Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Maladine, Part 1 of 3
   by Nysidra
   Romance (bg, mf, MF, brother / sister)
   Summary: Rachel and Leon Maladine, the unwanted twins.  This is their
love story.
   <->
   -_ 1 _-
   Leon Maladine loved his little sister.  Any member of the Maladine
family would attest to that fact.  Leon took a proprietary interest in the
newest addition to their family.  They created such a perfect picture, with
curls of his hair catching the light as he pressed his lips to her little
cheeks.
   Rachel was the tenth member of the Maladine household, not including the
mother and father.  The household was relieved that Rachel had a caretaker,
even if he was barely able to care for himself at only three years old.
   The Maladines had done well for themselves with a large spread of land
just outside the city.  They bred livestock for competitions, farmed, and
operated a local cooperative.  Henry and Deidra Maladine's love for each
other was more than evidenced by the number of children they produced. 
Brook was supposed to have been the last, but Leon appeared, followed three
years later by surprise number two.  Rachel and Leon.  Their names melded
in the mouths of their family until it became one: Racheleon.
   If it wasn't something to do with the farm, the ranch, or the company,
the other siblings had events, projects, and competitions.  Leon and Rachel
were often the only ones who never left the house.
   The other siblings had a room to themselves, but Rachel and Leon shared
a room.  No one was supposed to come after Brook.  Leon got her room, and
further additions to the house did not include a plan for Rachel.
   Henry loved to work cattle.  He didn't keep as many on the farm as he
wanted, but he was often at auction, buying and selling cattle in as little
as an hour or week.  He spent most of his time at the auction, out
directing the hands, or at local shows.
   Deidra, their mother, was broad shouldered, determined, and fiercely
intelligent.  She spent most of her time in the field, rotating her organic
crops, or working on her canning, pickling, and soaping projects to fill
their store.  She also met with the local farmers regularly to hold
meetings about the future of small businesses within the community.
   When Deidra and Henry were not at work, they were with each other.  As
the neighborhood is quick to inform an outsider, the Maladines are a
passionate couple.  How else could they produce such a brood?
   They had always been focused on each other or their work.  The children
happened naturally.  It become too much to focus on each individual life
and try to be the center of their world.  By the time they got to child
nine and ten, Deidra and Henry had given up on hovering.
   The other children included their cowboy, Rayden.  He operated a horse
ranch nearby.  Tall, athletic, a regular heartbreaker, and natural horse
tamer.  He could gentle a horse of any breed.
   Nigel was as tall as Rayden, but thin.  You could make out his shoulders
and chest bones.  He made his home in the woods since he was a kid.  All he
ever wanted to be a was a ranger.  He was going to start his apprenticeship
soon.
   Ellen was keen on fashion and fitness.  She went through styles and
clothing as much as her fitness routines.  She studied the magazines, and
obsessed over their coverage, who was getting it right, who wasn't. 
Needless to say, Ellen was not big on the smell and grit of farm work.
   Dawn had taken to wearing skirts or wearing a towel over his head.  When
he wasn't dressing up, he did plenty of work around the house.  You could
tell Dawn about a squeak, a rattle, or a ping, and he would find and fix
it.
   Cheryl recently had her twelfth birthday.  She wanted a tea party in the
backyard.  Henry and Deidra recalled saying they could do that, but they
assumed the other had planned it, and neither were able to attend.  Cheryl
sat to the play set she had assembled alone and waited in the backyard, a
book open in her lap, tears staining the pages.
   Brandy loved to sing.  She went to every festival and performed in her
cute little boots and pink leather hat.  What really made the show is when
her twin sister, Brittany, joined along belting out in perfect harmony. 
Brittany's favorite part of being on stage was her costume.
   Eric loved the outdoors, but not as far as the woods.  He pitched in
with the garden as soon as he could waddle.  Carrying leaves to the trash
bin or guarding the chicken coop.  Now that he was eight, he regularly
patrolled the fence, the crops, and the animals.
   Brook hadn't been with them long, but she was a sweetheart.  Gentle
baby, didn't fuss much.  For that matter she didn't laugh or babble.  But
for two weeks, she was a Maladine.  Loved equally until the day she
expired.
   That was it.  A good showing.  No more, not after Brook.
   Leon was born two years after Brook's death.  Three years later, the
miracle child: Rachel.
   Deidra and Henry made it clear that no more children were coming.  The
doctor had taken her uterus away with Rachel.
   Once Deidra healed, the house was again filled with the music of their
passions.  Henry and Deidra realized they could enjoy each other without
the risk of producing another child.
   The Maladine property was a modest and efficient spread outside Port
Valentine in view of the Redwood Hills.  The house had expanded over the
years, but each revision increased their modernity and effective use of
space.
   They even had a solar-powered cabin near the hills.  Not that far of a
walk.  It had a bedroom halfway up a level, common room underneath, a
kitchen, and bathroom with a bath.  From the upper-deck you could see clear
to the Port.
   Henry and Deidra used the cabin as a daytime escape.  They spent time
there alone, not to be disturbed by family or work.  The cabin was for
lovers, and the Maladine children learned by example.
   Henry thought it a wise choice, providing a safe place for his children
to explore their sexuality.  He feigned ignorance of their clandestine
visits, and his surveillance equipment remained undiscovered.
   Not that any of them had to go far for privacy.  The property led off to
a shared trail.  Follow the wildflower meadow near the stream to the lake,
and the trees were so thick that one could swim in the buff as if it were a
fenced-in pool.  It was a charmed spot to watch the birds and butterflies
of the season flit by.
   So, while a great deal of the Maladine children had residence within
their childhood home, few of them spent time inside.  Most of them gathered
on the ground floor.  The only television was in the common room, and they
had created a media room out of the dining room.
   Leon and Rachel lived on the second floor, down the furthest side of the
stairs, the last room of the last addition.  The walls were painted bluish
green with a forest tableau that blended into an oceanic scene under the
window.  They had a set of stairs that let them use the upper half of the
room.  Leon had built his hideaway there, mostly things unsuitable for a
sister three years his junior.
   At night came the reminder that they were not alone.  Water running
through pipes, wood flooring adjusted under footsteps.  After midnight, a
robotic cleaner whispered through the room, its dull, orange light blinked
on and off.
   ***
   Did Leon seal his own fate in those first days of Rachel's life? 
Surely, if not for his obvious attachment, then someone would have fed her
when she cried, would have changed her diaper when she soiled herself.
   Leon asked Nigel for his old fridge that he saw in his pictures from
college.  Nigel brought it up to the room and hooked it up.  "Smart idea,
little bro.  It's a long walk to the kitchen from here, huh?"
   Leon nodded.  It was a long walk to the kitchen that he couldn't take
with an infant half as long as his body.  Each time he left his room
without her, he felt as if he were being buried to his neck in dirt.
   He kept food for her in that fridge, not baby food.  He'd scrounged the
pantry for the last of that months ago.  It kept vegetables, rolls, left
over biscuits, pieces of dessert, and small containers of blueberry jam. 
She liked that best.
   In time, Leon learned to know when she had to make waste.  They soiled
less diapers that way.  He'd carry her to the toilet and hold her by the
arms, his legs spread wide to keep his balance.
   Any time she soiled herself, Leon made sure he washed her and changed
her clothes.  He rubbed lotion into her skin so that she didn't get too
dry. He knew the unhappiness of a lingering mess and did not want that for
her.
   Leon and Rachel were always welcome anywhere in the house, but no one
stopped by to say where or when that was.  Often Leon discovered there had
been a family night film viewing when he heard talk of it the day after in
the hallway.
   If they slept through breakfast no one knocked on the door to ask if
they were okay.  As everyone had their own plans, the house was empty for
most of the day, leaving a silent second floor.
   Leon would rock Rachel to sleep, set her down, and hurry down to the
kitchen to get her something to eat.  The Maladines did not believe in
waste, which meant there were always leftovers in the fridge, either eaten
or soon incorporated into a lunch.
   When Rachel woke crying, Leon woke and listened.  If anyone had been
there to look, they would see him squinting and trying to understand her
baby speak.  On that particular night he had no idea.  He got her to the
bathroom, gave her water, and used an extra blanket.
   No one ever saw Leon do that.
   By the time he was five and she was two, you never saw one without the
other.  They had become twins, like Brandy and Brittany.  This is what the
Maladines said in mixed company.  Among each other, they knew that you
never saw Rachel without searching for Leon.
   Leon had terrific skills at traveling without being heard.  He could be
in a room, and a person would not notice him for several long minutes. 
Even when his presence was acknowledged, no one knew what to make of Leon.
His eyes seemed vacant, expressionless, reptilian.
   When someone managed to get him to smile, it took them a while.  It was
a brilliant, quick flash, gleam of teeth.  It was like a rainbow through a
storm, gorgeous, if only someone didn't have to twist his arm to see it.
   Leon was like a cat, stalking in the shadows, with Rachel nearby.  She
was the moon to his planetary force.  She crawled and waddled wherever he
went.  He was her best friend, her best brother.
   Everyone found it cute.  "They're like twins," they would say.
   When Rachel hurt herself, she looked to Leon for comfort.  If she was
stuck with her thoughts, she went to him for clarity.
   They talked while getting dressed in the morning and while preparing for
bed at night.  He lay down beside her, pulled the covers up to her neck and
tucked her into his chest.
   "Sleep now, Rachel.  I'm right beside you if you need me." He kissed her
on the shoulder.
   "Tell me what you're working on," she whispered.
   "Does it bore you that much?"
   She tossed her head back and forth, shifting deeper into the bed.  "I
like the sound of your voice when you talk about your plans."
   Leon settled in and took her hand.  To Leon, Rachel was his reason for
living.  He had developed a keen reflex because he had to be quick at
catching Rachel.  He had pushed his creativity at being entertaining,
because he was Rachel's only source of interaction.  When he got on a
horse, he turned into a warrior, fearless and confident at keeping a pony
tame because Rachel always rode in the front saddle.
   ***
   Leon had to start attending school.  The idea of leaving home, leaving
Rachel alone with these people terrified and infuriated him.  But he had to
be a good example.  When his father told him, Rachel was on the floor
behind him playing with the electronic puzzle Leon had found in Cheryl's
room.
   Terrified and infuriated, but when his father told him he would start
school in fall, he nodded.
   He made a plan for both himself and Rachel.  He would have to get her in
a routine.  She was old enough now.
   On the first day of school, Leon woke early.  He set her clothing out
and issued her challenges.  He made sure there was easy food in the
mini-fridge.  He set up the book he wanted her the read, and secured his
'unsafe objects' in the cabinet upstairs.
   Last, he left a message on the tape recorder for her to listen to during
the day.
   "Rachel, stay in this room while I'm gone.  If you need to, you can go
around the house, but you get back in the room as soon as possible.  No
matter what.  Are you listening Rachel?"
   She pouted and bobbed her head.
   "This is important.  You never go outside without me.  Draw what you
want to do, and I'll see to it when I get home.  Do not leave, Rachel.  I
will be hot as fire if you do."
   Hot as fire, because only fire burned like his temper.  She didn't ever
want Leon to be upset with her.  She knew this was serious.
   And yet, some lessons required the weight of experience.
   Rachel explored the house while Leon was at school.  While running
around downstairs, she found another set of stairs that went to the cellar.
   She never knew the house had a cellar!  So many shelves!  She browsed
them all, read the sign on the barrels.
   A powerful sneeze caused her to stumble.  Rachel supported herself on
the nearest object - a box.  It wobbled, collapsed, and the box above it
came down on her.  It didn't hurt, but the box was too heavy to free her
leg.  When she tried to slide away, it pressed harder into her thigh.  Her
toes tingled.
   Tears filled her eyes and she decided to move back a little.  That made
it worse.
   The thunder of a stereo rattled the floor boards.
   "Eric?!" She took a deep breath and screamed.  "Eric!  Cheryl?"
   To that day, Rachel remembered staring at her tiny leg, caught because
she was too weak to lift it herself.  Did the basement count as outside the
house?
   Leon bounded down stairs with a steps that landed as light as a feather.
He rushed over and pushed the box up, set the entire stack right.  He took
her thigh in his hands, checked her knee then scooped her into his arms.
   Two at a time, he carried her up two flights of stairs to their room.
   He shut the door and set her on the bed.  His eyes looked cold, he
barely seemed to be breathing.  It was odd seeing him in the uniform he had
to wear for class.  The colors were too bright.
   "Is the cellar outside?" she sniffled.
   "It's not somewhere you need to be."
   "You said don't go outside though.  I didn't."
   He huffed and went to his knees.  "Don't leave this room unless you have
to." He pulled her skirt up.  "Does it hurt?"
   She nodded.  "My leg tingles really bad Leon.  Really, really bad."
   "That's the blood flowing back in.  This is what I fear happening to
you."
   Rachel sobbed and pulled Leon into a hug.  She didn't want to make him
afraid.  He kept her from being afraid, and she wanted to do the same for
him.
   He lay beside her while she cried, saying nothing.  Later, he pulled
away and got a warm washcloth for her face and a glass of water.
   She woke the next morning with her clothes set out, and only one message
on the recorder.  "Do not leave the room unless the house is burning."
   He doubled her challenges, as if purposely frustrating her lonely day.
When he got home she danced on her tiptoes, waiting for him to get out of
his uniform so that she could hug him.
   He would open his arms and she jumped as high as she could.  He'd catch
her and swing from side to side.
   "Stop going to school, please."
   "I can't, not for a day."
   "Why, Leon, why?"
   "Because I want to know the best of everything to teach you."
   She giggled.  "What did you learn today?"
   Rachel learned to follow his directions, even the ones that had nothing
to do with her safety.  If he wanted her to swim laps in the lake, she did,
though she feared sea monsters lived in the dark spots.  Sea monsters had
nothing on Leon.  She swam where he wanted as quickly as she could.
   Here is why.
   On this particular occasion, Rachel and Leon woke before sunrise, packed
their bags, and set off on the trail.  Somedays they were to the lake or
the hills or favored spots in the woods.
   Today they traveled the shared portion of the Maladine trail.
   "Rachel, you're too far ahead."
   She screwed her face in disgust, but did not move until he passed.
   A beautiful brown dog ran toward them, a black leash whipped the ground
behind it.  Rachel wanted with all her might to run and greet him.  She
whimpered and dug her nails into her palm.
   At first Rachel had been ecstatic, but as the dog got closer, she
realized it was much bigger than her.  The dog's head was low, jaw tight.
Before she could scream or run, Leon's launched into action.
   The dog snarled and jumped, but the sound ended with a shrill, howling
whimper.  Leon's elbow pumped as he drove his knife into the dog's chest
and gut.  When they got home, he had to get the bite on his shoulder
checked by a doctor.
   Rachel had been with him the whole time, holding his hand.
   "They're like twins," their mother stage-whispered to the doctor.
   "He's a very brave little boy, but perhaps too young for unsupervised
jaunts with a toddler?"
   "My children are very resourceful," she said, "but you're right.  I
expected the leash law would be respected on my property."
   The doctor said to Leon, "No need to worry, young man.  Keep it clean
and it will heal."
   He flashed a smile, "Better me with the wound than her."
   "He is going to pay for this." Deidra kissed Leon on the head as they
left the hospital.  "Don't worry, okay?  You did the right thing.  Remember
that."
   Rachel thought it odd her mother talked about the dog so much.  Leon
never worried about killing the dog.  He worried they would tell him to
stay inside the house.
   No one did.
   ***
   Leon's second grade teacher, Miss Alison Oak, was the first to voice her
distaste for Leon.
   Miss Oak was in the teacher's longue, stirring the flavored cream into
her coffee.  "You ever had the Maladines?"
   "Who haven't I had?  I was trying to collect them all."
   She smirked.  "Including Leon?"
   Mistress Peridot shook her head.  "Not yet."
   "He's different from the others."
   "As was Dawn, and he's a wonderful person.  Brilliant aptitude."
   Miss Oak shook her head and tested her coffee.  It needed more creamer.
"Leon is like a blind spot in the mind.  One minute I see him, and then I
forget he's there.  I better not, because if he moves, I won't know it."
She put her hand up.  "I sound insane.  I know."
   "I'm liking it.  Keep going.  This beats my thumb-sucker by miles."
   "He's more reserved than even a quiet child.  He's the mute black bird
in a cage of finches.  When he's with the other children, I might as well
have a help mate.  He speaks to them like an adult."
   Mistress Peridot laughed.  "Woman, I can't believe you'd let a good
penny like that push your buttons.  He's mature?  He's quiet?  I'd be happy
to have him in my class."
   "Well, when this year is over anyone can take that dark blessing with
them."
   That's when Mistress Peridot saw him standing in the open doorway.  "Do
you need something, Leon?"
   Miss Oak froze.
   The door swung shut.
   It wasn't until another teacher walked in that they said anything else.
   Miss Oak whispered, "That's what I'm talking about."
   "You're overreacting."
   Upon reflection, Mistress Peridot had to admit the boy's reaction was
strange.  No laughter, no squeal of triumph, no apology.  When she spotted
him, he didn't flinch, but merely faded away.
   ***
   Leon was aware that he made people uncomfortable.  He moved quietly, but
he would not resort to stomping around.  They said he showed no emotion,
but what emotion was he supposed to give them?  He preferred to stick with
what he truly felt.
   People enjoyed seeing him smile.  He helped people with their questions,
paid attention to their idle babble.  If something the person said educated
him, he smiled.  Positive reinforcement.
   This made people uncomfortable, and they had the audacity to call him
disturbing.
   ***
   Efforts to keep track of Rachel and Leon became a popular game in the
Maladine household.  Someone would be chosen to watch them.  The current
victor, Dawn, had lasted four hours.  Brandy and Brittany argued that time
spent watching a movie should not count.
   As Leon got older, the game turned complicated because Rachel learned to
be as slippery as her brother.
   Leon loved to wander and Rachel struggled to follow.  Many a day, a
field search would end finding them in a pen, in the rows, in the cellar or
a closet.  Rachel had kept him anchored for a few years, but not much
longer.
   Together, they could cover miles.  Once they as got as far as the cabin.
Rachel drew pictures while he read books to her.  They napped together
under a blanket on the couch.  Leon had been repacking their bag when Henry
found them.
   The man had scolded him, shaking his finger in his face and yelling,
pointing at Rachel.  Leon waited, but he never said her name.  'Your baby
sister' is what he called her.
   "Do you have anything to say for yourself young man.  Anything at all?
Or are you just going to stand there like a wet log?"
   "How old must I be before I don't have to obey that rule?"
   Henry looked him up and down, the corners of his mouth tightened.  "I'll
let you know.  Until then, you will follow it."
   He went over and took Rachel's hand.
   From that day was not to leave the house with his sister without an
adults' knowledge.
   Rachel stayed at home more often.
   "Please," Rachel cried, holding tight to his wrist.  "I want to go with
you."
   "No." He removed her hand one at a time.  "I will be back."
   Her shoulders sagged and head dropped, but she didn't try to stop him
again.  He left her alone more, not less, and she would cry from being so
lonely.
   One night Leon woke her with his finger on her lips.  He carried her on
his back out the house, down the path.  They weren't going on the path to a
cabin, nor the clearing, nor the lake.  This was somewhere new.
   "Climb up." He pulled her around and set her on a ladder.
   She climbed until she reached a platform.  "What is this?" She couldn't
see anything.  "Leon?"
   He crawled in behind her and pulled a switch.
   Strung white lights illuminated the interior of the tree house.  It was
filled with her favorite books, toys, and even some of the baby toys she
still liked.  Ellen had cleared the room of 'baby stuff' and it had been
put in a truck to give away.
   Tears filled her eyes so quick that she couldn't see.
   He hugged her tight and kissed her.  "I told Nigel I wanted to build you
a tree house."
   "You did?  Why?"
   "Because now an adult knows where I took you.  Nigel taught me to make
the trail."
   "It's a nice trail.  It has the big stones I like."
   "It does."
   "Could you turn the light out?  Can I see the stars?"
   "Yes.  Look up." He turned out the light and then a hinge creaked. 
Fresh air floated into the house, overhead was a clear view of the stars on
the ridge.
   They made challenges of building the best fire pit or creating the best
snare.  He taught her to forage and then they created new challenges for
using their bounty.
   ***
   Leon took the revolver from his father's case while he was cleaning his
rifle.  He slipped into the closet, lifted the light weight weapon, and
slipped out.  Wanted to see how it would compare to his target practice
with toy guns.  He had better accuracy with the revolver.
   He was granted the ability to take Rachel wherever she wanted on his
ninth birthday.  He had asked every year until Henry declared him free.
   "Need any bullets for the revolver?"
   Leon shook his head.
   "Cleaning kit?"
   He nodded.
   Henry pulled the two boxes wrapped in shimmery white wrapping paper. 
"Happy birthday, son."
   Leon didn't question his father's gift.  He had what he needed.
   "I want to be gone for over two days," Leon said as he helped Rachel.
   "Why?  What are we doing?"
   "I want to explore.  You can stay if you want."
   Rachel pulled a horrified face.  "No.  Not for so long." She tugged on
the straps of her little hiking boots.  They appeared and smelled new, but
they had once been Cheryl's.
   ***
   When the time came, Rachel attended school.  She fluttered around the
room, talking all about the grand time she was going to have.
   "For the first time in my life, I don't have to stay in the room while
you're gone."
   Leon cast her a look.  "You still do that?"
   "You never told me I could leave."
   He pulled her over and kissed her on the cheek.  The next time, he
pecked her on the lips.  "Thank you."
   ***
   So many other people lived in the house, but Rachel rarely got to meet
them.
   "Hey, Rachel," they'd say in between whatever else they were doing.  If
one of them pulled an earphone out to give the greeting, it was immediately
replaced.
   At least people didn't look around the room scared when they saw her
anymore.
   The most recent person to do that was her mother.
   Leon brought her into her bedroom.  She wasn't sure if she had ever seen
the room.
   "Rachel?  Is there something," she looked around the room until she
spotted Leon.
   "I start school next week," said Rachel.  "I don't have my supplies."
   "Shit, Leon.  I know you gave me the list.  Hold on.  Ellen?  Nigel?"
She waited a bit longer, "Cheryl, Dawn?  Damn it!  Anyone?"
   "I have a copy of my list here," Rachel said.
   "You hold onto it." She hopped into one shoe then the other.  "Come on."
   Once she was reminded, Deidra was very good about acting like a mother.
   "Growing fast.  What do you need this stuff for?"
   Leon trailed behind, got into the backseat of the car, and rode with
them into town.
   Getting up and getting ready for school was Rachel's favorite part of
the day.  He went over the things she needed to remember.  Helped her
dress, reminded her of her challenges, and just before they left the room
he squeezed her in a tight hug.
   ***
   So caught up in the excitement of school and her new routine, that
Rachel forgot what it meant to be a Maladine.
   She had told her mother about the cupcakes.  She told her twice and even
had her get the groceries, but now it was late and there wasn't anyone in
the kitchen.  Henry and Deidra had gotten dressed in fancy clothing and
left the house hours ago.
   She was trying not to cry, but she couldn't wait any longer.
   "Rachel?" He said.
   "I'm supposed to bring cupcakes to school."
   "You asked Deidra to bake them?"
   "I said I needed them, and I gave her the list for the stuff.  She said
'we'll get these done tonight.' That's what she said, Leon.  She said it,
and she forgot."
   "Clean yourself up and go to bed." Leon pushed the covers back and
pulled on his sleep pants.  "You'll have your cupcakes in the morning."
   "Okay." Rachael didn't know how that was going to happen, but if Leon
said it, then it would happen as sure as the sun shines.
   ***
   Leon was half sleep as he descended the stairs barefoot in a pair of
blue bubble pajama bottoms.
   The kitchen.
   She said something about a list.  Deidra would have thrown it in the
basket.  He climbed the counter and set the basket in his lap.  The recipe
page had been printed and bordered with Rachel's doodles.
   He read the recipe through twice and imagined going through it all.  It
was like assembly instructions, but with the timing and heat.
   Leon went up and down counters, checked shelves until he found the
stained, yellow cookbook.  He had consulted it a few times, enough to learn
about scalding milk and best way to prepare vegetables.
   He had never used an oven.  He devoured the passage, knowing he needed
to get these done soon.
   Mixing the ingredients was the easiest part.  He sat with both his legs
wrapped around the large silver bowl.  The oven had been preheated. 
Cupcakes needed to be decorated, but he hadn't thought too much on that.
   He slid them into the oven and searched the fridge and cabinets for
decoration.  He mixed a vat of powdered sugar frosting and used a toothpick
dipped in food dye to decorate the tops.
   He added the sprinkles, some silvery foil folded into leaves to decorate
each cup.
   He washed and dried everything he used, the put it all away.  If someone
had checked the large paper bag on the low shelf, they would have found two
dozen award-winning cupcakes.
   No one looked.  No one ever knew he did that.
   The sky was turning blue when Leon crawled into bed.
   ***
   "Your alarm is going off." Rachel shook him by the shoulder.
   Leon groaned and pulled Rachel on top of him.
   "You look tired."
   "I am."
   "Cupcakes?"
   "Your shelf in the kitchen.  I packed your snack on the top.  Hold it
from the bottom."
   "Okay."
   "Rachel, your challenge failed.  From now on, you don't ask her for
anything.  Come to me first.  Always."
   Rachel nodded seriously.  "Okay."
   ***
   As the years went on, Leon and Rachel remained in that back room
together.  Others had gone on to college or got an apartment, but their
rooms were always there.
   Rachel and Leon had been together so long, that the thought of separate
rooms never occurred.
   ***
   Leon sighed.  "What are you doing inch worm?"
   "Touching myself."
   "What's taking you so long?"
   "It's not working."
   He rolled onto his side and pulled her fingers away.  "Come over here
beside me and spread your legs."
   Once he had her in the position he wanted, he wet his fingers with his
mouth then rubbed her up and down.
   "Thank you," she turned and pressed her lips to his then buried her face
in his neck.  He knew just how to get her to that place where she felt good
all over, like her body got tight as a snare.
   She buried her face in the pillow as he legs kicked out and shuddered.
   "Feel good now?"
   "Yeah," she sighed.  "Do it again?"
   Leon didn't answer.  His eyes were open.  He hadn't fallen asleep. 
There didn't seem to be any expression on his face.
   "Please?  I like when you make me feel good."
   "Give me your hand."
   He took her hand and placed it on his hard penis.  "Would you make me
feel good too?"
   "Sure, how?"
   He guided her cool hand up and down.  "Take me in your mouth and suck on
me, Rachel."
   "Okay." She rolled onto her knees and hovered just over his erection,
then sucked it into her mouth.
   He sighed and rubbed her back.  "Now move up and down, take it easy,
find what you like."
   She played around with him in her mouth and it was its own bliss.  She
licked him, kissed him, caressed him.
   True to his word, he made her feel good all over again.
   They spent many of their nights exploring each other, finding out how to
make each other feel good.  It wasn't something they talked about much. 
She would kiss his chest and turn her questioning eyes to him.  He would
press his erection to her bottom.
   Rachel learned that her own fingers felt best when she imagined they
were Leon's.  That his voice was in her ear told her how good she made him
feel.
   Whenever class got too boring, she thought about him, how he could make
her squirm and squeal.  How he taught her about everything, played with
her, and cared for her.
   ***
   Miss Oak said, "She tends to zone out in class, but she gets her work
done.  Never had a moment of trouble out of her."
   Mistress Peridot nodded.  "Well, I have Leon, and I still don't think
he's all that bad.  He has a quiet way about him that seems much older than
the other children, like he's in the wrong grade."
   Miss Oak frowned into her lunch.  "Wrong grade?  He's in the wrong
institution."
   "Keep thinking that way and you're going to be left behind.  Have you
seen him lately?"
   She shook her head.
   "Couple more years and he's going to melt hearts with that smile of
his."
   "Protect yourself while you still can.  He seems like the kind of person
who would do more than melt a heart or two."
   ***
   "I want to ride that one." Leon pointed to the chocolate brown horse at
the end of the stall.
   "That's too much horse for a boy your age," said Rayden.  "I thought you
were going for a ride together."
   Leon looked at Rachel.
   "I want to ride Sugar Plum," she said.
   "Now that's a great choice." Their eldest brother prepared Sugar Plum, a
dapple gray pony that Leon had taught her to ride.
   Rayden heard a thick chuff.  The stall door at the far end had a high
pitched squeal when it opened.  He stood up with wide eyes.
   His youngest brother leveled his dead eyes on him.  "Watch me prove it
or take me at my word."
   "Hey, Leon," Rayden kept his voice even and gentle as Leon led the
spirited Andalusian horse out of its stall.  "Specter needs an experienced
rider, Leon."
   "Rachel, head out when you're ready."
   Rachel looked up to her saddle anxiously, then at Rayden.
   When Leon strode out on Specter, the ranch hands and his other siblings
noticed.  The prize horse never left the stable without a show winner on
its back.
   "Just what the in the hell are you doing?" Brittany started the phrase,
but Brandy finished it.  They fancied themselves the most privileged riders
on the ranch.  Rayden had let them ride many of his horses, but never that
dark chestnut stallion.
   "Rachel and I are going for a ride," he said.
   "Not on that you're not!" Said Brandy.
   "I'm going to tell."
   "I am too!  You're only ten.  You shouldn't be on it."
   Leon touched the horse with his heel and trotted toward the path as
Rachel brought up the rear.
   Brittany and Brandy were in full riding gear.  Their hair pulled back in
severe pony tails.  They had taken up working on Rayden's ranch to help
build their discovery fund.  Brandy and Brittany wanted to use their blue
ribbons and riding trophies to fund their music career.
   "After college, of course," Deidra would add, but they never echoed her.
   Frustration and jealousy had them fuming in equal measure as Leon,
dressed in a ripped pair of old jeans and a faded, threadbare shirt, had
Specter two-step up the path.
   Brittany and Brandy would go weeks at a time forgetting about the last
two Maladines.  They thought of them as the 'unwanted twins.' The last two
mistakes that had broken the last of Deidra's resolve to be a mother.
   "When he ends up hurt, we'll be glad our brother protected us," said
Brittany.
   "Maybe we'll be able to give him a ride next, if he doesn't."
   "Can't show him anyway.  Forget about."
   Brandy didn't forget, but she didn't mention it to her sister.  She
would never think of the unwanted twins as spoiled or demanding, but they
rarely had to beg or plead for what they wanted.
   Rachel would show up, her corkscrew curls done up in some crazy style
and then Leon would appear with his request.
   Brandy had never seen him cry, yell, or throw a tantrum.  He must have
though, right?  Rachel must have.
   Rayden had already given in, so Brittany went to their father.  "It's
dangerous for him to be out there."
   "It's Rayden stable.  I'm sure he's watching."
   "No," they said in harmony.  "He went off alone." They didn't have to
say Rachel was with him.  Like Brittany and Brandy, alone was synonymous
with together.
   That was another thing that burned them.  Rachel did anything Leon
wanted.  It wasn't like he commanded her or was mean.  "Come riding with
me, Rachel.  We're going for a walk, Rachel.  It's time for bed, Rachel."
   "Okay." No matter where she was, what she was doing.  The little girl
walked away from it and followed him.  She was more well-behaved than any
seven year old should be.
   When the Maladine siblings thought back, they had to think long and
hard. It had been years since they ever knew Rachel to balk at being told
what to do.
   If Leon ever told Rachel to jump off a bridge, Brandy had little doubt
Rachel would respond as if jumping into a pool.
   Brittany never listened to her or trusted her that much and they had
spent every waking moment together.
   ***
   Rachel went to school, but she would not have learned so much if not for
Leon.
   He taught her how to clean her teeth, how to floss after meals and brush
before and after bed.  He taught her the importance of good hygiene, to
change her clothing each day.
   He taught her about the color wheel and how to use it create harmonious
outfits.  She sat between his legs in front of a mirror while he pointed to
parts of he body and told her how to care for them.
   Her hair needed to be washed, styled and kept moisturized.  Her brain
needed the rest that sleep provided.  Her fingernails should be kept smooth
and clean.
   He taught her how to prepare meals, identify poisons, fix things, and
how to make a shelter.  Rachel had become old enough to know how lonely and
dumb she could have been if not for Leon.
   School taught her plenty things, but nothing like Leon.
   Every bit of love, affection, discipline, and advice Rachel had ever
experienced in life had come from Leon.
   He touched her almost every night and made her feel like flying.  They
did their school work, ate dinner, then showered and went to bed.
   She would crawl into bed, snuggled against his body.  They started with
a kiss or small touches and quickly move on, but tonight Leon was in no
hurry.
   He hugged and kissed her all over, his hands massaged and rounded her
shoulders.
   "Please, Leon.  Pretty please."
   "I will.  Calm down," he'd chuckle and kneel between her open legs.  His
tongue lapped at her, up and down.  She grabbed the pillow and put it over
her face, careful not to make any loud noises.
   Each time Leon made her tremble she would explode with joy.
   It was only a matter of time until things went further.
   "I want to put it inside you."
   "Okay." Rachel didn't know how that worked exactly, but she knew that
she felt best when Leon felt good.
   "You," he whimpered, and if there was more, he didn't remember to say
it. She felt uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt bad enough to make him stop.
He seemed so happy, and Rachel was rarely able to take care of Leon.
   "Tell me if it hurts."
   "It does ...  a little."
   He nodded and pulled out.  "That's enough."
   "No!" She whispered harshly, and put her arm around him.  "Please.  I
want you to stay."
   "We will try again later." He kissed her neck.  "It shouldn't hurt.  I
don't want to hurt you."
   "Can I put you in my mouth?"
   "Of course."
   ***
   Daily life went on for both of them.  Rachel loved school and her heart
fluttered whenever she made him proud.  Leon made her proud as well.  She
made sure to tell him so whenever he told her about his accomplishments at
school.
   He had challenged his teacher to issue a final in the first week of
class.
   "Third grade doesn't work that way, Mister Maladine."
   He had been insistent so his teacher played his game and created a test
of third grade material.  Then he issued one for fourth and fifth.  It had
become a game to the faculty by then, to find out his cap.
   It varied by subject, but he had a high capacity for learning.  He
absorbed new subjects like a sponge.
   Even so, Leon remembered how he made his earlier teachers uncomfortable.
He needed to be good with people so that he could help Rachel.  He worked
on being more personable.
   "Why do people call me arrogant?" He asked this of his teacher, the one
who seemed to like him best.  "The word means to speak of an exaggerated
ability.  I only say what I can do."
   Mister Campbell enjoyed having such a voracious student.  He had thought
of the young Maladine as arrogant once, but the boy had it right.  He never
exaggerated his ability.  He was kind to others, fair.  He never passed
judgement on others due to their differences or disabilities.
   How would he tell him that it was the way he seemed distant from a
crowd, that his fairness appeared a result of his vast disinterest in
others?
   "Do you care what people think of you, Leon?"
   "No, sir." He blinked a couple times.  That he was so forthright and
confident in his answer was the perfect example of Leon's unnerving
personality.  "I'm curious why they think that way."
   "Well, other people care very much.  They care about the opinion of
their friends and loved ones."
   "They aren't my friends or my loved ones, but I understand.  People like
to be treated as if I might be their friend or loved one."
   "I..." Mister Campbell was at a loss for words.  That wasn't quite his
point, but he could see how thinking that would lead to a better result. 
"Yes, that's it."
   Leon gave one of those firm nods and a closed mouthed smile that meant
he had learned what he wanted.  "I will learn to deal with that
misconception."
   Mister Campbell often praised his star pupil and rare his intelligence.
A chill went down his spine as Leon left his office.
   Mister Campbell often revisited that day.  Could he have delivered his
answer in a different way?  Shaped the lesson that Leon learned?  He feared
how such a calculating young man would 'deal' with the perception of
others.
   ***
   Leon took well to sports.  He had an incredible reaction time on the
field.  He could sprint like a lean cat, as quiet and stealthy as he needed
to be.
   He would play a pick up game or two, but he never joined a team.  The
coaches were after him each semester, each month in summer.
   Leon never joined an after school team because he had a responsibility
at home.
   He kneeled in front of the oven.  The vanilla cake took on a golden
yellow crust.  He grabbed a toothpick from the counter and checked the
doneness.
   He pulled both pans from the oven.  He was tall enough that he could use
a stool to work on the counter.  He evened the layers, put circles of
blueberry glaze before surrounding it with frosting.
   He made the number nine out of blueberries sliced in half with a single
candle in the center.
   "What smells so good in here?" Deidra took a long, deep breath as she
entered the kitchen.
   She peered at the decorative icing.
   "I'd appreciate help throwing a party for Rachel." He pulled the list
from his pocket.  "I want to invite these people."
   She pulled the list over with her finger and browsed the list of ten
names.  "When," she whispered.  "I mean ...  what day is it?"
   "Her birthday is next week.  This is her cake.  I'll make another for
the party."
   Deidra recruited the other siblings to help prepare the back yard for
Rachel's party.  It had occurred to her that not only did she not remember
ever throwing a party for Rachel before, but she was sure it never happened
for Leon.
   He had been born in winter, between holidays, but the day eluded her. 
She had been so depressed about Brook, and feared watching another baby
fade away.
   Friday afternoon Rachel had her party in the yard with her closest
friends.  They had ring toss games, decadent desserts, and plenty of
activities to keep a group of young girls entertained.
   She opened her gifts, but the best of them was a the one given by Leon.
He gave her a luxurious set of paints and an easel.
   Leon supervised the party.  Though there were others willing to take on
the job, he didn't trust anyone with anything that involved Rachel.
   She partied until well after dark, running around and laughing with her
friends.  Down to the last two, they begged and pleaded.
   Can we please have a sleep over?
   I don't want to go.
   Your party was so fun, Rachel!
   Just a little longer, please mom!
   Eventually the last guest left, and Leon cleaned up, Rachel along with
him.  Talking all about her presents, her friends, and how it was the best
party ever.
   She had been dancing and running and laughing for hours, but she kept
chattering during their bath.  She mumbled around her toothbrush.  They
snuggled into bed and she gave him one of her iron-tight hugs.  A bit of
moisture slipped between her face and his shoulder.
   "It was everything I wanted.  Thank you."
   "Of course, Rachel."
   She was the one who crawled up, rolled him onto his back and straddled
his lap.  She kissed him, pulling on his lip, her little tongue questing
deeper into his mouth.
   "I have one more gift for you, birthday girl."
   "What, Leon?" She pulled back and beamed down at him.
   He sat up and pulled a small box out his pillow case.  It had a blue
ribbon tied around the fuzzy black box.
   She sat up, her legs on either side of her hips.  She shifted to give
his stiffy some room to expand along his belly.
   Ribbon pulled, the box squeaked as it opened.  It heart-shaped red stone
mounted in a silver pendant.  She pulled the pendant up and the silver
chain uncoiled.
   Rachel loved rubies, garnets, even some of the dark pink stones.
   "Red is the color of love," she said, "and life and blood.  When I get
married, the love of my life will give me red because he's always thinking
of my heart."
   Leon sat up and opened the clasp and put it around her neck.  "I'll get
you a prettier chain when you grow up, but this one is the strongest, so
you don't have to worry about losing it.  Never take it off, Rachel."
   "I won't.  Promise."
   "Not ever.  You have been mine since the day you were born, and you will
always be mine.  Say it, Rachel.  Your heart belongs to me."
   "My heart belongs to you, Leon.  Always." She put her hands on either
side of his cheeks.  "I told you the love of my life would give me red."
   He grinned and hugged her tight.
   She wriggled her hips until the tip of his penis rest on her pussy.  She
eased down, shifting from side to side until he was inside her.  Most
nights, they only did this much while he kissed her, rubbed her back.  They
would whisper to each other while she tightened around him.
   Tonights excitement about her two best gifts, both from Leon, had her
shifting her hips, moving up and down.  He felt good, like when his tongue
pushed inside her.
   "Leon," she whispered.  He usually made her be still, but he didn't say
anything tonight.
   "You don't have to stop.  Keep going."
   The hum in her body sang louder and louder until she was bouncing hard
on him, her bottom lip sucked deep into her mouth.
   She tensed, but around him, holding onto him with her arms locked, her
thighs trembling, head thrown back.  She loved all her orgasms, but this
one, with him inside her.  It made her feel like fireworks.
   He gripped her hips and pushed harder and harder, he thrusted, but it
didn't hurt too much.  Then he whimpered and pushed extra hard.  His orgasm
seemed to take his breath.  He had sweat rolling down his neck when they
collapsed onto the bed.
   She pet him on the cheek, waiting for him to open his eyes.
   "That felt so good," he sighed.  "Did it hurt?"
   "No.  Not at all.  I felt really good too."
   He grinned and kissed her on the forehead.  "That's what it's supposed
to be like.  Only good."
   "I love you, Leon.  More than all the light in the world."
   "All the light?" He waited until Rachel found a good position then
settled around her.  "That's a lot."
   "I love you more than that."
   ***
   While they were two children, the room at the end of the hall was more
than enough room.  At thirteen and ten, Leon and Rachel had run out of
space.
   "We should get our own rooms."
   Rachel frowned and her eyes shimmered, but she shook her head fast
enough for her curls to fly out.  "I'm sorry Leon, I'll be more careful.  I
won't drink anything near your books again.  I promise.  Please, please. 
Don't leave me."
   Leon smirked and shook his head.  "I'm not going to leave you Rachel. 
We'll have rooms next to each other."
   "No.  Please no."
   "You want to have friends over.  You should have a place where you can
take them, space of your own for your things."
   "No." She folded her arms over her chest.  "I want everything to stay
the same."
   He pulled her into his chest and put his hand behind her head.  Her
massive hair covered her face and she cried, but soundlessly, only the cool
touch of her tears to his chest.
   "You know I'll take care of you.  Let me work it out."
   ***
   Deidra didn't hear him.  A sheet of graph paper with a layout on her
desk announced his presence.
   "Rachel is ten years old.  She needs her own space."
   "Of course." Deidra frowned.  She didn't need to be told a child needed
space.  She looked at his outline and saw the converted closet that had
been Brook's nursery, and then Leon's room.
   "I'm sorry," she whispered.  "You should have said something sooner.  I
would have ...  we could."
   His plan had been well made.  All she had to do was follow his road map.
   Rayden lived nearby on the ranch.  Nigel rarely came home.  He had taken
a position with the state park, and had a nice place in the mountains.  It
wouldn't take much work to convert the two rooms into a shared suite.
   That's not what Leon proposed.  He wanted to convert the storage room at
the end of the hall and put another door on the bathroom.
   Who taught him to draw a blueprint?  Create a renovation plan?  He
didn't quite have the materials right, but it was an excellent draft.
   "I don't want to take anyone's room.  She needs a place for privacy. 
The stuff in the storage room can be donated or repurposed.  It's mostly
old decorations and supplies."
   Leon rarely came to her with a problem for which he didn't have a
solution.  Occasionally, Deidra experienced a twinge of guilt for the
neglect of her children.  They never came to her for attention, never
seemed to care when she was around or not.
   Though she had never been given the chance to say so, Deidra was most
proud of her littlest man.  He had taken the responsibility of an older
brother more seriously than she ever took to being his mother.
   "I'll make the schedule and write the check.  You consult with the
workers on colors.  Will you need new furniture?"
   "I picked some pieces out from a catalog."
   "When you're ready we'll go shopping."
   "Thank you."
   ***
   Leon and Rachel walked to the tree house.  It was a lot smaller now that
thy were getting bigger, but it was larger than the backseat of a car,
which is all the room they needed.
   He had a folded comforter on the floor on which she lay on her back,
clothes in the corner.  Leon took her here when he couldn't keep quiet,
when he needed her more than a quick romp before falling to sleep at night.
   Times in the treehouse he couldn't seem to get enough of her.  Rachel
loved those moments when she had Leon's full attention, zero distraction.
There was never a doubt in her mind she had become his world as much as he
was hers.
   ***
   As Leon said, as always, everything turned out all right.  They shared
the bathroom with the two rooms on either side.  She had a small futon bed
with drawers underneath.  The colors were dusky rose with deep blue
accents.
   What had been their room became Leon's with a cadet blue theme and black
accent.  His bed was full-sized, the biggest bed they have ever shared. 
Even better, because Rachel didn't want to be anywhere but right beside
him, wrapped in his arms.
   He didn't pick out any decorations, no pictures on his walls.  He had a
bookshelf, a desk, and his dresser.  The room seemed empty to her, so she
took on the job covering his walls with her paintings, awards, and stuff
that reminded her of him.
   Both doors had locks on the inside.  He had used a wedge on their old
door, but now he guaranteed their privacy.
   Leon loved to tease Rachel when they were in public.  While swimming in
the lake, he would catch up to her and squeeze her bottom.  He took her
riding on Specter and he would slip his finger between her legs and rub her
clitoris until it was slippery and swollen.
   When they watched a movie downstairs, he would fondle her breasts or she
would play in the tiny wisps of hairs on his chest.
   He would come up behind her while she was painting and whisper.  "You
look beautiful today, Rachel."
   "Thank you, Leon.  Do you want me?"
   "I always want you, precious, but I like watching you paint.  I like
imagining what we're going to do later."
   "Tell me." She whispered.  Rachel kept painting, but her mind was no
longer on the swirling colors.
   "I'm going to put my dick in your mouth so that you can suck me off."
   "I like it a lot, Leon."
   "I believe you.  You smile and hum and wiggle like you have a piece of
candy."
   "Now?"
   "No, Rachel, not now.  It's important we control our impulses."
   "Is this our challenge today?"
   He hummed.  "You keep painting, and I'll keep talking."
   ***
   "Leon!" Rachel called from the bathroom.  "Leon!"
   He had an irritated expression when he stormed into the bathroom, but
when he saw the crimson seat of her panties, he took them out of her hand
and set them in the sink.
   "Draw a bath, Rachel."
   "Am I okay?"
   He sat on the toilet and poured a bit of scented oil under the faucet.
"Do you remember our talk about your uterus and how it works?"
   She nodded.  "Women have babies in their uterus.  It's in my belly
here."
   "Correct.  During puberty, male and female bodies change."
   "The way we constantly think of feeling good."
   He grinned.  "And?"
   "Hair!" She lay on her folded her arms on the side of the tub.  "I have
some of that too now."
   "Every three weeks or so, your uterus will shed its lining.  Your body
cleans and prepares itself.  Your hormones will kick in, making your girl
body into a woman's body."
   "Like you're becoming a man." She nodded.  "I'm bleeding because my
uterus is shedding?"
   "Yes.  Does it hurt?"
   She sighed heavily.  "I had a tummy ache earlier, like I did too many
swing ups, but I haven't."
   "That's natural." He got up from the toilet and stooped down to grab a
box from the back.  "This is a menstrual cup."
   "What's that for?"
   "It goes inside you to catch the blood.  Every four to eight hours, take
it out, rinse it, and then put it back in.  When you are done bleeding, it
needs to sit in hot water for ten minutes, then you clean it and put it
away."
   "Okay."
   "The instructions are here." He pulled a folded slip of paper from the
pouch.  "Read it when you get the chance."
   "How do I get that inside me?"
   He folded the cup then pinched it in half and worked with her until she
was able to do the same.
   "Thank you, Leon." She inspected the cup, the tiny holes around the
side. It had lines like a measuring cup.  "Leon?"
   He had brought his reading in the bathroom with him and looked at her
over the spine.
   "Do you think it's disgusting that I'm leaking uterus lining?"
   He smirked.  "No, Rachel.  You're experiencing a natural process.  I'll
take blood over you pooping on me in my sleep."
   "Ew!  I never did that!" Rachel frowned.
   "Yes, you did."
   "No way.  And you didn't kick me out of bed?"
   "Nope.  I carried you to the sink and washed us up.  Some nights I'd
bring a towel and sleep in the tub.  I was so scared I wouldn't wake up if
you rolled away from me."
   Rachel had always known that Leon cared for her when she was a baby. 
She had tried to do the math and couldn't fathom how a three year old fed
her, changed her diapers, and cared for her when she was ill.  Not for one
or two nights, with no breaks, no babysitter, no help.
   Rachel buried her face in her arm and stared down at the bath water. 
How had she been so lucky to be loved so deeply?
   ***
   Neither Henry nor Deidra ever made it to one of their parent-teacher
conferences.
   Mister Campbell had long since stopped looking for the Maladine couple.
"I wish I had a son half as capable him.  I'd never get tired of hearing
about it.  The young man is a genius, but you have to work so hard to get a
second of his parents' attention."
   "I've talked to them at the store.  They never mention him or the little
girl.  It's like they forgot they had children."
   Another teacher nodded in agreement.  "They are living like all their
children are out the house."
   "Give them some credit.  The Maladine brood comes from great stock.  So
many talented, successful, and gorgeous children.  We don't know how much
or little attention he gets.  Maybe they just got tired at the end.  I am,
and I only have three."
   Until this point, Miss Oak had not contributed to the conversation, but
when she did, she got the room's attention.  "He's an unscrupulous,
psychopathic, manipulative little shit."
   "What are you talking about?  I have never seen anyone more responsible,
considerate, and kind than Leon Maladine."
   "Then you've never seen that boy's true colors." She frowned and turned
to Mistress Peridot.  "I remember what he was like.  I'll never forget."
   ***
   Leon had mastered the art of smiling.  It wasn't just about if he
smiled, but when, and why.  It was a matter of timing.  He spent a great
deal of time studying people and their interactions.
   Leon was aware that he acted different from others, but his life had
been different.  He could not afford to think about himself, take time for
himself, or slack on his responsibilities.
   He no longer spoke of his abilities, honest or otherwise.  He noticed
that people often rushed to explain for him.  To brag on him as if his
accomplishments or knowledge were somehow theirs.
   "I'd like to teach you to play chess," Mister Midland told him one day.
He set up the board and taught him the object of the game and how each
piece moved.
   Leon created a set for him and Rachel to practice.  It was a good
strategy game and required thinking several moves ahead, predicting how his
opponent would move.
   Three weeks later, Leon sat with Mister Midland and played chess.  He
won that game and every game since.
   Mister Midland did not seem upset though he had won several competitions
playing professionally.
   "I like this game," Leon said.
   "I figured you would.  You should sign up for the team.  We have an
opening."
   He found that table games were great opportunities to work studying
people up close.  He could learn their response to pressure, stress,
confidence.
   He learned when to show the right amount of bravado, when to flatter and
give tribute to others.  He made a game of turning enemies into friends,
people who meant nothing to him into confidants.
   "Can you make someone crush on you?" Rachel said in bed on night.
   "What do you mean?"
   "Someone who doesn't like you suddenly wants to be with you.  Make that
your new challenge.  Make one boy and one girl confess that they have
feelings for you.  No underhanded tosses."
   "Of course not." He had lay thinking on it a while.  Leon studied people
like he did any subject, the nuances and how he could use each part in his
favor.
   "I accept the challenge.  I'll get a male to confess his feelings about
me to you."
   "A boy?  Oh, who?  Do you have someone in mind?"
   He shrugged.  "Not yet.  I have time."
   -_ 2 _-
   At fourteen, puberty had an iron grip on Leon.  He was still lean and
graceful as he had been as a child, but his muscles had thickened.  He had
grown much taller.  No one had doubted his speed and agility, but now he
appeared stronger.
   People often described him as moving like a feral cat.  Sinuous,
purposeful, predatory.  The eyes of both teens and adults followed him as
he walked down the hall.  Once he could go an entire school day without
anyone acknowledging his presence outside of attendance.  Now, his lithe
physique, enigmatic air, and handsome face commanded attention.
   Leon sat in class working on his assignment.  Though he was fourteen, he
attended classes two years above his level.
   Melissa, seated beside him, reached over and combed a lock of his hair
behind his ear and dropped a note onto his desk.
   'Please say yes.'
   He flipped it over and scrawled on the back.  'Yes, if you won't say
no.' Then handed it back over to her.
   She took the note, but schooled her features to hide her nervousness. 
Melissa had heard the rumors, and now she knew them to be fact.  If Leon
went someplace with a girl, he went all the way.
   She looked around the classroom, at the teacher, down at her work.  She
had thought about it.  She found the young man's half cute, half drop dead
gorgeous transition just as alluring at the others.
   For Leon, when it came to women, he chose carefully.  Older girls had
cars and liked to take him back to their place where he could be alone with
them, but the younger athletic girls could easily make the hike out to the
cabin.
   No one used it anymore on account of all the other children being grown
and out of the house.  Eric was finishing his first year of college.  The
cabin was his favorite place to take women and he took full advantage of
it.
   Each time he made a girl shudder, scream, or cause the eyes in her head
to roll back, he silently thanked Rachel.  Though she had given him the
practice he needed to be a proficient lover, no woman compared to his
treasure.  He never found another woman as open, honest, and sexually
creative as his Rachel.
   Most of them were shy, awkward.  They didn't know what pleased them, or
if they did, were too embarrassed to talk about it.  A few just left it up
to him to figure it out.  Like a puzzle, he'd work until he found the key
to their box.
   Only by rumor and bathroom whispers did anyone learn of his talent for
putting a woman on the road to sexual pleasure.
   "How are you so good at this?" Melissa panted under him.  She couldn't
say no, but she had no problem begging him to continue.  "You're so good!
You should teach classes." She laughed.
   Leon leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.  "Want to go again?"
   She smirked.  "Yes, please."
   ***
   Leon had no problem with women he no longer wanted to be with.  First,
he told him the truth, "I'm not monogamous.  I'm going to be with other
women, and I'm going to enjoy being with you.  If that's a problem, you
shouldn't come back."
   If it was a problem, and they came back anyway, Leon took them some
place other than the cabin, truly private, where no one could hear her cry.
   "If he says he's done," these women would say, "take my advice and walk
away."
   We he was done all his charm and consideration left the building.  He
turned rough, mean, harsh.  Oh, he made them orgasm, but they would tell
you it was like being with a monster, a machine.
   Both terrifying and exhilarating, few women came back for seconds after
that, but those who did considered it their deepest regret.
   He was fifteen when Mistress Gable got hold of him.  He would take her
face down on her husband's side of the bed.  She sang his praises from one
orgasm to the next.  She was always so wet for him, hungry.
   She lived in the area, so he often took a stroll to her house on Sunday
and spent a few hours making her growl his name.
   Older women liked to show their gratitude for a good fuck outside the
bedroom.  She volunteered to take him into town, helped him out with money,
bought him new clothes.
   Each woman was different.  After talking to them, he could figure out
exactly what role he needed to play.  Mistress Gable liked him needy.  She
had come from money and saw it as an act of charity and her good nature to
spoil him where his parents had not.
   ***
   Leon slipped into bed and Rachel wrapped around him.
   No matter where Leon went, what woman he passed out beside, he never
slept as peacefully as he did beside Rachel.
   "Are we going to the fair tomorrow?"
   "You doubt it?"
   The covers shifted with her shrug.  "You've been really busy lately.  I
understand if you want to be somewhere else."
   "You do?"
   "Mmm hmm.  You have been there for me all my life.  I'm a big girl now.
I can go alone."
   He smirked and kissed her on the cheek.  "I'm glad you said that,
Rachel. Tomorrow is pretty important and I have someone special I want to
spend it with."
   "Who is that?" It was so adorable to hear the little crack in her voice,
the way she steeled herself against the urge to cry.
   "Rachel Maladine, whom I adore above all others."
   As he usually did when she cried, he tucked her head to his chest and
held her firm.
   ***
   Mistress Gable wore out her welcome much sooner than Leon expected.  She
demanded too much of his time, so she earned the speech.
   He wasn't surprised when she begged him for another chance.
   "Come here and give me some sugar," She lay naked on her couch as he
stepped into the house.
   He stepped out of his clothing and kissed her, explored all her favorite
spots.  He kissed and teased until he had her purring like a diesel engine.
   Leon pulled away and finger combed his hair back.
   "Why are you stopping?  Keep going."
   "I need convincing."
   "What baby?  What do you want me to do?"
   "Lift your legs straight and hold them as wide as you can.  Beg me."
   She did as he said with a grin, lifting her long, taunt legs, even
pointing her toes and showing off her flexibility.  "Come on, stud.  Fuck
this wet pussy.  Fill me up with your cock."
   "That's begging?"
   "Yes!  I'm begging you, Leon.  I'm begging you to make me come!"
   He kneeled between her open thighs and licked and sucked until she went
hoarse screaming.
   He plopped beside her on the couch, his long cock curved upward to his
belly button.
   "Now you beg me," she said with a giggle.  "Make it good."
   Leon crooked his finger at her.  As soon as she was close enough, he
grabbed a handful of her hair and snatched her face close.  "This time. 
You're going to beg for the privilege of making me come."
   She tugged away from him, but stilled when she got a good look in his
eyes.
   "Please," she did it because the thought of not pleasing him frightened
her.  "Please let me suck you off.  I need to feel your cock in my mouth.
I'm begging you, Leon, please."
   "Go on.  Swallow me whole."
   In an odd twist of events, Mistress Gable quite liked the turn in their
relationship.  The more he dominated her the wetter she became.  He enjoyed
her whimpers as he removed the clamps from her nipples or the way her skin
glowed after whipping her backside.
   He'd plunge his cock into her ass, at her tearful behest, until she was
delirious with orgasm.  Leon tested how much she would allow him.  He would
stop by her house to find dinner waiting.  She washed him in the tub, dried
him off, gave him a full body massage.
   He stopped by the pet store and bought a dog collar.  "I don't want you
to take it off.  As long as you wear this, you're my bitch.  Understood?"
   "Thank you," she kissed him on both his cheeks.  "I would do anything
for you."
   "Good." He unzipped his pants.  "That's just the thing I like to hear
from my bitch."
   ***
   Leon had left intending to teach Mistress Gable a lesson and ended up
with her another three weeks.  He was deeply curious how far he could take
her, how much she would give him in return for sexual mastery.
   He went home, showered, and slipped into bed.  He lay there, frowning
when he saw how neat the room looked, the sheets smelled clean.
   He kicked his covers back and went to Rachel's room.  She lay on her
bed, a thin coverlet pulled up to her neck.  He leaned over to pick her up,
but paused when he noticed her swollen eyelids and lips.
   He'd barely seen her since his tryst with Mistress Gable turned intense.
He usually came home late, but when he did, she was always there.
   "Rachel."
   She started crying in her sleep, a low sad sound he'd never heard from
her before.  Leon sighed heavily and palmed his face.  He had a
responsibility here.
   Every woman on his todo and redo list faded away.
   He pulled her backpack over.  Her books, class notes, sketchbook, and a
tiny little journal.  Turned to the last few pages.  The words endeared him
further to her.
   As lonely as she felt, she refused to call him or beg him to stay.  It
was her way of rewarding him for taking care of her.  Loyal to her own
fault.
   ***
   "Leon?"
   He grunted and rolled his stiff neck and shoulders.  In front of him
squat a gorgeous young woman, eyes swollen from her earlier crying.
   "Would you like some breakfast?"
   "Sounds good."
   "The house is empty for the week.  They went on a cruise with the
Mackeys."
   "A week.  Do you have big plans?"
   Her eyes went round, her lips parted slightly.  A clever lie had just
entered her mind.  "No, but I'll be okay."
   "What did you want to tell me?"
   "That I had plans."
   "Not bad.  Turns out you do."
   "What do you need me to do?" Like all the Maladine children, Rachel was
no exception in the beauty department.  Even all swollen and red, he
thought her beautiful, but in a couple years she would be full on gorgeous.
   He sighed heavily and yawned.  "Take your shirt off."
   She pulled the sleep shirt overhead and then she was squatting over his
legs in the nude.  The ruby pendant resting between her budding breasts.
   ***
   They shared breakfast and then he pampered her.  He worked the shampoo
into her hair, massaging her scalp the same way he'd done when she was
little.  He rinsed and styled her hair.  Then he rubbed her head to toe in
moisturizer.
   Rachel stood, arms and legs spread, against the wall.  He'd kept her a
low throb of arousal all day.  At the right level, it was as good as
hypnotism.  He turned her around and kissed her, lifted her to the wall and
penetrated her wet pussy.
   Less than ten seconds of being inside her and she went off like a
rocket, trembling and panting.
   He pulled out and walked her over to the bed.  "We need to talk about
something before we continue."
   Rachel fought her cloudiness and peered up at him.
   Leon pulled the thin, square package out of his drawer.  "Now that
you've begun your menstrual, you could get pregnant.  You do not want that
to happen."
   Suddenly alert, she sat up and nodded.  She definitely agreed with that.
   "From now on, whenever I want to ejaculate inside you, I need to put
this over my penis to protect you.  I always wear it with other women, and
any man should always wear it with you.  Understood?"
   "Yes, Leon."
   "Here.  I'll teach you how to put it on."
   He took her again, with her bouncing on his hips while he sat in a
chair, then again, closer to the bed, bent over it.
   They were drunk on orgasms, covered in sweat and it was late into the
night.  The used condoms created a small pile in the bottom of the waste
bin, but camouflaged by the crumpled sheet of paper he put around each one.
   Rachel said, "Did you find a girlfriend?"
   "Not exactly, but I was with a woman."
   "Oh." Her finger tips trailed up and down his arm.  "Will you be gone in
the morning?"
   "No, and not the next day or the day after that.  I want you to myself
all week."
   Even after his reassurance, Rachel didn't sleep through the night. 
Every couple hours she woke, reached out for him, just to prove he was
still there.
   ***
   "Leon, I want to be with you forever."
   "You know that's not possible."
   "No." She wriggled deeper under the covers.
   "No, what?"
   "It's possible.  I know it is."
   "Why is that?"
   "Because you can have anything you want.  Tell me you don't want me
forever, then I'll know it's not possible."
   He sighed heavily, but he went quiet, almost as if retreating into his
shell.  Rachel turned quiet with him.  They lay in bed though it was
probably well after noon, both of them naked, the covers bunched at the
foot of the bed.
   "Do you masturbate while I'm gone?"
   "What?  No."
   "You need to."
   "I don't want to.  It's better with you."
   "Yes, and sex is better with you."
   She rolled onto her back and grinned.
   "When you were little, you would crawl on my hip and bounce your hips up
and down.  It's a natural feeling, wanting to feel good.  Some nights I
would go crazy with your little butt in my lap.  You used to masturbate
plenty, remember?"
   She nodded.
   He cradled her by the head and whispered in her ear, his voice a low
purr.  "You do what I tell you, Rachel.  You listen.  You obey.  Don't you
forget for a second."
   "Okay."
   "You do that and I'll," he kissed her neck, then her cheek.  "I'll make
it possible, my love.  You will be mine forever."
   ***
   Leon stepped out of the shower toweling his hair.  Today they were going
to get out of the bed and clean up, prepare a proper meal.
   He stopped in the door frame.  The towel slid down his hair to his
shoulder.
   Rachel lay in the middle of his bed, her long legs spread open.  Her
fingers were coated in arousal.  The sound of it reached him across the
room.  Her other hand circled and pulled on her nipple.
   He had to do something with her, but today, that wasn't going to involve
getting too far from the bed.  They still had a few days.
   "Leon?"
   He walked over to the bed.
   She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.  "Please?"
   As if she had to ask!
   They did make it out the bed, but it took another hour.  Rachel and Leon
talked while preparing a dinner of spaghetti, bread, and a salad.
   "So, we're suppose to have a carnival fundraiser.  Heather and Casey
want to sign up for the dance off."
   "Is that what you want to do?"
   She shook her head.  "I was thinking.  You're always saying my paintings
are pretty.  Do you think they're nice enough to sell?"
   "You're not selling any of the ones on my wall."
   "I'll replace them with new ones."
   "No."
   Rachel stared into her plate.  Leon had a way of saying no that made her
feel like a bad puppy, but she wasn't a child anymore.  Why was he being so
unreasonable?
   "Why?" She whispered.
   "They belong to me." He pulled her glass over and poured her some wine,
then mixed it with peach juice.
   "I don't know how to dance though."
   "You'll learn."
   "Do you know how to dance?"
   "We will learn."
   They found a goal that got them out of bed before noon.  For the next
few days alone, they rented videos and set up the player in the living
room, cleared the floor.  They did a crash course on as many dances as they
could find.
   ***
   Rachel spent her school day in a fit of anxiety.  She attended her
classes, but she couldn't focus on the material, the lecture, or even the
conversations taking place around her.
   Leon had woke early, but he left her a note on his side of the bed. 
"Meet me in the tree house when you get home."
   They didn't go to the tree house as much as they used to since school
started back.  They had been consumed by responsibilities and social
obligations.
   Rachel learned early that the bond she shared with Leon was something
greater than defined by words like brother, father, lover, or even husband.
Her other siblings had called them twins, but she doubted Brittany and
Brandy had such a profound love and trust for each other.
   Leon was her soul mate.  It was the only word that came close to how she
felt about him, how he revered her.
   Her parents had forgotten her thirteenth birthday, but it wasn't a
surprise.  Leon had baked her a cake and set it on a table under which were
a mountain of presents.  They had different names on the 'from' tags.  From
Mom, from Dad, from Rayden, from Cheryl - but Rachel was not fooled.  They
may have paid for the item inside and even had it wrapped, but all of them
came from Leon.
   She went straight to the tree house from her bus stop, walking through
the woods with her book bag.  She crawled up, but noticed the lighter brown
slats of wood, the wider opening.
   Rachel pulled herself up and looked around.  It was much bigger, and ...
pleasant.  The tree house of old had been the creation of a child, a gifted
child, but it was a place they went to play games and hide from prying
eyes.
   Her mouth hung open as she looked around.  A battery operated radio sat
on a polished shelf along side her favorite albums.  Rolled sleeping bags
hung from hooks on the wall.  Jugs of water rested in another corner.
   Leon sat on the chest.  It had a lock, but it sat on the floor between
his feet.
   "This is gorgeous," she breathed.  Was that all he wanted?
   Rachel kept their sexual closeness a fierce secret.  She protected it
like the treasure it was, but she also feared losing him because of her
greediness.  She thought about him all the time, crushed after him like
girls did after actors and musicians.  Her every waking thought was of him
and how she could make him happy.
   She'd spent all day hoping he had invited her out here to give her
orgasm after orgasm, enough to keep her hunger at bay for a month or two.
   Just the tree house.  It seemed tailored for her own use though, not
theirs, even with separate sleeping bags.
   She took down the dark blue one, unrolled it, then took down the second,
forest green, and placed it in the middle.  She unzipped her dress, stepped
out of her flats.
   She had her back to him, but every sense and thought focused on him. 
The wind kicked up and fresh air billowed through the open windows.  The
small house swayed in the branches, like being on a ship suspended in the
air.
   She went to her knees and set her hips on the bed roll and got her
elbows.  The coil of nerves that had been in her belly didn't ease until
she felt the warm of his body at the backs of her thighs.  He kissed her on
each buttock, smoothed his hand over her spine.
   He slipped two of his fingers into her pussy.  "Do you trust me?"
   "I do."
   "I want to put my dick in your butt." He kissed, licked, and nibbled the
flesh of her bottom as his fingers sawed in and out of her pussy.
   He'd played with her there plenty of times, and the thought had occurred
to Rachel, but she never suspected he would actually want the same.  It was
yet another way they were soul mates.  Desiring the same things, having the
same thoughts.
   "I'd like that," she whispered.
   His fingers, covered in her slippery arousal, penetrated her anal ring.
The wind, creak of branches, their heavy sighs filled the afternoon.  Soon
two of his fingers penetrated her rear while the other two rest inside her
pussy.
   Rachel sighed, moaned.  She pushed back on his hand and fisted the bed
roll under her.  When he removed his hand she whimpered, and looked back.
He was on his knees, erection in hand.
   He kissed the back of her neck, between her shoulders.  He pressed
inside her pussy, once, twice, then pressed her ass.  Just as she did with
his fingers, Rachel pressed back, opened herself to him as naturally as
embracing him in her arms.
   The discomfort was a surprise.  She drew a sharp breath, tensed.
   "Let me know when you when you're ready." He reached around and stroked
her clitoris.
   "Keep going."
   Tears leaked from her eyes, but Rachel said nothing.  She didn't want
him to stop, she didn't want to balk away from this moment.
   Once his hips were pressed to her bottom he smoothed her hair back and
smiled at her.  "The first time can be a little uncomfortable, you know
that."
   "But you're getting so big."
   He chuckled.  "Thank you."
   She sniffled and laughed with him.  When he moved back and forth, it was
as he pumped her full of happiness and delight.  She swelled with the love
their shared.
   "Thank you," she groaned, happy to be in the tree house, happy that she
could vocalize to her heart's content.
   "Rachel, one day you're going to want to be with other men.  They'll
want your body, want to make you feel good."
   She stilled, the helium balloon of her arousal sagged.
   "I'm stating a fact, Rachel.  When the time comes, don't be afraid to
allow others to bring you happiness.  I only want one thing to myself, mine
and no one else's." He kissed her, and despite her nerves, the motion of
his cock and fingers had her flying again, and this time, he pushed her
over the edge.  "Your loyalty, Rachel.  Fuck who you want, but you will
always love and trust me above all others."
   "I would never place anyone above you, Leon.  Never."
   "You swear it?"
   "On my life, I swear.  I love you."
   "Then I don't care who sleeps with you, fucks you.  I won't care where
or how, because as long as I have that," his breath caught, eyes closed. 
Like an iron grip, he held fast to her hip as he ejaculated inside her.
   ***
   Leon walked down the hallway at school, his gaze went from one person to
another, assessing them in his usual way, slipping around moving objects as
easily as a bird weaving through trees.
   Then his face hit a locker.  The metallic rattle was like a thunderclap
in his ears.  His body tingled with numbness from his cheekbone down to his
shoulder.
   "Stay the fuck away from Candice."
   Two women named Candice came to mind.  Candice Shaw shared his physics
class.  She was a dark skinned woman with strong arms and liked to talk
dirty, but only when they had gotten their work done.  Whereas Candice
McKinley was a member of the varsity cheerleading squad.  She allowed him
to drive her car through the empty parking lot between their romps in the
backseat.
   As the man standing over him was Kevin Turner, the school's quarterback,
he had a good idea which Candice had him riled.  Kevin was also a senior
and though he wasn't much taller than Leon, he outweighed him by a
significant amount.
   Leon wiped his nose and covered his hand in blood.
   "There'll be worse than that if you ever go near her again."
   He wiped his hand on the end of his shirt, sniffled.  He made no move to
get up, and several of the students had stopped to gawk at the scene.
   "Is that a promise, Kevin?" His voice had a calm, conversational tone.
   "I will stomp you into the ground, you freak piece of shit!" He lifted
his boot-covered foot in the air to support his threat.
   Leon suppressed his grin.  He stared up at the hot-headed man, blood
dripping down his lip.  A little taller, meaner, more muscled, popular, but
his threats meant nothing to him.
   Richard Evans, also on the team pulled Kevin aside.  "Hey, quit it
before someone sees you."
   Another day then.  Leon picked up his books and went to the restroom to
clean his face before class.
   In the meantime, Leon planned.  It took a whole week, but he found him a
block away from the school grounds.  He sat with three of his team mates.
They were knocking back canned bears and passing a single rolled cigarette
among them.
   Leon approached the group as if he had been invited.  "Kevin?"
   Kevin chuckled and looked to his buddies, then back to Leon.  "The fuck
you want?"
   "I never got the opportunity to respond to you."
   His fist struck so rapidly, that no one, not even Kevin, realized what
was happening until the third blow landed.  It had been too late by then.
Leon stopped swinging when Kevin collapsed.
   The big man went to his knees, trembling, coughing, puking.  He suffered
a broking nose, chipped tooth, a swollen eye with a cut brow, and a
swelling, bruised jaw.
   The snick of a switchblade caused a flurry of curses and gasps from the
spectators.
   "Please, wait man." Kevin sputtered and coughed.  "Don't kill me."
   "I would not kill you with so many witnesses." Leon grabbed the brunette
by his hair and craned his neck back.  Kevin screamed, but Leon put the
blade to his throat.  "Take this with dignity." He made a small series of
cuts into the man's forehead, four tiny nicks, that when they healed, would
faintly resemble an 'M.'
   "While I understand you may want to tell the world about what happened
here today, imagine how I might react to that?" Leon flashed a smile at the
terrified trio of onlookers.  "Have a long, hard think."
   He sheathed his blade, turned, and walked away.
   ***
   Kevin Turner went home and told his upset parents that he had been
jumped by a couple thieves.  He'd never seen them before, young, probably
from a neighboring town.  They pulled over in a dirt covered truck, beat
him, and took his wallet.
   He couldn't be sure of what they looked like.  They had blitzed him from
behind (though all his injuries were to his face).  He didn't catch the
license plate, too much dirt, and his eyes were swollen.
   No one had been with him.
   The Turners did not let the matter rest.  They took Kevin to the police
station and filed a report.  Nothing the police said rattled him.  He stuck
to his story.
   Everyone who heard it knew that he was lying.  No evidence of restraint,
or that he attempted to fight back, and then those carefully etched lines
on his forehead.  His injuries did not match with his story, even to the
casual eye.
   No one ever learned the truth of that day, but later there would be
rumors.  People would think back and ask the question: Had that football
player, the Turner kid, been the harbinger?
   ***
   Miss Alison Oak loved being a teacher.  She enjoyed the transformation
that knowledge sparked in young minds.  What she didn't like was all the
constant training.  Oh, it sounded like a boon at the outset, but that was
her naivety.
   The annual Harvest Fields educational conference was part of that
training, political training.  They had seminars on testing standards,
communicating the policy to parents, and whatever new bill wanted to
interfere with her calling to teach.
   Panels, seminars, speakers, lunch sessions.
   But, in return, they were fed well.  The hotel company set them up with
a lovely spread for breakfast, a delicious lunch, and massive dinner with
entertainment and games.  This was how they kept all these teachers coming
back, and damn them, it worked.
   Alison sat to a round table with her the faculty from her home for the
past twelve years.  Though this was her favorite part of the conference,
with some of the greatest foods, among her closest friends, it was all
spoiled by a single person.
   Leon Maladine.  She returned from the bathroom to see the entire group
was engaged in a conversation about him.
   Nicole Capriccio was most known for her literature appreciation
elective, but she had spent many years teaching English and art electives.
"Leon is one of my best students.  I wanted to score him higher than A+. 
I've had gifted children in my class, gifted by knowing the material before
they got there." She huffed and popped a chilled shrimp into her mouth. 
"He truly learns.  Oh, there's plenty he knows in advanced, but not
everything.  He excels."
   "I've seen it, too." Iona Roberts worked as their guidance counselor. 
She had a calming, sunny personality, and students were known to trust her
with their deepest troubles.  "He truly considers information, processes
it."
   Like a machine.  If they would stop holding him up like some savant,
they would see the coldness, the lack of soul.
   "Oh," Iona giggled, "but the people who come to me about him?"
   "Please!" Nicole leaned forward.  "Tell me.  I have to know."
   "They cry, girl.  I've never seen a heart more broken than one touched
by him."
   Alison sneered when Nicole squealed.  This was something to celebrate?
   "I can't fault him.  From what I hear he deals with such respect and
honesty.  He's a dog, but a righteous one."
   "What does he say?" Nicole asked.
   "Is this proper?" Alison looked among them.
   Kirk Brooks taught many of their science classes, but he could make for
a great social studies back up.  He had a little more hair than seemed
reasonable.  He smirked into his drink.  "Give it a break, Alison.  What
does he say?"
   "He says that he is with her for sex, not a relationship, and he will
have sex with other women.  If this is a problem, she should leave." Iona
snapped her fingers in the air.  "Then, as if that wasn't a kicker.  The
break up?  If she gets clingy, possessive.  He says: never again.  Don't
return or you won't like it."
   "Hot damn," Nicole whispered.  "How did he get like that?"
   "He is a serpent," Alison said, the weight of her loathing clear in her
voice.  "An evil destroying all that he touches and you sit around talking
about him like some genius while he abuses the girls of our school."
   Kirk put his hand on her should.  "Come on, Alison.  We know he's not
your cup of tea, but that's going too far."
   "Too far?" She frowned.  "My daughter is one of those girls.  You didn't
seen the look in her eyes when he was done with her.  You don't know what
she's become." Alison snatched her napkin up and dabbed her eyes.  "He
infected her.  If I could get my hands around that boy's neck, I'd show him
what he deserves for defiling my daughter.  When he reveals himself a
psychopath, you'll look back on this moment with shame."
   "All right, enough." Iona put her hand up.  "We've been here before. 
You have no evidence beyond your own to prove he is anything close to
that."
   Alison shook her head and wore a bitter smiled.  "He learned quick.  He
learned how to hide it.  By the time you have evidence," she giggled and
drank the last of her wine.  "It will be too late."
   ***
   "Leon," Rachel purred.
   "Hmm?" His eyes remained closed, he pumped his hips between her oiled
hands.
   "The girls in my gym class were talking about sex."
   He cracked one eye open to see if she were laughing.  "What did they
have to say about sex?"
   "Nothing big.  They were talking about how they wondered how it would
feel, when was the right time to do it." Her palms twisted around his
shaft, pumped him harder at the base.  "Some of the girls thought the only
proper place was the bedroom.  Okay, then," Rachel sighed.  "Cathy said
that putting genitals in the mouth was gross."
   "Such an interesting topic to happen in your presence, Rachel.  What
wisdom did you provide?"
   "None.  I was standing there all shocked." She pulled her best dramatic
mask of shock: jaw dropped, eyes wide, her chin lowered.  She giggled and
cupped and rubbed his balls.  "Everyone thinks I'm the innocent one, the
dumb little puppy."
   "You don't say anything?" Leon groaned and rolled his head back.
   There was silence between them as his thighs tensed, his breath turned
husky, and his ass pulsed.  His cries were soundless as he ejaculated,
riding the orgasm to its slow conclusion.
   "You are my secret." She crawled on top of him and kissed him, her hands
dug into his hair.
   "Yours?" He chuckled.
   "No one is going to take you from me." She nipped the bottom of his jaw.
   ***
   Rachel was running too high a fever.  Leon searched the rooms, dialed
numbers, but no one answered.
   It wasn't as simple as running to the railing and screaming.  The first
time Rachel puked Leon thought she was dying.
   The others laughed, but that was more fear than a child should
experience.
   When Rachel had fallen ill before, there had always been one of them
there.  A scream away to teach him how to help her.  He insisted on doing
it himself, but he had to know what to do.
   He would not fail her.  That night he was put in a position of need. 
Leon called Mistress Gable.
   In the end it was worth it because Rachel was admitted to the hospital.
They were able to break her fever.
   "It's okay to need help, Leon.  You're only fifteen.  She's your sister,
not your daughter."
   "Thank you," he said, eyeing the hallway with keen attention.
   He needed his own transportation.  Rage and frustration seemed to hum in
his bones.  He had watched over her and protected her when other children
were playing games and watching television.  His love for her was so
profound that it left little room for much else.
   Other than himself, of course.  He deserved to be someone who could
protect her.  Smarter than, more resourceful than, better than any one who
would be her foe.
   If things were different, he would not regulate his affection to her
behind closed and locked doors, behind a natural sound berm in the woods.
Nothing would stop him.
   Things could change.  He could find a way, but that wouldn't matter if
he couldn't protect her.
   She was his drug of choice, the one who could make him forget the world
and all their idiotic restrictions.
   "Leon?" His father's hand.  He looked up just to be sure, yes, this was
Henry Maladine.  Here to take them home.
   Leon tucked Rachel in and went in search of Henry.
   "I want a car."
   A moment of silence, then a nod.  "Which make and model?"
   Leon, a master of social manipulation, could not hide his astonishment
and confusion.
   "Of course you can have a car.  I don't care how old you are, if you
want it, I will find a way to get it to you.  I know more about you than
you think."
   "Now you say you know." Leon's frown deepened.  Why was he questioning
the man?  His ignorance was Leon's greatest blessing.
   Henry chuckled.  "A car, I assume it would be something that compliments
your lascivious nature and safely transport your sister?"
   "Her name is Rachel."
   Henry sat down in front of him and leaned close.  "I know her name, but
I must remind you who she is." He arched his brow.  "Your.  Sister."
   The calculated way he spoke, the stern look in his eyes.  It was like
seeing someone for the first time, echoed in his many glances in the mirror
lately.
   "That's right.  I know that, too.  You know what I'm talking about." He
posed the question with the finality of a statement.
   "Yes, sir."
   "When I tried raising my daughter, you would cry and scream like she was
being killed.  You obsessed over her, Leon, from the day she was born, but
I weighed that against her well being.  I don't know if I would have done a
better job.  She's a brilliant girl.  Yes, I forget to come up and visit
her when I'm home, but how often does she think of me?  Ever?  You'd bite
my throat open if I tried to start now."
   Leon only stared at him, waiting for the point of this conversation. 
Now the shock of his perception and foreknowledge faded behind his warning
stare.
   "I am your father, and I would have happily raised you, too, if your
laser focus wasn't on Rachel.  When you've come to me for advice, I gave
it. When you said you needed something, I made sure you got it.  Your
brothers and sisters hated that I let you take responsibility for her. 
This isn't about that.  I'm not threatening you; I'm telling you I pay very
close attention." Henry sat back and shook his head.  "We can go in the
morning.  Do you have your license?"
   "Learner's permit."
   "We'll work on getting you the real thing."
   ***
   Leon wasn't sure how to act.  Did his father really know?  How long?  He
loved his dark gray Mercedes, a speedster when it needed to be, but sturdy
enough to protect its occupants.
   Rachel, still recovering from illness, leaned on his shoulder in the
back seat while his father drove.
   "Wow, new car?" Rachel said.
   "It's my car," said Leon.  "But I need to upgrade my license before I
can drive it."
   The windows were all up when she screamed.  She bounced a few times,
then settled with a cough.
   Now that Leon was paying attention, he saw Henry's hands tighten on the
steering wheel as he fought back a comment.
   "Take your time.  Your lungs have been tired, and like after a hard day
of using your muscles, what happens?"
   Rachel coughed.  "Weak."
   "And when something is very weak, what need to happen?"
   "Recouperate." She coughed again and smiled.  "I'm very excited for you,
Leon." She sucked in her bottom lip and lowered her head, but she was doing
a little back and forth dance with her shoulders.  "Is this for your
birthday?" She turned a smiling face to Henry.
   Did Henry see that taunting gleam in her eye the way Leon did?  Did he
know Rachel as much as he claimed to know him?
   "You know how Leon is about gifts.  If he wants something, he works on
having it."
   Leon's stomach dropped.  That wasn't just knowing, that was like being
there, like actually hearing him speak.
   Rachel beamed.  "Wow, you're right.  That's okay.  I'm going to get him
a present.  I like having a special day."
   No comment from him.
   "You don't have to get me anything, Rachel."
   ***
   Henry wasn't wrong when he said Leon wanted a car that would help him
pull in bigger targets.  Single young women.  They were congregated in
groups at the mall, or at a campus park.
   He would pull up in his car, walk through the place, and their eyes
would roam and whispers travel.  They thought he must be someone famous,
actor, musician.
   He gave them a sly look, a smile, winked, then moved on, intent on his
own goals.  He had extended his invitation, all she had to do was accept.
   Mistress Peridot had been in the mall on just such a day.  He'd seen the
lean, roughish Maladine with his gorgeous, hair and style.  He walked like
a man in his prime.
   Women a decade his senior grinned and waved, knowing he was on the cusp
of too young, but too sexy to ignore.
   The boy had that effect.
   He left through the front exit, and Mistress Peridot, being done with
hers, followed.
   His younger sister bounced over.  She flashed her nails in his face and
danced as they headed for the car.
   Would his parents be waiting?  Mistress Peridot had met the Maladines
several times, but not since teaching Eric.  She would love to say hello,
perhaps drop a hint about stopping by.
   A car beeped.
   Leon and Rachel put their belongings in the trunk and got into the front
seats.  Smoky black, luxury sedan, the sports model.
   "Shit." She tossed her shopping into the passenger seat and started her
car.  "As if his looks weren't enough."
   ***
   Miss Oak didn't take the news as badly as people expected.  She saw him
pull up and a car full of teens spilled out of the back seat.  Those poor
children.  Most of them were girls, but two of them were, oh, they were
girls too.
   "See?  I told you."
   Miss Oak nodded and smiled.  "The Maladines are spoiling their neglected
children.  Yes, I see, because I'm the one who told you."
   "Having a nice car makes him evil now?  Giving those students who were
getting bullied on the bus rides?"
   "Those girls, being bullied?" She rolled her eyes.  "The Maladines used
to be good people."
   "Oh, please.  His parents have poured their heart and soul into this
community and got rich doing it.  Of course the cars get nicer.  They're
lucky.  Most fortunes come too late for others.  They are still good
people."
   Miss Oak hoped Leon died before he turned eighteen.
   <->
Written: December 2014
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
Maladine_01