“I imagined you as blonde…” I trail off, and Harrison laughs. 

“Blonde?” He asks, tilting his head. I nod. 

“My arm’s bleeding, and I’m really confused,” I tell him, and he nods, pulling me over to the kitchen counter, then reaching up into a cupboard for some bandaids. 

“You remember the explosion, right?” He asks. I think for a moment. 

“Is my family okay?” I ask. Harrison nods. 

“They’re at another safe house, while you’re recovering here,” He answers, peeling off the bandaid wrapper, and taking my arm in his hand. “You’ve been asleep for about two months, I had you in a coma for your health while your broken rib healed.” I nod, as he lifts up the corner of my shirt to show a scar on my right rib, a pretty big one. 

“I’m so hungry,” I mumble, and he nods, going back to the vegetables. 

“I’ll just make lunch for two instead of one, then, and we can take a walk on the beach after,” He says, and I nod slowly. My stomach grumbles, and Harrison laughs to himself, chopping some bell peppers. “You can come eat these peppers, I made some dip.” He sets a little bowl on the bar, and a plate of fresh peppers. “I have steak and cheese sandwiches on their way. Do you want onions and mushrooms in yours?” He asks, lighting the stove, and setting a griddle on top. 

“Just onions,” I answer, moving to sit on one of the bar stools. Harrison nods, and gestures to the peppers in front of me. 

“You should eat,” He says. I nod, picking up the pepper. “I wouldn’t poison you, though I have put stuff in your food before.” I tilt my head. 

“What?” I ask. Harrison laughs. 

“That’s how I spoke in your head before, and I activated your powers, and put you in the coma. There’s a ton of tiny robots I made, and I snuck them into your food once I found out they put a Magnet as a champion.” I nod. “They’re gone now, I had them removed after you healed fully last week,” He explains. 

“Oh, wow,” I mutter, and eat a slice of pepper with the dip, chewing slowly. “Does my family know I’m safe?” I ask. 

“They know you’re healing, and learning to use your powers, but they’re not allowed to know your location. For safety reasons,” He explains, putting some butter on the griddle. I nod, and continue to eat. “It’s important that you don’t leave this house without me with you. If someone loyal to Queen Angel sees you, it would take minutes for her to find you and kill you here,” Harrison explains, his eyes serious. I nod. “It’s a pretty small town in Fire, though, so I doubt there’s much danger. This is just protocol.” 

“Do you cook a lot?” I ask, picking up another pepper. 

“Yeah, I like making things taste amazing. I could never stand the rations you grew up with,” Harrison mutters. 

He puts a bunch of thinly sliced raw steak onto the griddle, making it hiss. After a second, he adds some onions, then splits the piles into two sections, adding mushrooms to one. The seasoning packets go on next. I bounce my knee up and down, as he cooks with his back to me. I see his head turn, and his yellowish eyes flick over to mine. 

“What’s got you anxious?” He asks, turning all the way. I stare at him. “You bounce your leg when you’re anxious,” He adds quietly. 

“Yeah,” I mumble, then look down at my leg. He can’t see it, it’s blocked by the kitchen island. “How-” 

“The chair’s creaking, kind of quiet. I have great hearing,” He explains, then continues moving the meat and vegetables around. “Are you okay?” He asks. I nod. 

“Maybe I’m just hungry,” I answer. Harrison nods. 

“These cook fast, so I’ll fix that soon,” He tells me, smiling. I nod, and take another bite of pepper. 

“It smells so good,” I comment, and he chuckles. 

“I’ll have to spoil you, huh?” He asks, glancing back at me as he pulls a plastic container of white cheese from the nearby fridge, setting it by his griddle. “Do you see any bread? Small loaves, I set them somewhere…” He paces, and I glance around before pointing next to the fruit basket. “Right, thanks.” 

Harrison smiles at me and grabs the bread, walking to the griddle again. I start to bounce my leg again, then quickly stop, holding it down with my hand. 

Harrison puts cheese on top of the rectangular piles of meat and vegetables on the griddle, then lets it melt. He puts a sub sandwich bun inside-down on top of the filling, then scoops it all inside and folds it. He puts it onto a plate, then sets it in front of me, smiling. 

“I’m going to cry, that looks so yummy,” I mumble, as he makes his sandwich, and comes to sit next to me. He smiles, and squeezes my hand. 

“Oh! I forgot to turn off the griddle, I’m so clumsy,” He laughs, halfway into us eating the wonderful sandwiches. “One of these days I’ll accidentally burn the house down.” He turns off the griddle, then turns, and smiles at me. “You’re bouncing your leg again,” He tells me, walking over, with his arms folded. I freeze. “Livvie, you don’t have any reason to be anxious, everything is fine.” He puts his hand on top of mine. 

“Okay,” I mumble, looking down. 

“Just breathe,” He says, and I take a couple deep breaths. “There are some clothes in your room if you need to change. I’ll be out on the back porch after lunch,” Harrison tells me, squeezing my hand, and going back to his seat, getting some dip and peppers on his own plate. 

Once I finish my food, I wave to Harrison and go over to my room, him watching me as I walk off. 

“Everything’s foggy,” I tell Harrison, as we walk on the beach. He nods. 

“You hit your head pretty hard. I was guessing there’d be some amnesia.” He kicks a rock into the waves. I look up at the gray sky, clouds swirling. 

“Would someone throne-loyal see me out here?” I ask, looking at the seaside village not far off behind the house we left. 

“Maybe. I know a nice rocky cove that’s a little too dangerous for most people, so nobody goes there, especially not with a storm brewing,” Harrison says, pointing ahead. I furrow my brows. 

“So, is it safe for me? I’m pretty clumsy, as you know,” I ask, as we keep walking on the sand. I’m wearing a thin yellow dress with the new corset and sandals from my closet. 

“I’ll protect you,” Harrison promises, his hand behind my back as I climb onto a rock, my skirt held up by my hand. “There’s a secret entrance here.” 

He pushes aside some bushes and puts his arm around my waist as he pulls me through a small gap in the rock over to a small puzzle piece of shore that has the softest sand ever. I sit down right at the edge of the wet sand and dry, looking up at the sky. 

“It’s winter, huh?” I ask, and Harrison nods. “It’s warm,” I comment. 

“We’re down south, and there are active volcanoes all over Fire Division,” He explains, sitting next to me. “I’d hate to see how humid it is in summer here,” Harrison tells me, shaking his head, and looking over at me. I nod. “We’ll probably move before then. You’ll have your powers mastered.” 

“Where are we going?” I ask him. 

“Probably the capital. I’ll see what the revolution thinks about it,” Harrison explains, then kicks some wet sand onto my skirt, smirking. My jaw drops and I get up, splashing seawater at him, with a laugh. 

Within a few minutes, we’re both completely soaked, sitting on the sand. Our clothes stick tightly to our skin, sand coating our arms. 

“You’ve got no idea how long I’ve waited to see you smiling like that,” Harrison tells me, grinning as rain starts to pour on us, from the clouds above. I chuckle, and pull off my wet shoes and socks, setting them on the dry sand, and pulling my knees to my chest. 

Harrison pulls off his shoes as well, and scoots close to me, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. “I feel like you’re going to ambush me, with all this,” I say, gesturing to him. 

Harrison chuckles, and puts one of his arms behind my back, planting it on the ground by my furthest hand. I look over at him, our faces pretty close. I bite the inside of my cheek, flushing a bit as he smiles at me, and feel a handful of wet sand get dropped onto my lap. I roll my eyes and shove Harrison, laughing. 

“You’re so annoying,” I tell him, sitting up straight. He laughs, lying on his back, then watches me. “Do I still have my armor? The stuff you made me?” I ask, shivering as the cold of the rain and seawater starts to soak into my skin. 

“I couldn’t find it in the rubble, but we can make new stuff,” Harrison answers, then pulls off his jacket, and offers it to me. 

“I’ll get sand on it,” I tell him, chuckling. 

“I don’t care. It’s not dry cleaning,” He says, and I put my arms through the sleeves. Harrison reaches over and zips the jacket up, then smiles at me. 

“It’s not very flattering,” I comment, after a bit. Harrison chuckles. 

“I like it more on you than on me,” He says, smiling. A larger wave splashes on us, and I yelp, coughing as I scramble back. Harrison gets up, and offers me his hand, laughing. I push my blonde hair out of my eyes, and get up, him leading me towards the way out of the cove. 

We get to the back door of the house, the way into the kitchen, and I pause as he opens it for me. 

“Something wrong?” He asks. 

“I don’t want to get the sand all over the floor,” I tell him, stepping back from the door, and holding my boots in my arms. Harrison chuckles, and steps in, sandy as well. 

“It’s fine, Olive,” He tells me, stepping in. I look at my sandy feet and my dripping skirt. 

“I’ll clean it all up,” I promise, stepping onto the hardwood on the inside. Harrison shakes his head. 

“Olive, I’ll do it,” He says, reaching for my hand, and pulling me inside. “It’s a quick clean.” I sigh. 

“You’ve been nursing me back to health, and feeding me, I should do some chores,” I say, and walk over to the kitchen. “Where’s your broom?” I ask, and Harrison laughs. 

“Olive, I’ll do it,” He repeats. 

“No,” I tell him. Harrison raises an eyebrow. “Where’s your broom?” 

“It’s in the closet over there. I’m going to build a fire,” He relents, smiling, and squeezing my hand gently as he walks into the living room. “Do you like reading?” He asks, as he grabs some wood from beside the fireplace, and starts to put it in. 

“I guess,” I answer, grabbing the broom from the closet, and walking over, as Harrison tends to the fire, lighting it quickly. As soon as I start sweeping, he stands up, brushing soot from his hands. He quickly picks me up, kicking the broom out of my hand, and I yelp. “You little-” I struggle as he sets me on the couch, and picks up the broomstick. “Harrison…” 

“You’ve worked your whole life, Olive,” He tells me, then takes my hand, and kisses it quickly before going to work. I fold my arms, but my face heats up anyway.