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1. Morning After

_ _

The next morning, Keurin felt better, all things considered. It was his favorite kind of morning - the perfect kind: chilly and hazy, with a lacy mist pulling into the shore from the placid, dark ocean. Downtown was nearly obscured by the fog. Pairs of headlights burned forth cones of yellow light into the mist, like fireflies.

Looking down from his balcony, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a smoke in the other, Keurin wondered if this was what it felt like to be in an airplane above the clouds, seeing only white spreading out for miles below. His apartment building stood alone, it seemed, amidst the fog, jutting upwards from an unseen oblivion below like some kind of testament to perseverance.

Or something like that, anyway, Keurin thought as he sipped his coffee.

The dragon hadn't checked his phone today. Upon waking up an hour prior, he had glanced at it and then left it on his nightstand while he took a piss and ventured out onto the balcony to take in the morning and all of its melancholic beauty. It was growing much warmer now: spring had finally come which meant summer would be here in no time, like always in this damn city... but mornings like this were special, cool and quiet, a reminder of the previous year's departing winter: peaceful and nostalgic.

When Keurin finished his coffee and cig, he snuffed out the latter and deposited the empty mug in the kitchen sink before heading back to the bathroom and showering. Afterwards, hair still damp, he made himself a piece of dry toast and munched on that while watching TV. He had brought his phone with him as he returned from his shower, but still hadn't checked it: he knew it would take longer than a single night for Aderrian to forgive him, but he believed the orca would, eventually.

He had to. No one else would be there to catch him a second time.

The urge to grab his phone wracked him and he snatched it up, holding it shakily in front of his face before finally hitting the button to turn on the display.

"Nothing," the dragon said aloud, shutting his eyes. "Maybe I'm the one who has to make the first step.

"Maybe this is what Aderrian meant when he said it'd be best if I just never talked to Marc again. I mean... he's right, if this was the other way around, I wouldn't be very pleased to find out that he had kissed his ex, either. This shit's like a bad soap opera."

So, this on his mind, Keurin typed a simple text and sent it:

I'm sorry.

He held the phone for a long moment, as he always did after sending a text, hoping for an instant response. There was none. He slid his phone into the pocket of his lounge shorts and settled back into the couch.

It would be cliché to say there was nothing on television, but this was the truth and after half an hour, he retreated to his balcony. The previous tenant had left behind a deck chair (or perhaps it was standard on all balconies at this complex) and Keurin found it to be quite comfortable. The fog that had blanketed the city had long since lifted and Keurin could see Upper Portdam in its entirety now, the streets busy like veins full of blood vessels scurrying along; up and down the ways, to and fro; the smell of burnt oil and gasoline wafting upwards to him even here; the sputtering of some old lemon backfiring before rattling onward to an unknown destination; kids on the beach daring one another to brave the icy depths; folks on their way to their 5 and 9 and others to school; senior year in high school flooding back into Keurin's mind so suddenly and unwarranted that the dragon lunged forward as if someone had called his name or tapped his shoulder.

"Wow, I was a dumb kid," the dragon said, reclining once again. "We all were, I suppose." He smiled.

He rolled into work around noon, his cell phone all but forgotten, stuffed deeply into his back pocket. His body slipped through the motions he had long since mastered, allowing his mind to wander. He thought of Marc and of what had happened yesterday.

For the first time, he became angry with the huskywolf and had to take an unscheduled smoke break (it was two in the afternoon and the deli was dead, anyway). He stood in the back alley, tapping his foot and chewing his lip.

I'm not special to him, not anymore. He wants to fuck me for the same exact reason I kissed him: nostalgia and lust. I don't doubt that he wants me, but I won't delude myself into thinking I'm special to him. I won't lead him on or be led on by him.

_ Especially_... the dragon's expression softened and he looked upwards at the few clouds passing by overhead, so far away from any cares or problems down here. He shut his eyes and finished his thought: Especially if it hurts Aderrian.

He looked out to the sea - it was barely visible between a mess of cars and buildings, but he could make out a sliver of the ocean. I hope he's all right. He smiled in spite of everything and said aloud:

"Of course he isn't all right, but maybe he's at least having fun."

His phone suddenly rang and he yanked it up without thinking.

"Hello?" he said, his voice hopeful, cracking on the second syllable. He looked down at his cigarette and put it out.

"Hey, Keurin," the voice replied.

The dragon pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at the screen.

"Oh, hey, Marc," he replied, having recognized the voice immediately, but needing to make sure.

"You... you wanna hang out today?"

The dragon hesitated, his tongue tasting the sore split on his lower lip. His shoulder still ached, and he had noticed that the four puncture wounds from Marc's sharp teeth had begun to bruise and swell, leaving ugly purple smears just barely visible below his white fur. He closed his eyes, weighing everything, feeling some odd heaviness bearing down upon him, as if this decision was far more important than he realized. He thought of Aderrian, of Marc, himself, and even Markus way back in the mountains. His knuckles ached from how hard he was squeezing his phone, and he had to mentally tell himself to relax, shoulders dropping, knees almost buckling.

"Yeah," he said at last, opening his eyes, and he was not surprised to find his vision misty. "Yeah, that sounds nice, but no more incidents like yesterday." Not a question, or a request.

"Deal," the huskywolf replied, and Keurin could hear in his voice such joy and knew Marc's tail was just a-waggin' like a puppy's.

"What do you want to do?"

"Well, how about a late lunch and then just hang out around town; who knows? Maybe inspiration will sneak up on us!"

Keurin rolled his eyes and smiled. "Okay, sounds good."

"So I'll pick you up in an hour?"

"Make it an hour and fifteen. I get off work in an hour and that'll give me enough time to get back to my apartment."

"Cool! I'll see you then!"

"See you."

The dragon dropped his phone into his pocket and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.

"This is going to be interesting... or really bad. I'm starting to believe he and I can't be just friends, and today will either prove me right or wrong, and I'm not sure which one would be best..."

* * *

"So what's going on, Carrie?"

"Food poisoning; it isn't too serious, but a lot of people are sick so we're having to call this one and return to shore... as well as refund all 500 passengers."

"Oh great."

"Then there's the matter of pretty much sterilizing the entire ship... not to mention this will be one hell of a nightmare for the PR folks."

"So what does this mean for us?"

"I don't know, Aderrian, but I wouldn't count on having a job for a while."

"We've all been fired?"

"No, no, not at all. We just... ah... all get a vacation. With pay, sure, but... yeah, not as good as our actual salaries."

"...I see."

"And all because some kids got a damn tummy ache. I hate kids."

"You've told me, Carrie."

"Aren't you pissed?"

"Yes... and no, I've kinda got some business I need to take care of, and as much as this sucks, having some time off will let me deal with is."

"You okay? You're not in debt to some kinda mafia, are you?"

The orca chuckled. "No, I just need to find out if I'm important to someone as he is to me."

"Is it that dragon kid you won't shut up about?"

Aderrian flushed softly, and Carrie laughed, slapping him on the shoulder.

"I thought so."

"He texted me to apologize, but I haven't responded... I dunno."

"Well he obviously cares enough to try to make amends, right?"

"I guess so."

"And he can apologize all he wants, but unless you forgive him, this whole thing will never go away. It'll just hang over both of your heads until you, Aderrian, until you decide to do something about it. It's going to take two to fix this."

"I know," the orca said guiltily, wringing his hands. "I need a place to stay, anyway, so I better make up with him."

"Let's make up with him because he's sorry and it's the right thing to do, not just so you don't have to sleep outside, yeah?"

"Of course," Aderrian said, slightly offended. He stepped away from the woman and over to the porthole window. Upper Portdam was drawing ever closer.

* * *

Keurin was combing his hair when Marc arrived. He patted the wrinkles down on his hoodie and opened the door.

"Hey," Marc said, smiling.

"Hey, Marc," the dragon replied, brushing his bangs from his eyes.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready."

Marc stepped aside and the pair left the building, Marc leading Keurin to his car, and even opening the door for him. Keurin blushed and sat down, and couldn't resist fiddling with the large fuzzy dice that hung from the rear view mirror.

"Well, you always did like playing with two furry balls," Marc said as he slipped into the driver's seat.

"These are cubes," Keurin began, pointing at them, and then to Marc, "And that was a terrible joke."

The huskywolf chuckled and winked. "A for effort, though?"

Keurin stuck his tongue out. "C+."

"Aw, dang," Marc replied, feigning hurt.

As they drove along, Keurin watched the buildings pass him by, and for the first time, wondered if this was a bad idea. He checked his phone; no texts. Huffing, he shoved it back into his pocket.

"So... I never really got to ask: how was life over in the mountains?"

"Cold, and lonesome, but it was nice: a good lonesome. Helped me clear my head."

"Took you like four years to clear your head?"

"Well, when you have a clear mind, and a helluva lotta time to think, it's easy for things to sneak in and fuck it all up."

"Did something happen?"

"Something_always_ happens, but no, it was mostly just four long years of nothing with little somethings sprinkled in for fuckin' comedic effect, or some shit. Let's not talk about it, okay?" the dragon said, shutting his eyes as he added mentally: I'd rather not explain - nor do I have to - the entire thing with Markus, then Aderrian; not to mention my moving back here over some stupidly unrealistic dream of being with him.

Marc nodded. "Okay, okay, I won't pry."

Keurin leaned back and closed his eyes again, shivering at the sudden sense of motion, a weird feeling of near weightlessness crept upon him as Marc drove over the crest of a hill. He sighed softly and settled into the seat, tucking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"We're here," Marc said later when they arrived at a small, hole in the wall diner.

"Waffle House, you really know how to treat a guy," Keurin said playfully, rousing from his doze.

"Hey, it's not fancy, but they have great food."

"I'm only joking, Marc."

"Besides, the view is nice, if nothing else; you can see the ocean!"

Keurin turned and looked - indeed, the street ran perpendicular to the coast, straight into it and the dragon was offered an unhindered view of the beach some hundreds of yards away, and beyond that, the ocean set ablaze by the afternoon sun. The dragon smiled and he and Marc entered the diner.

* * *

Aderrian stepped onto the boardwalk, his legs wobbly from so much time spent upon the waves - even after all this time, still never used to being upon solid, unmoving dry land. He held one duffel bag thrown behind his shoulder, his other hand casually tucked into his front pocket. His stomach growled.

"Hmph... wasn't there a restaurant nearby...?" he murmured to himself.