Author's Notes: ^_^ I was inspired by Frosh Week this year so I simply *had* to write a fic with the g-boys. ^_^ "In My World Alone" by Draco is sort of similar to this, but I was planning this before I read that fic. ^^ Gomen. It's also sort of self-insertion (not in a bad way o.o;;). ^^ I was a Frosh group leader at my university this year, so I've written the g-boys into my group. ^_^ Everyone else mentioned in this fic besides the g-boys (and a few obvious others) are real. All the events, etc, really happened, too. Just a small note about U of T. The University of Toronto is divided into several different colleges because it's so big (we're trying to be like Oxford... -_-). Some of these include St. Michael's (Catholic), Victoria (United Protestant), Trinity (High Anglican), Innis, New, University (yeah, there's a University College....weird-ass name, I know), Woodsworth, Wycliff (Low Anglican), and some others I'm forgetting. The colleges are basically residences with their own services. Everyone attends the same classes at U of T, though. Since I'm Canadian and the fic takes place in Canada, I'm using Canadian terminology. Frosh is taken from freshman. The Frosh are only called Frosh for about the first week or so. Everyone refers to himself or herself by their year name. For example, "I'm in second year." "Alex in third year," etc. Terms like sophomore, senior, etc don't exist. Res=residence=dorms. :) Many thanks again go out to my always wonderful beta-reader, Zoisite no Miko! Doumo arigatou gozaimasu! {{{{ZnM-chan}}}} C&C welcome and appreciated. I can be reached at andrea.doolan@utoronto.ca ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title: Gundam Frosh: Monday (1/5) By: Andrea Doolan Rated: NC-17 (in a later chapter) Category: yaoi, lemon, AU, shoujoai Pairings: 2x1, 3x4, 5+Sally, D+R, 13x6(?) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the taxi pulled up to the building, the boy inside tried not to be sick with nervousness. It's not as if he hadn't faced tougher things in his life, but this was a big step. A strange place with strange people and a strange country were enough to make anyone nervous. From this point on, everything in his life was an unknown. He felt as if he was standing at the edge of a high cliff, with nothing but blackness below him, and an iron fence behind him. There was no turning back. It was jump or die. It was his first day at university. The taxi sped away, leaving Duo standing on the sidewalk with many suitcases and boxes piled around him. He looked up at the magnificent building in front of him. It was old and grey, built around the 1820s, he guessed. A large bell tower was its most prominent feature, stretching out into the sky. To his left was a magnificent chapel with stained glass windows. Beautiful gardens were placed in front of the building, with walkways and fences interspersed between them. All around the old building was a bustling metropolitan city, not to mention the chaos of hundreds of other Frosh moving in at the same time. Duo sighed as he picked up some of his stuff and started heading up the stairs to the large doors which had "Welcome to Trinity College" hanging above them. A guy who looked a year or two older than Duo came over to help him. His aqua t-shirt said "0T4, Trinity College Orientation Week, Dawn of a New Civilization." "Hey," said the Chinese boy, "I'm Michael. Can I help you with some of your stuff?" Duo smiled widely. "Sure! I think those boxes aren't too heavy..." "Ah, it's no problem," said the boy as he lifted several of the boxes, and followed Duo up the stairs. "What's your name?" "Duo. Duo Maxwell." "You'll really like it here. Trin's a great place." 'Trin?' thought Duo. It was the first time he had heard it abbreviated. He would never hear "Trinity" again. ~*~*~*~*~ "Thanks!" called Duo down the hall, as the last of his stuff had been brought to his room. Michael waved at him before disappearing down a stairwell. Duo surveyed his new room. It was a single, and about 10x14 feet. Not too bad, not too bad at all. Right now it was clean, 'but that will change in no time,' he thought ruefully. He still had a few hours before Frosh Week officially started, so he got to work unpacking all his stuff. Just as he finished with one suitcase, a blond head peeked around the corner of his open door. "Hi!" called the blond boy. "I'm Quatre. I live in the next house over, Whitiker." 'House?' thought Duo. 'Oh yeah, the door I went in said "Welch"...but everything still looks connected...' Duo thought for a spit second before replying cheerfully. "Hey, I'm Duo," he said while extending his right hand, "nice to meet you...Kat, was it?" The blond shook his head. "Quatre. You know, like the French word for four?" Now, Duo hadn't taken a whole lot of French in school, but he at least knew how to count to ten. He smiled. "So, Quatre, where are you from?" "Well, Saudi Arabia, originally. But my family moved to Canada about ten years ago, during the Gulf war. We've lived here in Toronto ever since. How about you, are you from Toronto?" "Oh no," laughed Duo, "I'm from California." Then he thought for a moment. "So you decided to go for residence, even if you live in the city?" Quatre blushed. "My father decided the heir to the Winner estate shouldn't be sheltered. I've actually been in boarding school since I was nine." "Wait a minute...Winner? Isn't that the family with the huge fortune in oil?" Quatre only nodded, afraid he'd scared off his new friend. Duo broke into a huge grin. "That's so cool! Man, I wish I was rich! I came from a crappy high school that taught how to be in a gang more than actual school work." Quatre frowned at this. "Oh, don't worry about me. I learned to take care of myself. Besides, I got into 'Trin,' didn't I?" It was Quatre's turn to smile. He nodded. "So, I guess that means you're 18, eh?" Duo couldn't help but laugh at that. "Canadians really *do* say 'eh'! And yes, I'm 18. Why, how old are you?" "Well, Ontario has five years of high school, so I'm 19." "Five years?!" Duo couldn't believe it. Another year in that hell-hole of a school? He wouldn't have been able to stand it. "Yeah. But it's really not that weird if that's what you're used to. Oh, by the way, do you want to go to St. Hilda's quad together at 3:30?" "Uh...what?" asked Duo, confused. "It's for Frosh Week. You recieved that thing in the mail, didn't you?" Duo nodded. "Okay, well, it starts at St. Hilda's, the girls residence. Have you been to the Buttery to pick up your Frosh kit?" "And the Buttery is...?" "Oh, sorry, the Buttery is that grey building behind Trin. It's where the cafeteria lunch is served, and where some classes are held." "For some reason, I get the feeling the food there is..uh...not exactly the most healthy." Quatre laughed at this. Duo smiled. "Sure, just come get me, 'cause I'm awful at time." "Okay!" said Quatre, now leaving Duo to his unpacking. ~*~*~*~*~ Duo was just putting the finishing touches on his door decorations when Quatre came to get him at 3:25. There was a Cowboy Bepop poster, a bunch of beer coasters, and a rainbow triangle. "What's that?" asked Quatre, pointing to the triangle. "The triangle was used by the Nazis in World War II to distinguish homosexuals, like they did with Jews and the star of David," he said, gesturing to the image while he talked. "The rainbow part comes from the rainbow flag, the sort of gay flag, or "Fag's Flag" as I like to call it." He chuckled. He loved that name. Quatre blushed, and squeaked "oh!" He sighed inwardly. He felt like he was fighting a battle with himself. Actually, he was pretty sure he was gay, too. Well, absolutely sure was more like it. But he was so far in the closet, he couldn't even tell his new gay friend. "It's also sort of an advertisement." He winked at Quatre, who blushed even deeper red. ~*~*~*~*~ More chaos. Hundreds of confused Frosh were filing into the quad with absolutely no clue what they were doing. The "quad" was little more than a small plot of grass fenced in on two sides and bordered by the girls' residence on the other two. The quad in Trinity was much bigger and was used more frequenty. It was what gave Trin its "castle" feel by being inclosed on four sides by five-story walls. Many res rooms looked out onto the quad. People in aqua shirts were calling out group numbers and holding large signs with these same numbers on them. Duo looked at his hand, where he had written his Frosh group number. "I'm in 15!" he yelled at Quatre, over the loud noise. "So am I," said the blond in reply. They finally got down to the large tree in the yard, where the rest of their group, apparently, was waiting. "Group 15?" said a woman in one of those conspicuous aqua shirts. Both boys nodded. "I'm Andrea, your Frosh group leader, and this is Ahmar your other leader." Duo tried to get a look at the others in his group, but before he knew it, the woman was instructing them to do something. "Okay," said Andrea. "Let's try to get to know each other. Why don't we sit down, and then go around in a circle telling our name, where we're from, and what we're studying. Um," she turned and talked to Duo, who was beside her, "why don't you go first." "Sure," he said with a large grin. "Hi, I'm Duo. I'm from Los Angeles, and I'm studying microbiology." "I'm Alycia," said a heavy-set girl with short blonde hair. "I'm from Toronto, and I'm in life science." "Phuoc," said a Filipino boy. "I'm from Toronto, and I'm in science." "I'm Jane," said a girl with dyed blonde hair. "I'm also from Toronto, and studying life science." "Hi, I'm Quatre. I'm from Toronto, and I'm in International Relations." He greeted everyone with a brilliant smile that was very sincere. "Trowa. Veterinary studies. Texas." He seemed shy, and tried not to look at anyone directly, but almost smiled when Quatre flashed a smile his way. "I'm Relena Peacecraft, and I'm pleased to met all of you. I'm taking philosophy and history, and I'm from Toronto." She seemed stuck-up, Duo observed, but he tried not to make any generalisations with just a three second introduction. He watched her as her gaze fell on a brown haired boy a few people over from her. "My name is Dorothy. I'm also from Toronto, and I'm studying drama." The long blonde-haired girl seemed to be staring at the girl beside her. "Hello, I'm Emma. I'm taking physics and math, and I'm from Ottawa," said a girl with short brown hair and an English accent. "Heero Yuy. Engineering. Japan." His face was totally expressionless. Duo couldn't tell if the Japanese boy really didn't want to be there, or was just indifferent. Regardless, Duo almost couldn't take his eyes off him. He was stunningly gorgeous! And that wonderful slightly nasal voice... It was enough to drive him mad. This was definitely one to get to know better. "Wufei. I'm studying commerce, and I'm from China." This one looked almost the same as the Japanese boy, but he seemed very dedicated to something, very focused. He didn't look at the group directly, but he looked friendly under his harsh exterior. "Okay, I'm Ahmar, but people call me Hammer, because it rhymes," said Andrea's Frosh leader partner-in-crime. "I'm in International Relations, and I'm from Toronto." "And I'm Andrea, your other Frosh leader. I'm from Kingston, and I'm in palaeontology. We're both in second year." She smiled at the group. 'Not a bad group of people,' thought Duo. Some of them he could see becoming friends with for sure. And without a doubt he'd try to get to know the Japanese boy better. There was just something about him that intrigued Duo. ~*~*~*~*~ 'Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!' thought Quatre. He kept trying to sneak glimpses of the long banged boy he had just met. Right now they were playing a "get to know you" game where the group all held hands in a big knot, and tried to get into circle without letting go of hands. Quatre was holding one of Trowa's hands. And he was panicking. Quatre willed his hand not to sweat too badly, and tried to contain his blush as much as he could. He had never felt this way before about anyone. In elementary school and high school he had his crushes, of course, but never anything this intense. Quatre did not want to be gay. All his life he had to live with a father who was gentle and loving, but also completely homophobic. Quatre couldn't help but wince when his father made an anti-gay comment. And if his father knew he was gay, well, that would be the end of everything. He would probably be disowned, and would never be spoken to again by his family. Not to mention his religion being strictly against it. With all of these opposing factors, Quatre didn't know *what* to do. He had tried, unsuccessfully, in grade 8 to try and be straight, but it was all to no avail. It just wasn't him. Before it had been easy to bury himself in his studies and try and forget about it, but now when he was he in such close proximity to Trowa, everything came flooding back. 'I don't want this!!' he cried to himself. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to will the feelings he was developing for Trowa away. He was brought back into reality when a hand came down on his shoulder. "Quatre, are you all right?" asked Duo. Quatre had to blink a few times before his senses came back. He tried to smile. "I'm fine, Duo." Duo nudged him in the ribs. "You know, we already made the circle, Quatre, so what's with still holding...uh...Trowa's? hand?" He winked at the blond boy. Quatre blushed profusely as he looked down at the hand he was still holding. A quick glance in Trowa's direction confirmed he had a slight blush and was looking away. Quatre quickly let go of the other boy's hand with a yelp and an apology. "It's okay," said the taller Latino man, in an almost inaudible voice. Duo watched this exchange with much interest, thinking it was quite amusing. He was just going to go up to talk to the handsome Japanese boy, when one of the group leaders called their attention. The whole group watched in awe as a very strange procession matched through the quad, weaving through the students as they made their way to the "front." Duo noted a bishop-like figure, but he was wearing a very odd red cape and a while felt hat that appeared to have sparkles and other oddities glued to it. The next person was dressed like a monk carrying a paper-mache pig on a stick. The last person in the procession was dressed like a choir girl and was holding a large book that said, "The Human Reproductive System" on it. Just as the members of her group were suspecting an evil Trinity cult, Andrea leaned over and whispered, "That's just the UnAnglican Affairs Committee - UAAC [au note: phonetically 'yu-ack']. You'll only see them during Frosh Week. They're harmless." Relena spoke up. "So are they atheists or something?" Andrea shrugged. Being an atheist herself, she really didn't care. She only picked Trin because she could get a single room in first year. She didn't know of all the weirdness that came along with it. "I know at least two of them are actually Anglican. I was pretty freaked out when I saw them last year, too." The groups soon learned that the Bishop's job was to torture the Frosh by making them perform skits for their dinner. Group 15's assignment: The Queen Mum's 100th Birthday. After the performance, with Duo playing the Queen Mum, their almost-edible pizza dinner came along with a green beverage-like substance. Duo sat down "randomly" beside Heero. At first he just ate in peace, which suited the Japanese boy just fine. Eventually, though, he started up some small talk. "So...Heero, was it? What makes a guy come all the way from Japan to study in Canada?" Heero looked at him without saying a word. He went back to his "meal." Duo tried again. "Is that right? How interesting! Who would have guessed you liked maple syrup *that* much?" Duo grinned. Heero now glared at him, hoping that would do the trick, and the braided boy would take the hint and leave. But he had no such luck, so he resorted to speech, sort of. "Hn. Baka." Duo gave him a wistful look. "Baka ja nai da. Ore wa _'Duo'_." Heero looked at him, surprised. Duo just shrugged. "Didn't expect me to know Japanese, na? How else could I get Beboy Gold and understand it?" Duo laughed at Heero's surprised expression. "Hn." His face was again neutral. "Don't talk much, do ya?" "Hn." Duo rolled his eyes. This was really getting too much. He got up to leave. "Nice talkin' to ya." He wasn't going to give up just yet, but it would be harder than anticipated. Heero looked after him as he left. Confused, but not really caring, he took another bite of his "pizza." ~*~*~*~*~ Relena looked up at Dorothy, whom she happened to be sitting beside. She leaned in a little bit and whispered, "Do you think that guy...the one with the braid...might be....gay?" Dorothy seemed to have an amused grin on her face. "Maybe..." she said casually. Relena couldn't tell from the tone of her voice what she was thinking. She was used to trite gossip about people "like that" from her private school. Dorothy's calm tone surprised her. "I hope the guy he was just talking to isn't. He looks so dark and mysterious, and very handsome. Wouldn't you say?" This time Dorothy didn't even look at her. "I wouldn't know." Deciding to change the subject to avoid the awkwardness, Relena asked, "What high school did you go to? I heard you say you're from Toronto." Dorothy seemed much friendlier with this topic, she noted. "Oh, I went to Sir Bishop Strachan. I was on the volleyball team. I believe we were rivals in the private school league, weren't we?" Relena brightened. "Oh, yes. I was on the volleyball team for Havergal. You know, I think I remember you. I could never quite match your serves. Are you thinking about playing varsity?" Dorothy shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I haven't given it a lot of thought. What about you? Your serves were quite good, too, from what I remember." Relena blushed. "Thank you. But, no, I think my sports days are over. Maybe just intermurals or something." They chatted pleasantly until it was time for the next activity. ~*~*~*~*~ At 7:00, Duo settled into his seat in the auditorium between Wufei and Quatre. Heero was sitting on the other side of Wufei, arms crossed and staring onto the stage, while Trowa sat beside the blonde, stealing little glances at him, but mostly keeping an impassive look on his face. Duo turned to talk to the Chinese man. "Sorry, I totally forgot you name. What was it again?" he asked with a large smile on his face. "Wufei. Chang Wufei." "Ah, cool. So, um, are you living in res?" "Yes." "Yeah, me too. I heard finding an apartment in Toronto was a bitch. It's probably just like L.A." He laughed a little. "So, I saw you staring at that other Frosh Leader earlier. The one with braids." Duo could tell a straight guy when he met one. Well, most of the time. He was still undecided about Heero. Wufei stared at him in shock, like he had just said the most dishonourable thing. "NO! That...ONNA?" 'So he knows Japanese, too,' Duo thought. He saw Heero raise an eyebrow. "Yes, that 'onna' as you so eloquently put it. Come on, admit it..." Wufei was going to retort with another eloquent comeback, but it appeared the hour of "meet the administration" was about to begin. If there's one thing you can count on Trinity for, it's an absolutely boring Frosh Week. ~*~*~*~*~ Full from a fabulous real dinner at East Side Mario's, but upset that she wouldn't have internet access for a few weeks, Andrea met up with Ahmar and her Frosh group at the front of St. Hilda's. Luckily for the Frosh leaders, they didn't have to go to the boring assembly. The tour of Trinity College began, showing the new students the oddities and beauty of Trin. Some things like the common rooms, the laundry rooms, the dining halls, and the libraries were pretty standard. Other things like the chapel and the great halls were pretty impressive. The last stop was the Rigby Room in St. Hilda's. It wasn't the most spectacular room, though it was still nice, but the most amazing thing about it was the Group of Seven originals housed inside. The students didn't actually get to go inside, though, since it was being painted. At each station, an upper year would greet them and tell them a little bit about the place. At this particular stop, Sara and Zechs were the guides. Duo stared at Zechs (whose real name was Milliard, but, as Sara said, no one ever called him that). 'Most definitely gay,' he thought. 'And not too bad either. Nice build, very nice muscles, gorgeous...maybe a little pompous, though.' Duo could sometimes sense Zechs's eyes on him, too. On those occasions, Duo looked away, but tried to stand in his most sexy pose: leaning up against a wall, one leg bent and leaning onto it and the other on the ground with his arms crossed against his body, holding his elbows. 'It's working,' he thought. As the group walked away, Duo could sense eyes on his tight black jean-clad butt. He didn't mind at all. Heero knew something strange was going on during the talk. He knew it had something to do with that weird braided American and the blonde man giving the talk. Whatever it was, Heero was sure he didn't like it. And he didn't even know why. ~*~*~*~*~ It was maybe 11:00 pm, just after the tour ended. And the party was just beginning. Andrea remembered this time last year; no one missed their first university party. So she and her newfound friends went, of course. For maybe 10 minutes. They found it much more enjoyable to go back to her room and have a good talk for a few hours. None of them were much partiers anyway. This year, she could tell that at least half of her group felt the same way she did about parties. Though there were a few, namely Duo, who were excited. She watched as Quatre and Trowa walked back to Trin. They didn't talk a lot during the day, she noted, but they seemed to like sitting beside each other. Wufei went back by himself. Relena and Dorothy were going to see how the party was, and the rest of her group was fleeing to their rooms. Either to get changed or to go to bed, she wasn't sure. Heero walked back to Trin as well, seeing Duo run into his house. Just as Heero was going into the building, he saw Duo burst out the other side of the quad in a tight black T-shirt. He stared for about a second longer than mild curiosity would permit, but thought noting of it, and headed in for the night. An interesting and mostly fun first day of Frosh Week had ended. Who knew what the next six days had in store... ~*~*~*~*~ Except the author. :P Tsudzuku... Completed: 2000 nen 11 gatsu 06 nichi Last revised: 2001 nen 01 gatsu 27 nichi Music listened to: Cowboy Bebop "Blue" and a tonne of other stuff.