FIC: There Can Only Be One, PG, Georg/Tom, 1/1
Title: There Can Only Be One
Author: ???
Pairing(s): Georg/Tom (implied Georg/Bill)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Major Character Death, Darkfic
Disclaimer: This didn't happen. Don't sue.
Summary: Georg is no longer what he seems, and Tom and Bill don't seem to mind.
FQF Prompt: Georg and Gustav quit the band after a major falling out/because they hate the fame/the fans keep stealing Georg's hair brushes early on in THs career. Unfortunately for them, one of the stipulations in their contract was that the band and management retained all likeness rights for the both of them, and proceeded to have animatronic versions of the Gs made to replace the real boys. That's the reason the Gs seem to vanish off the face of the earth when they aren't needed for concerts or interviews; they're packed away in a closet at the twins place. By gajastar
Author's notes: I did my best to make this plausible, without it being AU, and focusing on the what instead of the 'how'. Prompter - if you don't like how I did this you can do whatever you wish with me. Thank you to my awesome secret Beta for doing what you do best.
The argument over what kind of pizza the band should order was an old one. Ever since Tom and Bill turned vegetarian, the choice of pizza toppings had become such a long-winded discussion that Georg and Gustav insisted on ordering their own pizza separately. Gustav liked his bacon, for starters, and Georg wanted pepperoni, on principle. He didn't begrudge Tom and Bill going veggie, but he was damned if he was going to let the two of them enforce their beliefs and dictate how he ate.
A year ago, all that changed. Pizza ordering became much easier - all vegetarian, thank you very much. Georg and Gustav no longer cared, as it was all the same to them. So much had changed; something had happened all those months ago that none of them expected was possible.
~*~*~
"Are you going to help me choose a movie tonight or not?"
Tom was playing Borderlands 2 while Georg watched, and Gustav was across the living room in a chair by himself listening to music while flipping through pages of a book. Bill huffed and turned from the DVD cabinet to glower at Tom, folding his arms across his chest.
"Tomi!"
"For fuck's sake, Bill - can't you choose something without my supervision?" Tom shot his brother an equally annoyed look back. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Before letting the twins get into it, Georg stood up and left Tom to his game playing.
"I'll help. That game is boring to watch any how," he told Bill, opening the cabinet door wider so they both could look.
"Well, don't choose anything scary or Tom will have nightmares and wet the bed," Bill huffed, and Georg just laughed. He knew Tom didn't do anything of the sort, but, sometimes if Tom was ignoring his little brother, Bill could get downright bitchy.
Together they choose an action sequel which none of them had seen yet (not even Gustav, who just grunted his approval when shown the DVD). Georg then stole the controller out of Tom's hand and saved the game that Tom had been playing, ignoring Tom's protests.
"The pizza will be here any minute. I gave Bill my share of the bill. I'm going to use the bathroom and you and Gustav can get the plates and the beer."
Tom tried to get the controller back from Georg, but Georg was faster and tossed it to Gustav, who promptly caught the controller and shoved it down the front of his cargo pants.
"Fuck you guys, that's gross!"
Georg and Gustav cackled and clapped hands up in the air, giving each other a high-five before leaving the living room.
It was shortly after that all things went to hell.
~*~*~
He was washing his hands when he heard the sound of things breaking, but didn't think anything of it until he heard a startled yell. Georg jolted out of the main floor bathroom and the cacophony of breaking glass and dogs barking, mixed with Tom and Bill yelling at Gustav, was the loudest from the kitchen.
As soon as Georg rounded the corner, he saw Gustav pulling dish after dish from the cabinets and letting them fall to the ground. Tom was trying to stand out of the way from being hit, and also trying to stop Gustav at the same time as Bill was doing his best to hold the dogs back.
Georg instantly knew what was happening and, with surprising grace, vaulted the kitchen island. His feet met Gustav's back, pushing the drummer forward to hit the counter before falling down. As if he were in a trance, Gustav tried to pick himself back up, but Georg was already on top of him. There was broken ceramic and glass all over the floor, cutting the bottoms of his feet as he struggled with Gustav until he found the 'reset' button behind Gustav's left ear. He dug his fingers in and instantly Gustav relaxed, essentially 'shutting down'.
It was all over within seconds, though it seemed longer. The dogs were still barking, and Tom was standing, frozen, to the side of the kitchen island with a broom in his hand. A fortunate choice of weapon.
Georg glanced over at Bill, who was wide-eyed and very pale with his arms wrapped around two dogs and his hand in the collar of a third.
"Are you two okay?"
Georg's voice seemed to snap Tom out of it. Tom nodded.
"What the fuck just happened?" he asked Georg, his voice unnaturally high with fright.
Fright was good when it came to Tom. At least it wasn't pissed off, Tom-anger, Georg thought. But, he couldn't answer Tom just then. He turned to Bill.
"You're okay?" When Bill didn't answer right away, Georg stepped around the kitchen island, leaving bloody footprints behind him.
"Bill?"
Tom dropped his broom and swiftly went over to his little brother. He grabbed Bill by the shoulder and shook him a little, frantically saying Bill's name.
Bill blinked several times, then closed his gaping mouth and pointed.
"He's bleeding."
~*~*~
Georg was busy in the upstairs bathroom, a pair of tweezers in his hand. He carefully removed slivers of glass from the bottoms of his feet, grunting every so often in pain. There was a common belief that his kind - Android, Skin Job, A.I. or whatever you wanted to call it - couldn't feel pain, but that wasn't true. Georg could feel pain, though perhaps not quite as strongly as his human counterparts.
He was dabbing the wounds on his feet when someone knocked on the bathroom door.
"Georg?"
It was Tom.
"Yeah? Door's open. You can come in."
Georg put down a bloody, alcohol soaked pad of cotton on the side of the sink just as Tom opened the door. Tom looked at the mess on the side of the sink - the discarded wads of cotton stained with blood, the tweezers, the bloody pieces of glass - and cringed.
"You okay?"
Georg snorted in amusement, picking up a length of bandage and began wrapping his one foot. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
"Well I'm not the one who's feet are all shredded and shit," Tom said, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "Does...that hurt?"
Georg looked up and gave Tom a smirk. "Dude, how many times have we been over this? I'm not the Terminator. Of course it hurts, but I'll live. They take care of Gustav?"
Exhaling forcefully through his nose, Tom nodded. "Yeah, he's been packed up and is on his way to the jet back to Germany." Tom chewed at the corner of his mouth. "He'll be okay, right?"
Georg tore off a strip of medical tape. "I'm sure he will. Just some reprogramming needed, I bet," Georg said, securing the bandage around his foot. He flexed his toes, making sure the bandage was on tight enough but didn't cut off any circulation.
"What's more important is that you and Bill aren't hurt."
"Yeah...Well, freaked the fuck right out but we're not hurt." Tom began to chew on his left thumbnail, but only got a few seconds in before Georg leaned over and put his hand on Tom's arm.
"Stop that. You'll gnaw them raw, and then you'll just regret it when you have to play." He gave Tom a warm smile, which wasn't returned.
Tom dropped his hand, frowning. "I really need a fucking smoke."
Georg shook his head, beginning to wrap his other foot. "No you don't. You only think you do. It's been a month since you and Bill quit and the nicotine is already out of your system."
He looked over at Tom from the corner of his eye, and saw his friend's leg jiggling with agitation.
"Where's Bill?" Georg asked, concerned.
"In his bedroom, lying down with the dogs."
"Hm. Well look, I'm fine here and I'll clean up downstairs. Why don't you look after Bill and I'll bring up some pizza and beer when I'm finished."
Tom stood up. "Pizza's been put away in the fridge, and none of us are hungry. The kitchen has already been cleaned up, too."
"Oh. Okay then." Georg looked up at Tom.
"And Bill said he just wants to be left alone."
Georg didn't say anything. He finished wrapping his foot and then stood up to face Tom. He winced a little as his feet met the hard, marble floor of the bathroom.
"You should take some pain killers," Tom noted.
"I'll be fine." Georg stood in of Tom and he could still see the worry and fear on his friend's face. Tom wasn't as pale as he was before, but there were dark circles forming under his eyes and he could see Tom's jaw clench and unclench from tension.
"You sure you don't want a beer?" Georg looked Tom up and down. "Maybe a whiskey, straight?"
"Beer with a whisky chaser and a pack of smokes and it's a deal," Tom tried to joke, but the thoughts of Gustav and what had happened earlier made the joking smile on his face look wane and forced.
Georg reached up and placed a hand each on Tom's shoulders, grateful that Tom didn't flinch away. Gustav having a robotic meltdown had not only been frightening to Tom and Bill, but it brought up the fact that both Georg and Gustav were not human. They were as human as they could get, but problems still happened.
"No smoking," Georg said, squeezing Tom's shoulders. "But the other things I can do." He watched Tom, who wasn't looking at Georg but staring at the floor. Georg had been expecting it when Tom's face changed. Georg was there to catch him, and when Tom let escape a loud sob it was muffled against Georg's shirt.
Georg waited until Tom was able to collect himself, even though it was awkward to hold the taller man. Tom wasn't one for soothing, coddling noises and words being said to him when he fell apart, and it was rare that he let any one (who wasn't Bill) see him upset. Georg just kept his arms around his friend, pressing a fist against Tom's back in a reassuring manner and waited.
After a few minutes, Tom pulled away with a hand to his face. He sniffled, and Georg let go so he could pulled off a few sheets of toilet paper for Tom to blow his nose in.
"Sorry. Don't know what the fuck is wrong with me," Tom said, his voice thick and he accepted the toilet paper without looking at Georg. He blew his nose loudly, which made Georg smile. Tom was trying to play it all off, as usual, for they both knew the answer to what was wrong.
"Don't worry about it. Why don't you go check in on Bill and I'll get us those drinks. Meet you downstairs?"
Tom sniffed and nodded. He finally looked Georg in the eye, and managed a weak smile.
"Okay."
~*~*~
Georg knocked back a shot of whiskey with Tom as they sat on the sofa downstairs. Georg had poured out three shots each and had laid them out onto the coffee table in a neat little row next to a cold bottle of beer.
Tom coughed, and Georg playfully punched him the shoulder.
"Ugh, I forgot that I hate this stuff straight." Tom picked up his beer and took a long drink.
"Well that's why I only poured you out three shots. Just enough to take the edge off," Georg said, reaching down to pet the German shorthair , Buddy, that was lying down between him and Tom. The dog exhaled and shifted his muzzle onto his paws.
When Tom had come back from upstairs, after checking on Bill (who was surprisingly asleep), Buddy had made himself quite comfortable at his master's side. Georg liked all of the dogs that the twins had, but he could tell that Buddy was completely Tom's dog (and possibly Tom's favourite). Therefore, it also made him Georg's favourite dog too.
"I still want a cigarette, you know," Tom said, giving Georg a smirk.
"I totally understand."
Tom raised an eyebrow. "You do?" He shook his head, as if to get his brain working again. "I mean, I know that Georg...I mean you. Um, before..." Tom sighed, then shook his head. "Nevermind."
"It's still me, Tom. I have all those memories." Georg leaned against the back of the sofa, turned towards Tom and made himself more comfortable. He swirled the beer inside its bottle. It was hard for all of them to talk about the accident.
"I can access those memories any time I need to. And I distinctly 'remember' being out of my mind for a cigarette after quitting."
Tom huffed out in amusement. "Yeah, well if it could only be so easy as switching bodies."
"You don't mean that," Georg said, his voice low.
He breathed out loud and nodded. "I know. I don't," Tom replied and reached for another whiskey shot.
It had been difficult to accept the idea of Georg and Gustav being essentially dead from the car accident in Germany. It was still difficult for Tom to get around the idea that the person beside him was actually Georg and not some weird, robotic doppleganger. Well, Georg was weird and sure he was a robot with Georg's memories and mannerisms and he still had that ridiculously annoying and adorable smirk...
"What's so funny?" Georg was watching Tom who suddenly began to smile.
Tom had let his thoughts get away from him, and got caught thinking about Georg in a way that was more that just 'friendly'. He blushed.
"Oh...you know..."
Georg chuckled. "No, I don't know. I can't read minds." Tom was instantly grateful for that.
He picked at the label on his beer bottle, a corner beginning to lift from the workings of his thumbnail.
"You have all his - er, your memories, right?"
"I said as such."
Tom looked over and watched Georg take another sip of his beer, seeing Georg's prominent Adam's apple bob up and down with each swallow. His own mouth went dry, and he took a sip of his own beer before continuing.
"I was just thinking about that one night after the Comet Awards." Tom bit his lip, staring hard at the bottle of beer in his hands, cradled between his legs.
Georg frowned, scanning the memories installed in his programming.
"Which year?"
"2008?"
It took a few more seconds, and then Georg snorted. "Oh yeah. Shit, Bill was so drunk that night," he said, grinning as the memory of that night came forth even more.
Tom smiled. "Yeah, after that night he swore he'd never drink again. Of course, that didn't happen."
"It was a good night," Georg said.
Tom looked at Georg, as if he were expecting something and then frowned when it didn't happen. Georg was confused. He reached out to touch Tom, but then Buddy jerked and moved and crawled off the sofa. The jangle of the dog's tags echoed through the living room and down the hallway to the back patio doors where he stopped and whined.
"Need to take him out," Tom said, picking up his last shot and downing it.
"Want me to go with you?"
Tom stood up, putting his near empty beer bottle on the table. "Yeah, you'd better. If there's any coyotes out there, I'll need you to work those ninja skills you did earlier on Gustav."
After grabbing Buddy's leash and fastening it onto his collar, Tom and Georg went outside. It was a cool night, but much warmer than what it would be back in their homeland of Germany. The back patio light cut through the darkness and Tom walked his dog around the back yard while Georg waited.
Another of Georg's memories emerged.
Georg's lips began to tingle, and a flush crept up his neck and suffused his face. Warmth...desire. Need. He hadn't remembered right away, but now it was all forming clearly in his head.
He saw Tom, naked. Heard Tom breathing his name...moaning. His fingers clenched into fists, and heat pooled in his groin.
Him and Tom. After the Comet Awards...after all the hubbub of celebration...he and Tom, together in a hotel room. They had both been tipsy, but not drunk - and they both had been horny as hell.
"Okay, Buddy's done. I think I'm going to just go to bed for the night." Tom walked past Georg, opening the patio doors. He unhooked Buddy from his leash and let the dog trot inside.
"Georg?"
Hearing his name, Georg blinked back to reality and Tom was standing and watching with concern.
"You're okay?," Tom asked, wary.
Georg shook his head and stepped forward, closing the distance between him and Tom. They were chest to chest and Georg rose up on his toes and pressed his mouth to Tom's. It was firm and soft and made Georg's heart beat more rapidly against his ribs.
Tom was surprised, but only for a second before his eyes closed and Georg was the same...felt the same. Tasted the same. He didn't think it was possible, but it was over before he could think about it.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Georg's mouth was still very close, and Tom touched his forehead to Georg's.
"I couldn't." Wrong. He could have, but he didn't. Why didn't he?
"I needed you to remember. I didn't know that you would."
Georg breathed. "I didn't. Not until now." He remembered everything. "But...nothing after that? Why?"
Tom sighed. "You."
Searching, Georg recalled the conversation which was emotional without tears. "I was afraid," he admitted, feeling the apprehension from the memory.
"You were? You never told me that. You just said we couldn't." Tom looked at him with sadness.
"I know. But yeah, I was afraid."
Georg felt Tom's hand brush his cheek, and they looked into each other's eyes.
"It is you, isn't it?" Georg smiled at Tom's words, and nodded.
"I've been telling you that all along."
He wanted to kiss Tom again, and could sense that Tom wanted it, as well. They were about to lean into each other when a hallway light came on, and Bill emerged with sloppy, sleepy hair and a pouty frown on his face.
"Tomi?"
Kissing would have to wait.
The pizza had been reheated and a movie was put on. The twins cuddled together on the sofa after eating and Georg was made to sit in front of Bill on the floor. Bill was brushing out Georg's hair.
"I'm so glad you got over me touching your hair."
"What do you mean?" Georg looked over his shoulder, but Bill squawked and turned Georg to look ahead once more.
"You never let me play with your hair before."
Tom laughed. "You were always afraid that Bill would put gum in it or something."
Georg chuckled, remembering.
"Well, I know better now don't I? Besides, it makes Bill happy and I don't mind. It's kind of soothing, really."
"Really?!" Bill laughed, then leaned over and set his chin on Georg's shoulder. "Can I braid it this time?"
Georg shrugged. "Sure."
"Oh man, wrong answer. Now I have to go find some ribbon," Tom piped in and was swatted by Bill with the brush.
Smiling, Georg felt content as he heard the twins cheerful bickering against the soundtrack of the movie and endured the slight tugging of his hair as Bill manipulated the strands.
With Tom and Bill, he was always home.
~*~*~
In Germany, in the dead of night, Georg hacked the security code to a building in the middle of a frozen nowhere. It was really just a shack, but when inside the floor lowered him to an underground military bunker.
It was where he had been born. It was also where Gustav was recovering.
But it wasn't for Gustav that Georg was there.
There had been a car accident a year ago. Right before the accident, Georg and Gustav had firmly told Bill and Tom and their management and their record label that they were done with Tokio Hotel. They were out. For good.
After the accident, an option was made known to the twins and the others that needed to know. Georg and Gustav could live, but certain steps needed to be undertaken.
Gustav was essentially brain dead, but the technology was there to retrieve what was needed to make a new Gustav. Georg was in a coma, but for how long no one knew. What was necessary was extracted, duplicated, stored, uploaded and eventually downloaded into new bodies. The original two men were put in cryostasis.
Gustav was no matter, but Georg - well, he could wake up and ruin things. There was still the chance, and the new Georg wanted the twins to himself. He wanted Tom, and eventually - he had decided - would have Bill. In order to ensure that, the original of himself needed to be disposed of.
He found the pod that kept the original Georg and checked the vital signs. All was stable, for now. Georg ran his fingers over the clear glass that revealed the upper torso and head of his 'twin'.
"I really have to thank you, you know," he whispered, talking to himself. "It's because of you that this was all possible. You and your silly friend's selfishness. Oh, I know you can't hear me which is a shame. You really should hear how grateful I am."
The new Georg breathed on the glass, which fogged slightly then returned clear. He gazed at himself, who lay unawares to the outside world.
"They are so beautiful. Ah, but you know that. Of course. How could you not? Now don't worry. I will take care of both of them." The new Georg grinned at himself. "Everything you wished and imagined will happen. Only with me. You see...they love me now.
There was a keypad on the side of the 'sleep pod', and the new Georg began to type in a sequence.
"This won't hurt, I promise," he said lovingly, and continued to deactivate the pod which would shut down and cut off all life support.
"It won't hurt at all."
Author: ???
Pairing(s): Georg/Tom (implied Georg/Bill)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Major Character Death, Darkfic
Disclaimer: This didn't happen. Don't sue.
Summary: Georg is no longer what he seems, and Tom and Bill don't seem to mind.
FQF Prompt: Georg and Gustav quit the band after a major falling out/because they hate the fame/the fans keep stealing Georg's hair brushes early on in THs career. Unfortunately for them, one of the stipulations in their contract was that the band and management retained all likeness rights for the both of them, and proceeded to have animatronic versions of the Gs made to replace the real boys. That's the reason the Gs seem to vanish off the face of the earth when they aren't needed for concerts or interviews; they're packed away in a closet at the twins place. By gajastar
Author's notes: I did my best to make this plausible, without it being AU, and focusing on the what instead of the 'how'. Prompter - if you don't like how I did this you can do whatever you wish with me. Thank you to my awesome secret Beta for doing what you do best.
The argument over what kind of pizza the band should order was an old one. Ever since Tom and Bill turned vegetarian, the choice of pizza toppings had become such a long-winded discussion that Georg and Gustav insisted on ordering their own pizza separately. Gustav liked his bacon, for starters, and Georg wanted pepperoni, on principle. He didn't begrudge Tom and Bill going veggie, but he was damned if he was going to let the two of them enforce their beliefs and dictate how he ate.
A year ago, all that changed. Pizza ordering became much easier - all vegetarian, thank you very much. Georg and Gustav no longer cared, as it was all the same to them. So much had changed; something had happened all those months ago that none of them expected was possible.
~*~*~
"Are you going to help me choose a movie tonight or not?"
Tom was playing Borderlands 2 while Georg watched, and Gustav was across the living room in a chair by himself listening to music while flipping through pages of a book. Bill huffed and turned from the DVD cabinet to glower at Tom, folding his arms across his chest.
"Tomi!"
"For fuck's sake, Bill - can't you choose something without my supervision?" Tom shot his brother an equally annoyed look back. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Before letting the twins get into it, Georg stood up and left Tom to his game playing.
"I'll help. That game is boring to watch any how," he told Bill, opening the cabinet door wider so they both could look.
"Well, don't choose anything scary or Tom will have nightmares and wet the bed," Bill huffed, and Georg just laughed. He knew Tom didn't do anything of the sort, but, sometimes if Tom was ignoring his little brother, Bill could get downright bitchy.
Together they choose an action sequel which none of them had seen yet (not even Gustav, who just grunted his approval when shown the DVD). Georg then stole the controller out of Tom's hand and saved the game that Tom had been playing, ignoring Tom's protests.
"The pizza will be here any minute. I gave Bill my share of the bill. I'm going to use the bathroom and you and Gustav can get the plates and the beer."
Tom tried to get the controller back from Georg, but Georg was faster and tossed it to Gustav, who promptly caught the controller and shoved it down the front of his cargo pants.
"Fuck you guys, that's gross!"
Georg and Gustav cackled and clapped hands up in the air, giving each other a high-five before leaving the living room.
It was shortly after that all things went to hell.
~*~*~
He was washing his hands when he heard the sound of things breaking, but didn't think anything of it until he heard a startled yell. Georg jolted out of the main floor bathroom and the cacophony of breaking glass and dogs barking, mixed with Tom and Bill yelling at Gustav, was the loudest from the kitchen.
As soon as Georg rounded the corner, he saw Gustav pulling dish after dish from the cabinets and letting them fall to the ground. Tom was trying to stand out of the way from being hit, and also trying to stop Gustav at the same time as Bill was doing his best to hold the dogs back.
Georg instantly knew what was happening and, with surprising grace, vaulted the kitchen island. His feet met Gustav's back, pushing the drummer forward to hit the counter before falling down. As if he were in a trance, Gustav tried to pick himself back up, but Georg was already on top of him. There was broken ceramic and glass all over the floor, cutting the bottoms of his feet as he struggled with Gustav until he found the 'reset' button behind Gustav's left ear. He dug his fingers in and instantly Gustav relaxed, essentially 'shutting down'.
It was all over within seconds, though it seemed longer. The dogs were still barking, and Tom was standing, frozen, to the side of the kitchen island with a broom in his hand. A fortunate choice of weapon.
Georg glanced over at Bill, who was wide-eyed and very pale with his arms wrapped around two dogs and his hand in the collar of a third.
"Are you two okay?"
Georg's voice seemed to snap Tom out of it. Tom nodded.
"What the fuck just happened?" he asked Georg, his voice unnaturally high with fright.
Fright was good when it came to Tom. At least it wasn't pissed off, Tom-anger, Georg thought. But, he couldn't answer Tom just then. He turned to Bill.
"You're okay?" When Bill didn't answer right away, Georg stepped around the kitchen island, leaving bloody footprints behind him.
"Bill?"
Tom dropped his broom and swiftly went over to his little brother. He grabbed Bill by the shoulder and shook him a little, frantically saying Bill's name.
Bill blinked several times, then closed his gaping mouth and pointed.
"He's bleeding."
~*~*~
Georg was busy in the upstairs bathroom, a pair of tweezers in his hand. He carefully removed slivers of glass from the bottoms of his feet, grunting every so often in pain. There was a common belief that his kind - Android, Skin Job, A.I. or whatever you wanted to call it - couldn't feel pain, but that wasn't true. Georg could feel pain, though perhaps not quite as strongly as his human counterparts.
He was dabbing the wounds on his feet when someone knocked on the bathroom door.
"Georg?"
It was Tom.
"Yeah? Door's open. You can come in."
Georg put down a bloody, alcohol soaked pad of cotton on the side of the sink just as Tom opened the door. Tom looked at the mess on the side of the sink - the discarded wads of cotton stained with blood, the tweezers, the bloody pieces of glass - and cringed.
"You okay?"
Georg snorted in amusement, picking up a length of bandage and began wrapping his one foot. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
"Well I'm not the one who's feet are all shredded and shit," Tom said, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "Does...that hurt?"
Georg looked up and gave Tom a smirk. "Dude, how many times have we been over this? I'm not the Terminator. Of course it hurts, but I'll live. They take care of Gustav?"
Exhaling forcefully through his nose, Tom nodded. "Yeah, he's been packed up and is on his way to the jet back to Germany." Tom chewed at the corner of his mouth. "He'll be okay, right?"
Georg tore off a strip of medical tape. "I'm sure he will. Just some reprogramming needed, I bet," Georg said, securing the bandage around his foot. He flexed his toes, making sure the bandage was on tight enough but didn't cut off any circulation.
"What's more important is that you and Bill aren't hurt."
"Yeah...Well, freaked the fuck right out but we're not hurt." Tom began to chew on his left thumbnail, but only got a few seconds in before Georg leaned over and put his hand on Tom's arm.
"Stop that. You'll gnaw them raw, and then you'll just regret it when you have to play." He gave Tom a warm smile, which wasn't returned.
Tom dropped his hand, frowning. "I really need a fucking smoke."
Georg shook his head, beginning to wrap his other foot. "No you don't. You only think you do. It's been a month since you and Bill quit and the nicotine is already out of your system."
He looked over at Tom from the corner of his eye, and saw his friend's leg jiggling with agitation.
"Where's Bill?" Georg asked, concerned.
"In his bedroom, lying down with the dogs."
"Hm. Well look, I'm fine here and I'll clean up downstairs. Why don't you look after Bill and I'll bring up some pizza and beer when I'm finished."
Tom stood up. "Pizza's been put away in the fridge, and none of us are hungry. The kitchen has already been cleaned up, too."
"Oh. Okay then." Georg looked up at Tom.
"And Bill said he just wants to be left alone."
Georg didn't say anything. He finished wrapping his foot and then stood up to face Tom. He winced a little as his feet met the hard, marble floor of the bathroom.
"You should take some pain killers," Tom noted.
"I'll be fine." Georg stood in of Tom and he could still see the worry and fear on his friend's face. Tom wasn't as pale as he was before, but there were dark circles forming under his eyes and he could see Tom's jaw clench and unclench from tension.
"You sure you don't want a beer?" Georg looked Tom up and down. "Maybe a whiskey, straight?"
"Beer with a whisky chaser and a pack of smokes and it's a deal," Tom tried to joke, but the thoughts of Gustav and what had happened earlier made the joking smile on his face look wane and forced.
Georg reached up and placed a hand each on Tom's shoulders, grateful that Tom didn't flinch away. Gustav having a robotic meltdown had not only been frightening to Tom and Bill, but it brought up the fact that both Georg and Gustav were not human. They were as human as they could get, but problems still happened.
"No smoking," Georg said, squeezing Tom's shoulders. "But the other things I can do." He watched Tom, who wasn't looking at Georg but staring at the floor. Georg had been expecting it when Tom's face changed. Georg was there to catch him, and when Tom let escape a loud sob it was muffled against Georg's shirt.
Georg waited until Tom was able to collect himself, even though it was awkward to hold the taller man. Tom wasn't one for soothing, coddling noises and words being said to him when he fell apart, and it was rare that he let any one (who wasn't Bill) see him upset. Georg just kept his arms around his friend, pressing a fist against Tom's back in a reassuring manner and waited.
After a few minutes, Tom pulled away with a hand to his face. He sniffled, and Georg let go so he could pulled off a few sheets of toilet paper for Tom to blow his nose in.
"Sorry. Don't know what the fuck is wrong with me," Tom said, his voice thick and he accepted the toilet paper without looking at Georg. He blew his nose loudly, which made Georg smile. Tom was trying to play it all off, as usual, for they both knew the answer to what was wrong.
"Don't worry about it. Why don't you go check in on Bill and I'll get us those drinks. Meet you downstairs?"
Tom sniffed and nodded. He finally looked Georg in the eye, and managed a weak smile.
"Okay."
~*~*~
Georg knocked back a shot of whiskey with Tom as they sat on the sofa downstairs. Georg had poured out three shots each and had laid them out onto the coffee table in a neat little row next to a cold bottle of beer.
Tom coughed, and Georg playfully punched him the shoulder.
"Ugh, I forgot that I hate this stuff straight." Tom picked up his beer and took a long drink.
"Well that's why I only poured you out three shots. Just enough to take the edge off," Georg said, reaching down to pet the German shorthair , Buddy, that was lying down between him and Tom. The dog exhaled and shifted his muzzle onto his paws.
When Tom had come back from upstairs, after checking on Bill (who was surprisingly asleep), Buddy had made himself quite comfortable at his master's side. Georg liked all of the dogs that the twins had, but he could tell that Buddy was completely Tom's dog (and possibly Tom's favourite). Therefore, it also made him Georg's favourite dog too.
"I still want a cigarette, you know," Tom said, giving Georg a smirk.
"I totally understand."
Tom raised an eyebrow. "You do?" He shook his head, as if to get his brain working again. "I mean, I know that Georg...I mean you. Um, before..." Tom sighed, then shook his head. "Nevermind."
"It's still me, Tom. I have all those memories." Georg leaned against the back of the sofa, turned towards Tom and made himself more comfortable. He swirled the beer inside its bottle. It was hard for all of them to talk about the accident.
"I can access those memories any time I need to. And I distinctly 'remember' being out of my mind for a cigarette after quitting."
Tom huffed out in amusement. "Yeah, well if it could only be so easy as switching bodies."
"You don't mean that," Georg said, his voice low.
He breathed out loud and nodded. "I know. I don't," Tom replied and reached for another whiskey shot.
It had been difficult to accept the idea of Georg and Gustav being essentially dead from the car accident in Germany. It was still difficult for Tom to get around the idea that the person beside him was actually Georg and not some weird, robotic doppleganger. Well, Georg was weird and sure he was a robot with Georg's memories and mannerisms and he still had that ridiculously annoying and adorable smirk...
"What's so funny?" Georg was watching Tom who suddenly began to smile.
Tom had let his thoughts get away from him, and got caught thinking about Georg in a way that was more that just 'friendly'. He blushed.
"Oh...you know..."
Georg chuckled. "No, I don't know. I can't read minds." Tom was instantly grateful for that.
He picked at the label on his beer bottle, a corner beginning to lift from the workings of his thumbnail.
"You have all his - er, your memories, right?"
"I said as such."
Tom looked over and watched Georg take another sip of his beer, seeing Georg's prominent Adam's apple bob up and down with each swallow. His own mouth went dry, and he took a sip of his own beer before continuing.
"I was just thinking about that one night after the Comet Awards." Tom bit his lip, staring hard at the bottle of beer in his hands, cradled between his legs.
Georg frowned, scanning the memories installed in his programming.
"Which year?"
"2008?"
It took a few more seconds, and then Georg snorted. "Oh yeah. Shit, Bill was so drunk that night," he said, grinning as the memory of that night came forth even more.
Tom smiled. "Yeah, after that night he swore he'd never drink again. Of course, that didn't happen."
"It was a good night," Georg said.
Tom looked at Georg, as if he were expecting something and then frowned when it didn't happen. Georg was confused. He reached out to touch Tom, but then Buddy jerked and moved and crawled off the sofa. The jangle of the dog's tags echoed through the living room and down the hallway to the back patio doors where he stopped and whined.
"Need to take him out," Tom said, picking up his last shot and downing it.
"Want me to go with you?"
Tom stood up, putting his near empty beer bottle on the table. "Yeah, you'd better. If there's any coyotes out there, I'll need you to work those ninja skills you did earlier on Gustav."
After grabbing Buddy's leash and fastening it onto his collar, Tom and Georg went outside. It was a cool night, but much warmer than what it would be back in their homeland of Germany. The back patio light cut through the darkness and Tom walked his dog around the back yard while Georg waited.
Another of Georg's memories emerged.
Georg's lips began to tingle, and a flush crept up his neck and suffused his face. Warmth...desire. Need. He hadn't remembered right away, but now it was all forming clearly in his head.
He saw Tom, naked. Heard Tom breathing his name...moaning. His fingers clenched into fists, and heat pooled in his groin.
Him and Tom. After the Comet Awards...after all the hubbub of celebration...he and Tom, together in a hotel room. They had both been tipsy, but not drunk - and they both had been horny as hell.
"Okay, Buddy's done. I think I'm going to just go to bed for the night." Tom walked past Georg, opening the patio doors. He unhooked Buddy from his leash and let the dog trot inside.
"Georg?"
Hearing his name, Georg blinked back to reality and Tom was standing and watching with concern.
"You're okay?," Tom asked, wary.
Georg shook his head and stepped forward, closing the distance between him and Tom. They were chest to chest and Georg rose up on his toes and pressed his mouth to Tom's. It was firm and soft and made Georg's heart beat more rapidly against his ribs.
Tom was surprised, but only for a second before his eyes closed and Georg was the same...felt the same. Tasted the same. He didn't think it was possible, but it was over before he could think about it.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Georg's mouth was still very close, and Tom touched his forehead to Georg's.
"I couldn't." Wrong. He could have, but he didn't. Why didn't he?
"I needed you to remember. I didn't know that you would."
Georg breathed. "I didn't. Not until now." He remembered everything. "But...nothing after that? Why?"
Tom sighed. "You."
Searching, Georg recalled the conversation which was emotional without tears. "I was afraid," he admitted, feeling the apprehension from the memory.
"You were? You never told me that. You just said we couldn't." Tom looked at him with sadness.
"I know. But yeah, I was afraid."
Georg felt Tom's hand brush his cheek, and they looked into each other's eyes.
"It is you, isn't it?" Georg smiled at Tom's words, and nodded.
"I've been telling you that all along."
He wanted to kiss Tom again, and could sense that Tom wanted it, as well. They were about to lean into each other when a hallway light came on, and Bill emerged with sloppy, sleepy hair and a pouty frown on his face.
"Tomi?"
Kissing would have to wait.
The pizza had been reheated and a movie was put on. The twins cuddled together on the sofa after eating and Georg was made to sit in front of Bill on the floor. Bill was brushing out Georg's hair.
"I'm so glad you got over me touching your hair."
"What do you mean?" Georg looked over his shoulder, but Bill squawked and turned Georg to look ahead once more.
"You never let me play with your hair before."
Tom laughed. "You were always afraid that Bill would put gum in it or something."
Georg chuckled, remembering.
"Well, I know better now don't I? Besides, it makes Bill happy and I don't mind. It's kind of soothing, really."
"Really?!" Bill laughed, then leaned over and set his chin on Georg's shoulder. "Can I braid it this time?"
Georg shrugged. "Sure."
"Oh man, wrong answer. Now I have to go find some ribbon," Tom piped in and was swatted by Bill with the brush.
Smiling, Georg felt content as he heard the twins cheerful bickering against the soundtrack of the movie and endured the slight tugging of his hair as Bill manipulated the strands.
With Tom and Bill, he was always home.
~*~*~
In Germany, in the dead of night, Georg hacked the security code to a building in the middle of a frozen nowhere. It was really just a shack, but when inside the floor lowered him to an underground military bunker.
It was where he had been born. It was also where Gustav was recovering.
But it wasn't for Gustav that Georg was there.
There had been a car accident a year ago. Right before the accident, Georg and Gustav had firmly told Bill and Tom and their management and their record label that they were done with Tokio Hotel. They were out. For good.
After the accident, an option was made known to the twins and the others that needed to know. Georg and Gustav could live, but certain steps needed to be undertaken.
Gustav was essentially brain dead, but the technology was there to retrieve what was needed to make a new Gustav. Georg was in a coma, but for how long no one knew. What was necessary was extracted, duplicated, stored, uploaded and eventually downloaded into new bodies. The original two men were put in cryostasis.
Gustav was no matter, but Georg - well, he could wake up and ruin things. There was still the chance, and the new Georg wanted the twins to himself. He wanted Tom, and eventually - he had decided - would have Bill. In order to ensure that, the original of himself needed to be disposed of.
He found the pod that kept the original Georg and checked the vital signs. All was stable, for now. Georg ran his fingers over the clear glass that revealed the upper torso and head of his 'twin'.
"I really have to thank you, you know," he whispered, talking to himself. "It's because of you that this was all possible. You and your silly friend's selfishness. Oh, I know you can't hear me which is a shame. You really should hear how grateful I am."
The new Georg breathed on the glass, which fogged slightly then returned clear. He gazed at himself, who lay unawares to the outside world.
"They are so beautiful. Ah, but you know that. Of course. How could you not? Now don't worry. I will take care of both of them." The new Georg grinned at himself. "Everything you wished and imagined will happen. Only with me. You see...they love me now.
There was a keypad on the side of the 'sleep pod', and the new Georg began to type in a sequence.
"This won't hurt, I promise," he said lovingly, and continued to deactivate the pod which would shut down and cut off all life support.
"It won't hurt at all."