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 Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:50 pm
Marius leaned into the hug, more for Percy than himself but even he couldn’t complain. He wrapped an arm around Percy in return for as long as they could manage the awkward embrace.
Poor Percy was always so quick to apologize or justify what he meant. Marius would have been amused by how hard he worked to try and keep him–and everyone else–happy if he wasn’t already feeling bad about how much of a toll it was taking on Percy to do so.
In some ways, it wasn’t helpful to know. In others, it was reassuring. He smiled politely. Marius wasn’t here to make friends, he was here to learn. To learn everything.
How to fix Villefort, mostly. How to help Alastor. He was here to learn so he could be useful, now that they’d decided to keep him alive. He’d never gotten along with people his own age, and honestly he had no idea where to start. He was used to being the youngest–significantly so–wherever he went, and now that there were people much closer to his age, he had no idea what to say to them. Older people were typically more socially conscious–they could talk about the weather and that was fine. But as soon as someone wanted to get to know him?
What were his hobbies? What did he like? What music did he listen to, what food did he prefer, what did he want to be when he graduated? He didn’t know. And what answers he could provide were more than he thought others would understand. He wasn’t going to spill his whole personal life to someone just to socialize. Despite how keen he was to play up his sickly state for pity and lenience, he didn’t actually want people to know the truth. Unless he could benefit from it, at least.
He’d have to write an essay on this, too. He’d been collecting them.
They weren’t true memoirs, they were publications of a fictional version of himself.
He didn’t mind playing the role of sick, pathetic, hopeful little Marius, plucked from his rotting village and given a second chance at life. He didn’t tell Percy that he’d coordinated a whole slew of topics to cover. He might write personal essays but they weren’t really about him. It was a platform to paint Devyn in a different light, and he’d already cultivated keen interest in plenty of Alastorians. He was going to eke out everything he could get from them.
He couldn’t make up for all that he’d done, but Percy wasn’t the only one trying to help Devyn. Marius was just sneakier about it.
“I still have to take medicine for the storms.” But then, he took medicine for a lot of things. His immune system was horrible and had to learn how to protect itself from every little thing. Marius was too stubborn to let it slow him down–most of the time–but Madison had insisted he take better care of himself. So, he took whatever cocktail was prescribed.
“But it’s not so bad. I can just come hang out here if I’m not feeling so well. Being around you always helps. Maybe because I immediately worry about you and forget that I’m not feeling well,” he teased, but he looked at the tray of food expectantly before meeting Percy’s eyes again.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:59 pm
Oh, teasing wasn’t nice, even if he appreciated Marius’ wanting to take care of him. Percy immediately looked from Marius to the tray of food and gum and tea, and quickly reached over to pick something up to eat, mumbling a quiet thanks once more.
His head still hurt. The storm wasn’t so bad, but there was something else that seemed to be making him uncomfortable. He felt agitated in a way he didn’t usually, especially if he was just tired or upset.
“I hope it’s not so bad that Dr. Eld will make you stay home,” Percy frowned, and immediately felt guilty for feeling selfish. He wanted Marius there with him. It was bad enough to be away from Devyn, but if Marius was back on Alastor too, then he would be there by himself.
No, that wasn’t fair. He had people he cared about there. His brother was not so far away, and he owed him a lot. But his immediate family would be so far from him.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 9:03 pm
“He won’t,” Marius promised. “And anyway, if I thought he might, I just wouldn’t tell him. I’d rather be here with you, anyway.”
He could lie or sugarcoat or redirect if he wanted to, but the fact was that he did feel an obligation to Percy, but he also felt safe with him. Sessrumnir itself was overwhelming, but mostly anywhere outside of Villefort was. Even as Marius got more acquainted with the outside world, he still felt very small and overwhelmed.
He was doing his best but that didn’t mean it was easy.
Marius was just used to powering through things when they got hard. At least he didn’t have to leech off of anyone else’s strength right now.
“If I need to rest,” he nodded to the couch on the other side of the room, “There are plenty of places here. Anyway, I’ve got too much I need to learn from you to head back. I want to get you more than caught up. That way when Devyn gets back, you don’t have to feel bad about taking some time to be with him.”
Because, he knew Percy. And he wanted to do everything he could to help him and Devyn both.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 9:10 pm
His face felt warm, and he couldn’t help but smile. Marius was sweet and thoughtful. Even if he felt obligated to help him and Devyn out, Percy would never regret wanting what was best for Marius.
Even if it caused stress between himself and Devyn.
It was such a difficult position to be in. What was wrong and what was right was so skewed depending on the perspective. A lot of people were caught up in something horrible, and Percy never wanted Marius to have to experience that again. And he hoped that he could help make sure nothing like that happened to anyone else, either.
“You’re going to make me cry,” he warned, but there was still a smile that reached his already wet eyes. “Okay, I’ll do better to take care of myself. I want you to rest too, okay? Once I’m done, want to help me bring some books back to my office? Did you eat? Have some. We’ll get some more,” he promised, pushing the tray closer to Marius to have some of the food he’d brought.
They might have a long road ahead of them, but they could do it together. They would find a way to help Devyn, no matter what.
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