Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was springtime at Bone Academy, née Bloor, and the first and second years were going wild in the grounds while their P.E. teacher watched over them and made sure no one got too far deep into the old ruins of the Red King’s castle. It had been just over five years since the events that left Bone Academy bereft of its Bloors and into the hands of the Bones. These young fresh children had never known their PE teacher as anything else other than “Mr Pike”, but some of the older children did recognize him. For he was none other than Asa Pike, who had been a reputable bully that had turned over a new leaf in the last few months of his time at Bloors. 

Now that he had had time to recover from the events of those past years, and time to make amends with those whom he had hurt, Asa Pike was finding himself happy and content with his life in this small English city. 

The bell rang, and all the children streamed back into the coat rooms. There were still three: blue for music, green for art, and purple for drama. Asa remembered those days– he had only been admitted because of his endowment, and even then he had regularly failed his classes, kept only because of his endowment and use as a spy for Manfred. 

Asa sneered to himself at the thought of Manfred. Those memories of the past were best forgotten– like many of those who had been children that the Bloors had manipulated, he preferred not to be reminded of the mistakes he had made under the assumption that they were the right path. 

Asa walked through the ruins, his hands in his pockets. Part of his job as the gym teacher– a really perfunctory name for what he was– was to make sure that no kids were lingering outside when they needed to get back in. That was one way that Bone Academy was so different from Bloors– everyone could see the way that the new administration cared for the kids, wanting all of them to succeed, not just the endowed students. 

Dr. Saltweather had only lasted about seven months as headmaster– he was a good one, but he also found himself discontent with the position. Mr. Lyell Bone had still had ownership of the school, and when Dr. Saltweather approached him with his feelings, Mr. Bone had gracefully decided to rearrange control again. Señor Alvarado had other opportunities, and so Dr. Saltweather returned to being the head of music, while Mr. Bone took over being headmaster. 

  They had opened a young children’s program for those children who were a little too young for first form but were old enough to have accessed their endowments. Eric Shellhorn, once rescued from the arms of his evil stepmother and her sisters, had become a student of the program. Una Onimous was another such student, with both of them only being nine this year. It was, surprisingly, rather popular, and there were a few talented students who were just such prodigies in their artistic field that they had been given admittance to the program. 

Asa completed his lap in the ruins and returned to the main courtyard, where the year 11s were lolling about, because they were the seniors and didn’t have to run like the other kids. Asa couldn’t help that his gaze was drawn to Charlie Bone’s group. He knew that Charlie and the others had forgiven him, but it didn’t change that he felt a little bad when he saw them. 

Even if he had helped them in the end before being spirited away to Scotland with Mr. Bloor and his family, Asa still held the weight of guilt. The chapel had given him that much and nothing else.

Chapter Text

Charlie Bone was waiting for the next shoe to drop. Admittedly, it had been a little over five years since the battle with Count Harken and Blessed killing both Manfred and Ezekiel in one fell swoop, but he was patient. Relatively patient at least. His mother would vehemently disagree with the assessment, but he thought it was true enough. Charlie Bone could wait, when he needed to. 

He was surrounded by so many friends that it was difficult to spend a good amount of time with them each day, even with Tancred and Lysander having graduated and gone on to Uni. He sat in the courtyard in the middle of their gaggle, with Olivia Vertigo, Emma Tolly, Dagbert Endless, Fidelio Gunn, Gabriel Silk, Billy Raven, Naren Bloor, and Dorcas Loom. They’d all gone through a lot together, either in those initial few years at Bloor’s or in the past five years after. 

Dorcas had turned over a new leaf as soon as the awful Yewbeam aunts had got themselves gone, apologizing for her behavior with the explanation that she just wanted someone to be proud of her. Having forgiven Asa and Dagbert, it would have been hypocritical to not accept her into the fold. When the twins apologized too, they were forgiven, but all the transgressions weren’t forgotten– the twins were fine with that, they could find their own friends closer to their age. 

Billy Raven, of course, had been forgiven more than twice over, and now being thirteen– older than Charlie was at the time of the trouble– was a decent friend, and an even better little brother. At least, talking with Gabriel and Fidelio had convinced Charlie that he was acting the best a little brother really could act. It was certainly better than a little sister, in his mind. 

Naren had come back after all the mess, joining the school when it had been rebranded as Bone Academy. Charlie still had trouble, sometimes, stumbling over himself and nearly saying Bloors instead of Bones. Naren seemed to be having an alright time settling into her role as a student, though, and now that they were all year 11s, she was more than comfortable. 

Charlie Bone, however, as previously stated, was not comfortable. He was, in fact, uncomfortable. Here he was, sitting outside on break, and nothing nasty or evil had happened, and none of his friends had any pressing secrets to share. 

Olivia, Emma, and Dagbert were whispering over something, Gabriel and Fidelio were going over some lyrics for next band practice, and Billy, Naren, and Dorcas were commiserating about something or other. Charlie sat in the middle of them and was both glad that his friends were getting along, but also getting slightly overwhelmed by it all. He was catching snippets of Billy talking about veterinary practices, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. 

In the past five years, Charlie had blown through hobby after hobby like he was trying to become the Jack-est of all trades. He’d tried painting, sculpture, drawing, writing, knitting, and more. He had been doing a little better recently, not hopping from one to another quite so often. Compared to his friends, who all seemed to have ideas of what they would do after Bone’s, Charlie had next to no clue. 

So that’s why the idea of being a vet tech made him sick. Because it reminded him of the future. 

Soon enough after that, though, the bell rang and they all went back indoors to the coatroom to retrieve their cloaks. It was warming up with the beginning of March, and Olivia claimed that it was good tidings. As part of her own development since the mess, she had decided to take up some of the smaller parts of being a white witch, learning from Alice Angel. 

Essentially, most of his friends had hobbies and passions, but Charlie only had hobbies. As he pulled on his cloak, he wondered if the shoe would ever drop. As he walked to his next class, dawdling, he thought about the scenarios that had haunted his mind ever since that fateful day that his Uncle Paton had said “It’s over, Charlie!” and hugged him. 

The first thought was an evil coming back– his aunts, Count Harken, maybe even Ezekiel Bloor in some sort of horrendous fashion. Eric Shellhorn, after all, had been taken from his aunts’ clutches, and they might want him back, someday. Maybe not, though, since he was no longer a malleable five-year-old. 

The next thought was something he feared more: what if the Red King needed their help? What if he needed all of his children again, and they couldn’t bring everyone together in time? What if the Red King needed something?
Claerwen fluttered up to Charlie and nuzzled against his cheek. Charlie loved Claerwen, but wondered if she had really chosen the right master– it was his uncle who seemed to fit the wizard type. Charlie, despite liking books in theory, had an awful lot of trouble with reading, and everyone knew wizards were great scholars. 

He sat through French and knew that he’d be using his favorite spell again: helpu fi. 

She really was a useful study tool, to be honest. 

Charlie sighed as the class ended. He went up to lunch, trailing through the halls. He had missed out on having a temperamental tweenage– was this his mind making up for it? Was this the dreaded teenage malaise? He sort of wondered if Claerwen could fix that, before shaking the idea out of his mind. Stopping himself from feeling natural emotions sounded like something the Yewbeam sisters would do, and if he was going to be one thing for the rest of his life, he didn’t want to be like them. 

“Something’s got you down,” Fidelio said when Charlie sat down with his lunch tray. He and Fidelio were off at the end of their lunch table, with everyone else being loud and rambunctious. “Do you need any help?” 

Charlie sighed again, and Claerwen fluttered out of his pocket. 

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll tell you if there’s anything you can do.” 

Maybe he just needed some of Maisie and Cook’s food, Charlie thought, digging into his lunch. Maybe he just needed some good food, and then he’d just click back into place. He really wasn’t sad or anything like that, nor anxious. He was just having an off day. Charlie shoveled in the food and watched Dagbert laugh. It had gone from more ‘glooping’ to more like waves crashing, now that he was free of the weight of his father. 

A few weeks after trapping his dad in that bubble, Dagbert had called Charlie and Benjamin outside. He’d been perched on his bike, newly purchased by Mrs. Kettle for him. At first, Charlie had thought he just wanted to preen about what a nice bike it was. They were twelve, after all.  

“I need witnesses,” he’d said, getting off his bike and propping it up. Runner Bean had tried to snuffle around his feet, and Dagbert had gently nudged him away. 

“For what?” Charlie had asked. Benjamin had been staring. 

“I’m going to kill my father once and for all.” 

“Didn’t you already do that?” 

Dagbert had the audacity to look offended by the notion. 

“Gods no! Lysander imprisoned him, I barely–” He coughed, perhaps realizing that Benjamin hadn’t been there. “I thought he had died, but I’ve realized that he remains… alive. Barely, but still alive.” 

He held up the small glass orb that Charlie recognized as having once been the Sea Globe. Benjamin didn’t get the significance, and was shooting Charlie concerned looks. 

“With this, the curse will finally be lifted.” Dagbert dashed the marble against the sidewalk, sending Runner Bean yelping to cower behind Benjamin, who swayed as his dog tried his damndest to trip him. 

“There.” Dagbert dusted his hands off, cast his aquamarine gaze over Charlie and Benjamin, who had just been hanging out at Charlie's house before this. “Thank you.” 

He got onto his bike and pedaled away, leaving the glassy looking bits of ice on the sidewalk. 

“That was Dagbert, right?” Benjamin asked. He and Dagbert had only interacted once before that, to Charlie’s knowledge, at the Pets’ Cafe party after it all had calmed down. “He’s sort of weird.” 

“That was Dagbert being normal ,” Charlie had despaired. 

Despite his oddities and moods that shifted along with the moon, Dagbert had become a relatively alright friend. 

Charlie sighed, feeling like a dog with all his disgruntlement going on– his face would match Runner Bean’s, with big old brown eyes and a slightly worried pull on their eyebrows. He had finished his tray and polished it off, but now his stomach was full and he wasn’t feeling much better. 

“Chin up, Charlie,” Fidelio said, thumping him on the back once. “I’m sure your day will get better.” 

It didn’t quite get better, not really. Charlie sort of floated through the rest of his classes, through supper. In the dorm, Charlie got into bed rather quickly, and no Matron leaned in to snap ‘lights out!’. He rolled over so he could face the window and he thought about the past. 

Charlie Bone was not an anxious person, nor was he predisposed to melancholy. He was a proactive, curious, hardheaded boy, he liked helping people and he found the idea of doing exciting things pleasing. But now he was stuck in a school that didn’t press down on him so hard, and there wasn’t any looming threat, and it was now that Charlie felt the need to keep looking over his shoulder. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Dagbert asked, startling Charlie out of his reverie. Dagbert had a way of speaking that always made him sound a little haughty. Maybe it was the accent. 

“Nothing.” 

“Liar,” Dagbert said, no bite to the word. “C’mon. Aren’t we friends?”

Charlie sighed again. 

“I dunno,” he mumbled. “I guess I’m just ready for this weekend.” 

He could almost feel the weight of Dagbert’s aquamarine eyes on him, despite the dark and the whole not facing him thing. Dagbert, sort of like Lysander and Tancred, always had a little more weight behind their gazes than other people. 

“You’re ridiculous, Charlie Bone.” Dagbert said, and then there was a rustle as he rolled over or pulled up his blankets. 

“Shut up and go to bed,” Billy whined from his place near the door. He was thirteen now and everyone could feel the way that he was so much younger than them. When they had all been twelve and he’d been eight, it had sort of felt like he was a bit baby-ish, but still one of them, when he wasn’t spying for the Bloors. But now, with most of them seventeen, if not eighteen, Billy’s thirteen felt like a thorn sometimes with the gap that it left in how they viewed the world. 

At least, Charlie thought to himself, Billy was an alright younger brother. Fidelio and Gabriel had told him so, and they ought to know by the way that they both had younger siblings. Billy didn’t leave underwear on the floor or play trombone at two in the morning at home, nor did he snore super loudly or take up all their parents’ time. Charlie had never had a younger sibling before, and he didn’t quite mind, to be honest. 

Eventually he fell asleep to the sound of the snuffling and breathing of the other boys in his dorm. He dreamt of the Flames, dancing just out of reach, running through the city. They would pause and look back at him, waiting for him to catch up, but he never did. He just kept running and running, stumbling over himself but never quite making up the difference. 

He awoke with a pounding heart to a prod of the shoulder. 

Dagbert’s impassive pale face loomed above him. 

“Wake up, you’re going to be late.” Dagbert prodded him again. “I don’t imagine that you want to miss breakfast?” 

“Go away, Dagbert,” Charlie mumbled, sitting up and attempting to shove him. He danced out of the way, laughing. 

“Alright, alright.” 

He did end up getting dressed, swinging his blue cloak around his shoulders and leaving himself looking like a bit of a fool. Even after all these years at Bloors– well, Bone’s now– he still wasn’t quite used to the way that the cloak swished around him. 

At least he wasn’t as embarrassed about going down the street in it now. He’d improved somewhat. 

At breakfast, everyone was a bit subdued, despite it being Friday. There was something like a middle of term malaise, where the vivacity of break had finally broken against the drudgery of the year, and there was no upcoming relief to be excited for. That’s what Charlie was guessing, at least. 

Soon, though, they’ll all be home. Charlie contents himself with the fact that they still have the old house, that they didn’t go in for staying in the old Bloors’ place. With a shiver, Charlie imagines staying in Manfred’s horrible old rooms. 

“This is terrific,” Olivia said, being the loudest person in the entire dining hall. “Charlie, look at this!” 

Suddenly, he had a newspaper shoved in his face. 

“Where are you getting these?” Charlie despaired, still pulling back to take a look at the paper. Olivia had presented it with an article– Parliament had passed legislation that legalized gay marriage. “Oh,” Charlie said. 

Fidilio took the paper out of his hand, and it made its way around the table. 

“Why’d you tell me to look at it?” Charlie asked, sweating a little. He didn’t think he came off as all that queer, and it felt strange to have Olivia maybe guess something that he’d been keeping quite quiet. 

Only Benjamin knew that Charlie was bisexual, and that was only because there had been a little bit where both of them were a little “too” excited for a new tv host to come on. It had also been when Charlie had learned Benjamin was gay. 

But Charlie hadn’t told his school friends about it. It had been a little too fresh back then, and well. They didn’t exactly need to know. 

“Cause you were the closest one.” Olivia said, like it was obvious. She was sitting across from him… “Why’d  you ask?” 

“No reason,” Charlie said, trying to sound nonchalant. He turned his head to see what the rest of them thought about the announcement. Dagbert had pursed his lips as he read over it, with Dorcas hooked over his shoulder to see. Billy and Gabriel had read at the same time, and Naren was off sitting with some other friends of hers. Emma had been sitting beside Olivia and had probably seen the headline over her shoulder. 

Emma caught Charlie’s eye and smiled gently. It felt like a sort of acknowledgement, and it only made Charlie a little more worried that his secret was out. 

“It wasn’t already legal?” Dagbert asked. Olivia shook her head. 

“South Africa and Sweden and the like have us beat,” Emma said, stirring her spoon around in her porridge. “Not to mention some other countries who’ve had it much longer.” 

“Oh,” Charlie said again, fainter. 

“I think it’s a good thing,” Fidelio said, taking back the paper. He looked around at them all, like he was challenging them to say otherwise. Dorcase shrugged. 

“I’m with Dagbert. I think that it should be legal.” 

“Good,” Olivia said. She started to lean back, then realized she was on a bench, not a chair. She leaned back in. “Do you think Tancred and Lysander know?” 

Everyone was a little quiet. 

“Why’d you ask that?” Fidielio asked, a little too casual. Even Charlie had eventually caught onto something being between the two of them, and he was usually a bit obtuse about crushes. But no one had ever said anything about it out loud. It was like pointing out that someone smelled. You didn’t do it in public, that was embarrassing . 

“Oh, y’know.” Olivia said flippantly. “Anyway, I’ll ask them tomorrow at the Pets’ Cafe.” 

That made Charlie perk up a bit. Not only would it be be nice to see the Onimouses, there was a potential the Flames would be there. Charlie wasn’t one to believe that all dreams meant something, but he thought that seeing the Flames might mean more than, say, a dream with Fidelio or Billy in it. That would just be an average dream– but magical lion-cats seemed a step above a familiar face. 

“Chin up, Charlie,” Fidelio said absently, like it was more of a habit than anything else. Everyone cleaned up their places, mind on the upcoming weekend.

Chapter Text

Friday morning, Charlie woke up feeling hopeful. From what used to be Grandma Bone’s room, he could hear Billy and Rembrandt squeaking back and forth with each other. Downstairs, he could smell Maisie and his mother’s cooking, as well as the smell of his father’s coffee. Over the years, Lyell Bone had joined Charlie in trying a great many hobbies, though his actions were more motivated by the joy of controlling his life again. 

Charlie loved his father. He thought that they were rather close now– he could speak to him about nearly anything, and sometimes they went on boys trips, both with Billy and not. But sometimes he worried that those missed years had done too much, and now he would never quite have the right relationship with his father. 

But that was a worry for another day. Today, Charlie would understand why he had become like this– he would talk to the Flames, who had been dipping in and out of the Pets’ Cafe for the past five years. 

He woke up and got dressed, tugging on a long sleeve shirt and then one of his favorites over that. It was a red t-shirt with a black square lined with white on it. He wasn’t quite sure where he had gotten it, but over the years it had just sort of floated up the list of favorites. 

After that he just tugged on jeans and trainers. He wasn’t looking to impress anyone, just be comfortable. A cursory look in the mirror told him that his hair looked wild, and that wasn’t going to be solved in the next twenty minutes, so he gave up preemptively. 

On the way downstairs, Charlie peeked into Billy’s room. 

“Are you coming to the Pets’ Cafe? Tancred’s going to be there, and Lysander’s going to try.” 

“No, actually, I’m going somewhere with the twins,” Billy said, looking up from Rembrandt. “We’re going to see a new movie.” 

“What film?” 

“Muppets Most Wanted.” 

“Oh,” Charlie said, and bit back a knee jerk response about Billy being a little old for the muppets. It’s none of his business. “Well, we’ll miss you.” 

He ducked out and went downstairs. Masie and his mother were just serving up breakfast– crumpets, eggs, baked beans, and bacon. A good and hearty english breakfast– plus some pieces of cut fruit. Charlie cautiously poked them with a fork while his mother was turned around. 

She still had that habit of taking home the fruit that was a little too ripe to sell, and Charlie had long since learned to test his fruit and veg before diving in, ever since he’d run into a worm one time. That, coincidentally, had been when his mother had been much more cognizant of whether the fruit was cut or not. 

“You off to the Pets’ Cafe today, Charlie?” Maisie asked, pinching his cheek lightly as she turned around to deliver a mug of tea. “If he’s there, tell that Tancred that I have a piece for him.” 

“Maisie, he hasn’t become an art genius just because he’s in Uni,” Charlie protested, moving his fried egg to be atop his crumpet. Maisie always presented the pieces and let them assemble the rest. “Honestly, you’re better off looking it up.” 

“I’m too old to learn how to do computer-y things, honey.”
“Just think about how she won’t get behind the wheel!” Lyell added. He had sat down at the head of the table, and now he was leafing through the paper to get to the crossword. Amy was leaned over his shoulder, resting her head against his. It made Charlie a little sick, in a good way. It was better than her acting lovey-dovey with anyone else, certainly. 

They had a car now, a necessity ever since Paton had moved out to be with his girlfriend. (Never had Charlie been more glad that he had never had a crush on Emma, because it would have been intolerably awkward to face her when their respective aunt and uncle were dating.) 

“Want me to drive you over there, Charlie?” Lyell offered. 

“No thanks, Dad,” Charlie took a bite. It was very delicious, and it seemed like only a matter of moments before it was gone. He took a swig of his tea. “I’ll just bike.” 

“Your moth is in your hair, honey.” Amy warned him. Charlie reached up and found Clarwen clinging to one of his cowlicks. 

“Thanks mum. I’ll be off, then. I’m going to stop by Uncle Paton and Ms. Julia’s and hang out with Emma for a bit before.” 

“Be careful!” Amy shouted after him as he went out the door. 

Charlie didn’t reply that there had been nothing to be careful of, because he was at least a little genre savvy. If you acknowledged the gap, it closed. Charlie ignored that he was almost willing to summon some great evil just to feel the relief of knowing how to deal with that. It would be better than silence. 

Benjamin was out in his front garden, brushing Runner Bean, who was still bouncy and glorious and acted quite young for his advancing age. 

“Hi, Charlie.” Ben said, very focused on the task. If he let up, Runner Bean would squirm out from his arms and dash off to roll in some mud puddle or other dirty-ing place. He grunted as Runner Bean knocked him in the cheek with his snout. 

“Hullo, Ben.” Charlie leaned against the fence. “Your parents get into anything interesting recently?” 

“Mum’s gone off to Italy,” Ben noted. “Dad’s moping because he wasn’t invited. The Yard apparently is going to reach out to him about something, though, so I don’t think he’ll be so chuffed for so long.” 

“Nothing supernatural or magical or anything like that?” 

Ben gave Charlie an odd look. Being best friends, Charlie had told Ben multiple times that he couldn’t help but look over his shoulder whenever he was out and about on the town, worried that he’d see one of the Yewbeam aunts or perhaps Joshua Tilpin standing there, watching him. The sort of thing that would have happened when they were twelve. 

Ben didn’t chide him, though. 

“You off to the Pets’ Cafe?” 

“Yeah, eventually. Tanc and ‘Sander are going to be there, hopefully. I’m dropping in on Emma and the family first though.” 

Ben looked down at Runner Bean. Runner Bean looked lovingly at Ben, and then lovingly over Ben’s shoulder at the muddiest part of the garden. With a sigh, Benjamin gave up a little. 

“Can I come with?” 

“Sure.” 

Ben stood up and brushed off some of the yellow hair from Runner off himself. It was a futile effort, but he did his best. Runner took another longing look at the muddy corner of the garden, but resigned himself (rather happily, all things considered) to prance alongside Ben. 

“You’ve got a…” Ben waved at his own hair. Charlie nodded, and Claerwen bounced in his bangs. “Moth.” He finished lamely.
“I know.” 

They walked in silence to the end of the block. 

“Did you see the news?” Charlie asked. Ben cocked his head. “They legalized gay marriage.” 

“Ah.” 

The topic of their sexualities had always been a touchy subject. They had never done the whole crush-talk thing, even after the whole reveal. It had just been a little quiet solidarity thing. 

“...Your school friends taking it alright?” 

“They’re supportive of the movement. They don’t know about…” Charlie did his own vague hand motion. Ben nodded. “You?” 

Ben laughed. It was not very funny. 

“You know I don’t have friends at school.” 

He had been offered admittance into Bone’s, when it had swapped admin. Ben and his parents had refused. Charlie still didn’t understand why. 

“But in general…” Ben made a face. 

“Not great,” He admitted. “There are some assholes. But I’m sure there are assholes at Bone’s, right?” 

There were, and Charlie had had plenty of experience hearing them and facing them, but it wasn’t the same. It was easier to head up against an enemy when you had allies, and Ben had always refused allies at school, walking into the line of fire like it was nothing. 

It was sort of impressive, but it also made Charlie sick to his stomach. He decided to drop the subject. 

“Any good tv I’m missing?” he asked instead. Ben smiled, then began to tell him about some new program, and then a movie. 

“It’s called Lilting, and it’s quite good. About a mother and her son’s partner trying to grieve together after the son’s death. I’ve torrented it for myself now.” 

The use of the word partner stuck out like a sore thumb, clearly used to disguise when the “lover” wasn’t the opposite sex. Charlie got the memo. 

“Maybe I’ll watch it sometime.” 

Maybe he would. Charlie and Ben continued on walking together towards the old church and the Ingledew Bookstore. Because they weren’t talking about school anymore, there wasn’t much else other than Ben’s movies and games and stuff. Eventually, he started talking again, and Charlie just let the words roll over him. 

Since it was a Saturday, the bookstore was already open. When they walked in, the little bell over the door chimed in a high pitch tone. Emma was sitting at the counter, her drawing pad set up at its angle so that she could work when there were no customers, but easily slide over to the cash register if a customer needed her attention. 

“Ben!” She practically sparkled when she looked up. “Hello, you two!” 

“No warm welcome for me, Em?” 

“Well, I was just thinking about Ben and Runner, I guess. Here, come look at this.” They peeked around the counter and saw the sketch page she’d been working on. Across the paper, multiple figures ran– but all of them were clearly Ben and Runner together. 

“You’re still alright with me doing this, right?” Emma asked as Ben leaned in for a closer look. Runner whined, wanting to know what they were all so interested in. “I know you said it was alright a while ago, but I imagine it might feel a little weird.” 

“Eh,” Benjamin shrugged. “Not like anyone will know it's me.” 

“You never know, Ben.” Charlie found himself saying. He was somewhat lost in a sort of imagining where this was a wildly popular children’s book. “It could explode in popularity.” 

Emma shuddered. 

“No, I’d rather settle for a modest success.” 

They hung out for a few hours like that in the front room of the shop, Emma drawing and the other two petting Runner. The conversation ebbed and flowed, but the best part was that the silence wasn’t horrible to sit in. Charlie was momentarily content. 

Ms. Ingledew and Paton came down eventually, clutching mugs of tea and both yawning occasionally. Paton still was primarily nocturnal, and Ms. Ingledew lived a hard life of switching between diurnal and nocturnal to be with him. 

“Hullo, boys.” Paton came over and fondly ruffled Charlie’s hair. “Off to the Pets’ Cafe?” 

“Eventually, yes.” Charlie hugged his uncle. Charlie had sprouted up over the past five years, and now he was a solid height, reaching Paton’s shoulder. There was still a chance of growing taller, but Charlie desperately wanted not to. For all the giants in his family, he really preferred being a normal, average height. Thank goodness his mom was an average height, tempering the stupid giant genes. 

“Well, it’s nearly ten now,” Ms. Ingledew said, giving Emma a good morning hug. “You probably should be off now.” 

They all said their goodbyes, and then the three of them (and Runner) were off. It was a very short walk from the bookshop to Piminy Street and the Pets’ Cafe. The old butcher’s was still there, its painted sign still proclaiming ‘Fish’. Over the past five years, it had faded, and the smell of fish was gone, replaced with the smell of an old building. 

It made Charlie uncomfortable to look at it too long. It reminded him of when Dagbert was much more of a bastard, and they had all been afraid of a bloody six year old who controlled stone. (Eric Shellhorn had been rescued from the Yewbeam Aunts, and was now attending Bloors in the youth program that had opened. Eleven years old– and much less threatening.) 

It also reminded him of Manfred, and that was another uncomfortable remembrance. He should have been alive– twenty-four, time long enough to become something other than a nasty Bloor. He could have become like Asa, recovering from the hatred and trying to move past it. 

Of course, if Manfred was alive, it was completely possible that he would be an ass, just like he had been as an eighteen year old. But the thought of him being alive was tempting– Charlie did not like the idea that he had watched him die. Ezeikel was different– it was so much easier to imagine him as a dead man rolling around, his corpse propped up as the Bloors went around with their evil schemes. But Manfred, he was still a child. A young man. He could have changed– and the closer Charlie got to being Manfred’s age when he had died, the more anxious he got that Blessed had done it wrong. That something had gone terribly wrong, all those years ago. 

But that was a matter for late at night, when he couldn’t sleep. Now, Charlie held open the door for Emma and Ben and Runner, Claerwen fluttering down to his shoulder instead of hiding amid his thick bangs. 

“Hello, all!” Mr. Onimous was behind the counter, and their new doorman (doorwoman, really) was Treasure Cook. She only worked weekends at the Pets’ Cafe, but it was enough to be incredibly comforting to all who ran into her. 

“Now, where’s your pet, Emma?” Cook asked, one hand on her hip. Gabe shot up out of his seat.
“I have a gerbil for her, Cook!” He proffered up one of the little creatures, and it was deposited into Emma’s front dungarees’ pocket. “There you are, Emma.” 

“And your moth is here, Charlie?” 

“Right here, ma’am.” Charlie pointed to Claerwen, who seemed to perk up slightly under Treasure’s gaze. Everyone felt a little bit heartier around her– she just had that sort of effect. “Thank you.” 

“Welcome in, all. Your group is over there.” She had a way of speaking loudly that didn’t feel like shouting, which was nice because it was quite loud in the cafe. Tancred, Lysander, Fidelio, and of course, Gabriel, were already there. Fidelio had Pudding in his lap, and both Tanc and Sander seemed to be borrowing gerbils. 

Charlie waved, and went up to get food first, while Emma and Benjamin went over to their group.
He had expected the Flames to be sitting behind the counter, like they were half the time. However, it was only Mr. Ominous, standing on his stool. Charlie had shot up over the years, and Mr. Ominous had remained a short man. 

“The Flames here?” Charlie peered over the counter.
“No, they’re off somewhere else– I think they might be visiting some other endowed children.” 

Charlie nearly shuddered at the idea that somewhere else in the world, there was an evil that needed the Flames’ attention, and other endowed children who would fight each other. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Well, about as sure as I can be, but you know the Flames, Charlie. They’re not the sort that heed my beck and call.” 

Charlie sighed. 

“Any news of anything strange happening around here, though?” 

“Nothing to do with all you endowed, Charlie. Now, what would you like?” 

Charlie glanced at the display. There were quite a few things, but he had always been one to like his same old treats.
“A Green Heavenly, please,” Charlie sighed. Mr. Onimous nodded and retrieved it for him. “Thank you, Mr. Onimous.” 

“Of course, Charlie. 

Charlie schlepped over to his friends like one green heavenly was a great trial. Olivia had turned up while his back was turned, and now it was time for them all to squeeze at one table, even though it would make much more sense for them to split into two. 

“Well met, Charlie.” Olivia said. Despite the encroaching spring heat, she was wearing a tan trench coat, a white skirt, and a black turtleneck. He was sure that if he glanced under the table, he’d find she was wearing matching black socks and white mary janes, or something of the sort. When Olivia went in for a more neutral look, she made sure that she had a tight color palette. He couldn’t help but approve. 

“Hi, Liv.” Charlie sat beside Ben. “So, any news from Uni?” 

Lysander and Tancred glanced at each other. 

“No, not really.” Lysander said, spreading his hands on the table. He had a little cappuccino beside him, and Tancred was munching on something with oats. “We really haven’t  had that much time to do anything interesting. Or at least, I haven’t. We’ve barely seen each other.” 

“And you two are still rooming together?” Emma asked. Tancred nodded. 

“We both end up spending a lot of time outside the dorm,” He explained. “Sander is just in the library all the time, it feels, and I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio– I’m trying out this new thing, you see– well, Emma, maybe you can come see it another time. I don’t really have the time to get into it here, it’d only bore the rest of you.” 

Tancred had recently reshaved his head– he’d been keeping his hair short since graduating, likely in a bid to not explain why his hair was always standing on edge to the normals at his Uni. With his paler skin and shock of blond bristles, he and Lysander looked polar opposites– though Lysander was slightly paler from spending more time inside, he was still dark, and his hair was long, reaching his shoulders and decorated with colorful little beads. 

“He’s doing installation art .” Lysander made a voice, then laughed. “It’s not really all that bad.” 

“When have you seen it?” 

“The sketches on your desk– and I took a peek during my lunch hour.” 

“Oh.” 

“So have either of you been keeping up with the news?” Olivia burst in, not letting the two of them hog the stage with their awkward (for everyone else, at least) romantic tension. Charlie bit into his Green Heavenly, and it suited its name. He exchanged a glance with Ben, who didn’t have the years of experience with Lysander and Tancred’s tension like everyone else did. 

“No, not really.” 

“Only the legal stuff, honestly.” Lysander sipped his cappuccino. “What’s up, Liv?” 

“So you saw that bit about gay marriage being legalized! What do you two think, I mean, especially you, Lysander, being a legal student and all?” Olivia batted her eyelashes exaggeratedly. Lysander snorted, nearly spilling his coffee. 

“I’m going into property law, Liv. Though, I think it’s well past due. I was going to say that it wasn’t going to affect me, but it really will– now that people can get married like that, it’s probably going to change a lot of wills and such.” 

“I think it’s good. You’re not… bringing it up to make fun of it, are you?” There was a crackle in the air as Tancred inspected Olivia’s face. 

“No!” She managed to actually look apologetic, something that didn’t come easy for her. (Charlie knew from first hand experience.) “I’m bringing it up because, well–” 

Olivia took a deep breath, and it felt like the cafe got quieter. Was this the moment? Was Olivia going to come out to them? She had never quite expressed interested in a boy, and with the way that she was seemingly obsessed with the news– 

“I think that it affects people like me, is all.” 

“Are you…” Gabriel shrugged. “You know, we wouldn’t mind –” 

“I’m not quite gay, actually.” Olivia said. 

“Bisexual?” Charlie asked, surprising himself. 

“No, not that either– I think. There’s something that I only recently found out about– it’s called being aromantic, but there’s also asexual.” 

Everyone made noises of either understanding or confusion. 

“I’m asexual,” Ben said, shocking even Charlie. This wasn’t something they talked about– “And gay.” He added as an afterthought. 

“Oh,” Tancred was giving Ben an odd look. “Well, um, thank you for sharing. Congrats on being able to get married?” 

Ben shrugged. 

“Dunno if I’ll ever get married, to be honest. But I can explain what asexual and aromantic are– actually, people shorten them a lot, to ace and aro. Basically, a lot of people use it to say that they aren’t attracted in that way to anyone– romantically or sexually, say– but some people use it a little differently, just to say that even if they have those attractions, they never want to act on them.” 

“Yes, that’s exactly it.” Olivia was sparkling. It contrasted nicely with her muted outfit. “Yes, that’s it. I’m acearo– or aro ace?” 

“I’ve mostly seen people use aroace.” Ben said, reaching under the table to pat Runner, who had put his head lovingly against Ben’s thigh. “I hope this doesn’t change how you all see me.” 

“Nope,” Fidelio promised. It didn’t look like Tancred was going to keep the promise. Charlie made a note of it, hoping desperately that Tanc wasn’t the type to say that he was fine with gay people, and then be weirded out when a friend or acquaintance was gay. 

The rest of the hang out was a little awkward. Charlie particularly felt like he was lying, just a little bit. With Olivia and Ben coming out to the group– should he have come out too? But then again, did anyone else really need to know? It didn’t matter, it wasn’t as though he had any crush or partner at the moment. 

He ignored that it was a little bit of a lie, and set to thinking about his friends and their very interesting hobbies, which became the new topic of conversation. 

Chapter Text

Sunday, Charlie spent the day lazing about with Benjamin and Billy. They play some Halo, which Charlie really didn’t care about that much, but Billy was still sort of astounded by any video game, so it was worth playing for that. Runner Bean lay on Charlie’s bed, rolling around happily, because he still remembered Grandma Bone and her cruelties to him. So he was trying to get back at her– Billy had told them, so Charlie was actually certain of it. 

It was nice. It was one of those moments where he was able to drop the tension that he always felt he was carrying. It was very, very easy to be around Billy and Benjamin. 

This was how it was to have good friends. 

Monday afternoon, Charlie ended up in the dorm room, rifling through the detritus that comes from years of living anywhere. Dagbert was laying on his own bed, fiddling with his sea creatures. He looked fresh from the sea– his skin was a little less pale than usual, and his hair seemed pretty vibrant as compared to Friday, when it had been bordering on that lank, dead seaweed look. 

It wasn’t, of course, like Charlie paid all that much attention to Dagbert in particular, or anything like that. It was just that he liked to keep an eye on his friends, and he’d always had an eye for fashion, one that even Olivia trusted. 

If anyone mentioned it, he might scream. 

Anyway, Charlie was trying to clear out some of his assorted detritus before they had to move out for the summer. Sure, it was only just turning spring, but soon finals would be upon them and everyone would be– everyone would be heading off to the rest of their lives. 

“Urf.” Charlie said, gagging a little. Dagbert sat up. 

“Oh, what?” He asked. “Did you find a dead mouse or something?” 

He sounded too interested in the prospect, but Charlie was already shaking his head. 

“No, just thinking about, well, the future.” 

“Not very excited?” 

Charlie made a noise and flopped onto his own bed. Dagbert shifted so that they could still look at each other. 

“You’re not actually worried, are you?” Dagbert’s voice lilted up, like he was going to laugh at him. Charlie could feel himself going slightly red from embarrassment. “C’mon, Charlie. You have it made.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you could always pull a Manfred– not the dying part, I mean– your father is the damn headmaster. Why couldn’t you just hang around until you’re ready for the world?” 

“What, are you going to hang around at Cook and Ms Kettle’s house until you decide what to go to Uni for?” 

“No, no.” Dagbert sat up, shaking his head. His golden sea creatures spilled about in his hands, moving like they were liquid and not gold. “I’m going to be an apprentice. I’m not hanging about.” 

“Right, you’re going to be a blacksmith.” 

“Yes.” Dagbert’s eyes could go very wide, and the power of them seemed only amplified by their aquamarine color. Charlie was weak. “What are you going to be? A wizard?” 

“I’m not a wizard.” 

“You have a moth that was made from a wand. And she’s very magical. I’d say that you’re pretty much a wizard, if not already a wizard.” 

“...even if I were a wizard– which I’m not– it’s not exactly the sort of job that pays well.” 

“Don’t normal people like wizards a lot? Go into politics or something.” 

Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. 

“But really,” Dagbert said, his tone shifting down into something a little more serious. “You have a lot of options, Charlie. Don’t you have something you want to do with your life after all this?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Huh.” Dagbert laid back down. “Well, you know, it’s fine to not know what you’re going to do with your life. You have time.” 

“It doesn’t feel like I do.” Charlie hung his head off his bed and looked at the assortment of detritus that he had made a dent in. “How did I even get half this stuff?” 

The next day, during free hour, Charlie ended up standing beside Asa Pike, who was making sure that none of the kids got into the ruin. They had stopped doing the whole night run thing a long time ago, but whenever Charlie stood near the ruins, he remembered that cold as sin night where Asa was such a threat. 

Charlie peeked into the ruins with a quick look over his shoulder. There was no red-leaved tree visible, but that didn’t mean that the Red King wasn’t somewhere in there. 

“Don’t even think about it, Bone.” Asa wasn’t even looking towards him. He was leaning against one of the crumbling walls, fiddling with the clasp of his purple cloak. “Nothing in there for you.” 

“...whadda mean by that, Asa?” 

“That’s Coach Pike to you,” Asa said, but it was in a teasing sort of tone. Charlie knew that he didn’t mean it cruelly. “And you heard me– there’s nothing in the ruins for Bone’s students.” 

“No Red King?”

Asa shook his head. 

“He’s flown the coop. Onto better things, or more needy children, I guess.” 

Charlie looked into the ruins, trying to catch a glimpse of the red tree in a bid to prove Asa wrong. 

“Isn’t he supposed to be there for those who need him?” 

“Yeah,” Asa said, standing up straighter, his eyes on some Year 11s that were acting a fool– and were old enough to know better, goddamnit. “We’re not exactly needy. HEY, YOU TWO–” 

Asa jogged off, leaving Charlie beside the ruins alone. All his friends were off doing things for their future careers, or if not that, probably working on hobbies they’d been nursing since childhood. 

Charlie felt terribly boring . Claerwen fluttered up to him and nestled on the underside of his collar that poked out over his cloak. She was comfortable like that, and Charlie spent another moment wavering on the border of the Ruins. 

He remembered his father deciding whether to even leave them open or not– there was a very rowdy discussion between Lyell and Paton about their fate– which had resulted in there being only a flimsy rope that cut it off from the rest of the schoolground. 

There had been a few archeologists who came down, but there hadn’t been much excavation. On one hand, Charlie was glad. It would be a lot of trouble if there were all sorts of actual academic types crawling over the campus. On the other, it would have been something. Perhaps if they began digging, they’d find the next thing to defeat, and they could finish it all off, once and for all.

The sword of Damocles would fall and Charlie wouldn’t have to worry about any executions anymore. 

“You’re still thinking about it,” Asa said, returning from dealing with the rowdy students. “I already told you, he’s not there. There’s nothing for us.” 

“How do you know, though? Have you checked recently?” 

Asa gave Charlie a look.

“Of course I have. It’s part of my job, Bone. Have to protect you all and keep the balance, don’t I?” 

“It’s not very balanced right now, though.” Charlie sighed. 

“Don’t sound too overjoyed, you might burst my eardrums.” 

“It’s not that– it’s just– I mean, yes, it’s arguably good that the good kids ‘won’ or whatever, but don’t you feel like it’s not over?” 

“Every damn day of my life.” Asa leaned against the stone wall. “But you have to look around you and realize that there’s nothing to do about it. If there’s no obvious threat, you don’t have to keep walking around with your shoulders hiked up.” 

The advice was probably good advice, but it didn’t soothe Charlie like it was supposed to. Instead, he only bristled and stalked off, leaving Asa leaning on the column by himself. Charlie wondered if it would be possible to check the ruins during another class, or at night. 

God, what had put that idea in his head? Checking at night was a horrible idea. Not only would Charlie be going in blind, it was practically a certainty that Asa would be stalking the ruins in his beastly form. Had he gone stupid? 

Charlie blustered on his own for a bit, but then it was time to return to class. Dagbert gave him a questioning look that Charlie didn’t answer.