SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

Xavier did not let the silence breathe for long.

”So?” he pressed again, leaning over the table with the kind of grin that made it obvious he had no intention of letting Trafalgar escape. ”You can’t stop in the middle of that and pretend the rest doesn’t exist.”

Trafalgar rested his hand against the warm side of his teacup and weighed the answer for a brief instant.

There was one thing he knew for certain.

He cared.

Maybe not in the way Xavier wanted to twist it. Maybe not yet. But pretending otherwise would have been stupid.

”I care about her,” Trafalgar said.

That was enough for Xavier. His whole face lit up immediately.

”There, you hear that?” he said, turning toward Bartholomew as if some great prophecy had just been confirmed. ”Barth, congratulations. You’re getting a brother-in-law, and not just anyone. Trafalgar.”

Trafalgar gave him a flat stare and continued before that could spiral further.

”I appreciate her as a friend, Xavier. Don’t start building a future out of one sentence. I didn’t say anything beyond that.”

Xavier waved a hand as if details had no place in a good story.

”Of course, of course. A friend. That’s always how it starts.”

”This dickhead...’ Trafalgar watched him for a second and decided the easiest way out was not to defend himself any further, but to hit back.

”Vivienne will be coming to the Academy soon.”

Xavier had been reaching for his cup with the full confidence of a man prepared to keep talking, but the name caught him badly enough that he actually lifted the empty cup halfway before realizing there was nothing left in it. He covered it quickly by setting it back down, though not quickly enough.

Bartholomew noticed.

So did Trafalgar.

Bartholomew, despite all his usual hesitation, turned curious at once. ”Y-you like her?”

Xavier choked

s own saliva.

The coughing fit that followed was short, but violent enough to make Trafalgar almost regret the timing.

”Oh?” Trafalgar said, and now there was open amusement in his voice. ”So there really is love in the air, then? You looked very brave when you were prying into my business. Now you’re the one acting strange.”

Xavier coughed once more, pressed a fist against his chest, and glared at him without much force behind it.

”That was low.”

”So is asking about Cynthia in front of her brother.”

”Fair point,” Xavier muttered.

Bartholomew adjusted his glasses and kept staring at him, curiosity winning cleanly over embarrassment now.

Xavier gave up trying to dodge it. He leaned back in his chair, ran a hand through his hair, and exhaled.

”Yeah,” he said at last. ”I think she catches my attention.”

Trafalgar raised a brow.

”That’s all?”

Xavier frowned.

”What do you want from me? I’m trying to say it properly.” He clicked his tongue and looked toward the plaza below before forcing himself to continue. ”Fine. I think I like her. There. Happy? It’s strange, all right? I don’t really know how to explain it.”

That was honest enough that Trafalgar let the mockery ease.

”Good luck in a few weeks,” he said. ”You’ll be seeing her nearly every day once she arrives.”

Xavier narrowed his eyes slightly.

”Since you’re suddenly acting generous, tell me this. Is there anything she likes? You’re the one who’s spent the most time near her.”

That was not entirely wrong.

Trafalgar had been close enough to Vivienne through Dravok and everything that came with him, and she had been a legendary figure in the game before all this. Even so, that kind of information had never existed there. The game had plenty to say about her strength, her position, her importance. Nothing useful about small personal preferences.

’I really don’t know!

He gave Xavier the answer plainly.

”No idea. I don’t know her as well as you seem to think I do.” He lifted the cup and took the last drink of tea. ”So you’ll have to work for it. Just don’t act like a

weirdo, please.”

Bartholomew nodded very seriously at that, as though it were important

tactical advice.

Xavier frowned. ”You both make it sound like I’m naturally suspicious.”

”You are,” Trafalgar said.

”T-there’s a little truth in that,” Bartholomew added carefully.

Xavier looked betrayed for all of half a second, then let out a laugh and shook

his head.

Trafalgar’s thoughts drifted for a moment while the conversation loosened. Vivienne had shown interest in Xavier before, or at least something close enough to it. They would probably do well together if things unfolded naturally. From what Dravok had implied, a calmer presence in her life would not be a

bad thing.

That thought pulled another behind it.

’I still haven’t asked Rhosyn what exactly they’re doing.

Dravok had not wanted to tell him yet, which meant there was no use forcing the door now. It would come when it came.

Bartholomew broke the lull first.

”Should we go?”

The table had gone quiet enough by then. Their drinks were finished. The late afternoon sun had already shifted across the plaza, turning the fountain water below into broken pieces of gold.

They paid separately and stepped back out into the street.

The air outside was cooler now, touched by the start of evening. People still moved through the plaza in an easy flow, though the fountain had become even more noticeable from up close. Water spilled from the mouths of the carved statues in clean silver streams, and the basin below shimmered with dozens of

coins.

Bartholomew slowed without trying to hide it.

He was trying to act casual, but the interest was obvious enough that Xavier

noticed it immediately.

”You want to go?” Xavier asked.

Bartholomew hesitated, embarrassed that it had shown.

”A-a little.”

Trafalgar saw the expression on his face and answered before the poor bastard

had to explain himself.

”We can stop for a minute.”

The three stepped closer to the fountain.

Bartholomew took out a small bronze coin, cupped it between both hands, and

closed his eyes as if the old story deserved proper respect. A second later, he tossed it into the basin. The coin flashed once in the light before vanishing into

the water.

Xavier leaned slightly toward him.

”What did you wish for, Barth?”

Bartholomew’s ears turned red.

”It’s a secret... though if you insist, I could tell you.”

Trafalgar stopped him at once.

”Don’t. If you say it out loud, it won’t come true!”

Bartholomew nodded immediately, accepting that as law. Trafalgar reached into his pocket and drew out a gold coin.

He did it without much thought. He did not really believe in fountains, spirits, or half-remembered stories told to children in rich districts. But Bartholomew had done it, and Xavier was already flicking a coin of his own toward the water, so Trafalgar let his thumb press against the edge of the gold piece for a breath

longer.

’Give me time.”

That was all.

Nothing more came to him.

He tossed the coin.

It cut a bright are through the air and disappeared beneath the surface with

barely a sound.

By the time he stepped back, Xavier had already thrown his in as well.

Bartholomew turned to him at once.

”And you? What did you ask for?”

Xavier grinned.

”Oh? You won’t tell us yours, but you want mine?” He slipped both hands into

his pockets. ”When it comes true, you’ll know.”

That answer satisfied nobody, which only seemed to please him more. After that, the three of them left the plaza behind, talking as they made their

way toward the station to catch the mana train back to the Academy, with the fountain and its little secrets glimmering quietly in the distance.