would follow. Duo, of course, followed without a second thought. Inside the cave were large piles of wax where many white candles had been burned and a few charcoal symbols in Chineese upon the rock walls. Wufei lit one of the many white candles and sat down, leaning against a rock. Duo finally spoke up. "What are we doing here?" "*We* aren’t doing anything. *I* came here to relax, and *you* just followed me." "Sor~ry! I’ll leave if that’s how you feel." "No! ...Maxwell, I’m sorry. You can stay if you wish. I didn’t mean that, I just..." "What’s going on, Wufei?" Wufei dug at the soft dirt with his finger, making swirls. His head rested against the soft ivy growing along the wall. "...You’re not the only one to loose all of your loved ones y’know, Maxwell." Duo bit his lip as he looked up at Wufei, his brows furrowing. Wufei continued. "I lost an entire colony, and why? I’ll tell you why, it was because I was... am... weak. I knew there were problems. I knew what was... Merian told me that we should fight, but I would have nothing of it. I wanted to be a scholar. I wanted to be a pacifist. Because of me, they are all gone now..." "No... You couldn’t have known, Wufei. It wasn’t your fault. It was Oz’s." "I could have done *something*, *anything*! I am a fool! I am weak." "No, Wufei, that isn’t true. You’re a lot stronger than me. I mean, I know that isn’t saying much..." "How do you figure that, Maxwell?" ***** Batman: To the batcave, Robin!!! Robin: Golly Jeepers, Batman! Wtf are we doing here?!!! I mean, do we have *anything* at all to do with this fic or "Gundam Wing" at all for that matter? ===== laters, plude