Raven claw Common room

He looked up at Bryn. "You were watching me?"

'Most of the time, yes.' he admitted, not seeing much point in hiding it. 'What else was i going to do apart from look out for you and my crumbling family?'

"I don't know... I just didn't think you'd...care."

'Of course I care! You're my boyfriend Teddy... or at least you were when i was alive the first time.' he corrected himself, his smile becoming sheepish at his assumption.

His heart rose and then fell just as quickly when Bryn said that he was Teddy's boyfriend. "Oh, I understand if you want to be with other people." He turned and walked back to the couch and sat down. It was foolish of him to hope that Bryn would be the same. Of course he had changed.

'I expected you to have moved on Teddy. I don't beleive me returning should hinder you if you want to see other people.' Bryn sighed, Teddy always jumped to conclusions...

'I don't think I could see anyone else, if you've found another then i'll accept being on my own until I die again.'

"I don't want anyone other than you. Did you not see that while you were watching me? I cried for months. I couldn't sleep, eat, or function while you were gone. It wouldn't have been long before I'd have ended my misery."

He stepped around the couch, perching beside Teddy and slipping an arm around his waist. His voice was low and hushed in the boy's ear. 'I never want you to be miserable like that again. Not while I'm here.'

He looked up at Bryn, at the face of the man he loved. "It's impossible for me to be that misserable while you're here."

'Then I won't go anywhere, i mean it this time. I've been given another chance at Life, i'm not going to squander it so freely.' he placed his lips on Teddy's cheek, being affectionate.

He wasn't satisfied with that peck to the cheek. He turned his head even more and kissed Bryn on the lips. "Promise?"

Warmth spread through his body, reminding him of the joys of simply being alive. His response came easy to him, wrapping a finger through Teddy's hair. 'I promise. This time I got an advantage too..'

He tilted his head to the side, closer to Bryn. "What advantage?"

'Wisdom, knowledge. I have an idea how precious life really is, what happens to our spirits in death.' Bryn gave Teddy another gentle kiss, smiling. 'And trust me, we shouldn't be afraid of death, i swear half the time we should be afraid for all the ones we leave behind.'

he ended his words of wisdom there, not wanting to be so heavy.

He thought about Bryn's words. His face lit up with curiousity. "Did you see Nicolae there?"

He nodded. 'Yup. I saw many people there actually.' Including Ellise, still as bitter as she was when alive. 'She still cares about you, she's probably watching us now y'know.'

He smiled. "I miss her. Everyday." He leaned his head against Bryn's chest. "But I'm glad you're back. We can't have everyone we love back, so we'll just have to wait till we die to see them again."

'You know, you can still talk to her everyday. She'll hear you, the dead hear everything. Like prayers, you will be listened to.' he beared in mind he should be more vague about death, if he revealed too much...

there are things humans simply aren't supposed to know.

He smiled. "I'm sure she knows how much I miss her." He thought about his fight with the shadow-Nicolae in the cemetery. It was so hard for him to do that.

He read the expression carefully on Teddy's face. 'You were very brave, by the way.'

He blushed and shook his head. "I was a coward. I hid and cried."

'Don't put yourself down, I wouldn't have been able to do it had the shadow been you..'

"If Crest and Amaya hadn't been there to tell me she wasn't real, I wouldn't have been able to." He shook his head. "I'm a coward. That's why I'm in Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor."

'I'm glad May and Crest managed to get through to you. Life's not about being outwardly brave all the time, it's having the courage when you need it...'

"Wow, you've gotten insightful since you left." He laughed.

He sat up straight suddenly. "Did you see what happened to Tide?"

OOC Don't tell him who did it please.