Mathias looked up at the judge, the most pitiable expression he could muster on his face. The judge stared back, wide green eyes far more innocent than Mathias thought possible. He cocked his head, brown hair falling in curtains.
"So what is he here for again?" A Madrid accent lisped the man's s's as he turned to face the officer of the court, a scowling brunette.
"Burglary, Your Honor." The officer sneered in response, and Mathias heard what sounded like a trace of an Italian accent in his words.
"Oh! Right! I remember now! Thanks, Lovi!" Judge Carriedo beamed at the officer. Lovi glared back.
Mathias cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Right, right! Got to focus! Okay, so this is just to set your bail, right?" Mathias nodded. "¡Bien! Let's see, how about…oh, I don't know. Lovi, what do you think?" The judge turned to the still-scowling officer.
"Questo è il tuo lavoro, non mio." The man snapped.
"But Lovi! I want your opinion!"
The Italian raised his hand like he was going to make a rude gesture, but stopped suddenly, as if realizing that he was still on the clock. He settled for a sharp snort instead.
Mathias watched the two, and abruptly began to wonder if he was ever going to get his bail set.
,,
"Ceilí, Bhaltair. I'm happy to see that you're looking well." Arthur hugged his sister, and gave his brother a manly handshake.
"You're not looking too bad yourself, Artur. How're your kids?" Bhaltair grinned at his younger brother, green eyes shining.
"They're fine, they're fine. Actually, Matthew is part of the reason I've asked you here." Arthur looked between his siblings. "Have either of you ever attempted…a resurrection spell?"
Ceilí narrowed her eyes. "Those are forbidden, and with good reason. The dead aren't meant to return to this world." She crossed her arms as she stared Arthur down.
"Yes, I know that. But what if they never left? Besides, spells for the reanimation of those wrongfully killed have always been more of a…a gray area, if you will." Arthur locked eyes with Bhaltair, hoping to gain an ally.
"What's this got to do with Matt? You said he was okay." Bhaltair lowered his eyebrows.
"I suppose this requires a bit of explanation…"
,,
"Good morning, Professor Honda." Matthew waved at the slight man, and received a polite bow of the head in response.
"Good morning, Williams-san." Having never met Alfred, Professor Honda never mistook Matthew for his brother. "How have your classes been going?"
"They've been going really well, thanks. Um, I have to get to my geology class…"
"I apologize. I did not mean to detain you." Honda waved Matthew off with a slight smile.
"You…should probably be getting to class…too…" Heracles draped his arms over Kiku's shoulders as he spoke.
"I am free for another hour." Kiku leaned back slightly into Heracles' warmth.
"Do you want…to get some lunch?" Heracles felt the muscles in Kiku's neck tense as footsteps approached, and relax again as they receded.
"Yes, that would b—"
"Karpusi! Get your stinking hands off him!" Sadiq ordered, the part of his face that was visible twisted into a scowl.
"Why should I? He doesn't mind."
"Heracles-san, I don't think—"
"How do you know? Kiku's probably just too polite to tell you to fuck off!" Sadiq snapped.
"Sadiq-san, I really—"
"Yeah, but I'm not too polite to tell you to crawl back under whatever rock you first came out of." Heracles and Sadiq locked eyes.
"If you weren't such a pansy-ass coward, hiding behind Kiku like that, I'd make you regret the day your whore of a mother gave birth to you." Sadiq spat.
Kiku felt Heracles tense just before he stepped around him to face Sadiq head-on.
"Mind saying that again, Adnan? Not quite sure I heard it through the sound of your bluffing." Heracles squared his shoulders.
"Bluffing? Oh, we'll see who's bluffing." Sadiq took a step forward.
"Heracles-san, Sadiq-san, is this really necessary?" Both men ignored Kiku.
"If the two of you don't back off now, I will be forced to arrest you for assault." Kiku, Heracles, and Sadiq all turned to face Vash, the head of campus security. "Professor Karpusi, Professor Adnan, I expected more responsible behavior from both of you, and will continue to expect it in the future. Are you going to disappoint me?" Vash tapped his nightstick against the palm of his hand, dark expression inscrutable.
"My apologies, Officer Zwingli. It won't happen again. My behavior was out of line." Heracles spoke before Sadiq had a chance to open his mouth.
"Mine as well. I'm…sorry." Sadiq ground out. It was almost physically painful for him to agree with Heracles about anything.
Vash nodded. "If I hear about the two of you fighting again, I will not hesitate to talk to the headmaster. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir." Two equally disgruntled voices chimed in unison.
"Good." Turing sharply on his heel, Vash left.
"So, Kiku…what about our lunch?"
,,
Matthew sighed as he walked across the parking lot to his truck, turning his phone over in his hands as he did so. How come the one time I actually want relationship advice, no one is trying to give it to me? Matthew pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand as he dug out his keys with the other. Who should I call…? Al's out…So's Maman…And Dad…that would just be awkward. Not a family member, then. But who…?
The sound of people arguing reached Matthew's ears, and he looked over to see Professor Honda, with Professors Karpusi and Adnan each hanging on to one of his arms. They appeared to be fighting over the top of Honda's head, and Honda himself looked rather…annoyed wasn't quite the right word, but he wasn't his usual impassive self, either.
Professor Gregg had ended his lecture early, having suddenly taken ill, so Matthew had the rest of the day off. Knowing that he would probably regret doing so later, Matthew decided to follow the trio.
,,
Teachers, as it turned out, were much more interesting outside of the classroom. The three profs had gone to café near the campus, where they had each ordered something different before settling into a table by the corner. Their waiter, a polite Lithuanian that Matthew had a class with, ignored their rather loud arguing. Apparently they were regulars.
"Don't worry about the bill, Kiku, I'll pay for you." Adnan leaned back on the bench next to Honda.
"Sadiq-san, that isn't—"
"Shut up Adnan, I'm paying for Kiku." Karpusi nodded firmly, sitting on Honda's other side.
"Heracles-san—"
"Like I'd let you! Besides, you probably can't afford to pay!"
"Gentlemen!" Only Honda looked at Toris. "Who is going to pay?" He put his hands on his hips in a gesture reminiscent of his best friend and roommate, a cross-dressing Pole named Felix.
Honda silently pulled out his wallet and extracted the correct amount, along with a generous tip.
"Thank you, and have a nice day." Toris flashed the professors a polite smile before retreating to the back of the restaurant.
Matthew blew boredly at his bangs as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Going through the contacts list, a familiar name caught his eye.
He came out of the closet ages ago…I was even the first person he told when he and Toris started dating…and I really do need someone to talk to…Matthew pressed the call button and put his phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Hi Ivan. It's Matt. Do you have a minute?"
..
The judge was the serious cameo role. pretentious kneecap suggested Spain as they mysterious character, but I decided to use him for this instead. No one suggested Lovi, but it's hard for me to write one without the other. Also, I just really love writing Lovi. Ayla The Librarian requested that I put in Greece/Japan/Turkey interactions, and I like to write those three, so why not?
However, I still need suggestions for the mysterious person!
Did I use anything foreign that I need to translate…? Oh yeah:
Bien-Good; okay. (Spanish)
Questo è il tuo lavoro, non mio-That's your job, not mine. (Italian)
Professor Gregg isn't a country. However, Matt's geology prof needed a name, so I used the name of my dad's geology teacher. Yeah. My fifty-(eight? nine?) year old dad is in college. He's after a double major in psychology and geology. Couldn't find two subjects that have less to do with each other if I tried.
Anyway, Equilibrium out!
Argh! I meant to publish this ages ago, but ff(dot)net was being a bitch and wouldn't load. Grr.