Somewhere + Part 3 (cont)

Standing, the Asian man walked up next to Zechs. "Me too. I kept the leftovers from dinner. You haven't been eating well."

Miri looked down on those black eyes. "How would you know?"

"Simple. Your energy is down, you haven't been sleeping, and I could probably put you down in ten seconds." Wufei replied easily.

`Leave it to Wufei to assess me like a soldier, hate to think that this is his form of sincerity' Zechs mentally commented.

"You're coming down and eating or I will drag you down. Besides we need to talk." Wufei added with a firm nod.

Zechs followed the boy down to the kitchen. "You sit." Wufei commanded.

With a sigh, the tall man complied. He closed his eyes and just listened to the boy moving about the kitchen, the microwave warming up food, the pot boiling, a plate getting placed before him. "Eat." Wufei commanded.

"Eating." Millardo responded, too tired to care about fighting the boy. Picking up his fork he began to pick at the chicken and vegetables on the plate.

"Mariemaia has been worried about you." Wufei began, sipping on a glass of water he had poured for himself.

"I've been doing a lot of work." He replied back.

"You're avoiding me. No. Wait. Let me rephrase that. You are attempting to deal with a loss by not dealing with it. You are pushing yourself into over exhaustion. You are focusing on everything but the problem. In essence you're avoiding me because of everything I happen to physically remind you of." Wufei calmly got out.

Tears threatened to fall, yet somehow his voice kept a steady tone. "Coming from a man who uses the same techniques."

"Yes, that's why I recognized them right away. And I speak from experience when I say that I don't recommend that route." The Chinese boy answered.

Zechs blankly stared at the boy.

"If I have learned anything in the past few months its how to rely on your friends. You guys taught me that, and while I still might be attempting to grasp the concept at times, I do know how to spot depression. After all, I am the one Sally has on four different medications for it." Reasoned the Asian man.

"And what is your suggestion on how to deal with it, Chang?" Zechs grounded out.

"I said I could recognize the signs, I didn't say I knew how to cure it." Wufei responded, calmly.

Leaning back in his chair, the European man looked the boy over. "Anything else you feel the need to inform me on?"

"Marie had a splendid idea about the trauma we're likely setting ourselves up for when we visit Relena. In fact she requested the three of us celebrate Thanksgiving here, as a family." Wufei began uncomfortably.

"Huh."

"I know you want to see Relena, perhaps we could change plans? Maybe she could come here; Lady Une is of course invited, and has a small get together. Avoiding reporters and such."

"Any other wants of hers?"

"She then asked if, um..." Wufei averted his eyes. There was just no easy way to brooch the subject. "She requested if she could head over to Relena's early to ski, and, um... giving, well..."

"Giving us our supposed anniversary alone?" Zechs finished.

"Aa." Wufei nodded, his gaze not quite meeting the Sankian man's.

They both sat in silence for a while before Wufei stood up and walked over to the sink to place his empty glass in it. "We don't have to. I'm sorry I brought it up. I know it's the reason you're depressed."

"It isn't your fault." Miri reasoned, getting up and standing behind the smaller man. Placing his plate in the sink, he wrapped his arms around the boy. "I think it sounds like we should take her up on it. This way we can scream and rant at one another, blame each other, and so forth without any worries. Then join her for some fabulous cross country skiing."

"I am sorry, Miri." Wufei whispered head bent forward enough so his hair hid his face from view.

"It's not your fault" Zechs replied softly, leaning forward, pressing his cheek against the top of the boy's head.

"I will feel better if you just gave me some of the blame." Murmured the black eyed boy. `He's too close...' His mind groused, but valiantly he remained still. `He needs this. I can't make it worse. I feel nothing for him. He needs human comfort. It's like Maxwell and his unreasonable need to hug me all the time.' Wufei looked up into the window, their reflection quite evident.

Black eyes looked at the picture they made. That platinum blonde mane of fine silk draped across his shoulder. `I shouldn't even consider getting used to being here. I'm a guest; I'm in someone else's life. This isn't mine.'

Wufei's eyes narrowed as he heard footsteps descend the stairs towards them, he figured the taller man heard them too. Briefly, the Chinese closed his eyes. `Appearances are appearances.'

He did hear the Sankian man make a noise in surprise as he leaned back against that broad chest, his hands wrapping themselves around the older man's.

"Zechs? Fei?" A soft voice asked from the kitchen door.

Blue eyes looked over to see a redheaded girl standing at the doorframe, rubbing her eyes blearily. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" He asked.

"Um... yeah?" She responded, slightly sheepishly.

"Anything wrong Mariemaia?" Wufei asked, turning in that firm grip, feeling some of Zech's hair slide against his cheek.

"Nope. Justwanted to see you Zechs. You've been working a lot lately."

He smiled at her, pulling Wufei against his chest, arms tightening slightly. "Just wanted a perfectly clear schedule for when we go on vacation. And we were discussing your idea, that's all Maia. And I think its sounded great."

"Really?" She asked, small odangos bouncing slightly.

"Really, really," the blonde confirmed.

"We think it would be nice if Miri's sister joins us, Lady Une as well. A small family gathering, all of us cooking and so forth sound good to you?" Wufei asked.

"Yes!" The blue eyed girl grinned, dashing across the kitchen and throwing her arms around her `dads'. "Its sounds great!" That grin widened, "And now I think its time you two went to bed."

Chuckling, the European man nodded. "Agreed."

Surprisingly, Wufei let him hold his hand on the way up the stairs, even leaning back into his loose embrace as Mariemaia bounded down the hall into her own room.

Both walked into their room, Wufei slipping from the grasp and heading to close the window slightly. The Sankian man carelessly tossed his bag and jacket onto the floor. "I'll take care of it tomorrow."

"I understand, you're tired" Wufei nodded in understanding. "Besides, nothing you do could be worse that Duo or Heero leaving their ammo lying everywhere. Yuy even placed some in the potted plants, just in case."

Weakly smiling, fatigue showing on the tall man, he stripped, forgetting to put on any clothes and all but fell into bed.

Wufei's black orbs rounded slightly. `Ancestors be my strength...' he fretfully chanted. Slipping off his shirt, he gently slid onto the other side of the bed, carefully not facing the naked man sleeping next to him.

Lying there, he watched until he was sure Miri was asleep before letting himself be taken to dreamland as well.

Unconsciously, bronze fingers intertwined with tan ones as the two slept on, the white, cool light of the moon glistening off the set of wedding rings. Dream movement brought Chang Wufei turning over into that warmth as a breeze tumbled through the opened window.

Miri smiled contently as he wrapped his arms around the boy, blue eyes watching the slow rise and fall of that lithe body in the clutches of slumber. Fingers glided along one high cheekbone, stroking that silky mane of jetted onyx.

"You are so beautiful Chang Wufei, even if you aren't him, or even only partially him, you're still so very beautiful... Even if you are a royal pain in the ass and a brat, I know you mean well." The words whispered softly from the European man, who finally allowed the sandman to claim him as well.

+

Sally smirked as the Chinese boy sat on the patient's table. "Are you done glowering, Wufei? Because you can stop it at any time. I'm not going to torture you, I mean this is standard for a person to visit a doctor after going on medication."

"I am not glowering." He stated, his frown deepening, obviously ignoring the last part of her small speech to him.

With a heavy sigh, she started. "I give up. Anyways," She began, picking up his file on her clipboard, "you haven't been feeling any side effects from the medicine, have you?"

"No." The boy answered evenly.

"Any symptoms of headache, nausea, excessive weight loss, any pains in your muscles or joints?" Sally continued, waiting for his response.

"None. Is this really necessary, Sally?"

"Yes. Any signs of rashes or dizziness?"

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear, he glared at her. "Couldn't you give this out as a checklist that I could have filled out while waiting in the lobby?"

Her hard eyes meet his. "Just doing my job, Wufei." Pausing, the Chinese-American woman's grin turned slightly maniacal. "Any problems with abnormal ejaculation?"

Wufei's face blossomed into a bright fiery red. "No!" He managed to hiss out.

Blinking, the woman feigned ignorance. "You mean everything is fine with, your plumbing as men so often refer to it as, or as in you don't know because you haven't ejaculated lately?"

If it were possible, Sally swore the boy was about to have an aneurysm or a heart attack from the way his face flushed darker. "I take that as you haven't been sexually active or am I incorrect in that thought?"

"I am NOT sleeping with him!" Wufei managed to spit out.

"Ah, nothing to be upset about, unless of course..." Sally dragged out, baiting the boy.

"No!" The black eyed boy grated out between clenched teeth.

"Hm." Scratching down a few notes in his file, she remained silent before reaching for her prescription pad. "Well, not to say you are getting better, I would still recommend a psychiatrist," she disavowed his almost immediate dismissal of that idea, "But I know you won't go. As long as you seem to be interacting with others, I'm going to get you onto a nefazodone, alright? We've given your system two weeks to flush out the old medication, call me immediately if you feel anything other than normal."

With his agreement, Sally continued. "The prescription is good for about a two week supply. It should hold you until Thanksgiving."

His eyes widened. "Are you sure that is a smart idea, Sally?"

"I do. I know it will be a stressful weekend and I am hoping that you can make it through with no problem." Handing the boy the slip, the tall woman continued, "Besides Zechs will rat you out if you are having problems."

"Miri has enough problems of his own to deal with." Wufei muttered, then looked at the Chinese-American woman's back before deciding to continue. "Has Miri been acting strange at work?"

Sally nearly dropped her clipboard and his file. Recovering, she slowly turned to him. "Slightly, why do you ask?" Her blue eyes narrowed. `Can it actually be that the little stubborn boy is concerned about Zechs?'

He shrugged slightly. "He seems to be overworking himself... And trying to remove himself from my presence."

`That isn't too far off. I guess I forget that when he wants to, Chang Wufei has amazing perceptive skills. When he chooses to use them. I have to wonder if he is understanding the reason behind why Zechs is acting to different?' The blonde haired woman nodded. "He seems upset. I've been meaning to get him in here. Anything you care to enlighten me on?"

Averting his eyes and staring hard at the far white wall, Wufei began. "He's trying not to mourn in public."

`Leave it to him to put it so succinctly.' Sally sighed. "I did get that idea."

"He's going to end up with problems."

Affirming his statement with a nod, she pushed a little further. "You think he's getting depressed?"

With a barely hidden sigh, the Chinese youth turned his eyes back to her. They held a look of exasperation. "Sally, I know the signs of depression, even before you drilled them into me when asking me questions. It's only natural. He has lost his husband."

"So you do recognize the source of his problem." She wasn't actually being malicious that time she was sincerely concerned. Often she worried about the boy, wondering if he was fitting in, if he really wanted to change or remain the same. `So he is changing, slowly opening himself up and caring. In his own way getting over himself. Surprising on how fast it is happening. Quatre said he felt that the two of them seemed to overlap at times. Perhaps Maxwell is right. Maybe they are one in the same.'

"Of course." There was a small hint of offence in his tone, over the fact that for some reason no one wanted to believe he was capable of emotions. "I may not be in love with him, or even known him that long, but..." He stopped. How was he to answer that? `That I just know? Please, a lame excuse, Chang. You don't just know someone after barely living with them for a little more than two months.'

`Curiouser and curiouser. Don't want to come out and admit that the man strikes up something akin to feelings in you, do you Chang.' Sally smiled softly, giving the boy her best intimidation of a clinical tone. "Well, in normal cases I would have him go to a clinical therapist to deal with the depression of dealing with the loss of a love one. However, I do not feel that I can truly diagnose him yet. Unlike you, he is usually fairly stable and while he may suffer from low self-esteem from time to time, he is shades pale in comparison to you."

"You do wonders for it, Sally." He scoffed, choosing to ignore the rest of her information, packing it away for another time.

"I try, Chang. Now, I am going to give you a strict order to not only to interact with him, but try and keep contact with him. His loss is a little more complicated than just loosing a spouse. Zechs isn't a normally depressed person, unlike someone I know who seems to make it a living to be so."

"So I'm chronic and he's seasonal?" Wufei asked, fingers weaving themselves together nervously, his dry humour coming out at the strangest of moments.

"Something like that." The Chinese-American woman smiled.

"But Relena is coming over for Thanksgiving, and that added stress of his anniversary is really making it worse." Wufei confessed. Somehow, almost instinctively he trusted her, and therefore felt it could only help if she knew his doubts. The woman truly had a gift of point a reason to anything.

"I thought you both were taking Mariemaia to Relena's for Thanksgiving?" She asked, sitting on the edge of her slightly cluttered desk.

"Well, we were."

"But?" The tall woman hedged.

"But Marie had a brilliant wish of having the holiday at our place, to avoid the media, which I am guessing is more her desire than anything."

Nodding, Sally responded thoughtfully, "She really is resistant to any large gatherings of media, you should know that by now. Has been since, well, you know. Not that I blame her. She wants to remove herself as much as possible from that time in her life. So I can see the desire to have a small family gathering close to a place she feels comfortable in."

"Yes, so she offered up the idea that Relena, and Lady Une if she so desires, come to our place for the holiday. Then she'll travel with Relena and the Lady to head back to Relena's home for some relaxation."

"And you and Zechs?"

Pausing for a moment, Wufei twisted a strand of black hair between his fingers. "She wanted us to have some privacy for our supposed anniversary and then we would join her later."

"Uh huh. Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was planning something. But with the way its set up, I suppose she doesn't. Yet, you're very lucky that she had that idea. Have you talked to Zechs about it?"

"Yes. He seems to agree, or more actually doesn't seem opposed to it. He wants to see his sister, badly. I think he wants her comfort, even if she doesn't know what's happening."

Sally placed her clipboard and the file next to her, reaching for her cooling cup of coffee. "And the anniversary?" She hated to ask, to press the point with the boy. The next few weeks were going to be very hard on the both of them, but harder still on the Sankian man. That pure happiness, his shining light that lifted him from his self- doubts was gone, replaced by a boy who was attempting to try, but sometimes that wasn't enough.

"The anniversary." He repeated, grimly. "I can only suppose that he'll either glare at me the entire day or slip away to properly mourn."

"And you? What about you, Wufei?" Sally pointed out, carefully.

"What about me?" The Chinese boy asked.

"What will you be doing?"

"I... I guess letting him grieve anyway he can." He finished. `What else can I do? I don't have the right to do anything else. Not really. It's my fault that he has to mourn. I never would have wanted this...'

"Just don't let him grieve too long."

"Alright." He agreed, not really hearing her words fully. Just really agreeing to placate her.

"You hear me, Chang? This isn't your fault."

"I know." He pulled his jacket on, sliding off the table.

"Have a good day, Wufei."

Nodding, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "I'll try." Pulling open her door, he paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder. "And thank you, Sally."

A grin broke across her features. "Yeah, yeah. Anytime you brat."

With a nod, he walked out of her office.

Musing, she straightened up the files and got ready for her next patient. "You don't even realize it, do you Wufei?"

+

It was black. It had been black and it seemed it would continue to be so. A sinking jetted atmosphere that existed in a freezing abyss.

He was cold.

He had stopped calling out. No one had answered. No one was there.

It was him and his solitude. His hell bent loneliness.

Just him and the blackness.

Just him, the blackness, and his growing hatred. A burning hatred that he would quell. He would get back. He would get revenge.

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