Chapter Text
Keyleth
The first week of classes wasn’t as dreadful as Keyleth had thought it would be, mostly because she was still able to sleep with Vax’ildan since Percy still hadn’t showed up. Of course, sleeping with her boyfriend when they weren’t the only two people in the apartment anymore meant hearing jokes about “looking well-rested” or their roommates not “hearing any sounds last night”. That was a small price to pay for the comfort Vax brought her, and Keyleth didn’t seriously care about it. She knew her friends meant well.
When the weekend came around, it was just Keyleth and Vex’ahlia alone at home, Scanlan having successfully convinced Pike and Grog to join him at Glorious (not that he had to try hard), while Vax started his first-day working as barman at the same bar (something that was bittersweet for Keyleth).
She hadn’t accepted Scanlan’s invitation partially because she wasn’t looking forward to a crowded bar as she figured everyone would be out partying and celebrating the return of classes, and partially because she felt bad leaving Vex’ahlia behind since her roommate had no money, so the girls had agreed to share a bottle of vodka and have a bit of a girls’ night together, which was exactly what they were doing.
Their coffee table didn’t have much, a few nail polishes and nail care things, and a couple face masks Keyleth had also purchased earlier, but it would be enough for them to relax and pamper themselves. They were sitting on the rug with the table in between them and, behind Vex’ahlia on the TV, Keyleth had put on a lo-fi playlist to help them relax.
“Should we do the mask first?” Keyleth asked, reading the packet of the nourishing cucumber masked she had picked. “It says it has to sit for 20 minutes.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Vex said, opening hers and removing the paper-thin mask out of the packet.
Keyleth watched attentively before she copied her friend. She’d never done this before—face mask or girls’ night—so she had no idea what the process was.
“Can we still drink?” She asked once her mask was secured in place, grabbing her glass of vodka with orange juice.
“Yeah, it should be fine. We have straws, too.” Vex replied, opening the nail polish remover and grabbing a few cotton pads.
Keyleth took a tentative sip of her drink, grimacing at the flavor of the vodka—she still preferred sweet drinks—while Vex started removing her chipped black nail polish.
“You didn’t have to stay for me, you know?” She said, not looking at Keyleth.
Keyleth shrugged, also grabbing a cotton pad and following in Vex’s footsteps. “It’s fine. I’m not in the mood for crowds anyway.”
“Still…” Vex looked up, then changed the subject. “It seems you and Vax are doing better about communicating since I assume you know about the disaster that is our bank account?”
Keyleth nodded, smiling at her roommate’s straightforwardness. “Yes, he told me. Does it bother you that I know?”
“It bothers me that you’ve been covering for us. We– I don’t like to ask for help.” She admitted.
“I’m not about to let my boyfriend starve,” Keyleth replied honestly. “And I don’t mind if you benefit from my help, too. You’re also my friend and I care about you.”
Vex’ahlia looked taken aback at her words, something that shocked her since she’d rarely seen her friend be rendered speechless.
“Anyway,” Keyleth moved on. “Asking for help is not a bad thing. It means you have people who care about you that are willing to help.”
“I–I appreciate it, the help and what you’ve been doing for my brother.” Vex finally spoke.
Keyleth smiled, blushing.
“I know I give you grief,” Vex continued, “but I genuinely think you’ve been a good influence in his life. He’s not as sad anymore and the other day…” The panic attack; Keyleth knew that’s what Vex was talking about. “I used to be able to help him through it before. I felt like I failed him when I wasn’t able to get through to him.”
Keyleth stayed silent, drawing her lips into a thin line. There was no good way to tell Vex’ahlia the reason she hadn’t been able to get through to Vax during his panic was because she had been the reason for it (he’d told her everything afterwards).
“But you did,” Vex continued. “And that’s–Shit, that’s a lot, Keyleth. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, and if you repeat these words to my brother I will deny it to my dying breath,” —she threw Keyleth a warning glance that made her shudder— “but I’m kind of jealous of what you two have.”
Oh. Shit.
“Vex–”
“It’s fine,” Vex’ahlia shook her head.
“I thought you and Percy were on the right path,” Keyleth insisted. Vex shrugged.
“I did too. He kissed me and told me we’d talk later.”
Keyleth raised an eyebrow. “And did you?”
Vex squirmed where she sat, avoiding looking at Keyleth. “Not quite… talking. We sort of just… jumped over that.”
Keyleth snorted. “So you had sex.” It wasn’t a question and she would definitely not bring it up if she wasn’t on her third sip of vodka and was already feeling lightheaded.
Vex, who more than obviously was not a lightweight, raised an eyebrow at her, amused with her affirmation. “Yes. We had sex. More than once, in fact. But it’s just been that, and then he left, and he hasn’t said anything in two weeks.”
“Maybe next time try talking to him instead of fucking first.” Keyleth blushed hard, suddenly realizing she’d blurted it out without meaning to.
Vex’ahlia laughed. She had started painting her nails with a deep navy blue nail polish that matched her shirt. “You’re right, darling. I will try to do that.”
Keyleth nodded, pretending she knew what she was talking about, then took another sip of her vodka. Strangely, she was getting better at drinking it without grimacing.
“How about you and Vax’ildan? Have you two–?”
“Had sex? No.” Keyleth shrugged, grabbing the black nail polish. It was a different choice for her, but Vax seemed to love seeing her in black and she wanted to make him happy.
“Why not? You’ve had the apartment all for yourselves all week.”
Keyleth lowered her gaze, purposely avoiding looking at Vex as she replied, “We don’t have to talk about this if it’s weird for you.”
“Just don’t use words like ‘your brother’ and it’ll be fine.” She shrugged, taking a large gulp of her vodka.
Keyleth nodded, taking note to be careful with that. “I’ve never been with anyone.” She admitted.
“I figured. Does it scare you?”
Keyleth shrugged first, then nodded. “Yes, but that’s not the only reason…” She paused, taking a large gulp of her drink. “I’ve never felt attracted to anyone before Vax. Like in high school I’d hear other girls talk about their crushes and I’d feel like a weirdo because I didn’t understand it.”
“Oh,” Vex smiled. “But you’re attracted to Vax, is what you’re saying?”
Keyleth nodded. “I wasn’t always, I think? Sure, I thought he was really good looking when I first met him, but it wasn’t until we started hanging out that I started feeling other things for him.” She blushed.
“Hypothetically speaking, when Kash hit on you at the bar, would you have kissed him then?”
Keyleth immediately shook her head in denial, making a face. It had been bad enough that he’d kissed her without her consent (her first kiss, no less).
“And would you have kissed Vax when you first met him?” Vex asked next.
Keyleth pondered for a moment, then shook her head again. “No. I think it took me a while to feel like I wanted to kiss him.”
“Do you know what asexuality is?” Vex asked next, sipping on her drink.
Keyleth nodded. “People who may not feel sexual attraction towards others.”
“Essentially,” Vex nodded. “Asexuality is a spectrum, and within that spectrum there is something called demi-sexuality. I think you should read up on that.” She suggested.
Keyleth nodded, interested, and filed the information for later.
“So, you’ve never felt attracted to anyone before Vax, but you do with him. What’s the issue?” Vex asked.
“Sometimes it feels overwhelming. It’s getting better, but sometimes I freak out from all the feelings.” She explained. “I’m afraid this will affect things with Vax.”
Vex nodded, smiling wisely.
“First of all, I need you to know that what you feel is valid and just because you feel things differently than me or Pike, for example, it doesn’t mean you’re a weirdo. Second of all, it doesn’t have to affect your intimacy with Vax as long as you two communicate, which is something you were pretty bad at in the past,” She grimaced at Keyleth. “Don’t let him rush you into anything you’re not ready for, dear, don’t be afraid to set up boundaries, and, most importantly, don’t be afraid to express discomfort and ask him to stop.”
Keyleth sighed. “Vax wouldn’t rush me, he would never do anything bad. He’s very patient and always stops when I ask him to stop, so I’m not worried about that.”
Vex nodded, smiling. “He loves you a lot, Keyleth. I know he would never hurt you, but it’s still important that you feel comfortable imposing boundaries for your own sake.”
“I know. I think a lot of my anxiety comes from not having any experience while Vax does, and I’m scared of doing something wrong and fucking things up,” She admitted.
To Keyleth’s surprise, Vex’ahlia chuckled. “It’s perfectly valid to feel scared of doing something wrong when you don’t have experience. I think everyone is always a bit scared of fucking things up their first time.”
“Were you scared to do something wrong your first time, too?” Keyleth asked, blushing.
Vex blanched. “My first time was not a pleasant experience. My situation was different than yours. I don’t feel comfortable talking about it.”
Keyleth’s heart stuttered in her chest. “I’m sorry,” she immediately apologized. She wasn’t going to push the subject but she had a feeling it was related to the ex-boyfriend Vax had told her about.
“It’s okay, dear. This is why it’s important to communicate and set boundaries. Vax might also have things he doesn’t like, so it’s important that you two talk about it.”
Keyleth nodded, finishing her drink just as Vex’ahlia finished hers. The woman offered to refill them while Keyleth finished her nails, but she was already feeling dizzy from the alcohol, so she refused, taking juice instead.
“I’m not going to teach you anything in detail—because gross—but if you have any questions about anything…” Vex offered after taking a large gulp of her second drink.
Keyleth blushed hard. “I do have a few questions about when and how to do certain things, but I feel awkward asking you for help with those in specific.”
Vex shrugged. “You’ll be fine Keyleth. You can always ask Vax how he likes it and what to do. I’m sure he’ll guide you.”
“What if I don’t like it?” She asked.
“Then you don’t have to do anything. He’ll understand.” Vex’ahlia shrugged again, as if it was that easy.
Keyleth wasn’t totally convinced. She knew about sex and how things technically worked, but putting her knowledge into practice scared her and worse than being afraid of not being good was the fear of not enjoying sex.
Vex took her silence as a sign of hesitation and asked, “Do you know what you like, when you’re alone? You don’t have to give me details,” She added quickly, “but if you know what you like, then that’s a start.”
Keyleth blushed harder than she’d had all day. “I–I have no idea.”
“What do you mean?” Vex sat up straighter, giving her a confused look.
Keyleth looked down at her black nails, wishing she had gotten a second glass of vodka. “I’ve never–done anything .” She looked up, raising her eyebrows.
Vex looked shocked. “You’ve never–oh. Well, that’s not an issue, darling.” She waved her hand dismissively. “You can either find out on your own or you can ask Vax to help you figure it out. If you don’t like it, then you don’t have to keep going. The most important thing is that you’re honest with him and with yourself, and that you communicate. Again, you two really sucked at that.”
Keyleth knew Vex’s words were true, although she and Vax had gotten better at communicating with each other, especially when it concerned being intimate.
“So basically your advice is to experiment and communicate?” Keyleth asked.
Vex nodded. “Exactly! And don’t worry if you’re bad at first; everyone is bad at first. Practice makes perfection and sex is one of those things that it’s very fun to practice.” She laughed.
Keyleth joined her and when they recovered, they started cleaning up the coffee table.
“Thank you for helping me, Vex.” Keyleth muttered. Her roommate hugged her in response, whispering, “I’m still here if you need more advice, but maybe next time we should include Pike if you’re comfortable.”
Keyleth nodded, breaking from the hug. She stored the rest of the bottle of vodka for another day and started getting ready for bed.
She’d promised Vax she would wait for him in his bed, so when he returned home after the bar closed and joined her, Keyleth immediately curled against his winter-chilled body, warming him.
“How was work?” She muttered quietly.
“Exhausting. I missed you, love.” Vax replied, pulling her close to him.
“I missed you, too.” Keyleth mumbled before sleep took over.
Percival
Percival was late and he hated being late. It wasn’t just a simple tardy, he’d had missed an entire week of classes and he didn’t know many, if any, of his engineering classmates to ask to borrow their notes.
Still, he was relieved when he exited the elevator onto the seventh floor of the Greyskull Keep dorm, the mirror on the back wall displaying a tragic reminder of what he looked like after a month of stress and being in fight or flight mode. His hair was disheveled, not just from the plane ride, but from not taking proper care of it; his face sunken except for the large bags under his eyes; he was gaunt and looked more tired, with darkness in his eyes.
Percival was aware that he was not a sight for sore eyes, and, unfortunately for him, he could not escape Vex’ahlia and Keyleth’s gasps as they ran to greet him when he walked into the apartment, looking concerned.
“Percival!” Vex cupped his face, looking at him seriously. “Are you alright, darling?”
“You look like shit,” Keyleth said, joining the other woman.
“Thanks,” Percy chuckled sarcastically at his friend who blushed in embarrassment. “I’m alright.”
“We’ve been so worried about you, Percival. You haven’t been answering our calls or messages.” Vex fussed over him.
He had to admit, it was endearing to see the woman fuss around, helping him take off his jacket and take his suitcase away.
“I apologize for that,” Percy blushed. “I will explain everything, but I’ve been on a plane for hours and–”
“No, of course,” Keyleth nodded. “Are you hungry? I can make you some food.”
“You should shower first.” Vex’ahlia added, scrunching her nose.
“Yes, darlings.” Percy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He was starting to feel overwhelmed with so much attention. “I think a shower sounds great right now, and yes I am indeed hungry.”
“Well, come on, then.” Vex’ahlia dragged him by the arm, leading Percival to his room while Keyleth returned to the kitchen.
He let the woman take him, let her take his suitcase and set his things on his bed and, when the door closed behind him, Percy allowed Vex’ahlia to kiss him deeply and wrap him in a hug.
“I’m sorry, I–” She stuttered, taking a step back.
They’d been doing this dumb dance for too long and Percival had already lost so much, but even though he knew he wasn’t in the best place, and even though he knew he shouldn’t seek more with the woman, he was a selfish man when it came to wanting Vex’ahlia, so instead of letting her step away from him, Percy pulled her and kissed her senseless again.
“We still haven’t had our ‘later’ talk, darling.” Vex reminded him, pushing him back. He allowed her, this time, nodding.
“I know. Soon,” He promised, offering a weak smile. Percy walked around her to open his suitcase and get some clothes. “I’m going to shower now.” He announced, kissing her cheek.
By the time Percy returned to the kitchen, freshly showered and beard shaved, he had a large bowl of soup and a couple slices of bread on the side waiting for him, as well as Keyleth and Vex’ahlia sitting on the opposite side of the table, trembling with anticipation.
He braced himself for the interrogation that was about to happen, but, surprisingly, both women stayed quiet until he had eaten half of his bowl of soup.
“What happened?” Keyleth asked, tripping over her words.
From the corner of his eye, Percy saw Vex’s look of reassurance. She knew part of the story, but he hadn’t updated her in a while.
“I have a younger sister, her name is Cassandra. I left her with a family friend who runs the local orphanage when I came to Emon but when I returned to Whitestone, she had been taken.”
“Who took her?” Keyleth asked.
“Sylas and Delilah Briarwood. They had some connections to my parents before they died and they claim my parents amended their will to leave the custody of their children and assets to them in case of their demise. However, that hasn’t conveniently been brought up in the past five years since my parents died, until now…”
“Shit,” Keyleth swore between her teeth, eyes full of compassion.
“You said you were trying to dispute the will?” Vex’ahlia asked, changing the subject. Good thing, too. He was not in the mood to discuss his parents’ deaths in great detail.
Percy nodded. “We were going to but we met with the Briarwoods and their lawyer, and they basically manipulated me into not pursuing the dispute, otherwise I will never see Cass again.”
“What?”
“They can’t do that, can they?”
Both women asked at the same time.
“Legally they can. Cass… she’s angry at me for leaving her in Whitestone and doesn’t want to speak to me or see me, so that also works in their favor.”
“This is so fucked up,” Keyleth shook her head.
“So, what happened then?” Vex asked, raising an eyebrow, perceptive as always.
“My lawyer and I spent most of the month looking for evidence that the new will is fake and when we couldn’t find anything, I sneaked into the manor but I got caught by Sylas and was sent to jail.”
Percy recoiled under the glare of both women, regretting his decision of telling them about his escapade.
“Percival,” Vex pinched the bridge of her nose while Keyleth rolled her eyes.
“Does it help if I tell you that I don’t think I would have been caught if I hadn’t been ratted out?” He tries, but neither woman gives in.
“How do you know someone told on you?” Keyleth asked.
Percy sighed, then told both women everything that happened that night in full detail, including how the police showed up mere minutes after being called and how that was what raised suspicion.
“I was only allowed one phone call to my lawyer, which is why I couldn’t let you know what happened,” Percy looked at Vex, who gave him a nod of understanding. “I asked him to bail me out and waited, but he never showed up, so, after a week, I asked for another call and got Father Yennen, the one who had been looking over Cassandra, to bail me out. I found Archibald dead two days later with a note from Sylas and Delilah.”
“Sweet Pelor,” Vex shivered. The only thing stopping Percival from reaching over the table and taking Vex’s hand in his was Keyleth sitting by the woman’s side. As much as she knew about his feelings for Vex, they still hadn’t had their ‘later’ talk and Percy didn’t want to indicate that something could be starting between him and Vex only to have that rug be taken from underneath his feet.
“What did the note say?” Keyleth asked in a low voice. She was hugging herself in her chair, throwing occasional glances at her phone as if she was expecting a text or a call.
“It said he had done his job well but they couldn’t leave loose ends. It seems like Archibald had been working with them behind my back and he was the one who told Sylas that I was going to sneak into the manor.”
It still felt surreal. Percy had known Archibald since he was a child, even going as far as considering the man family, and, in the end, he had been backstabbed by him. More than betrayed, Percy was angry about it. It had taken Father Yennen a full week to calm him down and prevent him from doing something insane, like storming into the manor to yell—or worse, really—at the Briarwoods.
“I’m sorry, dear.” Vex reached out her hand to grab his. Percy tried to hide his blush by lowering his head but he saw Keyleth’s knowing smirk.
“Anyway,” Percy sighed, “I had to cool off for a while, take care of more legal shit and started looking for another lawyer.”
“So you’re not dropping it?” Keyleth asked, not hiding the fear in her voice.
Percy shook his head in response. He would never drop the subject, no matter what the Briarwoods tried to do to make him stop, he just had to be careful so they wouldn’t know until it was too late for them to retaliate.
“There’s another problem, though, something that will make everything harder,” He said.
“What is it?” Vex asked, squeezing his hand.
This was even harder to admit, but Percy knew he was among friends who would not judge him. “I lost access to my trust fund. One of the things the Briarwoods say changed with the will was that they have control of mine and Cassandra’s trust funds until we’re twenty-one, which is bullshit. I lost access to it overnight and all the money I have now is in my private bank account, which isn’t enough to hire a lawyer.”
“I can call my dad if you want,” Keyleth offered. “He knows a lot of people, so I can see if he has any lawyer recommendations that accept pro-bono causes.”
Percy bit his lip, pondering the offer. On one hand, it would be amazing if he could find a pro-bono lawyer but, on the other hand, he hated taking charity work from others.
“Let me think about it,” He said, smiling at his friend.
“Of course, take your time.” Keyleth smiled back.
Percy looked at his friends, his heart warming slightly at having them to lean on and talk. That was perhaps the only form of help he would accept from others right now. The whole situation had been his fault for leaving Cassandra alone in Whitestone in the first place, so it was up to him to fix it.
As Keyleth got up and started cleaning Percy’s dishes, his gaze paused on Vex’ahlia, who had been suspiciously quiet for the past few minutes.
“Are you alright, dear?” He asked. Vex nodded, the corner of her mouth turning up in a smile that looked way to fake.
“I wish there was more I could do to help,” She said, slumping in her chair.
Percy nodded, his heart clenching in his chest at the woman’s wish.
“I’ll work out in the end,” He said, getting up. “If you two don’t mind, I’m feeling exhausted, so I think I’m going to get some rest,” He said, just as the front door closed.
“Hey, Freddie is back!” Vax’s voice sounded behind him.
Percy turned around, taking in his roommate. He looked just the same as he did before Percy left, long dark hair pulled back in a bun, angular features, hazel-brown eyes–
Realization suddenly hit him like a brick. Besides Vax’s skin tone being tanner than the man, the fact that his friend’s smile was genuine and that he had kindness in his eyes, Vax’ildan looked like an almost perfect replica of the Briarwoods’ lawyer.
“What is your name?” Percy asked, shocked. His heart started racing as his thoughts spiraled, replaying the same feeling of betrayal he had felt when he found out Archibald had been passing information to his enemies. He didn’t want to think about it, what it meant if his assumptions were correct, but–
“What do you mean?” Vax asked, stopping abruptly. He looked just as confused as both women standing between him and Percy.
Percy looked at the twins and repeated the question, “What is your last name? You’ve never told me,” he addressed Vex’ahlia directly.
“Because we never use it, unless for legal purposes,” Vex shrugged. She looked even more confused now.
“What is it?” Percy insisted as his anger started taking control of him.
“Vessar, why?” Vax replied, taking a step closer to his sister and putting his hand in his pocket where Percy knew he was hiding a knife.
It was as if a rug had been pulled from under his feet.
It couldn’t be possible, it had to be a coincidence but, realistically speaking, how many people named Vessar were there in Tal’Dorei?
“What is your father’s name?” He asked, taking a step back to show the twins he meant no harm to Vex.
“Syldor Vessar. What’s with the questions, Percival? You’re scaring me.” It was Vex’ahlia who drove the last nail in the coffin.
It can’t be. Percival thought, shaking his head and taking another step back. His breath was coming out raggedly as thoughts spiraled in his mind.
If Syldor Vessar was the twins' father, could he truly trust them? Would they also betray him and reveal information?
Percy had just told Vex’ahlia that he needed to be careful, to do things quietly so the man wouldn’t catch him and retaliate before he could see his plans through. Had he just handed his rival the key to everything?
“Percival, what the fuck is going on?” Vax’ildan asked, pulling his sister behind him.
Percy let out a shaky breath, looking between all his friends, Keyleth settled behind Vax now, too. “Their lawyer—the Briarwood’s lawyer–”
“Oh fuck, no.” Vex blanched.
Vax looked confused. “Who are the Briarwoods?” He asked.
“The people who murdered my parents and took everything from me,” Percy scoffed, feeling a mix of anger, betrayal, and fear. “Their lawyer is Syldor Vessar.”
“Fucking hell,” Vax swore, steeling himself in place.
“Darling, you’re going to need a very good lawyer.” Vex said, looking at him apologetically.
Yeah. Percival had a feeling whatever was coming up would not be easy.