Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story they belong respectfully to Shinobu Ohtaka.
Warning: Themes of shounen-ai/yaoi/homosexual relationships and whatever, you know all that good stuff, AU and also some mild OOC-ness…. If any of this bothers you then you have the option of not reading.
Music: "Alive" by Namie Amuro
A/N: Drabble, drabble, drabble... I don't know what to consider this as but I wanted to write something fluffy with Sphintus and Titus in it. I threw Muu in just to spite him because even though he's a cool guy I suppose, I was still really upset at how he treated Titus so coldly and belittled him.
xxxxxxxx
Titus could still remember Muu's words, the tone it held and the way it resonated in him.
He couldn't remember there being any sympathy in his expression, like he didn't care at all about his existence. To the Fanalis, he was probably nothing more than a tool to be used by Lady Scheherazade.
And it was true, in the beginning…
He'd been prepared to live out his short life all for the sake of his mission. It had been his goal all along but it must have been fate that he fell astray and met people who came to care about him as an actual person and who he in turn could call his closest friends. The bonds he made, though unintentional were beautiful and gave him meaning to his short life span. It was all he'd ever hoped for in the deepest recesses of his heart—his buried desire upon his release to the outside world. It seemed like an unreachable dream, but he achieved it somehow and it in turn motivated him to try and live a life that meant more than just being Scheherazade's dying clone.
Titus wondered over and over again sometimes, why Muu couldn't see him for the individual he became. It was unfair, biased really and when his mind wandered to that time on the battlefield months ago, he couldn't help but feel saddened by it. Nauseated really, that despite what it took for him to be his own person; Muu didn't recognize him as such.
Titus didn't know if the Fanalis still felt that way presently but even so, it was difficult to look at Muu whenever they passed by each other or whenever they were in the same vacancy. It was nerve-wrecking and he had no idea what the Fanalis thought now that he returned to the world of the living as Reim's Magi and not Lady Scheherazade.
Was he upset? Did he still not have faith in him? Did he hate him now that Lady Scheherazade was no longer among the living and yet he was? Would he ever be able to prove himself to him?
There were so many questions he had to ask but he was frightened of what the older man would say. If it was true, if Muu still felt otherwise about him being a Magi and not Scheherazade, then Titus wouldn't know what to do to make up for the situation.
So he sulked.
He sulked until Marga asked him countless times if he was alright. He sulked until Sphintus at long last, grew tired of his constant frowning and when he least expected it, the healer took him aside to the garden one day with every intention to get to the bottom of the little rain cloud that'd been hanging over his head.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sphintus asked; his voice filled with worry. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Titus' mind stopped and he slowly looked up at the other boy with the same sad expression he'd been wearing for the entirety of the day. He remembered how when they first met, the two of them hardly saw eye to eye. However, with each passing day they spent together at the academy, the more their friendship grew into what it was today. It'd gone beyond those boundaries though, and they became something more, something special and Titus' heart began to race as his mind focused on those thoughts alone and nothing else for a moment.
"Well? Are you going to say something your highness?" The healer inquired again, saying the last part teasingly.
Titus made a small noise at that but he managed to brush it off, allowing his temper to wane as best he could. There was no sense in getting angry, at least not yet. Sphintus was trying to comfort him after all so he took a deep breath. "Please don't push me or you'll make me mad. Let me collect myself for a second."
"Alright, so long as you know that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon so you may as well tell me what's been up with you lately one way or the other." Sphintus replied, his arms crossed tightly against his chest now.
He was being stubborn, but for a good reason and Titus couldn't fault him for that. In fact, the Magi thought it was rather endearing and without realizing it, he giggled softly.
"Y—you're laughing, are you alright? You're sad I know that much, but you're laughing!" The healer stared blatantly, his expression twisted with confusion.
"Sorry it's just, I'm relieved." Titus breathed, still smiling. "Whenever we're together like this, you always seem to take the weight off my chest, regardless of whatever I'm feeling. Thank you, Sphintus."
"I—Uh…" He began to blush darkly. "You're welcome I guess… but wait, stop changing the subject! You're supposed to tell me what's wrong!"
"Y-yes…" Titus hesitated, switching the long staff from one hand to the other. "Sphintus, do you think I'm doing alright? Do you think I'm an acceptable Magi?"
"Is that what's been bothering you?" The healer stared and Titus nodded slowly. Rubbing the back of his neck with an obvious pout, he gave the Magi a contemplative yet serious look. "I honestly don't know how to answer that… If Yunan, the wandering Magi were here I think he'd be a much better choice to talk to than me…"
"So then, I'm not good, am I?"
"Ah!" Sphintus pointed at him accusingly. "Don't just decide things for yourself like that! You've only just started being a Magi you twit!"
"But!"
"No buts Titus! I think, as a beginner you're doing just fine!" The other teen exclaimed. "I know your mother left quite a legacy behind but you shouldn't live her life."
"If you can, elaborate for me then." Titus asked, curious of course but also annoyed at the thought that the healer might be suggesting something else, like he couldn't live up to Lady Scheherazade and his new responsibilities as a Magi.
"Titus…" Sphintus sighed. "You're not Lady Scheherazade, you're Titus Alexius so instead of following in her footsteps, you should pave your own road."
"My own road?"
"You know, make a name for yourself! One everyone will know as Titus and not as Lady Scheherazade's successor!" He grinned before it fell suddenly, realizing that maybe he was confusing the blond further. "Well, I mean of course you're her successor but you should make your decisions based on what you think is right and not hers! I mean…"
Seeing the healer's confusion, Titus stared silently before he began to laugh again. "You really do have the ability to make my worries disappear…" He said softly.
"If you're making fun of me, are you at least feeling any better?" Sphintus mumbled; his cheeks aflame from having embarrassed himself.
"A little but it still hurts…" Titus replied, his hand pressing against his chest. "She left so much behind and although I've been working as hard as I can to establish myself in her place it still feels like it hasn't been enough." He added as his mind drifted off towards Muu.
"What makes you say that?" Sphintus asked, the worry returning to his face.
At this Titus sighed, it was inevitable really. "Muu…" He finally said.
And in response the healer blinked, clearly not expecting such an answer but as he thought more into it, he came to the realization that in the time he'd been in Reim, the Fanalis' presence was very minimal around Titus.
"Did he do something to you?" He questioned, taking a step towards the blond until he placed his hands on the other's shoulders. "Did he hurt you?" The panic growing evident in his voice. "So help me if he did I'll—"
"No! No, he… He didn't, not physically at least…" Titus finally admitted.
"But he did hurt you didn't he?" Sphintus concluded overall. "He hurt your feelings…"
"Yes, he did, during the time we were at war months ago…" He replied almost reluctantly.
The way Titus looked down at his feet, sad—almost broken reminded Sphintus of a forgotten doll, one who no longer had a sense of purpose or love. Without thinking, he gathered the blond up into his arms, embracing him tightly against him.
"That chapter of your life is finished, and you don't have to think about it anymore, now that you're a Magi, now that you have Marga and I to stand next to you…"
"Sphintus…" Titus' teal blue eyes grew with surprise.
Slowly, the healer's hands slid up until they clasped the sides of the blonde's face gently, forcing their eyes to meet in an intense gaze. "You're not alone anymore and Marga and I will be there to catch you if you fall. You haven't achieved greatness yet, but I know someday you'll reach it by being yourself. Your life may have started out as a clone but despite it you still became your own person. You made decisions that no one else would—you saved Marga and gave her a second chance, you made real friends even though it may have been against your mission and you sacrificed yourself to try and save the director and everyone else despite being afraid. You're Titus Alexius and there is no one out there like you, understand?"
And instantly, without meaning to Titus began to weep at the older man's words. In his tearful state, he replied brokenly but Sphintus understood every single word regardless. "I understand, I understand Sphintus…" He said, burying his face into the crook of the other's neck.
Hidden behind a pillar some several feet away from the garden, Muu stood there rigidly after having listened to the pair's conversation. He didn't mean to, it'd been a complete accident but seeing as how he was related to Titus' recent bout of sadness, he couldn't help but stay.
The Fanalis took a short peek from behind his hiding place at the two and seeing the way the Heliohaptian held the Magi in such a precious manner left his heart clenching almost painfully at the sight.
He was undeserving of the boy, just as he was undeserving of his mother.
Despite the ache in his chest though, Muu smiled halfheartedly with the thought that even though he couldn't express his feelings or apologize just yet, at least someone else had the guts to beat him to it. As the Fanalis took his leave quietly, he left knowing that there was someone gracious yet stubborn enough to love his former Magi's son with a heart of gold and see him in a light that other's didn't.