Connor saw the professor with Lester and Leek through the doors, and headed into the control room. Cutter was acting oddly, to be sure, but this would be a test of just how much he'd forgotten.
"…Haven't forgotten a thing. Wish I could."
Connor winced internally. Defiance, thinly covering confusion… the professor was easy to read. He really didn't know. The young man frowned. That meant… what else had he forgotten?
Connor lingered behind Stephen and Abby as they left the room. He needed to talk to Nick.
"You didn't 'ave a clue who Leek was then, did y'?" he asked.
The professor answered with a negative, not looking at him.
"You're officially freaking me out." He really didn't know about Leek, and he wouldn't even look at Connor… "Let me get this straight. You're sayin' something's changed because of what happened in the Permian anomaly? Like evolution has just, what, altered course?"
Cutter stopped, turned, with the slightest hint of a smile. Even that sent a wave of relief through Connor. "I'm glad someone was listening."
Of course. Connor shrugged.
"You believe me."
Hope shone in his eyes, and Connor couldn't ignore that. I… if even I don't believe you, then no one will, and… I trust you. He hesitated. "Alright. I'll buy it."
Cutter smiled. "I could kiss you, Connor."
Connor blinked. Unexpected… it wasn't like him to tease. "That's… really sweet, but maybe not while there's people around." Because, after all, we're supposed to be keeping this a secret… I thought you didn't want anyone to know we're together? He looked at the professor, but the familiar twinkle in his eye, the one that said "later", was gone. All he got was a pat on the shoulder as Cutter walked off.
He… he really doesn't remember. The world really has changed for him. And for me…
"One thing though," the young man burst out, "How do I know I'm different, when I don't know what I was like before?"
"Apparently some people never change," Cutter called back.
Connor paused. "Is that a good or a bad thing?" he asked, wondering. Maybe there's still something there. But the professor, his lover, didn't answer, just walked away, and left the younger man standing in the corridor. Connor bit his lip. He wondered if the professor had even considered that things might be more different in this world than they seemed at first glance. Some people never change… was Nick Cutter one of them? Connor didn't know, but he hoped that he was.