Alexei had just said good night to Flora and shut the door when he heard Kleo’s yell. He didn’t know what he was expecting when he rushed up to his room, but it wasn’t to see Kleo curled up against the wall, eyes glowing with images of fire surrounding him. He didn’t know how to explain them. They were almost like projections, dancing against the walls and showing different views of the same scene: a building engulfed in flames. Alexei quickly ignored them, meeting Kleo on the tile floor and scooping him into his arms. He knew he was panicking, he had seem him panic before, but never like this. He took his face, shushing him and wiping away the tears that flew from his eyes. He knew Kleo wasn’t seeing him just yet, he was too consumed in whatever it was that was plaguing his mind, and Alexei worked to try and distract him. He needed to pull him away and ground him there, with him. The images started to flicker, and as he watched them finally fade away, he realized what they were. Kleo’s eyes began to dim, but his body still shook in his arms. Alexei held him there for as long as he needed.

“I’m sorry about that,” Kleo told him later, as they sat on the couch with delivery pizza. His eyes were still kind of sad, the skin around them red and raw from the abusive tears. His voice was soft in that vulnerable way he always found him to be when he was dealing with something terrible in that beautiful head of his.

“Don’t be.” He never wanted Kleo to apologize to him for something like that. He remembered when they were younger and Alexei had first witnessed one of Kleo’s episodes. Kleo had tried apologizing afterwards and Alexei stopped him right in the middle of his words, “Don’t be stupid. I’m here for you, especially through this.” He stood by that still, even more so now. Kleo grimaced and Alexei nudged him with his foot. The tv was on with the volume low, providing background noise instead of actually holding any of their attention. It was enough to fill the silence and keep Kleo falling too deep within his mind. The sun was long gone in the distance and its warm, orangey light bathed the open floor for a few moments before it faded out completely, leaving them in nothing but the light from the kitchen. Alexei watched as Kleo swept his hand out and away from his body, then just as quickly, the living room lights turned on. He couldn’t tell if Kleo did it on purpose or if it was just an immediate response at this point. He liked catching this small things lately. These moments that showed Kleo was really getting used to his powers and using them so casually. He remembered the other day, he came home after a class and found dishes cleaning themselves. He jokingly called out to Kleo, saying he was lazy for not doing them himself, as he witness them dry and put themselves away as well.

“I just,” Kleo started to say. His eyes weren’t meeting his just yet and Alexei watched him, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say. “I thought I was done with those. It had been so long, and it was never that bad.”

“Kleo, you’re going through a lot right now.”

“I know.”

“Then you should know that it’s understandable that all of this would trudge those memories, those feelings, all of it back up.” Kleo was quiet then, but he finally met his eyes.

Beautiful golden eyes that lit up Alexei’s world on any given day bore into his own and he could swear that in moments like these, he could feel every bit of feeling bottled up between the two of them. The care, the affection, the gratitude, the feeling of being there no matter what “being there” truly meant. He felt the warmth and the smiles and the laughter and the soft touches. He felt the way it felt to kiss him and the feeling of every kiss they’ve shared. It was magic and Alexei cursed the day he fell in love with this boy and chose to wait so long to say it.

Kleo smiled at him. It was small, but growing and Alexei couldn’t help but smile back. He beamed at him and Alexei laughed. “What is it?” He asked, curious as to what was going on but Kleo shook his head, insisting it was nothing. He knew he was lying, he could see it on his face plain as day. He could see the red drawing up his neck and the at the tip of his ears. “You’re a horrible liar,” he told him and then Kleo pulled him close. Kleo wasn’t that much taller than him but just then, it felt like he was larger than the world itself. Now Alexei could feel the heat his own embarrassment crawling up his face as he stared into those golden, now half lidded eyes. The corner of Kleo’s mouth twisted up into a smirk and Alexei nearly lost his mind.

Kleo was fast asleep by the time Nox made it home. Quietly, he slipped out of a shadow in the room, the edges of its darkness dripping from his fur as he stepped into light filtered through the tall windows, only alerting Alexei with a quick hello as he entered the room. Alexei hadn’t gotten quite used to that just yet, if he were being honest. Of all the magical things going on around them, Scottish mermaids and literal pools materializing before his very eyes included, he couldn’t quite get past the fact that Nox wasn’t actually a cat. Of all things to get stuck on, of course it was that. He was surprised and confused when Kleo randomly gave him that bit of information for the first time and when he asked if he knew what Nox actually looked like, the teal headed boy simply shook his head, “It’s his own privacy. He’ll show me when he wants to.”

It was the middle of the night and he was only awake because for some reason, he couldn’t quite fall asleep. He tried reading one of Kleo’s books to ease himself into a state relaxed so he could enter his own little realm of dreams, but a handful of hours later and about halfway into “Eleanor & Park”, Alexei felt even less tired and more anxious for the characters in the book. He marked his place with a paper coaster left on the nightstand as Nox effortlessly made his way onto the bed. He watched as he instantly went to Kleo, his body dark and fluid as he walked. He reminded Alexei of oil in the way he moved, soft and thick without a sound. No, he thought, maybe smoke would be a better description with the graceful way he walked and jumped. It seemed effortless, even for a cat, like he wasn’t touching the ground whatsoever an any time. He was the color of soot, with glowing green eyes that reflected the smallest bit of light. Nox rubbed his head against Kleo’s then went down his back to finally rest, tucked at his side.

He wondered whether Nox got comfort from sleeping so close to Kleo like that or if it was solely to provide Kleo some sort of comfort. He thought maybe it was a combination of both. He set the book aside and gently rubbed Nox’s head, just behind his ear, causing a rumble of purrs to fill the silence.

“Did you find anything out?” Alexei whispered as softly as he could. He didn’t want to wake Kleo, knowing he’d probably stay up the rest of the night after hearing whatever it was Nox had to say.

“I did.”

Nox’s voice was smooth, almost reminding him of a cartoon snake but with less of the hissing part. He also had some sort of accent that Alexei couldn’t quite pin down, but it was definitely there.

“There are two of them, men, who were spotted east of here near the Chesapeake. They were headed west when Effie somehow got away from them. I’m sure they’ll come back this way to find her though, so it’s just a matter or preparation and waiting.”

“Do you think they’d fight for her?” He knew it was a dumb question, surely, but he had to ask. He didn’t know about Flora, but Kleo’s never been in a fight before and was still learning to control his powers. His mind went back to the fire and the images in the bathroom earlier.

“Certainly so, but we can outsmart them.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“They were foolish enough to cross this area before, accidentally loosing Effie here. The magic bound to this town because of Kleo is still powerful, regardless if he knows how to control his powers completely yet or not. You can still feel it in the air, and it should have been enough for them to stay clear.”

Alexei knew then that Nox was done with talking for his night. He watched as his tail did that thing where it flicked the air a few times before he was finally asleep.

“Well, for Effie’s sake let’s be thankful they didn’t,” Alexei said quietly to himself, concern still residing inside of him. He’d have to figure out some way to help, even if he didn’t have powers, there had to be something he could do. He let out a sigh, resting his head against the pillow as he tried to will himself to sleep.