Title: Trading Faces
Rating: PG-13, just because I feel like it.
Warnings: Profanity, violence, eventual 1x2 pairing, etc.
Disclaimer: Nope, they aren't mine. But I like to pretend that they are. Guess I'll have to settle for owning this story (not a fair consolation if you ask me…)
A/N: Wow, it just keeps going, doesn't it? Let me know if you like, or if you don't. Thanks to Elle-FaTe2x1, bunetwo, Clairol, Kaya, and Natasha for their reviews so far! It just makes my day, thanks guys! Extra special thanks to Natasha for putting up with my crazy questions – it helps, honest! *grin* That said, here we go with Chapter 4.
- - -
It was the middle of the night; the house was still and the room was dark save for the soft moonlight that filtered through the gap in the curtains. Duo tossed back and forth irritably, trying in vain to get a comfortable position on the floor of his bedroom. Heero had surrendered one pillow and the top quilt from the bed to him, and had threatened him to stay quiet before crawling into bed and promptly falling asleep. Duo glared up at the mattress, knowing that Heero was up there somewhere. Heero was being cruel.
"This sucks," he mumbled to himself, turning onto his stomach and slamming his face into his pillow repeatedly. "This is my room, after all. Why do I gotta sleep on the floor?" The only answer was Heero's slow, even breathing, and Duo collapsed into his pillow with a whimper of frustration.
There was no way he was getting any sleep on the floor. Making a quick decision, he stood with his blanket and pillow in tow. Stepping toward the bed and towering over the mattress, Duo dropped his bedding on the edge and reached out to push Heero.
"C'mon, shove over, Heero," he said softly. Heero made a sort of growling noise, but he rolled away from Duo's hands nonetheless. Duo quickly took the vacated place before Heero could reclaim it, pulling his pillow up to rest under his head and dragging the quilt up to his chin.
"See. It's not so bad," he murmured, feeling almost instantly better as he nestled into the soft bed. "Night, Heero." Heero didn't hear him, being deep in slumber, and it wasn't long before Duo was fast asleep as well.
* * *
"Heero?" Quatre called, tapping gently on the closed door of Japanese boy's room. There was still no answer, so Quatre cautiously reached down and turned the knob.
"Heero?" he asked again, poking his head into the room. The bed was neatly made, not slept in, and Quatre frowned in confused worry as he pulled out of the room and softly shut the door again. More than likely Heero had fallen asleep in his gundam, or slumped over his laptop somewhere … Quatre just hoped that the stoic young man had slept at all. Sometimes Heero pushed himself too hard.
Although it was still early, Quatre paused at Duo's doorway on his way back to the stairwell. Maybe the braided pilot would have an idea where Quatre could find Heero. Knowing it was useless to knock, as nothing seemed to faze a sleeping Duo, Quatre simply opened the door and walked in.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came as his brain registered the sight before him. There were two people in Duo's bed. Not just any two people … Heero. Heero's arm was slung lightly over Duo, who lay facing away from the Japanese pilot. Quatre stood rooted for a moment, too shocked to act, and finally backed quietly out of the room. He shut the door without a click, and turned to bound down the stairs in his haste to distance himself from what he had witnessed.
His cheeks were burning by the time he got back downstairs, and he could hardly meet Trowa's eyes as the tall young man came out of their bedroom. Trowa noticed his odd behavior immediately.
"Quatre? Something wrong?"
"Hmm? Oh, no Trowa."
"Did you find Heero?" Trowa asked, and frowned when Quatre didn't answer. "Quatre? Did you?"
"He's still asleep," Quatre said simply, turning and hurrying to the kitchen before Trowa had time to pry. He knew something had been going on between Heero and Duo, but he had never suspected that. He couldn't tell Trowa because it was obvious that they didn't want the others to know, but Quatre couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It's not as though he, or any of them, would have minded. He just wanted everyone to have a chance at happiness however they could.
In the fuzziness of his sleep-induced haze, Heero burrowed more deeply into the warmth around him. There was something warm in the bed with him; it was comfortable. He reached out to clutch it closer to himself, and a vague mumble jarred him to further alertness. He blinked the morning sun out of his eyes before looking ahead of him, and gave a strangled cry of surprise as he suddenly recoiled.
Duo was in the bed with him. It was even worse, considering Duo looked like him; it was not something Heero had been expecting to see. With a snarl he reached out and pushed Duo roughly off the edge of the mattress.
Duo awoke with a yelp of panic, tumbling to the floor with a quilt tangled around his body. Cursing, he looked up to find Heero glaring down at him from over the side of the bed.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded. Duo struggled to sit, rubbing the back of his head.
"I couldn't fall asleep on the floor," he retorted, scowling. "Geez, I didn't know you were gonna attack me …"
"I told you to stay on the floor!"
"Well, this is my room and I can do what I want, so there!" Heero snorted at the childish words, half expecting Duo to stick his tongue out at the end of the remark.
"You forget, it's my room now."
"Really. So that means all your stuff is mine, then? I get your laptop and gun?"
"Don't. Even. Think about it!" Heero snapped. Duo chuckled and pushed himself to his feet, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Okay, you can keep them. And I get to keep my stuff, including my bed if I want it!"
"You could have at least warned me," Heero grumbled. Duo shrugged.
"I'll wake you up next time then," he said. "Well, I'm not tired anymore, so I call the bathroom. See ya around, Heero!" With that he bolted out of the room, leaving Heero to scowl after him.
Duo slammed his hand against the tap, turning the water to the hottest temperature possible. He hadn't slept as much as he would have liked, and it was making him irritable. All he wanted was a hot shower and something to eat. Grumbling under his breath, he pulled his shirt over his head distractedly and flung it across the room.
"Stupid Heero, throwing me on the floor! What did he expect anyway? I was just …" his words trailed off as he caught his reflection in the mirror, and he paled. Heat suddenly coursed through his cheeks, embarrassment at the sudden realization of what he was doing. He was going to take a shower in Heero's body.
"You're being immature, Duo," he argued quietly with himself. "Heero hasn't got anything you don't, after all …" He sighed and stepped away from the mirror. If he couldn't see his reflection it would be all right, wouldn't it? Heero couldn't exactly expect him to never shower.
It's no big deal, he coached himself, just get in the shower already. Sighing again and squeezing his eyes shut, Duo shoved his shorts off and jumped into the spraying water. Groping blindly for the shampoo, he opened the bottle and squeezed a liberal amount of the gel into his hand.
He kneaded the shampoo into his scalp and carefully kept his focus on the tiled wall in front of him. Once his hair was sufficiently lathered, he reached for the soap and held his breath for a moment.
"You're really pathetic, you know?" he spoke softly to himself. "It's not anything to get nervous about anyway … just get in and out … stop shaking already! Shizumari tamae[1], Duo no baka …"
He suddenly paused, registering the words that had passed his lips. The water continued to pummel him as he stood motionless, covered in soap suds and frowning viciously. A slow smile crept onto his face.
"I know Japanese …"
Heero pounded on the bathroom door, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu from the night before. Duo had been in the bathroom for a good twenty minutes, and Heero was sure that a shower could not take so long.
"What?!" Duo growled irritably, yanking the door open just as Heero raised a fist to start pounding again. He was dripping wet, wrapped in a towel, and looking generally pissed off. His face softened a little when he saw it was Heero.
"Hey, fancy meeting you here."
"Shut up, baka. Are you done yet, or is there still more hot water for you to waste?" Heero said, annoyance lacing his voice.
"What? I was just getting dried off."
"You were in there for a long time," Heero said, emphasizing the last two words. Duo rolled his eyes.
"Well, it's not my fault. I used way too much shampoo and had to rinse about ten times just to get it all out. I'm surprised you have to use any shampoo at all, really. It must take like a drop or two, right?"
"It's not my fault that you have to use a lot of shampoo, Duo," Heero said lowly. "Can I have the bathroom now?"
"Sure, I guess," Duo shrugged, turning for a moment to reach back into the room. "One thing first."
"…I'm listening," Heero sighed.
"You'll need to use this, this and this," Duo instructed, shoving three bottles of random hair-care products into Heero's surprised arms.
"What? Why?!"
Duo couldn't help but smirk at the terrified look on Heero's face. He calmly picked up one bottle and displayed it in front of Heero's nervous eyes.
"This is the shampoo I use," he said, and promptly exchanged it for another bottle. "This is the conditioner … you don't have to use as much of this, but make sure you get it even. And then the last bottle use on the lower part of my hair and bangs. Helps with the split ends."
"You have got to be kidding," Heero said. Duo's face turned lethal.
"I take good care of my hair, Heero," he growled lowly. "And as long as you're in there, you're going to take good care of it, too."
"Hn," Heero said in what was probably acquiescence. "I don't see the difference though. Shampoo is shampoo, after all."
"It's not when you want your hair to look human," Duo shot back, brandishing the bottle in Heero's face. The door down the hall clicked open, drawing both of their attentions. Wufei stepped out of his room looking carefully nonchalant, and paused to look at the odd scene taking place in the hallway.
"Uh …" he began hesitantly, looking from Duo to Heero and back again.
"What?!" Duo growled.
"Uh, nothing," Wufei said, and turned to descend the stairs with a confused look on his face. Heero and Duo watched him go, and once he was gone both breathed a sigh of relief.
"We've got to be more careful," Heero said.
"Uh huh," Duo agreed, placing the bottle back in Heero's possession. "Just take your shower then. We have something to talk about afterward." Heero didn't respond, but his curious look may as well have been a question.
"I, uh …" Duo began, shifting nervously and smiling slightly. "I can speak Japanese." Heero just blinked at him.
"So?"
"So," Duo retorted. "I'm not talking about the type of Japanese I used to speak. Not the Japanese-in-ten-easy-steps with the horrible accent. I'm talking perfect Japanese. Fluent."
"Oh," Heero said tersely, and nodded. "That's … interesting. Yeah, we should think on that. Can I … get in the bathroom now?"
"Oops, sorry," Duo apologized, sidestepping the boy and sliding past him into the hall. "It's all yours. Um, listen … I, uh … I know it's weird, us being in each other's bodies and all, but I wanted to tell you that … I didn't … um … look, or anything."
"Look? What do you …? Oh," Heero said, and Duo thought perhaps he saw a tinge of pink in his cheek. "We're … in the same situation, Duo. We're both … well, never mind. I was going to say mature …"
"Heero!" Duo snorted, his eyes wide with shock. "Was that a joke?"
"Baka," Heero grumbled, turning away from him and stepping into the bathroom. "I … won't either, okay? And one other thing …"
"Yeah?"
"Remember to wear my clothes this time, not yours." With that Heero shut the door, leaving Duo dripping in the cold hallway.
Wufei's face had the same dazed look as Quatre's had earlier as he joined the two other pilots in the kitchen, and Trowa frowned slightly.
"Wufei? What is it?" he asked. Quatre looked up from his coffee and gave Wufei a smile of greeting.
"Everything okay?" he echoed Trowa's concern.
"I … think so," Wufei said uncertainly, taking slow steps toward the coffeemaker and reaching for a mug. "Maxwell and Yuy are … being rather disconcerting, for lack of a better word." Quatre's eyes widened as he nearly regurgitated his coffee into his cup, and he quickly set the mug down.
"What do you mean, Wufei?" he asked nervously.
"It's … nothing, I suppose," the young Chinese man replied, pouring himself a black cup and taking slow sip. "They were in the hallway, discussing shampoo." Silence overcame the three of them, and was finally broken by a slight snickering noise. Wufei and Quatre looked to Trowa, but he was bent over his newspaper. His bangs covered most of his face, revealing nothing.
"That's … definitely odd," Quatre finally said. "Trowa, were you …?"
"What? It's funny."
* * *
Duo scowled as he paced the short length of his bedroom, resisting the urge to reach down and tug at the material of his shorts.
"Please explain to me why you choose to wear clothing like this?!" he whined, shooting a glare at Heero. Heero returned the look with an icy glare of his own, pulling one of Duo's shirts over his head.
"I don't particularly enjoy your clothes either, Duo, now shut up."
"I just wanna know why anyone would torture themselves like this. Spandex is so not cool."
"Are you done?" Heero asked calmly. Duo sighed and flopped on the bed next to him.
"Sure, I guess," he said quietly. "We got time to talk now?"
"Hn," Heero nodded, then shot Duo an askance look. "Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't braid your hair. Would you do it?"
"Huh? What do you mean you can't."
"I mean I can't!"
"You … don't know how?" Duo asked.
"Not really," Heero admitted, and thrust Duo's brush at him. "Just do it, all right? It's your stupid hair anyway."
"Tch. It's not stupid, Heero. Just for that I'm not gonna go easy on the tangles," Duo said, taking the brush and moving to sit behind Heero. "So, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"Duh, Heero, about what I told you. The Japanese thing."
"I have a theory," Heero said simply.
"Well then, by all means, O wise one, enlighten me," Duo drawled dramatically, pulling the brush carefully through the thick mass of wet hair.
"Even though our conscious minds have switched places, my brain is still in my body. You're using my brain now," Heero said slowly, as if picking his words carefully. "You've somehow tapped into my knowledge of the Japanese language."
"What? You're saying … we can see into each other's minds? Each other's memories and stuff?" Duo said, tensing involuntarily. Heero didn't miss the action, and quickly shook his head.
"I don't think so," he said firmly. "We each have our own memories, opinions, and so on. But … at the same time we can tap into each other's mental capabilities. It's sort of like … you know how to do everything I do. Everything that's instinctual for me is in my brain, so you have access to it."
"That's trippy, Heero," Duo said, regaining a little of his composure. "Language isn't instinct."
"Japanese is my native language. It is as much an instinct to me as anything else I learned as a child," Heero said.
"So … is the same thing happening to you?"
"I assume so. I haven't noticed it yet, but … perhaps that is why I'm able to pretend to be you so well."
"How do you mean?"
"It's instinct to you. Both acting, and … the way you act. It's easy for me to act like you if I think about it, because it's all there in your mind."
"Hmm. Well, that's certainly deep."
"It's only a theory."
"A pretty damn deep theory," Duo said, rapidly finishing up the plait he had been braiding and reaching for an elastic band. "I personally would rather just get my own body back and not have to worry about your instincts taking me over."
"I agree completely," Heero said. "It would be hazardous to future missions." Duo snorted, and tugged on the end of the braid to signal that he was finished.
"That was a Heero thing to say. We're gonna have to stay in better character. It's gonna be weird calling you Duo in front of the other guys. So when are we gonna …?"
"Heero?" Quatre's voice echoed up the stairwell, interrupting them. "Duo? Are you guys going to want breakfast or not?!"
"Answer him," Duo hissed, prodding Heero in the ribs.
"What?"
"I'd yell something back. You're me, so go for it?"
"Oh," Heero said, and jumped to his feet to go open the bedroom door. "Just a minute, Quatre!"
"Q-man," Duo corrected quietly. Heero turned to look at him, and Duo smiled faintly. "Always Q-man, unless it's something serious. Or any of the other nicknames I use. Wufei, too."
"Understood," Heero nodded. "Are you coming?"
"You kidding? You never come right away when called," Duo rolled his eyes. "Not to breakfast, anyway. I'll be down in a second."
Continued
[1] Shizumari tamae – Calm down (my Japanese is very limited, but I think that's right!)