Peacekeepers

Chapter 64: Unknown

July 17th, 1893

(28 days until the wedding)

Natsai stood in front of the door to Linus' house, strangely nervous before she knocked on the wood. She wasn't sure what she'd find inside anymore, and hoped he would at least be alright after what she'd seen on Friday. She hadn't expected that by any means, and now she wanted to make sure that he was at least recovered. Maybe she could pry a few answers out of him, too.

She looked up from her thoughts when the door opened, and Linus at first had a confused look on his face until he turned a bright shade of pink, which quickly faded to white at the sight of her. She wasn't sure what to make of that reaction, but at least he stood aside from the doorway silently in an invitation for her to come inside.

She came in, and looked back as he quietly closed the door behind her, leaning against the wood for a moment as if gathering himself. He was dressed in men's clothing again, but looked a bit more unkept than usual.

He finally let out a long sigh, standing up and running a hand through his dark brown hair. Blue eyes turned toward her uneasily before he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry about... my state the other day." He said quietly.

Natsai nodded, acknowledging the apology. "Thank you, I was wondering... what were you high on, and why? Is there anything I can help with?"

Linus seemed struck for a moment at what she'd said, before looking off to the side with a wry smile. "You're very kind, Natsai... but unfortunately this isn't anything you can help with."

Natsai huffed a bit in frustration, having a feeling he wasn't entirely being truthful. She was good at telling when people were lying. "Well, I also wanted to ask why you were wearing a skirt and blouse."

"Ah!" Linus looked up to her with a startled expression, his face turning red again. "D-don't mind-"

"I don't care, you know." She tilted her head at how flustered he was.

"You don't?" He said in shock, his eyes going wide.

"Your clothing hardly matters to me, Linus." Natsai chuckled. "There are far, far worse things a person could do. As long as you aren't using dark magic or hurting others, I don't think it matters what a person does."

He looked down thoughtfully at that and nodded slowly. "But..."

Natsai only shrugged at his hesitancy. "If you want to, do whatever makes you comfortable, Linus. Is... that why you decided to use drugs? Because you were uncomfortable in men's clothing?"

Linus glanced back up to he anxiously, shifting on his feet for a moment as he struggled to get words out. "Partially" he whispered.

"You know you can talk to us, Linus. You're helping us, we can always try to help you if you have a problem." Natsai offered gently.

Linus shook his head though, his denial firm. "I don't think this is anything you can help me with."

She frowned in confusion at that. "Why not? I'm an auror, it's my job to fix problems and help people."

"Not this one, Natsai." Linus whispered, shaking his head harder. "Just... I'm dealing with it. It's all I can do at this point."

Natsai crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, frustrated that he was being so cryptic. "Can you at least tell me what the problem is?"

Linus looked down thoughtfully before giving a soft breath of anxiety. "I'll tell you as much as I can, but Natsai, this isn't something you should try to solve." He said, looking back up to her.