3

Duo boarded the bus taking the seat that he had appropriated as his own. A few stops later Hilde sat down in front of him, she road the bus Monday through Wednesday. Those were the days when she was at her mom's. Duo chatted with Hilde while waiting for Trowa and Cat to be picked up. When they arrived at school they split to their class rooms.

Duo had come to greatly enjoy his homeroom. The supervising teacher didn't care what they did as long as they didn't burn down the school building or kill each other. So there were daily chess tournaments, people read, argued, and did all manner of things. Duo didn't like chess much, but he and Wufei had taken to playing cards with Hilde and Rick sometimes joining in.

After homeroom Duo went to math. He was learning quickly. Math didn't always make sense to him, but now he had help. Trowa and Cat certainly seemed to be mathematicians, and both of them were in his group. Duo's second favorite class was probably Science. Duo liked to do things with his hands. He understood when he could feel and see something in action. Duo didn't like English very much. The teacher made it interesting and he liked the debates, but remembering dates and times and stories no matter how important or funny they were, he just couldn't do. But he was with his friends and Cat liked history, and Heero, who barely spoke, was as academic as one could get. Heero was a really interesting guy. He didn't talk much, but when he did you listened because he was a pretty bright bulb. Heero watched things. He wasn't a wallflower really; he had an air about him that almost repelled other people. Duo was still undaunted. He and Heero were now partners in PE. Of course, Duo guessed that his company was not appreciated. Up until now Heero had been the odd man out, able to get away without having a partner. But Duo could keep up with Heero, and he knew enough to control his runaway mouth.

Art was Duo's favorite class. He really got into photography. He had taken to carrying his camera wherever he went. But they only had art every other day. Language was on the other days. Duo was taking Spanish because he had once been in a foster family that had spoken Spanish fluently and Duo had been interested to learn the language. Language was certainly not Duo's favorite class. He put up with it because he needed it to graduate, and he was remotely interested.

At lunches Duo sat with the gang. He chatted with Cat about everything, movies, books, odds and ends. He talked with Hilde about car parts and computers and how to put things back together. He talked, or ranted, with Wufei about politics, bands and books. And he watched Heero. After the first few weeks Duo found himself really wanting to know more about the other boy. He was getting to know all of his other friends, but Heero just didn't seem to open up. Duo wondered why he was so shy, if shyness was the thing. Maybe he was just an introvert. He was never rude or mean, at least not on purpose. He just glowered from behind that laptop and ignored the rest of the world except for the occasional conversation with Wufei or quiet chat with Trowa. Duo stuck watching Heero into his schedule and decided to leave figuring out the boy for later.

In the afternoons Duo joined the sports crowd. He tried out for both soccer and cross country. He got on both teams. He decided to go for cross-country because it fit into his schedule best. His new foster mother and father both worked late on cross-country days so it would be one day less home alone. There were kids he had know who would have certainly gone for the soccer and blew off their parents, but Duo felt that he had to spend as much time as possible with whichever guardians were watching over him. Maybe it was the fact that there had been so many and they had all gone so quickly. He didn't know. So after school he found himself putting on a pair of running shorts and jogging out to the track. The school had a track that wound around the full complex, there was a middle school, high school, and elementary, as well as a playing field and the track ran around all of this. Duo bent over, stretching, putting his arms behind his head and standing on one leg to stretch his quads. After stretching the team ran the track, starting with a light jog and increasing. They practiced relays and sometimes even sprinting. He learned how to run hills, when to make sure his knees were higher, kicks and other forms of running. Duo enjoyed it. He had always liked running.

There were late busses for those who did sports and Duo boarded one of them after practice. He sagged against the seat. Even if he did enjoy running it was exhausting. He did his homework on the bus since he was the only one of his friends riding the late bus home on those days. Life was falling into a pretty good routine. Except for one small bit. Duo had always been good at making friends easily; he was on a first name basis with most of the people at school. That is, all but Heero. Heero was the enigma. That drove Duo nuts. It wasn't that Heero was mean or anything, he just discouraged, that was an understatement, people getting to know him better. Duo was only in a class with him twice. They didn't talk in P.E., though Duo learned a lot about Heero's physical capabilities. The guy could run fast for hours if he had to, Duo was sure. Duo usually had no problem keeping up in P.E. He had always had a gift for being physically fit, but with Heero as a partner Duo was quickly learning that just being fit wasn't enough. Duo was not about to slow down and look weak. In English Heero was mainly silent, as he was in all classes. He seemed to just sit and absorb the information, nothing more, and nothing less. So Duo would talk with Trowa and Cat. They were probably his best friends. Cat and Duo had started hanging out on weekends as well. Trowa was often there, because Cat was, of course. They would go bowling or hiking, if it wasn't raining, or just sit and talk. Duo had confided in Cat his interest in Heero. Cat furrowed his brow thinking, gave Duo a long look and sighed. Duo quirked an eyebrow,

"What?"

"Just thinking."

"I only want to get to know him a bit better, I mean I talk with everybody, but he doesn't talk back, it's like he's a rock or something. I've seen him hanging out with Trowa and Wufei too sometimes, I was just wondering what you knew about him." Duo shrugged, "That's all." Cat smiled, eyes twinkling. Duo didn't know what Cat thought but he put on one of his grins and played along.

"Could we invite him over, or have Trowa invite him. The four of us could go do something together, you know?"

Cat's expression was almost a kind and gentle smirk, if there could be such a thing, "Like a double date?"

"Not exactly, but yeah." Duo nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

It turned out that the weekend was a nice one; the sun was out, it wasn't deathly hot, but warm enough to go swimming. When Cat suggested that one, Duo almost choked. Swimming, with Cat sure, Trowa okay, but with Heero? Duo immediately tried to beg off, but Cat was having none of it. Heero remained stonily silent and Trowa just stood behind Cat with a kind, encouraging half smile. In the end Duo gave in. Swimming.

The lake was about a half hours drive. Cat's older sister said she would drive them, so they all piled into her car and she smiled and chatted lightly with Trowa and Cat, Duo staring out the window and chiming in every so often. Heero, across the car, sat in mute silence watching the trees slide past. It was a very pretty lake, clear, sparkling blue water and a tree with a rope swing that hung out over part of it, there was a small beach and grassy banks. The water though wasn't the warmest, the first foot or so on the surface was nice but the deeper water went from mild to icy. Cat's sister spread out a blanket and lay down with a paperback to read while the boys went swimming. Cat immediately striped down to his swim trunks and ran towards the water, splashing and jumping about like a young child. He squealed at the cold, losing his balance and falling over into the shallows. He beckoned, laughing and Trowa acquiesced, joining his boyfriend with less fanfare and splashing, wading out past Cat and then sinking down till the water reached his chin, then slowly beginning to swim this way and that, lazily. Duo watched a bit, and then decided he would have to go in as well. He took off his sweatshirt, shivering at the light wind. Clad in just his swim trunks he walked over to the tree. Duo sized it up. It would hold his weight. He scampered along the limb to the rope swing, unwinding it till it was free and long enough to barely skim the water, and then he pulled it back and climbed on. Jumping off the branch to swing out over the water, letting go at the high point of the arc and closing his eyes as the water closed over his head with a tremendous splash.

Duo came to the surface, shaking water and bangs out of his eyes, to the sound of Cat's clapping and laughter. Duo gave a mock half bow in the water, treading, his feet couldn't touch the bottom this far out. Duo swam over to Cat. Heero had quietly joined them at some point during Duo's dramatic entrance, and he was now going about swimming in much the way he did everything else, not for fun but for maximum utility. He was doing a perfect crawl stroke and heading out across the lake. It wasn't large but it would certainly be exercise.

Cat watched Duo's eyes following Heero out over the lake,

"Doesn't know how to have fun. We should distract him when he gets back, otherwise he'll be at it the whole afternoon." Duo answered with a slight, preoccupied, nod.

"Nice form though," Quatre grinned evilly. Duo turned wide eyes over to Cat.

"I'm talking about the swimming, Duo. But if I didn't have Trowa… Well, Heero's not really my type, but you can't deny he's attractive. Come to think of it, if Trowa wasn't around I might be hitting on you!"

"Thanks but no thanks. I'm flattered though." Duo smiled, he knew that Cat was joking, but even so, the people here were so different from those at his old school, his old friends. But what would they really think. What would Heero think? Anyways he didn't really like Heero that way. Duo didn't like anybody that way. Whenever Duo liked someone they all went away.

"Come on Duo, loosen up a bit!" Cat was talking and Duo focused in on him, away from his thoughts, "Love is love right. Anyway friends are for telling secret crushes too, so then they can go play match maker. That's what Wufei did for Trowa and I." The idea of Wufei as a matchmaker was so comical that Duo started laughing,

"No way, not Wu-man, you're kidding right."

Trowa swam over. "No, seriously. He came up to me one day and said, 'I have decided that I am sick and tired of two of my best friends acting like the other is an atomic bomb because they like each other so much. Get it, He likes You, and You like Him. Now I expect you to be going out by next week, or at least have talked to each other about it or else I'll be driven screaming mad by all of this unresolved tension.' He had just given the same talk to Cat, so when he pushed me out into the hall Cat was standing in front of the door. So Wufei sticks his head out of the classroom and says 'Now kiss and make up for the fact that you're both idiots or whatever you guys do, go have a nice cup of tea and read poetry to each other, but quit being so skittish!'"

Duo laughed along with the story as Trowa wrapped his arms around Cat and the two of them floated.

Duo was seized by a great idea, to start a splash fight. He had always loved sneak attacking Solo. He splashed Cat then made hasty retreat. He was caught unawares by Trowa's splash and soon engaged with rapid fire against Cat who had some sort of special hand cupping technique that splashed long distance.

Heero was coming back across the lake, unknowing that he was swimming into a war zone. When Duo ducked a splash from Trowa then saw a pair of legs go by he automatically grabbed and pulled the person under. Needless to say, Heero was quite surprised when he came, spluttering, to the surface. Duo went beet red, realizing that it was not his assailant he had grabbed, but an innocent bystander.

"Oh, Heero, I'm sorry, I-" but that was as far as he got because Cat came up behind him and pulled Duo under, before splashing Trowa who was sneaking up behind Heero and getting both wet when Trowa retaliated. Duo came bursting back up flailing water everywhere. Heero, albeit reluctantly, joined the fight, or more like he was dragged into it.

They swam for a while longer before finally climbing waterlogged out of the lake and grabbing beach towels to sprawl in the sun. Duo had brought a brush and set into his hair, it had come undone and was now a knotted sopping mass. Cat was next to him, resting up against Trowa, and Heero was on his other side staring at the lake. Cat's sister had gone back to the car for their picnic lunch. A sort of peace seemed to have settled over the lake.

"Why do you keep your hair so long?" Cat asked eventually.

"Hmmm?" asked Duo, not paying attention, "Oh my hair, it's always been like that. Never seriously cut it, trimmed yes, but never cut. Helen, you remember her, loved to braid it and play with it. She had wanted to own a salon when she was little, but that never happened." Duo explained fondly.

"Could I brush it?" Cat asked. Duo nodded and handed the brush over, moving so he was sitting in front of Cat, facing away, toward Heero.

"It's just so long, I can hardly believe it, and can I braid it too. I braided my sisters' hair when I was little." Duo nodded again.

"Go ahead, do what you like; I lost my hair tie so it doesn't matter." Cat sat up more and began to brush Duo's hair. Duo closed his eyes to the familiar feeling; he could almost imagine that those were Helen's hands behind the brush and that she would speak to him and ask if he and Solo wanted to go out for ice-cream with her or murmur endearments.

Quatre sat back. "Thanks, that was fun. I haven't done that in a long time." Cat snickered, reaching over to tug Trowa's odd bangs, "Maybe I could braid your hair." Trowa simply raised an eyebrow his look clearly saying that Cat would be insane to try a stunt like that no matter how much Trowa loved him.

"Some things are sacred you know." Trowa smiled.

"Never touch the hair." Duo said, holding a hand in front of his heart as if pledging allegiance.

Cat's sister brought the food. They all sat up and moved to congregate around it, picking out chips and sandwiches and apples. Duo sat down, said a quick prayer and set in. Quatre didn't say a blessing aloud, but was silent a moment before lightly picking into his bag of chips. Trowa carefully unwrapped his sandwich and methodically began eating it. Duo was halfway done with his sandwich when Heero, having analyzed his food and chosen his first course, unwrapped his own sandwich, carefully folding the plastic wrap into a neat rectangle. Heero was a bit odd sometimes, but the way he did things was interesting so that it made you want to know more.