It was strange to see Zara’s pale, slender fingers stained with soil and leftover grass, but Mercury thought he was slowly getting used to the sight. Zara had always been particular about his looks. He’d always worried about things that were meaningless to Mercury — the colour of his shirt, the style of a hairclip, the perfect shape of his coat. Mercury had learned to see through that, past the colourful feather boas and statement pieces. Maybe because they’d been friends for so long....

“We shouldn’t be here,” Mercury hissed, but Zara ignored him and powered forward. “Zara, I’m serious.” He would’ve spoken louder if he could, but the woods seemed sinister enough on their own. Mercury wasn’t ordinarily scared of forests at night, but this one seemed like something he needed to take heed of. The hairs at the back of his neck were up in hackles. He did not feel comfortable here. But if Zara felt any discomfort at all, he didn’t show it and just powere...

The first time Mercury was pulled from his sleep, it happened because something cold landed on his face. He forced his eyes to open, but he could only see a distinct, Zara-like shape through his eyelashes. This was, then, nothing unexpected, and he pulled the blanket around him tighter and kept sleeping. The next time he was conscious, it was entirely by Zara’s demand. He had decided, apparently, that Mercury was taking up too much space, and had decided to reclaim some of it by sitt...