A/N: Huuurgh. Late chapter is late, sorry about that. I've recently gotten a job and I'm not used to working ten+ hours a day, so when I'm not at work I've been sleeping. That doesn't allow for much computer time, unfortunately. ^^;

Duplicity

Chapter 3: Midnight Meetings

.~.~.~.~.

I was warm. In that blessed state between sleep and consciousness all I knew was that I was warm and comfortable. But something was nagging at me—something was off, different from what it should be. But what? As I was slowly pulled further away from sleep, I realized that, yes indeed, something was very wrong.

Unless it was normal for my pillow to suddenly develop a circulatory system and lungs, because it was definitely breathing, and I could faintly hear the gentle thrum of a heartbeat.

I started awake, opening my eyes to be greeted with a wide expanse of blue. I blinked for a few minutes in confusion, trying to shake the rest of the drowsiness off, and eventually realized that I was staring at Max's shirt.

Why was my face buried in Max's shirt?

I belatedly grasped that the room was dark, and Max was sleeping next to me—or, to be exact, wrapped all around me. That warmth I had been caught up in earlier must have been his body heat, I surmised, because I was pressed to his chest, his head resting above mine and his arm draped over my upper waist, holding me to him.

I flushed a little, feeling the heat well up in my face at how close we were pressed together. We must have fallen asleep and somehow ended up wrapped up in each other while we slept. I didn't understand how, though—Max was sitting on the other side of the bed last I remembered, and I knew from experience (sleepovers when we were small) that Max usually didn't move while he slept…I was the one who usually did that. But I was still in the same spot…

I shrugged it off, chalking it up as something I didn't understand and didn't really want to bother trying, and attempted to sit up. Judging by the darkness, it was pretty late, so I needed to get home…

Max didn't seem to want to let me, though, because when I moved he reflexively tightened his grip, pinning me down. I squirmed in surprise a bit, eventually gently prying his arm off (which he luckily let me do) and rolled out of the bed. Max curled back up, but he didn't seem to stir, which was good. I didn't really want to wake him this late. I fumbled around and eventually found the clock on his bedside table, and nearly gasped. It was ten to one in the morning! How did I manage to sleep so long? I hurried to grab my things, walking out the door and closing it as softly as possible.

"Ray?" A soft voice spoke from behind me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin in surprise. Luckily, I managed to control my reaction and not shout, and turned around.

"Rosalind?" I asked, seeing her looking at me curiously from the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing here so late?" she asked. She was dressed in a silky off-white nightgown that went down to just above her knees, and I fought back the heat I felt blooming in my cheeks at the sight.

"Ah, uhh, well… I-I was hanging out with Max, but I guess we both fell asleep accidentally…" I replied sheepishly, nervously averting my gaze away from her for a moment. "What are you doing up, anyway? Can't sleep?"

"Y-Yeah…" she shifted in place, clasping her hands together and gazing at the floor like she did when she was embarrassed.

"Did you run out of the medicine I gave you?" If I remembered correctly, she should have run out by now… "If you ran out, you could have asked me to make you some more."

She fidgeted a little, looking embarrassed. "Well, I forgot that I had run out, and when I remembered it was already late, so I didn't want to be a bother…" she said quietly, blushing adorably.

I chuckled. "It's no trouble, Rosalind. Would you like me to make you some?"

"Now?" she blinked, gaze snapping back to my face. "No, you don't have to do it now, I don't want to cause you so much trouble so late."

"Why not? I'm already awake," I told her, smiling. This was something I could do—go beyond what I needed to do for her health; and maybe she would think more highly of me.

"You don't have to, I can manage," she argued feebly, raising her hands in a 'stop' gesture.

"I insist. I wouldn't want you to be up all night, and it's no trouble, I promise. It doesn't take all that long to make." It honestly wasn't too complicated of a process, and I had the ingredients in the Clinic. I'd already slept for a few hours anyway, so I would probably be up for a while regardless.

She bit her lip and nodded. "A-Alright… Let me change into something more appropriate, then." She went into her room, and I waited for her awkwardly in the hallway until she came out a few minutes later, dressed in a relatively plain (for her wardrobe, anyway) white dress that went down to her ankles and sandals. "Are you sure it's no trouble?"

"It's no trouble," I replied lightheartedly. "Come on." Score, the little voice in the back of my mind shouted gleefully.

.~.~.~.~.

"Thank you for doing this, I really appreciate it," Rosalind whispered as I shut the door to the Clinic as softly as I could, so I didn't wake Mom or Alicia (especially Alicia, she'd have the gossip fodder of her dreams if she knew I got home so late and brought Rosalind with me on top of that).

"You're welcome. Why don't you sit down, I'll get started." She nodded, taking a seat near the pharmacy table, watching curiously as I turned on a few lights and started taking out ingredients and utensils to make the medicine with.

"Is it difficult to make?" she asked as I pulled out a small knife to start cutting apart the Lamp Grass, pulling out the parts I needed for the medicine.

"Not too difficult…" I said, glancing back at her a little nervously before turning back to the flower. "You just have to be careful with the ingredients you put in. For example," I picked up one of the little yellow stamen I had removed, the pollen falling off of it like dust onto the counter. "If you don't remove the all the pollen the medicine gets incredibly bitter. It also doesn't work so well." She nodded contemplatively, eyes returning to the counter.

"What parts of it do you use?"

"For the Lamp Grass, you use just the petals. Everything else I just throw away. It's not used for much." I dropped the parts of the flower I mentioned on some paper to make sure not too much of the powder held inside didn't fall out and went about finding and picking the leaves off of some Blue Grass. "The powder inside the petals is what helps you sleep. Other than that, you just need the leaves from the Blue Grass," I explained, washing those off and placing them on the paper with the Lamp Grass. "They're where most of the calming properties are." It was a little nerve-wracking to have her watch me, so I made sure to be extra careful so I didn't make a mistake. That would be horrifyingly embarrassing…

"I see," she said thoughtfully, and continued to watch while I finished making the medicine, producing a small bottle of clear purple-brown liquid, which was, to my relief, the correct color. It was more than I had given her before, but now that I knew it worked for her, there was no harm in giving her more dosages.

"Would you like to take some here, or at home?" I asked, handing her the bottle. She shook her head.

"At home would probably be best. I don't want to disturb your mother or sister."

"Alright," I nodded, "just remember that you only need a few drops, it's pretty strong stuff. Since it's so late already, you should probably take less than normal," I told her, opening the door for her. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"I can manage." She smiled warmly at me, which made my heart do little somersaults. "Thank you for making this for me." She leaned in and gave me a hug, which I belatedly realized I should return (after I was done freaking out), said goodnight, and left.

I heaved a sigh, running a hand through my hair and pulling out a hair tie on accident. Why did I have to be so nervous around her? All I risked was making an idiot out of myself by doing so…

I was about to go about cleaning up the mess I made making the medicine when I heard a creak on the stairs. I looked up, and Mom was peering down at me, smiling slightly.

"What are you doing up?" I asked, slightly surprised. I thought we were being quiet enough…

"I should be asking you that." She chuckled, glancing at the door. "What did Rosalind want?"

"Just some medicine to help her sleep," I said, washing out a beaker and throwing out the remnants of the boiled plants.

"She came here and asked you to make some at this hour?" Mom asked, surprised. "That's unlike her."

"No, I insisted I make her some. I accidentally fell asleep at Max's and when I was leaving she was wandering around the house," I explained, putting things away. "I didn't want to leave her to be up all night."

"I see. That was sweet of you." I blushed a little, finishing putting everything away. Well, I honestly would have felt bad to leave her like that when there was something I could do about it, so I didn't really have a choice…besides; I wanted to go the extra mile for her. I cared about her a lot. "Well, I'm going back to bed. You should too." I nodded, following her up the stairs after turning off the lights.

Tomorrow was a new day.

.~.~.~.~.

Max was lost in bliss. Ray was so comfortably warm to hold despite the summer heat, and as he dozed, he reveled in the sensation of the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he held him. He felt so alive. He drank in their closeness, knowing it wouldn't last very long—surely Ray would wake soon and wiggle out of his grasp, and who knew when—or if—he would ever get a chance to do this again? He was going to milk this for all he could get.

Too soon, though, he felt Ray begin to stir, moving about in his arms. Max kept still, his eyes closed, so that it would look like he was sleeping. Maybe then he wouldn't have to explain himself, although he couldn't guarantee that Ray wouldn't ask later. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

He couldn't resist peeking through his lashes, though, and watched as Ray slowly woke up, glancing around disoriented for a moment before looking up at him. Max kept stock still, and luckily Ray didn't seem to notice that he was awake, because he looked down, finally seeming to notice that he was being held.

He let Ray roll onto his back in his arms, but when he made to sit up, Max was struck with an irrational urge to hold him and never let him go. He didn't want him to leave, not just yet!

Ray made a small noise of surprise at being pinned down, and quickly Max realized what he was doing and loosened his grip. He was being foolish; he couldn't keep Ray with him, not without his cover being blown. Ray grabbed his wrist and gently pulled his arm off, rolling out of bed, and Max resisted the urge to whine.

Now that the warmth of having him near him was gone, Max realized that it was probably a very foolish thing to have curled up next to him in the first place. Because now he wanted more—he wanted to jump out of bed and pull Ray back into it with him, but he couldn't. He was being unreasonable in the first place, holding him like that; no matter how nice it felt while he was doing it…

He watched carefully as Ray went about the room collecting the things he had brought with him, rushing as quietly as he could out the door. Max felt a pang of remorse—it was almost as if he was running away…

But voices out in the hallway perked his attention, and he silently rolled out of bed, creeping to the door. Who would be up at this hour? Rosalind?

He opened the door a crack—something he was used to doing without sound, with all the times he had snuck out in the middle of the night for a stroll or something more mischievous—and saw that Rosalind was indeed the one up, speaking to Ray quietly.

He felt something burning in the pit of his stomach as he watched them. He shouldn't be feeling this way, he knew—Rosalind was probably the best one for Ray, and he liked her a lot. Jealousy shouldn't be there—this was his sister and best friend he was thinking about, and he shouldn't be jealous of their relationship (or potential for a relationship, anyway). He should be happy for them. He couldn't help it, though…

The dam holding in everything he had put away so he could do what he thought was best for Ray that he had been so careful to keep in good condition was falling apart at the seams, and he couldn't plug the holes up fast enough.

He had to make a choice soon, or else there would only be one he could make. Hopefully it would be the right one.

.~.~.~.~.

A/N: Compared to the last two, this one took forever to write. D:

And I totally made up the medicine that Ray made. Just so you know. XD

Thank you for reading~ Next chapter should be up soon, but I would looooove it if you could drop me a line and tell me what you think about this one. Love it, hate it, whatever, I'd love to hear your response. So until then, have a nice day~