вlood & peтalѕ [ ĸoтlc - тιana ]

ch. xxxiv

Not-so-fun fact: this was originally gonna be a Sokeefe story, with Keefe getting the disease. (You know, the cliche Sokeefe fanfic.)

And when I finally decided to make it Tiana, it was gonna be Biana who got the disease.

Tam was third in line.

Ack.

And by the way, this is a slightly happier chapter. Yay!

When Biana slipped out of the bathroom, resplendent in a unicorn-patterned nightdress she'd borrowed from Linh, the shadows Tam was amusing himself with were in a shape that looked suspiciously like a baby alicorn. She made the appropriate 'awwwww!' sounds, causing him to jump and quickly dissolve the shadow into swirls of darkness.

"Why did you stop that?" She asked, moving closer to the bed. "It was cute."

His cheeks tinted pink. "I-uh, I don't know."

"Well, I do." Biana sat down on the bed, careful to give Tam his personal space. "And don't worry, I'm not Keefe." She winked at him, coaxing out a small smile. "And d'you wanna talk some more, or sleep right away?"

Tam rubbed his eyes in a way that she couldn't help but think adorable. "Sleep, I guess..? It's been a long day..."

"Okay." Biana made no attempt to get up and move over to the bed Linh had previously used. "B-u-t....there's some stuff I want to ask you."

Silver-blue met teal as Tam said, "ask away."

"I've been thinking about this all evening." She took a deep breath.  "What exactly did you tell Linh to make her calm down?"

Tam curled his fingers inwards, returning the shadows to their original place. "I didn't really have to tell her anything. It was mostly just a reaction, but she calmed down on her own after a while." He sighed, suddenly looking careworn. "I'm worried for her. She cares too much for everyone around her, and I just feel like reminding her to give herself some of that love too."

Impulsively, Biana wrapped his hand in hers. "Linh...I'm not sure exactly how to say it, but...she's okay. She's got that under control. And if she doesn't take care of herself enough, Dex will make sure that she does. And so will I. And Tiergan. And Wylie. And Sophie. And Fitz. And Keefe, though he'd probably crack a load of bad jokes about you to try to cheer her up."

Tam didn't say anything, instead staring at where her fingers entwined with his. She squeezed his hand tighter. "I mean it, you know. Linh's strong. And anytime you feel like she's going to slip up, think of Ravagog. Or Atlantis."

He smirked at the mention of Ravagog. "Yeah. But...I'm still worried."

"Of course you are. When have you not been?"

"Valid point," he admitted. "Did you want to ask anything else? Unless it's about the shadow puppets, I'll answer."

Biana grinned. "Oh, I'm definitely asking about that sometime later. But my question now: what do you really think about Linh dating our resident cinnamon roll?"

"Dex? He's a good guy. But I'll haunt him until his ears are pointier than Vespera's if he hurts her."

"Well, good thing he won't, then," Biana mused. "Aaaaand, now we come to....the shadow puppets."

"Hold up." Tam raised the hand that wasn't now holding hers tightly. "I want to ask something too. Two things, actually."

"Oh?" Biana nibbled her lip. "Go on."

"First: what happened with Keefe? All you told me was that you broke up. But there was more to it, wasn't there?"

Biana took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "I....wasn't into the relationship at all. So I told him. But Keefe being an Empath already figured it out, and we agreed to break up. We're still friends, though."

"Hmm." A shadow passed over Tam's face. "And.... something that I think is important now: what exactly are we?"

"Eh?" The question caught her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Where do we stand now, Biana? What are we? Are we dating? Or...are we something else?"

Biana nibbled her lip more forcefully this time. "I'm....honestly not sure. I wouldn't say that we're dating, because....well, because we're not. But...we aren't just friends either. It's complicated."

Tam nodded, stifling a yawn behind his hand. "That's what I thought too. But let's sleep on it for now."

"Okay," she responded, reluctantly getting up. "Good night."

"But, Biana..." he fussed with the blankets, refusing to meet her eyes. "I think you should know that I love you."

"I know. Linh told me. And I think you should know that I love you too."

fluffyyyyy

hope that was okay? it honestly felt so much like a filler to me, to i have absolutely no idea what to think of it.

what do y'all think tam and biana are now? ------->

(help them figure it out.)

[honestly, this chapter took so long to write that I am somewhat ashamed of it.]