One-shot. Characters do not belong to me.

Confide

Really, there wasn't a greater uncle. Soon after imprinting on Claire, Quil began to baby sit her whenever he got the chance. Sam and the tribal leaders managed to convince Claire's parents to move to a closer location so Quil could be with her easier.

He was always there for her. When she fell down, he picked her up and dried her tears. He helped her build castles in the sand and drink imaginary tea out of plastic cups. Patience. That doesn't mean he didn't enjoy it. Claire was his everything.

He was physically twenty-five. He would be physically twenty-five forever, if he chose. All the hormones of a young man with testosterone poisoning and he couldn't even bring himself to hire a hooker.

It was difficult, being celibate. Women didn't mean anything to him anymore. He didn't even notice them. And he'd never bothered to date them. His sexuality had been brought down to a factor of one. He would just have to be patient.

Unlike Jared, lucky bastard. He had imprinted on a classmate so she was ready for him right away.

Time passed. When Claire was a little older they had a special bonfire night and told her about the wolves. It was getting to the point where it too obvious to ignore that certain men of La Push never seemed to age. This way Claire didn't have to worry about why Uncle Quil and the others were so different.

Claire was the best kid. She loved sports and of all things, bird watching. Ever since she was ten she had a little journal where she would write down all the different birds she had seen. On her thirteenth birthday Quil had gotten her a (very expensive) pair of binoculars. She had given him a great big hug, and he had never felt so lucky.

Now, although she was developing into a lovely young woman and was popular at her school, she had yet to date another boy.

Quil took comfort in that fact. He had no idea how he could react to the pain of another guy touching his Claire. One boy from another school had made a few passes at her, but Quil and a couple other guys from the pack convinced him to look elsewhere. She had a great group of friends at school, and Quil was rather jealous of them. They couldn't protect Claire like he could, but perhaps it was for the best to have someone else for girl talk.

Her seventeenth birthday was coming up, and the tribe leaders had agreed that Claire was more than ready to be told the full truth about imprinting. The age of consent in Washington was sixteen, after all. Sam visited the week before her birthday. They hadn't really had a chance to talk outside of the pack's patrols.

"How are things?" Quil greeted his alpha.

Sam gave him a smile. "Emily said that Claire talked to her."

Quil snapped to attention. "Oh?"

"She said that Claire was asking her about love, and how you know when to tell them."

Quil's heart skipped a beat. "Did she now?"

"Well, she is nearly seventeen. It looks like she's finally coming around," he gave Quil another grin. "Fifteen years must have been really hard for you to wait, but don't worry. It's destiny."

"Yeah," Quil agreed. Other wolves, such as Embry, who hadn't imprinted just didn't get it.

Later that evening, Claire called him.

"Are you busy? I need to talk to you."

"Sure Claire," he said. "Want me to come over or do you want to drop by here?"

"Could you come over?" she asked in a tight voice.

Quil was already reaching for his keys.

The door was unlocked. Claire was in the living room.

"Mom and dad are out," she said. She was playing with her fingers and her body seemed pent up with nervous energy.

"Relax, Claire," he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know, I'm sorry. I...I just don't know who else to talk to. You've always been there for me. Thank you so much."

Quil said nothing, but kept smiling. He wasn't supposed to pressure her, even though she was his everything.

Claire looked into his eyes. "Quil, I'm a lesbian."