"WuFei, you are an idiot." The Chinese pilot growled to himself angrily. He was swiftly walking away from his room, not knowing where he was going, but knowing that he needed to leave Duo alone.

A few minutes of walking found the Chinese pilot in one of the several gardens on Quatre's estate. Knowing that being surrounded by nature would help to calm him, WuFei looked around for a good place to sit, finally choosing a grassy, well shaded spot under an old aspen tree.

Settling down under the tree, the Shenlong pilot assumed a simple cross-legged meditation position. Taking slow, deep, rhythmic breaths, he began to think.

"You, WuFei, are a weakling. Not Duo, but you. It is dishonorable and a great injustice to insult a comrade in such a manner when they have done nothing wrong, and you are only truly mad at yourself." he told himself harshly.

"Things were just fine before you messed everything up. You know that you don't usually get along with Maxwell very well, but today you were really doing good for a change! So why didn't you leave things alone? You know how to control you temper and your mouth, so why didn't you?" he asked, pounding a fist into the ground.

He was getting angry, and he knew it. "Take deep breaths, slow breaths. Calm yourself. Being angry is useless; anger won't help you to solve you problems in this case. In fact, it will only make it worse." WuFei coached himself.

He willed his thoughts to find a more pleasant, peaceful course to follow. It didn't really matter what, so long as it didn't get him any more upset or angry than he already After a short while of prompting, along with several mental nudges to keep them in line, his thoughts obeyed.

"So, I can sew now..." WuFei realized. Now that he wasn't so upset with himself, he was thinking in terms of `I' rather than `you.' "Interesting. I never thought that I would learn such a womanly skill."

A sudden, revolutionary thought hit the dark eyed boy. "Perhaps sewing isn't a skill for only women and weaklings... There will be times when it will be necessary for me to mend my clothing or other items made of cloth. There will not always be someone else there to do it for me; some day I will be on a solo mission and need to mend something. So perhaps sewing is a...useful skill? Perhaps even a strength?"

The thought struck him as almost being funny. "What will I learn next? How to dance, perhaps?" He smirked and chuckled softly to himself, quite amused. "Imagine... Me, dancing! How the others would react!"

Dancing... The very thought made him want to erupt with laughter! "Hmm... I wonder what style of dancing? I already know all the traditional Chinese ones, as clan custom dictated that I must... But ballroom dancing! Break dancing! Some strange modern style, perhaps..."

The images flashing through the boy's mind were amusing, but as they came faster and more frequently, they began to take on a strangely appealing aspect. WuFei became slightly alarmed at that.

"Enough!" he silenced his thoughts. His mind was getting carried away with itself. Meditation was supposed to help one think, but this was ludicrous! He needed to concentrate harder and get his mind back to a more useful subject.

"You know, if you wanted to learn how to dance, I'm sure that Duo would be more than willing to teach you..." chimed a part of his mind. WuFei blinked in surprise; that had sounded almost exactly like his deceased wife, Meiran...

"Nataku... Meiran..." he breathed, not sure of his sanity at the moment. This wasn't the first time that her voice had come to him and spoken, so that wasn't the surprise. The thing that disturbed him so much was that it was the first time she had said something to him without his seeking her out...

"Yes, husband, it is me... Don't be so surprised! I do have an interest in your life, even though I am no longer with you physically, and I do have the ability to speak with you whenever I wish to do so, just as long as your mind is relatively calm and clear..." the familiar feminine voice remarked, its tone teasing.

"Wife! Why are you here now?" he asked, confused. This was an interesting turn of events that he had definitely not been suspecting!

"Oh, come now, WuFei!" Meiran giggled. "You know exactly why I've come; it's about that adorable braided American boy! Duo, I believe his name is."

WuFei could feel himself beginning to blush; he hadn't been expecting that either! The day had certainly been full of surprises; things couldn't possibly get any more hectic today! He doubted that he would be able to handle much more...

"You underestimate yourself, husband. You can handle a good deal more today, and it's a good thing that you can. There's more to come!"

WuFei sighed at that remark; apparently, things weren't going to be as calm as he'd wanted between missions! But then, since when had anything but his missions gone exactly as he wanted?

"Don't be so negative; at least I'm here now!" Meiran scolded.

"And that's a good thing?" the Chinese boy asked half-teasingly. He didn't make jokes that often, but apparently he was in the mood to do so today. His comment got a giggle in reply.

"Yes, it is. Now cheer up! It's time to get down to business."

WuFei sighed; he could tell that Meiran wasn't going to let this go until he talked with her about it.

"That's right. So start talking."

"You know, you were a much more proper wife before." WuFei remarked, sounding slightly frustrated.

"Yes, I probably was... But I'm dead now. And since I died honorably, I think that I'm justified in acting any way I want." Meiran replied defensively, her mental voice sounding defiant and subtly amused with WuFei's frustration.

WuFei growled, but resigned himself to the fact that there was nothing he could do about his dead wife's attitude.

"What do you want me to say? There's not much to say about Duo other than that he's a fellow Gundam pilot, highly skilled and even more highly annoying.

"Well, yes, I suppose that is true..." Meiran giggled, "But how is he related to you? What connection do you share?"

"I've already mentioned that we both pilot Gundams. We are both soldiers; fighting together against a common enemy creates a strong bond unlike any other between people. As you should well know."

It seemed to WuFei that Meiran was blushing, although he couldn't be sure since he couldn't actually see her.

"Ahh... Yes, I know... But, I meant beyond that."

WuFei paused to think for a while. He knew that he wouldn't be able to lie to her, and they both had plenty of time, so he decided that he might as well formulate a good, relatively satisfying answer.

"He's my comrade. My companion. My... friend." he finally responded, keeping his answer honest but simple.

"Is that all he is? You're sure you're not hiding anything from me?"

"Yes... That's all we are." WuFei sounded slightly bitter. It was as if he were... jealous? Disappointed?

"You want more out of the relationship?"

"I don't know... I'm beginning to think so..."

"Then you need to work towards more. Such things rarely happen on their own, husband."

"I shouldn't bother, I should leave things as they are. I know it will never happen." The black haired pilot's statement was firm, and he sounded as though he had already given up his newfound hope. After all, how was he to compete with Heero, of all people?

"Oh... He's the pilot with the lovely cobalt eyes, isn't he? Well... Why does his presence affect this? Does Duo like him?"

"I should say so..." More bitterness, and obvious undertone of jealousy. "They're lovers, after all."

A long pause. Then, "Oh... I'd never seen the two together, so I couldn't have guessed... Are you sure? That Heero boy doesn't seem like the type to take a lover; it could `interfere with is mission.' And... What about that Relena girl? The one that annoys you so much? Doesn't she like him?" The tone of her voice was puzzled.

A short, bitter, barking laugh burst out of WuFei. "Relena? Just look at her, just listen to her! How could anyone choose her over Duo?" He shook his head. "And as for Heero's `nothing can get in the way of my mission, all obstacles must be destroyed' attitude... I'm not sure how Duo managed to get around it, but it seems that he has, one way or another.

"Hmm... Well, don't give up hope yet, dear husband... There is still a chance that things will work out in the end... And until they do, remain a loyal friend to Duo. The poor boy deserves a few friends after all that he's been through. All of you Gundam pilots do, for that matter..."

"Thank you, Meiran... But, why are you helping me in this matter? We were married. I would think that you would be jealous or upset..." WuFei inquired, sounding quite puzzled.

"Yes, I suppose that many women would be... But I find it quite interesting to watch you. After all, it's much more entertaining than listening to my ancestors scold me about my overly exuberant cheerfulness!"

"Baka onna..." WuFei muttered, a slight smile creeping onto his face at that comment.

"Hmmph. Seems to me that you are the stupid one today... No, no, don't get mad, I'm only telling you what you already know to be the truth. I would think that you would like to know, however, that almost an hour has passed; Duo should be calmer by now. Go find him, husband."

WuFei nodded and stood slowly. As he cleared his mind of any unnerving thoughts, he sensed Meiran's presence disappear from his head.

Stretching, the Chinese boy calmed himself, making sure that his temper wasn't going to flare up again. Then, taking a deep breath, he set off to find his American friend.