Silver and Gold (Wilbur Soot)

19: Neutral Ground

February 22

Home had never felt so unfamiliar.

There was something missing when Luna stepped into her apartment. The cats were there to greet her; as usual, they were a whirl of energy and sharp claws and rambunctious, unplanned movement. She bent down to say hello, patting each of their heads before they raced off into the house.

Meticulously, Luna checked all around the apartment, looking for the source of discomfort. Everything was just as she left it, save for a note that Link had left her telling her about how Minni and Deb had been. Her living room was cozy as always, and the kitchen was clean and airy. The bedroom was warm and comforting, but not comforting enough to abate the feeling in her chest. It wasn't until she sat down at her vanity and looked down at the picture framed there that she realized she was missing Will.

She missed everything about him. His very presence had become an expectation, a dependency she had not expected to gain so fast. She missed his bright smile and adorable high laughter, she missed his constant humming and the expression on his face whenever he talked about something serious. She missed the feeling of his elbow looped through hers, missed the feeling of soft yellow wool against her pale shoulders when he put his arm around her, missed the sound of his footsteps over her head in the cottage, missed making dinner with her family and him all together, missed 'her family' and 'him' feeling more like one group and less like two separate ones.

Luna missed hearing his voice, and she sighed, meeting her own eyes in the mirror. She sat a little straighter as if her own reflection was judging her, and perhaps it was.

Just call him, Mirror-Luna suggested simply.

"I can't very well do that," Luna answered with a huff. It wasn't often that Luna sat down and had a conversation with herself- in fact, she didn't know if she'd ever done such a thing. But no one else was around, and no one else would get it. Besides, who better to understand her plight than herself?

And why not? Together, the two girls tossed their heads.

"I can't just... call him," Luna tried to reason, but the withering look her reflection gave her was telling enough. She could just call him and solve the problem, but something just as strong as her urge to call him was keeping her from clicking his number, lodged comfortably on her speed-dial menu. She didn't want to seem like she couldn't live without Will- Luna didn't want to imagine how that conversation would go.

"Hey, Will," She'd say, and he would reply,

"Hi, Luna, what can I do for you?" And Luna would have absolutely no idea how to respond, because she didn't know how to say 'you can be here for me' and not sound odd.

"Oh, nothing really," She would say with a nervous laugh, and there would be a second-long awkward pause before and after her statement.

"So... why'd you call, then?" Will would ask, not unkindly, but the thought of having to answer that question was enough to put the whole idea out of Luna's head.

"See?" She said to her reflection. "I can't call him. He'll think I'm ridiculous." Another deep sigh flew through Luna.

As if he doesn't already? Mirror-Luna teased, and Luna gave her a tired look.

"Don't patronise me," She admonished her reflection.

I'm serious, Mirror-Luna said, and she looked it. Since when did you care that much about one person's opinion of you?

"I care when that person is Will," Luna shot back, feeling the bite in her voice. She nearly reeled back at herself, and Mirror-Luna looked just as surprised as she was.