Author's Note: See? I totally haven't abandoned this! But between finishing "Witness" and "Diary," I got way behind. Then life kicked me in the head some more. And now, I'm finally finding the "voice" of this story again. Sorry it's been so obscenely long. I will try to do better, starting with an extra-long chapter to make up for the delay. And there's even a bit of 3x4 action thrown in. Please, forgive my tardiness.

The Academy Part 12
Diversions

After Duo left Trowa's room, Quatre gave his lover a scolding look. "I'm sure your friend Fox would've been okay with Duo coming along," he chided.

"Probably," Trowa admitted. "But I'm not sure, and I don't want to blow my chance to see the kennels just because I presumed too much. Plus," he added, taking Quatre's hand. "This is supposed to be our time. We'll have all day tomorrow with Duo and Heero. Tonight, it's just you an' me."

Quatre just about melted under the tender look he got from those deep green eyes. "Now I know why I'm so crazy about you," he said with a smile. "You know all the right things to say."

Trowa snorted wryly. "I've never been accused of being chatty, Quat." He pulled his boyfriend closer. "But you seem to bring out a lot of things in me I didn't know were there. Good things."

"See?" Quatre squeaked, throwing his arms around Trowa's waist and hugging tightly. "You just did it again!"

Trowa hugged back, reflecting that whatever he was doing right, he hoped he never lost the ability. "C'mon," he urged, rubbing a cheek against the silky blonde hair tucked against his shoulder. "Let's go do our visiting, so we can come back here and make some more dirty laundry, hm?"

Yes, he'd happily change the sheets on his bed as many times as it took to satisfy his lover.

Quatre pulled away, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Oh--that sounds--very nice."

As they made their way out of the dorm, he noticed a lot of activity in the quad--various groups of boys headed off for whatever recreation they'd chosen. But he saw no sign of either Duo or Heero.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked Trowa, frowning slightly.

"Who? Duo? Of course." He shook his head in exasperation. "Think about it, Quatre. Duo grew up on his own. He managed all those years to stay alive, learn his way around the system, find food and friends-- Believe me, he can amuse himself for one evening. He's probably rounding up Jase or Austin and the guys for a card game or some video games or something. He'll be fine."

"I still feel like we let him down."

"Yuy let him down. And Duo needs to get used to it. Life's not perfect, y'know. We're at a military school, and much as I hate to say it, eventually we could all get sent in separate directions."

Quatre gave a little gasp of dismay at that. "But--couldn't we be in a unit together, if it came to that?"

"Maybe." Trowa shrugged, trying not to let the subject matter get too oppressive. "I'm just saying, Duo's got to drop the 'fun and games' attitude and realize there'll be ups and downs and disappointments."

"But he isn't playing games," Quatre insisted. "He's been studying like crazy."

"I know. And I also know that most of the time his banter is just a cover for the fact that there's a serious side to him. Plus, he uses it when he's nervous, or unsure of himself; it's kind of a defense mechanism."

"We've all got them."

"What's yours?" Trowa wondered, eyeing his lover questioningly.

Quatre turned wide, liquid eyes on Trowa, a smirk playing at the edges of his lips as the auburn-haired boy's expression automatically softened.

"Oh...good defense," Trowa admitted, smiling reluctantly.

"Nice to know I haven't lost my touch," Quatre said smugly.

They'd crossed most of the campus while they talked, and were approaching building K-9, already able to hear the sound of a dog barking and a laughing human voice talking to it.

"Triton, no! No jumping! You'll get your treat after!"

As they stopped at the chain link gate, they could see a sandy-haired boy holding something over his head while a black and white dog pranced around him and made sporadic leaps, trying to snatch it from his hand.

Trowa couldn't help grinning. "You'll never get him to stop if you laugh at his performance," he chided. "He knows you think it's funny."

Fox stopped what he was doing, and turned towards them, at which point Triton dove in and grabbed the treat from his hand, running off into a corner of the yard to gulp it down while the boy walked over to open the gate and usher Trowa and Quatre inside.

"Hey there--glad you could make it," he said with a smile, his glance sliding from Trowa to Quatre. "I'm Fox," he offered, holding out a hand.

Quatre took it in a firm grip. "Quatre," he replied with a polite smile.

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Winner?" he asked with a knowing look. "Wow, Barton--you keep some pretty impressive company--Yuy--Winner." He shook his head. "Wait'll I tell my old man who I met today."

"I'm just a student here--like anyone else," Quatre insisted. "My last name won't make me a better mobile suit pilot."

The boy grinned at him, hazel eyes sparkling. "Sure about that? It could open doors, y'know."

"Any doors I open will be on my own merit, I hope," Quatre said firmly. "If I'm not good enough to pilot a suit, I'd never use my family's influence to do it anyway." He gave a wan smile. "Besides, my father's a pacifist. He didn't exactly approve of my decision to come here."

Fox looked sympathetically at him. "That's a shame. Growin' up an army brat, I kinda knew from the start I wanted to come here. Had my dad's support all the way, too." His hand dropped to the head of the dog who'd trotted over to his side and started sniffing at the newcomers.

"This must be Triton," Quatre guessed, holding out a hand and letting the dog nuzzle it.

"Yeah, and there's Proteus and Larissa inside. How 'bout we take all three out for a run?"

"You've got permission for that?" Trowa asked eagerly, his face lighting up.

"Hey, when I told the sergeant in charge of the dogs how neatly you nabbed Triton the other day, he decided you must know your way around a kennel." Fox glanced at Quatre. "Are you used to handling dogs?"

Quatre shook his head. "It's all new for me. I mean, aside from helping out with Nanashi a couple of times, I'm really a novice with animals."

"That's fine. You can take Larissa. She's the best-trained of the three. She won't haul on the leash, and she comes when she's called."

"Okay," the blonde replied. "I'll give it a shot."

Trowa sighed to himself, glad Quatre was so eager to participate in this facet of his life. As much as he loved animals, if he'd had to choose between them and Quatre, he knew who'd win. He was grateful that his lover wasn't asking him to make that kind of choice.

On the contrary, Quatre wanted to be included. It made Trowa just want to grin like an idiot; but he kept it to a restrained smile as they made their way inside.

Two more dogs were in kennels in the building, jumping up and barking a greeting at the newcomers. One had more white trim than Triton, and was a bit smaller and finer-boned, and the other was almost all black, with white markings only on the feet and muzzle.

"Down Proteus," Fox said to the darker dog, who immediately stopped his jumping and dropped to his stomach on the floor of his kennel. "Larissa--" The slimmer dog also stopped its prancing and settled onto its belly. "Good dogs."

"Leashes hang on these hooks," Fox explained, showing them a tidy arrangement of collars, leashes and harnesses, each with the dog's name neatly stitched into the canvas or leather. "For regular walks, we use these." He picked up a standard choke collar. "Harnesses are for working, and the flat collars are worn for identification purposes." He went to each kennel, keying in a code on the locks so they could be opened. "For security, each dog's got a code assigned. Prevents theft, since the value of a fully-trained ordnance dog is in the tens of thousands."

"Wow," Quatre breathed, as the two new dogs joined Triton in prancing around and sniffing at the new arrivals. "Who knew?"

"Takes hundreds of hours of training time to get these dogs up to working standards," Fox elaborated, slipping a collar and leash on each one. "This one's Proteus," he said, putting the end of the leash in Trowa's hand. "And here's Larissa," he told Quatre, handing him control of the slimmer female dog. "Let's take 'em out in the yard and I can explain their commands before we go walking."

The time passed quickly for the three boys after that, as Fox taught both Trowa and Quatre the correct terms used for the working dogs. They had very specific training, from basic obedience to advanced searching, and it was important to keep their commands specific and clear.

Larissa made Quatre feel like a pro, as she quickly obeyed any verbal cue he gave, and within moments, he felt confident he'd be able to control her on their walk.

Trowa had no trouble at all with Proteus, who was also a seasoned veteran. In spite of being a powerful dog, with obvious alpha tendencies, he knew his role so well he respected human orders instantly.

Triton, on the other hand, was a younger, wilder sort, and still challenging Fox from time to time; he was easily distracted and wanted to play more than work, so he kept the boy busy correcting his behavior.

"Once we take 'em out and let 'em run, Triton will settle down," Fox told the other two, as his wayward charge broke from a long sit one more time. "It helps to tire them out between and before training sessions."

"Oh, I can't imagine Larissa is ever any trouble," Quatre said, thoroughly enchanted by the sweet female. He couldn't keep his hands off her silky ears, and she just soaked up the attention whole-heartedly.

"She likes you," Fox noted with approval. "Ready to head out?" He glanced over at Trowa, who was scratching Proteus under the chin while smiling to himself.

"Any time," said the green-eyed boy.

As they made their way out the gate, he looked over at Quatre, unable to keep the pride out of his eyes. "You're great with dogs," he told his lover.

Quatre beamed back at him. "You really think so?"

Trowa nodded, feeling like his world was pretty well complete at that moment. He had a boyfriend who not only liked animals, but was good with them, a chance at maybe working with ordnance dogs some day, and a place at the MSC Academy. Things had never looked better for the boy from the circus.

~*~

While Quatre and Trowa were enjoying their introduction to ordnance dogs, Duo was enjoying the freedom of riding along in Lex's car with Rev, Cooper and a couple of other boys he'd been quickly introduced to.

The evening was cool, but comfortable, and the sound of the radio and the chattering of the other boys was very relaxing. Only one thing would've made it perfect--if Heero were there as well.

Duo sighed, scowling as his lover intruded on his happy thoughts. While part of him was still miffed at Heero for standing him up, he was mostly just missing his gorgeous boyfriend.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Rev asked, poking him with a bony elbow. "We're supposed to be having fun!"

Duo dredged up a wan smile. "I am. I just--I would've liked to have the others come along."

"Their loss," Rev shrugged. "Don't let it bother you, though. There'll be other Friday nights."

Duo nodded, hoping that was true. He'd really had his heart set on spending time with Heero, and wondered if something would interfere every damned time.

"Tell me about The Hangar," he urged, wanting to distract himself from his frustration.

"You'll love it," Rev assured him. "It's a great place. They've got flat-screen t.v. with all the best games on, live music in the back room, and a bunch of pool tables."

"Pool?" Duo asked, perking up.

"You play?"

The brunette smirked. "Now an' then." He didn't see any reason to inform his companions that he'd more or less cut his teeth playing pool in the bars on L2.

Rev and Cooper exchanged looks, and Cooper smiled charmingly at Duo. "Care for a friendly little game or two?"

Duo gave him a dubious look. "You play for money--or just bragging rights?"

"Either. Sometimes both," Cooper replied easily.

"Well--I might be a bit rusty--"

Rev smiled wickedly. "How 'bout a couple of warm-up games before we get serious about it, hm? You can work the kinks out."

"I guess so," Duo agreed, pasting on his most innocent look. "Maybe we could just wager who buys the next round or something--"

Cooper chuckled. "Oh, that can be arranged. And on Fridays, they've got a two-dollar special on beer."

A brief frown crossed Duo's forehead. "Aren't you guys under age, like me?"

"Yeah, but they don't care," Rev said with a grin.

"Merquise might," Duo pointed out, recalling that while MSC regulations allowed for going off base, they did not allow for under age drinking.

"Aw don't sweat it," Cooper insisted. "Last year a couple of the instructors used to show up on Fridays to monitor the place, but unless things got unruly, they didn't step in and discipline anyone."

"Chang ever show up?" Duo wondered, not eager to run into his guardian at a bar on his first weekend at the Academy. Whether he was drinking or not, it would look bad.

"Naw," Rev assured him. "Chang's a workaholic. Never leaves the damned base unless it's military business."

They were pulling into the parking lot of the bar even as they spoke, and Cooper hopped out almost before the car was in park. "C'mon, newbie--lemme teach you how to play pool."

Duo snorted to himself. Newbie, indeed! He pasted on a wide, vapid smile."Sure, Coop. You do that."

As they walked through the door of the bar, Duo was assailed by a thick cloud of cigarette smoke which clogged the air of the noisy establishment.

"Whoa. F'got what that's like," he commented, waving a hand in front of his face as he pushed his way through to the counter.

"You get used to it," Rev assured him. "No worse than the smell of burning rubber or jet fuel--and we'll have plenty of both once we get into suit repair."

The bartender eyed the group of boys, nodding curtly to Cooper and Rev and turning his glance to Duo.

"Hey, Charlie--this is our new friend Duo," Rev told the man, patting Duo's shoulder companionably. "How 'bout a couple of beers?"

Duo looked quickly at Rev. "Uh--soda's fine for me."

Rev gave him a scolding look. "C'mon, Maxwell. This is a celebration. Consider it your welcome to the Academy."

Duo smiled back, and shook his head. "Thanks anyway. But I'd rather have a soda." He turned his attention to the bartender, who wore a slightly bemused look. "Cola's fine."

"Comin' up," shrugged the man, turning away to get their drinks.

The braided boy looked back at his new friends a bit warily. Not that he'd ever been a slave to peer pressure--but he hoped his insistence on avoiding alcohol wouldn't ruin what was starting out as a nice friendship.

Cooper merely grinned and shook his head, elbowing Rev and whispering something in his ear before walking away.

Rev turned his attention back to Duo. "Coop's gonna get us a pool table, an' we'll bring the drinks over there." He accepted the two frosty beer bottles the bartender placed in front of him, and Duo scooped up his soda, and followed him towards the back of the bar where several pool tables were arranged in a row.

"Got one!" Cooper called over the music, gesturing them to join him.

While he was racking up the balls, Rev set his beer on the corner of the table and went to get a cue. "First game's on me, Maxwell," he offered graciously.

Duo selected a cue, eyeballing it for straightness and then heading back to the table. He gave Rev a totally disarming smile. "Who breaks?"

"Guests first," came the polite, smirking answer.

"Your funeral," shrugged the braided boy, taking a swig of his cola and setting it aside as he approached the table.

Cooper looked decidedly smug, exchanging an eager look with his buddy, before turning his attention back to Duo.

But his smile faded as Duo expertly bent over the table and sent balls flying with a strong, decisive break.

At least two of the stripes went into pockets, and Duo glanced up through his bangs, smiling charmingly. "I'll be stripes," he said with a smirk.

He proceeded to clear the table, while Rev and Cooper gawked--torn between appreciation and dismay. While they couldn't help but admire his skill, they were both disappointed that their "easy mark" had turned the tables on them.

"Ringer!" Rev accused, glaring at the chestnut head as Duo lined up a shot on the eight ball.

"That's why they called me the God of Death, at the local pool hall on L2," Duo told him. "Unbeatable at eight ball."

"Gimme a chance!" Cooper challenged. "You let me break next game, and I'll show you how it's done, Maxwell."

~*~

While Duo was busy handing Cooper's ass to him, Heero was wading stoically through reams of information with Reggie Darlian. He'd managed to put the lovers' spat behind him, or at least in the back of his mind, and was keenly focused on covering all the pertinent material with his "student."

They'd covered about half the necessary lessons when Reggie sat back and rubbed his eyes. "Man, this stuff is heavy," he sighed.

Heero gave him an unsympathetic glare, still well aware of what this tutoring session had cost him. "It'll only get harder," he warned. "If you aren't up to the challenge, you shouldn't be wasting the instructor's time--or mine."

"I'm not!" Reggie said hotly. "I can handle the work load, Yuy. Once I get caught up I'll be fine."

"Good--because next time I'll tell the instructor to have someone else babysit you."

"Look--if you'd told me you didn't want to help me because you had plans to fuck your boyfriend, I'd have found someone else or picked another night," Reggie retorted.

Heero's eyes flashed. "I had plans to spend time with Duo--not 'fuck' him. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about him. At all. Ever."

Reggie grimaced, as if he had something unpleasant he might like to add.

"Or we could talk about your cousin, Relena," Heero added, his voice tinged with venom. "And how she badgered me during boot camp and practically stalked me through grade school--"

Reggie held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, Yuy--I get the picture."

"Is she the one who told you Duo's from L2 and Camp Peacecraft?"

The football jock shrugged, looking abashed. "She did rant for awhile about some 'long-haired fag' who stole her boyfriend. I didn't put it together until I saw you here--who she thought was her boyfriend--and who the long-haired f--uh--who 'stole' him."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Duo didn't steal me. I was never Relena's boyfriend, and never wanted to be."

"Yeah," Reggie said with a vague smirk. "I figured she might have a slightly skewed perspective. I mean, it's not like you can suddenly become gay. And when I had to take her to her senior prom 'cause she couldn't get a date, I pretty much knew the guy she'd talked about since grade school wasn't her boyfriend after all."

Heero favored him with a piercing gaze. "Hn. Maybe you're smarter than you act."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that when you harass Duo, you look like an idiot," came the blunt reply. "Think about that." Heero pulled out the next set of outlines. "Meanwhile, let's start on quantum theory, shall we?"

Reggie sputtered for a moment and then gave up and settled in to resume their study session.

~*~

While the four boys from boot camp were finding their own diversions on a Friday night, Captain Chang was still in his office, hard at work. He'd agreed to go out with Zechs the next night, and wanted to be sure there was no backlog of work he'd feel guilty about leaving behind.

But as he read and re-read the reports coming in from colonial shuttle ports, he was regretting his decision. The news was ominous.

It seemed there was increasing friction between the local port unions and the crews of the shuttles delivering supplies and merchandise. The Earth shuttles had been bringing their own people to offload cargo, rather than allowing the old practice of having the crews on site do it. They claimed it was a "liability" issue--that for safety reasons, they wanted to be in control of the cargo until it was firmly settled in the shuttle bay.

Wufei snorted at that; it was obviously an attempt to undermine the colony's economy by denying work to their people.

In retaliation, the port authorities refused to let the ship's crew conduct any loading of material being sent out from the colony, citing the same issue. But going one step further, they wouldn't allow refueling by anyone other than their ground crews. And if a ship's captain insisted on his own maintenance people performing what had traditionally been their task, the ship was subject to being turned away without fuel at all.

What had begun as a small feud on an L2 outpost was turning into a colony-wide problem. More and more shuttles were making emergency stops for fuel at those colonies not participating in the quarrel--and that was putting a strain on their supplies.

It had progressed to a point where captains of transport vessels were refusing service to any colony that wouldn't promise them refueling rights.

While there were a number of Alliance craft patrolling the shipping lanes and helping out stranded shuttles, the problem was growing at an alarming rate, and soon there wouldn't be enough to go around.

Already the instances of piracy had increased; opportunistic buccaneers had jumped at the chance to strike while Alliance ships were overtaxed on rescue operations. It was a tense and touchy situation, liable to explode at any time.

And while the diplomats were frantically trying to come to terms, there was little headway being made, since each colony only had one governor to represent them in the Assembly--while the Earth owned the positions of Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister, Secretary, Treasurer, and Governing Council. It was an obvious imbalance of power--yet the colonies lacked the voice to change it--and their resentment grew.

"I'm too old for this shit," Wufei sighed, dropping the last report into the proper file folder.

He ran a hand back through the wisps of hair that had escaped his ponytail, and looked through the blinds of his window at the dark landscape, deciding that he needed to get outside and clear his mind of the troubling burden it carried these days.

Moments later he was walking through the campus with a firm, purposeful stride, taking deep, soothing breaths of the fresh air.

Of course, his thoughts then turned to his four favorite students, and he wondered what they were up to this evening. He was tempted to stop by Duo's dorm, but he suspected he'd be interrupting something intimate if he did. And while he teased and joked with the boy about dating Heero, he certainly wasn't opposed to it at all. On the contrary, having Heero for a boyfriend seemed to have settled the boy from L2 down a bit, and given him extra purpose and focus.

And Heero had gained from the relationship, too...sort of a classic case of the two of them being more than the sum of their parts.

Hell, that theory had worked with all of Team Wing, for that matter. Together those four boys were capable of much more than simply their combined skills. They seemed to bring out extra qualities in each other.

And just like that, Wufei found himself smiling, his worries drifting into the background as he felt a rush of satisfaction over the way the boot camp program had turned juvenile delinquents into young men he was proud to know. It had been a truly eye-opening experience for them all.

"Chang?"

He stopped in his tracks, surprised that anyone had approached without his knowledge. "Yuy?"

Heero smirked, apparently realizing he'd surprised his friend. "You were a million miles away there, weren't you? I said your name twice."

"Ah, yes," admitted the officer. "I was deep in thought." He gave a slight shrug, as Heero fell in step beside him and they continued walking. "After a long evening of depressing paperwork, I came out here to clear my head."

"Me, too," Heero told him.

Wufei raised an eyebrow, and then glanced around, realizing Duo wasn't with the Japanese boy. "Homework?" he asked in surprise. "I'd have thought you'd be corrupting the morals of my court-appointed son."

A grimace crossed Heero's face, and Wufei frowned in response. "Did you two have a falling out?"

"Kind of." Heero gave a shrug of his own. "I sort of stood him up tonight. We were supposed to be--spending time together."

Wufei rolled his eyes, reading between the lines, and knowing exactly what they'd planned to do.

"But one of my instructors asked me to tutor another student. And since I've got plans tomorrow, and he's busy all day Sunday, tonight was really the best time."

"I see." And Wufei really did see. He knew that Duo wouldn't have taken kindly to being pushed aside for schoolwork.

"Duo was a bit--put out about it."

"Pissed off, you mean?"

"Yeah, that."

"He's got to learn that training comes first, Yuy."

Heero shifted uncomfortably. "It's not so much that he was pissed about the tutoring, Wufei. He was more upset by who I was tutoring." At Chang's raised eyebrow, Heero sighed and continued. "Reggie Darlian."

"Oh."

"He's a football star--and Relena's cousin."

"I know who he is, Heero," Wufei pointed out. "He's a fine athlete and a top-notch student, in spite of a bit of a superiority complex." The captain gave a small smile. "I know every student in this facility. I know their grades, and I've read their trainers' evaluations of them. I could probably tell you more about Darlian than you already think you know."

"I'm sure you could."

"I heard he got into astrophysics by retaking the exam. I'd assume that's the subject you were asked to help him with--since he excels in his other classes."

Heero just sighed and nodded.

"What I don't know is why Duo had a problem with you tutoring him specifically."

"Aside from the fact that he knows Reggie is Relena's cousin, Duo's had a couple of--unpleasant conversations with him."

"Unpleasant in what way?"

"I guess they met at check-in, and Reggie's cocky attitude annoyed Duo. Then we played a little touch football with him and his team and got thoroughly creamed." Heero threw his hands to the side in a gesture of helplessness. "It just went downhill from there."

"I can imagine."

"When Reggie came up to me in the quad tonight, Duo flew off the handle and took off to go hang out with Quatre and Trowa." A frown settled on Heero's brow. "I'm trying to figure out how to smooth things over with him."

"I'm not sure you need to. He's got to put aside his personal feelings at times and understand that there are more important things in the world. Your training is paramount."

"Don't get me wrong, 'Fei. Duo's taking our schooling very seriously. It's just, I'd promised him some private time, and I reneged. And to make it worse, I didn't mention it until kind of the last minute. He has a right to be mad."

"Well, maybe for a little while." Wufei laid a soothing hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know he's probably cooled off by now. Why don't you go look for him and see if he's ready to make up?"

"I did look for him. There was no answer at his dorm, and when I went to knock on Quatre's--" He blushed a deep pink. "Well, let's just say, considering the noises I overheard, I really hope it was just him and Trowa, and that Duo wasn't there. It'd be pretty fucking awkward otherwise."

Wufei blushed a bit as well.

"Besides," Heero went on. "It's past midnight, Chang. Duo's probably in his room asleep and just didn't hear my knock."

Wufei snorted wryly. "Seriously? It's the first weekend at the Academy. No one sleeps." He gave a tiny, smug smirk. "As a matter of fact, most of the boys go off-campus for entertainment--movies, or a local nightclub." He waggled his eyebrows mischievously. "I've got spies everywhere, who monitor each move our cadets make. We tolerate only so much misbehavior."

He tightened his grip a little, giving a small shake. "Go find him at whatever card game or party he's scared up. Apologize and kiss and make up." A faint frown creased his forehead. "Take advantage of whatever time you have, Yuy."

Heero did a double take, worried by the undercurrent in Chang's voice. "Wufei?"

The hand dropped from his shoulder and Wufei looked away, frustrated that he was so easy for Heero to read.

"Talk to me, 'Fei," Heero said flatly.

Wufei shook his head. "I'd rather not. You don't need the burden of added worry--"

"I've already got it. If you're troubled by something, as your friend, so am I." Heero fixed a searching look on him. "What's up?"

"Just--more of the same, really," Wufei admitted. "Tension between the colonies and Earth--a breakdown of diplomacy--conflicts at shuttle ports and an increase in interstellar piracy--"

Heero sucked in a sharp breath. "That's a recipe for chaos, Chang."

"It's a recipe for war," agreed his friend.

"It could happen at any time," Heero noted. "In an instant. Couldn't it?"

Wufei nodded, but then turned a stern look on the Japanese boy. "It doesn't mean it will," he insisted.

"You don't believe that any more than I do."

Wufei shook his head. "But I don't want you to dwell on it, Heero. Don't let the threat of war darken your life any sooner than it has to."

"It's already done that," Heero said grimly. "It's put a weight on your shoulders and a shadow over us all. It feels like there's a clock ticking somewhere and time's running out."

"All the more reason to put it out of your mind and go make up with your lover," Wufei pointed out. "You can't change what will happen. Instead, you must continue on with your life until it does. Don't waste time worrying." A faint smile touched his lips. "I do enough of that for both of us."

Heero nodded, absorbing the information he'd learned; then he looked curiously at his companion. "Are you gonna take your own advice?"

"Yes," came the firm reply. "As a matter of fact, I've got plans with Zechs tomorrow evening. And I fully intend to leave my worries here at the base, while I enjoy his company." His lips twitched in a genuine smile. "Is that acceptable?"

"Perfect," Heero smiled back.

"So--now that we've established that neither you, nor I, will dwell on this any more tonight--why don't you go beg your boyfriend's forgiveness?"

Heero gave a mock scowl. "I don't beg, Chang."

Wufei laughed. "I think I heard you say that before--and yet I'm all too aware of what lengths you'd go to for the boy."

The dark blue eyes narrowed. "Just wait, Chang. Your time will come," he said ominously.

"Meaning?"

"Sooner or later, you'll know exactly how this feels." He lightened his words with a grin. "I'd bet on sooner."

Wufei gave a skeptical snort and with a dismissive wave of his hand, turned aside to head for the gym, fully intending to exhaust himself with some katas before turning in for the night. "Off you go, Yuy! Enjoy the groveling."

"And the makeup sex?" Heero shot back.

Then his eyes widened. Oh yes! He'd almost forgotten the best part of making up with Duo. And just as quickly, he turned and set off at a brisk walk.

~*~

It was well after midnight when Lex pulled his car into the parking lot of the MSC Academy, and the group of boys tumbled out, laughing about their adventure in town.

"--can't believe your luck at pool," Cooper was saying with a glare at Duo.

"Not luck. Skill," Duo asserted.

"Yeah, well--whatever it is, I'm never playin' against you again."

"Hey--that gives me an idea," Rev spoke up. "The local boys weren't there tonight."

"So?" Cooper asked.

"So they don't know how phenomenally well Duo plays--"

Coop's eyes took on a shifty gleam. "Are you suggesting we set 'em up?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting."

When both boys looked at him, Duo shook his head. "Don't be getting ideas, fellas. I don't wanna start trouble by hustling the locals. As a matter of fact, I probably won't be going back to The Hangar any time soon. I'll be too busy working on term papers and memorizing mobile suit specs. And so will you."

"Yeah, but we could squeeze in a little fun, right?" Cooper pleaded.

Duo gestured to the damp stain on the front of his shirt. "Y'call this fun? Some big oaf tripping over his own feet spilled half a damned beer on me. I've been freezing ever since!"

Rev elbowed him conspiratorially. "But before that, you were having a great time, weren't you?"

The braided boy shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah, I s'pose so. It was nice to just hang out and shoot some pool. You guys are great."

"So, next time we slip away, you can be our secret weapon."

"Next time," Duo agreed, knowing they weren't likely to find the time in the near future. "But meanwhile, I'm gonna call it a night. I desperately need a shower and a change of clothes." A wide yawn split his face. "Plus a good night's sleep," he added, smiling at his companions. "Thanks for a good time, though--and buying all the drinks."

"Any time," Rev said with a grin. "See ya later, Maxwell."

They parted ways, and Duo headed for his dorm, intent on ridding himself of the soggy shirt and then maybe falling face down on the bed. He stumbled wearily into his room, closing the door behind him and tossing the key onto his dresser without even bothering to turn on a light. Plunking himself down on the edge of his bed, he started to unlace his boots.

"Duo--?" came a half-awake and hoarse voice.

He nearly jumped out of his skin, leaping to his feet and whirling to see Heero stretched out on the bed, his hair disheveled and his clothes rumpled from sleep.

"Jesus, 'Ro! You've got to quit surprising me like this! I mean, not that it isn't a totally awesome surprise...but you took another five years off my life. At this rate I'll die of old age before I reach thirty."

"Got finished early enough that I thought I'd come see you," Heero said quietly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "When you weren't here, I decided to wait; I didn't like the way we parted company before."

"Me neither," Duo admitted, sliding closer and leaning in to steal a brief, warm kiss.

Heero sniffed the air as their lips parted. "What the heck? You smell like a brewery, Maxwell." His blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Have you been drinking?"

"No!" Duo asserted. "A few of the guys and I went to The Hangar and some klutz spilled a beer on me."

"You went to The Hangar?" Heero demanded.

"Yeah--Rev and Cooper--"

"That's a bar, Maxwell! An off-campus bar. And you're under age."

"Yeah, I know. But if you have a military i.d. they don't seem to care."

"I care! Did you not read the rule book?" Heero was referring to the Academy handbook, which had rather detailed regulations about military decorum and behavior. It specifically forbade under age drinking, as well as a number of other typical teen behaviors.

"As a matter of fact," Duo replied coolly, pulling away and starting to unbutton his shirt. "I did not read the damned rule book. I've been too busy studying the important stuff." He glanced over his shoulder. "Y'mean to tell me with astrophysics on your plate you had time to read all that shit?"

"Duo--" Heero's tone carried a sternness that his lover knew all too well.

The braided boy spun to regard him with a scathing glare. "Don't 'Duo' me, Yuy! You blew me off for your pal Reggie tonight. I'm not gonna listen to you lecture me for finding other entertainment. So I went to a bar! So what? All the kids do it--and you can bet your ass that Chang and Merquise know they do! As long as I wasn't drinking, I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that after all we went through at boot camp, you're willing to risk your position here at the Academy so you can go party with your new friends!" Heero shot back.

"I wasn't risking anything, Yuy--except maybe my lungs, considering how much smoke there was in that place."

"And that's another thing! You stink to high heavens. Between the beer you say you didn't drink, and the smell of stale cigarette smoke in your hair--!"

"The beer I say I didn't drink?" Duo echoed. "I didn't! And you know fucking well I don't lie."

"Except to someone who pisses you off enough," Heero said snidely.

Duo gaped at him. "What?"

"You lied to Khushrenada."

"I fucked with his head," Duo retorted. "That's all."

"You lied."

"He didn't fucking deserve the truth!" Duo snapped, eyes a little wild at the mention of the hated warden. "All I did by teasing him about making it up was put doubt into his mind. But I told him the truth first--and what the fuck does this have to do with tonight?"

"It has to do with you making everything into a game!" Heero retorted. "Khushrenada fucked you over, and so you did it right back to him the first chance you got. I pissed you off by postponing our date, and you went out drinking just to get even with me!"

"I didn't go drinking. I went out to play some pool and hang out with my friends."

"So you say."

Duo straightened, his eyes dark with anger. "Don't you dare accuse me of lying, Yuy!" He pointed a shaking finger at his lover. "If anyone lied, it was you--not telling me who you were going to spend tonight with."

"Because I knew you'd react like this--and go out and do something stupid!"

"I didn't do anything. I just found a way to occupy the time I thought I was going to get to spend with you."

"You risked your position at this Academy--just to spite me."

"Get over yourself, Yuy. I wouldn't throw away my training here just because you stood me up. You're not that indispensable."

Heero pushed off of the bed and headed for the door. "Fine then, Maxwell. I won't take up any more of your time. I certainly wouldn't want to get in the way of your training."

"Why should you? You made it clear enough I wouldn't get in the way of yours!" Duo glared after his lover, arms crossed over his chest. "Don't let the fucking door hit you in the ass on the way out!"

It wasn't until the door slammed behind him and he was storming down the hall that Heero's temper began to cool and he realized what he'd just done. But it was too late to go back and try to make amends, when he was fairly certain Duo wouldn't even let him in.

"Fuck." He stopped outside in the cool air of the quad, rubbing a hand over his eyes, and trying to figure out when and how he'd let his temper get the best of him. After spending the early part of his evening defending Duo to Reginald, he'd turned right around and lashed out at the boy he loved. And he wasn't even sure why.

Back in the dorm, Duo stripped down to his boxers, cursing non-stop in a bitter undertone. How had his delight at finding his lover waiting in his room turned into such a mess? He pulled the tie out of his braid, wrinkling his nose at the smell of stale smoke even as he headed for the shower.

What gave Heero the right to tell him what to do with his time, anyway? After standing him up, how did the Japanese boy figure he could lecture him on how he spent the night? And where had the bit about Khushrenada come from?

Duo paused in the doorway to the bathroom, running his hands back through his hair and resting his forehead on the jamb. "Damn it, 'Ro--all I wanted was to be with you tonight."

~*~

But while a wide rift lay between Duo and Heero, Quatre and Trowa were about as close together as they could get, the auburn-haired boy buried deep in his lover's body.

"God--almost there--" Quatre panted, eyes half-closed in pleasure and wisps of blonde hair clinging to his sweaty forehead. "Oh! Again--do that again--!"

Trowa obliged him, tightening the sheath of his hand on Quatre's penis and thrusting harder, aiming unerringly for his prostate.

"Ahhh!" Quatre convulsed suddenly, spilling over Trowa's hand and his own chest, his internal spasming drawing his lover along with him.

"Oh fuck--" Trowa gasped, throwing back his head and closing his eyes as he found his own completion.

"Mmm." Quatre relaxed, savoring both the feeling of heat filling him and the fading pleasure of his orgasm. "Wow," he breathed.

"That's my line," Trowa panted, leaning in to kiss Quatre deeply and completely. "You are--incredible."

A rosy blush added to the pink of exertion on Quatre's cheeks, but he gave a shy smile. "And you're everything to me--my heart--my love."

It was Trowa's turn to blush, and he dropped his head to feather soft kisses along Quatre's sweaty collarbone.

"You know how much I love you, right?" Quatre asked, a hesitation in his tone.

Trowa looked up with a faint frown. "Of course I do--and I love you just as much."

He caught a glimmer of worry in the blue eyes, and his expression turned very serious. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Just--I guess I'm a little insecure sometimes," Quatre hedged.

But his shrewd lover knew exactly what he was talking about. "Is this about Fox saying he'd try to get me into the ordnance program?"

Quatre's sideways glance wasn't quick enough to hide his response.

"Look at me, love."

He looked up into the deep green eyes that were so filled with determination and passion it was impossible to deny.

"You are the only man in my life--the only one I've ever said I loved. No one is going to change that. Not Fox--not anyone."

"But if you want to work with the dogs--"

"--with the dogs," Trowa echoed. "Not with the guy who introduced me to them. I don't even know if he swings our way, and frankly, I don't care. You are the one I love. And I'll keep saying it until I get it through your thick head--understand?"

"Yeah," Quatre sighed, the last of his fears slipping away as he gazed into those earnest eyes.

"Now--where was I?" Trowa said with a hint of a smirk touching the corners of his mouth. He resumed his teasing kisses along his lover's chest, savoring the taste of his skin and sweat as he worked his way to a tender nipple.

"Oh yes," murmured the blonde. "You are so good at this. Those lips--feels like I'm on fire--"

Trowa brought those lips back to Quatre's mouth, kissing him again, only harder. "Keep talking like that, and I'll be ready to go again--"

Quatre grinned into the kiss. "I certainly hope so--"

TBC...

 

To The Next Chapter

To The Previous Chapter

Back to Snowdragonct's Fanfictions Page

Back to Guests Fanfictions Page

Back to Main Page