Title: Trading Faces
Rating: PG-13, just because I feel like it.
Warnings: Profanity, violence, eventual 1x2 pairing … well, not really eventual anymore I guess *grins*
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: Thanks go to: Terrasa (I didn't realize it was such an evil cliffhanger. Um, oops?) Foxfire (Glad you liked the inclusion of the other boys) SilverShinigami (Du-berries?! *bursts into uncontrollable giggles* Can't say I've heard that one!) Angel of Insanity (Prozac? Somehow, I doubt that's gonna help *grins*) baka ryu (Call off your goons, I have to go to class too! *runs from horde*) LenaLovely12 (Don't faint, it wasn't that bad, ne? Here's more!) LB (Thanks for the kind review! ^_^) Yami Bakura no Tenshi (Thanks, here's more!) Dreamer (Oh, I couldn't neglect Wufei if I tried. I wuv him! *glances nervously at irate said pilot* Um, nothing?) FireDemon (How am I going to study when fics like this just won't leave me alone? Oh, who am I kidding, I love it. Thanks!) Fushigi Venus (You want a 3x4? Um … not in this story, but maybe later? *grins*) Tash-chan (No, I will tell you nothing! No previews. *grins* Actually, if you bugged me enough I would, you know. Oh well! *waves*) Sunfreak (Thanks for the kind comments! *grins* Actually, I was planning to explain a bit more about the disk in this chapter anyway, so I hope it's good enough for your curiosity!) Demon Vampyre Goddess (Um, yeah, I don't know what happened to your first review either … anyway, thanks!) lillie chan (Strawberry pocky? I'll have you know, bribes have … no … effect … *begins typing rapidly*) Naomi (Um, sorry, I tried to go fast, I really did! Here's more, bribes totally unnecessary …but, um, if you still have that pocky train lined up, I wouldn't turn it away *grins*)
Apologies for the rather delayed update … hopefully the length and content of this chapter will make up for it ^_^.
_ _ _
Duo allowed Heero to tow him along by his elbow, trying to ignore the discreet looks of curiosity that the others shot their way. Duo didn't blame them, of course; truth be told, he was just as unsure about the situation as everyone else. Heero seemed awfully focused, even for him. Expecting to be dragged into another part of the house, Duo blinked when Heero paused at the other side of the room and turned to face him.
Heero just stared at him, and Duo stared back. After a few seconds of tense, uncomfortable silence, Duo offered a small smile.
"Go ahead, Heero, you first," he said. "You look about ready to burst."
"Baka," Heero grumbled, leaning back against the wall behind him and crossing his arms. "I've discovered a few things about the disk."
"Oh?" Duo said, careful to keep the sudden disappointment he felt out of his voice. He had been hoping for something else, but then again this was Heero. He shouldn't have been expecting anything else. "Oh. Well, spill it."
"How much do you know about brain activity and function?" Heero asked. Duo rolled his eyes at the question, biting back a sarcastic comment. This was fast turning into a textbook discussion. Definitely not the direction that he wanted to be going, he thought with a slight puff of frustration.
"What do you want? That it's the central and most important part of the body's nervous system? That it's the primary center for the management of bodily activities, interpreting sensory impulses, controlling the muscles and body organs? Geez, Heero, if you want an anatomy lesson I'm not the one to come to, okay?"
"I'm serious. In order to understand what I'm going to tell you, you have to have some basic knowledge of the way a human body functions," Heero said tersely. Duo rolled his eyes again.
"I'm not stupid, Heero. I know what a brain is. Just try me, huh?" Heero narrowed his eyes, but after a moment of pause he nodded.
"All right. The brain is also the base of consciousness, thought, memory, and emotion. Science, for the most part, doesn't know exactly how these functions behave."
"Hey," Duo interrupted. "Is this something the others need to hear too?"
"Hn. Not right now," Heero responded coldly. "Will you let me finish?"
"I guess," Duo sighed. "Do you have to be so boring, though? I mean, blah blah blah, the brain is responsible for a person's consciousness and memory. I know that, Heero."
"What I was going to say," Heero said, glaring pointedly at the other boy, "was that these functions are supposed to be very difficult to manipulate. That is why there are very rarely cures for brain injuries such as amnesia. Science has a hard time manipulating the way a person thinks, acts, and remembers."
"But …?" Duo prodded verbally, feeling that Heero was leading into something.
"But the man that created the disk apparently found a way to take advantage of these functions," Heero said simply, anger evident only in his eyes. The rest of him just looked bored, but Duo knew better. Heero was pissed. This couldn't be good.
"And you found out how?"
"More or less," Heero shrugged, his fingers clenching into fists unconsciously as his eyes drifted to stare at something beyond Duo. "I'll try to make this as simple as possible, because it took me quite a few hours to catch onto it myself."
"I'm listening," Duo said, looking at Heero expectantly.
"It works on brain waves," Heero said. "Gamma rhythms[1], to be precise."
"What are …?"
"Basically, gamma rhythms are made up of very fast brain waves. They are involved with the processes of perception and consciousness," Heero interrupted, anticipating his question. "It's a lot more complicated than that, but I doubt you want to hear it."
"You're right, I don't," Duo shrugged. "But anyway, you were saying?"
"Right," Heero sighed, looking back at Duo once more to make sure the boy was following. "All you really need to know is that gamma rhythms make up your consciousness. The disk … protean modifier, whatever you want to call it, knows how to isolate gamma rhythms and … for lack of a better term, capture them."
"Okay," Duo said, drawing out the word in a sigh of frustration.
"Don't you see?" Heero snorted quietly. "The disk is a holding cell for a person's consciousness. It is able to somehow steal the gamma rhythm pattern of a person and … take it within itself. Apparently, when it sensed the presence of two different beings touching it, it was set off. It captured each of our gamma rhythms, processed them inside of itself, and exchanged them. All within a split second of time."
"So … the prick we both felt? That was the disk … stealing our gamma stuff?" Duo asked, frowning.
"I can only assume so," Heero nodded.
"This is totally bizarre," Duo groaned. Heero scowled, but he didn't protest.
"I didn't say it made sense. I'm just telling you what I know. The dynamics of the disk are still a bit sketchy, even with all the data I've been over. But from what I can tell, that is how it operates."
"So, we just have to get it to suck our whatever …"
"Gamma rhythm," Heero interrupted.
"Yeah yeah, our gamma rhythm back into itself, and get it to exchange them back to normal?" Duo said, looking at Heero with a faint expression of hope.
"That would be ideal, yes," Heero said, his face falling slightly. "However, if it were that simple we would have been able to switch back before. Something is still missing."
"Like what?!" Duo snapped.
"I don't know!" Heero hissed. "If I knew, wouldn't I be the first to suggest it?! Our data is still inside of the disk, which should make it easier to work if anything! "
"Sorry," Duo sighed glumly. "But it doesn't help to know how the dumb thing works if we can't get it to actually give some results."
"I agree," Heero said quietly. "I can only come up with the options that it's jammed, or perhaps experiencing some other kind of malfunction, or that it needs to be reset somehow …"
"Or that it only works once?" Duo whispered.
"Or that," Heero nodded solemnly, his eyes growing slightly pained at that admission. "Duo, we can't assume that it's a hopeless cause …"
"I know, Heero, and I'm sorry I brought it up before, but …" Duo interrupted, only to be cut off by Heero.
"No. You were right to … be realistic. You were strong to take such a stance. I think … we should face what might be." Duo's expression grew sad, and Heero sighed.
"Yeah, guess so, huh? So … we're not giving up, are we?"
"Of course not!" Heero snorted. "We will still continue to search for a solution. However, I think we should not devote all of our time to finding a cure. We do have other priorities … higher priorities …"
"Missions, you mean," Duo said. Heero nodded curtly.
"Yes. I think it's best to put those first, before anything else. We will just have to function as best we can, and not let our … condition … keep us from the risks we normally would take."
"You're right," Duo nodded slowly. "So, you're saying that until we find a way to fix this, the bodies we're in are to be considered our own?"
"Yes," Heero said. "It would be detrimental, otherwise. I cannot fear for the safety of your body when I have a mission to accomplish, and neither can you."
"I understand, Heero," Duo said, smiling bravely. "That's fine. So this is me for now? And that's you?" Heero nodded, reaching to tug on his braid without realizing it. Duo caught the action, and smiled wistfully.
"That's cool, then," he said softly, his voice quavering slightly despite himself. "You … you don't have to keep the braid then, if it bothers you. You can …"
"No!" Heero cut him off, a little louder than he had meant to. In fact, he had practically shouted the word. The others all looked at them sharply, unable to keep to themselves any longer.
Duo looked back at them sheepishly, trying desperately to come up with something to cover for Heero's outburst. How much had they all heard, anyway? They were all just watching …
"Everything okay?" Quatre asked tactfully, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Duo nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Just a little, um, property discussion. It's really nothing to get excited abou… Wufei! What are you doing?!" Duo burst suddenly, noticing for the first time that the Chinese pilot had picked up the disk sometime during their discussion. He was calmly prodding at it with one of Duo's picking tools, looking as if he was trying to pry it open. Duo lunged at him anxiously.
Wufei looked up at the shout, just in time to see an irate Japanese face coming at him. He tried to lean back out of the way, but Duo was too fast. He knocked the disk from Wufei's hands, tackling the boy to the couch with desperate anger and fear.
"Just what do you think you were doing?! Are you trying to get us stuck like this?! Do you want to break that disk?!" Duo ranted, shaking the stunned boy beneath him weakly. Wufei managed to push him off and sit, trying to salvage whatever dignity he could.
"Maxwell, I was not hurting it," he defended himself, reaching down to scoop up the disk and pull out the thin tool that was protruding from the slim hole in the disk's side. "I would never jeopardize your situation, but I thought I could help."
"By disemboweling our one and only hope?!" Duo spat back, reaching over and snatching the disk from Wufei's hands. "Honestly, you think I'm an idiot! Look at you!"
"I was just experimenting, Maxwell," Wufei snapped back. "It doesn't have that small hole in its side just for fun, you know! I thought maybe it would trigger something!"
"Ask next time, then, before you go and do something like this!" Duo instructed, managing to calm his anger just a little. "These are our lives, Wufei, not yours. They aren't yours to mess with!"
"Maxwell … I'm sorry," Wufei said calmly, his eyes showing faint consternation at Duo's outburst. Duo sighed, his face growing weary and strained once more.
"It's all right, Fei, no harm done. You just scared the hell out of me. Somehow poking the damn thing with sharp pointies does not sound like the most helpful idea in the world. I mean, did the data say anything about a … Heero?" Duo had turned, and found that Heero was no longer in the room. Frowning a little, he realized that he had still not gotten to say his piece. It figured that Heero would run off as soon as he got the chance. Glancing around at the others, Duo raked one hand over his cheek.
"Listen, I still need to talk to Heero, and I'm damn tired too," he announced. "I'm going upstairs, okay? See you guys tomorrow." He stood and walked from the room, grateful that they let him go in silence. He didn't think he could take any of their false promises of optimistic hope. Heading to the stairs, he trudged up wearily toward the room that he and Heero were supposedly sharing. Of course, Heero had not slept in the room since Duo had arrived, so he wondered fleetingly if the boy would be there at all. Still carrying the disk in his loosely fisted hand, Duo slowly mounted the stairs.
He tapped lightly on the door just in case Heero was within, and when he received no answer he cautiously nudged the door open with his foot. The room beyond was dark, but Duo could vaguely make out the silhouette of a figure sitting hunched on the bed. Heero's knees were drawn up against his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs with his chin propped comfortably on his knees. He did not look Duo's way, though it was obvious that he sensed the intrusion.
Deciding now was not the time to feel intimidated, Duo calmly stepped into the room, shut the door behind him and took a few cautious paces toward the bed. Heero still did not grace him with the smallest glance.
"Hey," Duo said softly, calling to the unresponsive boy. "We weren't finished, you know? You okay?"
"I'm fine," Heero bit out, his gaze still straight ahead. Duo's eyes were fast adjusting to the dimness of the room, and he noticed the imprecise discomfort playing on Heero's face. Duo frowned.
"You don't sound fine."
"Well I am!"
"Then why'd you run off?"
"…I didn't mean to shout," Heero finally said, avoiding a more direct answer. Duo shrugged.
"Hey, it's not like I cared," he offered lightly. Heero turned to glare at him then, and Duo almost preferred the unresponsive Heero.
"I do not shout," Heero said. "Not over such trivial things."
"Well, I guess I'm rubbing off on you or something," Duo said, trying to joke, but then his face fell as he moved to carefully sit a safe distance away from Heero on the bed. "Listen, it was no big deal. But if you've changed your mind, about the braid I mean …"
"No," Heero whispered. "I will not cut your braid, Duo. You don't have to worry." Duo sighed.
"I do worry," he said softly. "About you, Heero. It's your body now, right? You can do what you want. I won't mind either way."
"Your hair is important to you."
"Yeah … but it's yours now, Heero."
"…I'm going to keep it," Heero said solidly, looking down.
"Oh. Okay then," Duo said simply, feeling the familiar pull of a smile twinge his lips despite himself. He didn't know why Heero was acting this way, but he wasn't going to complain. He'd kind of expected Heero to want to get rid of the unnecessary plait. He reached out to lightly tap Heero's foot, drawing the boy's attention. Heero looked up once more.
"We didn't get to finish talking, you know," Duo said softly. "Do you mind?" Heero shook his head, but stayed silent. Duo took that as a signal that Heero had nothing left to say, and he looked down at the device in his hands.
"Kinda funny, isn't it?" He was speaking before he realized the words had formed. "Inside this stupid little thing, there's a part of you and a part of me."
"Hn," Heero murmured softly, lifting his chin slightly from the cradle of his knees to look at the boy more clearly. Duo gave a small, wistful smile then.
"It's ironic, I think. Inside here," he paused, pointing to his chest, "it's you. But it's me, too. A part of you, a part of me. Same thing inside there." He pointed at Heero, who simply shrugged with discomfort. Duo sighed, setting the disk on the bedspread between them.
"Forget about it for now, Heero," Duo said, leaning forward to prop himself up with his hands. "Just for now, I'm only me and you're only you. Tell me how much it bothered you. Please? I …have to know."
"Duo … what …?" Heero began, confused. Duo sighed.
"Yesterday, Heero," he said patiently. "How much did it bother you? I didn't mean to freak you out or anything, but I just wanna know how mu…"
"None," Heero said quietly, cutting off Duo's rambling. Duo blinked, certain that he had misheard.
"Huh?" was the only reply he could come up with.
"It didn't bother me, Duo," Heero repeated in a barely audible voice. "Not because of the …contact, anyway. Maybe a little from the fact that I was with my own body …" Duo snorted suddenly.
"Yeah, that was pretty freaky, huh? Like a bad Twilight Zone, or something." Heero just looked at him blankly, and Duo shook his head. "Ah, never mind. But, um … the fact that I … well, that I did that, it didn't bother you?"
"No," Heero said, pausing slightly for a moment of brief thought. "It might have … been unexpected, but not unpleasant …" Duo snickered a little then, earning him another glare.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. You just … talk about it so methodically. It's funny."
"Hn. Not to me."
"Sorry," Duo dipped his head, realizing that the boy was, as usual, deadly serious. "But, um, if that's the case … you wouldn't be opposed to trying again?"
"What do you mean?" Heero asked warily.
"Well, if we were in our normal bodies, would you, um, be … interested in me?"
"I don't know. I've never thought about it before."
"Then think about it now." Heero obeyed, sitting quietly as Duo fiddled absently with the hem of his tank top, the stitching of the quilt, the ends of his shorts …
"Geez, it's not a life or death decision, Heero," he finally burst. "Do you like me, or don't you? 'Cause I know it didn't take me this long to decide how I feel about you." Heero looked up sharply at that, his eyes suddenly curious.
"Tell me," he demanded simply. Duo fidgeted.
"Um …"
"Duo, please …"
"I do, Heero," he said quietly. "I decided … I care about you for who you are in there, not what you are out here." He waved his hand dismissively around the room. Heero watched him with stony silence, and Duo felt a wave of disappointment. What had he been expecting, anyway?
"Listen," he started again, avoiding Heero's eyes. "I'll understand if you don't feel the same. I just have to know, you know? Never know unless you try, and I knew I had to take the chance. But you can tell me, Heero, just be honest. That's all I want."
"Duo." Heero's hands had reached out and gently turned his face back so that they were eye to eye again. "I care about you."
"Wh-what? You do?" Duo whispered.
"Of course I do," Heero nodded, still expressionless. Duo felt like squirming, but he forced himself to stay still. He slowly pulled out of Heero's grasp, chancing a small smile.
"I mean, more than just a comrade, Heero. I know you care about all of us as allies, but what I mean is …"
"I know what you mean, Duo," Heero cut him off. "My answer is still the same. I don't regret yesterday. Do you?"
"No …" Duo whispered. Heero smirked.
"That must mean something."
"Just what I was thinking," Duo nodded, watching Heero carefully. "So … maybe we could … try again?" Heero's face grew more distant.
"Maybe, but … it's too strange. I'm not sure if we can get past this whole …" he trailed off, words becoming useless as he simply motioned between their bodies. Duo gave a frustrated sigh.
"Believe me, Heero, I've been thinking about that. I don't really like the idea of locking lips with myself, but that's not really me anymore is it? I mean, if we close our eyes and don't say anything, maybe it'll be like I'm just me and you're just you. Do you think?" Heero looked doubtful, but he looked at Duo's hopeful eyes and felt his will crumble. He didn't even see his own eyes anymore, all he could see was Duo's perfected pout. Sighing, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess … we could try …"
"So," Trowa spoke up first, surprising the other two, "who else was listening to every word they said?"
"Eavesdropping, Barton?" Wufei frowned, one of his eyebrows arching up in surprise. Trowa gave a small smirk.
"I don't think you can deny that you were listening too," the tall pilot said coolly.
"So what if I was?" Wufei snorted, leaning back into the couch. "If they wanted privacy, they should have gone to another room."
"I don't think they minded us," Quatre said. "They would have gone elsewhere otherwise. That certainly is an … interesting theory."
"It makes sense," Trowa shrugged. "As much as it can, anyway. What I don't understand is why it won't work now. If Heero and Duo's information is in the disk already, shouldn't it be easy to work again?"
"Maybe the disk can't recognize that it's the same two people," Quatre said quietly. "Maybe it needs to be cleared of the previous data before it can work again?" There was silence for a moment, as the other two pilots looked at the blond.
"That's actually … a very good idea, Quatre," Trowa said at last.
"What? I was just talking, I wasn't serious …" Quatre blushed slightly.
"Barton is right, it's a good theory. I think that situation is very likely," Wufei said. "Which is why, before Maxwell so rudely interrupted, I was trying to see if I could find it."
"Find what?" Quatre asked.
"A reset button," Wufei said simply, shrugging. "What other purpose would that small hole have? It had to have been put there for a reason." Silence overcame the trio again, and for a moment no one moved. Then Trowa looked to Quatre, a silent suggestion hidden in his eyes. Quatre blinked.
"I don't know … would we invade their privacy by looking at the information Duo brought back?" he asked.
"If Yuy didn't lock the computer, I'd say it's free game," Wufei pointed out. Trowa nodded.
"So … the den, then?"
"Yeah."
The three rose to their feet and left the room.
The first tentative touch of their lips was met with a good deal of awkwardness. It wasn't a kiss really, just a trembling contact between them as they tried to calm their nerves. Duo had squeezed his eyes shut, his hands propping him up on the bed as he leaned toward his companion. He barely registered the touch as he tried to calm down his nerves. It was just Heero, it was only Heero … he had nothing to be nervous about …
This cautious exploration was apparently enough to convince Heero, who suddenly reached out to pull Duo closer. Duo didn't fight his arms, but he yelped slightly as his knee smashed into the disk. He nudged the device away, trapping it between Heero's thigh and his own leg as he crawled a little closer. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact, he found that he immensely enjoyed the closeness.
So then he kissed Heero for real. Heero's hand moved to fist into Duo's shirt, pulling the boy closer as they each got the fist taste of a real embrace. Duo lifted one hand to lightly trace along Heero's arm, moving his lips ardently against Heero's mouth. The other boy wasn't shy, that was for sure. He seemed to long for the contact as much as Duo did.
He tried to ignore the annoyance of the cool metal device pressed against his leg, but finally it was too much to bear. It was digging into Heero's leg as well, and so with a slight growl Duo reached down to grab the offending disk. His fingers mashed random buttons as he dragged the object out from between them, allowing their bodies to get even closer. Pushing it behind him, he paid no attention to the fact that the disk was upside down. So he didn't notice when the light flickered, or that words had suddenly appeared on the small digital panel. He didn't notice anything, except the boy that he was currently tangled up with.
The kisses had grown a lot more confident, and Heero's grip on him had only tightened, if anything. Duo's hand traveled higher, brushing Heero's neck softly and moving toward the back of his shoulders. He froze when his hand made contact with the thick rope of hair trailing down Heero's back. The illusion shattered in Duo's mind, and he jolted back from the kiss slightly. Heero whimpered quietly, his nose still pressed against Duo's.
"Mm … Duo?" he murmured. Duo winced. The voice was not Heero's voice. Damn it, he couldn't hold it together! He couldn't pretend that it was Heero, not like this. He sighed despondently, pulling back even farther. Heero gave him a confused look, letting his hand fall away from Duo's chest, and Duo thought he saw a small flash of hurt cross the boy's face. Patting Heero's cheek affectionately, he gave the boy an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Heero," he whispered. "But I don't think I can do this yet. It's not that I don't want to, but I still can't see you like this without thinking it's me …"
"Duo …" Heero said softly.
"I'm sorry, really," Duo repeated. "It's not you, Heero, it's me." There was a slight pause, and suddenly Duo flung himself to his back on the bed with a snort of bitter amusement. "God, that excuse sounds even more trite than normal …" Heero's face was turned away from him, and Duo reached out to gently touch his hand.
"Heero?"
Heero turned toward him, his lips curved into a wry smirk. Slowly, he lifted his hand away from Duo's touch so that he could hold onto Duo's fingers. He brought them up against his chest, and cradled the hand there.
"It's all right, Duo," he said quietly, looking away. "I understand." Duo sighed again, looking regretfully at the other boy. He felt a pang of hurt at the injustice of the situation. It was miraculous enough that Heero cared at all, but the situation still kept them from what they both really wanted. He suddenly felt like crying, even though he knew that wasn't a possibility.
Tugging on his captured hand a little, he tried to get Heero's attention. Heero released him immediately, and looked down at the bed in front of him. He still didn't want to meet Duo's questioning gaze. Mistaking Duo's pulling away as a sign of displeasure, he sighed.
"I should leave you alone," he said tersely. Duo tensed up. He didn't want Heero to leave. That was the last thing he wanted.
"No, Heero," he said before he could stop the words. "Um … just because this is all awkward and messed up, it doesn't mean I want to start avoiding you again. I'd … sort of like it, if you'd stay …" He watched Heero's shoulders stiffen, and prepared himself for Heero's swift departure. But Heero didn't move.
Heero was surprised, if anything. He thought Duo would be disgusted with him, that he'd want some space to recover. But Duo had asked him to stay. He didn't know if he should …
Memories of the nightmare flashed across his mind. He shivered slightly.
He didn't want to go through that again. And he really did need to sleep.
Duo had offered him a way out. Slowly, he nodded.
"Aa … I'll stay," he whispered. Duo grinned, and suddenly latched onto Heero's arm as he pulled him backward onto the bed.
"Good," Duo said simply, throwing an arm around Heero's waist and snuggling up to his shoulder. "I'm pretty tired, so is it okay if we go to sleep?"
"…Okay," Heero replied helplessly. "Let me go, and I'll get the blankets."
"Mm, forget it," Duo said, tightening his hold. "I'm good like this. You?"
"…Yes. This is good," Heero conceded, moving his arms to hold Duo against him. A small smile stole across Heero's face. He hadn't lied. This was good.
Neither noticed that the disk was closed in between their legs. For the moment it had been completely forgotten.
* * *
It was well into the night, and both boys were sleeping with surprising peace in each other's arms. The room had grown a little colder, causing them to unconsciously burrow closer together.
Shifting slightly on his side, Duo's calf came to rest on the smooth, cold surface of the disk. His face contorted into one of displeasure at the frigid sensation. As if sensing his disturbance, Heero moved himself closer to his companion and tensed his embrace.
His shin happened to brush the disk for a split second.
But a split second was all it took.
Too deep in sleep, neither boy was fazed by the slight pinching sensation to their skin.
* * *
Duo came slowly into awareness, still disappointingly weary. He contemplated going back to sleep, but then he noticed the warm bundle in his arms and suddenly jolted awake. His arms were securely fastened around a deeply breathing figure, and his shoulder was slightly numb from the tousled head that was nestled there.
Closing his eyes momentarily, Duo smiled as he recalled the fact that Heero had fallen asleep with him last night. And Heero was still here, sleeping in his arms peacefully with his messy hair sprawled all over Duo's shoulder.
Duo blinked, suddenly tense. Something wasn't right. He turned his eyes back to his bedmate, taking in the dark, tangled hair that framed the face so close to his. Heero's face. Oh god … Heero's face?!
Struggling to get free of the other boy without waking him, Duo sat up to rub at his face, trying to calm himself. He was hallucinating, that was all. Then his hands met with a lot more hair than he was prepared for, and he paused. Moving his hands slowly, he groped along his own head to feel the thick mass of hair. Long hair. His fingers met a familiar braid, and he gave a squeak of alarm.
Spinning, he nearly fell out of bed. His eyes locked on the sleeping figure, and he forgot to breathe for a minute. It was Heero, all right. What had happened?! Was this a dream …?
Reaching for his own arm, he calmly pinched a bit of skin between his thumb and pointer finger. It hurt, but he was so dazed that he hardly noticed. Shaking his head, he looked around wildly. How the hell had this happened?!
His eyes fell on the disk, and his mouth opened in silent question. Lunging, he grabbed the device and pulled it close to his face. It didn't look any different, except that there were now words displayed on the screen.
Modification complete
"No way …" Duo murmured, barely audible. "No freakin' way …" His mind swam in confused circles as he tried to digest the situation before him. The disk had done something, apparently. But it had been inoperable. It couldn't have changed them back for real, right …?
He remembered the night before, when Wufei had been fiddling with the object. He had said something about a hole on the side of the disk … at that time, Duo had been too upset to care, but now he was curious. Turning the device in his hands, he found the fissure and ran a careful finger over it. Wufei had been poking around in there … had he really done something to it?
Turning to the bedside table, Duo tore open the door hastily to search for an appropriate tool. He dug furiously, cursing under his breath when nothing presented itself right away. He finally came up with a paperclip, and twisted it into one long piece quickly.
Inserting it into the gap in the disk, Duo pressed down and wiggled the wire as much as he could. He couldn't feel or hear any sort of click, but as he stared at the disk he saw the words on the screen disappear. Then some new characters scrolled once across the display.
Ready to operate …
Duo laughed out loud. Wufei had found a reset button! Wufei had fixed the damn thing, without even realizing it! He tossed the disk onto the floor carelessly, suddenly more interested in something else. His hand darted out to pinch the softest part of Heero's cheek.
The boy was alert immediately, bolting his head up as he recoiled from the contact. He scowled darkly.
"Duo …" he growled angrily.
"Yeah?" Duo asked cheerfully.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"Heero," Duo said, looking at him closely. Heero seemed oblivious to everything. He just kept glaring. "Heero, look at me."
"What?!"
"Look. At. Me," Duo repeated, and suddenly he was on his knees on the bed pulling Heero up. "It's me! I'm me, Heero! You're you! Just look!"
Heero's eyes widened, and suddenly Duo was supporting all of his weight as his body went limp with shock.
"B-but how …?" he asked softly. Duo laughed and let Heero fall back to the pillows, standing to his full height on the bed and spinning.
"I don't even care!" he shouted happily. "I think Wufei fixed it, but I'm not even gonna ask! Doesn't matter! C'mon, Heero, let's go show them!" With that he leapt impetuously off the bed, tearing out of the room and down the hall with a whoop of pure joy. Heero just lay on the bed watching after him, shocked.
The others sat in the kitchen, quiet and sullen. They had stayed up well into the night trying to discover anything they could on the computer about the disk, but they hadn't been able to come up with anything. Quatre had finally suggested that sleep would help them think more clearly, and the other two had agreed reluctantly. Sleep had been fitful for all three, and they all hunched over their coffee in their own thoughts.
Wufei rose, walking toward the sink to get rid of his mug, when the thundering of anxious footsteps sounded from the stairs. Trowa and Quatre looked up to see a braided figure dash into the room, making a beeline for the Chinese boy whose back was turned. Without hesitation, the braided boy leapt through the air and attached himself to Wufei's back, laughing at Wufei's indignant yelp of surprise.
"Yuy?!" Wufei exclaimed, catching a flash of a brown braid swinging around him. "What the hell …?!"
"Nuh uh, Wu, guess again!" Duo chirped, laughing again when he felt Wufei falter slightly under his weight. The two at the table had frozen, their faces growing slightly pale.
"Um …" Quatre said helplessly. Duo squeezed Wufei around the neck, who still seemed too confused to fight back.
"What …?" the Chinese boy started slowly.
"Man, Wu, you're the absolute greatest! You fixed it, you fixed it!" Duo crowed, pulling back on Wufei's neck as he threw his head back in laughter. The action was too much, and the two went toppling to the ground.
Duo kept on giggling, totally giddy with relief, and he wormed his way out from beneath Wufei to grin down at the stunned Asian face.
"Hey, Wu, you look like you've seen a ghost or something," he said casually. "I think you need some more coffee or something …" Wufei blinked up at the shining violet eyes hovering above him, and swallowed with difficulty.
"Maxwell?" he whispered, unsure. Duo grinned.
"The one and only!" he nodded. "Thanks a lot, man, I mean it! I don't know how you knew but I'm sorry for yelling, 'cause you totally did the right thing and I never would have thought to …"
"Maxwell," Wufei said again as he sat, interrupting the boy.
"Yeah?"
"What the hell is going on?" he asked pointedly. Duo pushed himself to his feet, grinning widely.
"You fixed us, Fei! Well, fixed the disk, but that's beside the point. We're back to normal!" he announced. "It's that just the greatest?!"
"Uh …" Wufei said less-than-gracefully, getting to his feet shakily. Quatre and Trowa stood as well, and the blond came closer to him with a hopeful expression on his face.
"Are you serious? You're really …?"
"It's really me, Q-man, it really is!" Duo nodded, grabbing the blond and spinning him around in circles as he laughed some more. Quatre started to laugh too, and Duo finally released him with a grin. He turned toward the tall pilot; Trowa actually looked happy. Duo refrained from pulling him around the kitchen, but he grinned at the pilot enthusiastically.
There was a slight noise at the doorway, and they all turned to find Heero leaning nonchalantly against the jamb with crossed arms and a neutral expression on his face. Duo's grin widened, if that was possible, and he locked eyes with the stoic pilot.
"Hey Heero! 'Bout time you got down here!" he exclaimed.
"Hn," Heero shrugged impassively, looking around at the shocked but pleased expressions of the others. Duo reached up to tug at his hair, his insane grin fading slightly.
"Well, you've wasted no time getting back to normal, I see," he pointed out.
"Are you complaining?" Heero asked tersely. Duo smiled softly then, approaching the glaring pilot.
"No, Heero," he replied; then, with uncommon shyness, he threw his arms around the Japanese pilot's shoulders to pull him into a hug. "No, I'm not complaining." Heero blinked, unsure, but then very slowly he lifted his arms to circle around Duo's back. Duo laughed happily, and the other pilots shifted nervously as they tried not to stare. Quatre was the only one who didn't feel strange; he smiled knowingly at the pair.
Suddenly Duo whirled away from Heero, grinning as though nothing was amiss. He put his hands on his hips and looked around.
"Okay, there was one thing I promised myself I was gonna do the moment I got my body back," Duo announced. The other pilots exchanged nervous glances.
"If this is about junk food then forget it. We don't have any," Wufei said casually. Duo stuck his tongue out at the Chinese boy.
"Not that, Fei!" he replied, rolling his eyes. "But have we got a hammer or something anywhere?"
"Hm? What for?" Quatre asked, frowning slightly in confusion. Duo's smile widened, gaining a mischievous quality that made the other pilots nervous.
"For smashing," he replied evenly. "I'm going to kill that damn disk!"
Continued
[1] Gamma rhythms – This is an actual brain wave phenomenon involved in higher metal activities, but honestly I'm just inventing a lot of this technical stuff. I trust you won't mind if I take the liberty? ^_^ I tried to make it sound realistic, anyway, but I'm not that knowledgeable about the structures of the human brain.