Quatre stood in the hall of his house, Wufei standing close by. They were much different now, being ten years older. Wufei's hair had grown longer and thicker, and presently was not in a ponytail. Quatre had allowed his hair to grow longer as well, but only a little. His boyish features had melted away years ago, and now he was a very mature looking 27 year old. The house was cold and various items were tossed everywhere. It was nothing like the neat and tidy home that Quatre had bought so many years before. Quatre looked towards Wufei.
"It's hard to believe that Duo's gone," he said.
"Yeah," said Wufei. "I never thought that loud little idiot would die so young."
"Poor Hilde," continued Quatre, "she was Duo's best friend. I wonder how she's taking it."
"I think she'll be fine. She can handle herself pretty well, despite doing some things almost as stupid as Duo."
"You know, you're not very sentimental about this whole ordeal," commented Quatre.
"Sorry," replied Wufei. "I'm more worried about Heero."
"Why Heero?"
"He may not have openly admitted it," said Wufei, "but I know he was in love with Duo."
"Heero and Duo? I never would have guessed. Gee, this will be really hard on him when he finds out."
"Yeah, I'd hate to be there when he freaks out," said Wufei. "I hate to be rude, Quatre, but I have to catch the next flight out. I have a job to do."
"I understand, Wufei. Come visit some time. You're always welcome here, and at all my other homes."
"Thanks, Quatre," he said. "Goodbye."
Wufei left, and Quatre was left alone with his thoughts. Another former Gundam pilot was dead… or at least dead as far as the world was concerned. One of the remaining three was nowhere to be found, and the other two had lives to live. At least that's what should be happening. Quatre's life fell apart after Trowa died, leaving him alone and miserable in his little rich boy's world. Lucky for him, his sisters took pity on him and supported him as he threw his life away. It was now that he decided to put things back together.
"Duo…" he said quietly to himself, "rest in peace, old buddy."
He smiled at what he had said. It was just like something Duo would say. He missed Duo; he had missed him for a while. He was sorry that he hadn't gone to visit him as much as he could have. No sense in lingering on the subject, though. Quatre sat down. He took a look around him and became disgusted.
"Look at this place!" he exclaimed. "It's filthy! I need some servants in here right away!"
RING!
It was the phone. Quatre casually picked it up.
"Hello?" Quatre said in a cheeryvoice.
"Quatre! Great news!"
Quatre's mouth dropped open. It was the scientist again. Did he have news on Trowa?
"What? What news? Tell me!"
"Calm down, Quatre. Let me speak."
"Sorry," he replied.
"Anyway, we've found a suitable body for Trowa. We've already begun the process. We would've contacted you sooner, but we had to start right away in order to keep the body alive and working."
"You WHAT?" yelled Quatre into the phone. "He's going to live? My Trowa is going to live?"
"Yes, yes, Quatre. However, there's something about the body you should know."
"What, is it deformed or something?"
"No, but I have a feeling you'll need to adjust to it. You see, the body is that of Duo Maxwell."
"WHAT? OH MY GOD!" yelled Quatre. "You're not serious! It can't be!"
"I'm afraid I'm very serious. When Duo died, Hilde gave us a call, remembering that Duo said he wanted to see Trowa alive again someday. She explained that he died of brain damage, and that his body was unharmed. Oddly enough, Duo's body is a very close match to Trowa's. As we speak, the brain is being transplanted."
"So what you're telling me is that Trowa is going to come back as Duo?"
"No, he's just going to be in Duo's body. He'll still be the same Trowa you knew ten years ago, he'll just look different."
The news hit Quatre like a bag of bricks. Nothing could have prepared him for this. First, Trowa was taken away from him. Next, Duo died after an accident in a junkyard. Then they stick Trowa's brain into Duo's body. The world wasn't even ready for this.
"Ok," said Quatre, trying to calm down.
"Good, good. Come by in a week. Our new medical techniques will allow us to fully heal Trowa by then. Don't let it stress you out. I'm sure Trowa didn't want you to be upset about the whole incident."
"Alright," responded Quatre."Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
He hung up the phone. This news would drive him insane until he finally got to see Trowa again. He decided he needed to contact some people. Wufei would want to hear about this, and so would Heero. Catherine missed him terribly. They all needed to know. Thus, the longest wait in history began.
A week later…
Quatre walked into the old cryogenics building. He was upset that Wufei and Catherine couldn't get in until next week. He wanted them to be there, too. Heero was unreachable as usual. He wandered down the old hallway he hadn't seen in ten years. He didn't know what to expect out of this. Duo would be what he saw, but Trowa would be who this creature was. That's what Trowa was now, a creature. He wasn't Trowa and he wasn't Duo. He was something in between, something eerie and slightly disturbing. Still, Quatre wanted it more than anything. He wanted to feel Trowa's arms around him again, he wanted to feel those soft lips.
He entered the room where he was to meet Trowa again. As he entered, the doctors in the room greeted him.
"Hello, Mr. Winner, welcome back."
"Oh, Quatre, welcome! This is quite the exciting day!"
Quatre looked around at all the familiar faces. They were the people who brought Trowa back to him. He smiled.
"Hello, everyone."
The head scientist came out from another room. As soon as he spotted Quatre, he motioned for him to come closer.
"Come here, Quatre. You're about to meet the first person to survive cryostasis."
Quatre held his breath. The anxiety was building inside him. He wanted this so badly, but he was still so afraid. He walked forward, following the scientist into the next room. It was poorly lighted, but a figure could be seen on a bed. It was tall and thin, with a long braid hanging from its head. It seemed lost in thought, but its attention was soon won. It turned, revealing the face, the face of Duo Maxwell. Quatre's mind was trying to put everything together, but this was just too awesome for his mind to grasp.
"Quatre…" he said, shifting to the side.
"Trowa?" Quatre squeaked, a ray of his former self shining through.
"Oh, Quatre," said Trowa as he slipped off the bed, and then ran into Quatre's arms.
"Trowa! Trowa, oh God, how I've missed you!" said Quatre. "I missed you so much. I love you, Trowa, I love you. Know that I love you."
"Believe me, Quatre, I know. I've known since the day we met."
Quatre's eyes were squeezed shut. He wanted to feel Trowa close to him forever. It didn't feel any different, holding Duo's body. Trowa's spirit took over what was Duo, and it never forgot how to touch someone. He opened his eyes. With them open, it all seemed different. He felt uncomfortable touching Duo's body, even though he knew it was Trowa inside. Slowly, he released Trowa.
"Can he leave yet?" asked Quatre.
"No, not yet," replied the scientist. "We have to make a public statement first. Something like this could create mass hysteria."
"But… but I… I…"
"If you'd like," the scientist continued, "you may stay in Trowa's quarters. There are two beds in there, and it is quite a lovely setting, really. Just like a bedroom."
Quatre smiled.
"That would be perfect."
Trowa led Quatre to his room. It was a comfortable room, with two simple beds, a TV, and a bathroom. Trowa sat down on his bed, staring at Quatre. He smiled softly, and slightly seductively.
"You know, Quatre," he said, "I'm not sure I can live like this."
"Of course you can!" Quatre said, alarmed, but then realized Trowa's intentions.
With a grin, Quatre kneeled in Trowa's lap. Gently, he pushed him down onto the bed. Trowa gladly obeyed.
"Trowa," Quatre whispered, running his hands under Trowa's shirt, "I want this to be a night neither of us will forget."
"Oh, don't worry," he responded.