========================================
Role Reversal
By Sefilin
========================================
Disclaimers: Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing copyright Sunrise,
Bandai, Sotsu Agency
==========
Chapter Three
==========
JULIAN'S HOME UNIVERSE:
----------
Duo yawned himself awake, stretching and arching in the grass
that had been matted by his weight. He blinked his eyes open and
winced as the strong morning sunlight filtering through the puffy
white clouds overhead and directly into his eyes.
He sat up quickly and looked around, noting that he seemed to
be in some sort of clearing in the middle of the forested area that
had bordered the house where the pilots were staying.
Then he noticed that his feet were cold.
He snorted to himself, that's what came from not putting shoes
on before he left on his midnight run. At least it was summer and
the temperature was mild, not too hot, not too cold.
He stumbled to his feet, running a hand through his tangled
hair. He pulled his hand away from the short chestnut strands with
a shock.
It would take him a long time to get used to not having his
braid.
With another sigh he took a good look around and headed off
in the direction he thought the house was in. He hoped the others
were still asleep, though it seemed a little too much to hope for
such a thing this late in the morning. It must have been around
ten or eleven and back in his world all the pilots were early
risers, so odds were it was the same here.
Thanking the fact that he had a very good sense of direction,
that worked even when he wasn't paying attention to it, he emerged
onto the front lawn of the house and saw Meiran and Relena
practicing martial arts.
It was obvious that Meiran was doing the teaching and though
Relena was good, it was obvious that everything she'd learnt before
becoming the Chinese girl's student had been learnt without
structure.
Duo grinned, he'd been much the same and hadn't bothered to
learn a different way. His way was fast, unpredictable and had
always worked for him. Besides, all the situations where he'd
needed such talents, that he had so far been in, had been handled
much more easily and effectively with a gun.
Still, it was nice to watch Relena being tossed around, even
though it wasn't the Relena he'd prefer to be thrown around.
"You're pretty good. You do sword, like Wu?"
Both girls whirled around, Meiran using the momentum of a
spin kick to end up facing him and Relena coming out of her ready
position. They looked at his grinning face and rumpled,
grass-stained clothes with surprise.
Surprise that quickly turned to anger as they remembered
the slight panic everyone had gone through that morning when they
hadn't seen him. Relena and Heero had assumed it meant Julian had
been joking and had headed home. Meiran, Quatre and Trowa weren't
so sure and it had been them who'd searched the house and it's
immediate surroundings for any clues.
None had been found, apart from the abandoned bedclothes,
shoes, stockings and tie and the panic had been put on hold until
they decided what to do.
"Where have you been, baka!" Relena asked, glaring at him.
Duo blinked and looked first at one of the girls, then at
the other. He waved his hand vaguely in the direction he'd spent
the night, "Over there somewhere. Sorry if you guys were worried
or anything, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
Meiran's eyes narrowed then she nodded, "Just don't go off
without telling someone."
Frowning, Duo gazed back. He'd never had to report in before
and was used to the freedom of going where he wanted, when he wanted.
Then he recalled what information he'd been given regarding Julian
Peacecraft and decided they were justified in wanting to know.
Especially if he was as much of a ditz as he sounded. In fact,
these pilots spoke about him much the way he and his own colleagues
spoke of Relena...
Balking at that line of thought, Duo made apologetic movements
with his hands, "Sure, sure, won't happen again. So... anything left
for breakfast?"
Relena looked like she wanted to hit him, as did Meiran, though
she was nice enough to nod.
Taking that to mean he could eat, Duo grinned again and bounced
into the house leaving a 'thanks, man!' behind.
Once inside, he bumped into Quatre and Heero, both boys leaning
over the laptop and sent them a sunny greeting. Ignoring the looks
they sent him, he carried on into the kitchen to raid the
refrigerator.
Piling leftovers onto a plate he'd managed to scrounge up, Duo
sat himself down at the table and dug in, fully intent on enjoying
his breakfast. He lifted a hand in greeting when he was joined by
the three male pilots, grinning at them as soon as he'd finished his
mouthful.
"What's up?"
Looking a little pained, Quatre settled himself in the chair
across from him and watched him eat, "Um, Duo." Quatre broke off,
looking worse than he had a second ago. He still wasn't used to
the name, it was... unsettling.
"Yep?" it hadn't phased Duo at all.
"Where were you this morning?"
Duo caught the suspicion in the trio's eyes and sat back,
almost hurt. Then he sighed, deliberately and carefully placing his
fork to the side of a face and facing them squarely.
"I couldn't sleep last night, so I went for a run. I was
planning on coming back, but I ended up falling asleep," he paused
for a moment and picking up his fork again, began to move the rice
on his plate around. "I miss them, y'know. All of the guys back
home, Noin, Sally, Hirde, Howard..." his lips quirked upwards, "I
even miss Relena and her stalking."
"What I wouldn't give to have her walk in the door just now
and say 'Heero' in that way she has. At least then I'd know it was
_my_ Heero."
The confusion and discomfort on the faces of the three pilots
across from him, brought him back to reality and Duo shrugged and
smiled at them, waving his fork in their faces, "But since she's
not going to, I thought I'd sleep outside instead."
Unsure what to think, Quatre and Trowa remained silent and
Heero took the chance to bring up a different subject.
"Can you call your chauffeur?"
Duo blinked, the fork halfway into his mouth. He gulped down
the bite of rice before replying, "My what?"
"Pargan. Your chauffeur."
Staring at prussian blue eyes, Duo felt like banging his head
on the table. It couldn't be. This Julian guy, his counterpart in
this world couldn't possibly be that similar to Relena. There was
no way he could have turned out like her... right?
Duo whimpered, "A chauffeur. Shit, I'm beginning to sound
like I'm this world's Relena. How depressing is that? I think
I just lost my appetite."
==========
Duo was leaning back against a tree, waiting for the pilots
to finish doing whatever it was they were doing. He left them to
it, once again, reflecting on this strange situation he found himself
in. He'd been doing it almost constantly since he had arrived and
didn't particularly like it, but couldn't seem to stop himself.
Well, it was either that or wondering what his fellow
pilots were doing. He wondered if they were on a mission or if
they were looking for him. He imagined what he'd say to them
when he got back and what he'd say to them if they turned up here.
Duo chuckled, thoughts diverted by the intriguing mental
images he was getting from figuring how they would react if they
did find themselves here. There was a stunned and weepy Wufei
glomping an annoyed-looking Meiran, Trowa throwing his arms
around a shocked Quatre, Quatre throwing _his_ arms around an
equally shocked Trowa and Heero alternating between glaring at
a miserable-looking Relena and stroking Julian's hair, lamenting
about the disappearance of the braid.
His chuckles continued as he shook his head. No way would
any of them react like that. Or not for long anyway.
"What are you laughing at, Duo?"
Duo tipped his head back and looked up at Relena who was
standing over him, silhouetted against the blue sky, "Oh, I was
just thinking about how the other's would handle being here. I
can just imagine Wufei's face if he saw Meiran."
"Oh," she dropped to the grass next to him and made herself
comfortable. "So you grew up on L2?"
"Mm. Yeah, the original street rat. Used to steal Mobile
Suits and everything."
A smile lit Relena's face, "That sure brings back memories."
"It was kind of fun, at times."
"Yeah. I just wish..." Relena broke off and shook her head.
"It would have been nice to have a family."
Duo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "Did you
end up at Maxwell Church?" Relena started and he took it as a
'yes', "Same thing happened to me. Did it... did it...?"
Keeping her gaze on her hands, Relena spoke softly, "Get
destroyed? Yes. While I was out stealing Mobile Suits. Father
Maxwell, Sister Helen, all the other kids..."
The two lapsed into silence, recalling memories that were
remarkably similar to one another, no matter how far apart they
occurred.
Then Duo laughed deprecatingly, "It's depressing dwelling
on sad memories. So, you hooked up with the Professor after
that?"
"Not straight away. I spent some time working for some
guy as messenger. I reminded him of his daughter, so I had it
good. He protected me as well as he could and I made enough
money to survive on. He was a sweet old guy. I was with him
for about a year before he died as well. Then I met the
Professor and Deathscythe."
"And fell in love?" Duo grinned.
Relena returned his grin, eyes locked with Duo as
understanding blossomed between the two of them, "And I fell in
love..."
"Deathscythe..." the two sighed it at the same time,
hands clasped in a parody of adoration then burst out laughing.
"I LOVE that Gundam."
"Same here. And you're not so bad yourself, Duo Maxwell."
Duo jumped to his feet when Quatre and Meiran appeared at
the door. He turned and offered a hand to Relena, pulling her
up as well, "I like you too, Relena..." he paused, then shrugged
and continued, "Maxwell."
==========
Quatre watched Duo carefully as they drove up the drive that
led to the Peacecraft mansion.
The other boy had been fine when they'd set out on the trip,
brushing off meeting Julian's brother as nothing important. But
the closer they'd got the more he had fidgeted, his hands twisting
around themselves and his hand reaching constantly for the braid he
assured them should be there.
The blonde had no idea what was going on in the other's head,
because even though his face was mobile and his body eloquent, he
wasn't saying anything to them. Quatre had never seen anything
like it before. It was just noise, which hid what he was really
thinking and feeling more effectively than the expressionless
masks Trowa and Heero habitually wore.
But there was definitely something getting to him. It could
be the bickering that he and Relena were currently engaged in, but
for some reason he didn't think so.
"You're an idiot."
"And you're any less of one? Get real, Relena. Just because
I don't remember a com number I've never known? I've never had a
chauffeur before and I'm not about to start now."
"I _still_ think you're bluffing about all of this. There
is no such thing as an alternate universe. And even if there was,
there's no way you could switch world's just like that."
"Yeah, well I _wish_ there wasn't such a thing..."
Duo continued muttering something under his breath that
Relena apparently heard and took offense at. And if he'd said
anything like what Quatre suspected he had, it was with reason.
Quatre knew Relena actually believed Duo. There was no way
the loud-mouthed, manic personality currently inhabiting Julian's
body _was_ Julian. The Peacecraft had neither the acting ability
or street experience Duo did.
There was also the fact that Julian normally ignored Relena
whenever she was in his vicinity, whereas Duo was more focussed
on her than anyone else, though he did devote a reasonable amount
of time to Meiran and watching Heero.
It was obvious that Duo really liked the small Chinese
girl and Quatre hoped that he wouldn't spoil the relationship
that was ever so slowly developing between her and the stoic
pilot of Heavyarms. The two of them were good for each other,
even though Quatre occasionally had to bury the occasional burst
of jealousy towards the girl.
He hoped that, for all concerned, Duo really was stuck
on the Heero from his world as that was unlikely to make a mess
in this one.
The vehicle they'd been driving in drew to a halt outside
the imposing front door of the Peacecraft mansion and Meiran,
Trowa, Quatre and Heero climbed out in relief. Quatre and Meiran
had chosen not to interfere with Relena and Duo which had made
things tense throughout the drive.
Duo bounced out after them, followed by the blonde girl
who looked at the four already standing there. They glanced at
one another and their eyes caught. Blue-violet and cornflower
began to sparkle and the two grinned at each other.
"That was fun," remarked Duo to the girl.
"Sure. Have to do it again sometime," she replied.
Laughing a little, Duo nodded, "Need a bigger audience
though."
"I'll see what I can do."
Baffled, Quatre raised an eyebrow at them.
Meiran eyed them tolerantly and Heero glared, hating that
he didn't understand his girlfriend, before turning to the door
and heading up the steps, gesturing for the others to follow.
The door opened before they were halfway up and a tall
young man with long blonde hair appeared in the entrance-way.
He sent a swift glance across them all before stopping on Duo.
His eyes widened as he took in the casual state of Duo's
clothing and whatever he was about to say was left unsaid as he
focussed on more important matters.
"Julian? What did you do to yourself?"
Before Duo could reply, Quatre stepped forwards,
"Milliard-san, before anything else, um, there's something we
need to tell you."
"No shit," Duo grinned. "Hey, man."
Milliard's jaw dropped a millimetre.
Duo drew closer, the shine of curiosity in his eyes as
he circled the older man, then he looked over at Quatre, "Yep,
very cute. But not as cute as me."
Shocked at this opinion of his brother... Julian's brother,
Quatre nodded slowly back.
Milliard was in much the same state.
==========
Milliard had been shocked enough when his usually
immaculate brother had turned up with the five infamous Gundam
pilots in tow, looking like he'd spent the night rolling around
on the grass.
He'd then offered a grin the likes of which he'd never seen,
_sworn_, which was something else he'd never done and then... and
then...
He'd checked him out.
Milliard knew he was cute, though beautiful might have
been a more accurate term. He'd even been told so by males as
well as females, but for his younger brother to just walk up to
him and say that, appreciatively, as though it was the most
natural thing in the world...
There was something going on here and he had a feeling it
was something he wasn't going to like.
Come to think of it, Quatre, the Winner heir, had said
there was something he should know.
Shaking off the shock, Milliard glanced at his still-grinning
brother and asked the entire group into his house.
Once installed comfortably in one of the lounges, Milliard
turned his attention to Quatre, who looked at him uncertainly then,
taking a deep breath, began to speak.
"Ah, Milliard-san, I'd, um, like to introduce you to, um,
Duo Maxwell."
Unsure who Quatre was speaking of, though he had a sneaking
suspicion he didn't want confirmed, Milliard looked around for
someone unknown. There was no one there and Milliard reluctantly
turned to look at his brother, who didn't seem to be his brother
anymore.
The scruffy young man smirked and nodded, "Yeah."
The blonde blinked and shook his head before deciding he
needed to sit down. He took a seat on the silk-covered sofa
and, after taking a deep breath, indicated he was as ready as he
could be.
"You'd better tell me the rest of it."
The group looked at Quatre, who looked at Duo, who grinned
at them all, seeming to enjoy the disbelief and possible drama
involved in the situation.
"Right. Well, as he said, I'm Duo Maxwell, pilot of the
Gundam Deathscythe, war-orphan of L2, partner of Heero Yuy,
talented thief, Sweeper-extraordinaire and all-round amazing guy.
Heh, in my world anyway."
"And?" Milliard questioned, his opinion as to the truth of
the boy's statements on hold for the moment.
"And? I somehow got sucked through to this world after
falling off a cliff in my own?"
"Oh."
Silence reigned as the Gundam pilots allowed Milliard the
chance to digest what had been said.
"Well, I suppose I believe you. There's no way you're
Julian."
The grin that Milliard could tell was a normal feature
on Duo's face, grew wider, "Really? Glad you think so."
"Aa. So..."
==========
Duo stretched his frame as much as possible, enjoying
the feeling of being stretched. After having spent a good two
hours sitting around the coffee table with the pilots and
Milliard, he thought he could do with another run, whether it
lead to him sleeping outside or not.
"Mmmmmmm," standing, he stretched again before walking
across to the window and looking out across the manicured
lawns. Someone came up behind him.
"So, Duo's a hedonist?"
Looking over his shoulder, Duo smiled a tiny, satisfied
smile, "How'd you guess?"
Milliard laughed and the two stood for a few moments in
companionable silence.
"Do I..." Milliard suddenly asked, "Do I exist in your
world?"
Duo leant his forehead against the window and closed his
eyes, the better to remember, "I don't know any Milliard
Peacecrafts, but there's something..."
"Ah, well.
A pause, "You don't have any family there?"
"No," Duo shook his head, "It's been just me for as long
as I can remember, well except for the time at the Maxwell
Church and Solo, but not family, no. Or none that I knew of."
Duo laughed ruefully, "I have this feeling though, that I'm
going to end up with a sister."
Milliard watched Duo, puzzled, "A sister?"
"Mm. Relena. She's a Peacecraft and there are rumours
that she has, or had, a brother. And here I'm a Peacecraft.
Maybe we kind of, I dunno, lost each other or something."
Duo made a face and shoved himself back from the window,
turning to face his gorgeous, blonde brother, "And it _would_
have to be her." He leaned in closer to Milliard and whispered,
"I don't like her very much, she's a pain in the ass."
Milliard almost jumped back, still shocked by Duo's
vocabulary coming from Julian's mouth.
"This Relena, on the other hand. I wouldn't mind being
related to."
==========
DUO'S HOME UNIVERSE:
----------
Heero watched the base and it's mobile dolls explode in a
satisfying burst of flame and billows of black smoke. If anything
could take his mind off Duo's not being beside him, it was this.
And even this wasn't working to well.
*Where are you, Duo? You can't be dead, so where are you?
Why aren't you here, playing with your scythe and having fun taking
out all these mobile dolls? Duo...*
The mission hadn't been quite as bad as they had been
warned and was fairly easily dealt with by the four Gundams present.
It almost made Heero regret coming, knowing the other three pilots
would likely have been okay without him. But it was the mission
and therefore not to be regretted in itself.
Only the fact that it took him away from his search for Duo
was regrettable.
Heero joined the other Gundams in a flight back to the
safehouse they had been at, each of them wanting to rekindle the
search for Duo. Even though they all knew it was too late.
It had taken them a day to get to Mogadishu from Texas,
where they had been, and another three to set up the infiltration
and destruction that was currently so apparent.
Heero had managed to pull the set of plans that was the
primary reason for the mission from the central computers without
hassle while Wufei and Quatre planted explosives and Trowa watched
everyone's back as best he could.
Now he could look for word of Duo again. The first thing he
was going to do when he got back was search the net for any word
of bodies, dead or alive, being washed up onto the beach. Then
he'd investigate each one while the others continued coastal patrols
and tours of towns in the path of the tides.
Unwilling to give up on Duo, Heero was willing to search as
long and as thoroughly as needed until something definite turned
up, even if he had to dedicate the rest of his life to it. Between
missions, in any case.
A small screen popped up in the corner of his righthand
cockpit display, a familiar blonde face filling it, "Almost there,
Heero. I'm sure there'll be word of him."
"Aa."
Quatre smiled at him encouragingly, knowing it wouldn't help
and signed off as they approached the coast.
All four Gundam units were carefully hidden in various places
throughout the dense forest a short distance from the house, where
the pilots were to meet.
Heero sat himself in front of his laptop, joined by Quatre,
while Wufei and Trowa headed to the kitchen to prepare something
to eat.
And for the rest of the night, Heero worked his way through
John Doe reports at hospitals across the world.
It didn't occur to him to look under Duo's name.
==========
Relena sat beside the hospital bed, watching the pilot of
Deathscythe sleep restlessly. She'd never had the chance to study
him before and had to admit he was cute. He had such long lashes,
such soft hair and smooth skin. It was a lot like watching a baby
sleep, a grown up baby.
She giggled, knowing that that was exactly what Duo was.
He wasn't a bit like Heero, whose face was refined perfection,
regardless of the fact that his hair was always a mess, just begging
to be put straight.
It had been a week since she'd last seen Heero, though she'd
had Pargan regularly search for word of the Gundams and the Japanese
pilot. There had been a report of an attack on a base in Africa
two days ago, but until Relena could find where Heero was now she'd
have to keep visiting Duo herself.
The American pilot still hadn't regained consciousness,
though he'd been pulled out of intensive care and installed in a
private ward at Relena's insistence. She'd bought flowers to
brighten up the room, but didn't know Duo well enough to take
liberties with anything else.
Instead she visited everyday, sometimes talking to him,
other days sitting silently beside his bed, thinking and dreaming.
She hoped he would appreciate all this once he'd woken up.
And, with a sense of timing that went with his flair for
drama, Duo chose that moment to open his eyes.
Relena happened to be looking directly at his face,
contemplating his eyelashes, when they rose, revealing pain-filled
violet-blue eyes. He blinked as he focussed on the bare ceiling
and frowned before exploring the room around him.
His eyes came to rest on Relena and the frown deepened,
"R-Relena?"
"Hai," Relena smiled, pleased with her patient's progress.
"How are you feeling?"
"Feeling? Ah..." Duo winced, obviously feeling the pain
of his injuries. "Not so good."
Relena's brow furrowed then cleared, "I'll call the nurse,
she should be able to get you something. It's probably good if
they know you've woken up as well."
An 'Aa' of agreement followed her out the door as she headed
for the nurses station. Fiona, the nurse currently on duty,
agreed to bring something for Duo and Relena returned to the
pilot's room.
She found Duo looking around with interest, a small frown
still present on his face. He turned to the door when he heard
Relena walk in and once again the frown deepened.
"H-How long have I been asleep?"
Relena took the chair next to his bed once again, "About a
week, though you'll be staying here for quite awhile yet."
Shocked, Duo stared at her, "A w-week? How did you manage
to grow your hair that long in a week?"
"Eh? What do you mean? My hair's always been this length."
Duo shook his head weakly, "Last time I saw you it was up
to here," he lifted his hand and indicated the length by brushing
his fingertips along a path level with his jaw.
Relena blinked, now as confused as Duo had been.
"Um, Duo, it's always..."
Duo cut her off, "Duo?"
Relena blinked again, unsure if this was a practical joke or
something worse.
"Yes. Duo. It's your name. Duo Maxwell."
Duo shook his head emphatically, wincing and slowing down
when it had a negative effect on the level of pain he was currently
experiencing. "No. My name is Julian Peacecraft, not Duo Maxwell.
_You're_ Relena Maxwell."
"I-I'm what?"
"Relena Maxwell. Where's Heero? He should be here if you
are," a slight grimace crossed his face at that, "Or Milliard? Can
you call him and let him know I'm awake?"
Totally out of her depths, Relena gave a sigh of relief when
the nurse came in with a few pills and gave them to Duo, insisting
he take them.
Reluctantly, he did so and drifted back into sleep, while
Relena tried to figure out what was going on.
She finally stood some twenty minutes later and headed for
a com unit, hoping Pargan had found news of Heero's whereabouts.
Maybe he could tell her why Duo was acting this way.
==========
Heero bolted upright when the beep of a new call echoed
through his room. Within a split second he had taken the laptop off
stand-by mode and was bringing up the caller, hoping it was from
one of the hospitals he'd left messages at.
When the sender was revealed as Relena Peacecraft, he rubbed
his palm against his forehead and seriously considered shutting the
computer down again.
Then he remembered her help on the day after Duo disappeared
and decided he could at least talk to her for a few seconds and
acknowledged her greeting.
"Heero!" came through the speakers, said in the same tone of
voice it always was.
"Relena."
"I'm glad I finally found you. It's about Duo."
Having switched half of his brain off at the greeting, Heero
jumped back to full attention at this statement, "What about him?"
"I found him on the beach a week ago and took him to hospital.
He's doing okay and just woke up, but, Heero...? Do you know why
he'd be calling himself Julian Peacecraft and insisting my name was
Relena Maxwell?"
==Owari, Chapter Three==
And it's WEIRD writing 'Milliard' instead of 'Zechs', which sounds
so much cooler.
http://www.geocities.com/sefilin/
sefilin@yahoo.com
Role Reversal
By Sefilin
========================================
Disclaimers: Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing copyright Sunrise,
Bandai, Sotsu Agency
==========
Chapter Three
==========
JULIAN'S HOME UNIVERSE:
----------
Duo yawned himself awake, stretching and arching in the grass
that had been matted by his weight. He blinked his eyes open and
winced as the strong morning sunlight filtering through the puffy
white clouds overhead and directly into his eyes.
He sat up quickly and looked around, noting that he seemed to
be in some sort of clearing in the middle of the forested area that
had bordered the house where the pilots were staying.
Then he noticed that his feet were cold.
He snorted to himself, that's what came from not putting shoes
on before he left on his midnight run. At least it was summer and
the temperature was mild, not too hot, not too cold.
He stumbled to his feet, running a hand through his tangled
hair. He pulled his hand away from the short chestnut strands with
a shock.
It would take him a long time to get used to not having his
braid.
With another sigh he took a good look around and headed off
in the direction he thought the house was in. He hoped the others
were still asleep, though it seemed a little too much to hope for
such a thing this late in the morning. It must have been around
ten or eleven and back in his world all the pilots were early
risers, so odds were it was the same here.
Thanking the fact that he had a very good sense of direction,
that worked even when he wasn't paying attention to it, he emerged
onto the front lawn of the house and saw Meiran and Relena
practicing martial arts.
It was obvious that Meiran was doing the teaching and though
Relena was good, it was obvious that everything she'd learnt before
becoming the Chinese girl's student had been learnt without
structure.
Duo grinned, he'd been much the same and hadn't bothered to
learn a different way. His way was fast, unpredictable and had
always worked for him. Besides, all the situations where he'd
needed such talents, that he had so far been in, had been handled
much more easily and effectively with a gun.
Still, it was nice to watch Relena being tossed around, even
though it wasn't the Relena he'd prefer to be thrown around.
"You're pretty good. You do sword, like Wu?"
Both girls whirled around, Meiran using the momentum of a
spin kick to end up facing him and Relena coming out of her ready
position. They looked at his grinning face and rumpled,
grass-stained clothes with surprise.
Surprise that quickly turned to anger as they remembered
the slight panic everyone had gone through that morning when they
hadn't seen him. Relena and Heero had assumed it meant Julian had
been joking and had headed home. Meiran, Quatre and Trowa weren't
so sure and it had been them who'd searched the house and it's
immediate surroundings for any clues.
None had been found, apart from the abandoned bedclothes,
shoes, stockings and tie and the panic had been put on hold until
they decided what to do.
"Where have you been, baka!" Relena asked, glaring at him.
Duo blinked and looked first at one of the girls, then at
the other. He waved his hand vaguely in the direction he'd spent
the night, "Over there somewhere. Sorry if you guys were worried
or anything, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
Meiran's eyes narrowed then she nodded, "Just don't go off
without telling someone."
Frowning, Duo gazed back. He'd never had to report in before
and was used to the freedom of going where he wanted, when he wanted.
Then he recalled what information he'd been given regarding Julian
Peacecraft and decided they were justified in wanting to know.
Especially if he was as much of a ditz as he sounded. In fact,
these pilots spoke about him much the way he and his own colleagues
spoke of Relena...
Balking at that line of thought, Duo made apologetic movements
with his hands, "Sure, sure, won't happen again. So... anything left
for breakfast?"
Relena looked like she wanted to hit him, as did Meiran, though
she was nice enough to nod.
Taking that to mean he could eat, Duo grinned again and bounced
into the house leaving a 'thanks, man!' behind.
Once inside, he bumped into Quatre and Heero, both boys leaning
over the laptop and sent them a sunny greeting. Ignoring the looks
they sent him, he carried on into the kitchen to raid the
refrigerator.
Piling leftovers onto a plate he'd managed to scrounge up, Duo
sat himself down at the table and dug in, fully intent on enjoying
his breakfast. He lifted a hand in greeting when he was joined by
the three male pilots, grinning at them as soon as he'd finished his
mouthful.
"What's up?"
Looking a little pained, Quatre settled himself in the chair
across from him and watched him eat, "Um, Duo." Quatre broke off,
looking worse than he had a second ago. He still wasn't used to
the name, it was... unsettling.
"Yep?" it hadn't phased Duo at all.
"Where were you this morning?"
Duo caught the suspicion in the trio's eyes and sat back,
almost hurt. Then he sighed, deliberately and carefully placing his
fork to the side of a face and facing them squarely.
"I couldn't sleep last night, so I went for a run. I was
planning on coming back, but I ended up falling asleep," he paused
for a moment and picking up his fork again, began to move the rice
on his plate around. "I miss them, y'know. All of the guys back
home, Noin, Sally, Hirde, Howard..." his lips quirked upwards, "I
even miss Relena and her stalking."
"What I wouldn't give to have her walk in the door just now
and say 'Heero' in that way she has. At least then I'd know it was
_my_ Heero."
The confusion and discomfort on the faces of the three pilots
across from him, brought him back to reality and Duo shrugged and
smiled at them, waving his fork in their faces, "But since she's
not going to, I thought I'd sleep outside instead."
Unsure what to think, Quatre and Trowa remained silent and
Heero took the chance to bring up a different subject.
"Can you call your chauffeur?"
Duo blinked, the fork halfway into his mouth. He gulped down
the bite of rice before replying, "My what?"
"Pargan. Your chauffeur."
Staring at prussian blue eyes, Duo felt like banging his head
on the table. It couldn't be. This Julian guy, his counterpart in
this world couldn't possibly be that similar to Relena. There was
no way he could have turned out like her... right?
Duo whimpered, "A chauffeur. Shit, I'm beginning to sound
like I'm this world's Relena. How depressing is that? I think
I just lost my appetite."
==========
Duo was leaning back against a tree, waiting for the pilots
to finish doing whatever it was they were doing. He left them to
it, once again, reflecting on this strange situation he found himself
in. He'd been doing it almost constantly since he had arrived and
didn't particularly like it, but couldn't seem to stop himself.
Well, it was either that or wondering what his fellow
pilots were doing. He wondered if they were on a mission or if
they were looking for him. He imagined what he'd say to them
when he got back and what he'd say to them if they turned up here.
Duo chuckled, thoughts diverted by the intriguing mental
images he was getting from figuring how they would react if they
did find themselves here. There was a stunned and weepy Wufei
glomping an annoyed-looking Meiran, Trowa throwing his arms
around a shocked Quatre, Quatre throwing _his_ arms around an
equally shocked Trowa and Heero alternating between glaring at
a miserable-looking Relena and stroking Julian's hair, lamenting
about the disappearance of the braid.
His chuckles continued as he shook his head. No way would
any of them react like that. Or not for long anyway.
"What are you laughing at, Duo?"
Duo tipped his head back and looked up at Relena who was
standing over him, silhouetted against the blue sky, "Oh, I was
just thinking about how the other's would handle being here. I
can just imagine Wufei's face if he saw Meiran."
"Oh," she dropped to the grass next to him and made herself
comfortable. "So you grew up on L2?"
"Mm. Yeah, the original street rat. Used to steal Mobile
Suits and everything."
A smile lit Relena's face, "That sure brings back memories."
"It was kind of fun, at times."
"Yeah. I just wish..." Relena broke off and shook her head.
"It would have been nice to have a family."
Duo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "Did you
end up at Maxwell Church?" Relena started and he took it as a
'yes', "Same thing happened to me. Did it... did it...?"
Keeping her gaze on her hands, Relena spoke softly, "Get
destroyed? Yes. While I was out stealing Mobile Suits. Father
Maxwell, Sister Helen, all the other kids..."
The two lapsed into silence, recalling memories that were
remarkably similar to one another, no matter how far apart they
occurred.
Then Duo laughed deprecatingly, "It's depressing dwelling
on sad memories. So, you hooked up with the Professor after
that?"
"Not straight away. I spent some time working for some
guy as messenger. I reminded him of his daughter, so I had it
good. He protected me as well as he could and I made enough
money to survive on. He was a sweet old guy. I was with him
for about a year before he died as well. Then I met the
Professor and Deathscythe."
"And fell in love?" Duo grinned.
Relena returned his grin, eyes locked with Duo as
understanding blossomed between the two of them, "And I fell in
love..."
"Deathscythe..." the two sighed it at the same time,
hands clasped in a parody of adoration then burst out laughing.
"I LOVE that Gundam."
"Same here. And you're not so bad yourself, Duo Maxwell."
Duo jumped to his feet when Quatre and Meiran appeared at
the door. He turned and offered a hand to Relena, pulling her
up as well, "I like you too, Relena..." he paused, then shrugged
and continued, "Maxwell."
==========
Quatre watched Duo carefully as they drove up the drive that
led to the Peacecraft mansion.
The other boy had been fine when they'd set out on the trip,
brushing off meeting Julian's brother as nothing important. But
the closer they'd got the more he had fidgeted, his hands twisting
around themselves and his hand reaching constantly for the braid he
assured them should be there.
The blonde had no idea what was going on in the other's head,
because even though his face was mobile and his body eloquent, he
wasn't saying anything to them. Quatre had never seen anything
like it before. It was just noise, which hid what he was really
thinking and feeling more effectively than the expressionless
masks Trowa and Heero habitually wore.
But there was definitely something getting to him. It could
be the bickering that he and Relena were currently engaged in, but
for some reason he didn't think so.
"You're an idiot."
"And you're any less of one? Get real, Relena. Just because
I don't remember a com number I've never known? I've never had a
chauffeur before and I'm not about to start now."
"I _still_ think you're bluffing about all of this. There
is no such thing as an alternate universe. And even if there was,
there's no way you could switch world's just like that."
"Yeah, well I _wish_ there wasn't such a thing..."
Duo continued muttering something under his breath that
Relena apparently heard and took offense at. And if he'd said
anything like what Quatre suspected he had, it was with reason.
Quatre knew Relena actually believed Duo. There was no way
the loud-mouthed, manic personality currently inhabiting Julian's
body _was_ Julian. The Peacecraft had neither the acting ability
or street experience Duo did.
There was also the fact that Julian normally ignored Relena
whenever she was in his vicinity, whereas Duo was more focussed
on her than anyone else, though he did devote a reasonable amount
of time to Meiran and watching Heero.
It was obvious that Duo really liked the small Chinese
girl and Quatre hoped that he wouldn't spoil the relationship
that was ever so slowly developing between her and the stoic
pilot of Heavyarms. The two of them were good for each other,
even though Quatre occasionally had to bury the occasional burst
of jealousy towards the girl.
He hoped that, for all concerned, Duo really was stuck
on the Heero from his world as that was unlikely to make a mess
in this one.
The vehicle they'd been driving in drew to a halt outside
the imposing front door of the Peacecraft mansion and Meiran,
Trowa, Quatre and Heero climbed out in relief. Quatre and Meiran
had chosen not to interfere with Relena and Duo which had made
things tense throughout the drive.
Duo bounced out after them, followed by the blonde girl
who looked at the four already standing there. They glanced at
one another and their eyes caught. Blue-violet and cornflower
began to sparkle and the two grinned at each other.
"That was fun," remarked Duo to the girl.
"Sure. Have to do it again sometime," she replied.
Laughing a little, Duo nodded, "Need a bigger audience
though."
"I'll see what I can do."
Baffled, Quatre raised an eyebrow at them.
Meiran eyed them tolerantly and Heero glared, hating that
he didn't understand his girlfriend, before turning to the door
and heading up the steps, gesturing for the others to follow.
The door opened before they were halfway up and a tall
young man with long blonde hair appeared in the entrance-way.
He sent a swift glance across them all before stopping on Duo.
His eyes widened as he took in the casual state of Duo's
clothing and whatever he was about to say was left unsaid as he
focussed on more important matters.
"Julian? What did you do to yourself?"
Before Duo could reply, Quatre stepped forwards,
"Milliard-san, before anything else, um, there's something we
need to tell you."
"No shit," Duo grinned. "Hey, man."
Milliard's jaw dropped a millimetre.
Duo drew closer, the shine of curiosity in his eyes as
he circled the older man, then he looked over at Quatre, "Yep,
very cute. But not as cute as me."
Shocked at this opinion of his brother... Julian's brother,
Quatre nodded slowly back.
Milliard was in much the same state.
==========
Milliard had been shocked enough when his usually
immaculate brother had turned up with the five infamous Gundam
pilots in tow, looking like he'd spent the night rolling around
on the grass.
He'd then offered a grin the likes of which he'd never seen,
_sworn_, which was something else he'd never done and then... and
then...
He'd checked him out.
Milliard knew he was cute, though beautiful might have
been a more accurate term. He'd even been told so by males as
well as females, but for his younger brother to just walk up to
him and say that, appreciatively, as though it was the most
natural thing in the world...
There was something going on here and he had a feeling it
was something he wasn't going to like.
Come to think of it, Quatre, the Winner heir, had said
there was something he should know.
Shaking off the shock, Milliard glanced at his still-grinning
brother and asked the entire group into his house.
Once installed comfortably in one of the lounges, Milliard
turned his attention to Quatre, who looked at him uncertainly then,
taking a deep breath, began to speak.
"Ah, Milliard-san, I'd, um, like to introduce you to, um,
Duo Maxwell."
Unsure who Quatre was speaking of, though he had a sneaking
suspicion he didn't want confirmed, Milliard looked around for
someone unknown. There was no one there and Milliard reluctantly
turned to look at his brother, who didn't seem to be his brother
anymore.
The scruffy young man smirked and nodded, "Yeah."
The blonde blinked and shook his head before deciding he
needed to sit down. He took a seat on the silk-covered sofa
and, after taking a deep breath, indicated he was as ready as he
could be.
"You'd better tell me the rest of it."
The group looked at Quatre, who looked at Duo, who grinned
at them all, seeming to enjoy the disbelief and possible drama
involved in the situation.
"Right. Well, as he said, I'm Duo Maxwell, pilot of the
Gundam Deathscythe, war-orphan of L2, partner of Heero Yuy,
talented thief, Sweeper-extraordinaire and all-round amazing guy.
Heh, in my world anyway."
"And?" Milliard questioned, his opinion as to the truth of
the boy's statements on hold for the moment.
"And? I somehow got sucked through to this world after
falling off a cliff in my own?"
"Oh."
Silence reigned as the Gundam pilots allowed Milliard the
chance to digest what had been said.
"Well, I suppose I believe you. There's no way you're
Julian."
The grin that Milliard could tell was a normal feature
on Duo's face, grew wider, "Really? Glad you think so."
"Aa. So..."
==========
Duo stretched his frame as much as possible, enjoying
the feeling of being stretched. After having spent a good two
hours sitting around the coffee table with the pilots and
Milliard, he thought he could do with another run, whether it
lead to him sleeping outside or not.
"Mmmmmmm," standing, he stretched again before walking
across to the window and looking out across the manicured
lawns. Someone came up behind him.
"So, Duo's a hedonist?"
Looking over his shoulder, Duo smiled a tiny, satisfied
smile, "How'd you guess?"
Milliard laughed and the two stood for a few moments in
companionable silence.
"Do I..." Milliard suddenly asked, "Do I exist in your
world?"
Duo leant his forehead against the window and closed his
eyes, the better to remember, "I don't know any Milliard
Peacecrafts, but there's something..."
"Ah, well.
A pause, "You don't have any family there?"
"No," Duo shook his head, "It's been just me for as long
as I can remember, well except for the time at the Maxwell
Church and Solo, but not family, no. Or none that I knew of."
Duo laughed ruefully, "I have this feeling though, that I'm
going to end up with a sister."
Milliard watched Duo, puzzled, "A sister?"
"Mm. Relena. She's a Peacecraft and there are rumours
that she has, or had, a brother. And here I'm a Peacecraft.
Maybe we kind of, I dunno, lost each other or something."
Duo made a face and shoved himself back from the window,
turning to face his gorgeous, blonde brother, "And it _would_
have to be her." He leaned in closer to Milliard and whispered,
"I don't like her very much, she's a pain in the ass."
Milliard almost jumped back, still shocked by Duo's
vocabulary coming from Julian's mouth.
"This Relena, on the other hand. I wouldn't mind being
related to."
==========
DUO'S HOME UNIVERSE:
----------
Heero watched the base and it's mobile dolls explode in a
satisfying burst of flame and billows of black smoke. If anything
could take his mind off Duo's not being beside him, it was this.
And even this wasn't working to well.
*Where are you, Duo? You can't be dead, so where are you?
Why aren't you here, playing with your scythe and having fun taking
out all these mobile dolls? Duo...*
The mission hadn't been quite as bad as they had been
warned and was fairly easily dealt with by the four Gundams present.
It almost made Heero regret coming, knowing the other three pilots
would likely have been okay without him. But it was the mission
and therefore not to be regretted in itself.
Only the fact that it took him away from his search for Duo
was regrettable.
Heero joined the other Gundams in a flight back to the
safehouse they had been at, each of them wanting to rekindle the
search for Duo. Even though they all knew it was too late.
It had taken them a day to get to Mogadishu from Texas,
where they had been, and another three to set up the infiltration
and destruction that was currently so apparent.
Heero had managed to pull the set of plans that was the
primary reason for the mission from the central computers without
hassle while Wufei and Quatre planted explosives and Trowa watched
everyone's back as best he could.
Now he could look for word of Duo again. The first thing he
was going to do when he got back was search the net for any word
of bodies, dead or alive, being washed up onto the beach. Then
he'd investigate each one while the others continued coastal patrols
and tours of towns in the path of the tides.
Unwilling to give up on Duo, Heero was willing to search as
long and as thoroughly as needed until something definite turned
up, even if he had to dedicate the rest of his life to it. Between
missions, in any case.
A small screen popped up in the corner of his righthand
cockpit display, a familiar blonde face filling it, "Almost there,
Heero. I'm sure there'll be word of him."
"Aa."
Quatre smiled at him encouragingly, knowing it wouldn't help
and signed off as they approached the coast.
All four Gundam units were carefully hidden in various places
throughout the dense forest a short distance from the house, where
the pilots were to meet.
Heero sat himself in front of his laptop, joined by Quatre,
while Wufei and Trowa headed to the kitchen to prepare something
to eat.
And for the rest of the night, Heero worked his way through
John Doe reports at hospitals across the world.
It didn't occur to him to look under Duo's name.
==========
Relena sat beside the hospital bed, watching the pilot of
Deathscythe sleep restlessly. She'd never had the chance to study
him before and had to admit he was cute. He had such long lashes,
such soft hair and smooth skin. It was a lot like watching a baby
sleep, a grown up baby.
She giggled, knowing that that was exactly what Duo was.
He wasn't a bit like Heero, whose face was refined perfection,
regardless of the fact that his hair was always a mess, just begging
to be put straight.
It had been a week since she'd last seen Heero, though she'd
had Pargan regularly search for word of the Gundams and the Japanese
pilot. There had been a report of an attack on a base in Africa
two days ago, but until Relena could find where Heero was now she'd
have to keep visiting Duo herself.
The American pilot still hadn't regained consciousness,
though he'd been pulled out of intensive care and installed in a
private ward at Relena's insistence. She'd bought flowers to
brighten up the room, but didn't know Duo well enough to take
liberties with anything else.
Instead she visited everyday, sometimes talking to him,
other days sitting silently beside his bed, thinking and dreaming.
She hoped he would appreciate all this once he'd woken up.
And, with a sense of timing that went with his flair for
drama, Duo chose that moment to open his eyes.
Relena happened to be looking directly at his face,
contemplating his eyelashes, when they rose, revealing pain-filled
violet-blue eyes. He blinked as he focussed on the bare ceiling
and frowned before exploring the room around him.
His eyes came to rest on Relena and the frown deepened,
"R-Relena?"
"Hai," Relena smiled, pleased with her patient's progress.
"How are you feeling?"
"Feeling? Ah..." Duo winced, obviously feeling the pain
of his injuries. "Not so good."
Relena's brow furrowed then cleared, "I'll call the nurse,
she should be able to get you something. It's probably good if
they know you've woken up as well."
An 'Aa' of agreement followed her out the door as she headed
for the nurses station. Fiona, the nurse currently on duty,
agreed to bring something for Duo and Relena returned to the
pilot's room.
She found Duo looking around with interest, a small frown
still present on his face. He turned to the door when he heard
Relena walk in and once again the frown deepened.
"H-How long have I been asleep?"
Relena took the chair next to his bed once again, "About a
week, though you'll be staying here for quite awhile yet."
Shocked, Duo stared at her, "A w-week? How did you manage
to grow your hair that long in a week?"
"Eh? What do you mean? My hair's always been this length."
Duo shook his head weakly, "Last time I saw you it was up
to here," he lifted his hand and indicated the length by brushing
his fingertips along a path level with his jaw.
Relena blinked, now as confused as Duo had been.
"Um, Duo, it's always..."
Duo cut her off, "Duo?"
Relena blinked again, unsure if this was a practical joke or
something worse.
"Yes. Duo. It's your name. Duo Maxwell."
Duo shook his head emphatically, wincing and slowing down
when it had a negative effect on the level of pain he was currently
experiencing. "No. My name is Julian Peacecraft, not Duo Maxwell.
_You're_ Relena Maxwell."
"I-I'm what?"
"Relena Maxwell. Where's Heero? He should be here if you
are," a slight grimace crossed his face at that, "Or Milliard? Can
you call him and let him know I'm awake?"
Totally out of her depths, Relena gave a sigh of relief when
the nurse came in with a few pills and gave them to Duo, insisting
he take them.
Reluctantly, he did so and drifted back into sleep, while
Relena tried to figure out what was going on.
She finally stood some twenty minutes later and headed for
a com unit, hoping Pargan had found news of Heero's whereabouts.
Maybe he could tell her why Duo was acting this way.
==========
Heero bolted upright when the beep of a new call echoed
through his room. Within a split second he had taken the laptop off
stand-by mode and was bringing up the caller, hoping it was from
one of the hospitals he'd left messages at.
When the sender was revealed as Relena Peacecraft, he rubbed
his palm against his forehead and seriously considered shutting the
computer down again.
Then he remembered her help on the day after Duo disappeared
and decided he could at least talk to her for a few seconds and
acknowledged her greeting.
"Heero!" came through the speakers, said in the same tone of
voice it always was.
"Relena."
"I'm glad I finally found you. It's about Duo."
Having switched half of his brain off at the greeting, Heero
jumped back to full attention at this statement, "What about him?"
"I found him on the beach a week ago and took him to hospital.
He's doing okay and just woke up, but, Heero...? Do you know why
he'd be calling himself Julian Peacecraft and insisting my name was
Relena Maxwell?"
==Owari, Chapter Three==
And it's WEIRD writing 'Milliard' instead of 'Zechs', which sounds
so much cooler.
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