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"Here's to Us"Written By: Presser Pairings : 1x2 Disclaimer : Gundam Wing characters aren't mine Rating : PG-13 except for part 12 which is NC-17 Warnings : AU, some sap, some fluff, some angst. Spoilers: None Feedback : Yes please!
"Here's to Us" ~ 7 ~ Jon groaned loudly as he stretched. "Master Isoki is a slave-driver!" "Oh, it's good for you, Jon. Besides, if you'd learn to relax, you'd find it didn't take such a toll on your muscles." Duo reached for his gym bag, pulling a towel from it to wipe his face. His eyes darted to the door at the other end of the room then back to his new friends. "Easy for /you/ to say, Duo! You're practically the teacher's pet!" Fiona pushed playfully at Duo's chest as he sputtered. "Hey, wait a minute! It's /you/ who's got the basic forms down already!" Fiona laughed. Jon bent over at the waist and touched his toes. "C'mon, Duo, Fiona's right. Master Isoki really likes you." "It's not like you can tell it," Duo said. "He's pretty austere." He dropped his towel on one of the folding chairs against the wall, then sat on the floor and began unlacing his sneakers. He glanced at the door again. "Got /that/ right," Jon said under his breath. "Heads up. Here he comes!" Isoki walked toward the trio with that odd grace of his, a kind of coiled suppleness that implied a perfect balance between relaxation and readiness. "Duo? I'd like for you to stay for a moment before I begin the next class." He turned and walked to the front of the studio. "Oooh!" Jon and Fiona's eyebrows went up in unison as they spoke. "Gonna get dressed down, finally?" Jon smirked. "Get real, Jon! He's probably gonna give Duo an award or something!" "Cut it out, you two." Duo's eyes flicked away then back again. "Well, one thing's for sure: I really admire your concentration, Duo." Fiona smiled slyly as she spoke. "Well, it's just a matter of clearing your mind before you start. I like to -" "Not on kendo, silly! On Heero!" "Wha?" Duo flushed, leaving his mouth open. "You've only looked at the door about fifteen times since class ended." Fiona stood and pulled her shoulder-length black hair back tightly then slipped a barrette in place to hold it in a pony tail. "I don't think that -" "Come off it, Duo! It's perfectly obvious to anyone with one eye open that you're -" "Fiona." Duo's voice rose at the end of the word, but he didn't intend a questioning tone. Fiona closed her mouth in mid-sentence. Duo took a breath and began evenly. "It's time I told you about my conversation with Rachel." "Uh oh," Jon said with a smirk. "Stay out of this." Fiona and Duo both spoke in unison. Jon shrugged and became preoccupied with the contents of his bag. "Look, Fiona, Rachel's a good friend, all right? And I like you, too. But - in case you didn't know this before now - Rachel sees herself as my guardian angel. More like my angel-in-charge-of-romance. And I'm delighted that she cares, but she has a way of - well, of -" "Of going overboard; of wanting to take charge." "Exactly! And you're not helping matters when you feed her information about me and Heero." "What did /I/ say?" Fiona looked genuinely surprised. "For starters you told her that I had asked Heero out on a date." "But I /heard/ you! You said, 'Then it's a date.'" "But you didn't hear everything, Fiona. That was just an _expression. All I did was invite Heero to my shop for coffee. It wasn't a /date/ date." "Ah...um..." "It's okay; I could've made the same mistake. But please, don't encourage Rachel. It's taking all my energy to keep her from planning our honeymoon, and I'm not even sure if he's interested in me." "I'm sorry, Duo. I didn't realize..." "Don't worry about it. Just don't do it again, okay?" "Deal." "Hey, Duo, Master Isoki is motioning for you." Jon nodded in the direction of the door where Isoki was waving Duo forward with the fingers of his hand. Duo stood. "Thanks Jon. Hey, see you both next Monday." Duo walked the short distance to Isoki. * * * "So you're willing?" Isoki asked. "Yes, I am, but I don't see what use I'll be to you in an advanced class." "It's not as advanced as you might think, Duo. Come an hour later next week and be prepared to demonstrate your basic forms." "Alright." Duo picked up his gym bag and surveyed the room. Jon and Fiona had gone. The students in the next class had assembled at the far end of the studio and were talking softly among themselves. Heero was absent. Duo sighed as he exited, walking slowly down the steep stairway. Outside the entrance, he looked up the street. A cool wind swirled leaves and bits of paper in ankle-high tornados. Duo pulled the collar up on his jacket and headed down the street to his car. TBC
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