a/n: I got a few story alerts for this, so I hope this satisfies.

Mirror Image: Across the Hall

The tenant from across the hall to Ted and Marshall's apartment had moved away quite recently and the apartment was up for rent. Zach took it instantly, having over a time accumulated his things from Ohio, his divorce with his wife not even agreed upon yet.

Zach needed to be near his brother, and knew that he should probably have done this in the first place. But despite the fact that he had moved in across the hall, Zach spent more time at Ted's than not. And because he had yet to find furniture for his apartment, it gave Zach even more reason to stay at Ted's.

Ted had feared to leave his brother alone; not on the fact that Ted thought that Zach would try to kill himself or anything, but on the simple fact that Zach's marriage was ruined and he didn't think that his twin should be alone at a time like this.

And, as if old habits died hard, some night's Zach slept with him in his bed. It wasn't some twin-incestuous-thing or something, but the fact that they used to share beds when they were kids; whether it was because one of them was scared, or on the fact that they were little kids and close brothers—doing everything together.

It was one such night and Zach took great comfort in his brother's presence next to him.

Zach's eyes were closed though he wasn't asleep, tucked under the covers next to a sleeping Ted. It had been about three weeks since he had first come here, and this was the first time he allowed himself to think about past events. He couldn't believe that Carry, his wife for four years, the women he had fallen in love with 5 years prior to that, had cheated on him—with a women. Zach couldn't really find it in himself to hate her, or really blame her; who was he to deny her sexual preference?

It was the fact that he knew that it made him look like a failure—and he felt like one too. His wife had cheated on him, which was to say as if he hadn't paid her enough mind and had instead ignored her—but that wasn't true. Zach had thought that they had had a happy marriage; they always went out, their sex-life was never dull, the year before they had even discussed having children.

Zach felt unshed tears build behind his eyes, but he squeezed them away; he promised himself that he wasn't going to cry—he had done that in the motel room that he had gone to after he had found out.

Without realizing it, Zach shifted closer to his brother, trying to draw strength from his relaxed form.

A if sensing him in his sleep, Ted reached out and pulled Zach towards him. His arm wrapped around his brother's waist, and buried his face in Zach's neck. Zach relaxed against him, his eyes slipping closed again; the comfort that Ted provided allowed him to sleep.

Marshall looked from the TV as one of the Mosby twins came from the bathroom, clad in a pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms and a dark green plain t-shirt. His dark hair was a mess and his feet bare as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Marshall was still founding it slightly hard to tell Zach and Ted apart; they really were identical. Though he had become close with Ted's twin, now considering him a friend, hanging out with him as much as he did the others—but sometime it was still hard to figure out who was who. But Marshall had discovered small mannerisms about both that distinguished them from each other.

But today he found out who this twin was when he saw the twin pause as he stretched; his hands clasped as his arms stretched over and slightly behind his head. The shirt that he was wearing tightened around his chest for a moment and Marshall could make out the faint outlines of each of Zach's bar nipple piercing.

"Good morning, Zach."

Zach smiled at him. "Morning, Marshall."

Zach sat down next to Marshall on the couch, crossing his ankles on the corner of the coffee table. "What are you watching?" he asked.

"Survivor," Marshall told him.

"Really?" Zach's brows rose. "Without Lily?"

Marshall laughed, "No way would I chance that; it's a repeat."

Zach nodded his understanding; Survivor was just that type of show.

"Have you found a job yet?" Marshall asked, curious as he stood from the couch to go to the kitchen.

Zach shook his head. "You would think that it would be easy to find a place of employment in New York City, but it's actually pretty difficult."

Marshall came back from the kitchen, a mug of hot coffee in each hand. He gave a cup to Zach, who gave him a thankful smile, before he took his seat next to the twin, taking a sip from his own mug.

"Who could have thought that getting a job as a chef wouldn't come ready to cook." Zach said wryly.

"You'll get there," Marshall assured him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Zach grinned at him suddenly. "Do you think that I should dye my hair? I'm thinking blond."

"What?" Marshall said in surprise. "Why?"

"Well, it would be easier to tell us apart." Zack told him, "I know that you don't have much trouble and Lily's getting it, but Barney's clueless and you'd think that because Robin slept with Ted that she would be able to us apart."

"You shouldn't do it just because of us." Marshall told him in concern.

"Well, it's not just because of that." Zach said, the expression suddenly changing to one slightly more depressed. "I figure that some change might do me some good."

"Okay," Marshall nodded and then commenced to look at Zach thoughtfully.

Zach said still under Marshall's securitization, and as the other man grasped his chin and moved his head from side to side, up and down. Finally he released Zach's chin and sat back, his scrutiny done.

"Ted did this once before," Marshall told him, a laughable look crossed Zach's face as he said this. "We said that there should be only one blond in the group, so it was a good thing that Barney was it." he continued, "Ted said that if Barney wasn't a blond that he could be, and so he dyed his hair."

"And?" Zach asked, leaning forward eagerly.

Marshall glanced behind them to Ted's closed bedroom door. "Ted still asleep?"

Zach nodded.

"He did pull it off, and I'm pretty sure that he knew that. It seemed to go to his head though, so we made a plan and got him to rinse the dye out. He was so disappointed . . ."

Zach's nostrils flared lightly as he tried not to laugh. "Bond it is!"

Marshall flashed him a grin.

Ted stood in the bathroom doorway, looking at the scene before him with something akin to horror?

Zach was bent over the tub lip, and Marshall was bent over him in turn. If Ted didn't know any better, if he didn't know that Marshall was in love and married, and if Zach wasn't his twin brother, he would have thought that this was something other than what it really was. Which Ted had found out when he saw the discarded dye box on the floor by the tub.

"What are you doing?" Ted spoke up, taking a step into the bathroom.

"Welcome to the land of the living," came Zach's muffled greeting.

Marshall rinsed Zach hair, before putting the shower cap over his head. He went to the sink and washed his hands, drying them on the towel, he leaned against the sink as Zach stood from the tub.

"You didn't answer my question." Ted said, looking between the two of them. "Why are you dying your hair?"

"Change," Zach said in a sing-song tone of voice.

"Change for what?" Ted said, instantly awake and aware.

Zach shrugged his shoulders. "Just change in general."

"This isn't because of Carry, is it?" Ted asked, his voice going soft.

"Ted," Zach said, stepping to his brother, a hand on his arm. "Finding Carry with that woman was like a wake-up call; it was like the world saying that it wasn't meant to be. We had just met too early; it wasn't like it is with Marshall and Lily—they're soul mates, me and Carry weren't. It's as simple as that,"

"Zach. . ." Ted trailed off, staring into the familiar brown eyes. He could see the desperation and hurt there, the need for him to understand and the need for his support. Ted pulled his brother into a crushing hug. "Sometimes, change is a good thing." he whispered in agreement.

Zach hugged him back, burying he face in Ted's neck.

Feeling left out and gushy inside from being present for this scene, Marshal came over and wrapped both the Mosby twins in a big ol' bear hug.

Change was okay sometimes.

note: now this is the end for "Mirror Image" this time, I hoped you were okay with the ending, even though it didn't seem to be as 'How I Met Your Mother' as the first one.

Please review!