"Hey."

The sound of Lucifer's voice made Chloe jump, and she quickly wiped at her wet cheeks. She wasn't surprised that he'd followed her—they'd always looked out for one another—but her heart fluttered anyway, as if, subconsciously, it still thought those kinds of things might mean something.

He cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, afraid that if she tried to speak, a fresh wave of tears would spill free.

He sat down in the grass beside her, stretching his long legs onto the curb of the road in front of them. She squashed the urge to face him, keeping her gaze trained straight ahead.

She didn't want to look at him.

She didn't want him to see how embarrassed and upset she was about what Shane had said about her.

She didn't want to look him in the eye while he acted like everything was normal between them when she knew now that he was keeping secrets from her.

But most of all, she didn't want to search his gaze for that something she always looked for—the spark of attraction, affection, love—that she felt for him and longed to see reflected back at her. She didn't want the confirmation that it had always been a fabrication of her mind; to be disappointed when she didn't see it there this time.

"He lied," she finally said. "We didn't do anything more than kiss. He tried to cop a feel, but I twisted his arm back."

Lucifer huffed angrily. "Good on you. He's a dick. He never should have touched you if you didn't want him to."

While she knew it was true, it felt good to hear him say it. "Why did he tell everyone those things when they weren't true?"

"To look cool or...to fit in?" he mused. "Or maybe it's just because he's a dick."

Chloe's lips twitched with the start of a smile. She snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Not that lasting for less than seven minutes is something to brag about," he continued wryly, bumping her shoulder with his.

A small sound—almost a laugh, but not quite—managed to escape her lips.

Lucifer sent her a cheeky smile, and then reached forward to pluck a tall blade of grass. He pressed it carefully between his thumbs, and then brought it to his lips. He sucked in air, his cheeks puffing up like a blowfish. He blew into the space between his thumbs, and as the grass whistle made a sharp, strange sound, Chloe couldn't help but laugh—at last, full-bellied and genuine. He was always so good at cheering her up.

"You know," her voice was soft as her laughter subsided, "he was my first real kiss. I haven't even come close to doing more than that."

Lucifer turned to look at her, his eyebrows knit in surprise. "But you kissed Tyler Wilkins. And a few other guys on the shows you've been on."

"Well, yeah, but those don't count. It's just acting. And they were so awkward. A million people watching and telling us what to do and how to do it. And it wasn't like… I didn't like any of those guys, you know?"

"Oh."

A soft silence fell between them. Crickets chirped, and Chloe toed at a pebble in the road. Gnawing on her lip, she stole another glance at Lucifer from the corner of her eye.

His head was tipped back, his gaze on the sky, but she knew he couldn't see the stars tonight, not from here. She mapped the shape of his profile, which she'd always found so striking. She'd always found everything about him striking.

"It's stupid but," she whispered, and he slowly met her eyes, "I always wanted my first real kiss to be special. With someone I trusted. With someone I cared about and who cared about me."

You.

It was on the tip of her tongue, but after everything that had happened that night, she couldn't find the courage to risk it; her cracked heart was too fragile, too close to breaking already.

Her heart drummed a wild anthem in her chest as his eyes, wide and bright and tentatively optimistic, searched hers—and even with all of her insecurities, she felt hope flare to life in her chest. Deep down, she knew that she was special to him. Above and beyond the people he hooked up with. She knew him. He opened up to her. He let her see him when he closed himself off to the rest of the world.

Ever so slowly, he leaned in, and she did too, drawn to him by some instinctual pull.

His shaky breaths warmed her skin. Her eyelids fluttered, but she kept them cracked, wanting to watch, not quite able to believe this was finally happening.

She tipped her chin up to him, his lips a mere hairsbreadth from hers.

The seconds stretched as they remained like that—frozen in time, their breaths mingling in the miniscule space between them.

She waited with baited breath for Lucifer to close the remaining distance between them...but he never did.

Instead, something changed in the way he was looking at her.

He blinked and swallowed and leaned away from her.

And something inside of Chloe, her heart, her lungs, the very core of her being, crumbled to bits.

"I'm sure you'll get that one day," he said softly as he averted his gaze from hers. "You deserve it. You should never settle for anything less, Chloe."

She looked down at their hands, resting in the grass between their bodies, so close to each other that if she moved her pinky the slightest bit, they'd be touching.

Her throat worked to swallow the knot that had lodged there.

"Yeah," she finally managed, though her voice sounded odd to her own ears.

The air between them shifted and grew heavy with an awkward sort of tension, at least it felt that way to Chloe. She was suddenly keenly aware of what had just happened. She had bared her soul, had offered herself up to him, had been crystal clear in what she desired. And Lucifer had rejected her.

"Do you want to go back inside?" he asked after a moment.

"No." She twisted further away from him to wipe at the tear that slipped down her cheek. "I called Alec. He's on his way to pick me up. I don't want to stay here."

"Alec, your co-star, Alec?" he asked, turning abruptly to look at her. "He's nineteen."

"So what? We're friends. What does age have to do with anything?"

"He wants to be more than just friends," Lucifer pointed out, and there was something in his tone, something she couldn't quite identify, but it sounded condescending and she didn't like it. "I don't trust him."

She shrugged, defensive. "Well I do. And he's kind of my only option right now. I don't want to stay, and you obviously shouldn't be driving."

He flinched at her sharp tone. She was hurt and angry and looking for any excuse let some of her frustrations out on him, but she was being unfair. It was a party, and she'd known they would be drinking. It wasn't his fault she'd unexpectedly decided she wanted to go home.

Her voice softened. "Do you want a ride? I'm sure he wouldn't mind dropping you off if you don't want to be here anymore either."

Desperately, she wanted him to say yes. She had wanted so badly to fit into this part of Lucifer's world, and had tried to with terrible results. She didn't want to be part of this scene anymore, and she wanted Lucifer to feel the same.

He plucked another blade of grass and fiddled with it. "I think I'm gonna stay."

It felt like a punch to the gut. It felt like he was choosing them over her.

She thought of the guy he'd been kissing earlier, the bag of pills that was probably still in his pocket.

Why did things suddenly feel so different between them? Why did he suddenly feel like a stranger to her?

"Okay," she said, and when he didn't move to get up, she added dismissively, "have fun."

"I was going to wait with you until he comes…if you want me to."

She didn't.

She just wanted him to leave her alone so that she didn't have to suffer any longer in the excruciating awkwardness that tainted the air between them, reminding her of the fact that they were growing up and maybe even growing apart too, and how much that upset her.

"You don't have to," she insisted. "He should be here soon. Really, go. Have fun."

He hesitated for another second before nodding and climbing to his feet. "Get home safe."

"I will." She nodded, wrinkling her nose against the itch of new tears. This goodbye felt different. Final.

He took a step backward.

"How are you…" she blurted before he could get far. "Are you just gonna stay the night here?" She didn't like the idea of him driving home after drinking and whatever else he might do after she left.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll stay."

"Okay."

He hovered, uncertainly. "I'll see you sometime next week, then?"

"Yeah." She nodded, though something inside her doubted it was the truth.


"Why didn't you kiss me that night?" Chloe whispered, peeking up at Lucifer from where she was still tucked underneath his arm.

"Well, I had hoped the bottle would land on me…"

"No, I mean…in the yard, after all that. We had a moment." She drew her finger down the row of buttons in the center of his chest. "I wanted you to."

He bit the inside of his lip, his mouth curving into a crooked frown. He shifted away from her, just slightly, and removed his arm from her shoulders. She didn't protest, knowing that talking about these things was difficult, especially for him, and that he needed a little bit of space to get his thoughts together.

"I was scared," he admitted, his eyes glued to the picture from the party. She reached for his hand, sliding her fingers between his. He moved his thumb lightly across the bumps of her knuckles. "I thought you were too good for me."

"Lucifer." Her lips twitched as tears sprang to her eyes. It made her heart ache that he had thought so little of himself back then. She pulled his arm a little closer, hugging it tightly to her chest.

"You were…so perfect," he continued with a sad smile. "And I was messed up."

She shook her head. "You've always put me on some pedestal, but I was never perfect."

He huffed a sound of protest. "You were to me. And you deserved more than I could give you. My mind was a dark place back then; I simply hid it well. And I didn't want to risk our friendship. You were—are—so very important to me, Chloe."

She curled a little closer to him. "You're important to me, too. I know you thought you weren't good enough, but Lucifer, you were. You were everything to me, and I wanted to be with you so badly. No one else was ever good enough because they weren't you."

He exhaled a shaky breath and looked down at her, his eyebrows furrowing in awe, until finally, a soft smile appeared on his lips. He was so beautiful, all the time, but especially when he smiled at her like that; it was impossible not to smile back at him.

His eyes flickered to her lips, and she wanted to kiss him again—oh, how she did—but she wasn't ready to move on from this conversation yet. There was more she wanted to ask, and she felt like it was important for them to talk about these things, especially if they were starting a relationship together.

She pulled her lip between her teeth and toyed with his fingers nervously. "I saw you buying drugs that night." He stiffened, surprised by the abrupt subject change, but she pressed on, a little hesitant as she struggled with how to phrase the question she wanted to ask. "Were you already…using regularly then?"

He had been good at hiding what he was going through, and she feared she never truly knew the depth of his struggles with drugs and alcohol. She hadn't even known the severity of his addiction until it had finally come to a head, becoming impossible for him to disguise and for her to ignore.

"I was only just beginning to experiment with different things then," he told her. "Drugs didn't really become a problem until college."

"But alcohol?"

Sucking in a deep breath, he nodded, his eyes rolling up toward the ceiling as he thought back. "Yes. That was right around the time I started drinking heavily."

Chloe's chest felt tight. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

He sighed as if he knew what she was thinking. "It wasn't your fault, Chloe."

"I should have been there for you."

"You were busy. You had your show and a new boyfriend. Of course you weren't around much."

"I was busy and I was spending a lot of time with Alec," she confirmed, her stomach twisting with guilt. Because Lucifer always defended her, even to herself. But she knew that wasn't the whole story, and she knew the way she'd practically disappeared from his life back then had hurt him. "But I was also distancing myself from you."

"You were? Why?"

"Everything that happened at that party just made things feel so different between us. You just said that you had been afraid to lose me back then, but that night, I thought I'd already lost you."

His brows furrowed in confusion.

"I saw you take drugs from that guy. I didn't fully comprehend what that meant at the time or how serious things would get, but what I did know was that it hurt that you were keeping secrets from me. And it hurt to watch you flirt and make out with other people. I liked you so much, Lucifer. And when you didn't kiss me in the yard that night…" She shrugged half-heartedly and huffed a humorless chuckle. "I'd practically admitted to you that I wanted you to be my first kiss. So when you didn't kiss me, it just felt like you were confirming that my feelings were one-sided."

"Chloe, I… I wanted to-"

"I know that now," she reassured him quickly. "But that's how it felt to me back then. So, I put distance between us. But you were still my friend, and I saw you with those pills. I shouldn't have just ignored it. Maybe if I wouldn't have, things never would have got as bad as they did."

—September 1997—

Chloe let the heavy door of St. Morgan's fall softly shut behind her. Lucifer was supposed to be practicing, so she'd been expecting to hear the rich, dulcet tones of the piano echo throughout the church, but it was surprisingly quiet.

Her sneakers clopped softly on the old carpet as she walked through the foyer and into the chapel.

The church was dim, illuminated only by the late afternoon sun filtering in through the large, colorful stained glass windows, and the flickering red votive candles that lined each altar and surrounded the statues of Jesus, Mary, and the saints.

At the front of the chapel on the stage near the pulpit, the piano stood unoccupied.

Chloe made her way down the aisle between neat rows of old pews, her eyes sweeping over the room as she looked for Lucifer.

When she found him, her heart dropped like an anchor into her stomach.

"What are you doing?" she blurted before she could stop herself.

He startled at the sound of her voice, his fingers freezing as they expertly worked a bobby pin into the lock of an offerings box. His head snapped toward her, his eyes wide with fear of being caught.

"Are you… You're not…stealing from Frank, are you?"

"No! Of course not." His denial was quick and vehement, but his cheeks were red with guilt. He stood and stepped away from the box. "I'm only borrowing it. And not from Frank, from the church."

Chloe's eyes darted between his face and the offerings box, remembering the way she had felt so unsettled as she'd sat beside him in the grass while the party raged on behind them, thinking that he was changing. That they were changing. That was six months ago, but the memory of that feeling had stayed with her. It was the same feeling she had now.

"Look," he said, his lips pulling into that charming grin of his. He was putting on an act, the one that always got him what he wanted. She saw right through it, though, and he knew it. His smile fell, and he sighed. "I need some cash, okay? Someone owes me for a favor, but they don't have the money yet. I'm going to repay it as soon as I can; no one will even notice it's gone."

Her heart pounded uncomfortably. Why did he need money? Why couldn't he just wait for the favor? Why did he need it right now? Why hadn't he just asked to borrow the money from her or Frank, even?

The fact that he was sneaking around for it made her think that it was for something shady, something he didn't think she'd approve of.

She wanted to press him on it, and if this had happened six months ago, she would have. But since the night of that party, she'd pulled away from him. They'd rarely spent time together lately, and she didn't feel like she had the right to pry into his life anymore.

And she hadn't come there to argue.

"You swear you're gonna put it all back?"

Hurt flashed across his face, but it was gone in an instant. "I'm not a thief, Chloe. And I'm not a liar. I thought you knew that."

"I do," she said softly, sudden guilt creeping through her for doubting him.

"Why are you even here?" he asked. There was a harshness in his voice that made her flinch.

She knew he was defensive and was lashing out, but the implication hurt, even though she knew it had no right to. It was clear her absence had hurt him, even though that hadn't been her intention.

She shrugged, averting her eyes in remorse, not sure what to say. I wanted to see you? I missed you? I'm sorry for not being around lately?

"Where's Alec?" His eyes darted over her shoulder, as if he expected Alec to magically appear behind her.

"We broke up," she told him, trying her best to seem unaffected, but her voice wavered and her eyes unexpectedly filled with tears.

"Oh, Chloe." Lucifer's features immediately softened. "I'm sorry."

He took a step toward her, putting more distance between himself and the offerings box, and discreetly slipped the bobby pin into his back pocket.

"It's okay." She looked down at her feet, feeling a little embarrassed by the rush of emotion. She thought she was done crying over Alec, but the tenseness of the moment with Lucifer had made her emotional again. "He's working on a new project and it was hard to make time for each other."

Lucifer shook his head in clear disdain. "He's an idiot for letting you go."

She chuckled softly, grateful for the sentiment. Clasping her hands in front of herself, she sent him a shy smile. "Thanks."

He stood a few feet away, still watching her, looking a little helpless. They were out of practice being around each other, and some of the easy familiarity that there'd always been between them was lost. It was an odd feeling, almost like grieving the loss of a loved one who wasn't actually gone. And it made it worse that he seemed to feel it too, especially after all that he'd already lost. Guilt clawed at her.

Clearing her throat, she gestured toward the piano. "I thought you'd be playing."

"I was. Earlier." He shrugged, and his voice was a little unsure as he asked, "Would you like me to play you something?"

A smile tugged at her lips. She nodded.

"Come on," he said, tipping his head toward the instrument.

She walked the rest of the way down the aisle, and when she reached him, he put his arm around her shoulders. He was a little stiff as he pulled her into his side, but the warm weight of his arm and his familiar scent flooded her senses, and she sighed and leaned into him.

Some of the tension from before seemed to break. He pulled her closer, and for a second, they stood like that, not willing to let the other go. With his arm around her and his breath ruffling her hair, she felt like maybe they'd be able to get back what they'd lost.

Lucifer finally loosened his grip on her, giving her a smile before steering her toward the piano.

They sat side by side on the rickety old bench, giggling with nervous amusement as it creaked and dipped under their combined weight, but it remained sturdy as they settled.

"Any requests?" he asked, his fingers poised above the keys.

"Something upbeat and cheerful, maybe?"

"Upbeat and cheerful," he repeated, silently musing over his options. "Oh!" he exclaimed after a moment, a sparkle in his eye. "How about…?"

His fingers began to move, and the opening notes of The Proclaimers' I Wanna Be filled the chapel.

Chloe laughed, transported back to the summer before they'd turned thirteen, and the long, hot days they'd spent jamming out to their favorite songs in the treehouse, singing at the top of their lungs, playing air guitar, and making up silly dance moves. Back when that treehouse had served as a reprieve from the unrealistic pressure Penelope had begun to place on her and the cruelty that awaited Lucifer back at his foster home; back when they'd found comfort and safety in each other's presence, underneath the dim glow of plastic stars.

As the song came to an end, Lucifer transitioned easily into Heart and Soul, and Chloe let her head fall onto his shoulder.

Fondly, she thought about Cabaret Nights. Her dad trying out new recipes, Frank's stories from when he'd been on tour with The Rolling Stones, all the laughter and singing and dancing. She frowned a little as she watched Lucifer's fingers glide elegantly over the keys, realizing that she'd missed the last few because she'd been on dates with Alec.

Lucifer finished the song, dragging the backs of his fingers over the keys with a flourish. Chloe lifted her head, and Lucifer bumped her shoulder with his.

"That one's easy," he said. "I can teach you, if you'd like?"

"Okay," she agreed with a soft smile.

He reached around her, his fingers ghosting down the length of her arm. She shivered at the caress, butterflies filling her belly. He took her right hand in his and gently placed her fingers on the keys.

"Put your fingers here," he instructed, his voice husky and close to her ear. His large hand was warm as it covered hers. Slowly, he pressed down on each of her fingers, tinkling out the familiar melody. "See? Just like that."

She hummed, turning her head just slightly to look at him. He was so close their cheeks nearly brushed. His breath tickled her skin, and heat flared deep inside her.

His hand quickly fell away, and he cleared his throat.

She exhaled at the loss, returning her attention to the piano keys as an old, familiar wave of disappointment washed over her.

"Keep playing," he gently urged, and so she moved her fingers the way he had taught her.

After a few seconds, he joined in flawlessly, and the song suddenly went from a solitary tink, tink, tink to something rich and full.

She sent him a smile filled with surprised delight.

They played the song over and over again.

Chloe's fingers slipped more than once, and she pressed the wrong key, making them laugh at the discordant sound that was always so abrupt and strange amidst Lucifer's beautiful harmony.

"Thank you," Chloe said, when they'd played the final notes, still giggling over her clumsiness.

Lucifer turned an equally amused grin in her direction. "Of course."

"I haven't laughed like that in awhile."

He frowned, and she berated herself for ruining the lighthearted mood. "Would you like to talk about it?"

She inhaled deeply through her nose as she considered. "No," she said with a shake of her head.

"Alright." He nodded. She was glad he didn't push; somehow she knew he wouldn't. "Then, how about another? I've been trying to learn-"

"Hey, Lucifer!" A boy around their age came rushing into the chapel. He slowed to an awkward stop, glancing at Chloe with a curious furrow to his brow. "Oh, sorry, man. I didn't know you had company."

"This is Chloe. She's cool," Lucifer said, and then gestured toward the guy. "That's Lee."

Lee nodded at her before turning his attention back to Lucifer. "Robinson's on duty if you wanna go to the Underworld. I got an idea for a new piece I wanna start."

Lucifer tipped his head to the side as he looked at Chloe, a mysterious gleam in his dark eyes. "There's something I want to show you."

A thrill zinged through her. "Okay."

Lee led the way out of the church, a heavy backpack hanging loosely off one of his shoulders. He chatted about the idea for his new piece and the Underworld, referring to it affectionately as the U-Dub. Lucifer commented every now and then as they made their way around the block, cut through an alley, and then waded across an overgrown lot filled with weeds and trash.

They ended up in front of a strip of dilapidated old row houses. Signs plastered on the boarded-up windows and doorways warned against trespassing, but Lee strode right past them. He looked to his right and then to his left, checking that the coast was clear, before shouldering his way under a loose board in one of the doorways. He held it up so that Lucifer and Chloe could duck inside after him.

Trepidation swirled in Chloe's gut as she followed them inside. Her mind was shouting that they shouldn't be there, that it was dangerous, that they were trespassing.

But Lucifer turned a mischievous little smile back at her, his eyes dancing and giddy, and a surge of excitement erased her worry. He had always been elusive in some ways, and she'd always wanted to know the secrets he kept. It made her feel special that he wanted to share one with her.

And with things so strained between them, going on an adventure together felt like a step toward normalcy, toward getting her best friend back. Which she desperately wanted.

It was dim inside the abandoned home, but sunlight filtered in through cracks in the walls and gaping holes in the ceiling, and it was enough to illuminate the colorful graffiti that covered the walls from floor to ceiling.

"Wow," Chloe gasped as she spun in a slow circle, her eyes sweeping over the elaborate paintings.

"Hey!" Lee shouted, just as she was reaching her fingers out to touch one. She spun to face him, afraid he'd been yelling at her not to touch the artwork, as if they were at the LACMA and not in a condemned old building covered in street art. But he wasn't talking to her. He was stalking over to a figure slumped in one of the corners of the room. "Get out of here."

Chloe frowned and took an instinctive step backward as she looked at the man, a sudden rush of fear punching her in the gut. He appeared really out of it, his unfocused eyes slowly darting to look at each of them from under heavy, drooping lids. He was dirty, his clothing torn and tattered. His arm was tied off with a dirty shoelace, and a used needle laid on the ground beside his thigh.

Lucifer moved closer to her, his lips slanting apologetically. "Sometimes they come in here," he told her with a small shrug. "We should have checked before we brought you in; I'm sorry."

The man made no effort to get up, only staring at Lee with an empty look in his eyes, and the fear Chloe felt initially softened into something like pity. She wondered if he had a family, or people who cared about him, who worried for his safety.

Lee reached down to grab his arm and yanked him to his feet.

"Said out, bitch," he said as he ushered him toward the door.

The man grumbled a protest but otherwise went without much of a fight.

"Will he be okay?" Chloe whispered to Lucifer as Lee let the board over the door fall back into place.

Lucifer gave her a sad little smile and shrugged.

Lee shook his head as he made his way back toward the center of the room, clearly annoyed by the intrusion. He let his backpack fall to the floor, and it landed with a soft clatter.

Crouching beside it, he rummaged through its contents, setting can after can of cheap beer onto the floor next to him.

Lucifer bent forward and grabbed one. He popped the tab, and Chloe and Lee both laughed as liquid spewed out of the opening, the can shaken from the jostle of the walk over.

He grinned and held the can away from his body until the beer settled, and then passed the drink to Chloe.

"Thanks," she said.

He nodded and grabbed a second beer for himself.

Lee finished unloading the pack, and an array of beer and spray paint stood in the center of the room.

After taking a swig from his own drink, Lee selected a can of spray paint and gave it a mighty shake. The can hissed as Lee marked a line on the wall.

"What is this place?" Chloe asked.

"We call it the Underworld," Lucifer said. He indicated around to all of the graffiti. "We tag here, see?"

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise. Art was the one thing Lucifer didn't excel at. "You did all this?"

"Not all of it," he chuckled knowingly, "but some, yeah."

She caught the note of pride in his voice, and she couldn't help her impressed smile. "Wow."

"Come on," he said with a grin, clearly pleased by her reaction. "I want to show you my favorite."

He led her through a doorway and into an adjoining room.

"Lucifer," she gasped as she took in the elaborate work of art that covered the entire wall opposite them.

A young angel sat with his head bent, hugging his knees to his chest. Large, gorgeous snow white wings erupted from his back, stretching the full length of the wall. Red paint dripped from the tips of weeping feathers, pooling into crimson puddles on the floor, and a pair of matching red horns poked out from the mop of messy brown curls on the top of his head.

The picture had a sorrowful, lonely feel to it, and Chloe felt a sharp tug in her heart as she admired it. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes, but she blinked them away before Lucifer could see. She always pushed thoughts of his painful past out of her mind, but she hadn't realized that that wasn't a luxury Lucifer had himself. He was haunted by his past, and it had left a mark on him that wasn't easily erased.

From the corner of her eye, she could see that he was watching her closely, scrutinizing her face for a reaction, so she swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to him. "That's…really good. You painted that?"

"I had help. I'm not the greatest artist, as you well know," he chuckled, and then turned a fond look toward the mural, "but it turned out pretty well."

"It's incredible," she breathed, reaching out to trace the intricate line of one of the feathers with her fingertip.

"Thank you."

She wanted to know more about the boy in the picture. She wanted to know if this was how Lucifer had seen himself as a kid, if he still felt torn between good and bad, angel and devil, if the pain from his childhood was still sharp and severe or if it had faded to a dull, but ever-present ache.

He wasn't the same candid kid he used to be; he held his feelings like cards, so close to the chest. But he'd brought her here and had shown her the painting. That had to count for something.

"Is it you?" she whispered, finding the courage to ask. She cast a curious glance his way.

He seemed surprised by the question. Turning back to the wall, he studied the painting for a moment, his head tipped to one side.

Then his eyes met hers, shiny with heartache.

"I suppose he is."


Hi! I'd love to know if people are still reading and enjoying this fic :)