Warnings: nothing I can think of
Pairings: past 1x5, 1+2+1
Summary: Heero leaves Wufei for Duo. How does Wufei handle it?
A/N: Firstly, yes, there are other stories I should be working on. There's nothing in my head for them, but this is. And yes, this could very well go the way of the other fics. Oh well. I figure it's better I write something than forget how.
Secondly, this is in response to a bunch of summaries basically saying Heero leaves Wufei for Duo. Presumably by the end of the fic they will be living together happily ever after. This is no way reflects on the authors of the stories or the stories themselves. Frankly, I haven't read them, nor do I intend to. This is simply a chance to complain and get sympathy points for Wufei. He needs them, don't you think? Fans can be so cruel.
Thirdly, I blame the style on Clive Barker's Abarat. I want one of him.
Habits of the Heart
by Amyeyl
Before he even opened his eyes, Wufei could tell something was wrong. Sunlight filtered in through the flimsy drapes, warming his skin. The sun's rays shouldn't have reached the bed this early in the morning. Shifting slightly but not opening his eyes, he catalogued everything else that was wrong. The second thing he noticed was that he was groggy. He had never woken up groggy before, unless he was sick. He wasn't sick. Thirdly, the room was quiet. There were no sounds beyond the ones he himself made and the noises that permeated the room from the outside. The steady breathing that should have signaled another presence in the bed was missing... as was the body that should be doing said breathing.
Wufei turned his head and slowly opened his eyes to gaze upon the empty spot where his own hand now rested. Where was Heero...?
Drawing back the blankets, Wufei slid out of bed. His feet hit the floor and he winced slightly, as was his habit in the mornings when his feet came in contact with the chilly floor. The wince melted away into a frown. The floor was warm. He reached out to take his robe down from it's place on the headboard, and as he did so he caught a glimpse of the clock. 5:32 pm. He blinked, then rubbed at his eyes, but the numbers refused to show a more reasonable hour. He stood up, pulled on the robe, and knotted it's belt.
He'd told Heero the night before that it would be nice to sleep in for a bit. He'd finally broken down and agreed with everyone else that yes, a day off would probably do him some good. As he shuffled across the room to the hallway, he found himself thinking that he hadn't meant sleeping in by Duo's standards. Moving down the hall he decided it was perfectly logical for Heero to have been missing from bed if he himself had slept so long. He supposed it could explain the grogginess that was still with him as well.
At the end of the short hall Wufei peered into the living room. He rubbed at his eyes, they didn't seem to be focusing correctly. Heero didn't seem to be there, nor in the kitchen, if the silence there was any indication. Perhaps he had left a note. Wufei didn't know if Heero was the type to leave notes. They hadn't been living together for too long, and Wufei'd always known where Heero would be before. A brief search of the counters and the refrigerator door turned up nothing. He hadn't really expected to find anything anyway.
Perhaps he should make himself an early dinner. He was already in the kitchen, so it couldn't hurt, especially if he'd been asleep all day. It was these thoughts that were trickling through his head when his vision blacked out completely. If he could still see, he would've been greeted with the sight of the floor rushing up to meet him as his body lost consciouness.
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Wufei woke up again to the sound of banging. It was loud and hurried, as if whatever caused the sound was terribly anxious for someone to notice it. Well someone had noticed it all right, and that someone would be forever grateful if the sound would stop now. The sound didn't seem inclined to oblige. Grumbling to himself, Wufei determined to find out the cause and make it go away. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and the world swam out of focus. He put a hand to his head to try and steady the world and winced when it was reduced to pinpricks from the pain. He returned the hand he had removed so quickly, gingerly this time, to the side of his head. Lightly prodding the area, he found a large bump.
The banging had been joined with shouting now. Wufei just barely refained from grinding his teeth, the added pressure would have only served to worsen the pain in his head. He raised himself to his knees and placed a hand against the kitchen counter for support. The counter? What was he doing in the kitchen? And on the floor for that matter? Dimly, he remembered coming in there. After that, he drew a blank. Judging from the lump and his current location he must have fallen and hit his head...
Huh... the banging had stopped, as well as the shouting. Wufei slumped thankfully against the counter. Perhaps now he'd be able to think. But that wasn't to be as the door to his apartment was slammed into and through.
The kitchen shook and from his vantage point Wufei could see the door crash to the floor and whatever caused it to do so roll past. And then there was Quatre, looking worriedly around the room. He hurried into the kitchen when he spotted Wufei and called out to someone. It must have been Trowa, for seconds later the tall man joined him in crouching on the floor next to Wufei. For his part, Wufei was trying to figure out why the two of had just broken into his apartment. If no one answered the door, most people would leave.
"-you alright? Wufei? Can you hear me?" Quatre was asking, his worried face hovering mere inches away from Wufei's own. Irritated, Wufei lifted his hand and pushed Quatre's face back.
"I can hear you..." he mumbled and tried to get up. It wouldn't do to entertain guests, even if they had broken in, while sitting on the kitchen floor. Quatre sputtered for a moment, before Trowa reached passed him and halted Wufei's movements.
"It's not a good idea for you to be up and about," he said by way of explanation.
"What do you mean?" Wufei asked, confused. Quatre and Trowa briefly exchanged a look. Trowa gently pulled Wufei into his arms and stood up. He carried the dark haired boy back to his bedroom to a chorus of 'put me down's and 'I can walk by myself's. Trowa lay Wufei down, but kept a hand lightly against his shoulder to discourage him from sitting up. Quatre entered the room behind the two and proceeded to lecture Wufei.
"I know you may think it's the end of the world, but it's no reason to do yourself harm. Who knows? Things may work out for the best this way..." he moved closer to the bed and began checking Wufei out. He assumed the blonde was looking for some sort of injury as he continued speaking, "But you'll never find out if you kill yourself, now will you?"
"Quatre!"
"I'm not going to censor myself Trowa. Wufei deserves to know how we feel. He needs to know that he'd be terribly missed if he commited suicide..."
"Suicide? Quatre, what are you talking about?" He struggled to bat Quatre's hands away, not liking how tired the simple task left him. "I didn't try to kill myself! What on earth gave you that idea?"
"Well, you didn't come back to work after your day off, or for the next two days. You haven't answered the phone or the door when we've been by before. And earlier today we saw Heero... and well, I guess I just assumed the worst. But it seems you're taking this better than I feared."
"Heero? What's wrong with him?! Wait, wait! Did you say I've been missing for three days?" Wufei struggled to sit up and winced as the pain in his head intensified. He didn't complain when Trowa pushed him gently back down.
"Yes, Wufei, you haven't been back to work for three days." Wufei squinted up at Trowa through one eye. It didn't look like he was kidding, but then again this was Trowa. He had to be kidding... but Trowa didn't kid either.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Quatre asked.
"I'd just woken up. Somehow I'd managed to sleep until late afternoon. Heero wasn't here and I'd gone into the kitchen to look for him. That's the last thing I remember. Where is he? You said you saw him. Is he okay?"
Trowa and Quatre shared another of their damnable looks. Wufei fumed.
"Wufei, you mean... you mean you don't know?"
"No, Quatre, I don't know. What's to know?"
"Well, Heero, he... you see... oh, Wufei, I don't know how to tell you this. I thought you knew already!"
"Heero's left you for Duo." Wufei's eyes widened, causing his head to throb even more, but that pain was the furthest from his mind. Even though he didn't want to believe what he'd just heard, his heart hurt. His mouth worked desperately, to ask him to repeat himself, to get him to say he was lying, that it was just a joke, anything, anything at all, but nothing came out.
"Trowa!" It was Quatre's turn to be ashamed at the bluntness of his companion. "Wufei, I'm sorry," the blonde continued, gently taking one of Wufei's hands into his own, "We're here for you." Just then, Wufei's throat began to work. It wasn't in the matter that he'd hoped, for instead of a flow of unbelieving questions, all that emerged was a set of short, bitter laughs. They didn't last long either as his throat tightened and clogged with sobs. The racked his body as the tears began to fall.
He still couldn't believe what he was hearing. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't. Heero loved him. He'd said so all the time. It had to be a cruel joke, it had to be! Heero wouldn't leave him... would he?
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A moment with the cast:
Now, Quatre, it seems you jumped to quite the conclusion earlier today. Do you care to explain why you thought Wufei would be suicidal after learning what Heero had done?
Quatre: I'm very concerned for my friends, their well-being is one of the most important things to me. Heero was a complete jerk! Ahem, excuse me. Back to the question, my reaction was perfectly inkeeping with the apparent laws of fandom.
And what laws might those be?
Quatre: Well, they're not quite laws, but lots of people seem to hold to them as the truth. It was reasonable to assume that they would dictate the events of this situation as well.
...
Um, the not quite law you're refering to would be...?
Quatre: Oh, sorry. Well, if you can't get the guy you're after or he leaves you for someone else, you become suicidal. That way he's bound to notice you. And if by some miracle he doesn't, at least your best friend or secret admirer will. A best friend will take the opportunity to talk some sense into your crush, or your secret admirer will finally have his chance to come and sweep you off of your feet. Either way, it seems to depend on you becoming suicidal.
I see...
