Magical Beginnings [Hocus x Kai]

[Kai]

"He's so adorable when he sleeps," a slender young man whispered. He knelt beside the bed of a sleeping redheaded boy, who was currently tangled up in his multicolored blankets. "I would hate to wake him," he added.

"Too late," the thirteen year old grumbled, cracking open an eye. He was met with identical violet ones that belonged to his Mama, Tory. "Where're you goin'?" he mumbled.

Tory smiled up at his mate and then kissed Kai lightly on the cheek. "We have been offered an interesting collection of literature. Some books and scrolls from every planet. Your Papa and I were going to take you along, but you were up late last night," the dark haired Zercan reprimanded lightly.

"I-" yawn "-know. But it was such an interesting book!" Kai grinned childishly.

"How about you stay home today, kiddo?" his Papa, Charlie suggested. All his son could do was nod sleepily. The scholar chuckled. "We will have the neighbor come over to watch you, alright?"

"The old man?" he asked uncertainly. At his Papa's nod he grinned. "He tells wonderful stories!" he said excitedly, but was cut off by another nod.

"We will see you tonight, honey," Tory said and kissed his cheek again. He patted the boy's head when he stood up. "And we might even let you read some of our new collection," he offered with a smile.

"But you have to be good today!" Charlie reminded his hyperactive son.

"Of course! Good bye!"

"Bye, honey. Love you and be good," the smaller of the two Zercans said softly as they left the room. Kai quickly fell asleep, snuggled under his blankets and unaware of the tragedy that was about to fall upon their small family.

< ) < ) < )

"It's nearly eight, I wonder where they could be...," an elderly Zercan said under his breathe as he peeked out of the window.

"What was that Dorian?" Kai asked from his spot on the couch.

"Oh, nothing Kai," Dorian said gently. He moved from the window to an old rocking chair slowly. "What are you reading?"

The red-haired teen grinned widely. "Oh, just a wonderful fairy tale..."

< ) < ) < )

"...past midnight. Where could they be?"

"Calm down, Dory, I'm sure-"

"No, Adrian. Something must have happened. Charlie and Tory are two of the most responsible people I know!"

"Shh, I think I heard something."

A small teenager's eyes widened and he silently crept away from his spot by the stairs. When he tiptoed into his room he went straight to his bed and hid under the covers. Did something happen to Mama and Papa? But...they were Mama and Papa, and so they were unable to be harmed. Nothing could hurt them! They would always be there for him. Mama promised to let him read their new stories.

With that reassuring thought in mind, Kai fell into an uneasy sleep.

< ) < ) < )

Kai sat frozen, with his arms wrapped around his legs under a table. Today wasn't real. Today wasn't real. All a dream. All a dream. All... a.... The teen buried his face in his knees, letting out a muffled sob. It couldn't be true! It wasn't his parents they had found- It wasn't!

They were alive, they were bringing new stories, and Mama was going to run in and hug him and Papa was going to laugh and ask why he had a long face....

The teen jumped when he felt himself being dragged along the floor. "Ma-," he started hopefully, looking up. "D-Dorian?" he murmured and buried himself deep in the old man's comforting hug.

< ) < ) < )

"It will be okay, Kai. I promise. The Prosperos are a very kind family. They were close to your parents," Dorian said comfortingly. He sighed softly when all he received was a barely noticeable shrug. The poor boy had lost all spirit, and it broke the elder's heart. It was the day after his parents' funeral. They had been murdered by a band of pirates after being mistaken as part of the group of thieves selling them the literature collection.

Dorian stopped the young Zercan just outside the boy's new home. He knelt down slowly and lifted Kai's chin up. "It will be okay, sweetie," he murmured.

Kai only looked away, bringing his dark green jacket closer to his body. The old man sighed, placing a comforting kiss on the boy's head. "Come along, Kai," he said quietly and gently led him up to the door. When he knocked Kai stared at the ground, firmly against living with people he barely knew that could hurt him just like those people hurt Mama and Papa.

[Hocus]

The Prospero family sat around their kitchen table in a solemn silence. They'd just heard about the tragedy that had befallen their old friends...It was saddening, that such beautiful lives were snuffed because of a case of mistaken identity. If only those pirates had killed just the real thieves instead of the Evanders...

But no one could dwell on 'what ifs' for too long. It was just best to do what could be done in the present. And right now, that was to provide a loving home for the recently orphaned son of their old friends.

"Dad, when do you think he'll get here?" a voice asked, finally breaking the silence. All eyes turned to the middle child of the family, Hocus. Under his family's eyes, he squirmed a bit before repeating his question. "It is supposed to be today, right?"

The boy's father, Abra, nodded after a moment. "Yes, Hoax. He should be here soon. Just remember to be kind to him and to not agitate him too much...He did just loose his family, after all, and I know how you can be sometimes rather rowdy." A brief smile passed over the blonde man's features before he turned to look at his mate, Kad.

The lifebearer was nervously wringing his hands, wishing he could do more for the youth about to come in their lives. He'd already made a batch of several kinds of cookies, cleared out the guest room, and bought the youth some extra clothes because he hadn't known how much Kai would be bringing...But it seemed like too little..."Well, yes. Hocus, you need to be kind, since you're both around the same age and he'll be needing a friend. And Pocus, try not to be a nuisence like I know you sometimes purposely try to be with your brothers...And Ab, do try to spend some time at home instead of at school, okay? We'll be needing your help around here and..."

The brunette's ramble was suddenly cut short as a knock on the door sounded. Hocus was up like a shot and reached the door before anyone else had even gotten up. "He's here!" the wizard announced, peering out through the peephole in the front door. Without waiting for a response from his parents, he swung open the door with ease.

"Evening," the teenager greeted a little more calmly. He tipped his patchwork topat off to his new brother, Kai, and to the boy's caretaker. "Come on in." He opened the door and blinked in surprise at how...normal the two's clothes were in comparison to his own family's. Hocus knew that the Prospero family didn't wear what was considered fashionable or reasonable clothes, but he sort of assumed because of the Evander's relationship with his parents, they'd be more like them. No matter though.

"We're all sitting in the kitchen," he added, motioning for the two to follow him. "My mom baked some cookies if either of you would like some...Um...Well, I suppose business would be good to discuss first though too...Uh...Well...Yeah." He pulled out two seats for their guests before sheepishly sliding into his own.

Abra and Kad offered their condolences to the two before pulling out a few legal papers, and Hoax tuned out. Legal stuff and all that was more boring then dirt to him...Instead, he amused himself by discretly turning his eyes towards Kai.

[Kai]

After much noise from inside the door was opened widely but a curiously dressed teenage boy. Dorian greeted the boy politely, glad to see there was some one there around Kai's age. More importantly, the boy was friendly and that was what his former neighbor needed most right now.

The red-head frowned, "I hate cookies," he grumbled, but obviously too quietly for the others to hear. Dorian gently urged the boy into the room.

When the Prosperos talked to him the thirteen year old ignored them stubbornly. They did not mean it, he told himself. They were just like the mean people... and Dorian was leaving him here. Why couldn't he stay with Dorian? The man was very nice and he knew him and....

Kai shivered and brought his feet onto his chair, not caring how rude it would look. Maybe if he stopped thinking about his parents being... maybe they would come back alive? And this would have never happened and he would wake up and be able to see Mama and Papa again.

Dorian explained to the Prosperos that he would have the boy's things delivered- if it would be alright? And that some of the extra belongings, mostly his parents', would be stored in the family safe. Other objects would be sold, like the dining set and couches and chairs Kai could not use or didn't need. And the money earned from this would be saved for the boy when he grew older.

In the middle of signing papers and reading over legal things the old man rested his hand on the red-head's back gently. Kai just wrapped his arms around himself tighter as he attempted to tune out the adults' conversation.

[Hocus]

Hocus watched his new brother with curious eyes. The boy was...quiet, reclusive. Of course, the Wizard could understand to some degree. He wouldn't know what to do or how to act if his family died....Probably just like Kai was now, if he thought about it.

However, he still didn't wish to see the younger boy looking so despondant. It was depressing. Well, even more so then the tragic situation required...Or so his 14 year old mind told him.

Bending over towards Kai, Hoax made a small 'pst' sound to attract the other's attention. "Hey...Do you like magic?" he whispered. Without waiting for an answer, the youth caused a few sparks to jump around above his hand. "I know more, if you'd like."

[Kai]

Kai glanced over at the boy with the tophat. It was a very interesting hat, with patches on it, and was big. He did not know the boy's name. In fact he knew none of the people's names he was supposed to be living with, as he had only seen the parents briefly before. Their last name was Prospero. That was a start. It was annoying that he had to be placed with people and he did not even know their names, though!

What did the other boy want? ...Magic? His wide violet eyes followed the path of two of the sparks until they combined together into one big spark and then dissappeared. A small smile had appeared on his face up until that point and then he frowned. Why did everything have to dissappear? First his parents, and then Dorian... he was not even allowed to stay in the house he grew up in for crying out!

The thirteen year old gave the other boy a look and crossed his arms over his knees so he could hide most of his face there. Only his eyes were showing now as they watched the teen next to him with comptemplation. If only his hair was not up in those buns then he would have been able to hide his face with his long light hair as well.

[Hocus]

Frowning to himself, Hoax began to send little flares of light back and forth between his palms as he thought. The Evander child was kind of boring. Well, to him, sadness itself was a boring emotion...Which is why several years ago he began to work on slowly developing a mindset in which he just couldn't be brought down by petty or worrisome matters.

Yes, he still knew anger and sadness, but not over every little thing. That's why sadness was odd and boring. It was much more fun to be happy and light-hearted! "So...Kai, if you're not into magic, what do you like?" the blonde continued quietly after a couple moments.

Hearing this, his mother turned from the legal discussion in surprise. "Oh, how rude. Kai, we forgot to introduce ourselves to you, though we know all about you. At least, history-wise. We still have much to learn about each others' personalities and interests and stuff. Ach...What a family we're turning out to be so far! Please excuse us...Honey?" Kad turned to his mate and made a little 'go ahead' gesture.

"Well...," the brunette man's mate began, sheepishly pulling away from the documents. "You know, I worked with both of your parents until about a year ago. One of the best literature collections I'd ever seen, they had. Anyways...As I meant to say, I'm Abra."

"And I'm Kad, mother to this little family."

"My name is Abra Jr," Hocus' elder brother said from beside him. "Though, I'd prefer being called Ab, so I can tell whether it's me being called or my dad." He chuckled. "I hope we get to be friends...That is if Hoax here doesn't end up monopolizing all your time. He's like that."

Said wizard made a small sound of protest, and abruptly cut off his little magic show. "Hey...I can't help it that he's around my age and that we used to be friends when we were little...Though I really don't remember that...But, still! Hmph." Grumbling for a few more moments to himself, the youth finally turned to Kai and offered a small smile. "Well, I'm Hocus. Sometimes, I'm called Hoax. Either, or."

Last but not least, the seven year old half asleep in his booster chair yawned before peeking one eye over at the redhead. "Poooocus..."

Hoax chuckled and waved his hand, trying to get Kai's attention back as the adults again turned to their papers. "So, what else do you like to do? ...For future reference. Also, are you tired? I have a bunkbed, so you'll be sleeping with me...Do you like top or bottom? Because I don't think the grown-ups will really care whether we go to bed now or not," he rambled, half to himself.

[Kai]

Kai's smile was hidden from view when the little flares shot back and forth between tophat boy's hands. This did amuse him, and he did like it. Better than disappearing sparks. Too bad the other boy hadn't noticed his interest. He was about to correct him, telling him that he did not really mind magic, when one of the adults interrupted.

He liked the brunette man. Mama acted a lot like that.... Always the one to be worrying about others....

When Abra mentioned his parents, though, it was harder to take than just thinking about them. Hearing they had worked with Charlie and Tory made him feeling a tiny bit better about staying here though. They could not be too bad if his parents had worked with and became friends with them.

Kai glanced at the older looking boy. He would have to remember to call him Ab, so as not to mix up the dad and his son. And that would make tophat boy... Hoax? The red haired teen frowned thoughtfully. Did they really use to be friends when they were little? He smiled when he conjured up a brief memory of a boy that could be a younger Hoax. Though that reminded him of his friend Yuki, and now he knew why he did not remember the boy next to him too much. His best friend had thought the Prospero boy dressed oddly and didn't want to play with him, so, being the good best friend he was, Kai didn't bother his parents about playing with their friend's son.

Kai was brought out of his thoughts when Hoax spoke up again. Now he realized his name was Hocus, and his nickname was Hoax. The little sleepy boy made him giggle quietly. He was really adorable, the way he drew out his name in a yawn. The teen loved watching over little kids-

He was brought out of smiling at Pocus when Hocus attempted to get his attention back. It worked, of course. Who could ignore some one waving their hand so near your face? Hoax certainly had a lot of questions. He didn't have time to answer one before he was asked two more.

"...I am kind of sleepy. And, I've never slept on a bunk bed before but... I do like sleeping more toward the ground," he answered quietly.

Dorian smiled when he heard Kai finally speak up. If he hadn't missed the boy's giggle he would have been even more relieved. "Why don't you two go up there then?" he suggested. "Abra, Kad and I are only filling out paper work."

"Will you come visit me, Dory?" the redhead asked worried, jumping out of his seat to hug the elderly man tightly.

"Of course, of course," he murmured, returning the hug gently. "Now, go with Hocus and play or sleep. I will visit soon enough to see how you are doing here," he promised, patting Kai's head lightly before shooing him toward the other boy.

Kai pouted, watching the man uncertainly before nodding. "You better!" he said, letting a small smile escape him as some of his normal personality showed through. Then he became quiet again as he looked at tophat ki- Hocus. They all certainly had interesting names! "Well, where's your room?" he asked softly, tilting his head questioningly.

[Hocus]

Hoax got out of his chair and stretched himself as best as he could before turning to Kai. "It's right upstairs," he said, moving around to help the other boy out. Once that was done, he went over to his little brother and picked him up. Pocus was obviously as sleep as them, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

"This way," he told Kai over his shoulder. "We get our own room...Well, I suppose it's not our own since we'll be with each other, but still! It's better then sleeping with Pocus or Ab. Besides, Ab's getting older, so soon he'll go off to find his mate and one of us can have his room."

He stopped at the bedroom with a red door and went in to lie Pocus down on the bed inside. Their parents would be up soon enough to tuck the boy in, so he didn't do much besides that. He did whisper "Night" though before creeping out.

"Well, now that the little one is in his room, I'll show you ours." Hoax walked across the hallway to a dark purple door. He pushed it open with a little flourish and smiled. "A bit outlandish, yes...But that's my whole family in a nutshell if you hadn't noticed. We all are rather mismatched," he said, gesturing around the room.

It was a medium sized room painted a relaxing blue with three orange suns painted on the left wall. By the right stood their mellow yellow bunkbed, with dark purple comforters. The wall straight across from the door held two windows, under which there sat a large desk with various books and papers scattered on top of it. A door was seen off to the side; obviously a closet. There were pictures hung on the walls - some looked as if they were masterpieces while others were simply children's doodles.

After a few minutes of letting his new brother observe the area, Hoax nudged Kai towards closet door. "If you want to change" he started, "you can change in there. Mom started buying you stuff already if you don't have any pajamas. The front right side of the closet is your's."

He took off his top hat and tossed it onto the top bunk before turning to smile at Kai. "You know, I always have prefered top...It was the reason I got a bunkbed anyways. I mean, I had no one to sleep with, but I like being higher up," he said before chuckling at himself.

[Kai]

When Hocus picked up the little one, Pocus, Kai was a bit surprised. The older boy did not come off us the sort of person to put his brother to bed with out being ask to. It definitely put top hat boy up a few points in the redhead's book though, as he had already developed a soft spot for little 'Poooocus'.

Silently, the Zercan teen followed the other teen upstairs. He watched him put his little brother in bed with a smile that grew when he heard him whisper 'night'. Kai was a sucker for sweet moments like that.

Before long he found himself being introduced to his new room. The place was outlandish, as Hocus put it. Every color set another off. Orange suns stood out against the light blue sky; and soft yellow bed frames seemed brighter against the dark purple comforters. Oh, Kai loved those. And the pictures on the walls. It showed that, maybe, Hocus did have a serious side to him; as well as his friendly, fun-loving kid-like side.

Hocus started nudging him toward the closet before he had a really good chance to look around. The boy's mother had... bought clothes for him? Now he felt sort of bad for muttering he hated cookies, even though he didn't; and even though no one but himself heard the rude comment. The Prosperos were being very nice to him, he just wished he were in the right spirit to appreciate it all.

Kai nodded at the other boy silently, and shrugged. "It works out that I don't like being that high up then... doesn't it?" he said quietly, sighing at his own poor attempt at conversation. His heart just wasn't in it at the moment. He was very tired. "I'll just go change now," he murmured.

After he found the light switch for the big closet, he shut the door behind him. He was surprised at all the different clothing in there. Hocus certainly had a variety of interests. Locating his section of the closet, Kai found some comfy looking purple and green pajamas and changed. He left his jacket and day clothes hung up on some hangers. He also let his long hair down out of the buns and ran his fingers through it.

He quietly walked out of the closet, turned the light off too, and headed for his new bed. Kai suddenly felt tears well up in his eyes. This would be the first night in a really long time his parents would not come in to say good night, like they always did if they were. And they never would be... again. The head sniffled quietly, trying not to cry in front of Hoax and wiped his eyes. He quickly got into bed and curled up up under the covers. After a few minutes he whispered, "Good night," Mama... Papa.

[Hocus]

Hocus had just changed into his oversized black and white pajamas, and was getting wrapped up in his blankets when Kai came in. He peeked over the top rail to peer down at the redhead in the dark. The poor boy...Ah, well. Life goes on...The blonde wizard just wished he could help the other youth see that too.

After hearing a whispered good night, he responded with one as well...However, his eyes did not close. He stared up at his ceiling in thought, instead. His mind did not rest on a particular subject, but flew around for a while before his door creak open and his parents creep in.

He waited as Abra and Kad quietly made sure that Kai was tucked in before rising to look up at him. "Hey, Hoax. We just wanted to make sure that you both were in bed, ready to get a good night's sleep tonight...The poor boy could use it, and it wouldn't hurt you to get more then a couple hours of rest," Kad mumured, reaching over to pull his young man's sheets up more.

Abra nodded in agreement. "And tomorrow, we'd appreciate it if you showed Kai everything," the ikder male suggested. "He must be confused and upset and Shodan knows what else...Perhaps it would make him feel a bit more comfortable if he knows exactly where he is."

Hocus nodded sleepily and smiled. "I'd love to. Night, mom...Night, dad," he murmured before finally drifting off.

[Kai]

^***~*~*Two Years Later*~*~*^**

A fifteen year old Zercan grumbled some incomprehensible words as he rolled around in bed, getting himself tangled up in his sheets as he slept. The boy was sleeping in the bottom bunk of bunk bed, covered in a dark purple comforter. An identical blanket covered a blonde-amber haired boy right above him in the early hours of this day.

As it were, Kai and Hocus had found no need to have separate rooms when Ab decided to move out. Granted it was only a week ago that the older boy had, but the two teens had no plan to move. And why would they? Kai liked the bottom bunk, and Hoax the top. There was no reason for them to leave each other, now was there?

The two boys had become very close following the days of Kai's arrival to the Prospero's household. Hoax was the one to bring the redhead out of his shell, using carefree words and magic tricks that made him smile. The Zercan just could not resist relaxing around the older teen and he knew that his parents would be happy about that. Still, he was quiet around strangers or people he just did not know too well.

Somewhere in the span of two years he had begun calling Abra and Kad 'Dad' and 'Mom', as a sort of term of affection. He had been very startled when he first called Kad Mom, and kept his mouth firmly shut for a few days. Of course Hoax convinced him it was okay and Kai forgave himself for it. After that he had come to see the Prosperos as a family, his family. And they had come to see him as a son and brother. They couldn't replace Mama and Papa, but they were definitely special in their own way.

~*~

Now, back to a certain red haired Zercan. His hair was a lot more red/orange than it was two years ago, by the way.

The sheets tightening around him had become uncomfortable and woke Kai up, unfortunately. Or fortunately if you talked to the right person, as it kept him from sleeping in too late. Though it was still just after sunrise.

Kai yawned loudly and struggled to untangle himself from the deadly sheets' grip. When he had he stretched, still laying down, then crawled out of bed. He was now tall enough to see over the top bunk at Hoax. The teen rested his arms on the top mattress as he watched the older boy sleep. It was strange, this feeling that had just recently started up when he was around his cheerful brother. He was just content with being around him, but he also felt very drawn to him and it bothered him quite a bit.

It was too early for that, though, so he decided to just wake Hocus up instead. He crawled onto the bed slowly and sat next to his adoptive brother calmly. Then he poked the boy in forehead.

"Hoax, you have to get up because I can't get back to sleep," he said just loud enough to be annoying to the sleeping boy's ears.

[Hocus]

Said sleeping boy waved his hand in a tired, agitated movement. "Shh," he murmured into his pillow. "S'too early. Read a book."

Hocus shifted in his spot, moving towards his adopted brother just barely. He couldn't help it. Despite the fact that he didn't wish to wake, over the past several months, he'd been feeling something for the younger. It was something that made him just want to be around Kai more, hug him more...kiss him in more then just a brotherly way.

Ever since he had been able to draw the other out of his tight little shell, he'd liked Kai...But...This was different.

When the redhead hadn't wanted to move to Ab's room when the elder moved out, Hoax hadn't been sure what to feel...He still didn't. Happy, because that meant Kai wanted to be with him and they could hang out a lot still...Disappointed, because it meant that he'd have to keep a tight hold his emotions...Shamed, because he felt disappointed...

Obviously, being around his brother was getting harder and much more confusing.

Just thinking about the other was making him feel more awake though...So, he opened one of his eyes and smiled grudgingly at Kai. He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again, and told the redhead so with a sigh. "So, what do you want to do or talk about?" Hocus added.

[Kai]

Kai was getting ready to poke his brother again when one of his intriguing eyes peeked open. He grinned, ignoring the complaint with a shrug. Then he frowned thoughtfully. That he was supposed to think up something to do after he woke Hocus up had not occurred to him until just then. What to do... what to do?

The redhead shrugged sheepishly. "I don't know," he said, just as sheepishly.

A small shiver reminded him that it was still a little chilly in the mornings. So with a flourish of movements he was was under Hoax's blankets, snuggled up against him comfortably. They used to do this when the boys were a couple years younger, mostly in the middle of the night when Kai needed the company but sometimes just if they were both reading. That is, when Hoax was relaxed enough to sit still that long.

But they had not snuggled for awhile. Maybe they were getting to old for it or something. Kai really missed it though, but remembered why he hadn't wanted to do it for awhile when his body was against the amber-blonde's. It felt strange being cuddled against the other boy now. Strange shivers ran through his body, and he just wanted to get closer-

"Is there anything you can think about talking about?" he asked, quickly throwing his thoughts out the window. He really had to quit thinking like that.

[Hocus]

Hocus eyes shot open with the feel of having his adopted brother right against him. He had been avoiding being too affectionate with the younger for just this reason! Tingles and warmth shot through his body like magic and he shifted around, trying to get more comfortable in such a situation.

Then when Kai asked his question, the blonde's mind blanked. "...You're telling me...that you woke me up, have no clue what you want to do, and now you want me to decide?!" he asked in a mock angry tone. "That wasn't exactly the smartest move you could have made, Red."

With that, he pulled off the covers and turned to face the redhead. "Prepare...to die!" he proclaimed before beginning to tickle the other to death. "Surrender now, or forever hold your peace!"

[Kai]

Kai narrowed his eyes suspiously. What was Hocus going on about now? Whatever it was, he was not so certain it would be very innocent.

The red haired Zercan squealed, squirming when his like-brother's fingers started tickling him. "Ah... Never!" he giggled. He twisted around to try and escape the other's deadly touch. It was no use, Hocus was too good and the bed sheets were on his side. "Heheh, okay! O-Okay! I surrender! I surrender!" he said after a few moments.