I know, I know, I'm horrible; I haven't updated this in forever. I swear it's really not my fault. An unbelievable amount of offline life interference.
But never fear! I am back!
And most importantly, I am DONE! That's right folks, this is the end of Fight to Keep You. Not the end of the series though, I assure you. The other couples have decided they want to be noticed, and Cam and Blake had to be special. (Sighs) But, Fight to Keep You is complete, and I am happy. (Cries)
For the love of Pocky, enjoy!
(I think I need sleep...)
Siblings
Shane was talking to Hunter and Blake one moment, discussing Storm Charger's budget and taking great enjoyment out of Hunter's confusion. The next he was flat on his back on the floor. He looked up at his attacker, only to be pummled with small fists. "Ow! Raz-ow! Raz quit it!"
"You can't have him!" the little boy shouted in return. He was sobbing, his words coming out in choked gasps. "He's mine! You can't keep him!"
"Ow! What are you-hey! Talking about?"
"I won't let you take him away!"
Shane ducked as best he could, trying to figure out how to handle this. Raz wasn't exactly hitting hard, but every so often his flailing would happen to strike a vulnerable spot, like his neck, or one of the bruises Tori gave him in that morning's spar. He could overpower the kid easily, but Dustin would never forgive him if he accidentally hurt the brat. A quick glance at Blake and Hunter showed they weren't going to be any help; Hunter was watching in amusement while Blake stared at Raz with a bewildered expression.
Salvation came with a cry of "Ramses!"
Raz was lifted, still struggling, into Dustin's arms. "I hate you!" he screamed at Shane. He wrapped his arms around Dustin's neck, sobbing into his shoulder. "You're mine!" came the muffled cry. "He can't take you away from us!"
Dustin sighed, shooting Shane an appologetic look. "I think we need to talk, Raz." he murmured, heading to Kelly's office with his brother in his arms.
There was a moment of silence.
"What was that all about?" Hunter asked finally, raising his eyebrows.
"Jealous Little Brother Syndrome." Blake answered quietly.
"Shane?"
Dustin set Raz down on Kelly's desk. He extracted himself from his little brother's grip with difficulty, and stepped back to stare at him. "Spill." he ordered.
"You can't move!" Raz burst out. "I'm too little to be Man of the House! And The Pack only listens to you! And-and-"
"Whoa!" Dustin interrupted, putting a hand over his brother's mouth. "Who told you I was moving?"
"I heard you talking to Mom about it." he answered when Dustin removed his hand. His lower lip quivered, his eyes filling with tears as he sniffled. "I'll miss you if you move out." he whined.
Dustin sighed, pressing his palm against his forehead. "Raz-"
"I'll do anything! I'll-I'll clean up more! I won't fight with you or Vinnie! I won't try to skip out on my piano lessons!"
"Yeah, you will." Dustin smiled in spite of the situation. It faded after a moment. "Raz, you don't mind that I'm gay, right?"
"Of course not! Girls are gross!" He wrinkled his nose.
Dustin smiled again, this time sadly. "Shane's not as lucky as me. His family doesn't like it."
"He could move in with us."
He laughed. "I don't think so, kiddo. He can barely stand Mom for a day." Something occured to him, and he frowned. "And I'm not so sure I want Emi near him right now."
"Vinnie told you?" The outbursts were subsiding, Raz watching him quietly.
"Yeah." Dustin leaned down, bringing himself face to face with his brother. "Raz, you're my bro. That's never going to change no matter how much I want it to."
Raz blinked, then glared. "Hey!"
He grinned. "I'm kidding." The grin faded to a warm smile. "But I mean it about being my bro. And it's not like I won't be around. Plus you can always come over to visit." He paused, quickly adding "Just let me know first, so I'm not sleeping or something."
"You mean so you're not making out with Shane." Raz grumbled. He hesitated, glancing up with a vulnerable expression. "You're really gonna choose Shane over us?"
"No! I'm not choosing anybody!" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he searched for a way to explain. "Shane's my friend first, boyfriend second." Actually, friend first, teammate second, and boyfriend third. Or at least he's supposed to be... "You know how much my friends mean to me. I'd want to be there for him even if this didn't have to do with us dating. It's just that this time being there for him means paying half the rent."
"I guess that makes sense..."
"Is that really it?"
Both boys looked up at the new voice. Emi was watching them from the door. Her arms were wrapped around her waist as she clutched a white handbag. She chewed on her lower lip nervously, oblivious to the fact that she was messing up her makeup. "Raz, I need to talk to Dustin, okay?"
Her brothers glanced at each other. "Are we cool?" Dustin asked.
Raz smiled. "Yeah, we're cool."
"Are you gonna beat up my boyfriend anymore?"
"Maybe." He bolted for the door, leaving Dustin staring.
"Why, you-" Dustin started after him, only to be stopped as Emi put out a hand in front of him. "Dustin." she said quietly.
He looked at her warily. "What'd you want to talk about?"
She hesitated, then sighed. "You feel guilty about Shane getting kicked out, don't you? That's why you're moving in with him."
Now he was really suspicious. "Maybe that's part of it. What's it to you?" He winced inwardly. He hadn't mean for that to come out so harsh.
She sighed again, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I'm not okay with this, Dustin. And it's not just about Shane, which I know Vinnie told you about. I'm not okay with you being gay."
He tried not to feel the pain as his heart clenched. What did he expect? It wasn't like they were close or anything, anyway. It really shouldn't matter it she accepted him or not.
His thoughts were interrupted as she took his hands in hers. She smiled gently when he looked up again. "But I'm trying to be." she continued. "I can't promise that anything's going to change overnight. I can't even promise that I'll be able to get over it. But I do promise I'll try my best." She gave his hands a squeeze as her smile turned wry. "You'll always be my Dusty, right? So we're stuck with each other."
He was grinning like an idiot now, but he could care less. "Don't call me Dusty, Clementine!"
"How dare you use my real name Waldo!" she shrieked back.
"Oh, now it's on!"
They wrestled lightly for a few minutes before Emi shrieked about her hair and dove for her purse. He watched her fuss over her makeup in the compact mirror, suddenly noticing the Tori-blue mini-dress and gold jewelry. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, curls falling all around her face, and now that he thought about it, she was a few inches taller than usual.
He glanced at her feet. Yup. Strappy shoes. Uh-oh.
"You're going out on a date?"
"Mm-hmm. A girl's gotta have a social life." She flashed him a wink as she snapped her compact shut. "Can't mope around forever, you know."
She brushed by him, kissing his cheek as he was overwhelmed by her perfume. "Later, Dusty!" she called cheerily as she breezed through the door.
"Wha-don't call me Dusty!" he shouted, hurrying after her.
She was already gone. Instead he got amused looks from Hunter and Blake. "Dude. Pink is really your color." Hunter said brightly, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Maybe a different shade, though." Blake put in, struggling to keep a straight face.
"What?" A hand went to his cheek. Sure enough, it came away magenta.
"Emi!"