A Promise Between Souls

By DragonMage

Notes: I wanna thank everyone who said the last chapter wasn't bad at all even though I thought it did myself. I seriously didn't think it was up to potential, but if you think it's good, then it's good! *laughs* Always believe the readers! They're the ones who are reading, ne? *grin* Thanks a lot people! You seriously made me feel good inside.

Chapter 3

"You've got to stop giving me these stupid missions, Une. I mean it!" Wufei exploded the next day in Une's office. "I can't stand it anymore! Why me? They're something someone else with no time on their hands can do."

"I give them to you because I know you can do something about them," Une said, shrugging as she sat back on her seat.

"They're stupid!" Wufei seriously couldn't think of a better word without getting a bit extreme, and he had promised Quatre he would cut back on his cursing.

"I know they are. But people are seriously being spooked out there. What else can I do?"

"Arrest them? Preventers aren't suppose to be sent out on these kinds of things. What about the local police?"

"They didn't help calm the neighbors."

"So they call the Preventers? We're not just some...some organization that runs around chasing ghosts," Wufei huffed.

"Very well. They'll go to another Preventer. Happy?" Une demanded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. But then she reminded herself that she was an adult.

"Very." Wufei nodded at Une before turning around and leaving the room.

~*~

"What was all of that about?" Heero asked when Wufei walked into the room with a decidedly triumphant smile on his Asian face.

"Oh, I asked Une to stop giving me those stupid missions," Wufei said pleasantly as he sat down on his chair and leaned back on it. He was looking very *very* smug.

"Really? Asked or demanded?"

Wufei shrugged with a wicked sparkle in his dark eyes. "It all depends on the point of view, doesn't it?"

Heero nodded thoughtfully before turning his attention to the paper work. He had volunteered to do it since, well, he needed the practice and it kept him busy. He hated it when he had nothing else to do and Duo had convinced him a while ago to get rid of his laptop from the war. He didn't need it anymore.

"How are you getting along?"

A light, almost sweet yet masculine smell waft under Heero's nose as he looked up to see Wufei leaning casually over his shoulder and looking at his work with a thoughtful expression on his face. To say the least, he was stunned. Wufei never openly touched or came near a person unless the situation demanded it.

"Not so bad," Wufei congratulated, nodding as he straightened and took the paper from Heero's hands. He continued to read the paper, not even noticing his own actions while Heero was more than aware. He watched as the Chinese man read and murmured to himself. <He's really beautiful,> Heero mused to himself. Of course, that wasn't new. He had noticed a lot about Wufei since they had seen each other at the reunion party. And now that they were working together, he got plenty of opportunities to watch Wufei. It was fun, really. And it helped feed his dreams, fighting back the nightmares that came occasionally on sleepless nights.

"What time is it?" Wufei suddenly asked, snapping Heero out of his thoughts.

"Almost noon," Heero said, looking up from his watch.

"Lunch. Do you want to go out?" Wufei asked as he placed the paper down and walked over to his own desk, giving Heero a pretty good look at his back side. "We could go to some Chinese place, or Japanese. Take your pick. But no American fast food. I still remember how many times we've had to eat that during the war. I've eaten my full, what about you?"

"You're decidedly talkative today," Heero remarked, only really half listening to what Wufei was talking about.

Wufei turned and gave Heero a pretty dry look. "So you want me to remain stony silent like you? Just because I didn't talk during the war didn't mean I didn't know how to. Of course I know how to talk. I'm not stupid. The war was too important to stray from by talking about...about any random thought like Maxwell." The Chinese man then smiled slightly. "Lighten up, Heero. I know I am learning to."

That smile suddenly caused something to click inside of Heero. He had seen that smile before. Warm, affectionate, and all for him. He felt his heart warm slightly at the distant...memory? No, no it couldn't have been a memory. Chang Wufei had never smiled at him like that before. It had to be something else. A dream? Possibly. He had been dreaming of the Chinese man recently. Of course, they had been strange dreams. They were never set in present time, more like something out of the ancient past when knights were the soldiers of valor. It was really weird and he suddenly didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Let's go. I'm starving," Heero said, standing up and grabbing his jacket.

Wufei nodded and headed out of the door with Heero following him.

~*~

"What do you think of the Preventers so far?" Wufei asked as he bit into the sandwich he had ordered. It was pretty good, a bit dry but he wasn't complaining. He was too hungry to be picky, really.

"It's okay. It gives me something to do," Heero said offhandedly. <And the opportunity to watch you,> he thought with a bit of amusement. Watching Wufei had certainly became one of his favorite past times.

"Just that? You don't feel any sense of accomplishment?" Wufei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you?"

"Somewhat." Wufei paused, thinking over Heero's words. "Maybe you're right," he admitted after a moment. "Maybe it is just something to do."

"It's just something to keep us sane," Heero said, sipping his soda as he watched emotions and thoughts flash through Wufei's eyes. The Chinese man was pretty expressive when he had his guard down. Otherwise, he was like ice, cold and unrevealing.

"Sanity is over-rated," Wufei snorted after a few moments of contemplation. He sighed and dropped his sandwich, not feeling at all that hungry anymore. In fact, he felt upset. What was the purpose of life but to wake up, eat, go to work, eat, and then go to bed only to start the routine all over again. It was tedious and repetitious and it was starting to get on his nerves. At least during his life as a scholar he had something new to do every day, what with studying, dealing with Meiran and learning how to operate a Gundam. He had something to do that had purpose. Now...nothing seem to be worth it. He only did it since it gave him something to do. Other than that, life had no true purpose right now. There was nothing for him to live for.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked, studying Wufei intently.

Wufei looked up, his face dark and his eyebrows knitted together and a slight strain on his lips. He was clearly upset and Heero wondered what had upset him.

"I...It's nothing, Heero. Just eat," Wufei said softly as he pushed away his plate and stared off at nothing. <I am not going to feel bad. I am NOT going to feel bad.> But it was so hard, oh gods, yes it was so hard. He had only recently pulled himself out of depression and now...now it was so close to overwhelming him again like a wave, taking him into the vast sea of unknown and painful emotions and memories. All he wanted to do right then was curl up into a ball and maybe take some of his medication to dull the pain and sadness welling up so easily inside of him. He didn't feel that great at all. He swallowed hard and tried to pretend Heero wasn't there. But that was pretty hard; he was much too aware of the Japanese man sitting across from him.

Heero stopped eating and stared intently at Wufei before getting out of his seat and walked over to Wufei's seat. He went down until he was at eye level with Wufei.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Wufei turned his head around and breathed sharply as his eyes met Heero's. Gods, it was so easy to just give into the pain and cry. How many times had he done that before? Yes, it was very, very easy to just give in. His heart twisted painfully and that familiar ache inside of him made itself know. <Gods no...I was okay!>

Heero breathed in sharply when he saw the pain in Wufei's eyes. He reached out and tentatively placed his hand on top of Wufei's on his lap.

"Why don't we go back? You should get some rest," he said softly as he stood up and looked down at Wufei.

"I think you might be right," Wufei whispered as he stood up, refusing to look Heero in the face. He started pulling out his wallet but Heero stopped him.

"Don't worry. I'll pay for it. Just...go back to the car, okay?"

Relief flooded Wufei and he nodded a bit jerkily before he quickly walked off. He wasn't going to break down just now. He'd do it at home.

~*~

Heero tried not to worry about Wufei but it was very hard not to. The Chinese man had asked for leave for the day, and surprisingly, Une had given in without any complaint. Heero had expected the woman to give Wufei a hard time before letting him ago. Was there something wrong with Wufei he didn't know about? Why was Wufei so sad? He had been on the edge of his seat since he got back, hoping for the day to be over and maybe he could give into his weakness and go over to Wufei's apartment and check on him. He already had the other man's address stored away in his memory.

Taking a deep breath, Heero tried to tell himself that everything was okay and there was nothing to worry about. Of course, that was a lie. Of course there was something to worry about! Wufei was hurting for some reason and he wanted to know what was the reason for such a pain. And why did he feel this strange ache inside of him as well? He swallowed hard and tried to concentrate on his work but it was too damn hard. All he wanted to do was check on Wufei.

Staring blankly at his computer screen, Heero tried to think of the next sentence to write but nothing was turning up. His mind was in a turmoil and he just couldn't get it to start thinking straight. It kept on wandering back to Wufei no matter how many times he had ordered it to stop. He was too worried. What was wrong with him? Oh, who cared! What was wrong with Wufei??

Sighing heavily, Heero slumped forward and his head on landed on the desk with a hollow 'thump'.

After a few moments of just...sitting there slumped over, he straightened and turned off the computer. He wasn't going to get any work done today even if he wanted to. What he really wanted to do was give into the strange urge to go and see Wufei to make sure that he was okay. He was hurting, and strangely, Heero could feel that hurt. It was intense.

<And here I thought it was Quatre with the Heart of the Universe,> he thought to himself as he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Yes, calm...--Like hell!

He stood up abruptly and grabbed his jacket and keys. He was going to go and see Wufei, no matter what Une said. With that set in his mind, he left the small office, locking the door behind him and left the Preventers' headquarters. Thankfully, no one bothered him. As he got into his car, he reviewed Wufei's address over again before he drove off and headed in that direction. He was going to make sure Wufei was okay, even if it was a bit out of character he damn well didn't care right then.

~*~

Wufei curled up in bed and closed his eyes as he allowed the medication to take its effect. He prayed for it to work quickly. All he wanted was it to take him into the dreamless realm where he could rest easy for at least a few hours. Too bad he couldn't stay there forever....

Hmm...

He probably could though, but suicide was dishonorable. It was a waste of life and a coward's way out of a problem. He wasn't going to be a coward, even if he did feel like one right then.

Squeezing his eyes even tighter, Wufei clenched his fists until his short nails bit into the soft flesh of his palm. He bit his lower lip and urged the medication to work faster. All he wanted was some peace for just a little while. That was all he asked for, really. If he just had a few moments of rest...everything might seem okay when he woke up.

He was almost in the arms of the Lord of Dreams when a knock on the door jarred him from it. He blinked and opened his eyes slowly as he sat up in bed and blinked again. Who could be calling right now? He didn't invite anyone over and he didn't expect anyone to be coming...He kicked off his covers sluggishly and winced as he felt a sharp pain in his hand. He looked down and saw dark, red imprints from his nails. He sighed and walked out of the room in his pajamas, not really giving a damn that anyone could see him in them. He was too tired and he felt very, very subdued and woozy. The drugs had taken affect. He didn't feel so bad anymore.

"Heero?" Wufei blinked and gawked at the man standing in front of him in his Preventer uniform. He hadn't expected Heero to show up at his doorstep, especially right now. What time was it anyway?

"Wufei. Can I come in?" Heero asked uncertainly. He had began to get doubts about visiting Wufei during his walk to the apartment but now it was far too late to do anything about it.

"Um..yeah, sure," Wufei said tiredly, nodding. A few stands of unbound hair fell into his face but he merely brushed them away and stood aside to allow Heero entrance.

"I'm sorry for just suddenly dropping by but you didn't look so good when you left..." Heero trailed off and took in the sight before him. Wufei was wearing blue pajamas that were too big for him and hung on his slim build. He looked so small and fragile underneath all the cloth that just seem to swallow him. The sleeves hung well past his fingertips and the cuffs of his pants pooled around his barefeet. His hair was loose and he looked very, very tired. The worry inside of Heero only got worse.

"I...I'm just tired, Heero. I'll be fine," Wufei said, shrugging as he shuffled over to the small kitchen and grabbed a teapot. He found some good tea leaves and began to make some Chinese tea. "I don't know if Japanese tea is the same as Chinese tea...I hope you don't mind. It's...well, I doubt you'll understand the Chinese name for it. Japanese people drink green tea, don't they?"

"Um, yes," Heero said, nodding as he followed Wufei's sluggish movements. After a moment he stepped forward and took the tea pot and hot water from Wufei's small hands. "Here, I'll take care of this. Why don't you go rest? You're exhausted."

Wufei looked up at Heero and nodded. Heero suddenly felt something inside of him twist painfully at the sight of Wufei's pale, drawn face. He had no color in his usually golden skin at all. <Gods, what's wrong with him? Is he sick?>

"Thank you...for worrying, Heero," Wufei said softly, looking down at the tiled floor. He usually didn't have people worry for him, well, because he didn't like them worrying about him. He liked to be independent but lately he had learned he needed to lean against someone occasionally to take the weight off his depression. It helped, even though he hated to admit it. He didn't like to worry people, he felt obligated to them when they did and he hated feeling obligated.

"It's okay. You're...you're a friend, right?" Heero murmured hesitantly. He had only gotten used to the term 'friend'. It was still pretty alien to him, but when he associated it with Wufei it didn't feel strange all it. In fact, it felt near perfect.

"Friend...right," Wufei breathed before he turned and trudged over to the couch in the living room. He sat down on it and slowly laid down before closing his eyes. He was exhausted. Far too exhausted and sedated to worry about Heero, really.

Heero watched Wufei for a moment before realizing that the hot water was going to get cold if he didn't do something about it. He had rarely made any tea in his life. The only other time he had done it was when Quatre had fallen sick and he was the only one in the house to take care of him. The Arabian was pretty fond of tea so Heero had made some to help him get better. Apparently that had worked since the next day Quatre was up and moving about.

When he finished pouring the hot water into the tea pot full of teas he closed it over and stared at it for a moment. Making tea for Quatre was very different from making tea for Wufei. For one thing, the way to make it was different. Quatre's tea required much more work, what with all the extra sweet stuff added, while Chinese tea only need a tea pot (and not even then! He could have just used a mug and covered the top till the tea was ready), hot water, tea leaves and ten minutes or so to let the tea soak.

Turning back around, Heero watched as Wufei slept. He kicked off his boots and walked quietly over to his friend and grabbed a throw blanket off the couch. He gently laid it over Wufei's small body and tucked him in. Wufei shifted and sighed softly before falling back asleep. Heero noted he was pretty deep asleep. Did he take something?

When the tea was ready, Heero poured a cup for Wufei and one for himself. He covered Wufei's cup so it stayed hot and drank his own. He grimaced slightly and remembered that Chinese tea was bitter compared to sweet teas that Quatre liked so much. After a few sips he got used to the bitter taste and was pouring himself another cup. It helped ease the tension inside of him, and already he felt much better being around Wufei. At least he could do something while he was there instead of worrying at the office.

After his third cup, Heero decided to stop. He was going to need the restroom soon enough if he kept drinking. He walked over to Wufei and knelt down beside him. He brushed away a stray strands of hair and smiled before standing up and making himself comfortable in another couch. Then he closed his eyes for a quick nap.

~*~

Heero took a deep breath and stretched quietly as he looked over at Wufei who was still deep asleep. He frowned slightly and slid out of the couch to go and check on him. As he gently pressed his hand to Wufei's forehead he could feel no fever whatsoever. Hn. Wufei probably did take something. But what? And why? Was he having trouble sleeping? Probably, but why? Heero wanted to wake Wufei up and ask some questions but he didn't dare. He didn't want to disturb whatever rest Wufei got. The Chinese man was clearly upset over something and sleep would help ease whatever troubles he was going through, or at least for the time being.

Smothering a yawn, Heero stood up and checked on the tea. It had cooled a long time ago and now was just cold tea water with tea leaves floating at the bottom of the pot. He poured it out and started making another pot. It was the only thing he could think of doing and it kept him busy while he waited out Wufei's nap--and damn it was a long nap.

Just as he was about to pour the hot water into the pot, Wufei woke up. Heero turned around and watched as the Chinese man sat up and looked around himself in confusion before he realized where he was and that he wasn't alone.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

"A while. How do you feel?" Heero asked as he closed the pot and left it to sit for a while. He walked into the living room and sat down on the coffee table a little across from Wufei.

"...better," Wufei whispered. He swallowed hard and tried to fix his hair. "You're still here."

"Where else did you think I'd go?" Heero asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Away," was all Wufei said before he pulled the blanket tighter around his body and curled up against the couch. He looked so hurt and...vulnerable? Heero couldn't believe what he was seeing. Wufei and vulnerable didn't go together.

"Well, I stayed to make sure you're okay. Did you take something?"

"Ah, just to help me sleep. During the war I never got sleep so I'm used to staying up too late," Wufei said, shrugging although he didn't look Heero in the eye.

<Liar,> Heero's mind accused. He knew Wufei was lying and he didn't like it. For some unrational reason he wanted Wufei to tell him everything, even though another part of him knew he had no right to demand that from Wufei. They weren't best friends or lovers. Wufei had the right to keep anything he wanted to himself. <But it doesn't mean I have to like it. Hmph.>

"That makes sense," he said, nodding slowly.

"Um, I need to go make a phone call," Wufei said, scooting off the couch. He stood up a bit shakily and Heero needed to hold his shoulder to steady him. He looked at Heero and nodded a bit jerkily. "Thank you." Then he turned and walked off into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Wufei sighed as he walked over to the bed and sat down. He picked up the phone from off the side and dialed the number for Preventers' headquarters.

"Une speaking."

"Une? This is Wufei."

"Wufei? What's wrong?"

"I--I need to take leave for a week again," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, Une."

"Wufei, maybe you should go see a doctor. Those pills can't help you forever," Une said, her voice full of concern.

"No. I'll be fine. I just need to pull myself together and I'll be fine. I've done that in the past," Wufei said, feeling very uncomfortable. He hated being weak but he also knew he wouldn't be able to do anyone any good in the state he was in. He needed to be away and calm down before he could start working again.

"All right, Wufei. You can have leave. I'm sorry to hear that it came back."

"We both knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It always does." Then Wufei quickly hung up before Une could say another word and buried his face in his hands. <What's wrong with me? Why can't I get better?>

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Ye gods, I know those took a pretty long time to come out but I've been sooo busy and I got smacked with writer's block for a little while. Comments please!!