flighty_dreams | Spliced Interlude: Secrets

TITLE: Spliced Interlude (Ficlet): Secrets
AUTHOR:

flighty_dreams
WORD COUNT: 926
FEEDBACK: Always welcome, even if it's just to say that you read it.

NOTES: Another ficlet that takes place between Part 4 and Part 5. Thanks to

aurila for feedback.

“Matt, there’s something I should tell you.”

He froze. Min’s secrets were never good ones.

They’d just gotten into the hovercar. His hair was still wet; he’d showered at the club gym after playing netterball with some friends. Intending to run a couple of errands afterwards, he’d brought Min along.

He looked over at Min now, who was staring straight ahead. He wasn’t doing anything obvious like biting his lip or fidgeting, but Matt could still sense his nervousness. His own anxiety ratcheted up in response.

Finding some reserve of patience, he waited him out. Min offering honesty instead of Matt dragging it out of him was an improvement.

A little chuckle slipped out of Min, although it sounded off. “It’s odd to spell out, after all this time, but… I’m not just attracted to men.”

For a moment Matt’s hyper-anxious mind thought, What more do you want to do with them? Then logic kicked in. “You’re interested in women?”

He must’ve sounded more surprised than he realized, because Min winced. “It’s not such a ridiculous idea.”

Well no, it wasn’t, but the more he thought about it the more he didn’t like it. “Those women in the court next to mine—you were checking them out, weren’t you?” Beautiful and fit, he’d seen Min look over at them, but had thought it was just curiosity.

Min flushed. “It’s not a crime to look.”

“But hiding this from me was,” Matt said, more concerned with the worse offense.

Those arctic blue eyes flashed—something that never failed to distract Matt—until Min opened his mouth. “You made an assumption all on your own.”

Min wasn’t escaping the blame for this. “An assumption you deliberately didn’t correct.”

“All right, I didn’t,” Min said with a grimace. “You were pissed enough as it was when I first came back. You made the assumption and it seemed better to leave it alone for now.”

“It was better for you to avoid it than for you to be honest?? Better for yourself you mean.”

The earlier flush returned with greater force. “I’m being honest now! And look how well you’re taking it.”

Matt swallowed back a retort that wouldn’t help anything. Min did have a point. He was being honest, even if belatedly, and yelling at him for it would discourage him from doing so again in the future. He didn’t want that.

“Don’t think you’re forgiven,” Matt said at last, “but better late than not at all.”

Watching him for a minute, Min seemed to be waiting for more censure. When he didn’t receive any, he relaxed a little.

“Anything else you feel like sharing?” asked Matt. To not try would’ve been like ignoring credits that fell from the sky.

Min started, his hair slipping forward. “Uh, not at the moment.”

Swallowing back his disappointment, Matt stared out at the gym building in front of them. Made of metal and glass, it had a sleek appearance to it. As his gaze slid over the front door, something else occurred to him. “You said I made the assumption when you first came back?” The pieces suddenly fell into place. “You were seeing a woman before?”

Finally Min looked ashamed, as he should have from the first. “With Hayeston and all the other stuff I was revealing, it wasn’t a good time to get you riled up even more, thinking ‘women are a threat too.’ Then later I didn’t want to bring up the subject of my ex, since we seemed to have silently agreed not to talk about it anymore.”

Agreed not to talk about it anymore? Matt wanted to shake him. More like early on he’d discovered Min had forged a wall of steel around the topic, resisting all efforts to discuss it. Between that and the reluctance to hear about it that was almost—but not quite—as strong as the need to know, he’d stopped bringing it up after the first two weeks. He’d decided that Min’s past could wait, he was here now, and Matt wasn’t letting him get away again.

Whatever look he’d just given Min had said enough. “I should’ve told you then, when you asked about her.”

“Yes, you should have.” Matt paused, fairly certain of this but still needing to ask. “Was what you said then even the truth? Did she work with you?”

“Yes. I didn’t lie outright,” Min said with a frown.

“No, just by omission.” He’d walked right into that one; even Min knew it, sighing and turning away. Pushing for more, Matt asked, “What’s her name?”

“Matt…”

“Really, that’s her name too?”

Min gawked at him for a long moment, before he grinned. He hesitated, the smile still playing at his lips. “Her name is Kate.”

Matt was surprised too that he’d managed a joke about this. While he’d noticed Min responded well to humor, using it as a defense mechanism often enough, somehow it’d had an effect on Matt too this time. Although still angry, he was also… relieved. Min was volunteering sensitive information. That meant something, though he wasn’t sure what yet.

“What, she only has a first name?” he prodded, taking advantage of the opportunity.

Min gave him such a look then. “As far as you’re concerned, yes. No stalking of exes.”

Irritating as the refusal was, he couldn’t deny that he’d investigate her thoroughly if given a full name. However, he suspected he wasn’t alone. “So you haven’t looked up Taurent?”

Min’s immediate, intense blush was cute—and gratifying. Suddenly Matt felt much better.