WHO: Alejo & Chelo WHEN: November 13 WHERE: The Table SUMMARY: Chelo gets a shock when Prince Gaius Titus sits down beside him. Alejo never tells him that his name is not Titus in this life. CW: N/A
If only Chelo knew the turf war presently surrounding this table. Thereās nothing special about this table; he didnāt pick it for any particular reason except that it was empty when he walked into the coffee shop. Heād just dropped off one of his charges, and he was feeling drowsy. A nap sounded nice, but naps were off-limits these days. So coffee was the only recourse. Coffee and studying. He sat down, a cup of black coffee and the note app on his phone to keep him company, and began reviewing Dr. Ulusoyās latest lecture.
Because, despite being under the impression that his crush was a family man with a wife and kids already, heād found it was still pretty hard to concentrate when Dr. Ulusoy was speaking. Those eyes still gave him such a shiverā¦ And maybe it was even better crushing on him this way, knowing that it was now 200% a fantasy instead of just 100%. A very safe feeling in a wayā¦
But now he was thinking about his professor and not his notes and he blinked, shaking himself out of it. Heād scrolled down without actually reading any of it, and so now he had had to scroll up and start all over again.
He wondered what Dr. Ulusoyās wife looked like.
There was someone on his table, but it was not Eliberto.
It shouldnāt bother him (as much) but he still wanted his table.
Still, however, Alejo should mind his manners while people are looking, according to his mother, so heāll do that; Heāll begrudgingly take the table one space over. After taking a seat, he nodded at the person sitting in his without paying them too much mind. Instead, he took a sip of his frappe, and checked his social media.
Well, she had to be beautiful. Their son was a kid, but it was clear he was going to grow up immensely handsome, and while Dr. Ulusoy was himself tremendously handsomeā¦ He chided himself. What a shallow thing to think. It didnāt really matter if she was beautiful or not. It would be better if she was funny and caring and liked dogs. She probably did; they did own a husky. Plus, their son seemed happy and well-adjusted at a glance, so more likely than not, it was a happy home. That was really good.
He sighed, realizing heād yet again scrolled without reading. He put the phone down, picking up his coffee and sipping. There were people all around, so there was no particular reason to pay attention to any one person, and yet somehow he had a Feeling. The hairs on the back of his neck were suddenly at attention, and without thinking, his eyes had begun roving the faces nearby.
It took him a second to turn his head and actually realize whoād caught his attention. Without noticing, heād seen the man out of the corner of his eye as he sat down. Now, though, the stranger had his full attention. Chelo suddenly sat up straight, nearly spilling his coffee. In his mindās eye, he saw sweeping architecture, and a set of steps that was itself a full cardio workout. He felt the ache in his shoulders from standing too still for too long, smelled an acrid note of old stone. He was waiting for the doors to open, and then, in a wash of light that was likely Piusās rose-colored glasses, that man would appear...
Chelo stared, his mouth dropping open.
He knew this man. Heād been at that meeting a few weeks ago, but Chelo had also seen him around the campus. But also, he was that guy. He was the guy. The guy! Chelo knew that face. Piusās memories centered on it and the bittersweet feelings it caused him.
āGaiusā¦?ā
Alejo was in the middle of taking another sip when he heard that, looking over with an arched eyebrow. āTitus,ā he replied with a confident smirk before resuming tapping away on his phone.
Wait.
āPious, right?ā He looked over at the other man again, pushing himself up to stand, and then casually claiming a seat opposite of the other young man.
āHi.ā
There was a curious feeling in his chest. Like his heart was filling with air, turning into a balloon, ready to float off into the skyā¦ Not love at first sightāthe sudden catch of breath heād experienced when Dr. Ulusoy walked into the room for the first timeābut something that felt more familiar. He wondered if, instead of orthopedic medicine, he should have gone into brain science. His brain was doing something very peculiar, and it was pretty fascinatingābecause it felt like he was both experiencing that floating feeling and watching someone else light up with the glimmer of affection.
Chelo snapped himself out of it. Titus. He felt both disappointed and not. These were not really his feelings. They were just something leftover from the snippets of Piusās memories. It was a surprise to find how Piusās feelings had saturated his thoughts; it was strange to be experiencing someone elseās romantic landscape. Similar to the workings of his own heart, and yet differentā¦
He nodded. āYeah, thatās...well, that is who Iāā
He wondered if he had been Pius. All of his memories seemed to be from Piusās point of view. They did look alike. But were they actually the same person? Couldnāt it be a parallel version of himself? Living, right now, through those strange fantastic times? It seemed to him that Pius might be alive right now, and that somehow the space between two realities had become thin. Maybe Pius was experiencing his life, too, at this very moment. The parallel reality theory seemed nicer, because if he had been Pius...that begged an unsettling question: what had happened to Pius?
āThatās who I remember,ā he said after a moment. āThese days, they call me Marcelo.ā He smiled and held out a hand. āBasically everyone calls me Chelo. Prince Titusā¦ā His eyes moved over the manās face and shoulders, the confidence and brightness clear in every movement. Yes, Titus. āHave you found Gaius yet?ā
āChelo,ā Alejo tested and nodded his head. āI like it.ā At the very important question, he sighed and stared at this cold drink. āNo,ā he licked his lips, tasting the disappointment in his words. āI donāt have a brother--I do have a sister, but I donāt think sheāsā¦ well.ā He shrugged his shoulders, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.
āIt is a bit weird, thoughā¦ā
Marcelo did his very best impression of a man who was not concerned by this news. He had no idea who might be who anymore, except in cases likeāTitus? Was his name Titus here, too? Well, in cases like that, where they looked like the person in the memories. But that wasnāt everyone. That said, it didnāt seem like Gaius was among them. After all, from what Chelo had gleaned, he didnāt see why Gaius wouldnāt have already spoken up and let them know. It didnāt make sense. So, Chelo could only assume he hadnāt found them yet.
āI wonder if there are a few people with these memories...who arenāt living here. Do you think itās possible?ā
āItās possible, I mean, why wouldnāt it?ā Alejo tapped and stroked his eyebrow a few times. āBut then, what connects all of us who remember? If we consider that itās just a coincidence everyone seems to be here, then what is our common trait?ā
Chelo frowned, eyes falling to his drink. That was a really good question, and his brain was still too full of anatomy to come up with a quick answer. He bit his lips as he tried to coax it into coming up with a reasonable theory, but he thought he might be tapped for clever hypotheses at the moment.
āSome of us seem to have been...important in the past life.ā He pauses, grilling his brain. ā...Chosen?ā He glanced at Ale, worried that heād said something stupid, that it wasnāt a good enough thoughtā¦ But it was the best he could come up with in the moment. āUm, somehow I feel like...there are a lot of people who fit that description right here, right now, and maybe that somehow...is affecting things?ā
āThat also adds why I donāt think itās a coincidence weāre all here.ā Alejo held out his hands, counting with his fingers all the Chosen he knew were in Mar Luna. āIt stands to reason to assume that whoever is missing has to be here or close by.ā There was no proof to that though, so it wasnāt really an hypothesis. āBut anyway, who knows where they are?ā
Chelo nodded, lifting his coffee to his lips. Somehow, it tasted more bitter than expected at that moment. His nose wrinkled.
āYou donāt thinkā¦ā he started, but stopped. He didnāt necessarily believe that he was Pius exactly, but still, it was undeniable that he felt a connection with that personāenough that he did feel worried about what could have happened to Gaius. So suggesting that something bad had happened to Titus, whoād beenāor at least was connected toāhis twin brother seemed inconsiderate.
āMaybe he just hasnāt remembered yet,ā he finally said, though that seemed really unlikely given everyone elseās experiences. Sure, it did seem that a few people had both a greater quality and quantity of memories, but even the seemingly slower ones like himself still knew about these alter egos.
āProbably when he does remember, heāll find us,ā he added brightly. āI canāt see why he wouldnāt look for us if he did recall.ā
āMaybe,ā Alejo sighed, nodding his head and then distracting himself with the sweet flavor of his frappe. āCould be anything. Or maybeā¦. He hasnāt been born yet?ā Did they have to be siblings now, too? Orā¦
He sighed again, shrugging his shoulders.
āThereās nothing we can do, I guess, other than keeping moving forward.ā
Chelo sipped again, his brow furrowing. Not born yet?
āThatās assuming...that we areā¦ā It felt preposterous to even say it, and though he was a good deal lapsed, a little blasphemous, too, ā...reincarnations. Though if we are, thenā¦ I mean, how does that even work? For so many people to be here around the same time, the same ageā¦ Somethingā¦ā Must have happened to them all at the same time in the other world, too. He frowned down again, nursing his coffee and trying to let the too hot, too bitter distract him from that thought. āThough maybe that just means Gaius didnāt experience what everyone else did?ā
And that was kind of a happy thought. At least, he felt like Pius would feel somehow relieved to know that. āBut, assuming we are reincarnations of those people...what happened to them? Why are we all here around the same age at the same time? Itās...itās weird.ā
If there was an answer to these questions, Alejo didnāt have them, so he shrugged his shoulders. āWho knows? Either way, I hope heās fine. To be honest with you, the whole thing is weird, so trying to logic things away wonāt work. Maybe everyone here is from there and they just donāt know.ā
That was the truth, they had no clue of literally anything.
āAnyway, I just have to make sure everyone is fine until Gaius returns.ā
Chelo laughed, running a hand through his hairāhis fingers pausing at the nape of his neck, self-conscious. Titus was right. This was the situation, and whether they understood it or not, it wasnāt going away. He lifted his face, turning to look out the window for a moment.
āMaybe so,ā he agreed quietly, watching the street as though Gaius might somehow appear, as though talking about him could summon him. After a moment, he shook his head, turning back to Titus.
āIf thereās anything I can do to help with that, Iād like to. For Piusās sake.ā His hand slipped from his neck to his coffee, and he found there was only a sip left. āOh,ā he said, putting it down. āIām going to go get another. I still have a lot of studying to do. Can I get you anything?ā
āWe are organizing watches and what not, just your presence is appreciated,ā Alejo offered with a little smile. There wasnāt a lot they could do other than carefully observe, āNah, itās cool--I should go to stop keeping you from studying, you already look very tired from it.ā
āIād be happy to help out.ā That little smile did feel familiar in a way that made his stomach warm. He looked away, face growing pink, and then laughed. Because tired from it...was an understatement, but he appreciated that Titus realized. He also immediately worried that he must have dark circles under his eyes, or that perhaps his skin was not looking as glowing and bright as he would like...and it bothered him for Titus to see that. He didnāt think that Pius had special feelings for Titus, but the fact that he looked so much like Gaius...he patted his hair, as though that might solve the issue of appearing haggard.
āIām glad that youāre here,ā he said with what might be uncomfortable sincerity to some, but he was relieved. With Titus among them, whatever did come next, he thought at least someone might know what to do. He held out his phone. āDo you want to text yourself, so you have my number?ā
āIām glad to have you back, too,ā Alejo replied, flashing a bright grin as he reached out for the phone. With a hum, he tapped away his name, saving it into the phone, and then, texting himself. Satisfied when he heard the notification sound, he returned the phone to its owner. āHere you go.ā
Chelo took back the phone, pocketing it. āGreat. Thanksāā He almost said āPrince Titus,ā but stopped himself. āāTitus.ā He moved to stand, to refresh his coffee and return to the strict, yet constant, embrace of studying. āTalk to you soon.ā