The Greatest of These

All previous disclaimers apply.

WARNING: Slash lime scene. Don’t like, please don’t read.

He was nervous. Duo smiled ironically at his reflection in the mirror, a little pale, a little shaky. He’d been with Wu Fei before, been with others since, quite a few of them, in fact. Yet, here he was gripping the edge of the sink to keep himself from shaking like a teenaged virgin. He frowned at himself, debating in his mind whether he wanted to expend the energy to give himself a lecture about the fact that he should not let Wu Fei see him this way, but decided against it. There was really no use in it. He looked down at the toothbrush he held gripped in his hand, intent upon studying it rather than contemplating his feelings any longer. It always seemed to put him in an uncomfortable spot, a place he’d rather not be. He could hear Wu Fei in the other room, talking quietly to Sheira as he calmed her into sleep. Normally Duo would be part of the nightly ritual, but tonight he had felt like Wu Fei should have the time alone with his baby. It was her first day speaking again, after all. And Wu Fei had had to share her with him all day.

The trip to the zoo had been wonderful. Sheira had been delighted at all of the animals and had been a joy all day. Wu Fei, it seemed, was as anxious for the evening as Duo was, because there was rarely a time during the day when they were not in physical contact of some kind. Whether it was Wu Fei’s hand to the small of his back or their fingers linked as they walked, or Duo’s hand on Wu Fei’s shoulder, they were constantly touching. For a while Duo had been able to fool himself into pretending that they were a real, young family on their first trip to the zoo. He had tried to shake himself out of the fantasy numerous times, but it hadn’t worked. He just found himself grinning like a fool all over again every time Wu Fei grabbed his hand to pull him along to see the next animal.

He lifted the toothbrush and pointed it at his reflection. “Get a hold of yourself, Maxwell,” he demanded quietly before placing the toothbrush back in its proper holder and moving out of the bathroom. He only paused briefly to look into the nursery where Wu Fei was sitting in the rocker, Sheira fighting a losing battle with sleep in his arms as he read her a storybook, before he moved into the bedroom. He contemplated what he wanted to be doing when Wu Fei came in for just a moment before deciding that the best thing to do would be nothing at all. He wanted this to happen naturally, and not to feel staged or theatric at all. He would let things progress as they would. First things first, though, he wanted to slip into his pajama bottoms. They were much more comfortable. He had just pulled his shirt over his head when he felt eyes on his back and turned to see Wu Fei leaning against the doorway, looking at him intently.

As nervous as he had been all day, just seeing Wu Fei standing there, looking at him with his unreadable black eyes, all of his nervousness evaporated. This was Wu Fei. This was right. They had been here before. Only now they were both adults without the added pressure of a battle looming over their heads. They could simply be Duo and Wu Fei in bed now, no tricks, no masks. The prospect was as daunting as it was appealing and so Duo decided that he would go with the appealing side and take it as a good thing.

He smiled and set and hand to his hip when Wu Fei simply kept studying him, “What?”

“You’re stunning, Duo,” Wu Fei said quietly, straightening and uncrossing his arms, “You must know that.”

Duo had to resist the urge to just close his eyes and let the gentle words wash over him. Only in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that Wu Fei would say something like that to him just before they were getting ready to be together. It brought his nervousness back just a little and he went with his most prominent defense mechanism with a little bit of humor.

“You know, ‘Fei, you don’t need to give me pretty words to get into my pants.”

Wu Fei crossed his arms again and looked down at the floor, “I’m not trying to… Duo… I just wanted to…”

Duo decided to have pity on him before he started shuffling his feet.

“Shh,” He crossed the room in two quick strides and placed a finger to Wu Fei’s lips, “I’ve been waiting for this all day, Wu Fei. Come to bed with me.”

There was no more need for words as Wu Fei sighed and nodded, allowing Duo to pull him into the room. He shut the door quietly behind him before turning around and taking the American into his arms. The heat in the kiss was not a sudden flare as it had been that morning, but a steady building as they held each other close and he pushed them toward the bed. Duo fought to maintain his balance as the back of his knees hit the bed, but Wu Fei pushed until the pale man fell onto his back. Duo laughed and held his arms out, inviting Wu Fei down to him. Wu Fei pulled his shirt over his head and accepted the invitation in Duo’s arms, laying on top of the beautiful American. Duo’s husky laugh became a moan and melded with the one that escaped Wu Fei’s lips as they delighted in the feel of the way their bodies fit together. How could they have forgotten how perfect they felt together, how they seemed made for each other?

The loving was unlike it had ever been between them. It was quiet and slow, all smooth touches and soft sighs. As the sighs began to give way to whimpers of need their bodies strained against each other and they linked hands, holding on as tightly as they could so as not to shatter too quickly. They couldn’t have said, as they held each other and their bodies gave into each other, where one stopped and the other began. Duo gasped when Wu Fei gently kissed his neck. Wu Fei smiled when Duo pushed the hair out of his eyes and tucked it behind his ear before throwing his head back for another long sigh. They lost track of time as they lost themselves in each other and then found themselves again. It could have been minutes or hours before Duo whispered that he couldn’t hold on any longer and Wu Fei kissed him in agreement. When they did finally tumble over the edge together, the force of it left them both trembling as they placed gentle kisses to available skin to help each other to calm. A shoulder, a neck, a forehead, a nose.

“Thank you,” Duo said quietly after a while, when they were laying on the verge of sleep in each other’s arms, “That was incredible.”

“Hmm,” Wu Fei murmured in ascension, loosening Duo’s braid so that he could bury his hand in the abundant, soft hair.

“’Fei,” Duo murmured as he began to fall asleep, unable to stop himself, “I love you.”

He didn’t notice as he slipped away into sleep the way Wu Fei’s body tensed beneath him.
Wu Fei looked down at Duo’s peaceful face. What was he supposed to do now? What had he done? What he had just done with Duo, it was not just sex. It was something he had never experienced before. It was one of the most real things that had ever happened to him. The only other thing that could even compare was the moment Sheira slipped into the world. How had he allowed this to happen? What exactly had happened? He wasn’t quite sure if he truly didn’t know or if he just wasn’t allowing himself to know, all he knew was that all of the sudden a fear unlike anything he had ever known seized him. There had been a time long before when he wouldn’t have admitted the fear. Now he admitted without pretense that he was terrified.

Fight or flight. It was the instinct of any animal. He slipped out of the bed and dressed quietly, not looking at Duo. He packed a small bag, went into the nursery and packed for Shiera. The baby was so tired from the day that she didn’t even stir as he picked her up and tucked her in his arm. Then, without a look back, he took his daughter and left.


Author’s Note: I know the last part seemed sudden. It will be explained in the next chapter, coming much sooner than this, I promise!