A sudden movement from the other side of the room, followed by a thump, catches my attention. I look up to find Zane rising to his feet, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Did he just fall out of bed?

"My body pillow moved," he complains.

"Lucas made breakfast," I say. "I woke up to the smell and wasn't going to wait for you."

"You didn't wake me up," he complains.

"I tried."

Judging by the sigh Zane lets out, he's aware of how hard it can be to wake him up. I grabbed and twisted his ear, did the same to both nipples simultaneously, convinced Lucas to stop slapping him in the face, and more. Zane just wouldn't wake up.

He slept like, well, a rock. No, he didn't return to stone form, he just slept as if he were actually a statue.

"Where's Lucas?" He looks around.

"Grabbed his things and left about ten minutes ago," I answer. "Which is for the better. He's cranky in the morning and you have a habit of irritating him just as a part of your existence. That's not a good mix, and I'm certain that the two of you interacting would result in him pummeling you to a pulp or tossing you off the edge of Sivalshi."

Both of those are very real concerns, too. It took a fair bit of convincing to get Lucas to leave, since he didn't want to leave me alone around Zane. His issue with Zane really is just the fact that Zane likes teasing him and has an interest in me. So Zane's not just a rival for my affections, but one that annoys him. I did manage to convince him to leave, though, so all's well for the morning.

Lucas probably went back to bed after he returned home.

"Oh, hey, my phone!" Zane exclaims, rushing to the table and grabbing his phone. "Where did Lucas stick them yesterday? He wouldn't tell me."

"Since they were soaked through with freezing rain on our trip here last night," I explain. "There was a good chance they were damaged. He'd apparently returned with his grandpa, gave them to him, and then his grandpa left to take them to Lucas's little brother, who did his best to save them. Lucas brought them back after he woke up. His brother did a good job."

"Nice!" He pulls back a chair and takes a seat, then starts serving himself breakfast. "Lucas is so kind, making food for me. Think he'd be okay with me making him Lucas-shaped pancakes? Or dick-shaped ones?"

"Erm… probably not the latter," I tell him. "Just… give him thanks."

"I can do that," he grins, and I roll my eyes. "Hey!"

"Danny wanted to know if he had to wait until ten to arrive," I tell him. "Since it takes about an hour to get here for him, he'd basically get ready for the day, then have half an hour or so of just time to kill."

"Oh, sure," Zane says. "I'd said ten just 'cause it was between breakfast and lunch, but if your friend wants to show up earlier, that's cool."

"Alright," I grab my phone and shoot Danny a text letting him know, and he messages back a moment later saying he's heading out in just a minute. "Now he's on his way."

"Sweet!" Zane says. "Hey, he knows you're a power-user, right?"

"I've told him, yeah," I say. "Haven't told him what I can do, though. I don't really feel like demonstrating my power. It's different at the center since I'm there to train it."

"Just curious," Zane grins. "My original plans for today involved us heading down to the conference room we clean and messing around with our powers, since it's private."

"Isn't there a group taking shelter in there?" I ask.

"Nope," he answers. "The groups are Thursday and Friday nights, Saturday and Sunday nights, and Monday and Tuesday nights. Wednesdays are a free day, and I have Thursdays off because of it, since there wasn't a group there that night and they're already cleaned."

That explains why he asked for today rather than any other, then. Unlike Lucas, he gets a day off regularly, and this is it.

"Ah," I say. "I'm not sure there's much 'messing around with my powers' I could do, though, Zane, since I can't use them too much at the moment. I can only manage eleven five-foot shadow steps before needing to recover my magic, and that takes close to an hour and a half at the moment."

"We could've figured something out," he tells me. "Anyway, let's get back to eating. I'm starved!"

I snort, then return to eating, watching Zane as he starts. Lucas made us pancakes, sausages, and bowls of yogurt, berries, and nuts. The food's cooled down a little since he left (or warmed up, in the case of the yogurt), but there's plenty of it and I'm pretty hungry. So is Zane, and by the time we finish eating, there's nothing left.

After breakfast, I wash the dishes and Zane dries them and puts them away, then he gets dressed since we're apparently going out for something after Danny arrives. He slips into sweats and a hoodie, socks, and his sneakers, then pulls out his guitar and takes a seat on his bed before beginning to strum. Zane tunes the guitar for a minute, then starts playing a song I'm pretty sure he made.

While I'm not much of a listener of music, I can still tell if someone's got a good singing voice, and Zane's is pretty good. The song is a bit… weird, but that might just be from Zane being the one singing it. I'm not a good judge of lyrics, so I can't speak for those.

"I'm not sure I want to be… in the mold they want to shove me. I just want to reach out and touch… but they say that vic'try's too much. One day I will be so high… like the birds soaring up in the sky.

"Perhaps then I could possibly find… someone who is oh-so kind. If that day comes, I don't know… the path upon which I will go. One will lead to a life that is cold… doing just that which I've been told. The other will lead to a life that is warm… one where I choose my own form.

"If I choose the path without fun… could I bear to once more stand in the sun? Should I do what is chosen, what it is that they say… or should I choose to go off on my own way? The crossroads that I'm at aren't all that clear… rising in my heart is a deep-rooted fear.

"If I choose the path that they'll fight… am I worth its kind light? Do I have the needed strength… to hold out for its length? What will happen if I fall… will I no longer stand this tall? I really don't know what I should do… follow their path… or let my heart be true."

The song is kind of slow and melancholic, not like the energetic and mischievous Zane that's singing it. I can't tell if it's meant to be about romance, career, lifestyles, sexuality, or what. It could be about any or all of them. However, it's clear it's about a choice that needs to be made, and is more of a debate with one's self in song form.

"You have a nice singing voice," I tell Zane.

"Thanks," he smiles a little, a bit of sadness in his eyes. "The song needs some tweaking still, but I haven't had the heart to touch it."

The heart to touch it? That makes it sound like someone else wrote it.

A song about an uncertain future, that isn't finished, that the determined and out-going Zane knows by heart but doesn't want to tweak more. Zane has always seemed so sure of himself, knowing what he wants to do and going for it. From what I know of him, he has no doubts about his future. He had no issues with acting as a manager within his family's company while also wanting to be a vigilante. He's confident in himself and his sexuality, and doesn't make any efforts to hide who he is. In fact, he's rather much with how comfortable he is, having done random hookups for years, never staying with someone.

It wasn't until he got notified he was being considered for a job that could lead to his death that he changed.

"Was that written by a dead boyfriend?" I ask. "Um. Sorry for being so blunt."

"No," Zane gives me a sad smile. "We never dated. He was too scared of his parents finding out that he was gay, and rightly so… when they found out, they killed him. They cut off his dick and balls first and… other stuff I'm not going to say. I decided then that I wasn't going to hide who I was.

"To be honest," there are tears in his eyes now. "He's the only person I'd ever actually loved in a romantic way. At least, until I met you. There's just something… different about you. Alluring. The same is true for Lucas, actually. But I know it's unlikely he'd ever like me, and I'm not willing to change myself for a boyfriend. That's why I'm sticking with romancing you and hoping I win out in your heart. And can finish dealing with… things. First."

That's the real reason he wants to wait, isn't it? Once he was past the part where he asked me out, he started to remember his last crush, and he wants to try to deal with the sadness that comes from it first so that a relationship isn't just him trying to fill a void or something.

"Well," I tell him. "Take your time, Zane. Though know that if Lucas is ready first…"

"Yeah," he gives me a more cheerful smile. "Unless Lucas can get past that major flaw of his fast, I'm definitely going to win first."

"Well," I grin at him. "Unless a third person comes and takes my heart. Remember when I mentioned the friend from before?"

"The childhood friend you ran into the other day?"

"Yeah," I feel my grin widening. "He tried hooking me up with a friend of his. He may just do it again at the party."

I'm pretty sure Isaac won't, I just want to tease Zane. It's pretty unlikely I'd actually get with a guy I just met, no matter how hot he is.

To be honest, I'm leaning more towards Zane between the two guys I am interested in. The only thing that might push me away is his tendency to tease people, especially Lucas. That bothers me a bit, but he might calm down on that once I'm in a relationship.

But I won't not date Lucas if Lucas gets his head together first just to date Zane one Zane gets his head together. What if it takes Zane several months longer than Lucas? A year or more?

What if someone else does come along first? Someone who has their head together, their lives together, and has an interest in me, just like them? I want to love and be loved, and I'm not going to hold back because someone else is interested. Not when that person has their own things to deal with.

Considering my luck, though, the next guy who comes along who I might fall for who falls for me as well will probably have his own stuff to deal with first.

"Well," Zane sets his guitar to the side and walks over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "If you get with a guy at the party, you better be committed to him and not just having sex. Otherwise, Lucas and I are going to have some words for you."

"You mean like 'How was it?' and 'Was he bigger than me?' and 'How sexy was he?' and 'We have no room to talk because we both did hookups for awhile and it's understandable you might give in to your developing libido at a party after a power training session'?"

Zane stares at me, realizing I have a point with the last one. I'm not planning on getting with someone I just met as I really do want an actual relationship. Even if I did hook up with some random guy, though, neither of them would have room to talk. Zane, especially, considering he's only ever done hookups and did plenty of them over the last few years, but Lucas as well since he's done them while not in a relationship.

"Well, then," Zane recovers from the reminder of that, giving me a grin. "If you decide to forego relationships for hookups, Kieran, perhaps you'd let Lucas and me in on it? Me more than Lucas, of course, since I'm the sexier one with the bigger weapon."

"I think I'd do Lucas more if I decide not to do relationships," I retort. "He's less likely to break me."

"Hey!" Zane exclaims, then starts to rebut that when his phone rings. "This ain't over, Shadow Boy!"

He grabs his phone and answers.

"Hi, Macy! What's up?" He asks. "Did my awesome guitar playing reach down there? What? Hey! That's mean!"

I laugh at his expression and response to whatever she said.

"Oh, yeah, tell him we're coming down," Zane says. "I didn't realize it's been that long. See ya soon!"

Zane hangs up, then grins at me.

"Your friend's here!" He tells me. "Let's head downstairs! You can leave your bag here, since it'd probably be too much to head back to your apartment, then to the training center, once we're done. We can just hang out all day! And I'll get to treat you to food without Lucas paying!"

"Alright," I chuckle. "Let me get my shoes on."

I grab my shoes and pull them on, then my hoodie, then we head down to the first floor, where Danny's waiting for us, sitting on one of the old benches against the wall. As soon as we arrive, he jumps to his feet and approaches us.

"Whoa," Zane says. "You didn't tell me your friend was hot."

"And straight," I roll my eyes. "Hey, Danny. How was the walk?"

"Freezing," he answers. "Though they've treated the roads, so they're not icy anymore."

"That's good," Zane says. "Let's head out!"

"What are we doing?" Danny asks as we leave the building, stepping out onto the street.

It's still cloudy, and there's a layer of ice on most things. As Danny said, though, the streets aren't iced over. That surprises me, since the lower districts usually don't get treated. It's got to have been expensive, considering how unprepared for ice and snow we are here. Yet they still made sure the roads were good for walking. Because even the slight slope of Sivalshi's back is enough to send people sliding? Or some other reason?

How did they even get the stuff to treat all of the roads on such short notice? There's no way we normally keep that stuff around.

"Let's walk around and see what's open," Zane says. "Hey, can you walk in front of me for a minute?"

"Sure," Danny answers, and I realize too late what Zane's planning.

As soon as Danny is in front of him, Zane jumps onto his back. To his credit, Danny manages to not fall over, recovering quickly and just taking off down the road, laughing. They're definitely meant to be friends.

Chuckling, I just keep walking. Danny stops after a few yards and turns to face me, Zane waving from his back, neither of them caring about the stares the few people out here are giving.

"Let's head to the middle districts," I shiver a little. "I need some warmer clothes, since we're entering the frost zone since Sivalshi's abandoning his usual environment this winter."

"Good idea," Danny says. "I'm probably going to get stuck getting a cheaper hoodie to double up with. I'm covering a few extra shifts to get something better."

"You'll need more food, too," Zane says. "The cold increases your needs."

"Yeah, that was in the news," Danny says. "The extra shifts will help. I'm not like Kier, living on his own without a roommate. I've got some savings, and with the extra shifts until we replace the two employees who, ah, got arrested."

"Again, or still from the first time?" I ask.

"Still from the first time," he answers. "They're apparently actually going away this time. Speaking of that, would you be free and willing to work the same shifts next week? We found ourselves unable to cover just those three."

"Sure," I answer. "Just put in the request to the agency as usual, and ask for me specifically, and they'll let me know I was requested for it."

"We can't just request you directly?" Danny gives me a look of confusion. "I mean to you directly?"

"Yeah, I was actually wondering about that, too," Zane says. "You'd get the full pay, rather than the ninety-percent, rounded."

That's right, Zane's family's company hasn't requested through an agency before.

"Ah," I say. "No, we can't do that. Any jobs we take have to go through the agency as per our contract."

"But your security job isn't," Zane says. "The one you're probably getting next month."

"That's different," I explain. "I'd be an actual employee, rather than a temp employee. We can still get proper jobs where we're under a full employment contract. But we can't just pick up shifts for a place without going through the agency we're signed up with, as it'd be seen as circumventing the fee they get for helping us get the jobs. Doing so for a place that we've been assigned to before can cost us our contract entirely, even get us blocked from agencies entirely."

"Oh," he says. "That sucks."

"Actually," I realize something and address Zane. "You'd be able to avoid getting us into trouble. Not just for me, either."

"Really?" He asks. "How?"

"Uh…" I say. "Because you're asking for the same people every time. The other two people are working what, three times a week, cleaning all of the rooms except on Saturdays, when you and I clean the one? They're basically employees at this point."

"So we'd be able to offer them full contracts," he says. "And the agency wouldn't have an issue with it?"

"Well," I say. "They'd be upset to lose the what, three hundred dollars a week from the fee they take out of our checks? But that'd be it as long as you let them know you're planning on offering the temp workers contracts to become full employees. It's actually not uncommon, and they'd be more willing to accept it after a month of the temp workers doing the job."

"Oh, neat," he says. "So places do hire temp workers as full workers?"

"Yep," I answer. "Though I'd recommend avoiding offering me a full contract. I'm 'for the foreseeable future', and it's better that way since I don't know what my shifts will be for the security job, if I get it."

"Alright," Zane nods. "So wait until it's been a month, then offer the two of them employment contracts and let the agency know. I can do that."

"And leave me as just being requested for the shift on Saturdays," I say. "Since I might become unavailable on them in a couple of weeks."

"Yep," he says, then looks at Danny. "So Kieran says you like vigilantes and the Sivalshi Guardians, huh?"

"Yeah," Danny grins. "He said the same about you. Who's your favorite?"

"Ah!" I exclaim, remembering something. "Danny, you know a lot about power users in general, not just vigilantes and guardians, right?"

"Yeah," he answers. "Always fun trying to see if any famous power users might be a vigilante or guardian, as horribly as I fail at it."

That's probably the Patron's interference, since he doesn't want people to know their identities in order to keep them protected. Even when something is blatantly obvious, the Patron will prevent someone from connecting the dots.

"Do you know old ones, too?" I ask. "Not just modern ones?"

"Heck yeah," he answers. "It's fun trying to figure it out regardless of how long they've been retired. Or dead."

"Do you know of any named Nox?" I ask. "Black hair and eyes, probably shadow-based abilities, might have had a shadow wolf beast as a pet? Not in recent times, but older times. A powerful power user, too."

Nox was definitely powerful, he gave me that vibe from Shade's memories. Not only that, but Shade does refer to him as the King of Shadows, which suggests it as well.

"Hm," he thinks for a few moments. "Can't say that I have, actually. Under any alias. Only minor people like the Shadow Twins."

Zane gives me a look that tells me he knows what I'm thinking but is hesitant to say it with Danny here. I give him a nod, letting him know it's okay to ask.

"You think he might be an ancestor of yours?" Zane asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "Something came up yesterday that led me to learning about him, but it was really just what I gave you."

"I haven't heard of him," Danny tells me. "But there haven't really been any famous shadow-based power users. Wait. Zane said he might be an ancestor? Your power has to do with shadows?"

"Yeah," I answer. "It's something minor, though. I have more energy when in shadows or darkness, and have a little bit better eyesight in it, too. I also don't get blinded by bright lights. That's about it."

"Neat," he says. "Would've expected something cooler for you, like turning invisible in shadows or something. It'd suit you."

"Thanks," I say.

"So are you one, too?" Danny asks Zane.

"Yep!" Zane grins. "It's not a secret, either, as much as some people hate power users or want to ignore our existence."

"What is it?" Danny asks.

"I can turn rock-hard!"

Danny gives me a baffled look that says he thinks the same thing everyone does when Zane says that: he's just talking about getting a boner. I did learn that it really isn't a secret about his family, though. They're not famous, however, so it's not widespread. They just don't hide it and will truthfully answer when asked.

"He can turn to stone," I explain. "Literally. Zane just likes saying it like that."

"I love their reactions!" Zane pushes Danny in front of him, then jumps onto his back again. "Onward, my steed! Let's go coat shopping!"

Today is definitely going to be an entertaining one.