When he arrived at the base of the tree, he bounded up the stairs immediately, two steps at a time, and burst into the front door without so much as a cursory knock. “Muffin! I’m sorry! I should have asked!” He traipsed right on through to look in every room, every corner and nook… But when he did not find Mart, he stopped in his tracks and looked about himself, the silent home. “Please don’t be mad at me… I know I went too far. Can you at least talk to me?” A minute more of searching, and he leaned against a doorframe. There was another place! He slipped out of the Nest, closing the door behind him, and slipped to the place he knew led to their little cottage, hidden away and warm and safe. It was a cosy place to hide away! Again, he came in the door with apologies. “Mart! Come out! I wanna say sorry! I wasn’t thinking! I just got a little carried away, and…” Strangely, he knew this place was empty. Devoid of all but him, a unicorn outside, and a sleepy chimera pup that lifted two of its three heads to look blearily at the acrobat and yawn.
The last simply opened one eye, and Morgan felt an accusation there. A demand for quiet. Dragon heads did that. He backed out of the place, and paced on the front porch, rubbing his hands on the sides of his face. “Shit, shit, shit…” He pulled out his phone, and scrolled through until he found the Moon Elf’s number. Tapping quickly, he sent a text.
“I’m sorry.
”And then he waited. And waited. Finally, a reply pinged his phone, but the notification was not necessary, for he was already staring at the screen as he paced back and forth. His steps stilled, and he grimaced. “You went to your brother’s?” Oh, boy. Oh boy. It was the last thing he needed. For all the banter and lighthearted exchanges, Morgan was absolutely terrified of Raz. He definitely seemed to be the type that had no problem at all disappearing anyone that hurt his brother. Even if it was just scandalizing him. The acrobat leaned against a column between railings, and groaned as he slid down to sitting on the floor, covering his face. The screen of his phone was cold against his cheek, but he barely felt it. He rocked back and forth for a moment, then let loose a long, deep sigh. There could be a way to fix this. But he’d need to work fast.
Some time later, after a trip to approximately two bodegas and a minimart, he found himself standing in front of the door to the tiny house, knocking lightly on the door. There was no answer for a moment, so he tried again. Maybe they had the volume on the TV up. It wasn’t long until he heard footsteps, and the door jerked open. Morgan’s head tipped up, and he gave a meek smile to the stern face of Mart’s brother staring him down. “Is Mart here?” He held up a little red mesh bag filled with small round cheeses. “I came here to--” The bag was snatched out of his hand, and before he could finish his sentence, the door shut in his face. “Oh…” He took a step back, and kicked at the ground gently, hands clasping behind his back. Was that a no? Morgan’s cheeks puffed, and tears gathered in his eyes. Fists balled up, and he took a deep breath, lifting one to knock again, when the door opened again, wide enough he could see into the home, where Mart was sitting on a couch, curled up and wrapped in a blanket, a mug of something hot held in one hand, and one other the cheese rounds in the other. All that bluster left Morgan immediately.
Really, he didn’t know whether to feel bad about having been terrible to Mart, or grateful his offering had been accepted. He ended up somewhere in between, when he was allowed in to join the Moon Elf on the couch. Under strict supervision. Was this how those boyfriends in movies felt? Morgan sat stiffly, hands clearly in his lap and kept to himself… It would take him some time to relax enough to finally apologize quietly to Mart…
Nearly an entire episode of The Masked Singer.