"Queen!" Jack decided.
Which made Aspen squeal in delight. "Then I need different clothes!" she said, hopping up to head into her room.
I heard the door on her side close and wanted to sigh. I needed them too, but I wasn't about to change with Keir here!
"Um..." I said, trying to come up with a nice way to ask him to step outside.
Instead, he raked his eyes over me. "Love the crow jammies," he said. "I also want to talk about something else real fast."
"Keir, I need to change!" I hissed.
He lifted a hand, holding me off. "Yeah. I got that part, but before you head over there, I just want to make sure you know Torian and I have been..." He pushed out a breath.
"Fucking?" I offered.
"No!" And then he dropped his head. "Flirting, I think? Getting closer. I'd say becoming friends, but he seemed surprised I put him in that category."
"No, that's a good thing," I assured him.
He stood, moving closer so he could grab my hand. "I happen to like this girl, right? But things have been a little crazy lately. I feel like we never get to just sit and talk anymore, so I want to make sure this is out there."
"What is?"
He shifted just a bit closer, putting us chest to chest. "I'm not opposed to kissing Torian again, Rain."
"And?" Because that had already happened. Once it was even in front of me.
A nervous smile flashed over his mouth. "Um, and I don't want you to write me off. See, I like it when you do those cute things with me. You know, like talking about Aspen? Like teasing me. Maybe even holding my hand? Definitely the kissing parts."
Lifting my chin, I closed the distance between us, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Like that?"
"Mhm," he agreed. "And I'm not taking this further, because I can't stop worrying about him."
Something about the way he said that - the tone, his choice of words? - made me realize what he was trying so hard to hint around.
"You want to date Torian too?" I asked.
Keir made a face. "Date is a strong word. I might like to giggle about him with my girlfriend, though. I mean, that's the part I was trying to figure out how to ask. If it would be ok for me to talk to you about him?"
Jesus, could this guy get any more adorable? Reaching up to cup his face, I nodded my head. "Yeah, I can do that. And if you do end up stealing some more kisses, will you tell me? I can pickon Aspen with it, and I have a feeling you're kinda sexy when you're crushing on someone, huh?"
His eyes jumped between mine. "You are so completely fae."
"Nope," I said. "I just trust that my friends who can't lie won't, well, lie."
"Mm, there's that." And he leaned in for another peck. "Now change. I'll wait in the hall."
Then he left. Quickly, I rushed over to grab my Morrigan shirt from the wardrobe and a pair of jeans. It was the weekend, so I didn't have to be in my uniform, and I had a feeling "functional" was going to be the necessary style for this mess.
Because I was not going to let Torian suffer alone. I knew Aspen hadn't, but sometimes she was so completely fae that the obvious went over her head. Keir got it, though. He knew what it felt like to be alone while surrounded by others. Torian? He just thought he was alone. Always alone. Eternally made to be that way. My goal was to make it clear he wasn't.
I was buttoning my jeans when Aspen slipped back in. "I was trying to give you and Keir a moment," she explained.
I reached for my shoes. "Well, it worked, but right now Torian is what matters."
"Rain..." she tried. "Hun, he's been like this for as long as I can remember. Telling him we care isn't exactly going to change his mind about how fucked up all of this is."
"Because his mother made sure he knew he was a tool, not a person!" I snapped.
