“Hey, you were the one who confessed to me first, so I think I was ok with assuming we would work things out. Good call on the Ripp-o-meter though. If ever I see her aiming my way, I know I should be worried.”
“Oh fuck, while we are talking about what we are going to tell people, what the fuck am I supposed to tell Codi? I have been the world’s biggest dick to her lately. At this point I’m in agreeance that the less people who know about your powers the better. I can’t lie to her though, she is my best friend. We don’t lie to each other about anything.”
“Then tell her the truth.”
“Uh… Did you not hear what I just said? I don’t think it is a good idea to be spreading this around. You kinda have had the right idea all your life. Though I’d love to see what that shitbag Scrotes would say when he found out not only were you a Water Affinity, but a True Quintessence like him and just plain better in every possible way.”
“Joy… More reasons for him to have a hate boner for me… God forbid he find out about Ixnes… As for Codi, just tell her that thanks to some shit I was wrapped up in that you don’t know all the details about, which is technically true, you were kidnapped, and held hostage, where Ixnes and I came to save you. All of that is the truth.”
“You know, you are way too good at this truth with glaring omission thing… And what the fuck do you mean find out about Ixnes? Better yet, since when are you on a first name basis with the Headmistress? And no fucking omissions!”
“Well… Ixnes is the one who recovered me after the Cuba incident. I was staying at her place the whole time. She also is the person who is paying for, well has paid for my room for the rest of my time here, and I may or may not now be her official beneficiary and heir to her fortune. Oh! And the suit is a 100 million dollar prototype made just for me. See! No omissions!”
“What the absolute fuck! How do you say all of this so casually?! You went from Fire Affinity pauper, to Water Affinity Prince in like the span of a week!”
“I know right? Plus, she is ensuring my mom’s safety, just in case it turns out I didn’t manage to single handedly wipe out an international elitist crime syndicate. So technically I’m her adopted son. Surprise…”
“I was envious of your life, but now I’m starting to wonder. There seems to be equal parts amazing and absolute horse shit.”
“Gee thanks…”
“Wow, what a fucking turn of events this has been. Wait did you say that fucking suit was worth 100 million dollars?!”
“Hey, no touching my suit. It is like proof of my inheritance or something. Plus, do you know how awesome it is to not have to be naked all the time now when I shift?! Now I know why those things are worth so much money. Oh, I forgot one more thing. Apparently you are my commanding officer or something. I’ve been greenlit for missions. Ixnes apparently feels I could be being more useful.”
Bounding onto the bed, straddling and giving him a kiss, “What did I do to deserve you Anaar Vorpahl?”
“Hmm, take a massive, life threatening asskicking for me?”
“Fuck! That shit hurt! They used some serum to disable my powers too! That is the last time I’m falling for some shit like that. Well, considering my boyfriend is a bomb ass Medic who can bring me back from the brink of death, I think it was a pretty good deal all things considered. Speaking of which, what the fuck did you do to me? I slept for nearly two days straight once I got back.”
“How are you a Junior, and number 1 in your class, congratulations by the way, and not know how Medics work? Don’t they teach you that in like mission school or something?”
“I probably skipped that day.”
“I don’t even think you are joking… Anyway, while my powers may be next level, they can only push your body past its own regenerative limits. Basically speaking, you healed mortal wounds that should have taken years to recover from, if ever, in a matter of minutes. I’m surprised you didn’t sleep for a week. I’m guessing you couldn’t stop eating either?”
“Yeah! I already eat a ton, but I was in the Cafeteria almost the entire lunch period. So you are the regenerative Medic, not the like god tier active healing Medic?”
Giving him a smirk, his finger turns into a knife of water, then he slices open Phavian’s chest.
“Oww! What the fuck?! Why would you…”
Leaning forward he kisses the wound, the pain abating immediately, the gash gone. “I can do both, I just have a lot more practice with regenerative healing. Active healing takes more precision, but drains the Medic far more, not the patient. I don’t think I can program a shield to do active healing. At least not yet. But now I have a patient to practice on!”
“Oh no… I learned my fucking lesson with Codi. I know that devilish gleam in your eyes! Is that why you have been taking Medic classes?”
“Yep, and Ixnes has unlocked the rest of the curriculum for me too. I’m just going to be the person that deals the damage so the others can do the healing. Between her and my doting boyfriend I’m sure I’ll be up to speed in no time!”
“Fuck, you are right, ignorance is bliss. Here I thought the most complicated thing in my boyfriend’s life would be the love triangle, err square he was in. I kinda miss those days already.”
“You know what I miss? You not bitching and moaning about everything! You wanted me, you got me. Perfectly imperfect.” Pushing him over and kissing down his neck, “You know what else I miss? Having a Kung Fu master that isn’t mad at us for trying to kill him. Why don’t we take a shower and start on this making amends campaign?”
Picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder effortlessly, slapping his butt while he walks into the bathroom, “I’ve been waiting for you to suggest we shower together since the day we met!”
Opening the sliding door to Master Shin’s dojo, Anaar immediately puts up a barrier blocking the flurry of knives that greet them.
“If you are going to do that from now on, there is no point. It takes the fun out of it.”
“Yeah, getting peppered with knives from a master of the art isn’t exactly on my bucket list.” He looks over at Phavian.
“Mine neither.”
Closing the door, they come to sit on their haunches in front of the old man.
“There are both of you here, should I fear for my life?”
Anaar peers at him for a moment then gives him a smirk. “What do your senses tell you?”
Giving the rare smile himself, the old man strokes his beard. “It appears that the clouds of rage and despair around you two have receded. There is now only bright sunlight.”
“That is good. I’m glad to hear it. We also know that in reality, we never really posed a true threat to you anyway. You bear many secrets of your own that would make for a tough time taking you down, even with the two of us. We did come here to officially apologize though.” Bowing with his head to the mat, “I apologize for my impertinence Master Shin, I appreciate your wisdom, and hope you continue to provide me with it.” Peeping up, noticing that Phavian had not moved yet, a hand made of water appears behind him, slapping him in the back of the head.
Bowing with his head to the mat, Phavian adds, “Sorry for being a complete asshole.”
“Apologies accepted, though my older pupil could take a lesson from his junior in decorum. I take it that you are also here to receive my blessing in this union?”
Phavian’s head springs up from the mat, “Wait, we need it? Is this like the father giving away the bride? Who’s the bride in this situation?!”
Catching a look from Master Shin, the hand appears again, giving him another slap to the back of the head.
Giving Phavian a dry look, “In this case let us just say it is the foolish one. Though I am delighted to have both my star pupils back in good spirits, I do wish this could have come a day sooner. I am disappointed in your behavior during your Mid-Year Melee.”
Dropping his head in shame this time, “I know. I have a lot of people to make amends to. You were the first
on a long list.”
“As long as you understand the folly of your actions, then seek to correct them in whatever way you can, then there is redemption for you.”
“I’ll do my best to not disappoint you.”
“I expect nothing less. As you are both here, would you care to put your theory to the test that even your combined efforts would not bring you victory?”
They both look at one another, then Phavian speaks. “Yeah… That list really is long, and it has been a really good day for us. I don’t think we want to dampen it by getting our asses thoroughly handed to us with a handicap.”
Though not the way he would have phrased it, Anaar nods his head in agreement.
“Very well. Some other time then. I await the time when one or both of you think you truly have the skill to test me.”
Both giving him bows, they leave his dojo deciding where to go next.
“I’m headed to the hospital to see if there are people I injured. I should probably go solo for that. What are you going to do?”
“I need to get home to apologize to Harston for the mess I left from the Melee party. After he took all that time to make such good food too… I’m such an ingrate…”
“Yep, you are officially a spoiled rich Water Affinity kid. May the world kiss your feet.”
“You can kiss my ass.”
Giving him a roguish grin, “Don’t you worry, I fully plan on it.”
With a kiss, the two part ways, both thinking about how much happier they feel their life is about to become.
12
Taking deep breaths of the late April air, Anaar strides away from the dojos with purpose, checking his Vizer to realize Harston would have already arrived to his room. Cursing himself for languishing about in bed with Phavian all morning, he calls Harston to apologize and assure him he was on his way back home to help.
“You did not come home last night, as indicated by your bed that has not been touched, and not a drop of water in the shower? I pray you were responsible…”
He is seriously overprotective… He has already done a full analysis of the place! “Yes, everything is fine, I’m all good, thanks. I wanted to let you know that I was on my way to help clean up the place. I am sorry I left it in such a mess, I was kinda in a hurry.”
“No need, everything has already been addressed. I had concerns that given your last soiree it may need similar attention.”
“Wait, they didn’t clean up the place themselves?!”
“Please, don’t blame them, they tried their best, but in all honesty, they were only making things far worse.”
“Mother… Nevermind. Thanks, I’ll deal with them later. Are you sure you don’t need me to head back right away? It is my fault that I let them come over in the first place. Then you made all that food…”
“Worry not over such trivial things. If you are going to be staying out, please do remember, safety first, and always use protection. The things going around campuses…”
“Ok Harston, bye!” Ending the call, he looks around quickly to make sure no one was nearby to overhear him being scolded about proper sex practices. How does he even know I was having sex?! I could have simply slept over at someone’s room, or just partied all night!
“But you did have sex. Quite a lot of it.”
Not the point Hobb!
“Though you may be exceptional in most ways, you are not a… I believe the current term is social butterfly. Despite your overwhelming popularity, you keep to yourself and a very small circle of friends. Also, as an overwhelming creature of habit, the only time you have ever been away from your room for a night was when staying with Mother, in which he was alerted in advance of. It is a logical conclusion.”
I suppose…
“Perhaps you and Mr. Ingraham should entertain the possibility of an open relationship. Your inability to fall to sickness makes for an exciting new avenue of social interaction.”
I have sex one time, and you are already trying to pimp me out! It is like the beginning of the year all over again!
“I simply wish to see you happy. I have much data indicating intercourse is one of the leading ways humans achieve this.”
That is what I have a boyfriend for!
“He has already proven incapable of keeping pace with you. Bringing in others is the only other viable option.”
Why do you think that I want to go slut it up in the first place? I have been fine for months.
“Now that you have opened the door, it is only sensible to explore it. Shall I show you the differences in your biometrics-”
Conversation over Hobb! Thinking to himself, I really need a mute button for his ass…
In thinking about his night with Phavian, and the subsequent morning, he realizes there is something he should take care of now that he had the opportunity and he was already on the west side of campus. Sending a mental command, he activates his Vizer.
“Is something wrong? You never usually call this early. Isn’t this your time to do martial arts training?”
Damn, is my schedule really that static? I have to work on changing things up. “Yeah, I’m just leaving. That is why I’m calling you. Since I’m nearby, I was wondering if you had time to talk. Are you at home?”
“Yeah, I am. Is everything ok? You have never actually come over before despite knowing where I live. Have you been to Dan’s place? Should I be worried?”
“No, everything is fine. Actually, it’s great. I just figured why make you meet me somewhere when I am practically next door. Plus, I’d rather we talk in private.”
“Ok! Come on over!”
“Sounds good, see you in a bit.”
As soon as the call ends, Maggie explodes into a frenzy, running to brush her teeth, and change her clothes from the workout gear she had on. Once she begun changing, she remembered how receptive Anaar was to her more accessible body, so she decided she would play it casual, not wanting to make things too obvious if he came over to her fully dressed up on a random Saturday morning.
Wanting to at least do something different, she pulls her hair from her ponytail, wetting it so she could quickly smooth some mousse through it. Eyes darting around, she checks for anything out of place. Though she was fairly particular about cleanliness, she did not have her own personal maid to keep things spotless like Anaar did. Lasering in on a cup on the counter, she runs to the sink to wash and dry it, placing it in the cabinet.
Looking down at her feet, she agonized over whether she should put on shoes or leave them off. Her toenail polish could use a touch up, but otherwise she thought she had pretty feet. Had Anaar ever seen her feet though? What if he was grossed out? What if he felt obligated to take off his own shoes and his feet were ugly? There was no way his feet were ugly, but what if that made him uncomfortable? Who wears shoes in their room though? She was working out, so maybe she could say she wanted the impact support.
Sniffing herself, she wondered if she had time to take a shower. She had not done much, but it did not take running a marathon to ruin everything. Unfortunately, her decision was made for her, as there was a strong rapping on the door. Opening it to see Anaar, looking perfect as usual, despite what was no doubt an intense training session not long before, she does the first thing that comes to her mind, leaping up, giving him a hug. Still hanging from his neck, he quickly pushes into the room closing the door in a huff. Wondering what was wrong. She lets go and steps back, having her question answered before she could even ask.
“Yeesh… I just saw Raynelle on the way in. She was looking at me like a buffet… Thanks for opening the door so quickly.” Eyes panning down, he gives her a nod of approval. “I always wondered how you stayed looking so good. I guess going to the gym isn’t a requirement to look amazing. At least for women it seems.”
Blushing heavily, “You think I look amazing?”
“Of course I do, that has never been a secret. You are easily one of the best looking girls on campus. Hence another reason why I didn
’t think it was a good idea to provide Raynelle any additional fodder to hate you. Not sure if you forgot, but you busted out a few of her teeth, which she still hasn’t gotten fixed by the way. I don’t want the place to suddenly collapse around us…”
“Oh yeah… I didn’t like her.”
“I wonder why…” his voice a bubbling font of sarcasm.
“Oh! Where are my manners! This is my room! It obviously isn’t nearly the scope of your palace, but it is what I call home! There isn’t much else to really see that you can’t see already. Obviously my bedroom and bathroom are through there.”
“Cool. I like that it is so neat and clean. Not that I would expect anything less of you.” After standing awkwardly for a beat, “So… can we talk?”
Springing back to life, still happy over the numerous compliments, she scoots behind him, pushing him toward the table. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Bourbon.”
She pales as she begins to flutter. “I don’t have that…”
Laughing while giving her a gesture to sit down, “Sorry, bad inside joke. You know I don’t drink. When I first met Miles, he offered me bourbon at like 10am, and for whatever reason that was acceptable, but tea or coffee wasn’t.”
“Annndd here you go, sharing casual stories about you and some of the greatest people in the country, if not the world. If I didn’t know you so well, I’d say you were trying to brag. So, you wanted to talk? As much time as we spend together you have never wanted to come to my room before.”
“Well honestly I was thinking about that, and I think that should change.”
The words she had just heard were enough to stifle her, as she began to heat up. “You… you want to come over more?”
“Yeah, why not? I mean after yesterday, I think we all made it clear that as close as we are, we don’t ever spend time in our natural elements. I know that I made a big deal about my room not becoming our hangout spot, but I wouldn’t mind having you guys over more. I figure we could all be more open with our rooms. They all are accommodating to having guests over. Obviously, mine is much different from everyone else’s, but I think it would be cool to try.”
Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2) Page 14