Disclaimers: I don't own any of the GW Universe. I'm not making any money off this story. It's written out of love (care to guess love for whom?), so please don't sue me I need to send them flowers.

Written: February & March, 2001
Book 1 of the all-new "Gifts" Arc
Overall Rating: PG-13
Pairings: (3+5) (1x2) ([1 & 2] + 5)
Category: Angst Yaoi Shonen ai Violence Friendship Sap WAFF
Enigma Story Category: G-Boys High Adventure!
Warnings: Angst, yaoi, shonen ai, violence, intra-circle bloodshed, language, friendship, and a whole ton of yummy SAP & WAFF!!! plus "AU-OOC" for those who can't cope

Notes: Wufei had seemed like an outsider to the other four pilots until one dreadful day when Quatre allowed his jealousy over the love of a boy who was not his get the better of him with disastrous results. Heero and Duo try to hold the team together while Trowa does whatever he can to help Wufei recover. Can the five teens rebuild what was shattered in a moment's rage?

Special Note: This huge fic was inspired by a lovely pic that I hope you'll take a moment to go see it here.

//someone's thoughts//

<<flashback>>


Priceless Gifts
Part 7


The next morning, Trowa was awakened by some commotion as Heero argued with, and lost to, the coffee maker.

"Damned thing! All I wanted was a lousy cup of coffee!"

There was the classic sound of broken glass being swept up as Duo retorted, "Well, genius, now *none* of us get a cup, lousy or otherwise!"

Emerald eyes sparkled with amusement as Trowa listened to his two friends argue over just who had to get dressed and drive down to Starbucks for the rest of them. Just as Trowa was about to get out of bed to offer his services as negotiator, however, someone else made a slight noise.

"Wufei?!?" He turned to the boy in bed with him in time to see the tired eyes try to open and then slide back shut with a soft moan of pain.

"..who's there..?" Wufei gasped out quietly, barely able to process information enough for it to register that he was not alone.

Heart beating wildly, Trowa answered softly, hoping not to upset Wufei who might not have been ready to wake up with another boy holding him in his arms yet Trowa was not about to let go of him now. "It's Trowa, Wufei. How are you?"

"..trowa..?" Confusion marked the quiet response and the only thing that kept it from crushing the taller boy was the next question. "…did we win…?"

"What?" Trowa was baffled, trying to figure out what he meant until he realized Wufei had assumed he had been injured in a battle not in a fight in their living room.

Trowa shook his head as he continued to hold the other close, feeling a little guilty but afraid that once Wufei understood all that had happened he might not get another chance to be this close to the boy he loved. It might have seemed unexpected to Trowa, but Duo had nailed it from the very beginning. Trowa was in love and Wufei held the key to his heart and he would stay by him until the exotic youth sent him away as he fully expected to have happen any moment.

While Trowa was lost in thought, though, Wufei had forgotten his own question and asked instead, "…water…?" He gasped a little before adding, "…'m so dry…"

"Certainly! Let me get it for you," Trowa started to let go of him but Wufei whimpered a little, freezing the taller boy in place. "Um, you don't want me to let go?" He asked hopefully, this seemed too good to be true and he was certain he was just lying to himself that it had happened.

"no.." Wufei gasped and shook his head slightly. Actually, reality had him fairly confused and as long as Trowa stayed where he was, the Chinese boy thought he could deal with things. Besides, Trowa was not the only one whose dreams felt like they were coming true at the moment.

"As you wish," the taller boy smiled and wanted to simply kiss the boy in his arms, but he wasn't quite *that* brave yet.

"Let me see if Duo can help out, okay?" He felt more then saw the slight nod and Trowa turned his head to try to call as best he could without yelling for Duo. He didn't want to add to Wufei's pain with a loud shout, but he was fresh out of ideas on how to attract attention.

As it happened, the braided boy was just peeking in the door when he heard Trowa saying something about calling him.

"Need me, Tro?" He walked in with a puzzled look on his face as he said, "Ya' know, you've been in here too long if you've started talking to yourself. Why don't you…" He never got to finish as he, too, saw the dark hair move against the white pillowcase. "Wu's awake?!?"

Duo sprang towards the other two and practically jumped onto the bed to join them. "Wu? You awake, buddy?"

Trying to speak seemed too much as Wufei's mouth opened but all that came out was a soft moan and Wufei leaned heavily against Trowa and relied on him to speak on his behalf.

"He's awake, Duo," Trowa smiled then looked sad as he added, "just barely." His arms tightened gently as he asked Wufei, "Did you want something to drink, Wufei? Water?"

The slightest motion from the boy in his arms was seen by both and while Trowa was content to simply smile and feel hopeful, Duo reacted much more strongly.

"Damn, but it's good you woke up, Wu!" He said enthusiastically, moving to kiss the small boy gently on the forehead. The happy American grinned at Trowa's slight frown and shrugged at him. In Duo's opinion, if Trowa didn't take a chance to let the ShenLong pilot know how he felt, then Duo would goad him along until he did.

"I'll be glad to get ya' some water, Wu, but are you in pain? Need me to get you something for that, too?" Duo might have been thinking of playing Cupid, but he knew to take care of the underlying reason for the other boy's long silence as well.

"..mmhmm.." Wufei moaned softly in acknowledgement of both his pain and his need for something to deal with it.

"I'm on it!" Duo said cheerfully and moved off the bed and out the door in a rush, shouting "HEERO!!! Wu's awake!" the moment he was out the door.

"baka.." Wufei moaned, then he asked a bit more strongly, "How long?"

Trowa just smiled even more. This had to be the best possible way to wake up and he was pleased to be there for Wufei as the Chinese teen tried to figure out what had happened. Once he stopped to think about it, though, Trowa realized there was something even more wrong if the Chinese boy was still unsure what had happened to him.

"You've been out for four days, Wufei," Trowa answered apologetically. "But you haven't been alone. I was here most of the time and Duo stayed with you for awhile yesterday and…"

Now tiring from the effort of staying awake against the pain, Wufei simply nodded and said softly, "I'm glad you're here, Tro," he sighed. Eyes still closed, he cuddled closer and relaxed within the encircling arms.

A feeling of warmth overcame the taller boy as it sank in that the smaller boy really wanted him there. Not only had he not been sent from his side, Wufei had actually indicated he wanted him to keep holding him. Trowa's joy would have been more complete, though, if he could be sure that this was not just because Wufei was confused and hurting.

"Fei?" He asked gently, worried that he wasn't sure how to answer the inevitable questions that might come up, "Do you know what happened to you?"

There was no answer beyond a slight trembling as Wufei tried and failed to recall exactly what happened. He remembered Quatre being angry with him and that the blond had lashed out, slicing his face with a signet ring on his right hand.

Just as Trowa was going to ask again, Heero and Duo came into the room. The American hesitating for only a moment before flopping down next to the Chinese boy and hugging him briefly before trying to help him sit up a bit. Duo intended to check Wufei's injuries after he'd taken the pain killers he'd brought for him.

Heero handed a glass of water to Trowa, "I hear someone finally got around to waking up in here." Heero remarked flatly as Duo handed him a pair of white pills with a slight look of worry.

"Yes, but I think he's having a hard time figuring out what happened, I'm not sure." Concerned emerald eyes looked at the weak figure being propped up against several pillows. It was clear that Duo was holding Wufei up and that the Chinese boy was unable to do much for himself as he grimaced in pain. "Fei? Think you can take some of the medicine Duo brought for you? It should help with the pain."

"hai.." Wufei moaned as Trowa held the glass to his lips. After a few sips, Wufei felt Trowa place one of the pills against his lips and he tried to swallow it with obvious difficulty.

"Damn, Wu," Duo frowned, "You're a mess, you know that, buddy?" He looked at both of the others for ideas. "How're we gonna get the medicine down if you can't swallow, huh?"

A slight frown crinkled across Wufei's forehead and then he relaxed. "gomen.." he sighed as exhaustion threatened to take away his awareness once more.

Seeing the other boy's distress, Trowa had an idea which he blushed a bit at, then turned to Wufei, saying, "Let me help, all right?"

"tro..?" Wufei nodded weakly and gasped out, "..how..?"

"Trust me, okay?" Trowa asked gently. Then he placed a pill between his own teeth, took a small sip of water and pressed his lips to Wufei's, gently pushing the water and medication into his mouth directly, and holding the kiss until the other swallowed. Trowa seemed to forget to keep blushing as Wufei smiled gratefully and opened his lips in invitation for the second pill.

Duo Maxwell watched all this with a baffled yet fond look on his face as it was repeated. He would never have guessed that shy Trowa Barton could pull off his first kiss quite so smoothly in such a public fashion.

After the second pill was on its way to relieving pain as it was intended to, Wufei parted his lips yet again and it confused his bedmate.

"Um, Fei? There aren't any more pills to take, just the two," Trowa looked rather disappointed there wasn't an infinite supply to have an excuse to keep kissing the smaller boy.

The slight frown returned as Wufei answered with a softly disappointed, "..oh.."

"Duo wants to check your stitches, okay?" Trowa asked solicitously.

v "..'kay.." he answered quietly and then yawned, adding, "..'m tired, tro..."

Without thinking about it, Trowa's arms pulled a little tighter and he stroked the black silk hair gently, reassuring him as if he was caring for a child instead of a deadly terrorist. But the boy beside him leaned into it welcomingly and he simply relaxed further.

Duo watched with amazement until he heard Heero say in a surprisingly gentle voice, "Duo, you need to hurry up if you want to do that while Wufei's still awake."

"Yeah, right. Thanks, Heero," Duo moved into action and began a quick check of the worst of the injuries first, trying to ask Wufei questions as he went and getting only a few mumbled responses. The Chinese boy was drifting off to sleep once more, warm and safe in Trowa's arms and he seemed able to ignore whatever pain he was experiencing from Duo's efforts.

Finally, the braided boy declared it enough for the moment and he got off the bed after tucking his patient back down into the covers next to his self-appointed guardian. "Go on back to sleep now, Wu, okay?"

A slight nod was his answer and Duo went to the door and held out a hand for Heero to follow him as he left, gently closing the door behind them both.

"Fei? Do you want me to stay?" Trowa asked on the off-chance that the other boy had changed his mind about his staying in bed with him. He needn't have worried.

"..please, tro.?" the barely audible voice asked as the other settled close. Wufei turned his head and shocked Trowa as he parted his lips one last time as if asking for a kiss before sleeping.

A look of pure of adoration crossed the emerald-eyed teen's face as he complied without question or fear. Trowa kissed the boy sweetly, gently, and with all the love he held for this young man which he had finally admitted to himself over the last few difficult days. As the kiss broke, he caught the slight smile of pleasure that graced Wufei's face as he drifted back to sleep.

"Rest well, Fei-kun," Trowa breathed softly and settled down to close his own eyes as his heart sang gleefully. No matter what the day would bring, he had *finally* found the courage to kiss the boy he loved and while Wufei was not himself in the least and he might reject Trowa later, for a few bright shining moments, the pair lay quietly together sharing a kiss.

on to part 8

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