Chapter Thirty Nine - Recommencing the Missions

Rush felt drained to his bones and not even the idea of finally being able to cook for himself gave him pleasure.  He had lost weight during the six weeks of filming the drama as he had struggled to eat the food prepared by robots and dispensers.  The phobias of this life outweighed the personality traits of his past lives.  Though he had returned home and despite being unable to leave his home due to the media storm, he had barely regained two pounds.

Today was his first day returning to the company as North wished to speak to him about upcoming projects and the Chairman wished to discuss the renewal of his contract.  He used private transportation in order to get to First Entertainment's offices; the upper monorail trains were effectively personal pods with no more than four seats, ferrying small groups of wealthy individuals to their destinations.  There were more tracks, less waiting times and smoother movements between buildings.  Rush wished he could take the pod to meet with Kez, but the boy lived in the mid-levels with no access to the floors beyond his school.

It didn't take long to renew the contract with the company, the conditions were favourable, although Rush had decided to renew for just two years. The Chairman had obviously questioned this, but Rush simply stated that he needed to look at things again then. Afterwards, Rush and his manager went to his office.

North's office was much like the other managers with similar talent beneath their wings; a reasonable size with their own coffee machines, large desks, up to date Holograph Units, etc. The man placed three tablets before him so he could compare the projects, but nothing really stood out between them. "What do you think?" North asked.

Rush shrugged. "What do you think?" he parroted the question.

"Fair enough, they are all pretty standard," North agreed. "I'll hold fire a few days, see if anything better comes up." He placed the tablets within his drawer before leaning slightly forward. "Ah, I hear that Honor is currently hovering on this floor. I think she heard you would be in today." Rush nodded his gratitude for the warning.

It didn't do much good. The woman practically pounced on him the moment he left the room. "Who is she?"

"Excuse me?" Rush replied.

"Who is the home wrecker that you dumped me for?" she demanded angrily. Naturally, several passerby's paused to watch the unfolding scene.

"Perhaps you ought to talk inside?" North suggested, indicating the privacy of his office.

"Not necessary," Rush told him, before turning his attention back to Honor. "It is none of your business."

"I knew it!" She spat, confidently. "There is no one, that was just an excuse wasn't it!" Rush shook his head in denial then made his way to brush past her. "Rush! You have to change your mind about us!" She pleaded.

"I'm sorry, that will not be happening."

"Why not?"

"I do not love you."

"What has love got to do with it?" She demanded, making Rush realise that in this world she was entirely correct with her words. He cussed, beneath his breath as he looked into her eyes, noting the odd conjoined twin pupil in one of them. It had caught his attention when they had first met and perhaps he had stared at it too long, making her falsely believe he was interested in her. "Come back to me. You know we look great together. Our children will be the most beautiful."

An vibration upon his wrist caught his attention and he noticed that his bracelet was glowing. He had wondered whether it was indeed Yang upon his wrist, but the little system had remained silent all this time, so he couldn't have been sure.

Mission; protect Kez in the reception room.

The words flashed above the bracelet, invisible to all eyes but his own. Startled, he quickly glanced at Honor. "I'm sorry." Then he shook off her grip, before fleeing down the corridor towards the elevator.

****

Xavier had felt a small ache in his heart when he had seen Kez waiting at the train station, the sense of deja vu was not small, only the boy before him was no longer dressed in the exaggerated maid outfit, but in his school uniform.  He waved to catch the younger boy's attention, who returned his greeting with a small smile.  "Hi," he greeted, softly.

"Long time no see," Xavier grinned.  He placed his arm around the shoulder of the boy and led him to a different platform.  "Ah, I heard something good so I thought you might like a surprise."

"What sort of surprise?" Kez asked curiously.

"I heard Rush was visiting the company today," the older boy grinned smugly.  "Want to go visit?"  The brilliant light that shone from the other boy's smile was bittersweet to Xavier, but he buried the feeling to take Kez to his lover.

Unfortunately on arriving, Xavier was immediately grabbed by one of the many admin staff who was experiencing technical issues with his H.C.D.  "Just wait for me in reception, I'll be as quick as I can!"  He called out as he was dragged away.

Kez chuckled at the flailing boy, before settling down in one of the plush seats.  The receptionists immediately came over to offer him a drink, something maternal awakened at the sight of this cute boy.  His smile had them sighing to one side over his adorableness.  A large figure suddenly sat splayed out next to him giving an exaggerated groan of exhaustion.

"Ah the seats are so much more comfortable down here than in my manager's office!" The man complained aloud.

"Don't let him hear you say that, Mr Night," the receptionist, who brought Kez a glass of water mentioned.  "I heard he spent thousands on those branded seats."

"I already told him," the man told her.  "My arse still hurts from sitting on them!  Comfort me!"  The receptionist chuckled, shaking her head before she returned to her job.  Feeling abandoned, the man turned to Kez.  "How about you? Sympathise with me!"

Kez sipped his water, before tilting his head to one side.  He, of course, recognised this man.  He was Dante Night, a very popular actor and modestly made the top twenty most wanted men in the same survey Rush Haven had come fourth.  The boy was immediately struck by the charm that this actor had, but with Rush dominating his thoughts, there simply wasn't any space left for another.

"There, there?" he offered, lightly.

Dante offered a visible pout, before leaning closer.  "I'm not sure that's good enough," he said, something in his tone making Kez uncomfortable.  The elevator announced its arrival, diverting attention within the slightly strained bubble.  Kez felt his heart beat once more as it's occupant was revealed.

His golden god saw him and stretched open his arms.  Without a second thought, Kez places down his glass, ran over from his chair and leapt into Rush's embrace.  The boy instantly felt safe.  "Missed you," the two words were whispered near to his ear.

"Mmm,"Kez hummed in agreement.

"Rush? I haven't seen you around here for a while," Dante greeted from where he sat. "Have you been offered the lead in 'Elevator Romance' yet? I was tempted, but I'm still filming my most recent movie, so I turned it down." Realising where they were, Kez pulled away from Rush and turned to step beside him, but the larger man pinned his back against his chest, his arms wrapping about Kez's small frame.

"Undecided," Rush told the man. Elevator Romance was the name of one of the three short dramas on offer to him. Dante's eyes narrowed as he considered the affectionate display in front of him.

"Ah! Is this the unnamed one who you ended your engagement with Honor for?" Several receptionists and passing admin staff gasped as they heard his words. He didn't wait for an answer. "How sweet!" He grinned openly. "My manager said that you were insane, but seeing as I have someone that I can't stop thinking about above all others, I don't blame you. I don't think I will get my happy ending like you though." A couple of receptionist made woeful sounds, one offered him a cup of coffee and a biscuit. "And now you comfort me!" He joked.

"I hope you get your happy ending," Kez, also slightly moved, offered.

"I might need some help with that," Dante mused and rose from his seat. "Now my arse feels less numb, I suppose I better go see my manager again. Ah by the way, does Honor know your little beau is here?" His timing too great, the elevator doors opened once more allowing its two current occupants to leave. "Oh, she does now!" The actor slipped away on these words.

****

Any calm rationality and hope that Honor might have had left that day vanished the moment she saw Kez held in Rush's loving embrace. A boy? She had been cast out for a boy? Had that kid even hit puberty yet? And why is Rush holding him so close and touching him? He had never once touched her, she even suspected he might have issues with that sort of thing seeing as he never allowed anyone to touch him unless it was a part of the script. She had resigned herself to helping that side of him, curing him. But he seemed to have no problems now!

Sanity lost, she attacked both Rush and Kez, the former turning his back on the scorned woman, sheltering the object of her disgust. North attempted to hold her back as one receptionist called security and another called the woman's father. Xavier had also just appeared and allowed Rush to pass Kez to him for protection in order that he could restrain Honor along with North until help arrived. A couple of security officers took over from the men and asked Honor to calm down and come to their office for a moment. Released, Rush immediately moved to scoop Kez back into his arms. Lifted in the embrace, Kez buried his head into the larger man's neck, clearly disturbed by the man's former fiancée.

Unfortunately, this set Honor off once more and she did not stop struggling until a loud slap echoed through reception. "Stop that at once!" Mr Harlow was honestly disappointed in his daughter. He turned to one of the security officers. "Please see to it that my daughter is returned home." He then offered his sincere apologies to Rush and Kez before ushering the onlookers back to their jobs.

"Home," Rush murmured to Kez, who nodded without parting from the crook of the actor's neck. Xavier went to follow them, but was held back by North. It was time to let this couple have some privacy. He trusted Rush not to do anything stupid.

Mission Completed; protecting Kez achieved.