22-Dec-2001
I don't know if any of you are interested in the Wilmington series; it's an AU featuring characters in a private-school setting, and among those characters, the GW pilots figure prominently. Anyway, all that to say that I've written a new Wilmington story. *^_^* It's been a long time, and this is less good than my other Wilmington stuff, but I hope it'll still be worth reading. I'm working my way toward several more stories I'd had planned, and this is part of the buildup -- it's unlikely that I'll be coming up with any *new* ideas, but I still want to finish the stuff I originally planned for Wilmington. If you read this, I hope you like it. It started off as one of the outtakes, and just grew from there. It takes place after the Campfire Contest.
Warnings: OOC, lemon without consequences (other than emotional entanglements). This probably won't make much sense if you haven't read any of the previous Wilmington stories.
Kenshin wandered aimlessly through the strip of woods where he and Shuichi had so often met. He heaved a deep sigh. Shuichi. The boy had actually asked his permission to see other people, and Kenshin had gently reminded him that there was no commitment between them. He had brushed a lock of hair from the boy's downturned face -- he could still almost feel the smooth skin of Shuichi's cheek against his palm as the green-eyed youth leaned into the caress affectionately.
In the end he had told the beautiful boy to move on. And Shuichi had moved on.
Kenshin sighed again. It wasn't that he was in love with Shuichi -- their relationship had been nothing so simple and straightforward as love. But in Shuichi's absence, he was reminded that he was... lonely. There was nothing to fill his time now outside of the classroom...
A slight figure blurred in front of him, and he nearly walked straight into one of the students. Had he been that deep in thought, to not notice where he was going? Or had Hiei really just appeared there?
"I want you to teach me," the short fellow said, peering up at Kenshin with wide ruby eyes. Kenshin met his gaze evenly, absently noticing the charm in the boy's elfin face, the almost delicate-looking frame that belied the boy's powerful aura.
"Sorry?" Kenshin asked, giving himself a little shake.
"I want you to teach me."
"Fencing?"
"Anal sex."
"ORO~OOOO~OOO?!?!?!!?" Kenshin collapsed in shock.
"Hn. He's no fun. He fell right over."
"Saotome-sensei, I'm not sure my omelet turned out right," Wufei said, holding out a plate bearing a slightly-charred, slightly runny, eggy mess. Genma Saotome, the substitute teacher in Home Ec class now that Kagetsuya-sensei was away, regarded the omelet solemnly.
"Appearances can be deceiving, my boy," Genma said, picking up a fork. "Any good martial artist will tell you that." Wufei didn't answer; instead he held his breath as Genma lifted a bite of omelet to his mouth. The older man's eyes widened as the mouthful of egg crunched, then he picked up a napkin and surreptitiously spat the egg into it while pretending to wipe his mouth.
"A noble effort, my boy," the martial artist said, forcing a weak grin across his face. "But perhaps if you *remove* the egg shells before cooking the omelet, you might have better success."
"Thank you sensei," Wufei said, disheartened. He didn't know why he was forced to learn these womanly tasks, anyway! He should be studying something more manly -- like knife-throwing! It was times like these that he felt Chihaya's absence sorely; Wufei was the only person in the class without a cooking partner. Even if Chihaya wasn't much better at cooking than he was, it still would've been nice to have a friend to suffer with him.
Genma watched as Wufei trudged back to his work station, and wondered whether the students would take it as an insult if he were to take a few antacid tablets. This was such a hard job! He certainly hoped Kagetsuya-sensei would return soon, so he could substitute for a less dangerous class -- such as knife-throwing, perhaps!
"Y-you want me to teach you what?" Kenshin asked for the third time, looking at Hiei a little wild-eyed. Hiei barely refrained from rolling his eyes in exasperation, but he was starting to wonder if he'd somehow addled the sensei's brains while carrying him to this secluded trysting-place.
"Anal sex."
"Oro?!" Kenshin paused, then shook his head. "Y-you want me to teach you what?"
Hiei sighed. This was going to be a long day.
Kaoru sighed. This was going to be a long day. She pushed sweaty bangs out of her eyes and glared down at the two huge pots of chili, which, after an hour of waiting, had yet to come to a boil. There had to be something wrong. And where was Kenshin when she needed him? How dare he leave her alone at a time like this?
"Ahem," a voice said behind her. "Kamiya-san?" Kaoru jumped, and spun to face the speaker with the huge ladle still clutched in one hand. Wide blue eyes just had time to take in the fact that it was Principal Khushrenada standing in the middle of the kitchen just before a huge ladle-full of uncooked chili splattered over his formerly immaculate suit.
"Khushrenada-koucho! I'm so sorry!" Kaoru cried, leaping forward to mop ineffectually at the chili stains with a filthy dishrag. "I didn't know anyone was there!"
"Kamiya-san, the students are all waiting," Treize said, taking the rag from her and barely restraining the urge to wrinkle his nose at the thing. "Lunch hour started 45 minutes ago."
"I'm so sorry, Khushrenada-koucho!" Kaoru said, bowing deeply both to show respect and to hide the humiliated blush staining her cheeks. "Lunch will be ready shortly!"
"I'll leave you to it, then," Treize said. "I trust that this won't happen again."
"Oh, no, sir!"
"Very well." Treize briefly inclined his head in dismissal, then turned to go back out the door, fastidiously dropping the dishrag into a sink on his way. Kaoru glared impotently at his broad back before turning back to the stove. Why wasn't it working yet?
That was when she noticed that the range wasn't lit. Grinning in relief, she snatched up the box of matches and lit one, holding it toward the gas burner.
*FWOOMP!*
Kaoru stood, match in hand, glaring at the stove while the stench of burned hair, eyebrows and eyelashes chokingly filled the room. Now that it was too late, she remembered Kenshin's careful instructions on how to safely operate a gas range, which included not letting the gas build up in the room before lighting it.
She was going to have to beat that red-headed moron within an inch of his life, just as soon as she laid eyes on him! But where *was* he?
"Ah... oh... just like that..." Kenshin panted, arching up under Hiei breathlessly.
"So if I do it this way, it feels good?" Hiei asked, ruby eyes looking down with a somewhat detached curiosity, completely at odds with the strained, needy look on his face.
"Not to everyone," Kenshin gasped. "Oh! To be a considerate lo-OH!-over, you have to - OH!- learn to gauge your -OH!- partner's - OH!!-"
"Responses?" Hiei finished, panting roughly. He hadn't expected to enjoy his lessons so *much!*
"Yes!" Kenshin cried. "Oh! OH! OOO~OOO~OOOH!"
"Oh, shit," Fujisawa-sensei said, as Kenshin's hair-raising wail once again carried over the campus. "That poor, booze-free soul..."
"You owe me five bucks," Quatre said, and Duo made a face at him as he reluctantly handed over the money.
"I'll betcha the same again that the next one to make him howl will be *me,*" he said, violet eyes gleaming with amused determination.
"I'll take that bet," Quatre replied with a confident smile.
"I think you know everything you need to," Kenshin said, as he blushingly pulled his clothes on and put himself to rights.
"Ah. But I might need more lessons," Hiei replied. "It would be a shame to lose the knack for lack of practice."
"Hiei?" Kenshin asked, and looked at him with wide, violet eyes. Hiei was smirking devilishly at him, and it was just about enough to make him weak in the knees. "I... I think you might be right. It would be a terrible shame to fall out of practice..."
"Meet you here tomorrow afternoon?"
"Absolutely, de gozaru."
"Hee-chan, have you heard what I heard about Kenshin-sensei?"
"Leave me alone," Heero said, turning on his side to face the wall. Duo gaped at his back for a long moment, then decided to go for broke. He crossed the room to perch on the edge of Heero's bed and lay a hand on one tense shoulder.
"You gonna tell me about it, or do I have to guess?"
There was a long moment of silence, and then Heero sighed.
"Zechs didn't want me."
"So what?"
"He didn't *want* me." Heero turned over, and Duo stifled a gasp at the sheer misery in those deep blue eyes. "What's wrong with me?"
"Heero, there's nothing wrong with you!" Duo cried, surprised. "You're perfect!"
"I gained some weight this year. Maybe he thinks I'm too fat."
"Heero, you are *not* fat," Duo said, poking his lover's rock-hard tummy. "There's not an ounce of fat on you. If you weigh more, it's because you've built up more muscle."
"There must be something that made him not want me. That's the only thing I can think of that's different."
"Heero, I'm telling you. You are not fat. And why the Hell do you care what that blond bimbo thinks of you anyway? *MY* opinion is the one that should really matter!"
"So you love me even though I'm fat?"
"Heero, I would love you even if you got so fat I had to roll you to the cafeteria in a wheelbarrow. But you are not fat. Ok? Now, come on. I can't stand to see you sulking like this. Let's go get some lunch." Duo gave Heero his best winning grin, but privately he was contemplating further revenge. How DARE Zechs fail to appreciate the sheer perfection of his Heero?
"I wasn't sulking," Heero said sulkily, and with some reluctance he got up off the bed and followed his partner to the cafeteria.
He'd just have to diet until Zechs found him attractive again.
"OOO~OOO~OOOH!"
The conversation in the cafeteria stopped briefly, as the roomful of students paused to smirk at the unmistakable sound, then everyone started talking again. Lunch was over an hour and a half late, and there was a disturbing charred smell emanating from the kitchen; most of the conversation was speculation on what had gone wrong with the food *this* time.
"Wonder who the lucky one is this time?" Duo asked a little glumly, as he handed Quatre another five dollars.
"I think it might actually have been Yuusuke-kun," Quatre replied, "but don't quote me on that."
"You've got to be kidding!" Duo gasped.
"Oh, no. They say that you haven't *done it* until you've made Kenshin-sensei howl," Quatre said, blushing slightly. Heero snorted.
"I assure you, I've *done it*," he said. His eyes narrowed in concentration as the lunch line finally started to move. Trowa took three green beans. Heero took three green beans. Trowa took a half a piece of toast. Heero took a half a piece of toast.
"Hee-chan, what the heck are you doing?" Duo whispered in his ear.
"He's the skinniest person I know," Heero replied, whispering as well. "If I eat what he eats, I'm sure to lose weight."
"For the love of God and little green apples, you are NOT FAT!"
Everyone turned to look at Duo, and he grinned sheepishly as he realized that the last two words of the sentence had been yelled at full volume.
Trowa took a glass of water. Heero took a glass of water.
Duo huffed in exasperation.
Kenshin sighed, and pulled his clothes back in order for the second time that day. It was awfully flattering, that so many people seemed to like him and want him. They all seemed to be so fond of him, and he was genuinely fond of them in return... and he was honored, truly, that so many of them wanted to spend time with him. But... he really wished he could meet someone special, and have an exclusive relationship. Shuichi had been... but no, he had to nip that train of thought in the bud. It wasn't fair to Shuichi to try to hold onto him, any more than it would be to Hiei or any of the others.
He sighed again. Shuichi and Hiei... he did hope they'd be happy together, when they finally figured it out.
And in the meantime, having a lot of special friends was better than sleeping alone.
Trowa ate one bite of toast, wiped his mouth, and announced he was done. Heero ate one bite of toast, wiped his mouth, and announced he was done. It was just as well; the others had reported that the green beans tasted like vinegar, and the chili was hot but not thoroughly cooked.
Heero's stomach growled as he made his way out of the cafeteria, but he stubbornly stuck to his guns. He'd lose that extra half a pound if it killed him!
"Kenshin-sensei? I was wondering if you might be willing to give me a few private lessons?" Kenshin turned to face the speaker, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise as he realized it was Duo Maxwell.
"I don't think there's anything I could teach you that you don't already know," he said quietly.
"Then... maybe I should tutor you!" Duo said, grinning irrepressibly. Kenshin slowly started to smile back. After all, until he found that special person, it was good to have friends.
The End
(:./knm/wilmington16)
