"Gateau?" No answer. Marron knocked on the door. "Gateau?" Still no answer. Marron knocked again, a bit louder this time. "Maybe he's already asleep...but it's still early..." Marron ran a hand through his hair, then knocked again. "Gateau, are you still awake in there?" he asked. Again, no answer. And Marron was becoming more than a bit worried now. When they'd arrived at the inn, Gateau had gone straight to his room and said he'd be in there the rest of the night. He seemed a bit out of it, too...actually, Gateau seemed to be out of it a lot lately, Marron had noticed. "It's weird, seeing him so quiet and introspective..." he mumbled. Seeing Gateau so quiet, instead of the usual flexing and "LOOK AT MEEEEE!" was... rather unsettling, at least to Marron. "I never thought I'd actually MISS that," he admitted. He blushed slightly. Even if Gateau's constant flirting with him got tiresome, he had to admit it WAS flattering. "I wonder what's on his mind..." Sighing, Marron knocked on the door again. "Gateau, it's Marron. Are you all right?" he asked. Marron heard a sigh, then slow, heavy footsteps. The door opened. "Marron...sorry about that, I...I didn't hear you. Come in," Gateau said. He looked tired, and his eyes were a bit red...had he been crying? "Th-thank you," Marron said quietly, stepping into the room. "Are you feeling all right? You seemed so...out of it earlier." "I-I was just thinking," Gateau mumbled. "About?" Marron ventured. "Nothing," Gateau lied. He didn't know whether to be glad Marron was here, or feel worse because of it. After all, Marron was the reason he'd been so angsty lately. He'd known for awhile he was in love with the magic user, but lately it had been depressing him to no ends. Why? He was used to Marron ignoring him every time he flirted with him. That was how Marron was. So why was it that Gateau couldn't stop thinking about him lately? Noticing little things about him, things he'd never thought much about before...the way he brushed his hair out of his eyes when he read, his smile, the way his robes gently swayed when he walked, his eyes...every time Marron looked at him with those serious golden eyes, Gateau's heart beat faster. 'Pathetic. The strongest member of the team getting all weepy and depressed over love,' Gateau thought. 'Well, everyone has a weakness... and Marron just happens to be mine.' He was sure of his feelings. He loved Marron. So why was he afraid to say anything? Well he KNEW why. Marron probably wouldn't take him seriously. He rarely did, anyway. Same with Carrot and Tira and Chocolat. And who could blame them? 'It's pretty hard to take a guy seriously when he's always showing off,' Gateau thought miserably. "Gateau?" Marron's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Sorry about that...I got lost for a minute," Gateau mumbled. "Gateau, I'm getting really worried about you...we all are," Marron said softly, stepping closer and resting a gentle hand on Gateau's forearm. Gateau's heart skipped a beat. Forcing himself not to go into an inner- mind tangent on how smooth and soft Marron's hand felt, he swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a smile. "Really, Marron. It's nothing," he said. "Can't a guy just be quiet for a few days without something being wrong?" "Gateau, if you were just being quiet I wouldn't be worried! You've kept to yourself a lot these last few days, and you're always so out of it except during battles! This isn't like you, Gateau," Marron said. "What IS like me, Marron? Am I automatically supposed to be this energetic guy, flexing and showing off my muscles every 5 minutes, all the time?" Gateau asked, surprised at the bitterness in his own voice. "Is that all I am to you, and the others?! Some muscle-bound idiot who can't stop showing off?!" "Gateau!" Marron pulled back. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that..." His voice became quiet. "I was just worried, that's all." As he watched Marron's hands tremble slightly and his face become nervous and apologetic, Gateau felt like kicking himself. 'DAMN IT! Now see what you did, Gateau?! How could you yell at the guy you've been crying over?! You moron!' "M-Marron, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on you like that! I...I'm just not myself lately. Job stress is getting to me, I guess," he said. "Gateau..." Marron replaced his hand on the blonde's arm, his eyes filled with concern. "I won't force you to talk about it if you don't want to... but just know...if you ever need to talk, just let me know. I'm here," he said. Gateau smiled a little. "Thanks," he whispered. "I'll feel better once I've gotten a decent night's sleep. Sorry to worry you all so much lately." "I'll let you sleep then," Marron said, pulling away slowly and walking towards the door. "Night, Gateau. Sleep well." "Night, Marron." Marron walked out and closed the door behind him with a soft click. As soon as he was gone, Gateau sank down onto the bed and buried his face in his hands. "Marron..." he whispered as the tears began to fall again. ~ Marron sighed, stretching out on his bed. He knew Gateau had been lying, but he didn't want to press him on it. The look in Gateau's eyes was more than just sleep deprivation. He'd obviously been crying. 'Is that all I am to you, and the others?! Some muscle-bound idiot who can't stop showing off?!' "Gateau..." Marron sat up, drawing one knee up to his chest and resting his head against it. "Of course not! You're so much more...you're our team's strength!" Strength...as in muscles? "...Maybe...we HAVE kind of taken you for granted a bit..." Marron looked up at the ceiling. "But...is this...really the way you feel, Gateau? I mean...all your flirting and idiocy and 'LOOK AT MEEEEEEE!'...is that just a cover?" He closed his eyes, feeling them sting with tears. "Gateau..." The sound of the door creaking open snapped Marron out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his brother walk in. "Hey, Marron. Decided to turn in early?" Carrot asked. "Hi, niisan." Marron smiled a little. "No, I...was just thinking," he said. Carrot sat down on the bed next to Marron. "Again? You're going to wear your brain out, thinking so much," he teased. Marron gave a forced laugh. "Yeah..." Carrot blinked. "Hey...is something wrong?" Marron looked up a little. "N-no...I-I'm just tired, niisan," he lied. "You sure? You look kinda out of it," Carrot said. "Really." For some reason, Marron didn't want to tell Carrot his worries about Gateau... 'I'd feel like I was betraying him somehow...he obviously works hard to hide it from everyone...he doesn't want us to worry about him, I guess.' "Well...if you're sure." Carrot gave Marron's shoulders a little squeeze. "I'm gonna get washed up and go to bed. It's been a long day," he said. "All right, niisan." Carrot stared at his brother, a look of concern on his face. "Marron...what's really going on? Something's obviously bothering you," he said. "Niisan, I said it's nothing...please, don't worry about me. I'm just tired," Marron said. 'Why does that seem so familiar?' he thought. Carrot put his arms around Marron and hugged him gently. "I'm your big brother. It's my job to worry about you," he said. Marron blushed slightly. "Niisan..." He smiled a little and leaned into Carrot's embrace. "Besides, you never were any good at lying," Carrot mumbled. "Right, niisan." Marron sighed. Carrot smiled softly and ran a hand through Marron's hair. "I won't force it, though. You don't have to talk about if if you'd rather not," he said. "Thanks, niisan." Marron yawned slightly. "Maybe I'll just go to bed now. It is getting kind of late," he said. "All right. I'm gonna go get washed up and hit the sack myself," Carrot said, standing up and grabbing a towel from the floor. "I'll try not to be very long." "Yes, niisan." Marron watched the retreating figure of his brother as he headed for the bathroom, then let himself fall back against the bed. 'I've never been good at lying...' he thought. 'So it's beyond me how niisan hasn't figured out what I've been thinking about the past few weeks.' It seemed like hours before Carrot came back, a towel thrown around his waist and his wet hair plastered to his face. "Shower's all yours," he said. Marron nodded slightly, unable to keep his eyes off of Carrot's bare chest. 'He looks so...beautiful, half-naked with water dripping off of his skin...so beautiful...niisan...' He forced himself to look away. He couldn't start thinking about THAT now. He already had enough on his mind tonight. Silently, he picked up a towel and his nightshirt, then walked into the bathroom. ~ Once in the privacy of the bathroom, Marron slowly unbuttoned his robe and let it fall to the floor. Had Carrot noticed how flustered he was? As he turned the water on, he thought about the past few weeks. How he'd come to realize his feelings for Carrot were beyond brotherly love. "I shouldn't be surprised," he mumbled. "I've always practically idolized niisan...I'm always so protective of him during battles..." He sighed. "Still hurts, though...even if we weren't brothers, he's straight as an arrow. He'd never look at me that way." Just then, he realized he'd left the water running a bit longer than he'd meant to. "Maybe I'll have a nice, long bath tonight..." He tested the water with his fingers, then pulled his pants off and got into the tub. The warmth of the water relaxed his nerves a little as he submerged himself up to his neck. He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift a little. Not surprisingly, his thoughts drifted back to Carrot. And Gateau. He felt so confused. On one hand, his feelings for Carrot were driving him insane. But he couldn't stop thinking about how sad Gateau looked earlier. 'What does one have to do with the other, though? It's not like I have feelings for Gateau also!' he thought.