It was a few days before Turbo felt okay to move so much as an inch from Felix's bed.
"I am never drinking that stuff again," he vowed when he finally managed to stumble out of the penthouse. Skittles barged past him, knocking him to his hands and knees, and Turbo grumbled angrily after the retreating unicorn.
"I did warn you," Felix reminded him gently as he pulled him up and supported his limp form. "You look awful."
"I feel awful," Turbo agreed, attempting to stand but then collapsing against the handyman. "I don't suppose you've got a way to fix this?"
"Actually, I do," Felix replied with a smile. "You just wait in my bedroom and I'll fix you up a special drink that'll have that headache gone before you can say 'hangover'." Turbo blinked from where Felix had deposited him on his bed, confused at the suddenness of his actions. Was it just his dehydrated brain imaging things, or was Felix acting like the man who'd loved him?
After several minutes of staring silently at the clean white ceiling, Turbo heard some noise in the hallway.
"Skittles, stop trying to bump me," he heard Felix say warningly. Skittles snorted.
"Listen to Felix, Skittles," Turbo ordered his steed, and not long after that the door opened smoothly. Skittles trotted in and jumped up on the bed, turning a few times and then lying down like a fat lump of sugar.
"This should cure what ails you," Felix assured Turbo as he handed him the glass of fizzing water. Turbo took the glass and, after a cautionary sniff, sipped at the beverage.
"What the fuck is in that?" he gagged, "Poison?"
"Now, why would I poison someone I care about?" Felix laughed at his reaction. "It's simply water with some tablets crushed up in it. Gene says it's a failproof hangover cure."
"I suppose he'd know better than anyone," Turbo figured, and drained the glass as quickly as possible to get rid of the bitter liquid. When it was gone, he shuddered.
"Now, you should start to feel better in no time," Felix assured him, gently ruffling his hair. "Just try to walk around a bit. When you're better, we'll go to Litwak's Laptop to get you a new outfit and new haircut." Turbo nodded and reclined against the pillows on Felix's bed. Every little noise still made his head throb, not to mention what happened to his head when he stood up, but he figured that these things took time. Patience had never been a virtue of his, however.
"Why isn't it working yet?" he whined after five minutes.
"Patience was never your strong suit, was it?" Felix asked, sitting beside Turbo and reaching a hand out to gently stroke through his tangled mane.
"No," Turbo replied, enjoying the feeling of Felix's fingers in his hair. "If you keep doing that, though, I might be a little bit more patient."
"You're not gonna lie about still feeling sick just so I'll keep stroking your hair, are you?" Felix wondered, ceasing his action for a moment.
"I won't now," Turbo pouted. Felix sighed.
"Don't you want to get some new clothes? Get a new hairstyle? You can create a new image for yourself so you don't look like the bad guy you became," Felix urged him. He was always so honest, not to mention so thoughtful.
"Yes," Turbo admitted, smiling at the thought of recreating himself. "If I change my appearance, maybe I'll be able to make some friends even if they thought I was a monster."
"You're thinking clearer now so the cure must be working," Felix beamed. "I told you it'd work."
"I'm not gonna try standing yet, though," Turbo frowned. "My head still feels kinda funny." Felix smiled and continued stroking Turbo's hair, just barely restraining himself from finding a brush to groom him. He felt eyes on him and turned, seeing Skittles looking knowingly at the picture he and his master made.
"Don't," Felix warned the unicorn, but the animal ignored him and instead nudged him so he fell forward and kissed Turbo's forehead.
"Thanks, Skittles," Turbo grinned at his pet. Felix huffed but he couldn't stay mad at Turbo when he looked so poorly. He'd probably made him feel better, anyway.
Sure enough, Turbo claimed that he was ready to sit up a few minutes later. When he did pull himself up into a sitting position, his head thudded slightly but it was a vast improvement over the spinning it had been doing earlier.
"Much better," he proclaimed, standing on his own two feet for the first time in days. "Now, where'd you say this Litwak's Laptop game is?"
One long, slow unicorn ride later, the pair arrived at Litwak's Laptop and Felix stepped through the port with ease where Turbo was stopped by the Surge Protector.
"Do you have permission to go into this game?" Surge asked Turbo. Turbo frowned at the blue man, fuming silently.
"He's with me, Surge, just getting some new clothes and a new hairstyle," Felix assured him.
"Keep him on a very short leash," Surge sighed, and disappeared into the floor.
"A leash might make a good addition," Turbo mused. Felix blushed a bright red, much to Turbo's amusement. "C'mon, Fix-it, I was only jokin'. Now let's go get me some new clothes." He led Felix by his hand but, when he realised that he had no idea where he was going, Felix took the lead instead and led Turbo into a strange station that was all white with some electric-blue lines on the walls. There was a dark grey screen at the port where the game joined Game Central Station, one which lit up as the two approached it. Turbo shielded his vulnerable eyes against the white glare, but Felix stepped through with no problem and walked through into a white space with various icons floating around.
"It's like a code room," Turbo commented, and immediately felt guilty. He'd come here to be good but he still loved the feeling of power that came with being in a code room. In this one, however, he didn't float but rather walked on a ground that was the same white as everything else but also reflective.
"Those icons look close but they're mighty far away. It's quite a walk," Felix informed Turbo. Groaning, Turbo took his seat atop Skittles once again and urged the unicorn into a trot once Felix joined him.
"You never mentioned walking as part of the deal," he grumbled, glaring at the far-off icons which looked tauntingly close.
"I thought you were a sportsperson," Felix chuckled. "You're not very sporty."
"I drove race cars, that doesn't exactly require a lot of stamina or fitness," Turbo corrected him. "I had no idea that my skills also translated into horse-riding, though. But maybe you gave me some experience with that."
"Are you going to keep making comments like that all day?" Felix complained.
"Maybe," Turbo laughed. "It's fun to see you get all flustered. You're cute when you are."
"Turbo..." Felix sighed, and he felt the handyman slump against his back in faked exhaustion. Smirking, Turbo rode on.
At long last, the icons appeared to be much closer than they had been before.
"We're here," Felix announced, eagerly jumping off Skittles and brushing invisible dust from his clothes. "The game we're looking for is right over here." With that, he led Turbo over to one particular icon that looked vaguely diamond-shaped and double-tapped on it. With a whirl, Turbo found himself still sitting on Skittles transported into a strange world filled with tall buildings, lights, and people. So many people.
"Where the hell is this?" Turbo breathed.
"The locals call it E-Z Living," Felix informed him, standing with his hands on his hips. "We go here all the time to have some fun. Of course, it's restricted to people over the age of 18 because of all the nightclubs."
"And where would I find some new clothes?" Turbo wondered, looking around at the brightly-lit stores.
"In a clothing store, of course," Felix explained simply, and hopped over to one of the stores with men's clothing in the window. Turbo followed, now leading Skittles by the bridle that Gene had made him get for his pet. Unfortunately, he had to leave Skittles tied up outside but the locals gushing over the creature made him more comfortable.
The store was as brightly-lit inside as it was on the outside.
"Can I help you?" a chirpy teenaged boy asked.
"I guess. I'm looking for a new outfit. Something that says I'm friendly and most definitely am not the same guy who took over a game," Turbo explained, stuffing his hands in the pockets of Felix's trousers that he'd been wearing.
"I think I can see something you'd look good in," the boy mused. "Come with me." Turbo followed him, leaving Felix behind to look at the skinny jeans. The boy led him to a rack of jeans, then over to some shirts which he put against Turbo to see if they'd suit him. Appearing to be pleased, he thrust the pile of clothes at Turbo and ushered him into a changing room.
"A silk shirt? Really?" he frowned at his reflection. The cotton one looked better but still too much like Felix's, and the Hawaiian one was just downright ridiculous.
"Did you see that guy? He actually thought I was a shop assistant," he heard the boy snickering. Fuming, Turbo put his clothes back on and stormed out of the change rooms.
"Felix, this shopping thing sucks," Turbo whined when he found Felix.
"Oh, did that guy prank you?" Felix asked, concern furrowing his brow and colouring his voice.
"Yes," Turbo nodded. "Can you find me some new clothes?"
"Why don't you find some for yourself?" Felix suggested. Turbo blinked before that settled in.
"Fine, I'll do that," he decided, and went around the store a few times before finally finding a white shirt and red tracksuit pants with a white stripe down each leg.
"It's similar to your old look but with a modern twist," Felix nodded appreciatively at his new look. "Now all you need is a haircut."
"And where would I get that done?" Turbo asked, thrilled that Felix liked his new attire. He still wore his old shoes, of course, but only because the white sneakers matched his new outfit perfectly.
"There's a trendy hairdresser just down the road," Felix informed him with a smile. "Just get Skittles and we'll go." After rescuing Skittles from the crowd of gawking locals, Turbo led his pet to the hairdresser's and tied him up outside. It was only a matter of time before another horde flocked to his poor creature, but how long would a haircut take?
After seeing Turbo's current hairstyle, the flamboyant hairdresser declared it a catastrophe and immediately set to work cutting large lengths of it. The black hair soon coated the floor, but the length-shortening was the fastest part of the haircut. It seemed to take forever for the hairdresser to snip away at Turbo's hair, the result being choppy layers. Turbo had never heard of these layers before, but he recognised it from the hairstyle of many Sugar Rush racers.
"You'll probably want to get some gel as well and some other hair products to maintain the hairstyle," the hairdresser advised him once he'd stepped back to admire his handiwork.
"I'll keep that in mind," Turbo nodded, and looked mournfully at his lost locks before smiling at his reflection. His hair still hung halfway down his neck and felt quite thick but light at the same time. He supposed that he'd feel better after a shower.
"Oh my land," Felix gasped when he saw Turbo's new hair.
"Does it look awful?" Turbo worried. He'd thought that it looked good but if Felix thought otherwise...
"Oh no, don't worry, it looks really good," Felix assured him, his cheeks burning with the honey glows.
"Thanks for the haircut," Turbo grinned at his hairdresser. The man shielded his eyes from the yellow glare of Turbo's teeth, but the racer was so caught up in his little bubble of joy that he barely noticed. Now Felix was reacting to him! And all it had taken was a little appearance change.
Felix was taken aback by the sight of Turbo walking out of the bathroom that night towel-drying his hair. On the way out of E-Z Living, he'd bought a few more pairs of tracksuit pants and t-shirts, although the tracksuit pants were mainly for sleeping in. The ones he wore now were a lime green which, while daggy on anyone else, looked good on Turbo as they clung to his hips. Not even his pudgy stomach could ruin the sight.
"See something you like?" Turbo grinned, removing the towel from his hair. He looked just like the old Turbo, which made Felix feel slightly conflicted over his feelings for him. He was just trying to be his friend, but the sight of him now brought up feelings of lust that he had to try very hard to suppress.
"I think the makeover was a success," Felix managed to say once he got his voice back. He'd been struck dumb by the sight of his half-naked ex-lover. It almost ashamed him.
"Thought so," Turbo grinned, and tossed the towel on the floor but then placed it back in the bathroom after a serious look from Felix. "Now, want me to take care of what my new look has done to you?" Felix wanted to say no. He knew that he should say no. But for some reason he didn't. Instead, he nodded and let Turbo have his way with him.