His Beauty is a Beast

Chapter Seven: A confession


Liu wakes up, weighing the pros and cons of actually getting out of bed. It's been a week since he let it slip that he is more interested in men than women to Gary, and in that time the two have barely spent any time near one another. Dinner and meetings they are in the same room, but Gary won't even so much as look at him in these gatherings. The whole thing really hurts, and has brought him to realize something he desperately didn't want to; he has fallen for Gary.

He's not sure how it happened, but at some point he fell in love with the strange man. Of course, seeing his own gender, he knows nothing will come from it. With this rises a new question; tell him and undoubtedly get kicked out? Or keep it hidden and have to face the sight of him with a woman? Maybe he should talk to someone about it; that Nikola man seemed smart. He'll talk to him. No doubt he's here this morning.

Getting out of bed and dragging his feet towards his dresser, Liu grabs a random pair of old pants and a t-shirt. Why try to look nice if the only one who matters won't look at him anymore? Once dressed, Liu heads out to the hallway in search of Nikola. As expected, he quickly finds the man in the dining room with the rest of the household members.

"Ah! Nikola, perfect!" Liu exclaims, catching the attention of everyone else in the room. "Can I please talk with you alone?"

Nikola looks at him curiously. "Well, yeah, does it have to be right now?" He asks and Liu nods, making the other man smile a little in amusement. "Alright, I get it. Let's go."

Liu smiles at him and quickly drags him out of the room, leaving everyone else confused.

"Why did he call on Nikola?" Matthew asks, a bit disappointed.

"A normal human can understand any problems Liu is facing better than us." Vash points out. "Really, if Demitri hadn't gotten to him first, I wouldn't be surprised if they would have started something up…since he likes men." He mumbles and Demitri twitches.

"Wait…what? Is he after my Nikola?" The red eyed man asks, moving to leave.

"Liu wouldn't go after someone else's man." Gary says firmly. "Don't be stupid, Demitri."

"Ah…you're right…" Demitri mumbles as everyone looks at Gary in awe. "So you are recognizing his existence again?"

"I won't…let someone slander him." Gary whispers, staring at his food. "Lies are not tolerated in my home."

As the rest of the group continues eating, Liu brings Nikola to his room, looking around before closing the door.

"Aahhh…Liu…what's going on here?" Nikola asks nervously, making sure to stay far away from the bed.

Liu looks over to him sadly. "Nikola…I need your advice." He moves closer to Nikola, the expression on his face almost breaking the older man's heart.

"Hey, hey, don't make such a sad look! I'll help with whatever you need!" Nikola says, placing a hand on Liu's shoulder.

"I'm in love with Gary…" Liu mumbles and Nikola laughs a little.

"Well, yeah, everyone can-!" He stops quickly, noticing the horrified look on Liu's face. "Er…well…Gary can't…if that helps? A-anyways…what are you going to do about it?"

Liu sighs. "I wanted to ask you about that, actually…how did you tell Demitri?" He asks and Nikola blushes.

"Ah…well…Demitri told me…b-but all he did was blurt it out one day. Are you asking for ideas on how to tell him?"

"No, I was just…you don't really go home much do you?"

Nikola things for a second before shaking his head. "Nope, I pretty much live here I guess. My apartment is empty."

Liu stares at the ground. "When I finish telling him my feelings, would you mind if I stayed there?"

"You think he will kick you out?" Nikola asks, looking at Liu concerned.

"I won't give him the chance. I'll run before he can do that."

"Well that's not fair. He can't chase you or talk to you about it if you run."

Liu tenses up. "B-but…he doesn't like men…"

Nikola looks away awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, no, he doesn't like men…but you can't get full closure unless you talk it all out." He smiles at Liu. "Right?"

Liu smiles back, uncertainty written all over his face. "…Right."

"Good! Now I'll go get him and you two can talk! Get it out in the open now, rather than letting yourself get worked up over it until you finally do it." Nikola says, patting him on the back before heading out of the room.

"W-wait! I'm not ready yet!" Liu calls out and Nikola ignores him. "Wha-? Nikola!" He pouts as the man disappears down the hall. "You might be able to handle this kind of situation like an adult…but I don't know if I can…" Sighing, Liu goes over to his bed and sits on it, running his fingers over the soft sheets. He's never lived somewhere so nice, and now he's about to get kicked out all because the 'adult thing' to do is man up and confess. "Stupid adults…"

"What do you need?" Gary asks from the doorway, a little surprised as he watches all the color drain from Liu's face. "…Hey, are you alright?" He asks, moving into the room and closer to the teen. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, I really don't know why I have. This house is filled with men who are with other men, but when I think of you being like that all I can imagine is you wanting one of them, being held by some stranger man…and unlike with everyone else, it pisses me off to think you are." His words are quick, some overlapping and the majority said only in whispers, but seeing an almost horrified look on Liu's face is utterly intolerable to him.

"You avoided me…because it pisses you off I am interested in men, huh?" Liu mumbles, a sad smile on his face. "Because you feel like it's some sort of betrayal? I mean, it couldn't be jealousy…right? For me to hope it's jealousy…is foolish, isn't it?"

Gary looks at Liu, taken aback. "Liu…are you trying to say you-?"

"I love you." Liu blurts out before going bright red. "Ah! No! It's too soon for there to be feelings of love…it's more of an intense like…I guess? E-either way, you don't have to worry. I won't stay here lusting after you or anything. Nikola said I could use his place, and maybe while I stay there I can find my sister again…I haven't heard from her since coming here and I worry about her." He says, smiling weakly. "I'll still help Nikola put posters up, if you want. I really want to help you break this curse, I just don't think I can stomach seeing you with whoever you choose."

Gary takes a deep breath and sits next to Liu. "Are you that worried about Meilin?"

"She's my sister. Of course I am. I have been this whole time, it's just I didn't want to stop helping you." Liu mumbles, making sure not to look at the man beside him.

"Then…after you find her…" Gary begins, bringing a hand up to pet Liu's hair. "You are still welcome to visit."

Liu's eyes widen and he looks at Gary confused. "But why would you-?" His sentence falls short as he takes note of the man beside him. Much like his own face Gary's has turned a dark red, his expression is twisted in an almost pained confusion, and the hand in Liu's hair is actually trembling. "Gary…"

"Go." Gary says firmly, pulling away from him.

"But-!"

"I don't want to see you right now. Go to your sister."

Liu frowns. So he was wrong, those were acts of an uncomfortable man trying to get a nuisance out of his house, not someone who might… "Fine. I'm leaving. Thank you for your care." He mumbles in defeat, standing up and running out of the room.

"Letting him leave after such a confession?" Roderich asks, sneaking into the room after Liu has gotten down the stairs. "What are you playing at, Gary?"

"He hasn't went to find his sister because of me. It's not fair to keep him worrying about her for my own convenience." Gary explains, standing up from the bed. "If he comes back, he comes back. If he doesn't, he doesn't."

Roderich twitches a little. "Look here, you stubborn fool, play the heartbroken martyr when it's just your life on the line. The kid loves you and whether you like it or not you return those feelings. Get off your high horse and go get him. Now. Or did you forget that tomorrow is when the poison begins to take effect?" He asks annoyed and Gary tenses up, running out of the room.

Darting down the stairs, past the members of his household, and out into the courtyard, Gary looks for him. Sadly, the boy is no longer on his property. "Damnit! He runs way too fast!" He hisses, kicking the gates to his home.


A/N: I am so, so sorry this took so long. I lost all inspiration for it for a while and then I decided to go with this. I PROMISE THIS WILL NOW BE REGULARLY UPDATED! (Well, as regularly as I am capable of...and really, there is only probably one chapter left. Maybe two.)