Prompt: Adrian seeing Marcus and Sydney together and getting jealous. This takes place a few weeks after the end of The Golden Lily - as usual, it's not related to any of my previous oneshots!

A/N: This one is also inspired by the new facebook photos of the upcoming Indigo Spell trailer.

Horatio

Jill had been spending a lot of time in my dorm recently, since Eddie and Angeline were often in hers. So I wasn't completely surprised, when Marcus and I stopped by to pick up some supplies from my Alchemy bag, to find the room occupied. But of all the possible scenarios I imagined I might find when I unlocked my dorm room, Adrian Ivashkov lounging on my bed was not what I had anticipated.

"Adrian," I said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "What, no hug for your big brother? Aren't you going to –" He broke off, his eyes focusing on the person behind me. Marcus moved to my side and the mirth slipped from Adrian's face like rainwater trickling down a windowpane.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked sourly. "I didn't realise this room was booked. Bit late for a private study session, isn't it?"

My face reddened and beside me, Marcus coughed awkwardly. I was ready to excuse myself and drag Adrian into the corridor to speak with him privately, when something else caught my eye.

Marcus had noticed it too. "That's a penguin," he said bemusedly, as if to clear the tension from the room.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" said Adrian sarcastically. "Master of observation, you are."

"Adrian," I asked in the calmest voice I could manage, "why is there a giant inflatable penguin in my dorm room?"

Adrian stood and crossed his arms. His eyes flickered between me and Marcus. For a moment, he looked as though he was going to say something important. Then he shrugged and muttered, "Forget it. See you tomorrow at Clarence's." He shouldered past us and into the hallway.

I looked down at the penguin. For the life of me, I couldn't imagine where he'd got it or what had possessed Adrian to drag it from his car, up the stairs and into my tiny dorm room. I couldn't imagine how he'd managed to even gain entrance to my dorm – I had the only key, after all. I imagined him sitting here waiting for me to return, wearing that stupid smug grin, with only a giant inflatable penguin for company…

"Wait," I called. I turned to Marcus. "Stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

I left before he could respond. Adrian had already reached the end of the corridor and he pushed open the doors that led to the staircase. I followed.

"Adrian, just wait." I called. He was halfway down the stairs now, but when he saw me on the landing, he stopped and waited for me to join him.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't think… I just assumed you'd be alone. I should've called you or something."

I shook my head. "That doesn't matter. Just… tell me why you came here. With a penguin." I laughed at the absurdity of those words coming out of my mouth. "Where did you even get it?"

"I won it," he said. He drew himself up a little straighter. "In an art competition at the college. Fifth prize."

"Adrian, that's great!" I said. "Congratulations." I'm so proud of you, I wanted to say. It was true, but those words seemed too personal for us now.

He shrugged like it didn't matter very much, but I could tell that it meant a lot to him.

"So why did you bring it here?" I asked.

"Well, since you were the inspiration behind the piece, I figured you deserved an equal share of penguin companionship. I charmed the hall matron into giving me the spare key for your room." He paused. "Okay, I might have used a little compulsion. It didn't seem like such a crazy idea at the time."

I shook my head, bewildered. Crazy. I wondered if Spirit was bothering him again, but I didn't know how to ask.

"You're not keeping him though," Adrian said in a mock-stern tone. He waggled a finger at me. "Dual custody. I want him back on weekends."

I didn't know what to say to that. "Why… why are you doing this? Showing up at my dorm? Being so nice. Talking to me as if…" As if nothing happened between us. As if we could go back to the way things were.

Adrian shook his head. "I don't know. I just… I wanted to see you. Consider the penguin a peace offering," he said. "I… I miss you. And I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you… that day."

That day, mocked a voice in the back of my head. The day. The day he kissed you and confessed his love for you and made you feel alive and awake in a way you'd never dreamed you could feel before…

Adrian reached forward tentatively. His hand brushed against mine. He kept his eyes on me, his gaze saying Please don't run away again. My hand tingled from the contact, but I didn't draw back.

"I want to be your friend, Sage," he said. His green eyes gazed into mine. "I'd rather be your friend than nothing at all."

My breath caught. Heart hammering, I curled my fingers around his. "I would like that," I admitted. He grinned so widely that I couldn't help but smile back. Friends. It was the wrong word to describe what Adrian was to me… and it was just as dangerous. But somehow, this felt good. Safe, even.

"Good." Adrian squeezed my fingers gently before letting go. "I'd better head home. Your other friend will be wondering where you are." Adrian's voice sounded gruff as he lingered over the word friend. "Don't forget, I want Horatio back this weekend."

"Adrian, you're not naming our penguin Horatio."

"Why not? Have you got something against Italian penguins?"

I shook my head, grinning in spite of myself.

"Horatio it is, then." He smirked back at me and then raked a hand through his hair. "Sage? Can I ask you something that I probably have no right to ask as a friend?"

"You can ask me anything."

"That guy…" Adrian said. I felt myself freeze up. Did Adrian recognise him? Had he seen Marcus' tattoo? It had been covered, but his was a lot harder to hide than mine. My heart hammered and I wasn't sure why. I knew I could trust Adrian to keep this to himself.

"Marcus? What about him?" I asked cautiously.

Adrian's lips pursed. "Nothing. I just… Every time I've seen you recently, you've been with him." He sounded annoyed. It was true that I had been spending most of my free time with Marcus. But I couldn't tell Adrian why. Not yet. Not until Marcus had told me everything he knew about the Alchemists. If I revealed my suspicions now, without proof, it would feel like a betrayal. And I'd betrayed the Alchemists enough already where Adrian was concerned.

I shrugged. "He's helping me with something."

Adrian nodded slowly. "Right. He's… he's just a study partner, then?"

"Right," I said hesitantly. Adrian breathed a sigh of relief and I suddenly realised what he'd really been asking. A warm tingling feeling coiled up in my chest. Was Adrian… jealous of Marcus? The thought almost made me laugh. But then I imagined seeing Adrian constantly in the presence of some strange girl – one of the Moroi girls from Los Angeles, perhaps – and the warm feeling evaporated instantly.

"He's just a friend," I said quickly.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Like you and I are just friends?"

"No," I said emphatically. "Nothing like you and I."

His eyes burned into mine. "Good," he said in an oddly strained voice. I felt warm again, but this time the feeling seemed to burn all the way through me. He reached out and squeezed my fingers once more. Was this normal friend behaviour? It didn't seem right, but I couldn't find the strength to complain.

"See you tomorrow, Sage. Tell Mario and Horatio I said bye."

"His name is Marcus," I complained, but Adrian just winked at me and disappeared back down the stairs.

When I returned to my room, Marcus was perched on the wooden chair at the edge of my desk. Horatio the penguin was propped up on the floor beside my bed. I lifted it and sat it on my bed, right where Adrian had been lying.

"Um, everything okay with the vampire?" Marcus asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," I said, still feeling a little flustered. I grabbed my Alchemy bag. "Ready to go?"

I glanced back into the room just before I closed the door. Horatio the penguin looked ridiculously out of place – a splash of colour and personality amongst the brown and maroon and grey.

And loathe as I was to change, I actually kind of liked it.