Sympathy for the Devil {Liam Stewart | The Darkest Minds}

21. Incubus

Life is tranquil for almost a month, and they all settle into life at the camp. Mags watches her little family grow and flourish in the freedom of the camp, or at least, relative freedom. They're not really allowed to leave the camp, though most of the guards will let Mags through, she knows she gets special treatment because she's friends with Clancy. Liam seems content in his role as soldier, patrolling the perimeter of their land, keeping them safe, and Zu is happy with kids her own age, learning and playing and growing. Chubbs is the one who seems the most discontent, and so Mags sometimes exploits her favouritism to take him beyond the confines of the camp. The two of them find a lake, a fifteen minute walk from camp, and when they have spare time, they'll go swimming. Sometimes Mags goes alone, she likes how peaceful it is.

"Where do you go, Maggie?" Liam asks, warm and sleepy, moving over in their shared bunk to make room for Mags; it's his day off and she had just gotten back in from watching the sunrise and it's rather late in the morning. She had gone to the lake for it this time, watching rays pierce through the trees and glitter across the top of the water. She breathes fire underwater, heats it enough that she can watch the sunlight through the steam when she resurfaces. Her hair's still a little damp as she climbs up to the bed, shimmying out of her jean shorts to get into bed more comfortably.

"Lake." She told him, letting him wrap an arm around her.

"Same one you go to with Chubbs?" He asked, and Mags nodded. "Is it nice?" Mags was quiet for a long moment, wrapping her arm around him in turn and warming them both up.

"It's lovely, you should come with me some time." Punctuating her sentence with a yawn, she hears Liam laugh quietly.

"Don't think I'm allowed, babe." He tells her, and Mags shrugs.

"Don't worry about it, Clancy loves me, he won't mind if I steal his best soldier for an afternoon." She smiled, but something was off, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the way Liam's expression had soured considerably. "What's wrong?" She asked gently.

He starts and stops his sentence several times, turning from sour to forlorn.

"He's just so fucking great isn't he." After a moment of shocked silence from Mags, Liam sighs deeply. "I'm sorry, I'm just-" Shifting, he moves to lie on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Mags is silent, waiting for him to continue. "I'm just sick of being second best to him; first Ruby, now you." He huffs angrily, and Mags expression hardens. Sitting up, she moves to straddle him, hands on his chest to keep him laying down as she frowns at him. Part of her is thankful that it's late enough that everyone else had left for the day.

"You were never second best, Liam." Voice so full of authority, Mags looks down at him unflinchingly. Liam's expression is surprisingly soft, surprised, like the simple phrase had snapped him from his burgeoning self pity. "I love you, you idiot, and so does Ruby!" After a beat, Mags tipped her head to the side, changing from angry to concerned. "What did you say to her?" She had noted that Ruby seemed distant during the past day, and that Liam had been a bit cold to her, but Mags had brushed it off thinking that training was just difficult, but it would make sense if-

"I heard her talking with Slip Kid," he had never been comfortable calling Clancy by his name, "and she just seemed so grateful to have someone like her, someone she could talk to," he spat the words and Mags sighed. Tone changing from bitter to forlorn, he shifted a little, hands behind his head, "I told her that I didn't care if she touched me and knew everything about me, but she says she's trying to protect me, and-" he pursed his lips for a moment, looking at anywhere but Mags, "I told her I'd never forget her, and she told me it doesn't matter because I'm not an Orange. We're not the same."

"You care about her, right?" Mags voice was soft, and finally Liam looked her in the eyes.

"Of course." He responded without hesitation, and Mags smiles at him, leaning forward to kiss him gently.