by Emrys Apollo
“This is all bullshit,” Will said as he flopped down in Conrad’s lap. “My sister never did anything to deserve this shit.”
“She created the Universe, and that’s enough for some people,” Conrad said quietly as he ran a hand through Will’s hair. “I agree that she doesn’t deserve it. Her fate is a cruel one, truly.”
“She’ll never escape it,” Will said. He couldn’t help but feel heartbroken for her, knowing there’d always be another bad guy, always someone else after her power. “People are always going to try and hunt her down because of her magic. It isn’t fair.”
“No,” Conrad said. “But she isn’t alone. I suppose that’s what the Babysitters Club is for.”
Will chuckled. Conrad was right, though. Giselle would never have to be alone, so he allowed himself to feel better. He leaned into Conrad and curled up against him. They were warm together, and Conrad smelled like fresh grass from the gardens.
“I just want her to be safe,” Will said softly. “I remember before… when she was gone all those years, when we were younger. I thought I’d never see her again.”
“But the prophecy came true and she came back,” Conrad said. He pressed a kiss to Will’s forehead and closed his eyes for a second. “You’ll always find her again.”
They cuddled up for a while longer before finally getting up. Will wordlessly pressed a kiss to Conrad’s cheek and he got a smile in return.
“Hey,” Conrad said, catching Will’s wrist as he turned away. “I’m not doing anything. Why don’t you get Giselle and I’ll grab Dominic, and we can do a sort of uh, sibling… double date? You chill with your sister and I get to clown on my brother.”
Will chuckled. “Alright. Let me grab my coat.”
Will wore a strict wardrobe of only black, white, and grey. He was known in St. Leon as the Chess Master, for he was a skilled player, and his fixation with his clothing and appearance earned him a solid reputation in the city. It brought him great joy to join the old elves down in the park, to smoke with them and the old ladies as they all played round after round. Will didn’t lose a single game, not even once. After all, how could he?
“Hang on,” Will said as he pushed through the rack before him as he stood in his closet. “I need to find one in the acceptable shade of black to match my shirt.”
“I’m going to get Nicky,” Conrad said with a laugh on his lips. Will smiled to himself and hummed for a moment as he found the coat he desired for this particular outing. Sometimes when he and Giselle would go down to the black and white themed cafe in the city, she’d dress in black and white to match him. It was a silly thing they shared, and a great joy for Will. Giselle’s presence was soothing. She was always such a sweet thing, eager to please and be helpful, but she could see right through bullshit too. He’d never say it, but as his only little sister, she was his favorite.
Will met the others in the foyer down below, and he was glad to see Giselle with more energy than she’d had in a long time. He took her arm and they walked out together through the castle’s front doors with their respective boyfriends falling behind to watch over them.
“He’s been worried about her,” Conrad murmured. Giselle seemed in high spirits, and he felt a bit of relief. Her injuries from before had been… well, the severity shocked him. Her own strength almost shocks me more.
“We all have,” Dominic said as he kept up and fell into step with his brother. He glanced around as the Elementals left through the front gates, which slowly creaked shut behind him. “I’m afraid that’s becoming more of a norm.”
“I’ll feel better if we get anywhere with the Order of Shadows,” Conrad said. “What we need to do is find out the extent of their involvement in Morcia’s government.”
“I can’t get a meeting with Hadrian yet,” Dominic said. His gaze was solidly on Giselle as they walked, and he never looked away except to check their surroundings. “He’s too busy with dealing with Whitewater. Giselle doesn’t think he’s with them, but for now we should keep him at arm’s length.”
“Briggs betrayed us,” Conrad said. “Even if all he did was sell them a few mechs, that’s more than enough trouble for us. The Order’s going to pull back for a bit, but we’ll see them again soon.”
“Yep.” Dominic wanted to talk about something else other than the violence he knew would come anytime now. He drifted to a lighter topic in the hopes that Conrad would understand, and to his relief they eased into a conversation about fried food.
Ahead of them Giselle and Will chatted casually about the castle’s orchards, and then they slowly drifted across topics until they were talking about horses. Dominic and Conrad shared a knowing grin between the two of them as they watched the other siblings take turns word-vomiting about their current interest.
“The ADHD is strong in these two,” Conrad muttered, but he said it with love and a smile on his lips. Dominic laughed and Giselle turned around to look at him with happy eyes and a big smile.
“What’s funny?”
“You two,” Dominic said. He watched Giselle’s cheeks flush pink and her smile deepened, even as she hid it behind her hand. She turned back to face forward and Will leaned in to whisper something silly in her ear about the pair of brothers behind them, and she turned back to giggle at Dominic and wink. He winked right back at her and Conrad rolled his eyes, but gave Dominic a smile.
“When we’ve dealt with the Order more, let’s go to the apple orchards and the chicken restaurant in Old Town,” Conrad said. “Giselle can get the jam she likes from down there, too.”
“And those pies they’ve got in the store,” Dominic said. “And that general store with the taffy, oh my god.”
“I could eat ten pounds of the stuff,” Conrad said. Salt water taffy was his love, truly. That, and caramel chews, especially if they were salted. Will was always sweet on him and would leave little boxes and bags of sweets in Conrad’s room whenever the doctor was feeling particularly stressed. Conrad met Will’s gaze as his partner turned around to wink at him, and he smiled to himself.
The four continued to descend down into the city, and after an hour of walking they stopped and ate at a restaurant they’d never tried before, and it was delicious. Giselle sat in her seat with her head on Dominic’s shoulder. She blinked sleepily and Will looked ready to join her.
“Do you want me to carry you?” Conrad poked Will and his boyfriend scrunched his face up.
“No,” Will said as he smushed his face into Conrad’s shoulder. “I can walk.”
“We should get back,” Dominic said. The sky was beginning to grow dark. He exhaled slowly and let his anxiety flow out of him. For now Giselle was safe. With him and Will and Conrad, she was safe.
“Babysitters Club, roll out,” Will mumbled as he struggled to get up. Conrad smirked and stood up, and he picked up his boyfriend and tossed him over his shoulder.
“You heard him,” Conrad said. Dominic gently pulled out Giselle’s chair and she smiled at him.
“Put me down,” Will said and Conrad obliged him. Dominic and Giselle were in front this time, the other couple walking behind them as they made their way back to the castle. Conrad put his arm around Will and kissed his cheek. Red ran across Will’s face and Conrad smirked.
“You know, maybe we should hit up Lance and Marcus for a Club meetup,” Conrad murmured. “Now that your sister’s healed, we could all take the night off in bed, hmm?”
“Oh my god,” Will said with a hint of a smile on his lips and Conrad laughed. The future was uncertain, but tonight they could enjoy themselves. “If you insist.”
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