Work Text:
You sigh as you tighten the cheap black apron you wear over your t-shirt and jeans. The owner was really proud of the logo design, and now it’s plastered on everything - including the apron. It keeps your clothes from getting dusty, at least.
You work the late shift - the place isn’t quite open 24/7, but it’s the only store open in this neighborhood past eight p.m. It’s a quiet spot, somewhere in Brussels, and the convenience store is nestled into the bottom floor of a mid-rise apartment building. The rent isn’t cheap, you’ve been told a million times by the owner, and so he insists on making use of every square inch of the place.
It’s getting close to closing, and you decide to stock the last of the cigarettes behind you at the counter before locking up for the night. The one customer door opens and closes, a set of little chimes ringing to announce a customer. By the time you turn around, whoever has entered is already walking along the aisles. You can just see his head over the top of some of the displays, jet black hair pulled back.
You finish your stocking, keeping one ear out for your late night company. He looks around a little, and you swear you hear him muttering to himself, but that’s really not your problem. The muttering gets a little more pointed, until he’s outright talking to himself from the end of the aisle.
“Everything about this place is fucking cursed.” His voice is a little nasal, and he sounds peeved.
“Something I can help you with?” you say. The man steps out, the light reflective stars on each shoulder giving him away. What’s a Preventer doing here? You straighten up, and swallow hard. He looks completely pissed.
“Do you have ramen?” he finally asks. He rolls his eyes when you don’t immediately answer, and his mood doesn’t improve even a fraction when you tell him it’s just one aisle over, close to the end. He mutters some more, shooting a glare over his shoulder in your direction before grabbing a few things and coming up to the counter.
He’s really striking, dark eyes and sleek black hair tied back tight. He lines two packages of ramen and a tetra pack of milk tea up on the counter and stares at you expectantly.
Despite the owner’s investment in things like the logo, nothing about the place is high-tech. You know the price of almost everything by heart by now, but having a high level cop staring at you as though you’re the last thing between him and world peace is so unnerving, it all slides out of your mind.
“Here,” he says, pulling out his wallet. He puts a couple of bills and change on the counter in front of you and grabs his packages.
Just before he reaches the door, he turns half back and nods to you. “Thank you,” he says, and he leaves the way he came.
Once you blink hard enough to restart your brain, you walk over, turn off the OPEN sign and lock the door behind him before going back to the counter. Two packs of ramen and the milk tea would be 6.70 credits.
He left the exact change.
---
A few nights later, he reappears, Preventer jacket and all. He acknowledges your presence with a tiny huff when you greet him, walking past to the back aisles. The very rear of the place is mostly a collection of different home goods, and you can see him scrutinizing some things before he brings a few items to the front.
It’s an interesting array. Chopsticks, tongs, parchment paper. You wonder what someone like him makes, if he cooks. He must cook.
“It’s 13.60,” he says, rolling his eyes when you startle.
“Thanks,” you say, and he takes out his wallet. He pays in cash again, handing you the bill with both hands. You catch his badge on his jacket, tonight. Chang Wufei. You hand him back his change, and he takes his items without any further incident.
You still breathe a sigh of relief when he leaves, even though the only law you’ve ever broken was downloading a couple movies and earning a few parking tickets.
---
The next time you see him, it’s another late evening shift, closing in on midnight. It had been a quiet evening - there’s celebrations in the city but they’re downtown, a little ways away from your neighbourhood, and it’s lured most of the locals away.
You’re dusting off some shelves when the door chime goes off. “Welcome!” you call out, continuing with your task for another moment. You’ve almost finished with it when you feel a presence right behind you, and you gasp as someone grabs your shoulder.
“Get up to the cash,” a harsh voice says, and they push you toward the front of the store.
You’ve been trained for this, but it’s foreign. You feel like you’ve done up your apron too tightly, and your heart is hammering as you make your way back up to the register. There’s another man there, someone you’ve never seen before, waiting.
Both of them are bigger than you. You remember what the owner has driven into your head. “Don’t ever challenge a robbery. Give them what they want, and we’ll move on. This is what insurance is for… Nothing in this place is worth your life.’
“Open the register, and take out the cash.” Both men are glaring at you openly, caps pulled down low on their brows. There’s surveillance cameras, but nobody is watching them all night long, and it’s just you. Your hands shake, and one of the men slams his fist down on the counter. It makes you jump and give a little scream, and you clap a hand over your mouth.
“Give us the money!” he menaces, and you see him open his jacket, flashing a knife hidden there in his hand.
Just as you start entering the code to open the register, the door chime rings again. The three of you look over and see a young man standing there. He’s not anyone you’ve seen before either, but he looks cute, almost baby faced, hands shoved into a sporty windbreaker. You shake your head at him, wide eyed, and he cocks his head at you. It makes his long braided hair - long - wave a little behind his back.
“Evenin’,” he says with a little lilt. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Nothing to see, kid,” one of the men says, and they huddle a little closer together, blocking the guy’s view of the cash.
He smiles, and something about it makes your stomach drop. He’s practically baring his teeth as he says, “Don’t mind me then.”
Everything after that happens in a blur. You jump back from the counter as the guy launches himself at one of the men, knocking them into each other. He’s fast, and he laughs in a way that makes your hair stand up when they try - try - to brandish their knives. He has them in his hand before either of them can make any use of them. You’re barely able to watch, let alone understand how, but a small display of magazines gets knocked over, and shortly both men are unconscious on the ground.
The young man smiles, and it’s not menacing like whatever he had done before. He puts the knives down on your counter, holding them there with one hand. “Sorry about that,” he says. “You okay?”
You nod, but you’re decidedly not okay. “Are you?”
He grins, nodding. “Oh, yeah. I’m always fine.” He looks around the store for a minute before nodding to the register. “You should close that.” You spring forward and shove the drawer in with your hand, and he chuckles.
Taking out his cell phone, he dials a number with one hand and holds his phone up to his ear, and picks the knives back up, holding both handles in his palm easily.
“Hey,” he says. “You’re off duty, right? Are you home?” He makes a sour face, rolling his eyes as he hand-talks with the knives while he talks. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, Wufei… I’m downstairs. Cute little corner store down here. Yes, at your place! Where the fuck else would I be?” He looks at you as if you should defend him, and you give a little shrug. Your hands are still shaking from the adrenaline. “Look, can you come down here? I need your help with… a couple of parcels.” He smiles again. “Thanks, pal.”
He stows his phone again and looks at you, and his smile falls a bit. “Hey,” he says softly. “It’s gonna be alright. These two fuckin’ idiots,” he says, giving one of the men a swift kick in the side, “won’t be bothering you again.” He circles around them again, crouching down to open their coats and check their pockets. He stands as the door chimes again, and Agent Chang is there. He’s plainclothes, his hair down and around his shoulders, wearing glasses you haven’t seen on him before.
He glances at you before staring at the young man in front of you. “Duo, what are you doing here?”
That wild grin is back - not the scary one, something else is in it now - and Duo answers. “I came by to see you!” he says. He still has the knives in his hand, and you see Wufei glance at them before taking a step forward and seeing the two men lying on the ground. “I didn’t want to show up empty handed-”
“Right, so you decided to bring me three hours of reporting as a gift instead,” Wufei snaps. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs hard. “Fuck’s sake, Maxwell-”
“They were in the middle of a robbery!” Duo says, exasperated, looking at you again like you should explain.
“It’s true,” you stammer. “He stopped them.”
Wufei looks you over before he turns his glare back to Duo. “And this was the only solution, of course.” He doesn’t give Duo time to answer before he takes his phone out again and makes a quick call to emergency services.
Call done, Duo and Wufei stand over the unconscious men. “Well,” Duo says, scuffing the floor with his sneaker. “You had dinner yet?”
“It’s almost midnight,” Wufei retorts. When Duo just keeps staring at him, smiling, Wufei sighs again. “No.”
“Great.” Duo looks at you, leaning in on the counter. “You know anything good around here that’s open this late?”
You close your eyes a second, thinking. “There’s a nice place - nice for midnight,” you qualify, “just down two blocks. It’s mostly sandwiches, but they’ll make it to order. It’s good.”
“Good for midnight, or good good?”
“Good good,” you reassure him, and Duo smiles again. He sways a little, like he doesn’t like holding totally still. Considering how he moved kicking the robbers’ asses earlier, you guess that’s not surprising.
“Thanks,” Duo says, and he turns around to lean back against the counter, staring at Wufei.
For all Duo’s restless motion, Wufei is stock-still. He’s got sneakers on as well, though something decidedly less crisp and more practical than Duo, and a windbreaker over what looks like a T-shirt and a regular old pair of slacks. Neither man says anything else before the police arrive.
Wufei has some kind of sway with them, although Duo does too. As soon as Wufei introduces him as Agent Maxwell, Duo acts like he’s outed him, turning to you and giving you a deeply skeptical look before re-engaging with the police.
“We’ll want to take some statements,” the one officer says, the other calling EMS to come deal with the two men still on the floor. They haven’t stirred at all and it does make you a little concerned, but they did try to rob you. The officers are patient and take your details, and they record your recount of events. You decide not to tell them about Duo seeming like he was having the time of his life beating the hell out of these two guys.
Amongst all this, you call the owner, letting him know the gist over the phone. He’s about one hundred years old, and he shakes Duo’s hand for about 45 straight seconds once he arrives, thanking him profusely. Duo seems more uncomfortable with the praise than anything else.
“And you,” the owner says to you. “You are certainly finished for the night.” He pats your hand, looking up at you through his thick, grey eyebrows apologetically. “Take tomorrow as well, paid, please. I’m only glad you’re safe.”
Wufei watches the exchange closely, scrutinizing before his expression lets up. He seems satisfied, and they stick around until EMS carts off the two robbers. He bends down and Duo does the same, picking up the magazines that have fallen.
“Oh, gentlemen, please,” the owner says, fretting over it, “there’s no need-”
“It’s no problem.” Wufei rights the stand, and they put the magazines back into the rack. “Be thankful that nothing more important was damaged.” He does glance at you, but he looks more closely at Duo. Before you can think more about that, the manager is practically pushing you out the door.
Wufei and Duo won’t take no for an answer, and they walk you around the corner and to the building you live in, not leaving until you’re on the other side of your automatically locking front door.
“Well,” you hear Duo say, muffled through the glass. “You hungry?”
“Fine,” Wufei says begrudgingly. You see Duo give another bright smile and follow after Wufei, launching into some kind of chatter you can no longer make out.
---
The next few weeks pass in a similar sort of rhythm, although thankfully without any more robberies. Wufei stops in every few days, usually still in uniform, and he says little more to you when he picks up his purchases. He does stop outright glaring at you, which is nice.
You catch yourself smiling as he arrives one day, and Duo is back and on his heels. “-and so I said to him, ‘you know, you could have just told me the vault was off limits.”
“There were fourteen signs, idiot,” Wufei says, not turning back as he stalks in. He does give you a cursory nod.
“Well maybe they needed fifteen!” Duo calls after him before he leaned against your counter. “Hey,” he says. “How you doing?”
“I’m good,” you say. “Can I get you anything?”
Duo seems to give it earnest consideration for a moment, narrowing one eye as he looks around behind you. “Can I get a pack-”
“Ignore him,” Wufei says, and he bumps Duo with his shoulder hard enough that Duo does have to shift over.
“Come on,” Duo says. “It’s the one time I can, down here.”
“You wanna die of something stupid, you can keep pissing me off.” Wufei puts down four packs of ramen and gives it a thought.
“Just give us a pack of cheap cigarettes,” he says, rolling his eyes when Duo gives a little cheer. He stretches his hands over his head and pushes off the counter, heading to the door. You do as Wufei asks, and he pays.
“You could have bought them yourself,” Wufei called out, tossing the pack of cigarettes to Duo, who catches it easily, barely looking.
“How broke are you?” Duo asks, reaching the door. “You invited me, and you’re gonna make me pay?” He smiles, propping the door open. “I’m already a cheap date.”
You watch Wufei freeze, ramen sitting by the till, while Duo heads outside. A pinkish blush creeps its way onto the tops of his cheekbones and touches over the tops of his ears. He grabs his ramen, looking up at you, all of his scowl back in full force. “What are you looking at?” he asks, and he doesn’t wait for any answer as he turns and stalks out of the store.
---
Wufei is in a decent mood for a few weeks, but it starts to slowly fall off of him as time passes. The season changes into late spring, and he keeps up his rhythm. Work, ramen, bread, plant-based milk, the occasional cookie when the owner’s wife bakes them to sell at the store. He has some sort of engagement in the central city on Wednesdays, and he goes for a run every other day like clockwork.
It’s nice to get to know your regulars, even if everything you learn about Wufei is deduced from his routine. He’s a newer regular, but it’s been good he’s stuck around. Having someone in uniform lingering around seems to have helped with some deterrence, too, and you don’t have any more trouble with anyone hassling you or the store.
It’s been maybe a month since Duo was last around, and you almost want to ask Wufei about him, but something about the Preventer agent is just too intimidating for you to risk it. He’s back again tonight - it’s Wednesday, so he’s off, and he’s in plainclothes again as he comes back from whatever he was doing.
“So what,” Wufei says. He’s got his cellphone to his ear, and he gives you a glare and a nod and keeps the disgruntled look as he walks down the aisles. “I’m not at your beck and call, you know. If you want to come, then come.” He grabs a bottle of orange juice and some more ramen. “Duo, I’m going to hang up on you.”
True to his word, once he reaches the counter, he does hang up.
“9.90,” you say to him quickly, and Wufei pays in cash, as always. He’s not in a good mood, but you’re just too curious to help asking. “How is Duo?”
He’s obviously surprised you asked, his eyebrows held high before they shift back to glaring at you. His dark eyes narrow, and he snatches his food. “He’s just as fucking annoying as ever,” he snaps, turning away and letting the door slam closed behind him as he leaves.
You sigh. You aren’t quite sure what’s going on, but you don’t think your curiosity is going to help matters.
---
Wufei’s mood is outright foul from that point on. He isn’t outright rude to you, but there’s no cautiousness or patience to your interactions. When he encounters anyone else in the store, he acts a bit like they’re an affront. One time another young guy bumps his shoulder while they’re passing in the aisles, and Wufei cusses him out so strongly it makes you happy he wasn’t in uniform for anyone to record or report.
You don’t dare dig into any of it again.
Wufei is on the phone again one evening a few weeks later. “Why would I need-” he pauses in his conversation, thinking hard. “Maxwell can figure out where to stay,” he said. “It’s not my problem-” He rolls his dark eyes before he freezes again. “He asked to? Why the hell would he want to stay here?”
You have to push down a smile as you watch him puzzle over it. “Well, whatever. He can sleep on the fucking couch.” Wufei takes the phone away from his ear as he comes up to the cash. He’s picked up a couple snacks, nothing unusual for him, and he glances around a bit.
“I booked his shuttle flight for two weeks from now. I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you,” you can hear one voice say through the tinny phone speaker.
“All of you,” another lower voice added.
“Trowa!” the first voice admonished, and Wufei rolled his eyes before the first voice added quietly, “Though he might be right… Make sure to be responsible, Wufei.”
Wufei scoffs, putting the phone down on the counter so he can fish his wallet out of his pocket. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Pick up condoms,” the second voice says, and there’s a flurry of motion as Wufei grabs his phone off the counter, fumbling it for a second before ending the call.
His blush is back again, a little furious, and he doesn’t make eye contact with you as he manages to hand over his money again.
“We do sell them,” you say, feeling daring. You’re the only two in the store, and this is the only convenience place around. You do feel like Wufei is the type to get so pissed off he’d walk six blocks to the next one from now on, but something makes you bold. “Condoms, I mean.” You gesture over to your left, where they’re kept behind the counter - teenagers are getting into the habit of stealing them.
The redness in Wufei’s face triples, and he opens his mouth as though to speak. He never manages to make any words before he takes his items and speedwalks out of the store.
You wonder if getting laid might make him chill out.
---
You have to travel back home to see your parents for a few weeks - it’s the main chance you get at a restful vacation because of your other responsibilities - and you wonder if you’ll miss out on seeing what will happen once Duo visits again. You mention it to your parents when they ask how work is going. You can tell they think it’s a little odd you’re so invested, but Duo did save your life, so what can they say?
You show up for your shift one afternoon, coming up to the till to get ready to count in, and Duo is already there. You smile when you see him, and he smiles back.
“Hey,” he says kindly. “Hope you’ve been staying out of trouble.”
“Have you?” you ask, and he shrugs.
“Doing my best.” You can tell from the devilishness he gives off that it’s not true - or maybe it is, and the trouble comes very naturally.
Wufei meets him up at the counter again, putting down a few more things this time. “Do you even pack anything when you come?”
“You’re my host!” Duo says, full of faux chagrin. The trouble definitely comes naturally. “I bring the essentials.”
You start looking over the items, touching each with your fingers as you tabulate.
“You don’t think a toothbrush is essential?”
“You can buy one anywhere,” Duo says, shifting to a nonchalant tone that doesn’t seem to get him any farther in Wufei’s good graces. “There’s no need to deal with shuttle security over this stuff.”
Wufei makes a face. “You travel for almost two days to get here,” he gripes. “You don’t brush your teeth that whole time?”
Duo grins. “I buy the mineralizing gum in the spaceport,” he says. “What are you so worried about? I’m minty fresh if you wanna kiss me.”
Your hand pauses, but you fight against all odds and manage not to lose count while Wufei looks absolutely deadlocked, staring at Duo. He looks so at odds, his brow furrowed, but something is bright in his eyes.
You smile, deciding it’s your time to save one of them. “It’s 40.55,” you say, and it breaks Wufei out of his self-imposed spell.
“Fucking ridiculous,” he says, but Duo has already reached over him, tapping the payment receiver with a card. The transaction goes through with a tiny blip, and the two men are left standing close, only a few inches separating them. Standing with their chests an inch apart, their eyes meet.
God, if they kiss, you’re going to have to call your mom and tell her you were right.
---
They don’t kiss, but you do see more of Duo - whatever he’s here for, he’s here for a little while. He and Wufei aren’t always together, but it seems Wufei happily gave in and Duo’s staying with him upstairs after all. Wufei asks you along the way if there’s somewhere nearby to get keys cut, and from then on, Duo seems to come and go at his own rhythm and routine.
Wufei seems no happier on his own, coming and going from work and picking up little things here and there. He doesn’t speak to you too much more, but the dark circles under his eyes start to ease up. Duo seems to join him on his runs fairly often, and as much as Duo complains, he does keep up.
One afternoon they come in after one such run. It’s a beautiful day out, and you’ve just gotten to work yourself. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and Duo lingers around the counter as Wufei heads to the coolers in the back.
“Hey, listen,” he says, avoiding making eye contact. He leans in against the counter, and you do too, and then he does look at you. His grin is conspiratorial, a little, but there’s an energy behind it you can’t put your finger on.
“Come back once he’s upstairs if you want to buy cigarettes,” you say. Wufei had cursed you both out last time, and while Duo had laughed it off, you did feel a little bad.
Duo chuckles. “I quit,” he says. “Can’t smoke on colonies anyway - not if they catch ya, at least, and it’s fuckin’ expensive.” He glances over his shoulder at Wufei again before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fifty-credit note. “Take this,” he says, sliding it to you. He’s hunched over the counter like he’s trying to hide it.
“I can’t take a tip or anything,” you say, and Duo shakes his head.
“I’m going to steal from you.”
“What?” He picks up your hand and puts it over the bill on the counter.
“I’m gonna steal things,” he says.
“What kind of things?” You’re confused, but you keep your voice quiet. Wufei seems to be taking his time, at least.
“Utter bullshit.” Duo leans away a little. He seems uncomfortable, maybe even a bit embarrassed. “I can’t- okay, I could help myself, probably, but it’s a bad habit, and I already had to quit smoking, so…” he gives you an earnest look. “It would be cool if you could just consider this my ‘tab’. I won’t run you broke, I promise.”
You take the money and quickly put it under the counter - Wufei is coming up quickly. You nod to Duo and he looks relieved before he gives a close-lipped smile and turns back to Wufei. They’re both a bit sweaty, and Wufei places down a dozen eggs and two electrolyte drinks.
“8.75,” you say, and Wufei hands you the cash.
“Ooh, I love the blue flavour,” Duo says, taking one bottle and cracking off the plastic lid.
“I know,” Wufei mutters, and he takes the other items and leaves. He glances back at you for a moment and then at the display rack just below the counter - it’s all small things, candies and such. He gets a pinched look but doesn’t say anything else, leaving quietly.
---
Wufei does circle back a few days later, alone, and he gives you an intense stare before realizing there’s a couple other customers in the store tonight. He’s in uniform, and he heads down one of the aisles, acting like he’s browsing. He does pick up a couple things - really just some more orange juice and milk tea - and he brings them back to the counter as the last of the other customers cashes out and leaves.
“It’s 5.50,” you say automatically. You’ve learned he appreciates you not wasting any time, even if it seems like he’s in no rush today. He definitely isn’t as he pauses and gives you a look. He still looks good, better than that few months before, but he seems a little downtrodden today.
“Tell me how much Duo owes you,” he says, only a little thread of exasperation in his voice.
“He doesn’t-” you start, but Wufei shakes his head.
“How much has he lifted from this place?” he asks. He brushes a hand over his hair, tied back tightly, sighing. “Be honest - there’s no reason for him to be negatively impacting your business.”
“He doesn’t-” you insist, and Wufei still isn’t listening.
“You must have shambles for inventory if you haven’t noticed,” he snaps. “I know damn well it’s been at least twice.” He thinks on it and sighs again. “That means it’s probably been at least ten times.” He takes out his wallet and rests it on the counter.
“Let me make it right,” he says quietly, “and don’t tell him. He probably only enjoys it if he thinks he’s getting away with something.”
You can’t help the smile that bubbles up on your face. “That’s definitely part of it,” you say, “but you don’t have to worry. He keeps a tab. He pays it back.”
Wufei seems stunned. “Really?” You nod, trying not to grin any more openly as his face softens. “I didn’t know that.” He keeps that gentle consternation on his face as he takes out a bill and some change and hands it to you.
“Have a good night, Agent Chang,” you say quietly as he picks up his things.
“Thanks,” he says, giving you a polite inclination of his head. “You, too.”
---
They keep this little holding pattern for a while, coming and going. Duo occasionally flirts outrageously with Wufei, and Wufei goes red as a beet. Duo causes Wufei some extremely minor inconvenience, and Wufei launches into a tirade. Rinse and repeat, it seems, but every time Duo baits Wufei into one of his episodes he grins, and lets Wufei get into his face, like personal space is inconsequential. For just a moment they’ll look at each other, and you try so, so hard not to yell “JUST KISS” from wherever you’re watching from, and then they part, and go home.
One day Duo comes in, and he looks worried. He’s not in uniform, but it’s Wednesday evening, and he’s usually working those days. “Hey,” he asks, sliding up to the counter. There’s another customer there, an older woman, but she’s just perusing candies at the counter while you total up her shopping. “Have you seen Wufei today?”
“No,” you say, and it’s not unusual not to see him - Wednesday is his usual day off, of course, and you know he does other things in the evening. Duo gets a fretful look you’ve never seen on his face before, and you pause. “Everything okay?”
He sighs. “Dunno, I just haven’t seen him,” he says. “I guess I shoulda checked upstairs, but I went to meet him at his book club-”
“A book club!” you say impulsively. That’s where he goes Wednesday nights! Your mom’s going to owe you money - he seemed like a reader. Duo and the old lady are both unbothered by your wondering.
“Yeah, and they said he hadn’t been by. I didn’t see him before work this morning so I thought maybe you had…” he looks a little frustrated. “I’m gonna go check upstairs. Sorry for bothering ya.” He takes off out the door, muttering about needing to get his head on straight.
You lean over to look down the candy display after you hand the old lady her change and wish her well. You take the packet of gum Duo pocketed off of his tab.
---
The door chime rings again. It’s five minutes before closing and you’ve tidied up everything but counting the cash, but you can’t bring yourself to be annoyed when you see it’s Duo again. He hasn’t changed out of his uniform, and more of his bangs have shaken loose from his braid.
“Hey,” he says, leaning up on the counter. He’s glancing around at the display behind you, swaying on his feet. The restlessness is nothing new, but this anxious energy behind it is, and you’re starting to get worried. “Can you help me?”
“Sure,” you say, and your stomach is feeling a bit tight. You’ve seen the way this guy kicks ass and takes Wufei’s temper like it’s nothing. He holds down a job at Preventer, even with a baby face like that. What could he need your help for? “I thought you quit smoking, though.”
He makes a face, groaning. “Not you, too,” he says. “I don’t need a cigarette - actually,” he says, rethinking it, “I do, I truly do, but first I need to know what the hell to get somebody that’s sick.”
“Oh,” you say. “Is Wufei okay?” You get even more concerned when Duo shakes his head a little and then shrugs.
“He says it’s a cold,” Duo says, “but he’s pretty laid up.” He shifts on his feet again, still looking behind you, and you step out of his way once you realize it’s at the little bit of medicine you keep back there. “What can you do for that?”
“Probably just a cough syrup,” you say. “Or there’s patches, to help with fever or sore throat….” you look around at the boxes. “There’s one for a runny nose, too.”
“Just give ‘em all to me,” he says hastily. He brushes his bangs back out of his eyes and takes out his wallet. When you turn your back, you catch just a glimpse of him pocketing something.
“Take the other one,” you say, putting down a few boxes of the anti-illness patches in front of him. He freezes, and then starts to pull up that smile of his. “You took the regular mint earlier. Take the cinnamon one.”
Duo sighs. “Man, I’m losing my edge,” he says. He tosses the packet of gum on the counter. “Just ring it all up for me.”
You do, eyeing him over one more time. “You sure you don’t want a cigarette?” you ask, chuckling a bit at his fidgeting. “It’s just a cold, he’ll be okay in a few days.”
Duo sighs heavily. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” you say. “Wufei takes care of himself, he’ll be fine. You should make sure you don’t get sick.”
His demeanor changes so fast it takes you by surprise. He’s smiling again, but it’s bitter as his voice when he says, “I never catch this stuff.” He picks up the boxes like he’s angry, the edges of them collapsing in a bit from his grip. “That’s why I don’t know how to fucking help.”
“Hey,” you say, and you reach for his arm and stop him. He humors this, even though you know he could probably beat you down with only his pointer finger. “You’re helping. Just keep his feet warm, and his head cool, and don’t let him do too much.” You let go and offer Duo a paper bag, which he accepts quietly.
“You already have done a lot,” you add, although a part of you regrets it. Wufei isn’t a forthcoming kind of guy. Duo makes a questioning sound and you have to continue. “He’s… happier when you’re around.”
“Shit, this is him ‘happier’?” Duo jokes as you put the last box in the bag. “I feel bad for whatever happens behind my back, then.” He picks up the bag, the nervous energy simmering.
“He’s not a bad guy,” you say. “He’s just happier when you’re around.”
Duo is pensive about it this time. “Well,” he says, carrying his bags to the door, “I best go annoy the fuck out of him, then.”
---
It does take a few days before you see either of them again, and when you do, something has changed. Wufei walks in, Duo on his heels, and neither of them look worse for wear. They’re both talking quietly as they pick up a few incidentals, coming back from work.
“It’ll be 22.40,” you say. Duo glances around a bit cheekily before he points behind you. “Can we get a pack,” he says, and Wufei flushes scarlet when you turn and see he’s pointing to the condoms.
Your mom is gonna love this.
“Sure,” you say, trying to keep the squeak out of your voice. Wufei won’t even look at you, and Duo pays by card but still slides another fifty-credit note across the counter.
“Thanks,” Duo says, and you put everything into a paper bag for them. “Come on, Wufei,” he says, jostling the man’s shoulder. “God forbid anyone knows you’re finally getting laid.”
It was going to go one way or the other, but you feel a heartwarming kind of relief when Wufei snaps back at him, “Keep it up and I won’t fuck you again if your life depended on it!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Duo mutters, and he picks up the bag. “Come on.”
---
You were right about a regular lay bringing out some of the better parts of his personality, although part of you doubts Wufei really had any trouble before. Duo’s good for him, and seeing them together brightens up your otherwise pretty solitary evenings. Summer is on its way out when you see the two of them come in after a run. Both of them are sweaty, still catching their breaths - they must have run right up to the door.
“Hello,” Wufei greets you, and you nod back.
“We’re getting married,” Duo says, and Wufei sucks his teeth, but he’s smiling.
“Really?!” you ask, glancing between them. “That’s great news! Congratulations!”
Duo goes to lean on the counter but thinks better of it, wiping sweat off his palms on his already sweaty shirt. “It’s crazy, right?” He pays when Wufei puts the drinks on the counter this time. “Thanks, babe,” he says, leaning in for a kiss, but Wufei pushes him away.
“You’re covered in sweat!” he says, ducking away from the kiss.
“Doesn’t seem to bother ya any other time!” Duo takes his drink and winks at you. “Have a good one.”
---
They do get married a couple months later, and when they’re back from their honeymoon, Duo is ecstatic to tell you all about it. Wufei lingers around the store pretending to only tolerate Duo’s exposition about their personal lives, but you see the little smile at the corner of his lips.
You tell your mom about it, and it warms both your hearts.