Chapter Three
*Ryan

Considering that Kevin knew my plan, he vanished pretty quickly after we got away from the library. I considered it for a long moment, then decided that the most likely thing was for him to pick up the cleaning supplies and bandages. That meant I needed to shake the tail.

I focused on doing so, amused. Brian looked constantly on the verge of falling asleep as I swung through traffic like a madman.

The thing was, Eleni Antoniou was not having a good run of anything. She'd moved to the region back after the reds had vanished, and was thus setting up shop when Kevin and I took our post.

We'd had...run-ins with her. For one, she'd attempted to lure me into her little venus fly trap. I had no idea how she fed, all I knew is that she had at least ten men who lived on the property with her; she'd lured them all to her lake and nearly drowned them. To a man, she saved them from that drowning and nursed them back to health before sleeping with them. They became her thralls somewhere in the process, and from what I could tell, they were genuinely content to be with her.

Kevin and I had capped her operation by warding outside her property. No matter how hard she tried to lure a new man in, they'd reach the property line and get blasted away a foot or two, which snapped them out of their trances nicely. It had been my first major work of magic, inscribed into the earth itself. I'd nearly died setting it up, but unless she could dig down to bedrock around her property, outside her property, she couldn't break my working.

She hated me, because I'd gotten away from her. Every time she failed to lure in her males, she lost power. The stronger the male, the more the power. I'd hamstrung her, and while she was recovering, I'd closed in her property.

The loophole was that people intentionally entering her property were able to, but she was scared of Kevin and I, so careful. She'd probably intended to add Brian to her collection of males, and I wondered how much power he actually had. I supposed he was handsome, he had some of the look my sisters were attracted to, which meant that he'd probably have been her favorite.

I wondered, idly, if he'd get along with Maddy.

I liked him, maybe they'd hit it off. Of course, Maddy would kill me for even suggesting it. I'd introduced her to males I'd liked before and she'd been mortified that I was looking for a boyfriend for her. I'd asked if she liked girls instead, because I knew a few of those who'd probably be good...and she'd sort of thrown a fit at me. Evidently, I was being a boar; she would not date one of my friends.

My mom had laughed at me.

I smiled at the memory. I'd been furious with Maddy after she'd ripped me a new one. I'd told my mom that there was nothing wrong with Rich, and that I was sure Maddy would like him if she gave him the chance. She'd told me that I was probably right, but Maddy only saw me as meddling with her, and at the time she'd been too young to date.

I glanced at Brian again, thinking about the matter. He was taller than she was, and at least back when he'd worked at Secrets he'd had a six-pack. He'd said he'd been working with a model agency to get hired into that club, so he'd probably be acceptable in the looks area...should I mention him to her? I'd have to do it carefully. I'd have to show him a picture of her, too.

"What's going on?" he muttered, shifting to look at me blankly.

"Plots," I reassured him, gesturing it away. "I think we lost that car, so I'm going to do a bit of pointless driving."

He nodded, rubbing at his eyes. "Um, I told you Gable was coming right?"

"Something like that," I agreed, thinking about it. "I didn't think about it at the time; what does it mean?"

"He changed form and is flying over," Brian blinked hard at me a few times. "He said he'd forewarn me so you can lower your wards."

"He knows where I live?" I asked, feeling nervous. I suppose he had to if he got the address for Brian to write me, but still...

"Um, I suppose if he looked at a map," Brian reached up and touched something at his throat. "I have a scale, though; he'll use it to find me."

I glanced sidelong at him, curious.

"I think he said before that it'd take him two hours to get here," he added, rubbing more at the sweater. "So...if we get to the house before then..."

I made an agreeing noise, though I had no intentions of inviting a dragon into my house. I knew my threshold probably couldn't limit him or even Josh very much, but damn it, that was my home. I'd worked years to keep it in order, it had been my retreat during the war, the place I could hide.

But then, was I willing to leave Brian somewhere that wasn't as safe?

I turned without signaling or slowing, then turned into an alley and parked.

"Huh?" Brian's head jerked up.

"Checking for an obvious tail," I explained. "I'm not sure we lost anyone."

He nodded, leaning back and rubbing at his face. "I can sleep, right?"

"Sure," I agreed, watching behind us and noticing the tribute-box again. Whatever was in it had a throbbing power, it was similar to music. I couldn't feel anything else from it, but it was a little distracting.

Brian settled tiredly, going silent again.

I waited a few minutes to be sure no one would show up randomly, then started slowly up the alley. There was a parking lot midway through it, so I swung over into that and parked in the shade for another minute. I wasn't being entirely thorough, but I also knew that these chases could go on for hours. I didn't imagine they'd let themselves get caught this early in the game.

I took off again, driving at normal speeds through some residential streets before winding my way onto a main road. I happily changed lanes without signaling, turned into parking lots and alleys, and all manner of other things that would annoy the living shit out of someone chasing me. It took most of an hour before I decided I could meet up with Kevin, and with any luck we'd only have to hold them off for twenty minutes or so before the dragon showed up.

I headed across town, then for the park we used as a fallback when things started going nuts. I pulled into the lot, seeing my car and friends nearby. It only took me a moment longer to park, and I climbed out of the car without waking Brian.

"You lose them?" Kevin asked curiously, watching the road behind us.

"As far as I can tell," I agreed, watching a car drive by without slowing or noticing us. "I suppose it depends on how many cars they had tailing us."

"What's the plan?" Collin asked curiously, watching the road distantly.

"We wake him up," I shrugged, indicating the sleeping male in the car. "I want to get a look at his wounds, and he said Bui is coming. He said it'd take him two hours to get from Vegas to here, and he's wearing a scale."

"A dragon scale?" Kevin blinked at me.

I nodded, looking back to see Brian watching us with a confused expression.

"Can we see it?" he asked curiously.

"I haven't asked yet," I returned. "I figured we can do that now while we wait," I looked around the field thoughtfully. "As long as there's no kids' sports going on, this would probably be a good landing zone for the dragon."

Brian finally shifted and moved, pushing out of the car and standing there blinking at us.

"You alright?" Kevin asked quietly.

"I'm tired, feel sick to my stomach," he muttered, moving around to join us, leaning into me with an unhappy noise.

"We want to look at your dragon scale," Collin noted. "If we can, anyway. And we need to look at your wounds. That bruise on your face is nasty."

"It feels it," he noted, not looking at us. "Maybe I'm sick because the pain. I can't even tell."

"Take the sweater off," Kevin suggested. "Ryan can put it on and keep it warm for you."

Brian started laughing at that, pushing away from me to glare at the twins.

Collin elbowed his brother, muttering something in their personal language. From what I could tell it was something about not teasing, but they refused to teach me any of it.

"Come on," I urged him quietly, turning to tug the sweater up. Ha, he did still have the six-pack abs. The paper towels he had pressed to the cut stayed stuck, though, and I made a face at the idea of cleaning that off.

Brian plucked carefully at the paper towels as Collin turned back to the car. It took the human a bit to get most of the wound cleared, and I stared at the foot-long gash as the tingling sensation started at my ears again.

"Is this it?" Kevin asked curiously, grabbing the charm from Brian's necklace. It was a partially opaque thing with shiny metal around the edges, hooked to a leather thong.

"Huh?" Brian asked, looking down as best he could before swatting Kevin's hand away. "That's the scale, yeah."

"Let's get water first," I suggested to my friends as Collin fussed with a bag on the hood of my car. He came back with a water bottle and a cotton pad, soaking the cotton and passing it to me.

I wanted to complain at them both about making me do it, but the fact of the matter was that Brian was most comfortable with me.

"This might hurt," I told him, and started to dab carefully. The wound had started bleeding before I finished, and Brian was hissing with every touch. I wanted to be sure that I got the paper towel bits out, though, so I kept on.

"Damn it, what did you get to clean with?" Brian hissed as Collin brought the bag over.

"Numbing stuff," Collin supplied, pulling out a bottle and opening it quickly. "It stings like hell at first, but then it will mostly be numb. Here."

Brian made an unhappy noise at me as I took the bottle and read the directions quickly. I knew how Kevin and I used the stuff, but that didn't mean we used it right. But...it looked about what we did.

"Sorry," Kevin muttered...and pressed a kitchen towel to his stomach.

Brian flinched from the touch, glaring at Kevin a long moment, then swore and tried to step back as I started pouring. Collin stopped him, and he swore harder as the liquid spilled down his chest.

Kevin used the hand towel to dab along the wound after I'd finished, and Collin dug out the gauze and medical tape.

I wondered, briefly, if it was bad that we worked together to have him bandaged up before he could recover himself enough to fight us off.

Brian was shivering when we finished, and looked between us nervously as Collin passed around the hand sanitizer.

"Oh!" Kevin turned and ducked back into the car, coming out with a second bag and digging out a t-shirt. "You're still mediums, right?"

Brian blinked and nodded, taking the white shirt from my friend. He studied it a moment, looking back up to Kevin.

"I didn't think about the white thing until we were at the park," he smirked slightly. "Sorry."

"White thing?" Collin asked curiously.

I realized that I could feel something in the air, something strange and hot. I looked around as Kevin explained about Josh and the color white, and Brian sighed slightly as he settled the shirt around his hips. He turned to grab the sweater again, pulling it on and letting out a longer sigh.

"You guys...feel that?" I asked nervously.

Brian made a noise, reaching a hand up to press his necklace again, then looked around with a slight frown.

"What?" Kevin asked blankly.

The ground shook.

I swore, pulling out my staff as a giant Chinese dragon landed behind us on the field. He was in his human form before I could really accept the concept of a giant red lion-headed thing, his eyes moving between the four of us.

"Gable," Brian said quickly, moving to him.

Bui pulled Brian into the briefest of hugs, looking him over with a frown.

"What?" Brian asked, relaxing slightly.

"Blood," Gable explained, looking between us again before focusing on my hands. "I smell your blood."

"Does it have a distinct scent?" I asked blankly.

He smiled at me with his too wide mouth and too sharp teeth, though I saw amusement in his eyes. He moved across the intervening space as the ground shook, and bowed formally to me. "I owe you thanks," he stated. "I'd repay my debt."

"You're welcome," I noted, bowing back just as formally. "And that is all the debt there is."

"You've acted to protect my servant from harm," Gable pointed out.

"I've acted to keep my friend from harm," I corrected seriously.

"Who is here at my behest and was attacked by my enemies," he met my eyes.

Damn it.

I felt like I was falling. A huge void of throbbing heat surrounded me before going through me entirely. It was like I no longer existed, only that heat...before I caught sight of a large airy room made of flames and ember. Bui was sitting on the edge of an ember desk, and throughout the room I could see dark silhouettes of people standing or lounging, and I realized that Brian himself was sitting in the chair in front of the desk, watching him...the position meant more than presence, it meant that Brian was genuinely important to him.

Bui looked me over, looked to Brian, then smiled at me with his overly sharp teeth.

I stumbled back, nearly knocking Brian over.

"What's wrong?" Brian was asking seriously.

"Ah," Bui said in a tone of understanding. "I see," he noted, looking between Brian and I. "He chose for you to protect him."

"I suppose," I muttered, still trying to understand the concepts layered throughout what I'd seen. His image had smiled at me, that was a good thing, right?

Bui stared at me a long time, then looked back to Brian. "Do you seek to control me, wizard?"

"No," I said, swallowing slightly.

"Ah, it's not a literal statement," he nodded seriously. "Heed me, Wizard. That boy there has brought me a new level of understanding and compassion for the human species. Any harm you do him will come back on you thrice. Likewise, I believe he's taken me into his own emotional consideration, so any harm you do to me will be inadvertent harm to him."

I didn't reply to that as Brian gave him a perplexed look, then frowned at me.

"You two are the same person," Bui stated, looking around to Kevin and Collin. "It's an odd thing to see in freaks, considering how uncommon it is in the mortals. Would either of you like to gaze upon me?"

Collin looked entirely away.

"No, sir," Kevin said calmly.

Bui considered them both, then looked back to Brian, reaching a hand out to rest on his shoulder. "Are you well?"

"Emotionally upset," Brian supplied. "But Ryan's presence gives me comfort."

Bui sighed slightly, then looked around. "I will attend to Miss Antoniou," he stated, stepping away from us. "Go where you will," he looked back to me. "But be aware that your wards would not have the strength to keep me out of your home."

"Brian takes you into his emotional consideration," I noted dryly. "And since you've only ever worked to aid him, I do not see you as an enemy."

Bui nodded, looking back to Brian.

"What?" Brian asked, shifting nearer him.

"The blood," Bui supplied. "It makes me hungry."

Brian froze.

"I'd not eat you," Bui reassured him. "But it was occurring to me that you've most likely not eaten since lunch. I'll treat your friends after I attend to this. Pick any venue I'd approve of."

Brian nodded, swallowing slightly.

"I won't eat you," Bui persisted, patting Brian's shoulder. He turned, taking a few steps away, then jumped.

It looked comical to see a mature Asian man in a suit hop into the air, but a half second later he was a dragon again. We all stumbled, turning away as he launched into the sky.

"You know how I was teasing you earlier?" Collin asked in a slightly shaken voice. "I'm sorry about that."

Brian smiled slightly at him, crossing his arms over his chest as he thought.

"So...what does he mean, he'll attend to Miss Antoniou?" Kevin asked, frowning to me. "Doesn't that suggest him eating her?"

"It might," I agreed, looking around, "but I honestly don't think there's any chance of us stopping him, and since the council is trying to work with him, I'm not sure what they'd want us to do."

"Ixnay in front of the ugglemay," Collin muttered.

Brian turned to focus on him.

Collin sniggered, not looking at him.

Kevin called him a dumbass in their language, and Collin laughed more without looking around.

"What language is that?" Brian asked, blinking at Kevin.

"Pig Latin?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Not that," Brian protested. "You said something else."

"It's a twin language," I gestured the words away. "He just called him a dumbass...and, dumbass," I looked to Collin. "Did you just miss the dragon telling me that he'll hurt me if I ever hurt Brian?"

"Can't we distract everything by the fact that I just called him a muggle?" Collin retorted. "And let's move on, because he said he'd treat us to dinner, and I'm curious to know what sort of place he'd approve of."

"The sort of place where you have to change into slacks," Brian retorted, giving him a mildly offended look. "And, because you want to move on, I'm going to point out that I work for a dragon, I know about the wizard council."

"Shut-up," I ordered him seriously, looking around. "And let's get back to the house."

Brian nodded, rubbing at his chest with a frown. "I'm sort of not thrilled that I make him hungry."

"He's not going to eat you," I reassured him, moving around to the driver's seat. "You saw that we had a soul-gaze, right?"

"That you're remarkably unshaken by," Collin pointed out.

"He's actually been rocked," Kevin retorted, moving toward my car. "We'll meet you."

I nodded, watching them get into the car before Brian moved to get in with me, rubbing at his chest again.

"Stop touching it," I ordered, frowning at him. "When we get back to the house, you can use your phone to look places up, right? I don't think he owes us anything, but I'm not going to be a dick and tell him he can't take us out to eat."

Brian nodded, still pressing at his wound.

I gave him a look, hitting the breaks.

Brian smiled slightly at me, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've never heard him say that the smell of blood made him hungry."

"It's probably not the smell of the blood, exactly. You ever get a whiff of fresh beef? It makes me hungry."

"Beast," he complained. "Now I'm getting images of my chest being cut up for the meat."

"There's not much meat there," I protested, grinning sidelong at him as I moved back onto the street.

"Can we step back and look at that as a traumatizing statement?"

I laughed in spite of myself, giving him an apologetic look. "Sorry; do you want me to tell you what I saw?"

"What?" he asked blankly.

"In the soul-gaze," I supplied. "Because while there was a ton of information that I couldn't even absorb, the one thing I saw was you sitting at his left hand. The way you were meant that you were the equivalent of his left hand."

Brian turned to blink at me.

"So whatever else, he won't eat you anytime soon," I shrugged. "And with luck, he means it when he says he won't at all. Now talk to me, because I have this internal voice telling me to go save Eleni from being eaten that I'm having a hard time ignoring."

*Brian

I found a decent restaurant fairly close to the house that fell into Gable's usual set of preferences, and had the amusing interlude of supervising the three wizards getting dressed. It included my opinion on outfits, the fit of the outfits, and if this or that shirt were too worn out to be appropriate.

My chest was throbbing.

I stared distantly at the far side of the room as the three males did grooming things that were evidently complicated. Shaving, for instance, seemed to take them an inordinate amount of time. I wasn't paying too much attention, because I was starting to fall asleep on the couch. When Collin started cackling, I roused myself enough to wander to the bathroom door.

Collin, who was wrapped in only a towel and still dripping, was bouncing where he stood and laughing at Ryan, who was swearing as he leaned into a little mirror.

"What is that?" I asked blankly, staring at the thing.

I hadn't actually thought too much about their bathroom since I'd only used it twice, but there was no mirror on the wall. There'd been an odd little bracket, and that evidently held the little tiny mirror.

"Mirrors are portals," Ryan supplied, considering a wound on his neck before grabbing a little white stick and rubbing it against the spot.

I blinked at him a long moment, then looked down to the straight-edge razor he was using. He flashed me a brief grin, then grabbed a weird belt thing that was attached to the wall, and started running the blade along it.

"Why don't you have normal razors?" I asked blankly, watching that.

"Because you can't sharpen them," Ryan retorted. "And when you forget to go buy more, it's a problem."

I had to admit that was true, and watched as he leaned into the mirror to work more on his throat.

"I have disposables," Collin noted. "And I'm freezing, the idiot won't move so I can go get clothes on."

"You are not freezing," Ryan retorted, focused on his task.

"I want to shove him," Collin informed me.

I snorted, moving away from the door to look around. Kevin appeared, smiling slightly at me, then flicked his wrist so I could see a nice little watch on it—he was in slacks and a nice top already.

"You can tell us apart with this, right?" he asked curiously.

"I'm assuming that as soon as I rely on it, you'll give to him to wear for a while," I pointed out.

Kevin laughed happily at that, then shifted to so I could judge his outfit.

"That's fine with nice shoes," I reassured him, rubbing at my face.

Something outside exploded.

Ryan swore again as Collin came out of the bathroom. We were all looking around to each other to see who knew what was going on.

My phone started ringing.

I gestured for Kevin to stay back, moving around the couch into Ryan's bedroom as I noticed Gable's name on my caller ID.

"Hello?" I asked.

"I imagine you and your wizards heard that," Gable noted in a happy tone. "Do let them know I apologize. I was reinforcing that opus of a containment spell around Eleni's home."

"What?" I asked blankly.

"Do you mean me to repeat it or explain it?" he asked curiously.

"Sorry, I'm processing what that most likely means. Um...are you okay?"

"Oh, quite well," he reassured me happily. "I was going to eat the siren, then realized that starving her would amuse me so much more."

I closed my eyes.

"At any rate, I'm heading for you now if you could be sure the wards were down to allow me entrance. Did you find a place to eat? I'm quite hungry."

"I found a nice place," I agreed quickly. "The three of them are getting ready now."

"Wonderful," he sounded pleased. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright," I agreed. "I'll get Kevin on the wards."

"Thank you."

The call ended, and I moved back into the main room to look between the three pale males.

"So," I muttered. "He said that he was reinforcing...that opus of a containment spell. He's decided that starving her will be more satisfying than eating her, and is on his way here."

Kevin looked around to the others, then nodded slightly. He disappeared down the hall.

"I don't know what he means by opus of a containment spell," I added, looking between the remaining pair. "Um, let me change."

"Opus?" Collin asked Ryan as I moved past them. "Isn't that supposed to be your master work? You already reach your peak? That's sad, man."

Ryan started laughing, and ducked back into the bathroom.

I didn't want to think too much about what had been said to me. Gable had been far too pleased to say he'd starve her. Actually, the fact that he'd still be hungry on arrival made me nervous, too, because he'd obviously smelled the blood on me and on Ryan's hands.

I changed into a clean outfit, appreciating again that the slacks had all been tailored for me. They were almost as comfortable as lounge pants.

"...gize, because we had a patrol this afternoon, so we didn't get the chance to clean up."

"No worries," Gable's voice was calm and happy sounding. "This is quaint."

"Thanks," Kevin said in a slightly uncertain tone.

That was actually a compliment from Gable, I'd have to tell the wizards later. I smiled slightly, then moved into the main room again to smile at him.

"I'm confused," Gable said to me with curiosity on his face. "If you're coming from there, why do I smell you in there?" he pointed at Ryan's room.

"We fell asleep talking last night," I explained, moving to indicate the couch. "Let me get you some coffee."

His stomach rumbled.

I stopped, turning to look at him.

He smiled at me, the genuine one. "Don't worry yourself; did you make us a reservation?"

"No, I wasn't sure how long you'd be away and didn't want to set something up. I'll call them in a moment to be sure a table is ready for us."

"Be easy," he said seriously as he continued watching.

His stomach rumbled again.

"Bui, please be welcome as our guest," Ryan muttered as he finally moved from the bathroom. "I apologize; we're trying to change for supper quickly."

Gable's stomach rumbled again as he blinked at the wizard.

"I invited him in as our guest," Kevin noted, stopping nearby with his hands in his pockets.

Ryan looked nervously to me, then turned and dug into the ice-box. "Can I offer you a drink?" he asked the dragon.

"I'd appreciate if we could leave soon," Gable noted seriously.

"Sorry!" Collin called. "I'm shaving as quick as I can manage."

Gable tapped the fingers of one hand against his knee, and I looked around pointedly to Ryan.

Gable's stomach rumbled again.

"You are afraid," Gable said, focusing on me with distinct interest. "Why are you afraid?"

"Despite my knowledge that you've said you won't eat me," I hesitated to move nearer. "My instincts are warning me of a hungry predator. It makes me uneasy, and there's actually nothing we can do to hurry Collin along."

"Ah," he frowned at me, then looked to Ryan. "Do you have something to snack on?"

Ryan turned to dig a few things out of the cupboards around me.

"That was your containment spell carved into the bedrock, was it not?" Gable asked curiously as Ryan offered him a bowl of mixed nuts and a beer.

"Um, yes," Ryan agreed, popping the cap quickly and turning to consider their little kitchen.

"I was quite impressed," Gable offered. "It was starting to wear down, though, so I etched it in further. That was the explosion you heard."

"Thank you," Ryan muttered, blinking at him.

"I completed the circle entirely," Gable added as he sipped at the beer, then pulled back to look at it.

"Um, that's a stout from a local brewery," Ryan offered. "I've heard it compared to a loaf of bread in a bottle. I hope the taste is adequate."

"It's quite good," Gable agreed, taking another drink. "I wasn't expecting it, though."

Ryan ducked into his room.

"Have your instincts calmed yet?" Gable asked me with a smile as he ate another handful of nuts. "I don't imagine you want to be standing right now."

I smiled slightly at that, moving to sit next to him on the couch.

Gable looked the area over again with interest, then tilted his head to me. "That other said they hadn't had time to clean. I don't see much beyond dust out of order, though."

"I imagine they meant to put the dishes away and straighten this covering," I supplied, indicating the blanket on the couch. "Closing the room and hall doors, too. I imagine he also wanted to apologize to you because they've seen your house, and this place doesn't compare favorably to it."

"It seems much more comfortable, though," he noted, drinking more of the beer. "I've realized that we don't have a car here."

"Oh, let me call," I muttered, rising and opening my phone browser again. "And I figured that we can ride between our two cars. If we park toward the back of the lot, no one will see them."

He laughed at that, munching happily on more nuts as he went back to reading the bottle.

Right.

I moved off to the corner of the room and hit the call button.

*Ryan

Eating supper with a dragon seemed like it should be happening in a pit surrounded by fire and brimstone. My imagination conjured images of a simple kitchen table with chairs on a sooty black stone...but no, we were pulling into one of the multiple venues where paparazzi waited for actor, politicians, or other such starlets.

Considering who was all present, I'd opted to drive my car and let Brian drive his dragon. We moved into the nearest parking tower and through it to an area where there were two spots open. Brian was laughing and talking with the dragon as he climbed out of the machine, and I blinked as Bui upturned the hat-box to sit on his head.

Brian laughed more, saying something in a familiar and chiding tone, and Bui offered him that same genuine smile as he tossed the box back into the car.

Okay, then.

The twins and I moved from the car to look between them with interest.

"You didn't see anything," Bui informed me with a grin.

Brian laughed happily, stepping back as the doors were all closed again.

"I'm starving," Bui said happily, moving around to lead us toward the sidewalk. "Are you all?"

"Yes," Brian agreed happily. "I didn't realize it until just now, though. I'm hoping it's noisy in there because my stomach is growling."

"Should I shy away from you?" Bui asked brightly.

"Obviously," Brian agreed.

Bui laughed as the building around us thrummed with his footsteps. He continued making happy conversation, and after a few comments, I opted on a comment of my own. It also made the dragon laugh, and Brian flashed me a grateful smile as he fell in to walk with me.

It was actually pleasant.

Considering that I'd never spent that much time with that respected a creature, the actual banter that started made me nervous. I had no idea where the line was, but when I did say something before I could stop myself, Bui laughed genuinely and pointed at me with his fork.

He sighed when he'd finished eating his three mostly raw steaks, sitting back to sip at the wine happily. The conversation took a more serious turn as he started on his vegetables, evidently enjoying himself immensely.

He was talking about a water heater.

It took me a while to realize that Brian must have said something to him about our water heater. I'd never been too fussed about it, at least not since my magic had manifested. No water heater worked long for me, and sharing the apartment with Kevin and any passing wardens meant that we didn't get hot water for more than dishes. I was completely content with our apartment because the building was heated and cooled by a thermostat at the other end of the building. It also used a forced air system, which meant that there weren't any mechanics in our apartment to make it stop working.

Besides, we got hot showers at the dojo pretty much whenever we wanted them.

The night moved on with Kevin and Collin growing comfortable enough to start talking as well, and when Bui ordered more wine, I realized that Brian was refraining from drinking with a sad look.

"Might I suggest that we retire to the apartment?" I asked curiously. "Though there's no reason for you to be forced to sleep there, but you are welcome."

"Oh no," he said, frowning at me. "I have to return to Vegas tonight. Is there a problem?"

"Only that Brian and I can't partake," I smiled at him. "We have to drive."

"Oh," he frowned as he looked between us, then nodded. "Right. Back to your apartment for another lovely stout, and then I'll have to head home. Are you coming with me?" he asked Brian.

"My car," Brian reminded him. "And a pick-up tomorrow."

"Oh drat," Bui sighed, then shook his head. "Well, you can stay as long as you'd like; it'll be easier for you to be here to sign off when the new hot water heater is installed."

"If you'd like," Brian agreed easily.

I blinked at him.

He smiled without looking at me. "How long do you think that will be?"

"Hoc is setting up the order now," Bui explained. "So I imagine it'll be within the next two days."

"Alright," Brian agreed. "I'll be sure my phone and laptop stay charged and connected, then, so you can contact me."

Bui smiled brightly at him, then downed the glass of wine before asking the waitress for our check.