He needed something. Wufei couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that there was something missing in his life. Something was.. well, it wasn't gone per se because it had never been there to begin with, but it should have been there.

That was his thought as he lay sprawled uncharacteristically across his couch in the living room/kitchen of his small apartment. He was on his back on the clean, white cushion covers with one arm trailing off the edge, the knuckles just brushing the floor, and the fingers of his other hand splayed upon his belly. His tee shirt hugged his torso and rode a few inches up his abdomen, displaying the small trail of black hair that fell away into the waistband of his gray sweat pants. The white of the full moon came in through the blinds in the large front window, striping him with the weak light. A flimsy, empty, plastic tray sat haphazardly on the black braided rug by his hand, decorated with a few leftover crumbs of chocolate. It was one of the tiers from Maxwell's box. He'd gone to the lavatory around seven and upon his return had found it on his desk with a note from Duo, reminding him that if he ever needed to talk, he was there. Yuy and the idiot had left for home.

Wufei growled and turned onto his side, facing the back of the couch. His feet angled inwards and he crossed his ankles, letting his toes curl together. His arm was folded and tucked under his head, his hand cupping the base of his skull, and he rested his other hand upon the jutting elbow. His hair was loose about his face. It fell into his eyes before he tucked it behind one ear.

Why the idiot Maxwell would think something was wrong was beyond him. He hadn't given any implications of such problems!

Not that there were problems… There was just… something missing.

He glared darkly at the back of the couch. The chocolate was starting to upset his stomach. He hadn't eaten dinner. This is highly unusual behavior, a small, objective voice inside of him noted. And it was unusual. Chang Wufei always ate dinner. He didn't consume a half pound of chocolate in a single sitting. He worked until ten, was in bed by eleven, and never, never moped around. Ever.

He had worked 'til ten. And the chocolate had been gone by eleven. His toes uncurled and curled again. It was almost midnight. And all he'd done was lay there like some woman pining after… well, something. Whatever women were prone to pining over. Men, most likely.

He huffed and rolled onto his other side, swinging his feet down to the floor and sitting up. Wiggling his toes, he sighed. He rather liked this rug.

He got up and went to bed.

- - - - -

The next day, work was treacherously slow. After-mission recap always was. He'd finished his report yesterday as well as the profile sheets. The mission itself had been achingly boring, a dead fish, a false alarm. He, Heero, and Duo had sloshed their way around a marsh for a good three days, camping out in damp sleepingbags on the little bits of high ground they managed to find, which did not prevent him from waking up with wet socks. He was expecting a cold any day. As it turned out, the terrorist activity at an old Oz base, deactivated since the war, was simply a gang of street kids making themselves look tough. Wufei sighed, three of Preventers' top agents for a measly gang of teenagers! And worst of all was Maxwell and Yuy's friendship. Yes, he was glad they were such good friends. No, it did not bother him. But they always had to be so damn friendly to each other, telling jokes, sharing stories, and doing general friend things. Wufei had felt… excluded. Especially with the way Duo kept winking and Heero kept throwing him the strangest looks. He'd ended up dragging his sleeping bag elsewhere and getting even more wet so he wouldn't have to listen to their amicable chatter. Not that Heero chattered, but Duo chattered enough for both of them. And not that they purposely excluded him. He'd just felt… like he didn't belong.

Everyone knew Wufei was only teamed up with them because there was no one else of his caliber available. And Une wouldn't let him go it alone. He would have preferred that.

He rubbed his temples. Why am I so depressed all of a sudden?

"Hey Wu, you all right?" Duo stood in the doorway of his office, having inconveniently come back from a late lunch with Barton.

Wufei stared at his paper-bagged sandwich and banana. He'd forgotten to eat again. He picked up his pen. "I'm busy."

He could hear the other sigh in exasperation. "I didn't ask if you were busy. I asked if you were all right."

"I'm fine."

"You are not!" Duo snorted, "Now tell me about it!" He dragged his chair around the desks to Wufei's side and sat in it backwards, resting his arms and chin on the back and pushing himself around a little with his feet. He knew investing in a wheeled chair couldn't be anything but good.

Wufei sighed again and put his pen back down. He could never resist Maxwell's persistent nature. And... he'd said he was a friend. "I don't know. I feel sort of empty."

"Empty down here?" Duo poked him in the stomach. "Because you didn't eat lunch."

Wufei smacked him across the head. "Baka. Here." He placed his palm flat on his chest. "And here. Everywhere in here. It feels like if I don't fill it up, my ribs will cave in." Wufei drummed his fingers against his chest. He'd never thought to make such an admission, to Maxwell no less, but he had made it and he would live with it. It wasn't such a bad thing after all.

"Oh, oh, ooooooooh! That!" Duo drawled, "That's fairly simple to fix once you're on the right path."

"And what path would that be?" Wufei asked warily. If this was one of Maxwell's tricks…

"You need—" here he paused for effect, "A lover."

"A what!" Wufei exclaimed vehemently, "You're kidding me! You think I have time for something like that?"

"There you go again! Always making excuses for your lack of a love life! You're fucking seventeen years old! Act like it!"

Wufei flushed a hot red. "That doesn't mean I need to be screwing with every person that comes my way!"

"I didn't say that! No one said that! Why do you assume these things? All you're doing is justifying your loneliness! And don't fucking argue that you're not lonely because that's what that fucking thing in your chest is! Fucking God, 'Fei!" Duo was breathing quite heavily, having spurted most everything in a single breath. "Why won't you let us help you? Why do you keep making up these excuses?"

"They're not excuses! They're quite legitimate!" snapped Wufei. He buried his face in his hands. He did not need to put up with this. Not now, not ever.

"'I don't have time,'" Duo whined at him, "'I won't get as much work done.' 'Some things are more important than my social life.' 'No one will like me anyway.' Don't even test that last one, 'Fei, you know for a fact that you use it, even if you don't tell anyone."

Wufei did indeed know this and sank into his chair. "Well this is the last time I talk to you about anything personal! And what would you have me do, Maxwell? I am not a sociable person—"

"Stop. Just stop. Okay? Here's what we're gonna do: I know this guy. He's kinda tallish, dead strong but not over-muscled, eyes as blue as cornflowers I swear. Man, he's cute—"

Heero stuck his head out the doorway of the little backroom. "Duo!" he hissed, "Stop harassing Chang and come help me with this!" He retreated back inside, a tight scowl on his face.

"Well, all right, we'll finish this later, 'kay, 'Fei?" He ran after Heero.

Wufei heard their terse arguing, muted by their harsh whispers, but he didn't care. His head was throbbing and he could feel the stress building up in his jaw. He didn't need this. He didn't need this at all.

He tried to read the sheets in front of him but the words blurred before his eyes. "Fuck," he muttered, "I can't do this now." Gathering up the pages, he roughly shoved his chair underneath his desk and drifted out the door. He didn't bother to say goodbye.

A/N: So this is the second chapter :D yatta! Lol. I've noticed something in my writing lately. I focus more on the personal relationships and less on outside events. :P I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I'm satisfied with it. Please R and R with what you think.