So, just an FYI, this story will have an underage Yuu and likely some mild sexual content in the later chapters, but pretty vanilla though.

Chapter 1: First Contact

"Here ya go," Lacus puts down the tray of Starbucks drinks on their study table and Mikaela eagerly grabs one, taking a swallow and sighing. "Slow down, I'm not getting you water if you burn your mouth."

Mikaela glances at him over the rim of the cup, "Thanks Lacus."

"No problem," he replies, stretching. "I wanted a break from studying. I was fusing to this seat. Mikaela rolls his eyes at Lacus' exaggeration, although the other boy does have a point. They've been studying for hours, but college is college and they have a massive amount of information to memorize. Rene's the only one who seems unperturbed, methodically highlighting important parts of his book without a single complaint.

Lacus' wildly flailing arms catch his attention, "Who are you waving at?" He questions turning to look behind him, then immediately turning back around, face morphing into a scowl.

"You're not over that yet? I thought you'd settled it," Lacus teases.

"He cheated on me."

"Yeah, like a year ago, back in your young naive days plus you took care of it."

"I'm only 21 Lacus," he states flatly, "and that doesn't mean I have to like him."

"Well, maybe next time you should date someone you could actually work out with," Rene inputs calmly.

"Huh?"

"I think he's referring to your ill fated attempt to change your personality."

"I am."

"There was nothing wrong with that. It's called compromise!"

"No, Mika, that's not 'compromise.' You liked him so much you pretended to be this sweet submissive thing so he would date you because you knew he wasn't anything but a top and so are you."

"I was willing to make sacrifices."

"Even if he hadn't cheated, there was no way you guys would have worked out long term. You don't even like bottoming!" Lacus laughs.

"Well now we'll never know cause he cheated."

Lacus sighs, "I still remember when you found out and went to confront him. He seriously thought some sorrys, kisses, and a few pet names would make you forgive him when you caught them together!"

"Do we have to talk about this?"

"Yes! Oh my god, it made everything worse, then your true colors came out! They were so shocked when you kicked both their asses. After what you did to their faces, it wasn't long until the whole campus knew what you'd done!" Lacus' eyes squeeze shut with laughter and Mikaela gives him a disgusted look. "For all his 'feistiness,' he sure didn't put up much of a fight."

"Mika does like the feisty type."

He glares at both of them, it's not like he didn't know pretending to be someone different wasn't a good idea, but he'd really liked the guy and there was no way he would be a submissive, so Mikaela had done it. Lacus was right, he hadn't particularly liked someone having that much control over him and it may have been part of the reason their relationship failed. He was always hesitant to have sex, completely avoiding it if he could and it might have led to some frustrations, but still! There's no excuse for cheating. Needless to say, he still hasn't forgiven him.

"Consider it a lesson learned, lies in a relationship don't work," Rene says, bringing him back to the conversation.

Mikaela nods curtly, "Thanks, better get back to studying," he says pointedly over Lacus' laughter.

"Touchy. Touchy."

It isn't much longer after that they finally stop studying, only because of practice at the dojo, something he always looks forward to. It's a great stress reliever and an easy way to take his frustration out. It requires a single minded focus where everything else has to be pushed out. He practiced a lot after his breakup. For the most part he's over it, but that doesn't mean he appreciates Lacus bringing it up or the reminder of what happened. It's something he prefers to stay in the past, he's not going to be anything other than himself.

"Are you participating in the tournament?"

Mikaela glances over to Rene, "Nah, I haven't had enough time to practice for it. I'll probably go just to watch though."

"Same, though I think Lacus is."

"Of course he is, he wouldn't miss a chance to show off his amazing talent."

"And why should I? I worked hard, I can let people appreciate me."

"That's not what it's about. It's about strength and discipline."

"Tell that to your ex."

"Will you shut up about him?!"

"Then you appreciate it your way and I'll appreciate it my way."

"Let's spar."

His eyes focus on Lacus in position across from him and he steps forward meeting him in hand to hand combat. Lacus really has improved, but Mikaela's got skills and more years of experience on his side. Lacus goes down without too much resistance and Mikaela grins down at him, but he takes his loss with grace, moving on to another partner. And so it continues for the next two hours, Mikaela practicing with the intermediate levels, sometimes winning and sometimes purposely losing with just enough effort to give them a challenge. It's a nice reprieve from studying.

They're heading out for the day when they see a group of high school kids in front of the dojo talking about the upcoming tournament. The black haired one in particular catches Mikaela's eye. He's slightly tan, can't be more than 18, and has a lot of energy. Mika watches the green eyed boy's excitement as he cajoles his friends into coming to the festival this weekend and ends with near impossible claims. One word comes to mind...feisty.

~~~~~
Shinoa popped the top on her lipstick closed and grinned down at her handiwork. She had to say, a little color made Yuu look a lot better, especially since it hid the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.

Mitsuba nudged her shoulder and gave Yuu's face a once over. "He's gonna kill you, ya know?"

"Nah, it's a much needed improvement. He'll thank me if anything. "

"You drew all over his face with a bunch of lipstick," she replies, rolling her eyes. "The last thing he'll do is thank you."

Shinoa uses her thumb to smooth out a few thicker spots on his cheeks, "Maybe he shouldn't stay up all night watching anime or whatever the hell it is."

"Martial arts, Shinoa."

"Same difference," she responds blithely.

"...You do remember we're going with him to that dojo after class, right?"

"What? What for?!"

"He wants information on the tournament they're having."

"I never agreed to go. I have plans."

"We all did," Mitsuba exclaims in exasperation.

"What's the point? It's not like he has the skills to participate." Mitsuba shrugs. "We all know he just wants to check out sweaty guys," she continues.

"Probably, but we agreed."

"We shouldn't all have to suffer for Yuu's perversions, riiiight?" Shinoa questions, shifting so she's pressed closer to her blonde friend.

"But-"

Shinoa dances her fingers up Mitsuba's arm, "Should we?"

Mitsuba smacks her hand away, "Stop being weird."

"My point remains."

"I don't know, maybe…"

"Exactly! So, since we're in agreement, we'll skip and have some time to ourselves," Shinoa encourages with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"NO! You already agreed, you can't bail!" Yuu interrupts, tired of feigning sleep.

"Oh Yuu-san," she looks at him dispassionately. "When'd you wake up?"

He scowls, "About the time you were calling me a pervert."

"Is that so?" She smirks, "Well I have to call it like I see it."

"Shinoa, I'm going to see their skills-"

"And their sweaty muscles! Come on, Yuu, we all know what you like."

"The only perv here is you! My interest is purely academic." Shinoa and Mitsuba glance at each other before bursting out in bouts of laughter. Yuu's about to tell them exactly what he thinks of their opinion when he notices Kimizuki and Yoichi have entered the classroom, the former giving him a look of disgust. "What are you looking at, four eyes?"

"Your face, just when I thought it couldn't get any uglier…"

"Maybe you need thicker glasses! Any worse and you'll be blind."

"Ah Yuu-san," Yoichi interrupts, but is swiftly cut off by Shinoa.

"So, the dojo thing?"

"Don't interrupt Yoichi, Shinoa," Yuu scolds.

"Ah, he doesn't have anything to say, do you Yoichi?" Shinoa gives him a warning look, hidden from everyone else.

He stutters as everyone looks at him expectantly. "U-um..no..I-I just...you look very nice Yuu-san."

Kimizuki snorts and mutters something about idiots before taking his seat. "I guess we'll go with you to the dojo," she smiles sweetly. "I'm sure they'll love you there."

Yuu narrows his eyes in suspicion, Shinoa is never that nice. She's almost guaranteed to have something up her sleeve, he opens his mouth to interrogate her and the bell chimes, signaling the end of head back to their respective seats, but Yuu doesn't miss the amused looks people send back and forth between him and Shinoa's smirking face. He brushes it off though, figuring they're just as suspicious of Shinoa as he is.

It's not until they're deep into the next lesson and he uses his hand to prop himself up that he feels his hand slide across his face. Yuu glances down at the tinted smudges on his hand and freezes his shock. He has the fleeting thought that his skin is melting off before whipping out his phone to check his reflection. His face has several different colored shapes drawn on it, pink hearts, a tan stickman, and most noticeably what looks suspiciously like a red ball sack near his mouth.

Someone kicks his chair and he turns to see a classmate gesturing to Shinoa with his head. Shinoa's waving several tubes at him with a grin and it finally dawns on him what she did. "Shinoa! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Amane-san, out!" Yuu gapes at his teacher in surprise, but she steadfastly points at the door. "And wash your face too," she orders as he heads towards the exit. He makes sure to take a kick at Shinoa's desk on the way out, sending her phone clattering to the ground. "Amane-san!"

He holds up his hands placatingly, "Sorry!" But he smirks as he hears the teacher confiscate her phone, payback.

~~~~~
"Thanks a lot, Yuu-san!" Shinoa greets him with a kick to the shin after class.

"You drew a ball sack on my face!"

"So? You like dick, don't you?"

"You don't see me drawing a vagina on your face!"

"That's your choice, I wouldn't care."

Yuu makes a sound of frustration and Kimizuki cuts them both off. "Yo idiots, I don't have all damn afternoon. If we don't go now, I'm leaving."

"Don't leave, Kimizuki! We promised Yuu-san we'd go. I'm sure he'd be sad if you backed out, right Yuu-san?" He questions with a small smile in his direction.

Kimizuki glances at Yoichi and frowns, "Fine," he mutters.

"Then let's go!" Yuu yells, running ahead. "Hurry up, slowbros!"

A short train ride and some walking later, they're standing in front of the dojo and Yuu can barely contain his glee at the sign. "It's this weekend, guys!"

"Yes, we see that," Kimizuki states flatly.

"You guys are coming, right?!"

"No," Shinoa answers at the same time Yoichi says "Yes."

"Why not?"

"Yuu, we get you have a thing for martial arts right now, but what exactly is the purpose of going?"

"To watch them! And learn their skills, duh."

"That won't do you any good without lessons," Mitsuba reasons.

"I see all those chick flicks you and Shinoa like," Yuu points out.

"And you complain the whole time!"

"Well complain then, but come! I don't wanna be there all day alone."

Mitsuba sighs and looks around at the rest of their group, "Guys?"

"If Yuu promises to actually talk to one of the fighters, I'll come," Shinoa compromises.

"Deal!"

"Then I guess I'll go."

They look at Kimizuki, "If Yoichi does, I will."

"Consider yourself lucky you have such amazing friends."

"Suck it Shinoa, I do plenty for you guys. Just wait and see, I'm going to get strong enough to take them all out!" He shoots a look at Kimizuki, "Then I'll flatten you like a pancake! I'm just identifying my competition first."

"Oooh 'identifying,' that's a big word, though I doubt you even rank as 'competition' for anyone at that festival. So don't get your hopes up."

Yuu whirls around to see who the interloper is and spies three guys, one with black hair and one with purple, but his eyes narrow on the blonde one wearing the smirk. He has no doubt that's who insulted him. "I can! I'm almost a black belt, I can take you on right now!"

The blonde gives him a once over and laughs, "Don't get in over your head, kid."

"Maybe that's not such a good idea, Yuu-san," Yoichi whispers, tugging on his arm.

Yuu shakes him off and says louder over the sound of the interloper and his friends laughter, "I'm not a kid, I'm 18!"

"Not. A. Chance. I can still see the baby fat."

"Oh yeah? Let's go then! You scared?"

"Nope, I just don't wanna embarrass you in front of your friends. Why don't you go back to the sandbox?" His eyes fill with mirth as he watches the younger boy inflate with anger, green eyes glinting. He looks ready for a challenge, unfortunately it'd be too easy and he can't go around beating the shit out of kids right in front of his dojo.

Kimizuki grabs Yuu's arm before he can take another step, "I'm not carrying you home," he hisses.

"I can take him!"

He pats Yuu's head, "Listen to your friends." Yuu lunges and Kimizuki grabs his other arm.

"Alright Mika, stop harassing the kid."

"Do you have to take all my fun, Rene?"

"Yeah, let them fight," Lacus chimes in gleefully.

"Nah Rene is right," he admits, giving Yuu another once over, "We should get going. See ya."

"That's right, run away!"

Kimizuki smacks him in the back once they're out of sight, "Yuu, grow up!"

"What?"

"Stop antagonizing people!"

Yuu stares at him in disbelief, "Did we just see the same thing?! He started it!"

"Yeah, but-"

"He was pretty cute though," Shinoa comments, breaking up what could easily become a full blown fight.

"Shinoa, you can't like him!"

"I didn't say I liked him, I said he was pretty cute, which you would have noticed if you weren't so busy trying to fight him."

"I didn't want to notice!"

"Um...Shinoa, I think he was a bit too old for you," Yoichi comments.

Mitsuba agrees, "Yeah, he didn't look like he was in high school. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Calm down guys! I said he was cute, not that I was interested!" A glint appears in her eyes, "Don't tell me...are you jealous, Mitsuba?"

"I-I am not! I just.."

"Were you worried about me?"

"Stop saying everything like that!"

"Like what?"

Yuu gags and looks down when his phone chimes with a new youtube alert. "If you guys are gonna flirt, do it somewhere else. I'm heading home."

"Hah! You wouldn't know flirting to save your life!"

"Clearly, I just did."

"No, you're repeating what you heard Kimizuki say. You have no clue."

"But Shinoa, isn't everything learned from someone else?"

"Thank you Yoichi!"

He smiles warmly, "No problem Yuu-san."

"Oblivious!"

Yuu frowns at the purple haired girl, he doesn't have a clue what she's talking about, it's not like people flirt all the time, just her. He shrugs the confusion away and points at all of them, "Don't forget, this saturday!" He reminds before darting off, he's got a new video to watch.