It was Friday and Shade hadn't seen Midas since the kiss. He had just retrieved breakfast from the dining hall and was returning to his room; once again, he didn't see Midas. He found himself disappointed; I want to see him... Stop that; no you don't. This is not why you are here... He sat at his table and opened his laptop to check his email. He saw a payment confirmation; it confirmed that he had received a paycheck. Looking further, it included the full amount he hadn't been paid before. A section for special notes contained a message. 'Since the apple wasn't for selling.'

 

That night, Shade entered the top floor from the stairs when he saw the bubbly blonde from the other night leaving Midas' room. Midas had said goodbye to her and was closing his door when he heard her greet Shade. "Oh! Hi, Shade." She smiled and waved; Midas left his door cracked, listening in on them.

"Good evening," Shade acknowledged her. "I've seen you before right? You were with a couple other women and you said hello to me then as well."

"My name is Nomi; I didn't introduce myself last time."

"Nomi." Shade hesitated but suddenly had the strong urge to get the answers to things he'd been wondering. "Would you mind if I asked you some personal questions?"

Nomi smiled, "I suppose not. If I don't like the question, I can just not answer it, right?"

"Of course, I apologize for prying- I'm just curious. What do you consider your relationship with him to be?"

"Oh, I guess you could call it friends with benefits... But that doesn't seem quite right. We aren't exactly friends. I've never really labeled it; we just- Like sex with each other," She explained.

"I see... I know you can't exactly speak for them but the other women?"

"I'm pretty sure all the women would agree. He's gotten pretty good about weeding out women who are looking for more because he isn't looking for anything more than that."

"So you don't expect anything more?"

"Not just expect, I don't want anything more. I mean, I like him alright and all; but, he's not what I would want romantically." Nomi considered Shade, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curiosity."

"No... It's something else. For a moment, I thought you were interested in me but you aren't, are you?"

"S-sorry, no, I'm not."

Nomi laughed, "No need to apologize- But... Is it him? You like men don't you?"

"I-" Shade stuttered.

"It's okay, but you do know he's completely straight, right? I mean, there are a lot of attractive gay men here and he hasn't been with any of them."

"I- Know..." Midas, still listening, thought he detected sadness in Shade's tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that was- Rude. Just because he's straight doesn't automatically mean you can't have a crush on him... Is that what it is? You're trying to get over a crush aren't you?"

"I- You're- A very observant person, Nomi," Shade conceded.

"Oh well, maybe I can help with that! Other reasons to not like him..." She thought for a moment. "How about the fact that he is so emotionally unavailable?"

Shade gave a slight laugh, "I think I'm emotionally unavailable too."

"Ah, so this crush is mostly physical attraction? How 'bout checking out some of the other guys? There's no shortage of good-looking men here- I can even introduce you to some," She offered.

"I'm sure that's true but I generally prefer being alone, even physically speaking..."

"So you're emotionally and physically unavailable but you have a crush?"

"When you put it together in a sentence like that, even I think that's the dumbest thing ever." Shade put his head in his hand, "It'll pass; I'm being ridiculous."

"Hey; it's okay. We aren't in control of how we feel, just how we handle it."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind too." Shade put his hand down, looking at her. "It was nice to meet you, Nomi; you're incredibly easy to talk to."

"Then talk to me more. Can I add my number to your phone?"

"Sure," Shade handed her his phone and she entered her number.

She handed the phone back. "By the way, I won't tell anyone anything about this chat, so don't worry."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. Have a good evening."

"You too." They waved goodbye and Shade headed to his room. Midas silently closed his door the rest of the way.

 

The next night, Midas sat alone in a booth at Kharon's Rest, drinking and smoking. A woman approached him but he politely rejected her company and she moved on. This incident was witnessed by Jason, Marigold's best friend. He was a young man who had been with Midas and Marigold since he was a teenager. Midas had witnessed Jason being attacked by a few men he was dealing drugs for and was able to put a stop to the violence.

 

*** 10 Years Ago ***

Midas was leaving a meeting he'd had with the boss of a street gang. The man had wanted Midas' help with laundering his drug money. The meeting had been successful and Midas had been guaranteed a fifteen percent cut. Midas had his bodyguard in tow; they stopped in an alley where Midas instructed him, "Go ahead and get the car. I'll stay right here. There shouldn't be any trouble while I'm on his turf and he likes me."

"Yes, Sir." The man left and Midas leaned against the wall to wait. He heard what sounded like a disagreement coming from a nearby alley. He slowly followed the noise. He peered around a corner and saw three men standing over a fourth who was on the ground. One man kicked him, he rolled over and Midas got a better look at him; that's just a kid!

"Don't try to get up, fag, you aren't getting out alive anyway," Another man said.

Midas stepped into the alley. He addressed the men in a friendly tone, "What's going on here, gentlemen?"

The men looked at him. "Mind your fucking business," One threatened.

"I always do and business is good." Midas pulled a large amount of cash out of his pocket, "Don't suppose I could interest you in a little exchange?"

"Exchange?" The apparent ring-leader stepped towards him.

"Sure; I get the boy, you get this."

The man scowled, "What you want with him?"

"What do you care? We'll both be gone and you'll have the cash. You'll never see us again; so what does it matter what I want to do with him?"

"Disgusting," He spit but then he looked back at the money.

"I could sweeten the pot." Midas held up his right hand, showing off his golden fingers. "I can turn what I touch to gold. Each of you could give me some item you have on you, or that you see here in this alley, and I'll turn it to gold for you. No bigger than a basketball though- The gift has its limits."

The men looked at each other. "I heard of you. You were meeting with the boss today," The leader spoke again.

"It went well; I'm taking care of his money from now on so, maybe, don't do something that makes me want to change my mind about that."

"Fine, the money and three gold items for the fag. Deal?"

"Deal," Midas smiled. The men looked through the nearby dumpster, each finding an item for Midas to change. He did so and they left, leaving him alone with the teenage boy. Midas approached him and bent down, speaking gently to him. "Hey; I've got a car on the way. We need to get you to a clinic- We have to make sure that kick didn't cause any internal damage. Do you think you can stand?" Midas asked reaching for him.

The boy pushed his hand away, "What do you want with me? If you want me to be your little pet you may as well just kill me now because I won't fucking do it."

"I don't want anything. I'm just trying to help you. I'll take you to the clinic and then wherever you want to go. Please, let me help you." Midas held out his hand again. The boy reluctantly took it and Midas helped him to his feet. "I'm Midas, by the way."

"Jason..."

A horn honked from the street. "Well, Jason, that would be my car; will you allow me to take you to the clinic?"

"I- Don't have any money..."

"It's fine, I'm paying and I want nothing in return. I promise you." Jason hesitantly nodded and followed Midas to the car. Midas opened the back door for him and then got in the passenger seat. "Take us to the nearest clinic."

"Yes, Sir." Midas held his head as they drove through the city; it was pounding after using his curse and he was beginning to feel nauseous.

 

When they arrived at the clinic, Midas walked Jason inside. "Reason for visit?" The woman at the desk asked.

"My nephew here got in a bit of a tussle. He was kicked in the side so I wanted to make sure he is okay."

"Name?"

"Jason Jones," Jason offered.

"And yours, Sir?"

"Henry Jones," Midas answered; what great luck- Kid's last name is the same as the alias on one of my cards.

"Alright. I need to copy your IDs." They each pulled out an ID card, Midas' being fake, and handed them to her. She handed Midas a clipboard. "Fill this out and someone will be with him shortly," She explained as she copied and returned their ID cards.

Midas glanced at the form and his vision blurred; it's not going to go away on its own this time. "Is it okay if I leave him to fill this out and get examined while I run an errand somewhere else and return? I intend to pay with my card."

"Age?" She asked.

"Fifteen," Jason responded.

"Then, yes, as long as you sign that line on the third page that says you will pay for him, he can be here on his own."

"Alright," Midas flipped to the third page and added his fake signature then handed the board to Jason. "I'm running to the pharmacy. I'll be back."

"Okay..." Jason took the board to the waiting area to fill it out.

Midas walked down the street to a pharmacy that was on the corner. He bought some pain relievers and stomach medicine. When he got back to the clinic, Jason had been called by a doctor so Midas waited for them to be done. Jason was examined and there was no internal damage. The doctor recommended pain medicine and rest. Midas had paid and was walking him back to the car when Jason's stomach growled loudly. "Can I buy you a meal?" Midas looked at him.

"No, I'm fine."

"Where shall we take you?"

"I..." Jason froze, then put his hands on his face as he began to cry.

Midas placed his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay." He gently pulled Jason into a one-armed hug. "It's alright, let it out..."

Jason eventually regained his composure and pulled away from Midas. "I don't have anywhere to go..." He said softly.

"Why don't we start with your favorite restaurant and we can talk there?"

"O-okay..." Jason nodded and they got back in the car. Jason gave the name of a restaurant and the bodyguard entered it into the GPS and began driving. Midas gave Jason some medicine and a bottle of water then took some medicine himself. "What's wrong with you?" Jason asked him.

"Using Golden-Touch can be draining on my body. It varies how much but it often triggers one of my migraines."

"So- Is that why you aren't some super-villain, maniac whose turned the city to gold and attempted to rule us all?"

Midas started laughing. "I would certainly like to think that's far from the only reason that isn't the case." Midas smiled and Jason leaned against the window.

"We're here," The guard announced as he looked for a parking spot.

 

Midas and Jason sat across from each other in a diner. Jason had a cheeseburger and fries while Midas sipped on a coffee. "I can't say I'm surprised that you have nowhere to go." Midas sighed, "There is something I want to ask you and there's simply no way to do it without it sounding very suspicious. I hope that you'll bear with me and continue to trust me." Jason looked at him questioningly. "You're a minor; so the first thing I need to know before proceeding is- Do you have a parent or guardian who is looking for you?" Midas met his eyes.

"No; they kicked me out a couple of years ago. They aren't looking for me," Jason responded bitterly.

"Okay; in that case, would you like to come to my home to stay? At least for tonight, I'd really rather not leave you on the streets and hotels generally don't allow underage guests to stay alone."

Jason looked at him, "Your home?"

"Yes; I have guest rooms."

Jason was still wary of Midas but he didn't have a lot of options and a warm bed sounded nice. He wondered if he'd be able to fight off Midas if he had to. He decided he almost certainly wouldn't be able to and he'd probably be turned to gold if he tried. Jason looked Midas up and down then noticed his wedding band. "Wait, are you married?" Jason pointed at it.

"Ah..." Midas smiled and pulled out his wallet. He opened it showing a photo of Anna to Jason. "Her name was Annabelle. She passed away some time ago due to sickness. He flipped to the next one, showing him a picture of a little girl. "This is our daughter Marigold; she's eleven now, twelve soon." Midas showed him a few more pictures of her then put his wallet away.

"I think... I'd like to go to your house."

"That's great, we'd love to have you."

 

Some time later, the car pulled into a long drive, eventually arriving at a mansion. Jason stepped out of the car and looked up at the home. Midas stepped out and the car drove away to go park in the garage. "This place is huge."

Midas chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose so; want to come in?"

"Yeah."

Midas led him inside, taking him to a sitting room. "Wait here a moment; I need to make sure a guest room is properly prepared." Midas left him alone. Jason looked around the room, stunned that Midas would just leave him when he could potentially steal things. A lot of the objects in the room looked valuable.

A young girl walked into the room, having heard Midas' voice. "Dad? Oh-" She reacted with surprise to Jason.

"He'll be right back," Jason informed her.

"Okay," She sat in a chair in the corner of the room and watched him, suspicious.

He saw an opportunity, "Hey, girl, can I ask you some questions?"

"I don't know, boy, can the first one be my name?" She answered indignantly.

"S-sorry, it was Marigold, right?"

"Ugh, call me Mari."

"Mari, I'm Jason." Midas was heading back when he heard their voices; he paused, eavesdropping.

Mari smiled, "Nice to meet you Jason; now, what are your questions?"

"Your dad- Has he ever had boys here before?"

"No, you are the first boy that's been here without his mom or dad."

"Does he ever take anyone into his bedroom and close the door?"

"Are you asking if he has sex?" Jason stared at her, stunned. "Yes, he takes women to his bedroom and closes the door." Mari rolled her eyes, "Why?"

"I- Just- He." Jason sputtered for a moment before muttering, "It's nothing; it doesn't matter."

"Why are you here?"

"He helped me... Some men hurt me and he helped."

Mari softened. "Why did they hurt you?" She asked, sympathetically.

"They found out that I like other boys," Jason answered.

"Oh; I get it now." Mari approached him, "Dad's not gay and the ladies are all adults."

"Why did he help me if he doesn't want something from me?"

"Dad would never leave a kid in trouble." Midas felt a sudden guilt hearing Mari say that but he wasn't sure why. Something gnawed at his memory but it wasn't very clear. He imagined, for a moment, a locked door but then he lost the memory. He continued listening to the kids. "We also don't judge people for who they like here. He's told me before, my mom was bi. He also told me lots of people still don't like that, like my mom's parents. My grandparents disowned her because she had a girlfriend once. Dad told me it's okay to like whoever I like though and that he'd always love me."

Jason fought away a few tears, "Thanks... For telling me."

Midas entered the room, "I see you two have met."

"How long is he staying with us?" Mari asked.

"As long as he needs or wants to," Midas answered.

*** *** ***