There were no quiet corners left in the rooftop bar, but luckily, most people were too enamored with the fireworks to pay them much mind. Han Li stood, reclined against the wall in a corner of the terrace, where the railing met with concrete. Graham stood close to him, enough for Han Li to feel a soft warmth to be radiating off of the Saint. It almost made Graham seem human.

 

And yet, ever since that fateful night, Han Li couldn’t quite shake off a sense of unease. He understood only that he didn’t understand at all and Graham was a being that defied common sense. Or something like that.

 

It was just easier being confused because Han Li didn’t wish to sort out his feelings. Especially not after this man had wronged him so deeply on an emotional level. But Han Li, the fool, still didn’t have the heart in him to hate the man known as the Saint of Eternity.

 

So he did his best to seem nonchalant, arms crossed and eyes on Graham’s face, only not quite meeting the Saint’s eyes. “So, what do you want?”

 

“It is about the appointment tomorrow. I need to finalize your availability immediately before I attend the witch’s sabbath. Is 2:00pm is alright with you?” Graham’s voice was smooth as silk, his eyes calm. He was liken to a perfect mannequin; a model for a classical painting that depicted divine heroics.

 

Han Li blinked and unfolded his arms. He leaned in closer to ask, “The witch’s sabbath? Erm. 2:00pm’s fine with me.”

 

Graham nodded, “It is a state-sanctioned sabbath. Members of the NUM will be present to oversee the affair and ensure its moral and lawful integrity. It is a rare opportunity for authorized witches and supernatural beings to gather. Both your appointed artificer and diviner will present so I thought it proper to extend my greetings and finalize the arrangements.” He paused, an unreadable expression flashed across his countenance as he gazed upon Han Li. What was it that went on in that mind? Graham continued, “I had the intention of extending an invitation. But it seems that you are busy.”

 

Han Li bit his bottom lip. A witch’s sabbath sounded a lot more interesting than watching the Union Day parade and it was a perfect excuse to run away from his current predicament.

 

Only…it wasn’t at all! At least, it shouldn’t be.

 

Not when Han Li needed to stay away from the supernatural and not run towards it at the first opportunity. He blamed Graham’s presence for messing with his mind. That had to be it.

 

“Uh, yeah,” he agreed and shrugged, “I suppose so. Say, what do they do at a witch’s sabbath? A friend of mine just said they were for weird blood rituals and orgies.”

 

A sharp brow raised at Han Li’s question. Every bit of change in Graham’s visage was of interest to Han Li and he observed them with eager intent, unable to look away. “…The activities that unfold during a sabbath are of a varied range. But the Hunter’s Association does not authorize blood rituals under normal circumstances. On the matter of sexual overindulgence, that is of no concern of the Association.”

 

“…So you’re saying that sabbath orgies are totally a thing.”

 

“I am only implying that it is not forbidden.”

 

Han Li couldn’t help himself. “…So Grams, have you ever taken part in a witch sabbath orgy before?”

 

“…” Graham’s face was perfectly blank. He stood as still as a statue and didn’t even flinch. But Han Li did take notice of the longer pause. “Such information is of no importance.”

 

“Oh shit,” Han Li took a breath and straightened so suddenly that he whacked his head on the wall behind him. “You took part in witch sabbath orgies.” His eyes were wide, mind churning as it attempted to conjure all sorts of strange inappropriate images. Only, he couldn’t imagine Graham in the bedroom at all! The man was too… he was too… Han Li might have been short-circuiting. 

 

Finally, Graham sighed, his gaze lowered and what seemed to be a slight frown tugged at his lips. “I did not say that. But it is of no consequence. More importantly, I did not intend to take up too much of your time.”

 

The sharp reminder of the person that waited for him resurfaced. Han Li cursed at himself as guilt nagged at him, causing him to shift on his feet. His gaze flitted in Kevin’s direction, but the view was obscured by a large parasol that arched above the table in front of them. 

 

“Yeah…” He admitted with a lump in his throat, “I should probably go back.” And yet his feet remained planted, with no intentions of moving. 

 

“Very well. So long, I shall see you later.” Graham turned, with no intentions of prolonging their interaction but Han Li must have been a damned imbecile when he reached out, catching the edge of Graham’s arm. The Saint of Eternity stopped, a questioning look thrown over his shoulder in Han Li’s direction.

 

Han Li faltered, withdrew, and laughed with full nervousness as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was scrambling for words and likely should have thought them through a bit longer before blurting out, “Wait for me.”

 

…

 

It wasn’t because he wanted to go to the sabbath, Han Li reasoned as he slipped back into his seat opposite Kevin.

 

But the truth was, he had already let this go on for too long. 

 

He had taken a deep breath and already sent a message to Simone to hurry over ASAP. Like. As soon as fucking possible.

 

“Hey,” he smiled, but the word came out clipped.

 

“You’re back…!” Kevin chirped, unknowing to the weird mood that Han Li bore. “The parade…is going to start soon and uh, I ordered some snacks to eat. I hope it’s okay…”

 

“Kevin,” Han Li said, cutting him off from rambling.

 

“Yes…?”

 

The fireworks had quelled but people around them were in an uproar, chatting with festive cheer. Just rip it off like a band-aid. “Kev, you’re a great guy. I, uh,” Han Li stuttered but righted himself, “I hope we can remain good friends.”

 

Silence stretched along with awkwardness.

 

“Oh.”

 

Shit. What now? Kevin’s face seemed frozen until he blinked and looked aside, his eyes trailing down to the streets. He fell completely silent.

 

Shit, Han Li tried to think of something, anything. “I uh, called Simone to come here so…”

 

Kevin perked up, but he didn’t look at Han Li and instead searched the area with his eyes, pausing only when he could see through the glass wall that separated the terrace from indoors. “Is he waiting for you?”

 

Han Li leaned over his seat, craning to see behind him. Graham was at the bar, ordering alcohol as he waited. “Uh,” Han Li knew that honesty was probably the right thing in this situation. But it didn’t make the words any easier to say. “Yeah… There’s some business that came up and I have to go with him to…”

 

To what?

 

Have fun at some witch’s sabbath? To see if the witch orgies were real?

 

The thought left Han Li’s mouth bitter. He was a total fucking jackass. “I can stay if you like…I’ll just tell Graham I can’t go after all.”

 

“But you already told him that you would,” Kevin accused. 

 

What was Han Li supposed to do? Lie? “I don’t have to—”

 

“It’s fine. You can go.”

 

Tension grew thicker by the second. Kevin didn’t even meet his eyes and Han Li had overstayed his welcome. 

 

“Right,” he said, throat tight, “See you.” And left.

 

Han Li footed the bill, but he already knew that it wasn’t going to save him from seeming like a total dick. He only had himself to curse. Fuck.

 

Graham abandoned his spot at the bar, downing his whiskey in a single gulp. He joined Han Li while he handed over the tip to the waiter. “Are you ready to depart/”

 

“Yeah.” Han Li didn’t even look at him, storming toward the elevator with the desperate need for fresh air. He already harassed Simone to get her ass over so it should be fine, right?

 

He did everything that he could, right?

 

The elevator rang and soon he was out of the building. People were in mass on the streets, crowding toward the loud cacophony that rumbled down the streets. Giant floats of grand and absurd designs and people in costume danced atop and around them. Was that supposed to be Cai Meigui of the Sanlongyan? They couldn’t even get an eastern girl to play her.

 

Han Li might have laughed under different circumstances but instead, he was left feeling uneasy, disgruntled, like a cat whose fur was being petted the wrong way.

 

He was storming down the streets, trying to escape the crowds and the awful noise that was meant to be music, the Hunter’s Association flag was fluttering obnoxiously around every corner. A hand grabbed him roughly, yanking him back.

 

“What?” Han Li hissed, his agitation ripe as he narrowed his eyes towards Graham who had so rudely pulled him back.

 

“You’re going the wrong way.” Graham, stoic, monotone, calm, was the antithesis of Han Li and probably anything remotely human.

 

“Oh. I knew that.” Of course, there was no way for Han Li to know. He followed after Graham obediently.