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Complexity
By : TwilightScribe
Category: Twilight Series > Slash
Views: 3827 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.
Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
Title: Complexity

Fandom: Twilight series

Pairing: Marcus/Seth

Part: XX. Meeting in the Garden

Words: 3854 words

Summary: Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

XX. Meeting in the Garden
“What do you feel like doing today?”
Marcus gently carded his fingers through Seth's hair, unable to stop a small smile from pulling at the corners of his lips. He had Seth's head resting on his shoulder and the young man had a book opened in his hands that he'd been reading for a while but hadn't been actively paying attention to for a long stretch of minutes. And he seemed to have drifted off too.
Starting at Marcus' sudden question, Seth tilted his head back to look up at the vampire's face. He frowned and blinked up at him slowly, shrugging off the vestiges of sleep that had been trying to claim him for the past few minutes.
“Not really, I'm actually feeling kind of tired.” He closed the book and set it aside, curling closer to Marcus and sliding his arms around the vampire's waist. The cool that radiated from his skin was comforting to Seth in the mid-afternoon heat. Even though autumn was on the horizon, it was still rather warm and Seth's naturally high temperature didn't help either.
“You've been feeling rather tired lately.” Marcus frowned, “Do you think that it might be a–”
“No, it's healed just fine,” Seth replied, shaking his head. “There's still a scar there and it looks pretty ugly but I haven't felt anything from the wound since.”
“Seth, while I am concerned about the wound itself I'm wondering if maybe it's a side-effect of the venom. You haven't been exposed to it before and I don't know if you–”
Seth shifted closer, tightening his arms around Marcus' waist, “My sister was bitten when that army of newborns came to Forks but she was pretty careful about keeping whatever side-effects that she suffered from that to herself.”
Continuing to card his fingers through Seth's hair, he frowned, “Was she–”
“Leah's stubborn, she wouldn't want anyone to worry about her and she's usually pretty good at hiding things that are bugging her... she's a little bit like Heidi actually.”
“Is that comforting to you? To have someone who reminds you of your sister? Or is it...”
He snuggled closer, feeling tears prick at his eyes. This wasn't necessarily something that he wanted to talk about because it was a painful subject for him. He missed his sister, and Heidi was similar to Leah but different enough that being with her wasn't as painful as it could be. But being with Marcus dulled all of that, he could almost forget his family back in Forks.
When it all came down, he didn't want to have to choose between Marcus and those who he'd left behind. He loved Marcus, losing him would destroy him. He could survive through the separation from his family and friends, but to lose Marcus – to be separated from him – would just destroy him. That was something that he could never deal with.
It took him a while to respond, and when he did, he spoke slowly, carefully weighing each word.
“While they're similar, they're also... different too. That makes it both bearable and a little painful too, but Heidi is... she's different enough from Leah that I can be around her and friends with her without being reminded of her too much. I love them both.”
Marcus pressed his lips to Seth's forehead in silent comfort and let his arm drop from Seth's hair to his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He waited, patiently, for Seth to continue. This was something that he needed to do.
“And... I miss them. I really do. I miss my mom and my sister and the Cullens. But they're alive right now because I'm here.” The tears started trickling down his cheeks and Seth didn't bother to wipe them away but instead buried his face in Marcus' chest. “I can live with that, knowing that they're alive makes dealing with this separation easier. I don't think I could do that if I was... if it was you that I was separated from.”
He flushed despite the tears, “I told you before, I don't want to be anywhere but with you. This is where I belong, with you.”
Taking his hand that wasn't wrapped around Seth's shoulders, Marcus tipped the young man's head up so that he could look at him. Those beautiful brown eyes which he loved so much were sparkling with unshed tears of which several had trickled down his cheeks. It caused Marcus' still heat to twist painfully in his chest and he frowned. Leaning in, he brushed his lips along Seth's cheek bones, effectively kissing away his tears.
When Seth rolled forward to press his lips almost frantically against Marcus', he kissed back; his lips were gentle and he very softly caressed Seth's cheek. Seth felt that he needed to be strong; he'd been holding everything in to keep Heidi and Alec from worrying, to keep Marcus from catching onto how much he was hurting.
But he didn't have a choice about being there, even if – and it would be more of a when – Marcus made their relationship official, he would still be unable to leave. He was still a captive, one caught in a gilded cage but he was precious too.
Lips parted against Marcus' and the vampire took advantage of that, sliding his tongue into the warm and wet cavern. It didn't take much effort on his part to easily take control of the kiss, but what he hadn't been expecting was for Seth to slide his arms up and around Marcus' neck, pulling him down on top of him as he fell backwards to the ground.
That made him pull back just enough for their lips to break contact. He search Seth's face, the young wolf panting lightly and his eyes still alight with numerous emotions. There was fear there and desire; he could see lust there, and love. But the fear there concerned him, that and the hurt. He knew that Seth was still in pain despite the months that had passed since he'd been brought to Volterra, although it did seem like it was fading somewhat but it would always be there.
“Seth...”
“I'm scared Marcus,” he murmured, eyes searching Marcus'. “This doesn't scare me. What scares me is that... you could get hurt. I know that – Heidi's hinted that if it came down to it, Aro would choose you over me. If anything were to happen he would–”
“You are all that matters,” Marcus replied. “If anything were to happen to you, I would only see to it that you were avenged before I followed you.”
“But–”
“Seth, I am fully aware of what this is.” This was a conversation that Marcus had been half-dreading; he didn't want to scare the other away. “You and I, this is – I'm not really sure of how to explain this. I'm afraid that it might–”
Fingers touched his lips and Seth gave him a warm smile, “I'm used to weird by this point. Just tell me what you need to. I love you Marcus, I won't leave you.”
Returning the smile, Marcus pressed a lingering kiss to Seth's cheek, softly murmuring when he pulled back, “You... I would wait an eternity for you Seth. I... I love you Seth, believe me I do; more than anything I do. I never thought that I would have this – I've seen firsthand that just because we share this connection doesn't mean that – no, that's not it, I–”
“You're rambling Marcus,” Seth smiled, chuckling a little at how cute it almost was. “Come on, you can say it to me, I won't run away from you.”
A deep breath, “I don't want you to misunderstand is all,” Marcus continued, gathering his thoughts. “This is a... delicate issue and I... I don't want to lose you because of this, I know that it would only hurt us both but you do need to know.”
He couldn't help himself, he pressed another kiss to Seth's lips; a chaste one this time.
“You, Seth, are my mate. I belong to you just as surely as you belong to me. Aro would never touch you if he knew this, but he would also use this knowledge against us both.”
“I've heard that term before,” Seth mused, hand trailing down from Marcus' chin to his chest where it came to rest. “Jasper sometimes calls Jake that when he thinks that Jake can't hear him. From what he told me, it's something like our imprinting.”
“You're taking this surprisingly well.”
Seth looked up at him, color tingeing his cheeks, “I don't know... I kind of expected something like this, I guess. It makes sense in a weird way. Heidi did imply that you changed since I got here.”
“I did. You changed me.” Marcus leaned down and let his forward rest against Seth's, smiling as he let his eyes drift closed. “I suppose I was afraid for nothing.”
“Maybe. If I was anyone else, then they'd probably think you were insane and may have been running for the hills right now. I guess that the risks for something like this are pretty high.” He frowned as he thought through the possible ramifications. “What are some of them? I know you Marcus, you'd do whatever it takes to keep me safe and I want to know if there's something I can do.”
A heavy silence fell for several long minutes before Marcus finally replied with a bit of a heavy sigh, “Aro can't touch you if... there is confirmation.”
Now that was full of multiple meanings.
“Confirmation? What does that mean?”
If he could have, Marcus would have flushed. “Several things. There are some formalities that Aro has put into place that would have to be recognized. You would be afforded the same position and privileges that Athenodora and Sulpicia have.”
Seth frowned, “So you're saying that I'd be like a trophy wife?”
“No, despite how it looks, Caius and Athenodora do genuinely care for each other. Aro, on the other hand...” Marcus let the sentence hang. “I would hope that your opinion of me is higher than that of Aro. But no, you would not be a 'trophy wife' as you put it. As I said, these formalities are something that Aro instituted. At the very least, you would be a member of this coven and... you would be above Jane's reach, permanently.”
“I thought I already was,” Seth smiled. “You did say that–”
“No one could touch you Seth, I would make sure of that,” Marcus replied, voice low, dangerous. “They wouldn't dare touch you, knowing what you meant to me.”
“How would they know that?” Seth whispered. He knew that he smelled strongly of the Volturi, or at least Marcus, Heidi, and Alec, but what could that have to do with this? “I mean, I know that I smell–”
Marcus interrupted him before he could continue, “Seth, I think you know what I'm implying. Confirmation is just a fancy term for what is essentially consummation.”
Oh. Oh that does make sense...
“So... you're saying...” Seth blushed, his cheeks turning a very bright red. “Oh.”
“Yes, 'oh'.”
“Is there... a timeline for this?” Although they'd been moving towards that, Seth wasn't sure if he was ready for that quite yet. In the future maybe, but right then at that moment? He wasn't. “I don't... I don't think I can do that–”
Marcus pressed another kiss to Seth's lips and smiled at him, “No. I can wait for you until you're ready, as long as that takes.”

.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.
Heidi was practically overflowing with advice and ideas when she learned that her best friend had been discussing confirmation with Marcus, all of which had only made Seth turn bright red and stutter at her to shut up because it really wasn't like that.
“Oh come on! You need to know these things! Didn't anyone talk to you about this sort of thing? I'd be appalled if they didn't.” Heidi grinned when she saw Seth's completely mortified expression, “Really Seth, you shouldn't let this bother you so much, when you actually–”
“Heidi, stop talking about my non-existent sex life or else I'll tear your arm off.”
She pouted, “You wouldn't.”
With a sharp glare, Seth grumbled out, “You don't know that.”
“Unless you want Felix and Marcus fighting each other, I don't think you will,” Heidi returned lightly. “And really, you need to stop being such a prude, it's perfectly natural for you to be nervous but you really don't need to be.”
“Shut up Heidi or else I'll go find Alec.” Seth turned away from his so-called best friend to go back to the book that he'd been trying to read since before she'd shown up to harass him about this. It wasn't that he was actually distressed about what she was talking about – he knew there was some truth to some of her claims – but it just really wasn't something that he wanted to be talking about with her.
Heidi sighed heavily, “Sheesh, you're no fun.”
“It's personal; I don't need your commentary on whether or not I should be sleeping with Marcus right at this moment.”
“Well you know you can't technically sleep with him.”
At that little smart remark, Seth promptly chucked the book that he'd been reading at Heidi's head. She easily dodged it and it hit the ground with a thud and a rather nasty sounding crack.
That was probably the cover... Seth climbed to his feet and went over to inspect the damage. He'd been half-right; the binding of the book had snapped off and was only hanging on by a few threads. That made him groan and shoot a dirty look at Heidi.
The female vampire threw her hands up in a placating gesture, looking at him with wide, innocent eyes. “Don't look at me like that; I'm not the one throwing books around at people just because I'm mildly annoyed at them.”
“You could've caught it!” Seth snapped. Bending down, he picked up the book and placed the bound pages back in the cover. Well, at least the book itself wasn't damaged aside from that. Luckily for him, it was salvageable. “Just... leave me alone.”
And with that, he stormed out of the library, shoving the book back onto a shelf as he passed it. He slammed the heavy door behind him as hard as he could, letting a loud bang echo in the corridors. As he stormed down the hallway, he knew that Alec was tailing behind him a short way but wisely keeping his distance. It was a little irritating to know that when he wanted to be left alone, he couldn't be because of safety issues.
Frustrated, Seth turned down another corner and made a beeline towards the courtyard garden that had become one of his favoured hide-outs for when he wanted to be alone to think. Heidi would leave him alone while he was there and it did afford him a fair amount of privacy since Alec would only lurk around the door and leave him alone for the most part. When Marcus got back from dealing with some Volturi business that had cropped up, he'd obviously come to find Seth there. That didn't worry Seth, he knew that Marcus wouldn't judge and would do his best to allay any fears or concerns that he might have.
It was still sunny outside even though the sun was setting over the top of the palace, painting everything in a deep shade of red. Seth flopped down in the grass, closing his eyes as he took a few deep breaths to calm down. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Alec standing near one of the doorways, arms crossed and leaning against the wall.
Well at least he knew to leave Seth alone.
Once he'd gotten a better handle on his irritation, Seth sighed. He hadn't meant to snap at Heidi like that, but this was just something that he wanted to think about and decide on his own time. Sure all the teasing was in good fun and she was honest about Marcus, but... she didn't really understand where he was coming from. It was his first serious relationship – and it would be his only one, he'd make sure of that and so would Marcus – and he wasn't sure about what that meant.
He had no prior experience to draw from, and the people around him whose relationships he'd seen grow had happened in a number of ways. Plus, they were pretty secretive about how they'd gotten together. And the only other wolf-vampire couple he knew were thousands of miles away on another continent.
Not that he was going to ask Jacob for sex advice because that would just be awkward and creepy.
Are we moving too fast? Seth had no idea what the answer was. Heidi would be of no help, she came from a completely different time and her past with Felix was different than his with Marcus. Plus there was the whole same-sex issue he had to deal with. Which wasn't a problem for him, he didn't really care that Marcus was male and that he was in love with him; that would be stupid.
Marcus was beautiful and wonderful – Seth had problems conveying Marcus in words, even in his head. He knew what he felt and Marcus knew, which was all that mattered.
Rolling over onto his back, Seth stared up at the darkening sky that was still a deep orange-red. Maybe that was just something that he had to get used to; having people shove their noses into his personal life just because of who Marcus was. Then again, the pack would have been doing the same thing if – but no, he wasn't going to think about that.
“I hear that you had an argument with Heidi.”
Marcus' soft voice broke Seth out of his reverie and he sat up. The vampire was smiling at him and sitting next to him on the ground. Seth hadn't heard him approach or greet Alec; it just went to show how distracted he was.
“She was sticking her nose into something that I didn't want to talk about,” Seth grumbled, moving closer to the vampire and snuggling up to his side. “I threw a book at her by the way. Sorry.”
“I noticed,” Marcus chuckled. “Maybe try throwing something else at her next time it happens.”
“I thought about tearing her arm off, but then I remembered that I can't shift,” Seth replied, gesturing to his ankle. He let out a sigh as Marcus slipped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. “Thanks...”
Marcus only smiled and pressed his lips to Seth's temple. The two of them settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
“You were gone longer than usual today,” Seth mused. He'd started to memorize Marcus' schedule; usually the Volturi met maybe once a week to discuss some day-to-day issues or things that cropped up. Sometimes they talked about events that were happening that might have been of concern, such as rogue vampires or newborns making a scene of themselves.
“Something came up.”
The tone of Marcus' voice was tense, and Seth knew something was up.
“What's wrong? Did something happen?” He froze when Marcus handed him an envelope. “What's this?”
“This came for you this morning. I would have given it directly to you, but Jane found it before I could.” There was pain in Marcus' eyes as he watched Seth. “It's from Forks, I'm not sure if it's from your family or the Cullens.”
Seth glanced at the envelope where his name was written along with what he assumed with the address for the Volturi – weird to think that vampire's got mail, but whatever – and in the corner was an address that he knew quite well.
“It's from the Cullens. I think the pack might think I'm dead or something,” Seth flipped it over, ripping the envelope open. Inside was a piece of hard, decorative stationary along with a bit of folded paper. The decorative stationary was a wedding invitation. The note was from Carlisle.
“You didn't say that your friend was getting married,” Marcus' voice was soft and right next to Seth's ear. “The wedding is in a month.”
“I think Jake was putting it off,” Seth replied, trying his best to push down his emotions before they made him sick. “He probably didn't want to be getting married so soon after I had to leave. They've been together for a while now though; this is just Jasper being proper.”
Marcus chuckled a little, “Old fashioned?”
“He's from the 1800s, he's a bit of a stickler on the whole marriage deal. It's not legal but it's the though that counts I guess.”
“Do you want to go?”
Seth whipped around in Marcus' arm, staring at the vampire with wide eyes, “I – I don't think that Aro would let me.”
“Let me deal with Aro. I want to know if you want to go.”
“Yes.” Seth could feel his heart pounding wildly in his veins and his mind felt heavy and sluggish as it processed the conversation. He thought of his friends and family back home and how much he missed them. Even if he couldn't stay, he wanted to see them again and introduce Marcus, let them know that it wasn't as bad as they thought. “Will you come with me?”
“If that's what you desire. I would follow you anywhere Seth,” Marcus replied. “I will talk to Aro about this, do not worry about it.”
Seth wanted badly to protest, worried about Marcus and what Aro would do to him if he thought that his judgement had been impaired because of him. The last thing he wanted was to be used against the vampire. He reached out, his fingers shaking violently and touched the other's cheek. Marcus' hand came up and covered his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
The two of them stayed like that for a few moments before Seth remembered the note from Carlisle. His fingers this time were sure as he unfolded the small piece of paper. Only a few words were scribbled on it.
All Seth could think to say was, “Aro is not going to be happy about this.”
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Complexity	By : TwilightScribe Category: Twilight Series > Slash Views: 3827 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Complexity