Title: Strawberry Swirl (3/P+5)
Author: Bronze Tigress
Pairings: 2+5/5+2; mention of past 5xM
Genre: get-together?
Rating: PG13, maybe...

WARNINGS: barely shounen ai, some minor language and angst, implied
minor violence; spoilers for Episode Zero

Disclaimer: Not my characters, and most of the past events they're
talking about? Weren't my ideas either... The research, however, is all
mine. So are assorted members of Wufei's extended family, and this
story itself.

//thoughts//
*emphasis*

~*~*~*~*~*~

Apr. 10, AC197; early morning
PHQ single residency apt. #205
and Preventers Headquarters cafe

When Duo wakes the next morning, he is blissfully relaxed. A warm
lethargy seems to have been wrapped around him like stained-glass sunbeams
on polished wood; the only sour note is the slow throb beginning to
make itself felt in his wrist, but even that isn't enough to drag him out
of his comfortable spot. He is surprised to note that it is already
beginning to be light out. That means, he realizes, that he slept
without nightmares last night, even after having been in action again the day
before. And, he realizes, he's pleasantly warm, too, for a change -
all wrapped up and cuddled up close... He stiffens suddenly. //Wait a
minute... cuddled? What happened last night, again? Conversation...
hair... massage... and then... No, that's the end of it. Either
those meds were something else... but that makes no sense; Wufei wouldn't
have lied about what they were.//

As Duo is mulling over these thoughts, an arm flops over his
midsection, and pulls him snugly up against the solid body curled up around and
behind him. //Hmmmm... feels nice.// Curious, Duo looks down.
//That's definitely Wufei's arm... Is he still asleep? Well, I *did* tell
him to do whatever he wanted, so I guess...// He squirms a bit, then
slips his hand down to check out just what happened to his... well, his
towel, he supposes, since he does remember stripping down during the
massage. //Well, that's still there, and... Yeah, I'm all wrapped up in
the quilt. Looks like he just bundled me up in it before crashing
himself.//

Duo pulls his hand back up and runs his fingers through his bangs, then
untangles the chain from around his neck and idly rubs his fingers over
his cross, thinking. //Well, let's see. Butt naked except for a towel
and wrapped in blankets. Separately wrapped, though. Not sore
anywhere. I doubt I could have slept through *that*, anyway - these meds
aren't *that* good. So nothing else happened. I guess he must get lonely
for someone to cuddle with at night too.// He squirms a little,
worming himself into the embrace just that much closer, enjoying the feeling.
//Heh; points for the intuition; knew I was right about him.// He
smiles to himself, the barest upturn of lips and a warm shine in
half-opened eyes. //God, I missed this feeling; safe, warm, close... Wonder how
*he*'s gonna react to waking up wrapped around me like this,
though...//

He doesn't have to wonder long. There's a sleepy murmur behind him
that sounds like "Lan..." and the arm around his waist tightens slightly -
then freezes.

Wufei's thoughts, on finding that the warm body in his arms is not, in
fact, yet another dream of times past, are considerably more jumbled.
//No, it can't be her, she's long dead - even before the others were.
Then... who? that scent... the colour of those shoulders, that
scar... Duo? Yes, it must be; nobody else has hair like that, but... why
is he in my bed with me...?//

As he becomes more awake, scenes from the night before flicker through
Wufei's memory. //Oh... right. Is he awake yet? It's already light
out, so it's probably time to get up anyway...// Wufei shifts then,
propping himself up to half sit while leaning on his elbow, then pulls
back the arm he has wrapped around Duo, carefully but not skittishly.
//I wonder... Damn, I hope I didn't screw up some weird cultural
thing...// A quick glance past the form of his (hopefully!) still sleeping
bedmate at the clock confirms that it is, indeed, probably about time to
get up, especially considering that they will have to share the
bathroom. He rests a hand on Duo's shoulder, gripping gently and rocking back
and forth lightly. "Maxwell? You awake? Come on, sleepy, time to get
up..."

Duo shifts then, sounding far too awake to have been just woken as he
replies, "I would, Wufei, but I wasn't sure you wanted me walking around
in just this towel, and I don't see my pants out there..." He squirms
over onto his back and then sits up, the quilt and blanket puddling
around his hips as he does so. He absently reaches up with his bad wrist
to tug his cross back to the front and hisses sharply before trying
again with the other hand.

//Well, I guess that answers that; he doesn't seem upset to have woken
up here.// "Ah, I folded them on the chair out there," Wufei explains,
as he folds back his own sheets. //And he was awake before me...// He
gets up to fetch Duo's pants, deciding that there's no point in being
bashful now. He's three steps away from the bed before the swish of
fabric around his ankles reminds him that he *is* wearing something after
all. //And he didn't move away, either. Knowing Duo, if he had
minded, he would have moved, pants or not. Speaking of which,// Wufei thinks
as he takes a good look at the state of Duo's pants. They definitely
show signs of having been worn, slept in, and then dragged through the
mud, now that the light is better. He picks them up and walks back to
the bedroom. "Considering what you put these through yesterday, do you
want to borrow something of mine for now? We can wash your things
after breakfast; I need to run some laundry anyway..."

"Hmmm, thank you, I'd appreciate that," Duo says. Wufei drops the
pants into a hamper in the corner, then takes Duo's shirt off the doorknob
and tosses it in as well. "Sally didn't give me much time to pack, and
I figured tools were gonna be more important... Um... You wouldn't
happen to have coffee, would you? And maybe a shower once my clothes are
clean...?" Duo sounds distinctly hopeful.

"Yes, actually, to both, but no milk, if you take that." Wufei smiles
as he bends down to open one of the dresser drawers, rummaging through
it to find a pair of pants that might fit the now slightly taller
//very attractive// young man who is sitting //naked// in his bed. //Focus,
Chang.//

"Oh," Duo comments. "Tea would be fine then I guess; I can't seem to
get used to drinking my coffee black," he says.

"Here, try these," Wufei says, handing Duo a pair of loose sweat pants
which he seldom wears because they tend to drag and bunch at his
ankles. "The bathroom is yours; I need to get my things together, and then
take my shower once you have done." //Probably a cold one.// He
watches as Duo swivels his feet out of bed, then prudently turns back to the
dresser, looking through one of the upper drawers this time. "We can
go down to the on-duty cafe for breakfast rather than stay here, so you
can have your coffee how you like it; I do not believe I am in the mood
for cold rice anyway..."

"Eeeww!" Duo's face, as he finishes pulling the loose grey sweatpants
on, is twisted in a comical grimace. "Cold rice for breakfast? That's
worse than black coffee, Wufei... Yeesh, you been taking cooking
lessons from Heero or something?"

"No, actually. I've been *giving* cooking lessons to Yui, but that is
rather beside the point, is it not?" Wufei nearly laughs at the
startled look on Duo's face as this bit of information is revealed. "Go on,
and don't take too long in there; you sounded like you need to take
some more of those meds."

When Duo gets back out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Wufei is
waiting for him with a glass of water and more of the pain medicine and
one of the antibiotic pills as well. "Here, take this now too." He
watches while Duo takes his medicine, holding the pills on one
outstretched palm, then turns to pick up a small stack of clean clothing from the
countertop. "There are shirts in the third drawer; feel free to pick
one you like. I should be out shortly, and then we can go find you some
coffee, hmm?"

20 minutes later, Wufei is looking and feeling relatively professional
again, although his neatly tied back hair is still quite damp. Duo has
found, after some very careful rummaging, a plain emerald green T-shirt
that isn't decorated with kanji. //With my luck, I'd be sure to get
the one that Wufei only wears when he wants to flip off the world. Or
the one that reads 'Property of Nataku'. Better not to tempt fate...//
Wufei nods approvingly at him as he slips his own shoes on, and
somewhere, a small, vain voice in Duo's head bounces excitedly.

The pair don't run into anyone on the way to breakfast, which makes
Wufei much easier over the subject. He does have a reputation to uphold,
after all! Having had overnight company would be bad enough. Having
his overnight company recognized as being dressed in his clothes would
only raise speculations he isn't quite sure he's yet prepared to deal
with. He's really not certain that the fact that his overnight company
happens to be male improves that situation, either.

It would not have raised *too* many eyebrows back on A0206 (in fact,
Wufei well remembers his youngest uncle's _qidi_(1), who used to read him
the best stories when he was a tiny child), so long as his filial
duties were fulfilled. And, as he reminds himself, he no longer *has* those
- not that they would necessarily have interfered with his taking a
lover in any case. //And let us not get ahead of ourselves, Chang... You
still don't know for certain if he is even interested... Although he
does seem to be available... and not completely opposed to the
idea...//

However, there seem to be very few male couples here in the Sanq area,
and Wufei is rather leery of causing any further rumours about himself
to be spread. Already he is suspected of being an ex-terrorist (true
though that is!) and of having applied for his position via Sally's bed
(most emphatically *not* true!) He doesn't see any need to add to the
list. So Wufei offers a silent thanks to his ancestors as they arrive
without undue notice at the cafe, and join the line for service.

The two make their way through the line and are soon sitting at a quiet
table far enough from anyone to prevent casual eavesdropping, but not
so far hidden away as to arouse suspicion that their conversation might
be interesting enough to warrant the attempt. Once they are seated,
Duo asks the question that has been plaguing him for the past half hour,
"so, who's Lan?"

"My wife, Meilan.(2) I must apologize for this morning, I suppose."

"No, Wufei, it's okay, I lik... I mean, I wasn't planning to crash in
your bed like that..." he says, and takes a large swig of coffee.
//Shinigami, why can't I stop blurting things out around him?// When he
puts the cup down, he is already steering the conversation back to a
safer topic. "I didn't know you were married, Wufei. Why isn't she here
with you?" //...and if he is, then what the fuck...?//

"She died, in an OZ attack on my colony, about six months before we
came to Earth. You could not have known; I didn't exactly tell any of you
much about my past. Now, what was that about liking waking up that
way?"

"I," Duo stutters, surprised at having been caught out and questioned.
//Shit. He did catch it.// "Well," he begins again, "at the orphanage
all us little ones, we'd get packed in four to a bed going the wrong
way. I guess it was cheaper than separate cots for everyone, and it was
warmer in the winter. It was nice, kinda like being home again. I
didn't have the nightmares last night, either, which is really strange
considering we were fighting yesterday, even if it did turn out okay.
Damn, if I'd known in advance what I know about that now, I would've
dropped it quicker, y'know? My wrist still hurts this morning..." //...a
widower at 14? Dear Shinigami...//

"Ah, but if you had known in advance, would you have come? No, never
mind." Wufei fiddles with his breakfast for a moment before apparently
changing the subject, asking, "what will you do next?"

"Huh? Oh, well... I have that appointment this morning to talk to
Une, but after that, I need to go back to L2 for a while. I have some
business with Hilde to take care of. I was thinking last night - when you
were about down to my shoulder blades - that I couldn't just keep
avoiding the issue with her. I may not be telling her I've got the same
happy-little-family dreams she does, but I haven't discouraged her any,
either, and it's time I stopped letting her lie to herself. I've got too
much to deal with from the war, still, to be worrying about settling
down with her and having kids, and, well... She deserves the chance to
go look for someone who can give her what she wants, you know?"

Wufei nods. "Yes, that would probably be kindest to her."

Duo gazes at his coffee cup for a moment before looking up again.
//Fuck it. All he can do is reject me; if he was gonna kill me he'd've
done it last night.// "Last night is the first time I haven't dreamed
that Deathscythe was about to push the button on me since we said goodbye
to them last month, y'know? And before that, it was the soldiers I
killed, or the other kids from the orphanage or the gangs, or..." He
shudders with the memories. "Anyway... d'you mind if I stay with you for
the rest of the time I'm here? It won't be for more than a couple of
days, but unless I get a lift the commercial shuttles don't run straight
to L2 so often, and I *hate* having to stop over at the Moon Base,
after all the trouble we've had there."

Wufei chuckles slightly at the reference. "I do not mind. You know,
if you do take the position, it will be easier to arrange transport. I
take it you are interested in Une's offer, then?"

"Uh, huh. I just need to wrap things up with Hilde and her yard,
first, before I can start, provided I like the terms. I might need to stay
with you for a couple of days while I found my own place, then, too..."

//I wonder...// "Maxwell..." Wufei sounds oddly tentative, and Duo
finds it rather unsettling to hear his normally self-confident friend so
unsure of himself. "If you do come to work here... Would you consider
a longer-term arrangement?"

"Huh?" Duo is startled enough to be rendered speechless.

"They have some larger apartments over on the other side of the
courtyard. They are two-bedroom units, and they are mostly empty so far; I
shouldn't have any trouble getting one, but they are on leases, not
available on a short-term basis like the singles."

"Um, Wufei?" Duo is plainly surprised by the implications of that
information, taken with the previous question. "Are you asking me to move
in with you? Maybe I need to check *your* head this morning..."

"I think my head is probably fine - perhaps more so than you have been
privy to previously, in fact - but thank you for offering," Wufei
smiles. "Think about it, though. They are not quite as big as two of the
singles put together, but with only the one kitchen and bath, there is
more living space; the rent works out to less when split two ways as
well."

"So, it's just a better deal? Why not pick someone else, then, who
won't be in your face all the time? Heero, Quatre, and Hilde can all tell
you I'm not a quiet person to live with."

Wufei smiles. "A number of reasons, in truth. We work well together
in the field, for one. And you do know how - and when - to be quiet.
Also, I was thinking about what you said last night... About having
someone around who understands the nightmares without having them
explained, and what losing your family and being helpless to save them feels
like. And something else. Do you know, you had that damned loud
ever-competent ever-confident grinning mask *off* the whole time last night?
Even *after* the narcotic wore off."

Duo blinks as he realizes that it's quite true. "Yeah, I did, didn't
I? Didn't need it, I guess..."

Wufei nods. "I thought as much. And you have mentioned feeling at
home again, several times now. I don't know. We could try it, though; if
it does not work, we would just find separate places after the lease
expires." Wufei is, by this time, toying with his fork rather than
making any pretence whatsoever at eating.

"It means a lot to you that I agree, doesn't it, Wufei? Why?"

//Here goes..// "Because of the nightmare I did not have last night,
either." Wufei glances up at Duo's face, barely catching the fleeting
expression of shock. "Yes, my dreams are still... less than pleasant.
How could they be otherwise, after what we have done, what we have
seen?" Wufei pauses for a sip of his tea. "I am becoming wary of making
assumptions about how people will react to things here, where the oddest
things are the opposite of what I expect. But you have as much as told
me that it did not bother *you* to wake up as we did. It also occurred
to me that what is good enough for an Emperor is surely good enough for
me, especially now that I am the one who must choose for myself. I
have already fulfilled my family duty of marriage, and I have been freed
of it."

"Family duty? That seems like an awfully strange way to think about
someone you love..."

"Love?" Wufei makes a rude snorting noise. "No, not among my people.
Love might come, but it was never the point, nor ever required. No.
Marriage was never about love on my Colony, only the family line."(3)

"Even my marriage, much as I came to wish otherwise," Wufei comments
with a somewhat bitter laugh. "Oh, she hated that I even walked the
colony, much less that I was deemed necessary to continue her family's
line. Not even *my* family's line, but hers. And here I talk of honour!
Laoshi O tried to send me back to my studies, when she died, but
instead I chose to take up her cause, to fight for justice.(4) Stupid, no?
I didn't believe in her Justice, and I certainly didn't understand it.
It was all I could think of to do, however.

"After the Eve War," Wufei continues, "I spent a full year trying to
learn what justice *is*, since I never did find it in avenging her death.
Khushrenada - I did not kill him, in the end; rather, he threw himself
onto my trident. Vulcanus, the affair with Sogran, even that foolish
scheme of Quatre's - none of them helped.(5) Mariemeia provided the
key, in the end; without her, Yui would never have been forced to remind
me of *who* I began fighting for. I finally remembered what I knew all
along - justice is not an absolute, and trying to make it one only
causes more senseless deaths - like hers was. But now, Nataku is gone, in
both her incarnations, and I am done with mourning her."

"Well, that explains a *lot*, but could you go over the bit about
Emperors for me again?"

"Ah. Any number of Emperors, according to the histories, saw fit to
take another man into their households - and presumably from the
literature, their hearts and beds. Of course, it was hardly unknown among the
common people either, but their stories did not tend to get recorded in
the same scrolls - then, or on the Colony. How common this occurrence
was varied by Dynasty, and after the Western influx that fact was...
suppressed for a long time, but I *was* a scholar after all, to begin
with."(6)

"Oh. And you're telling me this now because...?" //Into their hearts?
Does he mean..?//

"Because now... Hah! This is where I should borrow a trick from your
book and evade the question, I suppose. But after this morning, I
think I do not wish to hide. Because... I liked waking up like that, as
well, and I would very much like to understand... what this is that I
feel for you." Wufei's voice has grown quiet, and it is edged with all
sorts of emotions that Duo has to struggle to guess at.

//Oh... my... God...// Duo finishes his breakfast in silence after
this, broken only by his asking Wufei if he would like a refill when he
goes to fetch a second cup of coffee for himself, and if he wanted
sugar.

~*~*~*~*~
Long notes for this part! I spent a lot of time compiling this
information:

(1) qidi - technically, "adopted younger brother". However, the term
was used specifically to refer to the younger of a pair of bonded male
lovers. A ceremony similar to that for swearing blood brotherhood, but
containing the same promises to fulfill obligations as a marriage, was
commonly used to celebrate the union. The qixiong (the elder of the
pair) would be responsible for his qidi in much the same manner as he
would be for a wife, and the qidi would be treated as a son-in-law by the
qixiong's parents. Wufei's uncle and uncle-in-law are *my* creations.

(2) While the katakana is indeterminate on the subject of R's and L's,
the kanji used here is listed in my reference source as being
pronounced 'Lan', so I'm using this version of her name.

(3) Wufei is quite correct. In a society where the bride and
bridegroom never saw each other before the wedding, it is ludicrous to think
that love played any part in the selection process. Instead, it was a
duty to one's family to marry the selected person and produce children -
preferably male - in order to continue the family line.

(4) According to my research, since Meilan is identified as Long
Shirin's heir, Wufei, in contradiction to usual practice (whereby Meilan
would become a member of the Chang family/clan), was being "adopted" via
the marriage into the Long clan as their son. His children, if not he
himself (which would have been a great dishonour to his own family),
would have been required to take *her* family name, in order to continue
the Long family line. In other words, Meilan *remained* Long Meilan,
not becoming Chang Meilan at any point; if any changing of names took
place, then Chang Wufei became Long Wufei for the time that he was
married.

The term for Wufei's position in Meilan's family translates
roughly as "superfluous husband" or "unnecessary son-in-law" - no wonder he
speaks of having to prove himself worthy of being her husband! However,
with Meilan's death, any of his children would not be Longs by blood
anyway, hence he was 'set free' - and Master O tells him so at the end of
his Ep0. What he *wants* at the time is to avenge his wife and carry
out her justice, but it doesn't negate the fact that as her "widow"
(because the role of a widower was quite different) he was essentially
being dismissed from the Long clan.

(5) Wufei refers to events shown in _Battlefield_of_Pacifists_,
_Blind_Target_, and _Ground_Zero_, respectively.

(6) The existence of male Consorts is recorded in the official
documents of the relevant Dynasties, while the associated love stories are
recorded in the literature of these eras (and regarded among the
classics). In the 1800's, however, European visitors began importing Christian
views of morality, as well as Western definitions of homosexuality. As
a consequence, today it is difficult to find information on the
subject. Just how 'traditional' the society on A0206 was, of course, is up to
an individual author to decide...

(More) Author notes: yes, I am aware that there is a fan site which
states that Wufei's culture is matriarchal, and that Long Shirin is
Meilan's grandmother; and, that this "fact" has been widely copied. This
is, from my research, quite incorrect. I believe I have also found the
source of this bit of misinformation, where the description given
contradicts the word used. Reference links available on request.

Next ---> Strawberry Swirl 4

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