Cater had to admit, the race was rather exciting. It was nice to go all out with his magic, and spend time with his friends.

Unknown to the others (save for Rook who had likely spotted Umbra shadowing them) he was filming their race. He had double checked with Marja (who had asked the village chief later) if it was alright.

So long as Umbra didn't attempt to interfere or cause any shenanigans, he was allowed to silently race alongside to film the racers for everyone else. He would have asked Malleus, but the fae wasn't very good with technology so he made do with what he had.

Besides, this doubled as a safety measure since Umbra could help dig out any racers who got into trouble. He was a trained wolf after all.

Vil hadn't been aware of the fact it was an all night race until they got there, but after hearing Neige's friends were taking part to give him a boost in luck, he refused to let that stop him. He could take a hit in his beauty sleep if it meant one-upping his rival in some way.

Near the finish

Epel peered into the hills, taking some solace in the warmth Umbra had provided. The wolf had raced ahead since the racers had passed a certain checkpoint, so there was little reason for him to continue recording them since they were so close to the finish.

Epel had Cater's camera in his hand, recording it for them. He had already skimmed the footage taken and was mighty impressed by the group's stamina.

Seeing the familiar color of Cater's Applepom, Epel aimed the camera lens in his direction. The Mayor's team were in the lead for the moment, with the dwarven team close behind. Cater's team sped up, passing the dwarves by the slimmest of margins.

They were being lead by the blond model, as Vil was the tallest one in the group of racers. Cater was behind him, with Rook and Riddle trailing.

It was a neck and neck finish. Vil was down and determined to not let the dwarves finish first, but they were still trailing behind the Mayor's team.

They lost, narrowly.

"That was a mighty fine finish you boys!" said Marja. She was secretly pleased the local team won over the outsiders.

Vil looked slightly annoyed, but covered it up.

"Look at the bright side, there's always next year!" said Epel.

"While this was fun, I highly doubt I'll try this again next year. As long as we beat the RSA group, I can live with being in second place to the locals," said Vil. He had gotten lucky his schedule had allowed him to take three days off to begin with.

"Check out that view!" said Cater grinning. "Now that is a perfect shot!"

Turning to look at the sunrise, the boys felt some relief it was over.

It was almost a pity they had to return to school.

Epel looked slightly disappointed they were leaving. Especially Cater, who he had developed a strong rapport with.

So you could imagine his surprise when Cater swapped numbers with him.

"So I heard from Marja that people who make big sales get a cut of the profits, is that true?" said Cater.

Epel nodded. It was to encourage them to keep up the hard work.

"Well...I know for a fact that a lot of my dorm got hooked on your apples, but since they're so hard to source we rarely have them except on special occasions. So what would I need to do to make a large order in your name so you have some proper spending money once you reach Night Raven?" asked Cater.

Epel's eyes widened.

"Wait, are you serious?"

Cater nodded. Vil, having overheard the conversation sauntered over.

"He's not joking. And anything that encourages him to eat properly would be well worth the expense of shipping the apples to the dorm direct. I know for a fact his Uncle and his sisters would gladly pay for it," said Vil, giving Cater a Look. Harveston apples were one of the few foods Cater would eat regularly even during a slump.

This had been the most food they'd seen Cater actually eat in one sitting, and Vil was all for encouraging that sort of habit since most of it was healthy food. The few preservatives used were natural ones and it had no empty calories from chemicals.

Marja beamed at them.

"We give out special passcodes to make large purchases through one of the family," said Marja.

Epel was looking between his grandmother and the outsiders bewildered. He had wanted to revitalize Harveston once he went to college, but he never expected an opportunity like this to come up.

Vil smiled at her.

"Trust me, once I post the pictures we took during the festival, Harveston is going to get a major boost in popularity," said Vil.

He was a major influencer after all, and he had no issue tying the quaint village to his name. At the very least he had gotten a good feel for their product base, and had even purchased several souvenirs.

They had been nothing but polite and welcoming, and it would be good to give back to the townsfolk for a fun festival.

Cater suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Wasn't there some cartoon or another based off the sled race from way back?"

"Sled Over Heels?" said Epel.

"That's it! I remember someone mentioning it to me a while ago when they heard I was coming here," said Cater.

"I haven't thought of that show in ages," said Marja, laughing. "They based it off our old sled team back when I was still racing. As I recall they based the lead girl off of me when I was younger."

"Well I absolutely have to get an autograph!" said Cater smiling. "No way am I passing up a chance to say I met such a lovely young celebrity!"

Marja blushed at his praise. But he still got the autograph.


It was almost disappointing having to return to their regular routine after their lovely holiday. Even Malleus enjoyed himself.

"So how did you boys do?" asked Lilia.

"We got second place, but we beat the RSA team so we didn't mind. The winners were the local team anyway," said Cater.

"So what sort of animals did you race with?" asked Kalim eagerly.

Cater grinned...and brought out a wolf plush.

"You race with plushies, not animals. Vil had a fox, Rook a bear and Riddle went with this cat plush. I think he went with the cat because the patterns look like his friend Che'nya from RSA," said Cater.

As they continued chatting, Kalim brought up something that had bothered him.

"So did they ever figure out what was wrong with...her?"

Cater's mood dropped slightly.

"From what the doctors said, she has untreated postpartum depression coupled with the fact she never wanted a son. I asked my sisters and they said I was a particularly trying baby, and my dad was always working long hours. Even though my uncle took my sisters in temporarily, my mother never really got treated. As a result it just compounded until she resented me for everything," said Cater. He hugged his wolf plushie to him.

"Oh dear," said Lilia. "Is there anything to be done?"

"Unless she's willing to admit what she did and accept she was wrong, the therapist strongly suggested I maintain low to no contact with her. Distance is helping repair the damage, but he agreed that taking a few years to heal would help the process."

The therapist had agreed with Cater's method of avoiding his immediate family...save for Trein... until he felt comfortable enough to try and mend the bond between them. Either way, his mother had firmly severed any possible familial connection with him a long time ago and he didn't think he'd ever forgive her for that.

While he would remain on distant, if cordial terms with his father, he was still willing to try and maintain a relationship with his sisters at least. He was honestly closer to Trein, and that was mostly because he had good memories of the main from his years as a student.

Kalim firmly changed the topic, if only to prevent a slump.

"So how are things progressing with you and Vil?"

"What do you mean?" asked Cater.

"He means the fact that Vil has obviously shown interest in you beyond that as a housemate and friend," said Lilia amused.

"Isn't he dating Rook though?" said Cater.

"I haven't seen them show any romantic interest in each other," said Lilia, openly confused.

"Yeah, they're together a lot but I've never seen them hold hands or anything," agreed Kalim.

Cater was a little bewildered at that. He distinctly remembered how...close...Vil and Rook had been the last time. Hell, they ended up married six years after they graduated!

Last time, Vil had barely given him the time of day. And yet both Lilia and Kalim seemed to think Vil was interested in him as a potential boyfriend.

It left him very confused.

Some time later...

"Cater thinks I'm dating Rook?" said Vil amused.

"That's what he said," said Lilia. "I suspect you may have to make the first move if you want to get anywhere with him."

Vil did not comment on that.

"I would say that nobody can be that clueless, but this is Cater we're talking about. After all the damage his mother did, he's slow to pick up on certain emotions," said Vil sighing.

It had taken him a week before he picked up on the fact Riddle treated him like an older brother. And that was after the potions accident. So the idea Cater was oblivious to the romantic overtures Vil had been making for months was sadly all too possible.

Did not explain why he assumed that he was dating Rook though.

"Have fun," said Lilia.

Vil smirked at that.

"I intend to. Hopefully I can get it through to him that he does have people who care about him," said Vil.


It started out innocently enough. Vil had commanded (not asked) Cater to attend to him so he could get the paperwork done for the night. It wasn't the first time, so Cater went in without question.

There were a few scented candles that made the room smell rather pleasant, and Vil had everything ready. Cater barely paid a glance to the products on Vil's vanity.

As the two chatted over housewarden duties, Vil went to get something to drink. That he came back with Cater's favorite mead (which he could now get direct from the source) should have been a clue something was up. Vil almost never drank this late, and certainly not something that strong.

Cater had a good buzz going, which made him loose and mellow. So when he felt Vil's hands on his back, he nearly sat up in shock.

"What are you..." he started, only to be silenced by Vil.

"I was informed by a rather meddlesome faerie that you thought I was already in a relationship with Rook."

Cater's eyes were wide and he was sober now. What was going on?

Every touch felt like electricity on his skin. If this was really happening and it wasn't some elaborate dream, then he was more than okay with that.

By morning he had to pinch himself to realize that no, last night was not a dream. He had really slept with Vil.

"What does this make us?" he asked Vil, once they were properly dressed.

"That depends on how far you want to take this. I know why you didn't pick up on the subtle hints before," said Vil. "Rook and I aren't dating in the least...he mostly helps as stress relief."

Cater was a tad surprised to learn that Vil and Rook were only fuck buddies, but it made perfect sense. They were teenagers after all.

He thought over his options, but honestly he already knew what his answer would be. He had a crush on Vil for years, even after the disaster that was his previous life. Being in the same dorm had felt like a dream come true, but this was beyond what he expected.

"I...I think I'd like to try it out, at least for now," said Cater. He wasn't sure anyone could love him. Especially with all the damage his mother had caused.

Vil's smile was warm, and it made Cater blush. Vil was unfairly pretty.

"I haven't given up during those slumps of yours, and you have to work at chasing me off," Vil assured him.

Cater was a bit of a mess, but he wasn't clingy. And Vil could appreciate the tenacity he had shown for the past couple of years.

On a related note, Vil learned rather quickly that Cater was a major cuddle addict and would use any opportunity he could to turn his new boyfriend into his personal teddy bear.