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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"
Chapter Nineteen: Home of the Heart, II
//Quatre? It’s Iria. Don’t come home.// The statement was so out of the ordinary that it took a second to make sense in Quatre’s head. “Don’t come home? Why? What’s happened?” //I don’t know how, but Dad has found out about Trowa.// “Damn,” Quatre whispered. //He’s fit to kill. I don’t know what would happen if he saw you at this point. Please, for the love of Allah, don’t come home Quatre.// “I won’t,” Quatre promised. “You know where I’ll be, right?” Despite the situation, his sister snorted in amusement. //It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out, brother. I’ll keep you updated, alright?// “Okay. Love you.” *click* Quatre slowed the car down, using a driveway off the side of the road to do a u-turn. The little Triumph made the turn easily, and within five minutes he was at Jamie’s house. He parked next to Trowa’s Camaro, taking a moment to steady his shaking hands. He hated not being able to obey his father’s wishes…but he couldn’t give up Trowa or deny his own heart. Taking several deep breaths, he gained control of himself again and got out of the car. “You’re being invaded!” he called as he entered the front door. Trowa’s head popped out of the kitchen. “Excellent timing, love. Do you want to—” the words stumbled to a halt as he picked up on Quatre’s less-than-steady smile. “What’s wrong?” Quatre went to him, burrowing into the offered embrace thankfully. For the longest moment he soaked in the feeling of safety his lover’s arms offered him. “Iria called me a few minutes ago. She told me that Dad found out about us, and to not come home. He’s fit to kill right now.” Trowa’s arms steadily tightened around him as the situation was explained. “You’ll stay here.” “Until the situation resolves itself, at least,” Quatre confirmed. “Where’s Jamie?” “The study, I think. You want to tell her?” “Please.” Quatre gratefully accepted Trowa’s arm around his shoulders as they went to the study. He knocked on the thick oak doors before entering hesitantly. “Jamie?” “Quatre! Perfect timing, I’m so stuck it’s not even funny—” Jamie looked up, took in their expressions, and frowned. “What’s wrong?” “My sister called me and warned that my father knows.” “Uh-oh. And he’s not taking it well?” “No.” Quatre bit his lip. “Is it alright if I impose on you for a while?” Jamie shook her head, sighing. “You’re not an imposition, Quatre. *Ever*. Stay as long as you like. And don’t worry about your father.” A wolfish smile came over her face. “*I* will deal with him.” Trowa felt a brief shiver go down his spine. Mothers simply weren’t meant to *have* expressions like that. It was just…wrong. He took the pointed look she gave him in stride, nodding his understanding of the silent command ‘make him comfortable’. “Quatre, come help me finish dinner.” “Oh. Ah, certainly.” Jamie watched them leave, eyes narrowing. If she were a parent that had discovered that her child had been doing something she didn’t approve of…she wouldn’t let them run from it or avoid confronting the issue. /I think it would behoove me to keep an eye out for Mr. Winner. I don’t think this is going to be shunted aside so easily./ + Two hours later, Jamie’s prediction came true. The boys were all upstairs battling each other through Final Fantasy VII (from the sounds, Wufei was losing badly), and she had decided to prudently stay near the front door, taking a good book with her while she waited. At approximately 5:30 her front door burst open and a large man strode through. “WHERE IS HE?!” Jamie dropped the book and flung herself in between him and the stairs. The collies, which had been resting at her feet, sprung up and flanked her in silent support, hackles raised. “You have gall, sir, to walk into my house without invitation!” His epileptic complexion went darker in rage. “You! You are the person who allowed such a disgraceful relationship to happen in the first place! I *owe* no courtesy to you!” “I told you that I would take the appropriate course of action,” Jamie hissed back. All of her protective instincts were in overdrive. “And I did. They love each other, Winner. I’ve never seen a love deeper or truer than theirs, and I’ve only seen one other that matches it. I only pray to god that all of my sons are blessed in the same way.” “Damn you,” Henry snapped back. “I want my son, and I want him down here NOW!” “NO.” Growling in frustration, he stepped forward to move around her. Zane and Zathris snarled at him, advancing to meet him. With an oath the man stumbled back. “Call them off!” “Don’t be stupid, Winner.” Jamie folded her arms over her chest, eyes cold. “You intend to harm one of my sons. I’m not letting you any further into this house.” “I said CALL THEM OFF!” “No. They protect their own. So do I.” Dropping her voice to a steely tone she moved to stand directly between her dogs. “I have a .21 rifle upstairs. Don’t make me use it.” “Henry.” Jamie and Winner both turned to the doorway. Quatrina Winner stood there, eyes pained. “Henry. What are you doing?” “I’m settling this. You’ve turned a blind eye to him too long.” “I didn’t turn a blind eye.” Quatrina came forward, her eyes locked on her husband’s. “I knew that he had a lover, and I knew who it was.” “What?!” Henry was staring at her, incredulity scrawled all over his face. “Do you mean to suggest that you *approve*?” “Yes. I like Trowa. He completes Quatre in a way that most people only read about, or see on TV.” “I don’t believe I’m hearing this.” Henry shook his head, dismissing her. “I’ll talk to you about this later. Right now, I want my son and I don’t want any more argument or threats.” “He’s isn’t your son,” Jamie told him flatly. “He’s mine. And I’m not giving him to you.” “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course he’s my son.” “Not in any of the ways that matter. Over the past four months, he’s spent every waking moment in this house. And you didn’t notice. Not very commendable of you, *Mister* Winner.” Winner spluttered incoherently, taking a furious step forward before the dogs reminded him that such a move wasn’t allowed. “Make him your son in truth.” Jamie’s head snapped to Quatrina. “What?” “I’ll sign the adoption papers today,” she continued softly. “What are you saying?!” Henry demanded. “You obviously don’t love him, Henry.” Quatrina turned to her husband wearily. “You’ve never spent more than ten minutes in his company at a time. This woman has proven that she thinks more of him than either of us ever have. He’s happy here. He’s loved here. So I think he should stay.” From the stairs, someone inhaled sharply. Jamie turned toward the noise, grimacing a little when she saw that all five boys were standing along the banister. Trowa had both arms wrapped around Quatre, glaring at Winner with acute dislike. Quatrina moved forward, one of her hands beckoning. “Quatre.” Quatre gently untangled Trowa’s arms from around him, walking forward until he was within arm’s reach of his mother. All of the boys followed him down, stopping a foot away from Jamie, offering their silent support and protection. Quatre was searching his mother’s face, stance wary. “Do you mean that?” “Yes.” Quatrina smiled gently. “I’ve never seen you happier than you’ve been the last four months. It is up to you, dearest.” Jamie didn’t need a better cue than that. She drew Quatre into a tight hug, telling him without words that she wanted him to stay. Quatre returned that hug just as fiercely. “Yes. I want it.” “Then I’d better call Judge Watson again,” Jamie whispered into his hair. Looking up, she met Trowa’s incandescent smile. “Want to help me make a batch of fudge?” “Sure.” Quatrina turned resolutely toward her husband. “Henry?” “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll sign the papers too. I want nothing more to do with him.” With a sneer he stalked back out of the house. Jamie pulled free of Quatre and picked up the hall phone, dialing in the number quickly. On the third ring the judge picked up. //Hello.// “Good evening, Judge Watson. It’s Jamie.” //Ah, Jamie. I was just craving some of your fudge.// “Well then, everything works out fine. I need you to draw up some more adoption papers as quickly as possible.” There was a ponderous ‘hmmm’ sound. //Can you come in an hour?// “I certainly can. You’ll have all the proper paperwork this time to work off of.” Jamie flashed Quatre a thumbs up, and he grinned back at her. //One hour then. And bring milk.// Jamie was laughing as she replaced the phone on the receiver. “And milk too, eh? Well. Mrs. Winner, if you would be so good as to get Quatre’s birth certificate, social security information and so forth I would appreciate it. We’ll meet at Judge Watson’s in an hour.” She nodded, smiling sadly. Quatre came forward to hug her gently. “Thank you,” he whispered. Quatrina didn’t say a word as she left. Quatre watched her leave, face unreadable. “Jamie…I think I’ll help you with that fudge.” “Okay,” Jamie responded softly. + The mood was a little somber as they drove to Judge Watkin’s home. Trowa was holding Quatre protectively in the back seat, studying him with blatant worry in his eyes. Quatre had curled up against him, resting his head on his lover’s chest and letting his eyes fall closed. Jamie was sending looks in their direction through her rearview mirror. She didn’t like how silent Quatre was being. He was happy with the idea of moving in with them, and legally belonging to their family…but his father’s rejection had hurt. He was visibly torn between delight and grief. “I can’t be adopted by you, Jamie.” Jamie started as his voice came out of nowhere. “What?” “I can’t be officially adopted by you,” he repeated, lifting his head to look at her. “If I do, it will cause complications. It would mean being Trowa’s brother and…um…” The light dawned. “Oh. Oops. I almost forgot about that. Heh. Well, we can alter the paperwork to say that I’m your legal guardian.” Quatre thought that through. “Yes, that should work.” His head turned to look up at the silent brunette next to him. “Stop worrying. I’m fine, just…shook up a little.” Trowa pressed a kiss on his forehead and hugged him. “I love you.” “I know,” Quatre whispered, snuggling back into the embrace with a sigh of contentment. “I love you too.” Jamie finally relaxed and focused solely on the road. Quatre would be fine.
Chapter: epilogue |
