Disclaimer: Yes, there is one.
Author's Notes: Yes, there are some. Thanks for the very nice feedback;) I hope you keep reading and enjoying. As far as reviews though, I am so flattered that people care about the status of my other stories. But I have AIM, I have an email address...those would be the places to inquire after any other stories. I guess I was hoping that reviews could be any comments or criticisms about this story in particular. Again, thank you;)
****
Any Lucky Penny
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
The coffee was instant, grainy and watery, but it was caffeine and Duo sucked it down like mother's milk as Heero recounted everything that had happened to him since his death. With each sip, Duo half-expected the ghost...apparation...whatever Heero was now, to begin fading. But when he had downed two mugs of the strong sludge and Heero was still standing in his tiny kitchen, talking to him about the Midway and needing a host, Duo came to a sudden revelation.
"Dude...you're dead!"
Heero blinked, then scowled. "How did you ever even learn to pilot a Gundam?"
"I watched you get buried yesterday." He abandoned his mug in the sink that already overflowed with dirty dishes. "You can't be here, talking like nothing happened."
"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?" Heero's voice rose. "I *am* dead. It's not exactly news to me. I've only been allowed to come back like this because I..." He ground the words out as if they were painful. "...because I need...your help."
Duo shook his head. "I don't believe you. You didn't need my help when you were alive. Why do you need it now that you're dead?"
A few minutes passed before Heero spoke again. "I have to talk to Relena."
"So, talk to her." He lifted his shoulders. "Just don't appear in her room without warning though. I mean...she's kind of...fragile right now. Seeing you like this...it might be too much for her."
"It doesn't work that way," Heero replied. "I can't say that I really know why, just that this is my challenge. I have things to resolve, but I can only do it in a living person's body."
Duo coughed suddenly. "Wait! So when you said you wanted to borrow my body for two days....you were really serious and not just trying to spice up the after-life with a little bit of bad humor?"
"Trust me, were there any other way..." He didn't need to finish the thought. "What do you say?"
"What do I say?? Heero...man, this isn't like you're asking to borrow my belt. Or even my car. You want to borrow my body. For two days!!"
Heero sighed. "I realize that it's a lot to ask. But I don't have a lot of time here..." He gestured to this body. "In this form. If you could speed up your decision process..."
"You know, I'm taking a lot on faith here." Duo reached into a cabinet and pulled out a box of cereal which he dug into with one hand. "Say that I believe you, number one. Then I agree to let you do this." His next words were spoken around a mouthful of Captain Crunch. "What happens to me for two days? Do I get to live it up in Heaven in your body?"
"She explained it to me...after I chose you," Heero said, hesitant. "You wouldn't be going anywhere, exactly."
Duo swallowed. "Who's 'she'? And what do you mean by that?"
"While I'm in your body...you're there, too. You'd be conscious of everything. You just won't be in control anymore."
"Oh! But you will?" He pulled out another fistful of cereal, unable to hide his sarcasm. "You...in charge of my body, while I'm just riding in the backseat, looking on? Damn..." Duo popped a few pieces into his mouth. "This is just about the craziest shit I've ever heard."
Heero scratched his forehead with as much patience as he could muster. "It's not going to be easy or in anyway fun for either of us. I mean, do you really think I ever thought I'd be spending my afterlife like this? In..." He gestured to Duo's bare chest, tangled hair and big feet. "...that?"
"Hey!" Duo crunched down on his breakfast, indignantly. "There's nothin' wrong with my body! Chicks love me!! Hilde..." He stopped. "Well, okay, bad example. But that had nothing to do with my body, man."
"Look." Heero reached out to knock the box from his grip. But as though he weren't there at all, his hand slid through the cardboard, making no impact on it whatsoever. A long moment passed as Heero stared at his fingers. Duo even stopped chewing. Finally, Heero spoke. "I need your help."
The other man drew in a long breath. "Just what business could you have left undone?"
****
Relena stared out the window of her spacious office. Just beyond the bulletproof glass, a light rain drenched the countryside. Like the heavens were weeping along with her.
She reached up one hand to brush away an impending tear. "Heero," she found herself whispering. "You weren't supposed to leave me. You were supposed to..." Relena closed her eyes, but it was too late. A flood of tears followed, hot and stinging.
Bent over in her plush leather chair, she let them flow without interruption. It was silly, part of her scolded herself. Heero himself had told her not to rely on him. It was the last thing he had said to her, in fact. It wasn't as though he had promised her a future of roses and domesticity and would now not be able to deliver it.
He had never promised anything, except his loyalty as her bodyguard. There had been no assurances of good things to come, only years of formality and withdrawal. Still, that hadn't stopped Relena from dreaming. They'd had everything in those dreams, not the least of which were long, passionate nights together.
Never being able to see him again, even if only in passing in the halls was pain like she had never experienced. But knowing that someone else would wind up being her first lover, a honor she had wanted to bestow on him and him alone, was a different sort of pain. And one that might never fade.
Relena lifted her head, her cheeks streaked and wet with her misery. "Wherever you are, Heero, if you can hear me...I hope you're...happy." She turned her gaze up towards the ceiling and the heavens beyond. "I miss you so much." Her voice resolute, she continued. "I always, always will. No one can ever replace you in my heart. I swear."
****
"I'm sorry, man. I can't do it."
Heero blinked once and then twice. "What?"
"Look, it's not that I don't wanna help you. I mean, you've done so much for me. You've stolen parts from my Deathscythe, forced me out the window of a forty-story building, punched me when you..."
"Make your point, Maxwell."
Duo ran a hand through his bangs. "I can't do it...'cause of Relena."
"What does that mean?" Heero asked, confused.
"You really are the blindest fuckhead I've ever known." Shaking his head, Duo walked out into the living room of his tiny apartment and plopped into a chair that had seen better days before the war. "You know...while you were coolin' your heels, bidin' your time, whatever...some of us would have given body parts to be with the Princess."
Heero stopped short in the kitchen doorframe. "You..."
"She only had eyes for you, man. Still does. Probably always will." He rubbed at an aching muscle in his arm; it could only be from Trowa and Wufei dragging him home the night before.
"You...love Relena."
Duo rotated his bare arm. "Love is a pretty strong word. I'm just saying...the chance to see where something could've gone would've been nice. But pretty much just by you bein' there, it was never gonna happen. Thanks a lot for that, man."
"You..." Heero's fists clenched as he borrowed a word from Duo's colorful vocabulary. "...fuckhead."
"What are you bitching about?" Duo stood up again, ignoring the continuing ache. "The fact that I don't really feel like lending you my body so you can somehow make it clear to Relena that you loved her, always loved her and always will? And the whole time, I'd get to watch! Double fun for Duo!!" Sarcasm oozed from his very pores. "Count me out, Yuy. Find someone else to let you live out your penitance."
Heero spoke between his teeth. "Do you really think I didn't run through every other possibility before I decided to ask you?"
"Why was I the lucky one? Were you looking to get in one last little jab at me?"
"You're the only person I tru...." He took a breath although he needed no oxygen. "You're one of only a few people who can get Relena to open up. I need that right away, or else I'll never get to tell her...everything. And then I'll be stuck in this fucking purgatory that I never even believed in for the rest of eternity!! All right?"
Duo shook his head slowly. "Death kinda changes people, doesn't it? I can't ever remember you saying this much at one time."
"Two days, Duo. Starting tomorrow morning. Will you do this for me?"
He turned his head away for a moment as he thought. The mention of purgatory had gotten to him; too many childhood years in the care of the Catholic Church had instilled a healthy fear of the transient afterlife in which Heero seemed caught. Despite having not stepped foot in a sanctuary in over ten years, Duo couldn't shake the instinct to help his friend out of limbo.
Even if it meant doing this...sharing his body for two days, watching Heero woo Relena with his own voice, and being unable to do anything about whatever might happen from there.
With a sigh, he looked back at the apparition. "Fine. But there's one condition." Heero tried to hide his smile with a nod, indicating for him to go ahead. "You do anything to my hair in the next two days and I will..." He looked around, wildly thinking. "I'll...I'll do...something to you. I swear to God! And it'll be bad!!"
"As much fun as it would be for me to shave you bald, your hair is going to be the least of my concerns, Maxwell."
During Duo's rant about gratitude that followed, Heero closed his eyes. *I have two days to make up six years,* he said to himself. *I can't decide if this is a punishment, an opportunity...* He looked at Duo. *Or just plain hell.*
****
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Yes, there are some. Thanks for the very nice feedback;) I hope you keep reading and enjoying. As far as reviews though, I am so flattered that people care about the status of my other stories. But I have AIM, I have an email address...those would be the places to inquire after any other stories. I guess I was hoping that reviews could be any comments or criticisms about this story in particular. Again, thank you;)
****
Any Lucky Penny
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
The coffee was instant, grainy and watery, but it was caffeine and Duo sucked it down like mother's milk as Heero recounted everything that had happened to him since his death. With each sip, Duo half-expected the ghost...apparation...whatever Heero was now, to begin fading. But when he had downed two mugs of the strong sludge and Heero was still standing in his tiny kitchen, talking to him about the Midway and needing a host, Duo came to a sudden revelation.
"Dude...you're dead!"
Heero blinked, then scowled. "How did you ever even learn to pilot a Gundam?"
"I watched you get buried yesterday." He abandoned his mug in the sink that already overflowed with dirty dishes. "You can't be here, talking like nothing happened."
"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?" Heero's voice rose. "I *am* dead. It's not exactly news to me. I've only been allowed to come back like this because I..." He ground the words out as if they were painful. "...because I need...your help."
Duo shook his head. "I don't believe you. You didn't need my help when you were alive. Why do you need it now that you're dead?"
A few minutes passed before Heero spoke again. "I have to talk to Relena."
"So, talk to her." He lifted his shoulders. "Just don't appear in her room without warning though. I mean...she's kind of...fragile right now. Seeing you like this...it might be too much for her."
"It doesn't work that way," Heero replied. "I can't say that I really know why, just that this is my challenge. I have things to resolve, but I can only do it in a living person's body."
Duo coughed suddenly. "Wait! So when you said you wanted to borrow my body for two days....you were really serious and not just trying to spice up the after-life with a little bit of bad humor?"
"Trust me, were there any other way..." He didn't need to finish the thought. "What do you say?"
"What do I say?? Heero...man, this isn't like you're asking to borrow my belt. Or even my car. You want to borrow my body. For two days!!"
Heero sighed. "I realize that it's a lot to ask. But I don't have a lot of time here..." He gestured to this body. "In this form. If you could speed up your decision process..."
"You know, I'm taking a lot on faith here." Duo reached into a cabinet and pulled out a box of cereal which he dug into with one hand. "Say that I believe you, number one. Then I agree to let you do this." His next words were spoken around a mouthful of Captain Crunch. "What happens to me for two days? Do I get to live it up in Heaven in your body?"
"She explained it to me...after I chose you," Heero said, hesitant. "You wouldn't be going anywhere, exactly."
Duo swallowed. "Who's 'she'? And what do you mean by that?"
"While I'm in your body...you're there, too. You'd be conscious of everything. You just won't be in control anymore."
"Oh! But you will?" He pulled out another fistful of cereal, unable to hide his sarcasm. "You...in charge of my body, while I'm just riding in the backseat, looking on? Damn..." Duo popped a few pieces into his mouth. "This is just about the craziest shit I've ever heard."
Heero scratched his forehead with as much patience as he could muster. "It's not going to be easy or in anyway fun for either of us. I mean, do you really think I ever thought I'd be spending my afterlife like this? In..." He gestured to Duo's bare chest, tangled hair and big feet. "...that?"
"Hey!" Duo crunched down on his breakfast, indignantly. "There's nothin' wrong with my body! Chicks love me!! Hilde..." He stopped. "Well, okay, bad example. But that had nothing to do with my body, man."
"Look." Heero reached out to knock the box from his grip. But as though he weren't there at all, his hand slid through the cardboard, making no impact on it whatsoever. A long moment passed as Heero stared at his fingers. Duo even stopped chewing. Finally, Heero spoke. "I need your help."
The other man drew in a long breath. "Just what business could you have left undone?"
****
Relena stared out the window of her spacious office. Just beyond the bulletproof glass, a light rain drenched the countryside. Like the heavens were weeping along with her.
She reached up one hand to brush away an impending tear. "Heero," she found herself whispering. "You weren't supposed to leave me. You were supposed to..." Relena closed her eyes, but it was too late. A flood of tears followed, hot and stinging.
Bent over in her plush leather chair, she let them flow without interruption. It was silly, part of her scolded herself. Heero himself had told her not to rely on him. It was the last thing he had said to her, in fact. It wasn't as though he had promised her a future of roses and domesticity and would now not be able to deliver it.
He had never promised anything, except his loyalty as her bodyguard. There had been no assurances of good things to come, only years of formality and withdrawal. Still, that hadn't stopped Relena from dreaming. They'd had everything in those dreams, not the least of which were long, passionate nights together.
Never being able to see him again, even if only in passing in the halls was pain like she had never experienced. But knowing that someone else would wind up being her first lover, a honor she had wanted to bestow on him and him alone, was a different sort of pain. And one that might never fade.
Relena lifted her head, her cheeks streaked and wet with her misery. "Wherever you are, Heero, if you can hear me...I hope you're...happy." She turned her gaze up towards the ceiling and the heavens beyond. "I miss you so much." Her voice resolute, she continued. "I always, always will. No one can ever replace you in my heart. I swear."
****
"I'm sorry, man. I can't do it."
Heero blinked once and then twice. "What?"
"Look, it's not that I don't wanna help you. I mean, you've done so much for me. You've stolen parts from my Deathscythe, forced me out the window of a forty-story building, punched me when you..."
"Make your point, Maxwell."
Duo ran a hand through his bangs. "I can't do it...'cause of Relena."
"What does that mean?" Heero asked, confused.
"You really are the blindest fuckhead I've ever known." Shaking his head, Duo walked out into the living room of his tiny apartment and plopped into a chair that had seen better days before the war. "You know...while you were coolin' your heels, bidin' your time, whatever...some of us would have given body parts to be with the Princess."
Heero stopped short in the kitchen doorframe. "You..."
"She only had eyes for you, man. Still does. Probably always will." He rubbed at an aching muscle in his arm; it could only be from Trowa and Wufei dragging him home the night before.
"You...love Relena."
Duo rotated his bare arm. "Love is a pretty strong word. I'm just saying...the chance to see where something could've gone would've been nice. But pretty much just by you bein' there, it was never gonna happen. Thanks a lot for that, man."
"You..." Heero's fists clenched as he borrowed a word from Duo's colorful vocabulary. "...fuckhead."
"What are you bitching about?" Duo stood up again, ignoring the continuing ache. "The fact that I don't really feel like lending you my body so you can somehow make it clear to Relena that you loved her, always loved her and always will? And the whole time, I'd get to watch! Double fun for Duo!!" Sarcasm oozed from his very pores. "Count me out, Yuy. Find someone else to let you live out your penitance."
Heero spoke between his teeth. "Do you really think I didn't run through every other possibility before I decided to ask you?"
"Why was I the lucky one? Were you looking to get in one last little jab at me?"
"You're the only person I tru...." He took a breath although he needed no oxygen. "You're one of only a few people who can get Relena to open up. I need that right away, or else I'll never get to tell her...everything. And then I'll be stuck in this fucking purgatory that I never even believed in for the rest of eternity!! All right?"
Duo shook his head slowly. "Death kinda changes people, doesn't it? I can't ever remember you saying this much at one time."
"Two days, Duo. Starting tomorrow morning. Will you do this for me?"
He turned his head away for a moment as he thought. The mention of purgatory had gotten to him; too many childhood years in the care of the Catholic Church had instilled a healthy fear of the transient afterlife in which Heero seemed caught. Despite having not stepped foot in a sanctuary in over ten years, Duo couldn't shake the instinct to help his friend out of limbo.
Even if it meant doing this...sharing his body for two days, watching Heero woo Relena with his own voice, and being unable to do anything about whatever might happen from there.
With a sigh, he looked back at the apparition. "Fine. But there's one condition." Heero tried to hide his smile with a nod, indicating for him to go ahead. "You do anything to my hair in the next two days and I will..." He looked around, wildly thinking. "I'll...I'll do...something to you. I swear to God! And it'll be bad!!"
"As much fun as it would be for me to shave you bald, your hair is going to be the least of my concerns, Maxwell."
During Duo's rant about gratitude that followed, Heero closed his eyes. *I have two days to make up six years,* he said to himself. *I can't decide if this is a punishment, an opportunity...* He looked at Duo. *Or just plain hell.*
****
To Be Continued