This is a small snip I wrote after acting up on the main Beyond Two Fools story, and subsequent deletion of ch. 22.
Be warned: If this continues, this chapter will not be "canon", and is just the pilot that sprung forth the idea.
Watching Alan's brother hit on Maria Campbell was something else entirely. It struck a nerve like nothing else did, almost to the point it made Hachiman physically ill. This, of course, would not do. He didn't have an immediate idea of how to intervene, but he at least knew the scene was so unsightly he would just have to act.
"They look so good together." Which was to say, Claes hated the sight as much as Hachiman did. Perhaps even more if the dangerously sweet tone of her was any indication.
"Hmmm…" It also served to remind Hachiman to mind his own damn business. The prince was not his fiancé, and so Hachiman didn't really have an incentive to act up. So he didn't "I think he got here just to rub it to you, though."
The brunette scoffed.
Of course she knew. She could see at least that much.
"Unsightly." The girl almost clicked her tongue, but didn't "Disgraceful. Is it too much to ask to be shown the minimum amount of respect to our engagement? What does he think he's doing?"
"Playing around." Hachiman grumbled, shaking his head and only then noticing the second Claes coming their way "Claes."
"Nee-sama." Keith's borderline insolent tone made the girl give him her attention, though he was taken aback from the sudden animosity going his way "Great. Fantastic, I sure wanted to deal with your foul mood right now."
"Speak or scram, Keith." Claes dismissed him "As you say, I am in no mood to indulge you."
"Just tell your boyfriend to get away from Maria." Keith's own frown grew in intensity.
Hachiman rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Great. Another one." Katarina tried to hold back her groan, but didn't quite succeed "Tell her yourself."
"It's your fiancé, though." Keith insisted.
"It's your little crush." Katarina shot back "Regardless of Gerald-sama flirting with the commoner, I won't be treated any different. Ergo, I stand nothing to lose if I let things flow."
"Lame." Her younger brother stated.
"If you have a solid idea about making Gerald-sama like me more, I'm all ears." Katarina gritted her teeth "If not, deal with your problems yourself."
This was going nowhere, so Hachiman chose to relax and tune the bickering siblings out. The place they had chosen to spend their afternoon was quite a pleasant one, filled with plantlife that kept the air fresh in spite of the sunlight going strong in the sky. It wasn't particularly romantic, but then again Hachiman and Katarina chose this place only due to convenience.
If the third prince hadn't arrived after them, they could still relax and bask in the tranquility of this small open space among the Academy's corridors. As things stood, however, this spot was probably irrecoverable and they would have to stop coming back.
Whatever.
"Ascart-sama, let's go." The older sister stated, bringing Hachiman out of his thoughts while she held her fists tight like she was trying to shatter a rock in it "Lest the evening be ruined by the current company."
"Really now." Keith deadpaned.
"Yes, really." Katarina spoke as dispassionately as she could "Contrary to what you might think, I do not enjoy the sight of my fiancé flirting with some other girl in my presence. So I choose to leave."
"Instead of fighting for your man?" Keith snickered.
"Contrary to you, Keith, I fully understand the implications of such actions." Katarina shook her head "I will not make a fool of myself in public. If Gerald-sama chooses to be so ungentlemanly, that's wholly his problem. If there is no love between us, I fail to see how him making a fool of himself is my problem."
The brunette eyed the scene again, locking eyes with her blond fiancé in the process. But quickly averting her eyes back to her brother.
"If your feelings are real, I would suggest giving that girl space. I, for one, would not enjoy some guy coming to tell me what to do or who to be with."
Her brother shook his head.
"She should know." He commented.
"Maybe, maybe not." Katarina poked her brother's forehead with her middle finger "But it's not your place to get her to jump to conclusions."
They left Keith behind. The guy had a lot to think about, and the least Hachiman needed was to be dragged to one of their prolonged arguments after seeing the prince doing those nasty things.
That was some NTR shit right there. Utterly disgusting, an aberration of nature. Long were the days of vanilla stories… Ah… The world sure has gone mad since then.
"Is that fine?" He still asked once they left the scene "Wouldn't making a scandal be beneficial in the long term? It sets precedence, in case something happens."
"I will not fool myself thinking I can beat him at the head games." Katarina rolled her eyes "Gerald-sama is so much more intelligent than you or I, so whatever I try to do will simply make me look bad."
"Hmmm…"
"Does it have to be with some town girl, though?!" There it was, she finally snapped.
"Her standing means nothing." Hachiman tried his best not to roll his eyes.
"It does!"
"No, it doesn't." Hachiman insisted "It makes her no less than you are, we've gone through this."
The girl flinched.
They indeed had. For years, Hachiman had had the opportunity of letting Katarina Claes know how much she sucked as a person. The end result was this bitter lady that still held herself so high the sun looked up to her… But Hachiman at least was capable of reasoning with her.
Sometimes.
"Vicious bastard." Katarina scoffed at him, but she was not lying "You are no better than me either!"
His mouth crept open into a wide smirk.
"That's debatable."
Katarina's face got so close to his that they could feel each other's breath without difficulty.
"Fight me." She whispered, fire in her eyes fueled by her pent up frustration from the prince's shenanigans.
"No way." So, of course Hachiman shot her down. He did not need to be the target for such fury "I win nothing out of it."
Katarina smirked, closing the small distance until their lips touched softly.
It was only a moment, but a very real one.
"I will make sure that Ascart-sama is recompensed accordingly." The evil woman smirked teasingly.
Hachiman tried really hard not to blush as much as she was doing.
"...I will decide that." There was a good chance of Katarina cheating, or just flat out lying to him. She was such a woman, after all. But he didn't mind.
Birds of a feather flock together, and Hachiman held no illusion that he was a good person.