Alright, I admit it, I'm a slowpoke. And I'm picky. And whatever. The story is over one year old, and I've written only eleven chapters. Sorry to keep everyone waiting for the past three months, but June was an extremely busy month. I'm constantly getting stuck in certain parts, and everything has been hellishly insane. And.....after this summer, I might be so busy I won't be able to update for long periods of time, so I'll try my best to write up the rest of the story.
Thanks for all the reviews. I didn't think it would do so well when I first posted. And Gundam Wing isn't mine, as is Card Captor Sakura. Blah. Just read.
And.....a last note: just to be safe, the characters in here are VERY OOC.
Chapter XI - Changing
He was only going out for a walk. Of course, having a beach house as a safehouse had its advantages. The scenic views of the water was only the best thing during a sunset stroll. The only noises disrupting the isolated beach (the area was surrounded by forest) were the crashing of the waves and the sounds of nature. Perfect during a cloudless evening, right?
Wrong.
Trowa had begun to hear strange yelling and curses when he walked near the trees. Carefully treading through a small portion of the fairly thick woods, he emerged in a separate sandy clearing to find Duo and a speedy yellow guardian hopping all around, chasing what appeared to be a white ball of.....spikes? fur? He had no clue.
"Trowa!" Duo yelled, startled to a stop. Kero, however, continued to pursue the white thing.....
.....Which, unfortunately leapt up on the tall uni-banged pilot and landed on his chest. Kero, quick as ever to react, latched onto the fur ball's back.
Wrong thing to do.
Both of them glowed slightly. In a panic, Kero released his hold as the thing shook him off; then it snaked up to take refuge in Trowa's long bangs.
"That's it, Kero," sighed Duo. "Time!"
All movement ceased, and Kero fell to the ground, staring strangely at him. Duo, not paying the guardian any attention, struck the blue-white figure, now revealed to be a rat of some sort, with his staff.
"Change Card! Return to your power confined!"
Author's Note: I'll give you five seconds to figure what went wrong here.....
Duo held out his hand, letting the card drop into his palm. It was plain (and PINK), with only the picture of a red-eyed mouse/lizard (?) with a curly tail on it. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Trowa staring at his own hands with an odd expression.
"Tro? Something wrong?"
The tall pilot's eyes looked like they were about to pop out as he examined for what seemed like the first time his fingers and skin. Kero sat up on the ground, staring up at the Heavyarms pilot.
"HOOOOOEEEEE!!!!!"
The American simply gawked, jaw hanging on its hinges. He did not just hear Trowa scream some unintelligible word, he did not just hear the taciturn, near-silent clown shout, he did not.....
"Duo, this is very, very wrong," Trowa said, his words coming out faster than Duo had ever heard him say it. The tall teen actually looked panicked; he had an expression on his face.
Damn.
"Look, I think you may be in shock over something that affects you least, so—"
Raising one hand, Trowa (or at least the person) slapped the stunned American. Duo swung out of his stupor, instinctively punching in retaliation.
He walloped the taller pilot in his midsection, causing Trowa to stumble back and land on his butt. Duo blinked, and thought twice.
Trowa NEVER stumbles, he thought. Hell.
"Who are you?" Duo snapped, aiming the head of the staff at the curled-up teen in the sand.
"This happened the last time! I switched bodies with Syaoran—now it happens again!" While wrapping his arms around his stomach, the pilot(?) yelled and said something about life being unfair, and how he had to go through this again, and how a guardian beast always gets the worst of everything.....
"Wait," Duo interrupted, mind finally clear and focused. "If you're Kero, then where's Trowa?"
"I'm right here," came a small, low voice from the ground.
Kero and Duo stared at the human form of Keroberos.....
.....Now inhabited by pilot 03 of the Gundam Heavyarms, Trowa Barton.
~*~*~*~
"I can't believe this," said the Deathscythe pilot, voice slightly muffed by the towel he was under. "Kero, you are far from being sensible about this, because either your acting is a little better than crap or you're just a little too mad."
"I resent that," Kero snapped, folding 'his' arms. He was leaning against the wall by the door to the hallway, head sunken slightly into his shoulders.
Trowa, who was currently perched on Duo's night table, stared at Kero. "Slouching is not good for my back," he said quietly.
"It's not YOUR back anymore," shot back the guardian beast hotly.
Despite his now different size and different form, Trowa retained his unnerving stare, however abnormal it seemed with two eyes.
Still scrubbing his wet hair with the towel, Duo managed to hide his bright grin beneath the cloth. "Well, how can I fix this? Should I just call the card and have it switch you two back?"
"It doesn't work that way, Duo."
Both Trowa and Duo stared at him. With the towel acting like a semi-hood over his face, Duo looked threatening even though he was only in a pair of black boxers and wearing what were apparently a pair of Garfield flip-flops. And Trowa looked far from the happy little teddy bear he should have been.
"Nani?"
The single word made Kero's spine shiver (or Trowa's spine, to be precise). He only wished he could sound half as ominous in his human form.
"You mean he can't get back to his body?" Duo asked calmly, taking the towel off his head.
"Iie, I did not say that.....It'll take one day, until tomorrow evening, when Change gets its powers back. Then we can switch back, but we'll.....just have to....."
Trowa GLARED. Somehow he seemed to have gotten much more temperamental in Kero's human form.
"Have to what?" Duo snapped impatiently.
"Hug!"
Now both pilots gave him constipated looks. Duo dropped the towel on the back of the chair by the desk in his room, flopping down on his bed. "Kero, what's the big deal about that? Trowa likes animals!"
Promptly the L3 pilot swiveled his head towards the American.
Author's Note: Here I come intruding again. Since it's going to be terribly confusing, I am going to state the names of the characters as they are; just try to remember that Trowa is in Kero's body, and Kero is in Trowa's.
"Don't look at me, Tro, I'm going to bed. Kero, get out and sleep in Trowa's bed in his room. Heero's going to get suspicious if you hang out in here the whole night." Duo pulled the blankets up from the foot of the bed.
"Your hair is still wet."
"Get out, Kero."
"You think that Heero is going to be suspicious of you having a fling with Trowa?"
"Shut up and get out, Kero."
"I'm sure it's okay, Duo, after all, Trowa is single."
Kero found himself staring into a rather menacing expression of his own face; clearly Trowa wasn't too happy about.....something.
"GO."
The deceptively soft tone was.....disconcerting. Kero only wished he could sound that threatening in his human form.
Duo cackled from the bed. "You heard him, K-chan, now shoo. And turn off the light."
A moment later two clicks echoed in the room. One of the closing door, and the other of the light switch. It wasn't entirely dark in the room; the moon outside cast some lighting through the window. Duo flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
"Tro?"
There was no answer from the drawer in the nightstand, where Kero had stashed his bed.....which was made of silk and satin that the guardian 'resourcefully' found. Oddly enough, some of the fabric was a familiar pink color.....
"Sorry for getting you mixed up in this and all....." Duo glanced at his nightstand. "I didn't know this was going to happen." He closed his eyes, preparing to sleep, when Trowa's voice penetrated the darkness.
"You are still afraid."
The American flew up, eyes wide open. His slightly damp, unbound hair stuck to his back. "What?"
His only answer was the steady gaze of Trowa's current eyes. Even in the dim light he was ominous.
"Tro, I know. I don't need you to tell me." Duo fell onto his back again, staring at the ceiling. "I'm not sure if delaying it would make the situation worse or if it would help. But I'm not ready to tell them now. I wouldn't have told you if you hadn't walked in on Kero and me."
"Are you going to avoid telling them forever?"
"You're talking too much, Trowa. Just go to sleep."
~*~*~*~
"I can't even go to sleep decently," Kero grumbled. He descended the stairs to the small living room in the temporary safehouse, turning around to head towards the kitchen near the back. "I wonder it there is anything to eat....."
"Trowa!"
Uh oh.
Quatre Winner, the blonde. One of Duo's friends. He was sitting by the island in the kitchen, a cup of.....tea in his hands. And he was smiling.
At Trowa, or who seemed to be Pilot 03.
"What are you going to make this morning?" inquired the Arabian.
Make???
"Uh....."
"You know, you can make blueberry pancakes. Duo likes those. He seems to eat so much more these days....."
Yikes! He wants me to cook??? When Meiling had learned later after the first Change episode what really happened.....She told me my culinary sucked..... "Uh.....I need to go up and get something, uh, be right back." Flashing a reluctant smile, Kero spun on his heel and raced upstairs, feet pounding rather loudly. It seemed like a very good thing now that there were five rooms in the house.
"Duo!" Kero nearly shouted as he burst into the American pilot's room. Trowa's hair obstructed his vision and Kero glared at it, reaching up with one hand to push it up. He ended up staring at the real Trowa.
Who was standing in the open drawer of Duo's bedside table, alert and holding what seemed like too big a gun for him, aimed at the doorway.
Trowa was using both hands.....paws.
The Deathscythe pilot only rolled over in bed and groaned. One violet eye slid open.
"Whazzup, Tro?" he mumbled. I'm not in the mood to jump out of bed even if this were an emergency.....
"Kero," the guardian snapped, glaring at Duo with both eyes.
Duo sat straight up, eyes wide open. He blinked two times, once at 'Kero', and the other time at 'Trowa'. They stared right back at him, Kero still holding his hair up. The American flopped back onto the bed, threw the covers over his head, and groaned again.
"I thought it was all a bad nightmare!" he moaned, voice muffled by the blanket.
"We don't have time for your nightmares! Quatre just asked me to cook!"
Throwing the blanket off, Duo sat up. "So?"
"I don't know how to cook, baka!" Flustered, Kero let his arm down, huffing slightly when the long brown bangs once again covered half his view.
Both Trowa and Duo stared at him.
It was the latter that spoke first.
"You're kidding!" Duo said loudly. Kero shut the door behind him. Trowa just continued staring.
"Just because I like good food doesn't mean I make good food!" Kero barked, sounding wholly unlike Trowa.
Duo rubbed his eyes; to see the tall pilot's body talking so much was.....unsettling. He sighed, and then kicked the blankets off his legs and padded to the door to go to the bathroom on the floor. He looked back over his shoulder. "Bring Trowa down with you. He should be able to instruct you on the basic breakfast. If you're really so bad you can't put salt in a pan correctly, then bring out the cereal, or make toast or something. The toaster worked fine yesterday....." He yawned, and stretched. "I have to wake up first....."
With that he darted down the hall and locked the bathroom door behind him.
"What a baka," Kero muttered, turning to the remaining occupant of the room.
Trowa sighed inwardly.
~*~*~*~
"Get out the measuring utensils," Trowa deadpanned. He knew that the guardian was going to need them more than anyone, even Duo, would.
"Where are they?"
Blinking once, the pilot pointed with one paw at the cupboards above the sink. Earlier Kero had chased Quatre out of the kitchen, closing the foggy glass door to prevent the blonde pilot from coming in.....
Unfortunately, in order to get Quatre out, Kero had promised to make pancakes.
This is going to be a long breakfast, Trowa thought, watching Kero pull out the measuring cup.....and knocking a glass down.
It shattered on the floor.
~*~*~*~
"My cholesterol is high; I think I'll eat cereal."
Duo was staring at the burnt pancakes on the plate in front of him. Or more like the remains of overcooked batter in front of him.
"You're fifteen," Kero grumbled under his breath. Quatre, who was sitting next to him, heard the guardian and choked on the piece of pancake he had in his mouth. Duo wasn't sure if it was from the inedible food or what Kero said.
Wufei didn't miss the odd comment either; he himself was staring at a plate of enormous, over-sized, undercooked pancakes, in which the batter oozed right off the dinnerware. It was the same thing with Heero's dish.
"Barton, are you losing your touch?"
Heero said nothing; he only exited the house through the back door.
He and Duo hadn't spoke ever since the play. Quatre noticed that they didn't stay in one room together for over ten minutes. Duo seemed considerably quieter around Heero.
It took me a while to convince Wufei to leave his sexuality problems until after the war, the blonde pilot thought, sighing silently. This one is going to take a lot more work.....And not to mention Trowa is acting funny.....
Glancing over the sulking(????) tall pilot Quatre pinked slightly. Should I tell him.....
"I'll wash the dishes," Duo suddenly announced, startling all three that were at the table. He gave a pointed look to 'Trowa'. "Trowa is going to be nice and help me wash the dishes. Right, Trowa?"
".....H-Hai."
"If you want things to eat just wait till lunch." Duo picked up his plate and eyed the pancakes on it. "I've lost my appetite."
Watching the backs of the two pilots as they took the dishes into the kitchen, Quatre's eyes trailed to Wufei.
"Do you get the feeling that Duo is hiding something from us?"
The Chinese teen only snorted and stood to leave, but turned to the seated Arabian just as he was about to head up the stairs to his room again.
"Do not try to mix yourself in another person's business, Winner."
Why.....Maybe I am being too nosy.....But I'm worried.....I feel as if something titanic is going to happen.....Is it right just to leave Duo like that until he feels like telling us what is going on?
~*~*~*~
"You're making yourself very suspicious, Kero."
Trowa sat unblinkingly on the counter far from the sink, avoiding their messy tactics of washing dishes. Not even his tail was raised.
"I can't be silent and brooding," the real guardian muttered, settling a dish on the drying rack. Since there seemed to be a lack of a dishwasher in the beach safehouse, they were stuck doing manual work.
"Kero, that dish has soap bubbles on it." Duo sighed. "How did I get stuck doing this?....." He waved his rubber gloved hand in Kero's face. "You aren't helping, so just go and talk to Trowa. He seems to play your part better than you do."
The guardian plopped himself onto a stool, staring intently at the ceiling. "I can't wait for this day to end," he said blankly, craning his neck as far back as it could go. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it only read 10:23 back at him, the second hand ticking defiantly slower.
"Put up with it, Kero, I'm in a more precarious position than you are."
Suddenly, Trowa stood and his wings fluttered a little; he was airborne. Hovering cautiously over the counter he was over, Trowa slowly flew across the kitchen and landed on the telephone, as agile and as graceful as ever. Kero scowled.
"So, you've learned to fly. Mastering movement, however, is much harder," the guardian beast of the cards snapped. "That Syaoran idiot couldn't even fly correctly—"
He had stopped in the middle of his sentence, because now Trowa was performing twists and flips in the air. Duo, who had finished with the last dish and had pulled off the ugly rubber gloves, was applauding. Kero glared. The American only grinned cheekily at him.
"Trowa does have a bit of show off-ness in him." Duo took a look at the clock. "I'll go out and check up on my Gundam and some other stuff. Try not to run into any trouble, Kero." Opening the fridge and grabbing a cold, wrapped-up sandwich, the Deathscythe pilot opened the inner door to the back and then pushed the screen door out. He unwrapped the sandwich as he ran, taking a large bite out of it.
Something had irked him since breakfast; it kept running along the edges of his mind. Knowing that it might be a card, the teenage pilot decided to check it out for himself, since Kero was in such a predicament that he couldn't afford to tag along and get Trowa's bones broken.
Clow Cards, Sakura Cards. Some prophecy I don't know and don't understand. What am I, chop liver?
Sighing, Duo suddenly froze. He realized which direction he was heading towards.
It was to the nearest OZ base.
Why do the goddamn cards like hanging around bases so much??? Do they deliberately go to places where it's the most dangerous for me??? Duo sighed, running his fingers through his bangs.
"Might as well get there fast," he muttered, reaching into his collar to pull out the chain that held the Star Key. Releasing the wand and summoning Fly, Duo hopped aboard and went full speed ahead to the next Sakura Card that awaited him.
When he did find it, it wasn't all that he expected.
~*~*~*~
Treize Khushrenada was the commander of the Organization of the Zodiac, seen usually in impeccable dress and remarkable grooming, with an air of dignity and pride that of which could rival Relena Peacecraft's.
Today, however, he was feeling a bit.....peculiar. When he eyed the large bouquet of flowers on the desk in his office that morning, he felt extraordinarily happy, though he didn't know why. Then Treize realized that beautiful flowers of every kind were scattered all around the room, petals cushioning his feet on the floor.
He was delighted.
It felt strange to be so happy.....All his soldiers were happy too, though; they were joyfully wading in flowers in the hallways. Even Une was supremely carefree and pleasant, roses decorating the buns of her brown hair. They had square-danced around his office in the base earlier; she was laughing, even though she was wearing her glasses. He had always thought that was her odder side.....
Waving a hand dismissively, Treize laughed and settled comfortably in the high-backed armchair, his customary goblet of red wine in one hand and a sweet-scented rose in the other. The young general sighed blissfully and looked out the window, watching more petals rain down onto the base.
Flowers were so pretty. If only they weren't inanimate objects, he would marry them.
His gaze traveled to the oddly dressed girl that was dancing around his office. Strange. He didn't recall her being there.....But she looked so happy too.....
~*~*~*~
"FUCK....."
His eyes were wide and he stared in stupendous amazement as petals continued to rain down on him. Suddenly Duo jerked out of his trance and shook himself, reaching up to brush off the pile of flowers that had settled on his head. Looking around, he noticed that the flowers were so high they were nearly up to his upper body. The American wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. What kind of Sakura Card would decorate a place with flowers???
"Flower Card," the teen muttered, holding his forehead with one hand. "It has to be the Flower Card. Was Clow Reed out of his mind?"
"Yippee!"
Whirling around (or more like stumbling, since he could barely move), Duo blinked at the group of soldiers that had spotted him. They were smiling and grinning and waving and.....STRIP TEASING???
True enough, the twenty or so soldiers were dancing around in the flowers, laughing as they threw their outer garments about and did some rather.....dirty movements. Duo stared, swallowed, and proceeded to wade through to see what was going on.
"Ah, this is so refreshing....."
"Those uniforms were too stuffy.....General Treize would agree to allow us to dress in free clothing....."
"Nice ass, Green."
"I'm so happy you think so!"
"I'm so happy I can be gay!"
Author's Note: Er.....The definition.....It doesn't matter.
"This can't be happening....." Duo shook his head, shaking off more petals.
"It's an intruder!"
Promptly Duo was alert and on guard. All the naked OZ soldiers were staring at him. Tensing, he reached back for his gun.....
Suddenly, one of the soldiers who had pink heart boxers held in his hand threw them up in the air and shouted, "Join us!"
Oh no.....
The fearless and intimidating God of Death turned and ran as fast as he could in the sea of flowers. The OZ soldiers were chasing him, yes, but this time it wasn't for capture.
"Come on, you can be so happy you can be gay too!!!"
Somehow Duo found himself thinking of Heero (despite his precarious situation).
I wonder what Heero would have done..... An image of the Japanese pilot shooting every soldier dead popped up in his head. Duo pushed it out of his thoughts. I'm being chased by happy hooligans right now, he reminded himself. There's no time to think about that kind of stuff! He had a bad feeling that if he stopped, he would be pinned under soldiers who wanted him to join them in stripping naked.
Luckily, there seemed to be a lot of open windows to the base. Duo leapt high up onto a windowsill and clambered into the nearest building, squeezing in without much difficultly. There was only one other problem: though it wasn't as deep as it was outside, the flower 'bed' was hindering his movement.
"Flower Card," Duo muttered again, his fist clenching on the pink staff tightly. "Damn."
The door to the hallway was open; no one seemed to be around. He emerged from the doorway, mashing petals under his boots with every step. Duo wondered if he was just being harsh toward the flowers; it wasn't really their fault they were in the corridor he happened to come upon.
"Pilot 02! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!"
His spine became stiff; the American became uncharacteristically inactive. The cooing voice.....it couldn't be.....
Slowly, very slowly, Duo turned to face the smiling, pink-cheeked speaker.
It was Lady Une. Lady Une with glasses and hair bound up in buns that were decorated with roses. Lavender protruded above her head; lilies and daffodils lined the top, with several sprigs of smaller flowers to finish the bouquet in her hair off.
He had always thought Une looked a little scary. Now she was downright frightening. To death.
"I'm so happy you're here! General Khushrenada would love to see you! How are the other pilots? Are they happy?"
Duo shivered; her cooing voice was nearly as annoying as Relena's grand shrieks. It was especially terrifying to hear the supreme bitch of OZ talking like.....THAT.
"Khushrenada is here?" he asked, deciding to take advantage of the situation as well as he could. In spite of the fact that he could just shoot her in the head, Duo had a Sakura Card to catch.
Une sighed dreamily and clasped her gloved hands together, looking very much like a schoolgirl as her eyes glossed over. "Yes," said Une dramatically. "He even square-danced with me! It was right in his office, with all those beautiful flowers....." She pursed her lips. "Funny.....I saw this girl in a pink dress dancing all around the base.....She was positively glowing with vibrancy.....I think she went into the general's office....."
Duo shook his head and sighed. This has to be a really bad nightmare, he thought. "Where's Treize's office?"
"Ai, I don't remember.....I'm so happy, 02, would you like to join me in a romantic date tonight? I can arrange....." Une leaned in close and Duo caught a near-fatal whiff of overly engulfing lavender. He hastily pushed her away.
"I'm gay, Une, and I'm sure you wouldn't want a date with a terrorist like me," he chattered, backing away. "I'm going to look for Trieze now, so see you in a while, okay?"
Spinning on his heel, Duo sprinted down the hall faster than he had ever run on any missions. The American looked over his shoulder at the startled Une, who was left behind in his hurry to run away. He shivered.
"I don't want to think about what kind of powers Flower has," he muttered.
If Flower is in Treize's office, I should be able to sense her magic and follow it to where it leads. Duo closed his eyes and pictured the Star Key. When Kero practiced with him, the Star Key gave him the most focus on his powers. Hopefully all the practice paid off.
"They always said practice makes perfect."
Eyes still closed, Duo loosened his grip on the staff and relaxed, slowly walking and turning into a different corridor. He followed the thin thread of magic in his mind, releasing all the pent-up tension that had gathered last night.
After all, it wasn't every day a fellow Gundam pilot switches bodies with a semi-guardian the size of his foot.
There! his brain shouted at him, and his eyes flew open just as his hand twisted the knob of the door and pushed it in, revealing the new decorations of Treize's resident office.
He mumbled, "Wu would say this is all too womanly and disgusting."
"Well, wouldn't that be typical Pilot 05," drawled a particularly calm voice.
The red-haired OZ general was standing quite tall, a rose in one of his gloved hands. The other held a glass of red wine, and Trieze held it out, offering it to Duo. Unfortunately, this only further irritated the teenager. He smiled benignly; Duo rolled his eyes.
"There's something I wanted to say to you for a long time, you damned bastard," the Deathscythe pilot half-snarled, glowering. "What are you trying to be, Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon?"
Treize remained quite unfazed. "Are you finished?" he asked serenely, looking all the more like a God with.....a rose.
All the anger and frustration built inside of him flushed to the surface. Duo could feel his face turning crimson. The war, the lives, the deaths—it was all Treize. Why did he continue to fight a war that had been fought for too long? Why did everyone have to suffer? Why was it this way? Couldn't there be a different solution? No, it had to be battles, it had to be survival, it had to be death, death, death.
So he did what he would have never thought he would do the General Treize Khushrenada of OZ.
Duo whipped the commander a good one across the face with his staff.
The Gundam pilot hit harder than he thought he did, because right away the tall general dropped unconscious on the ground.
Sucking in a long, deep breath of air, Duo blinked. He looked down at where Treize was out cold by his feet. "Shit. I did NOT just club the general of OZ with a pink staff."
Why are you so unhappy?
As if by magic, a whole load of flowers suddenly rained on the unfortunate Card Captor. Duo spit out a mouthful of carnations and moved wildly, attempting to remove the load of tulips and roses and other assorted bouquets off his shoulders. He eyed the woman standing on Treize's desk. She was staring curiously at him through long lashes, curly pigtails bouncing about her face.
"You must be Flower," Duo grumbled.
She nodded happily and jumped off the desk, reaching to pull the American out. Then she began to drag him into a dance.
"NO!" he said loudly, planting his heels firmly on the floor. She stopped, suddenly looking sad, her eyes watering.
Taking a deep breath, the Deathscythe pilot looked around the office. "It's time to go, Flower. I have to fix this."
Why are you so unhappy?
The card repeated the same question she had asked him before.
My flowers don't make you happy. You are sad, so sad. I can feel it.
"Look, Flower, I don't really want to talk about this....." Duo trailed off, and then sighed. He raised the staff, a glowing rectangle forming above it and the symbol of the Star materializing under his feet, blowing away all the flowers. Some flew out the window; others circled above the room, spiraling around the teen.
"Flower Card, return to your card confined!"
Before the magical being dissipated into the streams flowing into the card, Duo caught a glimpse of her eyes. There was a timeless, endless look there; one that was not playful nor happy, but filled with sadness.....and pity.
The card dropped to his feet, petals floating down all around him. Silently the American crouched down and picked up the card, giving it a long look.
"There's many things a person can be unhappy about," he whispered. Tilting his head up, Duo watched the flowers billow about Treize's office, burying the general himself.
He thought of Heero.
~*~*~*~
Kero lurked around the house, having much of nothing to do. Trowa barricaded himself in Duo's night table drawer, unwilling to come out until it was time to switch back.
"I'm so bored, bored, bored, bored, BORED!"
"Trowa?"
Immediately Kero was standing straight, spine stiffer than ever. He schooled his features into a stone face as much as he could, turning to see who was talking to him. Quatre Winner. The blonde one. Easy to remember.
"Are you.....feeling all right?"
"Er....."
Quatre frowned, eyebrows furrowing together. His space heart told him that something was out of place.....Trowa was there, but at the same time, he was not. The Arabian brushed aside his muddled thoughts for the moment, suddenly blushing.
"Uh, Trowa....."
What else does he have to say???
"I.....I think I.....I think I love you, Trowa!"
Talk about shocking news.
The guardian beast of the cards froze entirely, eye(s) wide open and staring blankly above Quatre's head. Even his hair seemed to stand straight (well, stand in a way that was straight; not necessarily upward), his face a pasty, terrible white. Slight jitters ran through his body; Kero found out that his hands were shaking.
"Do.....Do you like.....like me that way too?"
Now a hot blushing crimson, Quatre paused, waiting for a reply.....if he got any at all. He wasn't sure of it, but he knew he felt the same feelings from Trowa through his space heart.....
By this point Kero had moved from ashen to ghastly. He somehow succeeded in moving into an even more pallid shade of white. As if coming to his senses, he stumbled back, struggling to regain his balance. Words tumbled out of his mouth.
"S-S-Sorry!" he squeaked. "I just remembered something.....I-I have to do, I'll see you later!"
In the next instant, he was gone.
~*~*~*~
"TROWAAAAAAA!!!"
Careening into Duo's room, Kero slammed and locked the door shut behind him, before frantically pulling the drawer of the night table open and yanking Trowa out. He began to shake the poor pilot—in his body.
"What do I do, what do I do, what do I DO???"
Poor Trowa could barely talk; the constant movement enabled him little less than chattering teeth.
Suddenly, the lock clicked open, and Kero's eye(s) swung towards the door, freezing in mid-movement.
The pilot 02 stood in the doorway, lock pick in his hand. He blinked. Then he sighed. "Why are you molesting Trowa?"
Promptly Kero dropped Trowa as if his hands had caught on fire. Darting to the door he yanked Duo in and shut the door firmly, leaning against it, seeming that the closed door was all that was between him and death.
"I'm in trouble," Kero began, calming himself down.
Duo groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes; Trowa looked indifferent. Kero shot a look at him and stated loudly, "This involves Quatre."
The Heavyarms pilot was suddenly very alert.
Several minutes later.....
"What am I supposed to do?" Kero moaned, grabbing his head in his hands. He was beginning to look different.....Trowa's hair didn't quite stand like it used to.
"Why did you run?" Trowa asked, a rather dangerous-looking gleam in his eyes.
"What was I supposed to do??? Say, 'oh, I love you too', and then kiss him silly, like in some idiotic soap opera? I didn't know you were gay!" Kero waved his arms around. He looked comical; considering that Trowa never gestured and never spoke so loud before. "And I couldn't go, 'oh, I hate you', he looked like he was going to run away before I did!"
"You sound like a schoolgirl," muttered the Heavyarms pilot. They both turned to a sudden muffled sound coming from the last person in the room.
Duo was curled up in a corner, face hidden from the other two occupants of the room. His shoulders began to shake; Trowa and Kero both scowled.
"Stop laughing!" Kero half-shouted.
Knocks came from the door.
Without hesitating, Kero twisted the knob and opened the poor piece of wood, which smashed into the wall. Wufei stood in the hall, onyx eyes narrowed and sword in hand.
"Barton, Yuy informed me that you have a mission." The Chinese pilot arched one fine eyebrow. "The outline has been sent to your Gundam's computer."
"Excuse us," Duo answered, and then he slammed the door in Wufei's face. Turning to face the others, he rubbed the center of his forehead. "What now?"
"A mission?" repeated the dumbfounded guardian.
"He's going to get you killed," the Deathscythe pilot stated gloomily to Trowa.
~*~*~*~
"My knees are cramped!"
"Who told you to stand back there?"
"There's no other room unless you want me to sit on your lap!!!"
"Quiet."
Fuming, Duo shifted his position again, his neck growing more uncomfortable by the second. His legs were squished between the back of the cockpit and the back of the pilot's seat; since the cockpit ceiling was relatively low, he tried his best to crouch down slightly, even though he was already at quite a short height. This resulted in a highly uncomfortable position, but he was sure that he didn't want to sit in 'Trowa's' lap.
The real Trowa was quite comfortably perched on a sufficient spot where he would not fall on any unusual buttons. He remained as steady as he could be throughout the bumpy and difficult ride.
Kero, guardian beast of the cards, found himself in the pilot's seat. In case anyone decided to check up on them. And he also refused to be cramped in the back like Duo.
"We have to erase the video files later," Duo grumbled, shifting again. He glanced at one of the computer screen surrounding Kero. "You're going too far left."
"Baka," Kero muttered under his breath. "What difference does it make?"
"You go 'off course'? If you want to go to Siberia, you're welcome to, but Trowa has a mission that I am going to have to do for you. So please be mindful of the fact I want to get this over with." Duo gave the guardian a cynical grin.
Kero grumbled, "This day can't get any worse."
Trowa, on the other hand, was in the Netherlands. Quatre admitted.....that he.....liked him? He didn't know what to think. Of course, Trowa did harbor his own feelings for the blonde Arabian.....It was impossible. Out of the question. Why would Quatre like him? He hadn't given any reason for the Sandrock pilot to do so.
"Tro?"
Watching the small form that Trowa now inhabited snap back to life, Duo settled in one place and sighed.
"Thinking about Quat?"
Quickly the Heavyarms pilot stiffened.
Trying not to press the back of his head on a wall or ceiling of some sort, Duo smiled weakly. "He doesn't lie about those kinds of things, you know. Maybe you should.....give it a chance."
"I have nothing to give," Trowa mumbled.
"Everyone has something to give," Kero snapped, annoyed. His hands (or not) gripped the controls tightly, slick with sweat. "For someone who has so much understanding of many principles of life you don't seem to understand a few things of the common sense at all."
"Relax, Kero. It's not like you've been in love before....." chided the grinning braided teenager behind him. His violet eyes flickered to the small form hunched over on his occupied spot. "Sometimes these things can make a person feel and think uncharacteristically.....Not even the most emotionless can get away from it."
The last part was muttered, but both Kero and Trowa heard it. The cockpit fell into silence, except for the humming of the thrusters.
Then the guardian beast, still sweating on the controls, broke through the stillness. "I don't get how you can swing from one mood to another so quickly."
"You get used to it," Duo replied, staring at the map. "I always had to."
Sighing, he switched gears again, returning to the smiling American he was. "So, Trowa, would you mind letting me know how big you are?"
"Big what?" questioned Kero, sweat now running in streams down his forehead. Someone was nervous.....
Duo grinned widely, glancing at the inscrutable face of Trowa's. "The size of the you-know-what in centimeters.....You know, that thing resting between your legs, also known as a phallus....."
From outside, Heavyarms jerked and plummeted before moving into a sequence of odd shaking movements.
~*~*~*~
Rashid had overheard the conversation between Master Quatre and Trowa. He had expected it.
What he hadn't expected was the Heavyarms pilot running away.
And running to Master Duo's room, no less.
He watched Duo pick the lock on the door. Then Trowa pulled Duo into the room. A number of muffled and strange noises came from the room afterwards, rousing Rashid's suspicions.
After Wufei had informed Trowa of his mission, Rashid found even more peculiarity in the tall uni-banged pilot's behavior. Not to mention, of course, that Master Duo was apparently tagging along on the mission.
Watching them leave in Heavyarms, Rashid had developed a sneaking suspicion of what was going on between those two.
~*~*~*~
"You know what Kero? Trowa, turn off the goddamn video file recorder thing. I'm going to burn that disc, and in the sense of fire and not computer. Kero, land and hop out. If this thing shakes anymore, I think my bones will shake out of their joints. I'm switching you two back." Duo slammed his fists on the top of the pilot's seat as he spoke.
His legs were feeling more than cramped; in fact, pins and needles were driving him nuts, and then his feet turned to jell-O, and then his muscles pulled and after that he was back to pins and needles. Duo knew for sure that he was going to need a wheelchair if he went through that cycle again and again.
Just as Trowa pushed the button to shut off the visual, a voice came in through the audio speakers.
[Barton.] Wufei sounded mildly irritated. [Are you there? Why have you turned your visual off?]
"Save power," Trowa answered sharply, alert.
Duo sucked in his breath and held it; he could almost see Wufei frown on the other end of the connection. [Barton, what is wrong with your voice?]
"Nothing," Kero quipped quickly. "I'm shutting off the connection and returning to the safehouse." Forcibly removing his stiff, clenched fingers from one of the controls, the guardian gestured to the real Trowa, who silently pushed the button to shut off the audio.
"Great. Just friggin' great. Seriously," Duo groaned. "What have I done in my past life to get this kind of torture....." He sagged against the back, and then just as suddenly popped up, eyes gleaming dangerously. "The two of you. Get out. Now. I'm changing you two back. And I'm riding Fly home."
"People will see you," Trowa remarked.
"I'll pull out the Create Card and make some kind of invisibility cloak. Better than being cramped here with my legs dying on me. If the Create Card can make emotions, then it can most certainly make something for comfort." Duo glared at Kero, who grinned weakly.
Author's Note: Invisibility Cloak is property of Harry Potter, property of J.K. Rowling, etc., etc.
"Not our fault?" Kero, slightly rattled, blinked, realizing for the first time all the beats of sweat running down his face. "How do I land?"
The American could hear Trowa sigh.
This day can't get any worse.....
~*~*~*~
"It hasn't been one full day yet, Duo, Change isn't going to have his powers back by then." Kero shifted from one foot to another as Trowa hovered by his shoulder. While the latter retained an expressionless expression, the former was apparently producing more sweat from his glands than he did piloting the Gundam.
"Who cares? You never know until you try, and Kero, this card-capturing thing has happened only once before. You don't know if the cards have their powers back or not." Duo stared at the pink wand in his hand. "Sakura liked pink?"
Kero blinked. "Well, her cards and her staff are pink, and the color of her magical aura was pink, so I suppose it's her color."
Somehow Duo kept on envisioning a Relena with pink cards in one hand and the wand in the other. He shook his head, and pulled out the stack of cards from a hidden pocket in the leg of his pants. The brown-haired teen drew the Change card out, staring at the harmless picture on the face. He hurled it into the air above him.
"Change Card!"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then a strong gale blew in from nowhere, swirling into a whirlwind around Trowa and Kero. Green light poured out from within, blinding Duo for a second.
Then it was gone, and the American blinked several times to focus again, eyes adjusting to the sudden dimness. "Are you two," he asked hesitantly, "yourselves again?"
The tall pilot of Heavyarms appeared to be checking out his body. He said nothing, but the guardian beast was zooming around, stretching, bouncing in midair, and doing an assorted set of unusual maneuvers.
"I'm me again!" Kero exclaimed, tail whisking back and forth. He stopped abruptly, and plummeted to the ground as if he had seen a ghost.
"Glory hells," Duo muttered. "Kero, will you mind flying off for a few moments? I have to chat with Tro-chan."
Trowa gave him a one-eyed look, but the guardian just absently glided off without complaint. Duo frowned; it was abnormal behavior for the guardian beast. He'd have to ask about it later. The Deathscythe pilot turned back to Trowa and folded his arms neatly, staring straight into the one green eye that stared right back.
"Am I correct in assuming that you plan to avoid Quatre the moment we get back?"
Without batting his eye, Trowa answered, "You sound like Heero."
"Then I'm right," snapped Duo in return. "You're going to avoid him, just like.....just like I am avoiding Heero."
"You set the example," the tall pilot said quietly.
Duo rolled his eyes. "That's not the point, okay? And since when did you take examples from me anyway?" He sighed and ran his hand through his bangs, the same hand trailing down to reach for his braid and fiddle with the ends. "You can't avoid him forever, Tro. Quatre's a really nice guy, and I know you like him that way too because I've seen the way you look at him behind his back. These kinds of things can't wait. We're fighting in a war, and we have only each other to cling to, but there's always the possibility that some of us....." he swallowed, "some of us may not make it out in the end.
"So take this chance, Trowa. I've been doing some thinking.....Evading Heero is just too hard, even if he's trying to do that same thing. With all the missions we're together in there's no chance of not seeing the guy for the rest of my life. I'm going to talk to him, and see how this turns out." Unconsciously, the American blew upward at his bangs. "Sometimes there are no second chances."
For a moment, the taller of the two didn't speak. His mind absorbed Duo's words; would Quatre accept him if he knew about the secrets he kept?
"I'll.....talk with him," Trowa said softly. He remained impassive.
Hollowly Duo stated, "I sound old."
Trowa eyed him, assessing the American as if it were for the first time. Then, he finally spoke. "You'll have to tell Heero sometime."
"I wish you would stop changing the subject," complained the American. "I know I have to tell Heero about the cards. Just not now."
"Aren't you a hypocrite."
"Yes, I'm a hypocrite. But I'm not a liar." Duo's brows furrowed together. "Wait a minute....."
~*~*~*~
Kero
This wasn't supposed to happen. It couldn't happen. It wasn't possible. I knew Duo was strong in the area of magic, but I never thought he would be this strong. To give power to a card to perform its job even before it fully regained its own power.....In all the laws that Clow Reed had set for the cards, it is completely wrong. Unless there was something Clow was keeping from us.....He always kept things from Yue and I.
And the cards are gaining emotions. Emotions not influenced by their own original power, but by their connection to the Card Captor. They're becoming.....human.
~*~*~*~
When Trowa had landed his Gundam (not without letting Duo squish in again so not to appear suspicious), there was an unexpected welcoming parade.
If you call the somewhat threatening army of forty large, well-built men who called themselves the Maguanacs a welcoming parade.
They do look kinda serious, Duo mused, keeping his distance safely behind Trowa. Then it clicked. Shoot. Quatre. That's why they're here.....
The leader of the group raised his right hand. Slightly.
"Hi, Rashid!" piped the American loudly, leaping ahead of the tall Heavyarms pilot to grab the hand and pump it. "I didn't know you guys were all here.....I thought that only you were visiting." Glancing around, Duo's smile froze. "This house isn't gonna be enough." Geez, they don't look too friendly as of now.....
"Master Duo," Rashid acknowledged briefly, though both of his eyes were set on the other teen. "Master Trowa—"
Kero, in the meantime, made note in his head to ask Duo who these people were. They looked like they could outdo Yue anytime.....
Interrupting, Duo grabbed Trowa's arm and began to steer him towards the direction of the beach house. "He can talk to you later, Rashid, he needs to talk to Quatre first," the braided teen declared loudly, Kero suddenly shoved into the back of Trowa's shirt. Duo muttered under his breath, so that only Trowa and Kero could hear him, "I'll handle them.....You better be glad, Kero, you got us in this mess."
Against his skin Trowa could feel the guardian beast making a face. Apparently Kero had a lot of.....teeth.
Duo turned back to Rashid, smiling brightly. All the Maguanacs made as if to go after Trowa, but Duo blew a whistle to get their attention.
"Hey, they don't need forty people to look after them." Yawning, he stretched and laughed. "Quat's not going to be in danger. I doubt he'd be anything but unhappy tonight. Trowa isn't going to rape him."
Suddenly all forty of them were very alert.
"Oops, I said the wrong thing again, didn't I....."
Another Maguanac that Duo recognized stepped forward. "Master Duo, we would like to know if there is some secret between you and Master Trowa that will cause any sort of damage to Master Winner, physical or emotional....."
The teen pilot drew in a sharp breath—and began to laugh hysterically. Cackle, even. He doubled over around his stomach, eyes squeezed tightly shut, his gleeful voice choked with mirth.
"You," he gasped, jabbing one finger in their general direction, "think.....I'm....involved.....with TROWA???" Unable to resist, he hooted even louder, making the Maguanacs even more confused.
"But you and Master Trowa—"
"He needed some advice," Duo clarified, still grinning wildly. "I mean, come on, you wouldn't ask Heero or Wufei about love problems, would you?"
~*~*~*~
"Quatre?"
The blonde was leaning against the wooden railing of the porch facing the ocean, not answering him. Trowa walked up to Quatre and stood silently, not knowing what to say. For a moment they just stared at the sun hovering above the water, nearing sunset.
"You weren't yourself today, were you?"
Trowa didn't answer. He could feel Kero crawling out of the neck of his shirt, about to launch into the air, but the Arabian spun around then, blue eyes searching Trowa's. So Kero was left no choice but to cling to the back of the Heavyarms pilot's neck.
"It has something to do with Duo again, doesn't it?"
"......Hai."
Silent, Quatre continued to watch the waves crash onto the shore. The tide was coming in, the particles of sand constantly shifting with the water that carried them. Neither of them spoke.
"Why don't you just go, 'I love you'???" Kero hissed. "Isn't that how all the bad soap operas go anyway?"
This isn't a bad soap opera, Trowa thought. What am I supposed to do?
"Are you two.....together? In a relationship?"
The tall teen started. "No," answered he quickly. Kero now floated behind Trowa's head, tail swishing about and brushing the pilot's neck.
There is definitely something wrong with all the Gundam pilots, Kero mused to himself. We have two couples with odd little problems and one who's pining over his undefined sexuality. Both the couples seem to be unable to admit to each other what their feelings are; this is far more complicated than back when the only problem was Syaoran and Sakura.....
"Let's just forget about all of this, okay? Forget everything that I said today. It.....It-it doesn't really matter."
Impassive, Trowa opened his mouth, and then closed it, and opened it again when he found his voice.
"If you want to."
"WHAT in the world are you doing???" Kero hissed in Trowa's ear—rather loudly. "You have a chance—"
A new voice interrupted. "Barton!"
The guardian beast leapt right back into Trowa's shirt, and his squirming surprised the Heavyarms pilot, who moved instinctively. He stumbled forward and regained his balance by grabbing onto the railing of the porch. Quatre had turned around when the voice (sounding like Wufei) had called out. He, too, moved automatically to catch Trowa, but ended up with wood digging into his back when Trowa grabbed the railing on both sides of him. The two of them ended up so close that Trowa's bangs were pushed up on top of Quatre's head and the blonde could see both green eyes quite clearly.
Of course, to make the timing absolutely perfect, one Chang Wufei came around the side of the house.
"Barton, I want to borrow a book—"
And he stopped short, blinking uncharacteristically owlishly at what appeared to be two Gundam pilots in close proximity of each other. (Translation: Make-out session.)
"I'll just borrow the book," said Wufei abruptly, spinning on his heel. One finger reached up.....to squeeze a bleeding nostril shut.
Hastily Trowa stood up straight and backed away; while Quatre was still distracted (he was turning an odd crimson) he reached into his shirt and dragged Kero off his back by the tail, and then hurled the guardian over the porch rail and into the sand. He landed nicely, burying his bulbous head into the sand.
"Sorry," the taller teen muttered. He had a sudden urge to yank his hair. Turning, Trowa was about to enter the house when he stopped.
[Sometimes there are no second chances.]
Duo's words echoed in his head. Maybe.....there wasn't going to be a chance after this. Maybe one of them was going to die on the next mission. Maybe.....maybe Quatre wasn't going to give him a second chance.
He had the time now.
"Did you.....mean what you said this afternoon?"
Having been fanning himself, Quatre (it was somewhat hot all of the sudden) blinked. "Huh?" However, like the Winner he was, the Arabian quickly recovered.
"Trowa, forget that. Forget everything I said." Quatre coughed and tried to sidestep the taller of the two, but Trowa stopped him with a barring arm.
"Did you mean what you said?"
Unable to speak, the blonde stared at Trowa. He wasn't quite able to bring himself to say no. He gaped soundlessly for a few seconds. Blinking several times, Quatre glanced away and then brought his gaze back to the other pilot.
"Do you want me to tell the truth?"
It came out sounding odd, but he brushed that thought aside and stared at Trowa right in the eye (heh).
"Fine! I meant everything I said. It doesn't matter now, does it? I—"
Trowa interrupted him. Without thinking, he leaned down and captured Quatre's mouth in his own.
On the roof, a notorious braided pilot lay down on his stomach, watching avidly. In his right hand he held a well-known device, index finger poised on the button on top. He grinned and pushed the button.
Click.
"Ah, the wonders of a camera!"
~*~*~*~
A few moments later, Duo found himself outside the door to Heero's room, hand raised to knock. His knuckles never touched the wood, because at the second he finally decided to knock the door opened of its own accord and his fingers hit Heero's shoulder instead.
"Uh....."
"....."
"Hi.....?"
Heero gave him a LOOK.
Finally Duo sighed. "We need to talk."
"I have to prepare for a mission." Heero remained inscrutable. "This will have to wait."
"NO, it CANNOT wait!" snapped the other teenager, firmly digging in his heels to block Heero's way out. "We've been running around each other for too long!"
Now the Perfect Soldier glared. "I have no need to talk to you."
"We can't do this forever, Heero. I won't take much more than a few minutes of your precious time."
Scowling, Heero debated whether or not to remove Duo forcibly. Of course, there would be somewhat of a commotion, but he did not want to talk. He didn't want to think about something he had been thinking about for days.
"Move."
Duo stared at him. Heero expected a lash back, but the American remained silent. They both stood on opposite sides of the doorway, not speaking.
Then Duo turned to the side to let him through. Motionless for a moment, Heero brushed past Duo quickly, proceeding on his way. Just as he was about to go down the stairs, however, Duo spoke up, loud enough for him to hear.
"Running is usually what I do."
Then continue running, the Wing pilot thought. And he was still thinking of what Duo said as he exited the safehouse.
~*~*~*~
"I can't he threw me into the sand!"
He stared at the ceiling as Kero continued to zoom around, babbling angrily. Duo silently lay in his bed, hands tucked behind his head. He rolled over onto his side, away from Kero.
"I hate being a hypocrite," he whispered.
~*~*~*~
Number of cards left to be captured - 6
Card captured in this chapter - Change, Flower
Here, I am wondering why I didn't have Duo shoot Treize and get OZ done over with. There are gaping hopes in this story, I swear.....So just please ignore the flaws. I think it's a bit tedious to explain everything.