Braided Roses
Disclaimer: ALL MY FANDOMS WILL MERGE TOGETHER, MUHUHAHAHAHA
Notes: I just realized upon finishing this chapter that I've started shipping something weird, and... I like it. I normally would never ship them, but... I like it a lot. SO IT STAYS.
FIC START!
Episode 3 - The Personal Trainer
Sunday morning meant that Canti could sleep in as late as she wanted. She had been up all night last night. Half the night was playing Super Smash Brothers with her cousin, and the other half she was alone in her room. She read some comics, she went online to look up naked pictures of her favorite fictional heroes and villains, and jammed to music on her headphones. She didn't bother anyone, and no one bothered her. A glorious Saturday night. However, now was Sunday, and it was the day of rest. It was the day where she didn't have to do any chores, any cooking, fucking... anything. She was buried under her blankets woven to look like the night sky, nestled between all her bunny plushies and pillows, comfortable. Relaxed.
And then it was all interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door.
She didn't even move. She might be awake, but fuck if it she was going to get out of bed this goddamn early. Just pretend like she's asleep. Just ignore it.
"Miss Highwind, I've prepared breakfast."
Suddenly she pulled back her blanket. That was the professor's voice! What? Had Papa Cid made the cooking and chore chart all ready? Eager to put the new tenant to work, was he? She looked over at her nightstand to see her clock. It wasn't unreasonably early, but it also wasn't noon. She scratched in a few places before deciding not to be the rudest bitch she'd ever known. Of course, having breakfast made for her by someone some devilishly handsome wasn't something she could easily turn down. "Oh, thank you," she said, going up to her door. She pulled it open, but just enough to look through the door at him. "Sorry, I'm not entirely decent at the moment, if you'll give me a bit."
"Take your time." She heard him step away.
Canti immediately reached for a pair of pants and put on her slippers, then stepped out. Her hair was a complete jaggy mess, her eyes had massive bags underneath. She needed a shower to get off all her late night sweat. When she came into the kitchen, she found Mateus standing there wearing an apron the same color as his eyes. He'd been up a while, clearly. "So... why did you make breakfast this morning?"
"I was hungry," he said. "But then I thought perhaps you all might be in the mood for chocolate chip pancakes, so I made three more stacks."
"You... made..." she sat down at the island counter in the center of the kitchen and he placed a plate in front of her. Four extremely fluffy, incredibly smelling chocolate chip pancakes stacked on top of it. "...my... favorite...?"
"I didn't know they were your favorite breakfast," he answered smoothly.
"They have been ever since I was little," she said. It reminded her of one of the first memories she had in life. Cid found her alone, lost and scared. The first thing he did for her was take her home and make her pancakes. Because every kid liked pancakes, she remembered him saying. It was the first food she remembered eating, ever. And it symbolized comfort and always warmed her heart every time she ate them ever since. She just stared at the plate in disbelief, overwhelmed at all the feelings this brought up. "That's really nice of you. Seriously. Thank you."
"Do not wait on ceremony," he said. "If you're going to eat them, don't let them get cold. That is the best way to show a chef your gratitude."
"You're right," she agreed, picking up a fork. Didn't take her long to dig in. Cosmos damn it all, they were the best chocolate chip pancakes she'd ever eaten in her life. "Okay, you have to share this recipe. These are fantastic. Absolutely fantastic."
"Thank you kindly," Mateus said gently. He flicked his wrist a certain way while holding the pan, flipping the pancake in the air. It twirled around and landed right back in the pan. She couldn't look away. Not only was he drop dead gorgeous, not only did he have one of the sexiest voices she'd ever had the pleasure of listening to, but he could cook. And cook well. And make pancakes as fluffy as the clouds in the sky.
"Did you tell everyone else? Pancakes are... Kain's favorite food."
Kain stuck his head in the room, his hair pulled up into a ragged man-bun. "Oh shit, what." He walked around the bar, staring at the spread. He fucking loved pancakes. He ate them at every opportunity possible. And they smelled so good. He was drooling. But he wasn't really all that keen on eating something Mateus made. "Okay, so, how does some swanky guy like you know how to make commoner food?"
"KAIN!" Canti shouted.
"Shut it, cousin," Kain grunted. She was ready to slap his face off for that.
Mateus sighed. "You must have incredible misconceptions about what the wealthy eat, Kain. I grew up eating pancakes, the same as you."
"Oh my Cosmos, Kain..." Canti rolled her eyes. "If you're not gonna be thankful that we're not eating cold cereal again, then you don't have to eat it."
Kain snatched up a plate. "Hector's coming over later," he said quietly.
"You'll get sick if you work out after eating that," Canti said. "You're gonna throw it all up."
"I really don't care," he said, stomping off back to his room. "Oh. Right. Uncle Cid's gonna be busy all day, so..."
"What?"
"Yeah. Said he had to go talk out a business deal."
"On Sunday?" her eyes narrowed. "What's Papa really up to?"
Mateus nodded. "No, that is right. He said he had business. Left as I started cooking. Even thanked me on his way out."
"Weird. He never works on Sunday... that's the whole family's day of rest. He said it was Mama's rule."
"Aunt Shera's not here anymore," Kain said quietly. "So it doesn't matter."
"Yes it does matter," she insisted. "He enforced the Sunday rule since-"
"Sorry, cousin," Kain went into the room and shut the door.
She frowned, slowly going back to her stack of pancakes.
"Miss Highwind..."
"If you're worried about me, you don't have to," she said. "Just feels like everything is changing on me."
Mateus sat down across the table from her. "Is that entirely a bad thing?" he asked.
"Professor," she looked up at him. "Do you have plans for the day?"
He thought about it for a moment before he began to cut his pancakes with a knife. His table manners were very polite. He even went to place a napkin on his lap. She'd never actually see a man do that before. "No, I can't say I do."
"I have a gift certificate for the local record store. It's quick walk from here. Would you be interested in going with me?"
"Is it appropriate for me to go with you?"
"Probably not..." she said. "Though honestly I really don't care if it's appropriate or not."
"You should. The last thing I want is trouble with the family I happen to be renting a room from," Mateus said between bites. How did a person eats so slowly? He was dressed well enough to go to church, eating a food known for being messy, and still happened to the the pinnacle of presentation.
"Well, fine, if you don't wanna go with me, I'll give you the certificate and you go get something nice."
"Miss Highwind, I-"
"Can I not thank you for making pancakes this morning? That's all I want to do." she asked. "I just..."
"I did not do it for a thank you," he said curtly. "If I'm going to cook for myself, I figured to cook for everyone else."
She grunted, putting her fork down. "Fine," she said hopelessly. So much for that idea.
"However," he said. "If you wanted to spend time with me, I'm not opposed to that. I wouldn't mind picking up an album or two, but you can keep your gift certificate." Mateus looked at her, dead serious. "I'm only afraid of how it would be taken by others, particularly your family."
"If we leave after they do and come back before they get home, there wouldn't be anyone to notice," she grinned devilishly.
"Miss Highwind..."
"Also. You want to know something?" she said, shaking her head. "You calling me that makes me feel like you're my butler. I know it's because you're my instructor at the university, but at home it's so... formal."
"I should not see you as anything more than a student..."
"You live with me!" she said. "You're practically family. Give it time, and I know Papa Cid and Kain will see you that way, too. Will you still call us all by our family name when we're exchanging presents at Winter Solstice?"
"If I am an honorary member of your family, how would you rather I address you?"
"By my name."
"Miss Cantirena, then."
"Ah, no. No one uses my real name except my father," she said, annoyed. "Call me Canti, like everyone else does."
"I've never-"
"I know..." she said with a giggle. "...that might be inappropriate at school, but while we're home? You're a member of the household."
He turned his whole body to face her. "Canti, then."
"There you go," she said, nodding. "Now, how would I address you if I lived in your house?"
"The only ones that were not servants of the household were my parents, and they called me every insult they could think of," he said.
"That sucks," she grunted.
"I did not particularly enjoy living with them, regardless of how palacial the estate is," Mateus said honestly. There was no reason that he could think of to hide it. "The servants called me 'Young Master', as that's what was appropriate."
"So. That means you didn't have anyone to really come home to," she said, feeling sorry for him upon hearing that. "No one... cared."
"You'll have to forgive me, as I've always been in a formal environment."
She hesitated at first, but Canti reached for him, putting her hand on his. "No more of that. Not while you live in my house."
"As you wish."
"So. What do I call you?"
"My first name is Mateus. I don't have a nickname or anything of that nature the way you do."
"It's so sad. You know your birth parents, and they showed you no love. I don't know anything about where I'm from, and I was taken in to the Highwind family. They've done nothing but love me since Cid found me."
"...found you?"
"Papa Cid said I was abandoned. He found me himself. He and Mama Shera adopted me. Their first daughter passed away."
"I see," he said. "You're blessed."
"Yes. I am. We don't have a lot of money, but we do have love. We do feel like a family." She gazed into his purple eyes. "Mateus, welcome to our home... I hope that, eventually, you'll be at home here as much as the rest of us."
"Canti, thank you," he said, cracking the most genuine smile he'd had on his face in years. "Now, how about I take care of this mess... and you get dressed."
"Dressed..."
"You invited to take me to the record store? Don't flake on me."
She nodded. "Oh, I'd never flake on you. I wouldn't dare." Canti got up and watched him for a few seconds before turning around and heading to her room to get dressed. The moment she closed her door and locked it, she felt her whole body become swept up into an overwhelming panic. This was an outing between housemates, right? This wasn't a date, was it? She hadn't been on a date in years - and there was no way that someone his age could like her. No, no, no. Her heart rate increased. She shook like crazy for a few minutes before sitting back down on her bed. This wasn't what she was expecting on a lazy Sunday. She didn't know how to process it. Why did she invite him out? Oh, right, to thank him for the pancakes, to be nice to him, but she also knew that her father wasn't going to take this lightly if he found out about it. But honestly? She went over to her closet and threw out ten different dresses, unable to pick one. But this wasn't a date. This couldn't be a date. She refused to call it a date, because that's not what it was. Oh shitshitshitshitshit...
A chime rang through the house. She instantly recognized that as the doorbell. Instantly she just grabbed the dress closest to her and threw it on, running to the front door. She pulled the door open to find Hector standing there. He towered over her in height, making her seem like nothing more than a child. He had muscles visible from underneath his dark blue tanktop.
"Hey, Canti," Hector said. They shared a high-five.
"Hector!" Canti was beaming. "I'm so glad to see you! Thanks for that text yesterday."
"Did you deal with 'im?" he asked, hugging around her.
"You know the answer to that!" she grinned.
"Yeah, I know the answer to that," he admitted, laughing. He put her down and noticed that Mateus was cleaning up the kitchen. "Whoa, is that-"
"Oh, right, meet our new tenant," she said. "This is the professor of-"
"I know who he is..." Hector grunted. "...You sure you want to rent a room to that guy? I heard he's a total creeper..."
"I can hear you," Mateus replied. He was drying some dishes and putting them up in the cupboard. "Is your brain all made of muscle, too?"
Kain stuck his head out of his bedroom door to see Hector standing there. He snatched up his gym bag and headed out. "Okay, Canti. I dunno when we'll be back, but it probably won't be anytime soon," he said. "So don't bother making me lunch."
"With an attitude like that, I might just eat out today so you can't come home to anything..." she said. "So you go make out with your boyfriend all day, okay? I won't tell a single soul."
"Cosmos damn it, Canti..." he stared at her intently. "...you know we're just going to work out."
"Oh, right, yeah, sure..." she rolled her eyes. "Just do me a favor and try to stay out of trouble. I don't want to get a call from a police station or a hospital telling me that you fucked yourself up doing something stupid."
He leaned in and whispered, "Remember what you owe me in exchange for yesterday."
"I think you don't deserve it right now," she whispered back.
"Dude, is she your cousin or your wife?" Hector asked, causing Kain to blush at that suggestion. "Let's go all ready. WOL is gonna fill up pretty soon, y'know!"
"Yeah," Kain said. Before he followed Hector out the front door, he pulled her in and kissed her forehead. "We might fight sometimes, but don't forget that I love you."
"Yeah, yeah, I love you, too," she said, watching them both get into a car at the end of the driveway.
"Your cousin is gay, is he?" Mateus asked. He was drying off his hands, as the rest of the kitchen was cleaned up. He pulled off the apron and hung it on the wall.
"What?" she asked, turning around to look at him. "Kain's not gay. He plays as big, muscular men in every game he plays..." she trailed off, not sure what to make of that. "...like Hector... well. That's something awkward to realize right at this particular moment... haaa..."
"Indeed," Mateus said. "Are you all ready to go?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. Just have to slip on my shoes and grab my purse." She was quick about both tasks, not wanting to keep him ready. Was... was he all ready wearing his dress shoes? Did this man even own casual clothes?! "The record store's just around the block, right next to the library if you're interested."
"I wanted to head to the library for more research," he answered. "If you don't mind stopping there."
"Are you kidding? I have a report to do this week! I need to stop there. I might have a lot of online things to source, but they want some from actual books. You know how all that is."
"Then that'll be the second place on the itinerary today," Mateus said.
She had him step out, closing and locking the door once they were outside. "Well, then! Let's go!"
Cid Highwind sat at a table in the middle of a restaurant that he'd never eaten at because the prices were too damn high. Fifty dollars per plate was simply too much, no matter how much money he had stored away in savings. He sat right across from a man wearing a suit, with every single hair on his head slicked into place. It shined so much, it was like the man's hair had been coated in grease. It was distracting, is what it was. There must have been a need for professionalism, of course, but there had to have been another way to do it. He had been through several cigarettes all ready through this meeting, and he had no idea how much more conversation needed to happen.
"I'm sorry," Cid said. "I don't want to sell it. This is an unfinished project anyway. I couldn't sell something that could potentially hurt others simply because I'm hurting to pay bills. That blood would be on my hands."
"We would not place any blame on you if experiments went awry. You would not be the scapegoat. There's no need to be."
"So you ARE planning on testing it out."
"But of course. What else would we do with something as powerful as what you've begun building here?"
"It's not meant for..."
"Then what IS it meant for, Mr. Highwind?"
"I- I can't tell you what it's for," Cid said, shaking his head. Images of the day he discovered Cantirena abandoned out in the dark woods came to his waking memory instead of being pushed back into a place he normally didn't access. He saw it, that, that something in the sky. Like a complete rip in the fabric of reality. And she was there, crying her eyes out. Screaming words he didn't understand. He remembered walking to her, marvelling at how different she was from other children he'd known. How her eyes sparkled even in the night time. He took her to his home right then and there, no questions asked, where Shera was happy to bring her in, and when he went back to see that place, the hole in the sky was gone. Cid had been convinced the entire time that she was from the other side of that barrier, and he wanted to do all he could to give her a chance to go back there. He didn't understand what compelled him to do it, other than the fact that he wanted her to have the chance at going home. If she chose not to, that was different, but who knows how she felt being on a world that always seemed to make her the outcast? She grew up not understanding others at all, and... he didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to be home, putting his feet up, watching sports on TV or the kids play on their Nintendos or whatever they were doing on a lazy Sunday afternoon. That was the tradition, that was the rule for so long. Why did he go against it today? Why was he even here? "I don't know why I agreed to meet ya'll here, it just isn't right-"
He heard clicking from the other side of the table. He knew exactly what that sound was. "Mr. Highwind, considering what you're trying to do... you might want to consider selling this to us rather than some criminals break in and steal it, potentially hurting your family. Heaven forbid someone break into your home and hurt your beloved daughter. Others have wanted the power to cross realities for quite some time. It's not just us. Dangerous people with dangerous intent are always looking for a way to leap into time's scar."
"You think by threatening the life of my daughter, that I'll let you have what you want?" Cid asked as he stood up from where he had been seated. "Oh no. Fuck that and fuck you."
"You're... risking everything out of a sense of pride, Cid."
"Oh, So NOW we're on a first name basis."
"I don't want any harm to come to your or your family."
"That's fantastic, but we can take care of ourselves." He gathered up his coat and started walking out of the restaurant. When some of the guards wanted to stop him, the leader told them to just let him pass. He walked out, just ready to be done with this cursed day all ready.
Canti loved the little machine they had set up all through the record store. If one scanned the barcodes of the albums, they could listen to samples from it. She slipped them on, loving just how comfortable they were, and held up a stack of CDs almost as tall as the rack they were stacked on. She held it up until it beeped, and then cycled through songs. A lot of them didn't hold her interest. But she wasn't afraid to try them out using this machine. It was, after all, how she discovered some of the lost groups from decades ago that she was never able to listen to on the radio. She only had enough to buy one of them, so she had to choose carefully.
Over at the rack close by, Mateus didn't really have an interest in sampling any music. He knew immediately what he was going to buy for himself, and that was that. He watched Canti be completely giddy over this. Clearly, she'd done this quite a bit. She was into it, bopping her head along with whatever she listened to, until she came to samples she didn't like and she immediately put it on the rack. Maybe not where she picked it up, but certainly a place that wasn't in her inventory. It took her a little bit, but she finally had it narrowed down to just one. That's when she turned around with the biggest smile he'd ever seen her have on her face ever since they met. Music, huh, he mused in thought. Not a difficult task at all to manipulate, once he knew exactly what got her attention.
"I've picked one out," she said. "You ready?"
"If you are."
"Sorry if I took too long. I just like to give everything a chance," she said. "Usually when I'm in here, I spend like an hour doing it, but since I came with you, I didn't grab a lot."
"Twenty wasn't... a lot?" he asked, cocking up an eyebrow.
"No. Kain refuses to come back here with me," Canti said. She started to head to the register to buy the album she held in her hand. "So thank you for keeping me company."
"You deserve company."
"That's very kind of you, but..."
"I mean it. I can tell just by watching you that you feel like you don't belong anywhere."
"Mateus, what-"
"And I want to tell you that you do."
She turned to look at him, blushing brightly. "What brought this on?!"
"I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now, but it never seemed appropriate to say anything about it," he answered. "And now that I'm standing here with you, not as just your instructor, but as..."
"...friends..." she said. "We are, aren't we?"
"Yes."
She instantly rushed to hold around him tightly, clinging him to her. It took all of her willpower to keep from crying against him. He really was taken aback by this, but he didn't make anything of it. He just returned the embrace, nestling his cheek in her fluffy blue hair. He had wanted to hold her for a while. That younger frame against his...
"You aren't alone. You have your family. And... now you have me, too. You have no reason to feel like you don't belong."
Canti pulled away from him just far enough to realize that people in the store were staring at them. "We, uhh... we might wanna go."
"I concur."
Kain felt bad for having been such a piece of shit to Canti earlier. He and Hector walked into the gym carrying their bags, with the bulkier of the two checking his watch and muttering about being late. Kain was much slower in his walk up the stairs to the front door. He decided that he'd channel his frustration with his cousin into his workout.
"Hey," Hector said. "You okay, bro?"
"Not really, but I'll be all right," he said.
They went in, seeing all the treadmills set up along the wall. There weren't very many left. Both of them signed the sheet at the front desk, went to change, and climbed onto the treadmills to get started. Hector didn't even bother warming up, he just went into a full blast run. Then again, Hector had been doing this for quite a while longer than Kain. Hell, Hector was even a part time personal trainer to pay his college tuition. Maybe he was in a constant state of being ready to work out or something.
Kain set his to start with a brisk walk to start. Let his heartbeat kick up, and then he'd go further.
"You aren't going to tell me what's wrong, are you?" Hector asked. "You didn't say a word on the way over here."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But you do. I can see it in your eyes, man. You're on the verge of tears."
"Yeah, because my fucking hip hurts."
"That's bullshit. You mad at yourself for having a fight with your cousin."
"You don't know her like I know her. On one hand, she's a kind and gentle soul, and on the other hand, she's a crazy vindictive bitch."
"I don't live with you, so it's impossible for me to understand her to the lengths that you do, but still. Family fights sometimes. I mean, look at me. I rent a room from my brother, and we fight every fucking day. Your uncle at least seems to like you."
"I am blessed, yes. I know that... but..." Kain turned his head a little to see Hector. "Guess that's why you spend so much time here. Uther doesn't make it easy on you. Him being sick all the time doesn't make it easy on him, either."
"Still." Hector pressed a button on the terminal to make it run even faster.
"Still," Kain repeated, watching Hector run even harder. There was something about that manic way of running. He wasn't doing it for his health. He could see it on his best friend's face. That's when he reached over to turn up the speed on his treadmill. Maybe if Hector was able to run away from his problems this way... maybe he could, too. Kain put every bit of his frustration into his movements, running as fast as he could from every thought that tried to weigh him down.
