Sorry about the long time between updates. I thought summer break would mean I'd get more fic done; so far, it's just meant more being a complete lazy bum.
Anyway, thanks to all my wonderful reviewers: kate (I know about Catherine and Trowa, but since this is an AU, I felt I could alter that; I prefer keeping his name Trowa Barton), SilverShinigami, silvereyes78, MissyIrene, Sparda219 (Okay, okay, put the gun down, slowly... And I agree about Relena; she's not as bad as most people make her out to be), akasha, and Nekocin (Nope, I plan to draw it out and torture Q, that all right w/you? :) ). Glad you all are enjoying it enough for me to continue! Here's chapter 2 for y'all, enjoy! :)
A Change in Routine
by ReySolo
~~~~~~~
"Come on, Quat, it's not as bad as you think."
"No," I pout, crossing my hands over my chest and feeling like a five-year-old. Still, I'm not stepping out of this bathroom stall dressed like this.
"Cathy's gonna make us do a million laps if we're late," Duo warns.
"You go ahead, then," I suggest seriously. "I'll change and meet you out there."
"You're not changing! Look, everybody has a leotard, what's the big deal?" Duo sounds like he's starting to get annoyed.
I feel bad, but I'm not giving in. "The big deal is that I look stupid! Everybody else looks normal in these." I've been going to gymnastics for two weeks now, and rather enjoying it. Since I'd decided to continue, Cathy told me she'd order a uniform for me. Of course, I had to pay, but she had connections with some company to get a good one for pretty cheap. I didn't realize that she planned on choosing the color, so I got this blue-green thing that I'm wearing now. It actually seemed okay until I put it on, but now all I want to do is take it off.
"Actually, I don't think Dorothy will ever look normal until she changes those eyebrows. And Trowa's bangs--I think they must in some way help with his balance or something, but you gotta admit, they aren't exactly normal..."
"I'm going to change now." I start to pull off the leotard.
"Oh, no, you're not. I'll come in there under the stall door if you don't open it in three seconds," he states in all seriousness.
My eyes widen. I'd say he's bluffing, but Duo doesn't lie.
"One..."
"Duo..." I plead.
"Two..."
I quickly pull the leotard back on fully.
"Three!"
I open the stall, to see Duo drop onto his hands and knees, about to crawl under the door.
He looks up at me, eyes going wide, and whistles. "Wow, Quat. Why'd you want to look normal, when you look like that?"
I blush, looking away. He has to be saying that to make me feel better, since I know he's seen Trowa and Wufei, who look way better than I do.
"I mean it, Quat," he says seriously, as if he were reading my mind. "You look great."
I shrug, still not meeting his eyes.
"Can we go in, now?"
Nodding, I pick up my clothes. Guess I'll just have to accept this.
~~~~~~~
Walking back to the room, we pass the exercise and work-out machines, as always. Unlike always, however, there's a muscular Japanese guy in a green tank top and black spandex shorts working out on one of the weight machines. I simply note that I haven't seen him before, then continue on. Duo, on the other hand, keeps his gaze on the guy until his head can't crane any farther back. When we reach the door, he finally turns his head back to look at me.
"Wow," he says, eyes wide.
I pretend to look jealous. "I thought I was 'Wow.'"
He rolls his eyes. "I thought you didn't want me looking at you that way. Besides, you're 'Wow, cute sexy boy.' He was 'Wow, intensely hot vision of utter manliness.'"
It's my turn to roll my eyes. "Sounds like somebody has a crush..."
"Do not... He just had a nice body... A very nice body..." His eyes wander back to the boy in question.
I sigh exaggeratedly, then head into the room. I'm not going to do laps for being late because of Duo drooling over the guy.
After another few seconds he comes in after me, and we get lined up before Cathy can scold us for being late.
Later, we line up to practice new vaulting styles. I've gotten slightly better, though I still feel rather self-conscious. I watch Trowa gracefully vault before me. Then I take my turn, just managing to remain on my feet after landing. When I get back in line behind him, Trowa whispers to me, "That color goes well with your eyes."
My eyes widen, and I manage to get out a "thank you." I can feel my cheeks burning, glad he turned back to wait for his next turn so he wouldn't see my blush.
Why did that comment affect me so much? No, I will not let myself get a crush on somebody on the team. I can look, but I don't want to actually get into the emotional commitment of a crush, only to find out they're straight or taken or something anyway.
But I guess I don't really mind my new leotard so much after all...
~~~~~~~
For the next several weeks, I keep going to gymnastics. I attend every practice, Tuesday through Friday. More and more, I start to really enjoy hanging out with the people. Dorothy and Relena always have a constant friendly bickering contest going on. Wufei will occasionally rant about how weak somebody is, or the injustice of some new technique Cathy makes us try. Cathy isn't actually as strict as she first seems, and even shows a sense of humor occasionally, though she does make us work hard. Noin talks about Zechs a lot, but it's not too bad, because then we also get embarrassing stories from Relena about when he was younger. Hilde and Duo both crack jokes all the time, sometimes breaking our concentration, but we enjoy it anyway.
Trowa... Trowa confuses me.
He isn't really as quiet as Duo and the others make him out to be. Occasionally, he'll make some sarcastic comment or something, but I think I'm the only one who hears them. Half the time I look at him to see if I was just imagining his voice, and he'll just have an expressionless face, but a sort of amused twinkle in his eye. Actually, it's kind of cute, and he does have really nice eyes... Stop. I told myself I'm not getting a crush, and I mean it.
Speaking of crushes, ever since that one day, the Japanese guy is almost always at the athletic center working out. And Duo always stares at him. Either the guy is incredibly unobservant, or he's really good at hiding the fact that he notices the attention. I think this fixation is starting to become unhealthy--I mean, Duo's stopped flirting with anyone else. Not that I really mind that he stopped flirting with me, but... I wish he'd either go talk to the guy, or give it up already.
But really, I do enjoy gymnastics now a lot more than I ever thought I would. I'm feeling a lot more confident about my abilities, and I even go when Duo sometimes can't make it. (He's a Space Science major, and occasionally has to observe some special star at night.) Before, I would only go if he went, but now I enjoy it even without the support of my roommate.
And it has nothing to do with the fact that Trowa's hot. Nothing.
Okay, fine. Maybe a little. But not just that.
So there.
~~~~~~~
"So how was gymnastics today?" Duo asks as he enters our dorm room after observing late one night.
I look up from my homework, grinning. "It was great. Dorothy was fake flirting with Relena when spotting her on the uneven bars, and Relena got startled and fell. Dorothy caught her, but happened to have her tongue out since she was attempting to look seductive, so she bit her tongue."
Duo laughs. "Damn, wish I could've been there. I'll have to tease them about it tomorrow."
I grin. "I expected nothing less. Actually, Trowa made a comment, too, about lesbian gymnasts and... yeah." I don't really want to repeat it, but it was hilarious at the time.
My roommate looks at me funny. "You always tell me about strange things Trowa says. I swear, I never hear more than three words out of the guy's mouth in a week. You sure you're not hearing things?"
I half-glare at him. "Trowa's hilarious; you just have to listen."
He looks seriously at me for once. "You like him, don't you? As in, like him."
Opening my mouth to deny it, I find myself not wanting to do so. Instead, I nod slowly.
"I knew it!" Duo grins at me, and I can't help but start to smile back. "Come on, Quat, there's nothing wrong with that! You two'd make a cute couple!"
I shrug, not wanting to get my hopes up. "Yeah, if he even liked me."
"Sure he likes you! Who wouldn't? You're adorable!"
I sigh. "You know what I mean. What are the chances that he even likes guys like that?"
"He's on the gymnastics team."
"So is Wufei," I point out.
"The ultimate woman-hater? Ten bucks says he's gay."
"You're on."
"You're changing the subject--what about Trowa? You never know until you ask, right?"
"That's a great idea," I state sarcastically. "I'll just go up to him and say, 'Hey, Trowa, I think you're hot. Any chance you're gay? Cuz then maybe we could go have hot passionate sex after class sometime.'"
Duo looks shocked--and possibly proud? "Geez, Quat, I didn't know I'd corrupted your innocent little mind that much."
I shake my head. "You didn't... Trowa did..." I vaguely realize how illogical that sounds, but I can't help it.
Duo shook his head, an affectionate grin on his face. "You really like him, don't you?"
"Yeah..." Now that I've fully admitted it to my best friend, I find myself more willing to consider the possibility myself. Could Trowa and I really...? But what if I'm just setting myself up for rejection?
"Well, I meant what I said earlier. You should talk to him. Not necessarily about sexual preferences, just about... stuff. Get to know him better."
"Like you've done with that Japanese guy at the athletic center you're always lusting after?"
"That's different. And anyway, you're changing the subject again." I can tell that I've effectively changed his line of thought, too, as his eyes go out of focus. The slight smile on his otherwise vacant expression tells me he's definitely thinking about the object of his fantasies.
"How is that different?"
He looks at me again. "It just is. You at least know his name. You're in a club with him. You have reason to approach him and try to at least be his friend."
I liked it better when the pressure was on Duo. "I... I guess..."
"Just try to talk to him tomorrow, okay?"
I shrug. Talk to Trowa...? I guess Duo's right; I won't know until I try.
~~~~~~~
To Be Continued...
Hopefully, part 3 will be up sooner, but more reviews are more likely to speed me up! :)
