Unexpected Inspiration - Short Stories

"Rooftop Reprised"

The trio gets a second chance at their first date.  

(I got a request for a story about Adair, Blythe, and Etri either on their first date or their anniversary. I ended up combining both ideas into them reenacting their first date on their anniversary. This would take place a year after book 1 [Colorweaver].)

Etri stood atop the roof of his wagon-home and surveyed what frequently served as his floor. It wasn't exactly the same as the previous roof. The propelling fan was an updated and larger model and the piping for the plumbing was attached to the right side rather than the left, but he doubted Blythe or Adair would care much that those things were different from this day a year ago. All Adair was likely to pay any attention to was the "floor" being larger and this was likely to put him more at ease, not less. Adair's comfort was really what worried Etri about this plan. He was gradually overcoming his fear of heights, largely due to short sessions sitting up here on calm days, yet Etri fretted that the time spent up here today would be too long for him. He wanted Adair to enjoy this, not have reason to panic. He whispered a plea to the Creators to keep this night still of any wind.

Adair placed an unsteady foot onto the roof, followed by another, before he slowly released his grip on the ladder. His eyes were scrunched tight and his knuckles drained of color from clutching the rails with all of his strength. Etri took a few steps towards him, then fought his legs to stop moving. As much as he wanted to reach out to comfort Adair, he kept his distance. Adair had said before that he needed to do this on his own. He did move towards Etri, more than likely sensing the location of his sentinel through their link rather than through closed eyes, and the ghost of a smile was forming on his lips-- until a slight gust of wind, no more than a breeze, made him sink to his knees with a whimper. Etri caught him in his arms in an instant and led him away from the edge.

"I still think this is a cheesy idea." Blythe's words were followed a few seconds later by her head appearing over the side of the wagon's roof. When she noticed Adair's current state, she scrambled up the last few rungs and reached for his hand.

Adair took a few deep breaths, and to the relief of all three of them, the breeze abated. When it seemed it would remain calm for at least the moment, Adair squeezed their hands and stepped away. It was towards the center of the roof, not the ladder, which filled Etri's heart with pride for Adair's courage. He didn't wanted to force Adair up here and if he chose to stay, it meant he was comfortable with this idea.

Once Adair was in what was likely the exact center of the roof, he sat with his arms wrapped around his knees and gave Blythe a smile almost its normal level of sunniness. "I think it's a sweet idea. Etch never got to ask us out that day and if we're going to count today as our anniversary, I want to know how it would have gone if... you know... hadn't happened."

Etri couldn't help wincing even though Adair didn't mean his comment in a cruel way. He would never stop regretting that a year ago his weaving had picked the worst possible time to return. It had forced him away from his pair right before they would have become his pair and left them without his protection. Blythe rubbed his back lightly and whispered, "It's okay," before before she went to sit next to Adair.

"I didn't say it was a bad idea, just a cheesy one." She reached behind Adair to pat the roof where Etri had sat before. "Come here and ask us out."

Adair nudged her with his shoulder. "Blade! We're not supposed to say that. It'll be more fun if we pretend it was like last year, right?"

Blythe let out one of her overdramatic sighs and flopped onto her back against the smoothed, sealed wood that still smelled new. With luck the roof would hopefully be warmer now despite the day being chillier than last year. Etri knew in advance this time that they'd be up here for a while, so he'd asked Sol and Dray to put some of their fire weaving into the wood. He hoped it wouldn't be enough for his pair to notice. He did want to play by the script, but not enough to sit on something so cold for as long as this would take. When he sat on Adair's other side, just as he had last time, Adair kissed him on the cheek before laying on his back next to Blythe.