Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing. The kiddies are mine, though…
Thanksgiving at the Maxwells
by Dorothy Winner
~*~
Jason was forced to forego dessert as punishment, which, to him, was devastating; dessert was pumpkin pie and German chocolate cake, his favorite.
He sat miserably in his room while the others were finishing dessert. He was clean again, dressed in a little black priests' outfit much like his dad's; his only suit, having been covered in gravy, being in the wash. He looked very unhappy; whether this was due more to the loss of dessert or the fact that Elena Peacecraft now hated him, he didn't know.
Jonathan walked into the room and sat down next to Jason. "Maxwell no baka. Throwing food at a girl is not a good way to make friends with her."
"I just wanted her to talk to me," Jason said dejectedly. "Now she'll never talk to me again."
"Yeah, well…" Jonathan held out a small piece of cake to Jason. "Here… I know you're not supposed to have any, but I snuck some out anyway. It's a little smooshed, but you can still eat it."
Jason brightened. "Seriously? Thanks, Jonathan, you're the best!" he exclaimed, eagerly cramming the cake into his mouth. "Hey… d'you wanna play my 'Endless Duel' video game? You can be Wing Zero, and I'll be Deathscythe…"
Back at the kids' table, Genevieve was trying to persuade Elena to forgive Jason. "Really, Elena, you mustn't take Jason so seriously. He makes fun of all of the girls; he's called me 'Forky' lots of times."
But Elena had her father's tenacity for holding grudges as well. "He has insulted my family and my pride. He doesn't deserve my forgiveness."
"Don't you think you're being a little—oh, never mind," said Genevieve, taking another bite of her cake, knowing it was useless to try and convince her otherwise.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, the kids were asking each other if they had any special talents.
"Do you really know how to walk a tightrope?" Morgiana asked Matthew.
"Sure, my dad taught me how," said Matthew. "It's not that hard."
"Wow," said Helen, impressed.
"I heard it takes years and years of practice," said Jade from across the table. "I think he's lying."
"I'm not," said Matthew. "I have really good balance. My dad said so."
"Well then, if it's so easy for you, I dare you to walk on the railing upstairs," said Jade.
Matthew bit his lip for a second and then said, "Okay."
The four of them ran upstairs. Matthew appraised the railing carefully. Oak, sturdy, wider than a regular tightrope, actually; shouldn't be too bad, Matthew thought. He mounted the railing and got up on his feet, holding his arms out for balance. He slowly began to walk forward, placing one foot in front of the other.
But as good as Matthew's balance was, he was still a beginner, and halfway across the railing his left foot slipped. He began to teeter toward the side that was open to the living room floor twenty feet below. Helen and Jade just stood there, frozen in horror. Morgiana went white to the very tips of her hair and dashed down the stairs to the dining room. She came back out, pulling Trowa's arm, followed by Midii.
Trowa looked up to see his son fall off of the second floor railing. Midii screamed as Trowa yelled, "Matthew!" and launched into the air with his signature triple flip, catching his son in midair and landing on the second floor.
"What did you think you were doing? Why did you do that?" Trowa said over and over, holding on tightly to his son.
"I'm sorry," Matthew mumbled into his dad's shirt.
Midii ran up the stairs and hugged Matthew, tears running down her face. "How could you have attempted something this high up? You could have died! Oh, I'm so glad you're safe…" she said, clinging to him ever tighter.
"Mom… get off…"
Midii let go and turned to Trowa, her eyes blazing with fury. "This is all your fault!"
"Me?"
"Yes, you! I told you not to teach him tightrope walking, I told you it was too dangerous, but did you listen? No!" cried Midii, her voice getting louder and louder. "I told you he was too young, but you went ahead and taught him anyway! I knew something like this would happen! He's just like you! You're both so stubborn and reckless!!!"
While Trowa and Midii were arguing, Matthew walked back over to where Helen, Jade, and Morgiana were standing.
"I'm really sorry," said Jade. "I shouldn't have dared you."
"I'm glad you're not dead," said Helen.
Morgiana nervously looked at Matthew. "I'm sorry I got you into trouble."
Matthew went up to Morgiana and took one of her hands in his. "No. Thank you for saving my life."
~*~
TBC…
