Title: Boy Meets… Girl?!
Chapter Title: 3- The Fine Line Between Femininity And Masculinity
Author: Shace
Summary: Duo gets turned into a girl!! What trouble ensues when every boy in town has their eye set on him…uhm … her ?!! 1+2, 13x5, (one sided) 3x2 and future 3x4.
Rating: PG-13, rating will change depending on chapter ^^
Author's Notes: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own them all so therefore no profit is made.
"Get dressed, Baka."
Duo rolled her eyes at Heero who held the bloodstained blouse in one hand as he sat on the edge of the bed with eyes devoid of feeling that penetrated her to the very core.
Duo grumbled as she slipped into her old boy's garb in a corner: the black pair of khaki pants and a big yellow tee. Heero seemed to be watching adequately, taking notice of every intricate detail of movement, from the silent ruffle of clothing to the sliding of fingers against flawless skin as Duo pulled down the tee to cover her bare stomach.
Heero looked away, ashamed and aghast of himself for peeping and, though Duo remained oblivious to the boy's actions, he felt a silent tug at his heartstrings, willing him not to look for it pilfered Duo's privacy.
Heero frowned at himself mentally. If he didn't stop awing over Duo, things would definitely get out of hand. And since when did he start to care about the baka anyway?!
The strange, yet distinct feeling of infatuation was foreign to him, like a newly found cut on the skin that had been there long enough, yet not to the expense that he was aware of it to even acknowledge its presence.
Heero cast a wary glance at Duo who had clumsily fallen to the floor just slipping in the pair of pants.
He found that he could not tear his eyes away.
The propensities of what he could do to his companion, them being the only occupants of the whole house and the luxurious expanse of time that stretched one before others would come home, were innumerable if only Heero could muster them.
What was he thinking?! He couldn't molest her or anything, not that he felt like it but… Duo was Duo, female or male, Heero's roommate.
And if the latter tried to do so much as touch her breasts, their roommate-ship, at least that was what it seemed anyway, would be thrown down the drain.
"Hey, you said I was cute." Snapping him out of his reverie, Heero looked up to see Duo smiling brightly.
He noticed she had removed her braid now and the abundant chestnut tresses fell grotesquely over her shoulders, down below her rear.
Her hair seemed longer, strange though as it may seem.
Heero almost smiled, almost but didn't for his stoic, indifferent image would be marred so he settled for the next best thing—glaring.
"You said you would shut up."
"Ha! I Bet you think I'm beautiful now eh? It's obvious, you moron! The way you keep staring at me! Stage one's denial, did you know?"
Duo stuck her tongue out at Heero who stared at her with an indifferent expression.
"You watch too much television Maxwell."
"I don't care! That still does not change the fact that you said I was cute!!" She sat next to him on the bed, grinning triumphantly as she saw the first signs of surrender.
"And I don't intend to make it a habit."
Duo blushed as Heero stood up, the bed lifting from the absence of his weight and walked out the door.
"I'm getting this in the wash." He held out Iria's blouse for her to see.
"Hey, Heero." Duo called out, blushing once more as Heero wheeled around slowly and looked at her with an almost affectionate expression.
She swore there was a small smile lifting at the edges of his lips, but maybe it was a trick of her ever-wishful mind so she shrugged mentally over it.
Her hands shook, fingers fumbling together as Prussian blue eyes looked into her own.
"Do you think I'm better off as a girl instead of a boy? You know for curiosity's sake alone, nothing personal of course."
"Female or not, you still are Duo Maxwell." Heero said vaguely before walking over to the bed, kneeling next to the boy-turned-girl.
Duo's breath hitched as the Japanese boy leaned down, cupping her perfect chin in a slender hand before closing the gap between them, Heero's lips ghosting above her own in a most silent confession of love.
Duo shut her eyes slowly, enjoying the incoherent influx of warmth, heat, anticipation and excitement all rolled into one scattered heap of want and need as Heero moved ever closer, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.
Duo had dreamt of this before, in perfect shards of unadulterated fantasy where Heero would finally profess his undying love to him, kiss him gently so that afterwards they would make hot, steamy love and so Duo was quite surprised to say the least when Heero Yuy's lips did not touch her own, instead they smirked.
"Hey, what was that for?!" She frowned.
"Mind out of the gutter, Maxwell." Heero stood up from the bed. "Mind out of the gutter."
Then, quick as a shadow, he picked up the stained blouse that had by chance fallen to the floor and left, closing the door behind him with a soft thud that seemed to shatter Duo's reserve.
Duo sulked as her stomach started again. "I hate being a girl."
***
Iria Winner owned a medium sized house in Woodlake Street in which she boarded various schoolboys who studied in the nearby public high school.
Iria Winner's life had been routine and dull, and despite that, she still seemed to enjoy the same extra-creamy coffee she drank every morning, the same idle hours she spent at the hospital she worked in as a doctor, which always smelled like medicine and urine, the same older sister image she projected toward the young boys in her 'boarding' house.
Iria Winner had never ever had a problem like this before. Her problems usually consisted of normal worries like clogging sinks, broken windows, juggling monthly electricity bills, food shortage and so on.
She had never, in her entire life, encountered something like this before.
One Tuesday morning, Iria Winner woke up to make the same extra-creamy coffee she usually did. She walked into the kitchen and opened the same cupboard to make the same superb pancakes she did every Tuesday morning.
After making sure breakfast was ready, Iria downed the same coffee and sat on the coffee table, waiting for her brother and his 'friends' to come down for breakfast.
Every Tuesday morning, Duo Maxwell, the bouncy braided American would walk down the stairs and smile the same serene smile he usually wore to greet Iria.
He would always be the first to eat out of the five boys.
After that, he would compliment Iria on how she made the pancakes tastier than last Tuesday's but Iria knows that it is the very same pancake she makes routinely, nothing more and nothing less.
That Tuesday morning, Iria Winner heard a shrill cry break into the house and upon rushing to the source of the sound, found that Duo Maxwell had in fact, been turned into a girl.
That Tuesday morning, instead of doing anything routinely, Iria Winner consulted a twelve-year-old psychic.
Iria Winner was desperate to have her normal life back and so, as she stared blankly at the blond kid in front of her, she sighed miserably.
"So what you're saying is that Duo had somehow managed to be pitied by the Gods," Iria said, crossing her arms in disbelief. "And them in their sympathy, turned him into a girl to be loved back by whoever it is he's in love with?"
The twelve-year-old girl who introduced herself earlier as Rosalind nodded and folded her hand together on the table with a smug look plastered against her face.
"Are you trying to pull my leg?"
"Why?" Rosalind asked confused. "Do you want me to? Is it that time of month? Do you have cramps?"
Iria shook her head and frowned. "No!" She ran a fatigued hand over her hair, blinking the impatience out of her eyes. "Just what are you trying to tell me? That my boarder had in fact, turned into a girl overnight?"
Rosalind nodded once more and she bit on her lower lip thoughtfully. "You told me that he said he wished for this certain person to love him back right?"
Iria nodded.
Rosalind continued, "Favors placed upon the gods are said to be effective if the moon is full or if the planets are aligned, but the latter doesn't come very so often, so… who knows? He might've been very desperate that the goddess of love had actually heard his plea."
"What does the position of planets have to do with Duo turning miraculously into a girl?" Iria's brow rose.
"I'm not very good in mythology and heck, I'm not Greek either, but my grandmother once said that if you've good intentions and a whole heart, the gods would actually answer your prayers."
"It sounds quite fairytale-ish to me." Iria admitted, brows knitting together in confusion. She stared at the luminescent crystal ball in front of her as if debating whether or not to believe the young girl.
"You know Miss, I find it hard to believe too," Rosalind admitted shamefully, her pretty blue eyes looking down at her hands. "But whatever the crystal ball says is true so I can't argue with that."
"We're not in Greece!" Iria said stubbornly. "And from what I remember, people in those days would visit the gods' altars and offer pilgrimage, light incense—those kind of strange offerings! But my boarder just wished upon the sky and God only knows if there had been some kind of shooting star last night… how do you explain that he turned to a woman overnight?"
"Girl, Miss! Girl!" Rosalind shot back sarcastically. She sighed and shook her head, leaning against her seat. "I'm not sure to be honest. Maybe some unseen force gave your friend a chance to have what he wants for the time being."
Iria Winner wanted her old, routine life back. It's amazing how one event can change everything.
"It's Aphrodite's thing you know; unrequited love and all that. Didn't they teach you Greek mythology at school?" Rosalind asked.
Iria rolled her eyes. "It strikes me peculiar that you little girl aren't in school."
"What can I say? I'm too cool for that!"
Iria grumbled under her breath. "How long will it take for my friend to get things moving normally again?"
"I don't really know although one thing's for sure. If my knowledge is unerring—which never is—then, upon fulfilling your friend's wish the gods will turn things back to the way they were before."
"What if they don't?"
"Then you'll have to make him undergo a gender operation in Cuba."
Iria blinked, twice. "Excuse me?"
Rosalind shrugged. "It's legal there and I heard you get nice a discount price for donating your genitalia."
Iria Winner thought she was going to go insane.
***
Heero surveyed the room: Piles of discarded clothing, shoes and socks, lay in untidy random heaps on the floor, strewn everywhere in such a way that it was difficult to really tell if there were space left to walk on or not, although if there were any, it would be doubtless meager.
Books and other various materials found in a room were scattered among the cloths on the floor, some items like the lamp clumsily broken— a sight which caused fury to coalesce in Heero's system.
He, though reluctant and adamant to admit it, liked that lamp.
The stoic Japanese boy brushed the current thought aside and focused on more timely events, specifically the one that had to deal with a tornado ripping apart his room—and the annoying baka's not forgetting.
After a slip of the tongue and the almost kiss, Heero had left the room to Duo for her to change and only went back a few moments later to save himself from the questioning the American might have in stored for him. He hadn't even been gone for so long and yet, the braided baka seemed to have made a mess of the room already.
Heero's cold prussian blue eyes followed in silent scrutiny to rest themselves on a small human-shaped lump curled beneath the confining white sheets of the bed adjacent to his. This seemingly 'still' ball trembled lightly and upon closer inspection, the cocoon-like sheets that wrapped around the 'ball' had a small, almost imperceptible red stain.
Also with trained eyes and a 20/20 vision, one could clearly decipher that Heero's bed sheets were one of the few blankets covering the shivering ball.
Heero strode over to the bed that had previously been owned by a braided American boy named Duo Maxwell, and crossed his arms, glowering with seething anger at the curled up lump.
The aforementioned lump, seemingly aware of another being's presence in the room, poked its head of the white constriction to furrow its brows in confusion at the intruder.
The intruder (i.e. Heero) glared darkly down at stark feminine features, in such a menacing manner that could cause any person weak of the heart to undergo a cardiac arrest.
This effeminate being however, immune and lenient towards it, simply rolled her eyes and raised her middle finger, a gesture that proved to be a wrong idea because the Japanese boy looked ready to strike at the wan girl any time, hand poised for attack.
"Go away, Heero." A muffled voice whined irritably. Heero could see the loose silky strands of chestnut sticking out of the small hole in which 'the lump' had managed to get its head out.
"I can't."
"And just why not?" The lump had burrowed itself again.
"You stained my sheets."
The small lump made a small sound of protest and declared itself to the world in one swift blink of an eye, pushing down the sheets that concealed it, to reveal a very moody-looking longhaired girl with clear violet eyes.
"Here, Yuy. You can have your sheets now." She said bitterly, accentuating her words with every cock of her head. She shoved the sheets into his arms and buried her scantily clad paleness into the remaining thin sheets that also happened to be stained with crimson.
"You're disgusting." Heero scoffed.
"You're Japanese!" The girl said sarcastically, throwing her hands up in the air in mock realization. "You know what, it would really help if you left me alone to cope with my current condition! I mean these things take time to heal don't they? So why not use that time to get off my case. So I stained the sheets, you got a problem with that chum?"
"Yes, in fact I do." Heero shot back and, before the girl had any chance to retaliate, the boy seized the blankets underneath her. The girl let out a surprised yelp and was completely mortified as the sheets were taken off, balding the bed of anything but the coffee colored foam as she rolled onto her back.
The girl glared at the boy and stood to her feet after recovering from the initial shock and bewilderment that Heero's actions had infused, violet eyes slitting irritably.
"Now, I don't." Heero said, pleased with himself as he fisted the sheets in both hands for them to stay put. He gave the girl a scornful look before turning around to do the laundry, for after all, it was his turn that day.
"Heero." The girl once known as Duo Maxwell but still kept that name except that his/her gender altered and questioned the sanity of everyone in the house that Iria Winner owned, spoke softly, the tone of her voice slightly treading on dangerous waters.
Heero turned around, regarding her with one of his trademark glares, only sobering when she pulled his face closer to her and pressed her lips gently against his passive ones.
For a very brief moment, Heero felt his heart skip a millisecond beat. Their sudden closeness was almost overwhelming and Heero had never felt a stranger notion as wanting to envelope the girl—who was currently kissing him—in a fierce, passionate embrace, before in his whole life.
Duo was feeling a bit flustered herself and judging by the fact that their kiss endured for less than a second, ending very swiftly as Shakespeare once said 'swift as lighting in the cullied night, short as any dream!', and it being her first (awkward) iss, she had every right to be crimson-faced.
This rare emotion emanating from her however, was thoroughly confusing for the red stains on her cheeks (not counting the ones in other secluded areas) may be very well depicted as mortification.
Her hand instinctively rose to her side and she held in the air to slap it harshly against the skin of Heero's left cheek. This of course, happened all too fast for the naked eye to see, in an abrupt consecutive sequence as Duo huffed and left the room, feeling better than she had ever felt since she'd turned into a girl.
Heero was left in the room to contemplate about what had just occurred. On cloud nine, although a little bit fazed, he only had to wonder why on earth the girl slapped him on the face.
Was it something he had said?
Surely it was something he did because knowing the braided boy who had turned into a girl, he/she was one who acted on impulse, prior to what one did toward him/her.
Then again Duo was known for doing odd, rather bizarre things in the strangest of situations. But it wasn't as if Heero cared what the American did. If anything, all the braided girl/boy… er… thing managed to draw out from him was annoyance… and pity.
Pity that he/she must be working his lip muscles more relentlessly than most people (who shut up when you give them the hint) do for he was constantly blabbering non-stop.
Heero sighed and shook his head, making a mental note to himself not to stick much too close to the braided wonder gal.
But the kiss…Heero's mental brow rose. Why should he care about some emotional, spastic girl who happened to be his roommate formerly of the same specie?!
He did not like Duo, wasn't interested in him/her in any way and loathed the mere sight of him. Period. (Of course, no pun is intended.)
Okay, maybe not loathe but somewhere bordering there.
Whether she be a girl, a boy, a canker or a…
Heero groaned.
He shouldn't be wasting any time over the girl or boy. It was too much of a nuisance and disrupted the natural order of his life.
Setting his mind on doing the laundry, for quite frankly, it was about damned time he took part in household chores, he exited the room and made his way downstairs, willing himself not to prosper on naughty thoughts that included ropes, silk and the braided baka.
***
If there was something Duo Maxwell regretted doing in her life, it was…
Well there were two things actually. One was wishing the cold, stoic roommate of her would return her growing, not-really-bordering-on-platonic feelings. Two was grabbing him for a kiss.
It was a very fast-paced kiss. Just the pressing of lips against lips for half a second—nothing more and nothing less—but however you look at it, a kiss is still a kiss.
Duo frowned, thinking about how the Japanese boy will react to it later on after doing the laundry. She snorted to herself. Heero rarely did the laundry, even if at all.
Duo knew it was just a filthy excuse to avoid her because no matter what, girl or boy, she still was Duo Maxwell—somebody Heero would not give a second look at, somebody who constantly bothered the sanity out of everybody in the house, somebody Heero would not dare waste his feelings on.
Then again it wasn't as if Heero actually had any, considering how he had the loving capacity of a rock, and the lack thereof only proved that Duo, even without any competition in the long run, was a hopeless case.
Duo buried her face in her hands, noting how her hair had strangely increased in length. She murmured softly under her breath, despising that squishy feeling between her legs. She looked down at her skirt, pulling on a disgusted face as she noticed crimson stains. She even had gotten some smudges on the living room couch as well.
Heero had taught her earlier about 'Taxi Lads' or whatever they were called, how they 'caught' the blood flowing from certain areas and kept you 'clean' for a week when your 'period' happened every 28 days. It was disgusting and Duo could only wonder how, possibly, girls could stand the total torture! (That's life for us chum.)
How Heero knew all about that, Duo did not know but for once she was glad the boy's knowledge breached to that extent. Maybe it was actually the countless monotonous hours he spent surfing the net that contributed to that, but whatever it was Duo could only be grateful.
After her lower left limb regained its normal state—since she was experiencing a sensation that resembled a thousand needles pricking into her leg, more often known as cramps to all knowledgeable girls— she promised herself that she would get a move on putting those 'Nazi Dads' or whatever they were called.
***
School was brilliant for Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner and Wufei Chang. All right, maybe not. Questions lingered at the back of their minds, curiosity tweaking because of the sight of a strange girl popping out of nowhere that morning.
Trowa Barton was fighting an internal battle himself, as was a certain Japanese boy not so far away. The chestnut haired girl had enamored Trowa and, if ever Iria permitted her to stay over, actually buying the whole story of her being Duo Maxwell, he would be more than glad to have her around, that's for sure.
Trowa smirked, tapping his pen impatiently against his desk. He checked his watch.
Only 5 hours to go. With a wistful sigh, he stared blankly at the blackboard, thinking about the girl.
Quatre Winner was in love with Trowa Barton. It was enough that he gave out subtle hints, dropped his books for Trowa to pick up at times, but no matter what he said or did, Trowa only saw him as a very good friend.
Pathetic much?
At least Trowa referred to them as 'very' good friends. Maybe they had a chance together after all? Maybe, in some insane universe of the blind!
Quatre frowned mournfully as he cast Trowa a sidelong glance, turning away only when Trowa locked eyes with him.
The lithe blond's cheeks stained crimson. If he had not been mistaken, Trowa had winked at the girl claiming to be Duo back at Iria's place. It was obvious Trowa liked the girl and Quatre couldn't be any more chagrined.
When Quatre had pecked Trowa on the cheek, the latter did not respond well. Actually Trowa didn't care at all and seemed albeit distant and immersed in thought.
Probably of that chestnut haired girl, Quatre thought bitterly. The blond sulked.
Wufei Chang meanwhile was scribbling idly on the piece of paper on his desk. He stared at the blue horizontal lines, watching them dully and the letters that he'd written earlier in blue ink.
There was a heart drawn in the middle of the paper, and a name at the center of it.
Treize Kushrenada
He gingerly traced the outline of the shape; fingers carefully running down the smooth texture of the paper, as if he didn't do it any gentler the paper would tear. He leaned back in his seat, frowning as his dark eyes turned to meet his teacher's.
The man bearing the name Wufei wrote looked at him sternly— abruptly stopping in his lecture — but there was a slight glimmer to his eyes and Wufei only smiled secretly at that.
***
Duo walked into the laundry room, only to find Heero staring down at the washing machine as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. The American rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe.
Heero sensed her presence and whipped around, furiously glaring at her.
Duo's brow shot up. "What?!"
"What are you doing here?" His voice was hard and Duo shrugged carelessly, feigning nonchalance.
"I was just… wondering where you've gone…"
"Hn."
Duo examined her nails, humming.
"What do you want?"
Duo shot him a coy look beneath her eyelashes and grinned sheepishly. She was tugging at her hair, pressing her lips together. She muttered something unintelligible under her breath, which Heero didn't quite catch.
"What did you say?"
Duo swallowed and blushed beat red. "Could you teach me how to use that… Taxi Lad." She looked down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.
"Taxi Lad?" Heero repeated monotonously, crossing his arms. "It's a maxi pad, baka."
Duo shrugged and looked defensive. "Gee, I'm sorry man!" She rolled her eyes at him. "How the hell should I know what you call it? I don't even use it for the love of God!"
Heero walked towards her and for a brief moment, Duo's breath caught in her chest.
"Maxwell," His voice was soft and Duo's heart skipped a beat and the girl nodded expectantly.
"You should to start reading."
Duo released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding for quite some time.
Heero had gone out the door of the laundry room to Iria's bedroom. Duo cursed and kicked the wall.
"Owww!!"
***
"You took pity on him and altered his gender?" Artemis had better things to do like keeping watch over her forests and punish those who dare trespass the boundary of her wood to destroy its verdant growth or slaughter the animals residing there.
She, however, found herself with the goddess of love Aphrodite, watching a mortal chestnut haired boy turned girl in a silver rimmed mirror, encrusted with jewels not of the mortal earth.
"Yes."
"And can you explain to me milady Aphrodite, why you did just that?"
Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty and it pained her to see one such mishap in love like the boy she granted his wish, in some sort of indirect way. She placed a perfect, slender finger on the mirror's edge as she smiled, her back turned to Artemis.
"The boy is as stubborn and hard-hearted as Apollo was in his prime."
Artemis' voice was cut with a tinge of bitterness. "And that gave you the authority to alter his gender? And, might I add my brother is not hard-hearted."
"Sure he isn't, lady of the wood!" Aphrodite's voice was soft and music to Artemis' ears. "Now that you've put it that way, then yes. I'm afraid I can't bear to see these foolish young ones so tragic in their love."
Artemis let out a scornful laugh and edged closer to the other god whose robes flowed to the floor. "Tragic like Pyramus and Thisbe?" She scoffed. "From what I remember milady, Pygmalion and Galathea were not of the same gender."
"I've helped a string of lovers in the previous millennia, lady of the wood." Aphrodite threw against her. "And suffice to say, this is another call to me. Also, Pygmalion despised the opposite kin! All women Artemis! Can you have imagined such derision?"
"Yes, but the beautiful sculpture that was Galatea was still in fact, a woman and though, artificial and bred by a mortal's imperfect fingers, is still a woman in every likeness!"
"Pygmalion was very much in woe. 'Tis but a pity to watch him adorn her lifeless, rigid feet with eglantine, dress her up in silken robes."
"Tis but a pity that you turned the boy into what he isn't."
"Hush, Lady of the Wood." Aphrodite said sweetly. "Hush! Bid thee time and things will resume their mortal pace again. He shall see this as a dream and so will everybody else."
"And the love you call tragic shall soon end as dawn breaks over the consciousness?"
"Only they shall remember it."
"The boy and his destined one?" Artemis asked.
"Of course." Aphrodite said to the god whom she was so fond of. "Of course."
"I doubt it will be an easy pavéd road for those two boys. Knowing how you do not fancy a smooth and steadfast love."
"Smooth and steadfast love is dull, however passionate and pure," Aphrodite admitted, nodding gently at Artemis. "But jealousy can prove more affection than this boys youthfulness."
***
Duo watched carefully as Heero removed the sticky adhesive strip off the 'maxi pad' and pressed it against some discarded, thankfully unused underwear.
"Oh. So that's how you do it." Duo's eyes widened as she watched Heero in fascination. "Now that that's over and done with, I'm hungry."
"I thought you just had breakfast."
"That was 3 hours ago."
Heero sighed, tossing the underwear to Duo. "Do something productive while I cook."
"Productive?" Duo repeated, bewildered and flustered. "Shouldn't we be doing that together?"
"Don't get any wrong ideas, Maxwell." Heero said dangerously. "And don't twist my words."
"Hey, you said 'productive' and you had this husky tone of voice!" Duo defended herself. "You didn't expect me to do it by myself did you?"
"You have one dirty mind." Heero murmured as he walked to the door, a hand resting on the doorknob. "Learn the anatomy of the female body or something that will help you condition."
Duo rolled her eyes and sighed as Heero left the room.
Tbc…
===
Reference Books:
Mythology:
Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
by Edith Hamilton.
The Greek Wayby Edith Hamilton.
Well? Sorry for the LONG delay… I had fever, flu and other random stuff keep happening to me! Karmic much? Yeah, I think so too.
Till the next chapter,
Shace
xoxo
Please Review!