Chapter 53: Better Off Back In The Ocean

Harmony laughed again when she ended up with her head on Castian's chest as usual a few minutes later. "Not gonna lie, it's weird doing this while you're wearing a shirt."

He supposed this was the first time that had happened. "Would you like me to take it off?"

"That isn't what I meant! I was just saying."

"I can if it would make you more comfortable."

"It was just a comment, Castian. You're fine," Harmony insisted. "You can wear your weirdly formal pajamas if you want to."

"…the rest of you are too informal. This is perfectly acceptable sleepwear for an elf."

"Hey, anything is fine as long as you don't sleep in a suit."

Castian sighed. He could tell she was teasing him. She did that a lot more often lately and he was still trying to get used to it. It was a good thing it was dark so she couldn't see his blush right now.

He ended up poking her cheek in retaliation since he didn't have a verbal comeback. She laughed again and snuggled closer. "You really are too easy to tease."

"And you have way too much fun teasing me."

"I wouldn't say TOO much fun…okay, maybe a little. Sometimes I wonder why you tolerate me."

Castian frowned. "I don't tolerate you at all."

"If you say so," Harmony said with a yawn. "Goodnight, Castian."

"Goodnight."

Though he wasn't the biggest fan of being teased, he couldn't deny he looked forward to being able to do this every night. At least for the foreseeable future. He didn't want to think about what would happen afterwards.

Castian had time. Time and the opportunity to be close to her while he still could was all he had wanted. And that was exactly what he got. He had nothing to complain about, disregarding the fact that this would all be so much easier if Harmony was an elf.

But Harmony wouldn't be Harmony if that was the case. He had fallen for her exactly as she was. No elf woman could ever compare to this beautiful, sometimes exasperating witch.

===

Brennan was surprised by how panicked he had felt at the thought of Talori leaving already when he got Harmony's text. It was stupid because wasn't that the whole point of her being here? She was never supposed to stay permanently.

As much as she may enjoy learning about the surface, she didn't belong here. She had a home she was supposed to go back to.

Talori got homesick frequently but she was still enjoying herself for the most part. She liked having a job because she said it made her feel useful but he was fairly certain she also enjoyed being able to buy whatever she wanted.

When she got her first paycheck she bought presents for him, Harmony, Castian, and even Piper. He had to try really hard not to laugh because what she got him was so random. It seemed she had gone out to a tourist shop to get it because it was a gray t-shirt that said 'Welcome to Miami' on it with an abstract beach sunset on some of the letters.

It wasn't the sort of thing he usually wore but she was so excited about it that he couldn't let her down. Now he wore it about once a week with a great sense of irony.

Talori had also gotten tourist t-shirts for the others because he saw Harmony and Castian wearing very similar shirts the next time they met up on a weekend. He was willing to bet every dime he had that she forced him to wear his to be polite because it didn't suit him at all. That was Brennan's first time seeing him wear anything but a button-down shirt.

She had been happy to see them wearing theirs too and did that cute little dolphin squeal she did when she was excited, clapping her hands. She may not have realized that no local ever wore things like that but no one was about to tell her.

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That wasn't the only thing she used her first paycheck on. She also treated Brennan to dinner and insisted on beginning to pay half of their household expenses. He wanted to tell her that wasn't necessary but honestly it would be a lot of help so he accepted her offer graciously.

So Talori paid her way and with whatever money was leftover she bought things she found interesting that she wanted to take home with her to show Zale. Brennan advised her not to get anything electronic or that would otherwise be ruined by water, like paper products. She kept that in mind.

Instead she bought things like funny mugs, keychains, and other trinkets that also looked suspiciously like they came from gift shops. He was willing to bet she was getting them from the one near the hospital where she worked on her lunch break.

Brennan debated whether or not to tell her those were just overpriced tourist traps but ultimately decided against it because of how much fun she was having. She was free to spend her money how she wanted.

She didn't only spend it on random souvenirs either. She also wanted to use it to pay for herself for them to go do things on the weekend. She wanted to see museums, go to concerts, and otherwise experience life on the surface to the fullest after seeing things in movies.

He didn't mind because it kept her distracted so she wouldn't be as homesick. They ended up doing almost everything of note in the greater Miami area over the course of a few months.

Brennan had grown used to her constant presence. That was dangerous. He wasn't supposed to be getting used to someone who would only leave.

This was exactly why he preferred not getting too close to anyone. He always missed people when he inevitably left even if he didn't fit in with them properly. And it had been decades since he lived with anyone. That would likely affect things more than usual.

He had gotten used to having someone to come home to at the end of the day aside from a silent apartment. He hadn't had that since breaking up with his last girlfriend. That had been a very long time ago.

Talori wasn't his girlfriend though. She was his roommate. Why should he care if she went home? That was what she wanted! He should be happy!

He wouldn't have to deal with the constant inconvenience of pushing someone around and carrying her to and from the car to the wheelchair and vice versa, cooking for two, or keeping her sufficiently hydrated. But he also wouldn't be able to have someone to talk to as often as he did since he hadn't seen Harmony every day before. Or enjoy her insights about the world or her bright smile and the adorable way she bounced in her seat when she was excited.

She was a very fidgety fae—he had noticed that from the time they met—and a lot of her usual movement was stemmed by the fact that she couldn't walk. She would be better off back in the ocean but he really didn't want her to go.

How much worse would that get the longer she stayed here? It wasn't like he could get unattached or pull away from her at this point. He was stuck since they were living together. She would take it personally and get upset. That was the last thing he wanted.

Brennan didn't want to pull away from her either though it would be the safe thing to do. He didn't know how long they would be able to spend time together so he had to take full advantage of it while he could.

He went to pick Talori up from work like usual and discovered she was feeling down again. It was completely obvious by the look on her face.

She had to be thinking about her brother. This had been happening more frequently since she recorded that message for him. He had done his best to cheer her up but he was beginning to run out of ideas to distract her.

Maybe what Brennan needed to do this time was make her laugh. Harmony had sent him a picture the other day of how many braids she managed to put in Castian's hair when he was asleep. His hair wasn't long enough for that but at the very least he should be able to get a decent number of pigtails.

They had hair ties at home for her sake. Even if her hair was much shorter than it used to be she could still pull it back. She liked doing that on windy days.

After they had eaten dinner he sat next to her on the couch and handed her the package of hair ties. She looked at him questioningly.

"What is this for?"

"I want to see how many pigtails you can put in my hair and then take a picture."

Talori let out a small giggle. "Why would you want to do that?"

"For fun," Brennan deadpanned, making her giggle harder to his great relief. It seemed his plan was working already.

"If you insist."

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