* * * * * * * * * * *
Heero walked up to the front of the yoga center. He didn't know what to
expect, but he was determined to do his best. He had done some research on
yoga the night before on his computer, and was amazed at how complex the
various positions seemed. He was already dressed in the most comfortable
clothes he owned, black spandex bike shorts and a well-worn green tank top.
He had brought a change of clothes with him. He opened the glass door to find
Zechs and Trowa already waiting for him. They weren't late for once.
"There he is," nodded Zechs, who looked to Trowa out of place in jogging
shorts and a t-shirt.
"He actually showed up," replied Trowa.
"Of course he did," said Zechs, surreptitiously checking out Trowa's ass in
the sweatpants he wore. "Hey, is there a shower here? Any place we can slip
away and..."
"Shh! Heero will hear!" admonished Trowa, batting away Zechs' wandering hand
quickly.
Heero, oblivious as usual, didn't notice the interaction between the two men.
"Hi guys!" he called out as he entered the lobby.
"Hi!" answered Trowa. "You ready for this?"
Heero sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be." He looked around the lobby, not
sure what he had been expecting. It had several comfortable-looking couches
as well as large cushions scattered here and there. There were many plants,
both large and small, and the atmosphere was relaxing.
"I'm not ready," grumbled Zechs.
"You don't have any money riding on this," Heero reminded him.
"I'm not stupid," pointed out the blond man, and all of them laughed.
The three of them took care of some paperwork, then Trowa led them to a large
studio that had mirrors on three sides. The floor was covered by a soft mat,
and the men took their shoes off before entering.
Heero let his eyes sweep over the room. He didn't like new situations, but a
bet was a bet. There were about ten people there already, stretching out or
just talking in small groups. There were mostly women, but a few men. He
followed Trowa and Zechs to the middle of the room.
"Right here is fine," Trowa said, indicating the floor, and the three men sat
down. "Oh, here's the instructor now."
Heero was glancing around the room, just observing people, when Trowa spoke,
and he looked toward the door. And everything else faded into the background.
Two people had just entered the room. At first, he took them both to be
women, assuming the instructor would be female, and the people he observed
going to the front of the class were slim and delicate looking. One was a
petite, angelic looking blond, and the other... the other captured his
attention totally. The person was slightly taller with a long fall of
chestnut hair that reached to his shapely ass. Wait... his ass? Heero looked
back up at the person's face; though his conscious mind had assumed the
person was female, his subconscious had correctly guessed the other's gender
without his even knowing. Letting his eyes travel along the man's body, Heero
wondered how he could have assumed he was anything but male; that ass, those
shoulders, a smooth chest, that perfect stomach complimented a face that was
beautiful yet very definitely male. With a start, Heero realized he was
checking out another man. He glanced at the blond and realized that he was
also male. While the blue-eyed young blond was definitely pretty, Heero
couldn't keep his eyes away from the longhaired man. He stopped at the front
of the class, turning to face the assembled people. Heero noted that his eyes
were an odd shade that he couldn't identify, before taking in the man's
outfit. A tight white tank top hugged his chest, ending just above his
bellybutton, exposing a band of creamy smooth skin between the shirt and
pants, which were low-slung, similar to what many of the participants were
wearing. But they looked so different on him... Heero realized he was using
the mirror to stare at the man's ass and quickly looked away. Zechs was
looking at Trowa with a curious look on his face, and Trowa was looking
fixedly at the front of the class. Heero followed Trowa's gaze; it seemed the
man was staring at the blond. Heero briefly considered telling Trowa that it
was a male, but then the longhaired man began to speak.
"Hi, and welcome to the class! Looks like we've got a few new people here
today so I'll introduce myself. I'm Duo, and I've been doing yoga most of my
life. I've been teaching here for almost a year." He turned to indicate the
blond. "This is an old friend of mine from high school, Quatre. He's going to
sit in with us today. We'll begin in just a moment. Just relax."
Duo turned to put on some music, and Quatre stepped up beside him,
whispering. "You have an awful lot of hot-looking guys in your class, you
lucky thing."
Duo turned to his friend. "Usually there's just one or two. I've never seen
some of them before. The tall brown-haired one is a regular, though. He's
pretty good."
Quatre was looking in the mirror, eyes glued to Trowa's lithe form. "He looks
better than good. He looks delicious."
"Quatre!" admonished Duo in a mock stern tone. "No groping my students! This
is a yoga class, not a singles bar." Though he had to admit, the gorgeous
Asian looking guy with him was hot. "The other guy with him, though... on
second thought I might make an exception to the no groping rule for that
other guy...." he grinned deviously at his friend.
Quatre looked up; he instantly knew which man Duo was referring to. "Duo!
Haven't you had enough of Asian guys after Wufei?"
Duo pouted. "I can't help myself! It's like a compulsion. I'm tired of white
bread. Besides, he looks nothing like Wufei."
"You're terrible!" sighed Quatre.
Duo laughed, but his eyes were drawn once again to the man who had caught his
eye. Yes, he did have a thing for Asian guys. But this one was different; he
looked like he had blue eyes, making him even more devastatingly sexy. And
his body... Duo could tell he didn't get that body from yoga. Weightlifting,
more like, and jogging. Duo tried not to drool over the defined muscles.
Muscles that were not going to do him any good in yoga. He couldn't wait to
see him in a downward facing dog... This class was going to be fun!
Heero tore his eyes away from Duo, to see that Trowa was still staring at the
little blond. His eyes met Zechs', who had observed Trowa's distraction as
well. Zechs just gave Heero a small smile and shrugged his shoulders.
Zechs watched Trowa watch Quatre, and he knew Trowa had it bad. It was ok
with him; he and the brown-haired man were just good friends, with benefits,
as they liked to say. They shared many things; sex was just one of them. They
knew that eventually each would find someone special. Not that they had gone
all the way together; by unspoken agreement, they just messed around,
relieving each other's frustrations in other ways. Both of them had had bad
experiences in the past, and wanted to save making love for one they really
loved.
As for Trowa, he had almost forgotten where he was in his contemplation of
the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. Perfect porcelain skin,
golden blond hair, slim body poured into shorts and a baby blue t-shirt...
the blond looked angelic but the laugh that floated across the room to him
was anything but innocent. And Trowa could have sworn the boy, who looked
barely 21, had been looking at him a moment ago...
Finally, the class was beginning. Duo faced the students, smiled and said, "I
like to start with the Surya Namaskar, or sun salutation. Start facing the
sun, both feet touching and bring your hands together palm-to-palm at the
heart," Duo explained, demonstrating gracefully. "Inhale slowly, making sure
to breathe deep, feel the breath coming up from your belly, through your
chest and mouth. Be aware of the way your abs and diaphragm expand as you
inhale, as well as the way your ribs expand to accommodate the air. Feel the
way the breath starts from below and slowly expands to your chest. Raise the
arms upward, slowly bend backward, stretching arms above the head." Duo
paused, long lithe body perfectly poised. "Then you exhale slowly, bending
forward to touch the earth with respect until your hands are in line with
your feet, head touching your knees." He went on to explain the rest of the
moves.
Heero tried to copy Duo's fluid moves. He felt silly at first, but he soon
found out how difficult the seemingly simple movements actually were. He
stopped worrying about anyone watching him, and just worried about following
instructions. He succeeded for the most part, but there was no way he was
going to be able to get his head to touch his knees. He looked up helplessly,
locking eyes with Duo, whose head was upside down, his body bent entirely in
half. He made it look easy. He saw a small smile flit across the beautiful
features and hoped the longhaired man wasn't laughing at him. Heero tried not
to get aroused as he watched some of the moves, which on the sensual
longhaired man looked pretty sexual. A glance around showed him that Zechs
was having similar difficulties, but Trowa was performing the moves easily.
Then he realized Duo was walking around the room. He tried harder as Duo told
them to repeat the move.
"Don't worry if you can't quite get it," soothed Duo, walking through the
class, trying not to stare at the gorgeous man's body. "Try your best. Try to
relax. This isn't a contest or competition. It's yoga. The more relaxed you
are the easier it will be. If you tense up you will just frustrate or even
physically hurt yourself. Yoga is something that comes with time. It takes a
long, long time to convince your body that it needs to be able to bend in
ways it's never bent before..." He helped a few people get a pose just right,
walking among the class slowly, not sure if he trusted himself to get near
the object of his desire. He decided he couldn't resist, though, as Heero
attempted the 9th position, the downward facing dog. Duo watched as Heero
lifted that spectacular ass up in the air. He paused next to him. "May I help
you?"
Heero didn't trust his voice, so he nodded, trying to remember to breathe as
Duo stood only inches from him. The man smelled wonderful, and Heero tried
hard to tear his eyes from the long lean lines of the man's body, so
different from his. Then he felt Duo's hands on him, adjusting the position
of his leg. The small hands ran along his thigh, guiding it to the proper
position. He realized with a sinking feeling that he was getting aroused. He
was turned on by another man's touch. He had never been so confused in his
life. Maybe Duo would go soon, move on so he wouldn't see... but no, Duo was
touching him again, moving his arm this time, light touches along his
biceps... Heero was sure his muscles would give out then. The man's long hair
brushed against him, soft and silky and... oh shit, he was really getting
hard now. This was not good.
Duo lingered as long as he dared, softly touching the amazing body, marveling
at the rock hard muscles. God, what he would give to feel that body on him,
in him, pinning him down... But the man had to be straight, didn't he? That
was the way things always went for him. Unlucky in love, that was Duo
Maxwell, always attracted to the wrong men. Ones that didn't want him, or
treated him like an object. He sighed and moved on to the next person
regretfully.
Heero sighed with relief when Duo told him he was doing well, and moved on.
Then immediately he regretted the loss of the longhaired man's presence. He
didn't like being confused like this. Yet he craved more. He struggled
through the class, trying his best and trying not to fantasize about the
instructor.
Trowa, for his part, was completely oblivious to anything but the golden
blond at the front of the room. He performed the moves easily; he had done
gymnastics in college and found yoga helped his flexibility, so he continued
it after he graduated. He was completely entranced by Quatre; he knew that
somehow he would have him. He didn't doubt the small blond's orientation; but
what if he didn't want him? Trowa thought he would surely die then.
Finally, the class ended. Heero was filled with mixed emotions. The torment
of being confused and aroused would end, but he wouldn't be able to watch Duo
any more. He sat on the floor, gathering his energy, reluctant to leave, when
he saw long legs stop in front of him. His arousal returned immediately, and
he knew he couldn't stand up until Duo went away. He looked up into eyes that
almost looked violet.
"You did great, Mr., um..." Duo paused, realizing he didn't know the new
student's name.
"Yuy. Heero Yuy. Please call me Heero," he supplied quickly, hoping he didn't
sound as stupid as he thought he did.
"Was this your first yoga lesson, Heero?" Duo asked, looking down at the man,
wondering why he wasn't getting up. The man must be worn out.
Heero nodded, and Duo went on. "You did great for a first time! I really
appreciate that you tried your best without getting discouraged."
"I sucked," declared Heero, and Duo's laughter sounded wonderful to him.
"No, you didn't! Don't say that!" Duo giggled. Something about this man
charmed him, beyond his looks. "Please, will you come back for another try?
No charge," he added. That wasn't strictly policy, but Duo could bend the
rules a bit.
Heero surreptitiously untucked his tank top so that it hid his arousal, then
stood up. He saw he was a few inches taller than Duo, and tried not to fall
into those eyes. "You don't think I'm hopeless?" he tried to joke.
"Not at all!" Duo smiled genuinely. "I have another class Monday night at 7.
Will you please try again? And I can stay after then, to help you
personally." He hoped that he wasn't coming on too strong; but he wanted to
see Heero again, badly. If there was even a chance... he looked hopefully up
into the beautiful man's blue eyes.
There was no way Heero could refuse. He was well and truly lost. And
thoroughly confused. Was Duo sending him signals? How was he to interpret
them? He had no idea. But he said, "All right. I'll be here."
Just then, Zechs came up behind him, clapping Heero on the back, and said,
"Ok, I admit it! That was harder than I thought! I need a coffee, bad."
Heero glanced around, looking for Trowa, who had wandered off. "Ok, let's go
then."
"See you Monday, Heero!" Duo smiled, and turned around quickly and walked
off. He didn't trust himself to say more. He walked over to Quatre who was
smirking knowingly.
"Just couldn't leave it alone, could you?" the blond laughed, keeping an eye
on the brown-haired man as he put his shoes on nearby.
"Shut up, Quatre," smiled Duo, gathering his things. "Want to go grab some
dinner?"
"No, I can't. I got a job at that new French restaurant on 5th," Quatre
explained. "I work tonight and Monday night too, sorry."
"It's ok! Give me a call then, ok?" Duo answered, resisting the urge to look
back at Heero as he walked out.
Trowa grinned as he overheard the conversation. He had been wondering just
how to go about seeing the cute man again, and now he had it. He suddenly
felt very hungry for French food... Zechs and Heero walked up to him then.
"Let's go get changed. Zechs is going to die if he doesn't get coffee soon,"
Heero joked, trying to get another glimpse of Duo as they walked out. "You're
buying, by the way, Trowa. You can take it off the hundred bucks you owe me."
Continued in part 3