Past

Julian left Koushi feeling somewhat guilty. After all, he did say he'd stay with Gabriel as he slept. He knew the boy never did like sleeping when no one else was around. But Nando was with him. He didn't have to worry so much, he supposed. He was sure Gabe was in good hands. Good pretty hands. "...Why do transvestites turn me on so much!?" Julian chuckled to himself. What made them so attractive? They were virtually women, but with male anatomy. Did that technically make him bisexual? Whatever it was, it amused and confused Julian to great lengths.



"Something funny, french boy?" A familiar voice came along. Julian paused and looked down at a nearby bench, his eyes glaring as he spotted the voice's body.
"What are you doing here?" Julian tried to mind his manners, keeping his voice from breaking due to contempt. Zackariah shrugged, flipping a page of his newspaper.
"I felt like getting out. Is that so wrong?"
"It's just...this isn't exactly your part of town, is it?"
"Not really. I'm not made for this high class crap but hey, I can still enjoy the public service of benches, can't I?"
"Mmhm...I suppose..."
"Can I help that I happen to choose the bench closest to sweet ol' Gabe and lovely Aleera?"
"No...I don't suppose so..."
"That's right. It's just luck."



"I'll be seeing you then," Julian started to walk away, but stopping as Zack spoke once more.
"Hey hey...why the rush?"
"I have work to do."
"Dressed like that?"
"This is the only thing, pajama pants aside, that I own now. Well...technically not own, so much as borrowing but you get the picture."
"Oh, right. I heard about that...your apartment complex was the one that caught fire, right?"
"I wasn't aware news spread so quickly to the ghetto."
"You'd be surprised. So where are you staying? Don't tell me...."
"Yes. I'm staying with Aleera and Gabriel," Julian said with a cunning smile. He could see Zackariah's slight disappointment but it was quickly covered with an equally devious smile.
"That's kind of them, inviting you to stay...how long will you be with them? Surely you have enough big bucks to buy your own place, right?"
"I don't know. I like living without carpet or heating, while dodging flying bottles of rum and trying to sleep through moaning Swedish pop. It could be several months...a year, even. Well, I ought to go and make sure Aleera hasn't tried feeding the television whiskey again. Oh and...one more thing. That newspaper? It's outdated by a month." Zackariah looked back at the paper as the blonde man slipped away around the corner, satisifed.



Julian had knocked on the door, which was securly locked, for about ten minutes before he simply used a pen he had in his pocket to pick the lock. He wondered if Aleera was out, which would explain the locked door but the moment he entered, he heard the loud roar of, "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!" followed by some mediocre sound effects. He knew she must've been home. He followed the sound to the living room, finding a clothed Aleera laying lazily on the couch with a remote in her hands. Aleera noticed him, looking over her shoulder."You back already? Where's the dork?"
"He...had a bit of a spill so he's resting up back at Koushi. Nando told me to come home, though."
"Ah...wanna sit?"
"I would like to. My feet are feeling rather sore. I unfortunately lost my comfy shoes in the fire." Aleera grumbled as she slowly pushed herself up, making room for Julian to sit at the end of the couch. Julian squirmed as he sat. The couch was very uncomfortable.
"We got it out of the trash for free so don't complain," Aleera scolded as she saw his discomfort.



Julian noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw four pictures on the wall, three of them singular and one group photo. Automatically, he recognized a very young Aleera and Gabriel. Gabe was as adorable then as he was now, he thought. But the third picture was of someone he had not seen before. "Aleera..." He spoke up, "Who is that woman in that picture there?" He remembered seeing another picture of the woman in Gabriel's room but he had never asked who she was. Aleera turned the TV off before answering him.
"Hm? Oh...that's Freja Rose. She was our mom for a while." Julian looked at her, slightly confused.
"Excuse me?"



"See, when we were kids...like...really little kids, our mom didn't want us anymore so she just dumped us off at some church. We lived there for a while and it was fun. But then the church burned down so we had to go someplace else. Luckily, one of the church's patrons liked us enough to take us in. So we lived with Miss Freja up until we were like...10. Then Mom wanted us back and probably sucked off some judge to let her take us back. And then...well, you know the rest, dontcha? I ran off, Gabe started wearing girl clothes and being more of a mom to Morticia than Mom was..."
"I see. That's news to me. Could explain why Gabe is always in awe of my family life, despite its problems."
"Yeah. Compared to us, your family is perfect. At least both your parents raised you. Dad doesn't care about anyone but himself and Mom's too busy gambling away Morticia's child support. I feel bad, you know...not staying when I oughta've, for Morticia's sake...but she had Gabriel. And now she has Ryu and Morrigan, so she's fine."



"But I remember it was so hard...living on couches without my brother by my side. Sure, this life has sucked but at least I always had him waddling behind me, begging me to slow down for him so he could catch up. But I was at the point where he couldn't keep up anymore and it scared me, you know?"
"The bonds of twins are strong, I hear."
"They are...I really missed him. I went five months without seeing him, because he could never make enough time to meet me at places and I didn't want to see my mom. It sucked. Thankfully, your sister fell into my lap around that time so at least I had someone to talk to. Granted, she wasn't exactly fluent in English at the point so conversation did sorta suck."



"I know exactly what you mean. Living away from home, it gets lonely. I suppose I was lucky...my family has always kept in close distance to me. Antoine and Faye both moved here with me and Mother visits at least once a month with Edouard."
"Have you even told your parents about the fire yet?"
"Haven't had the chance. I'm going to wait to tell them..."
"Until?""Until I have a new place, a new boyfriend and am fifty."
"Nice."



Aleera yawned for a moment before getting up. "Where are you going?" Julian asked. Aleera stood there, rocking her head from side to side as her bones cracked.
"Mmm...I think I'm going to go get some coffee from Starbucks. You want some?"
"Yes, please. Extra cream and sugar, if you will."
"Alright, sugarfreak..."
"Aleera, wait a minute."
"Hm?"
"Beaware. A certain gentleman, and I use the term loosely, is around the corner."
"Oh, goodie. See, this is what I told you. He's going to stalk me now and it is only a matter of time before he winds up sneaking in to steal my panties. If he takes my favorite pair of black panties, I'm kicking Gabe's ass and taking his pair instead."
"...Alright then." That was information best left unsaid. They really shared everything, didn't they?

Regret

It was happening all too fast for Julian. A moment ago, he was holding onto Gabriel's hand and leading him to the bathroom like a child. Now, he was having his tonsils rubbed by a very powerful oral organ. It wasn't that he hadn't imagined this moment in his head before. Quite the contrary. He had played this little scene in his head many times. It was just different than the real thing. For one, they weren't in a unisex bathroom and Gabriel also wasn't the instigator. Oh, how reality strayed so far from fantasy.



He was frozen for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. But then the little voice in his head gave him a quick smack back into the present. Julian fumbled, pushing Gabriel off slightly. The drunken man tumbled back slightly, tripping over his own feet, causing Julian to grab onto him tightly. "Careful, careful...you'll twist your legs in those heels..." Julian mused as he helped Gabriel balance himself.
"What's wrong?" Gabriel asked softly as he wobbled back and forth. Julian kept a gentle hand on his side, trying to keep him steady. "You don't want me to kiss you?" Julian opened his mouth to respond but closed it moments later. He stood back slightly, his hands slipping from Gabriel.



"Hm...it's...just that you're drunk. You don't know what you're doing, dear. That's all. I don't want you to wake up and really remember any of this. Not that you probably would anyways."
"But I thought...where are we again?"
"We're in a bathroom, dear. Now let's get you someplace with more...plush." Satisfied with the explanation, Gabriel didn't continue on his previous thought trail and allowed Julian to lead him out of the bathroom and down the hall. Julian opened various doors until he came across a small room with a bed.



He helped Gabriel remove his shoes and dress, tucking them under the bed as Gabriel slide under the covers. Gabe stood with his back against the headboard for a moment, staring at Julian. Julian started growing uncomfortable, wondering why he was being watched so carefully. "Yes?"
"You staying in here?"
"Do you want me to?"
"Mhm."
"Then I will. Go on and sleep. I might run out and get you something for the hangover you are sure to have later, though. I'll have Nans keep an eye on you then, okay?"
"Mmhm..." Gabriel drifted off as his body slid down and soon, he was victim to a drunken slumber. Julian tucked the blankets in gently, while also trying to scrub off what make up he could.



As Gabriel's snores grew louder, Julian wandered over to the small bookshelf in the room and picked up a book. It was interesting, to say the least. But it didn't put a dapper on his thoughts of the kiss. Gabriel had such soft lips. He already knew that, though. He had placed many an index finger against those lips, hushing the words his companion spoke so vigorously. And his skillful tongue, well...that was a surprise. Julian lifted a page with an eyebrow raised at his thoughts.
"Oh dear, you're actually reading that junk?"



"Ah? Nando..." Julian mumbled as he looked up to see him standing with the door opened. Nans looked from Julian to the sleeping figure of Gabriel.
"He go quietly?"
"...Somewhat." Nans snorted, amused.
"Good. He's dead to the world now. Which means he has no chance of hurting himself..."
"Just what did he drink?"
"Some sort of mixture...mostly absinthe, though. Gabi's usually careful about what he drinks but that's something we just got in so he was probably testing it. Guess this means we have to start making our customers either crash here or have a cute gentleman like you around them if they order it."
"I don't think everyone is that lucky."
"True. Gentlemen are hard to find. Gotta go to...where you from?"
"Originally? Marseille."
"Gotta to go to Marseille to find them, then."



"Are you going to stay here the entire time he's napping?" Nans asked curiously as he crossed his arms. "It'd be awfully boring..."
"Well, he wants me to so...I suppose I should. But I do want to get him some Alka Seltzer or something."
"Ah, right. That'd be wise. I bet he'll have a nasty hangover once he's awake. But we have some of that in one of the storage rooms, I'm sure. So if you want, you can always head on home."
"Do you need any help out there, though?"
"Hm? Oh, no. I'm a good multitasker. I can handle it just fine, sweetie."
"I still can't just leave him...plus, I don't even have a ride home."



"Hm..." Nans pondered as Julian sighed, returning his book to the shelf. He stood before it, scanning the rows. He didn't mind staying with Gabe. He did it all the time. Whether it was staying while Gabe slept, or while Faye bathed, he had no problems with sticking around if someone asked him to. But he did have alot to do, didn't he? He was more than welcomed to stay with the twins but living on his own, being his own rock...that was why he left his childhood home in the first place. Well, that and to avoid being forced into some chastity belt to prevent any "urges" from occurring. He probably did need to return to the apartment and begin his house hunt. But it was true, he didn't have a ride and wasn't feeling all that brave to call Aleera up for a ride. "I can always call someone to come get ya, you know." Julian turned to look at Nans. "I mean..I can call Aleera to come get you."
"Oh god, no. And face her wrath? Aleera has too good a throwing arm to mess with."
"Then...um...a family member or something?"
"Mm...well, only two of my relatives live around here and one of them is at work and the other doesn't have a car..."
"Uh..."
"It's fine. I can walk. I could use the exercise." Julian smiled, "Thank you anyways."



"Alright then," Nans said as he walked out of the room, calling back, "I'll keep a good eye on Gabi for you."
"Thank you," Julian spoke appreciatively as he turned back to Gabe. He leaned in, moving a part of his hair back. Gabriel’s chest rose and fell, his snores softening as his face twitched. Julian slid his finger gently across his cheek, as he placed the strand of hair gently to cup his jawline. "I’m going to go home now, okay? I have stuff to do...Nans will take good care of you for me," He whispered gently as he hesitated, staring at Gabe’s smoothed, slightly bronzed skin. He could do it now, return the gift bestowed upon him.

But he was too much of a gentleman for that. Rising, Julian left to venture home.