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In Sheep's Clothing	By : ParisWriter Category: +G through L > Harvest Moon Views: 2169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Chapter Twenty-Nine

Klaus spent the rest of the day thinking about what Avery had said. Even while Marian was busy gushing over the way the town was laid out or commenting about all the different people who lived there, he was thinking about her words. She'd had a very valid point, after all. For over twenty years he had been hiding his lineage, keeping it a deep, dark secret from those around him. He had his reasons, and he knew they were valid ones, but it was time to move on and stop dwelling on the past. His parents were gone, and he should let the bad memories die with them. He had a great life with good friends and a wonderful woman in it, so perhaps it was time he started associating the name von Albrecht with those memories, instead.

"Klaus, do you want in or not?"

He turned away from the window he'd been gazing out of and looked to the large, round table where Marian was sitting with nearly every man who lived in Eco Village. Dunhill – the town's unofficial mayor – had suggested they all play some poker, which had immediately appealed to the groom-to-be even though Amir had only ever heard of the game in passing conversation.

"Is everyone here?" he asked, picking up the tumbler of whiskey he'd been nursing from the window sill and going over to one of the empty seats at the table.

"Soseki and Klaus should be here soon," Dunhill replied around the cigar in his mouth, then he laughed a little and looked up at Klaus. "Well, shoot... I didn't realize we had two of ya here in town, right now. Guess we'll just have to call him Doc for tonight."

"From what I understand," Allen remarked with a smirk, his own drink poised before his mouth, "Klaus also has an ex named Rebecca."

"That so?" Dunhill said, looking up at Klaus. "Well, I hope ya don't hold that against our dear architect. She's a nice lady, strong too. Can't be easy havin' to raise a child on your own, after all."

"Excuse me, Mister Dunhill?" Amir called politely from where he was sitting. "Could you perhaps explain the rules of this particular game one more time while we wait for the others to arrive?"

Dunhill attempted to explain the game to Amir, but the more he spoke the more the prince looked confused. Charles chuckled and leaned over in the seat next to his, putting an arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"How about I help you out the first few rounds?" he offered. "Then, once you've got the hang of it, you can try fending for yourself?"

"Thank you, Charles," Amir accepted the offer with a nod and a smile.

Klaus slipped off his coat and put it over the back of his chair as Dunhil began shuffling the deck in preparation for dealing the first round, exchanging a look across the table with Marian. The doctor shook his head in warning, and Klaus raised his hands a bit in acquiescence of his unspoken request. The exchange had not gone unnoticed, however, and Klaus soon found an accusatory finger pointed in his direction.

"What the hell was that?" asked a young blonde man with a fading black eye.

"What was what?" Klaus asked in reply, but the other man's scowl only deepened even more.

"You two planning on ripping us off or something?"

"Neil, calm down," the man next to him – whose hair color fell somewhere between Neil's and Allen's – requested, placing a hand on his arm.

"Hey!" Neil yelled, ignoring the other man's request and jerking his arm away as he leaned even more over the table in Klaus' direction. "Answer the damn question!"

"Rod's right, for once," Allen remarked with a cocky smirk and a sidelong glance at the strawberry blonde. "You need to calm down, Neil. Have a drink. It's not like we're playing for money, anyway. Though I wouldn't be opposed to a friendly wager or two."

"Bad idea," came a new voice from the direction of the room's entrance. "The Boss here is likely to end up walking out of here with all your money."

Klaus turned his head, blinking in surprise that someone in town knew about his past gang activity, but soon broke out into a grin when he saw a rather familiar face smiling back at him.

"I'll be damned," he muttered, rising from his seat and going over to hug the other man, both of them laughing. He hadn't dared hope that the Soseki who had been mentioned as living in town would possibly be the same Soseki he'd known when he was younger, and yet here he was – older and dressed very differently from the way he used to, but still the same man who had helped Klaus clean up the neighborhood around Antonio's restaurant.

"You two know each other?" Marian asked, and Klaus turned to him, still beaming.

"Soseki is an old friend," he answered with a nod. "We sort of lost touch over the years, though."

"Which was my fault, largely," Soseki added apologetically. "I pushed a lot of people out of my life following my diagnosis."

"A rather foolish decision, if you ask me," said a haughty-looking man who had arrived with Soseki, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose with one finger. "Someone in your condition should have friends to help look out for his well-being."

"I didn't know you cared so much, Klaus," Soseki said to the man, clapping him on the back before looking back and forth between him and the other Klaus.

"Er... Two Klauses... How are we gonna handle this?" he posed the question to those seated around the table, and Dunhill waved off his concern.

"Already decided we're gonna call him Doc for tonight," he stated, pointing to the doctor, who made a distasteful sound but didn't protest.

"Ready to play some cards, gentlemen?" Klaus asked, walking back over to the table with his arm around Soseki's shoulders.

"Only if you promise not to cheat," Soskei replied with a smirk.

"I knew it!" Neil shouted, pointing at Klaus once more and causing most everyone else at the table to laugh.

Several rounds and half as many drinks later, the men of Echo Village were starting to get a bit rowdy. Neil had shed his red coat and the black t-shirt underneath, complaining he was hot even though Sanjay had opened up all of the windows to help air out the smoke from the cigars Dunhill and Charles were smoking. Marian hadn't been able to help his gaze roaming appreciatively over the well-toned muscles of the animal dealer's chest, which made Allen shift uncomfortably in his chair but he didn't say anything. Klaus had noticed the entire exchange, while almost everyone else seemed to miss it. Judging by the curious look on Amir's face and the quiet chuckle he'd heard coming from Soseki, though, he hadn't been the only one who picked up on the situation.

Rod had started slurring his words after his second drink, and more than once held his entire hand of cards in front of Allen's face to ask him what he should do. Klaus couldn't be sure, but he had an inkling Allen was intentionally giving Rod crappy advice just to mess with him, judging by how badly he was doing overall. Amir, on the other hand, was doing surprisingly well for a beginner. Perhaps the men who were still sober enough to be skillful players were letting him win because it was his bachelor party, but Klaus wasn't pulling any punches. He respected Amir and understood his situation well enough to know that if he ever found out he was being allowed to win rather than doing so based on his own skill he would be hurt.

"So, Neil, how'd you get that black eye?" Marian wondered as he gave up on his latest hand and placed the cards face-down on the table in front of him. Klaus saw Amir stiffen out of the corner of his eye and looked between the two of them in curiosity.

"I tried to fuck Amir's fiancee," Neil stated bluntly, his eyes never straying from the cards in his hand, causing the prince to shift in his seat and cough uncomfortably.

"It is a long story," Sanjay offered in an attempt to diffuse the situation as he began making the rounds of the table to refresh everyone's drinks. "I am sure Master Amir would rather leave it at that."

"You had sex with Addie?" Rod asked, his words a little slurred, turning to look at Neil.

"Drop it, Rod," Neil told him in a warning tone, though Klaus noticed a slight weariness to his voice, as well.

"Why can't I ever get a girl to notice me?" Rod lamented, whining as he flopped face-first down onto the table while holding his cup aloft for Sanjay to fill it once more.

"Because you're a blind idiot," Allen replied, reaching over and flicking his ear. "Otherwise you'd already have a girlfriend."

Rod blew a raspberry in disbelief, and Neil finally turned his head to look at him.

"He's right, Rod. Only an idiot would have not noticed the way Tina has practically been throwing herself at your for better than half a year, now."

"She's just a friend," Rod protested, slapping at his arm with one hand.

"I think she wants to be much more than just a friend," Soseki joined in on the conversation, politely declining Sanjay's offer to refill his glass and instead asking for some water.

"Maybe she's just using me to try to get to Allen," Rod argued, pointing at the hairdresser. "He's always been the popular one. You should see the way girls hang all over him when we go out."

"Is that so?" Soseki mused, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. "Then why doesn't Allen have a girlfriend, I wonder?"

Allen paused whit his drink halfway to his mouth, his gaze pointed downward but his eyes still darting around the table once he realized he had suddenly been put on the spot.

"I'm seeing someone," he said after a moment, probably hoping that alone would be enough to appease them, but it only served to pique the curiosity of those who had – up until that point – remained amused by the conversation but otherwise kept silent.

"So, who is it?" Dunhill asked. "Yuri? Or maybe that cute little Michelle?"

"It's not someone from town," Allen replied, almost immediately realizing his mistake and wincing as he took a large drink from his glass.

"Who is it, then?" Charles asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Someone you knew from when you were living in the city."

"Yes," Allen said, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. "It's someone I met when I was living in the city."

"Mallory? Or maybe Jessica?" Rod began throwing out names of girls Klaus guessed the two of them knew.

Allen swore under his breath and tossed back the rest of his drink, then slammed the glass down onto the table and stood from his chair. With three quick strides he made his way to where Marian was sitting and grabbed the hair at the back of his head, then jerked his head back and leaned over to kiss him roughly.

"There! Okay?" he shouted once he had pulled away from his lover. "I'm dating Marian."

Klaus and Soseki were both trying to keep themselves from laughing at the looks on the faces of everyone else seated at the table. Most of them were sitting there in shock, while Amir was blushing and Rod was staring at Allen with eyes so wide they looked like they might pop out of their sockets at any given moment. Through it all, Marian was smiling shyly and reached up to take Allen's hand in his own and give it a loving squeeze.

"You're gay?" Rod finally asked, breaking the silence which had filled the room.

"Bi, technically," Allen replied with a half-shrug.

"So... So when you kissed me that one time... you weren't really drunk?"

Allen chuckled. "Oh, I was drunk. But I also kind of had a crush on you back then, too."

"You liked me?" Rod wondered, his voice squeaking a bit, and he covered his mouth with one hand.

"A bit, but you've always been my best friend," Allen said, releasing Marian's hand and going back over to his seat next to Rod. "After I snuck that kiss, I realized I didn't want to jeopardize that so I let it go."

Rod just continued staring at him with wide eyes, blushing.

"Hey, this doesn't change things between us, okay?" Allen assured him. "We're still gonna go out, and I'm still going to be your wingman while you try and fail to pick up girls. At least until you finally get a clue and ask Tina out."

Rod nodded mutely, and Dunhill chuckled. "Well, I'm happy for ya, Allen. I don't know much about Marian here, but he seems like a nice fellow."

"Such a sweetheart," Marian fawned over Dunhill. "Thank you."

Dunhill smiled and nodded at him, then turned back to the rest of the table.

"Now, then... Why don't we raise the stakes a bit? Who's up for a friendly wager or two?"

Several hours later, Klaus' pockets were a bit lighter than they'd been when he first arrived at Amir's mansion but his spirit felt lighter, as well. He was happy for Marian, who was now sitting on one of the small sofas with Allen, giving the redhead a shoulder rub. Neil was resting on the other sofa while Rod was passed out on the floor, snoring loudly. The town doctor hds retired for the night early, awkwardly leaving not long after Allen had come clean with them all about his relationship with Marian. Charles and Dunhill were still playing cards with Amir and the town's innkeeper, who had been a late arrival and only joined them an hour ago after being sure everyone who was expected to come into town for the wedding had been properly checked in before leaving.

"So, when are you finally going to settle down?"

Klaus turned from the window to Soseki, who had gotten up from the armchair he was sitting in to join him.

"Soon," Klaus replied with a smile.

"That's kind of vague," Soseki teased him, chuckling. "Soon could be next week or two years from now."

"I'm just waiting for it to feel like the right time for us."

"Don't wait too long, Klaus. Life's too short for putting things off. Especially the important things."

Klaus nodded and looked him over a bit. He'd lost a considerable amount of weight since they last saw each other, and the kimono he wore hung off his frame. He remembered back in their youth, when Soseki had been rather well-built and nearly as tough as he'd been, and he found himself filled with sadness. The diagnosis had been sudden and heartbreaking, and in less than a year Soseki had pulled away from everyone who cared about him and practically disappeared off the face of the earth.

"You look good," Klaus finally said after a bit.

"Don't lie," Soseki replied with a short laugh. "I look like shit, especially compared to how I used to be."

"How are you feeling, though?"

Soseki shrugged. "Not any worse, since I left the city and moved out here. No better, either, though."

"I'm glad you've at least started letting people back in again," Klaus remarked, looking back over his shoulder at the others.

"I haven't let any of them get too close, though," Soseki said with a sigh. "I did let someone in, about six years ago. It... didn't end well."

"She left you?"

"I pushed her away," Soseki replied, a sad smile on his face as he looked up at the night sky. "Like I always do."

"Why?" Klaus wondered.

"I loved her, and I couldn't do this to her. I couldn't stand the thought of her being stuck with me, spending half her life playing nursemaid to a dying man."

"But I take it she cared about you, right?"

"She did," Soseki said, nodding. "She wanted me to marry her, in fact. Like I said, though... I didn't want to ruin her life."

"Maybe she would have been perfectly happy playing nursemaid," Klaus offered, hoping that perhaps there was a chance his old friend might be able to reconcile with this woman and find some happiness in the days he had left.

"Maybe, but it's a moot point, now." He turned to Klaus, his smile even sadder than it had been before. "She moved on, found someone else and got married last year. Whatever chance I might have had to rekindle things with her is lost."

"I'm sorry, Soseki," Klaus told him, and Soseki merely reached up and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"I've known for years my time is short, and I've made some pretty stupid mistakes because of it. You have your entire life ahead of you, Klaus, but even that's not a guarantee. Look at what happened to your parents, after all. If you truly love this girl and she loves you... Marry her. Don't wait for it to 'feel right,' or you might end up losing your chance."

He nodded and Soseki smiled at him. Klaus knew he was right. He should stop beating around the bush and just ask Avery to marry him, especially now that all of his secrets were out in the open with her. He'd already told her he intended to do so, but a part of him still wanted to wait to actually propose. Marriage was something he only planned on ever doing once, after all, and he wanted every part of it to be memorable for both of them. Looking at his old friend, though, he realized that things didn't have to be spectacularly planned in order to be memorable.

"How are you to travel?" he asked after a moment's thought.

Soseki chuckled. "I should be fine, as long as I have ample time to arrive at my destination."

"Good," Klaus told him with a smile. "Because I'm really hoping that when Avery and I get married you'll be able to come."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Soseki asked him, grinning and raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Maybe," Klaus said, flashing a grin of his own. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
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In Sheep's Clothing