by Diane Lennox
“Is your father protective? Territorial?” Leander asked as he turned around to pace in front of the bench, his thoughts moving so fast it was making him near frantic.
“Very,” Alexei replied. “Though with him it’s either he cares a lot about something or he really doesn’t give a shit at all. But yeah, I’d be terrified if anyone hurt me or tried to get in his way with how he runs his job at the theatre. Besides the Desjardins, of course.”
“Oh my gods,” Leander said, shaking his head. “Either I’m being totally crazy or I’ve just figured it out.”
“Dear gods,” Simon suddenly cursed and Leander looked to his twin who was now wide eyed and slack jawed.
“Yeah, exactly,” Leander replied, knowing his twin just figured it out too.
“What? What is it? You gotta spell it out for me, I’m not as smart as you guys!” Alexei whined.
“I think it might be Ezra. I think our fathers might have fought over him,” Leander explained.
“What?!” Alexei exclaimed, his eyes going so wide they looked as if they were bulging out of his head.
“I know. And like I said, I might be totally off the mark here, but it could make sense. I’m still not quite sure why our father would attack yours and make him cry, but Ezra is the only catalyst I can think of. I mean, it’s a running joke in our family that our father has a little crush on Ezra considering he’s the only one at the theatre our father will acknowledge, but perhaps it’s not a joke after all. Perhaps our father challenged yours over Ezra and it got out of hand. It would also explain why Ezra came back inside while those two remained outside. What possible business could our father have with yours that needed to remain private if it wasn’t about Ezra?”
“Us,” Simon answered, pointing to all three of them.
“True, but if the fight was about the three of us it wouldn’t make sense for our fathers not to say anything about whether or not we’re allowed to see each other, and it wouldn’t explain why Marius-khan is willing to talk to me.”
“Mm, that is true,” Simon agreed.
“And if it was about Ezra it would make sense that Marius-khan is afraid of the altercation happening again, especially if Marius-khan hasn’t claimed Ezra for himself.”
“Wow,” Alexei said, shaking his head. “I get what you’re saying, but it’s seems so crazy.”
“I know, but I can’t think of anything else that would make two normally non-confrontational men, who have absolutely no history with each other, suddenly get into some sort of fight that neither want to talk about,” Leander said and finally sat back down on the bench beside Alexei. “That’s another reason I think there’s something to my theory here. Why else wouldn’t they tell us what they fought about? If it was a normal fight why wouldn’t they just say ‘we disagreed about this and it got out of hand’?”
“Well, if you are right, what are we going to do about it?” Alexei asked.
“Hm,” Leander hummed as he thought of his answer. “I think the best solution would be to get your father and Ezra together. I know our father would back down if they were actually an item.”
Alexei groaned. “But I’ve been trying to do that! Like I said, it doesn’t make any sense why my father won’t just go for it already!”
“Perhaps it’s on Ezra’s end?” Simon chimed in. “Perhaps he’s said or done something to make your father hesitate or think the feelings aren’t mutual?”
“Maybe,” Alexei replied with a sigh. “Also my father hasn’t dated since he adopted me, so I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if he was being shy or nervous or something like that.”
“That could be,” Leander agreed with a nod. “I think the first thing I need to do though is surprise attack our father with questions about his feelings for Ezra and see if there’s any merit to this crazy theory of mine.”
“If you don’t think it’s a bad idea, I might do the same to my dad. Maybe see if he has any reaction to the idea of your father getting to be with Ezra instead of him. I don’t think it would be that suspicious either since it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve told him other people are going to notice how sexy Ezra is and eventually whisk him away.”
Leander nodded. “Do it. I think it’s worth a shot to see if there is any reaction, especially since I definitely can’t bring up the subject with your father myself.”
“Nooo,” Alexei agreed, shaking his head so adamantly it was almost comedic. “I nearly get my head chopped off every time I mention Ezra and dating. You’d lose any ground you’ve gained with him if you went there.”
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Leander said, stowing the information away.
“Can I ask a question though?” Alexei asked.
“Of course.”
“If you think your dad likes Ezra too, why would you suggest that we push to have my dad and Ezra get together?”
Leander shrugged. “I’d love it if my father found some romance in his life, but it seems pretty obvious to me that your father got to Ezra first and should have the opportunity to court him first. But, if it doesn’t work out between them, then I don’t see why my father can’t have a turn to try afterwards.”
Alexei smiled. “Thank you, Lee-lette. It means a lot to me that you’d care that much about my family to put Mars first like that.”
Leander took Alexei’s hand once more. “I mean it when I say I want our families to be close, Alexei, and that means caring about yours.”
“Thank you, and I care about yours and want to be close too,” Alexei said, beaming back at him.
“Good. Now since we only have a bit more time together we should enjoy our lunch and cookies!” Leander announced happily and pulled out the food he made for all of them from his bag.
From then on they ate and tried to keep the conversation on happier things, like how the new episode of Forbidden Forest would be out soon and how Alexei was mastering spins in his dance class. They also talked of Simon’s search to find a sport he might be interested in promoting in the future and Leander’s short story that was going to be due in his creative writing class next week.
But all too soon their hour was up and Leander and Simon had to return to University to finish up their classes for the day.
“No, I don’t want to go,” Alexei whined and clung to their hands.
“Neither do we,” Simon said, kissing Alexei’s hand that was clutching at his. “But Leander might be onto something here with our fathers. We’re going to figure this mess out.”
“Can I call though? Text?” Alexei asked.
“Call us,” Leander said. “Since neither of our families have said anything about us staying apart I think we can afford to bend some societal norms.”
Alexei bounced. “Thank you!”
“Of course. Goodbye, Alexei,” Leander said and pulled Alexei in for a hug.
“Goodbye, Lee-lette,” Alexei said in return and let go of Simon’s hand momentarily so he could hug Leander back properly. “And uh, fair warning, I’m about to kiss your brother again.”
Leander couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Thank you,” he replied and made sure to turn around and busy himself with getting his backpack sorted out while Alexei and Simon said their goodbyes.
Once they were done they waved to each other then went their separate ways.
Leander looked to Simon, noticing how his brother’s energy seemed to completely deflate now that Alexei was gone, and did his best to ignore the strange burst annoyance he felt now that he saw how much sway Alexei had over his brother’s mood.
“I’ll figure out this mess as fast as I can, Simon, you won’t be without him long,” Leander said.
“I know. It’s just difficult to leave him,” Simon replied.
Leander just nodded. He felt the same. At least he was pretty sure he did.
He glanced to Simon’s hand, feeling the usual urge to take it in a show of love and comfort, and hated that he couldn’t, not without making Simon uncomfortable. When he was
done with figuring out this mess with Marius and their father he was going to have to figure out why Simon wouldn’t hold his hand. Simon, after all, had promised to not hide things from Leander anymore except for his one secret, so he shouldn’t have any problem explaining his real reasons for not wanting physical contact with his own brother.
~~~~~
Evgeni Desjardins felt strangely uncomfortable up on the Gardenia’s stage with all the eyes of the cast and crew looking at him curiously. It felt like the stage just knew he had been avoiding it all these years and wasn’t keen on having Evgeni stand on it, even if he was just there to wave and say hello to everyone.
“Alright everyone, settle down,” Shar Julius said to the cast and crew sitting out in the seats of the auditorium. “We have a few announcements to make before we get started for the day.”
Yves stepped forward once everyone was quiet. “I know you’re all aware that we’ve been silent concerning a certain issue, and while I’d prefer to our keep family matters private, I’d also rather there not be any misinformation being thrown around. My son, Rafe, has gone against the wishes of the family and has decided to associate himself with the hunter Paris Romero. Until he changes his mind about that relationship he will be under the supervision of Shar Warrick. Please keep in mind that this arrangement is with Shar Warrick alone and Jasper’s opinions may be different than his father’s. While I appreciate Paris Romero’s contributions to our city as a hunter, his personal life is less than upstanding and it’s not the sort of lifestyle I want my son to be participating in. That’s all I will say on that matter.
“Now moving on to more happy news. My brother, Evgeni, has decided to finally move back home and we’ll be immediately putting him to work by getting him to coach Ezra Scarlett in his new role. He has five years’ experience as an actor, two of which as lead, and nearly five years’ experience as a co-director and coach, so he’ll be quite the asset to our team. I ask that you all do your best to make him feel welcome.”
Evgeni took that as his cue to step forward and bow to the group before him. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. As Yves said I will primarily be working with Ezra Scarlett while I’m here, but when I’m not busy with that I’ll gladly help out in any way I can, so don’t hesitate to approach me with any requests you may have. I look forward to working with you all.”
“Thank you, boys. So that’s all the news we have to share, all of you get back to work,” Shar Julius said with a clap of his hands and on cue the crowd quickly scattered.
“Well that was unpleasant,” Yves muttered.
“But it’s over now,” Evgeni said and reached up to grab Yves’s shoulder, giving it a fond little squeeze. Even though the whole situation was Yves’ fault in the first place, he did feel bad that his brother had to divulge private issues to his own employees. “Time to move on.”
Yves nodded then looked to his leads as they climbed up the stairs to join them on stage. “Jasper, Killian, you two are with me. Ezra, I’m leaving you in Evgeni’s care for today,” Yves said then turned his full attention onto Ezra. “I have no idea what my brother’s methods are, but I ask that you be open to them and trust him. I wouldn’t leave you in the hands of just anyone.”
“Yes, sir,” Ezra said with a bow of his head.
“Good, now go.”
Ezra nodded once more then walked over to Evgeni and offered a hand. “I’m in your care, Evgeni-khan.”
“That you are,” Evgeni said and shook Ezra’s hand, a little surprised that Ezra didn’t offer to kiss his. Most people did. “Come, let’s head to the office so we can have some privacy.”
“After you,” Ezra said with a polite nod.
Evgeni then made his way off the stage, out of the auditorium, down the side hall and into the overly large office with its tall windows, marble floors, and expensive furniture. It was probably a little much for a theatre office, but Evgeni personally enjoyed the excessively ornate style.
“Please, take a seat,” Evgeni said, gesturing to the sitting area off to the side, then shut the door behind them.
“Yes, sir,” Ezra said then made his way to the couch and sat down.
Evgeni followed behind him and sat in one of the armchairs opposite.
Now, with Ezra right in front of him and nothing else to distract him, Evgeni took a good look at the man. The first thing he noticed, which was sort of impossible not to notice, was just how built the man was. However, he didn’t carry it as well as he could. There was something a little meek about him, or perhaps reserved. It was the way his shoulders rounded forward just a touch too much and the way his clothes, though well fitting, didn’t quite show off just how beautiful his body really was. And the garments themselves seemed very safe – just a nice pair of jeans and a knitted sweater. They were good quality, that much Evgeni could tell, but they were boring, as if Ezra was actively trying to make people not notice how attractive he really was.
And he was attractive, very attractive, actually. Strong jaw, plush lips, and bright, friendly eyes. His deep brown skin, a few shades darker than Evgeni’s own, was practically flawless. His dreadlocked hair suited him very well too, though it was just tied back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck today – yet another boring choice.
Evgeni glanced back up at Ezra’s eyes and found the man studying him in return. From what Evgeni knew of Ezra he was apparently friendly with everyone and quick with a smile. So why was he being so formal with Evgeni? Why wasn’t he smiling?
“You don’t trust me, do you?” Evgeni asked, deciding to go with the obvious reason as to why Ezra wasn’t responding well to him.
“What?” Ezra echoed, his dark eyes widening in surprise.
“I think you heard me just fine,” Evgeni said, leaning back against the couch and draping his arms along the back of it as he crossed his legs, causing the long, copper coloured skirt he was wearing to shift and sway.
Ezra licked at his lips and his eyes darted around the room as if the right words to say were hidden somewhere just out of reach.
It was strange for Evgeni to watch Ezra act more like prey than predator. He was Yves’ favourite, he had a lead part for the next play, and he was a man respected and adored by nearly everyone he worked with. Did Ezra not realize how much power and influence he truly had at this theatre?
Evgeni smirked. “Look at me, Ezra.”
Ezra’s eyes came to lock onto his once more, but he didn’t seem too thrilled about it.
“Do you want to become a permanent lead at this theatre?” Evgeni asked.
“At some point, yes, I’d like that.”
Evgeni sighed heavily. “What a horribly weak response. You’re afraid to step on other people’s toes, aren’t you?”
“I try not to whenever possible.”
“Which I respect on some level, but you’re going to have to if you want to be lead.”
“I know,” Ezra replied, surprising Evgeni. “But I’m only going to do it when I absolutely have to.”
“Well you absolutely have to right now. I can’t work with you if you don’t trust me. Tell me what it is about me that’s bothering you, and don’t be afraid to step on my toes,” Evgeni said.
Ezra shrugged. “I don’t know you, sir.”
“Yes, that much is obvious, I need more than that. And stop with the sir. I don’t need that level of formality, especially when we’re alone.”
Ezra stared at him for a moment, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “My gut is telling me you’re a slippery sort and like I just said, I don’t know you, so I don’t know how much I can trust you with anything I say.”
“Your gut isn’t wrong, I am rather ‘slippery’ as you say, but I’m afraid that’s just my nature and not something I can, or particularly want, to change,” Evgeni replied, not at all concerned about admitting as much. Denying it would only make Ezra more wary of him anyways.
“Then why should I trust you?”
“Because I’m the sort of man who de
livers on his promises. If you ask me to help you master this role, I will do it. If you want me to help you become a permanent lead, I will do it.”
“And what are you wanting in return?” Ezra asked, his eyes narrowing further.
Evgeni moved his arms off the couch and leaned forward, staring into Ezra’s untrusting eyes. “What I want, Ezra, is for this theatre to taste glory once more. I know Grey River’s Smyth Theatre is nipping at our heels and if we don’t get our act together they will overtake us. I, for one, can’t stomach the thought of Gabriel Greyson beating us, and if you have any love for Yves, you should feel the same.
“I think you may have the potential to bring about another golden age for us, but I’m not interested in making you a star if you don’t have the stomach for it. I’m not going to ask you to go around acting like an arrogant prick, but I will ask you to be proud and unafraid to fight for the spotlight. So, to answer your question, what I want from you is your loyalty to this theatre. I know you’ll never give it to me personally, and I’m not going to demand that from you. But if you say yes to my offer of help now, and then later let this theatre and my family down, you’ll get to know more intimately why your gut doesn’t seem to like me.”
Ezra’s dark eyes stared into Evgeni’s own for a long moment before he spoke.
“I don’t doubt your ability to help me, Evgeni-khan, but I have a feeling it’s going to involve me sharing a lot of personal stuff with you, and I don’t know if I can trust you with that.”
“And I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and say I won’t ever use certain knowledge to my advantage or amusement somehow, but even I have my limits. I’m not interested in hurting you, Ezra, I don’t get off on making other people suffer, especially ones that don’t deserve it. I do like to meddle and cause a little havoc from time to time though.”
“I’m surprised you’re being so honest about all that.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I need you to trust me on some level if we’re to work together and eventually the people at this theatre will learn all that about me anyways. I’m not a devil, Ezra, just a bit on the chaotic side of the spectrum.”