Note: I am back! Hooray? Boo? Either way, here I am with another chapter
of TLM. I hope everyone is liking this so far. I love feedback as do most
if not all writers. Feel free to review! I don't own Gundam Wing.
Ultimate pairings are 1+2+1 3+4+3 and nothing else so far. That can be
subject to change. Right now, I have a bit of 2+rR (shudders) and possible
1+R (shudders again) and lots of small hints for 1+2+1. Quatre will enter
very soon! Then we get to have sweet 3+4+3 hints! Like I said, feedback
is awesome, but it's up to you! Hope you like this chapter!
Chapter Two
"Pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse!" Niemiec screamed loudly over the sharp clicks of the metronome to no avail. He buried his head in his hands, sighing heavily in frustration at the students fumbling through their sets. "Come on! Concentrate!"
'Stupid marchers! How fucking hard is it to do this?' Duo growled lowly underneath his breath at student's inept marching skills. 'Oh, my, God! That guy is WALKING?!' If he were allowed to, the trombone player would have most certainly fell over in amazement at that point. Violet eyes searched the members for a certain trumpet player marching perfectly, to save his sanity. Duo sighed in relief when he notice Heero marching with complete confidence, trumpet held immaculately still at attention. 'At least one new person is getting it right.'
Dark, Prussian blue eyes flickered over to meet the braided boy's amethyst ones with a nearly blank expression. 'I know.' His gazed roamed past the field at the feet wildly out of step and off of the pulse. 'How can they stray off tempo with THAT metronome going? They only joined marching band for the trip, didn't they?'
The trip Heero Yuy referred to was the one they had been collecting money for, to Southern California. It costs a hefty sum no doubt, but according to his calculations, which were nearly infallible, it price was a very good deal. This attracted forty-three new members to the group. Himself? He joined because of the rumored "Ladies' Man." 'Duo Maxwell... So he is the one spending so much time with Relena.' He must find out the other boy's motives.' Heero's personal beliefs were that Duo was nothing more than a shallow player.
'Relena, stay away from him. I don't want you getting hurt by that baka.' Relena was -- a friend, nothing more. He had been looking after the girl for a long time, and he saw past her facade of elegance to the woman beneath. He had seen the fun side of the person, not the serious, ironically popular girl with pretty looks yet a plain look about her. He was protective of that girl, and she was one of the only people that he would even consider a friend. That is among rarity itself.
Though they weren't supposed to just go on autopilot, Heero was still immersed into his own thoughts while marching. Somewhere along the way, they had relocked on to the tempo, continuing to run through that portion of their show. He didn't care. He had noticed that the drums had quieted down quite a bit, much to his amusement. Wufei, he played the quints as their section captain. He had calmed down since the new members got the hang of marching. Heero could recall the purplish look on the Chinese man's face and the vicious snarl twisted on his lips at the marchers' inability. He pounded the hell out of those drums in a brief mood of frustration, nearing the point of livid rage.
Heero began to pity his section. There was no question in mind that they would be paying big time for their little mistakes. He couldn't imagine caring that much about marching band. He only joined to watch out for Relena, whom was in color guard. He saw the young blonde out of the corner of his eye, almost wincing when her rifle made contact with another student's head. He had to admit that she wasn't exactly the best at marching, but at least she tried ... right?
The entire band locked on completely in sync at the very last note of the movement, dynamic and awesome was the sound and the statement of the abrupt move they pulled off. "Yes!" an ecstatic reply shot from the speakers. "Alright! Bring it all in, guys!"
Shouts sounded among the students, whoops of joy. Following his low brass duties, Duo took off in a sprint to the scaffolding. Yet again, he managed to crash into someone else. His sheepish gaze lifted to meet the sight of a scowling Wufei. He braced himself for the loud scream that would pierce the air.
"Maxwell!" Wufei fumed, glaring with menace at the braided youth.
'Eep ... Not another rant ... ' "Quiet Wufei! Alano is about to speak!" he quipped readily, enlarging his cobalt eyes. His entire attitude shifted as he noticed a certain color guard blonde walking in his direction. He gave an adorable, irresistible grin, "Hey, Relena!" He swung an arm around the girl's shoulders, met with no objection.
"Hello, Duo," she greeted in return with her own smile. "I don't see how you can stand wearing all that black in this heat!" she commented in an alarming tone.
The braided teenager laughed, "Yeah, it is really hot out here, isn't it?"
"You just noticed that?" Another voice interjected dryly.
Slight annoyance crossed his impish face. 'Who the Hell do you think you are?' He whirled around to face the impassive face of Heero. Silver trumpet gleaming in the bright sun, the Japanese boy promptly fired a smirk. And Duo's facial expression completely changed in surprise. Heero raised an eyebrow in expectation.
"Yeah!" The amethyst-eyed American chuckled. "I can be a little slow sometimes."
'He is charismatic. I can understand how he can get so many women, but Relena? She should be more intelligent to fall for his charms. Unless he is actually serious about her, she needs to stay away. Why won't she listen to me?' Heero carefully scrutinized the pair. Duo was teasing Relena, twirling a strand of dark blonde hair.
"Hn! Onnas!" Wufei grumbled behind the Prussian-eyed teenager.
"Hai," Heero agreed absentmindedly with the Chinese drummer. Prussian eyes tore away from the sad sight of the braided youth and the color guard girl conversing lively together to face the black-haired boy. "So, how's band camp going for you so far?" he inquired in his usual, quiet manner.
Rolling obsidian eyes, Wufei began to prattle, "If you REALLY want to know - it's been Hell. Those, stupid freshman can't march shit! They are so weak! Fidgeting at attention!" he snorted quite loudly and mimicked a whiny voice, "But I'm hot!"
The trumpet player promptly granted him a smirk, "Yeah, they are weak."
"We're all hot, damn it! It's called self discipline!" he sternly whacked a drum stick against the side of his quints. "Have you seen them mark time?" the percussionist continued quickly. "They literally bounce side-to-side! Bounce!"
"I'm well aware of their incompetence, Wufei," Heero stated in a dry tone, a small hint of amusement glimmering beneath pools of midnight blue. "Marching is really not very difficult."
"Ha!" the Chinese teenager laughed. "What a surprise, Yuy. This coming from Mr. Perfect?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Trowa Barton, with flute in hand had silently crept up behind the pair. Neither were startled by his quiet voice and merely turned to greet the normally silent boy.
"How badly people are doing," summing up the entire conversation in those five words, Heero's gaze once again flicked back to Duo and Relena.
"That reminds me," dark eyes narrowing, Wufei began to silently sneak toward the blonde girl in an almost predatory stance. "I recall a certain, stupid onna whacking me on the head with her rifle . " He gave a smirk, "Excuse me."
"Worried about her?" Trowa asked as he glanced back at the remaining teenager. "Aa," he admitted, a tidbit of frustration making an entrance to his tone of voice. Even without the verbal aid, anyone could have seen the same thing in his eyes when he watched them.
"Tried talking to her?"
"Everything," the trumpeter murmured. "She's not one to listen. Maybe Wufei's right about her being too stupid," he smirked again.
"He tends to exaggerate, but he might be on to something here," Trowa agreed. "Ask her out," he turned neutrally back to face the shorter teen.
"Nani?" a look of mild surprise chased his features, but everyone who knew him instantly recognized it as unkempt shock. "I don't like her that way, Trowa," he argued.
An elusive smirk fleeted across the flutist's expression for a brief moment, "No one said you had to . " he remarked before exiting the scene flawlessly. 'Just to keep him away,' he added in silence that he knew the other must have heard and understood.
Cocking an eyebrow in curiosity, Duo stole another peek at the mysterious, Japanese marcher. 'What could they be talking about? I need to get to know that guy, and the sooner, the better,' he decided firmly. 'I did hear Relena's name though. Huh, weird.' The braided American shrugged internally and resumed to flirt with the Peacecraft girl. 'So Heero thinks I'm a charmer, huh? He ain't seen nothing yet. He probably thinks I'm a player, too. Well, he's wrong about that part.'
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Ms. Trunks- Hey! How are you? I'm about to fall asleep on the keyboard. I thought I should get this chapter out before I get swamped with work again. I hope you liked this addition to the story. It's going to get interesting. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My Internet wasn't working for one, and the other is the fact that I'm up to my neck in homework, marching band, concert band, etc. Doesn't that sound just great? Well, thank you so much for the review!
Lost In Smiling Eyes- Hey! Yeah, I was so happy to see a review on this from you. It's nice to know that readers of my fics also check out my other ones. I think I'm going to have so much fun with this one. I just acquired some rather interesting information two days ago about "Duo," which is making my wheels turn, so to speak. I really hope you enjoyed this part. It'll get more interesting as we go along. Thanks a lot for the review!
ShadeAngel- Hi! Thank you very much for giving me a review! I'm so glad you like it so far. It'll get more interesting. Beginnings to multi-parts for me are usual not as interesting until you get into it. Yeah, I didn't think a Ladies' Man would be in marching band either, and yet there is proof right in front of my eyes. Not right now, but you know what I mean. He's an interesting character, no doubt. American Pie? You have no idea how many associations I get for being in marching band. It's kind of funny to say "one time at band camp . " We tell our own stories though. I feel insulted sometimes that people would use that as a joke. And you guessed right, American Pie is of no relation to this fic, but marching band will be and stuff like that.
Nanashi- A loyal reader? I feel so special! Hi! Thanks so much yet again for a review! I'm really happy that you think this is a keeper. I'm making it up as I go along, too, so don't mind that part. It's getting intriguing though. Duo's not a player? Whatever could that mean? My theory about him and not "Duo" is going to come up eventually. Sorry for the long wait! Thank goodness for mailing lists. I feel not so guilty now.
SilverShinigami- Hey hun! How are you? Sorry I haven' emailed you in so long. I'm not in an emailing mood. I had to force myself to sit down and write my English teacher back after like five days of her email sitting in my Inbox. And did I rant? You bet I did! ^_^ You know how I enjoy doing that. In some ways, we're all strangely like Wufei. Maybe I'm just too tired. And I'm glad you know what I'm talking about. I'll work on POW, promise. And I'll work on this, too. Thanks for answering my poll on that one. I think everyone's answers helped in picking out instruments. Raining? Aww! Marching in the rain is fun until it starts to pour, and you're out there shivering. When you get in the school, it's like getting - let's not spoil that. I'm sure most can guess though! And yeah, it sounded like a load of fun. Good luck with band and volleyball! Thanks so much for the review!
LB- Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate the support. This will get better as we go along like POW. I pretty much think I was on drugs (figuratively) for the beginning part of that fic. I guess I read it a few too many times. No serious marching bands? *Gasps* That would be really weird for me. Sorry for such a long wait.
Diane- Ooh, another transferred reader! It's great to get a review from you, so thank you very much! And the Duo being trombone player part was purely because of real-life "Duo." It makes it more funny that way. Our low brass has interesting traditions and so forth. Hot trumpet players? Sounds interesting especially since I would be in that section. I just saw Heero as a trumpeter for some reason. Maybe it's the reason I started to play trumpet. *Shrugs* You never know! I'll definitely work on POW. Don't worry!
Loz- Hey! And that "hey" was partly for greeting and partly for the mini- mace-sama. Not a very nice thing to do but I probably did deserve it. I'll continue to diligently work on POW, not to worry! I'm sorry for such a long wait on both of them. I didn't expect so much work along with everything else. I'm glad I don't have a job. I wouldn't be able to do it all! Thanks a lot for the review! I hope to talk to you soon again!
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I'm too tired to really talk, so here goes!
Mailing List- As some of you know, I've started a mailing list of when I update. It's still up for grabs by anyone. I'll just need your email address and a name to call you by on the list! Anyone actually wants to be part of it, go right ahead.
Another chapter is done! It's getting more interesting as we get more involved. People are still with me on this, right? Oh well! Looks like I'll be keeping this fic. I would really love a review, but of course, it's up to you! Ciao!
Chapter Two
"Pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse!" Niemiec screamed loudly over the sharp clicks of the metronome to no avail. He buried his head in his hands, sighing heavily in frustration at the students fumbling through their sets. "Come on! Concentrate!"
'Stupid marchers! How fucking hard is it to do this?' Duo growled lowly underneath his breath at student's inept marching skills. 'Oh, my, God! That guy is WALKING?!' If he were allowed to, the trombone player would have most certainly fell over in amazement at that point. Violet eyes searched the members for a certain trumpet player marching perfectly, to save his sanity. Duo sighed in relief when he notice Heero marching with complete confidence, trumpet held immaculately still at attention. 'At least one new person is getting it right.'
Dark, Prussian blue eyes flickered over to meet the braided boy's amethyst ones with a nearly blank expression. 'I know.' His gazed roamed past the field at the feet wildly out of step and off of the pulse. 'How can they stray off tempo with THAT metronome going? They only joined marching band for the trip, didn't they?'
The trip Heero Yuy referred to was the one they had been collecting money for, to Southern California. It costs a hefty sum no doubt, but according to his calculations, which were nearly infallible, it price was a very good deal. This attracted forty-three new members to the group. Himself? He joined because of the rumored "Ladies' Man." 'Duo Maxwell... So he is the one spending so much time with Relena.' He must find out the other boy's motives.' Heero's personal beliefs were that Duo was nothing more than a shallow player.
'Relena, stay away from him. I don't want you getting hurt by that baka.' Relena was -- a friend, nothing more. He had been looking after the girl for a long time, and he saw past her facade of elegance to the woman beneath. He had seen the fun side of the person, not the serious, ironically popular girl with pretty looks yet a plain look about her. He was protective of that girl, and she was one of the only people that he would even consider a friend. That is among rarity itself.
Though they weren't supposed to just go on autopilot, Heero was still immersed into his own thoughts while marching. Somewhere along the way, they had relocked on to the tempo, continuing to run through that portion of their show. He didn't care. He had noticed that the drums had quieted down quite a bit, much to his amusement. Wufei, he played the quints as their section captain. He had calmed down since the new members got the hang of marching. Heero could recall the purplish look on the Chinese man's face and the vicious snarl twisted on his lips at the marchers' inability. He pounded the hell out of those drums in a brief mood of frustration, nearing the point of livid rage.
Heero began to pity his section. There was no question in mind that they would be paying big time for their little mistakes. He couldn't imagine caring that much about marching band. He only joined to watch out for Relena, whom was in color guard. He saw the young blonde out of the corner of his eye, almost wincing when her rifle made contact with another student's head. He had to admit that she wasn't exactly the best at marching, but at least she tried ... right?
The entire band locked on completely in sync at the very last note of the movement, dynamic and awesome was the sound and the statement of the abrupt move they pulled off. "Yes!" an ecstatic reply shot from the speakers. "Alright! Bring it all in, guys!"
Shouts sounded among the students, whoops of joy. Following his low brass duties, Duo took off in a sprint to the scaffolding. Yet again, he managed to crash into someone else. His sheepish gaze lifted to meet the sight of a scowling Wufei. He braced himself for the loud scream that would pierce the air.
"Maxwell!" Wufei fumed, glaring with menace at the braided youth.
'Eep ... Not another rant ... ' "Quiet Wufei! Alano is about to speak!" he quipped readily, enlarging his cobalt eyes. His entire attitude shifted as he noticed a certain color guard blonde walking in his direction. He gave an adorable, irresistible grin, "Hey, Relena!" He swung an arm around the girl's shoulders, met with no objection.
"Hello, Duo," she greeted in return with her own smile. "I don't see how you can stand wearing all that black in this heat!" she commented in an alarming tone.
The braided teenager laughed, "Yeah, it is really hot out here, isn't it?"
"You just noticed that?" Another voice interjected dryly.
Slight annoyance crossed his impish face. 'Who the Hell do you think you are?' He whirled around to face the impassive face of Heero. Silver trumpet gleaming in the bright sun, the Japanese boy promptly fired a smirk. And Duo's facial expression completely changed in surprise. Heero raised an eyebrow in expectation.
"Yeah!" The amethyst-eyed American chuckled. "I can be a little slow sometimes."
'He is charismatic. I can understand how he can get so many women, but Relena? She should be more intelligent to fall for his charms. Unless he is actually serious about her, she needs to stay away. Why won't she listen to me?' Heero carefully scrutinized the pair. Duo was teasing Relena, twirling a strand of dark blonde hair.
"Hn! Onnas!" Wufei grumbled behind the Prussian-eyed teenager.
"Hai," Heero agreed absentmindedly with the Chinese drummer. Prussian eyes tore away from the sad sight of the braided youth and the color guard girl conversing lively together to face the black-haired boy. "So, how's band camp going for you so far?" he inquired in his usual, quiet manner.
Rolling obsidian eyes, Wufei began to prattle, "If you REALLY want to know - it's been Hell. Those, stupid freshman can't march shit! They are so weak! Fidgeting at attention!" he snorted quite loudly and mimicked a whiny voice, "But I'm hot!"
The trumpet player promptly granted him a smirk, "Yeah, they are weak."
"We're all hot, damn it! It's called self discipline!" he sternly whacked a drum stick against the side of his quints. "Have you seen them mark time?" the percussionist continued quickly. "They literally bounce side-to-side! Bounce!"
"I'm well aware of their incompetence, Wufei," Heero stated in a dry tone, a small hint of amusement glimmering beneath pools of midnight blue. "Marching is really not very difficult."
"Ha!" the Chinese teenager laughed. "What a surprise, Yuy. This coming from Mr. Perfect?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Trowa Barton, with flute in hand had silently crept up behind the pair. Neither were startled by his quiet voice and merely turned to greet the normally silent boy.
"How badly people are doing," summing up the entire conversation in those five words, Heero's gaze once again flicked back to Duo and Relena.
"That reminds me," dark eyes narrowing, Wufei began to silently sneak toward the blonde girl in an almost predatory stance. "I recall a certain, stupid onna whacking me on the head with her rifle . " He gave a smirk, "Excuse me."
"Worried about her?" Trowa asked as he glanced back at the remaining teenager. "Aa," he admitted, a tidbit of frustration making an entrance to his tone of voice. Even without the verbal aid, anyone could have seen the same thing in his eyes when he watched them.
"Tried talking to her?"
"Everything," the trumpeter murmured. "She's not one to listen. Maybe Wufei's right about her being too stupid," he smirked again.
"He tends to exaggerate, but he might be on to something here," Trowa agreed. "Ask her out," he turned neutrally back to face the shorter teen.
"Nani?" a look of mild surprise chased his features, but everyone who knew him instantly recognized it as unkempt shock. "I don't like her that way, Trowa," he argued.
An elusive smirk fleeted across the flutist's expression for a brief moment, "No one said you had to . " he remarked before exiting the scene flawlessly. 'Just to keep him away,' he added in silence that he knew the other must have heard and understood.
Cocking an eyebrow in curiosity, Duo stole another peek at the mysterious, Japanese marcher. 'What could they be talking about? I need to get to know that guy, and the sooner, the better,' he decided firmly. 'I did hear Relena's name though. Huh, weird.' The braided American shrugged internally and resumed to flirt with the Peacecraft girl. 'So Heero thinks I'm a charmer, huh? He ain't seen nothing yet. He probably thinks I'm a player, too. Well, he's wrong about that part.'
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Ms. Trunks- Hey! How are you? I'm about to fall asleep on the keyboard. I thought I should get this chapter out before I get swamped with work again. I hope you liked this addition to the story. It's going to get interesting. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My Internet wasn't working for one, and the other is the fact that I'm up to my neck in homework, marching band, concert band, etc. Doesn't that sound just great? Well, thank you so much for the review!
Lost In Smiling Eyes- Hey! Yeah, I was so happy to see a review on this from you. It's nice to know that readers of my fics also check out my other ones. I think I'm going to have so much fun with this one. I just acquired some rather interesting information two days ago about "Duo," which is making my wheels turn, so to speak. I really hope you enjoyed this part. It'll get more interesting as we go along. Thanks a lot for the review!
ShadeAngel- Hi! Thank you very much for giving me a review! I'm so glad you like it so far. It'll get more interesting. Beginnings to multi-parts for me are usual not as interesting until you get into it. Yeah, I didn't think a Ladies' Man would be in marching band either, and yet there is proof right in front of my eyes. Not right now, but you know what I mean. He's an interesting character, no doubt. American Pie? You have no idea how many associations I get for being in marching band. It's kind of funny to say "one time at band camp . " We tell our own stories though. I feel insulted sometimes that people would use that as a joke. And you guessed right, American Pie is of no relation to this fic, but marching band will be and stuff like that.
Nanashi- A loyal reader? I feel so special! Hi! Thanks so much yet again for a review! I'm really happy that you think this is a keeper. I'm making it up as I go along, too, so don't mind that part. It's getting intriguing though. Duo's not a player? Whatever could that mean? My theory about him and not "Duo" is going to come up eventually. Sorry for the long wait! Thank goodness for mailing lists. I feel not so guilty now.
SilverShinigami- Hey hun! How are you? Sorry I haven' emailed you in so long. I'm not in an emailing mood. I had to force myself to sit down and write my English teacher back after like five days of her email sitting in my Inbox. And did I rant? You bet I did! ^_^ You know how I enjoy doing that. In some ways, we're all strangely like Wufei. Maybe I'm just too tired. And I'm glad you know what I'm talking about. I'll work on POW, promise. And I'll work on this, too. Thanks for answering my poll on that one. I think everyone's answers helped in picking out instruments. Raining? Aww! Marching in the rain is fun until it starts to pour, and you're out there shivering. When you get in the school, it's like getting - let's not spoil that. I'm sure most can guess though! And yeah, it sounded like a load of fun. Good luck with band and volleyball! Thanks so much for the review!
LB- Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate the support. This will get better as we go along like POW. I pretty much think I was on drugs (figuratively) for the beginning part of that fic. I guess I read it a few too many times. No serious marching bands? *Gasps* That would be really weird for me. Sorry for such a long wait.
Diane- Ooh, another transferred reader! It's great to get a review from you, so thank you very much! And the Duo being trombone player part was purely because of real-life "Duo." It makes it more funny that way. Our low brass has interesting traditions and so forth. Hot trumpet players? Sounds interesting especially since I would be in that section. I just saw Heero as a trumpeter for some reason. Maybe it's the reason I started to play trumpet. *Shrugs* You never know! I'll definitely work on POW. Don't worry!
Loz- Hey! And that "hey" was partly for greeting and partly for the mini- mace-sama. Not a very nice thing to do but I probably did deserve it. I'll continue to diligently work on POW, not to worry! I'm sorry for such a long wait on both of them. I didn't expect so much work along with everything else. I'm glad I don't have a job. I wouldn't be able to do it all! Thanks a lot for the review! I hope to talk to you soon again!
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I'm too tired to really talk, so here goes!
Mailing List- As some of you know, I've started a mailing list of when I update. It's still up for grabs by anyone. I'll just need your email address and a name to call you by on the list! Anyone actually wants to be part of it, go right ahead.
Another chapter is done! It's getting more interesting as we get more involved. People are still with me on this, right? Oh well! Looks like I'll be keeping this fic. I would really love a review, but of course, it's up to you! Ciao!