Chapter 571

571 Push It Down

Genie’s heart was pounding as the wind whipped passed him, and the snow harshly pelted his face. He had no idea where he was flying, only that the icy wind felt calming against his blistering skin. As he flew erratically through the sky, Genie tried to organize his thoughts.

He felt embarrassed beyond reason, and angry that they would be so bold inside of a carriage that wasn’t theirs. But the emotions that troubled him most were the ones that Genie felt ashamed to admit to having..

In truth: Genie was jealous of Tidas. He had always loved Skye, and had been loved back by her practically their entire lives. Genie had only admitted to having romantic feelings for Skye recently, even though he’d felt that way for her for years.

As he flew through the snow and clouds, Genie tried to recall when his heart might’ve first acknowledged his attachment to Skye. He remembered wanting to hold her when she thought that Tidas had died.. ‘She’d been so frail and weak from not eating or sleeping back then..’

‘I remember hugging her the day before I left Moonshire.. She was so sweet, and she missed Tidas so much.. I wanted to do anything-everything, that I could to make her feel better.. That was the first time that I had ever wanted to kiss her..’

The more Genie thought about it, he realized that his own feelings for Skye had pushed him to leave. He didn’t trust himself not to try and mend her broken heart with his, which would’ve ended in disaster; even if Tidas had truly died.. ‘Skye could never love another like she does Tidas.. She could never see me in that kind of light..’

Genie was in his late thirties, almost forty, and Skye was in her early twenties. While it was common for older men to marry younger women, Genie could never picture Skye agreeing.. ‘I can be content with her seeing me as an older brother and mentor.. But this mental image is making it Very difficult to think of her in that regard myself..’

No matter how fast or far Genie flew: the picture of Skye half-naked wouldn’t leave his mind’s eye. When she had first turned her head, it was like the situation hadn’t registered.. ‘She looked...intoxicatingly happy..’

A small grin had been on her lips until the euphoria had worn off, and the true situation had become real. Tidas had been far more prompt in his reaction time, and had covered Skye up right as she’d realized what had happened. His eyes were blazing with anger by the time the driver had shut the door, and Genie knew that it was directed at him..

.....

Tidas’ coming rage was the perfect excuse to fly off, and regain his composure before facing them again. Being an Air mage, Genie could easily keep Tidas at bay, so it wasn’t the true reason he’d left. What he couldn’t do was look Skye in the eyes at that moment.

His attraction to her was too great at that moment, and he most definitely would’ve exposed his true feelings to her, had he stayed. Not by outright telling her, but by simply not behaving normally around her.

‘Flying away was the best choice.. I’m sure.. Tidas looked furious, but that’s to be expected. I just hope that Skye isn’t angry.. Ahhh! Neither should be angry with me! It’s not like I meant to see that!’

Genie yelled out loud as he rubbed his temples, drawing the attention of some very startled geese. He drifted through the sky at a more leisurely pace, finally calm enough to make rational decisions again. He knew that he needed to go back, but what was he to say?

Frustration clouded his mind until a gentle bump to his shoulder brought Genie back to reality. Zazzy had watched him fly off, and had been trailing him ever since. When she heard him yell, concern overtook her, and she’d quickly caught up to him.

After reassuring the oversized dragon that he was physically fine, Zazzy playfully poked at him with the blunt side of her tail until he smiled. She fully understood the effect that she had as a dragon in Sai, and occasionally used it to her advantage, like now.

Genie had been smitten with Zazzy since the moment he’d met her, even though she didn’t make it easy on him at first. She’d avoid him whenever he tried to inspect her like a racing horse, and had even swiped at him a couple of times with her tail. It was only after they started to fly with each other, did Zazzy finally warm up to Genie.

After that, they became fast friends. So it worried Zazzy greatly to see her friend fly off like he was fleeing for his life. Since they couldn’t communicate like Skye and Tidas could with her, Zazzy used various other methods to express herself to him.

After Genie had awkwardly told Zazzy about the situation, she seemed to be laughing. Whether it was at him or the event, he couldn’t tell. But it hardly mattered when the thought about the fact that he was confiding in a dragon.

It was strange to even tell her about it, but Zazzy was a mostly-unbiased confidant to Genie. He had explained it all in a way that hid his attraction to Skye, and played it off like he had just been shocked to see them like that inside a carriage. She didn’t fully understand what the big deal was, but knew that humans had a weird thing about always wearing clothes.

Due to that reasoning; Zazzy acknowledged that it was an awkward moment, but that he shouldn’t have flew away. Genie had to ask Zazzy a series of questions just to get that small answer out of her, and they’d flown most of the way back during the exchange. Bai Lei’s estate was just coming into view when Genie realized that he could just play it off like he had with Zazzy..

‘Everyone assumes that I care for Skye like a sister, so how I reacted shouldn’t be seen as too strange.. I just hope that Tidas didn’t pick up on anything.. I don’t know what kind of face I made when I saw her, so I may have exposed my true self to him on accident..’

As his nerves began to fray, Genie took a deep, calming breath.. ‘I cannot return all worked up like this.. I’ll fly around with Zazzy for a bit until they all go inside.. That should give me more than enough time to clear my head, and bury my emotions again..’

************

“Where is he?! I’m gonna knock him on his arse!” Tidas bellowed after ‘fixing himself’, and climbing out of the carriage.

“Will ya stop yer yellin’?! Twas our faults fer bein’ indecent in the first place! Dinna go snappin’ at Genie and the driver fer bein’ courteous!” Skye bellowed as she stepped out of the carriage after him.

After straightening out a few ruffles on her dress, Skye looked at her husband with an exasperated expression and added; “Tis not like they meant ta see us. We probably scarred Genie fer life-”

“I seriously doubt that ‘scarred’ is the right term,” Tidas snipped testily, his anger compounded by the fact that Genie had flown away.

“And what, exactly, is that supposed ta mean?” Skye asked in just as surly of a voice as her husband had replied to her in.

Tidas sighed heavily as he lightly kicked at the gravel in the driveway. He didn’t want to argue with Skye, especially after what they had just done together. Most drivers in Alcon usually knocked, then announced their arrival, and waited for word from the rider before opening the doors to a coach or carriage; to avoid this exact situation.

‘I guess getting frisky during an extended ride is exclusive to Alconian behavior..’

As the thought crossed his mind, Tidas heard Mei and Hana talking with Skye. He turned to see that their hairstyles were slightly different from before, and their clothes weren’t as ‘presentable’ as they’d been when they’d entered their carriage..

‘Huh...I guess it’s not exclusive to Alcon..’

The thought caused Tidas to grin slightly, which seemed to annoy Skye. She’d just been telling the two how upset she was with him for pitching a fit over ‘scarring’ Genie when he had smiled. Unable to read his mind, she assumed that he was grinning over her complaints.

Bai Lei, Hang, Rukia, and Peggy all came over, and automatically knew that something was wrong. Seeing her bairn’s surly expression, Peggy walked over, and whispered into Tidas’ ear..

“What the hell did ya do, laddie? She looks like the bloody dragon right now.”

Unperturbed by her comment, Tidas started to reply, then sputtered when he realized who he was talking to; “I’m pissed that-we, ah, w-we were having a moment, when Genie interrupted us. It’s bad manners to open a door without any warning first!”

“Yer bein’ ridiculous, Tidas. If anything: We owe Genie an apology. Not the other way round!” Skye yelled, irritated by his piss-poor excuse.

Tidas glared at Skye, then suddenly found himself being jerked down to eye level with Peggy. She’d grabbed his ear lobe and yanked until his head had followed. As a childlike fear ran up his spine, the old servant ripped into the Third Prince..

“Are ya bloody kiddin’ me?! Ya two couldna last two bloody hours without droppin’ yer knickers?! What is WRONG wit you two?! We’re guests! Of a Senator, fer gods’ sakes! Have Some Bloody Propriety!”

Tidas looked down at the ground and slumped his shoulders as Peggy made him feel like a ten year old again. Skye chuckled lightly when she saw his face, since it reminded her of when he was young as well. As soon as the second sound left her throat, Peggy turned, and targeted her next..

“And You!” Peggy pointed a bony finger at Skye; “YOU ken better than anyone ta keep yer pants on, and skirts down when the time is NOT appropriate! I Raised You Better Than That!”

“...Ima sorry,” Skye muttered, now in the exact same boat as her husband.

It was embarrassing to have Peggy admonishing them in front of the others, but neither were stupid enough to try and stop Peggy. They had learned as children that when Peggy blew her top in public: they were in the absolute wrong. As the two hung their heads, Bai Lei took pity on them, and interrupted Peggy’s near-tirade.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to gain her attention, Bai Lei spoke in his most congenital voice; “While I approve of your reprimanding them, I suggest that we move this inside. It’s starting to get dark due to the clouds, and the snow is growing heavier. And, I have a small surprise waiting for everyone as well..”

“What about Genie?” Skye asked, which irritated Tidas a bit inside.

Bai Lei smiled sincerely as he replied; “I doubt that he’ll be out in this long. Despite my brother’s reputation, he’s rather pathetic when it comes to the cold. You wouldn’t believe the amount of complaining he did in his letters when he lived in Alcon.. He’ll probably show Zazzy to her temporary home, then come inside.”

With that final say, Peggy relented, but turned to Skye and Tidas as she remarked; “Dinna go thinkin’ that our wee chat is through, Ye two. After we’re settled, we’re havin’ a long talk-”

“Aye, Peg! Please just drop it fer now, okay?” Skye pleaded, unable to take the burning in her cheeks any longer.

Peggy grinned triumphantly as she replied; “Aye. Now, let’s head in! Whenever yer ready, Mr. Lei! Ye two stay close.”

“Why?” Tidas asked.

As everyone began to trudge through the snow towards the main doors, Peggy yelled back to him; “Because exhibitionists canna be trusted!”