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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 Six: Easing Tensions Duo woke the next morning even before the drill instructor slammed open the door. It was still dark, and the boy yawned and rolled over, trying to figure out what woke him. Then a sharp clap of thunder made him jump, and he realized he could hear the steady drumming of rain on the roof. He smiled sleepily. Yessss! A reprieve! They couldn’t possibly do obstacles in a thunderstorm. The door flew open, and Corporal Carter stepped in, water streaming from his rain poncho. “Up and at ‘em, ladies!” he called boisterously. “Calisthenics in fifteen!” “What?!” Duo demanded, sitting up sharply. “You’ve got to be kidding!” Carter smiled up into the boy’s indignant face. “I never kid, kid.” He tossed a plastic bundle on each bunk, gave a cocky salute, and left. “Son of a fucking bitch!” Duo exploded, picking up the little bundle to find a compactly-folded rain poncho. “He wasn’t kidding.” Heero stood and stretched, looking up at Duo with an expressionless face. “You think training stops for a little rain, Maxwell?” “But—but—we’ll get all wet!” Duo lamented. Heero gave him a feral grin. “Maybe it’ll help you slide through the barbed wire better.” The indigo eyes widened. “Aw, shit…the hair…” He absently tugged at the end of his braid. “This is gonna be miserable.” The other boys were throwing off the covers and dressing, so Duo figured he had no choice. He got up and dashed to the bathroom, beating Trowa by a split-second. Ha! Take that, circus-boy! Nobody’s faster than a street rat. Within moments all four boys were dressed and suited up, and they stepped cautiously out into a steady downpour. Dodging puddles, they made their way to the morning formation, meeting their bedraggled fellow-inmates at the exercise yard. Captain Chang himself was there to lead the morning’s workout. His dark eyes were coolly unsympathetic, but there was a smirk playing at the edges of his mouth. “I suppose you all thought a little rain might earn you a day off.” He bared teeth in an evil grin. “On the contrary. It will provide excellent learning opportunities.” “Yeah,” muttered Duo just loud enough for his teammates to hear. “We’ll learn how long we can hold our breath under water.” “We’ll start with jumping jacks…” By the time calisthenics ended, the boys were soaked to the skin. Between doing jumping jacks amid inch-deep puddles, and pushups in the mud, they could hardly be otherwise. It was almost a relief to set off on the two-mile run. At least they could try to jump over the puddles along the soggy track. No one even bothered with a morning shower. Instead they went straight to breakfast, pulling off dripping ponchos and hanging them to dry by the door of the commissary. It wasn’t until they’d made their way through the line, filled their plates, and settled into a corner table Duo selected that they had a chance to relax. Quatre looked across at his indigo-eyed friend and burst out laughing. “Oh, Duo! You look like a drowned rat!” Indeed, the braided boy’s long bangs were plastered to his face, and his braid hung in a bedraggled mess. Although he’d had the poncho on, it was soaked as much as the rest of him. “I know,” he sighed. “Have I mentioned I hate the rain?” He gave his teammates a once-over. “You all look pretty pathetic, too, yanno.” Quatre looked at Trowa and couldn’t help but chuckle. “He’s right!” When Trowa’s hair was wet, it hung like a mop across his face, totally obscuring one eye. Even when he shook it back now and then, it seemed to fall right back down. “Hey, blondie,” Trowa chided. “You aren’t exactly a fashion plate yourself.” Quatre put a hand up, feeling the silky hair plastered on his scalp. “Yeah, I guess I’m a mess too.” He looked across the table. “How come your hair looks normal, Heero?” Indeed, although wet, Heero’s hair wasn’t flat to his scalp. In fact, it didn’t look much different than it usually did. The blue-eyed boy shrugged, busily eating his breakfast. “I keep it short on purpose.” Duo rolled his eyes. “What were you, a frickin’ boy scout? Do you always have to ‘be prepared,’ Yuy?” “Yes.” They finished their meal quickly, and made their way to their morning classes, which amazingly were held inside the gymnasium, instead of out in the pouring rain. The group of forty boys was split into two groups. One was learning the history of the Mobile Suit Corps, while the other was studying the evolution of Mobile Suit Corps weaponry. Before lunch, the teammates made their way to the barracks and changed to dry clothes. So they were comfortable through the meal, and their afternoon classroom instruction. And then it was back to the exercise yard for three o’clock calisthenics. Although the thunder had eased up, the rain continued to pour down, and again the boys were soaked in a matter of minutes. And after calisthenics, they were led to the obstacle course yet again. Captain Chang, apparently unfazed by the weather, stalked to the front of the group, his hood thrown back and his dark eyes gleaming with assurance. “Good afternoon, recruits.” He had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the steady pounding of rain. “Today’s obstacle course could prove a bit challenging. I’ll warn you in advance…wood will be slippery…footing will be treacherous…and sand will have turned to mud.” Duo winced at the thought of trying to comb ground-in mud from his hair. “I’d like to see Chang do the course he expects us to,” he grumbled to Heero. The Captain turned sharply. “Indeed, Maxwell?” “Ulp…” Duo looked up guiltily. “You heard that?” “I have excellent hearing,” Wufei said with a look that made Duo want to disappear into the nearest mud puddle. The Chinese officer turned his back, walking along the line of boys. “Maxwell has a valid point. Perhaps it isn’t fair for me to expect more from you than I can do.” There were murmurs of assent within the group. Heero glanced aside at Duo, an enigmatic smirk on his lips. “What?” “Just watch, Maxwell,” he purred. The smirk widened to a grin…an evil grin. “Very well, then,” Wufei said, pulling his poncho off over his head and tossing it aside. “Maxwell…since you brought up the idea, you get the privilege of racing me through the same obstacles your team did yesterday.” A feral grin crossed the Captain’s face. “Since you’ve done it before, you should have the advantage.” Duo blinked, his heart sinking to his shoes. “Sir?” he said weakly. “You heard me. Get up here!” Swallowing nervously, Duo pulled off his poncho, instantly feeling the icy sting of rain against his arms. Quatre reached over and helpfully tucked the braid down the back of Duo’s shirt. “You can do it,” he said encouragingly. “Riiiiight,” Duo drawled unenthusiastically. Heero turned a sharp look to his teammate. “Winner’s right, Maxwell. You can.” He leaned a little closer, lowering his voice. “Chang’s a little leery of heights…you’ll beat him over the wall. Try to make time there. Be careful on the log bridge; it’ll be slick as ice. So will the monkey bars. Whatever you do, don’t lose your grip. And forget the damned mud. Just throw yourself into it and go.” Trowa leaned in from the other side. “Pretend there’s a cop on your heels.” Duo grinned at that, some of his spirit returning. “Okay.” He glanced at Heero with a slight crease of worry between his eyebrows. “I don’t want to hear a lecture when Chang beats me by a mile, Yuy. Got it?” “No lecture,” Heero promised. “Go out there, and don’t screw up.” Duo nodded, and walked up beside the Captain. He gave the officer as defiant a look as he could muster. “I’m ready.” Captain Chang snorted skeptically, glancing back at Heero, and giving a fleeting smirk. “Corporal Carter…please give the start command whenever you’re ready.” “On your mark…” Duo tensed, noting the Captain did the same. “Get set…aaaaaaaaand…go!” The two sprinted onto the course, as the assembled recruits began shouting encouragement. Wufei reached the rope ladder mere inches ahead of Duo, and by the time they’d climbed it, they were even. From there they dashed to the log bridge. It was, as Heero had predicted, slick as ice…but since Wufei and Duo both lost their footing once or twice, they were still neck in neck on the other side. Then came the wall, and Duo concentrated on keeping a tight grip on the rope and scaling it as if his life depended on it. He reached the top first, too busy to notice that the Chinese officer slowed noticeably on the descent, using the rope to slide down, while Duo leapt the final ten feet as he had the day before. Thus, Duo was leading as he reached the rope swing. He made it across, stumbling on the other side, and nearly careening backwards into the water. Then he regained his balance and literally threw himself under the barbed wire, ignoring the slimy mud and using his elbows and feet to shinny along the ground. “Hey Maxwell,” called Wufei, looking over with a cocky grin as he pulled even. “The weight of that wet hair must be slowing you down.” “Not as much as the lead in your ass!” Duo shot back, unable to let the jibe go unanswered. But Wufei had drawn slightly ahead as they reached the tire obstacle, and with practiced ease gained through years of martial arts training, he fairly danced through them, gaining several feet of a lead before reaching the monkey bars. Duo literally leapt for the first bar, trying to catch up, and nearly lost his grip at the unaccustomed added weight of wet clothing, mud, and boots. He gritted his teeth and doggedly worked his way hand over hand, having completely lost track of whether Wufei was still ahead or not. When he landed on the other side, he momentarily went to his knees, and then pushed back up to his feet and sprinted for all he was worth. He crossed the finish line almost even with Captain Chang, and slid to a stop, nearly crashing into his teammates, who had moved to the finish line to meet him. “That was awesome!” Quatre was shouting. “You did great!” Duo stood panting, mud-covered hands on his knees. “I lost…” he gasped out between breaths. Captain Chang was standing by Carter, also breathing hard and covered in filth, but he gave Duo a very genuine smile. “You didn’t lose,” he assured him. “You were right on my heels, Maxwell.” “The operative word being ‘heels,’” Duo pointed out, pushing himself upright and sighing. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Captain Chang was still talking to Duo, but his glance moved to Heero. “You were a credit to your team today, Maxwell.” Duo gaped at him, unable to believe he’d heard a compliment from the stern officer’s lips. “Uh…thanks,” he stammered, following the others over to the bleachers. He was so dazed, he hardly noticed the driving rain any more. “Alright, troops!” called Wufei, once again the efficient officer. “If Maxwell and I could survive a little water on the course, so can you. I want Team Chase up next.” While Austin’s team filed up to the starting line, shedding their ponchos, Duo collapsed wearily onto the bleachers with his teammates, accepting his poncho back from Quatre, but not bothering to put it on. Corporal Carter walked over, settling on the seat next to Duo. “Nice job, Maxwell,” he said with a grin. “Does Chang always kick ass on the obstacles?” Duo asked, scraping some mud off the front of his uniform and tossing it onto Heero’s boots, daring a sly glance at his team leader, looking for a reaction. All Heero did was hit the side of his boot on the bleachers to knock the mud off. His gaze remained riveted on the next team on the course. “Always,” shrugged Carter. “We learned early on not to challenge him on anything. He can’t be beat.” He put a hand on Duo’s shoulder. “Today’s the closest anyone’s come in a while.” He stood up and went back to the other soldiers to watch the other teams. Duo blushed at the praise, but he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Quatre sidled up beside him. “Feel better now?” he asked, blue eyes warm. “I guess I do,” conceded the other boy, shivering a little in the cold rain. He nudged Heero with an elbow. “You knew Chang would make me go up there the minute I opened my mouth, didn’t you?” “Hn.” Bastard. As if reading Duo’s thoughts, Heero glanced at him with an amused gleam in his eyes. “What’s the problem? You did okay.” “Okay?” echoed Duo. “Okay? You call that just ‘okay,’ Yuy?” Heero shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly. “You stumbled after the rope swing, or you’d have won.” The next clot of mud hit Heero squarely on the back of his head. Hours later the boys arrived back at the barracks, covered from head to toe in mud, only some of which had come from the obstacle course. “Dirty trick, Yuy,” grumbled Duo, untucking his shirt to scoop mud out from under it. “Mud down the back of the neck.” “That’s where your braid was,” shrugged the team leader, untucking his pant legs to allow clumps of mud to fall out. “I still can’t figure out how you got so much mud down Heero’s pants,” Quatre chuckled, emptying the mud from his own pockets. “I used to pick pockets,” Duo admitted. “I’m sneaky and quick.” “You mean twisted and sick,” Trowa interjected, one finger stuck in an ear as he tried to dislodge the mud wedged into it. “Ooo…Tro’ made a rhyme!” Duo laughed, pulling off his shirt entirely to reveal a torso smeared and crusted with mud. “Gods, I so need a shower!” “I recommend a fire hose,” Heero said evenly. “And since you were the one who started the mud fight, you damn well deserve it.” “I started it?” “Hai. You threw the first mudball.” “That was retaliation, Yuy. You wouldn’t admit I did good against Chang.” Duo was examining his braid, realizing there was nothing that could be done for it outside of a shower. “Who knew you’d bide your time until the end of obstacle class and ambush me on the way back to the barracks?” “You should have,” Trowa pointed out. “You didn’t think he’d just let you lob mud at him--?” “I hoped.” Duo glared good-naturedly at Trowa. “You didn’t have to join in, y’know.” “What? And miss a good mud fight?” gasped the tall boy in mock horror. Duo chuckled at that. “Wow…rhyming and a sense of humor, all in one day, Tro’. I don’t think I can take many more shocks.” He glanced at Heero. “Next thing you know, Yuy might crack a smile.” Heero shot him a glare. “Unlikely.” Quatre had gathered a clean uniform and some towels, and stuck them in a plastic bag so they’d stay dry on the way to the shower. “Ready to go clean up, Duo?” “God yes!” Duo scooped up his own supplies and stood by the door. “Coming, Yuy?” he cooed with false sweetness. “Of course,” came the short reply. Duo grinned, deciding that having to share a barracks
with a pain in the butt like Heero Yuy might have its perks after
all.
tbc...
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