Between Worlds

Chapter 21

As Adin led the boys off towards the administrative building, Finch began gathering their dishes from the picnic table to take back to the bus. He startled as his hand brushed against someone else's, but when he followed it to its owner, he wasn't surprised to see Shadow standing next to him.

A smile automatically came over Finch's face. "Have you been there the whole time?"

Shadow shook his head. "I was with Luther, but close by. We were listening to see if things were okay."

Finch raised his voice. "Well, if Luther is still listening, he can go for a nice little walk and give us ten damn minutes of privacy before the others get back."

"Okay!" Finch heard Luther's voice call out from somewhere in the darkness.

Finch let out a breath of laughter as he shook his head. For once, he was just amused by Luther's oddness. "You know, when you're trying to get to know a guy better, travelling with his father really complicates things."

"He doesn't mind, you know," Shadow said as he balanced a teetering stack of bowls. "He knows this isn't any of his business."

"Have you ever dated before?"

Shadow gave an uncomfortable half-shrug. "I tried online dating for a little while, but I soon discovered that men who wanted to meet in secluded places at night were quite shady characters. I can disappear whenever I want to and I'm too fast for anyone to lay a hand on me if I don't want them to, so I was never in any danger, but I stopped doing it anyway. It wasn't for me."

Finch tucked the water bottle under his arm and picked up his share of the dishes, and they began walking back to the bus. "I mean, I won't lie. My own brief foray into online dating featured me knowingly and intentionally meeting shady characters in secluded places at night, but it just wasn't very satisfying. I guess I was craving more than just sex, but I also wasn't really in a place to get into a relationship. Plus, you know, it's just weird trying to date a normal person when everything you are and everything you do is so far from it."

Shadow nodded in understanding. "Yeah."

Finch stepped aside to allow Shadow onto the bus ahead of him. He moved so quietly, with an effortless grace Finch had never seen in anyone else. Finch would have spent a lot of time watching him if Shadow would ever give him the chance. They put the leftovers in the fridge and dumped the dishes in the sink.

When they were done, they found themselves still standing in one another's personal space. In confines as tight as these, it usually required intentional effort not to crowd someone, but neither of them stepped back this time.

When Finch reached out to Shadow, he didn't have any particular plan in mind, but somehow he wasn't surprised when he found himself pulling Shadow into a hug. He'd never just held someone like this, never let his hand stroke gentle lines up and down someone's back, but somehow it felt completely natural. It was what his body wanted to do in that moment.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until finally Shadow leant back so that he could look Finch in the eyes. "Is your job always this chaotic?"

"Eh..." Finch considered for a moment. "Yeah, pretty much. In different ways, but always chaotic, yes. Is it too much?"

Shadow shook his head. "It's just... interesting. Luther always had his dealings, but I wasn't involved. I guess... I didn't really know where I fit in the world. It always felt like when I did try to reach out, people just expected me to want to go down a path of becoming less like myself. Like what I am was something to be overcome."

"I hope you don't feel like I'm doing that," Finch said. "With pushing you towards not hiding so much, I mean. You should do what's right for you, always, and you know what that is better than I do."