-User, just refuse the contract and be done with it. -

  People are in danger; I can’t just stand by and not help them, Clippy.

  -We both know Asano and Standish can handle this contract on their own. And the last time you were alone with Jason, he pulled a knife on you. -

  I’m not refusing the contract just because I know they can handle it. Also, Jason pulled a knife on me because he thought Dustin and Neil were coming to jump him. It tracks with his personality.

  -I don’t care if it tracks. I can’t stand that guy. He’s so full of himself. Loved to see him knocked down a peg. It’s not always the Jason Asano story. -

  I mean, it kinda is.

  -Well, I refuse to acknowledge that. -

  Thad watched the little paperclip bounce angrily in his periphery as he grabbed a change of clothes and placed them on the bed with a few items. He’d remembered from the book that Jason and Clive’s ‘meeting’ had lasted several days. And there was no benefit from going unprepared. Thus, he’d left the bar early, with Neil tagging along after him because the elf was determined that Thad would get lost.

  He really would never live that down.

  Thad had been initially worried about being alone with Neil, but there was only quiet calmness between them.

  That was until Thad got bored and started talking about items he would need to pack. By the time they’d made it back, concerned about Thad’s blind spots on packing, Neil had walked off to grab medical supplies, and Thad felt the familiar aura before he heard the knock on the door.

  - Davone’s back. -

  I can tell.

  -Finally! About time your aura sense started improving. You’re Redacted at it. -

  Thad waved his hand at the paperclip, which received him an angry glare before the mascot disappeared in sparkles.

  -Personal Assistant has disconnected-

  “Door’s unlocked!”

  The doorknob turned and Thad saw Neil glance at his stuff on the bed and then to him before closing the door.

  “I see you’re still planning on going with him. Here, I got you this.” Neil said, handing over a small satchel to Thad, who started glancing through it.

  “People need our help. It’s not like I would refuse something like that,” Thad said with a shrug as he placed the satchel with the rest of his items.

  “Well, notwithstanding what you've done in the past, I’m not sure I trust Asano,” Neil said as he went and leaned on the desk, watching Thad.

  “It’s not like he’ll do anything; he just wants me to think he would.”

  “You saw him in that recording crystal.”

  “Yeah, I saw Asano acting. He’s a drama king, so all I gotta do is play along with him. And then He’ll eventually get bored and move on.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you?”

  “I’ll be fine, Neil.”

  “Will you? You passed out yesterday. And now you’re going on a contract with a guy who can barely stand you. Also, you won’t have me or Dusty there to protect you. You're out of your depth, Thad.”

  “You sound like you’re actually worried about me.”

  “Of course I am, that’s my job.” Neil crossed his arms, looking at Thad, who was a bit taken aback by the statement.

  “I don’t see Dustin taking your same level of interest.”

  “Well…”

  “I’ll be fine,” Thad repeated, then waved his hand at the bed. “See, I’ve got everything I need.”

  “Did you pack health potions?”

  “You just provided them.”

  “Mana potions, Spirit coins?”

  “Check and Check.”

  “Why don’t I see them laid out then?”

  “They’re in my inventory.”

  “Inventory?”

  Thad summoned a spirit coin in his hand, and Neil’s eyebrows raised.

  “When did you get an inventory ability?”

  Thad went to respond, then realized it came from him being an outworlder. Thadwick had never had an inventory ability. He paused, then shrugged.

  “Thad, you can’t just shrug off that question!”

  “Well, I am.”

  “No, I want some straight answers for once. Did you get that after the accident?”

  “What?”

  “Your racial gift evolution. Why won’t you talk about it?”

  “There's nothing to talk about.”

  “Thad, we’re a team, I should know everything about you.”

  “I mean, it’s not like I know everything about you, Neil, so just let it go.”

  “A Racial evolution is a life-changing event.”

  “Well, you would know.”

  “Yes, I would, I deal with the consequences of mine every day!” Neil said, standing to his full height.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Thad grimaced and looked away from Neil.

  He knew roughly that Thadwick had played a role in Neil’s racial evolution, but he didn’t quite understand the details.

  The biggest takeaway he’d gotten from the memories was how jealous Thadwick had been of Neil looking more “Manly” than him, but also being relieved that he dressed so poorly no one noticed.

  “People constantly confuse me for a human now, and I…”

  He could sense the frustration in Neil’s aura, and he looked back at the elf, who appeared more vulnerable than he’d ever seen him. Without thinking, Thad found himself walking over to him.

  “Well, you wear your hair down over your ears like you’re trying to hide them,” Thad said as he reached up and tucked a wavy lock of auburn hair behind a tapered ear.

  Neil watched golden eyes study him for a second, feeling that stupid fluttering sensation in his chest again.

  “Oh, you have freckles here, too. That’s cute,” He heard Thad mutter quietly.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Hmm? Fixing your hair. What's wrong?” Thad said, looking away from Neil’s ear.

  The focus of those golden eyes caused Neil's mind to go blank.

  However, thankfully, one to never be quiet long, Thad started talking absently.

  “You know, I bet if you braided this back, it might be better for contracts. I mean, your hair looks nice down, too, don’t get me wrong. But it must get in your way sometimes, right?” Thad rambled, brushing the other side back as well and nodding.

  “See, nobody would confuse you with a human now. Do you have a hair tie?”

  Neil quietly nodded, pulling a hair tie from his dimensional bag, which Thad took with a smile as he moved behind Neil.

  “You’re not embarrassed having an elf on your team?” Neil asked as he felt Thad lightly carding fingers through his hair.

  “Neil, you’re our team’s cornerstone; the only embarrassing thing you’ve done was dress so poorly.”

  “Hey!”

  “What? I fixed that. You look great now.” Thad laughed as he pulled Neil’s hair into the tie with a satisfied hum. And with a gentle but firm grip on either bicep, Thad maneuvered Neil in front of the room’s mirror.

  “See, isn’t that better?”

  Neil looked at his hair; half of it was still down, but the sides had been cleanly braided and pulled into a small bun. It looked stylish and practical.

  Where had he learned to do hair like that? Thad had never had long hair.

  Thinking of Thad, he realized the other man hadn’t released his grip and instead had leaned around him, his smile visible in the mirror.

  That stupid smile he’d developed that seemed to say, ‘you’re the only person in my universe,’ Neil didn’t have to look into the mirror to know his face was growing flush.

  “Neil, are you ok?”

  “What are we, Thad?”

  “What?” Thad released his grip and took several steps back.

  “Are we teammates, friends…something else?”

  “Wait, did you just say friends? What happened to, ‘You don’t have friends, Thadwick’?”

  “Well, I…”

  “You like me!”

  “What?! No, I don’t.”

  “You want to be friends, admit it, Neil.”

  “I don’t have to admit anything!”

  “Now who’s keeping secrets?”

  “Fine, how about this? When you get back, we’re friends, but I need you to be honest with me.”

  “Can’t we be friends now?”

  “I don’t see why the timing matters.”

  “Well, I would love to have you as my second friend before starting the contract.”

  “I would be your first.”

  “Oh, Dusty cracked days ago; he just wasn’t brave enough to tell you.”

  “I can’t trust anyone on this team,” Neil said with a put-upon laugh.

  “So, you’re Thadwick Mercer?”

  “It would appear that way,” Thad said as he sat with Clive, as both were scrutinized by a woman Thad could only assume was Madame Landry.

  They’d been under her judgment for a while, because, of course, the affliction specialist would make them wait on him.

  “I didn’t realize that when I knocked you over the other day, my apologies.”

  “You already apologized, and I walked into the street without looking. I’m just glad it was you who knocked me down,” Thad said with an easy smile.

  “You know, you’re not what I expected.”

  “I think that’s for the best.”

  “Wait, you both know each other; that makes introductions easier,” Jason said as he walked down the stairs in casual greenstone attire.

  “Why would we need introductions?”

  “You didn’t tell him?” Jason asked, looking towards Thad, who just raised an eyebrow.

  “I try not to interfere with the Asano show,” Thad said, crossing his arms.

  “You have an appointment with him, too? Well, I’ll try to keep it quick, I do have work to get back to. Now, Mr. Asano—”

  “Call me Jason, and I’m gonna have to stop you right there, Clive.”

  “Uh, Mr. Asano. Jason. This was the agreed-upon time for our meeting.”

  “I’ve got some good news for you, Clive. Our meeting is going to be extra long.”

  “How will you be able to meet with Lord Mercer if our meeting runs long?” Clive asked, looking back at Thad, who just shrugged.

  “Well, I have a contract, probably take a few days—”

  “And you thought scheduling two meetings at the same time would work? You can’t be two places at once, Jason.”

  “I’m sure I could figure something out, but no, we’ll have our meeting on the way there.”

  “On the way, where?”

  “There are some villages deep in the delta. They're being menaced by something called a mangrove snatcher.”

  Thad listened to them, still managing to hit the beats of the story despite his presence. It was odd, as if he didn’t exist.

  “Oh, goodness, no, I may be a member of the Adventure Society, but I’m not an active one.”

  “Well, you are this week.”

  “What?”

  “You’re coming with us,” Jason said, pointing between Thad and himself. Clive's eyes got big.

  “No,” Clive said. “No, I’m not.”

  Jason pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Clive, who read over it.

  “This is a contract. What does it have to do with me?”

  “You might want to take another look, down at the bottom.”

  Thad watched Clive scan the contract again and again.

  “It’s been amended… It’s been assigned to me and Lord Mercer as well.” Clive said disbelievingly.

  “Please just call me Thad.”

  “I don’t know if you are aware, but the new branch director kind of has a thing about Adventure Society members who don’t actually go on adventures. I.E., you and Thad over here.”

  “You did this!”

  “Well, I knew we had that meeting—”

  “Did I do something to offend you Mr. Asano?”

  “Just call me Jason.”

  “What I call either of you isn’t the issue. Also, you knew and didn’t tell me!” Clive turned on Thad, who held up both hands in a placating motion.

  “Wait one second, I’m not the one who did this!”

  “Clive, Mate, can I call you Clive? While Thad here does deserve plenty of animosity on his own, I’ve someone more interesting for you to focus your attention on.”

  “And who is that?”

  “Me! Cause Clive, do you know what an outworlder is?”

  “I do, Astral Magic is actually my specialty.”

  “I know a little astral magic too, found this skill book… that doesn’t matter. Clive, Thad you’re in the Presence of an outworlder. I was keeping that under my hat, but too many people know for it to be a real secret.” Jason put both arms out in a ‘Tadaah’ motion before looking at Thad and Clive for a reaction.

  “Okay…” Jason raised an eyebrow at Thad's unimpressed reaction.

  However, he lit up and focused his attention back on Clive when he heard excitement in the scholar's voice.

  “I have so many questions!”

  If only Clive had known he was standing in the presence of not one but two outworlders, Thad thought to himself.

  “We’ll get to that, but the thing is, I arrived in this world in less-than-ideal circumstances. Everything was strange, people were trying to kill me, and I had no idea where I was or what was going on.”

  Thad found himself sympathizing with Jason. Showing up in this world had been rough, and while cannibals hadn’t attempted to eat him, he did have to deal with Thadwick’s past and future, so he couldn’t quite tell which was worse.

  “So I kind of have a thing about getting ambushed. And then comes you, asking questions, knowing who I am and where to find me. Then Thad over here tried to have his goons jump me.”

  “As I’ve tried to explain, Asano, that was a big misunderstanding!” Thad defended only to have Jason snap his finger at him.

  “Regardless, I don’t like it. And I have to draw a line somewhere. You can call this a swift and measured response.”

  “I did introduce myself.”

  “Well, Clive, there’s this thing called lying, novel concept. You should have Thad over here teach you a thing or two about it.”

  “Possibly, but I must defer to your expertise, Asano. Clive, did you know Jason had me convinced he’d slept with your wife?”

  “I don’t even have a wife.”

  “I realize that now, I’m just concerned that I thought he had that much game.”

  “Your sister can confirm it,” Jason said with a smirk.

  “Yes, well, my sister does enjoy her charity cases.”

  “I’m surprised you're not more upset about me partaking in your sister’s charity.”

  “She’s a grown woman who’s allowed to make her own philanthropy choices… and mistakes.”

  “Oh, just like you? I’ve heard you have been spreading charity all across Old City.”

  “I’ve been quite charitable in the past.”

  “Even to his wife?”

  Thad looked at Clive, then smirked.

  “And husband.”

  “What?!” Clive squawked, looking aghast at Thad.

  “You know, Clive, I’ve heard Asano’s a lawyer, in case a divorce is in order.”

  “I’m not married!”

  “And for that, you’re welcome,” Jason said with a slight bow, which got a small laugh from Thad as he stood up.

  “Having a conversation with the both of you is like wrestling an eel.”

  Stefan from SNL.

  This fic has everything.

  -Thad accidently flirting with Neil

  -Thad and Jason snarking at each other

  -Clive's imaginary wife... and husband