...I LIVE! WHO DARES BRINGS DISHONOR TO MY STORIES?! VENGENCE SHALL BE MMMIIIINNNEEEE! And there's my Mushu impression! But anyways, fuckin', freakin' finally a new chapter for Boy in the Plastic Bubble, huh? This update almost took as long as the release of KHIII. Initially this chapter was supposed to have an entirely different context (that will appear in this story's near future), but then I felt that that chapter would make the pace too fast. So I decided to create this chapter to build things up a bit. And built things up I did! Hahaha! HAHAHA! Ha...ha...damn...but yeah. Hope this chapter was worth the long freakin' wait. Especially with what's going to happen...oh hon hon hon...yeah...Enjoy this chapter, peeps!
Blue and Blue Together
Marth could feel a familiar stare pouring into his bent head. However he ignored it in favor of Pit's request sitting in front of him. They sat on the wooden floor drawing on the leaves of paper scattered around them. Marth had suggested that they give each other something to draw and, when they were done, share their drawings with each other. Pit pleaded to see a drawing of Marth's dwellings. The college student happily accepted on the condition that his companion drew an angel as a reminiscence of the first picture Marth drew for him. Now the boy focused deeply on depicting the heavenly being correctly as his babysitter attempted to accurately map out his apartment.
Despite having an important activity to do, Marth still couldn't shake off the burning stare of Link. When he had arrived for his daily visit, he was surprised to see Link still at home. The father told the blunette that he had an important issue to attend to at home but he would leave for work as soon as he was done with it. At the current moment he contented himself with relaxing in the single armchair of the living room with a laptop at hand. Yet Marth suspected that Link was watching him like a hawk for anything suspicious. Unfortunately for the older man, the college student was going to disappoint in that department. Fortunately for the older man, that meant that he didn't have to worry about that section as much.
"Look, Marth! I finished!" Pit suddenly said with great excitement. He leapt from his position, holding his paper proudly. Marth looked up to see a beautiful portrait of a praying angel. There was no other way to describe it. The angel stood tall supported by multiple silver-lined clouds. An unknown light source pierced through higher clouds in order to bask the heavenly being. With its white wings spread out wide behind it, the angel's face angled upwards as an invisible wind blew its long, green hair back. Its eyes were closed with a small smile, its hands clasped together for a hymn. Marth gazed at it in awe. His eyes drank in every detail that Pit added to his picture, from the ripples of the angel's dress to the indents of the leaves on the angel's laurel. It was difficult to believe that Pit's artistic abilities were able to develop this quickly after a few lessons from the college student. Yet here he was, creating masterpieces right before him. It was truly a sight to behold.
"It's beautiful, Pit," Marth breathed as he continued to admire the drawing. He reached out for it, Pit relinquishing his hold to allow the college student to examine it on closer quarters. He ran his hand over the pencil marks, as if to ensure that the angel truly was still on the page. "You've done extremely well. I never would have been able to draw something like this." Pit's face flushed at the praise. He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed his hands together shyly. His eyes stared at the ground instead of meeting Marth's.
"I couldn't have done it without your help," he whispered modestly. Marth shook his head at his friend's humble statement.
"All I did was point you in a direction. You did the rest yourself, Pit."
The boy giggled slightly from the compliment as he shuffled his feet together. He waited until Marth returned his picture before bouncing over to where his father sat. Marth watched his friend with a small smile and turned back to his own drawing. He felt some disappointment growing inside of him when he realized that his own chicken-scratch would barely compare to Pit's current magnum opus. He didn't think it was right that Pit crafted such an artwork while he was here simply tracing from memory. The blunette wondered whether he should add something to give his own request a little pizazz. He juggled that idea around for a brief moment before deciding against it. No, Pit wanted an accurate portrayal of his apartment and Marth would grant it. Besides he had a feeling that Pit would be grateful for any drawing he did, crude or otherwise, not because he was obligated to but because he genuinely appreciated Marth's efforts. He refocused his attention on his task.
Yet his head swiftly snapped back up to look at Pit when the boy told his father happily, "Look, Dad! It's Mom as an angel!" That statement surprised him as he had absolutely no idea that that angel was actually Pit's mother. He wondered what influenced the boy to make his mother the subject of his art. Considering how Pit never talked about her before, Marth could only surmise that she was no longer in the boy's life as the other possibility of Pit not liking his mother to the point of not even mentioning her was difficult to imagine. Pit's amazing portrait of his mother was proof enough that he still thought about her. Perhaps the boy wasn't comfortable speaking of her? That was probably the case, and Marth didn't mind that at all. He had wondered before why Pit did not tell him about his mother when he asked the boy about his family but knew it was best not to pursue the issue. Even now, only if Pit brought up the green-haired woman would Marth begin to ask the questions about her.
Link looked up when he heard Pit's declaration. He then gazed over his laptop to study the drawing his son displayed. Marth saw the older man jump slightly at it. Link's face paled a bit, earning a look of concern from Pit. "Dad, are you all right?"
The man shook his head as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine, Pit. I…just wasn't prepared to see your mother again. You really captured her beauty…" He stared at the portrait again, his eyes taking on the distant look of remembrance. His color had returned to his face. Although traces of worry still showed in Pit's eyes, he smiled happily at his father's compliment.
"Thank you, Dad. Mom was as pretty as an angel, wasn't she?"
"Heh. I don't know about that. She's much more beautiful," Link chuckled. He glanced briefly over at Marth, noting that the college student had resumed his drawing. He had noticed how Marth's attention was perked by Pit's statement for the brief moment that his son revealed the truth of the portrait. Now he occupied himself with his own artwork. Seeing how busy Marth was Link wondered to himself whether it was safe. It was probably best not to do it since he wasn't sure whether wandering eyes would be able to scold him. All it took was one glance to endanger them. However, his mind quieted his instincts to allow him to give into temptation. He hadn't been able to kiss Pit as properly and as freely as he liked with the college student present. Besides Marth was too busy drawing at the current moment. He would probably only look up when Pit came bouncing back to his old spot. And even if he did see, Marth wasn't the type of person to broadcast it. He was more than likely to keep it to himself, so there wasn't any real danger of discovery. As a result of that reasoning and his starving desire, Link reached out to his son. Pit didn't resist when his father drew him closer. Link smiled warmly as he whispered. "And you're nearly the splitting image of your mother."
Before Pit could reply his father planted a kiss on his lips. Though the boy couldn't respond with words, he could answer with his actions. He returned the gesture, tilting his head slightly to the side. The kiss lasted less than what he was used to as Link pulled back a few seconds after the response. Pit looked at his father with confusion but his face cleared when Link shook his head. The older man's eyes shifted to the side slightly. Realizing what his father was insinuating, the boy nodded his understanding. His father then waved him away, saying, "Go ahead and continue drawing, Pit."
"Maybe I'll draw you next, Dad," the boy grinned as he skipped back to his spot. He plopped on the floor, giggling a greeting as Marth welcomed him back with a smile. Link chuckled lightly in response before turning his attention back to his laptop. However before he could even read three words on the required documents, a single knock on the door shattered the brief silence. Both Pit and Marth looked up in curiosity. They watched Link stand up abruptly, all traces of his joking manner vanished. The older man set his laptop on his seat quickly and hurried to the door. The sound of it opening reached the two's ears. After a few seconds of rustling, it closed again and Link walked back into the living with a white plastic bag. It was difficult to gauge what was inside, but the shuffling and rattling sounds of the content gave Marth a decent clue of the content's identity. That was probably the errand Link was talking about earlier that morning. He also quickly learned the identity of their visitor yet not by his own deductions. "Big Brother came by, Dad?" Pit asked, the surprise and disappointment clear in his voice. "Why didn't he come in?"
"Your brother's a bit busier than usual. He only had some seconds to stop by," Link explained. He reached into the bag to pull out a brand new coloring book. "He didn't forget about you though." Pit rapidly jumped up again to spring over like a late rabbit. He smiled brightly as his father handed him the shiny coloring book. He immediately flipped through the pages to scan its material. When he reached the end, Pit gave Link a hug.
"Thank you, Dad!"
Link chuckled as he gently pried Pit away from him, "You should be thanking Nadir, not me."
"Will he be back soon?"
"You know, Son, I'm not really sure. But when he does, be sure to thank him."
"I will. Marth! Marth, look! Big Brother got me another coloring book!" Pit kneeled on the floor, his hands still holding onto the book as he stretched it out for Marth to get a better look. The college student glanced at it to note the cartoonish seal romping with a not-at-all amused cat while a tuxedoed owl watched overhead. He didn't recognize the characters but he saw how innocent the book looked, even more so when he saw the blank lines of various animals. Marth smiled at his companion.
"So I see. Are you going to start coloring in it now?"
Pit nodded excitedly. "Yup! Oh! Well…if that's all right with you…" his voice suddenly dropping to a shy whisper. Marth allowed a slight frown of confusion to touch his lips before it cleared away. He realized that perhaps Pit thought that since he was done with the drawing, Marth was going to give him a new request to create. It was obviously clear that his young friend wanted to dive right into the book. Pit had shown Marth his past coloring books, all of them no longer able to be categorized as one. Judging from the books that Pit got more recently, Marth knew that this book would quickly be filled with amazing colors as if it came with the pigments. He smiled.
"Of course, it's all right with me. You go color. I'll finish my drawing for you."
Pit returned the grin with his own innocent one. He plopped the book down and lay in front of it. He reached for the coloring pencils to start his rainbow expedition with the smiling mouse on the front page. Marth watched for a while before going back to his own map. Yet some rapid movement from the corner of Marth's eyes distracted him once again. He looked up to see Link pulling on his familiar brown coat. The plastic bag had disappeared somewhere, but his suspicions about what was inside turned out to be true. Link had one of those cancer sticks hanging from his mouth, a box missing one cigarette peeking from his coat pocket. The older man reached into his other pocket for his lighter. However he simply held it in his hand, not yet lighting the cigarette.
Link noticed Marth's attention on him. He gestured slightly with his free hand. "I need to leave for work now. I'm probably going to be home around midnight, so you should get home after Pit's bedtime. Don't wait for me," he instructed. Marth nodded his understanding, allowing the weight to lift slightly from the father's chest. At the sound of his voice, Pit leapt up once again and ran over to hug his dad farewell.
"Bye, Dad!"
"Good-bye, Pit," Link chuckled as he gently pried the boy from his stomach. He also held up a hand in farewell to Marth, who returned the gesture. Pit stayed in his spot, watching his father step into the foyer. When Link placed his hand on the doorknob, he noticed that Pit still stood there. However, he didn't seem to be paying attention to his father. Rather, he was staring at the door that separated him from the outside world. Link looked at his son inquiringly, wondering why he was behaving like this. Usually, after Pit hugged him good-bye, he would hurry back to doing what he was currently doing. He certainly didn't stay at the corner of the living room entrance to watch his father leave, or rather, the thing that allowed his father to leave. "Pit?"
The boy jumped slightly at the sound of his father's voice. His sapphire eyes met his father's cobalt ones. Link could see the conflict wrestling behind those orbs. He frowned slightly in curiosity at what could possibly be causing that clash inside of Pit at the moment. Whatever it was, he knew that he wasn't going to like it. He opened his mouth to ask when Pit smiled. "Come home safe, Dad."
Link paused before nodding his agreement, "I will." He turned back to the door and opened it. With his back towards Pit, he didn't notice his son's eyes widening slightly. Although he already saw some of the world from his bedroom window, Pit felt that the view through the front door was entirely different. So different that it seemed to draw him out. The boy was about to step forward to feel more of the cold wind that blew inside when it was suddenly cut off by the door's closure. Pit blinked, his eyes still on the door. There was a strange stillness in the air that was familiar at the same time. He wasn't sure how long he stood there for until a gentle touch roused him from his trance. Pit glanced over his shoulder to see his friend sharing a puzzled look.
"Pit? Are you all right?" Marth questioned. Pit hesitated upon hearing the inquiry. He wondered whether he should tell Marth of his growing aspiration to go outside. After hearing all those stories from his dear friend, Pit couldn't help but yearn to experience some of them himself. Some stories sounded too good to be true while other tales would be a blast to see. Even though he knew that some of them were simply just stories, there was plenty others that were true to real life.
His dad probably wouldn't be happy that he was thinking about this. He had asked Link a long time ago if he could go outside. His dad was quick to refuse that request, warning Pit of the many hazards the boy was bound to encounter. Upon hearing the gruesome details about what happened to careless people stumbling outside Pit swiftly changed his mind and vowed to stay inside, an action that his dad was more than willing to support. That small memory along with the thoughts of his brother's cautions was enough to stop Pit in his tracks. He wanted to believe that everything Marth said was true, that the world wasn't entirely evil, that he could tell Marth how he wanted to go outside for a brief moment. However childhood fear stole across his mind and paralyzed him from saying it. Pit wasn't ready to face the outside world. Nor was he ready to tell anybody about his yearnings. He would have to continue keeping that a secret until he could gather the courage to ask his father.
"I'm fine," Pit smiled at Marth. The blunette stared intently at the brunette, his eyes searching for any possible signs of duplicity. He saw the slightest hint of it and his mind worked to see how he could fix it. His own face didn't give away his rapid thinking though. Marth simply nodded in response.
"That's good. Why don't we go back into the living room? I'm done with my picture."
"You are? Yay!" Pit cheered. He returned to their usual spot without further encouragement. Pit's enthusiasm caused Marth to chuckle lightly. The boy's happy energy never failed to transfer itself into others and create a lighter mood. The college student followed after his young friend, taking note that he had sat on ground where he initially lay. His arms resting on his knees held his head up for his attention to fixate on Marth. Marth sat cross-legged on the floor as well with his picture in hand. He placed it on the floor between them to allow Pit a moment of examination. The boy gladly took that moment, eagerly searching the paper. His eyes sparkled at the detail that Marth put into his drawing. He felt that if he closed his eyes now he could imagine himself standing right in the middle of Marth's apartment.
The college student practically recreated his apartment's blueprints. The entrance led to a living room filled with similar furniture as Pit's own living room. It combined with a small kitchenette before leading away to three separate rooms. One was the bathroom, Pit recognized. The other two were bedrooms. However the boy had difficulty pinpointing which room was actually Marth's. They held the same amount of furniture with minimal decoration. It was only until Pit scrutinized the map did he see the tiny bits of game counsels and knickknacks that signaled signs of human life in that particular room.
"I'm sorry that it's not as well done as yours," Marth apologized, causing Pit to look up in shock. "But I hope you like it all the same."
"I do!" Pit was quick to express Marth his gratitude. "It's better than I could imagine!" The boy held up the drawing towards his friend, "Tell me about it! Tell me about it!"
Marth could only laugh at Pit's eagerness to learn. When Pit had quickly expressed his appreciation, Marth felt a small weight leave his shoulders. He was glad that the boy liked his drawing. Granted he wished he could do more, but at least Pit still liked it. The blunette took the drawing from Pit and placed it on the ground. He pointed to the room that Pit had guessed was Marth's. "This is my room here. It's comfortable and big enough for a person. And over here is an extra room for anybody who wants to stay with me for some days. Sometimes one of my friends or a visiting relative would stay in that room."
"You live alone, Marth?" Pit asked. Marth nodded.
"Yes. I moved out of my parents' house a year or so ago. My friends helped me find this apartment, which was reasonably priced. It's nice and comfortable. I couldn't ask for anything better."
Pit's eyes widened. "Why did you move out? Didn't you love your parents?"
Marth resisted the temptation to raise an eyebrow at the second question. If anybody else had said that, Marth would have dismissed them as rude. However he knew that Pit meant no offense when he asked that. It was natural, for the boy, to believe that if you loved somebody, you would want to be with them forever. You would want to guide them and help them along in order to make their life the best it could be. That was true. After all Marth had told Pit a great deal of stories of how people who loved each other attempted to stay with their significant other forever. Yet this was obviously a different situation as it pertained to families, not lovers. Marth wondered how he would explain this so that Pit would understand.
"Of course I love my parents," Marth said patiently. "However…when people grow up, people usually leave their families to pursue their dreams or even create their own families. That doesn't mean that they stop loving their families. They…are just creating a new life for themselves. And one of the best ways to do that is to move out of your parents' house. It shows independence."
"Independence?"
"That you can stand on your own two feet, that you are able to take care of yourself," Marth quickly explained. He tilted his head to the side in thought. "Besides, your brother doesn't live with you, does he? But he still clearly loves you."
"Oh! I never really thought about that!" Pit crossed his arms, his eyes gazing at the ceiling above. "I guess he's showing that he can take care of himself…"
"That could be the case. There are many reasons why somebody would want to live somewhere else, but I'm sure that him not loving you or your father is not the cause of his separation."
"Okay." The boy switched his attention from the ceiling back to the drawing. He paused as a thought struck him. He looked back up at Marth. The college student immediately frowned at the clear terror in Pit's eyes. Marth was tempted to reach over and give Pit a reassuring hug, but he had no idea what caused the sudden distress for the boy. Though he knew that Pit would voice his anxiety soon, Marth's heart pulsed faster than the passing time. "Do…do I have to move out? I don't want to leave Dad," Pit finally whispered in a small voice.
Marth almost let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't anything major and he could easily dispel that fear. He gently pulled Pit towards him into an embrace, the brunette following him willingly. He patted the boy's head gently as he comforted him, "No, Pit. You don't have to move out if you don't want to. Some people still live with their parents, and that is perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with that."
"Oh, okay." Marth could hear the relief in Pit's voice. He smiled to himself at his success in reassuring Pit. However, his mind buzzed slightly at Pit's last statement. It reminded him of some suspicions he had concerning the father and son. Initially, he didn't really care about what was going on. He didn't care that Link seemed closer to Pit than the usual father-son relationship. He didn't care how Link and Pit seemed to love each other to the point of exchanging socially-inappropriate kisses with each other at night. And he most certainly didn't care how Pit actually seemed to respond to Link's action rather positively.
Yet now…Although he had told himself not to mind it too much as it wasn't in his nature to really concern himself with others' secrets, for some reason the situation at present didn't sit well with him. Despite what Link wanted to believe, Marth had indeed caught him red-handed. His calm eyes had been watching underneath his bangs, effectively making Link feel safe. When he saw the father advance, he almost scratched a huge mark on his drawing. Thankfully he had controlled himself in time. Marth wondered why he would react in such a manner after that. He didn't really care about Link and Pit's openly affections to each other, honest. So why was it now that he felt uncomfortable seeing them kissing? He was perfectly fine with it when Link undoubtedly gave those good-night kisses on the lips, wasn't he? Now though…the mere thought of those kisses also bothered him. It was like an itch he couldn't reach, an itch he couldn't scratch away. He didn't know exactly why this was so, and he wasn't sure whether the fact that he didn't know the cause of his irritation was more bothersome than his ignorance of the cause. Either way, Marth knew that he had to keep his conflict a secret lest he actually wanted to leave Pit, something that he wouldn't dare to fathom.
"You love your father very much, don't you, Pit?" Marth questioned. He felt Pit's head move in a nod. The college student paused in thought. After spending many weeks here constantly in Pit's company, he was curious as to how Pit saw him. Did the boy see him as an older brother? A second father or even possibly a substitute mother? Once the question popped into his mind, Marth had to know. It couldn't hurt to see Pit's views. He opened his mouth to ask. Yet the words that stumbled out weren't "What about me? Am I like an older brother to you?" which was what he thought he was aiming for.
No. The words that Marth unconsciously chose were, "And…do you love me, Pit?"
Pit leaned away in surprise, his eyes wide with shock. Seeing the boy react like that caused Marth's heart to sink. He didn't expect that reaction at all. Nor did he expect Pit's answer:
"Of course I love you, Marth! I don't know why I wouldn't!"
Despite himself, Marth couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in surprise. The way the boy said it the college student knew wasn't in the same context as what he meant. Yet at the same time, it did seem like Pit knew what he was talking about. Marth really did wanted to believe that Pit shared the same feelings. He was tempted to pursue the matter further. He curbed his tongue though when the fleeting thought of "how would Link react?" passed his mind. Besides, if he continued this route, he just might break their valued relationship.
"Did you not know that?" Pit asked, tilting his head to the side. Shit. Pit was continuing the topic. It caught the college student off-guard and he tried to recover.
"N-no. I had a feeling though…"
"Oh," Pit giggled. "Maybe it's because you don't let me show you." That caught Marth's attention, if he hadn't paid all of it to Pit already. He had a sneaky suspicion he knew what Pit was insinuating. He never forgot about his first accidental kiss, no matter how hard he tried. Actually, he didn't try to forget it at all. Why should he, when he realized that he liked how it felt? He did wanted to experience it again. Yet he had convinced himself that it was a good night kiss. Nothing more, nothing less. There were no other feelings other than good will and reassurance put into it.
"…what do you mean?" Marth finally responded after his mind raced for answers.
"Does that mean I can show you how much I love you?" the boy asked. If those words were said by anybody else, Marth would have known immediately that they were flirting with him and probably trying to get into his pants. However Pit's manner was anything but coquettish. He looked eager, yes, but it was the same childish enthusiasm that he displayed whenever Marth told him a story or they did their favorite activities together. It couldn't hurt to say yes…could it?
"…I suppose it's fine," the blunette muttered. The joy that sparkled in Pit's eyes really turned them into sapphires. He then rose to his knees to level himself with Marth. He reached out to Marth and gently held his chin and cheeks. For his part Marth felt relieved that he didn't have the urge to flinch. Yet he could still hear his heart pounding the blood in his ears as Pit tantalizingly leaned in. The boy softly pulled Marth's face closer to his until their lips met. Immediately Marth's face burned from the contact, his heart almost threatening to pulse itself to death. He couldn't feel his muscles at all so even if he wanted to pull out, he lost the capacity to do so. Yet he did feel the softness of Pit's lips, a memory that had stayed with him since his first kiss.
He saw Pit close his eyes as the boy tilted his head to the side. Marth himself was tempted to mimic the action and actually pull his friend closer to deepen their contact. He managed to resist one temptation but not the other. After a few silent moments, Pit finally drifted away as softly as he had entered. When he opened his eyes, he managed to catch Marth opening his own. The boy smiled brightly.
"See? I love you that much!" he said cheerfully. He saw red-faced Marth nod silently. His companion's silence caused his smile to fade slightly. "Are you all right?"
Pit's worried tone snapped Marth out of his daze. The college student smiled weakly. He was grateful that they were sitting down. If they weren't, he probably would have fallen over right now. His legs wouldn't have been able to support him with his giddiness at the current moment. "I-I'm fine," he replied, a little breathless. When Pit's smile restored, Marth asked, "Do you kiss everybody you love?"
The boy shook his head, "No, only with Dad. For some reason he doesn't let me kiss Big Brother. I wished he did though…" Pit muttered. "Then maybe Big Brother wouldn't scowl as much!"
Marth wanted to laugh at that. For some reason it sounded funny to him as he pictured the childish Pit kissing a stern shadow who attempted to push his younger brother away. Yet at the same time, for another reason, he wished that Pit didn't want to do something like that, even if it was simply to express brotherly love. Even now, when he thought back to Link kissing Pit, he felt a small pang of jealousy. Pit's voice quickly snapped him out of his thoughts.
"You love me too, right, Marth?" he asked, his eyes full of hope. Marth returned his look.
He said without hesitation, "Of course I love you too, Pit." That widened Pit's smile as the boy suddenly leapt forward to hug Marth tightly. The college student affectionately returned the favor with his own warm embrace. He could hear Pit giggling, which also encouraged his own resounding laughter. The thought of Pit misunderstanding him had occurred to him as it seemed more likely that Pit loved him more in the brotherly sense than the romantic sense. That did subtly dampen his mood quite more than he would have liked but Marth swiftly covered it with his reassurance that his relationship with the boy was now more than a friendly sense if that wasn't apparent before. He won't be as happy but it was clear that Pit was extremely joyful with this development and that was all that really mattered. Another thought occurred to him, one that required some concern. "Pit…it's best not to tell Link about this, all right?"
Pit leaned back to look at the blunette in curiosity. However Marth could see the understanding in the boy's eyes. Pit nodded in confirmation, "I understand, Marth. I won't tell Dad…" Pit paused. Again, he wondered whether he should tell Marth about his growing temptation of stepping outside. He had no doubt that Marth was more than willing to help him take his first step outside. He very nearly told him yet he stopped himself just in time once again. No, he wasn't ready to face that yet. Maybe a few more days, but not yet.
"Is something wrong, Pit?" Marth asked. He saw how the boy had drawn breath to say something before deciding against it. The boy quickly shook his head in answer.
"Everything's fi-." Pit's stomach interrupted with a growl, causing the boy to blush in embarrassment. Marth blinked once before laughing at the unexpected intrusion of hunger.
"It is nearly lunchtime. Why don't we go find something to eat and then we can do something else together?"
Pit nodded excitedly at that suggestion. They both stood up and walked into the kitchen. As Marth worked to prepare lunch with Pit's help, he was able to keep a light-hearted and entertaining conversation with Pit. However his mind worked behind the scenes in secret to store away everything he discovered. He learned a bit about Pit's mother, namely her appearance if she was an angel. What he saw of Link and Pit today wasn't very jarring as he had thoughts about it before but it was still surprising to see it actually happen. Marth had wished that perhaps he would be able to meet Pit's older brother, or Nadir as he now knew him. Come to think of it…was this Nadir the same person who's friends with Robin? Marth made a mental note to check on that. Other than that, it seemed like the brother was a good person, despite the obvious drug dealings that swiftly took place in front of the house.
The best part of the day though, Marth had to admit, was his own growing affections for the boy and the resulting kiss that came out of it. Actually he had been unconsciously aware of that possibility after their first meeting. He would have been surprised if he didn't start developing feelings for Pit as he now spent nearly every day at his house. Yet it was only until now that they fully established and he recognized them. He always looked out for Pit and made sure that the boy was happy and comfortable every minute of their time. So it was only a matter of time before he admitted to himself that he loved Pit more than a friend, more than a brother. Yes, he was a bit hurt that Pit believed this relationship to be a brotherly one. Nevertheless Pit reciprocated similar feelings with actions that were more associated between intimate spouses than close brothers. And although the college student wished Pit realized that their relationship was not a regular sibling one, Marth had to be satisfied with this result, if not slightly. Not because he could take advantage of it. Anybody else would probably like this situation as it was easy to get anything they want out of Pit if he trusted them like how he trusted Marth. No, not because of the advantage but because it made Pit happy. As long as Pit was happy, Marth was happy.
Yet despite everything he learned today…Marth was absolutely certain that Pit was still hiding secrets, dark ones. He was well aware of the dangers of judging something solely by its cover. Pit already proved that he knew some things Marth wouldn't expect him to know considering the knowledge he initially lacked before Marth's influence. The kiss Pit gave him was something Marth expected from a person who was experienced in those ways. Even when he had asked Pit not to tell Link, Pit gave him the confident look of somebody used to keeping such sneaky actions between him and another. He didn't want to believe that an innocent and sweet kid such as Pit could have any dangerous mysteries to solve, but everything he saw so far pointed to that. Marth could only hope that if things were for the better good he would never discover those shady enigmas. He still had a sinking feeling in his heart that he would learn of those dark secrets one day, and that they would be one of the many things that could potentially destroy his bond with Pit. For now though…Marth could afford to share another kiss with Pit without such worries to hinder him. And the boy responded enthusiastically to his action.
...well now...who wasn't surprised by that development? Like I said earlier, I hoped this chapter made all the waiting worth it. So much happened in one chapter...not funny at all. And it's not going to end up pretty for Marth and Pit, I assure you. Especially with this new development. We might as well get onto the questions.
1) Why do you think Pit didn't tell Marth about his mother? What do you think happened to her? And who is she anyways?! (That's an easy last question...)
2) How long do you think is enough before you ask a close friend to be your boy/girlfriend?
3) Should Marth have not led Pit into believing that their relationship was simply a "sibling" kind? Would it have been better for him to explain to Pit about his true feelings?
4) What other secrets do you think Pit could be hiding under that sweet, innocent face of his?
And that's all, folks! You're going to be in another world of waiting, unfortunately! Again, sorry about that. Been real busy and it ain't funny. The next update's going to be over at LtWR. A little switching back and forth would do me some good. See you guys next time!