Cupid’s Last

The Relativity of Relations

December II

“I never told you she was a doctor.”

The pounding became a deafening thunder roar as it hailed the start of a storm that Luna could only watch roll over her nephew’s life.

“She’s wearing a lab coat and talking about doing check-ups, numbskull.” Serena gave Darien a look of superiority that she usually never got to wear. “You don’t have to tell me she’s a doctor when I can see that for myself.”

Darien considered this and felt silly for even asking the question. So he said, “…Shut up meatball-head.”

And then they spent the next three minutes doing the very mature game of you-shut-up-no-you-shut-up. It was almost endearing. That is, except for the woman with 'L. Maui' stitched onto her coat, who watched the two with growing trepidation. But it was when Darien pulled Serena into a headlock that Luna couldn’t accept the contact anymore-

“Darien!” Luna realized she’d spoken too loudly when they both looked up from their rambunctious play as if they had forgotten she was even there…or why she was basically yelling. Or at least Darien did. Dr. Maui gave a strained smile and tried not to stare at the young woman (literally) in her nephew’s arms. “Darien,” Luna said once more, calmly this time. “Could you get the files for the children from Cathy and put them in the clinic room? I’d like to get started.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Serena felt Darien’s hold on her neck loosen, but didn’t try to meet Luna’s gaze when she straightened up. As he turned to leave, he glanced back at her, suddenly remembering. “Wait, what about that,” He glanced at Luna briefly before surreptitiously saying, “Thing we have to do?”

Luna might have been curious as to what ‘thing’ he was talking about, but she just so desperately wanted him to leave so she could have a few words with Serena Tyler that she couldn’t pay attention.

“It’s fine.” Serena said dismissively. “It’ll take care of itself for now. We’ll deal with it later today.”

Darien seemed to accept this so he walked away, leaving Serena with his aunt; or rather, his partner in crime with the woman who had diagnosed her with a terminal disease.

But he didn’t know that little fact, so we can’t really blame him for making the bad decision. After all, he’d been making more than a few since he’d teamed-up with his nemesis. And it definitely wouldn’t be his last one in the months to come.

Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop.

Luna’s heels clicked their way until the imposing woman stood over Serena. In her office, Dr. Maui had been mildly instructive and kind of funny to watch when she got freaked out towards the end of their last meeting. Now, though, less than a foot away from Serena with a rather dark expression on her face, framed by her sinister curls, Serena decided that Luna Maui was quite possibly as intimidating as Ms. Haruno, her junior high math teacher from hell who Serena saw in the occasional sugar-induced nightmare.

Except with better hair. And a good grip apparently as the older woman grabbed Serena’s arm and pulled her into the children’s playroom, now empty with the orphans chasing each other around on the playground. The teenager was then unceremoniously dumped onto a chair as tall as her calf.

“For a doc, you’re pretty rough.” She quipped, slightly nervous.

“Take your jacket off.” Luna commanded, assessing the empty room and the array of toys scattered on the floor in front of the toy box.

Serena blinked as Luna grabbed another plastic chair only fit for a preschooler and sat across from her.

“Huh?”

“Take your jacket off.” Luna repeated with the palest tinge of impatience. “You’re overdue for a check-up.”

“Isn’t there some code of conduct that says you can’t acknowledge your patients unless they acknowledge you in public first?” But Luna glared at her so Serena hurriedly shrugged off her pink sweater.

“You’re here with my nephew.” Serena could almost feel the edge in Luna’s voice despite the good doctor’s visible efforts to restrain the outburst she so obviously wanted to have. “I think we can loosen up on the social norms.”

“Well,” Serena grasped. “You tracked down my aunt!”

“Like I said,” Luna raised an eyebrow (which was ticking a little actually). “We can probably loosen up on the social norms.” She pulled the stethoscope from her pocket and grumbled, “I was hoping she wouldn’t mention that to you.”

“Trista tells me everything.” Serena said proudly.

“Then she should’ve told you that if you talk, I can’t hear.” Luna replied, pulling one side away from her ear. Serena made a face like a petulant child but sat still.

A beat passed.

“I didn’t know he was your nephew.” Serena blurted out. The chest piece of the stethoscope hovered for only a millisecond before straightened.

“Turn.”

Serena obeyed, knowing when fighting was futile. She turned awkwardly in the seat so that her back faced the doctor. She felt the chest piece touch her back and automatically straightened with the muscle memory of a child in a doctor’s office.

“Breathe.”

“You know,” Serena tried, taking in a deep gulp and wheezing out the rest, “Conversations usually involve more than monosyllabic words.”

“I’m not trying to make conversation,” Luna said in a decidedly non-conversational tone. “I’m trying to listen to your lungs.”

“There’s no point!” Luna had to sit back up to avoid being smacked by a golden bun as Serena suddenly stood up. The teenager looked down at her, her face a myriad of impatience, confusion, and just a hint of something painful Luna couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Look,” Serena said, not looking into Luna’s eyes. “I already told you that I wasn’t interested in whatever treatment or cure or whatever you think you have at your hospital that could ‘help’ me,” She mocked with corresponding quotation motions. “So there’s no point in you listening to my heart or lungs or whatever, and I don’t have to-”

“This isn’t an attempt to get you treated, child.” Luna rose to her feet with the elegance and grace only ladies could have when rising from a toddler chair. “Tell me something,” Unlike Serena, she braved to make eye contact, “If your aunt really does tell you everything, then I’m assuming she’s told you about her attendance in my grief counseling sessions.”

Luna watched Serena’s face crumble in a failing heartbeat. Delicate eyebrows turned down at the ends and furrowed in the middle. Watching Serena become confused and hurt, Luna felt bad. ‘I guess Trista didn’t tell her.’ Then she thought of her nephew with this girl and the maternal instincts overwhelmed the professional guilt.

“‘Grief counseling?’” Serena repeated, her voice sounding dry and cracked. Then she tried to laugh, “But I’m not even dead yet.”

“Perceived and inevitable grief is almost as bad as the loss itself.” Luna recited from one Profession Jenson who lectured the medical elite on death and the grief that permeated the lives it touched. Luna thought of the beautiful Trista and the heartache she exuded and Luna’s voice had to soften. “Your aunt is very concerned about you, even if she might not be saying nor doing anything differently for you. She has respected your decision, but it doesn’t mean that she has to like it or that she can stop the emotional consequences regardless of what your choice was.

“She’s getting help,” Luna coaxed when a moment passed and all Serena could do was picture her aunt crying to some perfect stranger when Trista could’ve just spoken to her. ‘But I’m causing her so much pain!’

Serena looked up to see Luna looking at her with compassion that she was fairly certain she didn’t deserve. Wait. Did she just say her thoughts aloud? Luna sighed at her. Apparently she did.

“I told you,” Luna said with a serenity she hadn’t had earlier. “The feelings of grief would have hit your aunt no matter what. It’s a lot of stress one way or the other, either dealing with the idea of months or even years of treatment recovery or impending dea-death.” Luna stumbled over the words.

“I… didn’t realize.” Serena said vaguely after a long time. She suddenly blinked rapidly, like getting out of a daydream and met Luna’s eyes straight on. “What should I do?”

‘Get the god damned treatment!!’

“You can come to me occasionally, at your leisure.” Luna said calmly, shoving her personal thoughts aside. “Then I or you or even both of us can tell Trista of your progress. Not knowing is something that bothers her a lot about this situation.”

“You tell her.” Serena said immediately. “I don’t want to know.”

Luna only nodded. “That’s fine. However, there is something else we need to discuss.” At this point, Serena could almost see the ‘doctor’ being replaced by the ‘mother.’ A warning bell went off in her head. Sorry, Dr. Maui’s not in right now. But Auntie Luna’s here. And she’s not happy.

“Now, I don’t know what,” Luna struggled, “-relationship you might have with Darien, but it ends now.”

“No.” The response was automatic and final. Luna narrowed her eyes.

“Miss Tyler, I cannot in good conscience let you carry on with him when I know what it’s going to do to him in the following months.”

“You’re willing to potentially lose your license to practice medicine just so your nephew stays away from me?” It sounded like a scoff, but Serena knew somewhere in her mind that this woman was capable of it.

“Doctor Jacobson of the University of Pennsylvania spent two weeks of Medical Ethics regaling us with confidentiality laws and the different ways doctors could be sued for violating them.” Luna retorted dryly. How wonderful it could be for her to not remember those lectures so she could have a semblance of an excuse to run to her nephew and tell him to not look at Serena Tyler like he was doing earlier because she wasn’t going to be able to stay in his gaze or world for much longer.

“Believe me when I tell you I realize how deeply ingrained I am into your situation, and that I’m not about to let Darien get sucked into it. He’s had enough losses in his life already and I can’t stand by and watch another one happen now.” Luna declared. She shifted, her stance progressively more imposing. “You are dying Miss Tyler.” Serena almost snorted. As if she needed a reminder. “And I’ll tell him myself if I have to, but I’m giving you the chance to do it yourself before your condition gets so bad that even he notices it.”

“I can’t!” Serena practically hollered in refusal. It was at that moment when Luna met Serena’s eyes that the doctor realized what the emotion was that she hadn’t been able to identify earlier.

Luna conceded that, while the girl in front of her did in fact look a lot like the one in the closing elevator months ago and the one in the picture of Trista’s wallet, this girl’s expression held something that the other incarnations didn’t have.

Desperation.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Maui.” Serena apologized. “I’ll come to you and do my check-ups and whatever Trista needs to keep her going, but I can’t let Darien go.”

“You can’t seriously think of having a relationship with him when you’re months away from dying.” Luna tried to emphasize the words like Serena didn’t already know what they meant.

“It’s not like that.” Serena insisted. “I swear it’s nothing like what you think.”

Luna tried to pick up signs of Serena lying, but couldn’t. Either that or this girl truly believed that her interaction with Darien was platonic.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” Serena repeated. “But I can’t back down right now.” Her fists tightened at her sides. “I need Darien, and I’m too close to my goal right now to-”

“You’re…” Luna gaped, “-using my nephew?”

“No!” Serena protested then cringed when she knew she had lied. “It’s-” She grasped, “It’s not how you think.

“Look,” She rubbed her temples and tried to explain, “I know this puts you at a bad place, Dr. Maui. But it’s only for a little longer. Just,” Serena said softly, her eyes genuinely apologetic that Luna knew she meant every word, “A little bit longer.” But her voice was getting as weak as her excuses, which was ok, because Darien called out that the kids were ready and the conversation mercifully ended.

For now.

The door to the playroom opened and closed quietly. At the decided click, another sound went off in the empty room. A toy box shuddered for a moment before the lid lifted. A beat passed before a pair of red eyes turned to its hide-and-seek companion curiously.

“Hey,” Rini nudged the taller girl. “What was Doctor Luna talking about? What does ‘dying’ mean?”

Hotaru Tompkins blinked, not answering, still looking at the chair that Serena Tyler had sat on minutes after she and Rini emptied the toy box to hide in it.

“I think,” She began slowly, with an understanding she wasn’t willing to pass on to her younger playmate just yet, “That Serena won’t be coming around much longer.”

It was winter break. Artemis’ firm kept the Aden couple busy so, that night like it had been for the last five months, it was just Mina and Keith. She was watching TV, switching from MTV or VH1 depending on what show was on, which Keith didn’t mind as white noise while he looked over his study materials next to her on the couch. Occasionally they’d make a comment on the idiocy of reality dating shows or slap a pillow at the other person when one made a mean comment, but overall, it was a quiet evening for the two.

Keith was enjoying it actually. Since Mina’s birthday party months ago, his relationship with his friend had improved, if marginally. She still went out a lot on weekends, but observed his “curfew” during schooldays. He didn’t stay up pacing by the door every night, but did ask that she send him a text or call or tweet or whatever to let him know she was alive if not entirely well. He also had been doing a marvelous job of ignoring Darien’s “advice” from that night, citing it as a passing hallucination his best friend must’ve had (despite the fact that Darien made an effort to remind him of this face occasionally, like he was competent or something).

Mina, on the other hand, was having a harder time dealing with the arrangement. Sure, she had honored Keith’s wishes for the most part and he had been giving her freedom, but she was seriously wondering why her parents were spending so much time working. She had half the mind to argue with Artemis, Keith’s older brother and essentially her parents’ boss, but she was guiltily enjoying the time spent with Keith that she couldn’t really bring herself to do it.

“I say just jump him.” Serena had quipped while painting Mina’s toes bright orange a few days earlier. “It’s not like you have anything to lose.”

“Of course not,” Raye had intervened, tentatively touching her face mask. “Just whatever dignity she has left after blatantly flaunting herself in front of him for the last few months anyway.”

“It’s not like he’s noticed.” Lita pointed out and sat a cupcake in front of her.

“So the solution is to have her throw herself at him?” Amy looked bemused.

“Not throw herself per se,” Serena tried and grinned. “Just do like your cheers and B-E aggressive!”

Mina laughed at the memory of Serena and her corresponding arm motions that knocked over the bottle of nail polish remover (and were the main cause for why Serena ever made it to the cheerleading squad). Poor Lita and her currently-acetone-soaked carpet.

Keith glanced at her, curious. “What’re you laughing at?”

“Nothing,” She stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s a secret.”

“Tell me.” He demanded, forgoing his tiresome studying in favor of any of Mina’s secrets.

“Never!” Like she’d ever tell him her friends wanted her to jump him. Keith shrugged with a smirk, setting his book down.

“Famous last words blondie.”

What followed was highly predictable. It had been done too many times on too many occasions with such lack of variation to the point that it was almost cliché. So, they should’ve known what was going to happen. After all, they’d watched it happen dozens of times in the romantic comedies Mina had dragged him to watch with her, and Keith had even developed a habit of making a gagging sound when the moment was going to happen.

You know what I mean: the seemingly-innocent-struggle-that-leads-to-the-awkward-physical-altercation-of-potential-love-interests.

Then again, these poor suckers weren’t watching from their couch. They were on it, and Keith was on the mission of getting a secret out of an extremely ticklish Mina Aden, one that he’d undertaken dozens of times in the past and emerged victorious.

Yeeeeeeah, not this time buddy.

He’d started with her feet, toenails painted an insane psychedelic orange that rested in his lap. Keith tickled the soles and Mina hollered in laughter and kicked up at him. Since he knew her long legs could be quite aggressive from previous experiences, he opted to go for her belly and underarms instead. She protested and laughed in one breath.

“One last chance.” Keith taunted. Mina heaved, catching her wind.

“Never!” She defied valiantly.

And thus, the battle waged on. Except this time, Mina tried to fight back as much as she could against a guy two was two heads taller than her. Legs, arms, and long hair got tangled in the ensuing raucous. Keith might’ve heard the faint sounds of warning bells going off in his mind, but his ears liked the sound of Mina’s laughter instead. Moments later found them still on the couch, catching their breaths.

He’d landed on top of her, hands lying on both sides of her face. Mina tried to glare at him but the smile of her laughter was still etched on her face. She watched him as he continued to enjoy the afterglow of their tussle, aware that her thoughts were straying to places she’d been avoiding for a long time. Keith could make that serious face Artemis had in court, but no one could smile like Keith could in her eyes. Loose platinum strands spilled down his shoulders and she knew they would feel like silk to her fingers. Before she knew it, her hand had begun to rise.

Keith noticed the motion almost immediately but the high of laughing made him loose, less cautious.

“Mina?”

Mina reached up and touched the sides of Keith’s face with her fingertips. She traced the strong angle of his jaw and she thought his face was just so beautifully proportioned that she could kiss it.

So she did. Twice. And then his mouth got her attention when he opened it in shock, so she kissed there too, pressing pink lips against a long-awaited destination. Her fingers moved from his face to run through those silver strands that she fell in love with before she even understood what the word meant. Somewhere, her mind was screaming, ‘MAYDAYMAYDAY!!!’ But the blood rushing to her head was louder than the mental warning, so she was able to pretend like it didn’t exist.

A beat passed before it happened. Keith’s mouth moved against hers. It was a barely-there motion but Mina recognized the reciprocation when she felt it and she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Her fingers that had sewn their way into his hair clasped behind his neck. One of Keith’s hands cradled her head, tilting it to an angle he found perfect.

Mina was in heaven. She sighed happily when they broke apart for an oxygen break.

“Oh, Keith.”

And just like that, Mina fell from her high. Literally.

She landed with a thud on the floor in front of the couch, missing the coffee table by inches. She barely had time to mourn her sore butt when she saw Keith’s feet land in front of her vision. Mina followed the feet up to his legs, torso, and chest and finally to his face. Keith had always been an expressive guy, but this was probably the first time, if ever, that she’d seen such a look in his eyes.

Disgust. Towards her. In a matter of minutes, Keith Aduro has made her laugh, love, and want to cry. It had to be record. Or that Mina was severely bipolar.

Either way, Mina stayed down as Keith swiped his mouth with the back of his hand with lingering remnants of her and walked out of the room. She sat dazed for a moment before her brain screamed at her to get up.

“Keith, wait!” The words barely left her mouth before she heard the front door open and slam shut. By the time she had reached the door, Mina heard his car starting outside, and by the time she opened it, Keith was out of her driveway.

Mina Aden stood on the Welcome mat of her home, stunned, before she found herself sitting on it, crying into her hands.

Artemis Aduro was much younger than many people thought he was. It had a lot to do with his full head of platinum blonde hair that shone silver, but part of it was the comparisons made when he was lined up next to his younger brother. Keith Aduro had been born in the winter Artemis turned thirteen. Despite the sizeable age difference, the siblings had grown closer to each other in the years to come, with Artemis stepping in as a temporary parent, then as a permanent one when Mr. and Mrs. Aduro spontaneously decided to travel the world, leaving seven-year-old Keith in the care of his “hot-shot lawyer” big brother. Artemis had risen the occasion, giving the child just enough of parental guidance along with something else many children never had: a friend.

Artemis liked to think it was his way of raising his younger brother (part guardian, part confidant and companion) that had molded the younger Aduro into the bright, joking and charismatic adult he was today. That is,

“Mina jumped me!”

…Until the said “bright, joking and charismatic adult” stormed into his office one morning. Artemis stared and blinked, as if briefly closing his eyes would erase the vision of his harried-looking younger sibling standing in front of him claiming that his childhood friend had…assaulted him?

“Good morning to you too Keith,” Artemis said sardonically, reaching for his first cup of coffee to demonstrate to his brother that it was too early in the morning (if ever) to discuss raging teenage hormones.

Keith gave him a hard look and closed the double doors behind him, allowing Artemis a fleeting glance at his panic-stricken secretary who was probably worried about the morning meeting he was supposed to be attending instead of counseling his younger brother on an issue he’d had a hand in causing. A certain (Now, what did Darien call her? Oh yes) meatball-head popped into his mind.

‘Serena Tyler, I officially hate this plan.’

“Mina jumped me.” Keith repeated.

“Yes Keith,” Artemis drawled. “Thank you for sharing with me and everyone else within hearing range.”

And so, Keith rehashed the incident to his elder brother, who had the gall to choke on his coffee in laughter at few moments but who remained relatively unfazed. He just sat there, behind his oak desk with the name tag ‘A. Aduro,’ long fingers loosely intertwined and pale blue eyes almost bordering on boredom while his mouth twitched at the corners into what might have been a smothered laugh. How could he be so calm after something so monumental?

“Artemis, didn’t you hear me?” Keith demanded after he’d finish and all Artemis had done was flip the front page of the newspaper on his desk.

“I heard you just fine.” Artemis returned coolly. “Especially that part about you kissing her back. That’s going to be a great update for the next time her parents call you.”

“Really? You’re going to choose now to be sarcastic?”

“You’re having a titty attack.” Artemis found the comics section. Yay! “I figure now’s a good a time as any.”

“Areyoucrazy??”

“I’m not the one still in my PJs.” Artemis waved a hand at Keith’s university shirt and sweatpants, rumpled from tossing and turning as he failed to get some sleep last night.

“Art,” Keith tried. “I’m trying to tell you that I am having a crisis and that I need just a sliver of your oh-so infinite wisdom right now to help me through it.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No, Keith.” Artemis said evenly, trying to focus on Garfield’s antics today. “I’m not going to help you make this go away or whatever it is you think I can do.”

“I need you to help me make sense of this crap.” Keith tried desperately.

“What’s so confusing? Mina kissed you, you kissed her back.” Artemis lifted an eyebrow, amused. “It’s pretty basic if you ask me.”

“No it’s not!” Keith almost shouted. And then, quieter, “Not for us.” He took a deep breath for a moment, pushing his disarrayed hair out of his face, then remembered Mina did the same last night and dropped the hand like an anchor. He ground out, “Something’s wrong with us, Art.” His eyes lifted and Artemis saw his little brother scared of being punished for hitting a ball through a window all over again. Keith was lost. “And I have no idea what to do.”

Artemis stared at his brother for a moment, assessing. The coffee cup was set on the table and pushed to the side. The newspaper followed.

“There’s nothing wrong with you two.” He announced after a moment.

“Then how the hell do you explain last night?”

“It’s called mutual attraction.” Artemis quipped. “You might have heard of it before.”

“God, not you too.” Keith groaned. “First from Darien and now you too? What? Have you two been talking about this together?”

It took years of schooling for Artemis not to keel over in sardonic laughter at the rhetorical question that hit a little too close to home than he’d ever want to tell his brother.

“Mina’s never once tried crap like that on me.” Keith said instead of waiting for him to reply. “She’s not supposed to.”

“Because…?”

“Because she’s Mina.” Keith said like it was the most obvious concept on the planet. “Because I’ve known her for years, and the Mina that I know would never even think to do something like that.”

Artemis was finding it funny that Keith couldn’t even say “the kiss” aloud.

“The idea of change is terrifying.” Artemis allowed. “But being scared of it and running away from it doesn’t change the face that it’s coming. Or that it’s here.”

“Change I can deal with.” Keith declared, a little irked. “Change, I can handle. Mina Aden making out with me on her couch while America’s Best Dance Crew is on? Not so much.”

“Why not?” Artemis challenged. “You couldn’t honestly expect that your relationship with Mina would always be the way it is now.”

“Maybe not.” Keith admitted grudgingly after a moment. “But it doesn’t mean that she can do something like that and expect me to be ok with it.”

“What if it had been Serena?”

“…the fuck?” Was Keith’s intelligent reply to the sudden, random question.

“What if it had been Serena instead of Mina?” Artemis repeated. “Do you think that things would be different it Serena had initiated the kiss instead of Mina?”

“Well, yeah,” Keith stammered, confused. “Serena and I aren’t like that.”

“While it’s true that Mina’s got more years than Serena it doesn’t change the fact that you all have grown up together. So, in a way, they’re almost interchangeable.” Artemis reasoned with a knowing look. “Aren’t they?”

“Hell no!” Keith exclaimed, almost horrified.

“Why?”

“Because Mina’s different.”

“How?”

“She’s Mina.” Keith repeated in exasperation like he was explaining a man needed air to breathe.

“Circular logic isn’t going to help things, Keith.” Artemis said dryly.

“Then what will?” Keith demanded. He tried to glare at his brother but he was too tired. Keith normally never let anything bother him and he’d like to think that, Mina aside, he approached everything with a very relaxed attitude. But this…

“Oh, Keith.”

Last night wasn’t the first time Mina had said his name. But sure as hell was the first she’d said it like that, and the tone had made his eyes snap open from their aroused daze. He’d seen Mina Aden under him, head tilted towards him, eyes closed in bliss, cheeks flushed pink, and pert lips that he realized he’d been gnawing it moments beforehand.

At that instant, several moments flashed through Keith’s mind. Of meeting her as a toddler on a birthday party Mrs. Aden suggested to Artemis that he bring Keith to. Of wrestling with her in the mud when they were young and it was ok because they didn’t understand the difference between boys and girls at the time. Of her smiling brilliantly when he told her that her hair was nice when it was long. Of the years of puberty when she grew taller than him for a year before he shot up like a bullet to be two heads taller than her. Of him getting his first car and going to show off to her because she was the first person he wanted to see. Of getting her to read his letter from law school because he was too nervous to do it himself and, her proudly announcing that he got in. He’d swept her off her feet and swung her around at the time, overjoyed. It was the first time he’d noticed that she was starting to grow body parts she wasn’t born with, and the first time he’d pushed the idea of Mina being anything else to him but Mina, his friend, to the back of his mind.

The realization of the boundary he’d crossed hit him like a brick wall and knocked him to his feet, simultaneously dropped her to the floor, before practically running out the door.

He grimaced at the memory, still too fresh for his brain. Artemis watched the play of emotions on Keith’s face and a thought passed through his mind as to why he hadn’t seen what a barely-legal bunny-headed teenager had managed to understand in her final year of life: that his younger brother was in love with his childhood friend.

“Answer me this Keith,” Artemis suddenly spoke. Keith snapped out of his reverie just as Artemis rose from his chair, meeting his brother’s gaze, leveling with him. “Can you honestly stand here in front of me and tell me honestly that you’re not attracted to Mina?”

“Of course Mina’s attractive-”

“I didn’t ask if Mina was attractive,” Artemis cut in his brother’s attempt to sidetrack the issue. “I asked if you were attracted to her; if there was any point in time in your life that you looked at her as a woman you could love rather than the girl you’ve grown up loving.”

A beat passed. And then another. And another. And in all those moments, Keith Aduro did not give an answer, which Artemis thought was a sufficient answer on its own. He watched Keith’s hand fist at his side, much like he’d done on a rare occasion that Artemis had to reprimand Keith in his youth. After an eternity, Keith shook his head and couldn’t look his brother in the eye.

“I can’t.” He sounded so helpless that Artemis almost felt bad.

“Can’t or won’t?” He challenged instead.

“What difference does it make?” Keith was getting annoyed. He needed help, not questions for questions.

“One says you walk away from her because you don’t reciprocate her feelings.” Artemis explained, watching his brother carefully. “The other one says that you choose to ignore them.”

“I’m not ignoring anything.” Keith pathetically defended.

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I mean that you’ve been spending an insane amount of time at Mina’s home-”

“Because your firm keeps sending her folks all over the country suing people.”

“-And you can’t honestly stand in front of me right here and now and tell me that she’s the same girl you wrestled in the mud with.” Artemis plodded on like Keith hadn’t interrupted him.

The idea of Mina slicked up in mud ransacked his mind with glee and he wanted to hit someone.

“Yes she is.” Keith ground out defiantly, washing the image away in his brain.

“No she isn’t.” Artemis shot back with a certainty that Keith couldn’t deny. “The Mina you knew didn’t date boys. She didn’t stay out past ten. She didn’t reach that age where she’s acutely aware of her surroundings and her feelings. And the Mina you knew sure as hell wouldn’t have had the balls to face them instead of what you’ve been doing for the last few years.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been avoiding her.” Artemis said simply. “Not in the sense that you lock her out of your life and put a moat around your house, but it’s all the same. You’ve put distance between you two.”

“I got into law school and she’s busy having a life.” Keith shrugged, trying not to care that his brother was making a point. “It’s not avoiding, it’s nature.”

“It was a way for you to avoid seeing her for what she’s become – a woman.” Artemis was amused that the word made his brother cringe. “A woman [there went another cringe] who is obviously enamored by you.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Keith tried to joke, “She can’t even buy a dress in under an hour because she has no idea what she wants.”

“Are you really comparing her feelings for you to shopping for a homecoming dress?”

“I’m saying that she doesn’t know what she wants.” Keith said, getting agitated. “And maybe today it’s me, but what about the next day and the day after that? What about next year when she graduates and has to go off to college? What right do I have to be this weight on her when she can do just fine without me?”

“You’re assuming that she sees you as some kind of a burden on her.” Artemis said plainly.

“I’m saying that she has options. And-”

“And she chose you.” Artemis gave his brother a sympathetic glance. “What’s so wrong with that?”

“You mean aside from the fact that she might as well be my sister?”

“Keith, you’re an idiot.” Artemis blurted out. “Mina isn’t your sister. She’s nowhere near blood related to you. It’s not like you’ve conducted some horrible sin that you need to atone for.”

“She’s a child!” Keith countered, reaching for something else to justify his ignorance.

“She’s a few years younger than you.” Artemis countered. “Hell, your friends are dating girls her age aren’t they?”

“But it’s not like that with them!” Keith argued. “They haven’t spent their lives growing up like Mina and I did. It’s – It’s wrong.”

“What the-” Artemis slammed a hand down on his table and stood, perplexed and just a little bit annoyed. “Look, Keith, I can say she’s a child. I can say that she’s like a little sister to me. I can condemn her feelings if she had any towards me because I haven’t done anything to make her feel the same.”

“Are you saying I made this happen?” Keith thundered. “Like I wanted this to happen?”

“No, you idiot!” Artemis wanted to throttle the boy. Because he was acting like one instead of the mature university student he was supposed to be. “I’m saying that after years of being together, you cannot seriously stand in front of me and tell me you have never experienced any remote level of attraction towards Mina.”

“That’s stupid.” Keith scoffed. “You’re suggesting that as long as I spend enough time with someone else that something’s bound to happen.”

“No, I’m not. I’m saying that if Serena had pulled something like this out of her ass, you wouldn’t even be standing here because you wouldn’t have experienced what you did when Mina made a move on you.” Artemis said. “You wouldn’t have any warring of conflicts or emotions because in your head, Serena would just be Serena and that would be the end of things. If Serena had tried that crap, you would’ve settled her down, grabbed a beer and called it a night instead of reacting like a five year old and running away when you saw something you were scared of.”

“I am not scared.” Keith defended his masculinity.

Artemis narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re here, Keith,” He gestured to his office. “And the last time you were here was when Jason went missing with Nevan’s car.”

Keith’s mouth hardened to a tight line. When Anne had dumped Jason months ago in favor of his older brother Alan, the stress and shock had catapulted his friend into a state that, while Keith would never admit it to anyone else other than the man standing in front of him, worried him probably more so than the others. Barely a year older than the rest of them, Keith took his responsibility as the older “brother” probably more seriously than Artemis took his own.

“That’s different.” Keith didn’t meet his eyes.

“No it’s not.” Artemis ground out. With a sigh, he sat back down, rubbing his temples. “It’s not wrong for you to care for her in that way. Mina is a great girl and she’s going to become a beautiful woman and you’d have to be an absolute idiot to not notice this.”

“Don’t you think I already knew that?” Keith’s tone was bitter and desperate all at once.

“Denying that you have any feelings for her doesn’t change the fact that they exist.”

“Maybe.” Keith conceded. “But it makes my life a lot easier.”

Artemis had to chuckle. “Being lazy and a liar doesn’t give you grounds to break a girl’s heart, Keith.” He looked down and realized he’d almost made a blunder. Ring-less fingers casually moved the papers on his table to cover the headline “LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT of SERENA TYLER” on the document in front of him. Artemis raised his eyes to stare Keith down and gave his closing argument:

“So do her and me,” He said in a manner that reminded Keith of Darien standing next to him at Mina's birthday last month.

‘And everyone else,’ Artemis mentally added.

“A favor and man the hell up.”

chickay: I feel I used a lot more narrative than dialogue but I feel it propels the story through better.

Also, I know that the MK relationship was a little unreal to some people when I introduced it. But, truth be told, this one has a very deep root for me. The transition of being friends to being more than friends is something that I’ve had the pleasure of watching and laughing at throughout my life. Some have ended happily and some not so much, but I always found it fascinating how a relationship could altogether change and yet still be the same somehow. I hope some understand and I hope everyone else was entertained. As for my impatient readers, don’t worry. We’re almost there. ;)

…But a review would certainly help speed things along.

posted: 11/22/09 (and minor-ly edited when ff(dot)net kinda screwed with the original post)