Hello there dear readers,

title: The Truth
rating: Teen. Although I shall change this if it escalates. It'll be high teen though, nearing M.
summary: After book 2 'The Time Twister'. Charlie is too chirpy and Manfred is moody because of it. Oh dear, where could this lead?
warnings: Some sexual content and possibly some harsh language. THIS IS A SLASH FICTION. THERE IS MAN ON MAN ACTION. You have been forewarned.
author's notes: I really enjoyed reading this series years ago and now that important exams are looming I'm getting drawn back into them (whoops!). When I first read them I decided I liked the Manfred/Charlie pairing, but there was pretty much no fiction out there for them! Sad, huh? Well anyway I didn't get around to writing about them then, but now I've got some inspiration and the need to escape from the real world for a bit. So voila! Thus this fiction was given first life.

Enjoy!

Why Are You Happy?

The Kings room felt more pleasant that it had for a long time. Not only was Zelda still ill (thanks to Emma) but Tancred was back, filling the empty void, and the knowledge that they had saved Henry from an awful fate was uplifting the spirits of all those whom Charlie counted as 'good' in the room. The homework seemed much easier than usual too.

As he packed up his things though Charlie could feel two surly obsidian eyes fixed on him with an unnerving intensity. He made sure he didn't look at the head boy as he turned to leave. Unfortunately this did not help.

'Charlie Bone. Wait.' It was an order and Charlie reluctantly paused, though he refused to turn around and face his cousin. He heard Manfred slide out of his chair and quickly pack up his books as the other children filed out of the room, several shooting Charlie sympathetic or confused glances.

When they were the only two in the room Manfred added, 'I want to talk to you. Look at me.'

Charlie swivelled to face the head boy, although he made sure not to look into his eyes. Even though he could play mind games too he didn't enjoy it, and Manfred's eyes could be scary. Manfred ignored this patent avoidance for now.

Instead he asked bluntly; 'Why are you so happy?'

Charlie blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that. Whilst he was still searching for an answer the older boy moved forward to stand intimidatingly close. Charlie kept his eyes averted to the side, staring at the table, as Manfred continued; 'You have no reason to be happy. Henry has gone. He stared into the time twister, and now he's never coming back. I'm the one who should be happy, not you!' Manfred sounded frustrated, perhaps even angry, and Charlie bit down an insolent reply: it wouldn't be a good idea to provoke Manfred when he was like this. 'So why are you happy?' Manfred demanded again.

Charlie's mind raced, trying to come up with a plausable answer. 'My uncle is much better now,' he replied, but his tone lacked proper conviction. For a second Manfred considered the answer, but when he saw that Charlie was nervous he scoffed.

'You're lying.'

Manfred roughly pushed Charlie back against the table, moving in very close so that Charlie couldn't escape. Swallowing thickly, Charlie stared desperately at the door in vain hope.

'No one is coming, Charlie,' Manfred snapped, noticing the gaze. 'And you're not leaving until you tell me the truth.'

'Well what if I don't?' Charlie retorted, trapped. 'Are you going to stay here all night?'

'I will if I have to,' Manfred growled. 'Look at me.'

When Charlie ignored the last three words Manfred said something nasty under his breath and gripped the younger boy's chin with vice-like fingers, forcing his face up. Charlie instinctively closed his eyes.

'Look at me!' Manfred hissed and, surprised at himself, Charlie obeyed. Black. Really deep black. They were the kind of eyes you could lose yourself in, and for half a second Charlie was sorely tempted to. Then he breathed in sharply and stopped those kinds of thoughts. They were dangerous.

'Now tell me the truth, Charlie,' Manfred murmured, his tone much softer. 'Tell me why you're so happy today.' The nice persona was more terrifying than Manfred's usual sour exterior, and it must have shown because Manfred chuckled and brought a hand up to brush his fingers against Charlie's cheek. Shocked, Charlie jerked away from the touch and Manfred's amusement grew.

'Oh? Don't you like this?' Manfred grinned, grabbing Charlie's right shoulder to keep him in place this time as he caressed the younger boy's cheek again. The fingers ghosted down to Charlie's neck as he craned his face away from the fingers, squirming at the touch. Manfred didn't seem to care anymore that Charlie wasn't looking at him.

'Stop it,' Charlie protested, uncomfortable.

'Hm?' The head boy's reply was absent-minded as he slipped his fingers under the blue cloak and ran them over the warm skin just below Charlie's neck.

'I said stop it!' Charlie gasped, feeling a bit sick. Manfred's fingers were very cold on his skin and the gentleness was unnatural. The icy digits fell still at the base of Charlie's neck.

'OK. I will if you tell me why you're happy.'

'I-' Charlie started helplessly. 'I don't know why I'm happy. I just am. Is that a crime?'

Manfred's face turned sour again and his fingers pressed against Charlie's young skin viciously. 'Yes it is,' he snapped irrationally. Then, taking a calming breath, he leant down so that his lips were by Charlie's left ear. 'I'm losing patience,' he confided dangerously. 'If you don'-'

'Charlie?' Olivia's voice was shriller than normal, as if she was worried, and Charlie was extremely relieved to hear her.

Manfred growled lowly, revealing his own feelings at the turn of events. 'Don't think this is over,' he hissed into Charlie's ear before pulling back from him and collecting his books.

Olivia was brushed aside violently as Manfred left the room and Charlie took a deep, shaky breath.

'Are you all right?' Olivia pressed worriedly, scooting over to Charlie and taking his stuff for him. 'What was he bothering you about?'

'Ah-' Charlie muttered and then shook his head. 'Nothing really. I think he was just taking his anger out on me for something. I don't know what.' I mean, asking him why he was happy? That was hardly a valid reason to be annoyed at someone, surely.

Olivia hummed doubtfully but, sensing that Charlie wasn't in the mood to talk about it, wisely remained silent.

...

Lying in bed that night Charlie tried to formulate valid excuses for why he could be happy, so long as they weren't the truth. He knew that even if Manfred had just been taking his anger out on him arbitrarily, now that he had refused to reply the head boy wouldn't let the issue drop. It would only be a matter of time before Manfred found him again and pried an answer out of him.

Eventually Charlie fell asleep.

End of Chapter One!

I don't know how many chapters there are going to be, sorry. But I hope you have enjoyed reading it so far. I don't like rushing things to make them seem unnatural, so there will be a fair bit of character building/plot manipulation before we get proper action. These chapter are pretty short though, aren't they? Well, they are compared to what I'm used to, so it won't be too long to wait!

Please review!

~WfCP x