Gremio sighed and rolled his eyes as he prodded his young master along. The boy was horrible in the mornings; cranky and quick-tempered. Despite being the head of the Liberation Army, McDohl was still a child in many ways, though quite frankly Gremio wasn't complaining. The fear that the young man would no longer need him was becoming very real...he wasn't sure if there was room for him anymore.
That's ridiculous, Gremio chided himself. There would always be something he could do for his young master. Unconsciously, Gremio appraised the boy's growing frame. He'd have to make sure he kept eating. He looked like he'd lost some weight.
It was silent in the hallway as the pair continued on their way--most everyone had already risen and were waiting on them in the meeting room. Gremio pulled Tir along faster. He'd hate for the rest of the army to think that he or the Young Master were incapable of arriving on time. The boy released a muffled groan as his caretaker increased their already fevered pace.
Their frantic rush drew to an abrupt halt, however, as they passed Viktor's room. The door stood widely open, displaying the contents and occupant--occupants, rather--of the room with dazzling clarity. Gremio released a sound not unlike that of a dying cat before moving to cover Tir's eyes. The young man evaded him, gawking.
Gremio's startled noise stirred the two--(two!!)--men on the bed, but neither appeared to wake up. Flik, made unmistakable by the light/dark hair and blue bandanna sprouting from beneath the sheets, had his face turned from them. Gremio would have been in doubt that he was alive at all if he hadn't seen the man's well-toned arm twitch on the broad surface of Viktor's chest. Composing himself with no small amount of difficulty, Gremio grabbed the Young Master and pulled him away before the boy could open his mouth in protest.
Such manners...! Gremio thought, storming down the hall with Tir in tow. The door remained as open as they had found it--unabashed in its mocking display of private affection. If they were going to do that sort of thing here, than they should have the good grace to close the door! Gremio didn't need Tir falling under their negative influences anymore than he already was. The dumbstruck boy didn't say a word as his caretaker pulled him around the corner.
Back in the small room, Flik groaned, the sound lodging in his throat before spilling from his lips as a throaty rasp. His head hurt, and he was loathe to open his eyes and face the sunlight he could feel hammering at his eyelids. He wondered if perhaps he had gotten drunk the night before; the theory made perfect sense, what with the pounding in his head and the warm body sprawled next to his. That particular revelation cemented his decision not to face the morning, believing himself better off not knowing the identity of the slumbering partner, at least for now. He'd had enough drunken nights ended with horrifying results to last him a long, long while. The young man shifted away from the sunshine, inevitably moving against the other in the bed as he did so. A strong arm pulled him closer.
That was odd. Usually it was he drawing others near, not the other way around. And most times, he liked his women more...soft. Flik's muddled brain processed his surroundings without the help of visual input. Slowly but surely, the pieces fell into place, instilling him with a deep sense of dread. If his memories of the night before were correct, and he prayed that they were not, then Flik would have more than enough reason to throw himself and the person whom he suspected the other to be out a window. Hesitantly, one blue eye cracked open.
"Morning! I didn't think you'd ever wake up!" Viktor's all too cheerful voice greeted him; a hint of mockery there was excruciatingly evident.
Flik was up and out of the bed so quickly that Viktor couldn't help but marvel at his speed. The younger man fell against the open door, slamming it shut in his frenzy to be away. Blue eyes that were no longer tired pinned him with a look of dismay and immeasurable anger before Flik opened his mouth to speak. "You didn't...!" The man spat, his right hand seeking the doorknob even as he spoke.
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Viktor, if anything, seemed rather amused by the younger man's reaction, and sought to prolong his suffering. "Though I must say, you showing up here in the middle of the night half-naked was more than a decent invitation."
"Oh, shut up," he snapped, realizing for the first time that they both wore pants--which was considerably more than what Viktor had been wearing the night before. Chances were that Viktor wouldn't actually do what he was implying, anyway. Flik believed that, despite how he felt about the man. Viktor simply wished to humiliate him now.
Seeing part of the homicidal rage fade from Flik's face, Viktor figured he'd been found out. "You're lucky I didn't just let you spent the night on the floor. How would that have made me seem to all the passersby? They probably would have thought that I killed you."
"Passersby?!" Flik's voice raised an octave. "People saw me...with you?!"
"Well, the door was open. I assume that if they looked they would have seen what was in here: me and you sleeping together." Impossibly, Viktor's grin widened a fraction of an inch. He wasn't even trying to hide his enjoyment of the situation. The large man settled back on the pillows contentedly.
Flik's eyes widened to an impossible degree. "You planned this!" He accused, taking one threatening step forward. The effect was lost on Viktor.
"No, I took advantage of a situation when it was presented to me. There's a difference."
With a half disgusted, half enraged cry, Flik threw the door open and exited. He'd be thrice-damned if he was going to let that-- For a short moment, Flik's words failed him he was so overcome by fury. His fists tightly knotted at his side, the young man stormed through the halls like a hurricane, feeling distantly sorry for anyone who happened along in his path.
Fortunately for everyone involved, the wealth of the inhabitants of Toran Castle were already either in the meeting or otherwise involved. Flik made it to his room relatively unharmed, though the ache in his head throbbed mercilessly with every movement. He dared not spare another glance in Viktor's room's direction, fearing what his hands, restless with rage, might do to the larger man.
Viktor winced as his door was slammed closed; the resulting shock was almost enough to send a lantern careening to the floor. The glass instrument rested precariously on the edge of his dresser--if Flik had used only a bit more force, his threadbare rug would have been soaked in kerosene and broken glass. The large man sat up in bed and stretched languorously, the motion having been denied to him earlier that morning. He hadn't wanted to wake Flik before the man was ready to get up. It really was a pity he missed Gremio and Tir, though; Viktor was sure Flik would have been thrilled to see them.
Actually, if Flik had seen the two men, he'd probably want to kill them, too. Or perhaps just silence them...But that would have been a moot point anyway--when Flik had a chance to calm down, he'd realize that Viktor's room was directly en route to the council chamber, hence, anyone of any real importance had passed his open door. News of their shared bed would be all over the castle in an hour. Poor guy, Viktor almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
Throwing his feet over the edge of the small bed, Viktor decided that it would be a lost cause to go to the meeting now. Someone could fill him in later--but he doubted they were getting any real work done anyway. Even if they hadn't been at a complete standstill before, any attempt to talk politics or strategy would be drowned in a flood of gossip. Viktor chuckled at the chaos he'd created.
He got dressed and stuffed his feet into boots that he didn't even bother to lace. Exiting his room, Viktor went downstairs to see what Marie could do about getting him some food. A tune that would have been jaunty if he hadn't been butchering it floating from his lips, the large man started his day.
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Two and a half hours later, Flik still didn't want to go from his room. He knew the moment he unlocked the door and stuck one foot outside he'd be assaulted with all sorts of ugly questions and looks. So, for the moment, he was content just to lie on his bed, pretending not to wonder why the hell he'd gone into Viktor's room in the first place. Flik simply refused to believe that this was entirely his fault, despite the fact that he'd wandered into the other man's room late at night, half-naked, without any real reason for him to be there, and then questioned him about the subtle nuances of their relationship.
He resisted the urge to snort. Relationship, right. It was more like a race: whomever ruined or killed the other first, won. Right now, Viktor was in the lead. Obviously the man didn't care what other people thought about him, but Flik had a reputation to uphold! He couldn't have people thinking that the Blue Lightning went around sleeping with men he apparently hated, and most assuredly that was what people thought. He looked like a two-faced pervert, even more so with Odessa's death still so recent. And it would be damn hard to convince anyone that what they assumed had happened, never had.
The first step, naturally, was to leave the room so that he could start denying everything. Flik gazed at the doorknob from his bed but lacked the motivation to get up and turn it. He might as well let it get completely around the castle before he started--it would be embarrassing to start denying things to people who had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Doubtless, Viktor had been spreading the nasty rumor to his heart's content, so Flik was sure he didn't have long to wait.
But how to make people believe him...? Flik had to admit that everything looked pretty bad--He'd been in the man's bed, after all. Even if he told the truth he doubted they'd believe him. It seemed a little unlikely, and also gave rise to some questions that were hard to answer. "Why were you in his room?" or "How did you fall?"--Questions that not even Flik had the answer to.
So he'd have to lie and make up a reason why and how, but that didn't quite sit right with him. There had to be another way...he'd have to do something to back his denial up. Something that would make the truth more believable, at least.
Oh, who was he kidding? Nobody was going to disregard what they saw with their own eyes. Flik would have to kill Viktor in front of everyone just to prove there was nothing between them--which didn't seem like a bad idea at the moment--but Flik had to assume Viktor was useful for something otherwise he'd be dead by now. Besides, if Flik called the other man out now, it would seem staged--a ploy to regain his reputation.
So what could he do? Maybe if he just let it alone everyone would forget about it after a while. There was a war going on; surely there were better things to gossip about. Hell, maybe people respected him enough to let it all slide. Perhaps no one would talk about it.
Flik was fooling himself and he knew it. Regardless, a tiny bit of hope arose in him, just enough to allow for disappointment. Still, the young man clung to it, stubbornly believing in the goodness of mankind until he opened his bedroom door, stepped into the hall, and narrowly avoided crashing into Kimberly. The blonde woman's dark eyes sparkled with knowledge that she wasn't supposed to know, and Flik's faith in human decency faded.
"Now I know why you found our date so uninteresting, eh?" Kimberly said, her deeply feminine voice full of joking implication. Flik noticed she let him have his space, unlike the previous times they'd met, when she'd use any excuse to push her body against his.
The woman's grin widened just a bit, and he wished to tell her the truth: that waking up with a man wasn't half as bad as letting her paw at him, but wisely kept his tongue. Instead, Flik opted for a more oblivious approach. Pulling his brows together in a confused frown, the young man regarded the woman at his side. "What do you mean? I found our date very interesting." Flik fought to keep his voice neutral, careful not to let any suggestion filter through with the comment.
Kimberly frowned at him--his reply was obviously not the one she was looking for--but she recovered after a moment. "It's a pity we won't be doing it again," she said with an exaggerated sigh.
"Yes," Flik agreed. "But you understand, I hope--what with Odessa and all."
She looked taken aback for a moment, before she smiled again. "Right, of course," said Kimberly, "truly a tragic loss." The blonde woman seemed more than a little put out that Flik hadn't played along, ruining her fun. But she'd rather let it drop than directly accuse him of sleeping with Viktor--that wasn't how the game was played. Flik sent a silent "thank you" to the heavens for that, but knew all too well that others wouldn't even try to dance around the subject like Kimberly had. He blanched thinking about all the horrified stares and furtive glances he was likely to receive. Suddenly Flik felt like going back to his room.
But no, this was something that couldn't be avoided and hadn't he gotten through a lot worse than this? He was a mercenary--a hired soldier! Flik wasn't going to let one of Viktor's stupid pranks keep him from doing what had to be done. With a short good-bye to Kimberly, Flik departed, moving towards the kitchen with purpose evident in every motion he made. He was surprised to make it there without anyone jumping in front of him with more questions.
There were very few people left in the kitchen at this hour. It was sometime between breakfast and lunch, and if anyone had somewhere to be, then they'd probably be there by now. Only the stragglers like himself were left, chatting in the midmorning sun or taking their meal elsewhere to be eaten. Flik was relieved--he wasn't exactly on friendly terms with any of these people, so he didn't have to fear being drawn into conversation. They were all late risers, as well, so chances were that they hadn't passed by Viktor's room this morning. Flik made himself a meal out of the morning's leftovers and sat down to a quiet, albeit late breakfast.
Once out of the confines of his chambers, Flik was better able to analyze the situation. As it stood now, most of the castle had seen Flik and Viktor in bed together, and Flik couldn't say much to the contrary. Now, what he needed to do was--
Flik's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a loud party; four or five men still sweaty from the training ground and looking for an early lunch. With an intake of breath that was rather like a hiss, Flik noticed Viktor among them. The young man cursed his bad luck and hideous sense of timing before training his gaze on the tabletop and nothing else. If he could, Flik would like to avoid confrontation right here, in such closed quarters. Part of him knew it was inevitable--he imagined it was as hard for Viktor to ignore his presence as it was for Flik to ignore the other man's--but a dull hope remained that he wouldn't have to draw his sword in front of all these people...
Slowly, an idea began to take root in Flik's mind. Suppose he was to get Viktor into some sort of brawl...surely this was not behavior fitting of lovers, and if Flik continued to be hostile towards the other man, wouldn't the rumors eventually fade? It would be better if Flik could avoid him all together, but that hardly seemed likely considering the circumstances of the war. People might still believe that they slept together once, but they couldn't claim that it ever happened again.
Under the circumstances, Flik thought it was the best he could possibly hope for.
As Viktor walked by his table, he flashed Flik a knowing wink and Flik resisted the urge to climb over the table and punch him. However, that didn't seem fitting in the pleasant atmosphere of the kitchen, so Flik settled on flashing a rude gesture at the larger man. The other men--who were unknown to Flik--were given a pause by the severity of the blue-clad man's expression; their gazes shifted warily between Viktor and Flik before they wisely continued on their ways. Viktor, however, was either unafraid of the younger man, or simply lacking in self-preservation. He lingered by the man's table.
"You're not still mad about this morning, are you?" Viktor's tone barely disguised laughter and his eyes danced with mirth as he peered down at Flik. The younger man stood slowly, drawing the attention of the other scattered diners in the kitchen.
"I missed the meeting thanks to you," Viktor continued, deriding in his levity.
"Be outside in three hours and give me the chance to kill you." Flik's voice was even and seemingly calm, though his tightly knotted fists belied the rage he was just barely keeping in check.
"Are you challenging me?" Viktor's expression changed subtly, though his smile did not fade. If anything, it widened with Flik's quick nod. "Fine then," the larger man continued. "Let's finish this. Perhaps that will keep you from sneaking into my room at ungodly hours of the night."
A half a dozen stricken gazes flashed in Flik's direction. To his credit, the younger man took it in stride; his only response being a jump of a muscle in his jaw. Flik didn't feel it was necessary to elaborate on what would happen if Viktor didn't show; he gave Viktor more credibility than that, at least.
Flik glared up at the older man, not wanting to back down or look away first. None of this would be happening at all, if Viktor had just left him alone. But he had to make his intentions known all the way back in Lenankamp eight months ago--had to bring Flik's notice to attention he'd have been better off not knowing he had. If Viktor had just kept his mouth shut, and to himself...
That hadn't happened, however. Because Flik had known of Viktor's admiration--grudgingly or otherwise--he'd felt its loss when he suddenly no longer possessed it. So after his anger had faded, he couldn't help but think about it...
In short, this was all Viktor's fault. And Flik was going to get him back for the morning's events.
Flik tore away from the table, breaking the intense eye contact between the two men. He didn't care if Viktor thought he was giving in or showing weakness--in three hours he'd show him just how weak he was, after all.
The other men stared after Flik as the young man exited the room, but Viktor's gaze didn't waver from the space the man had been occupying only a moment before.
One way or another, he'd be through fighting with the man tonight.
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