|
"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 Eight: Friends and Lovers A loving relationship is one in which the loved one
is free to be himself -- to laugh with me, but never at me; to cry
with me, but never because of me; to love life, to love himself, to
love being loved. Such a relationship is based upon freedom and can
never grow in a jealous heart.
He snorted in remembrance of the scene that had happened yesterday. Looking suspiciously mussed, Quatre and Trowa had walked out of the back patio hand in hand, grinning like loons at each other. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. And they hadn’t been more than a few feet apart since then. Wufei was honestly relieved that they were now a couple. He had seen the pain that came into Trowa’s eyes sometimes when he had looked at the Arabian. He loved Quatre so much that it hurt. Even Wufei, with his limited experience in relationships, had been able to see that. /I’m glad./ A warmth had been sitting around his heart every since he had seen them together, and even now it was there. He couldn’t lie there all day, though, and just daydream about things. Turning over, he sat up a little to see over the mattress. He was going to have the devil of a time getting Duo up. …he wasn’t alone in the bed. Wufei swallowed hard, feeling that warm feeling in his chest grow cold and heavy. Heero was wrapped around Duo, sound asleep. /I thought they were brothers. Only brothers. Never was there a hint that there was something more…/ Unable to bear the sight of them cuddled so contentedly together, he threw the covers back and almost ran from the room. Once he was in the hallway, with the door firmly shut behind him, he felt a little better. It took five minutes of deep calming breaths for him to get his face back under control. “I can’t stay here,” he whispered to himself. He would surely do something that would betray to them of what had been growing in his heart. And he could not disgrace himself by saying or doing anything that could hurt them. Duo had offered him friendship, nothing more, and it would behoove him to stay clear until he could teach his heart to forget ever wanting more. Making his way downstairs, he paused just outside the kitchen door to make sure that he had himself under control. The grandfather clock in the hall chimed out 7:30 as he went through. Jamie was still in pajamas, rummaging through the refrigerator and muttering to herself. “Jamie. May I use your phone?” Jamie looked up, still a little asleep on her feet. She noted Wufei’s expression (too rigid) his posture (tightly clenched) and the fact that it was barely 7:30 (not normal for teenagers). All of this added up to one thing in her sleep-befuddled brain. “Did Heero climb into bed with Duo?” Wufei blinked. /How in ancestor’s name did she know that?/ “Why do you ask?” “Well, he wasn’t in his own bed this morning. And I doubted that he would climb in with Trowa and Quatre, so I figured that he would join Duo.” Wufei assimilated this carefully. /Trowa would never betray Quatre. He’d cut off his arm first. Is she insinuating that there is nothing more between Duo and Heero than there is between Heero and Trowa?/ “Yes. He did.” “Ah.” Jamie had noted the flash of calculation in his eyes and nodded to the table. This was more important than trying to find that bloody package of sausage. “Sit down, Wufei.” He did as ordered, feeling a trifle uneasy under Jamie’s too-knowing gaze. For a moment they simply looked at each other, then Jamie sighed. “They are brothers. But they are closer than most brothers will ever be. I cannot tell you all of Duo’s story—for one thing, I don’t know all of it. But I can tell you what you need to know. Duo’s an orphan, Wufei. I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now. What you don’t know is that he was dropped from the circuit of foster homes when he was little more than ten. After the last family abandoned him, he determined that he would never be in that position again. And he left. Left the foster homes, left the orphanage, disappeared from the system completely. He’d been living on the streets until he came here.” Wufei was frozen in horror. The stunningly attractive, ever-cheerful Duo Maxwell was a street rat? How had he survived at such a young age? Why hadn’t someone LOOKED for him?! “He found Heero when he was twelve, also abandoned by foster families and fleeing the system. They decided to watch each other’s backs, and Duo taught him how to speak and read English. He only knew basic phrases before Duo got hold of him.” Which explained why Heero was so careful in the literature class that he shared with Wufei. He wasn’t secure enough in the language to be truly comfortable in it… “And almost a year later they both found Trowa, also abandoned and lost by the system. His was hardly by choice, though. Do you see now, Wufei? They counted on each other for survival.” Wufei licked his dry lips, and he could not have lowered his eyes from Jamie’s if his life had depended on it. “Then when Heero climbed into bed with Duo last night…” “He was simply looking for comfort,” Jamie confirmed gently. “It’s the first rule of the streets. You sleep alone, you die. Whenever any of the boys have a nightmare, or simply can’t sleep, they’ll all pile up together. Haven’t you wondered why they usually fall asleep with you and Quatre on the wrestling mat in the playroom?” “Because they feel safe with us.” Wufei let his eyes close, mentally haranguing himself for being such a jealous idiot. “Absolute trust,” Jamie whispered. “I almost betrayed that trust.” Wufei’s fists balled in his lap. “I’m such an idiot.” “If you were truly an idiot,” Jamie observed, “then you would have insisted on walking out without listening. I think you’re being a little harsh on yourself. You cannot trust what you do not understand.” “Perhaps not. But I should have more faith in him. In both of them.” They both looked up as the sound of bare feet thundered down the stairs. Only one person made that sound. “JAMIE! Has Wufei left al—” Duo nearly tripped over himself as he careened into the kitchen, eyes wide with panic. He cut himself short when he saw Wufei sitting at the table with Jamie. Wufei didn’t need Jamie’s silent prodding to know what to do. He stood and approached Duo slowly. Duo covered up his panic with a slightly wobbly laugh. “Ah, sorry Wu-man. I’d thought you left and I’d have to build that waterfall of Jamie’s all by my lonesome, y’know?” The laugh died completely as Wufei stopped barely four inches away from him. Wufei drew Duo against him, hugging him gently. He waited until Duo’s arms slid around him in return before breathing against his temple, “I’m sorry I worried you. I just woke up early.” Duo shuddered hard, letting his head fall against Wufei’s shoulder. When he had awoke, and realized that Wufei was no longer there and that Heero was in bed with him, he had been almost paralyzed with anxiety. What if Wufei had assumed the worst? It had never entered his mind that the other teen had just woken early and come down to the kitchen for breakfast. “Sorry,” he mumbled again. “It’s okay,” Wufei assured him softly. Heero came in at this point, hovering just inside the doorway. He looked up to meet Heero’s worried eyes and repeated it again for his sake this time. “It’s okay.” /I understand./ Heero relaxed, returning the slight smile. “Xie xie.” “Aw man, not with the Chinese again.” Duo pulled back and away, and this time his smile was genuine. “You’re in America, guys, speak English!” “Iie,” Heero deadpanned. “Semai nai.” Duo rolled his eyes. “Oh you’re so funny. Hey Jams, what’s for breakfast?” “Omelets.” Knowing what the next question would be she looked briefly at the clock. “You’ve got about thirty minutes before they’ll be ready.” “Shower, here I come!” Duo sprinted out the door, braid whipping out behind him as he went. “Oh no you don’t!” Wufei took after him. “You are not getting all of the hot water!” Heero and Jamie shared a look, and grinned. “Hn.”’ + Quatre yawned as he opened the bathroom door, making sure that the towel around his hips was wrapped securely. He had gone into the shower this morning ¾ths asleep, and had completely forgotten to grab a clean set of clothes. Rubbing at his eyes, he started to walk to Trowa’s room. Zane, who had been awake for almost two hours now and more than in the mood to play, saw one of his favorite two-legs moving down the hallway. He barked happily, prancing in place and waiting for some attention. He received an absent-minded pet on the head as the blond passed, which just wouldn’t cut it. Determined to get some play-time in, Zane darted forward and caught the edge of Quatre’s towel in his teeth. Quatre’s sleep-numbed brain went to full alert when he felt the yank around his waist. His hands darted toward the towel at his waist, but his reflexes were too slow. Zane pulled the towel completely off, darting a foot away and wagging his tail playfully. “Zane, give that back,” Quatre ordered. Zane dropped the towel long enough to bark at him. To Quatre, the bark sounded suspiciously like ‘make me’. “Zane, I’ll play later. Right now I need to get dressed. Give me that towel.” Zane scooped up the towel and darted away another three feet or so. Quatre read the signs and sprinted toward the dog, unrealistically hoping that he could catch the collie before he could get downstairs. Zane was now ecstatic. He was being chased, just like he had planned, and ran full out for the stairs. Caught up in the chase, Quatre didn’t really notice when they hit the stairs. He was more focused on getting his towel back. From the ground floor someone let out a feminine whistle. “Ten points!” The full situation hit Quatre and he stumbled to a stop, half-way down the stairs. Naked…dog has towel…no covering on stairs… For a moment he was frozen in place, like the proverbial deer in the headlights. Then his brain re-engaged and—blushing like mad—he pivoted sharply and raced back upstairs, heading for Trowa’s room. Duo opened his door, stifling a yawn. He saw only a streak of skin and blond hair as it thundered past him. Blinking, he looked to where a door had been slammed shut. “Quat?” Downstairs, Jamie was petting Zane. “You’re a bad doggie, you know that?” Zane wuffed happily. ~*~*~*~ Footnote: Semai nai—boring. |
