St. Mungo's Hospital

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel nodded and tried to make his muscles relax, but it was impossible, and he eventually gave up even trying. It was exhausting in itself, but it didn't feel like it was going to stop soon and let him rest. He tried to imagine the summer, living in close quarters with Markise, which would only add another thing he had to be careful about. He wasn't going to let himself assume it meant anything for them.

[Markise Sterling]

The rest of Ariel's time was much the same, though it did get better after a few days. At the least, it wasn't so jarring being in the same room, or being close. There were still a lot of silences, but they didn't feel so dead, or forced. Markise never said a word about paying the bill. He almost wondered how long before Ariel noticed he didn't get one.