TwoKinds: His and Her Predicament Chapter 5
#4 of Old Fic Versions
RECAP:
Clovis and Natani find the spell book for enchantments on items, immediately using it to teach the half breed to enchant her bandages so they would conceal properly. At the same time Natani is taught to read and write by Clovis, spending a vast amount of time together so much they almost forget about Zen coming home. Couple months go by where now the two are just spending time together and getting to know each other.
One night they start talking about past issues over a bottle of wine and then soon find themselves in the bedroom with each other. Zen comes home to a surprise of their former enemy in bed with his brother.
(May contain mature situations later on. Natani is referred to as he and Clovis she. Twokinds belongs to Tom Fischbach!)
Natani woke up all frazzled and looked at the clock on the wall, reading it was six in the evening. That meant that Zen was already home from work.
"Oh no...dammit..." He stood up and quietly went over to the bedroom door, looking out to see his older brother sitting at the kitchen table. This was the worst time to Clovis in his bed still, the half breed snoozing away nearby, Natani found his pants and slid them on, not putting on his bandages and slid on an open shirt over his shoulders before coming out and sneaking downstairs. Natani needed to find a way to get Clovis out without Zen spotting her.
Zen sat at the table, waiting for his younger brother to get up, sipping on a glass of water as he sits patiently. As Natani attempted to sneak down the stairs, Zen's ear twitches as he hears a floorboard creak faintly, "Hey Natani. Sleep well?"
The younger brother tripped on the last stair and hit the floor hard, hearing Zen notice him coming down the stair unsuccessfully. Natani stood up and rubbed his back as he stood, ears nervously shifting about and walked over to the older one slowly. Oh hey....Yea I did....Didn't feel well when I came home so I took a nap..."
Zen nods, glancing over his shoulder at him, but with that face that says it all: "I know you're lying." He sets down his glass as he sighs, "Uhuh. You happen to notice a certain half breed in the bed, that we only last saw when we escaped Edinmire roughly a year ago?" He cocked a brow as his expression slowly turned into a glare.
"What are you talking about brother? I didn't see anyone in my bedroom but me....." Natani sheepishly grinned and made his way over to get a glass, filling it with water as well. He took a drink and hoped his brother wouldn't be bringing this up since he didn't know how to explain it. "You were seeing things...."
"Uhuh that was totally a hallucination I saw sleeping with you in your bed. Cut the crap Natani. You're not fooling anyone." He stood up and walked toward the younger brother with that glare that seemed like it could burn a hole right through him. "Why is Clovis here? And why was he in your bed with you?"
"She..." He stated turning to face Zen and stared up into that glare, making his nerves shoot up instantly. Natani didn't want to admit everything but he had no choice since it was no lie that Clovis was in the bed with him. "She was laying in my bed because I had her here with me everyday after work trying to help her."
Now Zen's face went cross as he starts to show less shelf control in his words. "Trying to help her?! You call sleeping with her helping her?! And what exactly are you trying to help her with?? Getting used to her womanhood?! I mean really! She tried to kill us, in league with Seer Brahn in Edinmire! Just what the hell is going on to make you suddenly act like that didn't happen and get cozy with the damn enemy?!"
"I get she tried to kill us in Edinmire! But Clovis isn't going to hurt me or you! I was helping her get that spell so she could hide her identity of being a woman. And in return she helped me learn to read and write human."
Clovis stood outside the bedroom door at this point and listened to the brothers fighting. Tears almost streamed down her cheeks but she decided to wait a bit longer before actually stepping into the conversation. "She asked for my help...Do you actually expect me to refuse that? Turn her away? She was sleeping with me because I started to develop feelings for her..."
"Trying to help her look more like a man just like you do??" Suddenly his tone switches to near mockingly sarcastic. "Hm that sounds nice. I'll bet she won't leave after learning all she can from you and go back to her estate, continuing to pretend she's still a man, but with greater ease, and then sick the whole damn human empire on this one little town of people who just want to be left alone. Which they totally won't burn to the ground and slaughter everyone here, taking Trace down with sheer numbers of magic! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!"
Gods with as much as he's yelling, one would think he'd have woken up the entire town up by now. "And all in exchange for being able to read and write human!? Oh and a little getting laid on the side! Is that it?!"
Natani didn't know what to say at this point, trying to hold back anger and tears until Clovis decided to make her way down the stairs. She grabbed Zen by the arm and turned him around, slapping her hand across his cheek hard. "Really?! After all I've done for you and your brother, this is how you act?! After he saved you from losing your damn leg?? You're something else....A real piece of work." Her eyes looked angry and hurt, letting the older brother go before looking at Natani with a shameful look. "I would have turned you two in had I not fell for him....He at least understands me...I'm so sorry Natani...."
Zen was caught completely off guard when she slapped him, blinking in shock as he held the place where she struck him. Of course she would confess to her original plans and Zen pointed a finger accusingly at Clovis, "See?! What did I tell you, Natani?! She IS planning to tell the Templar about this town. Don't fall for that sob story of her feelings for you! She's doing that so you won't get suspicious." He stood between the two and glared furiously at the half breed, "Well you're not fooling me you....you...you lying witch! After all you've done I'm not letting you get away with it anymore! I will see you turned in to the guards even if I have to drag you back into town myself, gods so help me!"
He then turns to Natani over his shoulder, "And you and me are going to talk about this more later because I thought you were past making such mistakes trusting people like her." Clovis took her fist and socked Zen in the gut, storming off to the bedroom upstairs and slamming the door. Natani on the other hand just stood there in shock, pretty angry at his brother for how he insulted her, "Then talk to me now! Instead of running off like a hot head for once and you wont lay a hand on her....Not if I have something to say about it.....So what if she was going to turn us in? She forgot about it or didn't care about it now...."
Zen could feel that the air had left his body and keeled over in pain then lying on the floor holding his stomach. For a moment he was unable to speak and if he had even tried he probably would have vomited on the spot. After a while of recovering, he manages to get enough air to be able to speak again and saw Natani tower over him with arms crossed. "You....cough...seriously don't think...cough cough..ngh...th-that she's not lying to you even now?? I mean...cough..what do you have that can...prove that she's being honest here? This is the prince of greed we're talking about! She lied to get where she was up to when we met him. She left her thugs to die to the guards in Edinmire. Can you not see she has the capacity to be expertly deceptive?? We're ex-assassins, we've lied to our targets, and you of all people should know when someone is lying..Ngh...gods she can hit hard...."