Point of View
by Birgit Staebler
Ace sat in his study, playing with a small, round stone,
perfectly smooth and made of granite. It was a dull black, without flaws,
and weighed a lot more than it looked like. He rolled it around in his
palm, staring at the barely reflecting surface and wished he could think
of a solution to his current problem. Well, problem might be too much a
word for it. It was more like... a discomfort. Using a shard of magic he
floated the ball over to his other palm, then back again to the left, spinning
it gently. Smiling at this mastery of levitation, Ace repeated the procedure,
then stopped.
Playing around didn't solve this embarrassment and neither
would sitting here. It was by now 11 am and a beautiful day outside. He
should have every reason to be happy and content, but he was troubled.
Last night had been pleasant to say the least. He had taken Mona out for
dinner, they had danced, gone to one of the new galleries in town that
had a special midnight showing, and had finally ended up in the Magic Express.
From then on, the evening had turned into pleasure and Ace felt a tingle
shoot through him at the recollection. If he had ever had any doubts about
whether or not his feelings were finally returned without restrained, this
night had erased it.
A smile crossed his lips and the granite ball was momentarily
forgotten. Mona's intense presence and his desire had mixed into a whirlwind
of events and he didn't regret a single minute. Neither had Mona. They
had woken around 7, neither really inclined to get up, but Mona had had
to leave. She still had a rehearsal this morning and several photo shoots
for the new press booklet to do. Both knew that Blackjack would probably
grow another ulcer when he found out where his daughter had been -- the
whole night. At this point in their relationship, neither cared. It had
taken both too long to finally find back together and for the first time,
Mona had admitted that their relationship took first place over anything
else.
Ace leaned back and perched the granite ball on his finger
tips, then gave it a little shove with some magic, making it spin gently.
After a few second he spread his fingers and it fell into his palm, coming
to rest.
But this morning he had discovered a new problem and
he had no idea how to solve it.
Cosmo.
Not that Cosmo was the real, actual problem, but it centered
around him and just thinking of it let a scarlet blush creep up Ace's cheeks.
His friend, since he had finally admitted to the powers inside him, was
very receptive to the presence of other magicians, namely Ace right now.
Especially Ace. It might be their close proximity or something else, but
Cosmo was empathetically aware of his friend and partner, and in the past
it had been helpful when confronted with a problem of the criminal nature.
He could sense the Magic Force, though that was dangerous all in itself.
The Magic Force when released in an untamed and wild amount could hurt
Cosmo severely if the teenager had no shields up, or even then. Then there
were emotions. Cosmo had felt it when Ace had been afraid, terrified, in
pain or simply agitated.
Ace sighed.
They had thought it was only negative emotions, the ones
calling for help, but last night and this morning's encounter had proven
differently. Cosmo also felt the positive ones.... and had been confronted
with them like with a sledge hammer between the eyes.
"Next time you bring home company of the female persuasion let me know so I can throw up a shield. That is not how I need to be woken up at one in the morning."
The blush returned and Ace wished he could disappear in
a hole somewhere. Cosmo had felt it all! God, how much more embarrassing
could it get? He knew he had to talk with his friend, but how should he
do that without stammering and trying to justify himself? There was nothing
to justify. It was his private life and Cosmo knew Mona and Ace had a more
than platonic relationship. He had never hidden it!
Still.... there was this fine line between knowing and
actually *feeling* it.
Ace dropped the black ball and sighed. He couldn't tap
dance around this problem and he couldn't just let it drown in silence.
Next time.... Sheesh, could he even forget that there was a potential listener
the next time? Only if Cosmo would get his shields up....
Leaving his study he walked into the living room/library
and stopped as he discovered Cosmo lounging in his favorite position on
the stuffed chair: leaning against one arm, legs dangling over the other,
a bag of popcorn in one hand, the other busy stuffing the sweet stuff into
his mouth, and the remote on his lap. Now he looked up, gave Ace his usual
grin and mumbled, "Hi, Ace," around a mouthful of popcorn.
"You busy?" Ace asked.
Cosmo swallowed the popcorn and shrugged. "Nah, just
catching up on the latest gossip." He made a vague gesture toward the screen
where SensaNews was reporting the latest about the stars and starlets.
"What's up?"
"Cosmo, about last night...."
Cosmo blinked, then shrugged again. "No problemo, man.
I know you didn't do it on purpose."
Ace refused to acknowledge the blush coming back. "No,
I didn't. I'd like to apologize for putting you into such an...." he coughed,
"...uncomfortable situation."
Cosmo pushed the 'mute' button and suddenly the room
was too silent for Ace's liking. "Hey, it's no biggie... Just caught me
a bit by surprise."
Now that was a mild word for it, the magician thought
wryly. He knew what he had felt last night and it had been intense. Broadcasting
that to a third party who didn't even know what was going on....
"Does Mona know?"
Now the blush attacked and Ace felt it burn hotly on
his cheeks. "Ah, no," he managed.
Cosmo grinned even more and he felt like strangling his
younger friend just right now, this very moment.
"And if you lose a single word about...." Ace threatened.
"And embarrass myself? Nah...."
Embarrass yourself? Ace shook his head. He had no clue
how Mona would react to this and he wondered if that would put a dent into
their relationship. Well, it would make her wary around the Express. Not
that Cosmo could pick up on her; he was solely tuned into Ace.
"You are okay?" he tried to steer the conversation into
safer waters.
"Huh, yeah, why shouldn't I be? It's not like I'm inexperienced."
Cosmo stopped as Ace raised his eyebrows and blushed himself now.
"I see."
"But not because of the link!" the younger man added
quickly.
"Ah."
Cosmo glared at him. "How about we leave it at you're
sorry and I don't mind. Just let me know next time."
"By calling ahead?" Ace teased to hide his own discomfort.
Cosmo's brow furrowed in thought. "Uh, no, but...." He
stared at the half empty popcorn bag. "I can't very well leave the Express
every time you might come back with Mona, y'know."
Ace coughed. "No. It's your home as much as mine."
"And shielding every possible night is a drain."
Ace sighed. "We need to train your shields," he decided.
"When you pick up on my emotions..."
"Then it's already too late. Dude, I woke right in the
middle of it. The last thing on my mind was a shield at the time."
Ace's face burned crimson once more and he wondered why
this was embarrassing him so much. He was a grown man, for heaven's sake!
And Cosmo wasn't a little kid. He knew exactly what a relationship could
turn into and had known before they had even met. Ace had thankfully been
spared from telling a teenager about the birds and the bees, as well as
explaining safety to him. Still, it didn't give him any comfort.
"Ah...." he coughed.
Cosmo's grin only told him how much the teen was enjoying
this.
"But I think in time I can block it," Cosmo added.
"We will train your shields," Ace decided.
"And you want to do that how? I mean, we are already
training my defenses and I can block most of you out even at close proximity
when you use the Magic Force, but how do you train that?"
Ace was at a loss. "We'll find a way," he mumbled, gazing
at the mute TV where an interview with the mayor was going on.
"Huh, tell me when you found it," Cosmo grinned.
Ace shot him a dark look and settled down on the couch.
This needed some work.
Who was he kidding?
This would need a lot of work!