Caius & Felix (backdated Sept. 18)

[om_ghost]

Felix is distressed by the "artwork" Harley left on his door, and Caius counsels him about it. Caius ends up learning one of Felix's secrets, and the boys embark on a new course of action.

Felix had promised Philip that he would take down the very expressive bit of finger-painting that Harley had left on his door. In truth, he didn't want it up there at all, but he also had barely wanted to come out of his room. Only the fact that he wouldn't miss classes for the world had dragged him out, and he'd done his best to ignore the picture when he left.

Creeping back from classes in the early afternoon, Felix dropped his bookbag on his bed, and glanced backward toward the open, gaily-decorated door. A part of him wanted to rip it to shreds, but he curled his hands into fists and stood in the open doorway with a scowl, trying to fight the urge back.


Caius was on his way back to his room to freshen up before finding company for lunch when he happened to spot Felix in the hallway. What a stroke of luck! "Felix, my dear, would you care to join me for lunch this afternoon?" he asked as he approached. It was only when he was closer that he took in the tension in the other boy's body and the clenched fists. "Felix, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice soft and lacking its usual buoyancy.


When Caius approached, Felix tried to force himself to relax and loosen his hands, which failed pretty miserably. Even though it had been on his door all day, Felix was suddenly very embarrassed about the messy, bright finger-painting picture and the scrawled accusatory message underneath. "Oh!" he said breathlessly, struggling to cover his discomfort. "Oh, it's just Harley. She's such a child! I don't know what she wants from me."


Felix was trying so hard! It would have been cruel of Caius to disregard his efforts. "That girl!" he said with a shake of his head. "For all her tumbling she is certainly adept at getting under foot." He took a step closer and appraised the painting. "Well it's not terrible," he said, "though we could set it on fire just for the fun of it." He turned back to Felix expectantly.


For a few hesitating heartbeats, Felix considered it, and for those moments, he looked sorely tempted. "That would get her to leave me alone," he allowed, very quiet and distantly thoughtful. Harley might leave him alone if he shattered her strange affection for him by doing such a thing. However...

"I don't want her to hate me. Who knows what she might say to people?" Frowning, Felix started to peel off the tape holding the paper to the door, at least to get it out of sight. His fingers fumbled, and he managed to tear the paper in a few places.


That could be a problem but, "you're just going to hide the thing anyway. She'd probably never find out. Do you want me to help you take it down? I promise not to damage the painting without your permission."


Felix wanted to reject it, but he couldn't hide his own unsteady hands. For some reason, he glanced away as though ashamed when he stepped back. "Could you? I'm... just all thumbs today, I suppose."


Caius took the painting down carefully, like he said he would. "Where would you like me to put it?" he asked. He was still of the opinion that setting it on fire would be fun but if Felix didn't agree he wasn't going to press.


"Let's just... toss it under my bed for now," Felix suggested, making a vague gesture toward his side of the room. He took a few steps and settled on the edge of his bed, fingers curled around the edge of the tidily-tucked-in blanket while he convinced himself he was calm. "I wish I could just make her..."

He trailed off, biting his lip. Because he could make her, and he almost had.


Caius slid the painted under the bed and then took a seat on the mattress beside Felix. "What would you make her do?" he asked.


"Forget that she knows me," Felix answered, glancing up to make sure the door had gone shut after they'd un-decorated it. "Forget she knows anything about me, and then leave me alone for good."


Caius was shocked to silence for a moment.

"Hmmm..." he said. "Is that what you truly want or are you just speaking in the moment?" he asked.


"I... don't know." Felix wrapped his arms around his middle. Caius had claimed the role of his best friend, and in truth, there was no one Felix felt more comfortable with, or more safe. Felix should be able to talk to him, but his secrets were like gold and jewels to him, meant to be kept safe and hidden away. Bringing them out into the light felt terribly dangerous, so he turned away from the truth, and came at it from the side, instead. "Is it awful that we have people here who could do that? Like Betsy or Damon. The Professor definitely could, but he never would. Is that terrible?"


Caius may not have been able to make someone do something but he was certainly familiar with using his powers to influence them into acting accordingly. Powers like that were not terrible. They were useful but that was not the question his friend was asking. "Are you sure you are asking about the power?" Or the person?


"Betsy isn't a bad person. The Professor isn't, either. But practically everyone despised Damon, and most of the school feels the same way about Anders. They could both control people. Is that really a coincidence?" Felix peeked up, his red curls not yet quite long enough to hide behind.


It felt to Caius that Felix was looking for a particular answer rather than trying to find the real one. "Why is it that you believe that the Professor wouldn't use his powers to make people do things against their will? He could do just as much damage as Damon and yet the students here trust him for his protection and guidance."


"Professor Xavier saved a lot of our lives," Felix answered, slowly, not sure he was reaching the right answer... or an answer he could accept. "He's open about his powers, so we know what he can do, but he doesn't. Is that what you mean?"


Not exactly but it was on the right path. Caius smiled at his friend. "It's a start," he said. "May I ask, why are you asking me this?"


Felix tried to remind himself that he was safe. That Warren hadn't rejected him when Felix had told him, and Caius was a closer friend than Warren could ever be. Each time he was honest, it got a little easier, but it still felt so terribly dangerous. Felix couldn't stand it if he lost Caius as a friend. "It isn't just dreams that I can control," he confessed quietly, looking down at his lap. "Sometimes I can control people when they're awake, too. When Harley was bothering me, I... pushed her a little bit, with my mind, to make her go."


"Then you must not have really wanted her to forget you," said Caius, "if you chose to only make her go away."


"I don't know her well enough," Felix answered, pulling in on himself, because Caius was smart enough to make possibly upsetting connections based on what he said next. "The closer I am to someone, the easier it is."


Yes, Caius could make those connections. He was very happy to hear how Felix felt about him but he was also highly aware that Felix was frightened and that the best course of action with his friend was never to be direct. He leaned back on the bed, supporting himself with his elbows and began to play with the light in the room, making it reminiscent of the first time he had shown Felix his power. "Did I ever tell you that my father was afraid of me?" he asked.


"Of you?" Felix's forehead furrowed, his surprise at the unusual nature of that statement chasing away his growing fear for a moment. Caius had never been anything but wonderful to him, he couldn't imagine being afraid of his friend. "Whatever for?"


Rainbow lights twinkled around the room. "I may not be able to make people do what I want with my power but that does not mean I cannot use my power to make them do what I want," said Caius. Besides, the art of manipulation was much more fun. "My father may have been a powerful man but even he would have been defenseless if I turned my talents on him rather than toward his goals."


The glittering lights were sufficiently distracting for Felix to watch and not grow too apprehensive. As usual, Caius didn't seem bothered by Felix's confessions, and that eased his mind, too. "You could, but... you didn't?"


"No, I didn't," said Caius, "but the potential was enough to make him afraid." He looked at Felix and added, "he didn't trust me."


Felix looked back to Caius, trying to read his meaning, but delicate interactions were not something he had yet mastered. "Are you... not afraid? Of me?"


Caius smiled, feeling like he had just succeeded in coaxing a wild animal to take a crumb from his hand. "I wouldn't dare insult you by being afraid. Our friendship is stronger than that."


That was one of the most lovely things anyone had ever said to him, and Felix was afraid to believe it too intensely. He wanted to, though. He wanted to, very much. "Caius... the more you, um, trust me... the easier it is for me to... do what I can do."


"Hm." Caius could see the reason for Felix's concern. "Well as long as you do not make me do anything embarrassing like run around the school in my underwear I think I will be able to forgive you." He tilted his head and pursed his lips. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I don't want to give you any ideas..."


"I wouldn't!" Felix exclaimed, without any hint of understanding that Caius might be teasing him. "That's not what I do. It's not to embarrass you or be mean, it's just..." He bit his lip with worry. "It makes people do what I want them to do. I would never want you to be humiliated like that. I know you have your modesty."


Caius couldn't help it. He laughed. Felix was so earnest in his insistence. "Then what are you so worried about?" he asked.


Felix only looked confused; couldn't Caius see that this was a serious situation that could actually happen? "It's wrong, Caius," he emphasized. "It's wrong and it's horrible to take over someone else's mind, even if you mean it to be nice."


"If you understand that, then you obviously know better than to do it," said Caius.


Warren had reassured him the same way. So had Noriko, and Victor, and the Professor. Even still, Felix was afraid to believe it. The memory of a small blond girl gasping in her sleep until she stopped gasping at all was too large in his mind, overshadowing everything else. He just wanted so much to have and keep Caius as his friend that he was willing to surrender some of his fear, and try to believe and trust him. "I'm not going to change your mind, am I," said Felix slowly.


"Nope," said Caius simply. He lay back on the bed, lacing his fingers behind his head and watching the rainbow patterns dance on the ceiling. "But I'm not changing yours either," he said. "Even with my powers I can't make you unafraid of yourself."


Felix sat silently, large-eyed, for a few moments. Caius really must be his best friend; he wasn't even a telepath and he understood things Felix had never even said. Before he'd come to school, no one had ever really bothered to try and understand him at all. "Is it really obvious?" Felix finally asked.


Painfully, thought Caius but it wouldn't have benefited the situation to say that. Instead he turned his head to look at his friend and proclaimed, "I am a master of illusions, my dear. We are the best in seeing the truth about people." His mouth curved mischievously as he added, "how else would we know how to hide it?"


Urgently, Felix turned toward Caius, tucking his feet up underneath him. "Can you show me? That's what I want, Caius. I want to be able to talk to anyone, any time, and not let them know I'm afraid. I don't want them to know I was ever afraid. That's over, it's done, and I don't want it to be part of me anymore. I want to get rid of it."

Absolutely certain of his path, he leaned forward, imploring. "Can you help me?"


Caius blinked, a bit startled by Felix's plea. He sat up, thinking. How did one go about teaching another such things? Most of smaller boy's talents came from instinct as he was naturally inclined toward manipulation but he had also observed many of his father's business associates and acquaintances. Not all of them could have been born to it. Somehow these men must have been taught.

Caius looked at his friend considering. Did he have the ability to share his wisdom with another? He had never been so fearful as Felix was now. That would be their greatest hurdle. Finally, the boy pursed his lips and made a decision.

"Yes, I can help you."


Felix's very odd eyes brightened with hope. Between Eames and Caius, maybe he really could leave the old Felix, and all of his fears and hang-ups, behind. "You're amazing," he declared in a fit of sudden camaraderie. "Simply marvelous."


"You're only noticing this now?" teased Caius, sensing that the hurdle had passed.


"No!" Felix insisted, finally relaxing enough that he could lean back on the bed, propping his back up against the wall but spreading out more comfortably on his bed. He never laid down when anyone was close enough to touch him. "I'm just... re-stating a well-proven fact," he finished, pleased with his choice of words.


Caius grinned and shuffled back to sit next to his friend. After a moment he asked, "are you really going to keep that painting?"


Felix thought it over briefly, and looked somewhat guilty when he shook his head. "I'm going to wait until she forgets about it, then get rid of it. I don't want her to cry or anything."


"You are a much kinder soul than I, my dear," said Caius. "I think that is perfectly acceptable." He turned his head to look at his friend. "Shall we do lunch?"