Title: Catholic Schoolboys Rule!
Author: Link Worshiper
Pairings: 1=2, 3=4, mentions of others
Stuff: AU, pokes at religious institution, fluff/sap, angst, lemon topping and a bit of drag XD
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise, Bandai and a lot of other people who aren't me. +5 skill points if you guess the title reference.

Filling a request for Rainya, because she feeds my geek needs. Thanks Jania for the once-over.

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XIII.

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"Tell him I said 'No!'" Heero snarled, this time with far more vehemence. He didn't care that he was speaking to an administrator for a school he didn't even belong to. There was a line on certain issues, he felt, and this was crossing it. He put his foot down on the matter, whether Noin agreed or not.

"Heero, I'm not sure that's something you really have a place to say," Noin said, trying to remain as placid as possible as she eyed the fuming boy standing on the other side of her desk. She had been completely unprepared for such a malcontented reaction from Heero when she'd told him that his father and grandfather had sent word they wanted to come to Saint Magdalena's for a visit. From what she'd observed of Heero since his arrival at the school, she'd found him to be a relatively well put-together person, if a little distant. The last thing she'd expected was to ever hear him raise his voice like this. His irrational behaviour vaguely reminded her of Duo the countless times he'd been sent to her office.

"I've got every place to say it! I'm here on my own! They don't have a right to intrude," Heero fought back, pounding an angry fist onto Noin's desk with such power, it made the paperweight sitting nearby roll off the pile of memos it had been harbouring.

Noin pinched the bridge of her nose, still not quite sure what the best way to deal with the situation was. "Heero, they're your family - the ones who let you have this opportunity in the first place," she said, not having a clue as to why Heero would take such issue with something so innocent. "The least you could do is receive them on a visit to check up on you."

Heero curled his upper lip without a trace of sympathy. "Visits are for normal people with normal relations," he said tartly, controlling his voice a bit better now. "I came here to get away from them. I don't need them fucking it up at the last moment! I'm eighteen and I have every right to make my own decisions if I want."

"You're still dependent on them, eighteen or not," Noin countered, the wavering in her tone suggesting that she was starting to lose her patience. This had to do with Duo, she just knew it; she'd noticed an abnormal amount of interaction between the two.

"The only thing I can depend on those two for is a lot of anguish," Heero said humourlessly, resolutely crossing his arms over his chest. Noin was the last barrier between ever having to put up with his old man and his grandfather again, and he would fight tooth and nail to keep her there. If it came to having to be explicit with her as to why he didn't want to see either of them, so be it; he was willing to tell her if it meant staying safe.

However, Noin wasn't that easy to bend. "I'm sorry, Heero," she said in a firm tone she usually reserved for Duo, "but the arrangements have already been made. Now, you can comply with them, or I'm going to have to insist that when your guardians arrive, they take you home with them." She stifled a heavy breath once she got that out; she hated having to resort to extreme consequences like that, but sometimes, there just wasn't any other choice.

"Then I'll be sure to keep myself scarce!" Heero shot back vehemently.

"You will do nothing of the kind!" Noin snapped back, finally beyond her threshold of tolerance. She had risen to her feet and was now towering over the lunar exchange student at her full height. "Really, Heero, I'm surprised at you. I never expected you to act so... so...."

"Like Duo?" Heero interjected snidely.

"Yes!" Noin let out with a frustrated gesture of one hand.

But Heero wasn't listening, his attention still captured by his own surprise at the instinctual comment. He wondered why he'd thought to say something like that, but chose to ignore it in light of the situation at hand. Or perhaps for his own convenience, as it brought up a few too many things he wasn't sure he was ready to think about just yet.

"...thought you really had the heart of a Saint Magdalena's student," Noin was still lecturing, he suddenly realized. He bit down the urge to insert another cynical opinion into her monologue and instead fixated on the diploma hanging on the wall behind her while he waited for her to be through. Her voice was just a drone in the background until she said his name with an extra sharpness: "Heero!"

He startled and redirected his focus, still trying hard to keep himself in line. He could feel that seed of rebellion starting to root itself to a bed of excited butterflies deep in his stomach, and he suddenly found himself struck with the curiosity if that was the same sort of thing Duo felt when he went on his crusades.

She looked like she had something else she wanted to say, but instead, she simply let out a heavy sigh and flapped her hand at the door to her office. However, her tone was cautionary as she warned him, "Just be careful to pick your battles wisely, young man, or you may find yourself not liking the consequences."

Heero simply stared back at her for a few seconds, his face blank and empty, before nodding curtly at her and abruptly turning on his heel to go.

++++

Trowa wasn't ever one for conspiracies, but when a week had passed and his room keys had yet to turn up, despite practically overturning the entire campus in search of them, he started to wonder if maybe Duo's thief hadn't managed to snag them. The culprit was either a serious kleptomaniac or has some kind of magpie tendency, Trowa thought as he sat in class one day, staring at the minute hand on the clock as it inched closer and closer to lunchtime. High school was the rocks.

Two rows ahead and just to his right was Quatre, who was also sitting with his attention glued to the ticking clock over the front chalkboard. However, Quatre's impatience for the lunch bell had less to do with food and more with the fact that Dorothy was sitting next to him and hadn't stopped trying to get his attention since the class had started. Though Trowa was personally gratified to know Dorothy didn't stand a chance with Quatre, he still was a little bothered by how much more ambitious she had become lately. It was almost as if she was trying to convince Quatre he'd made a wrong choice and it made him uneasy that she'd even have that inclination at all, as discretion regarding his relationship with Quatre was key. Dorothy was too much of a wild card; heaven knew what kinds of problems she could create for the both of them.

In front of Quatre and even further to the right was Duo, who was shamelessly leaning against the wall in a dead sleep, and just behind him, Heero, who seemed to be taking notes with unnatural fervor, though whether they actually had anything to do with what the teacher was saying was debatable. That was another strange case, Trowa thought. Lately, Heero seemed far more distracted than usual, though whether that had to do with Duo or not, Trowa was unsure. He'd have asked if he thought either of them could answer, but he somehow had a feeling it would be fruitless to even try.

He looked back at the clock: his scan of the room had taken exactly three minutes and forty seconds and he groaned inwardly. Then he leaned his cheek against his other hand and took to examining the other half of the class. It wasn't nearly as interesting, since the only person there he gave a damn about was Wufei, and he was actually paying attention. Trowa thought it was a damn shame that Meilan girl wasn't also in this class; that would have probably offered a bit more entertainment from Camp Chang.

Trowa's mind wandered all over the map from what might be on the lunch menu to the chirping birds outside. That soon had him staring at the window in search of those birds, and, subsequently, Heero and Duo, whose desks were right next to it. Since Trowa had last looked, Duo's head had lolled back in his sleep, sending his long hair slipping off his shoulder and across Heero's desk. He was intrigued to find that Heero hadn't made any move to give Duo some kind of rude awakening, or to even at least knock the coiled braid out of his way. Instead, he was still writing, writing with that tight-fingered grip of his and (for this, Trowa actually leaned forward to make sure he was seeing correctly) was worrying the tail of the braid with his other. Trowa was absolutely amazed - and that said something! He wondered if Heero was aware of what he was doing, or if he was just so caught up in whatever else that he didn't even realize it. Still, Trowa mused, it was an interesting thing for his subconscious to allow.

And, of course, just when he'd found something that had the potential to pique his curiosity for quite some time, time sped up and the lunch bell was tolling, signifying the end of the class. Like a single entity, the class snapped their books shut and packed them away before herding themselves towards the cafeteria en masse. Trowa took his time, though, not really ever in a rush to get anywhere. Besides, it was easier to talk to Quatre when they were a few steps behind everybody else. He looked up to catch sight of the blonde, frowning slightly when he noticed him by the window, shaking Duo awake. Heero seemed to have vacated the classroom with everybody else, and Trowa wondered why he hadn't bothered to at least wake Duo up first, especially after that little display from moments ago. A simple tap on the shoulder would have done....

Duo was still groggy as he sat up, squinting at Quatre. "Did'ja put my earmuffs on th' cookie?" he wondered blearily as he struggled to figure where he was and what was going on. He let out a long, languid yawn that involved the stretching of all four of his limbs and the popping of many joints. "Whoz'zat?" he asked, squinting at Quatre.

"Me, Duo," answered Quatre. "Class is over."

Duo seemed to still need a few moments to process this piece of information, so Quatre left him to it, turning around to face Trowa with a shrug and a smile. Trowa smiled back, albeit with a hint of slyness, and then nodded at Duo, saying with a tiny grin, "Late night, Maxwell? Heero keep you up?"

That comment seemed to expel all the sleepiness from Duo's eyes, because in than a second, he'd jumped to his feet and was glaring across the classroom at his roommate. "I was studying, clown," he snapped defensively. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a total slacker!"

"Yeah, but what about after that?" Trowa snorted, still grinning a bit.

"I went to bed!" Duo puffed his reddened cheeks and sucked his lips into his mouth, leaving him looking rather like a tomato with a long, brown stem.

"With Heero?" Quatre blurted, unable to stifle the excited outburst. His eyes became wide and he quickly slapped his hands over his mouth in embarrassment, all the while hoping Duo wouldn't rip his head off for the slip.

Instead, Duo just seemed more distressed by the comment than angry. He was just short of dancing in place in the most frenetic manner. "No! To sleep! I went to sleep!" he said in a voice that was just short of being a whine. "Nothing funny! Not with Heero, I swear!"

"Oh yeah? Sure didn't sound that way to me," said Trowa, still grinning, and perhaps having a bit too much fun at Duo's expense. He leaned in for the kill, his eyebrows drifting underneath his long bangs with the guise of innocence: "Or did you really think hiding under the blankets was going to be enough to muffle a wet dream or five?"

"Hey, it's not a crime! I don't have to be on trial, here," Duo snapped, his reaction definitely signifying that Trowa might have overstepped some bounds. He spun around to face his desk, moodily gathering his books and notes, which he then flung haphazardly into his bookbag. "Just quit raggin' on me, okay? It's not my fault he wears his pants too tight."

Trowa still looked like he had yet to be convinced. "You think so? I never...."

Duo's nose crinkled and his eyes became wide as he chomped down on his bottom lip in an effort to control his temper. "Don't give me a reason to beat the shit out of you, because I will," Duo threatened, snatching up his bag and swinging it angrily over one shoulder. He shot a menacing glare at Quatre that basically redirected the sentiment and then bolted out of the room, leaving only a long trail of braided hair in his wake.

Trowa and Quatre stood side-by-side, both just staring at the door Duo had just run through as they tried to make sense of what just happened. Trowa seemed thoughtful, while Quatre seemed a little shell-shocked, but it only lasted for a few seconds. That tiny smirk was soon teasing Trowa's lips again, and he murmured, "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Quatre asked absently, even though he was pretty sure they were both on the same page. Trowa shot him a certain, pointed stare, and soon, Quatre felt his lips cracking into a wide grin as the laughter starting climbing up his throat. He shook his head and commented, "It's funny how he thinks he's so slick."

"They both do," replied Trowa with a note of amusement, thinking back to what he'd seen Heero doing during class. He wandered back to his desk to pack up his own things, which he did fairly quickly, and then turned around to say, "Come on; I'm dying of starvation, here."

Still, despite Trowa's grumbling stomach, the pair took their time getting to the cafeteria. And though neither of them felt comfortable doing any more than just letting their hands occasionally brush together, with most of the school thus occupied, the walk really made for some nice time alone together.

When they arrived, most of the student population had settled down to eat, leaving the buffet line relatively small, though the lacking food selection was definitely the main drawback to coming so late to lunch. However, both Trowa and Quatre were used to salvaging a pretty decent meal from the wreckage and weren't worried about having less than their fill. Though the same probably couldn't be said for Duo, who was a bit further down the buffet and clearly not pleased with the slim pickings.

"Just put it all onto the sandwich," Quatre said, sliding his tray next to Duo's and reaching for a roll so he could demonstrate. "You can still make a pretty decent one if you cram all the leftover toppings together." Trowa soon appeared beside him to start assembling a sandwich of his own.

"Yeah, and I'll still need like ten of these to even feel remotely full," Duo muttered to himself, clearly bothered about something more than just the food, despite the nature of his complaints. "Of course I sleep through the bell on cheese steak day."

Quatre shot another knowing look at Trowa, though his face was far more riddled with concern this time. Trowa just shrugged and started making his second sandwich, which didn't look like it would have a place to sit on his already full tray. He'd somehow managed to procure a cup of soup, some breadsticks, a pair of apples and a rather large salad - an array that had Duo just short of salivating. "You just have to know how to tip the tureen," he told Duo when he caught his roommate sizing up the soup. "Anyway," he said, addressing Quatre, now. "Shall we go?"

Quatre offered Duo a sympathetic smile and withdrew his tray from the buffet to follow Trowa out of the cafeteria. They'd started trying to find more reclusive places to enjoy lunch, away from everyone's attention and where it was far quieter. After trolling the halls for a bit, they found an empty bench that was opposite a window overlooking the river.

After settling down with their food spread out on either side of them, Quatre finally let out the burning question he'd been thinking about since they'd left the classroom. "Does Duo really have dreams about Heero?" he asked around a mouthful of lettuce.

"You bet your ass," Trowa said with a wry chuckle, tearing into one of his breadsticks.

Quatre swallowed his food and reached for the soda can he'd grabbed on the way out. Popping it, he took a long first swig and then asked, "How do you know?"

Trowa actually looked a little thoughtful before he answered. "Well, besides the sleeptalking," he said, "I just noticed he's been gearing up for bed a bit more... defensively, lately." He laughed at Quatre's confused expression and explained what he meant. "Like, Duo is usually the sort of person who'll crash on the nearest flat surface and pass out when he's tired - you know... a sprawler. Cocooning was never his thing, you know?"

Despite the seriousness of the topic, Quatre found himself laughing at the mental image. "So he just makes himself more obvious?"

"Eh, kind of," Trowa shrugged. "Really, it's more just fun giving him a hard time about it," he went on, polishing off the breadstick and reaching for the soup. He held the bowl in one cupped hand and ladled it into his mouth with the spoon clutched in the other.

"What, so it's just a joke to you?" Quatre scoffed, arching an eyebrow and regarding Trowa out of his peripheral. "I don't think there's anything funny about it at all."

Trowa's spoon lingered over his bowl for a moment. His response came slowly and thoughtfully. "No, I know it's serious," he said with a hardly noticeable sigh. "That's just the thing, really. It's just... not very often you get a chance to do that kind of thing around Duo. Not lately, anyway." He stared down at his soup as if he suddenly didn't want it anymore. "I guess I just worry that he's so used to speeding through guys like he's running a marathon, he won't realize that Heero's different than the rest of them. I guess I kind of want to help make sure he notices."

Quatre turned to examine Trowa's face carefully and found himself touched by the concern that was written there. "I think he'll figure it out. In the meantime, I just hope he realizes what a good friend you are," Quatre commented. "He's very lucky."

"Not as lucky as you," Trowa said, his eyes darting up from his lunch to catch Quatre's.

Quatre balked, his cheeks rosy pink as he made a desperate grab for his soda, which he then took a long, long gulp of. The fizz almost made him choke, and he ended up coughing after a hard swallow. With a laugh, Trowa reached over to pat his back a few times.

"You okay?" he asked as Quatre wheezed.

"Never better," Quatre managed to cough out. He straightened and quickly pushed the conversation in another direction, a little worried where such traitorous talk might lead them. Even though they were alone at the moment, Quatre didn't feel comfortable risking the chance someone might see them being a bit too cozy.

However, Trowa didn't seem to share the same sentiments. He drew back, his sudden focus on eating making his disappointment very clear. Seeing this, Quatre felt a stab of guilt; he had no idea what he should do to remedy the misunderstanding. All the words that came to mind sounded empty, even in his thoughts, and he was nervous to try doing much more. But after a few very awkward minutes, Quatre couldn't stand it anymore. He opened his mouth to speak: "Trowa, I...."

He didn't get a chance to go much further than that. Trowa looked up and cut him off with a simple glance that was full of both frustration and hurt. He said, "Look, Quatre, I know it's difficult being yourself around here but.... But when it's just us, could we...." He stopped, unsure of how to proceed.

Quatre examined Trowa's profile for a moment, thinking to himself about the things they'd just been discussing about Heero and Duo and then applying them to his relationship with Trowa. He supposed he really was luckier than Duo in that he had figured out a few more things about who he was and what he wanted for himself - about what Trowa meant to him.

Silently, he lifted his soda can to his smiling lips and slid the hand nearest Trowa across the bench to lay it over his fingers.

++++

After lunch, Trowa had a free period, but Quatre had to go to his history class, leaving Trowa with an hour of unadulterated nothing. He probably should have planned to use the time for some last minute studying, but he decided that if he wasn't prepared for his last period test now, then he never would be. So, instead, he decided that a quick power nap was in order.

But first, he had to stop by Noin's office to pick up his mail. He'd gotten word that his mother and a pen pal of his had both sent him things, and he figured he might as well pick them up since he was passing by.

Noin seemed a little harried when he got there, and he vaguely wondered why. She was usually a very put-together woman, but when she went to retrieve his mail, he couldn't help but notice how her usually regimented actions seemed a bit out of step. He shrugged it off, though, supposing that everyone was allowed to have a bad day at least once or twice in life. He most certainly did not envy Noin's job, at any rate.

Heading for the dormitories, he opened the envelope from his mother first. It was pretty basic. She'd sent him an advance on his birthday money and a hearty congratulations for remaining on the honour roll last semester. The rest was an update on how she and Trowa's father were doing, what they were up to and other sorts of boring, useless information. The only thing really of note was the mention of L4, which had Trowa wondering if getting his parents to establish a connection there would help him to see Quatre even after the exchange program was through, knowing that a lot of his uncertainty with the relationship stemmed from its fated brevity. Trowa pocketed the money and then replaced the letter in the envelope after scanning over the rest of it; he'd read it more closely when it came to actually writing out a reply.

The other piece of mail was more interesting: a postcard from a girl named Midi, whom he'd met when he was young and still traveling with his parents a lot. She was a military brat and went to a lot of interesting places, too. Trowa always liked hearing from her, especially now that he was stuck on campus most of the time. At the moment, she was at a base near the Andes - an exotic location that found Trowa missing the excitement of visiting new places. He supposed he had some kind of nomadic nature at heart.

By this point, he was nearly back to his dorm, but as he approached the door, he noticed it slightly ajar, which suddenly had him on edge. Creeping up to it as silently as he could, he gripped the door handle fiercely, momentarily wondering if he would find the one who had filched his room keys inside. Anticipation filled his stomach as he pushed the door open, but it quickly drained from him when he saw who was there.

"Heero?" he asked, staring at the Japanese exchange student with an air of disappointment. "What are you doing in here?"

Despite his rather subdued entrance, the sound of Trowa's voice still nearly sent Heero through the ceiling as he jumped with surprise. He turned around slowly, an almost embarrassed expression tapering across his face. "I...." His cheeks were red, clearly a sign that he wasn't to keen on explaining his presence at all.

Trowa, still curious, lingered in the doorway, his eyebrows arched as he continued to wait for an answer. He couldn't nap with Heero poking around the room, anyway.

Sheepishly, Heero scratched the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair. "I was... visiting Duo the other day," he said slowly, his eyes darting away from Trowa. "I came looking for something I... forgot."

Trowa's eyebrows drifted higher on his face. The explanation was almost more interesting than the braid incident from class. Or, perhaps, better still, related to it. Quickly making a mental note to remind Duo to stop forgetting to lock the door on his way out, Trowa couldn't help but ask, "So what were you doing with Duo, hm?"

Heero seemed a little taken aback by the bluntness of the question, but managed to dodge a direct answer with ease, saying, "I thought tact was your strong point."

However, Trowa was able to field the jab with a pretty quick one of his own: "And I thought discretion was yours," he said with a wry grin. He leaned against the doorframe, just sizing the other teenager up and finding himself growing more and more amused with the situation as he did so. "What are you looking for?" he asked, trying hard not to laugh. "Maybe I've seen it around? Or I could help you look for it."

"Nothing!" Heero said just a fraction too quickly. "I mean...." He clammed up, his face even redder now. "Nevermind. I'll come back later," he muttered, taking a few strides towards the door and attempting to dart around Trowa and back to the safety of the hall.

Trowa couldn't contain himself much longer and had to at least let out a low chuckle as he slinked out of the way to let Heero pass by. "Heh, just keep in mind there are some things you can lose to Duo and never get back," he said as Heero passed by. He poked his head out and called after his retreating figure, "Just make sure it's something you really don't mind giving up before you do!"

Heero kept walking, pointedly ignoring the commentary. Trowa shrugged and went back inside, closing and locking the door behind him as he stretched and started to shed his jacket and necktie on his way towards his bed. His last thoughts before he hit the mattress and nodded off were a confused jumble that seemed to echo all the uncertainty hanging around him. Then he fell dead asleep and dreamed straight through his next two classes.

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TBC!!

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