Xaviers!

"I'm afraid if you're looking to call me on my bullshit, that's a full-time job. You might even need to hire an assistant."

"I'll consider that a challenge then," she says. "You might want to contemplate having an assistant to with all my bullshit. Or maybe we'll just lean on Sam for her assistance."

"You have a far lower bullshit ratio than most people I've met, Tereza," Will said, taking another swig. "You're blunt and to the point, and I keep looking for secrets behind the openness."

"I have a few secrets, but I don't like keeping them from the people close to me. It... causes bad blood."

"Meanwhile, I always feel like I have to walk on eggshells around everyone, because the second my true colors come out, either I do something fucking stupid like trying to steal your girlfriend, or I do something so fucking weird I get metaphorically shown the door. Your confidence is something else I wish I could copy to be less of a shitty person."

"I didn't show you the door when you were a blanket on the bed, did I?"

"Nah, but you still stopped -- though, admittedly, you seemed to mind less than Sam did."

"I've never been overly conventional and being bitten hasn't helped that. Sam and I have talked a bit about that... the unconventional thing, not the blanket thing. I still manage to shock her poor little Catholic brain on occasion."

"She did mention that you tripped her weirdness circuits over Christmas, before hiding me for 36 hours until she could come home," Will admitted. "And what happened in Hollydale -- uh, the not-my-fault portion -- won't help her, there," Will sighed.

"I actually do appreciate you being less hung-up on things. It's just...I don't know you. There wasn't a 'you' in my circle back home. So feeling things out is awkward, at best."

"So get to know me then, Will. You say I'm open, so take advantage of it. I'll just outright admit that if we hadn't found you as a blanket until *afterward*, well you saw where we were headed, *I* still wouldn't have cared unless it bothered *you*, but that's just me." She smiles, "If that doesn't bother me, then I think I can easily manage dinners, hanging out, and keeping an eye on you while you get stupid drunk."

"The problem there is, my level of being bothered is in another stratosphere compared to most people. At least, when I trust them. And when you open up too far and do too much, then you can't dial it back with an 'oh, I was only kidding!' later on, you know?"

"So what would make *you* more comfortable with feeling this out?"

"I don't know. Real helpful, aren't I?

I suck at making decisions. Add that to my 'terrible person' punchcard. I'd blame my time in Antarctica, but I'm pretty sure if Sara or my Sam were here, they'd tell you that it was a pre-existing condition. My therapist'd probably agree."

"Then I don't know what to tell you other than that I will never *not* be your friend over that stuff. You start indiscriminately committing mass murder? Then we might have to have a frank discussion, but Sam wants to wear you as a dress? Not a problem. You want to play body pillow again? Not a problem. If we can't talk about the what and why when it bothers us, then we have other problems."

Will nodded, slowly. "Well, not a problem with you guys, at least. I'm still technically university property, but if Ashlie has a problem, I'll just poke her in the other eye.

I want to...I want you to be happy. And I want Sam to be happy. And I cut both of those things to try to make myself happy. So, I'm clearly no good at calling the shots here. It's...I mean, to a large part, it's what Sam wants. And what you want. And I'll do my best to make it happen."

"Yeah, nothing doing without Sam being okay as well. We have to communicate. So in that spirit, you're not the only one we've talked about in this context. We've also talked about Vivienne. That's... a complicated thing, but I wouldn't want to be withholding on something this... delicate? Important?"

"Huh. I wouldn't have guessed...

...Well, that's neither here nor there. Sam...and you, as well...just seem to have this...I don't know. Magnetism. You've got people in your orbit."

"Sam more than me. She has this... indefinable draw. Preaching to the choir here, I know."

"What do you think about that? Do you believe?"

"That she's the honest-to-goodness Morrigan? I think it's a distinct possibility. I've never been the religious type, but there's enough people out there that think she is that it may not matter whether she is or not. If you're asking whether I'm a follower... the jury's still out on that one. I do know she soothes the wolf in a way that I can't quite explain. I don't know if that's the Morrigan or just Sam though."

"I thought it was bullcrap when she first told me," Will admitted, conspiratorially. "The pagan gods weren't a thing. I was a good little Anglican. Still am, actually. I was super-pissed that my mentor and friend was taking a one-way ticket to crazytown.

Turns out, I have a nice bungalow in crazytown."

"Crazytown has some truly lovely neighborhoods," she says with a laugh, "It's good to have neighbors."

"A neighbor who's a better Volkswagen than person has it's advantages; so long as you fill 'er up when you're done with it," Will said, laughing along. "God, Tereza, I'm sorry. I fucked up big-time."

Tereza puts her arm around Will, pulling him close. "Water under the bridge, Will. I'll still slam your head into the bar if you want, but I think there's more productive things we could do... like consume more alcohol."

"Two things.

Is it weird that part of me still DOES want you to slam my head into the bar? Like, I feel like I'm somehow getting off too easy, and there's another shoe left to drop?

And secondly, think the staff at the med center would let us in to see Sam if we're both sloshed to all hell and back?"

"One, know. Sometimes I just want to get into a fight myself. Two, probably not. I don't think either of us have enough money to get me sloshed though."

"That second one sounds like a challenge, but maybe it should wait until AFTER Sam's alright. I sort of abandoned her to the med center people and came straight here."

"I figured she wouldn't want me hovering. I have a tendency to hover and get growly when she's hurt."

"Less hurt, more...confused. She's never been three people, before. Not really."

"I've met one of the three people rattling around in her head before. Got her tipsy in the XUB. Pointed ears, seemed to be spoiling for a fight."

"Had you stuck around in Hollydale, you would have met the other two. Even with a thick paste of Lucy Ricardo on top, they were still them."

"She's certainly something special. I think we can both agree on that, even if we're not one hundred percent sure about the specifics."

"Well, one of us isn't sure. One day, maybe you'll get to see it. Or feel it."

"We'll see. I've had to buy into the existence of the fey, so I could see myself buying into the Morrigan potentially, given a bit more evidence."

"It's elementary, my dear werewolf."

"No, it's university," she says with a smirk. "Although we occasionally behave like elementary schoolers."

"See, if Conduit really wanted to trick us, she'd have set us back 20 years. Or a billion, depending on the individual. Things make more sense when you're a kid.

Or she'd have cast me as the kid for you and Sam or something. She really didn't do her homework."

Tereza mulls that over, "That leads to the question... where did she get her information?"

"I'm not sure I follow, but I have had five pints, so that might just be me," Will blinked, confused.

"Just something to chase when we're not attempting to get drunk," she says, draining the remains of her current drink. "Probably best to not think too hard on it now."