The Mighty Ducks and all related characters are the property 
of Walt Disney Television. No copyright infringement is 
intended and no profit is being made. Believe me, I'm not crazy 
enough to take on Disney.

This story and all original characters are the property of the 
owner.

This takes place after Brotherhood and prior to Blood of 
Ancients: The Fic That Would Not Die. I'd recommend reading 
the stories Meditations and Brotherhood before this one, just 
so you know what's going on.

This ended up a lot smarmier/sappier than I'd intended, but I 
honestly couldn't think of another way to do it. There's a sequel 
to this, called Beyond Brotherhood: Precious Things which 
will clear up a few things and deal with a few things I didn't 
mention here.

Many, many thanks to Debbie. Without her kind words and 
wonderful story, *this* story never would have been finished. 
Make sure you read her story Confessions!
________

Beyond Brotherhood


It had been awhile since he'd been up here last.

Nosedive McDrake looked out over the city from his perch 
atop the roof of the Anaheim Pond, one leg thrown carelessly 
out into space, the other remaining securely on the rooftop. It 
was only dusk, but already the evening air was cooling, 
signaling the approaching autumn weather. October had just 
arrived and Anaheim was reluctantly letting go of the summer. 
Below the city was alight with streetlights and storefronts - the 
many colored lights of the Anaheim Mall lit up the sky a few 
blocks over and Dive swore he could just make out the giant 
Captain Comics sign from where he sat. The city was wide 
awake and alive, refusing to surrender even to the natural 
arrival of the approaching nightfall. 

In all the times he been up here, all the nightfalls he'd seen, all 
the city lights he watched blink into existence one by one, he'd 
never stopped to wonder at it quite as much as he did now. 
Somehow it seemed different. Brighter, less oppressive. When 
exactly, had the skyline of Anaheim stopped being a 
burdensome reminder and started to be a welcoming familiarity 
of home?

He knew when. He still remembered the last time he'd sat at 
this same spot and watched the same lights. He made a face 
and pushed his long hair away from his eyes in remembered 
embarrassment. God, he'd been such an idiot. <Got myself bent 
all out of shape, worried the others until finally Duke climbed 
up here after me to beat some sense into my thick skull.>

All right, so that hadn't been exactly what occurred. Duke had 
climbed after him, but his technique of getting through Dive's 
depression had been more finesse than anything else. That, and 
frank honesty. They'd reached something of an understanding 
that night, and a sort of mutual respect where once Dive knew 
there had been little more than tolerance. Duke had offered a 
hand in friendship - one Nosedive had been deeply in need of at 
the time.

<I was tired,> Dive remembered absently. "I was so tired back 
then."

"Tired of what?"

The sudden voice startled Dive and he swung around suddenly 
to face the new arrival, even though he recognized the voice; it 
was as familiar as his own. "Wing?"

Wildwing graced him with a slight smile. "Careful or you'll 
fall."

Dive rolled his eyes but didn't have it in him to be annoyed at 
his older brother's protectiveness. "What are you doing up 
here?"

Wildwing shrugged a little, and Dive was surprised to see 
uncertainty in his eyes. "If you'd rather be alone..."

"No! I'm just a little surprised. You've never been up here 
before."

"Maybe I should have." Wildwing crossed the few feet between 
them and sat on the ledge beside his brother, smirking slightly 
as he swung both legs over the edge. "I've always wondered 
what was so great about this place. Decided to find out for 
myself." He looked out across the cityscape, seeing the same 
lights as Nosedive had, and Dive suddenly found himself 
wondering how Wildwing saw them, and if his impressions had 
also changed as drastically as his own had. Probably not, he 
decided. Wildwing wasn't one to be caught up in confusions or 
depressions. Wildwing had adjusted to Earth so quickly that 
sometimes he made it seem as if they had always been there - 
until he made some comment about humans or a remark about 
the heat. But even there, Dive was the one who most often 
pointed out the difference. A slightly sad smile crossed his face 
as he realized how much he had struggled with a decision that 
his brother had handled so well, then was quickly banished with 
the evening breeze. That was Wildwing. He lifted his head to 
regard his brother in the fading light. His older brother was 
always the stronger one, more reliable, more capable of dealing 
with - with anything really. Nosedive depended on him for that 
strength, maybe a little too much sometimes. It was 
frighteningly disconcerting to think of how lost he'd be without 
Wildwing to lean on, to count on, to have backing him up.

That led to a train of thought that he had no desire to explore 
so he banished it from his mind, content for now to watch the 
lights and sit quietly until Wildwing got around to doing or 
saying whatever it was he felt he had to do or say. Dive was in 
no way going to complain about the long silent pause between 
them; even this was more time than he'd been able to spend 
with his brother lately and he missed him.

He must have said that out loud because Wildwing was looking 
at him and asking, "Missed what?"

Nosedive shrugged and looked down at the street below them. 
"Missed this. Don't get to see you much any more."

It was a silly thing to say, in Nosedive's opinion. They lived 
together, ate together, worked together. If they'd gone an 
entire day without seeing each other since they arrived on 
Earth, Dive would be surprised. If anything, they spent more 
time in each other's company now than they had back on 
Puckworld.

But, Wildwing was nodding with a sad smile that probably 
matched his own. "I know. I miss this, too."

Dive looked up to look at him in surprise. "You do?"

He instantly wished he could take the words back. Wildwing 
looked a little hurt, and suddenly very sad. "You're my brother. 
Of course I miss you." Wildwing leaned forward, resting his 
weight on his arms as they braced against the ledge and Dive 
bit back an urge to warn caution - Wildwing could very well 
take care of himself without his kid brother pestering him.

"I miss you," Wildwing repeated quietly, and the new tone of 
his voice showed that the conversation was taking a serious 
turn. "And I can't help but wonder if it's my own fault."

"huh?" Dive didn't follow where his brother was going. "What 
do you mean 'your own fault?' "

"I haven't made much time for you, have I? We came here and 
sometimes I feel like we've barely spoken two words since we 
left Puckworld. There have been moments, of course, but... It's 
nothing like before, is it?"

"Things change sometimes. It's been a rough year for 
everyone." Dive tried not to think too hard about just how 
rough that year had been. There were some things that were 
best not dwelled on.

"I don't want things to change," Wildwing said plaintively. 
"Not between us, Dive. Not the way they have been." His 
voice dropped and Dive found himself leaning forward, 
something inside him desperately wanting to hear Wildwing's 
next words. He needn't have worried. Wildwing looked up 
until their eyes met and Dive was shocked at the hint of tears 
there. "I don't want to lose you, Dive."

There were a hundred things competing for attention in Dive's 
mind at that moment but they were all overwhelmed by the 
simple, inescapable knowledge that Wildwing *never* cried for 
no reason, never unless he was hurting badly or something had 
happened. The thought crossed Dive's mind that the only time 
he could remember seeing his brother cry in *years* was the 
day they'd been reunited in the work camp after months of 
wondering if the other was dead, lost forever... and almost 
before he knew it he leaned forward and wrapped his arms 
around his brother as tightly as the slightly awkward position 
allowed. Wildwing's arms came around him in return, one hand 
reaching up to cradle the back of Dive's head as Wildwing 
spoke quietly in an unsteady voice. "I'm sorry, Dive, so sorry. I 
know you've been unhappy here, I'd have to be blind not to 
have noticed. And I'm sorry I made the decision for you, to 
join the resistance, to come here, but I'd just gotten you *back* 
and I couldn't stand to lose you again so soon." His arms 
tightened slightly as he took a deep, shaky breath. "I knew you 
were unhappy and I never said anything, Dive, because I was 
too afraid of what I'd hear."

"Afraid?" Nosedive echoed quietly, absorbing the weight of 
emotion that his brother had unleashed with surprise. He'd 
never imagined Wildwing was this upset... To be honest, he'd 
never even thought Wing noticed he was unhappy. <I should've 
known better. He always notices.>

"Afraid you'd be angry with me for making you come here, for 
getting us all stranded here. Afraid you'd hate me for it."

The sheer absurdity of that was enough that Dive almost didn't 
believe he'd heard it. He froze for an instant, then pulled back 
only slightly, keeping one arm wrapped around Wing's neck, 
the other one raised, one finger pointing at Wildwing's face. 
"That could never happen. *Never.*" He swallowed and was 
surprised to realize his hand was shaking. "I could never hate 
you, Wing," he said and his voice was as shaky as his brother's 
had been and his eyes stung. "Oh stars, when did things get so 
bad between us that you could *ever* think something like 
that?"

"I don't know," Wildwing said with tired honesty. "After we 
came here and found out we were stranded. After I started 
paying more attention to being the team captain and less to 
being your brother and you started to get more and more 
withdrawn. I tried to talk to you, but not hard enough... I was 
scared Dive. As sad an excuse as that is. Then, one day I woke 
up and saw you and Duke sharing what we used to and 
realized I'd probably done a very good job of destroying the 
most precious thing in the world to me." He looked out over 
the city for just an instant before turning back. "This. Us. 
You've always been more than just some kid brother to me, I 
can't remember a time when... I never..."

"We've always backed each other up," Nosedive said slowly. 
"Always."

"I haven't been doing such a great job of holding up my end of 
it, have I?" Wildwing asked sadly.

Nosedive leaned against Widwing's shoulder, happy when 
Wildwing's arm wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him 
closer. "I haven't been doing such a great job either, bro. You 
were handling things so well - being stuck here, the mess with 
Dragaunus, becoming team captain. There were rough spots, 
but they passed. I was afraid you'd think I was holding the 
team back if I said anything, or if I let on that I wasn't happy 
here..."

"You've never let the team down," Wildwing said firmly.

"Wasn't the *team* I was afraid of letting down," Dive 
admitted softly.

There was a pause, then a laugh - not amused, just tired and 
sad. "We messed this up good, didn't we?"

"Yeah."

"But not too much?"

Nosedive smiled his first real smile since he'd come up to the 
roof. "It's gonna take a heck of a lot more than this, bro. We're 
not even close to 'too much.' "

In one swift move, Wildwing had stood and pulled Dive up 
with him, bringing his brother into a tight hug safely away from 
the edge of the building. "Thank the stars," he murmured 
softly. "I love you, baby brother."

His eyes stung with fresh tears and he shut his eyes tight, 
leaning into the familiar embrace and feeling a sense of calm 
and security that had been painfully absent over the last few 
months. "Never doubted it for a second," he whispered, 
knowing as he said them that they were probably the truest 
words he'd ever spoken. "I love you, too."

Except maybe for those...

After a long moment, one of Wildwing's hands came up to 
ruffle Dive's hair and Dive pulled back a little, a smile crossing 
his face and the euphoric laughter that only comes after tears 
rising in his chest. "Hey, don't mess with the hair, man!

Wildwing smirked, but Dive could see his brother's emotions 
mirroring his in his eyes. "As if it could possibly do any harm. 
Ever hear of a comb?"

"Hey! I've been up here in the wind! Long hair tangles you 
know!" Dive pulled one hand threw his hair and sighed when it 
did encounter a few too many tangles. "Wipe that look off your 
face, you smug..." he allowed his voice to trail off warningly 
and mock glared.

"What haven't I to be smug about?" Wildwing asked as he 
started toward the stairwell that would lead them back into the 
Pond, one arm still firmly wrapped around Dive's shoulders. 
"I'm the leader of an intergalactic team of heroes-slash-
crimefighters, the captain of the best damned hockey team in 
the country," he paused just long enough to release Dive and 
pull the door open, "and big brother to the best friend anyone 
could ever want or need." He smiled and disappeared into the 
Pond, leaving Dive to catch the door.

Nosedive smiled fondly as he caught the door and started 
inside, but something made him stop and go back to the edge 
of the roof. For just a moment, he watched the lights and 
remembered his earlier thoughts.

Whatever loneliness he'd felt on this planet, whatever regret at 
being here, whatever fears he had of failing his teammates and 
brother, were banished now. The healing Duke's friendship had 
helped begin had been completed. Knowing that no matter 
what happened or where they were, the life-long bond of 
friendship and brotherhood he and Wing shared wouldn't be 
broken, was all that he needed.

Turning his back on the lights, Dive headed inside, knowing 
Wing would be waiting for him.


End