Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!
Thanks to the lovely and awesome Serena Heartfilia for beta'ing this.
at ScarlettDeidri: hope this helps ;)
Semara woke to the sound of high-pitched laughter, which really wasn't a nice sound to hear.
"Shut up, Xerxes..." she mumbled, pulling the blanket closer around her. The laugher stopped, right about the time Semara realized Xerxes wouldn't laugh in such a high-pitched manner. "Who's there?" she said, sitting up, and reaching for the ghost of a sword that wasn't there. Crimson was sitting on Xerxes' bed, pouting.
"Don't tell my soulmate to shut up," the red-head said. "Also, don't refer to him as Xerxes. You're getting too familiar with him."
"Why should you care? You don't own him," Semara said, irritated. She was groggy, and always lost her temper when people argued with her early in the morning.
Crimson smiled, an evil smile that didn't belong on a face so unnaturally pretty. "Oh, I own anything I want here. I'm a goddess."
"Why are you in here, oh great goddess?" Semara asked, pulling the blankets from her bed around her. The morning was chilled.
"I slept over here last night."
"...where? There's only two beds."
Crimson looked pained. "Alas, I had a dreadful nightmare, so Xerxey gallantly had to share with you, giving me his own bed."
"He slept with me?!" Semara yelled. "Why didn't somebody ask me?!" How had he even fit with her in the small bed? There was nothing between them, of course, but it still felt weird sleeping with any person of the opposite gender.
"You were passed out cold, brat," a familiar mad hatter's voice said. Both of the women looked up at him. Crimson sighed when she saw his dripping white hair, damp from a recent shower. Semara rolled her eyes at Crimson. Some woman could be so shallow.
"Are we going to go fight that Chain, Xerxey?" Crimson said in her sweetest voice. She was probably hoping for a dramatic fight scene when everything would seem lost, and then some strange unique power would show itself from her, saving everyone.
"About that," Xerxes said. "We already dealt with it."
"What? When?"
"Last night," Semara said, giving Crimson a beaming smile. "While you were having a nightmare."
"You went out without me?"
"Obviously." Semara would've stuck her tongue out at Crimson, but didn't want to look like she actually cared.
"We still have an extra day here. Pandora paid for two nights." Xerxes met Semara's eyes, glancing at Crimson. He smiled, obviously planning something. "I need to go to a few places, so I'll leave you two here al-"
"No!" both the other occupants cried, at the same time. Crimson sighed dramtically, flipping her hair.
"I don't really know this town that well, Xerxey. Would you mind escorting me around?" Crimson fluttered her eyelashes, actually fluttered them.
Semara thought about her plans for the day. She didn't want to be left behind with the red-haired demon, but didn't really have anything to do. She already knew Copperton very well, from her apprenticeship there years prior.
I know how to get rid of her, a voice sounded in her head. Semara yelped, and fell off the bed, landing ungracefully on her butt. She groaned.
Crimson tittered. "Somebody have a late night?"
"What was that, brat?" Xerxes said. The brunette flushed.
"Just- fell off." Shadow Star? What are you doing in my head again?
I know how to get rid of Crimson for a few hours. She has a huge weakness.
Which is?
Dress shopping.
Semara almost laughed out loud. It was perfect. There was nothing that interesting in Copperton for herself, mainly because it was a tourist town geared towards ladies high in society. There were florists and dress shops on every other block. The old Hazel would've loved shops like the ones Copperton had, but Semara wasn't Hazel anymore.
That'll work perfectly, Semara thought, and couldn't wipe a giant smile off her face. Even if it were just for a day, any freedom from the red-haired demon was welcome.
"Why are you smiling, brat?" Xerxes asked.
"No reason, old man."
Crimson had planned an extremely romantic outing, with her and Xerxey. First, they would dump Semara. Preferably via the brunette's death. Then, they would go to a cute cafe, sit by the window, and hold hands. Finally, they would go to an isolated spot with a gorgeous view, and Xerxey would dramatically kiss her, confessing that he couldn't stay away.
Crimson blushed, pressing her hands to her cheeks and giggling. It would be too perfect!
Crimson had planned it all out, but then she saw the dresses.
Oh, they were gorgeous. Copperton had the latest on gothic-lolita victorian fashion. Giant, fluffy black-and-purple, corsets of every color...
"You're drooling," Semara noted, and Crimson rolled her eyes. How could Semara physically be a girl, without admiring all the beauty? Maybe crossdressing has given her a Y chromosome.
The red-head's feet made clacking noises as she jumped up and down. "They're so cute! I have to look in this shop!" Passerby twittered, the trio getting several glances. Xerxey hefted his cane-sword, frowning, and Semara picked at something underneath her nails. (Really, how was that girl a Mary Sue? She was more like.. a Scum of the Earth Character, than any form of Sue.)
"We're gonna look up the street, then," the brunette said, and Crimson usually would've been angry that her and Xerxey were separating, but, oh, those dresses.
"See you in a few minutes, Xerxey," Crimson said, and with a twiddling of her long manicured nails, she was long gone in the store.
"She'll be gone for the rest of the afternoon."
Xerxes looked back at the store that they had left Crimson in. "You think so?"
"Dresses are a woman's weakness."
Smiling, the albino swung his cane back and forth. "I thought it was just a Rainsworth woman thing. Your mother and sister seem fairly obsessive." There was a twinge in his thigh, and he winced. The wound was painful, but Semar's bandaging would hold strong.
"I guess women just can't resist them," Semar said. Xerxes raised his eyebrows.
"I find that hard to-"
"RAINSWORTH! IS THAT YOU, RAINSWORTH?" Semar blanched. His messy brown hair seemed almost to stand up on end, and Xerxes found he wanted to brush it down. It seemed a recurring problem.
"Oh, damn, in the whole entire town, he had to be here," the brunette said, and, before Xerxes could blink, he was running off in the opposite direction of the voice.
"YOU STOP, YOU LITTLE ^%*(! #$% I TRAINED YOU FOR THREE ^%&*( YEARS! COME AND SAY HELLO!" The man yelling stopped right in front of Xerxes. He was fifty-ish, with salt and pepper hair. He gave Xerxes the deadliest glare the albino had possibly ever received, apart from Sharon's looks.
"Was that #$*&( brat with you Semar Rainsworth?"
"Yes," Xerxes replied, not sure what to say. "I take it you know the man?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Wait-" The man pulled something silver and shiny out of who-knows-where, and threw it as hard as he could. Xerxes followed the direction of his arm, seeing Semar's getaway hampered by the throwing weapon. It hit the man squarely between his small shoulders, and he went down hard. It was the hilt of a well-thrown knife that hit him, Xerxes realized.
Xerxes felt his pinkie throb again, at the same moment, and shook it. Once they got back, he would get it checked out.
"Got him," the man said, licking his thumb. "Gonna go give that # $%^*U what he deserves."
Xerxes followed the man down to the corner where Semar had been hit. The skinny man was sitting on his butt, groaning. He looked up at both of them, pink eyes flashing. "Stars, Master! Why ya gotta do that every #$%^&* time we meet?"
"Cause you're always running away, you #$%^& brat. Get up. You're coming back to the house. We're going to chat." The black-haired man gripped Semar's collar, yanking him up.
The albino smiled at Semar. "You two seem so close. You know each other?"
"Break, meet Master Zehn. Master, this is an associate Contractor from Pandora." Semar stuck out his bottom lip, rubbing his back.
"Nice to meet you," Xerxes said. "Any enemy of Semar's a friend of mine."
His mind was somewhere else, though. Why hadn't Semar called him Xerxes? Not that it mattered, but ever since the albino had come back into the room, where Crimson had been, the brat was more distant.
Not that it matters.
Master Zehn looked Xerxes up and down. "Semar, eh? So-"
"Shut it, Master," Semar said, punching the man in the gut. "We were just leaving. Break's gotta go- shopping."
"No, actually, I think it would be lovely to go and have tea with your old master, Semar," Xerxes said, beaming. "Wouldn't that be wonderful, Zehn?"
"Heh heh, that it would. Come on, then." Zehn turned, and started walking away. Xerxes put a tight arm around Semar's shoulders.
"Wouldn't want you to accidentally run off, now. Plus, my thigh hurts."
Semar grumbled something profane under his breath, and Xerxes squeezed tighter. "Stars, your shoulders are tiny. You missed your growth spurt by a mile," Xerxes laughed. Semar pulled away as far as Xerxes would let him. Zehn motioned for them to hurry up.
"Some men are built differently," Semar defended. "You're skinny too. I bandaged your stick leg last night."
"Men aren't that different. You couldn't feel all that muscle?" Xerxes felt like his pride was being damaged. "I'm a perfectly normal, muscular man."
"Mm hmm." Semar ducked under his arm. "Whatever gets you to sleep at night, clown." The man ran up ahead, narrowly missing Zehn swiping at his ear.
Xerxes' pinkie hurt again.
"So, he doesn't know you actually have boobs?" Master Zehn muttered in her ear. Semar looked behind them. Xerxes was a few feet away, looking around at the shops.
"No. Shut up, he'll hear you."
Master Zehn was the best master Semara had ever learned under. Two years into her apprenticeship, he had figured out why she had to do an obscene amount of laundry at the same time every month (she hadn't been a Contractor yet, so still got her period). He hadn't gotten why she kept her disguise on, but had laughed it off, and kept her on. He wasn't that tight-lipped as Semara would've liked, unfortunately.
"I should've recognized this street," Semara said. "And avoided it at all costs."
"Ohhh, now, don't be so negative, dumb Rainsworth. I can now tell your sister that we had a lovely reunion with an old master. She won't beat me up for you being in dangerous situations," Break said.
"I can take care of myself. Master can vouch for me," Semara replied, keeping her eyes focused on the corner, where she knew Master's house was.
"I don't know about that, little Semar. It's been years since we've fought together. I've had many other pupils come through, who may have become better than you."
"Bet none of them have a Chain," the brunette muttered.
"Are you showing off your Chain?" Master asked, flicking her back in the exact same spot that she had been hit in earlier. "I thought the great Semar Rainsworth was above self-gratification."
Semara suddenly felt sick. Oh, stars, she had been showing off, a little bit. What was happening to her Mary Sue defenses? Only a Mary Sue would call attention to her own power.
"I think you got the best of the great Semar Rainsworth," Break noted. "He rarely shuts up, like now." He had caught up, and was walking beside her. The trio reached a corner, and turned down a long, gravel drive. Gone were the shops of the town, replaced by dried-looking trees and molding statues.
"We're here. Wipe your shoes off, or my woman'll kill you," Master said.
Break whistled. "It's almost as big as your villa, Semar." It was a nice mansion, Semara agreed. It was darker colored than the whiteness of her own house, but had a heavy-duty feel. There were at least ten large windows on the front, that Semara could count. The lawn they were standing on was well-pressed down. Years of sword-practice out on the front had worn out the grass.
"Half of it are practice rooms. Master, when did you get a woman?"
"Soon after you left. Black-haired beauty. Speaking of women-"
Behind her, Break tripped, cursing, on one of the front steps, and Semara threw out a hand, catching him. His weight was too much for her precarious position, and they fell down to the bottom of the steps, both of them cursing the entire way.
"Dammit, Break, if your leg's that bad, go and sit in your grave. Just say something!"
"You are terrible at catching people, brat. If it weren't for your demon-sister, I would drop you in your own grave, and leave you there!"
"As if you could, old man!"
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!"
The sound of Master laughing behind her made her realize what position she was in. She had landed halfway on top of Break, her elbow on the other side of his chest, her knee pressing into his hip bone.
"Get off me, Rainsworth," Break said, his breath mixing with her own.
"Stop falling, dumb old man," she said, pulling herself off of the albino. Thank the stars Crimson wasn't with them, Semara would've been dead where she stood. At least she had tied the bandages around her chest super-tight that morning, so no awkward curves could be felt. Probably.
"I was just saying, Semar, that you should get a woman too. You're a bachelor, of an attractive face." Master winked at her. "Even though it's a little girly."
"Except any woman," or man, she added in her head, "might get irritated when she gets older, and I don't. Especially when I just drop dead someday."
"We'll continue this conversation inside."
His pupil had changed. Semar's eyes had gotten larger, if possible, in the few years she had aged. He wouldn't mention it to her, it would only make her angry, but her eyelashes were darker, and more womanly, as well. Her hair was still the mess it had been, but her stance was stronger.
She was still a girly-looking man.
Zehn chuckled to himself. How she had managed to keep her gender private was some strange miracle wrought by heaven, because he didn't know any other way it was still secret. If a person just looked at her, closely, it seemed to be obvious.
Her companion, the strange albino, hadn't figured it out. Honestly, when Semar had pulled the catching-falling thing, he had thought the plot was up. For men, it was hard not to notice boobs pressing into their chest. Even if the said boobs were wrapped in bandages.
Break didn't notice, strangely. Possibly not the brightest in the bunch.
There had been something almost... cute, about the way the two had argued in that compromising position. Zehn wasn't a fortune teller, or a psychic (his woman was, supposedly,) but there was something about Break and Semar together that just fit.
Shaking his head, Zehn watched Semar clamber into the house, Break behind her. He was jumping ahead. His wife's matchmaking qualities were rubbing off on him.
Everything would happen in time.
"Is that food cooking?" Break asked, sniffing. "Is that... cake?"
"You would say that," Semar groaned. "We can't stay long. Crimson can't shop for dresses the entire day."
"Zehn, who's over? You dain't mention anyone this mornin'." His wife stepped into the entry hallway, wiping her flour-covered hands on a towel.
"Penny, darling! This is an old student of mine, Semar Rainsworth, and his companion, Break. They're here for afternoon tea." Zehn met his wife with a hug, and a deep kiss that he could tell left both Semar and Break feeling awkward.
"Cake, too," Break noted. Semar pushed him.
"Don't be greedy."
His beautiful wife looked them over. "Looks like a skinny bunch. Especially the caramel-haired one."
"Would you mind leading this pair to the sitting room? It should be empty of sparring. Most students are out this time of day," Zehn said.
"Come on, then," Penny gestured to follow her, and Zhen watched the three depart. Semar was whispering something to Break about not being rude, and Break seemed to be smiling innocently back.
He went up to the kitchen to start making tea. He loved his wife, but the tea she made was more like black coffee. Penny appeared in the doorway a few seconds later.
"My psychic abilities are tellin' me that pink-eyed one is a girl." Zehn poured the spices in the water, silence his only response. "I'm right, aren't I? She walks like a girl."
"Don't talk that loud. The other one'll hear you," Zehn said. "Semar's gender is a secret."
"Thought she was tryin' ta hide it. Her chest looked too flat, if she were only wearin' a corset." Penny drew closer, sniffing at all the mild spices he was using.
"Are your psychic abilities saying anything else about them?" he asked. Penny leaned against the bottom cupboard, sighing.
"Not really. Are you really askin', or just lookin' to discredit me?" His wife's eyes looked playful.
"I hear voices from the sitting room. Sounds like they're having a serious conversation. Wanna go listen in on the brat?" Zehn grinned.
"Ever the eavesdropping old man," Penny laughed. "I can't resist. Come quietly, now,"
They both crept quietly along the hallway, at the end of which was the open door, leading into the sitting room. Semar's voice echoed down the hallway.
"-your leg? If you trip again, I swear I'll kill you, no matter your worth to Pandora."
"Hahaha as if, my pink-eyed friend. On another note, I noticed something. Did that annoying Crimson say something strange to you?"
"Why?"
"Cause ever since I left you two alone, you've been formally referring to me as 'Break.' It's annoying, cause everyone calls me that."
"You want me to call you something else?"
Break's voice was light. "I gave you candy. We both are working for a common goal, to stay away from Crimson. We've fought together. It seems to warrant a more familiar reference."
"Where is this going?" Semar's voice seemed wary, suspicious.
"I'm just saying, don't listen to anything that Crimson says. She's a manipulating woman, we both can tell."
"...Thanks. I guess. Xerxes."
Beside him, Penny was elbowing him, and making a heart with her fingers. Zehn smiled at her, winking.
"Penny's coming with tea," the older man said, stepping into the room. "And cake," he added, seeing Break's frown. He pulled an armchair closer to the coffee table. Break and Semar were sitting on opposite sides of a two-seat couch, Break curled on his side.
"So, what's my old pupil been up to?" Zehn asked. Semar shifted, making his cushion dip. Almost imperceptibly , Break's cushion shifted towards the brunette. Zehn hid a smile.
"Dealing with illegal Contractors and paperwork for Pandora," Semar said, yawning. "Like we did last night. It was one nasty Chain."
"Still keeping your swordsmanship fresh? Fencing everyday?"
"Yeah, yeah, Master, I do. Usually spar Xerxes here, but he's a little easy..."
Break jammed a fist into Semar's shoulder, smiling brightly. "I saved your hide last night, just remember."
"I saved your sorry butt, too, albino," Semar muttered back. Penny came in with the tea, bustling past Zehn, setting the tray on the table.
"Add as much sugar as you'd like, Semar, you need the fat," she said. Semar smiled up at her, ignoring Break.
"Semar and Break were just telling me about their mission last night. They apparently killed a Chain in Copperton," Zehn said, patting the armchair next to him. Penny sat down.
"Oh, that sounds dangerous. Did you get hurt?"
"Xerxes did. It was partially my fault, but he turned out all right," Semar said, putting a few cubes in, then taking a sip. "Thanks for the tea, Penny."
"It was my own fault. That damned Chain took a look at both of our memories." Xerxes poured half of the bowl of sugar cubes into his own tea. Semar looked sickened.
"That's too much sugar. It'll give your old heart a heart attack," the brunette whispered to Break. Penny and Zehn could both hear very clearly.
The albino looked at Semar, smile forced. "Don't tell me what to eat. Your sister already does that."
"Stop smiling at me. I have a higher position in society than you."
"I'm going to get the cake out of the oven, dear. Don't let them kill each other," Penny whispered to Zehn.
"Oh, I don't think that's the most likely thing to happen between them," Zehn whispered back.
He watched the two of them. Break seemed to swing from scarily cheerful to dangerously irritated in a second, all by one sentence said by Semar. Semar seemed generally annoyed by anything Break said. There was still something comfortable between them, though.
Zehn's careful, well-trained eyes caught something. Break seemed to be nursing his right pinkie. He would glance at it every so often. Maybe a wound? But there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
"Here's some chocolate cake, you two," Penny came back in, hefting two plates, one with a large slice and one with a small one. "Eat up."
She put the large slice in front of Semar, the small one in front of Break. The albino pouted, but Semar quickly switched the plates before he could say anything. The act was casual, as if Semar was used to doing little things like it.
"Thanks again, Penny. I was wondering, when did you and Master meet?"
"I met her a few months after you left," Zehn answered. Penny flicked him.
"I can answer the question, Zehn." She turned back to Semar. "He showed up for a psychic reading session. We both hated each other. He kept coming back, though, and eventually it just," Penny shrugged, "happened. That's what love does. You won't be expectin' it, so it'll just creep up behind you, and drown you."
"That's nice," both of the younger occupants echoed. Zehn shared a smile with Penny. Obviously they weren't that interested in the romance of youth.
The older man saw Semar wince, and shift his left pinkie around the tea cup. His eyes widened. Was Semar's pinkie hurting, as well? That couldn't be a coincidence. Maybe they were both involved in some pinkie-wrestling gambling ring.
"I hate to say this, but we should be going," Semar said, setting down his teacup. "We have a third companion, Crimson, who won't be shopping for the entire afternoon."
"How long have we been gone?" Break asked Semar. The pink-eyed girl shrugged.
"Two hours, give or take. Time's flown."
"If you two have some extra time, there's a hill nearby that's good for walking on. It has a beautiful view of the town," Penny suggested. Zehn looked sharply at his wife. The hill nearby was usually reserved for more romantic outings, its nickname being "Red-rose hill."
Semar wrinkled her nose. "I sort of remember it... It's been a couple years, though." They all stood, Break grabbing his cane, and Semar shaking Zehn's hand.
"I'll see you in some years," she told Zehn, and the man smiled, pulling her in for a hug.
"Get hitched by the time you drag your sorry ass back here. A pretty girl like you should find a man by now," he whispered in her ear. She dug a fist into his kidney, but kept a smile on her face.
Shutting the door behind the two, his wife turned back to him, grinning like a schoolgirl.
"They're so cute! I hope they go to that hill..."
"You know Break still thinks Semar is a man? It might make any romance awkward. You always pair up the most random people, my dear," Zehn said, pressing a kiss to the top of Penny's head. "On another note, why would a person's pinkie hurt?"
"Arthritis? Is your pinkie hurting, honey?" Poppy looked up at her husband.
"Never mind. It's nothing."
"You know something? I never thought that pink and red went well together, they always clashed terribly."
"That's true." Zehn picked up the half-full teacups left behind.
"But... I'm thinking that maybe pink and red together might not be so bad."
The hill was beautiful. There was a well-worn dirt path going straight up, and both Semar and Xerxes took steep steps. There were wildflowers dotted all around, mostly pink and purple, with some scattered wild roses. Xerxes took in a deep breath of the air. It was the middle of the afternoon, and everything was still warm and yellow.
"Master's changed a lot. I think marriage changed him." Semar's words broke the quiet.
"That's why a man should never get married. It means he has to share his candy," Xerxes replied, using his cane to heft himself over a dip in the ground.
"You shared your candy with me."
"You're a man. You won't nag me for it."
They were nearly at the top. Xerxes reached it first, turning to watch the Rainsworth make it up the final dip. The brunette's hair was messier, if possible, and there was one tuft that stuck up higher than the rest. Semar was just two feet down from him, if he reached a hand out and-
"Why're you touching my hair?" Semar looked up at Xerxes. His pink eyes met Xerxes' red one. Semar's foot was half-caught in a patch of wild roses, and the man fell slightly forward, catching himself, then looking back at the albino. The image caught in Xerxes' subconscious brain, the pink eyes surrounded by red roses. The image was gone in a second, though, as soon as Semar groaned, yanking his foot out of the thorny patch, cursing.
Pulling his hand away, Xerxes shrugged. "You need to brush it. Have some self-hygiene." They both stood, shoulder-to-shoulder, at the top of the hill, looking down on Copperton. There was silence, apart from the wind rustling their hair. Xerxes closed his eyes, feeling for once, at peace.
"Wonder what Crimson's doing," Semar said. The albino groaned.
"You just ruined the moment, brat. Let's go back."
The next morning, on the carriage ride back, half the cabin was filled with dresses, courtesy of Crimson. All three of them were squished together on one side, with Xerxes in the middle.
"Are you comfortable, Xerxey?" Crimson said, with beaming eyes, as she groped half his shoulder. Xerx
"Yes," he replied, lying blatantly. He actually had been having a nice nap, in the carriage, but that had ended abruptly.
Unbeknownst to him, and the third occupant, his pinkie had been pressed against Semar's the entire time he'd been napping.
HOHOHO IT'S STARTED. THE ROMANCE HAS BEGUN TO GROW.
Thanks for reading! :)