Disclaimers: I don't own Trowa or Wufei, I just adopted them. And NO,
this is not considered incest!!!!
             Wufei: *sarcastic* Oh, REALLY? Then what DO you call it?!
             Trowa: I'm sticking with incest.
*sigh* Thank you SO much, boys....

Warnings: Sap and WAFF, maybe a little citrus and some nudity.

Additional Note:
                # entries in Wufei's journal #

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thirty-five Degrees
By: Ryoko Saotome
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trowa shivered as he entered the small cabin, thankful to, at the very
least, be out of the cold. Not that it was much warmer here....

The tall European teen knelt by the fireplace to feed a few more small
logs to the flames, then returned his attention to the smaller pilot with
him. The boy had been injured when their Gundams had gone down,
and had yet to wake up. While on the outside Trowa remained as impassive
as he always was, he was riding an internal emotional roller coaster.

Somehow during the course of their friendship--if one could even
call it such-- Trowa had grown to care deeply about the
delicate-looking boy. But he had never said anything, afraid
that he would push his friend away.

Trowa stood with a sigh and walked over to where his friend lie
on the pillows and blankets that he had tossed onto the floor; he
didn't trust the weathered couch, and there was no bed in the cabin,
so he had made a nest of sorts. He knelt next to the injured boy and
brushed a stray lock of hair away from the boy's face. A frown
crossed the European's face.

"It's been two hours now," he murmured to the unconscious boy.
"I'm worried about you... please wake up...."

There was no answer, and Trowa honestly didn't expect one. He
sighed again and, to his own shock, leaned forward to brush a
gentle kiss to his friend's cheek.

"It's getting late," Trowa whispered, still stunned by his actions.
"Oyasumi, little one. Please be okay."

Without another word, the green-eyed teen peeled off his turtleneck
and jeans, then slid beneath the blanket. He turned onto his side
and curled as close to the injured boy as he dared. For one brief
moment, Trowa thought he saw the other teen's eyelids flutter...

"Trowa no baka," the tall bishounen murmured to himself, letting
his own eyes slide shut. Within minutes, Trowa Barton was asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When he opened his eyes again, Trowa was a bit surprised to
discover that the other teen had curled up against him and was
shivering slightly. A quick glance towards the fireplace revealed
that the fire had nearly burned itself out, and there was barely
enough wood to get them through the rest of the night.

Which left him with only two options: Get up and feed the last
of the wood to the fire, or lie here and rely on body heat to get
them through the night.

Feeling the blush heat his cheeks, Trowa threw the blanket
off himself and moved towards the fireplace. He had barely
gone two feet when he heard the other boy speak:

"Tr'wa? Where're you goin'?"

He somehow resisted the urge to rush back and hug the boy, instead
replying in his usual cool tone. "The fire is going out."

"...ah." The confusion in that normally confident voice was too
endearing, and Trowa couldn't help but smile to himself as he tossed
the few remaining logs into the fire. "How long?"

The European teen understood exactly what his friend was asking.
"About six hours," he said, watching the fire come back to life again.
"You hit your head pretty hard."

He could hear the other teen shift restlessly behind him. "Ah...
aren't you cold?"

Trowa blinked at the flames, carefully schooling his expression
before turning back. "Some," he admitted, but he was stunned. Had
that been *concern* he'd heard in the boy's voice?

Sloe eyes blinked lazily at him. "It's warmer here," he said softly,
dropping his gaze suddenly and toying with the blanket. A faint
blush worked its way across his face as he quickly added, "I don't
mind sharing."

The logical part of Trowa's mind considered bringing up the fact
that they *had* been sharing the blanket, but he instead found
himself blinking mutely at Wufei. Just the mere *thought* that
the proud warrior was willing to share--and *blushing*?!--
was enough to shock him silent.

Taking the silence as a negative response, the Chinese teen
murmured a soft "gomen" before lying back down and pulling
the blanket up over his head. Trowa mentally slapped himself
in the face. It was usually a feat in itself to get the other boy to
talk--Quatre and Duo were experts in *that* field!--and that
sudden openness would probably never be seen again. The European
teen worried at his lip for a moment, then stood and made his way back
to the center of the room.

Wufei, in the mean time, was mentally berating himself for his
momentary indiscretion.

<Bakayarou!> he scolded himself. <One act of kindness from him--
something *any* of the other guys would have done had they been
here instead--and you *immediately* read more into it!>

"Gomenasai, Wufei."

The Chinese boy blinked, then peered out from under the blanket.
Trowa felt bad for embarrassing the smaller teen, and he wasn't sure
what to do. Apologizing seemed like a good place to start, though...

"Gomenasai," he said again, watching for any negative reaction
from his friend. "It *is* cold... anou, is the offer to share still open?"

For one brief moment, the European thought that Wufei was going
to tell him to fuck off... or even worse, roll over and ignore him. Then
the raven-haired teen nodded his head and shifted off to one side.
Trowa fought back the urge to hug the boy and instead slid beneath
the blanket, nestling down into the pillows and cushions of the nest.

"Arigatou."

"Do itashimashite."

Wufei lie quietly, waiting for Trowa's breathing to even out, then he
shifted closer to the green-eyed bishounen and curled up against him
with a sigh. He wasn't sure exactly *when* he had fallen for
Trowa Barton, but it had happened. And while he normally would do
his level best to refrain from being so very close to the boy, it was
quite cold, and the fire wasn't going to last for much longer....

The velvet-eyed teenager lie awake for a few moments more, then
finally drifted off to sleep. Almost the instant he drifted off, Trowa
opened one eye and smiled to himself. The tall bishounen wrapped
his arms securely around the slighter teen and drew him close,
sighing contentedly.

"Oyasuminasai, Wufei," he murmured, then fell asleep once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~ Two months later... ~*~

Wufei tried to listen to what the instructor was telling the class, but
he absolutely *hated* philosophy! It was so dry and boring and
un-imaginative... [1]

He heaved a soft sigh and turned his attention to his favorite sport:
Trowa watching. And since the taller boy sat one seat up and over
from him, it was an easy feat to manage. Wufei rested his chin on
one hand and simply took in the sight of the brunette, admiring the
way his school uniform just seemed to mold against him in just the
right places--

"Miss Chang, are you even paying attention?" the instructor said
tersely, yanking the Chinese youth from his contemplation. The other
students--including Trowa--turned to wait for their classmate's reaction.

Luckily, the bell chose that moment to ring, and Wufei was the first
person out of the room. He growled in frustration, feeling as if he
could yank his hair out. Trowa fell into step beside him, his face
expressionless but his visible green eye reflecting concern. While
he fully agreed that the philosophy class was dull, he knew that the
slightly younger teen generally threw himself into the courses randomly
assigned by Heero to maintain their cover whether he cared for them
or not.

<Something's bothering him,> Trowa thought, covertly watching
the other teen. Despite his concern, he couldn't help but mentally t
hank Heero for insisting that at least two of the pilots pose as female
students. [2] The short uniform skirt showed off Wufei's long,
slender legs, and he looked adorable with his hair down and wisping
loosely around his shoulders. In Trowa's eyes, Wufei was most
definitely an angel.

"Wufei? Is something on your mind?" he asked, dragging himself
from his thoughts. If he kept thinking about how damned pretty the
other boy looked--and pretty *was* the word he was looking for--
then he might slip and say something that he might regret in the future.

"I just hate that class, that's all," Wufei mumbled, holding his
books to his chest. "Why couldn't that have been the *last*
class we had instead of the first of the day?!"

"I don't--" Trowa started, then froze mid word and blinked at
Wufei. < We? Why would he be so concerned that we have the
same classes at the same time? Unless-->

He quickly shook off that train of thought. There was no way that
the Solitary Dragon felt the same way... only in Trowa's mind would
that happen.

"I don't know," he finished finally, realizing that Wufei was staring at
him with those huge coffee-colored eyes of his. "Luck of the draw,
I suppose."

"Hai, hai," Wufei agreed, turning around and waving to the other three
pilots ahead of them. "At least we have literature next, so that makes up for it."

<Literature... *my* least favorite subject,> Trowa mused as they
joined their friends and headed for class. <But it makes you happy,
and I love your smile.>

Any further thoughts were cut off by Duo's shouted greeting:
"Tro-tro! Wu-chan! Hurry up, willya?! Sheesh, you'd think it was
a chore to go to class or somethin'..."

Who would have ever guessed that Duo Maxwell was such an
avid learner? [3]

"Shut up, baka," Wufei shot back, snickering softly as he did. An
immediate surge of jealousy flared in the European's heart when the two
long-haired pilots linked arms and darted ahead of the other three
into the class, still laughing and chattering about nothing in particular,
but he shoved it aside.

<I hate that they're so close, but... well, they *did* spend a lot of time
together in the OZ facility,> he reasoned silently. <It would only be
logical if they've become a bit... *closer*... after that experience.>

It still hurt to think that Wufei might be involved with Duo, though. [4]

Heaving a purely mental sigh, Trowa slipped into the room after Duo
and Wufei. Quatre and Heero remained in the hall for a moment longer.
The teacher had arranged their seating in alphabetical order--boy girl
boy--and although Trowa had been lucky enough to be seated next to
Wufei, Quatre and Heero weren't as fortunate. They were blatantly
reveling in the fact that everyone thought they were a boy-girl couple,
and made a production out of the 'torture' of being forced to sit apart in
class.

The teacher's arrival was heralded by her 'scolding' the two
teenagers who were still in the hallway: "Mr. Winner, Miss Yuy,
surely you two can survive 45 minutes without being joined at the
hip!" [5]

"But 45 minutes is *such* a long time, Ms. Li!"

"Hiro. Classroom. Now."

"Hai, Ms. Li."

Heero and Quatre quickly darted into the room and took their seats,
followed by the petite young-looking woman who was their literature
professor. Trowa couldn't help but smile at the graceful manner in
which she moved. Everyone on campus loved Kara Li. [6] The
blond clearly loved her work, and even though he hated literature,
Trowa found himself getting involved in every lesson that the
woman taught.

Ms. Li smiled brightly at her students. "Konichiwa, minna-san."

"Konichiwa, Ms. Li," the class replied as a whole.

"I'm going to do something a little different for class this week," the
blond told them, the tiny Mona Lisa smile she always wore still in place.
"The student paper is having a poetry contest, so I thought that I
would make your assignment for the week simple. All you have to do
is write a poem for the contest. I've been chosen as faculty judge,
and everyone who participates gets an 'A' for the project even if
their poem isn't published."

Wufei's eyes lit up. He had a journal *filled* with poems, and he was
always writing more. This was going to be a breeze! But he was
curious about something, and he raised his hand. He managed to
ignore the stares he was receiving from his teammates.

"Miss Chang? You had a question?"

"Hai, Ms. Li. Anou... are there any limitations or requirements that
need to be met?"

The silver-eyed woman smiled. Wufei was her favorite student. The
girl was very intelligent and an eager learner, not to mention one of
the best writers Kara had come across in her ten years teaching at
St. Anthony's Academy.

"Arigatou for reminding me," Ms. Li said cheerfully. "There
are five categories in the contest: rhyming, freeform verse,
lost love, romantic, and natural. All entries are to be turned in
by Friday, and will be judged by two of the upperclassmen and
myself. The winning entries will be published in next week's paper."

"Domo," Wufei said, nodding slowly. He had a poem that fit in two
categories... it was rather old, but he had written it from the heart. He
cast a sidelong glance at Trowa and heaved a mental sigh.

<'The illusion of you and me' [7]> he thought. <Yes, that is the one.>

"Wufei? Hello?"

The Chinese youth made a slightly startled sound before whirling
around to face Trowa, blushing slightly. "Oh! Gomen, Trowa-kun,
I was lost in thought."

<Kawaii,> the European teen thought with a tiny smile. Wufei was
just too adorable sometimes without even knowing it....

"That's okay. I just asked if you had any idea of what you were
going to submit for the contest," he said aloud. "Since this *is*
your favorite subject, you must have something in mind."

"Actually, I do," Wufei replied mysteriously. "Something... something
from the heart."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wufei was so absorbed in his writing that he never even heard his
best friend sneak up on him... that is, until Duo started reading aloud
over his shoulder:

"# Sunlight changing brown to red-- #" [8]

"Duo!" the startled Chinese boy yelped as he slammed his journal
shut and turning a mock-glare on the braided American pilot. "You
*know* I hate it when you do that!"

The braided teen snickered. "Hai, but it always gets your attention,
Wu-chan!"

"Did you need something?" Wufei said, hoping to end the
conversation quickly and get back to the poem he had been writing about Trowa.

"Anou... actually..." Duo said, twirling his braid nervously, "I can't
figure out what to write about--"

"I'm not letting you use one of mine."

"Ma, ma, I know!" Duo was the only one who knew about Wufei's
journals, and he had sworn that he would never tell any of the other
guys about them. And, even though it *was* tempting at times like this
to 'borrow' one of the poems, he wouldn't even dare *dream* of it. They
were his best friend's most private thoughts, and they weren't to be
shared unless *Wufei* chose to share them.

"I just wanted to ask if you could give me a hand," he continued
quickly. "I'm not sure what to write about."

The Chinese youth relaxed instantly, and Duo breathed a sigh of
relief. Disaster averted. [9]

"What do you *want* to write about?" Wufei asked, setting his
pen down and letting his journal rest on his lap. For the millionth
time he cursed Heero for making him pose as a girl because, quote
"We're both the smallest and Duo looks too masculine" unquote.

The chestnut-maned pilot tilted his head to one side as he pondered
his answer. A faint blush tinged his cheeks as he shrugged and
mumbled, "Anou... I kinda wanna write a poem like the ones you
write... y'know, about love and stuff."

<'Love and stuff'?> Wufei thought even as he said "Aa. Well, if you're
going to do this right, you have to tell me who this mystery girl you
keep dropping hints about is." [10]

"It's... um... well, she's... ah, hell, it's Relena."

Cocoa eyes widened slightly. "As in Relena Heero-Doesn't-Really-
Want-To-Kill-Me Peacecraft?"

"Um... yeah?" Duo nearly whimpered, suddenly finding his shoes very
interesting. <Oh, gods, he's never going to let me live this down!!>

"It's about time."

Those words shocked him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to
see Wufei smiling thoughtfully at him. "Nani?! What do you
mean by that?!"

"Please, Duo, I'm not blind!" the Chinese teen replied with a snort.
"Anyone with a working set of eyes can tell that she spends most
of her time around us *staring* at you like you hung the moon
and stars! Besides, I think it's cute."

Duo stared blankly at his best friend, somehow unable to make
his voice work. Wufei had already known?!

Ignoring his friend's shocked state, Wufei settled back against
the tree and smiled. "Now, then... when you think of her, what's
the very first thing that comes to mind?"

The American finally shook himself out of his stupor and closed
his eyes, letting his thoughts settle on his not-quite-as-secret-as-
he'd-thought girlfriend. "Her eyes," he finally said, opening his
own and blinking at Wufei.

"What about them?"

"What about them?!" Duo repeated almost indignantly. "Have you ever
*looked* at her eyes?! They're so beautiful, like twin oceans sparkling
in the midday sun, two pools of cerulean that peer into my soul, seeing
everything I am and not turning away, and--" he stopped suddenly.

"And you said you didn't know what to write about," his friend teased.
"I'll turn you into a poet yet, Duo Maxwell."

Having said that, Wufei stood, brushing the loose grass off his skirt
before heading towards his dorm. Duo merely watched him go, still
trying to figure out if it was just *him* who had said all those things
about Relena's eyes, then his typical manic grin spread across his
features.

<You *say* you aren't blind, Fei-chan,> he mused, even as he stood
and made his way to his own room, <but you don't see how Trowa
looks at you. What's it gonna take, I wonder? Hm, maybe Heero and
Quatre can help me on this one....>

tbc...

[1] Can you tell I hated that course?

[2] Let's play Twenty Questions to guess who else is dolled up (literally)!

[3] Why, the Society for the Defense of Duo's Intelligence,
that's who! =^-^=

[4] o/~ Some-body's jealous! o/~

[5] Heero in a skirt... yum....

[6] ...Kara! You wormed your way into *another* fic!!
               Kara: I'm just good like that ^_^

[7] This is an excerpt from an original poem I wrote. The poem is called
"Illusion", and will be posted both in the Anime Fanfiction Archive
and at the RandomGundam Archive.

[8] Heh, yet another poem in progress. I may include it here, or I might not.

[9] Heheh, Wufei's *very* protective of his work!!

[10] Gomen, but I just couldn't resist making Duo the only straight
one in this!! Forgive me, all 2x5 'shippers! Fei's already giving me
The Look(tm) for it!!

comments so far? e-mail Ryoko