This is a bit shorter than I'd like, but holidays have slowed my writing so I'm just posting while I'm at the end of a scene. More to come... once I get over some mild writer's block. ;)

Several days went by before Black Bolt was able to catch his brother alone. He supposed he could have, as king, summoned Maximus to the throne room for a chat. But flaunting his royal power would not go over well. Besides he wasn't looking forward to this conversation any more than his brother was, so why rush it? He had written down what he initially wanted to say and was prepared to write any necessary responses; he wanted to be able to have this particular discussion without Medusa, as frustrating as that might prove to be.

Black Bolt happened to cross paths with his brother in a palace hallway after breakfast on the third morning after the dinner party. Maximus would have preferred to avoid the encounter, but he noticed his brother walking toward him too late to scamper off. Black Bolt motioned for him to follow him, then pulled him by the sleeve into the empty courtyard. Maximus was genuinely surprised that Medusa was not there. How were they supposed to talk? But then the king held out a pad on which he had written a few lines. Max leaned closer to read it.

'I was disappointed by your outburst at dinner the other night. That cannot become a habit – you are a prince of Attilan and not a child anymore. Also Medusa and her sister are to be welcomed as members of the royal family from now on.'

Maximus barely suppressed a disdainful laugh. "Oh, yes, I hear congratulations are in order," he said in an insincere tone. "Medusa will soon be queen, and you will have your interpreter always by your side." Black Bolt frowned at his brother's insolence. He wanted to sign something but remembered that his brother could not understand. Instead he stabbed his finger at his second sentence once more. "No, I get it," Max yielded. "I shouldn't let Gorgon bait me like that."

Black Bolt nodded, flipped to the next pre-written note in his pad, and held it out again. Maximus rolled his eyes impatiently but read it. 'I am very sorry for the disrespect Gorgon showed to you. He was entirely in the wrong, and I have spoken to him about it. You are my brother, and I value your presence and advice. I want you, like Medusa, to always feel welcome as a member of the royal family.'

Maximus gave a little huff and said, "Thank you. I would appreciate more respect from our cousins." He took a deep breath, then added, "In return, I will try not to act out at any future gatherings, even if only family is present. Of course," he declared spitefully, "if you had confided in me that you meant to propose at that dinner, I would have known it wasn't the right time to let my temper get the best of me."

Black Bolt shook his head and frowned as he furiously scribbled a response. After a minute, he held it out again. 'When have you ever given me any indication that you want me to confide in you when it comes to personal matters? You don't speak to me unless it is necessary. You avoid even being near me unless it is expected of you. I invited you to that dinner because you are my brother, not because I thought you cared about me and my happiness.'

Maximus finished reading, took a small step back, and threw his hands up in mock bewilderment. "I wonder," he said derisively, "why I might not be so eager to be around you these days, Brother. What could have possibly made me feel that way? Maybe I just don't want to risk being disintegrated the next time you get upset and forget to keep your mouth shut!"

Black Bolt's jaw clenched as equal parts anger and hurt washed over him. Since his parents' death, he had dedicated himself to working on self control, trying to prove that he was no longer a danger to those around him. He thought people were beginning to trust him, but it seemed even his own brother still feared him. He slowly turned the page in his pad, hesitated for a moment, and then wrote something else while his brother stood huffing with annoyance. 'You know I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't want to lose them, and I wasn't ready for the crown.'

Maximus shrugged in response. "I know," he acknowledged softly. "Of course I know that. And yet… here you are… king of Attilan, about to wed your queen. And I am left alone."

'I'm sorry, Maximus,' Black Bolt wrote. 'I know things have been difficult ever since my Terrigenesis. If I could go back and change everything that happened, I would. But all I—all we can do is move forward. Can we do that together without any more bitterness between us?'

Maximus finished reading and seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Yes, Brother, let's try to move on," he agreed. "But don't make the mistake of thinking I have forgotten… or forgiven… everything you took from me."

Black Bolt looked as though he might write another reply, but then he lowered his pad with a heavy sigh and waved his brother away to tell him he could go. Maximus wasted no time in leaving without another word. Behind him, Black Bolt sank down onto one of the boulders in the courtyard, dropped his pad on the ground, and pressed his palms against his eyes with a deep, shuddering breath. He didn't want his brother to hate him, but it seemed there was no repairing the rift between them.

He sat alone for a long time. A few servants passed by the courtyard every now and then, but none of them seemed to notice the silent king. Or perhaps they just didn't see the point in trying to talk to him with no interpreter present. Finally Medusa appeared in the doorway, clearly searching for Black Bolt. By this time, he had composed himself a bit, but he was still sitting alone in silence, and there was a heaviness about him.

"Black Bolt?" Medusa's voice sounded concerned as she stepped toward him. What if he was feeling ill and had no way to ask someone for help without her? She asked, "What's wrong?"

He looked up at her and signed, 'Nothing.' But she could see the pain in his eyes like she hadn't seen since the early days after his parents' death.

"Don't lie to me," she rebuked him gently, sitting beside him. She looked down and saw the pad on the ground, picked it up and read the last words he had written. "You had a talk with Maximus," she realized out loud.

Black Bolt nodded somberly. 'He agreed to what I asked of him,' he signed. 'You are to be treated as family in the future.'

"But?" Medusa knew there was more to the conversation.

Black Bolt looked at her sadly. 'But he also said he will never forgive me… for all that I took from him.'

"He really said that?" she asked in surprise. "Maximus is usually more subtle than that."

'He was actually rather direct,' Black Bolt replied. He supposed that it was the result of speaking alone. Maximus might not have made his feelings toward his brother so clear in front of Medusa.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. She hated to see him hurt, but she was beginning to expect that from Maximus. "What can I do to help?"

He met her gaze, his eyes full of emotion. 'Stay with me for a while,' he requested.

Medusa gave him a small, sad smile. "I will stay with you always," she assured him. She reached out to pull him into a comforting embrace, and he seemed to melt into her arms. They sat holding each other for a long time before Black Bolt drew back enough to look into Medusa's eyes, communicating without words. "I love you too," she said.