"I don't see why we don't have a night in the cellar. I mean, Anna is always saying I don't spend quality time with people."
Duke snorted, setting down his glass. "She's asking that from you, Basil. She's asking for some quality time. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge."
Basil groaned and slouched back in his chair.
"Please tell me you knew that," Duke continued with a frown. "Even I'm not that dense."
Basil gave a half-hearted shrug in response and took a long drink of his wine. "She's always asking all sorts of things from me."
Duke waggled his eyebrows. "You make it sound like a chore."
Basil's eyes narrowed. "You don't know what it's like. I'd much rather have my own say in how I spend my free time."
"Is spending time with your wife really that bad?" He lowered his voice. "Don't tell me you're still using that pillow barricade between the two of you."
There was an awkward silence as Duke realized that he, too, was out of the house for the evening. It went on as they took sips of their drinks, not meeting one another's gaze. When Karen came bounding down the stairs to the bar, both of their eyes followed her as she made her way to their table.
"Hey, guys!" She gave them a friendly wave and leaned forward on their table. "Could it kill you to look a little more cheerful knowing the next round is on me?"
Duke's face lit up immediately, but Basil rose a skeptical eyebrow. "What do you need?"
Karen laughed, but her face became more serious as she glanced around them before continuing. "Basil, can you swing over to my parents' and let them know that I'm booking a room with Claire and Ann for the night?"
"Now?" Duke asked with a groan.
"The earlier, the better. I don't want them to be up worrying about me the way Dad does sometimes."
With this, Duke rolled his eyes.
"I'm not asking you." Karen shot him a dirty look. "Doubt Dad would believe you."
Basil's eyes darted around them before frowned, giving her a worried look. "Is everything alright?"
"More than alright, I'd say!" Duke replied for her. "I thought I saw Ann and Claire with a bunch of cupcakes earlier."
Basil's face fell. He could still see the wrapped present on the far side of Mary's desk that afternoon when he checked on her.
That's why Mary holed herself up in the library during dinner… And then Anna started another one of her tirades…
"Is… he doing alright? Gray, I mean." Basil felt a sense of betrayal even uttering the question. As far as Anna was concerned, Gray was currently lower than dirt, as was anyone who defended his breaking things off with Mary.
His question caught her by surprise. "He's going through a lot, but we're helping him sort through it."
"I can go over and let Jeff know you're here." His brown eyes held a knowing look. "Mary's a bit of a lone wolf, like myself… maybe you girls could come and see her sometime."
"You? A lone wolf?" Duke guffawed.
The other two ignored him. "I know Ann would say that the inn's open for everyone, even if Mary wanted to swing by in the afternoon sometime. Claire would probably be happy to have her visit the farm, but we all know how dodgy that can be, regarding the gossip crew and all that. But speaking for myself, she can come to the shop any time."
Basil looked relieved.
"But that's not an excuse for you and Anna not being there for her!" Karen added sharply.
Basil groaned. "Oh, Anna's there enough for the both of us. I think she said that Elli stopped by?" He worded this as a question.
"Your daughter's going through a crisis and that's all you have to say?" Karen demanded.
"Thought I'd give her some space…" Basil's face flushed with embarrassment as he looked down at his drink, and Duke's expression became unreadable as his posture stiffened.
"Why don't you head over there now and I'll order us some more snacks?" Duke's voice was husky. "I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night."
Basil stood up, removing his coat from the back of the seat.
"Thanks, Basil. Order your favorite when you get back." Her eyes moved between both men. "And with this drink, you understand that none of this leaves the table tonight, right?"
Both men gave solemn nods.
"Goddess, we know the tales the people in this town can spin…" Duke sighed.
"Then we're not going to give anyone any fodder, right?"
"Gotcha. Hell if I wanna get involved with any drama."
"Alright, I'll be right back," Basil stated as he zipped up his coat.
As they waved goodbye to him, Duke turned toward Karen. "You're a good kid, you know that?"
Her eyes were sad beneath her shrinking smirk. "I guess it wouldn't be bad if you told my parents that."
No one was surprised when a low, muffled snore signaled that Gray was the first to fall asleep for the evening. His hat threatened to fall off as he heavily rested his head against Cliff's shoulder.
"I guess it's time to call it a night, huh?" Karen ruffled Gray's hair. "You both have early mornings tomorrow, I'm sure."
Ann had already gathered most of the snacks from the party, wrapping a couple of parcels for the men, sternly telling them to use them as lunch the next day.
Claire shyly peeked around her friends, trying to find some space. "I, uh… I hope you sleep well," she offered weakly, watching Ann and Karen continue to leave bundles of food and drink for them. She suddenly felt very embarrassed for showing up to the evening empty handed.
"That should be easy," Gray replied with a yawn.
"I hope you do, too, Claire." Cliff's voice cut through the chatter, and his eyes sought her through the tangled mess of snacks, hugs from Karen and Ann, blankets, and The Tabster winding around his legs.
Claire assisted her friends and waited for them to leave before approaching him. She rubbed the crook of her neck, her cheeks warming.
Cliff took a step toward her.
"I, uh…"
The creaky mattress from behind them caused the pair to jump. Gray emitted a large yawn as he kicked off his boots, flipped back the covers, and flopped down on the bed.
Claire's eyes met Cliff's and she noticed he was blushing as well.
That's the same bed we were on when Gray walked in on us… Is it weird we used his bed to make out? What if he thinks we don't care about his personal space?
Cliff's smile dropped a bit as he watched Claire take a small step backward. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah!" she nervously giggled. "Just tired, I suppose. I don't want to keep both of y'all up, so have a good night!" Her voice came out much more loudly than she intended. She waved at him a little too enthusiastically and nearly slammed into the door frame as she turned to leave.
"O-Okay! Good night, Claire!" He watched her meet her friends in the hallway.
"'Night…" Gray was already resting his eyes.
Cliff walked back over to his side of the room, attempting to fight off the feelings of dissatisfaction that were starting to settle in.
There's a right time and place…
I wouldn't have had the nerve to hug or kiss her in front of him anyway.
Before he could focus any more attention on it, Gray spoke up.
"People around here make such a big deal out of birthdays," he grumbled at the ceiling, but Cliff caught the smile in his voice.
Cliff laid down on his bed, relaxing. "I'm quickly learning that's tradition around here."
"Bingo," Gray replied.
Cliff turned over on his side to watch him. "It's not that bad, is it?"
"I know you hate being the focus of attention as much as I do." Gray paused. "But… tonight was okay, I guess."
He waited for a reply and got none.
Gray corrected himself. "There's no guessing. It was… something I needed."
"I'm glad that you could see that, too."
Gray's mouth turned into a crooked grin. "You all know what's best for me, huh?"
The dim light revealed his expression to Cliff, who returned a smile. "Your words, not mine."
Gray turned his focus on the empty bed between them. The covers were rumpled, as it had been used as an extra seat throughout the evening, but he couldn't help but remember that the unofficial owner of the bed was not there.
"Kai always knew what to do, too." Gray's words held a fondness to them. It was a newer tone, but Cliff was slowly getting accustomed to it as the winter days went on.
Cliff was about to comment that it had felt like ages since Kai last lived with them, but he had an inkling that wouldn't brighten the mood. "He's good with people," he tried.
"Yeah." A low chuckle. "A hell of a lot better than either of us. He was the one to get us to pull our heads out of our asses and work things out."
Cliff remembered their evening in the hot springs the summer before, fumbling for the right words to apologize for his behavior. "Yeah. Still, I…"
He saw Gray's eyes on him and continued.
"I really messed up. I feel like maybe it was because everyone had been ganging up on you at the same time, but… you were way too lenient with me."
"What are you talking about?" Gray's voice was starting to become gravely with fatigue.
"Tonight, when you were playing video games with Ann and Karen… I heard Karen deny that she coddles Claire."
A cackle. "Heh. She's not exactly as quiet as she thinks she is sometimes."
Cliff was undeterred. "Well, I did coddle her. Claire, I mean. Maybe I still do. But… last summer, I could've tried to be more understanding to your situation instead of assuming the worst of you. I'm really sorry for being like that."
Silence.
Cliff tried to sneak a furtive look at him, but pale blue eyes were staring straight at him. He couldn't read their expression.
"You talk like I've never assumed the worst of you before."
He wasn't expecting Cliff to flinch, even if a rueful smile crossed his lips in the dark.
"We didn't get off to the best start," Cliff admitted, "but I'm glad that we're friends."
Gray felt his throat tighten and mentally scolded himself for his emotional behavior. "Yeah. We're both social disasters, huh?"
Cliff recalled nearly a year ago when Ann had often used those words to describe his new roommate. "I like to think we're not complete disasters."
They both laughed, their voices weakening from sleepiness.
"I'd like to think some of Papa's charisma rubbed off on me," Cliff mused.
There was a brief moment as the two friends pondered this, and they burst into peals of laughter.
Cliff could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Alright, so maybe that plan failed, but I wanted nothing more than to be just like Papa," Cliff whispered, his eyes sparkling into the night.
Gray's smile faltered. "I'm glad you have good memories of him. I wish I had cool memories of my dad training falcons with me or something like that."
Cliff tucked his hands behind his head, a grin playing at his lips. "He was always finding the best in situations. I always had a hard time getting wrapped up in the negative and overthinking things. I guess I still do… but he was so good at not falling into that!" he broke off with a soft chuckle. "He always had this big grin on his face, and he knew how to find the humor in all sorts of situations. He wasn't afraid to laugh at himself. He was this big guy with a long braid and a beard; he could fill an entire doorway. People just flocked to him. Birds, too," he laughed.
Gray attempted to picture his father with the same sunny disposition as Flint. He rolled his eyes.
"I think it's safe to say that we both came from very different upbringings. I can't even imagine both of our dads existing in the same universe."
Cliff cocked his head to the side curiously. "But we're not that different."
Gray shook his head. "We're talking about our dads. They're worlds apart."
Cliff was undeterred. "I think Papa would've liked you."
Gray let his heavy eyelids fall closed. "It's easy for you to think that. He's perfect in your mind."
Cliff propped himself up on one elbow, furrowing his brow. "Perfect?"
"Yeah," Gray continued, pulling his blankets over his face, causing his voice to muffle. "He didn't live long enough to disappoint you."
A bitter laugh. Gray felt his blood run cold.
"You shouldn't assume things about people you never knew. Papa's let me down before. So has Ma, and Ivy, and..." Cliff heaved a deep sigh. "And... me, too. I've let myself down more times than I can count. But I can't let that ruin my memory of him."
Then why do I have that double standard for Ma?
Maybe he's going through something similar...
Cliff didn't say anything else aloud.
"Hey, whatever works for you, I guess." Gray turned to his other side, and the humor was slowly leaving the room.
"Don't you have any good memories of your papa?"
There was a desperation in Cliff's voice that kept Gray from maintaining his stony disposition. "Yeah."
They laid in silence as they let the thought linger. The wind picked up, and the two friends could hear ice crystals tinkling softly against the glass of the window pane. It had been a chilly night, and it seemed as if the temperatures were only getting lower. In all of the excitement of the party, Gray had forgotten how cold it was. He watched Cliff burrow deeper under the covers, curling up the way he usually did before he fell asleep, and it almost looked as if he were shivering with cold.
"The memories of the good times are there, but sometimes… I just don't want to think about them, y'know? It hurts more."
Cliff nodded in the dark. "Yeah, I know it's hard." He had no desire to delve into his own thoughts that evening on the subject.
They both listened to the ice until Gray's rumbling snore began and Cliff relished in the distraction it brought. It was one of the many nights he wished that the inn allowed Cain to have a perch in his room.
Author's Note: Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience with this latest update. Things have been busy in my life with caregiving for my father, doing matron of honor duties for my sister's upcoming wedding, catching covid and STILL fighting off the fatigue from it, among other things. I'm struggling to get to a new routine that allows me to spend time on creative endeavors.
I've been putting all this pressure on myself to write each chapter as a long, epic chapter, and it has definitely delayed my writing. I would like to update my fics more frequently, even if that means cutting back the chapter length. I have several WIPs I'd like to work on, and I hope you look forward to them.
If you're interested, Dreaminghearts on youtube has been creating a fan animation of this story. I am so grateful for the support, and I've had fun adding my own custom sprites and such to the project. Please check it out on Archive of Our Own or youtube if you get the chance!