Through the Fire (a Les Twins fanfic)

Chapter 1: Narnia

The shiny gold statue stared down at Gabby from the top of the bookshelf in her office.  It had been two months since she'd won an NAACP Image Award for her Les Twins article and sometimes she still couldn't believe it.

She ran her fingers over the cool, hard metal as the good memories came drifting back.

Laurent sitting next to her squeezing her hand when they called her name.

Larry and her sister Shauna cheesing. Her mom crying. Patrick cutting the black fool dancing in the aisle.

And later that night...the first time Laurent ever came home with her.

It was all a hazy, wonderful blur.

She grabbed her purse and was walking down the hall to the elevators when Patrick came around the corner and ambushed her.  His bowtie-of-the-day was leopard print with a matching pocket handkerchief and belt.

"Oh my!  What is this?  Miss Gabby's leaving early and she never ever leaves early.  Somebody call the boss. Wait."  He paused dramatically and clutched his chest.  "I am the boss."

She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and punched the down button a couple of more times totally ignoring him.  Unbothered, he proceeded to carry on the conversation with himself.

"Aaaah, I almost forgot."  He made a face-palm gesture.  "She has to get home to see her boo."

Gabby cringed and stifled a laugh.  "Cut it out, Pat!  See that's why I need to stop telling you stuff."  She got on the elevator and pressed the lobby key.  The doors closed on an amused Patrick getting in his last rambunctious comments.

"Go 'head and chase those dreams, girl!  Drop down and get your love life on!"

The soft whir of the descending elevator lulled Gabby back into her private thoughts.  Patrick's aggravating self was right. Lately, it did feel like she was living in a dream.  Since Larry and Laurent were in Atlanta working on their movie she and Laurent had been seeing each other almost every single day.  Then two nights ago she did what might have been one of the craziest, stupidest, bravest, greatest things she'd ever gotten up the nerve to do in her entire life.

That night she was coming out of the bathroom and Laurent was on the bed.  It was amazing to see him simply sitting there like that, looking peaceful and content, legs crossed on his side of the covers, reading his script waiting for her to get out of the shower.

A strange sensation came over her.  Somehow she wished she could snapshot the moment. It was so...normal.  And after all the drama they'd been through in Paris what she wanted more than anything was a little bit of normal.  What she wanted was this.

Gabby slipped into bed beside him, kissed him on the cheek, and laid her head on his shoulder.

He smiled without looking up. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"I dunno."  He squinted at the middle of her forehead.  "Whatever's going on in there."

"Stop acting like you can read my mind,"  Gabby sat up and swatted him in the arm.  "I hate it when you do that."

Laurent grinned and shook his head. He didn't have to be psychic to notice her staring at him from the bathroom door for the past ten minutes.  "I'm listening."

She paused to gather her thoughts. "Well.  I was just thinking that since you're here most of the time anyway, you could maybe just...stay."

The rest of her words spilled out in a halting jumble.  "Because...um, well, for one thing it would be a lot more convenient for you.  And it's actually closer to the studio and there's a whole lot less traffic and...,"