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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"
Nightfall came on swiftly after the boys of Team Wing reached the summit of the mountain, preventing them from covering much ground. They’d gathered their gear and set out right after their momentary respite, but didn’t get far before they deemed it wise to choose a camp site. They ended up in a sheltered grove only a few hundred yards from a small stream, and there they made a quick camp, complete with a small fire for heating some travel rations. The plan was to eat, tend their cuts and scrapes, and catch a few hours of sleep before setting out at first light. It took hardly any time at all to wolf down their portions, as they were all famished from the rigorous exercise. And then, to everyone’s delight, Quatre dug out some graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. “I swear, Quat, if I wasn’t so hung up on Yuy, I’d marry your sister!” Duo sighed. He was seated on a log, his feet stretched out in front of him to ease the stinging of his scraped knee. Heero settled in beside him, setting a pan of water next to the flames to heat up. “You’re hung up on me?” he asked with a little smirk. “Hopelessly,” sighed Duo, turning to fix an unabashed stare on the Japanese boy’s exquisitely handsome face. The team leader blushed slightly, but didn’t look away. “It’s mutual,” he admitted, giving a small shrug. “God, Yuy,” breathed Duo, feeling his pulse quicken at the warm, honest admission. “Just for that, you’re gonna have to kiss me again.” Heero smiled. “First let me see that sore knee, Maxwell.” Duo raised an eyebrow. “Undressing me already?” Not that it wasn’t a great idea, but… Heero shook his head. “I think I can roll up the pant leg far enough to reach the cut.” He pointed to where the blood had finally soaked through, just below the knee. Duo sighed. “Have it your way.” He was about to turn and put his leg across Heero’s lap for easier access when the other boy dropped to his knees in front of him, and began carefully rolling up the fabric. Wow…not even his best fantasies had included having Heero Yuy on his knees for him…yet. As if reading his thoughts, the team leader glanced up with amusement in the deep blue eyes. “This giving you ideas?” he asked quietly. A sucker punch wouldn’t have left Duo as breathless as the soft, suggestive tone in that voice. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Heero’s deft fingers managed to brush against the braided boy’s calf with each roll of the pant leg. Duo tried unsuccessfully to come up with a suitable response, but instead ended up open-mouthed, watching the Japanese boy quickly, efficiently expose the raw wound on his knee. “Nasty, Maxwell,” murmured Heero, frowning at the abraded skin. “You made a pretty good mess of this.” Duo shrugged, regaining some of his composure. “I don’t believe in doing things halfway.” “That’s good to know,” Heero said in an undertone, taking a cloth from the first-aid kit and dipping it into the pan of warming water. Duo almost groaned at the innuendo; but the sting of the wet cloth against the wound made him hiss in pain. “Sorry.” He shook his head. “S’okay, Yuy. It’s just a scratch.” The Japanese boy nodded, continuing to rinse the knee until he was sure there wasn’t any dirt ground into the cut. Then he took some antibiotic ointment and dabbed it on, before wrapping gauze around the injury. “There. That should keep it clean and prevent scabbing and stiffening up until we finish the exercise and get back to camp.” He looked up at the braided boy. “Doctor Po is gonna chew you out for this.” Duo rolled his eyes. “It’s a boo-boo. That’s all.” “To hear you whining about it before, you’d have thought your leg was off,” Trowa interjected from across the camp fire, where he was helping Quatre toast marshmallows. “I was hot, tired, sweaty, and dangling by my fingertips,” Duo reminded him. “Of course I was looking for something to complain about!” Heero had finished rolling the pant leg back down, and he straightened, regarding Duo with a fond expression on his face. “Any other boo-boo’s, Maxwell?” Duo looked up defiantly. “No.” “Good.” Heero leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. At the questioning look he received when he pulled away, he gave a wry smile. “I told you, after.” “Oh yeah,” Duo recalled with a slightly sheepish look. “Here, Maxwell,” Trowa said, walking over to hand the braided boy the first of the s’mores Quatre had finished making. “Mmm! Thanks!” Duo took a quick bite of the treat, his expression blissful. God, if a snack could put such a euphoric look on his face, what would he look like during sex? Heero swallowed hard, dragging his gaze away from the beautiful face, and hiding his body’s reaction by gathering up the first aid kit and putting it away. “Hey, Yuy…ya wanna grab my backpack?” Duo asked through a mouthful of s’mores. The team leader complied, setting the bag in front of his teammate, and then sitting on the log beside him, throwing a blanket around both of their shoulders. Duo looked over in surprise, a quick smile lighting his face. “Ah, you’ve come for cuddles, huh?” Heero scowled at him. “I noticed you shivering when I was wrapping your knee.” “Uh-huh.” Duo gave him a sly glance. “You were!” insisted the Japanese boy. Duo leaned a little closer, lowering his voice intimately. “That wasn’t from cold, Yuy.” The warm breath on his ear made Heero shiver with pleasure. “See what I mean?” Duo added smugly. He stopped teasing the other boy long enough to rummage through his backpack and pull out a small flask. “What is that?” Heero asked suspiciously. Duo unscrewed the cap, sniffing experimentally, and then sipping from it. His eyes lit up at once. “Ah, perfect! Peach brandy.” “Brandy?” Heero demanded. “You can’t have alcohol here, Maxwell! And where’d you get it?” “I slipped it out of the pantry in the kitchen,” Duo shrugged, taking another sip, and smiling at the sweet taste. “You stole it.” Duo frowned at the team leader. “I—appropriated it.” His face got defensive. “Look, the chef keeps a few of these. He’ll never miss one. And I figured we’d deserve a celebration once we kicked ass in this competition.” “We haven’t ‘kicked ass’ yet,” Heero growled, reaching for the flask, only to have Duo hold it away. “And you can’t be—impaired out here, Maxwell.” Duo snorted at the phrasing. “Impaired? I have no intention of being ‘impaired,’ Yuy. Or even ‘drunk off my ass,’ either.” He brandished the bottle. “It’s small…and I figured we could pass it around and share. There’s sure as hell not enough to get four of us totally wasted.” “Maxwell…” “Duo.” Blue eyes all but bored into indigo. “Duo. We don’t have the time or luxury to indulge in that stuff tonight.” Duo turned his most soulful, appealing look on the boy he adored. “I almost died today, Heero. I think that calls for a little indulgence.” Trowa’s wry chuckle made them both look up as he walked over and handed Heero a s’more. “Lighten up, Yuy. He’s right. We just about bought it on that cliff today, and I, for one, feel like celebrating.” He held out a hand, and Duo passed him the flask, darting a defiant glance at Heero out of the corner of his eyes. The auburn-haired boy took a long swig of brandy, and then walked over to Quatre and offered him some. The blonde took a dainty sip, and then, when he tasted it, a longer drink. “Wow…that is good.” Shaking his head, Heero took a bite of his s’more, watching Trowa and Quatre pass the little flask back and forth a few times before the blonde got up and brought it back over to Duo. As the braided boy grinned and took a drink, Heero sighed in resignation and held out a hand for the flask. Duo beamed triumphantly as he handed it over and watched the team leader drink. “Tasty, isn’t it?” “Yes, Maxwell, it is,” Heero conceded, enjoying the other boy’s obvious delight as much as he did the taste of the liquor. And it did go well with s’mores. They passed the little flask around until each boy had proposed some sort of toast…to their team…their survival…or kicking Kushrenada’s ass the first chance they got. And while it was enough liquor to make them feel warm and relaxed, it certainly wasn’t enough to, as Duo had said, get four of them ‘totally wasted.’ And when the bottle was empty and the s’mores were all consumed, the four boys stayed comfortably situated around their fire, enjoying the heat that held back the chill of a mountain night. Trowa and Quatre were together on the opposite side from Heero and Duo, sitting very close and conversing in hushed voices. As the day’s rigorous activity and tension caught up with him, Duo’s eyes drooped slightly, lashes dark against his cheeks. “What d’ya think they’re whispering about?” he asked Heero. “I’d guess they’re sharing life stories…talking about how each of them was crushing on the other…and then it’ll probably degenerate into blushing, hand-holding, timid kisses, and starry-eyed staring.” Duo chuckled, leaning into Heero’s shoulder and watching the dancing flames of the campfire. “An’ what about us?” he said dreamily. “What’ll we talk about?” “Well, we already shared life stories, more or less…and I know you’ve been crazy about me since you fell off your bunk on top of me…” Duo shook his head. “Nope…it was when I saw those deep blue eyes looking up at me from your bunk. And how long since you got interested in me?” “Same as you—first sight,” Heero shrugged. His lips curled in a tiny smirk. “So what’ll this degenerate into now--?” “Anything you want,” Duo breathed softly, turning so his lips were against Heero’s cheek. “Anything?” “Anything.” Heero turned his head also, capturing Duo’s lips in a kiss, and when he teased with his tongue, the braided boy opened his mouth in surrender, wrapping both arms around the team leader and melting into the embrace. Duo tasted like chocolate and marshmallows and peach brandy, and Heero moaned into the kiss, delighting in the sensations. He closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of shampoo, and sweat, and smoke from the campfire that clung to Duo’s hair. And the small whimper the other boy made as he deepened and intensified the kiss made Heero’s pulse race and his body heat up with desire. God, I want him! When they broke apart for air, they kept their foreheads together, breath hot on each other’s lips. “God, Heero—you are—amazing,” Duo managed breathlessly. He looked up into the other boy’s eyes, his own dark with desire. “You wanna go somewhere alone?” Heero nearly groaned aloud, wanting to scream out a definite ‘hell, yeah,’ and yet knowing they shouldn’t…not here…and not in the middle of a mission. Duo caught the hesitation, his lightheadedness from the liquor notwithstanding. “C’mon, Yuy,” he chided huskily. “You know you want to.” He nipped teasingly at the other boy’s ear, pressing still closer. “I want to.” “I do, too,” Heero whispered back. “But—not here—not now.” He winced slightly. “Well, now would be great. But--.” Duo sighed deeply, burying his face in the curve of Heero’s neck, his lips settling on the boy’s collar bone. “But,” he murmured wearily. “There’s always a ‘but’ with you.” “There won’t always be,” Heero promised, reaching up to slide his hands into the thick chestnut hair. “I swear, we’ll get to the right place and time, if I have to move Heaven and Earth to do it.” “You wanna feel the Earth move, Yuy?” Duo asked, one of his hands sliding teasingly down Heero’s chest to settle in his lap, fingers gently caressing the hardness he found there. “I can make that happen.” Heero sucked in a sharp breath, and a groan escaped his lips. “Ah, fuck, Duo! Please…you have to…to stop.” Duo chuckled quietly, lips and teeth teasing their way along Heero’s neck. The laugh made a burst of pleasant heat against the pulse pounding in the Japanese boy’s neck. “There was only one word in there that mattered to me. An’ it wasn’t ‘Duo,’ ‘please,’ or ‘you have to stop.’” With a Herculean effort, Heero drew back slightly, sliding a hand under Duo’s chin and holding it while he gently kissed those perfect lips. “Not tonight, Duo,” he said in a pained whisper. “You’re exhausted…I’m exhausted…and I want it to be right when we finally get to—to--.” “Fuck?” Duo supplied helpfully. “Make love,” Heero corrected softly, thrilled by the shiver he felt run up Duo’s entire body at his choice of words. “God that sounds—incredible,” Duo sighed, relaxing slightly in the other boy’s arms, and then trying to stifle a yawn as the hard day once again caught up with him. “Maybe you’re right.” His indigo eyes took on a teasing gleam. “It’d take all night to do everything I want to do with you, an’ it’ll be morning in just a few hours.” Heero nearly groaned again at the ideas that came to mind as he contemplated what the ‘everything’ was that Duo wanted to do. “I told you you’re the seductive one,” he murmured. “Yeah, an’ don’t expect me to stop, either.” Duo looked up with a frank, open gaze. “I want you, Heero. I wanna be with you, and feel you, and taste you…” He followed that statement with another kiss that left them both panting for air. “How about we roll out a sleeping bag and catch the couple of hours of sleep we’ve got coming?” Heero suggested, trying to quell the impulse to just grab Duo and give in to his desires. “Once we finish the mission, and clean up and rest a little, I’ll show you how much I wanted to take you up on this offer.” “Promise?” “Yeah. I promise.” After another kiss—this one gentle, lingering, and filled with promise—Duo finally relented, backing off enough for them both to catch their breath and regain their self-control. Then he rolled out one sleeping bag to lie on, and the other to go on top, while Heero banked the fire for safety. Trowa and Quatre made a very similar set-up on the other side of the smothered fire, and all four boys gave in to their exhaustion and slept.
“Ah, shit, Yuy!” Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, Duo tried to pull the blanket closer, but he couldn’t recapture the warmth. “It can’t be time already.” “Yes, Maxwell, it can,” sighed the team leader. “I’m guessing it’ll be sunup in a couple of hours. The sky’s already paler.” Trowa’s voice came from across the clearing. “Time t’get moving, Yuy?” “Sure is.” Heero was efficiently packing away their gear, pausing only to nudge Duo with a booted foot. “Move it, Maxwell!” “Bastard,” muttered the braided boy, shrugging off the sleeping bag and grabbing for a jacket out of his pack. They’d all slept fully clothed, knowing it would be less traumatic to leave their sleeping bags that way. But it didn’t make the chill mountain air any less biting. “But your bastard,” Heero replied in a rare show of humor, never pausing in his work. Duo laughed aloud at that, still amazed at the way Heero found ways to surprise him with displays of warmth or humor when he least expected them. “I’ll fill the canteens at the stream and be back in a few minutes,” Heero told his teammates, gathering the containers. “I suggest you take the time to relieve yourselves and grab a protein bar, because we’re going to set a hard pace today.” As the Japanese boy disappeared into the bushes, Duo found himself wondering what it would be like after boot camp, if he and Heero were at the Academy together. Would they even be together? Would the feelings they’d developed for each other survive the transition, or dissipate outside of the boot camp bonding experience? He wasn’t even sure which he wanted to happen. Though he knew the feelings he had for Heero weren’t like anything he’d experienced in the past, he wasn’t entirely sure what to make of them. Quatre walked up beside him, holding out a protein bar. “Eat something, Duo. And stop thinking, dammit!” Duo grinned at his friend. “Sorry…was I obsessing again?” “Totally,” Quatre replied. He glanced over his shoulder at Trowa, who was rolling their sleeping bags up quickly and efficiently. His aquamarine eyes filled with warmth, which they kept when he looked back at Duo. “We found something special here, both of us,” he told his friend. “Don’t worry so much about the future, or you’ll lose the here and now.” “Oh, throwing my own advice back at me?” teased the boy from L2, chewing on a bite of protein bar as he packed his share of the gear. “Y’got that right,” Quatre replied with a grin. Heero arrived back just as his teammates finished breaking camp, and passed a canteen to each of them, accepting the protein bar that Quatre offered. And within a matter of minutes, the four boys were on their way again, determined to reach the mining shack in record time. Their shortcut had given them an added bonus, by bringing them to the river crossing miles upstream of the alternate route, only a couple of hours after sunrise. By tossing a single line over a sturdy limb, they were able to swing across the icy mountain creek without taking the time to rig a rope bridge. Duo was jubilant. “I knew this shortcut would pan out!” he gloated, walking along the rugged trail with an irrepressible spring in his step. “Yeah,” came Trowa’s droll response. “I seem to recall you wailing about how you’d changed your mind when we were halfway up the cliff.” “Okay…that part was just insane,” Duo admitted. “But, hot damn! It worked.” “Don’t get cocky,” Heero warned, scanning the trail ahead as they moved briskly along. “If our luck holds, we’ll reach our destination near nightfall. But then we have to slip past the guards, and any ambushes or booby traps they might have set.” “Well, we’ve got the pepper ‘bombs,’” Quatre reminded him. “That should confuse and hamper the soldiers. Then we just need to get past the traps.” “If Chang stays true to form, there’ll be a final obstacle as well,” Heero said flatly. “We have to enter the shack ready for anything.” “How ‘bout we enter it in an—unorthodox way?” Duo suggested. “Such as?” “Maybe from above,” Duo shrugged. “We could get on the roof and lower ourselves down to the windows and in that way. We’d avoid any trip wires or land mine type of traps.” The boys had practiced with laser ‘land mines’ and ‘hand grenades,’ that put out a burst of energy instead of an explosion. The burst would disable any target vest within the blast radius, rendering the wearer ‘non-combatant.’ No one in Team Wing wanted to be unwary enough to trigger one. Heero wore a pensive scowl as he hiked along the rugged trail. “What we’ll do is take a couple of hours to conduct surveillance when we get there,” he stated firmly. “By watching the sentries, we can get a handle on where the mines and booby traps are located, as well as learn their layout and schedule.” Quatre nodded in agreement. “Once we know their routine, we can decide how best to take them out.” “Ooo…don’t you sound all badass?” Duo chuckled, giving the blonde a teasing smile. The aquamarine eyes shot him a slightly embarrassed glare, and the braided boy hastily threw an arm across his friend’s shoulders. “No. Don’t blush, Quat. Badass is good.” His glance strayed to Heero. “Badass is really, really hot.” He darted a look over his shoulder at Trowa. “Right, Barton?” “Works for me,” Trowa shrugged, his green eyes roving hungrily over the boy beside Duo. “See, Quat? He likes you all tough and mission-ready.” “Fuck, Maxwell, does anything come out of your mouth that isn’t full of innuendo?” Trowa chided. Quatre gave Duo a clueless look, and the braided boy laughed aloud. “You better explain it to him, Tro’. His mind’s not as dirty as yours and mine.” “Duo!” Quatre started to protest. Duo pushed his friend towards the auburn-haired boy. “Go ask Trowa. I’m sure he’ll explain how his mind jumped from ‘mission’ to ‘missionary.’” Quatre blushed furiously. “I’m not that naïve, Duo!” “Thank God for small favors!” Duo skipped on ahead so he could walk alongside Heero when the trail widened out and they headed across a grassy field. “Are we there yet?” he asked with a devilish grin. Heero merely rolled his eyes. “You’re having way too much fun, Maxwell.” He speared the other boy with a sharp blue-eyed gaze. “Let me know when you’ve got it out of your system and are ready to get serious about this.” Duo sobered at once, though his smile remained. “I’ll be as serious as you want, fearless leader.” And in spite of the lightness of his tone, he did simmer down as they discussed their plans for the upcoming task.
“As you can see,” Wufei told his superior officer, “the perimeter defenses should, at the very least, alert us to the first team’s approach. At best, the remote laser mines will render them non-combatant.” Zechs chuckled wryly. “Do you honestly expect any of your recruits to make it past this, Chang?” “Actually, Yuy’s team almost certainly will. They’ve got the best tactician in the camp, an acrobat capable of enough creative moves to bypass any and all booby traps, a boy stealthy enough to pull off a midnight practical joke under the very noses of Kushrenada’s guards and my soldiers, and Heero Yuy, who knows me and my methods better than anyone alive.” Wufei nodded with some certainty. “They’ll make it as far as the mining shack.” His onyx eyes narrowed slightly. “However, they won’t get past me,” he predicted. “I’ll be the one inside the shack, guarding the flag. At the first sign of their approach, I’ll be ready for them.” “Exactly what will you do against four enemies?” “Get the drop on them and take them prisoner,” shrugged Wufei. “Failing that, I’m considering tossing a laser grenade as they come through the door. While that would take me out, it would do the same to them.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “They need to learn that an enemy would rather destroy the prize than lose it.” Merquise nodded, running a hand back through his long hair. “Looks like everything’s in place here. I’ll head back to the prison and keep an eye on Kushrenada and his men.” His forehead creased in a frown. “He was surprisingly nonchalant about this exercise. I’d expected him to argue about letting the inmates loose in the forest like this.” “They do still have their GPS devices,” Wufei pointed out. “Even if the shock feature is deactivated.” “Yes, but as you pointed out, Maxwell managed to ‘lose’ his once before.” A hint of a smile touched the Chinese officer’s lips. “He’s resourceful, that one.” “Makes a father proud, eh?” teased the Major. Wufei stiffened at the term. “Could we just say ‘guardian’ instead?” he pleaded. “It makes me shudder to think of being related to that devious little scoundrel.” Merquise laughed. “Bullshit, Chang. You’d love to be the one responsible for a kid who scored like he did on the simulator.” The man’s eyes lit up at the recollection. “If it were up to me, I’d haul all four boys from Team Wing straight to the Academy. I don’t care if they come in dead last in this race; they are MSC material, and I want them in real mobile suits as soon as possible.” “Me too,” Wufei agreed. “But don’t worry. They will win this competition.” His smile turned to an evil smirk. “Even though they won’t beat me.” “Are you willing to back up that confidence with a small wager?” The Major’s eyes glimmered with a cross between amusement and something Wufei couldn’t quite identify, though it left him just a little off-balance. Then the Chinese officer regained his poise, and raised
his chin resolutely. “What are the stakes?”
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