A few days passed, with nothing of consequence happening. Lea began to feel more comfortable in his body, now knowing that nothing would happen until he had his weapons on him - thanks to Myde's tip. Ansem had never bothered to tell him that in order to activate his "power", he would need his chakrams. He still had yet to practice with Myde, but he was becoming more comfortable with the concept the more they talked about things. Isa still was without a weapon, but Ansem had assured him that it wouldn't be too much longer until he would receive it.
Morning dawned, like every other one, and Lea made his way out of Isa's room back to his bedroom. They alternated between staying in each other's beds on a daily basis so they both shared in the rising with the sun. Lea yawned and opened his door quietly, wandering into his bedroom and falling face first onto his bed.
After a few more hours of sleep, he woke up and got ready for the day. As it was every morning, he would get ready and meet Myde at the lift at around 8. He began to look forward to seeing the blonde. He loved that he was encouraging him to be successful with his element, and not be confused by it like Isa was tending to be. A part of him began to feel a tiny bit guilty, but he knew that once Isa had his weapon and discovered what he was capable of, things would be even once more. He hastily put on his lab coat and made his way to the lift.
"Morning, sleepy head! Looks like you got your coat messed up." Myde giggled as he held up his hand and lightly brushed against Lea's neck, adjusting his collar. When his fingers glided against his neck, Lea felt a warmth spread over his body and he relished the feeling. He smiled at the blonde and stepped into the lift.
"What can I say? I was half awake getting ready this morning." Lea joked as they made their way down to the main floor. They walked out to the courtyard where they had been spending their mornings the past few days. "When do you think we'll train again?" Lea was becoming anxious to use his chakrams again, a far cry from what he had been close to a week ago.
"Rumor is either today or tomorrow." Myde fiddled his Lea's hands as they sat and talked. Again, a comfort for Lea. He didn't understand why they did it, but he enjoyed the sensations it brought to his body and didn't want to give it up. "Have you two thought about going to visit your parents?" Myde asked idly.
"We've talked about it, but we're always so tired at the end of the day that neither of us has the energy to even think about walking further than the lift back up to our floor. I'm sure our parents understand. They probably realized that once we left, they very well may only hear from us once in a blue moon." Lea began to rub his thumb on Myde's palm and the blonde released a soft moan. "Sorry, am I hurting you?" Usually, they would not draw attention to their nervous habit - but when he had made a noise, Lea became concerned. He looked up and saw that Myde's face was a bit flush.
"No, I'm fine. Please continue," he looked away from Lea's gaze. Lea shrugged and continued on.
"Eventually we'll have to go and visit. What about you and Ienzo? Does Ienzo even have a family?" Lea had never thought about it before, but to him it seemed like Ienzo had always been a fixture in this castle.
"I haven't been home in quite some time. And Ienzo doesn't have a family, unless you consider Ansem to be his father. He was an orphan and Ansem took him under his wing." Myde began to have a dreamy face.
"Earth to Myde!" Lea chuckled and lightly pushed the blonde backwards. "Oh crap! I have to go and meet Isa for breakfast. I'll see you in study, yeah?" Lea jumped up and ran towards the dining hall. Isa stood outside of the hall, seeming like he was waiting there patiently. "Isa! I'm sorry if I'm late." Lea leaned over to catch his breath.
"It's no problem, Lea." Isa smiled at him and raised him up. "Come on, I'm starving. Need to replenish my body after last night." He winked at the redhead and smiled coyly.
Lea felt a blush creep across his face. "Shhh! Isa! I have no idea what you're talking about," Lea said giddily. He loved it when Isa brought up their adventures behind closed doors. Isa was never one to speak of such things, so when he did it brought immense joy to Lea.
They grabbed their food and sat down. About halfway through their meal, Even approached their table. "Isa, if I may have a word with you?"
Lea looked at his friend and could see his demeanor change almost instantly. He shot the redhead a look telling him to not worry. Isa stood up. "Sure, Even. I was finished with my breakfast anyway." Isa began to walk away. "Lea, I'll see you in study?" He wandered off with Even.
Sitting there, feeling lonely, Lea was about to get up and head to class early when Myde plopped down in front of him. "Don't tell me you're leaving!" The blonde exclaimed.
Smiling, Lea shook his head, and sat back down. "Well, I was because Isa got called off by Even. But since you're here, I suppose I could stay." Lea leaned backwards in the chair and put his feet up on the table, resting his hands behind his head in a lazy fashion.
Myde threw a piece of cereal at him. "Don't do me any favors, Lea." Both teens giggled and held a light conversation as Myde ate his breakfast. As soon as he was finished, they got up and made their way to the classroom.
Myde clapped excitedly as they entered the room. "Looks like today is the day, Lea!" He cried out joyfully. Lea looked around and saw the apprentices were all in there, once again, with all the tables pushed out of the way. "You ready for this?" Myde reached down and squeezed his hand tightly. He nodded as if he were in a daze. Where's Isa?
"Good morning, you two! We're going to be practicing our combat for a few hours this morning. Lea, don't worry. Isa is down in the lab helping Even and Xehanort with some work." Lea's eyes widened at this statement. He put his hand to his chest and didn't feel any anxiety. Is Isa alright? "His weapon is almost finished. For now, though, I'd like to begin more extensive training with you, if that's alright with you?" Lea nodded his head, still wondering about Isa. "Good! Why don't you come and grab your weapons. I want you to work with Myde today."
Walking up to where Ansem was, Lea grabbed his chakrams and felt his palms begin to itch with want and need to release as soon as they touched the center. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing his body to relax. He looked around and saw Ienzo was working with Braig, which made sense to him - if they two of them used the space around them to engage in combat, they were the most logical choice to work together.
"You ready?" Myde asked him. He held his sitar in his hands, holding it in what Lea assumed was an attack position. He nodded and brought his hands up and began to spin his chakrams in his palms. The strange, yet familiar, action caused his body to react to the touch and he could feel the flames begin to come out of his palms. "That's it, Lea. You're doing just fine," Myde told him in a soothing voice. Lea nodded, concentrating on the soft voice, as well as the power that began to flow through his body. "Why don't you try and attack me?" Myde said, holding his sitar at the ready.
Nodding, Lea began to swing his chakrams in front of him, feeling the fire ebbing out of his palms. He struck Myde's sitar and grinned as the water came into contact with his attack. He dropped his arms when he heard Ansem begin to compliment him.
"Well done, Lea! Well done, indeed! You seem to be embracing this power, yes?" Ansem looked at him and approached the two of them. "Why don't you try being on the defense this time." Lea looked at the older man and brought his arms up once again, letting the fire flow through him and brought his chakrams to be in a defensive position. "That's it. Good. Now Myde, if you please."
Myde began to throw water attacks at him, which Lea blocked with his weapons. He grinned and laughed at Myde. "Is that the best you can do?" He taunted, feeling giddy at the adrenaline that was coursing through his body. He was feeling light-headed and had never felt better. "Come on, Myde. Show me what you got." He grinned at him, his emerald eyes reflecting the fire from his hands.
Saying a spell softly, Myde produced water nymphs, all who circled around Lea. There were too many of them, so Lea began to attack using regular hand to hand combat. However, Ansem had wanted him to do something else.
"Myde, please release the water spell." Myde did as he was told and the nymphs disappeared from around Lea. Lea looked up at Ansem. "Now, if we had been in a regular combat facility, I would have wanted you to unleash your power. However, since we're in a classroom, I appreciate you not doing that."
"Doing what, sir? I don't even think I could do what you're saying I should have done. How am I supposed to know what I can and can't do when you don't even tell me?" Lea asked in an exasperated tone. He brought his arms down, which exterminated the flames from dancing around his body. He still wasn't quite sure why he wasn't being harmed by the flames, but just had to chalk it up to his body's chemistry.
"Once again, Myde. Attack him as once before." Ansem placed a barrier shield around the two men that encircled a two meter area. "You are safe to let your power unleash, Lea. I have made it so you two will not be harmed. You need to see what I mean. When he attacks with you, concentrate on your power. Understand?" Lea shrugged and raised his arms once again, feeling the fire return to his palms.
As instructed, Myde said the spell once more, surrounding Lea with nymphs. Lea closed his eyes and did as he was told. Concentrating on his power, he held out his arms and felt the power surge through him, sending flames throughout the entire protected area. All at once, the nymphs disappeared. He lowered his hands, releasing the fire spell he had unknowingly cast to destroy Myde's spell. Both Myde and Ansem looked at him and smiled.
"Nicely done, Lea. You're doing great. Feel free to head to lunch early. I'm sure you might be feeling a bit peckish after releasing all of that energy." Ansem waved his arm, releasing the protection spell and made his way over to the other apprentices.
Lea looked down at his hands and felt drunk with power. He walked over to the front of the classroom and put his chakrams away. He grinned stupidly at Myde, not quite sure what to say or do. "Want to go get some food with me? Ansem gave me permission to leave." Once Myde put his sitar away, they made their way to the cafeteria.
He wasn't quite sure what he wanted, but Lea knew that he needed to do something to keep his buzz going. He looked at Myde and smiled. "Does it always feel like this?" He stretched out his arms, right down to his fingertips. Myde giggled.
"It does. And you want to know what else?" Myde asked in a hushed tone. Lea looked at him with a quizzical face. "Touching someone else after a power surge like that feels beyond incredible." Myde turned into a classroom and pulled Lea in with him. "Let me show you."
Having no idea what was happening, Lea stood in the classroom facing Myde. "Close your eyes," Myde said softly. Lea did as he was told, closing his eyes. Soon, he felt a warmth radiant through him as he felt Myde's fingers run over his arms. "Well? How does that feel?"
He let a breath escape his lips. "Amazing," he whispered. "And all of this because I was able to get rid of your water nymphs?" He sighed as Myde continued to touch his hands.
"Yes. And the more you practice honing your skills, the more incredible this will feel afterwards." Myde leaned forward and softly kissed Lea's lips. Lea opened his eyes wide and was startled back into reality. "Shhh, just relax. I'm just showing you how it feels," Myde said softly, caressing Lea's face with his palm.
"I can't. I'm with Isa," Lea said. He felt awful for what just happened. And it felt even more awful because he wanted it to happen again. This feeling in his body felt too good to pass up the opportunity.
"And I'm with Ienzo. It's alright," Myde said and ghosted his lips over Lea's once more. "It won't happen again, I promise." He captured his lips once more, gently nibbling on Lea's lower lip. Moaning, Lea plunged his tongue into Myde's mouth, not caring about anything else except the euphoric feeling that was racing through his blood. Touching Myde's tongue with his own was causing him to feel dizzy and even more light-headed than he already was. He pulled away and stared into aquamarine eyes.
"You're right. This feels incredible," Lea reached out and pulled Myde against his body, hugging him close. He could feel the other man's excitement pressed against his thigh, and he felt his straining his pants. And then, the image of Isa came into his head. He knew that he had betrayed his best friend and felt sick to his stomach. He dropped his arms quickly and backed away from the blonde. "I need to go. I hope you understand?" Lea left the room without another word. The guilt was wearing on his chest.
Isa, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me.
He made his way to the dining hall, grabbed some food and sat down. All he could do was stare off into space.