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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"
Trowa slept soundly the remainder of Sunday afternoon and evening, and only woke long enough for Quatre to coax him to eat some soup for dinner. But his color was much better, and he seemed clear-headed, if still a bit dazed. That night was the first in several when Quatre, Duo, and Heero could all sleep at the same time without worrying about their teammate. The obligatory Monday morning reveille sent them rolling from their bunks, yawning and scrambling for clean uniforms. Quatre stopped by Trowa’s side, putting a hand to his cheek, and the green eyes opened. “Winner? Is it time t’get up?” “Not for you,” Quatre assured him. “The Captain gave you a couple of days off. You just stay here and rest, and when we finish calisthenics and breakfast, I’ll bring you something back.” Trowa managed a wan smile. “Thanks, Quatre.” He gave the boy a haunted look. “You’re too nice t’me, y’know?” Quatre shook his head. “We need you back on your feet, Trowa. All of us. Don’t worry about anything but getting well for now.” Trowa nodded, his glance wandering to where Duo was combing and braiding his long hair, his back to his teammates. Quatre followed the gaze, and shook his head slightly. “Wait a bit,” he suggested, knowing that sooner or later the auburn-haired boy would try to apologize again. He didn’t think it was a good idea, especially this soon. Green eyes met his…understanding. “Maybe someday?” he said in a whisper. “Maybe,” came the noncommittal reply. Heero, Duo, and Quatre left Trowa to his own devices, confident that he’d be alright for the short amount of time they were at calisthenics. Only Wufei knew he was sick, so he should be undisturbed in their absence.
“This week’s competitive event will be more challenging than the last,” he stated firmly. “While the last contest broke each exercise into an individual task, this one will blend those tasks into a mission. As you were told last week, each team will receive a starting point and a map. Your mission is to plot a course to the objective, follow that plan, and ultimately be the first to arrive at the goal.” His dark eyes glimmered with excitement, as he’d planned the exercise himself, and was very interested in the outcome. “The ‘flag’ you are to capture will be located in a mining shack in the mountains. Your route to that shack will necessitate a river crossing, some climbing, plenty of hiking, and at least one overnight bivouac. Then it will get challenging.” Duo eyed Heero with a raised eyebrow, wondering if the team leader knew anything more about the upcoming challenge than he did. But the clueless look in the blue eyes gave him his answer. “In order to finally claim the prize, you will have to get by a perimeter set up and maintained by my soldiers. There will be trip wires, booby traps, pitfalls, and patrols. You will have to get by all of them without being captured or killed.” Duo’s hand shot up quickly. “Killed?” he asked without waiting for the officer to call on him. Wufei smiled patiently. “Each of you will wear a ‘target’ vest, and carry a laser ‘weapon’ that can score against those vests, as will my soldiers. If you are detected trying to slip through the perimeter, you will be ‘shot.’ And if you are tagged by laser fire, you will be classified as injured or dead…injured troops will be taken into custody. Dead ones will be dismissed from the exercise.” He pulled one of the laser weapons from his belt. “This is the ‘gun’ each of you will carry. And much of this week will be spent familiarizing you with its care and use. You will have lots and lots of target practice.” Heero’s eyes were alight with excitement at the thought of the challenge, and Duo found himself once again turned on by the deadly gleam in those deep blue eyes. He vaguely wondered if the same intense light shone from those eyes during sex, and decided come Hell or high water he was going to find that out firsthand. “So, recruits,” Wufei continued, his dark glance sweeping their ranks. “This is preparation week. I will hand out your individualized mission folders after the morning meal today. The remainder of the week, you will have a lot of hands-on practice at detecting and disarming trip wires, stealth and evasion, and proficiency with these laser weapons. You’ll also have time to use the on-line and library archives to research your assignment. Friday morning we’ll move out to the staging area, and at sunset the competition will begin. Any questions?” Most of the boys were still slack-jawed at the idea of carrying out a mock military operation of this magnitude. The weeks of physical training and classroom instruction seemed like so much child’s play compared to a full-scale simulation. So Wufei gestured to the officer of the day to begin calisthenics, and he moved off to the side to continue observing his recruits in action.
Team Wing had been joined at their table by Jason’s three teammates, as well as a couple of boys from other teams as they speculated about what the week would bring. “I heard from our liaison that no one’s ever made it past Captain Chang’s personal guards,” Ben told the other boys, wolfing down breakfast in between sentences. “So they do the same exercise at the Academy boot camp?” Duo asked, his attention riveted on the conversation. “Yep. After spending a couple of days thrashing around in the woods, we’re supposed to try slipping by the most vigilant bunch of soldiers ever to come through the damned place,” Ben said with a shake of his head. Quatre was busy pouring milk over his oatmeal the way Duo had taught him. “There’s got to be a way past them. It’s simply a matter of strategy.” “He’s right,” Heero agreed, blue eyes intent. “I mean, at the very least, if we were to create a diversion at least one man should be able to get in.” He glanced speculatively at Duo. The braided boy arched an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you be thinking of making me the distraction for a bunch of trigger-happy pseudo-soldiers, Yuy! That’s too close to realistic.” “Well you are supposed to be the seductive one,” teased the team leader. “But I was actually thinking more along the lines of creating some sort of fireworks display, or a flash grenade or something. Ideally, it’d be nice for the whole team to make it through alive.” “Ooo…explosives!” Duo crooned happily. “I could go along with that. We learned how to make a really nice little device like that the week before last…something about using an old camera flash-bulb.” “Exactly,” Heero replied. “We need to find out what tools we’ll be given, and then we need to…improvise.” An evil grin lit Duo’s face. “Tell me what you need, oh fearless leader, and I’ll steal it for ya.” Heero darted him a warning look. “Shush, Maxwell. We’ll discuss actual strategy back at the barracks where we don’t have an audience.” Ben grinned at him. “Aw, Yuy…we were hoping for some ideas,” he teased. Then he winked slyly. “Don’t worry. We have a few dirty tricks up our own sleeves.” He looked over at Duo. “Jase was a great teacher.” “…and not a half-bad kisser,” Duo mused quietly, his indigo eyes coming to rest on Heero’s lips, recalling the sudden kiss during sparring, and trying to remember exactly how it felt. But the aftermath of that kiss had dulled the memory to the point where he ached to try it again, without all the baggage. Quatre coughed quietly, catching Duo’s eyes and smirking. “Butt out, Winner,” muttered the braided boy, picking up his tray and heading for the door.
The blonde Arab settled into the chair, gently shaking the boy’s shoulder. “C’mon, Trowa. Time for breakfast.” The green eyes opened slowly, and Trowa smiled wearily. “Hey, Quatre. Thanks.” He worked his way into a sitting position, watching as Quatre emptied a paper bag, setting the food out onto the edge of the bunk. “Toast…juice…fruit cup…and I brought a ham and egg sandwich, if your stomach feels up to it.” “Toast and juice is fine to start with.” Trowa took the orange juice with a steady hand, sipping gratefully. “How’re you feeling?” Quatre asked quietly, putting the other stuff aside on the nightstand. “Pretty good. I’m thinking I might like to get out of bed and stretch my legs a little.” “Maybe this evening. You shouldn’t rush things,” cautioned the blonde. “’S okay, Quatre,” Trowa assured him. “Honestly, it’s not the first time I’ve been through withdrawal. It’s just the worst.” Quatre nodded somberly, recalling the night of Trowa’s confession, and how he’d mentioned his shoulder injury and the fact that it led to his drug problem. “Duo and I saw Catherine at the visitor center yesterday,” he told the boy from L3. “When we told her you were sick, she seemed to know what we were talking about.” Trowa gave a wry snort. “She’s seen it enough,” he admitted. His green eyes were shaded by his bangs. “What did she have to say about it?” “She said to tell you to be strong and get well,” Quatre replied nearly word for word. “And she said Nanashi’s fine, and she hasn’t forgotten what you told her.” He frowned slightly. “What did you tell her?” “I told her if the warden ever contacts her and asks, she should tell him Nanashi’s dead,” he said in a slightly ragged voice. Green eyes shot a haunted look at blue. “Quatre…the night he told me I had to cut the rope, he threatened to shoot the dog if I didn’t. And then, after Maxwell got blamed, I went to K. again. I told him I’d go to Chang and set the record straight, and he just laughed and said it’d be my word against his—and that I’d be on the next shuttle to L3, after I watched him put a bullet between Nanashi’s eyes.” He shook his head. “Even when I handed the leash over to Catherine, I had the feeling he’d still try to get at Nanashi later…so I told her to hide him, and protect him, and tell anyone from the prison that he was dead.” Quatre could feel the genuine pain radiating from the other boy, but he resisted the impulse to reach out and hug him. “I’m sorry you went through all that alone,” he said quietly. “I wish you had told us.” A frown creased his forehead. “We’d have found a way to help you, Trowa…as a team.” “I know that now,” Trowa admitted. “But at the time, it seemed like I was cornered…like there was no one to turn to. The gang I ran with on L3 was nothing like a team, Quatre. It was every man for himself. If you didn’t watch your back, no one else really would.” “It’s not like that here,” Quatre insisted. “We’re a team. And you’re part of it, too. If someone acts against one of us, he’ll have to face us all.” “Tell that to Maxwell,” sighed Trowa bitterly. “I’m sure he wouldn’t jump to my defense.” “He already did,” Quatre assured him. “Who do you think went to get Doctor Po?” “I figured Yuy did that.” “He took Duo with him to soften her up,” Quatre told the auburn-haired boy. “And he said he did a great job of it, too…going to bat for you no matter how he felt personally. That’s what a team is, Trowa. You watch out for your teammates, even when you’re angry with them.” Trowa’s eyes were a little too bright, and he drew a sleeve across his face. “Damn it, Quatre, I don’t deserve to be part of a team like that!” he choked out, turning away. “But that doesn’t alter the fact that you are. You’re part of Team Wing, and nothing’s gonna change that.” “Hey, Winner!” Heero spoke up from across the room. “Come take a look at this layout, will you?” “I’ll be right there.” Quatre gave Trowa’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You just get some more rest,” he urged. “It’ll get better. I’m sure you won’t feel so emotional once you’re back to normal.” “Shit, I hope you’re right.” Trowa managed a wan smile, settling back onto his pillows. Quatre joined the other two boys at the computer, leaning over Duo’s shoulder to look at the screen. “Is that the location of the mining shack?” “Yup,” Duo replied, pointing to the aerial picture. “Looks like it’s on the side of a mountain…only one way up. Got any ideas about how we’ll sneak past ‘em if they know which direction we’re coming from?” “Oh.” Quatre’s forehead creased in a frown. “That is gonna be a challenge.” “No wonder no one’s ever succeeded in beating Chang at his own game,” Heero sighed. “He’s got a real talent for picking defensible positions.” His blue eyes lit with a deadly gleam. “However, no one’s had what we have.” Duo eyed him skeptically. “And that would be--?” “Me.” “You.” Duo snorted wryly. “I knew you had an ego, Yuy, but really!” “It’s not ego,” Heero insisted. “It’s knowledge of subject. I’ve known ‘Fei since we were kids. I know how he thinks…what kind of strategy he uses.” He looked up with no trace of sarcasm in the deep eyes. “I really think I can come up with a way to defeat him.” Quatre nodded acknowledgement. “Sounds good to me.” “It’d sure be nice to rub his face in it,” Duo mused, eyeing the screen. Heero chuckled warmly. “Yeah, it would. He used to kick my ass in chess…and the one time I beat him, you’d have thought the world was coming to an end. He hates to lose.” “Oh, I don’t know,” Quatre said thoughtfully, recalling the day Duo nearly beat Captain Chang at obstacles. “If we win, he might consider it a victory, since he does want our team to succeed.” “He wants us to beat the other teams,” Heero corrected him. “But he doesn’t necessarily want us to outwit his guards and get past them.” Duo smirked. “Which is exactly why we have to do it, right?” “Right.”
After the evening meal, Quatre stayed at the barracks to keep Trowa company, and brief him on the day’s classes, while Duo and Heero went to the library to pull up more detailed topographical maps of the area where the competition would be conducted. The two boys from Team Wing found a quiet corner in the library, and pulled their chairs up so close they were touching. And as distracting as it was when their thighs occasionally brushed against one another, they were too excited about trying to beat Wufei’s soldiers to let it deter them from their research. They left the library when it was nearly lights out time, and trailed along behind Jason’s team on the way back to the barracks. And if they noticed the unfriendly glares from Kyle’s remaining teammates, they ignored them completely.
“Take a look at the plan for next week’s competition, why don’t you, Barton?” Heero suggested, while lacing his boot. “There’ll be some climbing involved, and I’ll expect you to take point for that.” Duo was walking past Trowa towards the bathroom, when the auburn-haired boy held out a hand to stop him. “Maxwell…can we talk?” The braided boy gave him a wary look. “Now’s not a good time, Barton. We’ve got classes.” Trowa nodded meekly. “Later?” Duo shrugged, brushing past him. “Whatever.” The green eyes turned to Quatre, who sighed and shook his head. “Not yet, Trowa,” he murmured. Trowa looked at the door that had closed behind Duo. “I can’t do this, Quatre. I want to apologize and he just turns away.” He looked appealingly at the other boy. “I need to apologize.” “Right now it isn’t about what you need,” Heero interrupted, walking over to join them. “Duo needs his space, and as a team, we need to focus on this mission. There’ll be time later for you to clear the air.” “But it’s--.” Trowa threw his hands up in despair. “Aw, never mind. You’re right, Yuy. I don’t deserve a chance to clear my conscience anyway. I was just hoping--.” “Later,” Quatre insisted. “Give it time.” Trowa was sitting on his bunk, picking at the breakfast Quatre had brought him when Duo emerged from the bathroom and the other three team members left. Then the green-eyed boy had the luxury of privacy, so he could wallow in his guilt without interruption. It was early afternoon when Quatre ran in with lunch for Trowa, and then had to dash out again to weapons class, once again leaving the boy from L3 alone to brood. But during the course of the day, Trowa decided he’d talk to Duo that evening, before the churning guilt drove him crazy. He spent a restless afternoon, and when his teammates returned to get ready for supper, he decided he’d join them. “Are you sure?” Quatre asked, frowning slightly. “I could bring a meal back again,” he offered. “No, Quatre. I need to get out of this barracks before I go nuts,” Trowa insisted. “The fresh air will do me some good, and I can kind of get a feel for whether I’m up to calisthenics tomorrow morning.” “Okay.” While Quatre was glad his friend was feeling better, he was also concerned that he’d try to push himself in some kind of demented effort to redeem himself with his teammates. “If you promise to tell me if it’s too much activity.” “Promise.” Duo glanced over his shoulder and snorted. “For what that’s worth.” “Maxwell…” Heero’s tone carried a clear warning. The braided boy glared back at the team leader, casually flipping him the finger and then walking out the door. As Quatre would have followed, Heero caught his arm. “I’ll go. You and Barton meet us at the mess hall in fifteen minutes.” He caught up to Duo halfway across the compound. “Going off alone again, Maxwell?” “Duo.” The indigo eyes shot him a glare. “That was the deal, remember? You call me Duo more often.” Heero gritted his teeth, not liking the reminder of their previous altercation. “Fine. Duo. Now talk to me.” “Talk about what? As you pointed out yesterday, Norton’s gone and Pritchard’s on our side, so it’s not so dangerous to go walking alone.” “It is for you. Kushrenada still wants you gone, hurt, or dead,” Heero said bluntly. “The inmates might not be a threat, but the guards sure as hell are.” “Fine, walk with me,” Duo invited, reaching over and catching Heero’s hand, giving him a flirtatious smirk. “You need to tone it down with Barton,” Heero said evenly. “Aw, fuck! Not you too!” Duo rolled his eyes. “Quatre’s already working a guilt trip on me, wanting me to forgive the bastard for what he did to me. And now you’re gonna help?” “I’m not trying to ‘guilt’ you into anything, and neither is Quatre,” Heero assured him. “But I’d like you to keep the snide comments to a minimum. Just—if you can’t get along with Barton—at least do me a favor and ignore him.” He pulled Duo up alongside him as they walked. “We need to win next week. And that means you need to focus on the mission, instead of on your anger. I know he fucked up big-time. He knows it too. And I don’t expect you to just forgive and forget. But I need us to function as a team.” Duo leaned against him, sighing. “Only for you, Yuy.” “I know,” came the warm reply. “And don’t ever think I don’t appreciate the compromises you’re willing to make for me.” The braided boy chuckled quietly. “Y’wanna get me in a compromising position, Yuy? Just ask.” “I only meant--.” “I know what you meant.”
When Captain Chang showed up to take the team leaders away for an organizational meeting, he welcomed Trowa back with a warm smile and a handshake, before whisking Heero away. Duo pouted. “It’s not fair. Heero gets to go to the big ‘team leader’ meetings, while us peons get left behind.” “But doesn’t that mean you’re in charge until he gets back?” Quatre suggested. Duo’s smirked evilly. “Ooo…maybe it does.” He eyed the blonde with a mischievous expression. “That means you have to do whatever I tell you to do,” he said, giving Quatre an appreciative leer. “Er—that’d be abuse of power, Duo.” The braided boy chuckled. “Abuse? How about a little bondage to go with it?” Quatre blushed. “How about a change of subject? We could talk about the mission.” Trowa yawned widely, rubbing at his eyes. He looked around at the mess hall, which was rapidly becoming empty as teams wandered off to resume their studies. “I dunno about you two, but I’m done in. Can we go back to the barracks to wait for Yuy?” “Duo?” asked Quatre. “Why not?” “Just give me a sec,” Quatre requested. “I wanted to ask Corporal Carter something.” He left the other two alone at the table while he went up to talk to the soldier. “Duo,” Trowa said quietly. “You said we could talk later. It’s later.” The indigo eyes fixed a cold glare on him. “What do we have to talk about, Barton? You sold me out for a dog. That about covers it.” “It only covers what I did…not why or how it happened, or how bad I feel about it, or how hard I’m gonna try to make it up to you.” “I don’t care about any of that,” Duo said flatly. “It’s over, Barton. You can’t undo what happened.” “I know.” Trowa threw his hands up in resignation. “You’ve told me that; Yuy’s told me that; hell, even Quatre’s told me. I just want to know how many more times I have to say I’m sorry before you believe me.” “You’re sorry?” “Yeah.” “Yeah.” Duo fixed a smoldering gaze on his teammate. “You fucking set me up, and now you expect me to believe you’re sorry.” “If you’d let me explain how it happened, you might begin to believe that.” “I stopped believing in fairy tales before I could walk,” Duo muttered, looking away. “I didn’t know you had the knife. When K. told me I had to make us lose the river crossing or he’d shoot Nanashi, I just figured it was his way of screwing with all of us.” “Bullshit.” Duo leveled a glare at the other boy. “You knew he hated me. Just me. Very personally. Don’t try to tell me it never occurred to you that I’d end up in deep shit for what you did.” “It did occur to me, but I couldn’t figure out how cutting the rope could lead back to you.” Trowa’s eyes were dark with emotion. “I didn’t know about the survival kit; that you signed for it.” “Didn’t know? Or didn’t care?” Duo asked sharply. “C’mon Barton. I’ve seen the way you look at me when I pretend to flirt with Quatre.” His indigo eyes narrowed astutely. “Don’t try telling me you weren’t jealous.” Trowa shrugged. “Maybe a little.” “Maybe a lot,” Duo retorted. “So when push came to shove, you didn’t really care if I got shipped off to prison, did you? It’d clear the way for you, wouldn’t it?” “No, Duo! That had nothing to do with it. By the time we had the river crossing I knew you were interested in Yuy…not Quatre. I wasn’t jealous.” “You still are,” Duo sneered back. “I could walk over there right now and throw an arm around his shoulders and it’d bother you. You’d wonder if maybe we’re a little more than friends…or if I’ll change my mind about Yuy and decide I want a pretty blue-eyed blonde instead.” “No, I wouldn’t,” Trowa insisted. “For fuck’s sake, Maxwell, Yuy sleeps in your bunk half the time now. Y’think I still worry about you making a move on Quatre? Well, I don’t!” “But you did,” Duo reminded him. “When it mattered, you did. And when K. told you to sabotage the team, you fucking knew I’d be the one to take the fall. You just didn’t care!” “Alright! I didn’t!” Trowa snarled back, torn between anger and shame. “Is that what you want to hear? I didn’t care about anything but saving Nanashi, whatever it took. And I couldn’t think of any way to do that without someone getting hurt.” His brow creased in a scowl. “I was afraid to trust you…to trust anyone…to tell anyone what was happening.” “And now you want us to trust you. You want to be part of the team you fucked.” Duo shook his head. “I don’t know how to forget what you did, Barton.” “Then don’t. Go ahead and beat me over the head with it,” Trowa challenged. “Cuz you know what, Maxwell? It just doesn’t matter any more.” He put a hand to his forehead. “I’m tired. I’m fucking sick…and I’m tired of all this. I’m tired of the fear and the guilt and the anger.” Closing his eyes, he rested his face in his hands. “I threw out the goddamned drugs so K. had nothing left to blackmail me with. He won’t be able to search our barracks and pin anything on anyone. And he can’t make me do what he wants by threatening to withhold them. It was worth the puking and the pain just to be free of his manipulation.” The boy looked up with haunted eyes. “What am I gonna have to do to be free of you, though?” Duo looked back steadily. “Try spending forty-eight hours in solitary, and getting beaten and raped, Barton. That’d be a start.” He stood up, face taut with emotion. “Quatre! Are you about ready?” he called across the room, putting his hands on his hips. Quatre turned away from Carter, and his eyes widened slightly as he saw Trowa’s hunched posture and the angry glitter of Duo’s eyes. “Coming!” His questioning look was ignored by both of his teammates as he hurried over to them, and they headed back to the barracks. No one said a word, and when they got there, Duo stayed out on the steps to wait for Heero, while the others went inside. “What happened in the mess hall?” Quatre asked as soon as they were alone. “I tried to apologize,” shrugged the other boy, climbing up onto his bunk and stretching out. “I take it he wasn’t very receptive.” A wry snort was all the answer he got. “The wounds are still too fresh, Trowa…for both of you,” Quatre sighed, sitting on the desk and looking up at his friend. “It would have been better if I’d just confessed to Chang right away when it happened,” Trowa muttered. “You’d be on L3 and Nanashi would be dead…” “And Duo would be whole and happy and as cocky as ever.” The auburn-haired boy looked away from the blonde. “I hate being the one who took that away from him.” “You didn’t,” Quatre insisted. “You aren’t responsible for what Kushrenada did, or what that guard did.” “But I put Duo in that position. I fucking handed him to K. on a silver platter.” “Don’t remind me,” Quatre said with a grimace. “It’s hard enough for me to keep remembering that you didn’t do it on purpose. But that’s what you’ve got to cling to. You didn’t intend for Duo to get hurt.” “I didn’t care who got hurt,” Trowa said in a voice that was little more than a whimper. “You almost got hurt.” Quatre stood up and went over to put a hand on Trowa’s shoulder. “So did you,” he pointed out. “I think Kushrenada’s dirty little game hurt you nearly as much as it did Duo.” His grip tightened reassuringly. “Heero and I came out of it okay, Trowa. And eventually, you and Duo will too. Can you trust me on that?” Trowa nodded, drawing a sleeve across his face. “I’ll try, Quatre.” When Heero and Duo walked in, both Quatre and Trowa were in their bunks more or less asleep. And deciding it had been a long enough day, they followed their teammates’ example.
Duo couldn’t help but take perverse pleasure in that, but recalling Heero’s admonishment of the previous day, he bit back a snide comment, and focused on preparing for the upcoming mission. Early afternoon found the boys in the barracks, scouring the map for a better way to approach the area around the mining shack. At least, Duo was scouring the map, which was spread out on the desk. Heero was working next to him on the laptop, pulling up detailed aerial images of the terrain so they could judge the amount of time it would take them to make the hike. Quatre and Trowa had been compiling a list of supplies they’d need to make the distractions they’d discussed earlier, when the green-eyed boy sat back wearily, rubbing his eyes. “God, it’s hard to concentrate on this,” he sighed, running a hand back through his hair. “Y’know, it’s been days since I had a shower. I feel grubby.” He looked over at Heero. “Yuy? Would it be alright if I hit the showers and come back to this feeling a little refreshed?” “I’m sure we’d all appreciate that,” Heero drawled teasingly. “It’s a small building, and in these close quarters…well, frankly, you’re starting to stink.” He gave the other boy an amused smirk to show he was kidding. Well, mostly. Face it, after spending two days puking and two more lying in bed recuperating, Trowa was definitely in need of a shower. “Yeah. Thanks for your honest appraisal there, Yuy,” Trowa muttered, going to his foot locker for a clean uniform and his shower kit. Duo looked up as if to add a teasing comment to the banter, but then he caught himself, not yet ready to trade friendly jibes with the boy he still held anger towards. Frowning in frustration, he went back to his examination of the map, ruefully discarding the perfect comment he’d already formulated in his head. “I’ll tag along with you, Trowa,” Quatre volunteered, gathering his things up as well. “There’s no telling if Norton’s teammates might still be looking for revenge.” Duo sighed loudly. “Yeah, sorry about that whole ‘broken arm’ thing, guys. But frankly, they hated us before that anyway. At least now there’s only three instead of four.” Quatre grinned at him. “I’d have done the same thing, Duo. Norton was asking for it.” The blonde and Trowa headed out to the showers shortly thereafter, and Heero and Duo resumed their research. Perhaps half an hour later the braided boy was scowling at the map, absently chewing on a knuckle as he pondered. “Hey—‘Ro. Why can’t we go this way? Looks like it’d save us nearly twenty miles of hard hiking and bring us in behind the shack.” Heero leaned over his shoulder, nearly cheek to cheek as he studied the map. “That’s a cliff, Duo…a couple of hundred feet straight up. It’d take us hours to climb it, if we even could.” “How many hours?” persisted the boy from L2. “I’m not sure. Barton’s the expert on climbing,” shrugged the team leader. “Suppose—just for the sake of argument—it’d take us two or three hours to climb. We’d still come out ahead.” Heero looked over the terrain once more, blue eyes intent. “Well…I guess we would.” A slight frown creased his forehead. “It looks like we’d be crossing the river a lot further upstream, too.” “Maybe we wouldn’t need the whole ‘rope bridge’ thing, eh?” Duo asked, turning to look at his teammate only to find his lips all but brushing the smooth, tanned cheek next to his. Heero stiffened, feeling the warm breath across the side of his face. And he couldn’t help but close his eyes and swallow hard, trying to regain his composure. Duo found himself unable to fight down the smirk that curled the corners of his mouth. “You okay, Yuy?” he whispered in a husky undertone. Then he licked his lips nervously, his tongue barely brushing Heero’s jaw. The Japanese boy flinched just slightly, and sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m—I’m--.” “Fine,” Duo finished for him. “Yeah, you are.” He placed a light kiss just under that perfect ear…and then another at the hinge of the jaw. And then he continued down the jaw, ghosting light kisses all along it, until he was at the corner of the team leader’s mouth. “Want me to stop?” he breathed quietly. “God, no,” groaned Heero, turning to meet him halfway. And then, of course, the door burst open and Quatre
dashed in, his face pale and eyes a little wild. “Duo! Heero!
I can’t find Trowa anywhere!”
tbc... |
