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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"
Heero started awake, breathing hard, feeling clammy tendrils up and down his spine. /Nightmare…/ Closing his eyes, he sank his head against his drawn up knees. It was the third time that night. Usually, by this point, he would already be with either Duo or Trowa, and getting some restful sleep. “But I can’t.” The whisper was almost forlorn, barely leaving the area of the bed it was so soft. He hadn’t been able to sleep with either of his brothers for almost three weeks now. Ever since Wufei had woken up to find him wrapped around Duo, he hadn’t dared to repeat that night. He had been assured that it was okay…but Heero just couldn’t risk it. Wufei meant too much to Duo, and he couldn’t risk upsetting their relationship just because of a restless night. The dogs helped, usually. They stirred at the foot of the bed when they realized he was awake, and he bent to rub at their ears before settling back against his side of the bed. Resolutely he closed his eyes, trying to fall back to sleep. Zane was awake now, and could smell fear from one of his favorite people. He flattened his ears a little, not liking what he was sensing. Zathris, too, was awake with his nose wrinkled up in distaste. They exchanged looks, touching noses a little as they communicated. ‘I’ll go to One With A Tail and his mate’ Zathris stood and stretched, watching his brother move to join him on the floor. Zane wagged his tail in agreement. ‘I’ll go to Hair Like Sunshine and his mate, then.’ He took care of opening the door, pushing against it with his nose until he could slide through. They parted there, going in different directions and opening the doors to the bedrooms on either side of Heero’s. + Trowa groaned as a wet nose touched the back of his hand, batting it away absently and curling closer to Quatre. It came again, accompanied by a whine that Trowa recognized. Deciding it might be important if one of the dogs was trying to wake him up in the middle of the night, he lifted his head groggily. “Zane? Wha’ is it?” Zane whined again, looking toward the door and back again. “You need me for something?” Zane’s tail wagged happily as he realized that he had gotten his point across. He crossed to the door, watching as his person climbed out of the bed. “Trowa?” Quatre stirred sleepily, reaching out for him. “Shh. Go back to sleep. Zane wants me for some reason.” “Mmm.” Trowa followed the collie out the door, surprised when he was led to Heero’s room. /What is this? Zane has never woken me up before./ He stepped in, automatically checking on his brother…which told him everything. Heero wasn’t in a restful slumber. He was frowning even in sleep, twitching as if he were running or fighting against something. /Dammit. Nightmare. Why didn’t he join me or Duo?/ Trowa felt like banging his head against a wall as he realized the full answer to that question. /Because we’re with our lovers, obviously. He wouldn’t feel comfortable intruding on us. Damn, we’re going to have to work something out. This can’t continue./ He hesitated briefly about leaving Quatre alone for the rest of the night…then shrugged. If the blond did wake up missing him, he’d be able to figure it out quickly enough. Knowing his cuddling tendencies, he’d probably just join them. Trowa climbed into the bed next to his brother, wrapping an arm around his waist and snuggled in comfortably before going back to sleep. + Wufei started awake when a cold nose pressed against his bare back. “Zao goa! What the—Zathris?” He was used to being fetched by the dogs, usually at Jamie’s behest, but never at one in the morning. “What is it?” Zathris went to the door, whining and looking back. “Follow you, eh?” Wufei climbed out of the bed, padding silently behind the collie as he was led to Heero’s room. He paused in the doorway, seeing Trowa curled up against his brother’s back, already asleep. /Nightmare, it looks like. And of course, Heero wouldn’t consider climbing in with Duo because of me. Damn. I really did a lot of damage that morning./ But here was a beautiful opportunity to fix it. Wufei went back out of the room, quietly rubbing at Zathris’s head in reassurance as he passed. Duo was still asleep in the bed when he came back, and he gathered him up gently, trying not to disturb him. “’Fei?” Duo murmured sleepily, stirring against his chest. “Shh. Heero had a nightmare, so we’re going to go sleep with him.” This made perfect sense to Duo’s still asleep mind, and he mumbled an approving sound as he fell back asleep. Wufei carried him carefully back into Heero’s bedroom, rolling his burden in next to the other two boys. Without missing a beat, Duo snuggled in next to Heero. With a pang Wufei watched as Heero’s hand latched onto Duo’s braid, the last bit of tension in his body fading. /I’m sorry, Heero. I thought you understood that it was okay, that I wasn’t going to stop you from taking the comfort you needed. I hope this gets the message across./ Zathris nudged him in the back with his nose, moving him toward the bed. Wufei flinched, startled out of his thoughts, and looked down at the innocent face. “You think I should climb in too?” The tongue lolled out of his mouth, and a bushy tail wagged. “Hn. You might have a point. Alright, get up there.” Wufei waited until the collie was once again settled on the end of the bed before sliding beneath the covers and spooning up against Duo’s back. It was almost like those times in the beginning, when they had all curled up like a litter of kittens on the mats in the playroom. He had actually missed this in a way, as much as he enjoyed having Duo to himself. With a slight smile, Wufei fell back asleep. + Quatre never really fell completely asleep once Trowa had left. When five minutes went past without sign of his lover, he opened one eye to glare around the room. His huggy toy was missing. Bad huggy toy. Must go find. Grumbling, he stumbled out of the bed and wandered into the hallway. Since it was Zane that had come and got him, Quatre decided to check Heero’s room first. Bingo. Everyone—including Tricksy, who had decided to curl up on Heero’s hip—was there but him. This Would Not Do. Quatre went directly to the opposite side of the bed, scooting over until he could rest against Trowa’s back. Warm and satisfied again, he kissed the back of Trowa’s neck and went to sleep. + Jamie had often thought to catch ‘The Kitten Pile’ as she had mentally termed it on camera, but had never remembered to grab her camera until someone was up. This time, she remembered and took a few shots at different angles before she put it away and actually went about the process of waking up the boys. With help, of course. Jamie went over and ruffled the dogs awake. “Morning, guys. Wake up the boys, okay?” Collies are among the most intelligent creatures on earth. They can be trained to herd sheep (or people, which was actually more fun because people tended to move when they weren’t suppose to) open doors…or play alarm clock. Zane immediately pounced on the right side, licking at Quatre’s cheek, while Zathris pounced on the left, wriggling his way in between Wufei and Duo so he could lick both at the same time. In something that was as close to simultaneous as nature could allow, both Quatre and Wufei rolled to get away from the wet tongue intent on bathing every inch of their faces— --and landed on the floor with a thud. “AI YA!” “MA FISH KAHRABA!” Jamie stifled a laugh, knowing that it was at least partly her fault they had fallen off, and would catch grief if she laughed. Then she laughed anyway, unable to stop herself. Wufei just looked so put out with the situation, she couldn’t help it. “Sorry. You guys ready for breakfast?” “Woman.” Wufei glared at her. “This is Not Funny.” “Sorry, honest. I didn’t know you’d fall off. You okay over there, Q?” Quatre’s head came into view, and he was frowning at Zane darkly. “Fine. What am I doing here anyway?” “I don’t have the foggiest notion,” Jamie admitted easily. /But I’d love to hear the story behind it./ “Heero was having nightmares,” Wufei explained as he pushed himself up to his feet. “The dogs came and woke Trowa and I up. I’m not sure when you joined us.” “Me neither.” Quatre didn’t sound as if this particularly bothered him. Trowa managed to shove Zane away, sitting up and yawning. “Morning.” He laid a hand on Heero’s bare shoulder, shaking him awake. “Heero. Wake up.” Heero groaned, opening one eye…then both eyes…staring around him in confusion. “What…why are you guys here?” Quatre gave him an incredulous look. “Because you were having nightmares. Duh.” “Oh…but…I don’t remember waking anyone up.” “You woke up the dogs,” Trowa pointed out. “And they came and got us,” Wufei concluded. “Heero, the next time this happens, don’t just lay there. Come and join either Duo and I or Trowa and Quatre. Just because we are involved, it doesn’t mean you are excluded.” Heero swallowed hard, feeling his eyes burn. He forced an “Okay” past his tight throat. Jamie nodded to herself, watching this. /Yes. It finally is okay./ ~*~*~*~
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