sweetestsurrender | { The AU meme }

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{ The AU meme }

Ever played out something and then later wondered "What if?" Ever wondered what it'd be like to play your character a different way, but didn't feel like making a full thing dedicated to it? Now's your chance to play it out!

Using RNG you'll roll 1-3 for the level of the change, and 1-6 for the change itself, or if you want, pick your own based on what you wanted to do.

1)  Small Change: The flap of a butterfly's wings can cause tsunami's on the other side of the world.

-1: "A minute too late"- What if you missed something by a minute, or more? You missed the big meeting, the girl, helping that person, all because you were too late, what happens next?
-2: "The nick of time"- Just like the first, only that instead of missing something you got, that if you got something you missed because you were either too late, or just messed up? Congratulations! Let's just hope it's what you really wanted.
-3: "A little too early"- One more, what if you showed up early? It's suppose to be a good thing, is it this time?
-4: "The other choice"- You had two choices, left or right, heads or tails, Coke or Pepsi, now you get to see what would have happened with the other choice.
-5: "Oops!"- You slipped up, and made a mistake. Is it bad, or a blessing in disguise?
-6: Wild card/Pick your own- Thought of a slight change that'd make all the difference, or had one you wanted to play? Here's your chance.

2)  Medium Change: Didn't really see that coming, did you?

-1: Turning point change- That one thing that would have turned things in your favor went against you, and vice versa. How will you handle this critical change?
-2: "A Razor's edge"- That one moment that could have went either way has gone the opposite way of before. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?
-3: Crossroads- You reached a point in your life where you had several choices before you, now's the time to go down another road and see where it leads.
-4: The Road less traveled- "Two roads diverged in the woods, and I took the one less traveled" Will it make all the difference?
-5: Interference- Something blocked you from getting something you were going for. What do you do once the moment is gone?
-6: Wild Card/Pick your own-Thought of a medium change that'd make all the difference, or had one you wanted to play? Here's your chance.

3)  Large Change: Why do all the people here have goatee's?

-1: Good/Evil- Use to be a good guy? Welcome to the dark side, here's your cookie. Former bad guy? Hand over the cookie tray and join the side of good. How will the change of moral compass change you?
-2: A different person- You're now a completely different person, literally. Are you taller? Shorter? A robot? A pony? Powers? No powers? Your call.
-3: The other sex- Rule!63 is in effect. Now how does this effect your relationships with the other?
-4: A change in history- Something that happened in the past now has completely change or is now gone. One domino toppling the rest. Now that you've changed your past, how will it effect your future?
-5: Giving up- You walked away from something important to you? Do you regret it? Are you happy?
-6: Wild Card/Pick your own- Thought of a large change that'd make all the difference, or had one you wanted to play? Here's your chance.

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"I can hold it just fine." He promised. And did just that. One arm kept hold of their food while his other arm wrapped around Wufei to keep him secure.

"Just concentrate on the road, and mind any bumps!" Duo chuckled again, just teasing really. Wufei was flawless on the bike, the ride there had been smooth and without incident. Duo had no fears. He could probably have let go of her completely if he'd wanted...

But he didn't want.

She nodded, and the ride home was as smooth as the ride to McDonalds had been, with easy turns and wind tugging at their jackets. The tension that had built up over the day was melting away for her, and by the time they pulled into a parking space at her apartment building, she was as loose and relaxed as she would've been if she spent the time doing her forms.

Up they went, helmets left on the bike, and into her third floor apartment -- with a discrete little camera pointed directly at her bike -- and in. It was a single bedroom apartment, and it looked like she'd hired someone to decorate because none of it looked like the sort of thing she'd choose for herself. A purple sofa, with abstract art hanging above it, flanked on either side by a ficus, a glass coffee table with knicknacks and magazines that were at least three years old on the glass shelf beneath the table top. An entertainment center made of wicker painted green, a massive flat screen TV covered in dust, an empty bookshelf off to one side. The dining room wasn't much better, sporting a table that looked like it came from the outdoor section of the furniture store, with a hole in the center for an umbrella and made of teak wood. The chairs were folded up and tucked into a corner, and the whole place needed a good dusting.

Her jacket she tucked into the closet by the door, and traded her shoes for slippers. "I don't have spare house-shoes, do you mind being in sock-feet?" she asked as she carried her bag into the dining room and unpacked the laptop onto the table, retrieving two of the folding chairs and setting them out.

"Uhh nope. Don't mind." They were just going to gloss over the whole state of the apartment, huh? Okay. Duo could pretend he was colour blind and...just generally blind.

He put down their food and bent to removing his boots before grabbing the bag up and taking it to the kitchen. Where he immediately grabbed a cloth to wipe down the dusty surfaces before he took the food out.

She was immune to the ugly furniture by now, to be honest. "Sorry," she said as she saw him dusting. "I haven't been here in a couple weeks, and sometimes it seems like they put dust in the ventilation system just to antagonize me," she gave him a sheepish smile, wiping dust off the dining room table, too, moving her laptop to do it, and putting it right back.

The dust in the living room was much heavier, and spoke to just how much she paid attention to that room at all.

"It's fine, it's fine. Nothin a little spring clean wouldn't hurt!" But... he did bring the food over to the table instead of the living room where he'd hoped they could sit and relax. He eyed that room for a second and gave a shake of his head before grabbing a chair to sit down.

"You've cleaning stuff here, right? Vacuum? Furniture spray?" In fact, before he sat down he trotted off to get the windows open to air the apartment out some. A few weeks was a long time to be gone.

Once he was satisfied he returned to the table and finally pulled out his burger. "Can sort that out later. Food first."

"I do," she agreed, blush burning at her cheeks. "I normally wouldn't invite anyone over with it in this state, but..." they needed to sort things out, and if they were going to be married, well. He deserved to see even her worst habits. Like not cleaning the living room unless someone was coming.

"If it's any consolation, the bedroom is in a much better state," she offered sheepishly, wiping down their chairs as he threw open the windows, and sat down to enjoy the meal with him.

After carefully removing the pickles, anyway.

Duo shook his head and gave her as reassuring a smile as he could. "Hey, I said it's fine. You've not bee here in a while, it's gonna need some tlc. Nothin we can't have done within a half hour, tops!"

It wasn't as if Duo was a clean freak or anything. But Wufei's place for sure needed a little work. A little dusting here and there. And he supposed the bedroom not being as bad was a good enough start.

Wufei removed her pickles. And Duo grabbed them right up and slid them into his burger before taking a big bite.

She laughed when he swiped her pickles, relaxing a little as she took a bite, too, letting out a long sigh as she enjoyed it. She let herself relax, getting halfway through the burger before she said anything.

"Obviously we have a mountain of things to discuss. Where do you want to start?" she asked, before taking another big bite.

Duo was actually hoping to get through the meal before they started this, because he had a feeling he might lose his appetite, but he'd known it was coming. He set his burger down in it's wrapper and grabbed a napkin to wipe his hands and then his lips.

"... I'm not sure." He said honestly and gave her a serious look, even if his lips were curved in a gentle smile. "I figure the most important thing is you, Wufei. They gave you six months, right? That means you've six months to find a way outta this if... if this isn't actually what you want."

Wufei hummed softly, chewing her bite and swallowing, taking a fry and eating it as she considered his words carefully. "I think you're wrong," she decided when she finished it. "The most important thing is us. This is..." she sighed, carefully thought over her words before she said them.

"There are a lot of things I'm unsure of right now, but one thing that I want to be absolutely certain of, is that you won't be unhappy," she said softly. "You're making an extremely large sacrifice for me, and I..." she dropped her gaze to her food. "I'm not likely to be a very good wife."

Duo was quiet for a little while, just watching her with that same serious expression on his face. He wished he could laugh. Wished he could find his sense of humour to lighten this for the both of them. But knew he couldn't. This was a conversation that was going to take care... and he knew he needed to be careful. So when he finally spoke, it was slow and it was thoughtful.

"Before I tell you why you're wrong... How about you explain why you won't be a good wife?" Duo asked as gently as he could. He wanted to know where Wufei's head was at. And why she thought the way she did.

She nodded a little, glancing up at him and managing a small smile. It told her volumes, that he wasn't trying to lighten the mood, or dismiss her concerns, that he was treating it seriously. It was one of the reasons she wasn't already suggesting giving up the marriage idea and just... running and hiding the rest of her life.

"Well, aside from the cleaning issue," which really wasn't much of one -- she just didn't bother cleaning what she didn't use. "I'm terrible at cooking, I'm not the least bit submissive, I'm stubborn, often say hurtful things without realizing until it's too late..." she took a deep breath, prepared herself for the last item on the list. "And I'm not a virgin. I was sleeping with Treize during the war. The only other person who knows about it is Une." That last one was the part she was really worried about. Duo probably already knew all the other things on the list, after all.

Duo did know all of the other things on the list. But that last one was what made him go rather still. It wasn't even about the fact she wasn't a virgin. That was never a deal breaker. But Treize of all people? Duo had had his fair share of nightmare fuel at the hands of that man's 'grand designs' and his lackies. He harboured a deep hatred for that man and was disappointed that he hadn't been the one to get the kill shot in.

He took a breath and forced a smile.

"Right... So that's your type, huh?" He nodded and, just as he suspected, now found his food looking rather unappetising. "I'd have been fine with everything else, Wufei. But it looks like I'm the one who's gonna be the disappointment here. But hey, like I said, least we've got time to work out what to do from here, right? We can find someone... more your type." Maybe with just without the penchant for megalomania. Duo was nice enough not to say that out loud. It wouldn't do to make disparaging remarks about a friends dead ex.

She looked up at him, blinked a few times as she listened, and then she laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth as she leaned back, giving her head a shake. "More like he was a lesson I learned the hard way," she replied, her face crimson. "I didn't love him, he was... well, he offered and I wanted to know what it was like before I died. As it turned out, I enjoyed it quite a bit, so whenever the opportunity arose..." she shrugged. "He was more enjoyable than my right hand, as the saying goes."

Duo wasn't one to normally judge... But this was Treize that Wufei was laughing about having casual sex with and something about that just made him itch. Or maybe it was less that she'd slept with him and more that he'd known something about her that he, nor their friends, had known...? Maybe it was both. Maybe it was a lot of different things? A lot of things Duo was trying very hard not to think about.

"Makes sense." He replied quietly, though it didn't make a lick of sense to him. Once more he summoned up some of that bullshit cheer he was well known for and found a laugh from somewhere, following it with a wide smile. "Least it narrows the pool down, right? We can work out who'd be a good match for you from what you learned from him. Easy!"

She lifted a brow at that shift, grabbing her cup and taking a long sip. "Considerably," she agreed. "My checklist is a bit long, but you do tick off most of the boxes. All of them, actually, except the ones that would require me to know what you're like in the bedroom. Though the likelihood that you don't check those as well is fairly small, it mostly amounts to being attentive and you've always been very good at that."

He blinked. You could almost hear the gears being stripped as they ground to a halt and attempted to change course to follow what Wufei was saying. Why had things turned to him? He shifted a little in his seat and couldn't quite stop it when his smile faded away into a frown.

"My... ah... my experience isn't as extensive. Not sure I'd measure up. Might just disappoint you there too." Duo said with a rather lame attempt at a joking tone. "Flattered you'd think so highly of me though."

She hid a smile behind her cup. "Why do you think I didn't yank my hand away when you took it, at the space port?" she asked, watching him intently over the rim of her cup. The question was definitely some kind of test.

"No idea. I've been wondering that all day." Duo replied with a sigh. He looked down at his hands only to give an unhappy frown on realising that he'd somehow torn his napkin up into strips. With an annoyed huff he rolled it into a ball and tossed it onto the table.

"I'm walking on eggshells here, Wu. I don't know what the right or wrong thing to say here is. I don't wanna come on too strong but I don't want you thinkin you've boxed me in. This is..." He sighed heavily again and brought a hand up to run through his bangs, then realised his braid was still tucked into his jacket so yanked that out.

"... But here's the thing. I was gonna suggest it. I didn't know what I was doing when I grabbed your hand, but it turned out to be a shortcut to what I was gonna say anyway. Only I'm not stupid enough to think I'm even half the man you deserve... Today kinda proved that to me. If I can do anythin for you though, I can give you time. If that's all I can do to help... Then when the times up I'll think of somethin else." Duo just needed the time. Maybe he could kidnap her or... who knew? Something. Anything.

Edited 2022-01-23 03:47 (UTC)

She hummed softly, nodding a little as she watched him, and all his little nervous habits. She waited, watching as he got it all out, and took a long drink from her cup before setting it on the table.

"I froze," she admitted softly. "Because even though I was aware that you didn't know what it meant, it opened a path I had never imagined I could take. I always thought I would be trapped pretending to be a man, or hiding from my family, or in a marriage I didn't want. I never dared to imagine a future where I could actually be happy. Where I could be myself, with someone I care deeply for, able to do the work that I love," she shrugged. "I didn't pull away because in that moment, I wanted to marry you -- and to be clear, I still do, but only if it won't trap you in a miserable half-existence for the rest of our lives. I failed to consider that part of the equation at the time, and for that I am sorry."

"Here's the other thing..." Duo began, he wasn't looking at Wufei as he spoke but off to the side, toward the window he'd opened earlier. It looked like it might rain...

"... The thing is... I don't have much of a future. Never did. I'm just takin each day as it comes. The idea of getting married wasn't even on my radar. Never was. Who'd be stupid enough to wanna marry me, huh? So if all you need from me is a way outta hell, I can be that. But..." He took a breath here, a deep and ever-so-slightly shaky breath, before he looked at Wufei. He looked like a man who knew he was about to fuck up but there was no way of stopping it now. He just had to hope for the best... and that he'd be able to pull his foot out of his mouth long enough to get his boots back on when he ran out of the apartment.

"Did I ever tell you I was bi?" The words weren't quite what he'd been going for but he rolled with it. "Suppose pansexual'd be more accurate. Honestly I've never put much stock in any of that..." His eyes lowered, looking away from Wufei once more, his voice lowered too. "... Just in case you didn't think there was anything in this for me. Guess just... gettin to be around you more is good enough for me."

She watched him, setting her cup aside so she had nothing to hide behind, and listened. Watched his face carefully, met his gaze when it turned to her. She wasn't sure where he was going when he looked at her, brow furrowing slightly as he spoke.

It took a few seconds for her to piece it together, but when she did it was painted all over her face as her eyebrows went up and tension eased out of her shoulders. She reached over to settle her hand over Duo's and give it a gentle squeeze. "Duo Maxwell," she said softly. "You're a fucking idiot."

She cracked a smile then, and rushed ahead before he could cut her off and get offended. "Setting aside that you're a Gundam Pilot and everything that comes with that, you're handsome, kind, strong, and perhaps most importantly of all, you actually give a shit about what happens to me, which is more than can be said for several of my so-called friends. So yes, I'm stupid enough to want to marry you. Even if I have to watch you shred every napkin we ever come across. In fact, that might be a welcome distraction if we're invited to state dinners, they're horribly boring and I dare say the silk napkins would be a challenge for you."

She got up then, coming to lean against the table next to him and releasing his hand so she could cup his cheek instead. "May I kiss you?"

"Yeah, you're not wrong there." He'd always known he was an idiot. Most everyone else knew too. Now Wufei had confirmation. Though why they meant she had to take his hand was beyond him. Trying to lessen the blow somehow? He didn't get the chance to ask before she was taking again, and taking over him to the point he wondered if she'd even heard what he'd said.

But he listened. Even stupid people could listen. And as he did he had to think back over what he'd said that had caused this reaction.... She was flattering him and... what? Still wanted to go through with this? Duo thought she'd been trying to convince herself, and him, not to do this?

He could feel a headache coming on.

Before he could ask where the aspirin was, Wufei had stood and moved to stand beside him. Surprised, he'd looked up automatically, and was doubly surprised when a warm hand cupped his cheek.

"... Huh?" Oh yes, he was an idiot. A monumental idiot. And what few braincells he had possessed had all either died or were in comas brought about by shock. A warm flush coloured his cheeks and all he could do was nod, not able to trust his voice right then.

She laughed at his 'huh', thumb brushing across his cheek as she leaned in to kiss him, soft and sweet on the lips. "I won't lie to you," she said softly when she pulled back. "I'm not in love with you, but if I do the work to take down the walls I put between us, I believe I will be." It was equal parts terrifying and exciting.

His eyes fell closed at that touch, and very softly he kissed her back. But he wished she hadn't have said anything at all and had just left it at that. Because all Duo could do then was to give her a sad smile.

"Don't... That was the last thing I wanted, Wu. If the feelings aren't there, just... don't, okay? I'll help you out. I'm fine with that. Hell... if you find someone else while we're married, that's fine too..." Maybe. That was a something he'd deal with when he got to it at least. "But don't say stuff like that, yeah? Nothin worse than false hope."

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