Commentary On Old Friends
Despite the insanity Marcus was used to, he was not worried about today turning out well. Because it simply would. Whether it was simple acceptance, blind faith, or something else... Marcus was certain that whatever happened, the wedding would go thru and his grandson would be off to Spain.
He had not asked about their return date. Marcus would simply house-sit until they returned. It was not a big deal to him.
"You did not ask?" Ludovicus asked him.
"Just because I'm staying does not mean you have to," Marcus reminded his friend with a grin. Ludovicus was not amused. Marcus knew that Ludo was going to stick around though. He knew the reasons too. And he was rather thankful. "You're asking me to ask Lovino and Antonio if they have a set return date?"
Ludovicus hesitated. "True, that does seem stupid of me."
"Stupid of you?" Marcus questioned. "Never!"
"Don't push it."
"Push what, my friend?" he grinned, slinging his arm around Ludovicus' shoulders. Ludovicus did not respond, but that was because his attention was caught by something else. Marcus looked over. Gupta and Heracles. He was rather curious to see if Ludovicus was suddenly going to be talkative again. It would be interesting.
Slipping away from Ludovicus, he went over to the other two. "You made it!" he exclaimed happily, engulfing Gupta in a one armed hug and patting Heracles on the shoulder. "How is everything going?"
"All right," Heracles said, as Gupta simply nodded. "You?"
"It's my grandson's wedding day!" Marcus exclaimed. "I never thought the day would come!"
Gupta nodded again. Then again he actually lived in Hearth. He had witnessed more of what Marcus was referring to than Heracles had. Anyway, Marcus believed that Gupta was a bit more observant than Heracles.
Though that could just be because I'm biased.
"We did not mean to interrupt," Heracles was saying, now looking over at Ludovicus. "I suddenly... I wondered if I could ask you something about... my mother." Here we go, Marcus inwardly sighed, glancing over at Ludo.
Ludovicus nodded. "As you will."
"Did... she ever tell you who my father is?"
Ludovicus did not often lie. He was against that for the longest time. Not to say he was not good at it, Marcus was almost willing to admit that maybe Ludo was as good at it as he was. At least as good as Sadiq was at it. Then again, it was second nature to Sadiq, so hopefully he would be good at it.
(On the other hand, Marcus had always believed that Muhammad was the biggest liar in the world though, except for the fact the man was so good at avoiding instances (lately) where any of his lies mattered. It was amazing that the man could be even more of an utter bastard than Yao. Simply amazing.)
"Helene never told me," Ludovicus said, slightly apologetic. Heracles nodded, still calm although asking must have rattled him enough. Marcus pulled his arm off of Gupta as Gupta patted at his arm.
"Well, we won't bother you anymore."
"You don't bother us!" Marcus said to Heracles. Ludovicus cleared his throat. "I speak from the bottom of both of our hearts!"
"You do not speak for me, nor does the heart have anything to do with it."
"We'll see you both later!" Marcus waved as the other two left. He turned his eyes onto Ludo. "Helene never told you? You sly dog!"
"It is true," Ludovicus retorted, folding his arms across his chest. "Helene never said, Nefertiti did not say. The latter of which you should be grateful for, Marcus. In this matter, never believe for a moment that I will lie for you, just because you refuse to tell the truth."
It reminded Marcus of several other discussions he and Ludo had within the past thirty years. Still, it was far past the time to admit to a lie. Especially in this context. It was not as if Marcus had not tried to do his part...
I'm sorry Nefe. I really am. You and Helene deserved so much better.
He grinned at Ludo. "Have I told you lately how good of a friend you are? For a barbarian."
Ludovicus snorted.
Notes:
If you got out of that what I meant for you to get out of that, then good for you. If not, do not worry about it.
Dear Shii: I will just say that you can never cancel anything out. I write out life, not pairings. People get together, fall apart, get together again, get together with other people, get caught cheating, find love with a third person and later divorce. I leave all pairings open most of the time. Still, I will not promise what works out, who will get together, who will stay together, and what will fall apart with disaster. Why would people keep reading then?
