"Good morning!" I greet the group cheerfully from the kitchen doorway.
Romie answers with a small wave and a huge yawn. Fiore shoots me a sideways look, a mug frozen halfway to his mouth.
The anguane respond with their usual sparkle, and Brina practically runs over to me, happy as a baby chick.
"How are you today? I saw you ate the little cake. Did you like it?" she asks sweetly, taking my hands in hers.
"I'm feeling much better, thanks," I reply with a smile. "Yeah. It was amazing."
"I'm so glad! Come on, sit here by me, I'll get you some coffee," she chirps, releasing my hands only long enough to point at the seat.
Last night, before falling back asleep, I did some thinking.
Decision made: no more physical contact with Fiore.
Minus whatever is strictly mission-related.
Or at least… I have to try.
I can't afford to fall back into yesterday's headspace. The stakes are too high.
I need to think about Romie, pulled into this mess just because she's my friend.
About Uncle Bruno, alone at the Council. This is on me. I chose to step into this role. I chose to use these powers.
Even Fiore is involved because of me. Yes, he's stuck to my side because of that cursed Fairy Code, but I decided to help the Council. And now he feels bound to follow me.
I don't want to complicate things between us even more.
As soon as I get the chance, I'll tell him. Straight up.
I can do this. How hard can it be?
Fiore. No sex. Period.
Totally doable. Damn it. Doable.
"I'll sit here, Brina," I say, taking the seat directly across from Fiore.
I feel the tension rolling off him, but I keep my smile steady.
"Morning," I say to him. "We heading out right after breakfast?"
He scratches at his nose, slightly off-balance. "Uh… morning. Yeah, that's probably best. Before it gets too hot."
"Perfect. Do we have water with us for the hike?"
"Oh, we'll prepare something for you," Brina replies, handing me a cup of coffee.
Embera rolls her eyes.
"Brina, don't overdo it, or we'll have to add it to their tab later," she says, flashing me a sly smile.
I grin right back. "Well, if Fiore's paying, I've got zero objections," I shrug. Sorry, Embera. You're not getting the pleasure of seeing me uncomfortable today.
"Fiore? What a lovely nickname!" she exclaims, eyes gleaming.
"That's not a nickname you get to use," Fiore replies flatly.
"Oh wow, someone's icy this morning," she laughs, pouring herself coffee.
Romie yawns again, dramatically. "You didn't make this much of a fuss with me," she comments lazily.
Fiore shoots her a look that could melt stone.
I smirk into my cup. Then I sip my coffee slowly while Brina keeps fussing over me.
Fiore watches me closely, and I feel everything bleeding off him through my hypersensitive Empathy: worry, confusion, agitation. All tangled together, wrapped up nice and tight just for me to pick up.
The pressure weighs on my chest.
I raise my eyes. Our gazes lock for a moment.
He's trying to read me too, but I can tell he's struggling. I'm wearing emotional stone face right now. His finger taps lightly against the rim of his mug. Nervous.
"You okay?" I ask calmly. Yes, Fiore, I feel everything. And yes, I know you know.
"Mmm… yeah. I'm okay," he says, eyes narrowing, voice uncertain. "You?"
I nod slowly. "Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."
For a second, he seems to relax, but the tension doesn't fully leave his face.
Then he sighs, a little defeated.
"Come on. Let's finish breakfast and get moving. We've got a long walk ahead."
-
We've been walking for almost two hours now, heading back toward Mel's place to retrieve Romie's car. Beside me, my best friend drags herself through branches and spiderwebs, wiping sweat off her forehead and barely restraining a steady stream of curses that are written all over her expression anyway.
I'm not exactly enjoying this "scenic hike" either. The path isn't straight or well worn at all: my clothes keep snagging on brambles, I trip constantly over creeping vines, and the gnats are so relentless they stick to the sweat on my arms and legs like glue. At least Fiore knows where he's going. With my nonexistent sense of direction, we would already be lost in some random ravine.
I huff as another swarm drifts right in front of my face.
"Come on, come on, keep moving!" Fiore laughs at our struggle, hands laced behind his head. He walks lightly, almost dancing between trees and brush. With a smooth, feline leap he vaults over a fallen trunk in front of us.
"If I'd known we were going to bushwhack through the wilderness, I'd have worn hiking boots," Romie snaps, nearly slipping on loose stones.
"And I would've brought bug spray… ugh!" I add, spitting out gnats.
"You're such city kids!" he laughs, already way ahead of us again as he takes a few long strides and another elegant hop. "We're almost there. Twenty minutes southeast, tops."
"Nature is so lovely, right… when you're looking at it through a window. From a house. Or a cabin," Romina mutters, livid.
"I swear I can't wait to get there and wash up. I feel disgusting," I complain. "And this hellish hike is absolutely destroying my already subterranean morale."
Fiore is already way ahead when Romina shoots me a look.
"I wanted to ask you… are you okay? You didn't look great last night."
I snort and push aside a branch in my way.
"Well… let's just say yesterday was kind of insane," I reply with a bitter smile. "And I also discovered a brand-new side of you," I add, teasing.
Romina laughs, shaking her head. "Yeah. Wild, right? But… I needed it. And I don't really know how to explain it. It was all very… simple."
"Simple?" I raise an eyebrow, genuinely curious. "In what way?"
"Yeah…" she murmurs, brushing her hair back. "It wasn't romantic. And it definitely wasn't something that messes with your sexuality, just so we're clear. The anguane have a completely different way of… connecting. It's nothing like how we think about it. They make you experience your body like a kind of temple. No malice, no attachment. Just exchange."
I stare at her, thrown. Then my gaze drifts to Fiore, far ahead of us, moving as if the forest itself were parting for him.
"So that's what he was trying to tell me yesterday," I mutter. "With that line about 'the only currency that works with them.'"
Romina stiffens. "What happened between you two? Did you fight?"
"Let's say watching him flirt with them exactly the same way he flirted with me, without sparing a single thought for how I might take it, was a dick move. Zero consideration." The words come out sharp.
She takes a slow breath. "I get why he acted that way. It was for the mission…"
I give her a look cold enough to chill steel.
She immediately corrects course. "But I get you too."
"If he'd told me beforehand…" I trail off.
The hardness sticks to my chest.
I sigh. "Anyway, the problems didn't start there. They started on the way to the Buso delle Anguane. After the hearth. When we got lost. We argued. Badly."
I glance toward Fiore. He's still far enough away not to hear.
"I just wanted to understand what he'd seen in the hearth," I lower my voice. "He had this look… like something inside him had cracked."
I breathe slowly.
"But he shut down. I couldn't get my thoughts in order and then…" I stop for a second. "And out of nowhere he says: 'I can't be your boyfriend, Milo.'"
I kick a stone. It skitters away with a sharp clatter. Romina watches me, clearly sensing there's more.
"I like him, Romie," I admit, my face heating up.
"He's the first person who made me stop thinking about Enrico."
We pass a dense patch of bushes, insects buzzing all around us.
"Even if he's not human… it still makes sense, right?"
"It makes all the sense in the world," she says gently, resting a hand on my arm. Then she jerks it back, grimacing at her sweaty palm, and laughs while wiping it on her shorts.
"And honestly, I'm not even sure about Enrico anymore. When I found out he was bi, part of me freaked out in the best way. But I still didn't make a move. Fiore was already in my head."
Romina nods. "But Fiore told you clearly that he doesn't want a relationship."
I push aside some branches to let her pass. "Yeah. But then his actions are a mess. He seeks contact, he worries, he hugs me. And my Intuitive Empathy doesn't help. I feel everything. And at some point I can't even tell where it's coming from anymore."
"Yeah, he really doesn't act like someone who wants nothing," Romie murmurs, watching Fiore's back. "And that expression he had at Granzette…"
"Expression?" I ask, confused. Then it clicks. "Oh. When he pulled me out of the hole?"
"Yeah. I saw him clearly, vez. He looked embarrassed. Full-on heart-flutter embarrassed. That's not the face you make for someone you don't care about at all."
My heartbeat shoots straight into my throat.
"Y-you think?" I murmur, staring at Fiore's silhouette.
I wipe the back of my hand across my forehead, trying to sort out the mess in my head.
Great. Just two hours ago I decide to cut off physical contact, and now one sentence is enough to melt my resolve like ice cream in August.
Fuck. I really can't do this.
Romina smiles, sly. "There's no certainty until you actually talk to each other. But that he cares? I've always thought so. And honestly, I think he hides behind the Code a bit. Five hundred years and counting, but he's not exactly an emotional prodigy."
A short, nervous laugh escapes me.
Then neither of us speaks. We keep walking, the sound of our steps blending with the thoughts pounding in my skull.
"What would you do?" I ask after a while.
Romina scratches her chin, thoughtful.
"You've got two paths."
She raises two fingers.
"Either you jump in, knowing it could hurt." She lowers one finger. "Or you set real boundaries. And you enforce them."
I sigh. "I don't…"
"I know, vez."
I squeeze her shoulders affectionately. "Romie, I don't know what I'd do without you. Seriously. Thank you."
"No worries, my little jinx. Now—speaking of Enrico—update me IMMEDIATELY. Also: absolute beefcake. I've still not recovered from the House of Mirrors."
I smirk. "And you haven't even seen his brand-new, shiny social profile yet. Look…"