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"Standing Outside the Fire"Written By: Honor Disclaimers: Mine! Mine! Mine! Pairings: 2x5, 3x4 Warnings: AU, language, twisted humor, lime, lemon,
some angst, significant OC, brief moments of sap, romance, a bit of
violence Archived: On Gundam Wing Diaries Betas: Velvet *huggles* Author’s Notes: You know those dreams that
you keep dreaming over and over again for weeks? The ones that don’t
go away until you write them down? Yeah, that’s exactly what
happened. I passed the idea by one of my betas, to see if it was worth
putting on paper. Her response was “Write it. NOW.” So I
wrote it. The rest is…ah, what follows after my insane notes.
Feedback is my diet…and I’m getting
pretty lean so send me something to munch on, okay? Flames will result in me tormenting you for your
inability to read warnings. And I’m good at tormenting. Just
ask the boys. *emphasized* /thought/ //phone// "Standing Outside the Fire"
“Of course,” the heavy-set blonde smiled at her professionally. “Hold a moment, please, and I’ll see if she’s free.” Jamie made herself stay put--*not* fidgeting—while the woman went into a side office, disappearing from view for a moment. When she came back, another woman was with her. Her brown hair was coiled into two braided buns on either side of her head, and she was holding a pair of glasses in her hands. “I’m Principal Une.” Jamie accepted the handshake and managed a smile. “Jamie Dragonmanovich.” “Come this way, please.” Jamie followed her into the office, sinking into a chair across from the desk. She would have preferred to stand, just for the psychological edge. “Forgive my bluntness, but just what is this all about?” Une placed her glasses on the desk, folding both hands on the tabletop and looking at her squarely. “Are you aware, Mrs. Dragonmanovich, that two of your sons are gay?” “Duo’s bi, actually, and yes I am aware of that.” She decided to ignore the ‘Mrs.’. Most people made that mistake because she had three sons. It wasn’t important at the moment. Une blinked at the candid and immediate response. “Well. That simplifies things a bit. I’m not sure if you know this, but over the past three weeks, two different individuals have approached your sons with malicious intent because of their sexual orientation. The last incident ended up with a student named Alex being pinned against the bleachers by Trowa. His throat is still bruised from the incident.” Jamie frowned, not liking the sound of this at all. It was entirely possible that Heero, Duo and Trowa hadn’t mentioned the incidents just because it was mild compared to what they had lived through. But why hadn’t Quatre or Wufei mentioned something? “Actually…I didn’t know. It’s not something they would tell me. They prefer to handle matters like those by themselves.” “Hm. In the beginning, matters were diffused before it could escalate into a fight. But this recent case…and especially the time when four of my students attacked Duo and Quatre outside of Albertson’s—” Une quirked an eyebrow at Jamie’s startled expression “—yes, I know of it. Word gets around in a small town like this. My point is, things are rapidly coming to the point where your sons won’t be able to deal with the situation anymore.” “So what are you proposing?” The door opened at this point, and Quatre came in hesitantly. “You sent for us?” “Yes, come in.” Jamie watched as Quatre came in, followed closely by Trowa. She had the feeling that something had happened earlier. Trowa was very on edge, and hovered more protectively than usual about his lover. He sat next to Quatre, taking his hand and twining his fingers firmly through the blond’s. /I’m not sure if I even want to know what’s put him in that kind of a mood./ Une cleared her throat softly to gain their attention. “First off, neither of you are in trouble. I *would* like to hear your own accounting of various different events, but that can wait until the other three arrive.” Quatre visibly relaxed. “Good. Jamie, why are you here?” “I have no idea,” Jamie admitted dryly. Une smiled slightly at the admission. “Frankly, I brought you in on this because I need your permission in order to do what I have in mind. And I thought you might need to help me persuade your sons to go along with the idea.” Wufei entered before Jamie could demand an explanation to that cryptic statement. Duo and Heero were right behind him, and they all cast surprised looks at Jamie as they caught sight of her. “You’re not in trouble,” Jamie assured them as they settled in various chairs around the room. She was interested to note that Wufei settled next to Duo, an arm around his shoulders as if it was the most natural position in the world. /Int~eres~ting…and when did that happen?/ “Your principal simply is scheming something.” “I want the full story too,” Une protested mildly. “As it stands, I only have the victim’s side of the story. But that can wait. For now, I need a little information. Wufei, I know that you are a black belt in Tai Chi. What kind of training do the rest of you have?” The boys exchanged glances before Quatre admitted “I’m a black belt in Hopkiddo and Tae Kwon Do.” Une’s brows shot up. So did Jamie’s. The defenseless blond apparently wasn’t that defenseless. Quatre poked Trowa in the side until the brunette sighed and said, “Also a black belt in Hopkiddo and Tae Kwon Do.” Heero grimaced as all eyes turned to him. “Black belt in Karate and Tai Chi.” Duo shrugged when he became the focus on everyone’s eyes. “No formal training, sorry. I just go with the flow.” Wufei rolled his eyes at this. “I’ve seen him take down both of his brothers on numerous occasions, lady. He’s their level at least.” “Hmm.” Une tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing in thought. “I wasn’t quite prepared for that level of ability…but it actually works better this way. I’m going to attempt to kill two birds with one stone. Gentlemen, I know that it is a bad idea to mess with any one of you. From what I’ve seen and heard, you’re all very protective of each other and skilled enough to take out any threat that one of you might face. Unfortunately, most of the school is *not* aware of this fact. It would take quite a few more confrontations before you gained enough of a reputation to squelch such idiocy, and I’m afraid of what will happen before it does. Now, on the other hand, I have decided that it would be a good idea if someone gave an assembly on basic self-defense for the school. Unfortunately, the only people I could think of to call only wants to give a lecture on what to avoid or what to do if you think you’re in danger. That isn’t what I had in mind.” Quatre’s eyes were steadily widening as he took both of those ideas and melded them together. “Are you suggesting that you want US to do a self-defense assembly?” Une nodded approvingly. “You’re quick.” “But we’re students too!” Duo protested. “They’re not going to listen to us.” “Actually, I think they will. They’re used to tuning out adults.” “…we’ll do it.” Everyone turned to stare at Heero in astonishment. He met their gazes calmly, unfazed by the surprise. “It’s the simplest way to show that we can handle ourselves. Once people see what they’re dealing with, they won’t try to pick a fight with us anymore. I’d rather be in front of a crowd for thirty minutes teaching than looking over my shoulder for the next few months.” Trowa cocked his head. “You know, when you put it that way…” “Hn.” Quatre smiled at Une. “I think it’s unanimous. When do you want to do this?” “Wednesday.” “Six days to prepare?” Wufei asked skeptically. “Not a lot of time.” “What’s to prepare?” Duo chided, grinning at his lover. “We show up, look hot and sexy, teach a few moves, and show off. No biggie.” + “You know, ‘Fei, I never realized just *how many* students are in this school.” Wufei looked at the wide-eyed, slightly apprehensive American next to him and glared meaningfully. “And you thought we could just show up, BS our way through it, and leave again.” Duo flushed, smiling sheepishly. “Good thing Heero wouldn’t let us.” As usual, Heero had refused to enter into a new situation without a full plan of attack first. Between the five of them, they had hammered out what they would teach, then set about practicing it so they could avoid any mistakes in front of the crowd. The wrestling mats in the playroom had finally been used for their true purpose for nearly a full week. Now they stood just off to the side, unnoticed by everyone in the gymnasium, feeling tension set in. Both walls were completely obscured as the entire student population sat on the collapsible bleachers that had been pulled out for the assembly. Principal Une was standing in the middle of the floor, microphone in hand, waiting patiently for the noise to die down. It took another minute or so, then she raised the mic to her face with a practiced smile. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m sure that word has reached most of you by now as to what our assembly is about today. What will be a surprise is who is going to teach the basics of self-defense.” She turned expectantly to the left side of the gym. The boys shifted into position, having already been coached to walk out one by one as their names were called. “Allow me to introduce your instructors. Chang Wufei, black belt in Tai Chi. Quatre Raberba Winner, black belt in Hopkiddo and Tae Kwon Do. Heero Yuy, black belt in Karate and Tai Chi. Trowa Barton, black belt in Hopkiddo and Tae Kwon Do. And finally, Duo Maxwell, black belt in Hopkiddo, Tae Kwon Do, and Karate.” Duo winced slightly when he heard his introduction. Une had insisted that if he had the skill to beat his brothers at least on a semi-regular basis, then he could be called a black belt in those arts. The belts, after all, were only meant to tell what skill level you possessed. Since he had never been formally trained, he had argued long and hard about that, but apparently had lost. He joined the other four in the straight line they had formed in front of the students, feeling a little self-conscious with all of those people looking at him. He flashed them a wink and a wave before he could succumb to the feeling. Several girls in the audience whistled back, which made him grin. “Baka,” Heero muttered to him. “Stop flirting.” “Hey, at least we have their attention,” he muttered back. “Pay attention, everyone,” Une concluded sharply. “No matter who you are, you’ll learn something from this.” Quatre graciously accepted the mic from her and beamed a smile at everyone. “First off, we’re going to show you some basic moves.” He waited until two pairs were standing in front of the crowd on either side. They had decided beforehand on who would pair off with who. As a simple precaution, they put Wufei against Heero, and Duo against Trowa, purposefully NOT putting the lovers together. “Right. A classic move in movies—and real life—is for an attacker to grab your throat and try to keep you either down or submissive by threatening your air supply. One very simple way of combating this is to shove your fingers against their own windpipe. They will only register extreme pain and will promptly drop you and turn away, trying to get their own wind back.” Both sides demonstrated this technique, very slowly so that it could be seen clearly, and so that they wouldn’t hurt each other. “Now, if your attacker comes up from behind and grabs your arms, then there are a few ways to handle the problem. You can hook your leg behind his knee and shove, thereby causing him to lose his balance.” Quatre waited until that had been demonstrated and Wufei and Duo had picked themselves off the ground before going to the next point. “Next is to scrape your heel against their instep. Keep in mind, this will only make them stumble in pain; you’ll need to follow through with an elbow into their midsection in order to get them completely off of you and allow you to run.” For fifteen minutes they went through basic hand-to-hand self defense. Quatre felt proud of himself that he was able to remember everything in sequence. It was one thing to know it by instinct—another matter entirely in trying to explain it. He felt a whole new respect for his previous teachers. When they had finished their routine, he breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Now, any questions?” /Please say no so I can get out of here./ A petite blonde in the front row raised her hand and waved it a little. Quatre transformed a groan into a smile. “Yes?” “Look, you guys can do this easily because you’re guys and you’re trained. But I’m not sure if a girl can do this.” Duo bounced across the other side of the room to grab the mic. “Then come on down! We’ll prove it.” Quatre’s eyes went wide in panic. “Duo!” he hissed “what are you doing?!” “Proving a point.” He handed the mic back to the Arabian and cheerfully waved the girl to his side. “What’s your name, gorgeous?” “Amy,” she answered with a giggle. “Right. I’m going to play the Bad Guy and try to sneak up on you. Just respond like you were shown just now, alright?” “I’ll try…” Quatre backed off as Duo approached her from behind, hoping for the girl’s sake that she either wouldn’t hurt Duo, or had life insurance. Wufei would kill her if she hurt his lover, girl or no girl factor. Amy stood stock still, waiting for Duo to pounce on her. He grabbed both of her arms from behind, and she instantly scraped his instep. Duo yelped a little in pain and twisted sideways to dodge any further attack on that side. Amy delivered an elbow to his ribs, making him release her. Then she stared at Duo in surprise when she realized she had won free. “See?” Duo grinned like a cat who not only ate the canary, but covered up the evidence and washed it down with the last bottle of cream in the house. “Easy.” Amy nodded, almost in wonder. “Yeah, it was.” Duo grabbed the mic again and turned as he spoke, taking in the entire room. “Unlike what they tell you in cartoons, boys and girls, we DO want you to try this at home. Just be careful, go slow, and *don’t* practice with breakables around. Practice makes perfect in this, and you won’t forget it if you do it. Any other questions?” None were spoken. Principal Une stepped up from the sidelines—hiding a devious smile—and accepted the mic from Duo. “Thank you, gentlemen. Now, before you go, I think we would all be interested to see a bit of real-life competition.” Five teenagers exchanged varying degrees of panicked looks. “Of course, one would be the odd man out…ah, of course. Long Meiran, could you come down here please?” Meiran had been itching to have a go at the five, but they usually wouldn’t hear of it, claiming they didn’t want to hurt her by accident. Her smirk was suspiciously triumphant as she made her way down to the main floor. “Excellent. Meiran, go against Trowa, please. Quatre, you’re against Duo and Heero you’re still against Wufei. Now, gentlemen, the rules are these. The first one pinned loses. On your mark,” Une watched as they quickly fell into position, eyeing their opponent (she couldn’t help but note the resigned sigh that Trowa gave as he faced Meiran) “GO!” Meiran, always aggressive, launched herself at Trowa—only to find that he was no longer there. She watched with open-mouthed surprised as he flipped himself into the air and landed smoothly a foot away. She barely was able to get her act together before he aimed a chop at her. She blocked, rolled out of his reach, then came in low. Her height at this moment was to her advantage; he had to bend to reach her. Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to work. Trowa didn’t seem to have any difficulty displacing her kicks with neat efficiency before he caught her punch, twisted her arm behind her back, and jerked her ruthlessly to the floor. “And before you ask,” Trowa murmured to her in exasperation “no, I won’t go against you again.” “But I lost!” she protested vehemently. “How am I suppose to regain my reputation if you don’t let me try again?” “You won’t. Deal with it.” “Grrrr…” Trowa looked up to see how Quatre was faring, and felt his jaw drop. His blond lover, who usually avoided a fight if he could help it, was twisting and dodging Duo’s attacks with alarming ease. Duo aimed a kick at him, following through with a punch when the kick was evaded. To everyone’s surprise, Quatre caught his wrist as he twisted to avoid the punch, and jerked it forward, forcing Duo onto his knees. Before anyone could blink, he had the American’s arm twisted behind his back, pinky and thumb spread wide to keep the teen in place. “Damn, Q! Remind me not to piss you off.” Quatre relaxed, letting go and giving Duo a hand up. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?” “Yeah, my pride is completely busted. Tro, take it from me, DON’T piss off blondie.” Trowa managed to scoop his jaw off the ground and slide back into place. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Everyone’s attention turned back to the last set at this point. It was obvious after a few moves that the pair was evenly matched. Heero just barely managed to dodge a punch to his midsection, blocking a kick that Wufei aimed at his face with crossed hands. Heero retaliated with a fast staccato toward Wufei’s chest, which were blocked, then returned. They ducked, spun, kicked, grunts sounding in the air when they made contact. Duo slung an arm around Quatre’s neck as he watched in absolute fascination. “Damn. I knew ‘Fei was good, but I didn’t know he was that good. I’ve only managed to pin ‘Ro a few times, and that’s mostly because he was either tired, or he let me.” “I’m just glad that they usually have a hold on their tempers. Otherwise we would be in serious trouble,” Quatre returned, watching raptly. “No kidding.” The school bell startled everyone, the battling teenagers included. They broke apart, panting, eyes still locked. Then Heero smiled. “Wufei. I want to continue this later.” Wufei smiled back. “Agreed.” “Well.” Une lifted the mic again, covering her surprise at just how deadly the two moved. Even she had been impressed by their display, and she had known what to expect. “Thank you, gentlemen, Meiran. Everyone is dismissed to go to lunch now.” Not surprisingly, many of the female students immediately went down to the five boys, bombarding them with questions. Trowa, who was highly uncomfortable under that much attention, stood closely behind Quatre and let one of his hands linger on the blond’s waist. “…no idea that you could actually fight like that. How long have you been into this kind of thing?” Quatre could feel his lover’s unease, and took the hand at his waist into his, tangling their fingers together and squeezing reassuringly as he answered. “Since I was six, actually.” “Really?” It was Amy that was asking all the questions. She seemed to be genuinely curious, and friendly without any other intent behind the conversation. “That’s cool. Um…can I ask how long you two have been going out?” Quatre started, not expecting the question. The host of girls around them also stilled as they heard the question, casting both boys looks that was mixed with curiosity as well as that peculiar delight that all girls felt when they were in front of a new couple. The Arabian gave a look over his shoulder to Trowa, brow cocked in question. Was it alright if he answered with the truth? Trowa shrugged. Why not? Everyone believed it anyway. What harm could it do? “A little over three months,” Trowa answered quietly. “That is *so* sweet,” one of the girls sighed. After a moment, Trowa recognized her as the brunette that sat in front of him in his Spanish class. “I thought something was going on, but I couldn’t prove it. Are your parents cool with it?” “His is,” Quatre answered ruefully. “My father isn’t.” “Ah, well, at least you have *one* set of parents.” “WOMAN! Don’t be ridiculous!” “Stay out of this, Chang! I’m asking Duo, not you!” Quatre groaned. “Now what?” Still holding Trowa’s hand, he led them through the crowd toward their other friends. When he broke through, he resisted the urge to curse. Meiran was standing in front of Wufei and Duo, in a stance that Quatre knew spelled trouble. Meiran glowered at her ex-fiancé, arms crossed over her chest and a stubborn I’m-not-moving-and-you-can’t-make-me set to her jaw. Quatre quickly stepped up to her before things could explode. And he knew they would, eventually. Wufei and Meiran could never talk to each other for long without it ending in a fight. “What’s going on?” “I want to spar with Duo,” Meiran answered curtly. “It’s obvious that I’m not at your guys’ level, and I want to get stronger.” Duo was grinning at his boyfriend, eyebrows waggling mischievously. “Come on, ‘Fei, what’s the problem? Trowa could beat her, so I probably can too.” “She fights dirty,” Wufei stated bluntly. “And I don’t like the idea of you bruised and bloody.” Duo snuggled up to him, rubbing his nose against his lover’s jaw. “You’re so cute when you get all macho and protective, you know that?” “Stow it, Maxwell,” Wufei growled back. The watching crowd noticed that he put an arm around the boy’s waist in order to keep him in place, however. “The answer is no, Meiran.” Quatre stepped in again. “We can settle this later. Actually, Meiran, I would like to spar with you if you don’t mind.” Meiran looked at him in consideration, nibbling on her lip. Actually, Winner would be an even greater challenge, since he was able to beat Duo. “Good. I accept.” Trowa looked worried at this, clearly asking Wufei with his eyes ‘Is this bad?’ Wufei nodded sourly. “Well, now that that is cleared up,” Une came forward at this point and started shooing students away. “Everyone go, get lunch. As for you five, I think we’ve accomplished our goal.” “I hope so,” Heero murmured, staring at the
double doors leading to the quad absently. “I truly hope so.” Honor: How the heck did this chapter get so long?
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