The Lunar Life Ch. 05

A week passed and things between Will and Thane weren't getting easier, but they weren't getting harder either. After their talk that night a week ago, the two had definitely tried to keep things platonic between them. Of course that wasn't very easy, seeing that the more time they spent together, the more the felt themselves falling for each other. Still, it was nothing that either guys couldn't handle. After all, they had a lot more pressing matters to attend to.

Thane was kept busy with a new project that he was working with another elite called Tracey, who worked down at the hospital. Being elite, it was no surprise that Tracey looked like a model. She had a tall frame, almost 6'1" and had a body that could make guys melt as she walked by. With long blonde hair, a delicate jaw, sharp cheekbones and a straight nose, she looked beautiful. Her personality however, didn't really click with Will. She didn't seem to have this aura of professionalism that most other elites possessed, instead giving Will the impression of a mean popular girl from one of those old high school movies. All this was however, only what Will gathered from Thane's multiple bitching sessions about the girl. Will had only seen Tracey but had never met her in person so he couldn't really judge, but he trusted Thane enough to know that what he said was probably true.

Will, on the other hand, was busy with his lessons with Varek. So far, he had been brought to every important facility in the city centre, taught about elite etiquette, and almost everything elite you could think of. He had even started trying to find Will's specialization, something that Will himself wasn't sure of.

With everything that he was expected to learn, it was no surprised that although it had only been a week, Will was thoroughly exhausted, physically and mentally. So a quiet night was just what Will needed. Varek had given Will the day off, giving him the opportunity to relax a little after what he knew was a very productive week. To Varek, Will had been the perfect understudy, despite being brought up a natal. Will was hardworking, enthusiastic and professional, something that made it a joy for Varek to mentor, so in his mind, it seemed only fitting to give the boy a break once in a while.

So Will lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Sure he had spent a good portion of the day lazing around, but he didn't feel rested up at all. He had more than enough rest to recuperate from the exhaustion that was the week prior, but still he felt lethargic and tired, something which baffled him. A knock on his door drew his attention. "Come in." He announced.

The door opened and stood at the doorway was Thane. "Hey."

"What's up?" Will said, hanging his head over the side of the bed, looking at Thane upside down. His eyes followed the elite as he made his way over to the couch.

"Nothing. Just got back from the hospital. I seriously cannot wait to get this thing done with. I don't think I can take Tracey for much longer." Thane said, laying down on the couch.

"I can imagine." Will chuckled, returning his gaze to the ceiling.

"Imagining is only half as bad as living it man. The girl seriously doesn't know when to stop talking." Thane sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, what about you. I heard Dad gave you a day off."

"Yeah. I don't know, seems so unproductive. I'm bored out of my mind."

"Wanna swap places, you go to the hospital and I laze around the whole day." Thane said, propping himself off the couch a little to look at Will.

"I think I'm good."

"You could have come with me today you know. I'm pretty sure it would have been better than cooping yourself up in this room the whole day." Thane said, getting off the couch and walking over to the bed, sitting down next to Will.

"Yeah well, I was exhausted. Plus, I wouldn't want to distract you from your work."

"You distract me regardless whether you're there or not." Thane said, making Will blush. "I can't stop thinking about it."

"About what?" Will asked, pushing himself up to a sitting position.

"Our kiss that night." Thane said, himself blushing a deep Crimson.

"Oh?"

"Please don't think that I'm trying to make things difficult again. I swear I'm not. I just thought you should know." Thane defended, worried that Will was going to blow up again like last time. They had talked things out so Thane wasn't sure how Will would react with him bringing up the matter again. Will popped a side smile, letting Thane know that he wasn't angry.

"Yeah well, I'd be lying if I say I hadn't been thinking about it either."

"Glad to hear." Thane said, heaving a sigh. "Well we better head down soon. Dinner should be about ready. I heard my mom's gonna be home tonight." Thane said, getting off the bed.

"Hey, wait." Will said, jumping off the bed too. "Are you okay?" Will asked, concerned for the other man.

"As okay as I'll ever be." Thane gave a small smile, but Will knew he wasn't happy. You didn't need a psychology background to see that. Feeling somewhat sorry for Thane, Will did something that he knew he was going to regret later. He leaned up and gave Thane a small peck on the lips.

"Better?" Will blushed, making Thane smile, this time a more genuine one. Thane hadn't expected Will to do that, so imagine his surprise when Will suddenly gave him a small kiss. Yeah they couldn't be together, but knowing that Will was there at all should make him happy enough. Did he still feel a little sad by that fact, of course, but he reminded himself that he should be happy with what he had.

"Much. C'mon, let's go." Thane said, exiting the room, Will at his heels. Will on the other hand, was feeling somewhat down on himself too, more because Thane was so down than anything else. He did feel somewhat responsible although it wasn't his fault at all, but still, it's Thane's attraction to him that caused it so he did have some role to play.

"So you said you're mom's here today?" Will said, trying to divert the topic. The past week, the mansion had been totally devoid of Mrs. Hopper. Thane had mentioned to Will that his mother usually stayed at a small apartment near her work area so it wasn't unusual for her not to be home.

"Yeah."

"Is it abnormal if I am getting a little nervous at meeting her again?"

"After the great conversation you two had the last time? Why on earth would you be nervous?" Thane mocked.

"You can pull back on the sarcasm. You're as bad as Steve." Will said, punching Thane in the arm.

"I thought you liked his sarcasm."

"There something called too much of a good thing." Will said, finally reaching the kitchen.

"What's a good thing?" Steve asked. Will was about to reply when the smell of food assaulted his senses. His eyes closed in euphoria as he breathed in the heavenly smell.

"Whatever you're cooking. That's the good thing." Will said, mouth almost drooling.

"Better grab a tissue before you form a puddle." Thane said, smirking as he walked over to the dinning table.

"Make sure to get me a healthy portion." Will said to the robot, following Thane to the table.

"Sure thing."

As Will took his seat beside Thane, Varek came waltzing in with Cassandra on his arm. "Ah, seems like we're last to arrive." Varek said, smiling as he walked Cassandra over to her seat.

"Well it's always nice to be fashionably late." Cassandra said, smiling to her husband. It was the first time that Will had ever seen Cassandra smile, and he could honestly say that he preferred the look on her. Their first encounter made him think she was just scary. Now with that smile, she looked about as warm as his own mother.

"A minute isn't really considered late Mom." Thane said, shaking his head.

"Well, punctuality is everything on Lunaris." She replied as Varek took his seat beside his wife. Just then Steve came in, expertly balancing four plates in his arms, laying each down in front of everyone. Before quickly disappearing back into the kitchen. Will looked down at the plate of food in front of him and breath in the amazing smell. When he asked for a healthy portion, Steve really went all out, the portion on his plate a marked difference than the other three.

"I see you like the food." Varek smirked, looking at Will's overflowing plate, making the young man blush. "Oh no need to be embarrassed. I'm happy that you're settling in nicely here."

"How could I not? What with the hospitality you all have shown me." Will said.

"Oh before I forget, you're sister sends her regards." Cassandra said, directing her statement to Thane. At first, Will thought he heard wrong.

"Oh? How is Alena doing?" Thane replied, basically confirming to Will that he had in fact heard correctly.

"Good. She's coping well." Cassandra replied. Finally, the shock of it wore off and Will found himself able to speak.

"Wait, you have a sister?" Will asked, eyes wide, looking to Thane.

"Yeah. Didn't I mention that before?" Thane said.

"No you didn't. I think I would have remembered."

"Hmm, well quite frankly I have other things on my mind so excuse me if I forget that fact." Thane said. Will knew the implications of Thane's comment. What with everything going on between the two of them, something like that could have been overlooked when your thoughts were dominated by only one other person.

"Well with something like the hospital upgrade, I'll be surprised if you didn't have other things on your mind." Varek replied to his son, to which he just smiled and nodded in agreement, but Will knew the real reason.

Sure, Varek might have bought the idea, but Cassandra didn't seem so convinced. As Will looked at her, her brows were furrowed as her eyes studied both him and Thane. A sideways glance and Will could see that Thane noticed his mother's intent gaze as well. Will thought that maybe Thane had been a little too careless with his easy comment. Cassandra after all, was a person who knew the human psyche inside and out.

Feeling awkward under her long stare, both boys returned to their meal as Varek went on about something about work, apparently unaware of the building tension between the other three people at the table. Eventually, Cassandra broke her gaze, returning to her meal and listening to Varek as he spoke about something. Neither Will nor Thane were listening though, both slightly unnerved after Cassandra's evaluation. Both of them wondered what was going through the elite woman's head, her expression totally masking any indication of her thoughts.

For there rest of the meal, she didn't give either boys a second glance, which both scared and relaxed Will. For one, she may have brushed off Thane's comment as nothing more than work related, like Varek thought. On the other hand, she may have just known enough that no further probing was necessary. Will prayed that it was the former though. The last thing he needed was for someone to know about their personal predicaments.

"I'm going to see if there's any dessert." Thane said, getting up and shooting Will a short look. Will immediately caught on.

"I'll go with you." He said, getting up and following Thane into the kitchen. Entering, Will was glad that Steve wasn't there meaning that the two of them could talk in private.

"Okay, I think my mom knows something's up." Thane said, turning to face Will.

"No shit Sherlock. Did you see her staring at us? I can't tell what she's thinking."

"Yeah me neither."

"Some psychology specialist you are." Will said, expecting more from Thane.

"Well excuse me. It's like an apprentice going up against a master. I have no chance. Plus it's your fault anyway." Thane said, pointing an accusatory finger at Will.

"Wha...!" Will shouted before stopping himself when he knew he had been too loud. "What? You were the one who said you had other things on your mind." Will whisper shouted.

"That was a totally open ended statement. Your expression after I said it on the other hand, let's just say you had it written all over your face." Will blushed at the comment, not realizing that that may have been what tipped Cassandra off in the first place.

"Whatever it is, what are we going to do now?"

"Act normal. That's the only thing we can do. She hasn't said anything yet so maybe we're just overreacting." Thane said.

"Let's hope you're right." Will said, right before Steve stepped back into the kitchen.

"Yes sir, how can I help you?" He asked.

"Um, well we came here looking for dessert but we changed our mind." Thane said, quickly retreating back to the table. Will looked from Steve to Thane, unsure of what to do.

"Um yeah, what he said." Will stuttered, awkwardly following Thane. Will cringed at his own reaction, knowing that if Steve were human, he would be raising an eyebrow about now. Making their way back to the dining table, both boys sat down.

"No dessert?" Varek asked. Cassandra however, still didn't look in the direction of the younger men.

"We changed our minds." Thane replied. Varek nodded. "So..." Thane began but was cut off by his mother.

"Actually before we go on." Cassandra said, staring at the tabletop. "Is there something either of you want to tell Varek?" There it was, her ultimatum.

"Not really, no." Both boys said simultaneously.

"Really?" She said, looking to Thane, finally making eye contact. "Thane? Anything you want to tell your father?" Will looked over and saw Thane swallow the lump in his throat. Thane however remained silent, probably unsure what to say.

"What's this all about Cass?" Varek asked, clearly confused at what his wife was prodding at.

"Well, it seems that there is something going on between your son and your protégé. It seems they are attracted to each other." Cassandra said without so much as a flinch. At the words, the color drained from Thane's face and Will felt like throwing up the big dinner he just had. Varek turned from his wife to the boys in front of him. His eyebrows dipped as he thought about what Cassandra had just said.

"Is it true?" He voiced, directing the question to no one in particular, but before anyone could reply he spoke again. "Actually, you don't even have to answer, because I know Cassandra isn't wrong. She never is about these kinds of things." Varek looked angry but not really at the same time. To Will, it was the first time he had ever seen Varek with anything but a smile on his face. "I want to see you both in my office." He said, walking off without another word, leaving Will, Thane and Cassandra seated at the table.

Will turned to Thane who looked mortified. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Will shook Thane to recover him from his shock. "You okay?"

"I...I don't know." He said standing up. He avoided looking at his mother at all cost, feeling some anger directed at her for spilling the news in such a crude fashion. Will followed behind Thane as they made their way to Varek's office. He didn't know what to feel towards Cassandra. He wanted to feel anger towards her but really, all he felt was fear. What she did only proved to Will that she was a ruthless person, scary as he had initially thought.

As they were about to exit the room, Cassandra spoke up. "Boys, hold on" She said, getting up and walking over to the two men. Neither looked at her, unsure of what she wanted to say. "I know you feel some animosity towards me for doing this, but you'll thank me for it later." Thane said nothing and continued his way to his father's office. Will followed behind but noticed Cassandra walking beside him.

"How?" Will said, the only word he could utter. Will knew Thane could hear their conversation, being only a few feet ahead.

"How I knew? Well first thing you should know about me, nothing gets by me." She said. "Plus, you are not that difficult to read William. I do apologize for the way I handled that just now though. I could have been a little more gentler." At her words, Thane let out a huff. "Now Thane, I have my reasons. Like I said, you'll thank me later."

The rest of the way to the office was in silence. Thane entered without a second look at his mother. Will made to follow suit but Cassandra stopped him. "I trust you'll take care of my son Will. He's very fond of you. I approve." Before Will could even respond to that, he was nudged into the office and the door closed behind him. He wondered if he just heard what he heard.

Of course, he had no time to think though as Varek sat at his desk, hands locked across his chest as his face scrunched in thought. Thane sat silently across the desk and Will took the seat next to him. The expression on Varek's face wasn't one of anger, or any emotion to be accurate, a neutral look. Still, to the two men, the look so contrasting to his usual cheerful demeanor was such a huge difference, he might as well be scowling.

"So, you two...are attracted to one another." Varek said.

"Yes but..." Thane started but Varek put a hand up to stop him.

"Do you know what that means for you?"

"Well not really, no but..." Thane said but was once again cut off.

"Oh it's not good. Let me tell you, it's not good at all." Varek said. "Being elite, this is something many people cannot overlook."

"I know Dad. We've already decided that we're not gonna go any further." Thane said, fast enough to avoid being cut off. Will nodded in agreement, Varek's brows furrowing even more at the statement.

"Really?" He said. Varek sat there staring at Will and Thane for a minute not saying anything. He opened his mouth once, about to say something before closing it again.

"We'll try to be normal Varek." Will said, unable to take the silence any more.

"I think being elite, normal is kinda out of the question here."

"You know what he meant Dad. We'll keep our feelings buried. No one will know."

"Hmm, I want to tell you guys something. Something that they don't teach you in your CKT sessions. You see, before the migration, before Lunaris was even a thing, the human race was at an era of peace. Not like on Lunaris, but wars didn't exist and the world was generally stable. One aspect of that stability was relationships between people. Divorce was unheard of and, homosexuality was nothing out of the ordinary." Varek stopped, looking at the two boys.

"Why are you telling us this?" Thane asked.

"Just hear me out. After the migration however, focus moved to the repopulation of the human species, hence homosexuality became something of a liability. Many people, mostly elites, started viewing homosexuality as something that shouldn't be a facet of Lunaris, something like a flaw that needed to be stamped out. One of the people who share this sentiment is our very own president."

"Okay, but I don't get what you're getting at." Will asked.

"Listen, yes Lunaris has taught you that being gay is wrong, but really it isn't. Our forefathers can attest to that. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't care, and I don't want you guys to pretend to be something you're not, at least not in this house." Varek stopped.

"Wait what?" Thane asked, not really believing what he had just heard. His dad didn't hate him.

"Personally I don't even think the repopulation excuse can even apply to elites. It's not like we depend on copulation to create the next generation, not in the way that natals do. Furthermore, I think that repopulation is more of the main focus for natals. We on the other hands have other things to worry about."

"Wait Dad, slow down. What are you trying to say here?"

Varek sighed, shaking his head at his son's inability to grasp his words. "What it means Thane, is that you two are free to date each other, if that's what you wish. Just keep it within the household, we don't need people snooping into this facet of your life."

"But..." Will started but didn't know what to actually say.