He'd nearly burned his hand when he'd come across a particularly shimmering scrap of gold-flaked side-paneling.
To top it all off, fifteen minutes before the end of his shift he'd been summoned up to the supervisor's office. Except not quite, because then he'd been shunted off to the supervisor's boss, and then up to highest ranking company official on the planet—a minor executive named Wira who made sure that everything ran smoothly.
He was led inside the posh, overdone office by a sour-faced secretary who kept a good distance from him. He couldn't blame her, since he'd been working all day and had acquired quite the smell. Reflective glass walls showed brightly tinted views of the large construction bays around the office building, and Lin, dressed in silk, was sitting quietly in one of three chairs facing the executive's desk.
"Have a seat," the man ordered blankly. Lin glanced at him nervously before returning his eyes to the papers that were sitting in his lap. Kaij frowned, wondering if he was about to be thoroughly dressed down—Lin was important, it seemed. He'd never heard of any important Caletian slumming through a shipyard before though. Unless he really had been hired by Kaij's mother.
That made sense—why he'd sleep with Kaij last night, pretend to be Kaij's dead brother, pulling him before the top boss. The man was persistent, Kaij would give him that.
"We're selling your contract." Wira announced, and Kaij frowned, glaring at Lin for a moment. What was the man doing? Contracts like his were expensive—his mother wouldn't waste the money, why would Lin?
"You have one hour to pack your things and leave the barracks." Wira announced, and Kaij tried to remember if there was a clause in his contract that allowed it to be sold without his permission. Probably. There was a clause for just about everything in there.
"Will there be anything else, Master Draelin?" Wira asked, returning to ignoring Kaij. Kaij scowled. Who did Lin think he was, using Kaij's brother's name?
"No. Thank you," Lin murmured softly, standing up. Kaij waited a long moment before standing himself. Leaving the room without a word to Lin, he walked swiftly, half-hoping to lose the bastard before he reached the barracks.
Lin followed easily though, his slightly longer legs making up for Kaij's swift walk. The barracks were near the offices, and Kaij wasted no time—Wira wasn't kidding when he said that Kaij had an hour to clear out his things. After an hour the room would be reassigned to one of the poor idiots who had to share currently.
Lin didn't say a word as he followed Kaij, and Kaij had no desire to speak up. He'd probably end up shouting at the man something fierce, and that could wait until after he figured out why Lin had bought his contract.
Kaij wasn't going to fall for Lin's attempt at subterfuge. He hadn't seen his brother since he'd been a child—three, actually, and Draelin had been just born. Then their parents had split and split them, Kaij with their mother, Draelin with their father. He'd kept in touch with his father, the man had even sent him letters once his mother had left him here, right up until he'd died when he'd gotten caught in between two feuding Soul drug dealers and been hit with an illegal stunner.
His mother had informed him of Draelin's death not long after, simply sending along an article describing the light gate accident that had reduced the ship he'd been on to atoms. Kaij scowled - Lin probably wasn't even his real name—just an attempt to be clever and shorten 'Draelin.'
Kaij snorted, entering the key code quickly—the barracks had the most rudimentary security—and shouldered into his room. He hadn't acquired a lot in his stay, so it took him moments to stuff his things into a bag. Lin waited in the doorway, his gold eyes dimmed, and Kaij fought not to remember those pretty gold eyes burning with passion because then he might do something stupid.
"What now?" Kaij asked sharply, and Lin actually flinched.
"I have a ship waiting for us." Lin replied quietly, and Kaij scoffed, pushing past Lin, a little amused when Lin stepped back instead of letting Kaij brush against him.
"Lovely," he muttered under his breath, leading the way from the barracks. At least he didn't have anyone he wanted to say goodbye to.
*~*~*
Lin's ship wasn't anything special, a simple transport ship that anyone with the points could've rented. He'd shown Kaij to one of the tiny passenger rooms, before disappearing to 'speak with the captain,' which translated to 'get away from Kaij.'
Kaij smirked, stretching out on the bunk. Lin might hold his contract now, but he couldn't keep Kaij from making his life a living hell, which Kaij would do. There was no way Lin was his brother, not the way he kept staring at Kaij when he thought Kaij wasn't looking, or the way he blushed when Kaij casually brushed up against him.
He wasn't sure what Lin actually wanted, but it probably wouldn't take long for that to come to the forefront. It still might have something to do with his mother—perhaps she wanted to interrogate him in person and didn't want to step foot on a dirty planet to get him.
Kaij didn't get a chance to think on it further, as a soft chime sounded. The door slid open before he could do more than sit up curiously, and Lin stepped in, still wearing the expensive-looking silk outfit from earlier.
"Can I talk to you?" Lin asked, and he looked almost shy. Kaij shrugged, sitting up.
"Talk," he ordered, not really interested in what Lin would say.
"Why do you think I'm dead?" Lin asked, stepping in. The door slid shut behind him, and Kaij rolled his eyes.
"You're not dead." Kaij smirked. "At least, you weren't last night."
Lin blushed, his eyes dropping. "Why do you think Draelin is dead?"
"Because he is." Kaij replied easily. "Dead in a light gate accident. They can't heal atomization."
"Gate accident?" Lin repeated, looking baffled. "Oh! Um, what, five terms back? No, six."
"Yes." Kaij shrugged. "Draelin's dead."
"I wasn't on that ship." Lin's hands were shaking, Kaij noted absently. "I got held up and they left without me, only my name was on the passenger list so I was reported dead. I was on another ship—I can show you the passenger list for that."
"Passenger lists are easy to forge." Kaij replied flippantly. Just because he didn't know how didn't mean it wasn't easy. Lin crossed his arms, but Kaij could tell he was still shaking a little.
"DNA coding doesn't lie." Lin murmured. "Would that prove it?"
"Sure," Kaij agreed, not believing for a moment that Lin would go along with it. "But if it doesn't match then I want your real name."
"Draelin," Lin muttered, but didn't protest. "Come on, then. The medical facilities should have a DNA scanner."
"Right." Kaij slid off the bunk, a little unsettled because Lin did seem certain.
It was a quick walk to the medical center, and Kaij watched suspiciously as the doctor took samples of both of their blood. He knew roughly what his DNA looked like—he'd had to do one of the high-security builds once, and the scanners to get into the build compound had been locked off with a DNA scanner. It had popped up an image of the structure of his DNA every time he used it.
The image the doctor pulled up looked the same, at least as far as Kaij could tell. The colors were the same in the same spots, though the labels pointed to different sections. Sections that were identical in the second image, placed next to Kaij's DNA. Lin's. Draelin's, because even Kaij could see that there were too many similar sections for them to not be related.
"Draelin." Lin glanced at him nervously, and Kaij felt the color drain from his face.
Draelin wasn't dead.
He'd slept with his brother.
But worse—he wanted to do it again.
*~*~*
Draelin had apologized, looking miserable as he walked Kaij back to his cabin. Kaij had barely heard him, and Draelin had taken himself off to somewhere else almost immediately, leaving Kaij to his torturous thoughts.
Touching his fingers to his forehead, Kaij tried to figure out what to do now. Draelin probably wasn't going to make him work—and if he
did Kaij could blackmail him out of it—but he couldn't go back to Caletia. There were too many curious minds there, though that did explain the ease with which Draelin touched his mind. It was easier with family—easiest with lovers.
Which they weren't. Kaij gritted his teeth, climbing to his feet. He needed to stop thinking already. He wasn't a thinker—one reason he'd made an excellent shipyard worker. Now he had nothing to do but think, until Draelin showed his face again.
He would go find Draelin. Figure out what Draelin's plans were and why he'd let Kaij do things that were decidedly not brotherly to him. Making his way out into the hallway, Kaij paused. He didn't know where Draelin would be—though this was a standard-issue transport ship, and Draelin was obviously well-off.
He'd be in the nicest cabin, which would be … Kaij took a moment to orient himself—the med center behind him, passenger cabins along the halls—and started towards where the nicest cabin should be.
Kaij found it without difficultly, pressing the button to signal he wanted in. He couldn't hear the soft chime that would announce his presence, but it was also a standard issue, and after a moment the door slid open to reveal Draelin.
Draelin blinked at him sleepily, his hair mussed and his shirt missing. Kaij felt guilty for a moment, because he was looking and he shouldn't be, and because he'd obviously woken Draelin.
"Hi," Draelin greeted quietly, his gold eyes somber as he stared at Kaij.
"Can I come in?" Kaij asked mildly, trying to keep from staring at or scaring Draelin.
"Um, sure," Draelin allowed, stepping back. The lights brightened a little as Kaij stepped in, and he grinned. Draelin's cabin was nicer than his, with a wider bed and an actual computer terminal instead of the barely useful console that was in his room.
Draelin crossed back over to the bed, picking up the blanket and wrapping himself in it before sitting down. Kaij settled in the terminal's chair, swiveling it around so that he could meet Draelin's curious gaze.
"What do you want?" Draelin asked curiously, looking younger than he had earlier—he'd be barely nineteen, if Kaij remembered right.
"Why did you buy my contract?" Kaij asked without thinking about it. He didn't take it back though. He did want to know.
"Because you shouldn't be there,." Draelin replied, a bit of fire coming to his eyes. "Mother had no right to do that—"
"Why didn't you buy it earlier then?" Kaij cut him off coldly, and Draelin looked startled for a moment.
"I only just found out." He replied quietly, his eyes dropping to the floor for a moment, and Kaij almost felt bad. "She—she came by, after father died." Draelin's fingers peeked out of the blanket, and he rubbed at his nose pensively. "Apparently she'd hit hard times, and wanted some of—the inheritance."
"I thought she sent you for the codes to the manor safe," Kaij drawled Draelin shook his head.
"I came to get you out." Draelin shrugged. "I—I didn't mean for—"
"I got you drunk." Kaij cut in, smirking. "You're rather pretty, and the shipyards … Well, there's not much pretty there."
Draelin blushed, and Kaij snickered, refusing to let himself get up and walk over to the bed. Draelin was his brother.
"I should've just gone to the business offices before trying to seek you out," Draelin tried, and Kaij rolled his eyes.
"I should've let you speak instead of getting you drunk and seducing you." Kaij replied dryly. "I don't regret it."
"You don't?" Draelin asked, getting that startled look again.
"You're a good lay." Kaij smirked, enjoying watching Draelin blush. "And you … rescued me, I suppose. I have no regrets. If you want to forget it ever happened, though, I'll understand."
"Oh." Draelin stared at him, his eyes wide, and Kaij wondered if he'd dug his own grave here. The worst that would happen was Draelin disowning him. Considering that he'd thought Draelin dead for the last six terms, well, it wouldn't be any great loss.
"Draelin?" Kaij prompted. Draelin blushed again, and he dropped his eyes. Kaij gave up on staying away, deciding that it was a useless cause. Crossing the room swiftly, he knelt down before Draelin, touching his fingers to Draelin's chin to get him to look up. "Do you want to forget?"
Draelin stared at him for a long moment, and Kaij started to think he'd done wrong. Then Draelin smiled slowly, shyly, and touched his fingers to the fuzz on the top of Kaij's head. "You don't want to?"
"No," Kaij replied simply.
Draelin's cheeks gained a bit of color again, and he shrugged. "Me neither," he murmured, and Kaij almost gasped when Draelin's mind touched his again, his feelings clear. Snickering, he pulled Draelin close and kissed him again, Draelin's sweet taste bringing back sweet memories, and Kaij didn't hesitate to press further, his hands slipping under Draelin's blanket. Draelin's fingers settled on his shoulders and Kaij pulled him close, reveling in the feel of Draelin's mind and Draelin's lips.
Seeing
Wilheim watched his son thoughtfully, ignoring his assistant and the business laid out on the table before him. Sabrel was tucked into one of the library's window seats, the curtains pulled back so that he could see outside.
Sabrel was barely moving, a state he took on more often than not. Only the need to breathe stirred him, and the small movements of his fingers as he traced the path of the rain as it slid down the window pains.
"Sir?" Hilsner spoke up, drawing Wilheim's attention. "He'll be here soon."
"I know," Wilheim acknowledged, shuffling together the small scattering of papers spread out before him. "Miriam is to show him to the sitting room." Wilheim's eyes strayed to Sabrel for a moment more before he stood.
"Why not your office?" Hilsner asked, respectfully moving to get the door for Wilheim. He paused when Sabrel didn't move to join them, though, and Wilheim frowned.
"Because I want the sitting room today," Wilheim replied reprovingly. Hilsner straightened accordingly, his eyes darting away from Sabrel.
"Am I to sit in?" Sabrel spoke up, his quiet voice barely carrying across the library to where they stood by the door. He didn't move to turn towards them, and Wilheim shook his head slightly.
"I know how this business will end," Wilheim replied, smiling because he liked it when business went well. Hilsner was staring at Sabrel's window seat again. "Stay in the library."
"I will," Sabrel acknowledged softly, his fingers still tracing the glass.
"Hilsner," Wilheim stated sharply, causing his assistant to startle and flush. "Let's go."
"Of course, sir," Hilsner replied quickly, following him into the hallway. Wilheim frowned. Hilsner was an adequate assistant—he'd hate to have to get rid of him because he posed a danger to Sabrel. He would if it came to that though. Sabrel was too valuable for Hilsner to ruin.
*~*~*
The door shut too quickly behind them, making it nearly slam. Sabrel turned his head a little, ascertaining that they'd actually left. An empty room greeted him and he smiled softly before returning his gaze out the window.
He was in the proper spot, and it was raining. It wasn't the man his father was to meet with, but perhaps he wasn't coming alone. Sabrel dismissed the thought again, as he'd done the last dozen times his mind had brought the topic up. It might not be the right day, even if it was raining.
Humming softly under his breath, Sabrel watched as a carriage pulled up to the gate. It wasn't anything but the simplest of carriages, and the occupant opened the door from the inside before clambering down. The young man his father was meeting, Sabrel could tell from his perch by the bright blue jacket he pulled over his head to try and keep dry.
Another figure tumbled out after him, and Sabrel's heart beat a little faster without his leave. He couldn't see—but he only had to wait.
The pair walked briskly up the front walk as the gateman directed the carriage around the back. It was ten steps from the door that the second man glanced up, shaking his dripping wet locks from his face as he seemingly stared at the window Sabrel sat in.
He couldn't mention the second's worth of eye-contact. He'd be banned from windows or something similarly drastic if he did. Continuing to hum, Sabrel wandered the length of the library, trailing his fingers along the bindings of the books. He didn't want to read, he felt too restless for that.
He couldn't leave the library though, so he'd have to either read or pace. Or watch the rain more. Sabrel moved back towards the window seat, settling in again. His mind immediately strayed to the unknown young man, the one who'd looked up through the rain at him.
Hopefully his father wasn't out to fleece him too, though Sabrel wasn't quite sure why he cared. He'd had only the one glimpse, though if his friend was meeting with his father, then Sabrel would likely run into him again.
Bracing his feet against the far side of the window seat, Sabrel pressed his hand against the glass and tried for a moment to ooze through the clear barrier. It wouldn't work—it never did—but Sabrel left his hand pressed against the cool glass, trying anyway. Sighing softly, Sabrel resumed humming and shut his eyes, focusing on the image of the rain-soaked young man, staring through the rain to him.
The library door opened abruptly, startling him from his near-trance, and Sabrel looked over disinterestedly. It was probably Miriam, bringing him a tray of food because his father didn't think that after twenty-one years of behaving well that Sabrel wouldn't take every opportunity to wreak havoc.
Only it wasn't Miriam, and Sabrel's eyes widened because it was the man from outside, his blonde hair rain-dark and his jacket missing. He smiled brightly and Sabrel stopped humming, staring without a word because he couldn't think of a single word to say.
*~*~*
Anton flashed a smile at the slender young man sitting in the window seat. Likely Wilheim's mysterious son by the way he was dressed. A bright white shirt, covered by a snug, dark-colored shirt and similarly snug, dark-colored breeches, all in fabric rich enough that only Wilheim or one of Wilheim's relatives could afford it.
Seeing is Believing Page 18