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Things were different when Oruggio was home. Breakfast was delayed, lessons started later. The lights were on much longer than usual. At first, the girls didn’t think anything of it, catching up with your Watchful Eye is important of course, but they started to notice a pattern.
It wasn’t unusual for the girls to stay up late, either dedicating themselves to their work or simply sneaking up under the sheets to tell each other ghost stories. Qifrey, too, dedicated his pastimes to research hidden from the daylight.
But when Oruggio was there, those pastimes were slightly forgotten as the nights went on and the lights stayed on. Qifrey had a rather reserved persona but with Oruggio, he produced giggles that even stirred up Agethe.
With Oruggio, bedwear stayed on a little longer as breakfast took its course well into noon. Lessons turned into long walks in nature and evenings became laughter’s refuge.
The girls loved their professor either way, but with Oruggio, he was’t just smiling, he was beaming, laughing. He was happy.
And the girls noticed that.
‘Do you miss Oruggio when he’s gone?’
Tetia’s question had Qifrey look down from the sky, into her shimmering, ever-so curious eyes.
‘Hm?’ he stuttered. Then laughed. ‘Yes, I think. Of course I do.’
‘We miss him, too.’ Coco replied, from afar lying in the grass with brushbug tickling her face.
‘Our grumpy Oruggio?’
‘Not grumpy . Not more than Agethe, at least.’ she laughed. ‘And apart from that, he makes you happy, doesn’t he? We like seeing our professor happy.’ Tetia gave him a knowing grin, even Liche seemed to form the hint of a smirk. They'd studied that in, for sure.
‘Well-,’ Qifrey began.
‘When’s he coming back anyway?’ Agethe interrupted, Qifrey silently thanking her for the distraction.
They know.
‘Who knows. Today, tomorrow, a week from now. He’s been so busy recently, he couldn’t name a date. No need to put any more pressure on him than already coming from the Auditorium.’
They know.
The girls nodded in unison, each getting back to their respective activities.
He lay back down in the grass, watching the clouds move, changing forms. Am I that obvious? Qifrey almost laughed out loud.
They know. Somehow, it barely bothered him.
Dinner always showed the girls in their prime. Tetia bolting down her stew, immediately requesting more, Coco slowly sipping it, getting lost in thought and forgetting to eat entirely until Liche subtly stubs her shoulder, pointing at the stew while gulping down her own like a cup of tea. And of course, Agethe, always a notebook on hand, silently protesting against the noise her roommates made, though never entirely speaking up about it.
Qifrey watched them eat, always waiting until they were almost finished for him to pick up his own portion.
‘Professor Qifrey?’ Coco mumbled, probably still lost in daydreams. ‘How long have you known Oruggio?’
There it begins.
He sighed. ‘Longer than you’ve been alive, probably.’
‘That’s a long time.’ Tetia threw in.
‘Long time, indeed.’
Their heads turned at the familiar voice at the doorframe.
‘Oruggio!’ they exclaimed, Qifrey let out a laugh at their sudden unison as they lifted themselves off their chairs to sprint down the few meters that separated them from the open door.
‘Ah! What a rush.’ Oruggio grumbled, kneeling down to welcome Coco and Tetia into a hug.
‘We missed you.’ Tetia whispered. Or was it he missed you?
‘Eh? Me? What for?’
He lifted them up with him, way back to the table, giving Liche and Agethe a light head pat before placing himself onto the chair next to Qifrey.
He was met with four curious pairs of eyes staring up to him, no to them. His head turned to Qifrey who simply sighed into his stew, actually in an attempt not to break out in sudden laughter. He rose up to the kitchen counter, lifting Oruggio’s hat off his head in the process which caused a wave of giggles from the other side of the table.
‘’Something wrong? Is there something in my face?’ he asked, demonstratively cupping his own cheeks.The giggling got louder.
‘You look just fine, Oru.’ Qifrey replied, pouring another portion of stew into a bowl and handing it to him. ‘They’re just… a little curious about you. Us.’ A little a smile forming up on his own face.
Oruggio’s own face might’ve turned red. Us.
‘Are you serious?’
‘Why do you keep it a secret?’
Oruggio blinked in surprise. Qifrey blew on his cup of tea, giving Oruggio a pitiful look. He tried to delay the conversation until Oru came back but he didn’t expect them to attack him the second he put his feet on the kitchen floor.
‘Idiots. He’s our Watchful Eye, he’s supposed to stay impartial. If anyone finds out about… this , we’re all cake.’ Agethe explained.
‘But now we know.’ That came from Liche.
‘What does it feel like?’ Tetia asked.
‘Like butterflies!’ Coco answered, eyes wandering between the stew, Oruggio and Qifrey, eyes glowing.
They let the girls talk. Most of their talk wasn’t really directed at them anyway. Oruggio gave Qifrey a defeated sigh, smiling, as he leaned back into his chair. He replied by tilting his head and holding a hand out to Oruggio, under the table invisible to the girls of course, as the room got unusually quiet. Oruggio took the hand.
His head turned back to the four girls, whom were all watching him curiously, again. This time they didn’t break out in giggles.
‘We promise we’ll keep quiet, professors.’ Liche exclaimed, eventually. Coco and Tetia nodded in agreement and even Agethe gave them an approving ‘Hmhm.’
Qifrey couldn’t help but to smile. ‘Thank you.’
Oruggio watched the spectacle for a while, murmuring a mhmh or a uhuh every once in a while, trying to avoid their teasing questions and shimmering eyes as much as Qifrey did, except that he caught Qifrey hiding his smile behind his cup of tea every so often.
‘Do you like being in love then?’ Tetia asked from her seat on the carpet, dangling her pen around in the air with Liche next to her, studying their magic circles to help each other spotting irregularities.
Qifrey was out of the room, so the question seemed to be directed at him specifically. He sighed. Damned are these curious, adorable, tiny students of Qifrey’s. Of theirs.
‘Yes, sure. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.’
‘How does it feel like?’
How does it feel like?
He wondered.
‘Like drawing magic, maybe. Except that you never know what your result will be. Nevertheless you always love it. It’s a surprise every day.’
‘Hmh.’
She seemed to be brooding over his answer. He let her. Oruggio was about to lean back when Tetia lifted her pen again.
‘So is it just like loving a friend?’
‘Certainly similar. Though, it’s not like you can’t love someone as both a friend and . . . as a partner.’ Oruggio genuinely wondered what Tetia’s definition of loving a friend was.
‘Like . . . you’d do anything for them?’
‘Yes. . . Yes.’
She went back to brooding, sitting on her knees and as Oruggio watched her practice he wondered if that feeling, those emotions she tried to understand so hard were already more familiar to her than she might’ve realized.
‘They know.’ Oruggio said, way later, after finally cutting off all their questions and shooing the girls into bed. He leaned on the kitchen counter, sipping on a glass of wine.
‘They… know.’ Qifrey repeated.
‘How?’
‘Something about my mood lightening when you’re around and staring into nothingness long after you’re gone. Kids seem to notice things like that, apparently.’
Oruggio let out a scoff, half amused, half annoyed, watching Qifrey’s smooth movements as he put away the cleaned up tableware.
‘And you’re not bothered at all? They’re avid talkers, you know.’
‘I trust them. And apart from that, who would believe them anyway? They’re avid talkers, you said. The fewest would take their gibberish seriously.’ He faced Oruggio and held out his arms. ‘Come here.’ He finally said. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around his back, burying his head in the crook of his neck.
‘You worry too much, Oru. They have a secret to keep now. They’re gonna treasure it like we do.’
‘Did you miss me, too?’ Oruggio asked after a while.
‘Every day. Always.’ Qifrey replied, digging his nails into the fabric of his loose shirt.
‘I missed you, Qifrey.’ he whispered, lifting up his head to find Qifrey’s eyes already staring down at him. He loosely smothered his hands over his cheeks, caressing every inch of it before closing the gap between them, inevitably letting out a slight giggle turned gasp.
‘Oru..’
‘They know, we know they know. You told me not to worry. So?’ He kissed him again, pulling Qifrey even closer.
Qifrey tried to protest but eventually gave in, too distracted by the hands wandering up his torso and the facial hair tickling his mouth to worry about any potential intruders.
‘I still doubt they’d wanna see us like this, though.’ he finally got out, breathless and disheveled, barely able to form another sentence. ‘Let’s go.’ he murmured, grabbing Oruggio’s wrist, fleeing up the stairs into the night, taking what he claimed as his and leaving any hesitation behind.
Goodbyes are worse.
The mood had lightened immensely, not just around Qifrey and Oruggio, but around the girls too. One secret less to keep. For now at least.
Eventually Oruggio had to depart, once again, this time I won’t be gone as long, though, he’d promised. If only he’d stay longer, too.
Dawn broke onto them, indicating that it was time for Oruggio to leave. They’d stand behind the closed door in the hallway, intertwined, pecking each other’s cheeks repeatedly, giggling into each other’s ears, holding each other close, something they’d never dared to even imagine to do in a house as populated as theirs.
Their moment was interrupted by very quick steps coming down the stairs, making them impulsively pull away from each other as four heads emerged from the railing.
‘Are you leaving already?’ Coco asked in a raspy, sleepy voice. They haven’t even been awake for a minute, Oruggio thought.
‘I told you yesterday. I didn’t want to wake you this early.’ he looked up the railing and waved his hand, indicating them to come down.
No one in their circle was used to casual goodbye-hugs but it was comforting nonetheless. All of them piled onto each other, even Agethe and Liche, who usually refrained from casual touch even more than the rest of them.
‘You take care of Qifrey for me, yeah?’ he told Coco, who seemed to linger onto him the most, still half asleep. She nodded, smiling in agreement. Oruggio went through her messy hair, straightening it and wondering how he’d gotten so attached to this tiny brood of people he could call his home.
‘Let’s get you back to bed, girls. Qifrey’ll be right with you.’ he said, once more, as they departed, two into the kitchen, two back up the stairs.
Qifrey followed him outside, maybe for just another moment, to see him off and give him the courtesy he deserved.
‘Don’t be so quiet now,’ Oruggio whispered, grabbing Qifrey by the arm. ‘They’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.’ he stepped forward, so close that, from the window above, it might’ve looked like another peck to the cheek. Tetia whispered something almost inaudible and Coco chuckled, gaining the attention of Liche and Agethe down the stairs.
Seeing your professors hug was one thing but seeing them entangled in each other, hearing them throwing reassuring words at each other, each other’s presence alone being able to lighten up the other one for the rest of the day . . .
Things really were different when Oruggio was home.