As I’m spinning my wheels deciding what to do now that The Audacity Gambit has finished its run, please enjoy a short story from the same world, some years later. This was originally published at Patreon and Comradery on February 26, 2024, as one of the stories for Flash Fiction February.
“You can’t come with me.” Ian watched Michael’s face. He seemed mostly fine with it but—there. Something about a muscle under his eye. And his general vibes. “Besides,” Ian knew as he spoke that what he was about to say would make Michael angrier, but it was like watching yourself lock your keys in your car. “You never really spent much time in the Sidhe.” Panicking, Ian tacked on, “You’re the best at holding down the fort.” He was pretty certain that made it worse.
Michael breathed in a measured way that Ian found mildly terrifying, then cocked his head and smiled. “When exactly would I have gained this experience you think I’m lacking?”
Ian knew better than to answer.
“Would it be while I was rebuilding this entire place? Should I have taken little trips while waiting for the paint to dry?” He tapped his chin with a finger so theatrically Ian had to suppress a grin. “Maybe gone off on adventures once I’d collected everyone’s rent?” His smile grew sharp and Ian no longer felt like grinning. “Or you know, I could have skipped my weekly therapy sessions like you did.”
“Okay man, hey.”
“I mean, why would I have really needed them anyway? It wasn’t like I kept throwing myself into unknown dangers or anything. I was just trapped here, hoping I would hear back from the people I loved, or that I’d at least learn when to stop waiting for them to come back.” Michael’s words were getting more sharply enunciated as he spoke, his voice now brittle. “Or yeah, after you were the only one who came back, that’s when I should have done it. Just fully leaned into reckless grief. I think that’s what Emily would have wanted.”
Ian could see that it was Michael who had metaphorically just locked his keys in the car. He jumped at the opening. “Dude, that’s fucked.”
Michael started to speak but stopped, then lifted his chin and stared pointedly at the black square of night out the window.
“I know I have done stupid shit.” Ian tried a smile but it felt bad, so he let it drop. “And I know that when I have, I’ve relied on your stability to be like, what is it, home base?” He saw Michael’s jaw tighten. Whatever, keep going. “And what to me felt like keeping you safe probably most of the time felt like me leaving you out.”
“It really did.” Michael still wasn’t looking at him, but that was fine. “I’ve been the one who gets relied on for maybe all of our lives. And you get to be the charming fuckup. I know how tiring it is to always be the one to take care of everyone,” Michael finally looked at him and Ian wished he hadn’t. “But it’s got to be just as tiring to never be relied upon except to be the fool.”
This post is part of The Audacity Gambit – Serialised. Learn more about when the book was first published here, see the archive and overall content warnings here, and find more of my writing here. I’m over on both Comradery and Patreon, if you feel like supporting my creative endeavours. If you’d like to subscribe to this story, here’s a handy email box for you: