Bending the Rules
by Jade and Pharlain
Part 2
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."
|