The Lev n Fax Saga

Part Sixteen

Warnings for discussion of past abuse, both physical and emotional.

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Cyrus settled, somewhat stiffly, into their lives with little trouble. He didn't seem to know what to do with all the cats, but he wasn't upset by them either. Fax kept a close eye on him for a few days, before deeming him trustworthy. That might have been because he found Teacup asleep between Cyrus' shoulder blades where the witch had fallen asleep at the kitchen table with a book trapped under his face. If one of Fax's most skittish cats could trust Cyrus, then Fax could too.

Unlike Lev, Cyrus didn't seem to be able to adjust to Fax's schedule. Or he was unwilling to. Either way, because of his late nights, he tended to nap near midday, though he roused before dinner to eat with them. He was still up at dawn with Fax, no matter how late he stayed up, and after a few nights of hearing him walk around, muttering spells to himself or talking to Angela on the phone in a futile effort to track Sorin down, Fax learned to sleep through it.

Days blended into weeks, and weeks became a month, and Fax found he didn't find the witch's presence a hiccup in his day anymore. Cyrus was there to have a cup of coffee before Fax coaxed Lev out of bed with their habitual warm milk and honey. While Fax puzzled over the morning crossword, Cyrus pored over the news, both on the tv and in the newspaper. They never spoke of it, but all three of them knew Cyrus was looking for signs of Sorin. Neither Lev or Fax had the heart to point out that Sorin had the good sense to stay off the news, local or otherwise. If Cyrus wanted to keep himself busy looking for signs that weren't there, maybe that was better than him moping. It kept him busy, even if Fax could often taste the tang of magic in the air nowadays.

It was well over two months since Cyrus had moved in with them, and on this particular morning Cyrus ended up waking before Fax. He passed a cup of coffee over to Fax, already made the way Fax liked. Maybe that in itself was a sign that Cyrus was more settled than Fax had realized. Fax took a sip of his coffee, and asked his habitual morning question: "Y'hear anything?"

"No," Cyrus said quietly. "Not a single lead."

"Did you really expect anything to change between yesterday and today?" Fax asked gently.

"I have to hope, don't I?"

"Knowing Sorin, you won't find a single whisker unless he wants you to. You're not the only witch he knows, and it's not hard to cover his tracks with magic."

"I have to try. You know I do." Cyrus rubbed his face. His sip from his mug was more to stall than anything else, but they pretended the silence that stretched between them was comfortable. "Sorin doesn't-"

"Don't you try and tell me you really believe Sorin doesn't know what he's doing," Fax said softly. "We both know Sorin. You better than me, maybe, but he knows what he's doing. He'll come back when he's ready."

"And if he's never ready?" Cyrus retorted, before pulling up short. He shoved away from the counter, and headed for the living room. Before he got far, Lev shuffled in, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Cyrus paused, giving a muted, "Morning."

"Morning," Lev returned, padding right for Fax. Fax saw Cyrus' face twist in a grimace at Lev's bare back. At least the witch had the sense to do so only when Lev wasn't looking. Lev didn't need any more reminders about what had happened over the last year, even if it was just looks of pity. "What's going on this morning?" He twisted in Fax's arms to peer at Cyrus. "Any news?"

"Not a whisper," Cyrus said shortly, and then winced. "Sorry, Lev."

"It's okay," Lev replied, before burying his face in Fax's neck, yawning again. "Sometimes I wish I liked coffee like you guys. I'm tired."