Devil's Gap

A/N: Thanks to those who rated and read. Perhaps reviews will come soon? 2x5 is my most favorite pairing, of course. I had a few other GW fics but they got lost in cyberspace somewhere. Ah well. On to chapter 2.



~*~



Wufei sped home in the rain, not even caring about the fact that his tires lost grip on the dirt roads more than once. The lights of the house were nearing in distance, and as soon as he parked the car he tossed the bale of hay under the carport and then darted inside, his heart rate exceptionally fast. Slamming the door behind him, chest rising and falling rapidly under the red shirt that was now plastered to his skin, his hair was a mess and he looked like he’d just seen a ghost.



Which wasn’t too far from the truth, given how the night’s events unfolded.



“Wufei?”



Grams’ voice came from the kitchen, and Wufei tried his best to calm his breath and his heart. His blood was rushing hot and cold at the same time, he had no idea what to make of the situation. Someone just didn’t disappear like that, there was no logical and scientific explanation for someone disappearing into thin air without even opening the door of the vehicle.



“Wufei!”



“Yeah,” he managed weakly, slumping against the door and toeing off his boots, thankful that his socks and feet were at least dry. Shaking his head in the entry way to try and get most of the water off in there rather than on Gramma’s couches, he pulled off his shirt and rung it out over the bucket that the old woman kept for just such occasions. He unbuttoned his pants and decided against taking them off quite yet, instead focusing on seeing if Grams needed his help.



Waddling into the kitchen, his pants clinging in all of the wrong places, he kept his gaze on the floor to make sure he didn’t drip too much, making notes of the puddles he was making so he could wipe them up.



“You’re just in time, our guest hasn’t been here too long,” Grams said, her voice unusually happy.



Wufei glanced up, and at first didn’t see the supposed guest anywhere. Then his eyes trailed past the counters and the bar top to the dining room table, where a familiar jovial face sat and smiled, waving lightly.



The Chinese man felt his blood run cold.



“Hey, ‘Fei!”



The world blurred for a split moment before it went completely black.



~*~



“Is it really that cold out?”



“I didn’t think so… maybe it’s ‘cause he wasn’t wearing a jacket?”



“Here, put this warm cloth on his head…”



Words faded in and out of Wufei’s consciousness, and a few stars dotted his mind’s eye. He placed one voice as Gram’s, and the other as a young male…



A man that he’d met recently…



A man that…



… disappeared into thin air in his car and reappeared in his own home.



A startled yelp left Wufei’s throat as he sat straight up on the couch, eyes darting around the room like a trapped animal. The warm cloth slipped off of his forehead and landed in his lap, his breath uneven and forced once again. Grams was seated on the couch by his feet, and Duo was kneeling at the side of the Chinese man, a slightly bemused expression on his face.



“Oh, Wufei, you had me worried!” Grams reached a shaky, bony hand forward to press against Wufei’s forehead, checking for a temperature. “Are you sick?”



“No, Gramma.” Wufei said stubbornly, pushing the old lady’s hand away, glaring at Duo vehemently. “This is your guest?” He spit out the word, making Duo visibly cringe and the old woman smack him upside the head.



“Don’t be so rude!” She snapped. “Duo is here on account of wanting to help out a bit!”



Wufei turned pleading eyes towards Gramma; “I’m not enough help?”



“Wufei,” Grams’ voice softened and she smoothed back his hair tenderly. “You overwork yourself. One man can’t operate a ranch, you know. Besides, this will give you a chance to get back into school, like you’ve been wanting to do for so long.”



Oh, how tempting the sweet offer was. But didn’t Gramma know that she was housing a paranormal creature? A scientific abomination? A… A…



Dare he say it: Ghost?



“Yeah ‘Fei, I’m just here to help out a bit. My ranch doesn’t need me anymore.” Duo said, smiling crookedly.



That’s because it burned down and killed everyone with it, Wufei thought bitterly. “Fine.” He said tersely, getting up from the couch and pushing past the kneeling American. “I’m going to shower.”



“Dinner will be ready in thirty~” Gramma called out after him, and Wufei waved a hand in acknowledgment as he slammed the bathroom door shut.



Twenty minutes later the Chinese boy emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, towel wrapped around his waist. He felt admittedly better; hell, maybe his mind was playing tricks on him? He had been pretty tired lately. Perhaps the boy in his car was his imagination, and in his tired thought process only imagined that Duo and the boy were the same person.



But they had the same name. And the ranch. And the hair, and the eyes…



Wufei rubbed his forehead angrily and padded into his bedroom, swinging the door shut, leaving it ajar. He rummaged around for some boxers, then pulled on a cozy pair of red sweats followed by a plain white cotton tee-shirt. He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at the tiny mirror, frowning a bit. He went to pull the black locks back, but was surprised to find his ever-present hair tie missing from his wrist. Blinking, he stared at his wrist, then at his reflection, as his mind started to click things together.



“Need this?”



The Asian whirled around to see Duo leaning in his doorway, a black hair tie swinging around the American’s index finger. Growling in irritation, Wufei stalked over and snatched the hair tie from the brunet’s idle finger, angrily pulling his hair up into a higher-than-normal ponytail.



“Why don’t you just wear it down?” Duo inquired, and Wufei merely tilted his nose up as he made his bed distractedly.



“It’ll get in my food.”



“Will you be letting it down after dinner?”



“Why do you care?” Wufei snarled, pausing in his meticulous tucking of the sheets underneath the mattress to glare hotly at Duo, who shrank back a bit and lifted his hands in innocence.



“Just wondering, just wondering.” He chided lightly, then folded his arms across his chest.



Wufei glanced up from fluffing his pillows, taking in Duo’s appearance now that the man wasn’t wet or in the shroud of darkness. Long brown tresses were plaited neatly, and his amethyst eyes still glowed brightly. His skin was pale, his face a lovely heart shape, and his body was lean, only an inch or so taller than Wufei. He was wearing black pants with a black shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Shoes were non-existent at this point since Gramma refused to have mud be tracked on her beautiful floors, and cozy white socks adorned elegant feet.



Duo was really a work of art; if Wufei had ever wanted to visually appreciate someone for an hour or two, the Maxwell kid would be his first choice. Catching himself staring, Wufei blushed a bit and tossed the pillows back onto his queen sized bed, then toed into a pair of warm, black fuzzy slippers. Moving towards the doorway, Duo moved so Wufei could get by, and then followed the Chinese man into the kitchen.



Together they set the table, Gramma asking questions which Duo loosely and vaguely answered. Wufei was still a bit unnerved; if Duo was indeed a… ghost… how could he manifest so solidly? From what Wufei had learned through books and television, ghosts appeared transparent, untouchable. Yet here Duo was, solid as a real human, setting up dishes and hugging Grams in thanks over and over again. His laughter was warm and filled up the house with the noise – not an echo or a depressed sound.



The rain continued to patter outside, hitting the tin cover of the porch and creating a light metallic sound – a sound that Wufei loved to fall asleep to. Rain was a wonderful thing; it watered the crops, it washed away the unused and dead items in the fields, and with their multitude of buckets outside it provided them with clean, delicious drinking water.



Soon the three sat down around the table, the aroma of pot roast and potatoes making Wufei’s mouth drool. Grams reached out both of her hands, Duo and Wufei taking hers and each other’s lightly, while Gramma began to thank the Lord for their meal.



Wufei took the moment to really feel Duo. His flesh wasn’t as warm as the average human’s, but it wasn’t terribly cold, either. It was… nice. His skin was soft and the way his slender fingers wrapped around Wufei’s almost felt like they were made to fit there.



Shaking his head lightly after that last thought, he caught the tail end of Gramma’s prayer and joined in the “amen”, and then let go of Duo’s hand. Duo’s fingers lingered, however, brushing over Wufei’s knuckles gently, that now-familiar chill running down Wufei’s spine. Was Duo going to disappear again? Golden eyes glanced over to the American, who was starting to carve up the roast. Did ghosts eat? Apparently this one did.



Wufei was going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what.



But for now, he was going to enjoy the delicious pot roast that he felt he so deserved.



~*~



After dinner Grams retired to her bedroom, her body taking its usual toll at around eight o’ clock. Which was fine by Wufei; if he had his way Gramma wouldn’t even lift his finger. As it were, Grams still felt responsible for feeding him three meals a day and doing his laundry. Wufei wasn’t a terrible cook, but nothing was better than Gramma’s cooking, and as for laundry? Well, he was a twenty-one year old bachelor.



So elbow-to-elbow we find Wufei and Duo at the sink, bubbles floating aimlessly in the air as the pair worked on cleaning the kitchen. The table had been cleared, scraps fed to the cats and dogs, and now they had set up a routine: Wufei wash, Duo dry. They had been working in relative silence, bumping against each other occasionally and causing Wufei to blush a bit and Duo to just laugh lightly and smile.



After about twenty minutes of the tedious task – it taking so long mainly because Wufei was slightly anal about the dishes, scrubbing them good, rinsing, scrubbing again, picking, and making sure he could see his reflection in the white dishware – the pair dried their hands and started to put the dishes away. Once more, hardly any words were spoke save for when Duo asked where something belonged. The braided man was humming lightly as he worked, and while normally Wufei would have been annoyed by the constant noise, he was actually a bit comforted by it. His mother used to hum while she cleaned.



“Alright, done!” Duo announced, placing his hands on his hips and beaming at the clean kitchen. “We make a good team, Wu-bear!”



“Don’t call me that,” Wufei remarked off-handedly as he scooted the chairs into the table, before he moved into the living room and flopped down on the sofa, picking up the remote to turn on the television.



“Whatcha gonna watch?” Duo asked, much like a kid inquiring about their older sibling’s activities. He sat on the couch as well, his knees drawn up to his chest, bright eyes watching the television excitedly.



Wufei raised a brow, “Don’t watch TV much?”



“Can’t,” Duo shrugged. “Don’t have one.”



“Ah.” Made sense. Everything burned in the fire, right? That probably included the luxuries of cable television. “What do you want to watch?”



Duo tilted his head and glanced over at Wufei, much like a dog would look at his master for approval before taking the treat handed to him. Trying not to roll his eyes, Wufei handed the remote over to Duo, who took it happily and started flipping through the channels.



It was about an hour later when Wufei started nodding off, the game show that Duo was watching intently starting to bore him to death. His elbow was propped on the arm of the couch, head resting in his hand, knees drawn up and his free hand placed between his thighs for warmth. He was very much cozy and comfortable; even more so with the weight of Duo at the other end of the couch, the occasional shifts from the other man reminding Wufei of his presence.



It had been a long time since someone else shared the house with Wufei and Grams. Too long. Gramma’s eldest grandson, Trowa, had left about five years ago to head off to some private school and then start working on his career that involved traveling around the world. Trowa and Wufei had never been terribly close, but they both cherished the silent company.



This new company, however, was everything but silent. Loud, boisterous, a bit nosy and cocky… Duo was an enigma. Not only his existence itself, that was just a commodity – but his personality. Why so happy if he was dead? So many questions, so many vague answers in response.



Wufei was jolted awake when a cool hand rested on his shoulder, his golden eyes blinking rapidly a few times before he focused on Duo’s face in front of his.



“Tired? Y’should go to bed Wu.”



“Mhh.” The Asian let out a breath and stood from the couch, Duo moving out of the way a bit so Wufei could head to his room.



“Hey, Wufei?”



Wufei turned around and blinked sleepy slanted eyes towards the brunet, who looked a bit sheepish.



“Grams said that we’d have to clear out the spare room tomorrow, and that I could sleep on the couch tonight.” Wufei raised a brow, waiting for the point of Duo’s statement. Opal eyes were a bit hesitant, the voice accompanying them only showing a fraction more of confidence. “But… it’s been a long time since I slept on a real bed…”



“And you want to sleep in mine.” Wufei finished the sentence, and Duo’s face lit up in hope. “No.” He said curtly, turning down the hallway and heading towards his room once again.



“Wuuuuuuuuu!” Duo whined behind him, following him down the hall and reaching out to take Wufei’s hand in his own cool ones. “Pleeeeease?”



As the Chinese man turned to once again say “no” to the annoying ghost, he was stopped by the expression on Duo’s face. A few thoughts ran through Wufei’s head; when was the last time Duo had slept with someone? When was the last time he actually had a bed to sleep in, instead of wandering around a burnt-down ranch, or wandering the streets of Devil’s Gap? Has Duo even slept since he died? Better yet… can ghosts sleep?



Mind running too fast for his liking, Wufei resigned and finally tugged his hand away from Duo’s, continuing walking towards his room, knowing Duo was still on his tail. Moving into the bedroom and pulling back the covers, Wufei got in on one side and glanced at Duo, who was waiting in the door frame unsurely.



“Are you going to get in?” Wufei asked, pulling the covers up to his chin and rolling over, closing his eyes.



He heard the excited giggle that left Duo’s lips, heard the door shut and watched the lights turn off. The bed dipped with Duo’s weight, but it didn’t get any warmer under the covers like it would have if a real live human being got underneath them. More and more was proving Wufei’s theory, and while Duo wasn’t directly affirming the statement, the Chinese man was not only starting to believe it, he was starting to pity the poor American.



But such wonders could wait until morning. For now, sleep tugged at the Asian’s eyelids and he shut them once and for all, falling into a dreamless sleep while the ghost next to him merely closed his eyes and started humming once more.



~*~

A/N: Yeah. Reviews would be nice. I’ve never done anything like this before. Aiiiiiish.