Flames of Love
Disclaimer: Don't own Shake it Up.
A/N:
Chapter 43 (A Cousin's Concerns)
A few hours into the party, René tapped Gunther on the shoulder and requested him to go outside with him. Gunther did so without any question, since he did want to at least get to know the guy. In his opinion, René was cool, and nothing like the stereotypes that people often told. Most of the French were nice, anyway, from the ones he'd met. Abby was even friendlier, for someone who was so shy as she was.
Once he made his way outside, he found René waiting for him. His hands were pocketed and his back was turned towards Gunther, his gaze was up into the stars. "You wanted to chat, René?" The man turned his gaze over his shoulder and smiled, motioning him over.
"Yeah, let's walk." He nodded and started walking with him down the street. Gunther admired the upright posture that René had, walking tall with shoulders up and chest outwards. It was almost regal. "So, you're treating Cece well, from what I'm hearing." Gunther beamed with pride and quickly nodded his head. René glanced back and smiled at him. "This is good, I'm glad she's happy with you. She deserves to be happy, after everything she's gone through."
"Yeah. I mean there are those moments where we argue, but for the most part, I do my best to treat her the way she should be." René had a gleam in his eyes, proud to hear those words from him. "Most recently we had a bit of an argument over something so silly…and that was the color of icing the 'happy birthday' on my cousin's cake should be. She thought a mixture of gold and silver, with those tiny red crystal things you sprinkle on…mostly because my family is kind of into that stuff. I thought it would be best to just do red." René laughed and pat Gunther's shoulder, smirking teasingly.
"Just remember, the woman is always right."
"Yes, my dad's told me…in the end, Mom decided on blue." Squitza's decision definitely put an end to the debate. The two of them had gotten used to arguments from time to time, both of them could be very stubborn, but they weren't afraid of arguments tearing them apart. They really just made them closer.
"Blue's a good color anyway, goes hand in hand with the red lettering on Cece's cake." This was true, and besides, the color of the letters wasn't the most important or crucial part of the cake. "So tell me, what's your stance on the kingdom? I know you're part of that royal family." He instantly became disheartened, stunned that René knew about that. How did he know, though? "Mom and I were visiting Sviederbach, and we heard that they were looking for you and your family."
"I see. My stance? I wouldn't go back there under any circumstances." He didn't care if it was a pride thing, or anger, but he just didn't see himself going back. "My grandfather threw us out, so there's no reason for us to return." As much as he denied his royal heritage, he couldn't deny that he felt some pride in his home country. He didn't want to go back if it meant taking the throne, but he wouldn't mind going back to his own country, so long as they wouldn't try to beg him to take the throne. Sadly, they would likely do just that. "Don't get me wrong, I care about my country. It's home, obviously, but the royalty thing? Not for me."
"Understandable, you don't want that stress. I can see that. The country is doing decently, unfortunately it seems the Bransford nobility has already began dipping their hand into the pot." Gunther stopped walking at that and opened his mouth in question. René turned around slightly and gazed back with a slight dull expression. "King Brustrum is not a very healthy man right now. So it's as though Bransford is already ruling. Your country was founded on peace, right?"
"Yes." René hummed and turned back around, continuing his walk. Gunther cleared his throat and followed after him. He was a bit concerned that the Bransford family had anything to do with the throne. After all, they loved war. They were vicious, turning everything into violence. War was one of those things where, if it wasn't necessary, then it didn't need to happen. Not everything had to end in violence, there was almost always a possibly peaceful end to a situation. That was what neutrality was, to not choose either violent side and to negotiate a peaceful end. The Bransford clan would surely not do such a thing. "Well at least King Brustrum is still in place."
"Yeah, at least…" Gunther cleared his throat and hurried up next to René. He wanted to know how the country was doing, but he wasn't going to let it influence him. As long as it was still a nation of peace, then that's what was important. King Brustrum would never sign off on laws that would cause riots or other issues within the country. "I mean, I don't know how much King Brustrum can handle, but the country itself is in decent shape. Seems like the law enforcement there is getting tighter." He frowned at the statement and sighed, where was the good news in this?
"I may not like my grandfather, but I know he'll keep the country in good shape."
"He can't run it forever, Gunther. What will you do if there is no appropriate heir found?" He had confidence in the old man, which was more than he was willing to admit. Besides, due to the law they had regarding their rulers' right to rule, the spouse had to be a royal, noble, or servant. Even if it meant there was a fraction of these, it had to be there. To his knowledge, Cece was none of these.
"If I ever had to return to the throne for whatever reason, which I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do it, then I would be forced to find a Queen." René nodded, fully understanding that rule. "She would have to be royalty, nobility, or even a servant. Currently, I'm with Cece…and there's no way in hell I'm leaving her for anything." Besides that, would she even accept that lifestyle? "She's also young, would she even want to be a Queen of some nation." René laughed and folded his arms across his chest.
"Gunther, you've been dating her for five months now, I'm sure you know as well as I do that she probably fantasizes about that." He thought about it and agreed, she did seem like the type to want to be a Queen. Of course, he wouldn't want to force her to leave everything for that lifestyle. He'd have to ask her first, and it was indeed a big step. Even if it meant the only family she cared about would be in the European countries, he would still ask her. He glanced over to René and grew concerned at the serious expression on his face. "As for the rule regarding your Queen, there is something that she doesn't know yet…"
"What's that?"
"She'd have to talk to our grandfather, Pierre, and great grandfather Lance, they'd need to provide the paperwork to prove it…but our family is descended from France's final monarch. He had a few children, the man signed all the birth certificates, and our family kept everything. Cece and I do have some royal blood in us. If you ever honestly had to go back, if you ever had to ask Cece to rule with you, and the country had a problem with that…then you may want to bring up that royal bloodline. The family didn't want her knowing because it would just be too much extra stress and there really isn't a reason she needs to know right now. Hell, I just recently found it out, our grandpa kept it because there was no point in bringing it up."
Gunther's jaw dropped and he quickly glanced over his shoulder. He knew she always acted a bit elegant, in a way, but he never thought she had any royal blood in her. René was right, there was probably no reason to bring it up, but it was still nice to know. "She ought to know, it's good conversation. Doesn't seem like something that needs to be kept from her." René smiled and slowly nodded his head.
"You're right, and if you want to tell her, you should. One should never keep something from someone they love. You've definitely impressed me with how much you care about her. The way she talks about you, she thinks highly of you. So again I say, I'm glad she's found someone who is making her happy."
"I'm doing the best I can. I just feel like this whole secret relationship thing is wearing her out…" He bowed his head guiltily and kicked a rock from the sidewalk. "I mean, the issue with my sister and then there's her best friend…" René clicked his tongue and slowly shook his head.
"You need to learn to talk to your sister. That one's on you. Rocky is the valid one, there is a very real possibility of her flipping out on you two because of hers and Cece's past. Tinka has bipolar disorder, her worst fear is clearly having a woman steal you from her. Your worst fear is seeing her break down and cry, or accuse you of not caring about her…that's why you hide the relationship from her. You need a backbone, because I can guarantee if you tell her in the right way, she won't be upset." Gunther frowned, he didn't want to admit it, but René was right. The whole reason they kept the relationship a secret from Tinka was on him, not her. "You need to be strong, reassure her that while you understand she's afraid of losing you, that she won't lose you and Cece is not stealing you away from her. Reassure her that you are her brother, will always love her, and want her to be happy, but it's also important that you have someone to share a life with. One day the both of you will find that person you love and will get married to them, but no matter what, the bond between two siblings is forever. Understand?"
"I suppose so. I just hate seeing her upset."
"It can't be helped, that's why you have to learn how to talk to her in a way that will keep her calm. In a way, keeping the secret from her is almost affirming her fear." He was stricken with fear, he never really thought about it like that. René was right, but how the hell could he tell her? "Cece's already doing her job, getting close to Tinka and befriending her, gaining her trust. Surely Tinka will know that she's not going to steal you away from her, but you're still going to have to reassure her of that. Don't let her find out on her own, that would devastate her more."
"Yeah…we'll have to tell her soon, I can see that. I'm getting tired of wearing those clothes and doing every single thing with her."
"Plus you have a girlfriend who loves you and you need to spend time with. There's a lot of times, because you keep it hidden, that you can't be with Cece. So it's hurting her too, whether she says anything of it or not." Gunther's eyes grew large and René turned a sharp gaze upon him. "I know that your telling Tinka might cause her to tell Rocky, but it's a risk you would have to take. If she sees that you two trust her with something like this, then it creates positive reinforcement that she needs. It enforces her state of well being, and that is very important."
"I agree." He would try to learn how to talk to Tinka, maybe he would get it right eventually, but he had to learn. If not, things could truly go badly.
The two walked on for a while longer, chatting about various things, until deciding to return to the party where everyone was waiting on them. Cece met them outside and hugged them both around the neck. "I was wondering when you guys would get back!" She exclaimed happily. Gunther smiled back dreamily and lightly kissed her lips.
"So you missed us?"
"Yeah, you could say that. I hope you and René got along well."
"We did, had a pretty good conversation too."
"Great! You'll have to tell me about that later, but first you should see the outfit your sister made for you with a little help from all the birthday people. A little thank you for your help in making the birthday party." He raised an eyebrow as her smile turned into a mischievous smirk. He knew the look well, should he be prepared to run and hide? The chance seemed pretty good. "It has sparklers on it!" He began to pale as René pat his back, laughing fully. Thinking on Cece's words 'all the birthday people', it meant she also had a part in the creation of this outfit. "There's glitter, there's stripes, there's flash…Come see!"
"Dear god, I think I'd rather not…"
"Now this I have to see," René joked. "Let's go." René and Cece moved behind him and began pushing him inside, despite his protests. Surely this was punishment for something, it had to be!
So, what did you think of their conversation?
