Chapter 40: I Wanted To Ask You Something

Harmony's life had fallen into a new pattern since Brennan started harboring Talori to keep her safe. The mermaid hung out in her office every day while the water fairy was at work, Castian now stayed over every Friday night so he could join them in their research on Saturday mornings, and she kept finding herself owing him things so she usually brought him food once or twice a week to make up for it.

This went on for months without variation. Talori seemed to be adjusting better, though her homesickness did hit her every so often. When it did Brennan knew how to handle her.

He was rather reliable for a fairy. It seemed he was rubbing off on his mermaid friend too.

"I want to do something to help Brennan," she said resolutely. "He pays for all of my food and takes me to do fun things and I can't realistically sit around the coven all day indefinitely, can I? I want to get a job."

Harmony was so surprised by this declaration that she accidentally blew up what she was working on. "What?! You want a job?"

"Yes. I have learned a lot since coming to the surface and believe I am capable of working in a fae-run establishment of some sort as long as they train me. Do you know of any that are hiring?"

She would have to reach out to her contacts. She knew of plenty of fae-run businesses around here but didn't know if anyone needed extra help or not. Or how she would explain that the fae in question was a mermaid since most fae had never met one.

"I can look into it for you but there are no guarantees I'll be able to find anything," Harmony said with a shrug.

"That's fine! Thank you, Harmony!" Talori replied happily, bouncing in her seat.

"No problem."

The next day was Friday and when she met up with Castian the first thing she asked him was whether or not he knew of any elf businesses that would be willing to hire a mermaid. He blinked at her uncomprehendingly.

"Since when does Talori want a job?"

"Since yesterday, apparently. She says she wants to help Brennan out and I think she's also getting a little bored hanging out in my office all day since we finished the majority of our research already," Harmony admitted. "I feel kind of bad for her so I want to help her out. Especially not knowing how long she'll be here."

Castian nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I can ask around but make no promises."

"That's fine. Anything helps. So what have you been up to since Wednesday? Anything new?"

"No. School and work are going as usual. What about you?"

"Well…" Harmony ended up launching into a long rant about how her research wasn't cooperating with her that didn't stop until the food arrived.

They were out to eat before conducting their usual transaction, which had also become a part of her new routine over a month ago. Castian always insisted on paying and then she had to bring him lunch to make up for it.

She was beginning to suspect he was doing it on purpose. He knew she didn't like owing anyone. But why would he do that? It didn't make any sense. She really should call him out on it one of these days.

Sure enough, it happened again when they had finished their food and she squinted at him. "What's your deal?"

"What do you mean?" Castian asked uncomprehendingly.

"You keep paying for me every time we go out so I keep feeling the need to bring you something to make up for it. If I didn't know any better, I would say you were doing it on purpose."

"What if I am doing it on purpose?"

Harmony blinked at him. She hadn't expected him to admit to it so quickly.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it's the only way I get to see you more often," he said without meeting her eyes, though the tips of his ears were slightly red.

Her heart skipped a beat. He actually wanted to see her more often? When had he come to that conclusion? More importantly, why? Their relationship wasn't like that…or it hadn't been.

Things had definitely changed since that first time he helped her with Talori. He wasn't just her elf anymore. He was her friend. How had that happened? They had known each other for decades without that happening! Though they also hadn't engaged in more than small talk until recently. That was when things started changing.

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"If you want to see me more often, all you have to do is ask," Harmony said, trying to be rational.

She wouldn't have made such an offer a few months ago but they hadn't been friends then. At this point it would be weird if she didn't see him several times a week.

Castian finally looked at her, a trace of his earlier blush still on his cheeks. "Really?"

"Duh. We're friends."

"Right. I'll keep that in mind."

Harmony never would have seen herself becoming friends with an elf. Let alone the one she had a relationship of obligation with. It hadn't felt as much like an obligation lately though since she realized she actually enjoyed talking to him.

Castian was a useful guy to have around too. Brennan certainly seemed to like him and whatever insights he had into the sustainability/ocean conversation problem. He had mentioned it more than once.

And he was willing to help her out without asking too many questions, no matter how strange the request was. Like trying to help a mermaid who had only been on the surface a few months find a job. That was simply the kind of fae he was.

He may not have much of a sense of humor but he was a good fae to have in your corner. He wasn't as boring as Harmony originally thought. She was glad they were friends now.

She was considered odd for having friends that weren't witches but so what? Brennan, Talori, and Castian were helping her out in various ways. She wasn't friends with them for nothing.

Everyone thought she was especially strange for seeing her elf outside of their scheduled meetups. So what if she was? Castian was helping them out!

There was nothing wrong with what she was doing. Why couldn't they understand that? Just because they couldn't see the use in keeping other races of fae around for more than the occasional favor didn't mean she was the one in the wrong here.

Witches interacted with other races most frequently anyway because they were the backbone of the fae community. They were involved in everything so why was it strange that she wanted to spend time with the same few fae over and over? They had useful insights and she liked talking to them.

Harmony had an informational exchange going with both Brennan and Talori. And she was literally supposed to be with Castian in some capacity! More than half of the witches in the coven were involved with an elf.

What was so wrong with hanging out with him outside of their prearranged meetings? She didn't see a problem with it and neither did he. That was what mattered.

She couldn't help but wonder if his elf friends gave him as hard a time about her as the rest of her coven did about him. There was a good chance they did. Witches and elves were both pragmatic races that didn't believe in emotional attachments much.

Not that Harmony thought she was genuinely attached to any of her friends. At least not in the way other races seemed to be since her friendships were all based on exchange. She cared about what happened to them in a generic way but that was different. Part of why she and Brennan got along so well was that he was the same way after losing his family and moving around so much. He had no one left to care about and had closed himself off.

Though he did seem to care about Talori in some capacity. He was very patient with her. Indulgent was the word Harmony would use.

She supposed they did spend a lot of time together. It was good that he found another fae he liked talking to. Fairies generally were not solitary creatures. The problem was what he was going to do when she inevitably went back to the ocean. He would find himself with an awful lot of empty time to fill.

The sound of her name snapped her out of her thoughts. She realized Castian was calling her.

"Sorry, what?"

"I wanted to ask you something. What were you thinking about?"

Harmony had been thinking about a lot of things but she didn't want to voice all of them. She ended up going with the most recent one.

"Talori and Brennan. I think he'll miss her once she goes back home since they're literally always together. He's probably gotten used to having her around," she said with a shrug.

Castian nodded. "It certainly does seem that way."

"So what did you want to ask me?"

"It can wait."

Harmony frowned.. It was important enough that he called her name trying to get her attention multiple times but now he was saying it could wait? She wasn't sure she would ever understand this elf.

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