And Then, There Was Fire.

twenty four.

Silence and tension have never felt so thick between the two. For the first time, finally, Trey looked at an actual photograph of his father, instead of a drawing.

The picture that laid in front of Trey and Lauren was a very old polaroid of Rathena, Kurisch, and what seemed to look like Trey in the next ten years or so.

His hair was in a small afro and their clothes were vintage, however, Neveredes' smile was identical to Trey's. His eye brows, eyes, nose, his jawline; just an older version of Trey.

Thoughts raced both of their minds, and they were upsetting thoughts for the both of them.

"Did they restore Theo?" Trey broke the long silence.

"Oh, of course. The news of Yuredes' son and Gortheno's daughter being immaculates and legitimate to a great unification was received more than well throughout all of Theo. For hundreds of years prior to them, there wasn't a pair that was fit for a great uni that came from those two dominant elements." Kurisch said, abbreviating the term unification while still being oblivious of the underlying concerns that Trey had, and now a new concern of Lauren's as she caught on.

"You mean to tell me that we're siblings?" Lauren asked under her breath almost.

Kurisch glanced between the both of them, slowly dropping his expression as his eyes widened, as he finally caught on to their concerns.

"Have you two been intimate with each other?" Kurisch asked quietly; concerned. He allowed their silence to answer his question, exhaling while shifting back into his seat deeply.

Trey looked away from Kurisch to the window in shame, sighing as he grew upset. He then looked back towards him, waiting for an answer.

He watched Kurisch's mouth quiver, forcing a smile not to erupt. He then allowed a hissing laugh softly escape, closing his eyes as he laughed at his own sarcasm, joke, or whatever Trey and Lauren couldn't figure out was so funny to him.

They stared at him oddly, upset that he found humor in this. "NO!" He laughed, slapping his thighs. "No, you two aren't siblings." He continued laughing at their shocked, upsetting, and possibly disgusted, faces.

Trey rolled his eyes as his body deflated out of relief, unable to not chuckle at Kurisch's contagious laughter.

Lauren, however, stared at him with an ice-cold look. "That isn't funny!" She raised her voice, causing Kurisch to laugh harder.

"Lighten up!" Kurisch exclaimed as his laughter began to settle. "I'm just excited this is happening; that you two being here together, in front of me, at the same time." He said vibrantly. "Look," He sipped out of his glass before placing it back down before he rested his arms on his desk. "Yes, Neveredes and Rathena were immaculates, and yes they did in fact unify to restore Theo. But, they obviously weren't together in that manner. They were never once intimate; ever. When Rathena agreed to go through with it, he promised her to always support her in finding true love. She wanted her happily ever-after, and he knew what that meant to her. They were just best friends................ we were best friends." He finished, emphasizing the word 'we'." His laughter calmed as they began to hear a passion in his voice when disclosing the friendship he shared with them.

"So, that's how you know so much of this- of them?" Lauren asked, leaving Kurisch to slowly blink while nodding.

"So, they married, for Theo, their culture basically. But how did we come into play then?" Trey asked, referring to himself and Lauren.