And so the days turned into weeks. I read to Andrei regularly, his grammar is getting astoundingly better. Rarely would he make a mistake when speaking. The guy was a genius with languages! We read everything from nonfiction to fantasy. Andrei ate them up.

He said that the stories that talked about old or wild magic sounded the most similar to what he'd experienced as one of the Fae. So, we found our niche. I'd find the books that talked about the Fae, or magic in general, and he would tell me who got it right, close, meh, or not even in the same ballpark.

We also binged so many Disney movies, it wasn't even funny. We didn't have a repeat of the incident with my cold, where we fell asleep watching them, but we'd definitely dozed off during a couple of them and woke up at ten or eleven at night, ending our time together.

We also went on dates to nearby cities and the museums they had there. Andrei almost always drove, making sure I layered up for the chilly ride. We never went much farther than an hour or two away, but it was just enough that my legs would sometimes be numb from the cold when we got there, and we'd have to take a break in a heated building to warm up. When it was really bad, Andrei would blow on his palms and rub them against the tops of my thighs, trying to bring warm blood back to the área with friction.

It almost always worked instantaneously.

During one trip to an art museum, we were sitting in an impressionist section looked at a Monet. Andrei pulled at our joined hands and I looked over at him.

"What are they doing?" He asked, gesturing with his head over to a couple sitting in front of a Renoir, holding a smartphone up and making silly faces for the camera.

"They're taking a selfie."

He looked shocked,

"But I'm with you," he held up our joined hands, "They can't take me?"

I puzzled over what he said, then I groaned,

"Sel-fie, not sel-kie, gosh, you're--" I glanced up at him, hiding a smile behind his overly large hand, "You're totally pulling my leg, aren't you?"

He winked at me.

I groaned again and slapped my free hand against my face.

"What have I done to deserve this."

He nudged my shoulder incessantly.

"It was a good joke, yes?" I rolled my eyes and pulled him from the room, him chuckling the entire way.

We made it to the next impressionist room, when Andrei pulled gently on our joined hands. I looked up at him.

"What's up?"

He looked to the side. Then back at the room we were just in.

"Can we take a selfie, too?"

My heart melted.

"Yeah, sure. Lemme get my phone out."

I swiped open the camera app, toggled off the flash, and held it out far in front of us. I smiled, noticing my face on the screen, but Andrei continued looking somber and didn't even look at the phone.

"Andrei, you've gotta look here," I gestured to the selfie camera, and he did so, expression unchanged.

"And smile." I added.

He did as I asked and his mouth broke into a forced grin, not unlike a dog's. More like a baring of teeth than anything happy.

"C'mon, smile! Think of something that makes you happy." He scrunched up his face in thought, and I took the opportunity to take a shot secretly.

He didn't notice, and after a bit came up with a much better smile for the camera. I took it again, and this time showed it to him. He grinned with approval, and commented on my excellent selfie skills. I rolled my eyes, smiling, and we moved on into the museum.

When I got home and Andrei had left after a while, I promptly set both pictures as my lockscreen and wallpaper.

* * * * * * * *

Andrei and I had collided around mid-October, when the leaves were just turning their autumn colors, and now it was almost Thanksgiving. I was leaving for Arizona to have Thanksgiving with my family. They'd called last minute to say they'd found the perfect flight for me; I'd be leaving Wednesday night before and going home the Sunday after.

Andrei had been in the room when I'd answered the phone call and he gave me a curious look after I'd hung up.

"Looks like I'll be leaving you for a couple days over Thanksgiving, Andrei. Family just called, I'm going back out to Arizona Wednesday."

He glanced at the cat calendar dangling precariously from the wall,

"That's in four days. Why so soon?" His eyebrows furrowed, and his lower lip stuck out in a slight pout. I don't think he even realized he was doing it.

I rubbed at the back of my neck,

"My mom's a last-minute planner. Honestly, I had no idea if we were going to do a big family Thanksgiving or not this year."

He stood there, looking pitiful. I sighed, then opened my arms.

"C'mere."

He brightened a bit, and wrapped me in a bear hug with my arms around his waist and his chin settled on top of my head.

"It's only going to be, what?" I counted quickly in my head, "like eighty hours or so?"

He nuzzled his nose into my hair, taking in a deep breath,

"But I want to talk to you every day." He whined.

My heart pitter-patted, and I rubbed at his back absentmindedly.

"I guess you don't have a phone, do you?" He shook his head, angling his neck so now it was pressed more into the crook of my neck.

"Well, why don't we go get you one?" His heat shot up and his brown eyes met my own.

"Right now?"

"Yup."

"I'll be able to talk to you with the phone?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Every day?"

"You sure can."

He grinned, his eyes crinkling and the smile lines around his mouth became more prominent.

"Let's go!"

* * * * * * * *

After leaving the store with a new phone in hand, it dawned on me that I had no idea how Andrei earned a living.

"Andrei?"

"Mm-yeah?" He was distracted, locking and unlocking his phone with the pattern passcode.

"What do you do for a job?"

He looked up at a me, his phone locking with a click.

"I'm a carpenter."

"A carpenter?"

"Yes, I make furniture and build houses for Fae and humans." He waggled his eyebrows at me and I laughed, "Makes for a bigger clientele."

I pushed him away, still laughing a bit, and we saddled his bike and left for home.

* * * * * * * *

Wednesday night, Andrei drove me to the airport. I'd only packed a duffle bag, which we'd strapped to the back of his motorcycle before taking off. When we reached the drop-off, he unloaded my bag for me while I struggled to release the clasp on the helmet. He chuckled, setting the bag down gently, before assisting me in my struggles.

When he'd released me from my prison, he gently took the helmet and set it on the seat. Holding his arms out, I took the bait and circled my arms around him in a hug. He wrapped his own around me and squeezed,

"Can't breathe! Air!" I gasped. He only laughed, but relaxed his grip regardless.

He sighed and rested his mouth against the top of my head.

"I will miss you very much, moye serdtse."

"I'll miss you too."

I gave him one last squeeze and let go, grabbing my bag and heading into the airport. I waved goodbye from behind the sliding doors, and he waved back. Making no move to leave, yet. My heart squeezed, and I headed to security.

* * * * * * * *

A/N: Apologies for the long wait, had a major case of the writer's block. Finally got through it, though, and this story should be finished within the month! I've finally got it all planned out. Enjoy!