Nine
Diego
Bracing my arms against the kitchen counter, I hung my head between my shoulder blades. Had I really just blown up on Shade like that?
I'd been embarrassed admitting my childish hope to him, and I'd taken it out on him so I'd stop feeling so... vulnerable.
Logically, I knew he hadn't stayed away because he didn't like me or miss me.
I knew it'd been because of his overinflated sense of responsibility.
He'd thought he was doing what was best for me, and while it was wrong of him to decide that without my input, I knew he'd only done it because of how much he cared about me.
Sighing, I straightened up and walked to my fridge. I wasn't in the mood to cook anymore, so I dug out two microwave dinners from the freezer, checking the labels I'd put on them to make sure they weren't expired before sticking them in the microwave.
Once they were done, I put them on a tray, grabbed a bottle of water, and walked back to the bedroom.
Pixie meowed from the bed, and Shade chuckled softly.
"She's really good about telling you where she is, huh?"
"Yeah," I murmured, and an awkward silence fell between us. Shaking my head, I placed the tray on the bed, then turned my face toward the spot Shade had spoken from. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to freak out at you."
"It's okay. I deserved it," Shade said, which took the wind out of my sails. What was the point of getting mad over him not looking for me when we were already together?
"Let's not think about it anymore. Here. It's a packaged meal, so nothing special."
"Looks good to me." Shade took the meal from my hand, and we chatted as we ate, slowly sinking back into normalcy. By the time I'd cleaned up and climbed into bed with Shade big-spooning me, I'd all but forgotten about the whole thing.
We talked all the way until I fell asleep, and even when I slept, I felt like I could hear Shade murmuring sweet, comforting words to me.
He was gone when I woke up the next morning, and I star-fished on the mattress, frowning in confusion when my hand fell on a piece of paper. It was a little wet and chewed on, which meant Pixie had already had her fun with it.
I ran my fingers over the paper, sucking in a breath when I realized Shade had left me the note. When had he even learned to write in Braille?
All the note said was "I hope you have a good day. – Shade," but it might as well have been a love confession for how hard it hit me. No one had ever done something like this for me .
When had he even written the note? My typewriter wasn't quiet by any means, and yet I hadn't woken up. Had he taken it somewhere else to write? Into his shadows, maybe?
Pressing the note to my chest, I sat up and spent a few minutes just daydreaming about my sweet boyfriend.
Wait. Could I call him my boyfriend? I'd already been thinking of him that way, but we hadn't really talked about labels.
We were soulmates, or fated mates, as Shade liked to call us.
Boyfriends probably paled in comparison, but it felt more real, more attainable to me.
Not that I'd be introducing him as either of those things to anyone I knew. The people I could introduce him to—Liam and Haruto—already knew him, and other than that, the only friends or acquaintances I had were a few of my coworkers. There was no way Shade could meet them.
My phone pinged with an alarm, reminding me of the time, and I carefully placed the note in my nightstand drawer before sliding off the bed and starting my day.
I wanted to spend more than just the evenings with Shade, but I liked my job too much to take a sick day. My kids were a big part of my world, and I loved spending time with them, even if I'd been a tad distracted lately.
Maybe if I closed the bathroom up tight, I could go to Shade's after work and spend the night, and then he could drop me off here in the morning with his shadows.
Or I could just pack an overnight bag and change at his place and then walk to the bus stop.
The bus stop was in the opposite direction from the Sanctuary, so I would have to walk a little further, but I didn't mind.
My phone chirped again, and I shook my head, deciding I'd make plans later .
At work, my students kept me engaged and distracted all day, even during my lunch break since it was my turn to spend it with the kids.
Jess and I alternated while making our students have lunch in one room, and once a week, the PE teacher, a sweet but strict woman named Sonia, sat with the kids while the two of us escaped to the lunch room together.
We'd told her it was so we could talk about our lesson plans and work stuff, but we mostly ended up gossiping and discussing everything except work.
By the time I got home, I was too tired to do much of anything. Shade came over again, but when he saw my wet noodle state, he went back and got some dinner for us from the Sanctuary kitchen, and we ate on my bed as I leaned against him, too tired to even sit up straight.
I listened while Shade talked, telling me about Liam and Haruto's wedding arrangements and how Liam constantly seemed to be oscillating between crazed excitement and utter despondence, mostly when he imagined all the things that could go wrong, including but not limited to Dustin—another human Sanctuary resident who was almost eight months pregnant with a baby naga—going into labor during the ceremony.
He didn't push me to talk at all, as if he could sense how tired I was.
Afterward, he put our empty dishes aside to take back later, then waited while I did my business in the bathroom before dragging me against his chest and curling up around me, his shadows sliding over me like the world's silkiest, lightest blanket.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face, and a hope that this would be my new normal. Well, except with a little less exhaustion so I could do more than just give him a sleepy good-night kiss.
I hurried into my bedroom with half of my dinner wrapped up in a napkin, then quickly closed the door before Mom decided to check in on me.
She'd noticed I'd been taking food from my plate to my room, but she hadn't said anything.
Instead, she'd just increased my portions.
Maybe she thought I was saving it for later?
I hadn't corrected her, because I couldn't tell her why I was taking the food. She wouldn't believe me.
Shade had told me he didn't need to eat, that he could go out to find food, but I liked feeding him.
"Shade, I got you some food," I murmured, kneeling by my bed and sliding the napkin under it.
"Thank you, Diego," he said, then made a happy sound that made me grin. "This is delicious."
"Right? I knew you'd like it."
I settled on the floor beside my bed, crossing my legs as I peered at the space beneath it and wished I could see my friend.
It'd been more than a year since we met, and while we talked every day, I'd never seen him.
He came out sometimes, when the room was completely dark, but then I couldn't see him because I wasn't a cat.
I wondered if a cat could see him properly.
Maybe I'd adopt one someday and see what happened.
Mom said we couldn't get a cat because the landlord wouldn't allow it, but someday I was going to find a better apartment where no one would stop me .
"How was school?"
My smile fell, and I stuck my hand under my bed, feeling Shade's shadows brush against my palm. "It was okay."
"Did something happen?"
I sighed. "Nah."
"You can talk to me, Diego. I won't tell anyone," he teased, making me smile.
"Hugo was being mean. He said I wouldn't grow up to be a real boy because I didn't have a dad to teach me how to."
I knew that wasn't true, but his words had made me miss Dad, and thinking about Dad always made me sad.
"Hugo is an idiot," Shade said, making me laugh.
"Right?"
"Yep. Your mom is a great woman, and she's going to raise you to be a good man."
"She's the best," I agreed, meaning it with my whole heart. I knew Mom missed Dad too, and she always told me it was okay to miss him. She got sad when we talked about Dad, but she never told me to stop. She said Dad would always be in our hearts, and we shouldn't be afraid of talking about him.
"Would you like to hear a story about the time Dad broke the coffee machine?" I asked, and Shade chuckled.
"Sounds like a fun story. Tell me."
So that was what I did, and at some point through the retelling, the dream faded away, leaving me with a memory I'd forgotten.
Shade
The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion.
Diego went to work, and sometimes he called me during his lunch break.
Sometimes, I only saw him once he came home and I went over to visit.
I'd thought about broaching the subject of me coming to work with him more than once, but I'd decided against it.
Maybe we could do that once we were closer, but right now, it might be too much for Diego. I didn't want to hover, or make him feel like I thought he couldn't take care of himself.
It was Friday, and I was counting down the minutes until Diego went home so I could visit him while also planning our date tomorrow.
I'd asked him yesterday if he'd want to go on a date with me on Saturday, and he'd said yes. While I couldn't be physically by his side, I would be in his shadow, and with my new phone, I'd be able to talk to him the whole time.
I'd worried that wouldn't be enough, that it wouldn't feel like a date to Diego, but he'd waved me off. He'd said that as long as he knew I was there, it was enough for him. I hoped he was right, because I wanted tomorrow to be good for him.
Keoni and Zamir had helped me a lot. While I knew what I wanted to do with Diego tomorrow, I had no idea what the best places around town were.
Zamir and Keoni had made a lot of trips ever since Draven created a wheelchair that allowed supes with non-human lower halves to hide away parts of themselves so they could go out in the human realm without raising suspicion.
Zamir looked completely human, so he knew his way around town, and with both of their help, I had a mental map of all the places I wanted to take Diego to, and the best shadowy corners near every spot so Diego wouldn't have to waste his hard-earned money on cab fares.
He would have to pay for our meals, though, but he'd assured me it wasn't a problem, while the headmaster—upon hearing about my date via the Sanctuary grapevine—had just handed me a stack of bills that had made Diego gasp when I told him the amount over call earlier today.
All in all, everything was set, and all I needed to do now was wait for Diego to call me tomorrow, and then I could teleport to his shadow and take him to the best date ever.
"You're really excited, huh?"
I blinked, then remembered Zamir was still here. Crap, how long had I been lost in thought while he waited patiently?
"Oh, sorry! I got distracted. And yes, I am."
Zamir grinned, making his dark brown eyes light up.
He was dressed in a turtleneck like usual, this one a soft blue shade with dark blue jeans.
His curly black hair was like a crown on his head, a singular ringlet falling over his forehead.
He had a full, styled beard, and a trimmed mustache the same dark shade as his hair.
While he appeared to be in his late twenties, I knew he was much older, though not his actual age.
He could be anywhere from a few decades to a few centuries old.
"You know, with all of you finding mates one by one, I'm starting to feel a little jealous," he joked, but I couldn't help wondering if a part of him wasn't serious.
"If we trace the pattern, it's very likely you'll find your mate next. Well, you or Keoni," I amended, and he raised a brow at me.
"What pattern?"
"Well, Khush and Haruto are both Forest members, right? They found their mates one after the other, so it's possible someone from the Forest area will be next. Draven's aroace and doesn't go out at all, so it's unlikely he'll meet his platonic mate anytime soon. That leaves you and Keoni."
"You don't live in Forest," Zamir pointed out, clearly determined to poke holes in my theory. Then again, two instances weren't enough to form a theory in the first place, but that wasn't going to stop me.
"That's true. Diego only found me because of the glitch in the wards that allowed him to enter the Sanctuary, and that could be lucky timing, or an intervention on Fate's part."
Zamir shook his head, then reached over to clap my shoulder. "Whatever it was, I'm happy for you. I've always hated the fact that you were stuck here alone."
"It wasn't so bad," I assured him, and I meant it. Before the Sanctuary, before Diego, I'd spent centuries alone. Compared to that, this was heaven.
"You know, you should come with me to the dining room for lunch. You can hide in my shadow too, right?"
"Yeah," I agreed, perking up. Diego was eating with his class today, so there would be no calls during lunch time.
"Awesome! Then you can join me. I'll slip you a dish into your shadow. You can call my phone, and I'll put it on speaker so you can talk to everyone. It'll be fun."
When I was in my home, I didn't need to hide in the shadows, which made talking possible. But outside, I needed to be completely inside a shadow to shield myself from the light, which meant I'd had no way of talking to anyone until I got my phone.
Eating with everyone did sound fun, and it would be a good distraction from overthinking about my date tomorrow.
"Let's do this!"
Having lunch with everyone made me feel like a part of the family in a way I'd never experienced before, and I understood now why the others liked eating together every day. I pictured Diego moving in with me someday, and doing this with me every day, and it made me unbelievably happy.
If our date tomorrow went well, I'd be one step closer to making it a reality.