Chapter 42: And I Need To Be Loved

How Soon Is Now?; The Smiths

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The blond was starting to get accustomed to where everything was on campus anymore. Now, Morgyn could find just about anything, provided the blond didn’t get anything mixed up or misremember. There were certainly times when Morgyn forgot something important and got turned around for no clear reason.

Morgyn headed around one of the buildings, out to the science building. The rumours were true, and all of the blond’s science courses were in the same building. It was almost like they were shunned to the dungeon, but it made sense given the University of Britechester was an arts university, not a science one. This was what the blond got for insisting on entering a science degree in the arts college.

As Morgyn made it around the building, the sense of dormant spellcaster caught the blond’s attention again. It was still ten in the morning. Morgyn could make it. The blond scooted behind a bush, and transportalated over to Foxbury, then.

Morgyn stepped out from behind the bush the blond had teleported to, following the pathway until Liberty almost smacked into the blond. She loosed an adorable little squeak, coming to a stop, and she almost fell over, but Morgyn reached out and took her hand, getting her steady again.

“Imagine running into you again,” Morgyn said, smiling.

“Hey, wow, yeah,” Liberty answered, adjusting herself a bit as Morgyn let her wrist go. “Uhh. I’d ask you why you’re talking to me again, but I wouldn’t want to incidentally remind you that you can just not do that.”

Morgyn loosed a snort. “I wouldn’t stop talking to you. You’re interesting to talk to.”

“Really?” Liberty asked, her face screwing up in surprise. “I imagined I’d be really annoying to talk to. You know, I just kind of ramble about random crap no one cares about, and of course, I’ve never had a social standing in my entire life, so I’ve long stopped caring what comes out of my mouth. It’s usually not very helpful for getting people to like me.”

Morgyn had noticed that, of course. There was something about the particular manner in which she spoke, Morgyn found it magnetic and interesting, and somehow refreshing. Maybe because the world Morgyn lived in, it was full of secrets and lies and pretenses, and Morgyn was oh so tired of secrets, and lies, and pretenses.

“Well, I’m not exactly people,” Morgyn said. “I’m Morgyn. And I like that you’re so honest.”

“Oh.” Liberty looked like she had no idea what to say to that. “Not that I was worried about it before, of course, but I’m definitely not worried about it now. So, how goes school?”

“Fine enough,” Morgyn answered. “Most of my professors hate me because I missed the first few days of classes, but other than that, I’m not drowning yet.”

“Yet?” Liberty asked, raising an eyebrow. “You expect to be drowning at some point?”

Morgyn snorted. “I’m not very good at science.” Wait, no. Maybe that wasn’t right. “Okay, well, I should say that I’m not bad at science, I’m just not very well-versed in current science. I had a bunch of very old science books for a while, you know the ones published in the eighties, and then turns out half of what I think I know has been proven wrong. It’s kind of a kick in the teeth.”

“I can see that,” Liberty said, her eyebrows raising in understanding. She was so easy for Morgyn to read, so much unlike Caleb was. Morgyn should be able to read Caleb easily, but he’d gotten good at hiding things, and Morgyn didn’t know when. “Sure seems like it, I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is,” Morgyn said, shrugging. “I get by. How’s yours going?”

“Oh, I failed a test because my hand smudged the paper wrong and kind of smeared half my answers,” Liberty answered, laughing under her breath slightly.

Morgyn couldn’t really understand how she was so nonchalant about it. That would’ve pissed the blond off in no time. “That… really sucks.”

“Nah,” Liberty said, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s a really normal occurrence for me. I’m always smudging something, or losing things, tearing things on accident, breaking my pens…”

“You sound like a bad luck magnet,” Morgyn said.

“Once when I was six,” Liberty said, “my mother tried every good luck charm in Chinese superstition, dressing me in a lot of red, and coating me in jade bracelets. As you can tell, it didn’t work. It turns out I’m not possessed by malevolent spirits, I’m just really uncoordinated.”

Morgyn smothered a laugh.

“This is extra funny because I’m really good at video games,” Liberty said. “Lots of those require a certain finesse and hand-eye coordination. And good reflexes. I’m pretty good at fighting games, though logic says I shouldn’t be.”

“I’ve never played, or watched, a video game before,” Morgyn said. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Really?” Liberty looked surprised. “Not much of a nerd, I see.”

“No,” Morgyn answered, smiling. “I’m really more of a people person, myself.”

“Maybe someday,” Liberty said, “I’ll drag you off to GeekCon or something, and you can watch me make some losers cry.”

Somehow, the way the fire alighted in her eyes as she said that was eerily fascinating and also a little unnerving.

“And then probably proceed to trip on air, and break my nose,” Liberty said, matter-of-factly.

“I should hope you won’t actually break your nose,” Morgyn said, frowning. “I think that would hurt a little, and besides, your nose is perfectly fine in-tact.”

“Yeah, I do prefer it that way myself,” Liberty said. “So, how do you get your eyeliner like that?”

Morgyn blinked, head tilting to one side. It was weird she was so interested in the blond’s eyeliner habits. Hers looked perfectly fine. “I never did get around to telling you, yeah? Well, you know, trade secrets aren’t exactly free.”

Liberty blew raspberries. “That’s extortion, you tyrant.”

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Morgyn asked. And if anyone asked why, Morgyn wouldn’t be able to say for sure. The words had simply slipped out.

“What?” Liberty asked, looking rather surprised.

“Tomorrow,” Morgyn said. “Saturday. Are you busy?”

“Uh. Not really,” Liberty answered. “Why?”

“We could go somewhere, maybe, if you’re up for it,” Morgyn said, shrugging one shoulder. “Have a really long talk over a martini or something. Share trade secrets.”

Liberty made a face. “I don’t think I have any trade secrets that are particularly valuable to you,” she said.

“I think you do,” Morgyn answered.

“Oh. Well, now I have to say yes to prove you wrong,” Liberty said.

Hey, if it got her to say yes, Morgyn didn’t mind anything. “We’ll meet up here then,” Morgyn said. “Say, around seven maybe?”

“Yeah, that works,” Liberty said. “Gosh, it almost sounds like a-” She went quiet. “Never mind.”

“A date?” Morgyn suggested.

“Nope,” Liberty said, shaking her head. “Definitely not.”

“Okay,” Morgyn said, laughing quietly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. And don’t break your nose. It’s cute.”

* * *

Ezio had cheated. He and Drake’s things were already packed up and ready to go, half their furniture was sold off. Morgyn didn’t have much to pack in the first place, being as the sage didn’t own much of anything, either, but the Vatores had apparently accumulated a respectable amount of sentimental junk while living in Wolfsbane.

For some reason, they had gotten rid of a lot of it, so they said, and still had a mountain of it. It didn’t add up. Someone was lying.

“Hey,” Morgyn asked, returning to the living room from the bathroom. The blond was helping the Vatores move, because clearly Ezio didn’t need the help. “Where’d the box that was here go?”

“Oh, I had to move it into the hallway, sorry,” Caleb answered. He was over there dealing with the massive collection of vinyl albums they had.

“It’s fine,” Morgyn said, shuffling into the hallway, “it just confused me.”

“Thanks for helping by the way,” Caleb said. “I know you’re probably pretty busy getting yourself moved, and I’m surprised you’re not helping Ezio.”

Morgyn snorted. “I don’t have a lot. And Ezio went and packed everything he and Drake own with magic the other day, then sold off a lot of their furniture. They’re actually already mostly in Spire.”

Caleb set down the album in his hand. “So you’re telling me… Ezio cheated?”

Morgyn snorted. “Thank you! He did,” Morgyn answered. “He tried to tell me it wasn’t cheating, but it absolutely was. Would I do it? Sure as fuck I would. It’s still cheating.”

Caleb snorted, going back to getting the vinyls back in their proper sleeves and in the box. “Definitely still cheating.”

“Oh, Lilith got the dishes, right?” Morgyn asked. If not, the blond could do that after this box had been sorted.

“No,” Caleb answered. “But the dishes are gotten, though.”

“I feel like there’s a story here,” Morgyn said, raising an eyebrow.

“She got annoyed, and set a plate down on something a little too hard,” Caleb answered. “Shattered it instantly.”

“Oh,” Morgyn said. “… for someone that’s been this strong for over a hundred years, she sure forgets she is a lot.”

Caleb shrugged. “She’s working out more, I think she’s stronger now than she used to be is the problem.”

“That’d make sense,” Morgyn said.

“I set her on the books instead, but anyway, the rest of the dishes got moved out,” Caleb said. “Some of them I ended up donating, there were some incomplete sets we had lying around. There’s at least one good set of china, though.”

“That’s nice,” Morgyn said. “That’d come in handy if we ever wanted to do anything for the holidays. Harvestfest and Winterfest are good for sitting around a table and going into a food coma.”

“I’m not really into holidays,” Caleb said, shrugging.

“Really?” Morgyn asked. “I figured you’d love the holidays. You’re exactly the type I can see running around the house decorating everything and then spending five years in the kitchen making dinner.”

“Lilith isn’t really into holidays,” Caleb said, “I guess is more accurate. So I never got into them either.”

“I see,” Morgyn said, sitting back on the floor. “Well, Ezio tolerates my weirdness over Winterfest at least. If you wanted to start doing things for the holidays, I don’t think it’d be a problem.”

“It seems weird to try changing you guys, that’s all,” Caleb said.

“Sometimes change is a good thing, Caleb,” Morgyn said. “And besides, we’ll all be living together. Change is kind of inevitable.”

“I know,” Caleb said. “I don’t know, I don’t really understand it either, I think.”

Morgyn smiled a little. “Well, whenever you understand it better, I’d love to hear about it.”

“Okay,” Caleb said. “Hey, uh. I was thinking maybe we’d go somewhere soon?”

Oh. Right. Morgyn almost forgot they were dating sometimes. The entire thing was just a confusing mess now, and Morgyn preferred not to think about it too much.

Something about the way Caleb asked that made Morgyn wonder why he was asking at all. Caleb was such a mess of mixed signals, being so excited about going out somewhere, but when they were out, it was another story. And he still wouldn’t touch the blond, really.

Maybe Morgyn was overthinking it. Maybe there was some signal the blond was supposed to be getting that was going over Morgyn’s dense little head. Maybe Caleb just meant this as friends and not romantically and Morgyn was completely misunderstanding the entire thing.

Maybe Caleb was actually straight.

“Yeah, maybe,” Morgyn said. “That’s fine. How soon?”

“You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to go,” Caleb said.

“I want to, Caleb, I just can’t tell if you do,” Morgyn answered with a sigh.

“What?” Caleb asked, his eyebrows drawing together. “Why would I ask if I didn’t want to?”

“I don’t know,” Morgyn said, hands tossing into the air and falling onto the blond’s thighs with a loud slapping sound. “I was hoping you could tell me. One minute, you can’t seem to think of anything but me, the next it’s radio silence. You still won’t kiss me and barely touch me besides. Just. Caleb, what exactly do you want from me? Do you want anything? Am I just misunderstanding?”

Caleb’s frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything at all, turning away to stare at the kitchen floor.

Morgyn released a sigh. “Yeah…” the blond said, standing up and picking the box up off the floor. “I don’t know, either.”

* * *

It was seven thirty. Morgyn was a bit worried. Liberty was late, but the blond was trying not to think about it too much. Usually, the paranoid one was Drake, but Morgyn knew it, that Liberty’s magic binding was coming undone, and there was something big going on in the magical realm and maybe the blond had also just said something stupid.

Damn it.

Morgyn paced around, arms crossed, trying to think of anything else but this. And just as the worry started turning into a gnawing in the blond’s stomach, the sound of heels tapping against the concrete sounded, and Morgyn turned around to find Liberty running over.

“I’m sorry!” she said. “I am so sorry, I am a little late, I broke one of my heels and I almost missed my train and I’m sorry-“

“Hey,” Morgyn said, reaching out to take her shoulders. “It’s fine, are you okay? Didn’t sprain your ankle or anything, right?”

“No,” Liberty said. “I’m fine. Somehow, constantly falling, tripping, and crashing into things, it made me kind of bouncy.”

“I… am not so sure that’s how it works,” Morgyn said, smiling.

“Trust me, that’s definitely how it works,” Liberty said. “You look really good. I’m kind of jealous again.”

“Jealous?” Morgyn repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Of what?”

Liberty looked like she was debating what to say for a moment, and then her head tilted to the side. “You know, your eyeliner,” she said.

Morgyn snorted. That was absolutely not what she was thinking, but at least she had the courtesy not to be too forward this early. “Right,” Morgyn said. “Your eyeliner’s not that bad, I’d like to point out.”

“Maybe it just looks better on you, or something,” Liberty said. “You know I bet just about anything would look better on you than me.”

Morgyn would beg to differ, but decided not to. “You’re biased, is that what I’m hearing?”

“What? Maybe. No. Probably,” Liberty said. “Anyway, where are we going?”

“The bar over there,” Morgyn said, and then started that way.

“Oh neat,” Liberty said, following. “They have soda, right?”

“You don’t drink?” Morgyn asked.

“Not really,” Liberty answered. “If I’m drinking, I’m either really depressed, or really desperate, one of the two. Oh, or Travis bought too much wine for cooking. Listen, cooking wine is not very good. I would not recommend drinking it. Use it in any other way. Fuck, use it as weed killer before you drink it.”

“It’s not that bad,” Morgyn said, raising an eyebrow.

“It kicks you right in the nose, Morgyn,” Liberty said, and Morgyn had to admit, the blond liked how she said the name. “It’s terrible. Or you’re just used to cheap wine.”

“I’m just not terribly picky,” Morgyn said. “And the stronger a nose hit it is, the more distracting it is.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Liberty said. “If you want a distraction, there are hundreds of things that are better than drinking cooking wine.”

“I… have run out of arguments,” Morgyn said, smirking, as they made it to the bar, and Morgyn opened the door.

“Mm-hmm,” Liberty said, shuffling inside. “Cause I’m right. Next time you want a distraction, you call me, right? I’ll introduce you to The R.E.F.U.G.E. and Density Effect. Stabbing people in a video game is way better a method of stress relief. Or shooting, shooting works.”

“Stabbing people?” Morgyn asked. Wasn’t that a bad thing?

“The fake blood, man,” Liberty said, “it goes like squirt squirt and you’re just sitting there watching it, probably questioning your life choices and going that is not how that works.”

Morgyn snorted. “I wouldn’t really know how it works anyway.”

“Really?” Liberty asked. “Huh. Well, normal people probably don’t hurt themselves as constantly as I do. That makes sense.”

“Is this something I ought to get used to?” Morgyn asked, sitting down at the bar. From the corner of the blond’s eye, Morgyn could tell there were several other patrons in the establishment paying a lot of attention to them. At first, though, Morgyn assumed the attention was on the blond; a few coy glances revealed Liberty was getting just as much attention.

“Yeah, probably,” Liberty answered, taking the seat beside Morgyn’s. She didn’t seem to notice the attention at all. Morgyn wondered if it was a deliberate thing.

“You should stop doing that,” Morgyn said.

“I’ll let you know if I ever figure out how,” Liberty said, smiling, and then turned to look over the menu above the bar. “Oh! Morgyn look, they’ve got chocolate milk! Hi! Hello! Lovely bartender! Could I get a chocolate milk, please?”

“Sure,” the bartender answered, leaning over and taking a bottle of chocolate milk out of the mini fridge beneath the bar, and handing it to her.

“Ahhh!” Liberty squealed, her hands wrapping around the bottle. “I love you! You’re my favourite person! Okay second favourite person, my mom’s first maybe.”

Morgyn laughed. “You really don’t like drinking I guess.”

“Nah,” Liberty said. “I just really like chocolate milk.”

“Could I get a Sea Splash, please?” Morgyn asked the bartender.

The man nodded, and went to making the drink. Liberty still didn’t seem to have noticed how much attention she was getting. One of the men in the back whistled at her.

She didn’t even turn around.

“Do you come here a lot?” Liberty asked.

“Not really,” Morgyn said. “I have a bunch of bars I go to, but this one’s kind of new to me. Only been here once before.”

Liberty looked confused. “Huh,” she said. “Never would’ve pegged you for a bar fly.”

“Oh?” Morgyn said, looking amused. “What’d you peg me for?”

“I don’t know,” Liberty said. “Something more posh than a bar. Like an upscale lounge, you know the kinds celebrities hang out in.”

“I’m not a celebrity,” Morgyn said, nodding at the bartender as he handed the blond the Sea Splash.

“You sure look like one,” Liberty said, and then paused to drink some of her milk. “I kind of thought you were, the first time I saw you. You could definitely be a model.”

Morgyn’s eyebrow raised. The blond took a drink of the Sea Splash, setting it down on the bar with a tap. It wasn’t bad, but Morgyn had drunk better. “What’s that?”

“A model?” Liberty asked.

Morgyn nodded.

“You don’t know?” Liberty asked, eyebrows raising. “Wow. They pose for pictures, usually wearing someone’s fashion designs. Some participate in fashion shows, too, and there are gigs for makeup publicity campaigns. Some other things, commercials and whatnot.”

“They get paid for that?” Morgyn asked.

“Yup,” Liberty answered, drinking some more milk. “Sometimes it’s a lot of money, depending on what the work’s for and how popular the model is.”

Morgyn went quiet. That sounded a lot less traumatising than the work Morgyn did now. The blond glanced down at the Sea Splash. “Sounds pretty nice,” Morgyn said, and then downed the rest of the glass.

Liberty looked surprised. “Yeah, I guess. I wouldn’t know,” she said. “You know, you never said what you wanted to do after university.”

“Oh,” Morgyn said, blinking in surprise. “Uhm. I haven’t really thought about it.” There hadn’t honestly been the time, though.

“Well, you’ve got a few years I assume, right?” Liberty asked.

“Yeah,” Morgyn said. “I can think about it.”

They went quiet, Liberty drinking her milk. Morgyn glanced around, watching the other patrons. Still, Liberty hadn’t noticed the attention, but she did seem a little out of her element here.

Frankly, Morgyn was too.

After a moment of thought, Morgyn sat up a bit straighter. “Soo,” Morgyn started, “do you wanna see my favourite bookstore?”

At that, Liberty’s eyes lit up, and she quickly downed the rest of her milk, and stood up.

Apparently, that was a yes.

* * *

“The only thing I can’t stand in books is an ending that doesn’t make any sense,” Liberty said, flipping through the book in her hand. She was flopped over on her side on the floor beside the blond, who sat with a book too. On either side of them were several stacks of books, some fantasy, some science-fiction, some historical…

“Yeah, those are annoying,” Morgyn said.

“The ones that leave you with more questions than it answered,” Liberty said. “Those are so frustrating.”

“I’ve run into way too many of those,” Morgyn said, eyes rolling. “Why write the book if you’re going to leave so many loose ends?”

“Right?” Liberty said. “I mean I guess there’s something to be said for making people think about certain things, but then there are other things that aren’t really thought-provoking so much as frustrating.”

“Exactly! It’s so nice to talk to someone that gets it,” Morgyn said, sighing. “Well, Ezio does too, but we don’t really have the time to talk about that much anymore.” It seemed like something was always imploding anymore.

“Who’s Ezio?” Liberty asked.

“Oh, sorry,” Morgyn said. “He’s my twin brother.”

“The one with the disability?” Liberty asked.

“That’s the one,” Morgyn answered. “We’re fraternal, but we look almost identical. He’s just got black hair and grey eyes.”

“Wow, there are two of you running around,” Liberty said, laughing. “A modelling agency would love to get a hold of you both probably.”

“You think?” Morgyn asked.

“I’m willing to bet so,” she answered, flipping the page again. “… what’s wrong with him, anyway? You never said. … wait, I’m sorry, that was insensitive-“

“No, it’s okay,” Morgyn said. “I’m just not used to people that don’t know. Um. He has something wrong with his heart, and it’s gone into heart failure.”

“Oh…” Liberty sounded sad, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m so sorry. That sounds really rough. Is he after a transplant at least?”

Morgyn’s head shook. “No,” the blond said. “We can’t afford it.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Liberty said.

“The operation is over a million dollars in cost,” Morgyn said. “And you can’t even get on the wait list until you can prove you can pay for it. The anti-rejection drugs afterwards are another 2,500.”

“Holy smokes!” Liberty said, her eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Morgyn said. “Unfortunately, we just don’t have it, and no one wants to cover a cost that high. I don’t make enough money, either, and neither does he. The wait time can be pretty terrible too, usually over six months before they can find a donor.”

“That’s… that could save his life, though, right?” Liberty asked.

Morgyn shrugged. “Theoretically. But you know, some things just don’t work out I guess.”

“I’m so sorry, really,” Liberty said, reaching over and taking one of Morgyn’s hands in hers.

“It’s not your fault,” Morgyn said. Her eyes told the blond she meant it, and she wasn’t just saying that.

“I know it’s not,” she said, “but I can’t imagine this is easy for you. Or him.”

“Some days are better than others,” Morgyn said. “Ezio likes to say that he’s not at any higher a risk of dying than anyone else is, but he’s made it ten years longer than he should’ve. We don’t know what that means.”

“One of those things that could go either way?” Liberty asked.

“Yeah,” Morgyn said, nodding. “He decided a long time ago that he doesn’t want anything changing because of it. So, we live every day pretending that he’s not dying, and hoping to god that he never does. And sometimes… I just can’t stand it anymore. We don’t even talk about it.”

Liberty looked a little sadder. “I think that’s the most valid thing I’ve ever heard.”

Morgyn snorted softly. “It just feels really selfish most of the time. I can’t say anything to Ezio either. He has enough to worry about.”

“Maybe he feels the same way,” Liberty said. “I think he might understand.”

“It’s okay,” Morgyn said, shrugging one shoulder. “Some things are better left unspoken.”

Liberty thought about it for a moment. “If you chose not to say it, and then lost the opportunity to, would you regret not saying it? Maybe you should say something.”

Morgyn’s head shook. “No,” the blond said. “It’s complicated. It’s like I’d be ignoring what Ezio wants because it isn’t what I want.”

“Ooh…” Liberty said, thinking. “Yeah, that’s true. Well, I’m never doing anything aside from tripping on air and cleaning toilets, so if you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll listen.”

“Thanks,” Morgyn said, smiling softly. “That means a lot.”

“I’m just glad to be helpful,” Liberty said. “You’re nice to talk to. I think I’d like to do it more.”

“I think I’d like that, too.”

Liberty smiled slightly, the light sparkling in her eyes, and then she seemed to realise she was still holding Morgyn’s hand, turned a little bit pinkish around the tip of her nose, and let the blond’s hand go. And Morgyn was amused, and a little disappointed.

“Hey, out of curiosity,” Morgyn started, “what do you think about magic?” Maybe asking about her feelings on it in general would help Morgyn gauge how she was going to react to having it.

“It’s cool!” Liberty said. “I’d love to be able to just strike people I hate with lightning bolts.”

Morgyn laughed. “You know what they say,” the blond said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

“Yeah,” Liberty said, “but at least in my head fantasies, I can pretend there’s no such thing as responsibility. I hate it anyway.”

“So it’d be cool if magic was real?” Morgyn asked.

“Mm, kind of,” Liberty answered.

“Why only kind of?” Morgyn asked.

“Humans are already really good at hurting each other,” Liberty said. “They don’t need magic to help.”

Morgyn smiled. Somehow, she kind of reminded him of Lilith, just much louder, and nerdier. “There are always good humans,” Morgyn said. “The ones that help protect other humans from the ones that hurt people.”

Liberty smiled back. “Yeah,” she said. “I wouldn’t be one of those.”

“Why not?” Morgyn asked.

“I trip on air, Morgyn,” she said. Morgyn still loved the way she said the name.

“You could be a bad-ass on accident,” Morgyn said. “Right? Trip on air and hit the bad guy with a burst of fire you didn’t intend to cast.” It’d happened.

“I’d be the one aiming for someone’s arm, and I’d shoot a magic arrow through their chest,” Liberty said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, that has a level of cool,” Morgyn said. Deadly! On accident! Or Morgyn had a type and that type was dark-haired, a little awkward, and dangerous.

“It has a level of what the fuck,” Liberty said, laughing.

The lights in the back of the store turned off. Morgyn glanced up. “I think maybe they’re closing,” the blond said.

Liberty pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Yeah, it’s almost eleven,” she said.

“Did you buy the books you wanted?” Morgyn asked, sitting up and starting to put the extra books back.

“I did, yeah,” Liberty answered, helping put the piles back. “Did you?”

Morgyn nodded. “I did.” As they got the last book back on the shelf, Morgyn handed one to her. It was a faux-leather bound book, with a magnetic closure, and stars on the cover. The inside was cream-coloured, gold-lined blank paper. A journal.

She was going to need one.

“This is for you,” Morgyn said. “I paid for it already.”

“What?” Liberty asked, taking it, and looking at the inside. Stars and moons decorated the page edges. “It’s beautiful.”

Yeah, she sure was. “I’m glad you like it,” Morgyn said. “We should go before we get yelled at.”

Liberty laughed, picking up her other books. “Thank you,” she said. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, me too.”

* * *

Morgyn felt a little lighter, after that. Somehow, it was so much easier to talk to Liberty, to be who the blond was without any pretenses. Liberty didn’t seem like she had any expectations, didn’t seem to really want anything out of it, except maybe someone to talk to.

It was such a surprising thing, to end up attracted to someone else, even this little bit. It’d taken Morgyn a long time to get attracted to Caleb, but to be fair about it, Morgyn hadn’t spent a lot of time examining the feeling of wanting to talk to him, either. Maybe the blond had been more attracted to him than first believed.

And, now the blond had more books. Having more books was always a win if one was asking Morgyn. That was more to pack, too, but at least the blond would have something to fill the shelves with at Spire when they got there.

Morgyn smiled slightly, walking up the steps into the Casa di Colori. And then smelled something familiar.

The blond looked up, green eyes meeting Caleb’s grey ones. Caleb looked a little upset, Morgyn thought.

“And now I’m getting the fuck up outcho business,” Brandon said at the front desk, then stood up and walked away.

Morgyn snorted. Well, he probably saw the look they were giving each other. Morgyn shuffled over to Caleb, looking up at him.

“Hi,” he said quietly, his gaze softening.

“Hi,” Morgyn answered.

They were quiet for a long moment, and then Caleb cleared his throat. “How did. Uh. How are you?” he asked.

Morgyn snorted. “I’m fine,” the blond answered. “I just went out with a friend, don’t worry so much.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Caleb said, immediately. “I just. Um.”

Morgyn arched an eyebrow. “You were worried.” It was written all over his face. Caleb very much wore his heart on his sleeve, and it was easy enough to tell what he was feeling and thinking half the time, because it was right there for all the world to see.

“I’m sorry Morgyn,” Caleb said. “I didn’t really think about it too much, about how I was making you feel, and I’m sorry.”

Morgyn’s gaze softened too, eyebrows raising slightly. “It’s fine,” the blond said quietly. “I’d rather understand why you’re doing it. I can’t read your mind, Caleb. I don’t understand what you’re doing or why, or what you need from me, unless you tell me.”

“It’s stupid,” Caleb said, fidgeting.

Morgyn moved, setting the blond’s books down on one of the chairs, and then reached over to rest a hand on Caleb’s. “Try me,” Morgyn said.

Caleb was quiet for a moment, debating in his head. Morgyn was patient, for once. Morgyn was always patient with Caleb. “It’s just that,” Caleb said, “everyone wants you, Morgyn. I see it, every time we go out somewhere, you get everyone’s attention, and you keep it. I don’t… I don’t want to be just another guy that wants you.”

Morgyn watched him for a moment, and then released a sigh, the blond’s eyes sliding closed. “Oh you stupid,” Morgyn said softly. And then Morgyn looked up at him, resting a hand on his cheek. “You can’t be, because you’re you. No one else means to me what you do. And no one else has my attention but you.”

No one would, either. Because when they were together, they may as well be the only two people in the room. Morgyn didn’t see anyone but Caleb, and didn’t want to, either.

The blond took Caleb’s hands, head falling gently against his shoulder.

“We’re going to be okay, right?” Caleb asked.

“Of course we are,” Morgyn said. “It’s not like I intended to let go of you, anyway.”

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