14-Dec-2001
Title: Two Divided By Zero 10/??
Author: Lasha Lee (anakerie@cinci.rr.com)
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5XOC, Various OCXOC
Warnings: Kids behaving badly
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. "They Might Be Giants" own the rights to the song "Cow Town".
"Be reasonable... "
"Reasonable?" Shan threw down his spoon. "We're not the ones being unreasonable here, Baba. You're the one acting like a lunatic."
"Shan." Denea said sternly.
"Well, he is!"
"That's beside the point. You don't call your father names. Not when he can hear you, anyway."
"Whose side are you on?" Wufei demanded.
"I'm not taking sides. You both have some valid points."
"That's ludicrous." Wufei argued. "How can we both be right?"
Denea rolled her eyes.
"First of all, Gage hasn't done anything since he's been here but be a little on the obnoxious side."
"A LITTLE?"
"I realize that could change. But I am not going to convict the boy on the grounds that he MIGHT do something."
She looked at Shan. "That said, if Gage does do anything you know we wouldn't approve of, I will wear out your backside if you go along with it. That goes for you too, young lady."
"I AM THE MAN OF THIS HOUSE!" Wufei roared suddenly.
Denea's eyes glittered dangerously. "And as a MAN, you should feel ashamed for pitting yourself against a fifteen-year-old boy. Really, that's low even for you."
The twins locked eyes, and without speaking slipped away from the table. Their parents' angry voices could be still heard as they went upstairs and into Shan's room. There was a sound of something smashing against the wall, and Shan ruefully shook his head.
"I swear, I'd hate to see what they'd be like if they didn't love each other."
Meishel sat down on the edge of the bed. "We're alone now. Wanna tell me what was going on earlier with Gage?"
"What do you mean?"
His twin gave him an exasperated look. "I mean the fact that you and Gage were laying face to face and looked like you were just about to start going at it."
Shan snorted. "That's nuts. He's a GUY."
"So? Heero and Duo are guys." Meishel shrugged. "Try again."
"It was nothing! I am not into guys!"
Meishel dangled her feet off the bed. "You're not much into girls, either." She said at last.
"Hey!"
"It's true. You've been on five dates in the last year, and you've never asked the same girl out more than once."
"So? I just haven't found someone I've clicked with yet."
"What was wrong with Josie?"
"Nothing was WRONG with her. She just wasn't my type." He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "You don't go out on dates with guys." He pointed out suddenly. "Does that mean you're a lesbian?"
Meishel stood up. "You know very well that's not the same thing!" She blinked rapidly.
"I'm sorry, 'Shel." Shan felt a flash of shame and hugged his twin tightly for a second. "But why don't you just break down and TELL him already?"
She shook her head, smiling a little. "Not yet. It's not the right time yet. I don't know what I'd do if he doesn't feel the same way. But on the other hand, I don't know what I'd do if he does. I'm ready to love him from where I am right now. But I don't think I'm ready to..." she tried to find the right words. "I'm not ready to be part of a couple."
She left a few minutes later, and Shan was alone with his thoughts.
He had told Gage that things were easier on Meishel than they were on him, but privately he felt that wasn't true at all.
If he had felt pressure to conform to what his parents expected, it was nothing to what Meishel had faced. Like her mother and father, she was outspoken and stubborn, but she had a very gentle side as well. She had to present that carefully so that it wasn't seen as weakness. Neither of her parents would approve of that. Somehow she managed to pull it off, though.
Where did he fit in? He mused. What was he?
He figured that he was a pretty nice guy. He didn't have any mortal enemies that he knew about, and his friends seemed to like him okay, although he didn't really have anyone that he'd consider a best friend, except Meishel, of course. He definitely wasn't a warrior, he knew that much. School wasn't difficult for him, but he wasn't a brain, either, like Luke.
He lay back on the bed with a sigh. He had a sense of humor, but he wasn't funny like Duo and Jazz were.
And he was nothing like Gage, but then again, no one was like Gage. That boy was not only in his own class, he had his own university complete with sports teams, mascots, and donated lecture halls.
He guessed that he was a normal guy, with nothing remarkable about him, nothing unique. Compared to his family, he was downright boring, actually.
He stood up and walked to the window, pressing his head against the glass, watching his breath fog it. Something had stirred in him today, something he'd buried very deeply a long time ago.
When he had been a very small boy, he had been bad. Not cruel bad, not mean bad, but bad. So had Meishel. They'd caused chaos from the moment they woke up until the moment their parents forced them into bed at night. And it had been fun. Meishel was always coming up with some kind of scheme, and he had been more than happy to follow along.
He realized that he hadn't been afraid of anything back then. What had changed?
Maybe it had started with the invasion. He'd still gotten into trouble for years after that, but not nearly on the same level. There was a difference to it; he knew what it was like to be scared. If he hadn't burned to death in that fire, some of his innocence had. How odd to think of it like that, that his misdeeds had been based on innocence.
He could hear his parents laughing now from downstairs, the fight forgotten. He wondered what decision they'd reached, if any, about Gage.
He felt a core of unfamiliar defiance surge though him. He wasn't going to abandon Gage; he wasn't going to let his parents dictate whom he could and could not be friends with. Gage had been through enough of that crap on Earth.
He finally allowed himself to think about what Meishel had said earlier. Of course he wasn't attracted to the other boy, that was just plain silly. But he couldn't deny that there was something charismatic about him. Something pulling him toward Gage, and it was something that he didn't understand.
He finally gave up trying and went to bed.
The twins figured that their mother must have won the argument, because Gage continued to come over to their house for the next week without their father raising a stink about it. Wufei simply made sure that when Gage was there, he was not. If their paths did happen to cross, neither of them spoke and the animosity crackled in the air between them. Shan didn't think he'd ever seen two people who loathed each other as much.
But Gage had fit into his own life as easily as if he'd always been there. He offered suggestions about their houses, went with them to Minos, and took them on virtual tours of Earth places he had seen. And for Gage, he had been behaving himself.
At least, everyone assumed he had.
But as Duo was fond of saying, "If everyone assumed that the sun was populated by very tall women with pompom fetishes, that wouldn't mean it was true."
It was a warm night, and Meishel had gone to a sleep-over with some of her friends. Gage had graciously offered to come along and entertain them, stating that he was more than willing to don a pink nightgown and have his hair and nails done while gossiping about boys, but he had been turned down.
The boys were at the farm, standing out in the backyard, when Gage had given Shan a sideways smirk.
"You wanna crash their slumber party, Shanny Boy?"
"Not really." Shan laughed. "Some of those girls can be dangerous. There's a good reason Meishel likes them."
Gage was quiet for a moment. "You up for a different kind of fun?"
"You want to do Minos again?"
Gage shook his head. "Nope. That's not what I've got in mind."
That old quiver of excitement began to awaken in Shan again. "This is something my parents wouldn't approve of, right?"
"Oh, absolutely not." Gage assured him. "They'd be very upset."
"I'm not breaking any laws." Shan said firmly.
"My dear boy, law breaking is the last thing on my mind. Law bending... well, as they say, the night is young and so are we. Why don't you come with me? You can see for yourself what I'm talking about. If you're dead against it, then we'll leave." His silvery eyes glittered and his teeth flashed in the dim light.
"Okay." Shan found himself agreeing. What could it hurt to look, after all? If it was dangerous, he could then tell Heero and Duo and they could intervene to make sure Gage stopped whatever it was. He was just going along to keep an eye on his friend.
Wasn't he?
They wound though the streets and the shadows, passed the darkened buildings. Several times they saw people in those shadows, watching them, but no one made a move toward them. Some of them even nodded politely to Gage. Obviously the boy, although he hadn't been on Dera very long, was well known here.
They reached the door of a warehouse, and Gage knocked loudly. It opened a crack and a mousy-looking boy Shan didn't recognize stuck his head out through the opening. He grinned when he saw the blond boy and they high-fived each other.
"Who's your friend?" the strange boy asked, looking Shan up and down.
"This is Chang Shan. You'll have to be a bit patient with him; Minos is his idea of a wild, thunderous good time, but I'm trying desperately to contaminate him."
"He's cool?"
"Very cool."
The boy was unconvinced. "How do we know he'll keep his mouth shut?"
"Because Justice Skunk will skin him alive if he finds out where his precious baby boy is, that's why." Gage retorted.
"Good enough for me." The boy opened the door. "Come on in."
"Justice Skunk???" Shan managed to stammer as they slipped into the warehouse.
"Well, come on. He looks like a skunk. Okay, you don't have them here. A skunk is... "
"I know what a skunk is. Jazz has shown me pictures." Shan interrupted.
"Well, deny he looks like one!"
When Shan had been younger, Baba's hair had been as black as his own. It was now streaked liberally with white, although his father was not even fifty yet. Denea, who was several years older than her husband and still yet to see her first grey hair, said it was due to stress. If he couldn't find it, he created his own.
The interior of this club was nothing like Minos. Thick smoke filled the air, and the music was much louder, causing the metal floor under his feet to vibrate. The tables and chairs were makeshift, some were no more than crates and boxes.
The people here ranged from his own age to around Jazz's, but he saw no one older. Off to one side, people were dancing wildly to the music, slamming into each other and howling with laughter. And he was willing to bet what most of them were drinking was a lot stronger than a Setan Sunset.
Gage was pulling him off to the side, and leaning close to his ear so that he could be heard clearly.
"This, Shanny Boy, is what's known affectionately where I come from as a rave. They move from location to location as soon as they're discovered. Some of these people have been here for days."
"Are you serious?"
"Yup. They're everywhere if you know where to look. I knew there had to be at least one around here. I found it my second night." Gage stated proudly.
Shan gave the room another look around, and couldn't keep the grin off his face.
"Couple of rules." Gage continued, and his voice turned serious. "It's okay to eat stuff you buy yourself, or stuff I give you. That's cool. But don't eat or drink anything anyone else tries to offer you. They might just be being friendly, or it could be laced with something. Second, you don't leave with anyone else. If you want to go home, let me know and I'll come with you. But I'm not taking a chance on some sicko getting their mitts on you."
Shan's first inclination was to tell Gage that it was none of his business what he ate or whom he left with, but he saw the very real concern in the other boy's eyes. There was a danger in the air, and it was exciting, but he had to confess that he was way out of his league here. Gage, although a stranger to this world, was not a stranger to this kind of scene. He had to trust him.
"Got it."
"One more rule." Gage waved a finger. "You've got to dance with me."
Shan laughed. "Trust me, you don't want that."
"Oh yes I do. Come on." He held out his hand.
"I'm not a good dancer."
"So? Half these people are stoned to the gills. You think they're going to be up to dancing Swan freaking Lake? Come on, chicken."
Shan rolled his eyes. "Fine. One dance. And if you laugh at me, I swear I'll... "
"Oh?" Gage folded his arms. "You'll what?"
"I don't know." Shan admitted with a half-smile. "But you won't like it."
"I promise not to laugh." Gage assured him. "Dancing is good for you. You need to start taking some of those demons of yours for a walk before they make a mess all over the floor."
They merged into the sea of moving bodies. There were words to the song, but they were too garbled to hear. It didn't seem to matter; Shan could understand the tone anyway. It was raw and angry, disillusioned. He could see it reflected on the faces of those around him. He recognized a few of them from school; most of them the kids who had a bad reputation, but he saw a few of the more clean-cut ones here as well. And let's face it; he was here, wasn't he?
He started to move to the music and immediately began feeling like an idiot, like a puppet on a string.
Gage was about a foot away from him, and he leaned close again, his lips against Shan's ear. "You're not Meishel." He whispered. "You can't dance the way your sister dances; you're too big. That's why it doesn't feel right to you."
He was right. The thought hit Shan like a thunderbolt. He had envied his twin's easy style and tried to copy it, but it had a good reason for not working. He looked at Gage in confusion.
"Like this." Gage's chest was almost touching his, and he began to sway to the music. His hands rested lightly on Shan's hips, guiding him to the beat.
And he found he could do it. He followed Gage's rhythm for a few minutes and then slowly began to improvise. The other boy nodded in approval.
He never enjoyed dancing before, but he was loving it now. The crowd was pressing them closer together, and he could smell perfume and sweat and alcohol.
"Come on." Gage nodded when the music ended. "I'll buy you a drink."
They threaded out toward the bar together. "And none of that fake junk either." Gage added. "You're celebrating; you need a real drink."
"Guess one won't hurt me." Shan thought for a moment.
"That's the spirit." Gage clapped him on the shoulder. "I knew you had a wild side. We'll see if we can't have a chat with it tonight, eh?"
"I'm only having one drink." Shan reiterated.
"Absolutely." Gage agreed, standing in line. "Just like you said you'd only dance one dance."
"Did you know you can be really annoying at times?"
"At times?" Gage gave him a horrified look. "I'm slipping in my old age, apparently. Don't worry, I shall endeavor to work extra hard in the future to be annoying at all times."
As they were waiting, Shan wondered what Meishel would think of this place. He realized that she'd probably love it, but he also realized, to his surprise, that he had no intentions of telling her about it. For the first time in his life, he had something that was his alone, something that he didn't have to share with his twin.
And as much as he loved Meishel, it felt wonderful.
"OH I'M GOIN' DOWN TO COW TOWN
THE COWS' A FRIEND TO ME
LIVES BENEATH THE OCEAN
AND THAT'S WHERE I WILL BE
BENEATH THE WAVES
THE WAVES
AND THAT'S WHERE I WILL BE
I'M GONNA SEE THE COW BENEATH THE SEA!!!"
Jazz and Linra sat upright in bed, and Jazz glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight.
"What in the world?" Linra asked, turning on the light.
"Stay here. I'll go find out." Jazz reached into the drawer beside the bed and withdrew his neuralizer.
He stormed out into his living room, toward the sound of the singing.
"THE YELLOW ROOSEVELT AVENUE LEAF OVERTURNED
THE ARDOR OF ARBOREALITY
IS AN ADVENTURE WE HAVE SPURNED, WE'VE SPURNED,
A NEW LEAF OVERTURNED."
Gage and Shan were standing near the transporter. Well, Jazz thought, standing wasn't exactly the right word for it. They were leaning against the wall, their arms around each other; their faces flushed red.
"Shan???" Jazz found his voice. "What in the... " He shoved his weapon into the pocket of his pajama bottoms.
"Jazzman." Shan giggled. "You've got to help me out."
"What about me?" Gage asked, wounded. "Just... throw me to the wolves after all I've done for you?"
"Help us." Shan gave the young man a pleading look.
"You're DRUNK!"
"As a skunk." Gage agreed.
"But not a Justice Skunk." Shan added, and both boys howled in laughter.
"I'm calling your father." Jazz stormed toward the phone.
"NO!" Shan tried to stop him and fell to the floor. He gazed up at Jazz piteously. "He'll kill me. He'll kill Gage. I can't go home like this."
"Then I'm calling Pops."
"No, Jazz. He'll tell my dad." Shan was whining now.
"I don't care what he does to me." Gage slurred. "But if he touches Shan I'll rip his sack off and feed it to him."
He sat down on the floor next to Wufei's son and put his arm around him again protectively.
Jazz sighed in defeat. "Wufei would blow a gasket over this. Fine. I'll handle it. Hang on."
He went to the phone and dialed. "Wufei? This is Jazz. Yes, I know what time it... no, Linra has not gone into labor, will you just listen to me? Shan is here. He came to visit me, that's why. He's pretty worn out so I'm going to let him crash in the spare bedroom. I'll send him home tomorrow. Night." He hung up the phone.
He looked back at the lump that was Shan. "He says to tell you ask permission next time."
Gage gave Shan a stern glance. "Bad boy. Getting drunk without your Baba's permission."
Jazz dialed up his father and gave him a similar story, and hung up. He glared at Gage. "I hope you know that I just lied to Pops. And I feel absolutely horrible about that."
"Sorry Jazz." Shan hung his head. "But thanks."
"Did you ever know that you're my hero... ." Gage started to sing.
"Enough! We'll talk about this tomorrow. For now you're both going to go sleep it off." Shan started to stand up, got a goofy grin on his face, and slumped back to the floor, out cold.
"Oh for the love of." Jazz knelt down and lifted the boy into a fireman's carry. Shan was tall, but he was light, and the older man had no trouble getting him down the hall and into the spare bedroom, where he dropped him on the bed with a thump.
"It's the only spare bed we have." He explained to Gage. "You can cope with it for a night."
"Not a problem." Gage fell on the bed next to Shan. He watched, bleary-eyed, as Jazz rummaged around in the closet for a blanket, which he proceeded to throw over both of them.
"And we are going to talk about this in the morning." Jazz said in a clipped tone. "Good night." He left the room and closed the door behind him with something very close to a slam.
"Well, he's not a happy camper." Gage muttered to the unconscious Shan. "But I had fun tonight. Hope you did too. Night, Shanny Boy." He hesitated a moment, and then put threw his arm over Shan's chest, snuggling up next to him.
Linra was waiting for Jazz back in their own room. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't happy.
"What do you think that's going to solve?" She asked. "Gage's parents have covered up for him his entire life. That's why he's such a mess. And now you're doing the same thing."
"Honey, if it was just Gage, then I'd have Pops over here right now. But Wufei would totally go ballistic over this. Shan made a mistake. I'll make sure he doesn't ever want to do it again if the headache he has tomorrow doesn't. I can't bust Gage without busting Shan."
Linra laid her head against his chest and gave him a look of loving exasperation. It wasn't the first time he'd covered for one of his beloved twins and it wouldn't be the last, no matter what he claimed.
"Softy." She accused gently.
"He's one of my babies." Jazz admitted. "I couldn't sell him out."
And how could she argue with that, when of all the things she loved about him, his kind heart was the most?
End Part 10
(:./lasha/two10)
