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The sound of a pen scratching on paper and a faint light from the other side of the room woke Coco up slightly in the middle of the night. She didn’t really need to open her eyes to know that it was Agott, practicing far too late in the night.
Though, that didn’t usually wake her. As much as it wasn’t good for Agott to be staying up so late, it was too common to bother Coco anymore.
“Agott?” Though it was whispered softly into the dark of their room, it still caused the girl in question to jump a little bit.
“Ah- Coco. Did you need something?”
“No. I just woke up and thought I’d see what you’re doing.” Coco got out of her bed carefully and joined Agott on the floor of the room where paper was littered about.
“I was just practicing. I- you don’t need to worry. I’ll go to bed soon.”
Coco nodded, content to sit quietly for now and watch in wonder as Agott drew. Though, it was becoming a bit clearer to her why she woke up- she was hungry. Not terribly so, of course, Qifrey would never let the girls go to bed without dinner. Coco just wanted a little snack, it seemed.
“I think I’m going to get a snack from the kitchen. Would you like me to bring you anything?”
For the first time in a while, Agott looked up from her work. With a look that Coco couldn’t quite decipher.
“Uh, sure. Just a bit of whatever you’re having.”
With a nod and a smile, Coco drew a quick floating light spell, and left the room.
Her steps were very quiet on the way to the kitchen, being incredibly careful not to wake anyone else up. Though, as she looked up at the pantry, she suddenly became nervous.
It was probably fine to take a little cheese and bread, but… she should ask, right? Qifrey cared a lot about the kitchen. If a small bit of something went missing, he should at least know…
Well. Coco knew where Qifrey’s room was. She could just wake him for a quick second, to ask a question, and it would be fine. Better than getting in trouble for not asking, even if she doubted that would happen.
With still quiet steps, Coco made her way to Qifrey’s room, slowly opening the door and walking up to the bed where she knew he would be.
“Master Qifrey?” Made timid from the dark, her voice was too quiet to really wake him. Coco repeated herself, a little bit louder, but instead of seeing him wake up, a different shape moved on the bed.
There was someone who was not Qifrey in Qifrey’s room.
Before Coco had any sense to try and make a noise, or do something, the figure shifted around and was finally illuminated by the light spell she had cast.
Oh! It was just Olruggio. Though…
“Ah. Coco. Whaddya need, kid?” Olruggio asked, still somewhat confused from sleep.
“I- er. I was wondering if I was allowed to have something from the pantry for a snack? I thought I should ask.”
Without giving it much thought, Olruggio nodded.
“That’s fine. No need to ask. G’night, Coco.”
“Goodnight, mister Olruggio!” Coco then spun on her heel and left the room, closing the door carefully behind her.
It didn’t take long to get a few small things for herself and Agott, as well as to take them back to their room. But for the entire time, one question lingered in Coco’s mind: Why was Olruggio there? He was supposed to live in the other building connected to the atelier, right?
Still, that didn’t matter as much once she was seated back on the floor with Agott, sharing snacks and coming up with new applications of spells and ways to practice.
“Hey, Agott?”
“Hm?”
“We should probably go to bed.”
Agott stoped drawing, looking at Coco, but finally relented, nodding.
“Though, I did have a question… It’s fine if you don’t know, but…”
“What is it? If it’s about magic, I might.”
“Er… Is Master Qifrey married to Olruggio?”
There was a pause that hung heavy in the air, causing Agott to take a moment to think. That was never really a question that had crossed her mind, after all…
“To be honest, I have no idea. Maybe.”
Coco just nodded. “I figured. Thank you anyways, and try to get some sleep, okay?”
With a look at the ground, which Coco still didn’t quite understand, Agott nodded.
“Yeah, okay. Goodnight, Coco.”
While it wasn’t quite as much sleep as most would reccommend they get, the apprentices slept well that night, even if they knew there was a question they had to ask in the morning.
***
All four girls were sitting in the grass outside the atelier, enjoying the spring sunshine along with their lunches, carefully prepared by Qifrey.
The witch in question was also having lunch, though his thoughts seemed preoccupied with something else. Though it was probably important, Coco couldn’t help but want to bring his attention to a topic that might be more comfortable to think about, away from whatever was troubling him.
“Master Qifrey?”
He looked up quickly, changing his expression to something more pleasant.
“Yes?”
“Are you and mister Olruggio married?”
At that point, the other three girls had also begun to listen in, and both Richeh and Tetia seemed to think the question over.
Qifrey, on the other hand, suddenly seemed bewildered, his face a bright red.
“I'm- sorry, what? I'm not married to anyone. Why do you ask?” He was trying to remain level and not say anything strange when posed with the question of if he was married to the man he'd been in love with for years.
“Well, I went to ask you if I could have a snack from the pantry last night, but Olruggio was in your bed too and woke up to tell me it was fine. I didn't know why he was there, so I kind of just thought…?”
“Ah.”
While Qifrey had to try to format his words in his mind to give a good explanation, the girls had burst into chatter amongst each other. Some of it was speculation, some plain confusion, while Tetia said she was totally sure something was going on.
Suddenly, the chatter as well as Qifrey’s train of thought was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat.
“Didn't know we were having a picnic today.” Olruggio said, completely unaware of what sort of situation he had just put himself in.
“Why did you sleep with Master Qifrey?” Was the first question asked. Unfortunate phrasing aside, the blunt manner Richeh had asked it in only served to make it seem more insane.
“... Excuse me?”
“Yeah!” Tetia chimed in. “I thought you lived in different rooms. And Qifrey already said you're not married, so…”
Olruggio seemed to finally realize what the girls were talking about, and immediately looked at Qifrey.
“Alright. I think I'm gonna have to leave this to you.”
With a sigh, Qifrey finally made an attempt to explain. “Olruggio and I are just good friends. I've been having nightmares recently, and having him nearby is helpful for me. Even if his sleep schedule is unorthodox at best.”
“Wh- that last part wasn't necessary.”
Still, it had made the girls laugh, and finally the matter was let go.
Or it was, until Tetia had asked:
“So when are you going to get married?”