27-Dec-2001
Title: Two Divided By Zero 23/??
Author: Lasha Lee (anakerie@cinci.rr.com)
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5XOC, OCXOC
Warnings: Bad language.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Notes: Ask and ye shall receive. We were dead at work today so I was able to get another chapter done (a long one). Thank you all for being so wonderful and accepting Gage. Maybe once this is done he'll leave me in peace. Once he got inside my head, he just sort of took over.
Gage: And I have some lovely snake tonic you might be interested in.
Shan had been raised to be a respectful son. He had been taught that children were supposed to honor and revere their parents, no matter what. And he had tried his best to follow that creed.
But when he saw his father yank his lover to the floor, saw Wufei enraged and crazed, trying to choke Gage to death, something in the boy snapped.
He screamed and launched himself onto Wufei's back, not caring that he was naked, not caring that others were in the room. His arms locked around his father's neck, and he had only one thought; protect Gage. Save Gage no matter what.
He had no way of knowing that the same passion that drove him to this was identical to what drove his father, that his father's thoughts at this moment were only around protecting him. All of this happened in a matter of seconds.
Then Heero and Duo were separating them, prying Shan off of Wufei's back, and prying Wufei's hands from around Gage's throat. Duo alone Wufei could have overpowered, but Heero's strength had not decreased with his age, and it was that alone that saved Gage's life tonight.
The minute Gage was free and gasping for air, both Shan and Milliardo were by his side. Shan grabbed the blanket and threw it around the other boy, and Milliardo was supporting him as he coughed, his eyes watering.
Wufei was struggling in Heero's gasp, trying desperately to reach Gage and finish him off. Denea was staring from one boy to another in horror, and Relena and Meishel appeared to be in shock.
"Are you all right?" Milliardo was asking Gage, feeling the bruises on his throat gently. "Do you need a doctor?"
Gage shook his head. "Fine." He managed to croak. He glanced at Wufei and his hand tightened around Milliardo's.
"Shhh, it's okay. He won't you ever again." Milliardo glared at the older man. "He'll never lay a hand on you again."
"I'll do more than that!" Wufei screamed. "I'LL KILL HIM! HE RAPED MY SON!"
"He did not!" Shan yelled back. "I wanted it!"
"I love Shan!" Gage gasped. "I'd never hurt him." The injuries to his throat had deepened his voice, and he sounded eerily like Milliardo.
"Wufei." Duo said quietly. He had run from the room a second ago, and now returned holding a neuralizer. "I love you like a brother Wu, but I won't let you hurt that boy. If you can vow to me that you won't hurt him, I won't use this. Otherwise you're not going to give me a choice."
"Duo..." Wufei shook. "Shan..."
"I know. We'll get to the bottom of this and find out exactly what happened, but you've got to calm down. I know it's not easy right now. But you're not doing Shan any good getting hysterical."
"I promise." Wufei bit his lip, forcing the words out. "I won't hurt him. Unless my son was forced. Then I demand justice."
"You'll be waiting a long time." Shan retorted.
"Shan, please." Denea snapped. "Both of you get dressed and come downstairs." She turned off the music and shooed everyone out the door and down the steps. "You have two minutes, boys. Don't make me come back up here."
Wufei did not appear to want to leave Shan alone with Gage, but Duo still held the weapon. He stumbled down the steps in a daze. Blindly he reached for Denea and she took his hand tightly. She was crying.
"I swear to God, Chang, if Gage is hurt in anyway..." Milliardo turned on the other man.
"What about Shan?" Wufei yelled back. "What about my son? There was blood on those sheets! Shan's blood!"
"Please." Duo held up his hands. "Enough. Sit."
They all took seats, Milliardo and Wufei looking like they were about to jump each other.
Relena was weeping softly, and someone handed her a tissue. She looked up to see that it was Denea. "Men are so predictable." Denea said softly. "They're always thinking of two things; fighting and fucking. And our young men are no different, I guess. It's going to be okay."
She sat down next to Relena's chair, and the women clasped their hands for a moment. "If we can stop the old men from killing each other." Denea added, and Relena managed a smile.
There were footsteps on the stairs, and they turned.
Gage and Shan walked side by side, their hands joined tightly, their eyes proud. They did not look like teenagers caught literally with their pants down. (Or in their case, off.) They looked like soldiers facing a firing squad and willing to do it together. They sat down on the couch, facing their parents. Gage gave Wufei a smug look and put his arm around Shan's shoulders. Wufei jumped out of his chair, but Duo waved the neuralizer and he reluctantly sat back down.
"Get your damn hands off of him." He growled at Gage.
"Maybe, Baba, I like his damn hands right where they are." Shan snapped. He put his own arm around Gage.
"What do you boys have to say for yourselves?" Duo asked calmly.
"What do you want us to say?" Gage shrugged. "We slept together. End of story. What's the big deal?"
"What do you mean, what's the big deal?" Heero slammed his hand on the arm of his chair. "You are fifteen years old! That's what the big deal is! You are too young to be having sex!"
"Obviously," Gage leaned back with a careless shrug, "we aren't. Because we did."
"Don't you get smart with me." Heero replied angrily. "Duo and I told you exactly what our rules were when you arrived here."
"We didn't do anything wrong." Shan protested. "All we did was fall in love! That's not wrong. It can't be!"
"Shan, why didn't you tell us?" Denea sighed. "Did you trust us that little?"
"We were going to tell everyone tonight." Gage offered. "After the party. After we had been together and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Shan's right. You're acting like we killed someone's baby or something. What happened in there isn't any of your business; just ours. We don't tell you who you can sleep with." He pointed out.
"We're adults." Duo tried to control his anger.
"Shan, he's brainwashed you!" Wufei cut in. "You're so innocent. Don't you see what he's done to you? He's manipulated you since the moment he's arrived here!"
"Oh, lay off, Baba." Shan glared at his father. "It's not about Gage! You just can't accept the fact that I'm queer!"
"You are not queer!"
"You're not?" Gage gave Shan a strange look. "Could have fooled me."
Shan laughed and then looked back at Wufei. "Yes, Baba, I am. Do you know how good it feels to admit that? All those times when I was little, I'd see a cute guy at school and all these feelings would start, and I'd tramp them down. I'd say 'No, my father wouldn't approve. I'm normal.' But I'm not, I guess. I'm just who I am." His voice cracked. "I'm still your son."
"Of course you are." Denea cut in. "Shan, we're very angry about what you've done, but that doesn't mean that we love you any less for it. You're our son whether or not you're into guys or girls or cotrefils. I'm upset that you slept with someone, not that that someone is another boy."
"He's not." Shan pointed at his father. "He's always been ashamed of me anyway, why not for this as well?"
Meishel had been quiet, but she got up then and crossed the room, hugging her brother tightly, and then Gage. She sat down on the floor at their feet and glared at her father. "Baba, open your eyes. What they have is beautiful! I won't let you try and destroy it."
"I swear that I will destroy him if he ever touches Shan again." Wufei shook with rage.
"That won't be a problem." Milliardo said in a tight voice. "I'm taking Gage back to Earth with me tonight. That's why I was trying to find him at the party."
"What?" Shan asked in shock.
"Uncle, no!" Gage protested. "I want to stay here. I mean..." he looked at Heero and Duo uncertainly. "If they still want me to..."
"Of course we still do." Heero said in a surprised tone.
"I told you before." Duo chimed in. "Our offer doesn't have conditions. You're ours and that's final. You're just going to be punished like you wouldn't believe."
"Your offer to Gage is kind." Milliardo nodded. "However, he's my flesh and blood. And he's not living on Dera!"
Gage jumped angrily to his feet, facing his uncle. They had never looked more alike. "Who do you think you are?" The boy yelled. "What gives you the right to tell me where I can live and where I can't live?"
"I'M YOUR FATHER!" Milliardo yelled back. "I HAVE EVERY RIGHT!"
"What did you say?" Gage's jaw dropped.
"I said... I'm your father, Gage. Your biological father." Milliardo's voice crackled.
Relena sobbed louder, and Denea put an arm around her.
"Mom?" Gage looked over at the woman who had raised him. "What's he talking about, Mom?"
She raised her head, and he saw the awful truth in her eyes. "No..." he whispered. "No..."
"Gage, sit down." Milliardo pointed back at the couch, but the boy was unable to move, still staring at him in shock. Shan very gently pulled him back down and put an arm around him. Meishel moved to his other side and held him as well.
"You're not... you're not my father." Gage laughed shrilly. "You're my uncle. My mother's brother."
"Gage, I didn't want you to find out like this, but it's time. You need to know the whole story. Please, listen to me." Milliardo begged.
He took a breath.
"When I married your au... Lucrezia all those years ago, she put one condition on our vows. That she could forgive me for anything, anything other than betraying her with another woman. She said that if that ever happened, then our marriage was over, no matter what the circumstances. And I thought 'How simple. That won't ever be an issue.'
"The years went by, and we had two beautiful little girls, and I couldn't have been happier. Then one night...
"We got into a fight. I don't even remember about what, but it ended with me walking out the door. I went to a bar, and I got drunk. Very, very drunk. I met a woman. I had a few more drinks. Then suddenly, it was morning. My head was killing me, and I was in her bed, with the sunlight coming through the window.
"I was horrified about what I'd done. I didn't even wake her up. I got dressed and went home. I told my wife that I'd slept it off at a friend's house and she believed me. Maybe she wanted to believe me. I don't know. But she never questioned my story."
He paused, shuddering. "I swore that I'd never cheat on my wife again and I never expected to think any more about it. It was my private cross to bear.
"But six weeks later, the woman, her name is Laura, contacted me."
Laura? Shan thought. Laura Landagren? He met Gage's stunned look, and held him tighter.
"She told me that she was carrying my child, and she listed her demands. I was to give her enough money to pay for an abortion, or she would go to my wife and tell her everything.
"I felt the world go crashing down around me, but through it all was one thought. She was carrying my child. MY child. And she wanted me to pay so that she could destroy it.
"I couldn't let her. I offered to make her a deal; I'd pay her a fortune if she'd give birth to the child instead of having an abortion. She agreed, under the condition that no amount of money I could give her would be enough to make her raise the 'brat'."
"How much?" Gage interrupted.
"Gage..."
"How much did my mother sell me for?!?"
Milliardo swallowed. "Five million dollars."
Gage gave a hollow laugh. "A bottle of Jack Daniels and five million dollars. At least I didn't come cheap."
"May I go on?"
"Oh, by all means. This is fascinating." His eyes were damp with controlled tears. "Tell us the rest, DAD."
"I agreed to her terms, she agreed to mine. But then I was faced with another problem. What was I going to do with the baby once it was born?
"Do with it?" Duo cut in. "What do you mean, do with it? He wasn't a goddamned puppy! He was your son! You take him home and spoil him rotten, that's what you DO with him."
"That wasn't an option." Milliardo shot back. "I would have lost everything. My wife, my daughters..." He tried to gather his thoughts.
"So I went to see Relena, and I told her the whole story. Every last detail. And then I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I begged her and Gerry to adopt the baby. I didn't want him raised by strangers; I couldn't stand the thought of never knowing if he was alive, or happy, or what he looked like... even if I couldn't be his father, he was still my son."
"At first I said no." Relena's voice was leaden. "I didn't want a baby. I didn't want my own child to raise, let alone my nephew. But Gerry and Milliardo pushed, and pushed, and finally I caved in. And I thought, maybe it won't be so bad. I was close to my adoptive parents. Maybe it could work out.
"We knew that there was a chance that the baby might look like a Peacecraft, so I couldn't say that I was adopting a child. For the next seven months, I faked a pregnancy. I hated every second of it; I was living a lie.
"Then suddenly, Milliardo was at the front door, and he was holding the baby in his arms. And he was SO beautiful. So perfect. And I knew that pretending he was mine was the right thing to do because he looked just like his father. And I told myself that I could be a good mother to him, that he'd never suspect the truth, and that he'd love me as much as I loved the woman who raised me."
"I would have." Gage choked out. "If you'd ever loved me like a son."
"Gage, I always loved you..."
"Like a nephew! I needed you to love me like a mother, and you couldn't. I used to hate myself, wondering how I could be so bad that my own mother couldn't stand me." He was really crying now. "But you're not my mother. You didn't want me, I've heard you say you didn't want me. And Laura and Zechs there didn't want me either."
Milliardo drew back at the name Zechs, as if Gage had spit in his face.
"She's blackmailing you, isn't she?" Gage continued, looking at Relena. "I saw the checks made out to Laura Landagren. Is that her?"
"Yes. Laura Landagren is the woman who gave birth to you." Relena sighed. "Until a few years ago, she hadn't know who adopted her baby. She saw a picture of you somewhere and put two and two together. She threatened to blow the lid off the whole deal if we didn't pay her. She doesn't need the money; she just gets a kick out of controlling us. She's a horrible woman."
"Well, that explains it. My father is an adulterer and my mother is a blackmailer." He laughed. "No wonder I'm such a mess."
"You're not a mess." Shan protested. "You're perfect. They're the ones that screwed up, not you!" He was crying as well, and Gage squeezed him, stroking his hair. Wufei was watching them, but not protesting. He stared at Milliardo in disgust.
"I never would have given you to them if I'd have known how Relena really felt about you." Milliardo sighed. "Never."
"Do you think it was easy?" Relena shot back. "Every time I turned around, there you were. 'Can I take Gage out for ice-cream? Can Gage spend the weekend with me? Can I take Gage to the zoo today?' When did we ever have a chance to be his parents?"
"You have every chance in the world! Gage loved spending time with me because you never had any time for him. Was I supposed to just pretend like he didn't exist?"
"At least I tried to raise him! It was more than you were willing to do!"
Gage was trembling under Shan's arm, and it was shattering his heart. He did the only thing he could think of. He leaned over and kissed the other boy deeply. Gage clutched at him and responded, drawing Shan's strength into himself, feeding on his unconditional love.
"Okay, break it up." Duo happened to look over, and he pulled the two apart. Gage glared at him, and Duo glared back. "You're on thin ice already, mister!" He warned. "Don't push me."
"I made a mistake." Milliardo bowed his head. "And I'm correcting it. Maybe fifteen years too late, but I'm going to try. If my sister is no longer willing to raise Gage, then I want him back."
"He's staying on Dera." Relena argued.
"No he is not!"
"Milliardo." Heero interjected. "You gave up any rights to Gage a long time ago. This is between Duo and myself and his adoptive parents."
"I didn't give up anything." Milliardo gave him a rather smug look identical to Gage's. "Laura signed papers, but I never did. We were afraid that if the adoption was made official it could be traced. I never signed away a single right to my son."
He looked at Gage. "Gage, I can't make up for what I've done, how I've hurt you. But it's time to start over. I know you love me; you can't know how much I love you. Maybe... maybe even more than Meg and Amy. I'm taking you home, and I'm going to start being your father; something I should have done the second you were born."
Gage stood up, shaking his head. "You are NOT my father!" He hissed. "You're not my father, my uncle, or my friend. You're nothing! And I'm not leaving Dera, and I'm not leaving Shan! You think I'm just going to say 'Hey, cool, you're my father, let's go fishing?' Go fuck yourself! I never want to see you again! Either of you!"
He turned and ran from the room, and the heard the backdoor to the house slam.
Shan jumped up, but Duo stopped him. "Let him go. He needs time to sort this out." The older man advised gently.
"You're not going to make him leave, are you?" Shan begged. "I know you're mad at us, but he didn't make me do anything I didn't want to. He loves me, and I love him. Please don't send him away."
"Shan." Wufei said in a controlled tone. "Even if that boy does stay here you are not permitted to be anywhere near him."
"Mom!"
Denea shook her head sadly. "I can't trust you, Shan. I'm sorry, but I have to back up Wu with this. I won't have my son flaunting the rules in my face. You knew what the consequences of sleeping with Gage might be; you knew this was something we would do."
"As I said, you don't need to worry. Gage wouldn't be anywhere near your son." Milliardo promised.
Heero shook his head. "No, Milliardo. We promised Gage that as long as he wanted to stay with us, we'd fight for his right to do so. You're not taking that boy anywhere."
"He's my son!"
"He's right, Heero." Wufei commented. "He hasn't been much of a father, but he is the boy's natural parent. He has dominion where he's concerned."
"Wufei!" Duo protested.
"You'll back me up on this?" Milliardo was asking Wufei.
"100%."
Milliardo gave Heero a searching look. "Do we have to make this a legal battle?"
Heero smiled. "If that's what it takes. You turned your back on Gage and we opened our arms to him. I'll never let you take him away from us."
"Then I'll see you in court." Milliardo nodded slowly. "I'll fight you in every court on Dera and every court on Earth and the colonies as well before I'll give up Gage a second time."
Heero looked at Wufei, who turned his back. It felt like a knife in Heero's heart. "Then we'll see you in court, Milliardo."
He and Duo walked toward the transporter, and Duo turned around. "Goodbye, Wufei." He said softly. "It's been a good run. I'll miss you."
They vanished into the transporter, and Wufei sagged, looking far too old for his years.
"Baba, that was the worst thing you've ever done." Meishel jumped to her feet. "How could you??"
"Meishel, you don't und..."
"Oh, I don't understand. There's a lot of things I don't understand." She spat. "I don't understand how someone as loving and wonderful as my brother ever got you as a father."
"Meishel!" Denea warned.
Meishel put her arm around Shan and without another word led him upstairs, rubbing his arm. They heard the door to her room shut.
"Wufei, thank you..."
"I didn't do it for you." Wufei said coldly. "It's the only way to protect my son from your son. I will kill him if I ever see him near Shan again."
"And I will kill YOU if you harm one hair on MY son's head!"
"Do you want a drink, honey?" Denea asked Relena, and the other woman nodded. They slipped out into the kitchen, leaving the men to argue.
"I suppose you think I'm the worst parent in the world." Relena said a moment later, accepting a glass of red liquor and sipping it.
"You're not the best." Denea pulled no punches. "But who is, right? I believe that you do love that boy. I believe that you tried raise him as your own, and that your decision to let him live here was based on your love for him. My own parents threw me out because I was too much trouble for them to handle. I know what the difference is."
"He's always been a trouble-maker." Relena took another sip. "But he's not cruel. He's never hurt anyone. He'd never hurt Shan. I'm not saying that I agree with what they did, but he never would have forced Shan into it."
"I know." Denea nodded. "Everyone thinks my son is so sweet and innocent, but that's a crock. For one thing, he's my son. He has a mind of his own and makes his own decisions. Did you see him attack Wufei earlier? Gage couldn't have forced him into anything."
"Do you think that they're really in love?"
Denea considered. "They're young, but my best friends Sheld and Marti were in love at that age. So were Jazz and Linra. They may be in love, but they're not old enough or responsible enough to have a physical relationship, and I refuse to allow that. That's no secret to Shan; he knows my position on the subject, and every neighbor we have knows his father's position on that and everything else." She sighed. "But I do promise you this." Her lips twitched. "If he got Gage pregnant, I'll see that he does the right thing and Pledges him."
Relena burst out laughing. "Thank you. I needed that."
From the living room, they could hear Milliardo yelling about the fact that maybe Wufei should have kept Shan locked up if he couldn't control him.
The women sighed and raised their glasses, clinking them together.
"To surviving the next few days." Denea threw back the contents of her glass.
"Hear, hear." Relena echoed.
End Part 23
(:./lasha/two23)
