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Lisa Lisa had noticed the green carnations that’d be pinned to Caesar’s tux’s lapel during the large events that she’d host in Air Suplenna’s hall. She’d seen the way the boy would stand at such an angle that’d expose this unique accessory to the taller sons of the wealthy that attended these events with handsome rugged features whilst serving them various bubbly drinks and making small talk (He clearly had a type).
It’d been obvious for as long as she’d known the boy that he was interested in men and the explicit symbolization of it that he wore proved this and she was totally okay with it. She’d learnt about the meaning of green carnations from her gay uncle Speedwagon as a teenager and as soon as she saw Caesar also sporting the accessory one evening at an event soon after his 17th birthday it clicked.
Of course, she’d been quite surprised when she’d first joined the dots together, especially after taking him for such a ladies' man initially. However, after giving it a little thought she’d grown to realise that his casanova attitude and regular romantic escapades with the many maids that worked on the island could very well just be a cover-up for his true feelings, an act of desperate suppression of the truth.
Perhaps he was even interested in both sexes.
Regardless, all Lisa Lisa could wish for was her student’s safety.
Since she’d taken the boy in at 16 Lisa Lisa had made it her mission to shape him into a fine young man, a strong Hamon user, and a gentleman. If he happened to be homosexual too, so be it.
That’s precisely why when she saw him and Joseph in one of the halls within the main building one evening, Caesar firmly pressed against the wall and Joseph tightly gripping the other male’s collar as they passionately kissed each other deeper and deeper by the second, she silently turned away and took an alternative route.
So what?
If the boy wished for this to stay private, so be it.
–
There was a knock at Lisa Lisa’s bedroom door.
“Master Lisa Lisa.”
Elizabeth had spent the morning drinking tea at the small table on her balcony as she discussed next month’s event timetable. Suzie Q eagerly took notes as she listened carefully.
She hadn't expected a knock at the door from Caesar, especially not this early in the morning. The sun had only recently risen and soft hues of orange and pink still hung over the horizon.
“Come in Caesar!” She called.
The bedroom door handle shuffled and shook for a few seconds. Then there was a pause and a click as it finally opened. Caesar had always had difficulty with that particular door.
“Yes, Caesar?”
“Master Lisa Lisa, may I have a word with you?” He glanced at Suzie who was erasing something from her notepad, “Preferably alone?”
With a flick of Elizabeth’s wrist, Suzie hurried out of the room with her notepad in hand, doing a double take as she passed Caesar. He wasn’t wearing his usual headband or scarf and his hair appeared somewhat unkempt in a way that Lisa Lisa couldn’t quite put her finger on. Caesar was the type to always present himself in the most well-trimmed way possible no matter what.
Caesar made his way over to the seat opposite his mentor as the door sealed behind Suzie.
“So, what is it you wanted to discuss with me, Caesar?”
Lisa Lisa took a teacup and saucer from the tea set and placed it in front of the boy and began to pour him some hot tea.
"This may be a rather odd request," He began "But as you, Lisa Lisa are really the closest thing I have to a somewhat parental figure I'd like to have this conversation with you."
The woman hummed curiously in response, raising an eyebrow, urging him to continue as she placed the teapot down.
Caesar took a sip of his tea before continuing. It was chamomile, his least favourite flavour, yet he continued to drink anyway. Gulps of it.
"Well," He said finally after swallowing "I'd like to take around a month away from my hamon training after all of this Wham, Cars and AC/DC business is taken care of if that's possible."
Lisa Lisa knitted her brows and tilted her head to the side slightly. "A month? That is quite excessive. May I ask what you intend to get up to in that time?" She enquired "Do you have some sort of travel planned Caesar?"
Caesar took another long sip of the chamomile, wincing a little at the taste he found most unpleasant, however, continuing to swallow half of the cup in a few short gulps. He shifted in his seat a little, staring at the far-off Italian shore across the water between Air Suplenna and the mainland rather than into his mentor’s eyes.
He cleared his throat.
Lisa Lisa had easily anticipated what Caesar was going to say judging by the boy's body language. She'd never really expected a formal admission of feelings from the boy, however, clearly, this secret of his was beginning to weigh on his heart a little.
She had caught the uncomfortably stiff way of sitting he'd held the entire conversation closely. The way he'd swallow deeply before he said anything and the avoidance of eye contact. She just knew what would likely follow.
Or so she thought.
"I'm getting married."
Her eyebrows shot upward, eyes widened. "Marriage?"
Caesar cleared his throat again, lifted his teacup to his lips and sipped a little, his hands shook slightly as he held. There was barely anything left inside now.
He placed it back on the table and briefly made eye contact with Lisa Lisa however quickly retracted this with a speed that resembled one of a person who’d accidentally placed their hand onto a hot stove.
"Yes."
Caesar spoke softly, his words were now almost a whisper. They quivered.
"To whom?"
Caesar took a moment to drink the last dregs of his tea. Once he had swallowed, and in a much quieter and more cautious tone he answered, "I'd like you to first know, that it's... " He cleared his throat once again, paused and took a deep breath, preparing to deliver the sharp blow, the important part, the dangerous part. "It's a man, Lisa Lisa." His voice broke weakly as he spoke. I'm marrying a man."
For a few uncomfortably long seconds, the only sounds to be heard were the gentle rustling of the trees that lined the vast grounds of the island in the distance, the steady ticking of Lisa Lisa's bedroom clock and Caesar's heavy breathing and thick swallows.
Lisa Lisa observed the boy for a moment. She watched the way his eyes glossed slightly as he looked up at the ceiling rather than at her. She noticed the way his skin glistened with a thin sheen of sweat in the sunlight and his uncharacteristically awkward seating position.
She pondered her next actions carefully whilst watching Caesar eat himself alive in anticipation.
After what felt like an age of silence Lisa Lisa spoke in a very quiet and comforting tone as if addressing a very young child rather than a promising ripple master.
“Caesar, I love you very much, and as your mentor and chosen parent. I accept that. I would never judge you for something you have no choice in, such as your sexual preference.” She watched the boy’s expressions play across his face as she spoke. First came a slight crease of his brow with his mouth slightly agape. Disbelief. Then came the wash of relief to soften his expression and to begin melting it into a softer one. His bottom lip was stuck out and his eyes were glossy. “Tell me about the lucky man.” She gave a warm smile to her student who promptly burst into tears.
Caesar wept violently into his palms with a new intensity. Wailing and sobbing like a child as his chest heaved and his body shook with each choked cry.
"I'm...I'm sorry...sorry...I'm sorry..." He blubbered, voice trembling as he wiped his eyes and nose with the back of his sleeve revealing red-raw puffy crying eyes, a nose tinted red and a quivering bottom lip.
Lisa Lisa stood, hurried toward her bedside table and plucked a tissue from her tissue box however after hearing a particularly loud broken sob and feeling her heart break a little in response she ended up taking the entire box to Caesar and placing it in front of him.
Caesar took a tissue and blew hard, continuing to mutter almost illegible apologies between his sobs.
“Do you need any water, Caesar?” The older woman asked however he quickly shook his head and blew his nose once again.
She made her way back to her seat and they sat a while. Lisa watched the boy carefully as his sobs died down little by little. She reached over to his side of the table and patted the surface, getting his attention. “Don't apologise. Let it all out.”
This had been the first time the woman had seen him cry.
Perhaps his habit of suppressing his emotions was a trait he’d picked up during his times on the streets, during all of the turmoil he’d endured during his childhood and early teens. He'd shut any strong feelings away tightly and hide them somewhere within his soul in which not even he could retrieve them. The only time the older women could catch a glimpse of the boy's inner struggle was in rage-filled strikes of fury toward his opponents during hamon examinations.
Seeing a more intimate sort of release rather than the furious one she'd seen many times before was strange. It felt invasive.
His cries finally started to grow smaller and he began taking steady breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth, his demeanour nearing reaching a calm equilibrium once again. Lisa Lisa took this as her opening.
“Now that you’ve composed yourself for the most part," She waited calmly for a moment, letting her words wash over her student. "Are you ready to talk?"
Caesar took a shaky breath and looked firmly into his mentor's eyes for the first time in this entire conversation. "Yeah." He breathed.
"So who is it?"
The idea of telling Caesar that she already knew the details and that she'd worked out Caesar's sexuality years ago had flicked through her thoughts multiple times during this interaction however she'd decided firmly against this decision due to the worry it could invoke within him, the questions it could bring up. If his mentor had joined the dots, who else had? Did everybody know?
Caesar deserved this moment without complication. This was Caesar's moment of release. It should belong to nobody but him.
"It's Joseph." He finally made out after swallowing thickly, blinking back his remaining tears. "We are having a secret wedding in Naples"
Elizabeth would have to reveal the truth about her being Joseph's mother sooner than intended.
"Would you like me to come to your wedding?" She asked with a small smile, tenderly placing a hand over her student’s.
Caesar's eyes were once again glossy with tears. He sniffed and spoke, his words merely a tremble. "Yes please."