Ruh Roh (One on One)

When they arrived at the Center, Lark was already at her table, peering through her microscope with a mug of coffee next to her.

 

Lark blinked and looked up suddenly, her warm brown eyes flickering to them.

"Tez and Rowan! How are you?"

 

Lark raised an eyebrow, coming over.

"Sick? How so?"

Rowan cleared his throat before showing her the mark behind his ear.

Lark's face fell and she stepped back a little.

"So it's spread to elves now?"

Rowan squeezed Tez's hand.

"It's it, right? It's the Plague?"

Lark pursed her lips before gesturing to the room.

"You should go lie down."

 

Rowan followed. Miko was sleeping on one of the beds, and Rowan sat down heavily, not meeting Tez's eye.

 

"I'm sick," he said slowly, shaking his head. "I got the Plague. I'm the first elf to have it, and we don't know anything about how it works with our bodies."

 

He leaned into her touch, but didn't reply, still not meeting her gaze, looking down at his hands.

 

He nodded slowly, squeezing her hand. His eyes seemed unable to move from his hands.

 

His gaze finally moved to hers and he looked desperate.

“I love you too.”

 

He leaned against her, kissing his cheek.

“I don’t know if I should be near you. What if I’m contagious?”

 

“Yeah, but maybe it’s different because I’m an elf. We know very little.”