Silver and Gold (Wilbur Soot)

20: Flock Apart

February 27

Almost a week had passed, and Luna and Will had hardly spoken.

It was as if they'd regressed back into their previous lives, the lives they lived before they had met. Their old routines became new again; Luna fell back into her introversion with unsure ease, going for walks to the park on off days for reasons she couldn't quite understand and keeping almost entirely to herself. Other than the occasional check-ups on her close friends and family, Luna Silver had hardly shown her face to the outside world at all. Minni and Deb saw more of their beloved human than ever before. The only thing she did that could be considered social was spending more time streaming. More than ever, she'd had a desire to play - not because it was social, but because it was solitary. Her stream already had a minimal-talking policy, so she only had to spend about a minute introducing the theme of that stream before she got to swallow herself up in blissful silence, losing her whole being in music and not thinking about anything else.

For Will, falling back into his pre-Luna routine meant becoming more extroverted. It wasn't that Luna made him more introverted, but the time they spent together was quieter and more intimate. Will spent more time in that week-ish with Tommy than he'd care to admit. He loved the lad, but in his time spent with Luna, he'd almost forgotten how loud - and even what - a yell really was. He threw himself into streaming, collaborating, and his work. His friends were not at all complaining at his triumphant resurgence. Some of them took the time to make sure he was okay, though; Niki and Techno in particular noticed that he seemed almost frenzied in how largely he'd returned to streaming. It wasn't as if he'd totally gone away before this, but the two of them realized that there was something behind his sudden interest in work. Will assured them that he had no ulterior motives.

Neither of these routines were bad, they simply... were. But they were separate. Luna was just Luna, no Will. And he, just Will with no Luna. It was odd. Day by day, they both retreated further into their corners and away from one another without really knowing why. They still conversed each day, but no longer did they indulge in long, thoughtful conversations or call one another just because they could. It was as if their trip to Scotland had reset them - pushed them forward but pulled them back, causing them to walk with unsure footing though the ground beneath the two had never been more solid.

Luna sat, pondering these things in her heart, trying to work up the nerve to do something. Her phone was in front of her on the coffee table, Will's contact open, his bright picture smiling up at the ceiling.

Like a flash of deja vu, she remembered her conversation with herself last week. How the version of herself trapped in the mirror reflected all of her emotions back at her, how Mirror-Luna made her feelings unmistakable. Before she could call, Luna had to know. She had to know why she was feeling this way, so she did what she had to do.

Luna stood from her seat in the living room and walked quietly down the hall and into her room. The vanity sat against the wall opposite her. It looked incredibly inconspicuous, but Luna knew better. Sitting in front of it would expose everything she needed to hear, whether she liked it or not.

And so she sat.

"We meet again," Luna said, and she could already feel Mirror-Luna smirking.

Open your eyes, Mirror-Luna suggested. Though the request was serious, Luna could hear the sarcasm in her tone, like her mirrored self couldn't believe she had to ask. Obliging, Luna opened her eyes. She faced the vanity, faced herself, faced the music. It was time to figure it out.

"Why?" Luna asked.

You're afraid, Mirror-Luna responded, and Luna bit down on the inside of her cheek. It almost didn't' look like Mirror-Luna had done the same, though the two girls were the same person. The Luna in the mirror seemed more confident, like she knew what she was talking about. It was why Luna was going to her for advice in the first place.

"I don't fear Will," Luna tried to counter.

No, her reflection agreed, you don't. Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Then what do I fear?" Mirror-Luna smirked.

Besides losing your desire to be creative or make music? Luna gave her reflection a look, but she barrelled on.

What do you fear? Oh, just dissatisfaction with your life, being left behind in life, or by Link and Dez-

"Okay!" Luna interrupted her reflection. "I... know all of that already. Tell me something I don't know. That's why I'm here." Mirror-Luna held up her hands.

Don't shoot the messenger. As much as you want to, don't forget that I am you. I'm only telling you what you already know.

"I know," Luna sighed, and all the fight left her. "It's just easier to work out my feelings like this, by making it seem like I can talk to another person."

If you need another person, why don't you call Dez or Link? Or your mom? Mirror-Luna suggested, but Luna shook her head.

"They don't understand." Mirror-Luna laughed.

Dez is literally getting married and changing her last name to be with the one she loves, she reminded Luna. I think she has an idea of what love is like.

"But she has no idea what my love is like, and how could she?" Luna stood abruptly, suddenly feeling an array of emotions.

What do you mean? She could feel Mirror-Luna ask.

"How could Dez understand? How could anyone love Will as much as I do-?" Luna stopped short, sitting back down at her vanity.

That's how everyone feels about love, Mirror-Luna assured her. Look at me. Luna looked up.

Dez isn't supposed to understand what it's like to love Will, but she does know what love is like. And now, so do you. But remember what this is really about.

"And what's that?" Luna asked. "Tell me. What is this about?"

You're afraid to talk to Will because you've discovered you love him and now you don't know how to interact. Mirror-Luna understood.

"You've got it bang-on, as always," Luna sighed. "How do I interact with him?" She asked, but answered her own question.

"The wedding. Of course," She remembered. Luna hopped up, racing from her room to get back to her phone in the living room. This time, she didn't hesitate to press the call button and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" Will picked up after two rings, almost sounding like he didn't believe she was actually calling rather than texting him.

"Will, would you like to come to a wedding with me?" Luna rushed out, too excited for pleasantries. There was silence on the other end for a few moments.

"Sure, I'd love to," He agreed, and Luna just about leapt from the couch. It was that easy - she literally just had to pick up the phone and call. "When is it?"

"It's March eight, next week," She informed him. "It's Dez's wedding, my best friend." They chatted for a bit, working out the details. Even after what felt like ages, conversation between them flowed naturally again. Topics changed from wedding plans to how they had each been. They filled each other in on the aspects of their lives that the other had missed, realizing just how much time they typically spent together. It was odd for Luna to have to describe an entire chunk of her day to Will; she was so used to him being there for most of that. Will kept having to backtrack his stories to explain things, reminding himself that Luna hadn't been there for the start of those things.

Right then, silently and in each of their heads, both of them decided not to let something like that happen again. It had only been five days of near-radio silence in comparison to how much they used to talk, but it was five days in which they had missed out on each other's lives. Five days was far too many. Neither of them could imagine being apart for any longer than that.