"I'll arrange the meeting, you all may make yourselves at home here, I'll have Johnathan bring around some new clothes." Nel's mother escorts the boys to spare rooms, making sure to probe into each of the boy's lives on the way. They meet back in Nel's childhood room afterward. "That was your plan?" Nel covers his face with his hands, "it was all I could think of."
"So, are we supposed to wait for your father-in-law to come to the wedding or?" Yuto teases. Nel glares at him, "The meeting will be at her house, it's customary." Xiao interrupts, fatigue evident in her voice, "I'm starting to hate this noble crap more and more."
"-security will be too tight, you'll have to disguise yourself as either butlers or bodyguards."
"Bodyguard," they all say without hesitation. "Alright, I'm sure the meeting will be in the morning, my mother's in a hurry to marry me off." His tone hides some bitterness.
They sleep in their plush beds, except for Nel, who never sleeps. He spends the night awake, walking the courtyards and manipulating the water in the marble fountains. He thought about how no matter how far he'd run away from this place, it always sucked him back. Familiarity was comfortable, but this was never his home. His mother's twisted priorities and his father's absent disapproval made sure of that.
The morning arrives along with a carefully curated breakfast for six. In a formal dining space, with seats so far apart it'd be impossible to reach one another. "Nelson, will you wait here until your father returns in a few days?"
Nel places his fork back on his napkin, "I'm afraid I cannot, I have military matters to attend to."
"Oh! What a shame! I'm sure he would love to hear of your accomplishments."
"Mother, we have guests, we should refrain from talking about father so much," He glares at her.
"Ah yes, you were always shy!" She twirls her long blonde locks with her fingers in a ditzy way. Nel excuses himself from the table and Xiao follows him shortly after, feeling very uncomfortable in this scenery.
"Are you alright?" she places a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "I'm sorry to make you all a part of this." Xiao wants to hit his self-loathing self, "You're always doing this Nel." She sighs, a part of her reflects on their similarities. "What are you talking about."
"are you going to keep pretending like nothing is wrong?"
"I'm fine." Xiao pauses, deciding not to pry anymore, they weren't close enough for that yet. She struggled with Nel, this hadn't changed even after she'd released her resentment towards him. There were days when Nel was kind, cheerful, goofy even; and while innately Nel was always kind, there were days Nel took on a somber appearance and shut down. Xiao notices Christopher's lanky body and gleaming eyes from the corner of her eye. "Goddess Amaya! How long have you been there!" Xiao says, unusually startled. "Not long," He walks over to join them from the other side of the courtyard. "Are you giving Nel a talk like I did to you?"
"No, I don't want him to punch me in the face so…" her words windle off to barely a whisper, "Oh, don't be that way, look how close we are now." Xiao stares at Christopher blankly, a spark of amusement behind her eyes. "Ok, ok, but look how much less emotionally dense you are!" She gasps, "Oh please, you're the emotionally dense one."
"I am very in tune with my emotions, thank you very much." They break from their bickering at the sound of Nel laughing. He laughs a short and sweet laugh that releases all of his worries, and just for a moment, as Xiao looks at his emerald eyes and his hair that sways in the wind of the courtyard, she thinks he's quite beautiful.
"What is it," Christopher says like a deer caught in headlights. Nel waves his hand, gesturing for him to let it go. "It's nothing, so which one of you wants to help me decorate myself in stuffy noble gear?" Xiao looks at Christopher, pleading for some assistance to avoid having to watch Nel undress. Christopher gladly obliges and you can see the blood leave his face as it suddenly occurs to him that Xiao had seen all of them naked. He glares at Xiao, a deep sense of betrayal overwhelming him as his shame grows stronger. "I will go."