Narry kicked his feet up on the bed as he sunk further into the cushions of the love-seat, too tired to care whether or not he should be concerned about the countless stains dotting its exterior. Artemis prodded at Narry's mud-caked boots cautiously with his pencil, nudging them off the comforter before turning back to the papers in his hands. "I don't want your stupid boots in my face," he spat, grimacing as Narry reluctantly pulled back his feet and slid off his shoes, immediately returning them sock-clad back to the edge of the bed. "Let me rephrase that—I don't want your feet in my face in general. Face the other way."

"Whatcha writing there, moody?" Narry sneered, ignoring his instruction as he prodded Artemis' arm with his heel, "Are you gonna charm up your true love with some cheesy before-bed poetry?"

Artemis swatted his ankles with the book in his hand, snapping, "I said to get your feet out of my face."

Narry propped his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, asking smugly, "Are my sweaty socks distracting you from your love letter? Are you afraid that if you can't focus you can't write well enough to make your true love's panties fall the second she meets you?"

"It's not a love letter," Artemis huffed, pulling his papers against his chest, "And that's real mature of you, Narry."

"Sure," Narry leaned forward further and nabbed the notes from his hands, jamming his heel into Artemis' chest as he scrambled to take them back. He stared at them dully, his expression falling in disappointment as he flipped through the pages. "Is this just an essay about that dumb love god? You gonna give him a yelp review or some shit? C'mon dude, you've been thirsty enough to travel all this way just to find out who you're destined to be with, there's gotta be some kind of slutty poetry somewhere."

"Give those back," Artemis snapped frantically, crumpling the top of the papers in his hand as he reached to take them from Narry, "why can't you just leave me alone for once?"

Narry jerked his hands back, the sheets ripping down the middle. Artemis stumbled back on the bed, the torn halves of his papers clenched tightly in his hands as he stared in shock at Narry. "Whoops," Narry smirked, glancing over the halves in his own hands. "Hmph. 'He regarded me bluntly and rudely, and his advice was possibly a scam and a waste of my time'. So I take it that it didn't go how you wanted, huh?"

Artemis' face shone red. "That's none of your business."

"Hey, man if it's bothering you so much, just talk about it," Narry crossed his arms, "you've got the half I assume you wrote his advice on, what'd he say? What's this scam or whatever?"

"Just shut up about it, will you?" Artemis took the papers in his hands and tore them into even smaller shreds, tossing them in the trash. "I don't want to talk—" he collapsed onto his back against the mattress—"so leave me alone."

Narry furrowed his brow and sat on the end of the bed beside Artemis. "I didn't put up with your rude ass for a year just for you to go to this dumb love god and get let down." He put his hand lightly on Artemis' shoulder. "Did he not tell you who your true love was?"

"Stop," Artemis pushed at his side in an attempt to shove him off the bed, "I said I don't want to talk."

Narry frowned. "I just wanna know what made the point of this stupid journey sum up to nothing. I don't care if you don't wanna talk, I do, you big baby."

"If it'll make you shut up," Artemis said in a sharp voice, "he implied who I was supposed to be with, but I don't know, okay? I don't—I don't like him that way, and I don't think he even likes me that way, and now I'm supposed to be soulmates with him and it's stupid, and that love god was wrong, and I feel stupid."

"'Him'." Narry said it as a statement, rather than a question. He laughed a little. "It's a him, huh?"

Artemis scrunched his face. "Oh, sure, that's the part you focus on. Don't sound so surprised."

"I'm not, I didn't expect much else from a guy who wears eyeliner all the time," Narry shook his head and laughed a little more. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But hey, you already know this guy, right? Are you so sure you're not actually meant to be with him?"

"I don't know," Artemis sighed, "I never really considered him an option, and now I travelled all this way for nothing because it's not some far, distant guy in a foreign town that I would have to set out and find it's just...someone I already know. And I don't even like him so why would he be my soulmate, y'know?"

Narry shrugged. "Maybe you just gotta give him a chance, and if things don't work out, so what? Being without a soulmate isn't so bad, I mean, I'm doing fine without one and it's not like that's changing any time soon."

"That's not comforting," Artemis groaned, glancing at him. "I don't want to be soulmate-less, but I don't want to be with the guy who's supposed to be my soulmate and I...geez I don't know what to do."

"Hey, you got time, man. You don't have to rush into this whole situation right now, and if you decide not to pursue it, it's probably for the better, right?" Narry stood and sat back on the love-seat, facing Artemis. "Just...sleep on it, alright? And we can set out and find this guy whenever you decide to, if that's what you want."

"I think I like you better when you're being a jerk," Artemis gave a weak laugh, "this whole advice thing is weird. I didn't think you had a sympathetic bone in your body, you aren't usually...nice."

"Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises." Narry shrugged, leaning back into the cushions. "Go to sleep, alright? It sounds like you had a long day."