Jeez. I really am loved up. I smile at my own daftness and head for the kitchen. I’m not going to bother with sleep, so coffee is very much needed. Everyone who claims the effects of caffeine on vampires is psychosomatic, can go do one.
I pop my head around the kitchen door. Pink looks up from his cup of peppermint tea. He flashes me a quick smile before jumping up to close the blinds.
“Thanks,” I say as I step into the now shadowy, dimly lit room.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” asks Pink.
“No thanks, it’s coffee I’m after.”
I head to the machine and flip it on to do its thing.
“How was your date?”
I bite back my groan. Not this again.
“Lovely. How were things here?” There, that should safely deflect the conversation.
“It all calmed down, just fine,” says Pink.
Well that’s a relief. I open my mouth to say something, but the coffee machine starts to spit out its goodness. I inhale deeply. Damn, that’s good. It is an aroma I will never get tired of.
As soon as my cup is full, I take it over to the table and sit across from Pink.
“I…um…am really happy for you, Ned. Despite what I said about the great-grandfather stuff.”
I stare into Pink’s warm, brown eyes. He seems sincere enough. And genuinely concerned for my feelings. Another little sweetie who didn’t at all deserve to suffer through the harem. He is just a baby, goddammit. Eighteen when Ritchie took him. That’s no age at all. No experience to tuck under his belt. Though saying that, all my years haven’t stopped me from being a complete idiot most of the time.
“Thanks,” I say as I sip my coffee.
A look of relief flows over his face. Then he sighs. “You’re so brave.”
“What?”
Pink props his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his hands. “Letting yourself fall in love,” he says with a wistful look in his eyes. “I don’t think I could. I’m such a coward.”
I hide my smile by taking another sip of my coffee. Everyone suspects that the mage who empties Pink’s magic, has come to be far more than a mere convenience for Pink. But it’s fine if he is not ready to admit it yet. As for love being something you can control, damn, Pink really is young if he believes that.
But he doesn’t need a lecture from a curmudgeonly old man. So I’m going to remind him how awesome he is instead.
“What are you talking about? You are the bravest person I know!”
Pink’s brows furrow in disbelief.
“Hey,” I insist. “You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save us all.”
Color tinges Pink’s cheeks. He drops his gaze, removes his elbows from the table, and starts fidgeting with his cup of tea.
“You let yourself get shot in the head so we could escape. We’d all still be there if it wasn’t for you.”
I place my hand over his. He looks up and gives me a soft smile, even though his eyes are full of anguish.
I hold his gaze. I let him see that I understand it didn’t feel brave at the time. It felt cowardly. Like taking the easy way out. The final escape.
It changes nothing. Regardless of motive, Pink still saved us all. And we will all be forever grateful. A fact he needs to understand.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he seems to accept the truth in my eyes, and his smile turns into a genuine one. Perfect. That’s much more like it and exactly what I wanted to see.
I release his hand and gulp down the rest of my coffee. He finishes his tea. Now there are no more excuses for dawdling.
