Gundam Wing is copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, etc, etc, I wish I owned these bishounen, but I don't, so don't sue me, okay?

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Shi-chan: Same excuses as last chapter.
Seki: And I quote: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY! No, I did *not* drop off the face of the earth!"
Shi-chan: No, I fell into the Digimon section and got stuck. My apologies. Don't worry, I will finish this, as well as my other GW fics. Reviews are good for helping me get the ball rolling. On with the fic!
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Switch
Part 9
~By Shimegami-chan
Warnings: Shounen-ai, sap, fluff, etc...

Music: "Starting Point," from Tamers







'Nice going, Maxwell,' was Duo's first thought, but it was too late to take back the words now. He powered down Deathscythe and vaulted out, running to Wing Zero and unlocking the pilot's hatch. Heero lay inside, unconscious, still restrained in his seat as the Gundam creaked around him with distant explosions.

Duo pried his lover's limp body out of the cockpit with his manicured hands, putting Heero over his shoulder in the only manner Relena's frame could support the pilot's weight. The blonde Shinigami climbed down to the burned grass and tried to rouse Heero. "Heero, man, wake up!"

Although the brown-haired pilot's pulse was steady, he didn't open his eyes. Quatre and Wufei were scrambling out of their Gundams while Heavyarms picked off the last of the Oz suits.

Duo started to panic. "Come on, Hee-chan, we're in a world of trouble here! Wufei's going to kill Relena--or me, if he gets to me first!"

Unfortunately, Heero's awakening was preceded by the arrival of one Chang Wufei--who was already fuming. "Peacecraft! Don't you know that removing that Gundam is considered theft? You have no honor, commiting such a deed--if Maxwell knew, he would tear you apart! The battlefield is no place for women. Especially weak, snivelling onna like yourself."

"Shut up, Chang!" Duo growled.

Quatre spoke just in time. "That was an excellent save you made, Relena-san. You may have saved Heero's life."

"I didn't know you were capable of operating a mobile suit," Trowa said mildly, appearing behind the others.

"Yes, well, I picked it up somewhere..." Duo giggled in what he hoped was a feminine way, and turned his attention back to Heero.

The Wing Zero pilot's eyes fluttered open. "Wha...?"

"Heero!" Duo hugged his lover tightly, despite the cuts and bruises all over his body. Heero wouldn't want to be coddled.

Heero smiled sadly, his fingers brushing our Duo's honey-colored braid. "What happened?"

"They ganged up on you, Heero. You must have hit your head on the console or something." Quatre offered.

"I'm getting weak," the brown-haired pilot said with a sigh, but only a touch of remorse. "At least we got them."

"You can thank Peacecraft for that," Wufei said bitterly. "She cut down half a dozen suits using Duo's Gundam."

"Relena did what?" Sally Po asked incredoulously. She, Hilde and the Maguanacs had approached and definitely walked in on the wrong end of the conversation. Duo stared at Hilde imploringly.

Hilde's mouth opened and closed, probably considering whether or not to bail out her ex-boyfriend. "Well, of course she did!"

Sally stared. "What do you mean, 'of course'?"

"I taught her myself." Hilde stared at Relena haughtily. "Can't you tell?"

"Obviously!" Quatre laughed, coming to Duo's rescue. "I mean, she fights just like you, Hilde!"

"Why, thank you!"

Duo breathed a sigh of relief, giving Heero a sweet kiss. The secret was safe...for now.

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That night, Duo apologized to Hilde for the incident that afternoon and thanked her profusely for helping him.

"It was okay." Hilde seemed much more forgiving, after Duo had promised to personally talk to Ojousan about setting the two girls up. "After I saw you in Deathscythe, I couldn't even doubt it anymore."

Duo smiled. "I'm sure we'll fix this soon--hopefully before Wu-man goes all 'justice' and 'honor' on me again. I can't sit through his 'onna-are-evil' speech again."

"He wouldn't try it in front of Sally," Hilde assured him. "Or me."

"Either way, I'm not interested in being in this body any more than I have to. I hope Ojousan comes back soon."

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In the wee hours of the night, the two lovers lay together in almost-silence.

"Duo..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think...you could be stuck like that, forever?"

The thought was almost more than the American could bear. "Hell no."

"But what happens if you are?"

Duo was silent for a long time. "That's not my decision to make, it's yours."

"I still love you," Heero said hoarsely. "I always will."

Despite the words, though, both knew that the relationship would be in danger if this kept up. Heero wasn't attracted to the opposite sex...at all. And although every couple claims that appearances don't matter, this was a major change for both of them to adapt to. Duo didn't feel comfortable even undressing hiself--the breasts, the hips, the...femininity--were not his, and never would be. Nor did he want them. And Heero didn't find Relena attractive in the least.

"Always."

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Relena Peacecraft was having a bad day.

She couldn't speak frankly to Dorothy with Zechs and Noin in the room, and didn't want them to find out about her little 'switch.' And she could only image the things that Duo might be doing! What if he dyed her hair, or tried to shave, or something? The thought made the princess shudder. There's got to be something I can do!

Noin was running scanners on the mysterious star while Zechs looked on. "It's...frozen. Completely."

"But stars are supposed to be hot, right?" Relena asked.

"Yes. This must be ancient...it's completely crystallized and frozen in the vacuum. The other star is the danger. If they collide, it'll create a black hole, certianly."

Relena gasped. "The star will be destroyed!" And I'll never get back to normal! Oh God, please, crystal star, I don't want to be Duo! He can have Heero for all I care!

Zechs moved to the pilot's controls. "Have you gotten all the data, Noin?"

"Yes, I have all I need."

"Great. Let's get out of here."

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Duo lay awake long into the night, staring at the ceiling. His bare skin was warmed by the heat of Heero's body, sleeping beside him.

The young pilot ran his hands over his smooth face, long neck, and curved chest. Could it be possible that he was stuck like this forever?

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"They're colliding," Dorothy said breathlessly, staring at the screen. "My God."

Zechs watched intently. "The video camera will be obliterated for certain...Noin, are you recording this?" The young woman nodded assent.

As the group watched, the friction between the two stars seemed to tear a hole in space itself, drawing crystal, heat, light and video camera into it. The video feed winked out.

"Gone." Noin said quietly.

"Maxwell?" Dorothy shook Relena's shoulder, who was staring blankly at the monitor. "Hey, are you all right?"

Please crystal star...

Relena blinked once, and then dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

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"Duo. Duo!"

Duo woke up with a groan. "N-Noin?"

"What happened?" the young officer looked concerned.

"How did I get here?" He was lying on a cold floor with blankets heaped on top of him. "What the hell...!?"

"You passed out," Zechs offered simply. "Right after the stars collided. I thought we were far enough away to not feel any of the radiation aftershock, but perhaps we weren't. Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah...I'm fine..." Duo felt his flightsuit beneath his fingers and sighed in releif. His chestnut braid lay across his flat chest, his pistol was snug against his hip. Had it all been a dream, induced by the star colliding? The whole body-snatching experience?

He touched the collar of his jumpsuit, but the silver cross wasn't around his neck.

Duo didn't care, so long as he was himself again. "I need to talk to Heero."

Noin nodded and stood up from the computer console. "Let the others know that the mission was a success, and that we're on our way back."

"Right." Duo struggled to his feet and leaned on the console before sitting down, still feeling weak. He typed out a quick message and hit 'send.'

Heero -- We've switched back! Everything is back to normal, and the mission was a success. I'll be home soon. Love you. --Duo

Duo smiled and ran a hand through his messy bangs, glad to have his body back. All's well that ends well, I guess. The computer beeped a moment later, and Duo realized that Heero's laptop had probably alerted him of the incoming message right away. He opened up the mailbox and clicked on the new icon.

Duo -- Glad to hear everything is okay. Hope to see you soon. Love you too. --Heero

The admission still thrilled Duo whenever he heard it. He loves me. We're gonna be okay.

His heart singing, Duo stared out the viewport into the blackness of space. "We're gonna be okay."

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Back at the mansion, Wufei awoke from some pleasant dreams about Sally to hear screams in the distance. He yanked open the window and stuck his head out.

"Shut up Maxwell, before I stuff that braid down your throat!"

The Chinese pilot slammed the window down and returned to bed before even wondering when Duo had returned from his mission--or why the American was swimming in the lake at that hour anyway.

"Stupid onna." With that, Wufei turned over and went back to sleep.

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Shi-chan: And that's that! I may do an epilogue if anybody wants one, since there are some loose ends left. Hope you all enjoyed!