Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy) (18 page)

Looking down at the clothes he was currently wearing, Mathieu sighed. He should have known. They were slightly baggy on him, but they would have fit the blond man perfectly. “Thanks. I’m going to see about sleeping.” He kissed Kiev’s cheek for everything she had done for him. Swallowing hard, he looked across the house to where Solomon seemed to be in a temper. Somehow he knew this wasn’t going to end well. Without any more conversation, he weaved through the glass walls until he stood at the opening to Solomon’s room. “Hey…”

“What?” The blond growled, naked to the waist.

Mathieu looked around at the room. It wasn’t nearly as large as Avian’s had been, but it was large enough. The bed was set furthest from the door on a metal bed frame, raised a few inches on the ground and covered in dark colored sheets; the dresser was flanked by two different sets of cupboards, set opposite from the bed; the desk was clearly meant for only a single occupant; and the bathroom was tucked behind a frosted glass door. Taking a deep breath, he slowly entered the room, closing the door behind him before sitting on the edge of the bed. “Thanks…for the clothes, and sharing your room with me.”

Solomon kept his back to Mathieu, arms folded. “Whatever. Just take the bed. We’ll get another moved in tomorrow.” Pulling a few blankets out of a cabinet, Solomon laid them out on the floor and dropped onto them.

Mathieu turned his gaze to the bed he was sitting on,
which was clearly big enough to fit three people comfortably on it. “Uh, we could just share? I don’t bite.” He felt kind of bad to be evicting the man from his own bed. At the moment, he wasn’t sure if he actually disliked Solomon, or if he was just looking for someone to be angry with so he didn’t have to hate himself.

Solomon turned his back to him, pulling a blanket over himself.

Furrowing his brow, Mathieu shrugged and hesitantly climbed onto the bed. He had offered and if the blond was going to be a jerk, then he wasn’t going to feel back. Curling up on the side of the bed closest to the glass wall, he had a clear view of the dual setting suns slipping below the trees in the distance. The sheets were surprisingly soft against his skin. He watched them until the sky was dark and was almost asleep on the firm bed when a shift of the mattress forced him to crack one eye open. Rolling over, he saw that Solomon was laying on the bed, back to Mathieu. He kind of smiled before snuggling into his pillow and fell asleep.

~*~

Morning came far too early for Mathieu’s taste and he rolled over, trying to block out the suns’ rays. It wasn’t much of an improvement, but at least the sun was no longer shining directly against his closed eyes. The warmth of the man just behind him was like a furnace, making Mathieu want to kick the blankets off, to seek out some much desired airflow.

The bed shifted behind him and he heard Solomon get up, padding into the bathroom. Cracking an eye open, he looked through the walls to see the others in various
states of alertness. Some of the other rooms were doubled up too, he noticed, such as the room shared by Josette and Adele. Whoever had thought up the design of this house was either really smart, or really stupid. The glass took away privacy, but it instilled a sense of unity. Living in a house like this took away any chance of secrecy; Mathieu could even see that Nathan slept with his head at the foot of the bed.

As well as this house seemed to fit these close-knit people, it just made him feel awkward and exposed. He pulled the blanket back over himself and wrapped it tightly around him, using it as a shield while still being able to watch the others with a sense of mild interest. Kiev was a few walls away and she seemed to be having a silent fight with Mina over use of the bathroom. Mina finally conceded with hands up in a surrendering manner when the other blonde woman put a menacing hand against the wall, boxing Mina in.

He shook his head slightly as Solomon re-emerged and climbed back onto the bed, prodding Mathieu shoulder. “Up. Come on. Sun is up, so are we. You need to start your training today. I’ll whip you into shape, yet.” When he still didn’t get up, the blond man sighed and got off the bed, grabbed the edge firmly and pulled it hard, creating a crevice between the wall and the bed.
A crevice that Mathieu fell into with a loud curse.

Solomon chuckled before he abandoned the room, leaving Mathieu to levee himself off the floor with a groan. Mumbling about blond jerks, Mathieu made his way into the surprisingly messy bathroom and ran fingers through his hair. The sun was blazing in, reflecting off the clouded glass in graceful arcs.

Huffing, he quickly brushed his hair with Solomon’s brush and splashed some water on his face. The cupboard with clothes was right behind him and he pulled it open, rummaging through the articles until he found something that would marginally fit. Ever so, the clothing draped off of him and made him look like a child playing dress-up. Blowing his bangs out of his face, he plucked at the shirt. Mathieu considered adjusting it with his energy, but he wasn’t sure if he even could; since Avian’s passing, he hadn’t tapped into it for fear or destroying the house again. He also wasn’t sure how much Solomon valued his clothing. Of course, after the way that Solomon had acted a few minutes ago, he didn’t particularly care how much the man liked his wardrobe.

Re-emerging with a now modified shirt that fit him much better, a few tears and a knot in the shirt later it fit quite nicely, he looked around the house. Through the walls, he spotted where everyone was congregated. He labored his way through the maze of glass walls and opening, weaving towards the others.

Nathan lifted his eyes in acknowledgement of Mathieu, motioning with his chin for the white-haired man to sit beside Kiev. “Good, let’s begin. Solomon, what’s the agenda for today?”

The blond was sitting beside his sister, looking out at the grounds. Solomon’s mind seemed to be elsewhere.

“Solomon.” Mina said, bumping him with her elbow.

The emerald green eyes of Solomon’s gaze snapped to Nathan, “Yes?”

“What is the schedule for today?” Nathan asked.

Solomon’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “We’re going to be punching small children, Nathan. What do you think?”

The red-head rolled his eyes, but nodded in seeming understanding. Mathieu thought the blond man was just being a douche. “I expect things to be taken care of in my absence. I’ll return before sun down.” Nathan said, standing.

Solomon stood and looked at Mathieu.
“Time to go.”
He said, folding his arms. The others of the room were moving, too, going about their own business.

“Ehhh.”
Grudgingly, Mathieu snagged a piece of toast from what could only be the remains of breakfast, then stood and followed Solomon out onto the back lawn. “Need time to eat…”

“You should have gotten up with the rest of us when I told you to. Sit.” The blond was in a no-nonsense kind of mood. “Since our leader, Nathan, has so kindly decided to dump you on me, it has become my responsibility to turn you into a decent fighter. I warn you, I don’t tolerate failures or screw-ups. You
will
succeed and become a first rate soldier. Your progress is reflected on me.”

Mathieu gave him a flat look, not having sat. While the man was speaking, he munched on his toast.  He wasn’t a fan of being talked down to and Solomon seemed to be in a condescending mood. “Excuse
me
, but I happen to make an excellent fighter.”

Solomon’s head tilted back,
adam’s
apple bobbing with his laughter. “I’ve seen your ‘skills’. They’re marginal
and unrefined. You couldn’t beat a properly educated six year old, even if you wanted to. You run on sheer emotions and your control leaves much to be desired. Now,” he ignored the scowl on Mathieu’s face, “you’ll need to master a weapon. You can’t always rely on your uncontrollable energy. In fact I would prefer you didn’t use your gift at all.”

“Seriously, my energy isn’t uncontrollable.” Mathieu said, arms folding in a protective way over his chest.

“I don’t really care. You will learn to master a weapon.” Solomon said flatly.

Rolling his eyes, he wrinkled his nose at the blond. “And how do you plan to determine what kind of weapon I should use if I’m unwilling to try them?”

Solomon took a calming breath. “I’m not as stupid as you seem to believe. I’ve trained a person or two before and I know how to select the right weaponry for a person. Most of it is obvious and most people are trained with basic swordplay. I doubt you’re dexterous enough for archery, more of a chick thing.” At this point he was more talking to himself than Mathieu. “Although with the way
he
looks…”

Growling, he shot a spark of energy towards the man, catching him in the cheek. It was the first time he used his gift and the sensation of it made him ache with longing; he truly missed feeling in harmony with his energy.

Solomon’s eyes narrowed, staring down the other. “What the hell was that?” The blond rubbed his cheek idly.

“I know I look like a girl okay, let’s not bring that up. I can change it about as much as you can change being a jackass.” He crossed his arms and huffed, looking down the slight hill to the tree below which Avian rested. She had always seemingly overlooked his feminineness, aside from dressing him like a girl.

Sighing, the blond took a deep breath and dug the toe of his boot into the ground. “You’re a real pain, you know that? I don’t doubt that you’re stronger than you look, because frankly, you don’t look like much. All I want to do is give you something to back up that cocky little attitude of yours so Nathan will get off my back. Quit trying to fight with me; I will win. I’ve been doing this a lot longer and I have no remorse. It’s that simple. Now, I think that a sword would be a good fit for you.” Solomon put one of his hands firmly on his hip. “Darcia will eventually help train you.”

“Darcia is…”

“The guy with the long bang and brooding disposition.
Looks kind of like a shark.”

“Oh!
That guy.”
Mathieu recalled the aristocratic face and mouthful of sharp teeth.

Solomon nodded. “He’s our sword master.”

“Then why aren’t I training with him to start with?”

“What’s your problem with me, anyway?” The taller man asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve never done crap to you. I saved you from death, I fed you and tended your wounds while you healed from your gunshot wounds, I took care of you while you mopped over Avian, and now I’m
sharing my room with you. You’re the most ungrateful, undeserving
boy
I’ve ever met. You’re a child in a man’s body and you don’t know how to graciously accept help.”

Mathieu looked at the grass between his feet, thoroughly scolded. He had thought that Kiev had been the one to take care of him, but it seemed that wasn’t true. Against his better judgment, he supposed he could try to be a little nicer to Solomon. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. I want to bring down Unith as much as you do, and fighting within our own ranks isn’t doing us any favors.”

“Solomon…”

“Hm?” the blond met his gaze, an eyebrow raised.

Mathieu hesitated a moment. “Um…thanks.”

The man nodded. “It it fine. Today you will meet some of the more important people and we’ll go from there.”

“That sounds…exhilarating.”

“It’s not, but you need to be able to recognize everyone, their significance, and how they can help you in the long run if you’re going to fit in here and become a part of our family.” Solomon sat and gave Mathieu a quick glance.

Mathieu sat as well with a sigh and turned his head, meeting the man’s gaze steadily. “I want to belong here, you know. You’re people are like me….or maybe I’m like you…”

“You’re like some of us.
Others of us, not so much.
But
collectively we want you to be here with us. We’re surprisingly accepting…” The blond shrugged.

“Surprisingly.”
Mathieu agreed. “How do you guys get along so well? I mean you guys are all so different.”