"Lullaby" and "Love & Pride" (Mia's song for Curt) belongs to Alana Davis. Also, Mia is 18, for anyone who thought otherwise.

--

October 1989

--

Mia's first gig was a success. She covered a few of Curt's songs, with his permission, as well as a few of her own compositions. She got management offers left and right, but turned them all down, to both Curt and Arthur's surprise.

When one portly man, who reminded Curt of Jerry Divine, was overly persistent, Mia mealy threw her arms around her friend's waists and smiled.

"What better managers do I need?" she asked.

And that, as they say, was that.

--

December, 1989

--

"Oh holy night..." Arthur warbled, off-key, to Curt and Mia as they wrestled to fit the Christmas tree into its stand.

"Fucking piece of...Arthur, cut that out! You're giving me more of a headache." Curt snapped playfully, kicking the tree trunk for good measure.

"Aww...let mummy help." Grinning, Arthur leaned over and captured Curt's mouth in a passionate kiss. Naturally, Curt turned to reciprocate, which led to Mia screaming as the tree fell on top of her.

"Oh shit!" Curt quickly pulled the tree off Mia, who was glaring at them, none too pleased. "Sorry babe."

"Next time, warn me if you're going to suck face while putting up a Christmas tree!" she yelled as they finally shoved the tree into it's stand. "Or I'll make sure the tree falls on you!"

"Oh really?" Curt asked dangerously. Arthur backed away; knowing that tone of voice to mean that Curt Wild was at his most wickedly teasing point.

"I'm serious!" Mia replied, not getting that Curt was teasing her. "I may be shorter and smaller, but I can still kick your ass, you big-mmph!"

Arthur let out a whoop of laugher as Curt effectively silenced Mia with a deep, passionate, patented-Curt-Wild kiss. When Curt let her go Mia had gone white as a sheet.

"Oh my." she said softly, then fled the room. Curt looked startled, then turned to Arthur.

"What? What did I do?" he asked, but Arthur noted the way his lover's voice shook as he spoke. Something told him that the kiss between Curt and Mia had affected them both more than they cared to admit. And that scared Arthur more than anything.

--

Mia didn't come down from her room the rest of the night. When Curt and Arthur finally went to bed, it was midnight, and Arthur promptly fell asleep. Curt, however, couldn't get to sleep, so he got up and walked to the kitchen for a snack. The sound of an acoustic guitar met his ears as he walked into the living room with his box of cookies; it was coming from upstairs.

Forgetting all about his cookies, Curt headed up the stairs to the landing outside of Mia's door. The guitar was louder now, and he could hear her singing softly. He sat down, ear pressed against the door to hear better.

At night as we lay down to sleep I wonder what you'll show me

I think of you and the thoughts that you keep

And I wonder do you know me

Everything that I have is broken in two, everything that I am revolves around you

And you just don't understand what a girl goes through

Everyone believes in something though they give it different name

You can search the world for that one thing but it's all the same

Lay your body down, come and let me bring your body down

Listen to my voice, the only sound

1 As I lullaby you, lullaby you down

As the moon rides away from the sun she takes all his light and reflects it

I relate them to us just for fun

There's a parallel that's unexpected

Every star in the sky reminds me of you

Twinkling in my eyes the way that you do

And I don't know why I get so blue

Everyday is filled with changes no matter where you go

Living in a world of strangers

So we go for what we know

Lay your body down...

Everyone believes in something but it's all the same

I got you to keep going me going

So I guess I can't complain

Lay you body down...

Curt wasn't sure how long he sat there after she finished, but when he stood, his muscles were cramped and he cried out before he could stop himself. There was a low curse from inside the apartment and then Mia was standing in the doorway, looking down at Curt's crouched form.

"Spying on me, Mr. Wild?" she asked coolly. Curt managed to look up at her, but wished he hadn't. Her eyes were like bitter ice, directed solely at him.

"No... I heard you playing and stopped to listen." Curt forced himself to stand. "You're fantastic."

Some of the coldness left Mia's gaze. "Thank you." she said softly, then turned to close the door. Curt stopped her, putting his bare foot between the door and frame.

"Mia...wait...I want to apologize. I shouldn't have kissed you like that."

Mia's face flushed, but she managed to look serious nonetheless. "You're right, you shouldn't have. You have a wonderful, loving boyfriend. Don't toy with me just because you want a bit of fun."

Curt managed to remove his foot from the door before she slammed it in his face.

--

The next morning, Curt slept in, tired from the night before. When he finally rolled out of bed, showered, and dressed, Arthur was sitting at their kitchen table, sipping his tea and reading the paper. Before Curt could ask, Arthur looked up from his story and set both his cup and glasses down.

"Mia's gone off for the day. She said she wanted time to think." It was clear that Arthur suspected something was going on by the way he looked at Curt, lovingly but sad.

"I didn't do anything, Arthur!" Curt said harshly, pouring himself a large mug of coffee. He downed half of it in one gulp, gagging on the bitter taste. "All I did was listen to her play a song...she's the one who freaked."

Arthur nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "Whenever you're ready to talk about what happened, I'll be here."

Curt slammed down his mug, shattering the fragile porcelain. "I didn't do anything with her!" he yelled, grabbing his jacket off the wall and storming out of the house.

--

Curt wandered the city for hours, hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket. He hadn't done anything with Mia...all he'd done was kiss her, but Arthur had seen that happen. Why was it making them all so angry, though? Arthur knew that Curt loved him, he told him every day, and now his lover was letting this girl, not even old enough to drink, get between them. It just didn't make any sense.

Curt looked around to judge where he was. He was standing outside a bar he and Arthur had frequented before they'd moved in together. It had always reminded Curt of the Sombrero Club in London; it seemed every new artist came through here before making it big. Glitter Touched's facade was crumbling, with graffiti everywhere. But if you looked closer, you could see that the graffiti spelled the names of bands that'd made it big after playing at Glitter Touched. Feeling slightly more relaxed, he decided to have a drink and maybe sort out some things in his head.

He walked to the bar and ordered a beer, then sat down in a dark corner and watched the stage. A pretty thing of a boy in lipstick and glitter finished his rendition of "The Whole Shebang" and smiled at the spattered applause. Curt sighed as he nursed his drink, performer after performer sang a song or two then left. He was just contemplating ordering another beer when a soft, melodious voice filled the air, along with the slight strumming of an acoustic guitar.

I'm having a notion

It's a strange, the strangest emotion

I'm all wrapped up with my head in the clouds

The sweet child thinks he doesn't deserve me but I'm not that proud

I'd walk for miles to see that handsome face

To be with you baby I'd go anyplace

So you say that you ain't go money, well I don't care

'Cause I'm so in love with you honey

What I got I'll share

Take me by the hand, help me move my mountains aside

Help me understand that love is stronger than..

It'll serve you longer than pride

Now father lend me your strength

I know you think I'm weak but I'm not ashamed

'Cause I'm in love and I'll tell you it's real

I may be young but I know what I feel

2 So you think he's gonna up and leave me...I disagree

He said that he'd give up the world just to please me and care for me, he'll

Take me by the hand, help me move my mountains aside

Help me understand that love is stronger than...

It'll serve you longer than pride

When I first looked in his eyes I felt this chemistry

And much to my surprise here's a man full of beauty and free of greed

And I'll stand by him 'cause he's all that I need

The sweet child thinks he doesn't deserve me but I'm not that proud

said it once but I don't think he heard me so I'll say it out loud...

Curt looked up when the song ended and met Mia's glittery gaze, before she shouldered her guitar and walked offstage amid a standing ovation. Forgetting all about his drink, Curt stood and followed Mia backstage, but was stopped by a burly man with dark sunglasses.

"Hold it right there, pal. No one goes backstage except the performers and agents. You're not an agent, and Pretty Eyes over there was our last on the list...so piss off." he frowned menacingly at Curt, who stared back at him without moving.

The security guard took a step forward. "You want me to help you outside?"

"Jeff, it's okay. I know him." Mia, minus her glitter, pulled her jacket on over her lime crushed velvet overalls and slung her guitar case over her shoulder. "Curt's my manager."

"Yeah." Curt looked at Mia strangely, but she shook her head, giving the security guard a sideways glance. "Yeah, her manager."

Jeff didn't look convinced, but he let Curt pass and walk out the backstage door with Mia. As soon as they were outside, Curt rounded on her.

"What the hell was that about? You could have told us you had a gig!"

Mia shrugged tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I wanted to see if I could do this on my own." Left unsaid was 'to see if I needed you', but it was as plain as day.

Curt felt as though she'd slapped him. They'd been getting along so wonderfully since she'd arrived in August, and he'd thought that after the incident with the Jerry Divine look alike, they were going to work things out just fine. But if she felt she didn't need- or want- Curt around anymore, then so be it.

"Fine. Just...fine." he said, and walked away, leaving a tearful Mia behind.

--

Curt didn't return home until the early morning. Arthur was still waiting up for him, working on a story he was supposed to turn in for the weekend edition of the Herald. He looked up from his computer screen when Curt entered the room and frowned as Curt kissed him.

"You've been drinking."

"Yeah, but I'm not drunk." Curt kissed Arthur's hair in silent apology and sat down on the couch. "Did Mia ever come home?"

"Yes, about three hours ago." Arthur moved from his computer to sit next to his lover. "What happened? She came back in tears."

"Mia went out to perform this morning...I got mad, told her that she should have told us...she said she didn't need us anymore and I left." Curt sighed and tried to light a cigarette, but his hands were shaking too badly. Arthur pried the lighter and cigarette from his hands and pulled Curt into a gentle embrace.

"I screwed up so badly...Jack trusted me and now I've gone and messed up his little girl." Curt hadn't cried in years, not since he and Brian had broken up, but he felt close to it now and furiously wiped away a stray tear that dripped down his face. "Fuck, Arthur, I'm a shithead. A real fucking shithead."

"No, you're a confused man who's never had to play mentor to anyone before." Arthur soothed, stroking Curt's hair gently. "I doubt that Mia hates you...or that Jack will hate you. You've just got to talk to Mia, explain things to her."

Arthur looked up when he heard a sound from the doorway. Red-eyed and sniffling, Mia stood there, wrapped in a silk robe, miserable. She mouthed "Does he hate me?" to Arthur, who shook his head gently. She nodded, heading back up to her apartment as Arthur continued to comfort his now sobbing lover.

--

Curt finally fell asleep about four in the morning, and before Arthur left for work, he knocked gently on Mia's door, hoping she'd come out of her funk long enough to talk to him.

Looking decidedly worse for the wear, Mia opened the door and tried to smile bravely at Arthur, but ended up looking miserable. "'llo." she grunted, obviously not quite awake.

"Good morning, angel." Arthur smiled as Mia visibly blushed at the nickname. "Curt's asleep downstairs...I want you two to work things out today. I have just two rules: don't burn or break anything, and call me when you're better, because I'm not coming home until then."

She nodded, and then Arthur kissed her gently on both cheeks. "I have faith in you, Mia. When you arrived, Curt was so excited...it was like nothing with Brian or his family had ever happened. He needs to get his center back...he needs to know that you care about him."

"I do...it's just..." when Mia didn't continue, Arthur nodded, understanding.

"Tell him about your father. It might help to clear up things."

She nodded again, and Arthur quietly left. It was his day off, but he had a mission: It was talk to Jack Fairy.

--

The smell of breakfast woke Curt from his heavy sleep. He opened his eyes and blinked to clear them, then noticed the tray sitting on a chair beside the bed. It held a cup of coffee, made just the way Curt liked it, a platter of fruits, and cinnamon toast. There was a folded note as well, which Curt picked up and read.

"Good morning, sleepy-head. Enjoy your breakfast, then get ready and meet me upstairs. -M"

Curt was stunned, but ate as he was directed. After a shower and a change of clothes, he walked upstairs to Mia's apartment. Finding the door open and unlocked, he stepped cautiously inside and looked around.

"Mia?"

The door closed behind him and he spun in time to see Mia deadbolt and chain the door. She smiled warmly at him, but there was a purpose in her steely eyes. "Hello Curt. I hope you're comfortable. We've got a lot to discuss."

--

End Part Two