Reunions - Part II
Wild Wing and Lestat walked through the base almost silently except for the few rooms Wild Wing would identify. Lestat barely could stay focused though, wondering what a guy so young was doing leading a team. He slowly let out a chuckle, knowing exactly who Wild Wing was reminding him of. “What?” Wild Wing asked.
“You and Duke, you’re a lot alike.” Lestat let out another chuckle. “Took me awhile to place why you two were so similar.”
“You seem like you’ve known Duke for a long time,” Wild Wing said as the two walked toward the arena. Lestat shrugged his shoulders as they pushed open the doors and walked toward the ice.
“About four years now. I met him when I was sixteen.” Wild Wing raised an eyebrow behind the Mask.
“Twenty. You’re twenty?”
“I aged quickly,” Lestat said, focusing his gaze on the score board.
“And you’re calling me a young leader. Didn’t you organize a lot of the Smuggler’s Guild? I mean, if you’re only twenty now, you must have barely reached adolescence.”
“Wing, there’s a big difference between a leader and just a master. I worked alone. Apprentices were community service for me since Flynn felt guilty that I didn’t pay the fees. I don’t like groups.”
“Have you ever tried to work in a team?” Wild Wing asked, sitting down in one of the bleacher seats. Lestat sat down next to him.
“A few times I went with the Black Rose. Never with the Brotherhood.”
“Didn’t you want to be a part of them though?” Wild Wing asked again, rubbing the golden mask on his face. “I mean, I always work with people because I like a group effort. I work alone when I have to.”
“That’s why you’re a leader and I’m not. You’ve got a gift, kid,” Lestat said, leaning back in the seat. He blew a copper strand of hair out of his face.
“I’m your age.” Wild Wing smiled at Lestat. “So, I assume you play hockey?”
“It’s been awhile.”
“Up for a little one-on-one?” Lestat rubbed his hands together.
“If it’s on that beautiful piece of ice… You guys did a great job.”
“I’ll bring you to the locker room so we can get you some gear,” Wild Wing said, trying not to beam at Lestat’s unusual compliment. “What do you play anyway?”
“Anything and everything. Usually goaltender or left wing though.” Wild Wing stroked his beak.
“A fellow goalie, eh?”
“I wouldn’t quite say that. Rumor has it that you’re the best in the league.”
“Actually, second best,” Wild Wing said with a sigh as he pushed open the door to the locker room. Lestat raised an eyebrow and followed Wild Wing through the rows of lockers until Wild Wing stopped. Wild Wing fumbled with his combination. “Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils is the best. Nothing can beat him.”
“But you’d like to beat him?”
“You kidding? I’d crave for the day I’d be number one.”
“You know… I was the same way too,” Lestat said as Wild Wing handed him padding.
“How so?”
“I was never number one. I was third on the rankings at the Smuggler’s Guild.”
“But Duke said you were the best?”
“He’s lying,” Lestat said through his teeth. “Duke was number one in the league, and Mara was a close second. I was third.”
“How’d you find out?”
“I lived at the Guild Headquarters. Flynn practically adopted me as his own. You really think I’m not going to look through his files?” Lestat laughed bitterly. “Wing, we’re a lot alike.”
“Yeah, Lestat, I guess we are.”
Tanya peered closely at a sheet of numbers by the foot of Jake's bed. Gathered around her was the entire assembled team and the Guild envoy. But closest to the bed sat Nose Dive and Amber engaged in conversation with the weak, but conscious Jake. On the other side of the bed sat Duke to whom Jake turned frequently to receive supportive, encouraging words.
"Yup, much better." Tanya concluded. "His hormone levels are almost back to normal now."
Chase nodded happily, "You really are a magician Tanya."
"Oh, well it wa-wasn't anything special." she blushed.
"He's right Tanya." Wild Wing said firmly, "I never expected his recovery to go so well. But, his fits..."
"If I had to guess I-I'd duh, say it'd take a year or so for the e-episodes to completely disappear." Tanya responded readily, "Thanks to a few impulse suppressants I've given him, the fits should no longer be violent. So you, uh, don't need to worry about him hurting anyone anymore."
"At least not anymore than usual," Mara muttered darkly.
"Alright, that's it." Flynn sighed, turning to Mara, "This has been going on for days now, is something wrong, Mara?"
"Yeah, what's with you?" Heather asked, "You used to love Jakey."
Maxine nodded, "I've never known you to be cold Mara, what is this?" Mara raised an eyebrow coolly, looking around the room at everyone.
"What's wrong with me?" she said finally with a quiet kind of fury. Mara's eyes darted around the room as she appealed to her fellow Mighty Ducks, "Well? Anyone?" All of the Mighty Ducks looked to the ground, "Nobody wants to tell them what my problem is?" She approached the foot of the bed and looked right at Jake. "How about you Jake? Can't think of any reason why I would possibly hate you with every fiber of my being?" He shook his head slowly, his eyes wide and frightened.
Amber pleaded softly with her sister, "Mara please, don't do this, not now..."
"Let me refresh your memory." Mara paid no heed to Amber, her eyes fixed on Jake. "You raped my little sister." Both gangs began to raise objections. "More than once, Jake. You used to force her to have sex with you on a regular basis. You lied to her, told her you'd given up drugs...not only did you never stop, you contracted an STD. Amber can't have kids because of you."
"Mara, that's impossible, Jake would never-" Mara cut Randall off.
"Think I'm insane? Go on, ask Tanya. ASK her to show you Amber's test results. Ask Amber!" Amber buried her head in her hands, not wanting to listen. "She's got pages and pages in her journal dedicated to describing, in DETAIL, the way Jake used to force himself on her, how he used to beat her when she complained about his drugs. Ask Wild Wing, he knows about it, don't you Wing?" Wild Wing looked to the ground and Jake's trembles turned into huge shakes. "I know..." Mara went on, "let's ask Jake. How about it Jake? Am I lying? Am I crazy?" Jake swallowed, feeling the thick silence all around him as he formulated an answer.
"It's true," he finally choked out. All around him the two gangs murmured in joint amazement.
"I have every reason in the world to hate you," Mara ended sadly.
"Amber, why didn't you say anything?" Paul appealed to her.
Amber raised her face, now soaked in tears and sobbed, "I loved him." Everyone watched as she ran out weeping. Mara squeezed her eyes shut in pain. Gritting his teeth, Lestat watched her run out before moving a little closer to the bed himself.
Jake quickly turned to Nose Dive, "Will-Will you go talk to her?" he asked, faltering slightly, "You're close...talk to her." Nose Dive nodded and patted Jake's shoulder before he ran out after her.
"You little bastard," Maxine murmured. "How could you do that to her?"
"I...I love her, I do. I-It-problems... was j-just so hard."
Dak folded his arms, "What the hell does that mean?!"
"I can't believe we never knew," Randall added in. Duke put a hand on Jake's shoulder.
"Leave him alone," Duke said softly. "He's not well enough for this yet."
Sarah looked to Duke, "You knew about this?"
"All of us found out after we came to Earth," Duke said sadly.
"And you're not going to do anything about it?!" Colleen insisted.
"Not now, no. He isn't well."
"Fuck him, what about Amber?!" Dak yelled angrily.
"He's your apprentice Duke, you're responsible for him." Flynn continued, "He needs to be punished. Are you really going to let your regard for him interfere with that?"
"He's not in his right mind!" Duke insisted, "How can he answer for his mis-deeds when he can hardly answer at all? Believe me, I'm just as upset as you are, but-"
"But what?! If you really cared about Amber at all you wouldn't let this slide," Paul challenged him.
Duke stood, provoked and answered, "You don't have any idea how I feel about Amber, none of you! You think she's enjoying this?! I can tell ya right now, she ain't! How can you accuse me of not caring about her, she's practically my-" Duke stopped short, and took a deep breath. "My..." Mara stepped forward and looked Duke in the eye for the first time since the Guild Envoy had arrived.
"Your sister," she finished for him softly. Duke looked down at the ground. "You're going too easy on him, Duke," Mara reproached him. Everyone watched silently.
"You're going too hard on him," He answered gently. "We've discussed this before Mara."
"Yes, and you said you'd take the appropriate action against him."
Duke nodded, "And you said you'd let me handle it. I have no intention of letting him off easy, believe me, I just don't think it's time yet. You're angry Mara, your judgment’s clouded."
"So is yours," Mara protested. "I know how important Jake is to you and I know you think this is all your fault. Believe me, it isn't." She said gently. "You took him in to save Jake's life, you did everything you could to help him. He chose to destroy himself: you didn't drive him to drugs, you never incited him to run off. Don't protect him, Duke, he needs to suffer the consequences of his actions." The two gangs and Lestat all watched with a certain curiosity. Mara and Duke had never spoken with one another before and suddenly now it was very clear that they were a great deal better acquainted than any of them had realized.
"He'll get what's coming to him, I promise you." Duke answered, looking down at Jake coldly. Jake trembled and gripped onto his blanket. "-but let me take care of it in my own time. Mara..." he looked into her eyes, "You trust me, don't you Mara?" They both seemed to forget for a moment that they weren't alone.
Softly, Mara answered, "You know I do Duke, with all my heart."
"Then believe me... I will not let Amber's pain go unanswered," he said firmly.
Mara responded, "I have faith in you, Duke. Don't let me down." Blushing slightly, Mara walked out. Duke winced as she left, but didn't try to stop her. Everyone was silent for a moment, utterly amazed.
Finally, Paul asked, "Something we should know, Duke?" Duke stirred and looked at the group heatedly.
"Haven't you all accosted me enough for one night?" he asked, sounding a little drained. "I'm going to bed, and I expect Jake to be in one piece when I wake up tomorrow." With a sigh Duke stalked towards the door. Then, suddenly, he turned back to look at Jake.
"And if you cost me her, then I'll kill you myself," he growled heatedly, disappearing out the door. Again, everyone was silent.
"Alright..." Mallory said slowly, "What the hell just happened?"
"Did he just say that they were an element?" Riff asked, equally baffled. Slowly, the heads of the two gangs turned to one target.
Lestat.
Lestat stared at the door Duke walked out of. He was so immobile that he barely looked alive. Slowly, his body seemed to convulse until he choked twice and clutched his stomach to keep from vomiting. Flynn held Lestat by the shoulders and led him out of the room.
"Excuse us...he...he's upset about Amber." he muttered quickly, as he went out the door. The Guild members turned and looked to the Mighty Ducks.
"Is it true? Are they..."
"No!" They answered in unison.
"At least, not that we ever knew of." Grin murmured thoughtfully.
"Then what was that?!" Chase asked, rubbing the back of his neck, "I've never seen the Kid like that before."
"Well,” Wild Wing said hesitantly, "We're a little confused ourselves actually. The two of them were always very close- that is, until you all came. I mean, you saw them walk in together, remember?" Everyone nodded thoughtfully, "I just thought they didn't want you all to disapprove of them being friends."
"But that doesn't make sense because we're all friends." Colleen sighed, "There's gotta be more to it than that."
"Beats the shit outta me, but what are we gonna do about Jake?" Jake trembled, looking about the room.
"Let the Kid handle him." Randall said, "It's his apprentice, his call."
Heather grumbled, "Yeah, well he'd better do something about it."
"Take it easy, Heather." Wild Wing said calmly, "This isn't easy for Duke. He lost his apprentice and it plagued him for years. Now he finally finds the boy, practically his brother, only to find out that he's half mad...and has to be punished for past transgressions. How would you feel?"
"Yeah, you're right Wing, I'm sorry. And he's a real stand up guy, nice and all that, so I'm sure he'll do what he has to." She finished, looking purposefully at Jake.
Maxine turned all the girls present, "I think we'd better go talk to Mara. Tanya, Mallory, wanna come?"
Tanya nodded, "Ooh, girl chat." They all laughed lightly as they walked out.
"C'mon guys. I think it's too soon to talk to Duke, but I could sure use a drink."
"I'll say." Paul agreed.
They all began to walk out, but Wild Wing paused, looking back at Jake, "Look, you have no reason to worry just yet. No one's going to kill you and you're perfectly safe here, so try and get some rest, alright?" Jake nodded stiffly, still petrified. Wing's words seemed to give him little comfort. With a sad sigh, Wild Wing walked out to rejoin the others.
"Go away, I'm not here." The girls all looked at each other and Maxine knocked once more. Mara gave no further response, so she pulled out a lock pick and expertly worked at the door for a moment. The door quickly swung open and the girls all walked in, looking around for Mara.
"Lousy thieves." she mumbled from her hammock where she was lying.
"We just wanna talk Mara." Mallory explained. She didn't stir from her hammock.
"Can't talk, I'm sleeping."
"But you're talking now."
Mara paused, "No, this is just a dream I'm having."
"Then sit your ass up and indulge some figments of your imagination. We need some answers, Jade." Maxine said easily, pulling out a seat for herself.
This drew Mara up to a sitting position, "Never one for gentle coaxing, were you?"
"You and me neither, Honey." she smiled, waving the others to all sit down. Mara smiled briefly at her old friend.
"Well, what do you all want then? Make it quick, I'm having a lousy day."
Maxine sat back in her chair, "Lousy day? Now what makes you say that? You finally got to nail that little bastard for what he did to your sister and he's gonna pay for it."
"That remains to be seen." Mara returned uneasily.
"I'd say it's pretty certain." Max rebuked her, "Master L'Orange seems pretty anxious to do anything to win back your favor, and after all, you yourself said you trusted him implicitly just a short while ago." Mara remained silent turning her eyes down to her hands which rested in her lap. "Come on Mara...it's me you're talking to...Maxine. What's going on between you and Duke?" Mara bit her lip obviously struggling with what answer to give them.
"So we're a little close." Mara finally said softly, "So what? Doesn't mean anything."
"A little?!" Sarah exclaimed, "Mara that demonstration in there was more than you and Duke being 'a little' close. Otherwise you wouldn't have let him weasel out of punishing Jake like that."
Mara's face reddened, "That's completely unfair," she objected, "you have no idea what Duke's been through!"
"But you obviously do." Max added in, "And you know and care enough about it to let him deal with Jake in whatever way he sees fit; even though I'm sure it's tearing you up inside. That's more than trust Mara, that's love." At the word 'love' Mara quickly slipped out of her hammock and walked away from them all. It took her a minute before she was composed enough to address them all again, but she never turned back to face them.
"I may have had a weak moment...I know that's what you're all thinking, that I should've insisted Jake get his punishment right there and then. He's Master L'Orange's apprentice and according to Guild law it's M-master L'Orange's right to issue punishment. Amber never wanted me to find out, she never wanted Jake to be punished. She actually still harbors some kind of feeling for him after what that monster did to her. It isn't love, I know it isn't, probably more like a sick sense of obligation. The point is that if I harm Jake Amber will be devastated. Better to let Duke handle it, he's thinking more clearly than I am right now. So in a way, I am doing it out of love..." she turned back to them briefly, "love for my little sister." she turned back away from them and continued, "As for Master L'Orange and myself...I'm glad you all get along with the Brotherhood so well. I thought it best not to say anything about our friendship until I was absolutely certain you weren't just putting it all on for our benefit. Duke and I...I know him better than I had let on, it's true. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject. Now if you're done I'm very tired."
"Will we see you at dinner in an hour?" Tanya asked her gently.
"No, I think I'm just going to stay in here tonight. I'd appreciate it if no one was to disturb me tonight. But I'll see you all tomorrow." They all nodded and said their goodbyes, filing out one by one. As soon as the were gone Mara breathed a sigh of relief and poked her head carefully out the door.
"Well, what'd she tell you?" Wild Wing asked, setting his gin and tonic down on the table beside him. Mallory picked it up and sniffed it.
"Gin and tonic, oh leader mine? And before dinner too...shameful." she scolded him playfully, picking up the drink and taking a sip of it herself.
"I'll make you all something if you tell us how it went." Chase said sweetly.
"Pour me some vodka and I'll tell you all about it! Max responded sullenly taking a seat beside Riff and squeezing his hand.
"Didn't go well then." Grin sighed. The girls explained what she had told them all. Wild Wing nodded grimly.
"Yeah, I didn't think she'd give anything away overtly."
Riff asked, "Think we ought to try Duke?" Chase shook his head.
Nah, won't do any good. Besides, he needs some time to himself to think."
"So what now?" Tanya sighed.
"Well," Paul answered, "I could use another before dinner drink."
Duke looked up as he heard a gentle knock on his door.
"Unless you've got a large check with a million bucks for me then go away."
Mara walked in, "Do you take cash?" she asked softly. Duke stood uncomfortably, fidgeting as he looked at her.
"I dunno how I'm supposed to greet you." he said softly.
"Well," Mara answered, "one normally says 'hello' or 'how are you' or 'rot in hell' or something like that depending on how they feel about the person."
"I love you." Duke told her, with just a hint of a smile.
"Then come here and hug me, you idiot." she said gently. Duke obeyed, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I've missed you this past week." Mara said finally.
Duke kissed the top of her head, "Me too Angel. Are you sure it's safe for you to be here?"
"Safe? Who cares about safe, they'll know soon enough anyway."
"They know?" Duke asked. Mara sighed, taking his hand and guiding him back to his bed.
"They suspect." Mara answered, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Duke sat beside her, "What'd you tell them?"
"That we knew each other better than they thought. So now they'll want to see us talk to one another."
Duke cursed to himself, "Damn. The guys know me too well...the minute they see me with you they'll know. That was the whole reason I avoided talking with you at all in the first place."
"Yeah, I know, same with me." She took his hand, "Whoever knew falling in love would cause me so much trouble?" They both smiled warmly at one another. Mara broke eye contact for a while, frowning slightly, "So you...you are going to make Jake pay for what he did?"
Standing back up, Duke nodded, "Yeah, I have it all figured out. It'll be more than sufficient, I'm certain...but he's changed so much this past year." he explained. Mara sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "It's true! He's been drug free ever since he disappeared."
"Yeah, because he was a prisoner!" Mara said incredulously, "Of course he was straight edge, he had very little choice in the matter."
Duke tried a different approach, "He's a different guy than when he did all those terrible things to Amber. He knows now. Believe me, I was just as ready to beat him within an inch of his life as you were before I saw him."
"And now you're not, I know." Mara said coldly. "Not Amber either. Years of abuse and cruelty and the minute he walks back in the door, she jumps right back into his arms. Just like that." With a pained expression on her face Mara moved closer to the door. Duke halted her by putting a hand on her arm.
"Not everyone is as disciplined as you, Angel. Why do you think so many battered women still go back to the men that hit them? As abusive as he was, Amber was accustomed to Jake, she got used to it. His actions, because he was her first boyfriend, became her model for what love should be like. She hasn't quite been able to separate that yet. So even though she may not love him anymore..."
"She still thinks that she should, and can't figure out why." Mara sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just so frustrating, so infuriating when you love someone and you want to do what's best for them-"
Duke cut her off, "And they don't know what's best for them so you end up hurting them in the process...is that right?" Mara smiled faintly, watching as Duke locked the door to his room.
"I hate it when you know what I'm thinking." Approaching her from behind, Duke kissed her neck.
"That's what you get for loving me. You do love me, don't you Mara?"
Mara sighed happily and closed her eyes as Duke continued to kiss her, "Yes, despite the fact that I don't have you on as tight a leash as I should, as I'm sure Mallory would say."
"Mallory's a femi-nazi, she says a lotta creepy things." Duke replied with a smile, slowly shifting Mara back towards his bed.
"Yeah, well she's right." Mara murmured, "I shouldn't be cutting you this much slack."
Duke moved his kisses down her arm to her hand, "You're putting a lot of trust in me. I understand and greatly appreciate that." Her smile broadening, Mara looked back at him, "Well...I dunno if you do."
"How can I prove to you just how much I appreciate you?" he asked softly, running a hand up and down her waist. Mara looked around and realized she was back by Duke's bed.
Making no move to extricate herself from him, Mara pronounced, "Now Master L'Orange I know you can't be suggesting that you and I should..."
"I haven't so much as looked at you all week, Angel. Everyone's down at dinner, I have you here now to myself, why shouldn't we seize the opportunity?" he asked softly, kissing her lips. Mara didn't need any more convincing.
In the dining room Tanya and Paul carried in trays filled with cartons of Chinese food.
Sniffing the food warily Hector turned to Wild Wing, "And you're sure this stuff is good?"
"Best stuff on Earth." Wing grinned. Everyone looked away from the food as Nose Dive walked in.
"How's Amber doing?" Dak asked. With a sigh Nose Dive flopped down into his chair.
"Oh, as fine as can be expected."
Fully expecting a 'no', Wild Wing asked, "So is she coming down for dinner?"
Nose Dive nodded, "Yeah, she's on her way. she just wanted to stop in and talk to Mara first." The Mighty Ducks all looked up surprised.
"Really?" Grin asked in amazement, "Man, I don't believe it!"
Mal patted Nose Dive on the back, "You've really done wonders for her!" She turned to address the two gangs, "Amber gets upset a lot you see and every time she does she just doesn't leave her room." They all nodded.
Nose Dive helped himself to some sesame noodles, "Yeah, well Amber knows why Mara said it and I guess she kinda figures that this is the right thing. That's why she wanted to talk to Mara...to tell her she wasn't angry at her or anything."
"Very sweet of her." Tanya said with a smile. They all said words of greeting as Amber herself shuffled into the room and took a seat by Dak.
"Hey guys." she said wearily, pouring herself some water.
"How was your talk with Mara?" Grin asked, handing her some rice.
"Talk?" Amber repeated.
"An informal exchange of ideas subsisting between two or more persons."
"I KNOW what the word means, you big oaf!" Amber said with a little smile.
"So answer then, damn you." Grin continued, taking a bite out of a spring roll.
She shrugged listlessly, "Didn't have a talk, Mara wasn't there." The girls all looked up.
"What do you mean she wasn't there?" Heather asked, leaning in. Amber paused and looked at them all, her mouth full of rice.
"Whub? Is that a pwoblem?" she asked, her voice muffled by the food. She swallowed and continued disinterested, "Yeah, she wasn't in her room so I guess I'll try to catch her later." The girls all stared at her. "What?!" Amber finally asked in an exasperated voice, "What'd I do?!"
"Mara said she was gonna stay in her room all night...made a big deal about not wanting to be disturbed." Maxine explained distantly.
Puzzled, Amber shook her head, "Well, I looked in the room and the bathroom, and she's definitely not there."
Wild Wing slowly swallowed the food he had in his mouth, "Maybe it's time we paid a little visit to Duke."
"I don't think he wants to talk to anyone." Nose Dive warned them, "I stopped by on the way down to see if he was coming to dinner and the door was locked, no one answered."
"Duke never locked his door on Puckworld." Randall murmured.
"Yeah, he never locked it before on Earth either." Wild Wing responded. Everyone around the table exchanged looks. Quite suddenly they all jumped up and walked out of the dining room. Amber trailed after them, completely puzzled.
"Hey, I don't get it! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Nose Dive put an arm around her.
"Come on Amber, we'd better follow them. I've got a feeling this could get ugly."
The ducks all formed a cluster around Duke's door. Wild Wing rapped sharply three times and waited a moment for a reply. After a minute he stepped aside and motioned to Chase.
"Your turn." he said with a smile.
"Why thank you Wild Wing." Chase said politely, kneeling down as he pulled out a small wire with which he deftly picked the lock. The door swung open and in walked the ducks. They heard some quick shuffling and the slamming of a door as they walked in.
"A-anybody home?" Tanya called out.
"Rule of etiquette:" a disgruntled Brooklyn voice called out to them, "When someone doesn't answer a knock on the door it either means they're not there, or they don't wanna see anybody!"
"Just thought we'd stop by and visit. You're not busy...are you?" Paul said with a smirk. The ducks all filed into the adjoining room where Duke stood by his bed in nothing but a pair of dark plaid boxers. The girls all whistled upon seeing him. Slightly embarrassed, Duke crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, it's a party I see. Whaddaya want?" Mallory and Sarah both sat down on his bed along with Hector.
"We missed you Duke. Wondered what you were doing here in your room...all alone." Grin added in purposefully.
Fidgeting, Duke shrugged, "Nothing terribly interesting. Hey, quit pokin' around!" he cried angrily, smacking Randall as he looked under his bed.
"Nothing there but clothes." Randall said to Paul, who was now walking in the direction of the closet.
"What the hell do ya think you're doin'?!" Duke yelped.
"Snooping." Dak said cheerfully. Randall took another look at the clothes shoved under Duke's bed.
"Say Duke...those don't look like your clothes." he said with a grin. Smacking Randall again, Duke explained, "Well they are! And what business is it of yours?!" Chase swiftly pulled out a white lacy bra from under his bed. Duke turned bright red.
"Yours, huh?" Flynn asked with a smile.
Arimus sputtered, looking at Duke in amazement, "Is-is that-Duke, that looks like a girl's- how did you get-wha..."
"Yes Arimus," Aathos said with a smile, "Off-hand I'd say that belonged to a lady. Care to explain, Duke?"
"Alright." Duke said sarcastically, "you've discovered my secret, I like to cross-dress. I'm so ashamed, I'll go to therapy, yadda yadda..." he continued nervously, "now would you get outta here?!"
"You're acting so oddly, Duke..." Mallory said, enjoying Duke's torment, "Is something wrong?"
Duke nodded, "As a matter of fact, yes! And it's called invasion of privacy!" He panicked as Wild Wing took a step towards his bathroom. "What are you doing?!" He insisted, yanking Wild Wing back, "That's it, enough of your games, out! All of you, out now!"
"Okay Duke, you win, we'll get out." Wild Wing said.
"After we look in the bathroom!" Paul hollered, running to the bathroom door as Wild Wing held Duke back. He flung the door open and they all looked in, their jaws all dropping in amazement. Mara Jade sat on the countertop with a towel wrapped around her, her legs crossed. She folded her arms in annoyance and looked at them all.
"So what? You were expecting Captain Klegghorn?" They all turned back away from Mara as they heard a loud thud. "Amber!" Mara exclaimed, hopping off the counter and rushing over to her sister who had fainted. She grasped the towel awkwardly in one hand so it wouldn't fall while trying to revive her sister with the other. "Nice job, guys." she muttered. Now it was Aathos's turn to become apoplectic.
"MARA- what-why are you in his room in...in NOTHING?!"
"And how much do we need to pay to get you to come to OUR rooms like that?!" Wild Wing chuckled evilly. Duke shot him a threatening glare as he pulled on a pair of pants before turning back to the outrageous scene before him. Slowly Amber sat up, obviously dizzy.
"Wow...I'm sorry guys, I-I dunno what happened. I could've sworn that I saw Mara-" She paused and looked up at Mara who smiled back nervously at Amber. "Mara...towel...Duke's room...so, so you two are...y'know?"
"Yes Amber," Duke sighed, irritated, "We're 'y'know'." Amber's eyes rolled up into her head as she flopped back down, fainting again.
"You're not being helpful." Mara scolded him, more amused than angry.
Duke shrugged, walking over to his closet, "She asked." he murmured, pulling out a deep blue terrycloth bathrobe and draping it over Mara's shoulders. Mara nodded to him gratefully, standing up as she fastened the robe. "So when do I get my towel back?" he asked, tongue in cheek.
"When I think you've earned it." Mara replied equally sarcastic. Amber came to again.
"Here we go.." Grin murmured, "take three and action!" This time, Amber got her bearings almost immediately.
"You're having SEX with him?!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet as she pointed back at Duke.
Mara bit her lip, blushing, "Well, I'd look pretty stupid if I denied it now, wouldn't I?" Amber clutched her head and wailed, "Oh GOD!"
"Are you, uh, in p-pain?" Tanya asked.
Readily Amber answered, "Of course I am! MY SISTER HAS SEX! OH MY GOOOOOOD!"
Mara snorted indignantly, "At least I react more gracefully to it." She retorted, "And I catch you at it MUCH more often." The Mighty Ducks all chuckled.
Shaking his head, Flynn interjected, "I'm sorry...can we backtrack a little here? I'm just a bit confused here." With a small sigh Duke began.
"Mara's my girlfriend. We've been dating for a month now."
"A MONTH?!" They all exclaimed.
"And we never knew!" Mallory said in amazement.
Gleefully Amber clapped, "Finally! Took you guys long enough to come to your senses. Soon I'll have Duke as my very own brother just like I always wanted! But why the fuck didn't you TELL us?!"
"Your memories can't be that deficient." Mara said incredulously, "You all remember what happened a month ago, don't you?"
"The Charity Ball at the Hilton Hotel." Nose Dive answered for them softly.
"Oh God..." Tanya murmured, "The night that Amber-?"
"Yes, the same." Duke said gravely. He turned to explain to the gangs, "Amber was raped by a human that worked at the hotel that night. It was also about a week after Mara's relationship with Wild Wing ended." He turned and looked at Wing, "You and I will discuss that later." He said darkly. Wild Wing swallowed nervously as Duke went on with the narrative. "We decided that the team didn't need any more emotional trauma then it already had, so we agreed to keep it quiet. Then...an opportunity just never presented itself to tell you all until the press conference. We had every intention of announcing it then and there but then you guys showed up," he said, motioning to the Guild envoy, "And we didn't know how you'd all take it. For that and a couple of...different reasons," Duke shifted his eyes down to the ground, obviously thinking of Lestat, "we didn't say anything. Then Jake came and you all wanted me to punish him, and then you girls gave Mara the third degree, and she came in here, and you all invited yourselves into my sex life just when it was starting to get interesting. Does THAT bring you all up to speed?!" They all blushed a little, murmuring various apologies.
"If you're all so very sorry then how about you get out so I can get dressed."
"We can help you if you like Mara!" A few of the boys volunteered.
They all quickly made a dash for the door as Duke yelled back to them, "IF I HEAR JUST ONE MORE REMARK ABOUT HER YOU'LL ALL PAY WITH YOUR LIVES, AND I PROMISE YOUR DEATHS WILL BE SLOW AND PAINFUL!!!!!" The girls all snickered.
"Wow Duke, I never figured you to be the jealous type." Mallory teased him.
"Scram!" Duke insisted, pointing to the door. A murmur of dissention ran through the girls as they left Duke and Mara alone together. With a sigh Duke asked, "So...think they'll ever stop teasing us about this?"
"Not a chance in hell." Mara rolled her eyes, heading back to the bathroom.
Lestat sat by Jake's bed, reaching a hand out to him.
"For the last time Jake, they're NOT gonna kill you. Even if Duke WEREN'T around they wouldn't kill you. Too much trouble to go to."
Jake shook his head, refusing to move from the little ball he'd curled himself up into, "Easy for you to say...they're out for my blood."
"I could say something about you DESERVING it you little shit, but I won't because you don't need to be scared any further."
"Real comforting." he murmured. Flynn walked into the med lab.
"Hello Lestat, Jake. How are you feeling?" Jake nodded briefly, obviously terrified. With a sigh Flynn sat on the edge of his bed.
"You're basically a good person Jake, we all know that. You've made more stupid decisions than most, it's true, but it won't be held against you forever. Take comfort in that." Jake exhaled a little, somewhat comforted. Flynn now nervously turned to Lestat. "Uhm...we need to talk."
"About?" Lestat asked warily.
Flynn motioned to the door, "I'd kind of like to do this in private." Jake looked down at his hands, certain it must be about him. Lestat saw the gesture and thought for a moment: the best way to put Jake at ease would probably be to convince him that he was trusted, by Lestat if not anyone else. As such, he resolved to make Jake feel included.
Folding his arms Lestat retorted, "Anything you've got to say to me you can say in front of Jake."
"Lestat, I don't think-"
"No!" Lestat insisted, "I'm not moving so if you really wanna talk to me then get on with it!" Mild annoyance flashed across Master Torve's face.
"Alright then, if that's how you want it." He paused slightly, thinking of the best way to put it, "I thought you ought to know that Mara's seeing someone." Blinking, Lestat leaned a little closer, uncertain as to whether or not he heard Flynn correctly.
"She's what?" he asked.
"Seeing someone." Flynn reiterated, "Mara has a boyfriend." Wincing, Jake lowered his head, fearful of Lestat's reaction. Lestat suddenly felt hollow. It took him another minute to get his voice back.
"Mara..." he murmured softly, "why didn't she tell me about this?" He put his head in his hands and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it would stop his tears from flowing. "Why didn't I know?" Not only had the girl he loved found someone else, she hadn't even bothered to tell Lestat. It hurt more than words could say, but rather than being overcome with grief or sorrow, Lestat channeled his despair through a different emotion: anger.” I thought we were friends! Why didn't I fucking know?!" He demanded.
"None of us did until just now. It was a kind of a secret. They didn't want us knowing for fear of how we would react."
"Oh right." Lestat snapped, "What kind of fucking sense does that make? How could she keep this from me, how?!"
"Lestat, she's not right for you-" Flynn began frantically.
"I FUCKING KNOW THAT!" Lestat yelled, "But I thought I mattered! I thought I-" He paused, his eyes welling up with tears, "I thought I mattered to her." Jake bit his lip, wishing he could think of some way to comfort Lestat.
"You DO matter to her, it's just that...well hell, she didn't tell anyone-"
"Who the hell could Mara be dating that it would matter how we all reacted?!" insisted Lestat angrily. Flynn braced himself. This was going to be the hardest part.
"Duke."
"I'm sorry?"
"She's going out with Duke." Flynn sighed, almost glad to have it all out in the open. Lestat reacted with utter disbelief.
He actually began to laugh, "You...you can't be serious." He paced around the room frantically, "He would never-" Lestat paused and took a deep breath. "It's impossible." But the more Lestat pictured the two of them together, the more sense it made. "No...it isn't true, you're wrong."
"Believe me Lestat, it's true."
"I'll believe it when I hear it from Duke or Mara, not before!" He snarled angrily. He had to cling on to the hope that it wasn't true. His best friend wouldn't do that to him, he couldn't.
"Have it your way then." Flynn said in defeat, moving to the door, "I just thought you deserved a warning. Feel better, Jake." Flynn exited, leaving Jake with Lestat. Jake watched him as he stood motionless, just staring at the door. Finally, after a minute or so, Lestat broke down sobbing hysterically, no longer concerned with Jake being in the room, no longer caring about anything but his own demise.
Jake watched spellbound, unsure of what to do. Lestat had always been Jake's ideal role model for being able to live life completely alone, but clearly his interpretations of Lestat were faulty. Lestat's high pitched wails were painful and Jake felt his own heart being retched apart. He looked at the open door and wondered whether he should get up to shut it and comfort Lestat or stay put and leave Lestat to his privacy. As Lestat crumpled on the ground and started to bang his fist into the floor, Jake quickly made his decision.
Jake slipped out of his bed and slithered to the door, shutting it silently except for the small click of the door latch. He turned to look down at his mentor and hesitated before he sat beside Lestat and put a hand on Lestat's shoulder. Jake closed his eyes, fully expected to get punched in the stomach but Lestat caught him off guard. Lestat turned to Jake and threw his arms around Jake and buried his head in his shoulders as he cried. Jake nearly fell backwards, but was able to balance himself and stay quiet as Lestat emptied out his soul. As half-an-hour passed and Lestat's wails didn't cease, Jake pulled Lestat to his feet and held him as he force-walked Lestat to the bed. Lestat collapsed on the bed and pounded furiously at the mattress until Jake calmly sat next to Lestat and wrapped an arm around Lestat's shoulder. Funny how we help each other out, Jake thought.
"So," Mallory said, poking at her cold Lo Mein. "-are the lovers gonna show their faces for dinner?"
"If the food's cold already, we might as well wait for them," Wild Wing said firmly. Amber raised an eyebrow then turned to Dak who was sitting next to her.
"I always believed in fairy tales."
"If you ask me, all that love stuff's a load of shit."
"I wasn't asking you dumbshit," Amber said with a weak laugh. Suppose he was right? They said they'd been dating for a month, but Amber hadn't seen them exchange any endearing looks or anything of that sort. What if that was just Duke's delicate way of putting that they were having a fling? What a terrible thought...if the two of them weren't really serious then she might never get the brother she wanted. As Amber looked around the table at the clouded faces of the Guild members, she could tell they were all wondering the same as her. Dak sighed and put an arm around her shoulder.
"What's eating you? You were hyperactive less than an hour ago and now you're dreary as can be. You got a split personality or something?"
"She's always dreary," Nose Dive said with an amused smirk. Amber stood up from her seat and walked to Nose Dive, promptly dumping her entire container of rice down the back of his shirt. Nose Dive leapt to his feet and threw his spring roll at Amber but she easily snatched it in her gloved, right hand. Amber looked down and laughed.
"Not dreary now, am I? Better shape up Dive. If you can't hit me with an eggroll then how are you gonna get the puck in the goal next game?"
"Shhh, don't mention the game," Nose Dive said with a hushed whisper. "Wild Wing's having a nervous breakdown... we're going up against the New Jersey Devils."
"Fuck me," Amber moaned as she walked back to her seat. Pausing before she sat down, she said, "Not literally." Dak raised an eyebrow at Amber as Nose Dive shrugged and pulled his shirt off over his head.
"I'm off to hit the showers... I feel like a fucking rice cake."
"Stay a while Dive, we like rice cakes." Heather grinned. Everyone laughed as Nose Dive resumed his seat, minus his shirt.
"Very well. Bask in the glory of my rippled pectorals!!!"
"Ugh, no wonder no one's eating." Duke called from the doorway. Everyone snickered as Duke and Mara entered the room.
Smiling wickedly Wild Wing said to them, "Nice of you guys to dress for dinner." Their faces reddened visibly.
"Good one...ya schmuck..." Duke muttered, pulling out a chair for Mara. He took a seat beside her, making certain to smack Amber upside the head before sitting.
She wailed, "Owwww! What was THAT for?!"
"Your irritating nature in general." He answered. The meal actually went remarkably smoothly. There was very little awkwardness, apart from any time Nose Dive spoke, at which point he went out of his way to embarass Duke.
Finally Grin asked, "So where's Lestat?"
"With Jake, I think." Flynn ddin't even look up, hoping the subject would be dropped.
Colleen looked over at Duke, "Have you come to a decision about Jake?" Duke nodded wearily.
"Yeah, I got it all figured out." he murmured. Under the table Mara put a comforting hand on his knee. Duke laid his hand on top of hers and continued, "But don't expect me to tell you...it's a suprise."
"You given us enough of those for one day, Duke." Arimus muttered indignantly, casting a suspicious glance at Mara.
Chase nudged Arimus lightly and said, "Well I have faith that you'll do the right thing." Duke squeezed Mara's hand a little tighter.
"Listen to you guys! When I came here at first I was thrilled not to be considered a child anymore. Then eventually the novelty wore off and I got sick of being referred to as an old timer. Now you're all back and still talkin' to me as patronizingly as when I was seven...and even THEN it was unnecessary. Honestly, when can I achieve a happy medium already? I know what I'm doing so back off!" Everyone was silent for a moment until Nose Dive piped up.
"But Duke, you ARE an old timer." They all laughed, even Duke who tossed his fork at Nose Dive.
"I shouldn't even bother trying anymore." he smiled.
"You two don't act much like a couple's supposed to." Sarah said, pointing her fork and Duke and Mara.
"We don't like cutesy nick names." Duke explained.
"Or public displays of affection." Mara added in.
"Or affection at all." Duke rejoined.
"Or even touching each other."
"Or being together for any long lengths of time."
"In fact," Mara finished, "We're not really dating per say...I just force Duke to pay for my meals." Everyone snickered.
Nose Dive rolled his eyes, "Gimmie a break. They're holding hands under the table." Duke and Mara reddened, quickly releasing each other, which only served to confirm Dive's words. Everyone laughed, amused. "They just don't like giving public shows, that's all."
"How'd you know?" Dak questioned him with a grin.
"I walked in on 'em making out once." Nose Dive said nonchalantly, taking a bite out of his food.
"He's lying." Mara objected, "He didn't walk in on us, he was hiding in Duke's closet." Everyone burst into fits of laughter.
"Now wait, it wasn't like that!" Dive whined.
Wild Wing shook his head ruefully, "I don't even wanna know why, Dive."
"You mean you KNEW about them and didn't say anything?!" Mallory exclaimed.
"How could I say anything? Mara threatened to use my intestines as a jumprope."
"The offer still stands, Dive." Mara said darkly, holding up her knife. Everyone chuckled, especially Duke who favored her with a warm smile.
"I love a woman who stands by her gruesome threats." They all laughed once more and went back to eating. After another moment's pause Duke looked up suddenly thoughtful. "Where'd you say Lestat was, Flynn?"
"Jake's room, I believe."
Duke shifted in his chair, "I think I oughta go speak to him-"
"I told him about you and Mara." Flynn blurted out. Now going a little pale Duke groaned.
"Oy...Flynn! I kinda wanted to tell him myself. What'd he say?"
"Very little." Master Torve said with some brevity, "He was a bit surprised."
"I'll bet." answered Duke, looking a bit forlorn. Wild Wing watched, his interest piqued. Obviously, there was a little more to this all than met the eye. Otherwise why was Duke so very nervous about letting Lestat know about his relationship? And why was Flynn handling it so delicately? The three of them were best friends, so shouldn't Lestat have been happy for Duke and Mara? Everyone in the Guild had gone out of their way to look anywhere but at Duke. They all knew what was happening. Most puzzling of all was Mara's reaction to their conversation. She looked completely confused. Whatever was wrong, she was apparently in the dark about it. Wild Wing turned to Nose Dive who also regarded the others with interest. Their eyes met and Nose Dive raised an eyebrow at Wild Wing before he looked back to Flynn.
"If you think you need to talk to him then by all means do so. I got the impression he wanted to talk to you about it."
Duke nodded, "Alright then, I will." He stood up as the rest of the table began to disperse, but Mara put a hand on his arm.
"Duke?" she asked him gently, "Babe, what's going on with Lestat?"
Gently Duke rubbed her back, "Nothing for you to worry about Angel." He kissed her forehead. "I'll talk with you later." She nodded her grudging acceptance, obviously dissatisfied, but willing to wait for a good explanation. Duke headed right in the direction of the med lab. After a safe distance had been established Wild Wing and Nose Dive followed, anxious to see just what Duke was so worried about.
As Duke drew into the room, Wild Wing and Nose Dive warily pulled up to the door and peered in, being cautious not to be spotted by the resident thieves. Duke stood in the doorway rubbing his hands as he fixated his gaze on the cot where Lestat was curled on his side, sleeping next to Jake with an arm across Jake's chest and fingers twirled in Jake's long blonde hair. Jake moved his body, and Wild Wing and Nose Dive could tell he was awake.
"Duke," Jake said softly, trying to ease his body away from Lestat without waking him.
"Hey Jake," Duke said, raising an eyebrow at the pair. "If this were a different situation, I'd be somewhat amused." Jake nodded his head.
"I assume your going to give me my punishment," he asked.
"Not yet," Duke said comfortingly, "I have something in mind but I was hoping to have a word with Stat." Jake sighed and turned his baseball cap around so that it was foreward on his head.
"He didn't... take it too well."
Duke frowned, "Yeah, I figured." He leaned over and gently shook Lestat. Naturally a light sleeper, Lestat was wide awake almost instantly. He took a moment to look around disoriented until he finally focused on Duke.
"Is it true?" He choked out. Duke lowered his head and nodded.
"Yeah, it's true." He replied in a low voice. Without another word Lestat sprang up and headed towards the door. "Lestat wait, please, let me explain!"
Lestat wheeled around on him, "Explain?! What the fuck is there to explain! I thought you were my friend!!!"
"I AM your friend!" Duke said pleadingly. "Please, you gotta believe me, I didn't mean for this to happen!"
"You mean you didn't mean for me to find out you spineless bastard!"
"I wanted to tell you myself," Duke objected, "It sure as hell wasn't my idea for Flynn to blurt it out to you!"
Clenching a fist Lestat shook his head, "You didn't even TELL me, you fucking traitor!"
"Judging by your reaction now why would I want to?" Duke shot back. He took a deep breath, "I DID try to tell you...that day in the med lab...when the others walked in?" Lestat paused; he DID remember.
"Doesn't matter." he said bitterly. "Damn it Duke...how could you do this to me?!"
"I didn't mean for it to happen." Duke mumbled, sitting down in a nearby chair.
"What, you asked her out by accident?" Lestat said sarcastically.
"C'mon Lestat..."
"Oh, I know! You said to yourself 'hey, there's that girl Lestat's been obsessed with for years! How 'bout I date her?!'"
"Cut that out." Duke snapped.
"Better still, 'The love of Lestat's life. Golly, I've never stabbed my best friend in the back before, might be fun, let's give it a shot! After all, she's kinda cute, bet she'd be a good fuck!'"
"I'M IN LOVE WITH HER!" Duke yelled angrily. They both fell silent and stared at one another for a moment. "I'm sorry." Duke said sadly. Lestat looked down at the ground. "I knew you liked her, and I tried to stay away..."
"Yeah right."
"I did Lestat." Duke insisted. "Ask anyone on the team, ask her! Mara and Amber arrived a year and a half ago. Mara and I have been dating for a month, you need a math lesson?"
Lestat pointed an accusatory finger at him, "Don't you get smart with me, you bastard!"
"I never wanted to hurt you." Duke pleaded, "You know I didn't, you're my best friend. But Lestat...I love her, what do you want me to do?" With a sigh, Lestat sat down.
After a moment deep in thought he hesitantly said, "She...she really means a lot to you?"
"She means everything to me."
"And you're happy with Mara?" Lestat asked in despair.
"Lestat..."
"Are you?"
Duke sighed, "Yeah, I am." Lestat deliberated silently.
"If you really love her then you deserve her." He said softly. "You'd better treat her well."
"Believe me, I do...I'm so sorry, I never meant for this-"
"Yeah, yeah...I know."
They lapsed back into silence until Duke spoke again, "So what happens now? Are we still friends?"
"Of course we are." retorted Lestat, "Just...just don't talk to me for a while." Duke looked deeply hurt, but nodded silently. Lestat motioned to the door and Duke obediantly moved towards it. Wild Wing and Nose Dive quickly scrambled away as they heard him approach it.
"Bye Lestat."
"Bye Duke." As Duke left Lestat slumped over in his seat with his head in his hands.
Later that evening Lestat left the medlab to wander around some. Eventually he found himself walking along the hallway where all of the ducks' rooms were. He stopped in front of one of the doors and knocked mechanically. The door opened and Mara looked out at him, a soft smile on her face.
"Lestat, I'm so glad to see you, come in!" She said gently. Lestat nodded and followed Mara into her room.
"How's Jake?" she asked.
"Scared." Mara sighed and nodded briefly.
"You'll pardon me if I'm not terribly sympathetic." She said softly, sitting down on her hammock.
Lestat sat on the arm of a nearby easy chair, "Yeah, I understand. You seem a lot calmer now."
"The prospect of justice being served has a tendency to calm a person."
"And you trust Duke to do the right thing."
She nodded, "Yeah...I do."
"I'll bet you do." He said with a suggestive smile he didn't particularily feel. Mara blushed.
"So you heard about that, huh?" He nodded, his smile fading.
"Would've been nice to hear it from one of you." he reproached her.
Mara walked over and grasped his hand, "I know, I'm so sorry Lestat...I wanted to tell you so badly." she smiled mischeviously, "So go on...mock me why don't you."
"I can't believe it...you really have a boyfriend?" she nodded eagerly.
"I guess I do."
Lestat shook his head, "Little miss bachelorette. I thought you didn't believe in love."
"So did I..." Mara said softly, "Until I met Duke. Oh Lestat, I can't tell you how happy I am." Her eyes shone as she stood back up. Lestat watched her with a sad smile.
"I'm glad, Mara." He shifted a little in his seat. "Do you really like him?"
"I love him." she answered easily, twirling about in a circle. "God, I wish I'd met him sooner, I should've made you introduce me on Puckworld...or at least had the backbone to ask him out when I first met him. We wasted an entire year never knowing." Lestat nodded thoughtfully. Duke had been telling the truth...he'd never really doubted that. Lestat wasn't right for her, that much had been obvious for years, and however painful it was for Lestat to see her with someone else, his first priority was her happiness, and his other best friend Duke's. If he and Mara were happy that was all that mattered. And he had to admit, she looked more than happy. Mara looked positively blissful. It suited her face well, gave her eyes an even brighter glow than usual. "It's so ironic, isn't it...your two best friends suddenly met and fell in love."
Standing up, Lestat took her by the arms and hugged her, "He suits you perfectly. I was an idiot for not realizing it sooner and suggesting it to you. I'm very happy for you both, Mara." He said, happy that he could genuinely mean it.
"Thank you Lestat, I knew you'd understand." she said sweetly.
"I'd...I'd better go now...I need to see someone...and fix something..." he murmured, suddenly remembering the depressed state he'd left Duke in.
Nodding Mara said, "Alright. Stop by any time, okay?" Lestat ambled over to the door.
"Yeah, you know me, I love to crash. Later Mari."
"Don't ever all me that again you wretch." She said with a smile, closing the door behind him.
Wild Wing and Nose Dive sat on the floor of Wild Wing's room perplexed. "Are you feeling as guilty as I am?" Wild Wing asked his brother. Nose Dive sighed and pulled a lighter out of his pocket, absently lighting and extinguishing the flame.
"Talk about the love triangles you hear on TV and then some... geez, no fucking wonder Duke wasn't aggresive with asking Mara out."
"Yeah but strange thing is Mara's behavior. I'm assuming you noticed?"
"Well freaking duh." the two brothers sat in silence before they were disturbed by a large rap at the door. Rubbing his temples, Wing got to his feet and trodded to the door, pulling it open. Lestat stood there, hand raised as to rap the door again.
"Lestat."
"Wild Wing," Lestat answered shortly, awkwardly putting his hand back in the pocket of his jeans as he noticed Nose Dive. "I didn't realize you were having a meeting. I'll see you later."
"No, no it's cool. We were just uh, talking," Nose Dive covered, getting to his feet. "You know, brotherly bonding. That sorta thing."
"You two seen Duke anywhere? I can't find 'em," Lestat said quickly, looking at his watch. He didn't want to waste more time than had past, but from the look of things he wouldn't see Duke for awhile.
"I haven't seen him around," Wild Wing apologized. Nose Dive ran fingers through his hair before casting a look at his older brother.
"I actually have a pretty good guess. Why don't you hang out here a bit and I'll run and try to find him for ya."
"That's fine, I can look myself-"
"No worries. See ya!" And with that, Nose Dive scooted out of the room, closing the door behind him. Wild Wing was well aware of his brother's actions; out of the two brothers, Wing knew that he had more patience to deal with the aggressive, tattooed drake not to mention that clearly the way Amber was around Lestat, Nose Dive wasn't comfortable having a serious talk with him.
"So... you evidently love sports," Lestat said, eyeing the room dully.
"Yeah, can't help it. I try to be competative at a lot of things--play station's hooked up to the TV, pinball machines, basketball hoop, ping pong... anything to really get me in the mood--" Wild Wing's voice trailed off as he saw Lestat eyeing two of the black instrument cases he had in the corner. "Oh those," Wild Wing added, "my bass and violin... I'm lousy at violin but it was one of the other rare things my parents insisted I learn how to do. Dive was forced to learn sax though, so I thought I had the better deal. You know how in all those old movies they have the guy serenading the girl with the violin? I thought I'd get my chance to beat Dive at something since I only see sax players on the street, but of course Dive had the one up. Anytime he brought it with him, he'd always end up leaving the place with three girls..." Lestat barely payed attention as Wild Wing droned on, wondering once again if that was the same team captain that he had talked to earlier and been so impressed with. He seemed like an interesting kid then, but Lestat really couldn't care less about the brother rivalry, especially when he had his own affairs to be concerned with. As Wild Wing started to stutter as he talked faster, Lestat pulled open the case to the base and pulled it in his lap, fiddling with the strings as he tuned it. Humming a low melody, he began to strum and thumbslap to his own unique patterns, following his own orchestra in his head. "You're pretty good," Wild Wing said, jarring him from playing.
"I played my guitar a lot... not a great bassist though."
"What's the hardest thing you can play?" Wild Wing dared to ask. For the first time since Lestat was on the team, Wild Wing noticed a glint in Lestat's eye. The same competative glint he often had in his own or seen in his brother's. That was the moment that Lestat's capabilities blew Wild Wing away.
"Hey Duke?" Nose Dive called, spotting his older mentor sitting on the side of the roof. Duke didn't bother to look up. He kicked his legs slowly back against the brick siding of the building, head hung over his shoulders. Nose Dive hesitated a moment before approaching his teammate and sitting on the side of the roof next to Duke, making sure to keep a foot in between them. "Hey," Nose Dive repeated again softly.
"Hey kid," Duke said wearily. Nose Dive regarded Duke's posture for a moment before feeling depressed as well; in general, Duke was one of the more proud members of the team. He was a loner but still there was a silent dignity, or else he was good at disguising his pain. But now, Duke was sitting in despair. Nose Dive desperately wanted to say something funny to lighten up the mood but his mouth was dry.
"So..." Nose Dive began as he picked up a small stone and turned it over in the palm of his hand a few times before flicked it off of the side of the building. "Lestat was looking for you."
"Oh. Great."
"I thought you'd be pleased," Nose Dive persisted with a snort. Duke sighed and closed his eye.
"How can I?"
"Dude, it wasn't your fault. Hell, for all that matters you might as well have thought he was dead. Mara loves you and you love her so he should understand that."
"How'd you know about that?" Duke asked, pulling himself into a slighter straighter posture. Nose Dive paused realizing his error before he reluctantly continued.
"Wing and I... we were concerned at the table and listened in."
"Geez, my detection skills are slipping," Duke muttered, once again hanging his head. "Of course it would take an idiot like me who never believed in love to fall for the girl his best friend agonized over for the past five years."
"You're not an idiot--Mara's the type of girl that anyone could fall for. Well, 'cept for me because she's completely not my type," Nose Dive added thoughtfully. "You know, when Lestat was looking for you there was something on his face I never saw before. It‘s kinda hard to describe."
"Oh joy," Duke muttered sarcastically.
"I'm serious. He was always so... stand-offish, to put it kindly."
"He's an asshole. It's okay, you can say it." The corners of Duke's mouth turned slightly. "He prides himself on it, the guard that is. His shield in all fairness, but when you get past that there's a decent guy in there, one that'd die for the ones closest to him, being Mara or myself." Duke sighed again. "I never wanted to betray him, but when I saw those hypnotizing eyes and got to know everything about her I realized that I'm so goddamn in love."
"Man Duke, what the hell? You always tell me and Amber to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, what the fuck about you? Are you gonna just sit on your ass and hope around being a hypocrite?" Duke was silent as Nose Dive took another breath, "Look, when Lestat was looking for you, he looked lost. Completely fucking lost. I can’t think of a better word to describe it, and I didn’t think that your buddy was even capable of having that emotion . He was looking to you, alright, and I'd be willing to bet my next paycheck that he was looking to beg your forgiveness. You gotta trust me on this one." Duke folded his arms across his chest.
"It bothers me sometimes..." his voice trailed off and Duke watched the sky change from pale sunset to vibrant purple and blue. “Ever since I met Lestat and we became friends, he’d always been the martyr. I must have hurt him dozens of times but no matter what he kept running back to me, sticking by my side. But this time, this time was different. I don’t think he’s ever pushed me away before, and I don’t think I’ve ever come running back to him.” Nose Dive moved closer to Duke and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe you didn't realize how much you liked him by your side until you lost it?"
"Yeah, I guess your right. You get used to something and it’s hard to change, but there’s so much more to it. Before the group came back, I hadn't even taken a second thought about Stat. I mean, yeah before Mara and Amber I know I did. All the time when I'd see you and Grin screwing around with that stupid radio show, The Love Line, I'd picture myself and Lestat running around tangoing through Chase’s Place, or sometimes you and Wild Wing would remind me of teaching Jake-" Duke paused and painfully wiped his eye. "Nevermind, I guess I’d rather run away from the pain rather than face it… and I guess I can sorta appreciate the concept of Amber hanging onto Jake for so long even though I don't approve of it."
"Duke, if forgetting brings you temporary happiness then that's great. But you've got to come to terms with the situation. If you keep running, nothing gets resolved. You've got a best friend in need, and maybe you really do need someone to tag along for a bit... none of us can take the place of him." Duke forced a smile at Nose Dive.
"You're a good fellow, Dive. You really are."
"So are you, Duke." The two sat in silence for several minutes.
"You know, it was times like this that I remember sitting with Jake after heists on the roof, just talking. I miss that sometimes."
"Like now?"
"Yeah," Duke said wearily, "Like now. I guess those times are another thing I'll never have again."
"You know, Duke, even though he's sick, he's getting better." Nose Dive paused before continuing, "And I know I don't say this enough, but if you ever need to talk, I might not always understand or be able to say what you need me to say but I'm here."
"Thanks kid." Duke ruffled Nose Dive's hair a moment before standing up. "Where's Lestat? Your brother's room?"
"Last time I checked," Nose Dive called as Duke walked toward the elevator. As Duke stepped in the doors he waved back at Nose Dive.
"I'll try to catch him. Thanks a ton, Jake." And with that, the doors closed. Nose Dive stared at the elevator lights that descended slowly before sighing. Freudian slip. Nothing more, nothing less, but still the thought stung: no one would take him as serious as they would take the incredible Jake DeCharmante.
Lestat looked up from playing air hockey with Wild Wing when the door to his room opened and Duke stepped inside. Wild Wing nodded to Duke once before walking past him out of the room and closing the door behind him. With a sigh, Lestat looked at the ground. “I’m sorry Duke. I guess I’m nothing but a stupid, bad friend.”
“Lestat, buddy you don’t need to apologize so much,” Duke said, stepping forward. “It was my fault…”
“No it wasn’t!” Lestat snapped, “It’s no ones fault, who you fall in love with. You thought I was dead and gone so you went ahead after a year; I couldn’t have done that because she never would have loved me and the only thing worse than no love is unrequited love!” Lestat clenched a fist and Duke closed a hand over Lestat’s bicep. By now, Lestat was shaking so hard that even the bangs in his face seemed to tremble. “Look, just forget about anything I said and just know I’m sorry.”
“Lestat, please… I wish there was something I could do.”
“Look, I’ll get over it… I didn’t like her that long.”
“Lestat, I thought you said you met her with you were 13?” Duke closed his mouth once the words came out. “I didn’t mean to say that…”
“I just want her to be happy, and if she’s happy, and you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Lestat took in a deep breath before standing upright. “See? I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you’re really okay with this?” Duke asked hesitantly. Lestat forced a weak smile on his face and nodded his head. Duke’s shoulders relaxed and he walked toward the door. “So we can still hang out and shit?”
“Yeah, we can.”
“Good. Glad we straightened this out,” Duke called as he walked out of the room. Lestat watched the door swing shut before he closed his eyes.
“What was so wrong that no one ever fell in love with me?”
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