Disclaimer/An: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Please take note that I do not know Chinese and did my best to work with the limited knowledge I was able to find on the net about Chinese honorifics. This will be the only disclaimer and Authors note for the story. Please enjoy.

Chapter One

He stood under the awning of a dark shop as the rain pored down. The water dripped to the wet concrete just out of his reach. He watched as cars rushed by, splashing through the puddles. The lights overhead flickered, letting the moonlight from above to be seen every so often. He was waiting. It was where he always waited. Every night he stood in the same place looking out at the same street. He always dressed in tight black pants, a tight black tank top and a pair sleek knee high black boots. The clothing always looked the same, no matter what the weather was. He stood in front of the abandoned store every night no matter what, and every night he wondered why he did it. Every night he thought of a way out of it all. Every night, he tried to come up with a way to get out.

His name was Duo Maxwell and he was nineteen years old. He had somehow managed to get himself stuck in a horrible situation that he would never have thought he would get himself stuck in. He was once an amazing Gundam pilot who had saved the colonies and helped create peace on earth and in space. Here he was two years later standing on the street waiting for a car to stop so he could sell his body for money. How had he fallen so low you might ask? It had happened a year earlier when he had fallen in love with the wrong man. He thought the man he had fallen in love with was amazing, and he had no idea where all the money he had was coming from but he did not question it. He was too far in love for it to matter. He was head over heels, but he was blind sided. Every day he kicked him self mentally for not investigating like he should have. Like any former Gundam pilot would have. He would have found out that the man he thought he was in love with was deep in the trade of human trafficking and that he was in danger. Shortly after hooking up with the man, he found himself selling his body and giving all his money to the man. The man some would call his pimp. The man who he was forced to call his master.

Duo had nothing anymore. He couldn't even call the clothing he was wearing his own. His master bought him clothing he approved of and fed him. Everything was provided for him. He was forced to live in a three bedroom house with the man and a handful of other people who were under his control. Most of them were addicts and the master helped fuel their habit so they were forced to stay with him. The only reason Duo was stuck was simply because he had gotten weak. He had lost his strength he once had. The man had manipulated Duo in the beginning and made him too weak to fight and now he was too far in to fight and win. He could not call for help and he was always being watched. There was nothing he could do, except hope and pray that some day someone would find him and help him. Until then, he would continue to do what he he was doing. He hated every minute of it though, and he hated himself every day for getting trapped in such a horrible situation.

Every night he stood in the same place thinking the same thoughts. Remembering things he could have done differently. Thinking of things he should have done. Trying to think of a way out of the situation he was in. Everything seemed hopeless to him though. Even the thought of running for it seemed out of the question. He knew he would not get far. He wondered how long he it would take the other pilots to come looking for him. How long did he have to not stay in contact with them until they got worried and went on a search for him? The thought always worried him. What if none of them worried about him at all and they simply lived their lives without a second thought and he was stuck living this life forever?

A car pulled up and stopped along side the curb in front of Duo. The passenger side window rolled down and Duo walked forward into the drizzling rain. He leaned against the door and peered into the dark car. It was difficult to see inside, but he could make out what looked like a man. He sighed inside. It was always men. Not that he disliked men. To be honest he preferred men over women. Not only was he more attracted to men but women never knew how to take charge. But that was what made the female customers so much easier. It was an an in and out job and he still got paid. Hell, there were times when he simply got to listen to a women talk and cry to him and get paid. Female customers had a lot of advantages over the men. He wondered what this guy would be like.

"Hey buddy. What ya lookin for?" Duo threw a sexy smirk on his face. As much as he hated his job, he knew he would get his ass beat if he didn't sell it as best as he could. Coming back with no money was a horrible thing to do. He had to make at least one deal a night. If he didn't make that deal, then he had to get the money some other way which usually meant making his way into the heart of downtown and pick pocketing someone. He wasn't sure which was worse. Pick pocketing someone was riskier because the cops were in the heart of downtown watching out for that kind of thing. No one seemed to care about the people selling themselves on the outskirts and in the alleyways.

"Duo? Is that you?" The voice sounded familiar, but with no face Duo was unable to place it.

He was taken aback. He didn't use his real name on the street. None of the residents in the house knew his real name either. The only person in town who knew his real name was the master. So how could this person possibly know his real name? He regained his composure quickly and gave the man a strange look. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person. Were you looking for a good time or not, sweety?"

"Duo, it's me. It's Wufei."

All the color drained out of Duo's face, and his heart almost stopped. His mind was racing at a million miles an hour. What was Wufei doing there? He had just propositioned himself to Wufei and now he knew. What must he think? So many thoughts were rushing through his mind at once he found it difficult to figure out what to do next. Should he jump for joy and ask for help or should he run in shame? He was in shock. He just stared at the Chinese man in the darkness.

"Duo? Are you okay? You're scaring me."

Duo snapped out of it and stood up straight. A million thoughts still raced through his mind, but they were more clear and he realized the opportunity sitting in front of him. This was his chance to get away. Wufei could help him get away from the horrible life he had been forced to live for a year. He was sure that he would help. He simply had to ask.

"Duo, get in the car for goodness sake. You're getting soaked."

Duo realized he was indeed getting extremely wet. He opened the passenger car door and climbed in. Wufei rolled the window up with a press of a button. There was a long silence in the car. Duo glanced at Wufei, but did not want to look him in the eyes. He was overwhelmed with emotions and he did not trust himself to look the other man in the eyes.

"Duo, exactly what is going on here?"

"I-" Duo faltered. What exactly was he supposed to say? Was it not obvious that he was prostituting himself on the street? Maybe that wasn't what Wufei meant. "It's a really long story Wufei, to be honest."

Wufei shifted the car into gear. "Well, it's a good thing I have a lot of extra time." The car moved forward and they were pulling away from the spot Duo had been standing at every night for months. As he drove, Wufei pulled a phone out and dialed a number. Duo noticed a small blue-tooth in his ear. There was a long pause before Wufei spoke. "Hey, I found him. We are on our way right now. We should be there in about ten minutes. Okay, see you in a few. Bye."

There was a few moments of silence before Duo asked, "Where are we going?"

"To a hotel downtown."

"Oh." Duo kept quiet after that. He wasn't sure what to say. Not only had it been two years since he had last seen or spoken to Wufei, but the situation was awkward. To think he had dreamed of this day for months, but now it was happening and he had no idea how to deal with it. He also had to wonder who Wufei had called. Was it one of the other pilots? If it was, which one? They had been looking for him, but for how long. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was painfully aware of the fact that he had asked Wufei if he was 'looking for a good time'. That thought alone made him stay quiet.

Soon they were pulling up to a tall and expensive looking hotel. A valet was at his door opening it quickly and he was stepping out. They were protected from the rain by a long awning. Duo looked around at the exterior of the hotel. It was decorated in blues and whites. He had never been to this particular hotel, but he had been to a few of the expensive ones downtown. Wufei handed the keys over to the young man and walked around the car to stand beside Duo. Now they were in the light, Duo could see Wufei better. He had not changed much, though he had grown quite a bit. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. It was a casual look that suited him well. Duo fought the urge to stare. He never realized how handsome the other man was.

"Lets go then." Wufei led the way into the elegant hotel. Duo followed behind wondering exactly where they were going and what was going on. In the back of his mind he wondered if the master knew where he was. Some how the master always knew who his clients ended up being. He always knew where he was every night. He knew everything about all of his little pawns roaming the streets. Duo still hadn't figured out how he knew, he just knew. He knew there had to be some kind of system involved. A system of connections. That was the only logical thing he could figure out.

They made their way through the vast lobby. There were people roaming around. Some people were coming and going to the bar, others were entering or exiting the restaurant. They passed all of these people and headed to the elevator. They stepped in one of the open elevators and Wufei pressed the button for the eleventh floor. Soon they were at the eleventh floor and stepping out. Wufei led the way down the hallway and Duo followed him cautiously. When they got to the door, Wufei paused and looked back at Duo. The brunette looked back at him with wide eyes before the Chinese man unlocked the door and opened it.

End Chapter