Author's Notes:  See chapter one for disclaimer and explanation.

Yet another IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please disregard the flame at the beginning of the last chapter.  Blue Pard and I have apologized to each other, and I don't want anyone thinking I harbor any hard feelings.

Chestnuts and Cherries By Annie-chan Chapter Four:  Love and Friendship

"Do you think they'll like me?"

Marron looked back to Cerise, who was walking a few steps behind him.  They were going back to the inn the Sorcerer Hunters were staying at on the south side of Umbar.  The next morning, they would all head back to Eden, Cerise with them.  That is, as long as everything went well.

"They'll love you," Marron replied with a gentle smile.  "We're may seem a little intimidating as a group, but we're all very friendly, in our own ways.  Just be yourself, and they'll warm up to you in no time.  We're a motley crew, so it doesn't matter that you're a little different from everyone else.  We're all a little—or a lot—different than everyone else."

She smiled shyly back at him.  "What's everyone like?" she asked after a short pause.  "You've told me their names, but not much about them."

"Well," Marron began, "Carrot is my older brother, though most people find it hard to believe that he is older than me.  Not only is he smaller than me, but he acts less…adult.  He tends to chase girls around whenever he sees them, campaigning for a date.  It causes me no little embarrassment, but I've learned to deal with it."  He smiled a little self-consciously while Cerise giggled.  "Chocolat is one of the two girls in our group of five.  She has a screaming crush on Carrot, and chases him around as much as he chases other girls around.  Her younger sister is Tira, the other girl, who's also attracted to Carrot, though not so openly.  Chocolat is very brazen and assertive, while Tira is more reserved and thinks her motions through before she acts.  I find it ironic that the two girls that would go out with Carrot without even a second's thought are the only two girls that he does not want to find himself on a date with.  Their indignity with Carrot's skirt-chasing scares him away."  Cerise laughed outright, and he smiled again before continuing.  "The last person in our group is Gateau, the one I first mentioned to you.  He's a bodybuilding strongman and a blatant exhibitionist, and that can get a little tiring at times, but his incredible strength comes in very handy when hunting a Sorcerer.  He has a big heart, and he's cares a lot about us all, including his younger sister, Éclair, who belongs to another group of Sorcerer Hunters."  He stopped and looked away, uneasy.  "There's also something else you should know about him."

"What's that?" Cerise asked, looking at him.  She was obviously curious.

"Well…ah…" Marron said.  Finally, after starting and stopping two or three times, he just came out and said it.  "Gateau's…attracted to me."  He watched Cerise out of the corner of his eye, not only to see her reaction to Gateau's sexual orientation, but also her reaction that someone else had their eyes on her love, no matter who it was.  The latter agitated him much more than the former.  Gateau really didn't care whether people accepted his lifestyle or not, anyway.

"He is?" she said, looking surprised, but that was all.  She didn't look upset over either of the things Marron was nervous about, and that made him feel terribly relieved.  She looked down a moment later, looking saddened.  "Ah…I see…"

"Yes," Marron said softly.  "It's been obvious for years, and I've done nothing to make it clear to him that I don't…swing that way.  I'm not even sure if he's serious about me or not.  I mean, if he's serious, I would think he would have done something more by now than make comments about my looks and playful suggestions that we get into a relationship.  On the other hand, if he's not serious, I would think he would have shown attraction to others besides me, and perhaps even lost interest in me and gone another direction."  He paused for a second.  "And, now that I've found you, I need to tell him once and for all to stop, instead of just ignoring him like I have.  He's one of my closest friends, and I not only don't like telling my friends off, but I'm afraid of what might happen.  If he's not serious, he may just shrug it off and go find someone else to bother.  But if he is serious about me, my rejection could really hurt his feelings, and it may spell an end to our friendship.  Plus," he looked at her, "he may not be very friendly toward you at all."

"I see," Cerise said after he finished, her tone indicating she was speaking half to herself.  "What an unhappy circumstance."  She looked up to him again, smiling.  "Well, I'll just have to make it clear I want to be his friend, and we can hope for the best, right?"

"Right," Marron agreed, though he wasn't looking at her.  He did hope very much for the best, but a queasy feeling of dread had situated himself in his stomach, and he couldn't shake his nervousness one bit.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Marron's back," Chocolat said to the other three.  Tira, Gateau, and Carrot were sitting around a coffee table in the inn's common room playing cards, and Chocolat was sitting in an easy chair nearby with one of the innkeeper's cats on her lap.  She could easily see out door that led into the large dining area, and spied their second-youngest member coming through the front door.  "He's brought someone with him, too."

The other three turned to see what she was talking about, and Marron reentered after nearly two hours gone.  Sure enough, there was another person a step or two behind him.

"Wow!" Carrot exclaimed, jumping up when he saw Cerise.  "A BABE!"  He bounded over to her.  "Miss…!"

"CARROT!" Tira shouted at their hormone-happy leader.

"DARLING!" Chocolat screeched at the same time.  Both girls were on their feet to keep Carrot away from the new girl, but it was obvious after a second that they didn't have to.

Marron's hand came down hard on Carrot's shoulder as he passed him, stopping the older Glace brother in his tracks.  Carrot looked up, startled, and found himself staring straight into his brother's black eyes.  He gulped.  Marron had his warning look in his eyes that Carrot was sure he had never seen quite like this before.

"Back.  Off." Marron said.  His voice was his normal soft lilt, but there was a hardness underneath that got the point to Carrot quicker than Chocolat or Tira ever could.  He backed off in an instant, stunned momentarily.  His little brother had never done that before…

"Are you Carrot, Marron's brother?" the girl asked with a friendly smile.  She held out her hand to Carrot.  "Nice to meet you!  I'm Cerise."

"Uh…hi, Cerise" Carrot responded, accepting her offered handshake.  "Yeah, I'm Carrot."

A few minutes later, introductions all taken care of, the six all sat down around the coffee table.  Marron and Cerise began to explain the situation, being thorough but trying not to go on for too long.

"And, that's how he came to bring me here," Cerise finished after a while.  She and Marron looked around to the others.

Silence.

"Wow," Carrot finally said.  "That was…unexpected."  The other three nodded.

"Predestined love," Chocolat sighed, looking dreamy.  "How romantic."  Both Marron and Cerise blushed, and Chocolat began staring at Carrot with a wistful expression on her face.  Carrot balked and looked like he wanted to run.

"Chocolat!" Tira hissed under her breath at her sister.  She looked at Marron and Cerise and smiled.  "Well, you guys could probably use some help in this.  Interfering with a Sorcerer's wedding plans isn't the safest thing, after all.  You can count on us to stand by you.  Right, guys?"  She looked at the other three, eyeing each of them through her round glasses in a way that said, "You'd better agree with me, or you can count on spending the next three months in traction."  Tira was obviously all in favor of Marron and Cerise as a couple.

The others nodded their assent, just as Carrot's stomach growled loudly.  He grinned sheepishly when they all looked at him.  "Well…it is getting late…can we go get something to eat now?"

They filed through the door from the common room into the dining area a moment later.  A waitress told them she'd be with them in just a minute as they chose a table and sat down.

"Wait a minute," Chocolat said, looking around the table.  "Where'd Gateau get off to…?"

The others realized she was right.  There were only five of them there.  They looked toward the common room.

Oh, no, Marron thought, feeling ill.  Gateau had shown no approval or disapproval of Cerise in the common room, but that didn't mean he didn't have any reaction to her.  "I'll go see," he said, and stood up.  He managed to walk steadily, though he had a strong urge to sit down again.

He stood in the doorway to the common room and looked around.  Gateau wasn't by the coffee table anymore, nor was he anywhere else in the room.  Marron's gaze was drawn to the staircase at the back of the room.  It led up to the second floor and the rooms just as the larger staircase in the dining area did.  Without looking back at the others, he crossed the common room, looked up the stairs for a moment, then began to climb them.  With every step, the guilty feeling in his insides got stronger and stronger.

How could you, Marron Glace? his conscience scolded him.  He is serious about you after all, and you have done nothing to discourage him, nothing to let him know you weren't interested in any relationship with him besides friendship.  You should have done something about this years ago.  You should have made it clear to him, let him down gently.  Instead, you strung him along, whether you meant to or not, and you've just suddenly let him drop.  What a friend you are.

Marron closed his eyes and paused at the top of the stairs.  The voice in his head was right.  He had strung Gateau along for years, even though he hadn't done it intentionally.  He should have asserted his disinterest at the very beginning, but his cowardice over possibly hurting someone's feelings had made him just keep looking the other way, and now the let-down he had just given Gateau was worse than it ever would have been if he had made himself clear in the beginning.

He smiled bitterly.  I guess inaction really is the worst thing you can do with a problem, he thought.  He found himself in front of a door.  As usual, their group had gotten two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls.  He was standing in front of the guys' door, and he tentatively raised his hand and knocked.

He couldn't hear any movement through the thick wood of the door, but it opened half a minute later.  He found he couldn't look his taller companion in the eyes.

"What do you want, Marron?" Gateau asked.  There was no malice in his voice or the question.  In reality, he just sounded very tired.  A stab of guilt went through Marron's chest.

"May I come in?" he asked softly.

"Of course you can," Gateau replied, holding the door open and stepping out of the way.  "You're staying in this room, too, you know."

"I know," Marron said, walking into the room, still not looking at the blond man.  He tucked his smooth black hair behind his ears as he sat down in a chair he had pulled away from the small table that was in the room.  Gateau sat down on the bed nearest him.

"Why aren't you with the others?" Gateau asked.  "Aren't you hungry?"

"Yes," Marron replied.  "But, there's something more important than eating right now.  I…I have to talk to you."

Gateau suddenly stood up and walked over to the window, which overlooked the rooftop of the inn's stable.  "There's nothing to discuss," he said flatly.  "You aren't interested.  That's all."

"No, that is not all," Marron said, turning to look at him but not daring to come any closer.  "I have to apologize for—"

"Apologize?" Gateau interrupted.  "For what?  You obviously don't care about another's feelings.  You've ignored me for years, yet you gave me no reason to not keep going after you.  Now, you've let me drop like yesterday's garbage.  You want to apologize just to save your reputation as a nice guy."  Gateau now sounded extremely bitter.

Marron squeezed his eyes shut.  "That is not true, and you know it," he managed to reply.  His teeth were clenched loosely to keep his voice steady.  "You know I could never be that callous toward someone."  He felt tears stinging his eyes at such an accusation.

Gateau sighed and let his head drop a bit.  After a few minutes, he whispered.  "I know, I know…you're the kindest, gentlest, most caring person I know.  I'm just surprised and upset that the most painful blow I've gotten in years came from you, of all people."  His voice was strained.

"I was afraid," Marron admitted.  "I could never really tell if you were really attracted to me, or if you were just playing around.  The truth is, I didn't really want to know.  That way, I could pretend you were just playing around, because I knew that if you were really attracted to me, then I'd someday have to let you down, tell you to leave me alone.  You know how much I hate hurting the feelings of others.  At the same time, I threw away the chance to tell you, to let you down easy, and now this has happened."  He bowed his head as well.  "I'm so sorry…"

Silence reigned for a few minutes, then Gateau spoke up again.  "So…you only like girls, then, huh…?"

"Yes," Marron answered.  "I should have made that clear, too…"

"Heh…" Gateau chuckled.  "To tell the truth, I was never really sure if you were straight or what you were.  You showed no interest in my advances, yet you showed no interest in girls, either.  You looking exactly like your mother, but with a definite masculine bent as well, didn't help.  You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen, and I couldn't help but be attracted to you."

"I'm sorry," Marron said again.  "Really, I am.  You're one of my dearest friends…I never wanted to hurt you…and look what I've done…!"  He felt about ready to cry, and rubbed at his eyes to discourage his tears from falling.

He felt a large, gentle hand on his shoulder, startling him into looking up again.  Gateau was standing over him, an oddly bittersweet smile on his face.  "We're both at fault," he said softly.  "You never made an effort to tell me, and I never made an effort to find out.  Now, we're both upset."  He stopped long enough to take a breath, and the sound of that breath gave Marron the impression that he was holding back tears as well.  "I can never hold it against you, though, Marron.  I love you…"

Marron felt a pain in his chest at those words, and he quickly turned away, hiding his face in his hands.  "I'm sorry…!" he murmured tightly.  "I don't deserve to call you a friend after what I've done!"

"But, I want you to," he heard Gateau say softly.  "If…if you won't call me your lover, I want you to at least call me your friend…"

Marron wouldn't look at him, nor would he speak for a few minutes.  His breathing was shaky, and he didn't trust his voice not to give out as soon as he tried to use it.  After a moment, though, he nodded.  "A-all right…if you'll let me…"  He sniffed and wiped his eyes.  "You…you're taking this much better than I had hoped you would.  I-I was afraid you wouldn't even let me speak to you after…after what I've done."  He stood up slowly and smoothed some stray wrinkles out of the front of his clothes.  "You really have a strong spirit if you are willing to take this…I'm so sorry…"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and another one under his chin, gently bringing his face up to meet Gateau's gaze.  They stared at each other for several long seconds, neither moving nor saying anything.  Marron felt his eyes widen a bit when Gateau leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

After the initial shock, he relaxed, neither responding nor pulling away.  The man in him would rather not be sharing a kiss with another man, but it was the least he could do after letting Gateau down so suddenly.

Gateau pulled back and backed away a few steps.  He then walked past him to the door.  "Come on…let's go join the others."

"Are you sure you're all right with this?" Marron asked, his voice timid.  "You…you don't have any hard feelings for Cerise?"

"No," Gateau shook his head.  "She had nothing to do with this, and she didn't know about me, anyway."

Marron looked down.

"I don't have any hard feelings for you, either," Gateau reassured.  "I've already told you, haven't I?  I could never hold anything against you, even if it does hurt.  I love you, so I wish you happiness.  I'm hurt that I'm not the one you've chosen, but I'm not going to throw a fit that you love someone else.  If I did that, if I insisted you should be with me, someone you don't love, it wouldn't really be love that I feel toward you."

Marron tucked his hair back again.  "You really do love me," he whispered softly, not looking him in the eyes.  "If you're willing to give me up so I have a chance to be happy…I don't deserve love like yours…"

"Sure you do," Gateau said.  "You deserve it more than anyone else I've met.  You care deeply for others, and I've never seen you put yourself before them even once.  Just because you love someone else is no reason for me to be bitter.  The regret you've shown at letting me down like this only reinforces that."  He walked back up to Marron and placed a hand on his shoulder again.  "I'll help you and Cerise get away from that Sorcerer she's engaged to.  I'll make sure you two are together as you want to be.  If you have to fight, I'll be fighting by your side all the way.  You have my word on it."

Marron allowed himself a small smile.  "Thank you…you're my dearest friend, Gateau.  I mean it."

"Glad to hear it," Gateau replied.  "Now, let's get back to the others.  They're probably wondering where we disappeared to."

To be continued…

Author's Notes:  Sorry this is a little late.  I had a sever case of no motivation.  I knew what I wanted to write, but I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and do it for a few days.  I've noticed that the chapters are all longer than the one before it, and I don't know if that's going to keep up.  They might get shorter after a while, or they might get longer or stay the same…whatever.  I really have no idea. *shrug*  In any case, I hope you all like this one!  I hope I didn't get too wordy near the end, and that I got my point across that Gateau is stung by Marron's rejection, but wants to make the effort to keep their friendship alive.  Did I?  Please, tell me!  Let me know what you think in a review or an email to mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu!  Once again, please disregard the flame at the beginning of the last chapter.  Now that we've apologized, it's more an embarrassment than anything else. ^_^;;