Perhaps there were no explosions or fanfare that announced my exit from Twilight Ogre's guildhall, but they really weren't needed. 

Laxus had easily been able to find me from the screams (don't worry, none of them had died... Hell, there was barely any blood) and after shooting me a rather exasperated look we walked out. Sure, neither of us had commented on the rest of the guild watching us go with fear, but we certainly noticed. 

With my prominently displayed Fairy Tail mark and Laxus'... Laxus, we knew that neither of them would be bothering the guild for quite some time.

"So..." Laxus broached after a moment, "Are they okay?" 

It was a funny question, one that I knew would normally be answered with a grimace and a shrug, but this time was different. No control had been lost, I just needed to make sure the Alverez Empire never found out what went down here today. Though, I really wasn't worried about that.

A carefree laugh nearly escaped me, but I reigned it back in, smiling widely instead, "Well, I'm not gonna speak for their mental state, but everyone's fine outside of a few sprains." 

If Laxus had been exasperated with me earlier, then that was nothing compared to the look he was shooting me now, "Ember." His voice held a warning, though I could see him fighting back a grin as well, "You know this could cause more pain for Fairy Tail Don-"

"Oh please," I scoffed, cutting him off, "They were well compensated for it. If they do as I suggested they'll have doubled their yearly income in just a month." I completely ignored Laxus' raised eyebrow and veered off towards a ramen shop that I knew hadn't been here years before.

Spark Plug was going to have to work for his answers today.

A quiet curse followed me into the building and I felt my smile continue to grow. This was a good day.

Before long, we had been seated and Laxus was still continuing his unsuccessful intimidation tactics as I ordered for both of us. It only took a moment of silence to break him, proving that he should never be the one to interrogate anyone, "Alright, I'll bite, what did you do?"

"Broke one priceless item to prove a point then threw another one at them before you barged in. All in all, they were very accommodating." I shrugged like it was no big deal, "I was almost worried that I would have to use the third item I brought, that would have been bad for everyone there, including me."

Once again, the details were vague, placing just enough information on the table to confuse Laxus all the more.

Laxus' groan was enough of a reward for me as I leaned back in my seat, admiring how sexy he was, not for the first time that day. He noticed my staring and scowled at me, finally pulling my laugh out as our food came.

"Have you always been this big of a tease, or is this new?" He asked after a moment, to my delight. I grinned innocently at him- which likely looked about as innocent as a fox about to get into a henhouse- and took a deliberate bite into my mouth. 

This time his curses weren't quite so quiet and he swore for a second before relenting"Fine! What were the objects and why would the last one have been bad?!" With that, he shoved a bite into his mouth mumbling something that I couldn't understand.

Oh, it was a sweet thing to break him, he crumbled so beautifully, "One was lacrimal vase," I said finally, managing to hold in my laughter for a moment and ticking off the items on my fingers, "The second was a music box made by someone famous, and the third was a small bust, famed for having a powerful curse on it."

He raised an eyebrow at that but seemed to decide against questioning me further as we both dove wholeheartedly into the ramen. 

For him, it may not have been that long, but this was my first decent meal in seven years and I was determined to enjoy it. How I had survived all those years without food or water was a mystery to me, even Mavis was baffled when we talked about it multiple times.

She theorized that my body was trapped just enough in the spell to not notice much time passing physically, I countered with the idea that I was just plain immortal.

That always made her scoff before she up and left for a while, leaving me to ponder the question on my own without the sarcasm. Sure, it was a scary thing to not really understand what was happening to you, but I managed... Mostly...

Long story long, this cheap bowl of ramen was probably the best thing I had ever eaten.

***

A long-suffering sigh came from me as we reached the train station again, "Would you go back to Fairy Tail already?" I grumbled as he looked at me expectantly.

"Nope, I'm going with you."

He was a stubborn ass to the highest degree. It was something that we had in common and it vexed me to no end, "Yeah, right." The moment I turned towards the train station after getting ramen, Laxus had practically glued himself to my side. With how well we knew each other, there was no doubt that he guessed my intentions.

The ticketing counter loomed before us and a spark of brilliance hit me, "Fine then, but I'm not paying for your ticket." It was said so nonchalantly, but I knew he didn't have any more jewel on him, we normally took turns paying for things like this and he hadn't had an opportunity to get anything when we stopped at the house. Of course, the idiot thought I would pay for him to accompany me to what could end up being my execution. 

A look of betrayal flashed across his face before he hid it with contempt and stalked towards the ticketing girl. Of course, it just had to be a girl... Sure, Laxus was attractive, but it didn't really work on him too often because he knew he was attractive and that cockiness showed.

I hung back as he sweet-talked his way into a ticket. How? I wasn't sure, but I knew by the blush on the poor ticket person's face that one of his rare moments of being charming had come out.

There was plenty of grumbling on my part as I bought my ticket and stomped onto the train, past an incredibly smug Laxus. It was one of the many times where I wanted nothing more than to boot the idiot out of the train station by force... Unfortunately, Laxus was an unmoveable object as far as that was concerned, so I would just have to deal with him tagging along.

Just because I knew I would have to accept it, didn't mean I had to accept it gracefully. My grumbling only got more intense and perhaps a bit violent as I walked past Laxus with his stupid smug grin.

Whoever thought that this stubborn dork was attractive was a fucking idiot...

Don't fucking say anything. 

I already know.

By the time we had made it onto the train, I had calmed down ever so slightly, enough to be chatting casually with Laxus to pass the time. We danced around the important topics for a while, talking about our home and the new guildhall. It was pleasant enough, but before too long I sighed heavily and looked out at the passing scenery.

"What'd'ya think they'll do to me?" I asked as my eyebrows furrowed. It wasn't that I was scared that I would be found guilty and thrown away for the rest of my life, I had seven years to think about that option. As long as I was never deprived of my senses again, I would be fine.

But not being scared of something is a far cry from wanting it to happen. 

I wanted to stay with everyone. Even if I was by all intents and purposes a murderer, that didn't mean I was sadistic about it... I still had the ability to feel empathy, I was an awkward idiot around people I wasn't sure of, and it wasn't like I set out on my missions looking to murder people. It just always ended up happening.

Laxus stared at me for a moment before he sighed and wiped his hand over his eyes, "I wish I knew."

"You know?" I asked after a brief moment of silence, "We had one hell of a ride, didn't we?" 

It was a general statement, but Laxus knew immediately what I was talking about, "Hell yeah we did." His cocky smirk was back, and I couldn't help but stare for a second, "I can't believe it all started out with a corrupt banker."

"And a dark guild."

"Don't forget that bomb ass fight." He threw in with vindictive pleasure. He never would let me forget the fact that I technically lost that first fight.

Of course, I didn't exactly let him off the hook with anything either, "And despite that, you've yet to win a fight against me."

He glared for only a moment before shaking his head with a small smile, the cocky smirk changing into something much gentler.

The train's brakes squealed as we rolled into Era and I stood. Already I could see a group of soldiers waiting in the train station below... It was time to go... God, I thought I was ready for this. I had played out every possible scenario in my head while waiting to wake up. I considered what would happen if they met me when I was getting off the ship if they decided to invade Fairy Tail to drag me away. Hell, I had gone so far to wonder what it would take to completely drop off the map.

I had done so much preparation, but for some reason, adrenaline was flowing through me at an alarming rate... Was I ready? Was there still time to make a break for it? I knew I would be able to spend the rest of my days hiding out in the Velothi Mountains.

Gods... What was I doing here?

My hand had totally frozen on the handle to open our train car door. I couldn't find the desire to move it. Was I trying and failing to open it? Or was I attempting to keep it closed? I wasn't sure... Did I even want to know?

I could feel myself spiraling, it would only be a matter of time before I was a puddle of goo on the floor of the compartment. Shit, I hated myself and the world right now.

A hand landed on my shoulder, pulling me out of the vicious cycle I had fallen into, "You know you don't have to do this, right?" For once in his life, Laxus' voice was soft. He was giving me an out. One that I couldn't afford to accept.

All the muscles in my body tensed for a moment. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to accept, but I knew that doing so would mean condemning Fairy Tail to suffer for my actions. 

Because I was here at all, Lahar would have no choice to listen to my pleas for Fairy Tail. I could convince him, no matter how hard it would be, if I ran, this chance would go up in smoke. 

With a harsh shake of my head, I wrenched the door open and took a step-through, only pausing when I heard Laxus' footsteps following me, "You don't have to come with me. Go back to Fairy Tail... No one would blame you for it."

He chuckled harshly placing a hand against my lower back to get me moving again, "Are you kidding me?" He scoffed, derision heavy in his tone, "Everyone would kill me if I left before I knew what would happen to you. The only way I'll survive is if I follow you." I forced a smile and reached back to him, which he automatically weaved with his own.

My heart swelled at that. It was gruff, but it was also his way of letting me know that he would be by my side till the end.

He was right at my back till we got off the train, the hallways were too narrow to walk side by side, but that didn't stop how grateful I was for his steadying presence. He had been my anchor for more years than I had been alive, and for far longer than he was awake for. With him by my side, I knew I could do this.

As soon as I stepped off the train a platoon of armed guards surrounded us, pushing us away from the train to form a complete circle. In the forefront of it all was Lahar and someone I remembered all too well, Doranbolt.

Be proud of me, the amount of mental gymnastics it took to remember Scar Face's name was staggering.

"Ember." Lahar greeted with a curt nod of his head, "Laxus." It was far more respectful than I had expected, but at the same time, a guard stepped forward with magic canceling cuffs, which slightly undercut the whole 'respect' thing.

The whole situation was familiar, but unlike the last time this situation happened, I stuck out my wrists submissively, allowing the cuffs to be snapped on without complaint.

I shot a tired smile towards the two I knew, "Been a while, hasn't it Lahar, Doranbolt? You two look old." My smile stretched ever so slightly as Doranbolt jerked, a look of shock crossing his face as I spoke, but there wasn't too much time to relish the moment as we were herded forward.

Lahar walked ever so slightly in front of me, unphased, "Yes, that does tend to happen when you disappear for seven years. Though I must admit that you look quite a bit older as well."

A snort from behind me reminded me that Laxus was still here, but Doranbolt cut in before the Spark Plug could say anything, "That was quite a situation you left us with, Ember. Do you realize how irritating those people you had us bring in are? It took us a full three years for them to tell us anything!"

The chains that connected me to a random Rune Knight jingled as I shrugged, ignoring the many curious looks directed our way, "Obviously. They were like that when they were training me too. You probably know more about them at this point than I do."

That shut him up as he gawked at me, Lahar just sighed and turned his head to look at me over his glasses, "You are surprisingly calm about all this. Before you would have threatened to kill us the moment we brought out the cuffs."

It wasn't obviously a question, but I knew that Lahar wanted me to explain. He didn't like knowing there were gaps in a story. It's what made him so good at his job.

"I've had a long time to think about things." My answer was simple, and both of them left it at that.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to the rebuilt Council Building. A grand structure made of marble and several other stones that I couldn't identify but was easily able to tell that they were expensive.

With a sigh I walked through the doors into the grand foyer, looking back at Laxus, who had been barred from entering.

"Let me go with her, damn it!" He growled, a slight sheen of yellow beginning to surround him.

The guards who were blocking his way started sweating. One of them seemed to be about ready to pee his pants as he shook in his boots, "I-I'm sorry sir... The-the council w-would like to speak with, with the prisoner alone. I can't, can't allow you to proceed."

Lahar had paused as well and was now pinching the bridge of his nose as the sounds of Laxus' impending explosion escalated.

"You got to be kidding me?! Doesn't anyone accused have the right to have someone on their side? If she goes in there, the council will feed her to the dogs, there's no way I'm going to let those bastards accuse her just because they don't like Fairy Tail.

I almost felt sorry for the poor boy, probably a new recruit, who was stuttering his apologies, "S-s-so sorry, but I-I can-can't... It's again-against the rules.

"Fuck the rules!"

"Sir-"

"Enough." Lahar seemed to have met his limit of bullshit today as he snapped out authoritatively (I couldn't help but notice Doranbolt looking at him sideways with an... Admiring smirk), "Let him through Aleksen. Laxus, I trust that if you are allowed to attend with Ember, there will be no further outbursts in front of the council?"

Laxus grumbled for a moment but nodded, stepping past the poor boy, shooting him a superior look that reminded me of the time he first met Gajeel. It wasn't a good look on him.

As we walked further into the building, I finally addressed the question I had from the beginning, "So, I assume you guys know about my past?" They had to, I just needed it confirmed.

For a split second, I hoped beyond all hope that he would shake his head and I wouldn't have to explain the fact that I was in fact, the Ghost of Fiore and the Butcher of Barjor... But my hopes were quickly dashed as Lahar sighed again (So much sighing today...).

"Yes," He said curtly, though no more harshly than he would have years ago, "I'm not sure if we know everything, your... teachers were more than happy to tell us most of what they knew about you. It was the only thing we got out of them for quite some time."

That certainly wasn't surprising, if not disheartening. I knew immediately that they knew everything, there was no way my mentors would have withheld anything, so I would go off the worst assumption.

A door opened, and immediately I knew that the whole of the council was inside. I may have been wearing magic suppressors, but that didn't mean my magical energy was completely gone, especially since I had an overwhelming amount. I could still feel every heartbeat in that room. If I was being honest, I could probably take hold of all of them as well, despite the deterrent. One well-placed pull could easily kill them all.

With my head held high and my pride intact, I stepped around the guard who tried to push me into the room and walked in on my own power.

I may be submitting, but no one here had the power to break me.

There was a chair with chains on it in the middle of the room, one of the guards I had been flanked by was urging me towards it, but I ignored them and stood several feet behind it, spine ramrod straight and my natural glare deepened.

I looked above me and saw the faces of the council looking down on me. It was terrifying, probably the most intimidating thing I had ever been faced with, but I didn't let the stress show.

Three familiar faces caught my attention from the top; Lahar, Doranbolt, and Laxus were in the process of filtering in as someone began to speak. Perhaps it wasn't my smartest idea, but I ignored whoever it was for a moment and stared intently at Laxus. He was my anchor... And as previously mentioned, he made up about 75% of my self-control. 

If he hadn't been here, I could still do this, but I felt a sense of peace knowing that he was watching and on my side.

"Does the accused have anyone who will speak for her?" I had never been to a trial, so I assumed that they were asking if I had a lawyer or something, but that wouldn't do. Perhaps Laxus would do this for me, but I wasn't about to have that.

I took a step forward, causing the guards behind me to pull slightly at my chains, stopping me in my tracks, "The accused will speak for herself." My voice was snappy, but not harsh, or, at least, I hoped it wasn't.

Another voice from the council spoke, "Are you certain that is wise?" The woman was watching me with suspicion, as well as curiosity, "You are accused of a great many things, speaking for yourself could only harm your cause."

She wasn't wrong. I didn't know much about legal crap, nor was I great with words, but that hardly mattered, "You aren't wrong," I said as confidently as I could, "But no one in this room knows my whole story. I've kept most details as close to my chest as possible, so even the people I call my family don't know everything."

The lady nodded briefly and a tall man leaned forward. He looked important... I tried to keep my staring subtle as I noted the wizard saint symbol on his chest. Interesting. 

I didn't have much time to examine much more as the person in charge began to talk again.

(Guys, Trials take a long ass time, they go through tons of evidence and I don't think that writing down all of the things Ember is condemned for would make for good storytelling... Forgive me, but I'm going to greatly abridge the trial process for my mental sanity and the desire for everyone not to close out of the book right now!)

"Please state your full name for the record."

"Ember Thorn." 

"Where were you raised, Ember?" The person who asked this had a hard look in his eyes... I had a bad feeling about this.

"Barjor Village."

The man leaned forward, rage lining every part of his face, "And would you mind telling everyone here what happened to Barjor Village?"

God. He probably was related to someone I killed... It was unfortunate that I knew this wouldn't be the first time this happened today.

"Sure..." I had to stop and take a deep breath to stop my voice from cracking, "When I was a kid... I think I was about 6 at the time, I lost control of my magic and killed everyone in the village, including my family."

There was so much more to the story, but I just couldn't bring myself to say it. If the council decided to turn against me for this, there would be little I could do to change their minds.

Another person spoke up after this, "And what exactly is your magic?"

My jaw clenched, but another big breath allowed it to relax, "Blood magic."

"Are you aware that blood magic is a forbidden branch of magic?"

Gods... Apparently I would have to spell everything out for them, "Yes... After all, what I did to my home is what caused it to be banned in the first place."

The wizard saint I had noticed earlier raised his hand. Apparently the council could ask questions as they pleased, but everyone else had to get permission, "You mentioned that you lost control... What do you mean by that?"

What do you think I mean by that? It sounds pretty self-explanatory to me.

"I was experimenting with my magic. Apparently I crossed some kind of line and my magic fought back and took control. I didn't know it could do that, but hey, we all have to learn our limits, I guess."

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best thing I could have said, but it certainly sparked a bit of an uproar as people began to protest.

"Do you mean to say you were experimenting with a deadly form of magic as a child? How could your parents be so irresponsible?!" 

Rage simmered at that, but I forced it down. Now was not the time to be exploding... It took a while for the room to be quiet enough for me to answer, "Begging your pardon, but I'd like to remind you that I was six at the time. I was old enough to be curious about the power my parents were teaching me about, but perhaps not old enough to really understand the consequences. My parents warned my sister and me more times than I remember, but..."

I looked around at all the older people, "I'm sorry, but how many of you have had children?" There were nods from most of the people in the room, "Um... I guess I have to ask how many of your children do everything you guys tell them to do? I really don't get kids, I wasn't raised normally, but I do know what I saw. Kids are curious and can be... crazy? I've heard the people say that trying to control a child is like trying to herd a cat. I mean, I could be wrong, but it seems pretty accurate to me."

There were a few scattered laughs around the room, the person who looked so irritated earlier was nodding reluctantly at me. I was willing to bet that they had forgotten that I was a human and not just an emotionless killing machine.

It was tedious, but the questions continued for hours. I had to answer questions about everything from my first contract as the Ghost of Fiore, to my dealings with Jose, to whether or not I was using Fairy Tail as a way to hide from my crimes.

A couple of times, Lahar jumped in to clarify some details that they had gotten from my mentors, and I had to correct misinformation more times than I could count.

Laxus even jumped in once or twice, pointing out times that I had shown mercy and saved lives, as well as adding details to times that I had lost control. I knew he hated it, but when he was trying to downplay things, I jumped in and told the terrible truth. I hated every moment, but if I wanted to be seen as a reliable person, I needed to be painfully honest.

The hardest pill for everyone to swallow was that I actually had stopped killing under the banner of the Ghost of Fiore after I joined Fairy Tail. 

I tried to explain that copycat killers had taken up my name (which I knew several people believed) but when I told them I had to kill about four or five people before the title became cursed, they had a hard time with that. 

In that case, what won them over was the fact that I was trying to stop the name I had made for myself from being destroyed. As weird as it was for me, saying that I was proud of how meticulous I was known for being made sense for most people.

More hours passed than I could count. I hated it. It felt like I was being split open and that every aspect of my life was placed under a microscope. Every single secret I had kept to myself through the years was revealed... I wondered several times how hard it would be to kill myself rather than continue answering questions.

Eventually, the questions slowed down and while there were a few people who just looked mad, for the most part, everyone just looked as done as I felt.

As I answered the latest question ("Why were so irritated by Novus Ordo?"), the head person, who had fallen quiet a long time ago, just listening to everything and taking it all in, finally raised his hand.

The restless murmurs that had started up a while ago quieted as they turned to him expectantly, "I've heard enough. Ember, when you walked in here, I was determined to sentence you to death, or to life in prison. We've heard enough from outside sources, that I was sure that you were an irredeemable murderer."

I flinched at that but stared at him intently, there was a 'but' behind his words that had me leaning forward in my seat.

"Many of the things you've done with your life have been horrible, however... You've been incredibly candid with us and I know that you haven't lied." A small man stepped forward from beside the old man and nodded. One by one, the council relaxed. It was obvious they trusted this man, which made me think he had some kind of magic that allowed him to sense lies.

"The way your power has continued growing despite everything is... Concerning, to say the least, but my final decision will be to trust you." 

The moment he said that was difficult to describe. My eyes doubled in size at that moment and I froze, not even breathing. He... Was trusting me? Wasn't that a terrible idea? He knew that I had murdered a lot of people, many of whom were after I joined Fairy Tail.

Was... Was I going to go free?

A burst of sound echoed through the large room as I stood frozen, however, the man wasn't done yet.

He raised his hand again, and the room fell quiet once more, "That does not, however, mean that you will be allowed to roam without observation. Ember Thorn, I find you to be an incredibly dangerous person, both with and without your magic, therefore I've decided that you need to be monitored. From this moment forward, you will be an operative for the magic council, working under the careful eye of Lahar."

"You won't be a prisoner, but a tool for us, and depending on how much effort you put into the position, a comrade who has every chance to rise through the ranks."

Before he could dismiss the council I took a step forward, "What about Fairy Tail? Can I... Can I keep my mark?"

He looked at me dismissively, "I suppose Makarov could be considered a traitor for taking you in and not turning you in. However, he perhaps should be thanked for taking you in and... Rehabilitating you. I see no reason to punish them at the moment. As for your mark, Lahar will have to decide that one."

With that, he was gone, leaving the sound to explode through the room as everyone began talking at once.

For a moment I remained frozen, but my knees quickly gave out as I slumped to the ground. This was one of the best outcomes I could have hoped for. I wasn't free... But I wasn't going to prison for the rest of my life, nor was I going to be killed... Fairy Tail wasn't going to be persecuted.

I buried my fist in my mouth as I muffled a sob. 

Seven years of stress. 

Seven years of stress.

All gone now.

My name was called out and I looked up to see Laxus approaching me quickly, just as much relief in his eyes as were probably in mine.

Without being prompted, I sprung up and dragged him into the tightest hug I could manage.

He leaned down just enough to be able to whisper into my ear, "I knew it. I knew you would make it out alright."

I choked out a laugh, "Bullshit," I murmured through tears, "You had just as much faith as I had." He snorted, I snorted, we both sounded absolutely disgusting as I was pretty sure he was tearing up a bit as well. But at that moment, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

I don't know how long we stood there in each other's arms, but eventually, Lahar cleared his throat behind us.

He looked down at his watch for a moment, waiting for me to collect myself, "It is unfortunate," He said after a moment, "I had become rather used to the peace that came when you were gone."  I choked out a laugh and shook my head.

"I know you're my boss now, but don't you dare expect me to call you sir." I was half-joking and he knew it. I would never call someone sir so long as I lived.

For a moment he shot me a rather crusty glare before sighing, "I would love to put you right to work, but our office is rather... desolate at the moment with people preparing for the Magic Games.  I don't think I'll have any work for you to do until those are over..."

He paused for a moment and looked away, trying to pretend that he didn't give a crap, "I suppose you can do whatever you would like until after those are over. Just... Please don't kill anyone at that time."

Wait... Was he giving me leave to go back to Fairy Tail?

Laxus squeezed my hand and I squeezed it right back.

I nearly pulled Lahar into a hug as well, but I only hugged Laxus, period the end. I saluted Lahar as poorly as I was able and the man turned to walk away with a roll of his eyes.

Before he swept out of the room, Lahar paused and looked back at me with a gentle look, "And Ember? I suppose congratulations are in order. It would have been unfortunate if you were to die here."

It was an easy thing to nod with a smile stretching my lips. I knew he cared. 

He left and Laxus and I weren't far behind.

With life in our steps that hadn't been there before, we made our way back to the train station, hand in hand, no guards, magic canceling cuffs, or worries. 

I was going to go home.

We hadn't been walking long before Laxus tugged my hand, forcing me to stop.

"Ember?" He asked, his voice far more hesitant than it normally was.

I faced him, an unspoken question in my eyes. It was rare to hear him like this.

"So, I've been wanting to tell you this since before Tenrou, but... Well... I mean... Shit." He stuttered and immediately my eyes widened. In all the time I had been with this irritable Spark Plug, I could count the number of times he had stuttered on one hand.

"It's just that I'm better with actions... Words are really fucking hard, but now you aren't going to die or anything like that, so I know I need to tell you this before we get back to the guild. It's just that... Well..." He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, and I tried to keep the snigger that was threatening to ruin whatever he was trying to say.

"I think I like you more than I like anyone else."

Wow. I bit my lip harshly to stop myself from laughing. As expected, a confession from Laxus was completely inelegant.

His face was red as he looked away from me.

I reached up and tapped his cheek, "You know?" I said eventually, "Before Tenrou, I would never have known how to respond, but I've had plenty of time to think about it, and I like you too, you big Spark Plug." 

His eyes widened and the blush that stained his face rapidly grew till his whole face was a hilarious shade of pink.

This time, I really did laugh as I reached up and patted his head, a teasing smile on my face, "Geez, if I don't like you, who will ever take care of your stubborn ass?" He opened his mouth to protest, but I cut over him, "We should probably go home. Ever and Freed are already going to kill me for coming here without telling them. I'd hate to make it any worse."

He looked away from me with a huff, though his pink cheeks gave him away.

"Yeah, let's go home."