Attractive Nuisance

== Revised text ==
Date/Timing: 21 November 2007
Setting: Bastien's school and the Gottlieb house; Berlin, Germany
If this winds up replacing the earlier version, it'll probably go up as "Declaration"
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On the walk to the gate after school, Anaïs suddenly slows to a stop.
Bastien stops, too, and looks over, eyebrow raised.
Anaïs shifts, eyes on her toes. «May I ... may I talk to you a moment?» 
«Uh, sure?»
«In private?»
Bastien's chest tightens as he follows her around a corner and behind a couple of trees.
Anaïs checks for eavesdroppers, hovers just inside Bastien's reach.
«What's wrong?»
«/Nothing!» squeaks Anaïs. «I-I-I—» Takes a deep breath, straightens up, looks Bastien right in the eye, declares, «I love you.»
Bastien's face gets hot. «Uh ... that's, um, nice?»
«No. I mean I /love-love you.»
Bastien ....
«I love you like Mummy loves Daddy and I want us to get married someday and work together and have babies and—» Anaïs steps closer and presses their lips together.
Bastien's heart and hands flutter.
Anaïs is /kissing him.
So he kisses /her.
Bastien's stomach flippy-flops and his brain goes fizzy and his skin tingles.
Anaïs pulls away a little, then hugs him and tucks her face against his neck.
Bastien hugs back.
«Thank you,» she whispers.
«'welcome,» he croaks.
«I love you.»
«I—»
„„Anaïs? Where are you?““
Anaïs startles away, squeaks. «I have to go!» Turns—«I'll see you tomorrow!»—and sprints off to meet her car.
Bastien ....
The courtyard is quiet.
Bastien shakes himself, resettles his rucksack over his shoulder, trudges off across the yard, then along the pavement to the bus stop.
After the trip, Bastien lets himself into the house with his key, hangs his rucksack on its hook, lines up his shoes, drags himself up the stairs, changes, shtumps down to the sitting room.
Manny, glasses on his nose, sits on the couch reading his coding textbook.
„Where's Father?“
„Still at his office hours,“ replies Manny without looking up.
Bastien grunts, powers up the PlayStation, grabs a controller, plops onto the sofa.
Manny side-eyes him.
Bastien taps through to /Katamari.
The theme plays while Bastien stares absently.
It loops around.
„Are—“
Bastien jumps, controller clattering to the floor.
„—you alright?“
„Umm, sorta?“
Manny sets aside his textbook and glasses. „'Sorta'.“
Bastien shrugs.
„Talk to me.“
„Right. So ... today Anaïs kissed me and said she loved me and wants to marry me someday and have babies together.“
Manny blinks. „She kissed you?“ His voice squeaks in the middle.
„Is that wrong?“
„It's just rather, umm, forward.“
„It is?“
„And you two are a bit young to be thinking about things like marriage and families.“
„Oh. Uh ... but now I am?“
„It makes sense you would be, considering.“ Manny smiles reassurance. 
Bastien sits a little straighter. „Do you think about marrying E—you-know-who and hav—adopting kids?“
Manny shifts his shoulders. „Sometimes. Not children often, though.“
„Do you want to kiss him whenever you get a letter?“
„Yes,“ rasps Manny. „Sometimes even without a one.“
„And you get all hot and fluttery when you do?“
„Yes.“
„And it's just you-know-who who makes you feel that way?“
„Not exactly—“ Manny rubs the back of his neck. „—but the feeling's strongest for him.“
„When did you start having the fluttery feeling?“
„With him? The first time I saw him.“
„What about the first time /ever?“
Manny thinks. „I was probably a little younger than you are now.“
Bastien sighs, shoulders slumping. 
Manny clears his throat, asks, „What's wrong?“
„Something's /wrong with me. I /never feel like that. About /anyone.“
„Just to clarify: you like Anaïs—as a friend?“
„/Definitely.“
„And kissing her felt good?“
„Yea?“
„You're not sure?“
„Well, yea, it did, but is that—“
„It's perfectly alright.“ A small smile creeps onto Manny's face. „When you were browsing Sabine's and Dee's books, did you ever look at the sections on human sexuality?“
Bastien's face heats, but he nods.
„Did you come across the word 'asexuality'?“
„Yea, but what ... ohhh.“ Bastien's heart soars, then dives. „But the book said it was a disorder.“
„Those books used to say homosexuality was a disorder and they don't anymore.“
„So asexuality will be normal someday, too?“
„It's normal /now and the books will eventually catch up.“
„So I'm alright? Normal?“
„Yes, at least when it comes to attraction.“
Bastien frowns. „What does that mean?“
„You're /abnormally bad at /Mario Kart.“
„Am not!“
„Are, too!“
„That's a robot!“
Manny blinks.
Bastien beams.
„That was /awful.“
„Yep!“
„Just for that, I'm going to trounce you.“
Bastien scoffs. „You can /try.“
Manny raises an eyebrow. „Are you hoping I've gotten rusty?“
„I don't need /hope,“ sniffs Bastien. „I've been /practicing.“
„We'll see how much good that's done you. Pass me a controller.“
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== Original text ==
Date/Timing: 19 April 2007
Setting: Gottlieb house; Berlin, Germany
Retcon of "Aces"
.
Father hasn't returned from his office hours yet, so Bastien decides it's time. He drops the video game controller onto the floor, takes a deep breath, swivels on his sofa cushion to face Manny, says, „Can we talk a moment?“
Manny sets his textbook aside. „Of course.“
„Right. So ... today Sofie and Anaïs and Marko spent /all of lunchtime talking about how they want to marry these movie stars that make their hearts all fluttery and their heads go light when they see them so they could kiss and have sex—“ Stops for breath. „—and I just don't get it.“
„What don't you understand?“
„Why anyone would want to kiss and have sex. I mean, what's the point?“
Manny blinks a few times, says slowly, „Well, people really like that fluttery, light-headed feeling that they get from thinking about or actually kissing or having sex.“
„Do /you like that feeling?“
Manny's face turns bright pink and he ducks his head. „I do.“
„And Edan gives you that feeling?“
„He does,“ croaks Manny.
„Do you think Dee feels like that about Sabine?“
„I'm sure he does.“
Bastien chews his lip.
Manny waits.
„When did you start having that feeling?“
Manny checks his memory. „I think I was a little younger than you are now.“
„Is that the normal age?“
„I think so?“
Bastien picks at the hem of his t-shirt, stomach going flippy-floppy. „Is something wrong with me that I never have?“
Manny takes a deep breath. „I don't think there's anything wrong with you.“
Bastien relaxes. „You don't?“
Manny shakes his head. „I've done some reading and there's this, uh ... sexual orientation called 'asexuality'. People who are asexual don't feel sexual attraction to anyone.“
Bastien suddenly feels lighter. „Like me?“
„Like you.“ Smiles reassurance. „The articles also say that orientations are fluid; maybe someday you'll start feeling attraction like Sofie, Anaïs, and Marko do, or maybe you'll only be attracted to /really good friends, or maybe only on really rare occasions.“
„And they're all normal?“
„They're less ... common, but they all exist in other people.“ Manny smiles his crooked smile. „The set of asexual people is likely much larger than the one for people with wings.“
„Then think how small the set of asexual winged people must be!“
Manny snorts a laugh. 
Bastien grins, then sobers. „Is it still normal if I like the, uh ... to, um ....“ Mimes. 
Manny goes very pink again and he clears his throat. „Yes ... it's about the /attraction, not the, um, act.“ 
Bastien smiles, relieved. 
„I can see one major drawback to asexuality for you, though.“ 
„What's that?“ 
„You're going to have to explain this to all the girls and boys who want to kiss and have sex with you when you don't seem 'properly' interested in them.“ 
Bastien blinks rapidly, squeals, „Oh my /god, that's going to get soooooo /old!“ Then he flops himself off the sofa. 
„I'm sure you'll survive. Somehow,“ drawls Manny.
Bastien pops his head back above the cushions. „Speaking of survival, wanna play /Mario Kart?“
Manny raises an eyebrow. „Are you hoping I've gotten rusty?“
„I don't need /hope,“ sniffs Bastien. „I've been /practicing.“
„We'll see how much good that's done you. Pass me a controller.“
Category:Ficlet
Category:Berlin (setting)
Category:Bastien
Category:Bastien's POV
Category:Bastien (ficlet)
Category:Hermann
Category:Hermann (ficlet)
Category:Lars (mention)
Category:Edan (mention)
Category:Sofie (mention)
Category:Max (mention)
Category:Dietrich (mention)
Category:Sabine (mention)
Category:Hermann has wings
Category:Bastien is ace
Category:Mario Kart (reference)
Category:Ficlets with images
Category:Anais (mention)