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"Boot Camp"Written By: Snowdragonct Disclaimer: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing or the characters, more's the pity. This is for fun...no profit involved. Warnings: AU (sort of), yaoi, swearing (lots), some OOC (probably), some violence, references to NCS (especially in later chapters) Pairings: 1+2, 3+4 (to start with) A/N: This is the first time I'm getting up the nerve to post a story...hope it's not too similar to anyone else's (haven't seen one just like it). Candid, kindly-delivered critiques will be greatly appreciated...please don't rip my head off too much? Um, and the old "don't like, don't read" phrase holds true. Oh, and it's fiction, and I don't have a law degree, so there's sure to be some inaccuracies...can we just pretend, please? Thanks in advance. Rating: NC 17 Summary: Four boys in the juvenile justice system
receive a last chance to make something of their futures. Will boot
camp make or break them? And can they ever learn to be a team? "Boot Camp" Chapter Twenty Eight: Excellence Trowa had been right. The next morning, when the boys from Team Wing rolled out of their bunks, Duo seemed to be his usual self. Having had all night to stew about Jason, Norton’s team, and what Captain Chang had said, the braided boy finally decided to try to focus on the competition. He knew his teammates had all put up with his insanity, in one form or another, and he owed it to them to do his best; he owed it to Jase, too, as a fellow street rat. He needed to prove something to everyone, and he planned to do it. “You look pretty serious this morning,” Quatre commented, as they were all walking towards the mess hall for breakfast. “I’m okay, Quat,” Duo said reassuringly. He gave the blonde a steady look. “I’m going to do my best this week. I’m not gonna let Kyle or his jackass team get to me. I’m gonna show ‘em what an L2 street rat can really do.” Quatre smiled warmly. “Jase would be proud of you.” “I hope so,” Duo shrugged. “I’m gonna write and send him updates, if Captain Chang will tell me where to address them.” “That’s a good idea,” Quatre assured him, putting a companionable arm around his shoulders. “Maybe I’ll write, too, if you think it’d be okay.” “Of course it would,” Duo replied. “I’m sure he’d be glad to know you care too.” He hugged Quatre back, glancing over his shoulder and winking cheekily at Trowa, who glared back with a failed attempt at indifference. “You’re the best, Quat, you know that?” “Ah, that’s why we’re friends,” Quatre purred. “You’re so good for my ego!” Trowa almost spoke up and argued that he could be as good for the blonde Arab’s ego as Maxwell could, but then he bit his lip and swallowed his jealous growl. Damned if he’d give Maxwell the satisfaction. Heero saw the expressions that crossed his teammate’s face, and smirked in relief. Things seemed to be back to normal in Team Wing, and just in time for their first week of challenges.
“Piece of cake, Maxwell,” Trowa said, walking past and slapping him on the back. “I’ll go first, like we planned, set up the anchors, and act as belayer. We’ll go up evenly spaced, using the anchors and safety lines.” “But when you go up there won’t be safety lines,” Quatre pointed out with concern. “I’ll set one at each anchor point,” Trowa shrugged. “Really, it’s safe. Even if I fell, it’d only be as far as the last anchor.” “Winner should go second…Maxwell third, and I’ll bring up the rear,” Heero said, tugging at his harness and giving a nod of satisfaction. “Ready to start, Barton?” The boy from the circus grinned. “I could do this in my sleep, Yuy.” “First up…Team Wing,” Chang called, holding his stopwatch ready. As planned, Trowa climbed the cliff first, going up as nimbly as could be, and setting the first anchor with practiced ease. He secured himself with a safety line, and then gestured Quatre to start the ascent. Duo watched the blonde with a vaguely worried expression, and then turned sharply when he felt a hand on his braid. Heero gave him a small smile and shrug. “Thought it’d be safer tucked in your shirt,” he suggested, proceeding to do just that. He half-expected the braided boy to tell him ‘hands off the hair.’ But he didn’t. The slightest of shivers went down Duo’s back as Heero’s hand brushed the nape of his neck while he was tucking the braid in, and he could have sworn the team leader took longer than necessary. “Flirting again, Yuy?” he asked in an undertone, giving a sly sidelong glance to the Japanese boy. “Keeping a friend safe,” Heero said quietly. He considered making a snide remark about needing all four team members to win, but he was genuinely trying to be understanding about Duo’s brusqueness the previous day. Duo blushed at that, looking away. “It’s not that I don’t want you to give a damn, Yuy. But it seems like people who do, get hurt.” “I’ll take my chances,” Heero replied, straightening Duo’s collar. And this time he definitely took longer than necessary. “Now, you get started up after Winner, and be careful.” Duo smirked. “Sure. I’ll just pretend it’s that high-rise I scaled up on L2.” An evil grin crossed his face. “Smoothest break-in I ever did…” A faraway look entered the indigo eyes. “Come to think of it, they never did pin that one on me…” “Shut up and climb,” Heero said firmly, nudging him towards the rock wall. “Aye-aye, fearless leader.” Duo gave a cocky salute, and headed up the cliff. Team Wing’s climb went incredibly smoothly. They’d already discussed what-ifs, and alternative solutions to problems that might crop up. Thus, when one of the anchors was difficult to secure, they knew exactly how to compensate, and lost little to no time in their efforts. When they all stood safely at the top, looking at the line for rappelling down, they paused to check their harnesses yet again, and exchange satisfied smiles. They had made it up the cliff in very good time, as far as they could tell, and getting down was the fast and easy part. “Just remember what Chang said…and take it easy,” Heero reminded them. “Speed on the descent isn’t everything.” Duo smirked. “Naw, it’s just the fun part.” “We’ll do this in reverse order…me first, then Maxwell, Winner, and you, Barton.” “Sounds good.” Heero paused at the edge of the cliff, glancing over his shoulder at the long drop, and then he looked at Duo. “Wish me luck?” A definite blush touched Duo’s cheeks when the first thought that came unbidden to his mind was a kiss for luck. “Yeah…knock y’self out,” he smirked, trying for a snide tone he didn’t quite achieve. “See you at the bottom.” Heero eased over the edge and began a very smoothly controlled descent. “Ready, Maxwell?” Trowa asked. “Hell, I was born ready for this part,” Duo grinned back. The braided boy’s descent was much faster than Heero’s, as he fearlessly pushed off the rock face and let his speed go almost unchecked until it verged on reckless. But he slowed enough at the end to drop lightly to the ground, letting out a jubilant yell as he did so. “Ha! That was awesome!” he crowed, disconnecting the safety line. “What a rush.” Heero shook his head, looking just a bit pale. “You’re a fucking maniac, Maxwell.” Duo swaggered over. “Yeah, and that’s what you love about me,” he smirked, leaning cockily on the team leader’s shoulder as he watched Quatre coming down the cliff face. “Ah, Quat’s looking good,” he murmured, noting the meticulously chosen route the blonde took. “Keeps his eye on each ledge…never misses a step.” “Unlike certain bakas who seem to like to freefall?” Heero chided, using that low, sexy voice the made Duo’s knees weak. “I knew you’d be here to catch me,” Duo replied, glancing over and having his breath stolen by the intense blue gaze he found locked on him. “Always,” Heero promised, almost in an undertone. Their “moment” was interrupted as Quatre touched down, and Trowa began his descent. Captain Chang walked over with stopwatch in hand, and Corporal Carter at his side, watching the clock intently. “It’s looking very good, Yuy,” he said curtly, unable to hide his satisfaction. “Thank you, sir,” replied the Japanese boy. Trowa dropped to the ground as smoothly as a cat landing on its feet, and gave a little bow and flourish, as if completing a trapeze act. Wufei clicked the stopwatch and looked at the time. “Excellent.” He nodded to Carter. “You and Team Wing can stay to watch awhile, if…” His glance briefly focused on Duo. “…if everyone can behave.” Duo gave him a narrow look. “I promised, Captain. Not a word. Not a taunt. Not even a dirty look.” “I’ll hold you to that, Maxwell.” The four boys from Team Wing settled in a short distance from the part of the cliff where the next team would climb. Carter pulled out some provisions, and they ate a quick lunch while watching Austin’s team scale the cliff. “Hey…they’re pretty good,” Trowa noted, settling back against a log, with his shoulder next to Quatre’s. “Yeah, but they don’t have a circus acrobat on their team,” Quatre reminded him. “You were amazing.” Duo rolled his eyes, leaning closer to Heero. “Gods…I’m gonna get ‘saccharine overdose’ if it gets any sweeter over there.” “Let ‘em alone, Maxwell,” Heero said quietly. “I think it’s kind of cute.” Duo made a gagging sound, watching the way Quatre smiled at the auburn-haired boy. “Pu-lease, Yuy. It’s…sticky sweet.” Heero turned so that their faces were only inches apart. “You don’t like ‘sweet,’ Maxwell?” Duo’s glance dropped to Heero’s lips, as he idly wondered how sweet they’d taste. Actually, he kind of expected…well…that Heero would taste…exotic. Not that he had an idea what exotic might mean, taste wise, but it made for interesting daydreams. “Naw,” he said quietly, through a throat suddenly gone dry. “I’m not the ‘sweet’ type.” Heero raised an eyebrow, smirking enigmatically, and then turned his gaze back to the other team. “Pritchard has got a good team there,” he commented. “Yeah, too bad they’re a bunch of assholes,” Duo muttered, glaring up at Team Chase, as the last of them neared the top. “Actually, they haven’t been nearly as offensive since Heero grabbed Austin by the throat,” Quatre pointed out, having turned his attention back to his teammates at some point. “I think you really scared him.” Heero shrugged. “That was my intention.” Duo gave him a speculative look, thinking how totally hot it had been for Heero to get all protective and aggressive like that. All for me? Mmmm. “Something on your mind, Maxwell?” “Uh…no…nothing.” The rest of the day passed peacefully, as they watched each team complete the climb and descent. As he’d promised, Duo didn’t even glare at Team Faction as they approached to take their turn at the wall. But when they were rappelling down, Quatre could have sworn he heard him chanting something along the lines of “jinx, jinx, jinx,” under his breath. The blonde elbowed his teammate. “I did not just hear that, Duo.” The boy from L2 gave him a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Just offering up a little prayer, Quat. That’s all.” “Yeah, right.” The long day ended with Team Wing in first place, their time beating Team Chase’s by nearly ten minutes. The hike back to camp went by quickly, their victory buoying up the team’s spirits. At supper that evening, Captain Chang posted the results, both by individual scores and by teams. Although Jason was gone, his teammates had made excellent individual scores, and since another team had lost two boys back in the first couple of weeks, one with appendicitis and another with a food allergy, there was the possibility of combining them into a group at some point. After the meal, no one had much energy left for anything but a quick review of the obstacle course for the next day’s competition, a speedy shower, and the shortest route to their bunks.
Duo eyed the grey clouds. “Oh, swell, my favorite kind of weather.” “Hey, you did your best time in the pouring rain,” Heero reminded him. Indigo eyes sparkled with amusement. “You up for another mud fight?” “Don’t even think about it.” “Again, Yuy, I have clearly already thought about it, since I mentioned it,” Duo pointed out. “So that warning is a waste of breath.” Heero edged closer, his deep blue eyes catching the indigo ones. “Then let me assure you, if you try to stuff mud down my shirt again, Maxwell, I’ll grind it into your hair so hard you won’t get it out without a chainsaw.” Duo blinked. “Man, that’s harsh,” he said with a straight face. “And here I was beginning to think you cared.” He turned his back, folding his arms across his chest, and lifting his chin disdainfully. Then he felt a hand take his braid and, as the day before, gently tuck it down the back of his shirt. “Baka,” came a quiet murmur that made the boy from L2 shiver. God, did Heero know what that did to him? Knowing the sneaky bastard, he probably did. “We’ll let our first-place team go first,” Wufei announced, gesturing to the obstacles just as the first drops of rain began to fall. His dark eyes raked the boys in Team Wing. “You’ll set the pace for the others. And I warn you, they will certainly learn from your mistakes…should you make any.” Duo glared at the officer, taking that comment as a personal dig. Yeah, just you wait, Chang. We are gonna blow this course away! As they took their places at the start, the sky opened up with a deluge, and the other teams ran for whatever cover they could find under the bleachers and nearby trees. Heero glanced at his teammates. “Remember the times we’ve run this course in mud. Just don’t slip!” His gaze fell on Duo. “And don’t worry about the hair. I’ll personally help you comb the mud out if we win this!” “Sweet talker,” teased Duo, looking over at the starter for their signal to go. Then they were off and running in the pouring rain, scrambling up the rope ladder, and sliding down the incline on the other side. When they reached the infamous wall, it was slick with rain, and climbing in wet clothing was a definite handicap. Trowa made it first, looping a foot through the rope, and leaning back down to offer a hand to Quatre, who was closest to him. Duo slung a leg over the top, glancing back to see that Heero was drawing even, and then they were over and sliding down the rope on the other side. As usual, Duo let himself drop the last few feet, muttering a curse as he felt the soft soil give under him, twisting an ankle slightly. That’s what you get for being cocky, Maxwell… Ignoring the twinge of pain, he sprinted for the next obstacle, right on Heero’s heels. Swinging across the large puddle was easy, as was crossing the log bridge, in spite of the slickness caused by the rain. But running through the tires was taxing on an already sore ankle, and Duo stumbled on the last one, falling to one knee. Just as quickly, Heero was beside him, helping him up and urging him on to the barbed wire. Amazingly, throwing himself onto the ground to crawl under the wire was a relief for Duo, as it took weight off his ankle. But the boys were only halfway through when there was a sizzling flash of lightning and the clap of thunder directly overhead. “Holy--!” Duo glanced aside at Heero through the murky rain, flattening himself into the mud as if it would somehow protect him from the storm. “Just keep going!” called the team leader. “We’re already committed!” Gritting his teeth, Duo redoubled his speed, stumbling to his feet, and helping Quatre out of the thickening mud. “How’s it going, Quat?” “Just marvelous!” came the sarcastic reply as they ran for the monkey bars. Another flash of lightning made them skid to a halt, just shy of the metal structure, and Heero spared a glance back at Captain Chang. It was far enough away that he couldn’t be sure if the officer was gesturing them to get off the course, so he looked at his teammates. “What’ll it be? Go on, or give up?” he asked, giving each of them a steady look. “We’re almost done!” Duo pointed out. “I say we go for it.” “I’m in,” Trowa added. “Me, too.” Heero grinned a wide, unfettered grin. “We must all be crazy,” he said, jumping up to catch the first rung of the metal structure. “C’mon!” he called back to the others. They followed unhesitatingly, Trowa keeping up easily, while Duo and Quatre were close behind. Another blazing bolt of lightning cut the darkening sky, and the following rumble of thunder nearly shook the boys off the bars. But they clung for dear life, and then were across, dropping to the ground and sprinting for the finish line, as the wind picked up and the storm increased in intensity. “Are you crazy, Yuy?!” Wufei called, grabbing him by an arm and leading all four boys under the overhang provided by a utility building. “You should have left the course at the first clap of thunder!” “You never said that,” Heero shrugged, still breathing hard from the run. “But you endangered--!” “Hey, Chang!” Duo cut in sharply, getting in between them and glaring at the officer. “He didn’t endanger anyone. We were already out there and exposed when the storm hit. We all chose to finish the last obstacle. He asked! He didn’t make us do anything we didn’t want to!” “Then you’re as crazy as he is…all of you.” Chang glanced up at the lightning-streaked sky, wincing at the nearly continuous thunder. “And piloting mobile suits is a sensible occupation?” Quatre piped up from Wufei’s other side. Trowa leaned against the building, arms crossed, and face unreadable. He shrugged one shoulder at the questioning look Chang shot his way. “I used to train lions, sir. How sane d’you think I am?” Throwing his hands into the air in resignation, Captain Chang shook his head. “I give up. You beat the minimum time I’d estimated for the course, and in the middle of a storm.” Duo nudged Heero with an elbow, leaning against the wall next to him. “Is he saying we did good, fearless leader?” Heero nodded, water still dripping from his hair down his face, looking so sexy Duo had to resist the urge to slam him against the building and kiss him senseless. “We did really good, Maxwell.” “Duo,” suggested the braided boy. “Duo.” The boy from L2 smiled brightly, wiping the soggy bangs from his eyes. “Never a dull moment, eh, Yuy?” “Heero,” came the smirking response. Oh yeah…the name Duo wanted to scream out in ecstasy. His smile softened, and he leaned a little closer and whispered “Heero” into the team leader’s ear, enjoying the shudder that ran through the other boy’s body. The team stayed like that, pressed up against the little shack, taking advantage of the limited overhang until the worst of the storm had passed, and the rain began to let up. When the last rumbles of thunder seemed to be fading into the distance, Captain Chang reassembled the troops, cautioning them about the condition of the course, and calling up Austin’s second-place team to take their turn. Team Wing’s members settled onto the bleachers, ignoring the rain, since they were already soaked to the skin. When Kyle’s group walked by on their way to the course, the leader glanced at Duo, a dark scowl crossing his face. “Heard from your slut lately?” he said in a sneering undertone, confident that the pattering rain would conceal the sound from Wufei. Duo’s hands clenched into fists, but he merely turned a lazy smirk Kyle’s way. “You mean your mama, Norton?” he asked sweetly. Kyle made a lunge towards Duo, but his teammates had anticipated it, and were close enough to restrict his motion so none of the soldiers saw it. And then they were past, and aside from darting a hate-filled glare over his shoulder, Kyle could do nothing. Heero nudged Duo with an elbow, a faint smirk on his face. “I think Chang might consider that a taunt, Maxwell.” “Not at all,” came the calm reply. “I was simply asking a question,” Duo said with a shrug. “I needed clarification.” Quatre chuckled, relieved that the braided boy seemed in control of his temper. “His mama?” “Works every time,” Duo said smugly. He gave a slight sigh. “I almost wish his boys had let him start something.” “You promised Chang you wouldn’t,” Heero reminded him, scowling faintly. “And that crack could have been considered ‘goading’ him into starting something.” “No…what he did was ‘goading.’ What I did was ask for clarification,” Duo reiterated firmly. “That’s a fine line to walk,” Heero warned. “But I do it so well,” grinned the boy from L2. As expected, Team Wing won the obstacle competition. Of course, the downpour had only made the course harder for the teams that went after them. So their daring finish amid the breaking storm paid off for them by allowing them to run most of the course before it was a veritable lake.
“You said if we won, you’d personally comb the mud out of my braid, Yuy,” Duo reminded him. “Pay up.” Trowa gave a snort of laughter. “C’mon, Quatre…I’ll walk you over to the showers. This could take awhile.” “I know how to comb hair!” Heero said defensively. “Not long hair,” Trowa pointed out, gathering his stuff and tugging at Quatre’s sleeve. “C’mon, Winner. I’ll lay odds they end up throwing punches over this.” “Maybe we should st--.” Quatre was cut off sharply as Trowa shoved him towards the door. As soon as they were alone, Duo wiggled the comb again. “C’mon, Yuy. You promised.” “So I did,” sighed the team leader, trying to sound disappointed, when in reality he found himself a little breathless at the thought of running his hands through that gorgeous hair. Duo sat on the edge of the desk, turning his back so that Heero could reach the braid. “You have to start at the ends and work up, or you’ll pull it,” he warned, glancing warily over his shoulder. Heero took the tie off the end, and began disentangling the strands, quickly realizing he’d have to put the laptop away, or get it covered with drying bits of mud. When he closed the cover and set it aside, Duo smirked, trying to hide his delight at finally upstaging the infernal machine. “Tell me if I pull,” Heero said quietly, working the hair loose, and starting at the ends with the comb, amazed at how much gritty mud started to shake free from the silky strands. “You’ll be the first to know,” Duo replied, a hint of warning in his tone. Heero kept combing, working his way inch by inch up the incredible hair, his eyes absolutely transfixed by the thick chestnut silk. And an image worked its way into his mind as he combed; an image of Duo lying with that lustrous mane spread out behind him, and his indigo eyes full of passion. It was even more erotic than the dream Heero had been unable to forget, and he shifted uneasily in his chair, realizing that having his hands in Duo’s hair was getting him almost painfully aroused. “Ow, fuck! Take it easy!” Duo cautioned, as the comb caught on a snag. “S-sorry,” Heero managed, hoping the other boy didn’t look back and see his blush. Trying not to let his hands shake, he ran light fingers through the part of the hair he’d already combed. “There’s more mud than I expected.” Duo chuckled quietly. “That’s why I took you up on the offer,” he said, glancing back. “I thought nobody was allowed to touch the hair,” Heero commented, trying for a light, teasing tone to cover his discomfort. “That doesn’t seem to stop you,” Duo pointed out. Heero couldn’t help but smile at that. Now that he thought about it, he’d gotten away with it several times…the first obstacle course, the day he’d used it to yank Duo off his bunk, that day in sparring class... “I guess not,” he admitted. “I think you have a hair fetish, Heero Yuy,” Duo said slyly. Ha…more like a Duo Maxwell fetish… Heero thought with a sigh. “It’s impractical,” he said curtly, having reached the nape of the neck in his combing, and sliding his fingers up through the hair to shake out a stubborn clump of mud. Duo leaned back slightly, a pleased groan escaping his throat before he could stop himself. “Shit, Yuy. Now I know why Barton said you have great hands.” Heero blushed even more at that, thanking his lucky stars that Duo was facing away from him. But he didn’t stop running his hands through the hair on the other boy’s scalp, brushing out the last big chunks of mud. “God,” Duo murmured, eyes closed. “That’s amazing.” “I’m sure it’ll feel even better when you’re able to shampoo it,” Heero said quietly, trying not to picture Duo in the shower, and failing miserably. “Wanna help?” “What?!” Oh, God yes!! Duo looked back with wide eyes. “Did I say that out loud?” he asked, blushing. Heero managed to cover his own embarrassment with a cocky smirk. “You did.” “Uh…er…just kidding?” Duo coughed uneasily, reaching back for the comb. “I guess I can take it from here…thanks.” “Any time,” Heero shrugged. He hastily reached for the laptop, needing something to occupy his mind until he could regain control of his body. Duo walked over and gathered his clean uniform and shower stuff. “You coming, Yuy?” His innocent question made Heero blush even more, and the team leader refused to look up from the computer screen. “Hang on a minute, Maxwell. I just need to finish putting in our obstacle course stats. Then we can go.” While he completed his task, hands shaking so badly it took twice the time it normally would, Duo finished combing his bangs, and made a loose braid. He didn’t like to have his hair down in public, being just a wee bit self-conscious about it. So the braid would get him from the barracks to the showers at least. “God, Yuy, what’s taking so long?” asked the braided boy impatiently. “Just about done.” Heero had managed to steady his breathing and will away the hardness of his arousal, so long as he kept his gaze on the computer screen. He was able to look up at Duo finally, without losing control again, so he closed the laptop. “Alright, Maxwell…let’s go join Barton and Winner. And since I helped with your hair, I expect it to take you a lot less time than usual to wash that mop.” “Mop?” Duo demanded, his tone scandalized. “Mop?!” Heero smirked, gathering his stuff from his foot locker, and preceding his teammate to the door. “Well, when it’s wet…” Indigo eyes narrowed. “Careful or I’ll cut you off, Yuy. No more combing if you’re gonna call it names.” “Speaking of ‘cutting off,’ don’t you think you could stand to lose a foot or two of that menace?” teased the team leader. “Oh, that’s it!” Duo said with a scowl, walking out the door in front of Heero. “You have officially lost all hair-combing privileges until further notice.” “Good…I never wanted them in the first place,” lied Heero. “Yeah, right,” Duo scoffed, strolling cockily along in front of his team leader. “You know you want it,” he taunted. Shit, was the boy from L2 a mind-reader, or what? “Want what, exactly, Maxwell? To be your personal hair combing slave? No thanks, I’ll pass.” “Your loss,” shrugged the other boy, tossing the braid over his shoulder to swing oh-so enticingly across his ass, and giving Heero a devilish smirk. Fuck! I hate when he does that! I swear, he knows what that does to me.
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