=@_@= Duo's going to be in SERIOUS trouble soon...
Disclaimer #1: I don't own GW...*cries*...but if I DID own it, things would be SO different, but then again if "ifs and buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all weigh 300 pounds, so there. =P
Disclaimer #2: I was an English major, so when I write, I write wordy. You have been warned. =P
Disclaimer #3 (last one, I promise): This is a very confusing story. Gomen nasai. Don't get lost. =^_~=
~~~~~~~~~~Hazy sunlight broke through scattered clouds to rest upon the sleeping couple. Duo woke without an alarm clock, and laid still for nearly an hour, cradling Heero's head against his shoulder and stroking his hair. His lover's arms were firmly wrapped around his slender waist; every now and then, a tiny moan of contentment escaped Heero's lips as he slept, making his partner smile up at the sun and marvel at how lucky he was. This was heaven to him.
Faintly, they heard someone trying the doorknob on the door to the tiny apartment, only to find it locked. Rousing slowly from their slumber, they both wondered if they had dreamed the noise, then forgot it immediately as their eyes met and they found each other's arms once again. Duo exhaled deeply as another flood of kisses and caresses came his way. He had been barraged with so much caged passion in the last nine hours, he truly wondered if there was room left in his soul to hold more.
Outside the lovers' embrace, outside the door, a pair of lonely eyes stared at a doorknob that wouldn't turn.
**********Relena backed up until she was leaning against the wall opposite her dorm room. That baka still had her purse, and her keys. He never came by in the morning like he promised. And he didn't send Heero home for sleep either. He lied to her, dammit!
Letting her head fall back against the wall, she gave into the dizziness that was following her around like a swarm of mosquitos. She still wasn't eating. The whole ordeal was unsettling her so badly that sleep was also becoming a problem. All through the previous night, she had woken up repeatedly, feeling as if she had been shaken by a stray phantom. Cold breath was felt against her ear each time, whispering...or taunting? It knew something she didn't, and it delighted in torturing her with it over and over until she gave up on sleep and watched the sun rise with bloodshot eyes. Not once could she clearly hear the secret.
And to top it all off, she'd waited in that room all night for Heero, and he never came. She couldn't even go back to her own bed and take a late-morning nap because that idiot Duo had her keys!
She balled her fists unconsciously, and was about to slam them against the wall in frustration, when a muffled sound emerged from her room. A clunk, like a small but heavy object hitting the carpeted floor. She quickly pressed an ear to the door; something else hit the floor, lighter this time. There was someone in her room! She had to get in there...
"Hey, you! You're not supposed to be in here at this hour! Get back to your dorm!" a middle-aged woman shouted from the end of the hall. Of course; she was a boy in the girl's dorm at half-past seven in the morning. Relena panicked and ran away, getting as far as a picnic table between the two dorms before collapsing on it from hunger and fatigue.
She knew this place. This was the spot where she had told Duo how worried she was about her relationship with Heero, or lack thereof. This was where she nearly wept for their future...where she said she would sell her very soul...
Turning her face away from the early-morning joggers, she laid her head down on her folded arms and cried.
**********Duo poked his head out into the hall first, looking around. "Coast is clear," he whispered. Heero emerged quite calmly, not the slightest bit concerned with getting caught leaving Relena's room. Duo locked the door behind them and grabbed Heero's arm. "Come on, before someone spots us." He dragged him down the hall towards the cafeteria. Duo wasn't particularly concerned with being caught by a random professor, or janitor, or even other students. If anyone gave them hell for this, he'd smile at them sweetly, then tell them to make like a duck and flock off.
With one possible exception; if he saw himself, the plan was to turn and run like the wind.
It was mid-morning, pretty much too late for breakfast, but that meant they had the bulk of the cafeteria to themselves. Talking casually over brunch, Duo removed his left shoe and massaged the aching sole of his foot, from when he had stepped on a jar of cold cream getting out of bed. Of all the stupid things. It must have been on the bedside table earlier; a smile crept to his lips at the many thoughts of how it could have been dislodged from it's resting place. A wider grin appeared when he replayed Heero stepping out of bed onto a hairbrush and yelping loudly. Too cute.
He resumed inhaling his late breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast with jam, sausages, mini pancakes, coffee, juice and a blueberry muffin were disappearing rather quickly from Duo's tray. He paused with his mouth full when he realized his companion was sitting motionless, not eating. He looked up with Relena's innocent eyes and was greeted by a marvellous sight. Heero was grinning at him.
Duo's eyes widened, mouth packed with pancakes and fork hanging in mid-air, waiting for clearance to land. "Whud?" It was so comical seeing Relena stuff her face and then talk with her mouth full that Heero couldn't contain himself. He sputtered and struggled not to smile, using every last drop of his soldier's training to keep from laughing out loud. Duo scrunched up his face at the boy.
"Mrrf." He tried to swallow and found he'd taken one bite too many.
Another seizure gripped Heero, and he continued to smirk faintly and choke out odd noises before forcing coffee down his throat to settle himself down.
Putting the fork down and grabbing at his throat, Duo squeezed down the rest of the mouthful, washed it down with a gulp of orange juice, and spread his hands out in front of him. "What!?" he squeaked in a high-pitched whisper.
Heero picked up his own fork and attacked his meal, trying hard not to stare anymore. "...nothing..." The grin had faded, but wasn't completely gone.
Weirdo, Duo thought, as he picked up his tray and went back for seconds.
Saturday stretched out before them, no classes, no obligations, perhaps no missions, but strangely, Heero hadn't gone back to his room to check. Could he justify such slackness and levity? Yes, he thought to himself, he was already on a mission of enormous importance...to him at least. Setting himself back at his breakfast, he let his mind wander over what had been a very odd week.
"Oi, Hee-chan!" A hand slapped him roughly on the back, and not a second later, a bouncing, braided Duo Maxwell slid into the chair opposite him. "Been lookin' all over for ya!" The boy sported exactly the right amount of grin, but something felt wrong about him.
Heero glanced toward the kitchens; his lover had not yet returned. The logic circuits in his brain were fried instantly. "You've found me." he said simply, with a tiny shrug.
Duo rounded the corner with a new tray-load of food and froze at the sight. His old body was sitting across from Heero, laughing and chatting up a storm. He strode towards the table quickly and stood directly to Relena's left hand side, hanging on to what was left of his temper. "Duo, I believe you're in my seat." he growled.
Relena looked up and narrowed her eyes at Duo, but the smile was still there. "Pull up a chair, why don't ya? I'm comfy here!" She patted the side of the table between herself and Heero. "Room enough for three..."
He saw what she was doing; a bad impersonation of himself, that's what she was doing. Scowling, Duo put the tray down at the appointed spot and turned around to scoff a third chair from another table. While his back was turned, Relena grabbed the tray and drooled over it with gusto. "Hey, my fave! Thanks, 'Lena!" Before Duo could protest, she picked up a fork and began eating, not as voraciously as Duo had, but she was still fairly weak from hunger.
Duo sat down with dignity and took the plate of toast off the tray. Anyone passing by at that moment would surely have thought they were twin siblings. Each had a long braid that was an almost identical shade of brown, each had eyes a peculiar shade of violet, though one set was a bit lighter in colour. Both were looking at each other as they ate like there was something sordid going on between them.
Smiling innocently, Duo grasped his paramour's hand. "I think I'd like butter on my toast this time. Heero, would you run and get me some?"
Heero looked back and forth between them, then complied. "Hn..."
As soon as he was out of earshot, Duo laid into Relena hard. "What are you doing!?" he hissed.
"I'm eating, finally," she replied. "I had to or I was going to pass out."
"You know what I mean, what are you doing here?"
Relena put down her fork very calmly, and unleashed a fierce Deathglare on Duo. He gave a tiny start at how menacing that looked; he felt an instant sympathy with every soldier who had seen that look before joining the dearly departed. "Where were you last night? BOTH of you?"
Duo shrugged. "Nowhere special, just....out. Fixing Wing. Why? Where do you think we were?"he asked, innocently.
She shook an angry finger at him. "Your little science experiment is over! I want my body back, and I don't care if you're finished with it or not. You're a rotten little thief, Maxwell, and if you don't put me back where I'm supposed to be, I'm going straight to Wufei with the whole story."
That made him stop breathing. Wufei could be a problem, especially after the sideshow he witnessed the other day. "Even IF he believes you, and I'm not saying I'll go along with anything you tell him, what's he gonna do about it, huh?" He really didn't want to know the answer to that, but he gambled that at the very least, Wufei had a natural abhorrence of violence towards females.
"I'll tell you what he'll do, he'll force you to put yourself back in your own body and then tear you to pieces!" Relena heard her voice crack with despair. In her heart of hearts she knew there was probably very little Wufei could do, really, but she was so anxious for someone to understand her sorrow...
Mercifully, Heero returned with the butter at that moment. "Thank you, Heero," Duo purred. Relena's glare worsened. After studying the toast for a few seconds, and noticing that Heero was pretty much done eating, he stood up, grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him out of his chair. "Actually, I don't think I need that right now." He patted his trim tummy. "Gotta watch my girlish figure. He grinned and winked at Relena, pushing the toast towards her. "Enjoy."
With that, he whisked Heero away, out of the cafeteria and down the hall before Relena could make a sound. She sat there at an empty table, surrounded by food she could no longer stomach looking at, staring after the traitors. This was war.
**********The massive brunch gave Duo a surplus of energy he didn't know what to do with. He bounced down the halls chattering and smiling, and totally forgetting to act like Relena. They wiled away their Saturday afternoon in town, meandering around the shops and stopping to chat with fellow students. If any of them suspected he wasn't who he appeared to be, they didn't let on.
The biggest thrill was seeing Trowa and Quatre, on their way to a matinée (and probably the back row, Duo thought), and after a short gab about where everyone was going that day, they continued on as if nothing was wrong. He felt slightly bad about deceiving his friends, but made up for it with inner laughter over how well the disguise worked.
Eventually, they made a complete circle back to the campus, stopping in front of the gyms. He punched Heero playfully in the arm. "How 'bout a little one-on-one?" he asked, nodding toward the basketball court.
The glorious grin returned to Heero's face. "You're on."
Emerging from separate changing rooms in their gym clothes, they began the match instantly. Heero had the ball first. They stood opposite each other in battle poses, until Heero made a swift breakaway, spun Duo around and scored the first point with an easy lay-up. Duo put his hands on his hips. So that's the way it's gonna be, is it? He smirked and circled his opponent. Another volley of fasts breaks and fancy footwork, and Duo had the ball; he tore past Heero and jumped for the slam-dunk. He crossed his arms in a very ladylike manner and fluttered his eyelashes. Now it was Heero's turn to stop and stare; he didn't look the least bit displeased. Back and forth they attacked each other's defences, and after twenty minutes of exertion, the score was tied at 20.
Crunch time, Duo thought. He was impressed with Relena's body for performing so well after so little exercise. He was amazed at the fact that her breasts didn't get in the way like he imagined they would. Last point of the match, and Heero had the ball again. Knowing that every move he'd made that game had been catalogued and probably had a defence by now, he had to come up with something new if he was going to win. He mentally plotted an intricate series of close-range steps that he was certain would confuse his opponent long enough to try for the long overhand shot. Dashing forward, his every manoeuvre was met by a counter-move. Duo was too quick for him! A quick swipe of Duo's left foot and Heero's legs fell out from under him, sending him crashing to the gym floor. The ball skittered away, out of reach.
Heero cursed inwardly, knowing that would end the match, but instead of hearing sneakers squeaking at breakneck speed towards the escaped ball, he felt a sudden pressure on his lower back, and then his right arm being pulled behind him and pinned in place. Duo smiled down triumphantly at his captive, keeping a gentle but firm grip on the boy's arm. Heero struggled half-heartedly, not really wanting to escape his lover's clutches.
Duo leaned forward and nuzzled the back of Heero's neck. "Tell me the truth," he cooed, "who do you love more, your laptop, or me?" He grinned wickedly as he tightened his grip.
A similar smile crept across Heero's face. "...can I think about it for awhile?" Duo twisted his arm. "Ow! OW!! Baka!" He was laughing. Actually laughing. Duo kissed his prisoner's cheek, relishing the beautiful sound.
**********Laughing. Two hands gripped the railing of the mezzanine above the gym until the knuckles turned white. Laughing! There would be no reprieve now, no forgiveness, no mercy. Relena saw for the first time what Duo had been concerned with all along. He didn't give a damn about her feelings; worse than that, he was in love with her man! Her stomach lurched at the thought, not only of Duo pawing him and drooling in his ear using his own body, but the thought of him actually using hers in such a despicable manner. Last night, they must have been...no, no, she couldn't even think it!
Tears blurred her vision until she could no longer see the pair, cuddling and playing on the gym floor far below. For an instant she considered throwing herself over the railing and ending her life right in front of them; but no, perhaps this was still salvageable. No matter how much she hated Duo right now, one of his promises had been fulfilled. Heero would forever look at her in a new light.
What a pity his new toy boy wouldn't be around to see it. She turned on her heel and went looking for Wufei.
"You're dead, Maxwell."
~~~~~~~~~~
=X_x= ...dead...that's so...final-sounding...