In the Shadow of the Summer

The Three Broomsticks

You stared at Sebastian nervously, waiting for him to look up from his bags, which were tumbling to the floor around him.
"Do you need some help with that?" asked Sirona, and that was when he looked up. It seemed to take a moment for him to register that you were there too, as he stumbled half way through his reply of 'I'll manage'. He stared at you with wide eyes, before dropping the last of his bags on his foot and letting out a rather unseemly word.
"Sorry," he said quickly, shaking his foot, as if the pain would simply slide off.
"Quite alright, young man," said Sirona, "just try to keep that language to a minimum around the patrons. Come along, let's get the two of you upstairs."

Seeming not to notice the tension between the two of you, she grabbed one of Sebastian's bags and beckoned you both to follow her up the stairs. Rather than waiting for another conversation to ensue, you cleared your throat and followed the innkeeper. The stairs up to the top floor were exhausting, and you were so excited to sit down that you almost managed to ignore Sebastian's presence behind you. There were two identical doors at the top of the final staircase, and you noticed, when Sirona unlocked the doors, two identical rooms behind each, with a simple bed, desk, shelves and an ornate mirror hanging on the far wall. Sirona entered the room on the right and placed Sebastian's bag down by the end of the bed, so you took the left room.

"I won't make you do any work today," Sirona began, once she returned to the top of the stairs, "but I'll need you both up bright and early tomorrow. The summer solstice is occurring tomorrow evening, which means lots of customers, I'm afraid."
"Of course," you replied.
"Righty-ho," said Sebastian simultaneously. Sirona glanced at you, and then into Sebastian's room, before turning away with a contented hum.
"If either of you need anything, you know where to find me," she called from down the stairs. You stood in the middle of your room for a while, contemplating. Your head seemed to be spinning with questions, and it took you longer than you would have liked to be able to process them.

What in Merlin's name was he doing here? Why hadn't anyone told you? Had anyone else known? Had he known you would be here? Did Ominis know you would be here together? Is that why he'd tried to set you up in the undercroft? Is that what he'd meant at the station? The biggest and most important question burning your brain, the question to which you were sure would never have an answer, was this: how the hell were you supposed to stay sane over summer while you were living in a room right next door to Sebastian Sallow?

Before you realised what you were doing, you found yourself walking to the doorway and hovering at the top of the stairs. You weren't entirely sure when, but he'd closed his door, leaving you to stare at the old wooden planks until you could muster up the courage to knock. His room was completely silent, and you wondered if he too had been stunned into silence. You took a few deep breaths while you thought about what you would say, and slowly raised your hand to the door. One more deep breath, and then you would know. Maybe another. Maybe just one more after that. Your hand trembled slightly, and you began to retreat, when the door swung open and Sebastian stood right in front of you, eyes wide with shock.

"Sorry," you both said together.
"I didn't mean to- I just wondered..." You were making a terrible mess of this already.
"It's fine," he said before you'd finished.
"Could we-"
"I thought we might- oh, sorry."
"I'm sorry, this is- sorry, I mean..."
"Well," he said, much louder than you were expecting, which shut you right up, to your relief. "I think this calls for a chat, don't you?"
"Yes, quite right." He cleared his throat and stepped aside, inviting you into his room, where you took a seat on the edge of his bed. He chose to occupy the desk chair across the room rather than sitting beside you, but this was somewhat preferable.

"First, I'd like to say this," he began solemnly. "I want you to know how much it means to me that you didn't turn me in. I didn't deserve your loyalty after everything I did, but I've been trying my best to be the kind of person that does ever since."
"You mean..."
"No dark magic. I haven't used it once since then. I haven't even tried to learn more about it. It turned me into something I didn't want to be and cost me everything in the process." He didn't look up at you while he spoke, just kept his hard gaze on the floor in front of him. "I don't expect your forgiveness yet, Merlin knows I still don't deserve it, but I hope that I can prove myself to you one day." You considered him for a moment before speaking.
"Thank you for saying that. I'm glad to hear that you're doing better, I really am."
"You don't have to say anything else about it. Hopefully my actions will speak for themselves."
"Very well," you said with a deep breath.