In The Cold

Synopsis: [KotCS] Mutt and Indy get into a fight over Mutt's most recent 'incident' at school. When Mutt runs away, whose will is stronger; father or son's?

Author's Notes: This is set about six months after KotCS.

Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Indiana Jones, any of the related characters or any of Spielberg's and Lucas' intelligence.

Characters: Mutt Williams, Indiana Jones. Mentioned: Marion Ravenwood-Williams-Jones (I mean, seriously) and OC, Trent Bachelor

Words: 1, 459

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Going back to school had been a bad idea. In fact, it had probably been the worst idea either of his parents had ever come up with.

He didn't belong at school and didn't his classmates know it. The son of the famous Doctor Henry Jones. He'd dropped out and then come back. Everyone instantly assumed that he was stupid - okay, so maybe the pompadour didn't help - or worse, that his mom hadn't been able to afford his school fees and so decided to marry Doctor Jones for his money. It was the one assumption that Mutt hated above all else. He could handle being called stupid, though even that usually ended in fists flying.

That was part of the reason why he was currently counting off all the reasons why he shouldn't have come back to school. He supposed that it all came down to, or at least had something to do with, Trent Bachelor.

On his first day of school, Mutt'd come roaring in on his motorbike - one final act of defiance against his parents. On his first day of school he'd spent the entire afternoon repairing his bike after what Trent and his pals had done to it. It was a complete lie to say that his parents were sympathetic; they had told him to leave it at home and catch the bus.

Needless to say, the next day Trent had come out of school to find scratches all down his car's exterior. It was a total coincidence that the knife marks had been the exact same width as the blade on his switchblade. Well, that was what Mutt had insisted.

It was a whole week before he made his next mistake. Out of pure habit, Mutt had corrected his teacher - "It's not Henry, it's Mutt". It never ceased to amaze him how such a simple nickname could become such a cruel weapon. The insults came thick and fast after that. It wasn't too much of a surprise to Mutt that Trent had since made frequent use of the term 'son-of-a-bitch' whenever he was within earshot. It didn't really help that his parents had broken off before their wedding and Doctor Jones had only learnt about him six months ago. Although, how the entire school knew that, he'd never know. Actually, he probably didn't want to know.

The consistent taunting of practically his entire grade - most people hated 'the greaser' and everyone else was too scared to stand up for him - wore Mutt down so much that he didn't even bother to try and create come-backs. After a few weeks, the rules were understood by everyone.

1. Insult Mutt a little and he'd take it.

2. Push Mutt too far and he'd have you kissing asphalt before you fully understood what was happening.

The only exception to this rule was Trent. Everything Trent said pushed Mutt too far and fights after school became a regular occurrence. Mutt never backed down from a fight - his mom had made him too proud for that - but he had to admit, he didn't know how many more fights with Trent he could take.

Trent was smart, probably the only aspect about him Mutt found even remotely interesting. He wasn't just muscle; there was a brain in that thick skull of his. Every fight left Mutt covered with injuries of some kind, but never noticeable. His chest, back, shoulders and legs were more often than not peppered with bruises. The odd limp or hurt arm could always be explained by means of a motorbike accident.

And it wasn't as if Mutt was going to run home and cry to mom. He was grown up now. He could take care of himself. Still, Mutt did wonder if Trent also had enough IQ to fear his mom. It was - embarrassingly - well known that Marion Jones would fight anyone that dared to harm her baby. Trent would be no exception and Mutt was pretty sure that he knew it.

Mutt shook his head to clear his thoughts as the bus pulled up at the stop, appearing orange thanks to the setting sun. Mutt sighed as he clambered onto the bus, mentally counting the stops as it drove through town. No matter how much blame he put on Trent, it wouldn't spare him from his father's wrath. Besides, he supposed he couldn't blame it all on Trent. With a groan, Mutt screwed up his eyes and put his head in his palms. Why did mom have to pick this week to go and visit the Ox? Couldn't she have gone another week? Or better yet, taken him with her? If she'd been home, he could have appealed to her before having to talk to dad. She might have been a little more lenient, partially because he'd tell her the whole truth and partially because he was her baby.

That thought made him sit back in disgust. Did he seriously just call himself mom's 'baby'?

He looked up as the bus pulled up at his stop. Grabbing his bag, he jumped off and watched the bus drive away with an air of despair. As it disappeared around a bend he began trudging home. He was absolutely positive that the world hated him today. He'd overslept, missed his mom's call, and he'd been late to school because his motorbike had refused to start no matter how much he kicked and caressed it, and he'd done both alternatively and excessively.

'I should really check that out actu-'

"Henry Jones Junior!" The sharp tone snapped Mutt's head up and he saw his father, Indiana Jones, all six foot of him, standing at the front door, eyes practically burning with fury. "Inside now."

Mutt bowed his head as he ducked passed his dad and sat down at the kitchen table, playing with the hem of his sleeve nervously.

"I just got a call from the school," Indy said in a tone that was completely devoid of humour. "They informed me that you were suspended for-"

"Dad, it's not-"

"Do not try and get out of this son," he interrupted. "I know exactly what happened and I think you're an embarrassment to this family!"

"Oh so you suddenly know what happened at school, huh Pops?"

"You're on thin ice Junior, don't push me."

"What the hell would you know?" Mutt demanded. He was now on his feet, chair tipped over behind him, eyes glaring up at his father's.

"I know that you don't want to be at school and you're trying to get out of it the only way you think you can," Indy answered coldly.

Mutt couldn't help but give a small chuckle.

"Right," he ran a hand through his hair, not caring what his pompadour would now look like - which certainly said something. "That's what you think this is all about?"

"That's exactly what this is all about!"

"No dad!" Mutt yelled, tears rebelliously forming in his eyes. "Just listen to my side of th-"

"There is no 'your-side' Mutt!"

"There are two sides to every story," Mutt countered.

It was Indy's turn to chuckle.

"Not every story kid. Now…"

Indy's next words were lost as Mutt replayed the last words he'd just said: "Not every story". Is that what Indy really thought? Mutt blinked back tears furiously, ignoring his dad's orders and turning away from him.

It didn't seem fair. He'd been trying hard at school, no matter how much he hated it; trying to get good grades, trying to get his mom to think of him as something more than a failure and, above all else, trying to get Indy to love him. And what did he get for all his hard work? Mom going away and his so-called father yelling at him. He shouldn't have to take this, he didn't want to take it, and he just couldn't take it right now on top of everything else.

"Are you even listening?" Indy bellowed, cutting into Mutt's reverie and making him turn back to face him.

"No."

The simple, blunt answer caused Indy to pause in a moment of disbelief and shock. It gave Mutt enough time to get to the front door and open it. One hand still grasped on the handle, he looked over his shoulder.

"When mom comes back, tell her I'm sorry for being a failure."

He slipped out a door and then caught it just before it closed, facing the street but still talking to his dad.

"And sorry for not being good enough for you to love."

With that, he slammed the door shut and ran out into the night, wanting nothing more than to get away and be alone.

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A/N: I know blazingfire03 wanted to see a fic 3 chapters long with Mutt running away from home and Indy finding him hungry, cold and alone so this is my answer to it. Hoped you liked it and please review if you have the time.

Any ideas for the next chapters would be really useful.