Author's Note: I know this took forever...but first I was horribly overworked, and then I got the flu from Hell...spent a whole weekend in bed instead of writing. I'll do better, I promise! Future updates will not be this slow.
The Academy Part 5
Bonding Time
Once they were out of earshot of the others, Quatre turned a curious gaze towards Duo. "So, why'd you want to get me alone?"
The braided boy shrugged slightly. "Mostly to tease you and find out what Trowa said after I named you the ultimate Master of Strategy."
"That was--private."
"C'mon, Quat!" Duo chided. "We got no secrets--you an' me." His indigo eyes narrowed warily. "Do we?"
Quatre thought back to boot camp, and the long talks they'd had about their respective lovers, especially after Heero had been hauled off to L1 to be tried for his guardian's murder. He'd been trying to distract Duo at the time--take his mind off his worries--but in truth, they really did open up to each other.
"Oh fine!" Quatre growled. "He just said I could be his master any day, okay? And if you tell him I told you, I'll have to kill you."
Duo laughed in delight. "Man, I wish he'd said that out loud. I could've had a field day." He elbowed his friend conspiratorially. "So does that mean you guys are into--um--bondage and shit?"
"No!" Quatre squeaked, eyes widening. "We've never-- We wouldn't--"
"Aw, c'mon. Don't knock it 'til you try it," Duo suggested with a teasing leer.
Quatre mock-scowled in response. "Speaking from experience, Maxwell? Hm?"
Duo just gave a short bark of laughter and shook his head. "With all the times I've ended up in handcuffs, Quat, they are definitely not a turn-on for me." He glanced at his friend. "I s'pose they wouldn't dare put cuffs on a Winner."
Quatre snorted wryly. "My father always seemed to know the arresting officers personally."
"Figures. So you've never enjoyed the experience of handcuffs."
"Just once, when I--" The blonde stopped abruptly, and cast a sidelong glance at his friend. "I got in a fight the first time I was in juvenile detention; they put me in restraints that time."
"Ah." Duo smirked slightly. "Is that what you meant about having a rough go of it?"
Quatre sighed. "I might've known you'd pick up on that. Yeah, I had a--a hard time at first."
"Sweet looking kid like you, that doesn't surprise me," Duo commiserated. He ran a practiced eye over his friend. "How many of 'em ganged up on you?"
"Four."
"How bad did they rough you up?"
Quatre shook his head, his frown deepening. "I put them all in the hospital," he said rather faintly.
Duo stopped, his jaw dropping open in amazement. "Seriously?"
"It's not something I'm proud of," Quatre muttered, turning to face the braided boy. "I totally lost it, Duo. I barely even remember the whole thing--I was so out of my mind." There was a glimmer of self-loathing in the aquamarine eyes. "They cornered me in the showers--and I panicked. I--guess I was scared--of what they might do. And then I got angry." He shrugged slightly. "Next thing I knew, I'd beaten the living shit out of them. Two of them had broken bones, and three of the four needed stitches."
"Shit, Quatre--what'd you use for a weapon?" Duo asked.
"My hands."
Indigo eyes widened impossibly. "You have got to be shittin' me. You beat up four bullies in a shower--without any weapons at all?"
Quatre nodded gravely. "That's why I ended up at Peacecraft. They were gonna throw the book at me--add assault and battery to the sentence I already had. The psychologist said I had repressed anger issues."
"You?" Duo shook his head. "Quat, you're about the mildest-mannered guy I know."
"I know that," Quatre sighed. "But something sure made me snap that day, and I hope I never lose my temper like that again."
"Me too," Duo teased, grinning. He shook his head as they started off for the infirmary again. "Man, I know I had a reputation for being tougher than I looked. But I never dreamed you'd be in the same boat."
"I told Kushrenada that people often underestimated me--at their own peril," Quatre smirked back, relaxing a little.
Duo chuckled. "I wish I could've been a fly on the wall for the part where you convinced him I'd stolen Trowa from you and that you wanted to hang me out to dry for it." He was referring to their desperate plan back in boot camp, to lure the hated warden into a trap designed to draw him out of his office so Quatre and Heero could hack his computer for incriminating evidence. They'd carried out an elaborate ruse, in which Heero and Quatre played Duo and Trowa's jilted lovers--a ruse that, while it fooled Kushrenada, put their own relationships to the test.
Of course, they'd passed that test and the team had come out even stronger and more unified after Kushrenada tried to kill Captain Chang, Duo and Trowa. And now, while the boys were attending the Academy, the vindictive warden was serving time for the attempted murders, drug dealing, and conspiracy to murder Heero's guardian.
"I never knew I could act that well," Quatre conceded, looking a trifle smug.
"I did," Duo assured him. "Those big blue eyes and that silky golden hair are absolutely the mark of a true con man."
"Duo!"
"Seriously, Quat. If I'd had a partner like you on L2, I'd never have had to pick pockets; we could've conned people out of the fillings in their teeth."
Quatre laughed and shook his head. "It's time to put that all behind you, Duo. We're cadets now--soon to be soldiers--mobile suit pilots."
"Sure," Duo shrugged. "Right after we get you a bandaid for your boo-boo, right?"
"Right." Quatre glanced down at his bloody knee. "You sorry we got beat?" he asked quietly.
Duo shrugged. "Yeah. But I s'pose I shouldn't have been surprised. It's not like I ever played the game before."
"Really?" Quatre asked in surprise. "I thought you did great. The way you ran the ball, and slipped through the defense..."
Duo smirked at that. "Well, it's not entirely unlike living on the streets, Quat. Kinda like dodging a couple of cops with a loaf of bread tucked under your arm..."
Quatre darted him a worried look. "Did you really?"
The braided boy sighed. "Stop with the pity, Winner. Yeah, I stole to eat sometimes. So did lots of other kids. It's just the way it was--is. It's not your fault, and there's nothing you can do about it, okay? So don't feel bad for the way things are."
The blonde nodded, still looking preoccupied.
"I suppose now you're trying to think of a way to help the economic situation on L2," Duo chided.
He saw the blue eyes brighten at that. "Not a bad idea, now that you mention it," Quatre mused. "I wonder if my father's ever thought of branching out."
Duo laughed aloud. "God, Quat--next you'll be blaming yourself for the lack of air in space." He clapped his friend on the shoulder. "First things first. We get your knee fixed up, learn how to pilot mobile suits, and then we can worry about saving the colonies, okay?"
~*~
Doctor Po looked up in surprise as Duo and Quatre walked into the infirmary. "Oh, Duo!" she said in dismay. "You've barely been here twenty-four hours--"
"Not me, doc," Duo said with a charming grin. "It's my buddy Quatre this time. He's got a knee that looks like mine did after scaling that cliff back in boot camp."
She rolled her eyes, and gestured Quatre into her little exam room. Duo tagged along uninvited, and leaned in the doorway.
"How'd you manage this?" asked the woman, efficiently rolling up the pant leg and examining the scrape.
"Playing touch football," Quatre admitted with a tiny grimace as the doctor dabbed a clean cloth on the wound.
"Well, I hope you won," she sighed, getting up and going to the sink for warm water. When neither boy responded, she looked questioningly at Duo.
He scowled in reply. "We got our asses kicked," he muttered sullenly, "--by Reginald Fucking Darlian and his pals."
"Oh." The doctor poured a little betadine in the water and started gently rinsing Quatre's knee.
"You don't sound surprised," Duo noted.
"I'm not. Reginald's football team is pretty much unbeatable."
"No shit."
She gave a shrug as she dried the wound and dabbed on antibiotic ointment. Within moments, she had the knee wrapped in gauze, and rolled the pant leg down to cover it. "Just take it easy tonight, and leave it wrapped until the next time you shower," ordered the doctor. "I'll give you some ointment and a box of extra large bandaids you can put on to keep it covered a few days. By then it should be fine." She gathered the aforementioned items, and handed them to Quatre.
He hopped off the examination table, gingerly flexing the leg. "Thanks, Doctor Po. It feels much better now."
"Any time," she said warmly.
He started for the door, and Duo looked past him to the doctor. "What? No lollipop for being brave?"
She gave the braided boy a look, rolling her eyes. "For Heaven's sake, Duo. This is a military base. Do you really think they give me a budget for lollipops?"
"They oughta." He turned to follow Quatre, and Doctor Po stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. "Can you spare a minute, Duo?" she asked quietly. "Quatre can wait outside."
Duo frowned a little, and nodded to Quatre. "Go on ahead. I'll be right there." He waited until the door closed behind his friend, and turned to face the doctor with his arms crossed stubbornly. "C'mon, doc. You had me here yesterday for check-in. I told ya--the nightmares haven't been back."
"I just wanted to make sure," she said firmly. The doctor had been the one who treated Duo for the injuries done him by the brutal guard at boot camp. She'd seen him through that crisis and its aftermath, and had kept an eye on him ever since. Her motherly attitude towards him hadn't abated one bit. "This is a stressful environment, and doubly so for someone with your background," she pointed out.
"I slept like a baby last night, even though Chang made sure I was alone."
She raised an eyebrow curiously.
"He escorted Yuy back to his own dorm," Duo clarified. "But honestly, I slept fine." He shrugged slightly. "Granted, I was pretty worn out after traveling all day and getting checked in. But I really think I'm over the bad stuff. Honest."
She studied his face searchingly, and then nodded. "I think so too," she conceded. "But I want a promise from you." A brief smile crossed her face. "I know if you make a promise, you'll keep it."
"Damn straight."
"I want you to promise me that if you do have nightmares again, or any difficulty at all in dealing with the stress of life here, you'll come to me and let me help."
He considered for a moment, his gaze dropping to the floor. He knew the doctor only spoke out of genuine concern and affection--but his independent streak ran pretty deep. "Look, doc..." He peered up at her from under the fringe of his bangs. "I'll tell you what. Back in boot camp, 'Ro and the others got me through some tough nights. And I trust them to do it again, if I need it. But if there's a problem they can't help me with, I will come to you, okay?"
It was her turn to mull it over. And then she nodded in return. "Good enough. As long as I know you're not trying to tough it out alone, it sets my mind at ease." She gave him a warm smile. "I've got a soft spot for you and your teammates, y'know."
He snorted wryly. "Pretty obvious, doc."
"Be sure to tell the others that my door is always open to them, too."
"Sure." Duo ducked his head shyly. "Thanks."
He made a hasty escape, joining Quatre outside.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah--Doc Po just wanted to make sure I'm sleepin' okay," Duo admitted.
"I always said you were the doctor's pet," Quatre teased.
"Oh, like you aren't?" came the quick riposte.
"But not like you."
"That's why she said to say her door's always open for any of us," Duo told him.
"Did she really?"
Duo's snide expression was answer enough.
"She's a nice lady," Quatre decided firmly.
They made their way to Mars, and Quatre led the way to Heero's room, which was only a couple of doors down from his own.
"Knock knock!" Duo called loudly, opening the door quickly, as if hoping to catch their boyfriends at something they shouldn't be doing.
He stopped just inside, hands on hips, and a disappointed look on his face. Heero was bent over his laptop, with Trowa leaning on the back of his chair looking over his shoulder. They were both deeply ensconced in studying the blueprints on the screen.
Duo exchanged a look with Quatre. "Sheesh--their concern for your health overwhelms me." He sidled up behind Heero, draping his arms around his lover's shoulders. "Don't ya wanna know what the doctor said?"
"It was a skinned knee," Heero replied absently, keying up another screen. "I expect she cleaned it up, put antibiotic ointment on it, and wrapped it in gauze."
"Well, yeah." Duo let one hand inch down and toy with a button on Heero's shirt. "What's so interesting on that damned computer screen anyway?"
"Mobile suit blueprints," Trowa spoke up. He'd straightened and slipped an arm around Quatre's waist, while never taking his eyes from the picture on the monitor. "Shit--will you look at that?"
Duo heaved a frustrated sigh, and looked at the screen, his eyes widening at once. "Whoa. They never showed us those at boot camp."
"Uh-uh," Heero said with a smug tone of voice. "These are the very latest. Prototypes."
"Who gets to pilot those?" demanded the braided boy.
"Whoever qualifies," Heero answered. "So far no one in the training program has been able to handle the controls. Too responsive for most pilots." He glanced up at the suddenly intent expression on his lover's face. "Merquise, Chang, and a couple of senior instructors are about the only ones who've taken them for a test run and succeeded."
"Ohhhh." Duo's voice came out in a longing drawl. "Lemme at 'em."
Heero smiled that small, intimate smile that made Duo's knees weak. "You'll get your chance, love. Chang told me that by the end of the first semester, they will have selected a handful of students with aptitude enough to enter the Prototype Program."
"Talk about incentive!"
"Is that why you turned Darlian down when he suggested you try for the team?" Quatre asked.
"I turned him down because I have no interest in playing football and being a campus star," Heero said flatly. "I'm here to learn to pilot mobile suits--preferably the most advanced ones they've got."
"You an' me both," Duo chimed in.
"Hey--us too!" Quatre blurted, leaning against Trowa.
Heero shut down the computer, turning in his seat to face his friends. "Glad to know we've all got the same goal here. We can help each other succeed."
Duo eyed him suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling that means you're gonna be on my case to study non-stop?"
"I'll give you time out for meals, showers and sleep," Heero said with a straight face.
"How generous," came the sarcastic reply. Duo leaned in closer. "What about sex?"
The amused glimmer in Heero's deep blue eyes grew more pronounced. "So long as it's combined with showers, it shouldn't cut into your study time too much."
The braided boy jerked away sharply. "Are you kidding?" He frowned warily. "You are kidding, right? You better be kidding, Yuy."
Heero stood up and stretched. "Almost time for supper, isn't it guys?"
"Yuy!"
"Yes, I think it is," Trowa replied calmly, his face as unreadable as Heero's.
"Yuy!" Duo snapped sternly. "Tell me you were kidding."
"Oh, hey! Before we go to dinner, I have to get something!" Quatre blurted. "You three wait here. I'll be right back!" He dashed out, leaving all three boys staring blankly after him.
"Tro'? You got any idea what Quat's up to?" Duo asked.
"Not a clue."
While they waited, Duo took a moment to stroll around Heero's room and familiarize himself. It was just like his, except that it was meticulously organized. From the tidy desk and the neatly made bed, to the arrangement of toothpaste, toothbrush and comb on the back of the sink, it was perfectly orderly.
In a word, it was exactly as Duo would have pictured it. He smirked to himself as he made his tour, arriving once more beside his lover just as Quatre burst back in the door.
The blonde had a bag in his hands, and he set it carefully on Heero's bed, turning to face three curious faces. "Okay. Remember graduation day? My sisters took about a million pictures?"
When they nodded, he turned around and pulled three paper-wrapped bundles from the bag. He handed one to each of his friends, absolutely glowing with satisfaction. "I thought we each needed a nice framed picture of the four of us."
Duo was the first to unwrap his, and the way the indigo eyes lit up, Quatre knew he was pleased. "Shit, man! It's perfect."
"Wow," Trowa added, a rare smile gracing his face. "Yeah--perfect."
"Absolutely," Heero agreed.
The pictures were identical, though each frame was a slightly different shade of bluish-black. In the photo Quatre and Duo were centered, each with an arm thrown over the other's shoulders. Heero was on Duo's other side, his arm stretched across the braided boy's back and barely reaching Quatre's shoulder. Likewise, on Quatre's other side Trowa had an arm thrown across, ending with his fingers resting on Duo. Captain Chang was on Heero's other side, close but not quite touching, looking at the four boys with the warmest expression they'd ever seen on his stern face.
"God, Heero--you look hot in this," Duo murmured, running a finger down the glass as he studied the slight smirk on his lover's face, and the glimmer in the blue eyes. The photographer had caught each one of them with a truly genuine smile and an obvious affection in their expressions.
"Irea did an awesome job, didn't she?" Quatre asked, beaming with delight at their reactions. "I've got more in a scrapbook we can look at when we get the time to hang out together."
"She's a very skilled photographer," Heero noted. "The lighting was perfect, and she caught everyone at their best."
"She caught the spirit of Team Wing," Trowa said quietly, his smile mirroring the one in the picture looking back at him. He looked up at Quatre with slightly too-bright green eyes. "This is the best gift ever, Quatre."
The blonde blushed at the praise, melting up against Trowa as the auburn-haired boy wrapped an arm around him. "All I did was have them blown up and framed. Irea's the one with the talent."
"I so owe that girl," Duo grinned. "First s'mores, and now this." He ran his fingers caressingly over the frame. "I never had a picture like this--nice enough to hang on a wall. Not that I ever had a wall to hang one on. But shit; all I've got of Hilde and Howard is a little wallet-sized, dog-eared picture. This one's--well, it's art." He shook his head. "Wait'll I see that sister of yours again, Quat. I may have to kiss her."
"I don't think so," Heero said quickly, with a flash of a scowl. "I might not mind a hug--but your kisses are supposed to be spoken for, Maxwell."
"Aw, 'Ro--just checkin' to see if you were paying attention," Duo teased, running a hand through his lover's untidy hair. "Gotta keep you on your toes."
Heero shook his head, and then looked at Quatre with a smile. "Thanks very much, Quatre. I'll treasure this picture--and obviously Trowa and Duo will too." He took his gift and walked over to his bureau, setting it beside a picture he already had.
Duo followed his path, eyes settling on the shot of Heero and Wufei. He realized that in the picture both men looked younger, although Wufei was in an MSC uniform. "'Ro? When was that one taken?"
"The year Wufei enlisted," replied the Japanese boy, smiling at the recollection. "I guess about four years ago."
"You would've been fourteen..." Duo walked over to study the picture, smiling slightly. "And you were still a knock-out, weren't ya?"
"Maxwell--"
Duo laughed, sliding an arm around his lover's waist. "Say what you will, Yuy. But, God you must've been the most adorable baby ever."
Heero cast a despairing look at Trowa and Quatre, who were both smirking irrepressibly. "Isn't it about time to head to the mess hall?"
"Absolutely," Trowa agreed. "Could we swing by Jupiter so I can leave my picture in my room? I don't want to carry it around."
"Of course," Quatre answered for them all.
"I'll leave mine here," Duo said, setting it beside Heero's, and turning a sly glance towards the dark-haired boy. "It'll give me an excuse to come back later." And stay.
"You don't need an excuse," Heero told him, so matter-of-factly that Duo's face lit up.
"Aw, Yuy, you say the sweetest things," he murmured.
Heero's small, wry snort didn't detract from the warm smile he ducked his head to hide, as he turned towards the door.
As they headed out, Quatre dropped back beside Trowa, allowing Heero and Duo to walk ahead by several feet. "You really like the picture?"
"I told you I did," Trowa assured him. "When I said it was the best gift ever, I meant it." A vague frown crossed his face, as the thought crossed his mind that if the four boys were separated by war, it might be the only memento they had of each other...at least until they were reunited. Or if they were, he thought bleakly.
Quatre caught the shift in his mood immediately, and cast a worried glance at him. "Are you okay?"
Knowing of his lover's empathic talent, Trowa didn't bother trying to lie about his feelings. "Yeah--just thinking about what Merquise said about a war being imminent."
"He didn't say 'imminent,'" Quatre said soothingly. "And even if it were, there's no certainty that they'd send us. We'd at least have to be able to pilot real suits first."
Trowa nodded, realizing Quatre had a point.
"I feel the same way though," Quatre added perceptively. "Having found friends like Duo and Heero--and someone like you--I'd hate to be apart so soon."
The boy from the circus gave a reluctant smile. "Damn it, Quatre. How do you always know exactly what I'm thinking?" His green eyes narrowed warily. "You can't really read minds, right?"
"No--as I said before--only moods and feelings. But I could sense loneliness in you, and when you mentioned the possibility of war, I guessed it was the chance that we'd be separated that had you worried." His own gaze traveled to the two boys ahead of them, talking quietly and walking close together. "To be honest with you, I worry about how they'd handle it even more."
Trowa snorted wryly. "Don't even go there. After all it took for them to get together--don't even suggest tearing them apart."
"Never," Quatre agreed. "Now, can we just focus on the positive again? We're here together--all four of us--and tomorrow we start training. It's going to be great."
~*~
The rest of the evening passed on a more upbeat note, as they shared a pleasant meal in the mess hall, and then headed for their dorms. Trowa and Quatre went back to the former acrobat's room, while Duo tagged along with Heero as promised.
The braided boy didn't even wait for the door to finish closing, before he all but threw himself into Heero's arms, kissing him almost desperately.
Heero returned the passionate gesture, sliding his arms around the slim waist, and pulling his lover closer, reveling in the taste and smell and feel of him. "Mmm...planning on staying here tonight, are you?" he asked when they paused for breath.
"That's entirely up to you," Duo murmured, his breath hot against Heero's neck. "It's your room."
"My room...my lover...yeah, I guess I own it all," teased the other boy, his fingers tracing lazily across Duo's back.
"How about your bed?" came the quick response.
"That too."
"How about putting me in your bed?" Duo specified. "Y'know? You...me...a complete lack of clothing..." He followed the suggestion with another kiss, melting into the embrace.
Heero, ever the voice of reason, pulled away slightly. "Let me lock the door, hm? Privacy."
Duo grinned wickedly at him. "It'll be kind of a novelty having the door locked from this side, won't it?"
Heero couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. "So will having more than five minutes, and not having to worry about interruptions the whole time." He made sure the door was secure, and turned around to find Duo sprawled enticingly across his bed, already working loose the buttons on his shirt. "No! Let me," he said quickly, crossing the room and kneeling on the bed beside the prone boy. "Let me," he said in a lower, more seductive voice.
Duo looked up through half-lidded eyes. "Like unwrapping your own presents, do you?"
"That's half the fun," came the smirking reply, as Heero took over the unbuttoning of Duo's shirt, his deft fingers brushing lightly along the soft skin underneath as he did.
Duo shivered a little under the gentle touch, and looked up from under his bangs almost shyly. "Y'make me feel like--like it's more than just--"
"It is. Much more," Heero said huskily. Having finished opening the front of the shirt, he slid his hands inside, running them across smooth, hard muscle and licking his lips almost hungrily. "Every time I touch you is special to me."
"God!" Duo whispered, looking adoringly up at Heero. "You--you just--" His voice trailed off and he shook his head slightly.
Heero sat back, looking down at him with a smirk. "At a loss for words, Maxwell?" He leaned in for a kiss, pausing to add, "'S okay--I'll have you screaming in a few minutes."
It was more like an hour--but between muffling their groans and gasps against each other's skin and taking advantage of unlimited time and privacy--they wouldn't have known if it were ten.
In fact, when the tap on the door startled them both out of the warm, drowsy embrace that a bout of intense sex left them in, even Duo was too satisfied and lethargic to curse.
"Who is it?" Heero called a bit irritably.
"Uh--Quatre. There's a dorm meeting in about fifteen minutes," he called through the closed door. "Thought you might like time to--freshen up?"
"Yeah--like you and Tro' needed?" Duo called teasingly.
There was a brief moment of silence, and then Quatre chuckled helplessly. "I just left his dorm a few minutes ago," he admitted. "I saw the note for the meeting in the laundry room when I stopped to throw a few things in the wash."
"I'll be right there," Heero sighed, disentangling himself from his lover reluctantly.
Duo gave a brief pout, and sat up with a groan. "Here I was hoping for a second round," he lamented.
"You had seconds," came the swift reply.
"But you didn't, yet."
"We've got lots of time for that," Heero promised. "Let's get cleaned up so I can go to the meeting." He eyed his bed critically. "I suppose I'll need to throw some laundry in, too."
Duo grinned unrepentantly. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't."
The two boys washed up quickly, got dressed, and stripped down the bed so Heero could launder that particular set of sheets while using the spares. By the time they were ready to leave, they'd lost the rosy glow of passion--but the kiss they shared before opening the door nearly started it all over again.
"You want to come to the meeting with me and then come back here?" Heero asked, pulling open the door.
Duo sighed, picking up his framed picture from Quatre. "Much as I'd like that, it being a 'school night' I should probably get back to my own dorm." He scowled a little, glaring down at his boots. "Y'know, it sucks to be responsible, Yuy."
"But it's a good look for you," Heero told him, edging over to run a hand across his lover's cheek. "You're pretty sexy when you're being conscientious."
That drew a skeptical snort from the braided boy, who leaned in for a quick kiss. "See you tomorrow?"
"Of course. But probably not until lunch--I've got classes all morning."
"Me, too. Figured I'd grab a protein bar or something for breakfast. I'll probably be too uptight to eat anything else." Duo gave a slightly unsteady grin. "Y'know me an' my nerves..."
Heero pulled him close, running his hands soothingly up the lean, muscular arms. "There's nothing for you to be nervous about, Duo Maxwell. You're smart and charming and talented--you'll be the best student this academy's ever had, and the best mobile suit pilot in history."
"Next t'you," Duo smirked back relaxing into the embrace and sighing in pleasure.
"Of course," Heero deadpanned.
Duo pulled back, laughing and scowling at the same time. "Arrogant prick," he muttered.
"Cocky little sonofabitch," came the quick reply.
They made their way down the hall, and as they descended the stairs, Heero saw several other residents of the dorm starting to gather in the common room. He gave Duo a parting smile, and the braided boy waved a farewell to Quatre before dashing out the door to head for his own dorm.
When he got there, of course there was a similar meeting about to start; apparently every dorm scheduled a meet and greet hour the night before classes began.
Seeing Austin Pritchard on one of the couches, Duo happily plunked down beside him. "Hey, Austin. All set for the big day tomorrow?"
"You know it," replied the green-eyed boy. He studied Duo for a moment, and then a knowing smirk touched his lips. "Just came from Yuy's, didn't you?"
Duo blushed, looking studiously at the worn blue carpeting under their feet. "So we hung out for a bit after dinner," he shrugged. Then he held out the framed picture. "Look what Quatre got us all!" Proud of the picture, and the distraction it provided from discussing his sex life with someone who'd admitted to a crush on him a couple of months before, Duo unwrapped it and showed it to the other boy from boot camp.
"Wow. Nice."
"Yeah, his sister took the picture. Come to think of it, he mentioned a scrapbook, too. I'll have to ask if she got a shot of all of us graduates," Duo mused.
"That'd be great," Austin replied.
"Speaking of the old gang--how 'bout you and Jase?" Duo asked slyly. "Are you officially an item?"
"Hell Maxwell, we only really started thinking that way after Yuy told Jase how I backed you guys up over the whole 'Norton' thing. We haven't seen each other enough to be 'together' the way you're talking."
"But you like him."
"Sure." Austin gave Duo a sidelong look. "You okay with that?"
"Yeah, I am," Duo shrugged. "If I hadn't been stupid for Yuy from the moment I laid eyes on him, I'd have never let a guy like Jase slip through my fingers." He smirked wryly. "You either, most likely."
Austin snorted skeptically. "Right, Maxwell--like you'd have given me a second chance after my team and I were total assholes to you from the start?"
"News flash, Austin," came the quick, smirking reply. "Heero was an asshole to me from the start."
A brief, rueful chuckle escaped the sandy-haired boy. "If I'd only known you found that endearing--"
"Annoying."
"And yet you're with the lucky sonofabitch."
"Still haven't figured that out myself," Duo sighed, a wistful smile tugging at his lips. "But I can be patient. No matter how long it takes, some day I'll figure out what I find so irresistible about him."
"And enjoy every minute of it, too."
They both fell silent as things quieted down and one of the older students took charge of the information session. It didn't last long--just the usual run-down of laundry protocol, who to contact if a vending machine malfunctioned, and rules of courtesy about noise after quiet hours. Each boy had to stand up and give a brief introduction including at least his name and room number, so by the end of the meeting they were all familiar faces. Of course Duo and Austin already knew Cooper, who gave them both a friendly grin during his little introduction. And from the reception he received, they caught on that he was well-liked among the dorm residents, and already known to most of them...probably a good person to start off knowing.
The meeting was brief--all of a half an hour or so--and when it ended and Duo stood up to stretch, he caught sight of Captain Chang leaning against the wall just inside the doorway.
"Catch ya later, Pritchard," he said, picking up his framed picture. "Looks like my guardian's here to check up on me."
Austin followed his gaze over to the Captain, who gave a curt nod. "Shit, Maxwell--better you than me." He slapped Duo on the back of the shoulder and headed off for his own room.
Duo sauntered over to Wufei, smirking a bit as he saluted smartly.
"Maxwell."
"Cap'n," came the cheeky reply. "What brings you here?"
"Actually, I looked for you at Yuy's dorm--but he said you'd decided to turn in early."
"Yeah, that six o'clock wakeup's gonna be a bitch--sir."
The officer smiled, slipping an arm around Duo's shoulders and steering him down the hallway towards his room. "I'm proud of you, Maxwell."
"Me? Why? What'd I do?" came the perplexed babble.
"You seem serious about succeeding here, and that pleases me," Wufei replied simply.
"I am serious," Duo admitted. "This place is awesome, Captain. It's the best a street rat like me ever had it...three meals a day and a roof over my head...helluva nice roof, too." He gestured around his room as he opened the door and they stepped inside.
"But you'll be working hard," cautioned the Chinese man. "Facing a lot of challenges..."
"Yeah, an' staying alive long enough to find my next meal wasn't a challenge?" Duo countered.
Wufei's expression softened. "It pains me to even think about how hard survival was for you as a child."
Duo gave a wry snort. "I was never a child."
Wufei just shook his head. "That fact pains me as well."
"Aw, don't get all sappy on me, Cap'n," Duo insisted. "That's old history anyway. I'm an MSC cadet now--no matter where I started out."
"That you are," Wufei replied with obvious satisfaction, leaning comfortably in the doorway.
"And I plan to live up to your expectations," Duo said, without his usual teasing tone. "I'd like to keep making you proud of me, y'know."
The Captain's sharp eyes darted an appraising look at the boy. "You will. I don't doubt that for a moment." A faint crease appeared in his forehead. "What I find both surprising and heartening is the fact that you didn't just come here to be near Yuy...did you?"
Duo blinked in surprise.
"You came for the mobile suits, didn't you? And because you found something you excel at that's legal...that you can be proud of."
Duo blushed, looking away uncomfortably at the praise. "Don't jump to conclusions, Chang. I'd do damn near anything to be with Heero."
"Yes--but the fact that you'd part from him to get a good night's sleep says to me that you have the self-discipline to put your studies ahead of your social life."
Duo gave a wicked grin, regaining his composure in a flash. "Y'mean my sex life, Wuffers?" he teased. "Don't worry about that. Heero an' I may have had to take a rain check on a whole night together--but that doesn't mean we missed out completely."
Wufei winced. "Maxwell--I don't want to know!"
"Aw, c'mon--I'll tell you about me an' Heero, and you can tell me all about your big, blonde stud."
Wufei's face darkened, though it was hard to tell if it was anger or embarrassment written across it. He glanced behind him at the closed door. "Enough!" he said sharply. "We won't talk about either!"
Duo had flopped down across his bed when he started the joking, but he rolled over and put his chin in his hands, his face turning serious. "It's okay, 'Fei--I know better than to 'out' you an' the Major to anyone here...no fraternization, right? And I know you're kinda hesitant about this whole thing. Heero told me you never considered that you might be gay--or bi--or whatever."
He saw a scowl start to darken the Chinese man's brow and shook his head earnestly. "No we weren't talking about you--just--it's something I picked up on in passing. Okay? But what you've got to look at is the person you care about--not their gender. Is that person someone who's got all the things you find lacking in yourself? Do they make you feel like together you could do anything? Take on the whole world and win? Cuz no one but Heero ever made me feel like that before. That's how I knew it was more than lust with him. And that's how I knew I couldn't let him slip through my fingers without at least trying."
Wufei's expression softened a bit, and he shook his head. "Damn it, Maxwell. Sometimes you say something so--wise--that it just amazes me."
Duo grinned brilliantly. "Does that mean I can have your permission to date Heero--dad?"
"And then you follow it up with complete nonsense," sighed Wufei in mock despair. "You know you'll be eighteen in a few weeks, so it won't matter. You won't need my permission."
"But I'd like to have it," Duo insisted. "You may be my guardian--but you're Heero's best friend. And I know we joke around about it--but if I thought you really were against him being with me--it'd--bother me."
Realization dawned on Wufei's face. "Ah. You aren't asking if as your guardian, I'd approve of his seeing you--you're asking if as his friend, I'd approve of your seeing him."
Duo shrugged a little, looking down at the picture he'd set beside him on the bed. But he looked up quickly at the sound of a hearty laugh from Wufei.
"Oh, Maxwell--you endearing little brat!" Wufei nearly had to wipe a tear of hilarity from his eyes. "Of course I approve. You and Yuy deserve each other completely!"
Duo eyed him suspiciously. "Why do I feel like maybe you just insulted us both?"
"Because maybe I did," came the vague reply. The Captain pushed away from the wall, glancing at the clock. "Enough chatter, Maxwell. It's late and you need to sleep. I'll check up on you later in the week."
"I'm sure you will," sighed Duo with mock dismay. "Love ya too, Wuffers."
Wufei left with an amused smirk on his lips.
TBC...
Back to Snowdragonct's Fanfictions Page