don't recite love poems; they give me nightmares

"You eat candy because you're bored and then don't eat anything for a few hours?! You do realize how absurd that is, yes?" Frodo asked incredulously. "You're tensing me up more and more Le, please promise me you'll eat some proper food once you get back to school," he pleaded. "Or I can just give you some food now."

"No, we shall agree that you are dramatic and I never called you a liar. Debate closed," he said and grinned. "And yes, I'll be happy if we can end this argument now," he teased. "Firstly, I am not an old man. And secondly, why is being an old man worse than being a old woman?" He asked, looking at his sister with an amused expression.

"I want to help you because I care for you, Le. And if you don't want to cooperate than I think it's because you don't understand just how much I want to help you," he said quietly. "Well, I wouldn't have expected it to be easy. And you have to work hard for the good things after all," he reasoned. He laughed lightly at her suggestion. "Huh, maybe I should do that, and if I get my job, I'll have you thank."

Lena raised an eyebrow as if he had mentioned Emrys the Hippogriff was secretly Merlin in a costume, trying to contain her anger. "Yes, I do," she replied firmly, her voice slightly blended in anger, "it may be absurd, but it's the best I can do. I can't help it." She half-snarled, half-yelled, the final words. She then looked at her brother, scanning his body and nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders. "Try me," she challenged, her eyes narrowing.

Smiling slightly, the blonde Uchitel nodded firmly. "I am glad we both agree on that matter," she agreed, nodding even more in assent. She then stuck her tongue out at her brother before retracting it so she could speak. "You're a year older than me, so yes, you're practically an old man!" she chuckled, "and everyone knows old men are way worse; they annoy the living daylights out of you even if you did nothing to them."

The Uchitel couldn't help but give in. Of course she did. This was Frodo she was talking about; he could make her do anything he wanted as long as it benefited her in some way. "Fine," she replied, pausing for a bit, "but... you tell anyone out of us Seven Devils - you know: me, you, Lora, Dyl, Kait, Anya and... well, make that Six Devils - and I will not hesitate to maim you." She smirked. "Of course you do."

"You can't help it? Come on Le, I know you are so much more stronger and smarter than that," Frodo replied, trying not to let her anger get to him. "And no, that is not the best you can do. May I know what made your resort to this?" He asked calmly. He shook his head and said, "You're not a challenge to me Le, you're one of my best friends and that's why I want to help."

He laughed as he heard his sister's logic behind her statement. "Well, if Kait is still dating me, I don't think I'm that old," he chuckled. "And besides, I'm just one year older than you. As usual, you're being dramatic and exaggerating it," he nudged her shoulder. "I'm not going to be an annoying old man, I promise," he said and nodded his head.

He held her tight for a moment and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, that means a lot," he told with a smile. At her next words he was quiet surprised but hid it well. "My second promise that I won't tell anyone," he assured. "But you will tell them eventually, yes?"

"I thought strong didn't apply to me anymore," Lena sighed, rubbing her temples. She looked up at him, blue eyes scanning brown ones. "I..." she breathed, because she herself didn't know the answer to the question, "I suppose... depression, loss... dammit. I'm going through a stage of alexithymia right now, sorry." She shook her head, burying her head in her brother's chest.

Lena agreed, nodding her head in assent. "I suppose you're right," she mused, tilting her head to one side to observe her brother, "Kait would never date a pedo, right?" She then shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah. I'm just exaggerating," she replied nonchalantly, her face soon turning into an expression of mischief, "but that's the fun bit - exaggerating."

Blushing and hoping for the life of her he didn't see, Lena chuckled a little bit. "Of course I'll tell them, silly!" And her heartbeat started to quicken, faster than she had ever felt it beat before, and it wasn't due to malnutrition in her body.

She felt her head move closer towards his, but immediately something ignited in her that told her that no, this was wrong, and in technicality due to their bond this was incest, but thankfully they were not bonded by blood, but by circumstances. Not to mention that other hearts, not just hers and his, will be affected. But that part of her had dissipated, leaving that irrational, crazy, wild side of her in control.

No holds barred, she pressed her lips tenderly on his.

"Of course it applies to you, why wouldn't it?" Frodo told with a smile. He looked at her as well, trying to find the answers in her eyes if not through words. As he listened to her, he tried to understand the confusion and loss she must be feeling. He hugged her and rested his chin on top of her head. "It's okay Le, I understand."

Still feeling amused, he chuckled. "No, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't date a pedo. Besides, I like to think she has good taste," he told teasingly. "Well, it is highly entertaining to listen to you exaggerate," he commented.

He eyed his sister warily as she looked at him and felt her come closer. But just as he was about to push her away, she pressed her lips to his. He froze momentarily not knowing what to do and suddenly felt panicked. Finally coming back to his senses, he pushed her away, unintentionally a little rough and shouted, "Lena Marie Vorstenbach, what is the matter with you?!"

Forcing himself to calm down, he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling confused and angry. Why did she do that? His mind shouted. He felt betrayed and hurt; first Kait and now Le. He buried his head in his hands and whispered brokenly, "Why did you...?"

Lena, crestfallen and having no will to speak much more without bursting into a fit of tears, only shook her head, and looked up at her brother, as if there was nothing more he could say about it. She received his hug without objecting, of course, though she missed the feeling of security she felt from another boy's hugs, which she can't get anymore because she broke his heart into a million pieces and she felt awkward just being with him.

Raising her eyebrows, Lena replied, "Well, I know she has good taste... unless you gave her Amortentia." She chuckled. "I know you wouldn't give her any, though, and even if you did, she's not stupid enough to take it from you." She then nodded. "Exaggeration is an art which needs to be refined by the right people," she remarked.

She felt herself being pushed away from Frodo as her lips withdrew reluctantly, and she felt tears come into her eyes. That sense of intense warmth from a pair of lips had never come to her in many, many months, and she missed that. Not security, though. Definitely not. Considering this was by pushed circumstances and not exactly a natural motion.

The Uchitel bit her lip. She looked up at her brother, trying to explain herself. She couldn't, wouldn't - won't - say anything of use. There was nothing to say, really; she kissed him due to a feeling in her heart and adrenaline pushing her heart along like a boulder.

She burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," Frodo murmured mostly to himself. He wished so desperately he could just go talk to Rhys and somehow get them back together. It was obvious that the Hrabrost was probably just as heartbroken as Le, but also knew that things were more complicated than that. "You two will be one again, just wait for it," he smiled lightly.

"I guess I can see why people would think that I gave her Amortentia. After all, girls like her rarely for someone like me, right?" He gave a small grin and shook his head. "No, she's not. She'd probably beat me up for trying to give her that," he said and smiled fondly. "Exaggeration is an art, huh? Only you would say something like that Le," he teased his sister.

He panicked even more and got worried as she started crying. Though he was tempted to pull her close and tell her it was okay, he couldn't. Not at all. He had a feeling she wouldn't try it again, but he wasn't sure. Thinking of Kait, he felt like crying too but he closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down completely so he could think properly. He wiped away her tears but made sure to keep his distance. Not knowing what to say, he asked once more, "I honestly want to understand why you did that Le." He told in a quiet voice. He got up and paced in front of her, looking around the garden.

Taking a deep breath, he said hesitantly, feeling almost scared. "I think...we should keep this to ourselves. At least for a while."

"You think we'll be together again one day?" Lena snapped, her eyes turning into a violent, barbaric stare, "what will happen before then, huh? Will I try to kill myself before then? Will Rhys be comatose because he tripped down the stairs or something? Or will it when he gets married to Haze or some girl more worthy of him than I ever will be? Only then will he realize that he loves me the entire freakin' time and not say a word about it. Yeah. That's how it'll work out, right?" She snarled, ignoring Frodo's smile. "Right?!"

The Uchitel merely laughed. "Opposites attract, like I explained to dear Anyaschka the other day," she explained. She nodded in assent with her brother's words, "Yeah. Or she would... well, y'know, try to kill you. Either way, you lose." She scrunched her face at her brother out of mock anger. "It is an art!" she whined, "don't you even dare to mock me!"

Sighing and crying, the blonde looked up at her brother. Mot only did the memory of the kiss scare her, she had just realized that it was, in all technicality, incestuous. She put her hand up towards her mouth, trying to stop herself from vomiting "I... I don't know, Fro!" she whispered, trying not to let her voice be covered over her tears, "it's the heat of the moment? I felt like it? Perhaps I was having dreams about things that made me do it!" She wailed. "Shit, Frodo, I'm not in charge of my own mind, as crazy as that sounds."

She watched her brother stand up, and did her best to try and stand up as well. Her knees wobbled as she tried to stand on her own two feet, and she tumbled onto the ground. "O-Of course," she whispered, looking up from the ground, "why would I ever tell anyone?"

As he heard Le's rant, Frodo's smile faded and he sighed, looking away from her. He knew he couldn't be strong enough for everyone, and he was emotionally exhausted at trying to make his friends feel better when they refused to listen. "I'm sorry Le, but all I can say is I honestly do not think those things will happen, because believe it or not, I'm sure he's just as miserable as you." He told in his usual quiet voice.

"Well, since I am dating her, I think I'm a winner," he grinned. He put up his hands in mock surrender. "I wasn't insulting it, merely observing your love for exaggeration."

He listened to her and tried to make sense of what she was saying. Heat of the moment, felt like it...were those even proper reasons? He didn't know. He had always thought of Le as his little sister, someone he trusted but now...He shook his head as though that would give him the solution. "It's alright," he told finally, his voice neutral. "We can't change what happened."

His hands instinctively shot out to catch her and immediately let go as she sat down on the ground. "What about Kait and Rhys?" He asked, turning away from her once more.

"What?" Lena shrieked, barely caring she was probably to break Frodo's ears permanently if she continued to scream like that, "you think he's miserable? You think? Why would he be miserable? He is too beautiful to be miserable! Haven't you seen how soft his eyes are? They make everyone else's look hard - even Rosie's!" She burst into tears again, forgetting the fact that Frodo might not know about her daughter, let alone met her.

Lena only nodded at her brother's statement. "Yeah, you're a winner," she agreed, "but that also means that if you break her heart, I'll break your face!" She stuck out her tongue for her brother to see.

At Frodo's tone, Lena lost it. "I don't want to change what happened!" exclaimed the Uchitel, burying her face in her hands, "I don't want anything to happen except that I will die and no one will remember me and I'll spend the rest of eternity coursing through the Dreamtrails looking for my grandmother! Wonderful existence I have, right?

"And Kait and Rhys?" spat the Uchitel, "I don't care! You tell Kait, and she tells Rhys, I don't care! Just don't speak of it ever again!"

"Enough with the self pity, Lena!" Frodo nearly shouted. He didn't know why she was pushing his buttons so much, but he was getting sick of it. "And yes, I do think he's miserable because he still loves you. Of course, you wouldn't notice since you're too busy punishing yourself," he told in a low voice that indicated he was giving her one more chance to calm down.

His smile faded and he shook his head slowly. "I can't and won't hurt her," he nearly whispered. "She's too important to me."

He turned to look at the Uchitel in surprise as she contined to rant. "For Merlin's sake Lena, what are you going on about? You're not going to die, so just don't say such things!" He ran his hand through his hair in frustration and once more began pacing in front of her. Realizing how out of control he must have appeared, he stopped and closing his eyes, took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down.

"Scared that Kait will try to take revenge?" He asked, feeling the exhaustion take over. Sitting down opposite her, he sighed. "I am not going to tell Kait. At least, not yet."

"Oh. I see. And from where do you get that impression?" shrieked Lena, her voice in ringing albeit hoarse tones. Whatever dehydration that had refrained her from screaming like a banshee before had disappeared. "He barely talks to me when I'm around! Do you know how awkward the Friend Zone is? Imagine if you and Kait broke up and tried to be friends!" She sighed, though she didn't feel like cooling down anytime soon.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Lena shrieked, "you know for a fact everyone is born for one and one reason only: TO DIE." She watched her brother pace back and forth in front of her and took no notice of how agitated he seemed to be. She shook her head.

"Not scared; I'm more scared of that actually happening," frowned the Uchitel, and nodded, "You don't tell Kait, I don't tell Rhys. Deal?"

Frodo stared at Le in shock, not knowing how to react to her yelling. He looked like he was about to say something, but then decided against it. Conjuring a glass of water, he handed it to her and simply said, "Drink." When did life get so hard? He wondered. Did he do or say something that made Le get the wrong idea? He'd always had a gut feeling there were on the same page. And then, everything goes haywire. "Then, why the hell don't you try to get back together with him?" He asked in an emotionless tone.

"Though we are born to die, that doesn't mean we should spend our days in misery," he replied with a shrug. "I don't know how you're going to get out of this, but when you do, I think you're going to regret saying these thing." If she couldn't understand her own importance, he can't help her.

Contemplating the decision, he didn't know whether he'd be taking the right choice. But he knew that he couldn't burden or lose Kait, considering all the things she's going through. "It's a deal," he finally muttered.

Lena sighed, and drank a glass of water. It only soothed her, which wasn't going to do much good. Sure, it would calm her on for a while - but other than that, it wasn't effective. She only groaned at his useless advice. "Oh. Really? Tell him I want him back? No!" she protested, "he was the one that proposed the break-up, not I! And I'm not the one giving up first!

"I have too many regrets in my stupid little life, Frodo," Lena snarled, "I've grown out of dwelling in those regrets."

Finally sighing, Lena decided to rest her head on the ground. "I think I'm going to bed," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"If you don't want him back, then stop whining so much!" Frodo shouted back in frustration. "And if everything is a competition for you, then I should warn you that you are going to lose if you keep this up."

"A few regrets will make you want to end your life? There are people who have done much worse things than you, but they've accepted it and moved on. But I guess you're not mature enough for that, right?" He questioned.

Shaking his head, he began to walk away from her. "When you're ready to admit your mistake and figure out what the hell is wrong, come find me. And if you don't want to, then don't bother," he muttered and went towards the exit of the gardens.