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Auger approached him that evening in the library. Omen was doing his homework, trying to catch up on the missed assignments in maths. He was trying not to think about Aurnia’s rejection.
“Hey,” said Auger and sat down at the table next to him. “I heard about the thing with Aurnia.”
Omen didn’t even raise his head. “People are talking about it?”
“Axelia told me,” said Auger quietly. Omen hummed.
“That’s sucks man. After what happened with Axelia no less. But you’ll find someone eventually, right?”
Omen shrugged, that’s what everyone always said. “I guess I just thought I had a chance with her, you know? But- but I also think I kinda expected it to happen. Or not to happen.” He stared at the numbers and realized he had no idea what he’d been doing for the past 20 minutes. “And I’m over it now.”
Auger was quiet for a bit. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, can we not talk about it? I have to figure this maths stuff out that I missed.”
“Oh, sure. Sorry,” said Auger but didn’t make a move to go. “Do you want some help with that?” he asked after a bit. “I know you’ve been busy lately with volunteering and helping the Leibniz people which is really cool of course. I always thought maths was easier when someone else explained it to you.”
Finally, Omen looked at him. There was no pity in Auger’s eyes. There never was. But he was still hesitant to take the offer. To be honest, he didn’t really like taking help from his brother, especially regarding school. Even though he sometimes, or more like often, could really need the help.
“You could also tell me what happened when you were babysitting Valkyrie Cain’s little sister. Because looking at that bruise you got there, it sure was a hell of a lot more than just kids games.” And when Omen continued to stare at him, he said: “Never told me.”
“It’s nothing,” said Omen and shrugged. Auger probably went through far crazier things on a weekly basis. “And also, why is everyone telling you stuff about me?”
Auger gave a crooked grin. “Well, you never tell me what goes on in your life.”
Omen held back a snort. Until recently there wasn’t much to tell that wouldn’t have bored his brother into oblivion anyway. “I met that King of the Darklands guy you’re supposed to fight against,” he blurred out suddenly. Temper had told him about Caisson on their way out of that crazy dude’s house.
Auger’s eyebrows rose up and he looked slightly panicked. “What?” he whispered and leant forward.
Omen shrugged again, weakly this time. “He was unconscious. And really heavy. We had to drag him by his ankles through mountains. It really sucked to be honest. I was -”
“Wait,” interrupted Auger. “Wait a second. Who’s ‘we’? And why were you in the mountains? I thought you were babysitting?”
“I was,” said Omen.
“Maybe you should start from the beginning.”
“Yeah, okay,” said Omen, a bit unsure about this situation. He hadn’t told Auger about his first adventure with Valkyrie and Skulduggery but he couldn’t really backtrack now.
Omen put down the pen he was still holding. He was so gonna get him back on that offer to help him with maths later.
“I was babysitting Valkyrie’s sister when that Cada-something guy kidnapped her. Valkyrie went after him, and I was there too, I guess. And that guy had this really weird house that was bigger on the inside. We found Alice, that’s her sister by the way, and then Cada-guy teleports me to Abyssinia, the Princess of the Darklands, who was carrying her son, who will be the Kind of the Darklands? And then Temper Fray and I carried him out while Skulduggery was searching for Valkyrie and Abyssinia and the guy fought, I think.”
Omen stopped. That all had sounded way cooler in his head, even though it hadn’t been that cool at all.
Auger’s eyes were glued to him, he looked incredulous, but Omer knew he believed him.
“Dude what the hell, this is crazy,” Auger laughed. “And I always thought you were the one with the normal life. You totally have to tell me that story again in detail.”
Omen picked his pen up and fiddled with it. “Yeah, sure. But not right now.”
“Okay, but what happened then with the King of the Darklands?”
“Abyssinia took him when they got back and everyone went home, Alice was saved too.”
Auger smiled softly at him. “How the fuck did you even manage to get into this.” It’s wasn’t a question but it was glazed with worry that had been hidden before.
Omen ignored it. He held out the pen. “Help me with this weird equations?”
He took the pen without tearing his eyes from Omen. Omen didn’t like that look.
“What?” he asked.
“Tell me you’re not seeking this stuff out.”
“Maths?”
“No, the nearly getting killed stuff.”
“Oh,” said Omen. “No, I’m not. During those six or so hours I got nearly killed or was threatened to be killed so many times, it’s- It was not even fun. I thought I wanted those kinds of adventures, but they’re actually really crap. I used to be jealous of you, but now I don’t want that anymore.”
There was silence between them until Auger let out a small breath that nearly could be a laugh. “That’s funny, because I’m jealous of you.”
Omen didn’t know what to say. It reminded him of their talk in the Hospital Wing after Jonan’s attack when Auger called him the Lucky One. “Because of that normal life thing, or?”
God, of course because of that. There was nothing else for Auger to be jealous of about him.
“Yeah, mostly,” said Auger and pulled Omen’s math problems closer to himself. “But also… You’re just so carefree and you’re really brave, and -”
“Brave? Are you kidding me?”
“What?” Auger glanced at him. “Of course you’re brave. And I mean not only that you manage to live through something where people try to kill you without having been trained for that your entire life. But also how you asked out Aurnia and Axelia, even though you knew she would turn you down.”
“I guess…” Omen said without any real conviction. “But you constantly flirt with girls.”
Auger looked at him sheepish. “They flirt with me. I never know what to say. I’ve never even had a girlfriend before.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah,” Auger grinned shyly.
After Auger showed him how to solve his math problems and Omen actually understood it they parted ways. During the next couple of days they gradually spend more time together. Not by a lot, but they would silently do their homework next to each other, or Auger would sit with Omen in the common room when he needed a break from his hectic life and they would talk.
Omen thought it came from the mutual understand they had now. About their lives and their place in this life and where they wanted to be in the future. He still had that hidden wish for adventure, but after the Alice fiasco it eased down to a low simmer that got satisfied by whatever Auger told him he was up to at the time. He didn’t long to be a part of this anymore and he was fine with that.
It was Saturday and Auger’s roommates went home for the weekend. They were both in his room, lying next to each other in his bed and Omen had just finished his retelling of the babysitting incident. Auger was staring up, trying to process everything.
“Okay…” he said slowly. “This sounded even wilder in detail… Man, you’re so glad you came out of there alive.”
Omen was fiddling with the blanket under him. “Yeah, but you do stuff like that daily.”
He felt the shift as Auger turned onto his side. “Maybe, but you know I have this invincible thing going on, at least until the prophecy. I just wish it would finally be over.”
Omen regarded him quietly and wondered why he ever wanted to swap places with his brother, why he ever wanted to be him. A thought struck him. “What about Kase and Mahala? They’re always with you and yet you never asked me for help.”
He could understand asking Never. A teleporter was always useful. Until now Omen never would have considered asking, to afraid of what the answer would be. But not anymore, not after the last few days, or months maybe, maybe this started after he first got a taste for how this kind of adventure could be.
“You know I worry about you,” Auger said and his smile was not quite happy.
“I do? You do?”
“God, yeah,” Auger placed a hand across Omen’s chest on his shoulder. “Man, way back when you told me Ispolin was the one who got you into the Hospital Wing, I swear I’m still waiting for the day when I can kick his ass for that.”
Omen snorted and turned onto his side, facing Auger. His face was so close now. “You don’t have to do that, but uh, thanks.”
“Hey, uh, Omen?” Auger whispered.
“Yeah?” He swallowed. His hand was still on his shoulder.
To Omen, it seemed out of nowhere, but maybe it wasn’t all that surprising after all. Auger leaned forward a tiny bit, until their mouths almost touched and Omen could feel his brother’s warm breath on his face. His heart sped up but he didn’t react when he felt Auger’s lips on his.
The time stood still and Omen couldn’t possibly say for how long the soft press against his lips stayed, but eventually Auger pulled back. Omen opened his eyes. He didn’t know when he’d closed them.
“Is- is that-?” asked Auger.
Omen watched as the blush spread across Auger’s cheeks and he nearly smiled. His expression was worried. This time though, it was a different kind of worry.
“Yeah,” he said and kissed him again.
Auger didn’t immediately relax against him, but when he did Omen reached up and placed a hand at the back of his neck and pulled him even closer.
His first kiss wasn’t magical like he’d imagined. But it wasn’t awkward like he had dreaded either. It simply felt right. It felt like it had been there, in reach, all along and only now was it that he finally saw it, felt it.
They broke the kiss after a while, both of them gasping for air and their eyes met. Auger laughed.
“I can’t believe you met the King of the Darklands before me,” he said and leant back in.