It was Happy and Ciri. Basically it was Ciri and Happy was the chauffer here.
"Hey," Ciri greeted. "Got room for us two?"
"You're always welcome. Come in."
He stepped aside, letting the two enter. Ciri immediately wandered into the living room like she owned the place, eyeing Fenrir sprawled out on the floor and Elie curled up in a sunbeam. Happy gave Liam a nod as he followed behind. Liam after coming back here could feel his connection to Ciri stronger than ever and now knew that it was a very mutual attraction.
In fact, it was because of his own self discipline that he was able to avoid her. It was like the story of Peter Parker and Silk, of how they weren't able to get away from each other and had to be together to satiate their hunger. Liam felt the same.
"Smells amazing in here," Ciri said, sniffing the air. "Did you actually cook?"
"I did," Liam replied proudly. "Will whip up something for you both." Ciri was happy to have Liam around and she even helped him in cooking. While Happy was busy playing with Elie.
Fenrir was too huge and he would often be a bit intimidated by this strong furry creature. Besides, he had read stories about the wolf named Fenrir and it was enough for him to know that a wolf named Fenrir didn't always bring prosperity around.
How was Liam able to name a huge husky with that name, he didn't understand. While the food was being cooked Liam spoke to her about the new staff that he had upgraded and Ciri was interested in that.
"So what are the others up to?" Liam asked as he was a bit surprised that Ciri was allowed to go out alone after the fear of Geralt. Ciri rolled her eyes dramatically when asked that.
"Vesemir's out buying some weird instruments. Said he wanted to try his hand at modern experimentation. I think he got inspired by Tony's lab."
"He made me stop at a music store first. I think he misunderstood the word 'instrument.' Bought a banjo." Happy had joined in and replied.
"I—honestly, that sounds like him." Liam sighed. He was a man out of his depths and thus was fumbling. Steve must be very happy seeing this and found a friend in Vesemir for sure.
"Triss, Keira, and Natasha went to check out SHIELD's HQ. Something about gathering intel or establishing diplomatic ties or whatever. I think they just wanted to mess around." Ciri continued.
"And Geralt?" Liam asked.
"Busy. With Yennefer." Ciri gave a deadpan look.
"Ah." Liam got the hint.
"They said not to expect them back until evening. I took that as my cue to leave." She kicked her feet up on the coffee table, stealing one of Liam's grapes from a bowl and popping it in her mouth.
"Where's Avallac'h?" Liam asked.
"He is still busy with JARVIS, and Tony had to come and stop him from drowning JARVIS with more useless questions." Ciri said.
"Must have been really hard for him to see humanity possessing so much strength and that with with no interference of magic. Well, almost no interference." Liam said.
"Magic had shaped his world since he was born, so seeing a world without it and thriving must have been a punch to the guts." Ciri said.
"You know," she said, "I could get used to this. A man who fights monsters and cooks."
"I don't fight monsters. That's not my hobby, nor do I like it." Liam said.
"Haa.. Geralt said that your swordsmanship is top notch. I might like to try it sometime." Ciri replied and Liam almost coughed when Ciri said that, as he was sure that Ciri looked somewhere else when Ciri meant swords. Happy, mid-chew on a snack Elie had nudged his way, coughed and quickly stood.
"You know what? I'm gonna, uh… go check out the skyline. Maybe take the long way back to Stark Tower. You two have- fun."
"You sure?" Liam asked.
"Yeah." Happy said. He might be dumb, but he wasn't that dumb not to see the attraction that they had for each other. And also happy that Liam had found someone and wasn't as stoic as before. The silence that followed was strangely cozy. Liam brought over the plates, setting one in front of Ciri and the other for himself.
"Can I ask you something personal?" Ciri asked as they sat and began to eat.
"Go ahead." Liam said while taking a sip from his glass.
"Have you ever… you know, been with someone? Had someone you loved?"
"No," he said honestly. "Never really had the time. And besides, my lifespan is very long. Nobody likes to see their close ones die while you remain young. That is a very bad combination." Liam replied.
"Is that the reason why you don't have friends?" Ciri replied.
"I have friends. Chris and Bonnie." Liam defended himself, but as soon as he said that he knew that he fell into the trap. He only came out with two names outside his group. Even Geralt had more friends outside his group. Liam felt embarrassed.
"What about you?" Liam asked gently, turning the question to her.
"There was someone. In Skellige. A young man. He… he fancied me." She smiled faintly. "He was kind. Brave, too. Tried to help me when things got dangerous. But we got separated when I had to run. The Wild Hunt wasn't far behind. I don't know what happened to him."
Liam's grip on his fork tightened for just a second—but he masked it well. He knew what had happened to that man. Killed during the chaos. Torn apart by the Wild Hunt. The villagers had turned on his body afterward, spitting on the corpse for harboring a "witch."
But Liam didn't say that. He wouldn't taint that memory for her. Not today.
"I'm sorry," he said gently.
"It was a long time ago. Besides he just liked me but while I was on the run, you have very less time for emotions."
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