The Lost Girl, part twenty-two

When Chris finally got out of the shower, he found Morri sitting next to Elyssa on the love seat. He tilted his head, and she said: "Peter asked me to come join you for a while."

Chris shrugged. "How are you with casual nudity?" He knew Elyssa wouldn't care, but he didn't really know Morri. 

"Completely in favor," she said. "Bring it on, wolf-boy." Her grin was predatory.

He sniffed in amusement, grinned, and dropped his towel. His bag was still on the bed; he fished out a fresh set of clothes and pulled them on. When he turned back, Morri was still grinning and had raised an eyebrow. "Not bad," she said. "I was hoping you were going to stay like that. Not planning to make a move?"

Chris shook his head. "I'm not ready for that," he said honestly. 

"Is he always like this?" she asked, looking at Elyssa, who shrugged. 

"For as long as I've known him," Elyssa confirmed.

Morri frowned. "Wait a minute, aren't the two of you...? I'm so sorry."

Chris hesitated and Elyssa shook her head. "No, you're not being rude. We're not really a thing, we just... cover for each so we don't have to explain to anybody else."

Morri took a moment to think about that. "That could be handy." She looked at Chris again. "Any particular--" She cut herself off, cleared her throat. "Would it be an intrusion to ask why you aren't interested?"

Chris found a chair and sat down. "Pettibone," he said simply. 

"Pettibone?" asked Morri, raising an eyebrow. "You were...?" 

Elyssa nodded.

"Both of you?"

Chris nodded. 

"Well," said Morri after a moment, "you must've been on the right side of things if the Ministry let you in after that. Was it as bad as they say?"

"Worse," said Chris, wrestling with the realization that he both did and didn't want to talk about it. Elyssa nodded and met his eyes, then looked away. 

"Okay," said Morri. "Yes. Let's... um..." She fumbled for the remote on the end table. "Maybe a movie?"

The TV on the wall was more than large enough for all three of them to watch, and after a bit of scrolling and discussion they settled on Noises Off, a movie amusing enough to coax some laughter even out of Chris. He was still sitting in the padded chair when the movie ended, but he was so much more relaxed. 

It felt strange to simply sit and enjoy himself. That probably wasn't a very good sign, he thought, but he'd enjoy it while it lasted. 

Morri stood up from the love seat reluctantly. "I'm heading back to my room," she said. Then she hesitated, looked around the room, and said, "Be discreet while we're here."

So Morri's worried that House Hargrave is watching us too. Chris wasn't surprised. Elyssa nodded. "I should go too," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Chris swallowed. "Thank you," he said. "This was... I needed this."