Author's Note: It's been a while…please don't hate me, please review, and let me know if you think this should keep going. I haven't read A Wizard of Mars yet. I feel kind of awkward continuing this with it out and not having read it. This chapter isn't as long as it could be but I wanted to get it posted before I lost my nerve on going with this.

In the Closet

Disclaimer: The characters in question belong to Diane Duane. I own only the plot.

Chapter 6: On the Bed

Nita watched Kit interacting with Abernathy. They seemed to be getting along. Their meeting with Tom and Carl had gone well enough. There wasn't a lot the Senior wizards could tell them about Mars at this point. They did grant authorization for more information about it to appear in their manuals, and reiterated Ronan's warnings about not getting in over their heads. Abernathy had a little trouble getting onto the bed the first time; he wasn't young and his joints weren't in the best of shape. He wasn't exactly forthcoming about telling his life story, but he'd let Nita do what she could for his stiffness and aching joints. Now she was sitting at Kit's desk, watching him scratching the Great Dane and talking quietly to him. The dog was certainly pleased—he was cautiously optimistic about being here. Kit and Nita had bathed him in the tub as soon as they got home this afternoon. Nita had gotten so much water on her that she was wearing one of Kit's t-shirts while she waited for hers to dry. She was planning to pick up a new collar for him sometime this weekend. Kit hadn't felt right putting one of Ponch's old ones on him.

She mused to herself; wizard and dog seemed to be getting along alright. Mrs. Rodriguez had invited her to stay for dinner, her famous arroz con pollo. She started thumbing through her manual, checking the new information to which she and Kit had been given access. Mars showed the possibility of sustaining life, or having sustained it at some point—scientists on Earth knew that much. The extremes of the planet's temperature made it difficult for Earth's scientists to believe there was life there now, but Nita knew better—she knew that other creatures could survive in circumstances that Earth's scientists couldn't imagine survivable. After all, she'd met a walking, talking Christmas tree and a giant metallic centipede that could eat a stack of dinner plates and go back for a phonebook as dessert.

Nita looked at Kit and Abernathy and couldn't help smiling; she wasn't sure he'd be able to bond with another dog. It was refreshing to know that some wounds did heal.

Carmela whistled at Nita from the doorway. "I'd have thought you could get better eye candy than my disgusting little brother…"

She furiously fought down a blush—she had been watching him and smiling. "I was just thinking about something Dari said earlier."

"What's that?"

Nita shrugged casually. "She wanted to know how I've worked with Kit so long without killing him. She's about ready to strangle Roshaun. They can't agree on anything at this point except that there's a problem and it needs fixing."

Kit raised an eyebrow at her. "What did you say? That I'm too devilishly good looking to want to strangle?"

Carmela made a gagging motion and Nita rolled her eyes. Her reply was sarcastic, "Not at all, I told her that sometimes I do want to strangle you, but we're the same blood type, so I ought to keep you around." She gave another eye roll. "That I can't imagine my life without you."

Carmela made a gagging motion again. "Mama sent me up to tell you dinner is ready. You guys are gross."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be down in a minute." He looked at Nita as his sister started down the stairs. He didn't quite dare to say it out loud. We're not the same blood type. Truth will out. What'd you really tell her?

Nita muttered, not quite looking at him. He was right about one thing, truth will out, especially in their line of work. "That last part was true." She started for the door and he took her by the wrist before she could make it into the hallway.

"Really?" he asked softly.

"Kit, we've been at this a long time. I can't imagine doing this any differently."

"Wizardry? Or…anything?"

Her words to Dari earlier echoed in her head and she had to fight to keep from thinking them loudly enough for Kit to "hear." "We've got to go. Your parents are going to get peeved if we don't get downstairs for dinner." He followed her down to dinner, not pushing the issue for the moment. Wizardry, Kit, me, Life. In my head that's all bound together irrevocably. I can't imagine my life anymore without Wizardry and fighting on the side of Life. And I can't imagine my wizardry or even my day-to-day life without Kit. She realized how true it was as she sat down to dinner with his family.

Kit, for his part, was trying very hard to stay out of Nita's brain, focusing on his plate and making conversation with his parents. He had a feeling that whatever was going on in there…he wasn't supposed to hear it. He caught snippets of it—the thoughts were just radiating off of her. Wizardry. Kit. Life. Nita. All of it together.

His father interrupted his thoughts, "Kit, your mother asked you a question."

"Sorry, Mama. What did you say?"

Nita looked sidelong at Kit. You okay?

I'm hearing things I shouldn't be. We need to talk after dinner, I think. He wasn't sure what to say. I'm trying really hard not to listen. You're just thinking loudly.

Nita felt her face turning pink, downed her glass of water and excused herself from the table to get another. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. He was hearing her? What had he heard? This couldn't have been good. There was just no way this could be good. She tried to inhale and exhale slowly.

Carmela came in to fill her glass from the tap. "You okay? You don't look so hot. Did he say something rotten to you? I'll knock him senseless."

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak any more words than necessary. "Just fine, thanks."

"Are you wearing my brother's shirt?" Nita didn't answer and they went back to the table. This was going to be a long meal. Maybe she could find a way to dismiss herself early.

"How's your sister doing, Nita? Kit mentioned she was sick last month."

Nita put another piece of chicken on her plate. "She's a lot better now. It wasn't too long lived. It was just awkward her being sick while she was out on Business. She was well-taken care of though."

Kit's mother tried to keep the conversation moving. "What's your new dog's name, Kit? Something with an A?"

"Abernathy," Kit and Nita answered simultaneously.

"Interesting name…I don't think I've heard it before."

Kit shrugged. "It was his name when I met him. I wasn't going to change it."

Dinner seemed to drag for a while after that until Kit's parents decided to start grilling Carmela on her newest boyfriend. It took the heat off of Kit and Nita. It was Carmela's turn to do the dishes, so when the meal was done, Nita and Kit escaped upstairs.

She was in a hurry to leave. "I've got to get my backpack and then I'll head home. I've got homework to do and a class tomorrow. I'll see you at school?"

Kit shut the door behind himself as Nita went to get her backpack. "You're not getting away that easy, so put your bag down. You've been acting shady since Carmela came in before dinner. What's wrong?"

Nita glowered. "Why were you listening to my thoughts?"

"I wasn't trying to, I swear. They were just loud. You know how that goes sometimes."

Nita threw herself on the bed, not wanting to look at him. "Tell me what you heard." She was aware she had a strong personality sometimes…it'd be just like her to have her thoughts pour out when she didn't want them to.

Kit sat on the end of the bed where Abernathy still was. Just like Nita to try and flip it around on him. "Just something about me and your wizardry, but it was intense. Are you annoyed at me about something?"

Nita sighed, sitting up on her elbows. "I'm not annoyed at you about anything. What Mela said just had me running some things through my head that I didn't really want to think about." He gave her an even stare, waiting. "The runt was waiting in my room this morning, asking how I've made it this long without killing you. I told the truth earlier—I can't imagine my wizardry or even my life any other way at this point. That last part probably sounds crazy and it had me freaked out, and Ronan was saying last night—"

"—that our wizardry might start giving us trouble."

"Yeah." She paused. "You got the same speech as me then?"

Kit thought back to sitting in the kitchen with Roshaun and Ronan eating sandwiches last night.

Ronan had laughed, shaking his head. "You two poor blokes are lost causes I think. The Callahan girls have your hearts tucked in their pockets. Takes a strong man to be with a woman as strong as all that."

Roshaun hadn't denied it. He and Dairine were openly dating. There was no reason to. Besides which, it worked out as a compliment to him—he was a strong enough man to handle a strong woman in his life.

"The One's Champion wasn't strong enough to handle a Callahan girl?" Kit asked coolly.

Ronan shook his head. "Not it at all. I just know a lost cause when I see one. She may have had the hots for me—who wouldn't?—but I knew she wasn't mine. I may have had the guts to kiss her first but…you've got her favorite soda in your fridge." Ronan smiled sardonically. He was referencing a set of emails he and Kit had exchanged. "A summer fling is nothing compared to two people who can't seem to keep their eyes or minds off each other, even when their hands are slow to catch on."

Kit had clenched his fist. He wondered if it was really so obvious…he didn't look at Nita all that much. And never in any way but friendly. They were friends.

"Rodriguez, if you don't do something soon and stop lying to yourself and her, it's going to ruin your wizardry. Maybe even your friendship."

"There's nothing to say. Saying anything like what you're implying I should say, which I'm not saying I need to, would ruin our friendship, Nolan. I'm not going to let that happen." I can't let it happen.

Kit hesitated. "Probably not exactly the same but close enough. Nolan said that if we were lying to ourselves it was going to cost us our wizardry." It made sense. If they were meant to be together and they ignored it and it caused problems and they became unhappy as wizarding partners…he felt like the whole world would be unraveling.

"When Mela came in, it reminded me of what I told Dari earlier. Wizardry, you, Life, me, hell, even Death—it's all bound together. I can't picture any of them without the others. I hadn't been thinking about it much, but once I said it…I did. And I was connecting it with what Ronan said last night."

"Neets, there's nobody I'd rather have having my back in this world. You know that, right?" Kit got up and started pacing. He didn't wait for a response. "I care about you too much to have anything screw up what we have. I don't know what we have…but I can't imagine not having it. Having something else wouldn't be worth the risk of losing you forever if things went badly. I don't know if I'm making any sense. I don't even know what I'm asking or trying to tell you." He just kept talking until he ran out of words. He stared at her, kind of helpless, not sure what he meant to say. "Annie said we were practically family already…but I think if I were your brother and I was having these thoughts, I'd be arrested," he said finally. "These are not brotherly feelings."

"Kit…I'm not exactly feeling sisterly towards you either. I can imagine Dari going away and not seeing her for months at a time. I could even imagine her running off to Wellakh and not seeing her for a couple of years. I can't imagine you going away. It'd be like being without my right arm, or without my book. Whatever this is…I don't know if we can keep saying we're just friends."

"I'm not sure there's any 'just' about it."

Abernathy raised his head drowsily. I can smell you both. You smell like you're ready to mate.

Nita's face flushed bright pink. She didn't quite dare to look at Kit to see if the dog's comment had caused the same reaction in him. Kit had given up on pacing a few minutes ago and sat on the bed next to her. She was acutely aware of his presence—his elbow was touching her bicep, their legs were only a couple inches apart; it was only a twin bed after all.

Please, don't hate me, Kit said, leaning down to kiss her.

Dairine left a note on the breakfast table for Roshaun. Her face was grim. She hadn't wanted to tell him this when he was awake and could fight with her over it. Let him have this now so he could stew about it all day until she got home.

I'll tell you what. I'm will to go your route, but if I do, I'm sharing the sun work with you. You're not carrying that risk on your own—it's together or nothing. I'm not backing down on this.