When they went to Everglen after school, they gathered the snacks and sat at the large couches. There was some idle chatter, until the topic went to romance.

"This might sound insensitive, or even flat out dumb," Fitz began. "But does it feel different having a crush on a guy?"

"Generally, it's the same," Dex replied. "But generally, my crushes are slower, but with Keefe it was a lot more sudden. Like 'hey, since when did he look so good?' I didn't really think that guys were too attractive until my gay awakening happened."

"I mean, it kind of makes sense. When it's not an option, you don't really think about it as often," Sophie said. "You had a crush on me though, right? I wouldn't say that it's your gay awakening, you'd probably be bisexual. Or pan."

"What's the difference?" Fitz asked.

"They're super similar, as they both involve attraction to more than one gender. But pan is all, while with bi it's not always the case. It's more of a personal preference, to be honest. I mean, I'm bi."

"You are?" The others asked.

Knowing that it wasn't just Dex who thought that was actually really assuring.

She nodded. "Girls are super pretty. If I didn't have a huge crush on Fitz, I probably would have mentioned it."

"Bisexual," Dex murmured. "I think that suits me."

"I think pan sounds pretty cool to me!" Keefe added.

"I'm glad you could find labels!" Sophie said.

"There seems to be a lot of labels for... what would the term be..?" Tam asked.

"Sexualities?" She guessed.

Tam hummed. "I guess? Looks like the humans got that figured out before we could even consider it."

"Wait wait wait!" Marella interrupted before Sophie could reply. "Are there words for no attraction? Like romance or... that?"

Sophie nodded. "Aromantic for no romantic attraction, asexual for none of the other kind. Or just aro and ace. In your case though, aroace."

Marella grinned. "That sounds so cool! The elves are so pushy about marriage. like, sure it doesn't happen until later, but..."

"I can be pan and ace, right?" Keefe asked.

"Yeah," Sophie replied. "Panromantic asexual. But pan ace is fine."

"Ooh!"

"I think that's another point to the humans," Marella stated.

"The humans aren't nearly as bad as the elves make them out to be," Sophie pointed out. "... Most of the time, at least."

"That's true," Fitz agreed. "They have their problems, that's for sure, but they have good things going for them."

"You both act like homophobia doesn't exist in the Forbidden Cities," Dex cut in. "It's seeming to get better, but there's still lots of crime going on."

Linh winced. "As much as I like fighting the Neverseen with all of you, I miss the days when the only thing I needed to worry about was getting through Exillium."

"I would never go back to those days. Filled with headaches and people mentally insulting you," Sophie said.

Fitz wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned back into him. "I wouldn't want to be back then either. Back when I didn't know better, and was rude to people. I could have been a much better person."

Dex wasn't prepared for Fitz turning towards him, an apologetic look in his eyes.

He smiled. "It's okay, I forgive you. It was something you were raised with, and you're a lot better now."

Fitz smiled back. "And you won't prank me?"

Dex rolled his eyes, but in a more joking manner. "I wouldn't go that far."

He pouted. "Will I ever get to go that far?"

He shrugged and said "Maybe." while Keefe said "Absolutely not."

Biana laughed. "Looks like you're not off the hook yet."

Then she went abruptly quiet, her brows furrowing as she stared blankly. She turned to Tam. "You were the one who dared Dex to kiss Keefe, right?"

Oh yeah, that did happen. It felt like such a long time ago. But also... I feel like this wasn't the first time Tam was meddling with our relationship. Did he do that on purpose?

Tam nodded, an oddly nervous expression on his face. His wrist flicked shrouded himself in shadows, making him hidden.

"Bangs Boy, your silence about the topic speaks louder than your words," Keefe pointed out.

His tone was casual, almost emotionless, but Dex caught the way he tensed. He couldn't blame him, because it was a pretty big revelation. It made sense, like when Dex walked in on Keefe and Tam arguing over what had been going on between them. But still, this just showed how observant the shade could be.

"Wait, you set them up?" Marella asked. "How did you know?"

Tam reappeared. "In my defense, you should have seen them. Dex was massaging Keefe, and then later on I saw them hugging each other in their sleep. Then later on Dex woke up and he was just staring and if that didn't scream crush, I don't know what does. I even tried to confront them like a normal person, but they did that thing where you deny it but it's clearly a lie."

"Tam... why do you know this?" Linh asked.

"Insomnia. Also I get hyperfixated on my surroundings easily. Linh you know this."

"If that isn't me," Keefe joked.

"Do any of us get a consistent amount of sleep?" Dex asked.

"Nope."

They all laughed at that, despite the fact that it was tragic. A group of kids, unable to have a normal life. But they all knew that together, they would be able to work past their struggles.

"Alright, who wants to play Tackle Bramble?" Keefe asked.

Dex flopped onto Keefe's lap, then stretched. "I'm really comfortable here, and you have the audacity to make me get up?"

Keefe smiled. "If you want to cuddle, we can always-"

"Up!" Biana ordered. With a wave of her arm, Dex was lifted off of Keefe and set back down gently on the couch beside him. Dex hummed in disapproval. "I'm bored, and I wanna kick your butts. Girls vs boys?"

"Sure," Fitz replied. "I think we'll win though."

"Oh really?" Marella asked, smirking. "Because you haven't played with me on the team yet."

Dex knew that all the girls could be really competitive, more competitive than the boys were. So unsurprisingly to Dex, their drive allowed them to win most of the rounds. The boys did manage to win once, and there was another close match. But playing together like that reminded Dex of how much he enjoyed the sweet feeling of being with his friends.

Unfortunately, time passed by too quickly, and Dex went back home.

"I'm glad to see you smiling more," Lovise told him. "I know I don't talk to you that much, but you're not as fun when you're sulking."

"Thanks."

"I'll fight anyone who makes you upset, you know. Even Keefe."

That got a laugh out of him. "I don't think he'd survive that. Sure, he fought King Dimitar, but you wouldn't hold back. I appreciate it though, even if the declaration is a bit sudden."

Lovise shrugged. "I don't speak with you often enough. I probably should have said it earlier."

"It's fine. Talking can be really hard."

She snorted. "You could say that again."

(Ftr... That mention of the Neverseen... That's a reminder that they're still out there... Still a threat... *Smiles evilly*)

Also Meg... I know you are the biggest Lovise stan, I have a bad memory and can't recall her personality (which is why I haven't written her), so may you recap it for me? It's not like the wiki has info. So for the moment she's going to be socially awkward.