|
"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"
Duo turned a glare on his blonde friend. “For fuck’s sake, Quatre—you have the worst fucking timing ever!” Heero straightened, but Duo caught his wrist. “Don’t you dare go anywhere, Yuy! I’m not finished with you!” Heero quirked a wry smile at him, tugging free of his grip. “Later, baka. First we better find Barton.” “Argh! Why?!” demanded Duo, standing up and slamming both palms onto the table. “How do you lose an entire person?” He turned a thoroughly annoyed look on the blonde Arab. “Well, Quat?” “He finished his shower first and when I got back to the locker room he was gone,” Quatre said with a helpless toss of his hands. “He didn’t say a word about going anywhere.” “Did you hear anything like a scuffle or voices talking?” Heero asked with a frown. “Nothing. We were the only ones left by then. A couple of other kids that were there when we arrived were gone before we even changed.” “And Barton didn’t mention going anywhere?” Heero asked. “I told you…he just disappeared,” Quatre insisted. “I came out, and he was gone. Where could he be?” “I don’t give a shit where he is,” Duo growled, still trying to resist the urge to throttle Quatre for his ill-timed interruption. He’d been within a hair’s breadth of those perfect Yuy lips, dammit, and for once he’d even felt like he was the one in control. I fucking hate my life! “But, Duo—he could be hurt, or in trouble! He’s been so depressed.” Quatre’s eyes brimmed with tears. “He might have done something desperate.” “Like cutting the fucking rope?” Duo shot back. “Do you honestly think I care if he lives or dies?” Quatre’s eyes widened, and the look he gave Duo made the braided boy take a step back, his anger faltering slightly. “How dare you?!” Quatre snapped, his worries congealing into anger. “Duo Maxwell—you are the most heartless bastard I’ve ever met! I don’t care how badly Trowa screwed up. He doesn’t deserve to die. He never meant to hurt you—he was only trying to save Nanashi—who was more of a friend to him than you’ve ever been! And he’s hated himself and beaten himself up over it from the moment it happened!” The blonde had edged forward as Duo continued back until he was against a wall. “Goddamnit, Duo! Trowa Barton is our teammate. And you can hate him all you want—but you will help us find him, and you will learn to work together with him as a team!” Duo blinked in amazement, his jaw agape, and then Quatre grabbed hold of his arms, tears spilling over as he looked up into the indigo eyes. “Please, Duo! For me. Won’t you just put aside your anger and hurt and help me find him?” The braided boy fumbled for another moment, darting an appealing look at Heero, and then he sighed, the rest of his anger slipping away as his own eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around Quatre, pulling the blonde up close. “I’m sorry, Quat. I’ve been a jackass to you, and you don’t deserve it,” he murmured soothingly. “I’ll try harder—I promise. I’ll try to get over it, okay? It’s just—gonna take some time.” Quatre nodded, pulling back slightly and wiping at his tears with a shirt sleeve. Duo glanced over at Heero. “Where do we start looking, fearless leader?” Even as he said it, his gaze dropped to the lips he’d been so close to kissing, and he nearly groaned at the loss. Focus, Maxwell, focus! Find Barton now…kiss Yuy later. “Winner, you know Barton best,” Heero pointed out. “Where does he usually go?” “The kennels maybe—but not since Nanashi left.” Quatre scowled, deep in thought. “If he were sick or hurt, he’d have gone to the infirmary.” “He could be kissing up to his old chum, Kushrenada,” Duo suggested, still somewhat fixated on ‘kissing.’ He winced at Quatre’s glare. “Well, it’s possible. Or maybe he went to kill the bastard if he hates him as much as he claims now.” “Or…” Quatre’s eyes widened as he felt a tenuous connection…an echo of guilt, remorse, and resolve. “Maybe he’s gone to Chang to confess and clear his conscience.” He turned a slightly panicky look to Heero. “I know he’s been thinking about coming clean about everything. You don’t think he would--?” Duo made a snide noise. “Look, if he wants to spill his guts, I say let him.” “He’d be shipped off to L3,” Heero concluded. “And good riddance,” muttered the braided boy, not looking up at Quatre. It was Heero who shook his head. “Unacceptable. We need to find him fast, and keep him from doing anything stupid, like confessing. If we’ve got serious climbing to do, we need him on the team.” Duo mumbled under his breath. “What?” snapped Heero. “I wish I’d never noticed the damned shortcut is all,” he growled in a sulking tone. “How about we forget about it so we won’t need Barton?” “Duo!” Quatre glared again. “Hey—I said I’ll try harder, Quat. But it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.” “I know,” sighed the blonde. Heero gestured impatiently. “Screw that crap! We need to find him now. I’ll check the infirmary and kennels. Quatre, you try Chang’s office.” “Why not the other way around?” Duo wondered. “Chang’s your pal.” “And if I set foot in his office, he’ll know something’s up,” Heero explained. “Winner’s got the innocent face—he can pretend to simply be worried that Trowa might have been ambushed by Norton’s team or some other rival, without tipping our hand to Wufei.” He looked over at Duo. “You wait here, and if Barton comes back, make sure he stays put.” “Can I break both his legs?” Duo chirped hopefully. “You promised no broken bones.” “Shit.” Duo dropped into his chair, and leaned both elbows on the desk, sulking. “You never let me have any fun, Yuy.” Heero leaned over the desk, his face mere inches from Duo’s. “Later, Maxwell.” A small, teasing smile touched his lips. “Later.” He ran a hand over one of Duo’s, eliciting a shiver of pleasure, before turning away and heading for the door. “C’mon, Winner. Let’s get a move on!” “…and hope we aren’t already too late,” added the blonde, hurrying after him.
Wufei looked up as Trowa entered his office. “I need to talk to you.” The Captain eyed him warily. “You look like shit, Barton. Are you still sick?” Trowa shook his head. “Feeling better, sir.” Physically, at least… “Then what’s wrong?” “I…there’s some things you need to know…” “About--?” “Um…well…” A sharp knock on the door interrupted him, and Quatre stuck his head in. “There you are, Trowa! We’ve been looking all over for you. Remember…no one goes off alone. Safety in numbers?” Trowa turned, glaring at his teammate. “Let me do this, Quatre. I have to make things right.” “Not like this,” Quatre insisted. He looked at Captain Chang, who wore a perplexed and slightly bemused expression on his face. “Sir, if Trowa were to…leave the team…what would happen?” “Leave the team? Why would he?” demanded the officer. “Uh…suppose he was injured, like Jason? Or did something that got him shipped off to prison?” “Well, if we didn’t have another team missing members so we could fill in the gap, your team would forfeit the competition, and take last place.” Wufei frowned suspiciously. “Either way, it would no doubt adversely affect your standings.” “Y’hear that?” Quatre said sternly to Trowa. “We need you.” Trowa eyed him somberly. “And does Duo agree with that?” “He sees the necessity in having you stay,” Quatre said carefully, knowing Duo was still angry. “And I think in time, he’ll get over your…difficulties.” Trowa snorted. “That’s an interesting way to put it, Quatre.” “Could I ask what this is all about?” Wufei interjected, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Are you and Maxwell at odds over something?” “They had a falling out, sir,” Quatre piped up hastily. “But nothing that can’t be fixed.” “I should hope so,” said the Captain, eyeing Trowa searchingly. “It would be a shame, Barton, for you to abandon your teammates at this point in the competition.” At the word ‘abandon,’ Trowa hung his head in defeat. “Yes sir,” he sighed listlessly. Quatre took his hand and gave it a gentle tug. “Come on back to the barracks, Trowa. We have some strategic planning to do.” Sighing, Trowa nodded and gave in to the pressure on his hand, following Quatre to the door. “Winner!” Captain Chang called after them. “Could you remind Maxwell it’s Wednesday? I believe he has an appointment to keep.” “Yes sir!” Quatre promised, bodily dragging Trowa outside. Once the door had closed behind them, the blonde turned on the other boy. “Damn it, Trowa! You scared the shit out of me! I didn’t know if you took off, or got sick, or someone dragged you away. That was irresponsible and cruel!” Trowa sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground. “I’m sorry, Quatre. I just couldn’t take it any more. Duo’s never gonna accept my apology, and I’m never gonna stop feeling guilty for what happened.” “It’s only been a few days, Trowa. You can’t expect him to forgive you overnight. But I know he eventually will…I can feel it.” He searched the other boy’s face for a response. “I know how sincerely sorry you are. He’ll see it, too, once he can get past his own emotions.” The auburn-haired boy nodded. “It’s just really—hard—to be around him, right now. To be around you. I know I don’t deserve the kindness you’ve shown me, and that’s almost worse than dealing with Maxwell’s temper.” Quatre raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t think of it that way, Trowa. I’m not being nice to make you feel guiltier. I just--.” ...like you…have a crush on you…wish you’d get over your misery and show some interest again… The blonde sighed deeply. “I was trying to cut you some slack,” he said with a shrug. “If I overdid it, I’m sorry.” Trowa waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t apologize to me, Quatre. You’ve done nothing except be yourself…your nice, kind, understanding self.” Green eyes glanced up from under the auburn bangs. “Don’t ever change.” Quatre blushed at the tone in the quiet voice. “I—wow—I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone ever said to me.” Trowa managed a weary smile. “It’s all true.” He straightened, squaring his shoulders. “I suppose I should go back and face the music. Is Yuy very angry with me?” “Concerned,” Quatre said steadily. “We all were. But it’ll be okay. Let’s go help plan that mission, and we’ll all feel better, eh?” “You may be right,” conceded the former circus performer. He found he actually believed the words as he said them. The mission would occupy all their minds, giving them something to focus on besides the ordeals they’d been through.
“Of course,” Quatre said a trifle smugly. “Trying to spill his guts to Chang.” Duo’s indigo eyes narrowed. “Dumb move, Barton. I may hate your guts…and God knows I’d love to let you tell Chang the truth so he could send your ass off to prison and you could get a taste of the same shit I got…but Quat’s right…we’re stuck with you until we win this stupid competition.” Trowa winced at the naked hatred in Duo’s voice, turning and walking over to climb up on his bunk. “Duo! You promised!” Quatre said scoldingly. “I promised to try, Quat--try. That’s all. You never said I had to be polite to the stinking traitor.” “Duo!” “It’s okay, Quatre,” Trowa sighed. “He’s right. I’ve caused nothing but trouble and there’s no reason for him to give me the time of day.” A faint smile touched one side of his mouth. “Actually, it might make it a little easier for me if he stays mad.” The smile faded quickly. “I don’t think I could stand it if he forgave me.” “No worries there,” Duo spat coldly, turning and resuming his work on the map. Heero strode back in then, and immediately spotted Trowa. “Ah, good. You didn’t talk to Chang, did you Barton?” “Quatre hauled me out before I could say anything incriminating,” Trowa sighed. “Good.” Heero walked over and sat beside Duo on the edge of the desk. “We need you for the capture the flag mission, Trowa. There’s a bit of climbing involved, and you’re the best at the acrobatic stuff.” He gave their downhearted teammate a steady look from dark blue eyes. “Duo’s found a shortcut that’ll require your skill. Honestly, we wouldn’t make it without you.” “I appreciate you trying to make me feel important to the team, Yuy, but…” “Shut the fuck up, Barton!” Duo grated out harshly. “No one’s trying to make you feel better about yourself, least of all me. But I found us a way up the mountain that’ll save us twenty miles of hard hiking…if you can scale a cliff and make us anchor points.” He glanced at Heero, receiving a warning look. “Believe me; I looked for a way to do it without your help, cuz I’d like nothing better than for you to leave.” Trowa nodded, rolling over onto his back and looking up at the ceiling. “You tell me what to do, Maxwell, and I’ll do it.” “Heero’s giving the orders,” Duo muttered. “Not me.” Or that extra twenty miles wouldn’t have mattered at all. Heero nudged Duo with an elbow. “Get back to planning our infiltration route. Quatre’s making the supply list, and I’ll draw up the plans on the laptop so we can give Chang our strategic outline before we start.” “Aye-aye,” Duo said, giving Heero a half-hearted salute. “Um, Captain Chang said to remind you about an appointment,” Quatre told Duo, shrugging apologetically. “Aw, fuck!” Duo snarled. At Heero’s questioning look, he scowled darkly. “I promised him I’d see Doctor G again.” A wry smirk twisted his lips. “I suppose I gotta discuss my anger management issues.” “Well, you did break Norton’s arm,” Heero pointed out. “It was--!” “I know. Self-defense,” Heero assured him. He gave the braided boy a concerned look. “I think Chang just wants to be sure you’re okay with the crap Norton brought up. He cares, you know.” This time a small, genuine smile crossed the other boy’s lips. “Yeah, he does.” He looked up into Heero’s stunningly blue eyes. “He’s okay. For a stuffed shirt army officer, that is.” “Oh, call him that to his face some day,” Heero chuckled. “He’ll use you for a practice dummy.” He glanced over at Quatre. “Can you show Barton the aerial pictures of the mountain while I escort Duo to his session?” “Sure.” “Session?” Duo demanded, his voice rising in outrage. “You make it sound like I’m in therapy or something.” “Well you should be,” Heero smirked teasingly. “I’ve thought that from the moment we met.” Duo got up reluctantly, walking over to meet the team leader at the door. “Y’know what I thought from the moment we met?” His indigo eyes glimmered with mischief. Heero cocked an eyebrow questioningly, knowing he’d get an answer whether he asked or not. When he was close enough to lower his voice to a whisper, Duo paused. “How very deliciously fuckable you look.” Heero blushed at the lewd comment, but managed to gaze back unwaveringly. “Right back atcha, Maxwell,” he drawled in imitation of one of Duo’s favorite comebacks. The braided boy laughed and blushed at the same time. “Touché.”
“Don’t look so surprised,” Duo drawled sardonically. “I’m sure Chang told you to expect me.” “He did mention there’d been an incident you might want to discuss.” The boy snorted wryly. “That’s a nice way to put it. Yeah. There was an incident. But not the one he’s worried about.” At the doctor’s raised eyebrow, he shrugged. “I don’t tell Chang everything, doc.” “Well, have a seat and feel free to tell me as much as you want, about whatever you want.” Duo gave the man a wary look, sinking into the plush chair across from the desk. “If I tell you stuff, you can’t repeat it to Chang, can you?” he asked carefully. “I told you last time, Duo. Everything you say to me is confidential. Unless you express the intent to harm yourself or someone else, or to commit a crime, I can’t reveal what we discuss to anyone…not even a court of law.” “So even though you’re a prison counselor…” “My patients come first,” Doctor G cut in. “I’m here to help inmates deal with the stresses of prison life; not to dig up more dirt to be used against them.” Duo nodded. “Good. ‘Cause I’m gonna tell you what someone did, and I don’t want it to get back to Chang. I just want to know how—how to get past it, okay?” “I’ll do my best to help you do that,” the doctor assured him. So instead of rehashing his altercation with Norton, which already felt like it had been resolved, Duo launched into the story of how Trowa confessed to cutting the rope, leaving out the coercion from Kushrenada, and the drug dealing, just in case the doctor might feel compelled to report it. But he did talk about how badly he’d reacted to the news, and how hard it was to get over the hurt and betrayal. “I dunno if I’m just being unreasonable,” he concluded, shrugging slightly. “I mean, Quatre seems to be willing to give Trowa another chance, and all I can think about is that he might do the same thing again.” “That’s not an unreasonable assumption,” replied the doctor. “Given his history, you have no reason to trust him.” He leaned his chair back, regarding the braided boy thoughtfully. “Blind faith is all well and good in theory; but people like you, who’ve been betrayed and hurt, would be foolish to forget the lessons they learned.” A wry smile tugged at the corners of Duo’s lips. “I always thought I wasn’t the trusting type, doc. But it never even crossed my mind that someone on our own team had cut that rope.” His forehead creased in a frown. “Why is that?” “Because you’d shared so much with your teammates that you truly had begun to trust them. You sweated together, trained together, ate together, competed with other teams…and that sort of activity builds a bond that leads to complete trust.” “Yeah. How stupid is that?” came the bitter response. “It’s not stupid at all. Don’t you believe you can trust Heero and Quatre?” “—with my life,” Duo said unhesitatingly. “Why?” “Because…” The boy frowned in thought, and then just glared up at the psychologist. “I just know they’d never hurt me on purpose…and that they’d never let anything happen to me, if they could prevent it.” “How do you know?” The indigo eyes clouded with confusion. “I just do.” “But you’ve only known them the same amount of time as Trowa.” “Yeah, but…well, Heero was the one who supported me when I got back to the team, and then when I fell apart after Trowa’s shit. And Quatre’s been my best friend since the first day of boot camp.” He fixed a stern gaze on the doctor. “I know neither one of them would ever sell me out like Trowa did.” “And did you have that same faith in Trowa before his confession?” Duo pondered that for a moment. “Not really…I mean, he was pals with Kushrenada, and jealous of me an’ Quatre.” He shrugged slightly. “I guess we were always rivals, kind of.” “So perhaps his betrayal wasn’t quite as profound as it would have been had it come from either of your other teammates.” The indigo eyes narrowed as Duo thought that over, trying to imagine how it might have felt if it had been either Heero or Quatre instead of Trowa. “Maybe I am overreacting,” he conceded finally, looking up at the doctor. “I mean, I guess I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was.” In retrospect, he’d never completely trusted Trowa, even when they settled their differences over the other boy’s friendship with the warden. “That doesn’t make it any less painful, though,” the doctor pointed out. “But…what now?” Duo asked quietly, giving the man an appealing look. “That’s up to you. You have to make a conscious decision. If you believe that Trowa really regrets what he did—that his apology is genuine—you can either give him another chance, or hold on to your anger and shut him out.” “I can’t trust him.” “And you shouldn’t. When I suggest giving him another chance, I’m not saying you should blindly trust him, or start over with a clean slate. What I mean is that you could allow him to try to earn back a portion of your trust…over time.” He studied the boy’s troubled face. “I guess I should try—to give him another chance,” Duo said hesitantly. “I know it’d mean a lot to Quatre.” “Why is that?” Duo glanced up from under his bangs. “He’s got a crush on Trowa…has from day one.” He mustered up a small, hesitant smile. “He likes him a lot. And he’s tried to sort of run interference between us since this all started. I owe it to him to at least try not to hate the guy he loves.” “So, take a long, hard look inside, Duo,” said the doctor gently. “Do you have it in you to forgive Trowa?” He shook his head. “Not everyone possesses that ability.” A long moment passed in silence as the braided boy mulled it over. “I can forgive,” he eventually said. “It’s forgetting I have problems with.” “I’m not suggesting you forget,” came the quick response. “That would, as I said before, be foolish. What you should do is try to remember that although his actions put you in solitary, what happened afterwards was not his doing. And from what you’ve told me, it was never his intention. Had he known what would happen, he might very well have done differently. With that in mind, if you can forgive him, then you can at least offer him a chance to make amends.” “I don’t want him groveling at my feet or anything,” Duo said with a grimace. “If he’s gonna be afraid to even talk to me, or treat me differently, that won’t go over well, either.” “That’s entirely up to you, isn’t it?” said the psychologist. “If you act like you did before, so should he…with the understanding between you that he’s on ‘probation,’ so to speak, and that if you think at any time he’s preparing to betray you again, you reserve the right to distance yourself from him.” Duo smirked at the doctor. “You wanna write that all down so I can phrase it that way when I get back to the barracks, doc? You’ve got a real way with words.” Doctor G chuckled at the teasing tone. “You’re going to be fine, Duo,” he assured the boy. “You think?” “I know.” The psychologist stood up, holding out a hand for Duo to shake. “You don’t really need me. You’re a very resilient young man. But any time you want to talk, my door’s open.” Duo took the proffered hand, mumbling his thanks, and made his escape from the office to find Heero sitting on the steps of the building, waiting for him. “How’d it go?” he asked, standing up. “It went good.” Duo shrugged slightly. “The doc helped me sort through things. An’ I think maybe I can cut Barton some slack now. I’ll leave him alone and try to get along with him. Maybe someday I’ll even like him again.” Heero shook his head, as they walked back towards the barracks, shoulder to shoulder. “You constantly amaze me, Maxwell.” “Is there a reward for that?” Duo smirked. “Definitely,” Heero assured him.
Heero nodded towards the vacant laptop. “Did you two look over the pictures?” Quatre nodded, teasingly slapping Duo’s hand away as the braided boy stole one of his potato chips. “Well, Barton?” Heero continued. “Can we climb it?” The green-eyed boy nodded. “Barely. It’ll be touch and go, Yuy.” He cast a worried look at Quatre. “I’m not sure all of us are seasoned enough for a climb like that. In fact, I’m pretty sure none of us are. But if you want to try it, I’ll go first and lay the anchors.” Heero glanced at each of his teammates in turn. “Well? It has to be a group decision. Do we try the climb in the hopes of taking the soldiers by surprise when we get there several hours early? Or should we look for a safer way and just bust our asses to try to make time?” Quatre and Duo exchanged a long look, and then the blonde shrugged. “If Trowa thinks we can do it, I say we should try.” Duo glanced warily at the auburn-haired boy. “Would you tell us straight out if it was impossible, Barton?” Trowa nodded, forcing himself to meet the cool gaze from the indigo eyes. “I wouldn’t even attempt it if I thought it’d be too risky. Don’t get me wrong. It’s no cakewalk. But if we’re careful and the weather conditions are right, we’ll make it.” The braided boy nodded. “Then I’m in.” He looked at Heero, seeing that surprised look yet again. “What?” “Just—you’re doing it again,” noted the team leader with an almost bashful smirk. Duo smiled back. “Then I guess I deserve twice the reward.” “Do we even want to know what you’re talking about?” Trowa muttered with a trace of his old sarcasm, shaking his head. “Aw, I’m sure it’s over your head anyway,” Duo said, his tone hinting at good-natured teasing. Quatre’s eyes brightened noticeably, and he pushed his plate of chips towards his friend. “Have some?” he offered, smiling warmly. Duo plunked down on the bunk next to him, happily snatching another chip. “Thanks, Quat.” Heero walked over to the laptop, settling into his chair and looking over the plans, feeling a rush of optimism. He wasn’t the least bit concerned about the challenging climb—he knew that if they could maintain their team spirit, they could do anything. And he could almost picture the look of chagrin that would be on Wufei’s face when they defeated his best soldiers and sneakiest strategy. Victory would be sweet indeed!
tbc... |
