Smells Like Teen Spirit
by Shannon the Twisted Link Worshiper

(x) X (x)

Game 4
Come As You Are

(x) X (x)

“What a heinous week,” Duo grumbled to himself as he stooped to pick up a disgusting dirty towel that had been discarded in the middle of the locker room floor. Draping it over one arm that was hung with similar towels, Duo made his way towards the large laundry bin near the showers. The locker room was a dimly lit room tucked under the grandstands, lined with rows of tall lockers and benches with a tiled room that served as a communal shower just adjacent to the now empty place. Duo had just spent the past half-hour after the last day of tryouts straightening up the disaster-zone of a mess the vacating players had left behind and was more than a little bitter about it. “If this is what I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of the year, I’ll ask to just be dragged out to the street and shot, thanks much,” he complained as he gave the room a quick look-over. “I don’t know if I can take it.”

As he made his way towards the door that exited out into the outside hall, he found himself glancing angrily at the locker that Heero used, the shiny label that proclaimed his number, 01, almost laughing back at him. All the players that had been on the team the year before had dibs on their old lockers until the new list was posted and things had to be rearranged. Heero’s locker was the last one on the end before the door, the tall metal cubby perfectly organized, cleats sitting neatly on the bottom, spare stick leaning casually against a corner, his ratty old red jersey he wore to practice hanging innocently on a hanger in the back. Duo had walked into the locker room earlier to find the place a total disaster with the one exception of this perfect locker. Realizing it to be Heero’s, Duo had been tempted to mess up that perfect harmony inside the locker just to piss the guy off. After a week of suffering dark glares and a few unnecessary collisions, Duo was ready to go to war with the messy haired Japanese boy, no matter how easy he was on the eyes.

“Fuck you,” Duo spat in the direction of the locker with a look of contempt riddling his features before he stomped over towards the door, flicked off the lights and left.
Now standing in the corridor outside, somewhat blinded by the glaring hall lights, he let out a sigh and started to trudge for the exit, walking past the door to the girls’ locker room on his way. Just before the entrance to the hall that led to the free outside world was another door that hid the athletic director’s office, Treize’s private little headquarters. As he was passing, the door suddenly opened and none other than Heero Yuy stepped out, almost walking straight into Duo, as he was too preoccupied with sending a curt goodbye into the office.

“Hey, watch where you’re going Rapunzel,” Heero snapped unkindly when he realized just who he had nearly mowed over. ‘Rapunzel’ had become Heero’s nickname for the longhaired team manager and never hesitated to use it with venom and an extra bite.

“’Scuse me for treading on your precious little tootsies, Yuy,” Duo retorted quickly, his voice dripping with just as much contempt as the other boy’s. “Want me to kiss them and make it better your Royal Highness?” he sneered, a hand on each hip as he stepped aside to allow Heero room to get by.

Heero’s face was unreadable and blank before it slipped into a familiar snide expression. He flipped Duo off and stormed past him, down towards the locker room to collect his things. Duo mirrored the gesture at Heero’s retreating back. Lowering his hand as Heero swept into the locker room, he was reminded that God had a really bad sense of humour, putting such a one-dimensional flat persona in such a beautiful expressive body. That was exactly why he was an atheist.

“Duo?”

The braided boy whipped around at the sound of Treize’s voice, wafting from inside the nearby office. He retreated back towards the door and poked his head inside the cluttered little room, a much friendlier expression on his face as he faced Treize, who was sitting behind his desk, feet kicked up on the flat surface. Much of a blow as it was to Duo’s pride, he had to admit that Treize was not half bad; he had actually grown to be rather fond of the gingery haired coach.

“Can I talk to you a minute?” the coach asked with almost a vampiric elegance as he gracefully swung his legs back to the floor. “Come on in, and please close the door.”

“Yeah, sure,” Duo said with a shrug, stepping inside the office and following Treize’s request to shut the door behind him. He leaned back against the wood and glass panel behind him, hands sandwiched between the door and the small of his back as he made himself comfortable. “What’s up?” he asked, trying to stifle a yawn. It was getting to be somewhat late and Duo was ready to go home and crash.

“So you made it through your first week,” Treize started off the conversation idly, toying with one of the stray wisps that refused to lay tame with the rest of his hair and fell crooked against his forehead. “Real practice is going to start as soon as we put up the final roster next Monday. You excited?”

“I guess,” Duo shrugged, his tone suggesting that he probably could have cared less.

“I sure am,” Treize grinned, leaning back in his chair, still toying with his loose bangs.

“Wufei and I both agree that this year’s team is one of the most smashing line-ups we’ve had in a while.”

“If you say so,” Duo answered with another shrug, his tone just as it had been before. He found his eyes darting over to the round clock decorated to look like a soccer ball hanging over a nearby file cabinet, wondering how long he would have to stay there and listen to this. He wanted Treize to cut to the chase and let him get on with his weekend.

“You’re not happy,” Treize finally said matter-of-factly, finally getting around to what he wanted to say as if he could read Duo’s very thoughts. “I noticed you and Heero still seem to like to make each other’s lives hell after that little incident.”

“The jerk sure as hell deserves it,” Duo muttered in response, his eyes falling darkly to the floor to examine his suddenly interesting boots. “He’s been a moody loser since day one. I didn’t even do anything to him!”

“Does that bother you?” Treize asked, his tone still serious, though Duo could detect that there was a note of concern there.

“Not really,” Duo said with another noncommittal lift of his shoulders. “I could care less. I can’t say I particularly like him much either. He’s just making this whole ordeal more painful than it already is and it’s damn annoying.”

“Hey Duo, look,” Treize said leaning forward again and resting his elbows on the desk, fingers interlaced together beneath his chin, “I know this sports thing isn’t really your scene, but you can’t just mope around because one person grinds at your nerves, you know? I actually was just telling Heero that Wufei and I both agreed to give him the position of team captain this year, so you’re gonna have to find a way to get used to him. I’m not saying he has to become your best friend or anything, because not everyone in the world is going to like everyone else, but you’ve got to at least find a way to be civil. I can tell that this little rivalry you two have going on is going to make nothing but trouble in the future.”

“Maybe.” Duo knew Treize was right but nevertheless, it was not as easy as it sounded to just ignore Heero. For one, he was always the center of attention, between his admittedly copious talents with the game and his rank in the sports community. Then there was the added fact that he had that amazing body. It always bothered Duo that no matter how much he told himself that he wanted to see Heero hit by a speeding train, that body never failed to make him pant. Again, he mentally cursed whatever holy being existed for having such a sadistic sense of humour and way too much free time.

“You just keep that in mind, you hear?” Treize said kindly. Duo smiled a little bit, unsure of when the last time he had heard an adult use that kind of voice on him had been. Then he switched gears and let his voice become jollier again. “But that’s kind of aside from the point. I actually wanted to ask you something else that has nothing to do with lacrosse whatsoever.”

“Oh yeah?” Duo asked, raising his eyes to meet Treize’s, suddenly interested.

“Yeah,” Treize grinned, cupping his cheek with one hand, the other motioning for Duo to sit down in one of the tattered leather chairs that sat before his desk. When Duo had finally taken a seat, he went on, his face neutral as he watched Duo intently for his reaction as to what he was about to say. “Now my little rebel without a cause, I want to ask you a favour.”

“Really now,” Duo drawled, arching one eyebrow curiously as he scrubbed his fingernails against his leather jacket. “What sort of favour would this be?”

“Now I don’t know if you knew this, but I’m not the dumb jock I’m sure you think I am, Mr. Liberal Arts,” Treize said with a sly grin, drumming his fingers deftly on the desktop as he spoke. “As a matter of fact, my involvement with the sports department ends with the lacrosse team. I teach the advanced studio art class during the day.” Treize’s grin widened when he saw the shocked look on Duo’s face. “Yeah, I bet you didn’t expect that, you crazy little hippie, you.”

Duo took the time to pull his gaping jaws back together and stammer out a “No, I definitely did not,” as a newfound respect was found for this man. A guy who taught advanced visual art could not be that bad at all. He always knew he had liked Treize for some reason. He gave himself a mental pat on the back to congratulate himself on being so good at reading the coach so well on just first impressions.

“Anyway, one of my students and I were discussing what we ought to work on next in class, and we started throwing around talk about beginning an in-depth study on figure drawing,” Treize said, happy to see that Duo had swallowed all this like a fish on a hook. “Actually,” he added on a side-note, pointing to something behind Duo, “this student is the one who did that painting there. Quite a remarkable artist, I must say, even among the advanced kids, though a lot of his better stuff I can’t put up on display as the school might not have the same appreciation for the human body that he does.”

Duo spun around in his seat, hands gripping the back of the chair as he strained to twist enough in order to get a good look at the indicated painting. When his eyes finally settled on the stretched canvas sitting on top of another filing cabinet next to the door, he forced himself to suck in a breath. The painting was absolutely gorgeous, on a level that could be compared to some college and even professional work he had seen. The intense and beautiful colours spread on the canvas melted together to create the rather erotic naked form of an anonymous young man from the neck down to about mid thigh laid out across a dark green drapery of painted cloth. The painting’s figure was bent in a curled sitting position, one bent knee pressing an old copy of Grimm’s Fairytales against his chest, artfully concealing the boy’s more sacred parts.

“Beautiful,” was all Duo could manage to sputter. He returned to a regular sitting position, facing Treize and asked, “So what does this have to do with me again?”

“Right, I was getting there,” Treize replied with a wave of his hand. “So we were talking about doing some figure drawing and we sort of need a model and well, your name was one that came up quite a bit when we were trying to figure out who we should get.”

“Me?” Duo’s jaw fell slack again as he plastered a pointed finger to the center of his chest. “Why me? There are better looking kids in this two-bit dump you could dig up.”

“Well, there were a lot of kids I personally had in mind when he first brought it up,” Treize admitted thoughtfully, a finger toying with his thin lower lip, “but the conversation kept coming back around to you. My junior Impressionist seems to find you most attractive and displayed a surprising interest in wanting to draw you at least once. I’ll bet his whole idea to do figure-drawing is just a ploy so he can have an excuse turn you into a masterpiece.”

“I have no idea what to say,” Duo said truthfully, his mind still a bit blurred by this statement that someone thought he was so beautiful. He wondered who his secret admirer could be, and was about to ask Treize about it when he realized that such a query would probably turn up fruitless. So he voted to say nothing regarding it, choosing to instead voice another thought that had just come to mind. “You’re not going to make me strip, are you?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

Treize’s laughter was sure to be heard all throughout the campus as Duo spoke. “No, I’m pretty sure the school would not be too happy with that,” he finally managed, calming his laughs somewhat. “Though I might add that the student I was referring to wouldn’t mind so much. Don’t be surprised if he asks to show up at your place outside of school with such a request. That’s how he gets all his good work done, if you know what I mean.” Treize waggled his eyebrows suggestively. He pointed to the Fairytale painting again. “He can only get that kind of thing done outside of school where no censorship administration is breathing down his neck.”

“Ah! Your kid is a psycho-perv!” Duo exclaimed, hands suddenly attacking the sides of his face. He took a calming breath and replaced his hands on either arm of the chair as he went on. “I’ll do it for you, sure, since I’m always one to give an art class a hand, but he’s not getting me naked, I’ll tell you that right now!”

“Don’t worry your head off about it. No one’s making you strip, Duo.” The corner of Treize’s lips rose into a dark little smirk. “And don’t be so hard on my boy. He’s well… let’s just say he’s a little kinkier than one might expect, but I don’t hold it against him,” he said with a tone that matched said smirk. “I can always admire a kid who isn’t afraid of the human body. He understands its beauty better than a lot of whiny kids I’ve seen in and out over the years.”

“Point taken,” Duo shrugged in defeat, not about to make any bigger deal about it. He had no problem with nudity, it was just that when it was his body, he could be a little self-conscious, though he justified it by asking himself who wasn’t. One thing he never did get was why when someone like Michelangelo painted someone nude, it was considered a masterpiece but when a kid or a modern artist did likewise, it was suddenly pornographic. Society was so superficial…. He crossed one thigh over the other and leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair, asking: “So who’s your little protégé? Do I get to meet him?”

Treize, who had at some point taken to skimming over what looked like a schedule, idly waved off Duo’s question, his murky ocean-hued eyes focused on the paper in his hand. “Eh, forget it; it’s not important who it is,” he said nonchalantly. He went on with an amused secret smile. “Don’t need to have him broadcasted across the school as being a lecherous freak, you know? Besides, I don’t think you know him well or anything.” Then he looked up with a small smile etched on his lips, laying down the schedule. “How’s third period looking for you?”

“I have math…” Duo began, his mind still stuck on who this artist was. Not only did his choice of favoured subject intrigue the braided boy, but he also wanted to know the connoisseur of human beauty that seemed to think him so attractive. The fact that the artist was apparently a boy did not bother Duo in the least; he had never been one to have a preference on either sex. The mere prospect that someone admired him so made his heart patter lightly in the back of his chest.

“I’ll see if I can pull you sometime next week. It’s not like you really want to sit through math now, do you?” Treize said with that same triumphant smile on his face. He looked really quite pleased with himself that he was going to be able to score Duo for his class. He had thought the idea of working on figure-drawing was a good one as sometimes the human form could be a rather elusive and difficult subject that took quite a bit of practice and dedication to get perfect. And when his student had mentioned that he thought Duo would be a perfect subject for such a project, Treize found himself agreeing whole-heartedly. Though the kid was thin and lithe, he was shaped with a slim and defined musculature that did enough to denote him as male without taking away from some of the alluring feminine qualities to him. His face was an interesting and expressive one with large, animated eyes and a good sly grin. And that hair! Even Treize, who had come across his fair share of attractive and interesting models, had never encountered anyone, particularly a boy, with such a long and luxurious mane of hair that glistened such a unique shade, many different hues of chestnut brown and gold all woven together into one colour.

“How’d ya know?” It was Duo’s turn to grin like a maniac. Though he was doing alright in the course, math was not exactly his favourite way to spend a class period.

“Lucky guess,” Treize shrugged, cradling his chin in his other palm. With another laugh, he made a shooing motion at Duo. “Now be off, little hippie boy. You look like you could use some sleep. Thanks for all your help.”

“Sure,” Duo said, trying to stifle a convenient yawn that escaped his pretty coral lips. He stood, almost tripping over the chair’s legs as he tried to step around it on his way to the door. “See you in the AM, Treize,” he said in parting as he closed the door behind him, feeling strangely refreshed and excited for the week to come.

(X) X (X)

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