Author's Note: A second attempt at an AU + Anemone + Dominic + teenage fluff combination, and even though our leading man doesn't actually make an appearance in this one, Renton does and so does Eureka. Again, I've played around with the characters (their ages, mannerisms, ties to one another, everything), but I hope you might still recognize them from somewhere under all the crackiness. Also, beware of the obscenities; kids nowadays, absolutely no manners or respect for good language no more.

^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own Eureka Seven.

Fair Lady's Honour

(otherwise known as Barbarians at the Gate)

#

The Thurston family – his family – wasn't exactly what you would call 'conventional', or even 'normal', he'd admit that. 'Eccentric', maybe, if you felt charitable. 'Dysfunctional', if you didn't. But truth to be told – and contrary to the common belief preached every so often by the boy himself – Renton actually didn't mind a whole lot.

Sure, he was stuck with the snottiest sister on the planet, who also happened to be his older twin by a measly twenty minutes (and it wasn't as if she was nice enough to just let that annoying fact alone, either); a widely recognized grouch and old-school son of a bitch for a grandfather, who took his self-appointed mission to instil life's hardest lessons – and then some – on his only grandson way too seriously (while being much, much nicer to said grandson's snotty sister); and a mother who had been dead and departed for quite a while, something both of her children had come to terms with and accepted wasn't her fault per se. Her death was, nonetheless, a Very Sad Fact, and one that Renton strongly suspected contributed to their father's reluctance to spend more time at the family home than absolutely necessary.

In fact, neither he nor his sister had seen the old geezer for many years now, but since the Thurston patriarch paid their Academy fees without batting as much as an eyelash at the considerable expense, the siblings were confident that the celebrated scientist was still alive and kicking somewhere. Presumably working his ass off, too, seeing that Adroc Thurston singlehandedly managed to clothe, feed, educate and maintain the three of them in good functional order; which brother and sister in a rare instance of agreement decided was a good and fair conclusion, since they had never seen Axel Thurston do even a day's worth of honest work, like, ever.

But despite the frequent bouts of adversity (courtesy of his revered grandpa), heaps of hardship (courtesy of his ever-loving evil twin) and sheer oddness (courtesy of them both), he loved them, goddammit!

So when the sudden scream – decidedly girlish and much anguished – ripped him away from a particularly delicious dream (which had only been a tiny bit sleazy, honest!), Renton was sure that Anemone Thurston was in the process of being murdered, or at least fatally maimed. Normally, he wouldn't have minded the prospect of pending doom, death or disfigurement in connection to the evil wench posing as his genetic counterpart, but that was assuming that he was the one in charge of the plotting thereof. Or possibly Dom, though Renton's best buddy forever was way too forgiving and soft-hearted for his own good.

Now, since that clearly wasn't the case, Renton transformed – after a few seconds of confusion and just a little bit of fumbling – into a baseball bat-wielding sister-avenging machine devoid of mercy.

He reached the closed door to her room in less than five seconds (which would have been a considerably cool and heroic feat hadn't it been for the fact that hers was right next to his) and was about to break the darn thing in when he heard it:

Giggling.

This alone should have been enough of a warning, and really, he should have taken a step back from the situation and then simply walked away from it; years upon years of first-hand experience had taught him that nothing good ever came from noise like that. But Anemone had interrupted some pretty sweet goings-on in La-La-Land and Renton was not above demanding to know the heck why.

Really, all in all, it would be completely natural if he carefully and delicately slammed the butt of his bat against the wood of the door while politely stating his business.

And Renton Thurston usually went with his instincts.

#

Eureka Zeta, exactly two months and three weeks shy of seventeen, had been rudely awoken by her best friend at a truly unholy hour.

"You must help me!" an all too familiar voice had whined at her through the headpiece of the phone on her bedstand before Eureka had a chance to get her own vocal chords working, to dryly pointing out that Anemone in fact was calling her up at ten twenty-five on a Saturday morning. "—please, Eureka, please! You have got to come over right now! It's an emergency!"

It was unusual for Anemone to resort to whining (Eureka's best friend was much too assertive for that), so whatever had happened to trigger the near-hysterics and the sudden phone call, it was likely to be something too big to be ignored. Still, Eureka decided to put her meagre collection of eggs in one basket anyway and give 'Operation: Sooth Panicy Best Friend And Go Back To Sleep' a shot – before she, in all likelihood, would give in to Anemone's demands. Renton claimed that his sister had an uncanny ability to talk anyone into almost anything, and he was probably right.

"Anemone," she had started feebly. "I'm sure it's nothing to—"

"I have muffins," interrupted a voice darkly. "I didn't think I'd need to resort to bribes, but I've got muffins, damn it!"

At this point, Eureka hadn't been entirely sure if her still sleepy mind was playing a cruel trick on her or not, so she had paused before enquiring, "Excuse me?"

"I've got muffins." Anemone's voice had been coaxing. "Muffins, you hear? The ones you like."

That did it, and before Eureka had a chance to think it through properly, she had already blurted out, "Carrot and orange muffins with poppy seeds on top?"

"Of course."

Anemone had sounded every bit as triumphant and smug that Eureka knew she was; it was hardly the first time that her best friend had played dirty and used Eureka's great weakness (muffins) against her. But now that breakfast had been secured, she had been rather curious to what was actually going on.

Still, she wanted to let Anemone know that she wasn't overly thrilled by the unexpected summons, and she had sighed before conceding, "Fine. Give me ten."

Then, true to her word and not ten minutes later, a sleepy-eyed, mildly annoyed but very hungry Eureka found herself outside Anemone and Renton's residence. But before she had a chance to ring the doorbell or even knock, the heavy front door was opened with such force that it was a miracle that it hadn't popped off its hinges on the spot.

"Come on!" the (only) woman of the house urged her newly-arrived friend impatiently, hardly giving Eureka enough time to politely excuse her invasion and put her feet into the pink slippers that the Thurston family kept on standby just for her. "The muffins are in my room. I made us some tea, too. Hurry up, slowpoke!"

And such was the unabridged version as to how Eureka found herself perched on top of Anemone's unmade bed, an over-sized tea cup in one hand and a half-eaten carrot and orange muffin with poppy seeds on top in the other, curiously watching her best friend ploughing through the vast contents of her closet, systematically discarding every piece of clothing she got her hands on – all while going through various stages of a nervous breakdown.

"It's no good!" she finally wailed, clutching a nice cream-coloured skirt to her chest. "Eureka, do something!"

"I don't know if I can," Eureka answered her truthfully, feeling a mix of concerned and confused. She wasn't very good with clothes. Sure, she could dress herself alright, but Anemone had always been the more stylish of the two. "You look pretty in everything you wear," she offered. "I'm sure whatever you choose will be just fine."

"Oh thank you, sweetie." Anemone flashed her friend a sad smile. "But I don't want it to be 'just fine'. I want to look just right. You know, absolutely drop-dead perfect."

"But why are you going through all this trouble?" Eureka asked after a moment, carefully putting down her tea cup on Anemone's bedside table. "You've hung out before just the two of you, right? So it should be fine then, shouldn't it? Besides, he's not going to care what you wear. He's not like that."

"Yeah, you're probably right," agreed Anemone reluctantly. "But this time, it's different. I can feel it, you know?"

"...I guess." Eureka looked thoughtful. "If I were in your shoes, I suppose I'd feel the same way."

Correctly guessing where this line of thought was going, Anemone decided to put her own problems to the side for the moment in order to better deal with the crazy loon masquerading as her best friend forever.

"I know we've been over this before, but..." She let out a small sigh before venturing closer to the bed and catching Eureka's hands in her own. "Eureka, you're my best friend in the whole world. You know that, right? Don't speak! Just nod."

Eureka immediately nodded her affirmative. Despite their differences (and Anemone's rather dominating character), they had been best friends for as long as Eureka could remember, and she was proud to be the popular cheerleader's sole confidante.

"And I love you and wish you all the happiness in the entire universe." Anemone tightened her grip. "You know that, right?"

Again, Eureka nodded.

"But why the hell did it have to be him?!" Anemone finally gave Eureka back her hands in favour of agitatedly pace around the piles of discarded clothes littering her bedroom floor. "You know you could do so much better than that creep!"

"Renton isn't a creep," replied Eureka calmly, ignoring the fact that she was protesting on the behalf of Anemone's own brother. "He's sweet." A soft smile formed over her lips and her eyes assumed a strange, sparkly quality. "That's why I like him."

Anemone felt like she was going to be sick, she really did. But as much as she wholeheartedly resented the idea that the angelic being on her bed had somehow managed to get infected with a stupid crush on her pesky, immature twin (and as if matters couldn't get any worse, Anemone was fairly certain that the damn feelings were mutual, too!), she wouldn't ever do Eureka the injustice of openly gagging at the thought of her and Renton – God forbid and have mercy on the souls of all involved – as a couple.

But that did in no way mean that she wouldn't to everything in her power to put an end to the madness and make Eureka see sense.

"No, Eureka. No," she stated firmly, pinning down her friend's glazed-over gaze like a hungry cat would a particularly plump and tasty-looking mouse, hoping that this would be enough to put out those damn sparkles. Her effort only managed to make them less pronounced, however, but Anemone supposed that even this was better than nothing.

"Why?" asked Eureka again, looking genuinely perplexed.

"How should I put this...?" Anemone thought out loud before embarking on an explanation that she hoped would appeal to Eureka's quirky sense of logic. "Norb is sweet, am I right?"

"Yes," replied Eureka quite spontaneously. "Norb is very kind to everyone."

"Moondoggie is sweet, too. When he isn't stoned," she quickly amended when Eureka didn't agree as readily as she had hoped. "When he is, he gets annoying. But that doesn't change the fact that he's still a fundamentally sweet person."

Well. Eureka supposed that Gidget's blonde boyfriend could be classed as such, though not in the same selfless capacity as Sakuya's best friend. "Yeah, I guess..."

"Then there's Matthieu. Did you hear about the stunt he pulled last week? Hilda showed me pictures of it during P.E."

Hesitant nodding.

Anemone thought for a moment before admitting, "Heck, even Holland has his moments!"

Enthusiastic nodding.

"But Renton...?" Anemone really hoped that the pest would have paled in comparison to his betters, just as she had intended him to. "Renton is... Renton is..."

"Totally sweet," Eureka maintained with a small smile at the corner of her mouth, which could have been mistaken as peaceful and perfectly harmless hadn't Anemone known better and realized that it was a sure sign that Eureka wouldn't budge.

"AAAAARGHH!" screeched Anemone, throwing her arms ceiling-ward with frustration. "Why are you being so stubborn about this? Renton isn't 'sweet'. He's an annoying little bug asking to be exterminated!"

"We can't help who we fall for," was the sober reply.

Anemone blinked in surprise. "What?"

"What I meant was that you're not one to talk," Eureka clarified with just a touch of smugness. "After all, I clearly remember the first time you met—"

"Eureka!"

Very much against her will, Anemone felt her cheeks go a horrid shade of pink before both girls erupted in a cascade of laughter. But the merriment was cut short by the sound of someone trying to break the door down.

"Barbarians at the gate," muttered Anemone, zeroing in on her bedroom door like a heat-seeking missile.

Eureka said nothing, just looking at it expectantly.

"Aw what the hell, sis!" demanded Renton's voice. "Do you even know what time it is?!"

"It's almost half twelve, you savage!" Anemone shot back with practised ease. "And watch your mouth! Eureka is visiting so mind your damn manners, or I'll tell gramps!"

There was a brief moment of silence before a pathetically hopeful, "...Eureka is?" could be heard for Anemone to roll her eyes at and Eureka to enjoy (in secret, of course. Anemone was rather sensitive about the whole situation, not that Eureka could blame her for it or anything).

"Yeah," Anemone sighed, knowing that it was a huge mistake to have even mentioned it. "Hey! Wait! Who gave you permission to barge in here? It's rude to enter someone's room without their permission! What are you, a Neanderthal?"

But her brother ignored her, intent on grinning at her guest like the idiot he was.

"Morning, Eureka. Nice to see you."

Anemone shuddered at the almost surreal level of cheer in his voice; though the truly frightening thing wasn't that someone as simple as Renton had the capacity of such an enormously sunny disposition, but that his happiness was freaking real.

"It's nice to see you, too, Renton," replied Eureka demurely but with a small blush. "But isn't it a bit too late in the day for wishing each other a good morning?"

"I guess so," the boy agreed before losing himself in her pretty eyes. Man, oh man, this was even better than his dream.

Renton smiled.

Eureka smiled back.

Renton's smile grew about four miles wider.

And so did Eureka's.

Oh, for the love of— Anemone could only stare at the deranged fools smiling and making lovey-dovey eyes at each other with poorly hidden disgust before remembering that she had a pretty decent pair of lungs to her disposal and that now might be a good time to use them. "Alright, the staring competition is over! Knock it off, you two! Knock it off, I said! Renton, stop it!"

"You stop it. You're being annoying," grumbled her twin unhappily but breaking eye contact with Eureka nonetheless. As much as he enjoyed looking at Eureka and would gladly do it all day long if he could, he had to admit that his bat for a sister actually had made herself useful for once; Renton wasn't very good at wooing girls, and although this one didn't seem to mind the attention, he wasn't entirely sure that just staring at her was an appropriate course of action.

"And whose fault do you think that is?" grumbled Anemone back, equally unhappy. "What did you want anyway, little brother?"

"Shut it," he snapped, instantly offended. "I came to see what the war cry was all about. So did anything actually happen, or did you just break a nail again?" He winked at Eureka who did her absolute best to look appropriately neutral, pretending that his eyes didn't make her heart race one bit, so Anemone wouldn't accuse her of treachery later.

"Stop ogling my best friend, you creep!" screeched Anemone indignantly, poking her sibling in the ribs with a clothes hanger.

"Ouch! I'm not ogling anyone! What do you take me for?" protested Renton, swatting away the offending torture instrument, feeling very much like the victim of a great injustice. Besides, if he truly had been ogling Eureka just now (like really ogled her, that is) she would have known.

But before he had a chance to further reassure the lady of his heart of his innocence – and to get even with his sister for the damn poking – Renton noticed the open drawers and general mess in his control-freak of a sister's private living space. "Whoa! What happened here? Bomb go off or something?"

"Of course not," huffed Anemone impatiently. "Isn't it obvious? I'm looking for something to wear!"

It took a few seconds for the short explanation to register properly, but even then Renton had no clue as to what it actually meant. Maybe it was code for something, but who knew? Girls were weird. "...say what?"

"I said, I'm looking for something to wear," Anemone repeated, rolling her eyes. "Eureka is helping me to pick something out. Duh."

Renton's eyes narrowed with well-founded suspicion. She was up to something, he just knew it.

"Why?" he demanded. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing", was the snappy reply, which to the untrained ear might have sounded every bit as condescending as usual. But Renton hadn't lived under the same roof as his sister for the last sixteen-going-on-seventeen years for nothing; it was seriously lacking in its normal sharpness, and could only mean that Anemone was planning something. Heh. And here she thought she was the smart one.

"Sure it isn't," he snorted noncommittally. "Hey."

"What?" replied Anemone wearily, wishing very much that she had been an only child.

"You're not going on a date, are you?"

"That..." Curses! "That is none of your damn business!"

"Like hell it is!" snarled the minutely younger Thurston. "You might be a royal pain in the ass, but you're still my sister." Renton paused, regarding her intently. "So who is this guy, anyway? I know him?"

"Stop it!" protested Anemone angrily. "You have no right to—"

"It's Dominic," mumbled a third party.

"Eureka!" exclaimed Anemone, surprised and utterly scandalized by how readily her own supposed best friend had jumped ships and betrayed her. "How-How could you!"

"I'm so sorry, Anemone," whispered Eureka to Anemone's pink carpet and looking thoroughly ashamed of herself. "I didn't mean to, I swear! It just sort of slipped out."

Well. Anemone had to hand it to her (former) best friend: at least the traitor had the kicked-puppy look down to near-perfection. But that didn't mean jack, though, now that Renton had found out about her date and probably would raise hell about it, so Anemone figured that revenge was fair game.

"'It just sort of slipped out', huh?" she smirked evilly, letting Eureka know that she'd better be prepared for a hard-ass landing, because they'd be going down together. "You'd be surprised at just how easily—"

But before she could properly pry open Eureka's closet, pull out all the skeletons she could find and line them up for general display, Renton just had to open his big mouth and ruin the moment.

"...Dominic?" he repeated incredulously. "Dominic is in 'that' Dominic? My Dominic?"

"Yes, 'that' Dominic," confirmed Anemone, frowning a little over her idiot twin's poor and disturbingly possessive wording. "But don't call him 'yours', you freak! That just sounds wrong."

Eureka nodded in fervent agreement.

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Renton with a mildly puzzled expression on his face, which Anemone to her horror realized was quite genuine. "He is mine. I saw him first."

"Maybe, but he's not your..." she trailed off. "You must know what I mean!"

The silence that followed made it rather obvious that he really didn't, but Renton shrugged it off and moved on to a different sort of epiphany.

"Well, well, whaddya know..." he mused. "That little liar said that he had plans for today, something about visiting his aunt's sister's nephew's friend's brother's farm out in the country somewhere. So much for that story, huh."

Anemone was momentarily rendered completely speechless and could only stare, unable to peel her eyes off this creature with which she had somehow roomed for nine whole months inside their mother's womb. Just how she had lasted that long in such close proximity to pure idiocy, she had no idea, nor did she want to dwell on it for much longer. "...are you serious?" she finally managed to splutter. "You actually believed that? Just how stupid are you?"

Ignoring the considerable quip to his intelligence, Renton grumbled in reply, "So when is this 'date' taking place, anyway?"

"And why should I tell you?" Anemone shot back with as much authority as she could.

"Anemone," growled Renton, daring her to defy him. This particular growl wasn't so much a noise in the back of his throat as it was a response passed down through the ages from father to son, and reserved exclusively for moments just like this; though it probably helped that he was twirling his baseball bat dangerously close to her large collection of expensive perfumes.

"Okay, fine!" Anemone eyed the bat wearily, having paid no attention to what her brother had actually been saying. "He's picking me up in an hour, alright? Now stop that already!"

"Where from? The house?"

"Yes from the house, where else?" she snapped impatiently. "Why is that important?"

"It's not," replied Renton with as much nonchalance as could be expected from someone who had just been told that his best friend apparently had the hots for his sister. His snotty, vindictive sister with the temper of a banshee... "I might stick around until then, that's all. See to that nothing bad happens, you know, that kind of thing."

Anemone raised a well-groomed eyebrow in genuine surprise. "As much as I appreciate the whole medieval 'protect fair lady's honour' thing going on here, I'm not exactly a damsel in distress, you know. Besides, it's not like Dominic is a stranger. He's a friend. He wouldn't hurt me."

"Oh yeah, I know that."

And right then – right then – she knew that something had just gone horribly, horribly wrong. Her moronic brother looked far too happy, too smug with himself for it to be normal. She must gave walked herself into some kind of trap; there was no other explanation. But before she could do anything about it, she heard him say in a tone of voice absolutely dripping with sugary sweetness.

"Don't get me wrong, I wasn't worried about you! Come on, Dom and I go way back, and it's bad style to leave friends behind in enemy territory, is all I'm saying."

Eureka froze; Renton grinned, readying himself for a quick exit, but it took Anemone another moment or two before the penny dropped. Then she had to find her tongue, which had shrivelled up in a confused mess somewhere in the back of her throat: this, mostly out of the utter shock over her idiot brother actually coming up with something remotely clever.

Not that this made it any less insulting.

"WHY-WHY... YOU!" she finally bellowed, viciously hurling her hairbrush after him. "Get out! GET OUT NOW!"