A/N: (Squeals and huggles her lovely reviewers.) You're all so good to me with your lovely reviews, you wonderful people! I love you all, really I do. You're all so good to me. (Sniffs) And you know what the best part is? Not a single one of you has guessed what's going on with Heath! (Evil grin) Sure, a couple of you have come close…actually, there was one reviewer who came very close, but you still haven't guessed it! I came up with a sub-plot that isn't obvious! Yay!
Disclaimer: (Puts on reading glasses and shuffles papers) Today we have an update on an ongoing story we've been covering. That update is that Amethyst Bubble still does not own Fire Emblem. In other news, an elephant escaped from a zoo and terrorized some school children before stealing their lunch money. The elephant then went to a circus and trampled the elephant trainers before gorging himself on circus peanuts.
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Something Wicked
Chapter 5
By Amethyst Bubble
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Wil wiped droplets of white paint off his cheek, grinning. The room looked considerably different now. He and Lyn had just finished up the second wall and Florina was working on the ceiling. Apparently, she had this power that Wil could only describe as a 'cool levitation thing', which meant that she did not have to stand on the bed, on her tip toes with her arms outstretched to reach the ceiling. Instead, she floated near the ceiling, held up by her wind magic. Wil hoped he could learn to do something like that someday.
Lyn shrieked as a stream of blue paint narrowly missed her, "Florina!" She looked up at the younger girl a bit cautiously, in case more paint was on its way.
"S-sorry!" Florina called back, steadying the paint can dangling off her arm. "I wasn't paying attention!"
Lyn sighed, giving Florina a small smile, "It's all right. Now I know why we covered the floor in newspaper."
Wil frowned, an uncommon expression for him, "Why don't we take a break? We're all pretty tired. We can get a snack and relax, and then we'll finish up, okay?"
Lyn blinked, "That's actually a pretty good idea." She admitted, "What do you think, Florina?"
Florina's feet met solid ground again and she gratefully put down the paint can, "It…sounds like a great idea." She smiled shyly.
Wil grinned, clapping his hands together, "Then it's settled!"
A few minutes later, after scrubbing as much paint off their hands and faces as they could, the three walked downstairs and passed through the living room on their way to the kitchen.
"Look, it's a walking Picasso!" Farina called out as they passed. Fiora blinked, closing her laptop and swiveling around to see what her sister was talking about.
"Florina!" She exclaimed, rushing over to her sister, "You're covered in paint!"
"Yes," Florina murmured, "Lyn and I were helping W-Wil paint his room."
Fiora frowned, placing her hands on her hips, "Is it healthy to be covered in that much paint? There aren't any dangerous chemicals in it, is there? It's one thing for it to be on the walls but for it to be all over you, that's a whole other story!"
Florina blushed, "Sister, it's okay, really. I'll wash it off as soon as we're done, okay?"
Lyn and Wil watched in amusement. Suddenly, the brunette felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, spinning around only to meet the jade green eyes of his teacher.
"I take it the room is going well?" Rath raised an eyebrow at Wil's paint-stained clothing. Wil nodded enthusiastically.
"Yep, it's going great! The room looks so cool, because we're doing this pattern of trees on the wall and clouds on the sky and I think it looks really neat! We've still got a wall or two to go, though, but we got tired so we're taking a break and then we're going to finish! You should help us; I bet you'd have a lot of fun! But…" Wil paused, glancing up at Rath. "You probably have more important things to do, huh?"
Rath felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He reached over, brushing a bit of paint off Wil's cheek, "…How is your divining coming?"
Wil blinked, "Oh, you mean the pendulum? Well, I'm not that great with it. I was going to see if I could hypnotize myself with it, but then Lyn and Florina came and I didn't get a chance to see if I could. Oh! But I did but the pendulum back in the pouch you told me to keep it in! Yep, I remembered that!"
Rath watched his new student ramble on, jumping from one subject to another in a seemingly endless rant. Wil certainly could talk, couldn't he? He must have some lungs. He probably was a pretty decent kisser, too. Rath shook his head. That line of thought was going to stop right there. He would not think of his student in that sort of way. After all, his feelings for Wil were completely platonic. Yes, completely roman-…platonic.
Across the room from the chattering brunette and his teacher who just happened to be in complete denial about his feelings for the younger boy sat Serra. From where she was 'entertaining' Raven and Lucius with her own special brand of intellectual conversation, the pink haired girl narrowed her eyes. So, her suspicions about the new witch had been correct. Her title as the talkative one was in danger. Fiddling with a pigtail, Serra continued to ramble on in an attempt to drown out Wil's voice with her own.
"Raven, dearest, please stop glaring at Serra like you want to murder her. It isn't very nice," Lucius whispered, placing a hand over Raven's.
"But I do want to murder her!" Raven hissed back, taking Lucius' pale hand in his own.
The blonde had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, "Raven, if you stop trying to make Serra explode into flames with your glare…I'll make it worth your while." Lucius scooted a bit closer to the red haired man.
Raven raised an eyebrow. Had Lucius just hinted at what he thought he hinted at? His sweet, innocent Lucius?
"So?" Lucius asked, awaiting his answer with what Raven could only guess was Lucius' version of a rather devious smile.
"…Fine," Raven bit out, casting one final glare at Serra, who continued to ramble about powdered wigs and poodles, or something all fluffy like that.
Lucius wore what could have been a victorious grin, but this was Lucius, so it was more of a happy smile sort of expression. "Thank you, Raven."
Raven muttered something under his breath about 'damn cute blondes' and 'annoying pink haired demons from hell' but Lucius wisely ignored him, occasionally making polite noises at Serra's rants.
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"Damn it all," Eubans cursed, finally having managed to break the closet door down. "The bastard's taken Heath. This won't do at all."
Vaida was quiet as she observed the damage the living room had taken in the struggle. She frowned when she saw the knife in the wall; did Eubans really have to be so careless? The resulting hole was going to take some explaining to the repair man, and that was always so awkward. You really couldn't just go to the repair man, 'Oh, we need you to fix this hole in the wall that we got when Eubans stabbed it with a knife. He wasn't really trying to stab the wall. He was trying to stab the intruder who kidnapped the boy we've been keeping locked up in here. Oh, and there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that too, if you've got the time…' Vaida sighed, rubbing her forehead. All of this was resulting in a migraine.
"Some of Heath's clothes are gone," Eubans announced, stepping out of their former captive's room.
"Well, he obviously knew the man," Vaida said. "And he was more then willing to go with him."
"So, he doesn't want him for the same reasons we do," Eubans almost smirked. He wondered if the lavender-haired man even knew why they'd been so intent on having Heath? Probably not. He wasn't even sure that Heath knew the entire reason.
"I'm going to go talk to the doorman," Vaida announced, reaching for the set of keys that lay on a countertop. "If Heath left, the doorman must have seen something."
Eubans made a noise of acknowledgement, waving her on before disappearing into Heath's room for more investigation.
A few minutes later, Vaida found herself standing in front of the doorman.
"Oh, hello Ms. Vaida," He greeted, smiling. "Going out? Perhaps to fetch your nephew?"
So he had seen Heath on his way out… "Heath went out tonight, didn't he? About twenty minutes ago?" She asked, even though she knew from his previous comment.
"Yes ma'am," He answered.
"Was he with a man?"
The doorman scratched his chin, as if trying to remember. Vaida frowned, it was twenty minutes ago! How could he have to think about something that happened such a short time ago?
"You know, ma'am, I think he was," The doorman answered. "He had long hair too, a most unusual shade. A light purple-ish color." He grinned, proud of remembering the details.
Vaida nodded to herself, that was definitely the man who had taken Heath. The man looked at her, as if confused by her sudden silence. Vaida mentally slapped herself. The blonde woman searched for something to say that would not incriminate her and Eubans. Remembering the aunt act she'd been using in public, she quickly put on a worried face, "Oh no, this is terrible!" She covered her face with her hands, partially so he couldn't read the traces of lies in her eyes.
The door man looked confused, "Why is that ma'am? Is he still not well enough to be outside?" He asked, thinking that Heath had looked a bit pale. Then again, being cooped up with a cold will do that to a young man.
Vaida slowly with drew her hands, mentally telling herself to keep that worried face on, no matter how much doing so disgusted her. "It's just that," She took a breath, as if on the verge of tears. "That man he was with. I don't know who he is. I fear that maybe he's kidnapped Heath. He was just so violent when he came to the door, and Heath looked scared when he left…of course, I didn't think much of it at the time, but there's this nagging feeling."
The doorman's eyes widened. And that man had looked so nice, too! Heath hadn't seemed afraid to him, he'd seemed very happy, actually. But maybe that's how that man was telling him to act... He'd heard about stuff like this on the News. "Should I call the police, ma'am?"
Vaida shook her head, eyes widening. The last thing she and Eubans' needed was the police getting involved. The police investigating would bring nothing but trouble. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. "Not yet," She said. "I don't know anything yet. He might actually be a nice person." She said, taking a few steps backwards.
"Well," the doorman called as she pressed the button for the elevator. "I hope everything turns out fine!"
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Stepping out of the taxi, Legault dug around for some money to pay the cab driver. Heath stood close to him, acting nervous. He looked around, at the tall buildings and all the bustling people. Heath hadn't been among this many people in ages. Finally producing the money, Legault handed it to the man and bid him goodnight.
"Legault?" Heath's voice was quiet. "Where are we going?"
"I told you," Legault smiled. "New Jersey. That's where I live." He wrapped a hand around Heath's wrist more out of instinct then anything else. Heath hadn't been outside in ages, and not around other people. The Port Authority could be strange at night. Homeless people sometimes littered the building, although not as much as they had years ago. Heath scowled at the close contact, but didn't pull his hand away.
"I know that much," The green-haired male answered. "But not anything else. Tell me about it, Legault. The place where you live." There was curiosity in the younger man's eyes.
Legault smiled, conjuring up an image in his mind as he pushed open one of the doors and held it open for Heath, as a gentleman should. Heath rolled his eyes at the Legault's 'gentlemanly' behavior. "Well, it's a large house. More like a mansion, really. God knows how much Pent and Louise spent on it. They're the ones who own the house, really. You see, I live in a house with about…I don't know, maybe two dozen other witches."
"That's a lot," Heath commented.
Legault nodded.
"Could you tell me about some of them?" Heath asked, looking up at Legault with curiosity filled amethyst eyes.
Legault smirked, "You'll meet them soon enough." Quickly locating the right bus, they made it to the platform minutes before their bus left.
Heath stared out the window, seemingly taking delight at watching the scenery as the bus rolled down the road. It was nighttime, but with the lights of New York, almost everything was still visible.
"You know, I still don't know why Vaida and Eubans locked you up," Legault said, eyeing Heath. He was curious. In all the time he'd known Heath, he'd never heard him talk about his current situation, or even his childhood.
Heath was silent for a moment, before he looked at Legault, "I don't know much." He said in a guilty sort of way, giving Legault a sad smile. "Don't even bother asking about my childhood, either. I don't remember." He said, almost as if he could read Legault's thoughts.
Legault blinked, "You don't?"
"Well," Heath shook his head. "Not much. I remember one or two things. And it's not like those cases of Amnesia you hear about. I remember my birthday, my name, my mother's name…I know all of that. I just don't remember memories."
"So, you can remember information, but not memories?" Legault asked, trying to clarify this for himself.
Heath nodded.
"How far back do you remember?"
Amethyst eyes blinked, and then slid shut. It was several minutes before Heath answered, "About five years ago, I think. I was already living with Vaida and Eubans but things weren't as bad. Even then, everything a little fuzzy," Heath's eyes opened and he stared at blankly at the back of the seat in front of him. "The most detail I remember from my past is when I met you." A slight smile, and then a blush, "Don't get any funny ideas. I love you, Legault, but I'm not about to turn into some kind of house-wife." He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back.
Legault chuckled lightly, "I don't expect you to, Heath." He leant forward, giving Heath a small kiss on the cheek. "I just want you to be happy."
Heath turned a bright shade of crimson, stuttering something Legault couldn't quite catch.
"What was that?" Legault raised an eyebrow.
Heath looked away, turning back to the window. "…I am happy. Happier then I've been in a while."
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After Wil, Lyn and Florina had gone back upstairs, Rath had decided to decline Wil's offer (politely, of course) to go down to the basement. He'd originally wanted to look for some reading material, but found himself drawn to the pool. Opening the door, he saw why. His cousin, on the floor, clutching a piece of red material that looked suspiciously like Matthew's cloak.
Taking a few steps forward, Rath noted that it was indeed Matthew's cloak. He thought that Guy might have gone into one of his spells, but his water sprites were calm. Whenever Guy spaced out, they usually went wild, trying their best to wake their master. Kneeling besides the younger boy, Rath discovered that he was only asleep.
Slowly, he shook Guy by the shoulder.
After a moment, Guy opened his eyes, sitting up. "Rath…?" He blinked, looking at his cousin.
Rath kept a hand on Guy's shoulder as if to study him, "What…are you doing here?" He asked.
Guy's hands clenched around the material of Matthew's cloak and he lowered his eyes to the ground. Why did Rath have to ask that? Couldn't he just go on dreaming his nice little fantasy? He couldn't, wouldn't think of forcing Matthew to love him, but still…it was nice to dream. It was so very nice to dream. "I was swimming," He said.
Rath stared at him hard. "And you just fell asleep?"
The younger hugged the red material to his chest as if it were a lifeline. And maybe it was… "Matthew came down here."
Rath was silent. He knew of his cousin's infatuation with the sandy-haired man. He didn't approve of it, though. It wasn't good for Guy to chase after someone who was oblivious to his feelings. Especially since Matthew had a girlfriend. A serious girlfriend, from what Rath understood. He didn't like the way Matthew strung Guy along, even if he didn't realize he was doing it.
"He said he's taking Leila to meet his parents next weekend," Guy's voice trembled. He bit his lip, tilting his head down so his dark bangs affectively overshadowed his eyes. He didn't want to be seen crying. He didn't want to cry. "This is all so stupid," He choked, hugging the object of his affection's cloak tighter.
Rath sighed, giving the other a some what reluctant one armed hug. "Why don't you find someone else?" He asked, even though he knew it was a stupid question. Guy was in love with Matthew. And that was that.
"Like who?" Guy sniffed. Someone other then Matthew? He just couldn't do that…even if Matthew rejected him time and time again… He took a shaky breath, he wouldn't think about that. It just hurt too much.
The elder thought, "What about…Priscilla? She's nice, and she likes you." Priscilla was nice. A bit shy, and there was always a chance that her older brother might try to kill anyone who tried to get close to her romantically, but that was a slim chance. Lucius seemed to prevent most of those little incidents with a few well chosen words and a sad look.
Guy shrugged, "She's nice, I guess. And pretty. But…" A deep breath, "I'm not in love with her."
"You're in love with him." Rath could not keep the disapproving tone after of his voice.
A nod, and then… "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't I fall in love with someone who loved me back? Why did I have to fall in love with him? I hated him at first. Absolutely despised him. And then, I found myself thinking about him more and more. We became friends. A-and …I fell in love with him. I-I couldn't help it. I knew he had a girlfriend. I knew he didn't feel that way about me. He's never going to feel that way about me," Guy whispered the last part, furiously swiping at the tears that fell down his cheeks. "I'm going to love him forever and he's not going to give me a second glance."
"…You don't know that," Rath found himself saying. He stroked his cousin's hair. He wished Guy could get over it. For awhile, he hoped it was only a silly crush. He thought Guy would get over it eventually. But Guy hadn't.
"C'mon, Rath…why would he love me when he's got Leila? She's gorgeous, she's talented…she's everything that I'm not. He'll never pick me over her. Not in a million years." Guy felt like screaming. Screaming and crying and throwing a fit like a little kid. That wouldn't change anything, though. Being childish would change absolutely nothing.
It was true, he thought bitterly as Rath said something Guy didn't bother to hear. Matthew wouldn't pick him over Leila.
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The teal-haired woman's concentration was broken when the doorbell rang. Fiora grumbled to herself about solicitors, closing her computer for what had to be the fifth time that night! Storming over, she pulled open the door, preparing to yell at some salesman before slamming the door in his face.
Instead she met a tall lavender haired man and his companion, a fidgeting green haired figure.
"Legault?" She asked, surprised. Stepping back from the doorway, she allowed the two entry, with a curious glance at the green haired man. She didn't recognize him, "Excuse me for being impolite, but who exactly are you?"
"Ah!" Heath flushed, fidgeting even more then he had before. Damn it, this was awkward. "I'm Heath, I don't know if Legault's said anything about me, but…"
Farina interrupted from her spot on the couch, currently snooping through her sister's files, "Ah, the famous Heath. Very cute, just like I imagined!" She winked.
Heath turned crimson, shooting a glare at Legault. What exactly had Legault said about him, eh?
Legault smacked a hand to his forehead, "I didn't say anything about you Heath." He stated, reading the other's glare. "And certainly not to that money-grubbing gossiper." A pointed glance was sent Farina's way.
The girl pretended not to hear, getting up and circling Heath, before standing back, rocking slightly on her heels, "Yep, definitely cute."
"If you didn't say anything about me, how the hell does she know?" Heath hissed, looking ready to throttle Legault.
The other man shrugged.
Fiora sighed, "Please forgive my sister. I fear she's been listening to private conversations, going through other people's things, snooping in other people's computers, things like that…" Farina whistled in an innocent manner. "In short hand, she's almost as bad as Serra." Fiora finished, brushing a few strands of her hair out of her face. What had she ever done to deserve a sister like Farina?
Legault cleared his throat, placing a hand on Heath's shoulder, "This is Heath. He'll be staying here from now on. Tell Ninian or Pent or someone…I don't care who. Tell them he'll be staying in my room, so there's no need to make space."
"WHAT?" Heath shrieked, turning crimson. Staying in a room with Legault? Legault was a pervert. A complete and total pervert. This was not going to be good for his mental health.
"You don't want to?"
"N-no! I mean, it's not that, it's just that....that…that…."
"That?"
"…Oh, fine, you win." Heath threw his hands up in defeat. Goodbye mental health.
Legault grinned, "Good. Let's get going," Grabbing Heath's hand much to the embarrassment of the green-haired man, he started to lead him away.
"Legault! Wait!" Fiora shouted after his retreating figure. "What am I supposed to tell everyone, eh? You brought some guy home?"
The lavender haired man was already gone down on of the many hallways.
Fiora let out a long sigh, collapsing onto the sofa. Was she the only responsible one here? Now, really, how could you just show up after a couple days of absence with no warning? And to bring some guy home with you? This house was getting to be too much for her. Her sister's next comment really didn't help.
"How long do you think it'll be before they're as sappy as Lucius and Raven? Speaking of those two, am I the only one who hears wedding bells a' ringing?"
Farina was silenced when a pillow hit her square in the face.
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Matthew descended the stairs to the basement, worried. He hadn't seen Guy since the last time he'd gone down to the pool. He couldn't be that upset, could he? Matthew didn't know why Guy disliked Leila so much. He wished that his best friend and girlfriend could get along, but maybe that way too much to ask…? His train of thought was cut off when he saw two figures leave the pool room.
Rath and Guy. An upset looking Guy clutching at the cloak he'd left down there.
Why he'd left his cloak in the first place, Matthew didn't know. It just felt like the right thing to do. Obviously, it had been.
Matthew found himself rooted to the spot as the two came closer. Guy's eyes slowly lifted from the floor. Matthew was surprised at how tired he looked. Was this…his fault? Had he caused Guy this much pain? He didn't want to cause the younger teen pain. He wanted Guy to be happy. He always wanted Guy to be happy.
"Matthew…?"
Finally finding himself able to move again, Matthew walked up to Guy, placing a hand on the other's shoulder, "Are you all right?" He asked, brushing away a few strands of still wet hair. How Guy's hair managed to stay wet for so long, Matthew would never know.
Guy smiled sadly, holding out Matthew's cloak, "Sorry. It's damp now."
Was it just his imagination, or did Guy seem reluctant to let go of the cloak? Shaking his head, Matthew pushed it back towards Guy. He could reclaim it later. Right now, there were more important issues at hand. A very upset looking green-haired teen being the main.
Matthew suddenly realized that Guy's eyes were red-rimmed. Had he been crying?
Rath had disappeared some moments ago but neither noticed that.
"What's wrong?" Matthew asked, resisting the urge to hug Guy. He just looked so miserable… "Have you been crying?" He asked.
Guy paused, and then nodded slightly, averting Matthew's gaze. Why was Matthew here? He was pretty sure the last thing he needed was for Matthew to find out the reason he'd been so upset.
Matthew cursed under his breath. He hated it when Guy got that look on his face. He had only seen Guy upset a few times, and he never wanted to see him miserable ever again. He'd seen Guy cry only once before. He couldn't remember the exact reason that had caused the younger boy so much grief, but he was sure he'd been the cause. He hadn't hugged Guy then. He hadn't held him and tried to make him feel better. He'd simply watched him silently cry. It had hurt and Matthew had tried to pretend it didn't. He wasn't friends with the younger at that time.
Guy still hadn't looked up from the ground, but Matthew was sure he heard the other's breath hitch in an attempt to hold in a sob.
To hell with it all. Matthew reached over, yanking Guy against him. Encircling his arms around the teen, he began rocking back and forth, murmuring gentle nonsense.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Guy reached up to wrap his arms around Matthew's neck. He stood on tiptoes in an attempt to bury his face in Matthew's shoulder, but he couldn't quite reach. Matthew almost smiled; Guy was so petite…
Sinking down carefully so as not to make Guy uncomfortable, Matthew kneeled on the cold stone floor. Guy was clinging to him tightly now, as if nothing else mattered.
To Guy, nothing else did. Matthew was holding him. He didn't want this to ever end.
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"Rath!" Wil exclaimed, wiping droplets of paint of his cheek, "You came to help us after all!"
Somehow, his student's bright smile managed to erase the solemn mood his cousin's tears had brought on him. Rath nodded, walking over to Wil.
Lyn gave the arrival a small nod and a smile and Florina 'meep'ed in greeting.
Acting on an urge, Wil gave his teacher a hug. He blushed furiously while doing, for some reason Rath made him feel kind of warm inside. He blamed it on the paint fumes. Shrugging it off, he reluctantly let go of the elder man and handed him a paintbrush.
Rath stared blankly at the tool in his hand. "…What do I do with this?"
"You paint, silly!" Wil giggled. "You dip it into the paint," He demonstrated. "And then you spread it on the wall!" Tapping a paint stained finger to his chin and getting a smudge of green there. Rath leaned over and wiped away the paint that stained Wil's skin. Blushing, Wil said, "You should help Florina with the ceiling."
A small stream of white paint acknowledged that Florina had heard this.
"Sorry!" She apologized again, trying to get a better hold on the heavy can dangling from her slender fingers. Rath sighed, reaching over and taking it from her.
"O-oh!" She stuttered, looking like a timid mouse that's just been giving a piece of cheese. "T-thank you!"
Rath shrugged, dipping the brush into the paint and preparing to help the small girl.
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Chapter 5- End
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Sorry for the wait. So very, very sorry for the wait. Please, don't throw rotten fruit at me. It won't help my self-esteem. Reviews would, though. XD But, seriously, I really am sorry. I hadn't meant to take this long. I just kind of fell into a state where I couldn't write anything at all.
If this chapter seems a little choppy, please forgive me. Most of it was written by a very tired, sick with a cold me at 3:30 in the morning. I've tried to patch it up a bit, but...well, I'm not sure how good a job I did. I'm still sick and might not be able to write as well as I usually do...
Review, please. The pretty purple button demands you press it! And… (Whimpers) There's been a shortage of Fire Emblem fanfiction lately. So… (HintHint)