{ The AU meme }

[unrelatedname]

 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.

 

Comments

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Huh? Oh..." Where was that coming from? Duo thought about that for a second or two, it had just popped out really. But he supposed...

"They don't really approve, do they? Guess I just meant, I didn't wanna be the cause of you getting into it with people. Causing arguments." Or just being a general blemish on Wufei's reputation. But he kept that line to himself. That was his own insecurity talking and Duo realised that.

[pilot05]

She nodded, considering that carefully. "Then I suppose it's best I tell you what the dynamic was before you were thrust into things. Heero and I are very blunt with each other, but when it comes to emotions he's very slow to react. He may have seemed offended earlier, but he was just trying to decide how he felt. Sally thinks of herself as my big sister, and believes I am repressing my emotions because I tend to hide them from her. So naturally she thinks she must protect me at all costs and that I'm not considering how this will affect me. Then there's Une, she's just an asshole." She shrugged her shoulders. "The fact that it's you I'm marrying is probably why Heero isn't upset."

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo considered her words then slowly nodded. That was fair. But his statements remained. Whether Heero was slow to react, Sally was a big sis type or Une an asshole, Duo still didn't want to be the cause of any problems. His hope was he would be a solution not a problem. He tried to copy and give a shrug of his own, but ended in a wince when he forgot his arm. Instead he gave her a gentle smile.

"Just want this to be as easy on you as I can. You get that, right? I'm glad he's not upset. I hope you're considerin' how this'll all affect you. And Une..." No comment. He'd always thought she was an asshole but suspected for different reasons from Wufei.

[pilot05]

She smiled back, giving her head a little shake. "I know you do," Wufei agreed softly. "I'm considering how it affects us both, how to navigate it all without hurting either of us. I suspect that's going to be quite difficult for both of us, but I will do everything I can to prevent it," but she knew her own temper, knew now that he felt more deeply for her than she for him.

It made her heart ache to know that there wasn't really a way that this wouldn't hurt for him, in some way or another. She lowered her gaze to her mug, smiling a little at it. "But I think, for me, whatever pain there is will be worth it." For freedom. For someone she could trust sharing her home, her bed. Her body. She slid her fingers over the sides of her mug, clearly chewing on something.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo leaned a little forward then, elbow dropping onto the table and then his cheek onto his hand.

"Don't worry about me, Wufei. It's great you'd care enough to do that, but I'll be fine." He smiled. "I'm tougher than I look. And gettin to piss off some old guys who think they can control your life is a worthy goal, I think. But if you're gettin hurt because of this... then it comes to a stop." Because that was the very last thing Duo had wanted. The plan was to avoid more hurt not create it.

[pilot05]

"Well, it's certainly less pain than I'd face if I went along with what the Elders want," she replied softly, lifting her gaze to meet his. "But I want to hurt you about as much as you want to hurt me. I can't just stop caring about you because you tell me to, but if we can promise to be honest with each other about how we feel, I think we can head most of that pain off at the pass. It's worked well enough for Heero and I, though it took me a while to stop taking his bluntness personally. Especially when he was working through being pissed at me over siding with Barton during the uprising."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"It'll take time to work out a way to talk that suits us but we can do it. I'll promise to be honest though." Duo didn't typically like to lie. Omit details maybe, but outright lying wasn't his style. Unless it was about himself. 'I'm fine' when he wasn't wasn't unique to him, he knew. Duo didn't really consider that a lie exactly...

But even as he said it he knew there was one thing he was going to lie about. And that was his feelings. Wufei didn't need to know the extent of his feelings. Duo had no intention of forcing those on her or for her to suffer the guilt of knowing. He'd made his peace with things being unrequited a long time ago. Nothing had changed, he didn't suddenly have hope just because Wufei wanted to marry him.

"We've time to work this stuff out. There's no rush, right?" Duo finished his tea and then stood to go and wash the cup. "But since there's no rush... I was thinkin of heading out. You've stuff you gotta do, you need to rest. I should deal with some things my end." Cup put away, Duo turned around to face Wufei with a smile. "I'll be back friday. I keep my promises and I promised to take you out to drink."

[pilot05]

Wufei nodded in agreement, watching Duo move and take his mug to go wash it. "Six months," she agreed with a small smile, finishing off her own tea. "Plenty of time to sort things out, and for us to find an alternative if it becomes necessary."

Her face didn't change when he said he was leaving, but that was a pure act of will, and she bobbed her head in a nod when he promised to be back. "Then I shall see you Friday. And I'll have keys made for you by then," since he didn't have an apartment in the area, and they would be needing to spend a great deal of time together in the lead-up to the wedding.

[maxwellsdaemon]

He grinned then. "Get a damn phone too. And if you need me, call. No mater what time, okay?

"I'll get my stuff in order and..." He stopped himself just in time from saying 'I'll be all yours' and turned it into a laugh. "Be back in time to get wasted." He pushed away from the counter and started out of the kitchen and through to the bedroom where he'd left his jacket. When he came back out he was easing his arms into it as a thought came to him. "Actually, don't eat either on the friday. I'll treat you to a meal too. Pretty basic stuff but tasty enough! So long as you don't pick from the experimental menu..." And then you were doomed.

[pilot05]

She laughed when he told her to get a phone. "It's on my to do list for today. And I'll start keeping a spare in my desk, the phone smashing thing happens way more often than it should," she grinned, getting up to clean her mug while he was retrieving his jacket.

She glanced up when he came back, humming softly. "Alright. I'll text you from my new phone and let you know if I'll be at home or at work Friday afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing this spacer bar of yours," she grinned. And going out looking like an actual woman for the first time would be nice, too. Her life would never be normal, but it was about to get a whole lot closer. "I'll see you then." She figured if he wanted a ride, he would've asked for it.

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Don't get your hopes up too high. The place is only a step up from a dive bar." Sort of. It ran a fine line at least. But it was his kind of place and he liked it enough for him to want to take Wufei there.

"I'll see you soon, Wu." When he spoke then, his tone, and his smile, was gentle. Duo didn't loiter around after that, leaving was hard enough as it was. He went to the door, shoved his feet into his boots and with a little wave over his shoulder he left the apartment.

He really did have things he needed to see to. And he called a cab to get him to those places. But aside from that, it was just a lot of thinking he needed to do. And time alone was also what he needed. And he suspected something Wufei would need to. And he was, after all, only a phone call away. They'd meet on friday and Duo hoped they could sort things out a little more between them both. Till then... he needed to get his shit together.

[pilot05]

She chuckled warmly. "Yes, but it's your dive bar," she replied lightly, and when Duo smiled at her she could almost imagine herself melting like a pat of butter in a hot pan. "See you," she said softly as he disappeared out the door.

True to her word, she went out that night and got a new phone, texting him from the new number. The rest of the week she spent mulling over their situation, wrapping her head around it.

She gave her apartment a deep clean, then moved her dining room table into the living room and turned her two dining room walls into what looked like case boards. The shorter wall had a big header of 'wedding' on a sheet of wax paper. The other wasn't labeled, but both were practically covered in papers and post it notes and pages from magazines, with strings connecting things. She'd sent a few texts to Duo over the week, mostly small talk stuff, and on Friday afternoon, she sent him a series of texts letting him know that, firstly, she was at work and secondly, she was working up an appetite kicking the ass of anyone stupid enough to get in the ring with her. Apparently finding out that she was female made a whole lot of people forget that she'd kicked their asses already.

[maxwellsdaemon]

It had taken a surprisingly short amount of time to get his affairs in order. Which basically amounted to handing in his notice with his landlord and organising movers to take what few things he had to a storage unit closer to where Wufei lived. His living situation, until Friday, was basically him sleeping on Howard's sofa while he worked out what the hell to do. He'd let Howard in on it all, sworn him to secrecy, and then threatened to murder him after the second day of teasing.

In the Friday when he got the text from Wufei he was already on his way back her way. He glanced at the text once he was at a red light and burst out laughing. He quickly sent back a text saying "that'd my girl" or words to that effect before the lights turned green and he had to drive off again.

He really did hope she was giving those assholes hell. If she'd been able to kick their ass when they thought she was a guy, why the hell did they thing things would be different knowing she wss a girl? Wouldn't that mean she'd have more to prove so would hit even harder than before to prove that she was still good, if not better than before?

Sometimes people were idiots.

At the next ref light he sent a second text to tell her he was on his way to her and would be about an hour or two if she wanted up meet up with him, or if she wanted him to come to her.

[pilot05]

It took a little while for her to reply -- mostly because she was in the middle of handing someone else their ass when Duo texted her -- and it was telling him to come down to the gym and crash the party.

She was working up a nice sweat, wearing a tank top over a sports bra, leggings, and the same soft shoes she wore during the war. When Duo arrived, she was just tossing some poor soul over her shoulder to land flat on his back on the mat.

"Thirty-seven," Heero announced flatly from his spot on the bleachers, nose stuck in his laptop.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo entered the gym and quickly spotted Wufei. He remained where he was for a little while, just watching her throw some poor sap around, before he noticed Heero. He thought about it for a half minute and finally decided to approach.

Before he even sat down Heero gave him pause. Duo blinked, taking a second to work out what was being said to him, and when it clicked he gave a lopsided smile.

"Not bad." then he dropped down. Duo leaned back, elbows on the bleachers behind him and kicked his feet up to rest on the ones in front. "How long?"

[pilot05]

"She's been going since lunch," Heero replied with a little smirk. "She gave me the first round. She won, narrowly." And he wasn't the least bit ashamed of it. He and Wufei had been training together for years, and they were often very close to evenly matched.

"Anyone else?" Wufei called, wiping her neck and brow with a towel, turning to look at the potential opponents who were gathered to watch. A burly man stepped forward, rolling his shoulders.

She grinned, and as soon as they'd bowed, she pounced. She couldn't throw him, but she could spot his weaknesses, and one well-placed punch had him crumpling to the ground, clutching his side.

"Thirty-eight," Heero announced loudly, then lowered his voice to a grumble. "We should make this part of the recruitment test. Anyone stupid enough to challenge her after the tenth victory should be cut."

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo was impressed. He was weirdly proud. But also concerned.

"Don't you think its time to put a stop to this?" he asked quietly. "Man or woman, after almost 40 rounds with anyone mistakes start to get made. It wasn't long ago she was tied up for three days." He voiced his concerns but made no move to act on them. It was, of course, Wufei's choice on what she wanted to do and Duo wouldn't stop her. But he'd have worried the same if it was any of the guys doing this, or if he'd still thought she was a man. Being ex Gundam Pilots they had a habit of pushing themselves too far. Like they had something to prove. Except they didn't. Not anymore.

[pilot05]

Heero side-eyed Duo. "If you want to get punched in the dick, you can say that to her face," and the corner of his mouth tugged upwards. "She usually does this when she's wrestling with a decision. Last time it was when Une offered her a promotion that would take her out of the field. She usually stops after the fortieth."

Another poor soul landed flat on the mat. "Thirty-nine," Heero called.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo frowned then looked back at Wufei. He damn well hoped he wasn't part of what she was working through...

"I'm not gonna stop her. I just..." He shook his head and tipped his head back to stare up at the ceiling instead. "Nevermind. It's not important. Hope she sorts out what's bothering her..." He'd forgotten these guys liked to use their fists to work through shit instead of words. It was fine, all he needed to do was wait for her to get tired and call a stop to things herself.

[pilot05]

The last challenger was a woman a little smaller than Wufei, also Chinese but with a much rounder face. They traded taunts in their native tongue before they bowed, and the bout began. The fight was a little more formal than the others, both the women clearly highly trained in similar styles. And both of them were talking, trading taunts as much as blows, all of it in Chinese, until the second woman caught Wufei glancing at Duo, asked if he was Wufei’s boyfriend. Of course she replied that he was her fiancé and that little reveal was apparently enough to give Wufei the upper hand, deftly sweeping the other woman’s legs out from under her.

Wufei helped the woman up with a laugh, exchanging a few more niceties in Chinese before Wufei grabbed her towel and trotted over to Heero and Duo. “I just have to wash up and change, then I’ll be ready to go,” she was just a little breathless but clearly in a very good mood. Either she'd sorted out what was bothering her, or she just really enjoyed fighting -- or both.

[maxwellsdaemon]

He just plain shut up after that and ignored the man beside him, focusing instead on what was going on on the gym floor. He could see the two women were talking but couldn't hear it, couldn't even read their lips, so assumed it was in a language he didn't know. But when Wufei looked over at him, Duo was actually surprised. Surprised enough to smile at being noticed, though he didn't make a scene. He did nothing he thought might distract her.

When it was all over he slowly eased himself up, dropping his legs from the bleachers in front of him so he wasn't lunching around like a bit stray cat. Then smiled again when Wufei approached.

"Alright. I'll meet you out front?" he offered, figuring everyone will be dispersing now that the fun was over.

[pilot05]

"Yeah," Wufei agreed, tugging the band out of her hair and running the towel over her neck. "I'll be right out," she flashed him a smile, and trotted off towards the locker rooms -- and had to catch herself from almost going into the men's one by accident.

Once they were alone again, Heero closed his laptop and started packing it up. "She's happier," he said as he did, glancing up at Duo. "I thought I was imagining it at first, because I see her differently now, but people have stopped hiding when she heads to the break room." Which was, apparently, one of the ways he measured her moods. Or at least the intensity of her glares.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo's smile softened some then and he nodded once more, head turning to watch her go.

He near jumped out of his skin when Heero spoke. He'd almost forgotten he was there.

"You think?" Duo would have to take his word for it. It seemed Heero knew her moods far better than he did so what would Duo know really? "Glad she's happy then. Hopefully my choice of bar doesn't disappoint so she can stay happy." He laughed, then shoved his hands in his pockets and with a brief nod to Heero he headed back out of the gym to hang around for Wufei.

[pilot05]

Heero nodded, pulling his bag onto his shoulder. "You could probably take her to a dumpster and she'd still be happy. It's weird," but it was a good thing, and he was even smiling a little as he headed back into the office, probably to put in a few more hours of work before going home, himself.

It was only fifteen minutes before she met him out front, in a pair of actual, honest-to-god jeans, in a cut that hugged her curves almost aggressively. Her shirt was a dark blue tee, under a black leather jacket, hair back in the ponytail and shedding drops of water as she approached. "Duo," she greeted him warmly, extending a hand to him. "Are we taking my bike again? I returned your helmet to the motor pool, but we should buy you one of your own, anyway. Get them set up with a comm system, while we're at it." It was hard to hear each other over the roar of the engine, after all.

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Actually, I brought my car..." Which he now realised was a pretty dumb idea because now one of them would have to leave their vehicle behind. Duo gave her a sheepish smile as he pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against and moved toward her. "But you look good. Told you jeans'd suit you."