Sorcerer Hunters

"Starstone"

Chapter IX

-----

-----

Gateau found the young mage sitting at the edge of a blackened clearing, amazed at how far he had gotten from the campsite in such a short time. He judged from the smoke in the air that the clearing had been made quite recently, and he was pretty sure that Carrot had been on the wrong end of the blast that caused it.

Marron sat with his back against a tree, a tell-tale slip of parchment held delicately between two fingers. His amber eyes seemed to glow like a cat's as Gateau approached. When the tall blond was ten feet away, the mage lifted his hand, preparing to throw the ofuda.

Gateau stopped walking and placed his hands on his waist. "I guess you're expecting me to start pointing and laughing, huh?"

Pale, slender fingers twitched, threatening to throw the spell. The black-haired mage glared at Gateau, daring him to come closer.

"Aw, c'mon Marron," Gateau huffed, stepping forward. He jumped clear as the flaming ofuda streamed at him. When the smoke cleared, he glared at the young mage who, for all he seemed not to have moved, already held another ofuda ready. "What the heck is your problem?" Gateau demanded. "Do you want me to laugh at you? What do you want?"

"Go away," was the whispered demand. After a moment Marron looked away and let his hand fall. "...But you won't do that."

"You're damn right I won't," Gateau growled, quickly covering the distance between them and kneeling next to his friend. "What the hell has got into y–" he stopped, crossing his eyes to look up at the ward pressed against his forhead.

Marron tapped the parchment, then let it fall to the ground. "You could be dead right now," he informed Gateau, his face unreadable.

Gateau grabbed Marron's arm. "You're getting this mad just because Carrot unbuttoned his big fat mouth?" he hissed. When Marron tried to pull his arm away, Gateau let him. "Why didn't you just tell us? You know Carrot can't keep his trap shut–"

"He's not your brother, Gateau, I'll thank you to remember that," Marron hissed back at him between clenched teeth. "He's my brother, and I trust him with my life. The fact that I can't trust him with anything else is not your concern."

"It is if he's putting my team in danger," Gateau said quietly. "Or if he's upsetting my friends."

Marron said nothing and looked away. Gateau snorted. "You like guys, Marron?" he demanded. His friend flinched. Gateau laughed without humor, and pulled his coat off. He flexed his arms, admiring his own muscles. "Is that why you're always looking at me in the bath-houses? I know I'm hard to resist, but–"

His words were cut off by the sharp pain of Marron's hand against his cheek. "I don't need my brother to stand up for me this time," the young mage snarled, his amber eyes flashing. "You want to make fun of me, fine. Go back to the camp and do it there. You will not make me cry, and you will not make me desert Mother's team. But do not dare let me hear you talk about me like that again, or they will not have to bother cremating you for burial."

"Why is that?" Gateau's voice taunted the mage. "You obviously don't get a rise out of girls. We've all noticed that." He ran his hands down his body. Marron's eyes glittered as he unwillingly watched and then looked away. Gateau repeated the gesture. "So you like guys," he said softly, letting his hands trace the muscles from his thighs to his groin while Marron stubbornly looked elsewhere. "Do you like any kind of guy, or just the brainy ones, huh? I'm afraid I'm no competition for them. I just have this gorgeous, perfectly muscled body–"

"Stop it," Marron whispered tensely. "Yes, I find you attractive. Is that what you want to hear?"

This time Gateau's laugh was full-hearted. "I'd rather know it was true, if it's all the same to you." He sat back on his heels and picked up his discarded jacket. "I don't know if it matters to you, but I think you're even better-looking than I am."

"I know you like pretty things."

"Marron, sometimes you're as stupid as your brother."

"I suppose it's good to know I have another failing."

"Failing?" Gateau sat up. "You think... you think being gay is a failing?" When Marron did not answer, the tall blond sighed and settled down. "I don't know where you got that idea, Marron, but trust me–it's not a failing."

"It's not natural. You do not understand."

"I'm bi, you knucklehead." Marron finally looked at him, blinking his eyes blankly, not understanding. Gateau sighed. "Bisexual, Marron," he explained. "I like girls and guys. And who cares if it's natural or not, if it's what you like?"

Marron blinked again, then echoed him slowly, as if trying to understand his words. "...And ...guys?"

"See? You've been knocking me around for the past five minutes for no reason."

"You... like both men and women? S-sexually?"

"Sure." Gateau stood up, and offered Marron a hand. He was relieved that his friend accepted the offer to stand up. "I figured it out... I don't know, maybe a year ago. Cleared up a lot of things in my head once I did."

Marron stared at the forest floor. Gateau raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think me and the girls would be okay with it, did you?" Marron shook his head, and Gateau smiled wryly. "Well, I wish you'd trusted us a little more, but..." A thought came to him. "Er... how long have you known, anyhow?"

Marron thought for a moment. "Almost three years, I think."

Gateau nodded. "And you're... seventeen, right?"

"Sixteen."

The tall blond whistled. "I think I understand why you didn't want to advertise it," he laughed as they started walking back to camp. "Especially with Carrot chasing skirts the way he does."

"It... it is not my primary concern," Marron said. When Gateau looked to him for explaination, he went on, "I have no need to seek romantic encounters, Gateau. My goals are to protect my brother, and to do the task which Mother has trained us to do. Anything beyond that is purely peripheral."

"You've got to stop using those long words, kiddo."

"I am sixteen, Gateau. I am an adult now."

Gateau looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "So you want me to treat you like a grown-up?"

Marron's smile was small. "I'd be disappointed to find out that you hadn't been treating me as an adult since the beginning."

Gateau shrugged. "So you won't mind if I ask you to go on a date with me tomorrow?"

"W-what?" Marron stopped dead in his tracks and stared up at his friend.

Gateau winked at him. "You want me to treat you like a grown-up, right? And I did say you're the best-looking guy I've ever seen."

"N-no you didn't."

"I said you're prettier than me."

"...Oh."

-----

-----