Ginger

Some astronomers are dense as neutron stars.
(Originally posted .)
==Navigation==
CM/Astronomical Dawn: (Constants) | Dynamics | (New Routine | Seating) | Steps | (Identity) | Cheese | Sea-colour | Unknown Pleasures | (Chemist's | Angel Experiment | Youth) | Orbits | (Unchanged | Careful) | Horizons
==First Day==
===Dynamics===
"Ginger": One; originally posted as "First Day" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, “Disorder”); revised by "Dynamics". 
"Hey! Gottlieb! Wait up!" 
No one has asked Hermann to slow down in years. It surprises him so much he stumbles to a standstill, saved from falling only by using his cane to support most of his weight. Underneath his layers his wings twitch, seeking to help him regain his balance. Hermann rolls his shoulders to disguise the motion. He recognizes the voice with its distinctive accent calling to him and his heart stutters a bit. Instead of what he’s thinking ("Why does he want to talk to me? Why now? Is my hair alright?"), Hermann says "What do you want, Reid?" 
"You do know who I am! Rhys owes me five pounds. Lunch’s on me!" the other boy says as he jogs to Hermann’s side. 
"Get to your point before we’re both late for our next class," Hermann growls, defenses up. He doesn’t trust Edan Reid. Hermann has nothing personal against his tall classmate with the light hair and bright eyes, but he harbors suspicions of anyone who talks to him out of the blue. Especially when that person happens to be the subject of a long-standing, hopeless crush. 
"We can talk on the way," Edan says happily as he and Hermann begin moving down the hall toward another classroom off the long hallway. "I’m wondering if you’ll help me study. Solar dynamics is kicking my arse and you’ve got the best marks."
Hermann squints even more suspiciouslyat the other boy. "Yours are second-best." 
"I know," he says with an enormous grin. "That’s why I want to study with you. I need to learn all your tricks." 
"There aren’t any tricks." Hermann lets some exasperation creep into his tone. "I work hard." 
"Then we can work hard together." Hermann stops walking suddenly and Edan trips over his own feet trying to halt beside him. 
"If this is some sort of dare or a pity thing, you can kindly fuck off right now. I don’t have time for this," Hermann declares angrily. Nothing hurts quite the same way as teasing from one’s unrequited, Hermann knows. He has earned intimate knowledge of many types of physical and emotional pain over his sixteen years. 
Edan winces and looks hurt. "No, mate! I just want to study with you. Honest. Cross my heart," he says earnestly and makes the associated gesture. 
Hermann wants badly to believe him. He chews his lower lip through a brief internal debate. "Fine," he finally says. "We’ll talk about times and places after this lecture." 
"Brilliant!" Edan’s entire being seems to light up with enthusiasm. "Thanks, mate." He moves to clap Hermann on the back, but the smaller boy twists out of range and propels himself to a seat in the middle of the classroom. Edan remains in the aisle for a moment, his hand awkwardly in the air, before nodding to himself and taking his usual position at the back. 
Edan appears next to Hermann’s desk as Hermann gathers his notes and stuffs them in his backpack after the end of class. "Let’s talk about studying over lunch," Edan says and Hermann jumps. "I was serious before about treating you. There’s a brilliant Indian place across the street. Come with me." Hermann stares at him for a moment, checks his binding with a quick brush against his chest, and allows himself to follow Edan from the room. 
On the short walk through the crisp early winter air Hermann tries hard not to think about the implication of what he is doing and instead focuses on answering Edan’s questions and remembering to breathe normally. He feels like he is walking into a trap. 
True to his word, Edan pays for their orders at the restaurant counter and maneuvers them to a small table near the window. Hermann notes and files as pity the way his companion steers him to the seat which shields Hermann’s bad leg from the restaurant’s foot traffic. They rehash the morning’s lectures around bits of saag paneer and chicken vindaloo and Hermann gradually gives in to his enthusiasm for the topic of stellar evolution, which Edan appears to share, and talks excitedly. Eventually the pair pause to catch their breath. 
"You know, you sound like a proper Mancunian now, but you didn’t at the start of the semester. What was that accent?" Edan asks curiously.
"Bavarian." 
"A German? I suppose I should’ve guessed with a name like yours." Hermann snorts. "But what’s a German doing in Manchester?" 
"You’re a Glaswegian," Hermann counters. "What’re you doing here?" 
"I’m here for the Lovell. I can’t wait to get my hands on it." Edan pauses and a reflective expression flickers across his features. "I’m making myself an indentured servant of Lord Academia for a couple of days with an old telescope. I’m a complete idiot." He shakes his head and grins. "Your turn, Gottlieb." 
"The physics and astronomy program attracted me. There aren’t many like it in Europe. I also receive a full scholarship to attend." 
"I knew I picked the right guy to tutor me! You have to be the only one in our year in the program on full scholarship." 
Hermann picks at his food and refuses to acknowledge the praise. 
"Humble. I like that." Edan emphasizes his words with a bite of vindaloo. 
His mobile chimes. 
"Oh fuck. I need to run to make my stupid literature class," he whines. He looks at his backpack, then his food, then Hermann. "Fuck that. I’ll get the notes from Rhys. I’m not cutting out early now that I’ve got you." He drops his bag back to the floor and picks up his fork again. 
"Reid, what are you doing? You need to get to class," Hermann says, a bit shocked. 
"No, I don’t. Getting to know you is more fun. This is already the best afternoon I’ve had since I got to this town. I’m kicking myself for not cornering you earlier." Edan offers another wide smile. "Besides, I’ll get the notes from my roommate later. You don’t have an afternoon lecture, do you?" Hermann shakes his head. "Great! You were saying something about shell helium flashes … ," Edan prompts. 
They adjourn back Edan’s dorm room after the restaurant owner begins giving them the evil eye for taking up valuable real estate for too long, still debating the merits of various theories of planet formation. 
"Where’ve you been, Edan?" a bored voice wrapped in a thick Swansea accent greets them. "You missed literature and old Cooper actually noticed. You’ll catch hell on Thursday." 
"That’s my useless roommate, Rhys." He continues in a stage whisper, "He’s a literature major." 
The curly-haired boy lounging on the upper bunk sniffs and gives Edan a two-finger salute. 
"The lovely lady wasting her time with him is Vigsai. If she likes you, she'll let you call her 'Iggy.'" 
A dark-skinned girl sitting next to Rhys offers a friendly wave and a wide smile. 
"She’s at least got a practical major. Biology. Vigsai and Rhys, meet Hermann Gottlieb." 
"This the astronomy genius you’ve been talking about all semester?" Rhys asks without looking up from his textbook. 
A blush creeps up the back of Edan’s neck to Hermann’s puzzlement. 
"Yeah, finally worked up the nerve to talk to him," he says as he ruffles his own hair. He turns to Hermann, who continues to look confused. "You’re intimidating as hell, Gottlieb. Everyone in the program’s been terrified of you since you smacked down Doctor Munro the first week. I’ve never seen a battle aura like that before. I think the man feared for his life. Or at least his job." 
Hermann blushes scarlet to the tips of his ears. ‘Intimidating’? he thinks. ‘Arrogant’, ‘know-it-all’, and ‘rude’ he hears often enough, but never ‘intimidating’. How can a tiny thing like me be intimidating? He wrenches himself from his thoughts and back into the flow of conversation, which he joins shyly. 
The trio seem nice enough, but the small crowd of strangers makes Hermann nervous, and his wings ache from being restrained all day, as well, and longs to free them. He excuses himself and limps toward the door. 
Edan hops up to accompany him to the dorm’s exit. "See you tomorrow, Gottlieb," he says. "Maybe we can meet for lunch after Smith’s class?" 
"Maybe," Hermann answers noncommittally. "Goodnight, Reid." 
Back in his own room, Hermann sighs out of his shirts and his binding, flickering his wings to stretch out the soreness. What the hell happened today? he asks himself while he brushes his teeth in his private washroom (a concession by the university to his disability). Why did Edan Reid, of all the people in this city, decide to start talking to me? And why did he seem upset when I left?
Notes: 
One of the attractions of the physics and astronomy program at the University of Manchester is hands-on time with the large (and historic) Lovell Telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory.
Music to set the mood: Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, “Disorder”.
==In Between Days==
Notes: Music to set the mood: Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay". >originally an end note<
===Givens===
"Ginger": Two; originally as part of "In Between Days" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay"); revised by "Steps". 
After six days of shared between-class walks, meals, and study sessions, Edan grabs Hermann’s backpack as Hermann reaches for his cane after their probability theory lecture. 
“Give me that!” Hermann hisses.
“S’no problem. I’ll carry it for you,” Edan says, a bit of a teasing smile playing around his lips.
“Reid, give it back.”
“I said I’ll carry it for you. C’mon, we’re going to be late if you keep arguing.”
“Reid!”
“You’ll have to wrestle it away from me unless you let me help.”
“Edan!”
“Hah! You finally used my name! Here’s your books. Let’s move!” 
Hermann’s gape yields to a scowl as he seizes the backpack and shuffles to catch up with the other boy. 
“As a warning, I’m going to do that every time you call me ‘Reid’ from now on,” Edan declares. “We’re friends. You can stop being formal, Gottlieb. And you can give me permission to use your first name whenever you’re ready.” His eyes twinkle and Hermann can’t help but smile back.
“Okay, Edan. You can call me ‘Hermann’.” 
The taller boy grins like it’s his birthday and the pair stroll side-by-side to their next class, Hermann carrying his own backpack.
===Snapshot===
"Ginger": Three; originally posted here as part of "In Between Days" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay"); revised by "Cheese". 
“Aakash, take the picture already! I think Hermann’s starting to get frostbite,” Vigsai wails.
“Art takes time, sister,” the young man behind the camera says with a laugh. 
“We’re not looking for art here,” Rhys growls, “just a bleeding snapshot. So, snap already!” Edan elbows him in the ribs. 
“Fine, fine. Everybody squish closer together.” The quartet does and Aakash presses the shutter. 
Vigsai passes out the prints when they are ready. They show a quartet of young people, sitting in winter sunshine, all smiling. 
Hermann tucks his copy inside a favorite book. He treasures one of the few pictures of himself in existence and one of even fewer in which he looks happy. 
===Achromatopsia=== 
"Ginger": Four; originally posted as part of "In Between Days" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay"); revised by "Sea-colour". 
Sitting on the bottom bunk with a notepad on her lap, Vigsai groans. “I can’t believe I have to work up basic phenotype-genotype eye color charts for this class. I’m at university, not kindergarten.” She brightens. “So, you’re all my subjects. Edan, what color are your eyes?”
“Why am I your guinea pig?” Edan whines from where he sprawls on a nest of pillows in the middle of the floor.
“You’re not. I already filled in Rhys’ information. Don’t be difficult, [Gingershap].” 
The boy in question sticks out his tongue and goes back to pretending to read. 
Vigsai rolls her eyes. “Rhys, what color are his eyes?”
“How should I know? It’s not like I spend my spare time gazing into them. Ask Hermann.”
“Why am I stuck working with infants?” Vigsai mumbles. “What color would you call Edan’s eyes, Hermann?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know what color eyes I have,” he says. “I’m completely colorblind. Everything’s gray to me.”
“Honestly? You can’t see any color?” [Vigsai] asks, her eyes going wide in surprise. “But achromatopsia is incredibly rare! Were you born this way or did something happen to cause it? I’d love to take you down to the med lab and get a look at your retina!” She babbles as she moves closer and closer to Hermann, trying to peer into his eyes. He scoots his chair until Edan is between himself and [Vigsai] to shield himself from her curious advance.
Rhys’ voice brings everyone to a halt. “Do you miss them?” he asks.
Hermann ponders for a moment. “I can’t miss what I’ve never had,” he finally replies simply. He gently kicks Edan in the shoulder. “Edan, just tell her your eye color and put us out of our misery.”
“Well, my mum always says my eyes are the color of the sea,” Edan says, placing a theatrical hand over his heart.
“That’s poetic of her. Probably the only poetic thing ever said about you,” Rhys snarks. “Unless Hermann’s waxed rhapsodic in your direction lately.”
“Nah. He saves his lyrical impulses for the stars and other celestial bodies,” Edan says with a sigh.
“So, definitely not you, then.” 
A pillow flies across the room, aimed roughly at Rhys’ head. He knocks it aside easily. “Hermann, you have no idea, then, you’re hanging out with the gingerest of twiggy Scottish gingers, do you? Poor thing probably thinks he’s being pursued by a displaced blonde Scandinavian.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a ginger Scot. It’s honest Scottish coloration,” Edan huffs.
“Whatever you say, Gingersnap. The twiggy bit’s the funny part, mate. I’m pretty sure we could wrap a sheet of A4 around you. Not that our continental import is much more substantial, mind. Together you two skinny fucks might weigh as much as a normal person.”
“You’re just jealous of our girlish figures, Rhys,” Edan says with a dismissive gesture.
“Which reminds me,” Katha breaks in, “We should probably go eat before the two of you—what do you space people say—collapse into singularities? I can finish this later.”
===Joy Division===
"Ginger": Five; originally posted as part of "In Between Days" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay"); revised by "Unknown Pleasures". 
Hermann hobbles into probability theory five minutes late and the instructor scolds him, going so far as to remark in an imperious tone Hermann should not expect special treatment because of his disability. Hermann mumbles a tiny ‘yes, sir’ as he takes the only seat remaining in the room, dead center in the front row.
He feels the weight of his classmates’ stares on his back. He breathes carefully, calming himself and relaxing his wings—which reflexively tremble at the rebuke—into stillness. 
The professor insists on calling Hermann to answer repeatedly, which he does in a quiet, respectful voice. A wave of relief washes over him as the period finally grinds to an end. 
Edan steps up beside him immediately. “You alright?” he asks, face full of concern. 
Hermann grits his teeth as his knee protests taking his weight. “I’m fine. My knee is a little sore, is all.” 
“Still? From when you fell on the ice yesterday morning?” 
“Yes.” Hermann glares as his anger bubbles up at what looks like pity in Edan’s eyes. “Doesn’t waiting for me bother you? Aren’t you embarrassed to be seen with a bad-tempered cripple?”
“Who and what the fuck are you talking about?”
Hermann slumps back into his chair before his knee can give way beneath him. “Me. I’m fucking crippled, if you hadn’t noticed. I can’t even walk across campus like a normal person,” he snarls.
“I’m not friends with your legs, for christ’s sake. I’m friends with you.” Edan runs a hand through his hair, leaving it mostly sticking straight up. “Listen. If you want to go back to your room, I’ll take notes for both of us and bring you some food. Walking on that knee has to be making it worse. You should rest now so you’ll be full speed tomorrow.”
Hermann lurches to his feet and takes a shaky step. Godammit all, he thinks, I can’t do this today. I need his help. Outwardly, he sighs and finally nods. “Yes. Thank you,” he says quietly. 
“You’ll make it back alright?” 
Hermann nods again and begins to make his way carefully from the room. 
Edan smiles encouragingly, pats Hermann’s shoulder, and then takes off at a run to make the next lecture on time. 
Hermann watches his back enviously as he goes.
.
When Hermann finally arrives at his room, the journey having taken twice as long as usual, he collapses on his bed to ease the strain on his leg. He figures Edan will need at least two hours to finish his errands and return, leaving more than enough time for an unbound nap. 
Hermann sits up and shrugs out of his binding, letting his wings unfurl. As he stretches them, the movement of muscles attached to his ribs sets off fireworks of pain. He sighs and prods his side. It seems I hurt more than just my leg yesterday, he thinks. At least the ribs are only badly bruised or any fractures are non-displaced. He limps to his mini-fridge to retrieve a pair ice packs for his knee and his side. 
He eases himself down on the mattress and arranges the ice packs on his sore spots before setting an alert on his phone to remind him to get up and dress before Edan returns. He dozes. 
Edan appears at the door when Hermann expects him to, a bright smile on his face. “I brought enough food for both of us and I stopped to copy my notes for you.” 
They wind up sitting next to each other on Hermann’s bed, backs to the wall, Hermann’s sore leg straight out in front of him resting under a fresh ice pack. The pair pick through the boxes of Indian takeout Edan brought looking for their favorites. They eat in companionable near-silence, listening to a favorite program on the college’s radio station streaming through Hermann’s laptop. 
“Ooo!” Edan cries and launches himself toward the volume control on the stream. “Joy Division! I love this song!” He maxes the volume on the tiny speakers and Hermann fears for their survival and his hearing. 
The song ends and Edan turns the volume back to a safe level. 
“That sounded familiar, but I can’t quite place it. I rather liked it,” Hermann says. 
“You ‘rather liked it’? What a ringing endorsement for one of the greatest bands ever to come out of this city!” Edan laughs. “It’s Joy Division, mate! And “New Dawn Fades” is pretty much the anchor of their first album. I’m downloading it for you. You need to get some culture,” he jokes impishly as he logs into iTunes. 
“I’m so glad you’re around to educate me about the finer things in life,” Hermann replies sarcastically. “I had no idea how boring I was before I met you.” I was boring before him, he thinks. I was bored before him. 
After Edan leaves for the night, Hermann dons his headphones and listens to his new music. All ten songs deal with isolation and loss and anger. He laughs at how much it sounds like his inner monologue at times. Maybe I’ve found the soundtrack to my life.
===Exam===
"Ginger": Six; originally posted as part of "In Between Days" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay"); revised by "Orbits".
In the small hours after a brutally long day of lectures and labs, Edan leans over Hermann’s shoulder as they work at Hermann’s desk on the final problems of a take-home exam due later that morning. Hermann’s anger at himself has risen as the hours pass because the pair had delayed starting the project in favor of an evening on the town watching Edan’s favorite local band. Hermann finally snaps when Edan tries to correct his work.
“I tested into four-hundred level calculus! My math is good!” he shouts.
“I know it is, Hermann!” an exasperated Edan yells back. “That’s why I let you do all of it. But that’s the wrong orbital period. We’re going to miss the target.” 
Hermann stares at the figures again. “Oh,” he says quietly. He scratches out the mistake, inserts the correct number, and recalculates.
“Thanks,” they say simultaneously. After a beat, both grin, and move on to the next problem.
The sky begins to lighten before they finish, nearly dead in their seats.
“Let me sleep here tonight,” Edan says. “I’ll never make it back to my room in this state.”
Hermann suddenly feels very awake. “I’m not sure … ,” he begins.
“Don’t worry. I’m too tired to do anything but snore. Hope that’s not a problem,” Edan slurs and yawns.
The prospect of immediate sleep and closeness overrules Hermann’s desire to stretch out the ache in his trapped wings. He slides into bed close to the wall and lets Edan crawl onto the mattress beside him. 
Edan curls on his side, back pressed to Hermann’s side. The two skinny teens fit easily on the bed and they quickly find comfortable positions. 
Within minutes, they’re both snoring peacefully.
Hermann dreams of warm breezes stirring his feathers. 
Music to set the Mood: Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "Shadowplay"
==Last Day==
===Hands===
"Ginger": Seven; originally posted as part of "Last Day" (set to Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "New Dawn Fades"); revised by "Horizons".
Rhys finds Hermann in the dining hall while he eats an early breakfast alone on the last day before the winter holiday.
“Hey, Hermann,” Rhys says as he slouches into a chair across the table. “You know Edan’s been flirting with you—shamelessly—since the day we met, right?”
Hermann nearly chokes on his toast. “I didn’t … umm … what?” he splutters.
“I thought so. You’re both dense as lead.” Rhys rolls his eyes. “Listen, I don’t know what your problem is, but please either agree to date him or tell him you’re not interested. Otherwise he’s going to drive me fucking nuts.” With that, Rhys gets up and leaves Hermann frozen and gaping at his retreating form.
Edan? Flirting? With me? There’s no way Rhys could be right. That … sort of thing doesn’t happen to me. Hermann tries to push Rhys’ words and thoughts of Edan from his mind as he criss-crosses campus to take his last tests of the semester with limited success. He circles back to the idea he could be wanted, loveable, over and over. The concept makes him dizzy.
The day blurs past.
Edan’s knock snaps Hermann out of his continuing reverie. “Let’s go for a walk,” the Scot says cheerily. “Just a short one, I promise. I found a great place for star watching behind the theater. It’s chilly, so throw on an extra jumper before we go.” Hermann bundles up in extra layers and pulls on his thrift store wool coat. In his distraction, he forgets to check his binder.
They walk side by side, arms occasionally brushing, through the campus to a bench just off a dark spot on the path. Twice on the way Edan steadies Hermann with a hand on his elbow as the smaller boy falters on an icy patch.
“Any of your favorites out tonight?” Edan asks as they settle onto the bench.
Hermann tilts his head back to take in the full sweep of the sky. “Altair,” he says and points, picking out a single bright point in the thick carpet of lights he sees arcing above them.
“You can put the hand down. I know which one she is. We’ve both been looking up there all our lives. And I’ve had three more years to look,” Edan laughs, a sound that never fails to make Hermann’s heart flutter, the sensation even more intense than usual. “I’m an Antares man, myself, but these damn lights are ruining her.”
They listen to the leafless branches clacking together, not speaking for minutes.
“I'm more than a little in love with you,” Edan finally says conversationally, as if it was the most unremarkable thing in the world. “You really had no clue, did you?” he says with a sad smile, noting Hermann’s somewhat panicky expression. “It's been like trying to charm a wall.” Hermann still doesn’t move. He barely breathes. “I mean, I know I’m not the greatest catch in the North West, but … well, I’m yours. If you’ll have me.”
“I … don’t know what to say … . Are you sure?” Hermann manages.
Edan laughs again. "I'm sure, Hermann. Completely sure. Cross my bleeding heart," he says earnestly and makes the matching gesture.
"Oh. That's good ... I think,” Hermann stammers. “I’m sure … I’m sure I want to be yours, too.”
“Thank god. My heart can start beating again.” Edan slouches in relief. “Well, seeing as I just gave it to you, I hope you’ll let me use it for something as boring as pumping blood,” he says with a mischievous smile.
Hermann gives in to a goofy grin. “Of course. I don’t think … this will be quite as much fun if I let you die.”
“No, probably not,” Edan says through another laugh. “I’d like to kiss you. That alright?” Hermann gives a timid nod. Edan smiles reassuringly as he takes a gentle hold of Hermann’s chin and guides their lips together. It’s not much of a kiss, by anyone’s standards, but it’s enough to short-circuit the parts of Hermann’s brain still functioning. Hermann is flushed and dizzy and it requires too much of his cognitive energy to still the trembling of his wings. Seeing him wobble, Edan places a hand on the back of the smaller boy’s neck briefly to ground him. “S’not so bad, was it?”
“No. No, not bad at all,” Hermann manages with a small, crooked smile and surprises himself by threading his chilled fingers through Edan’s warm ones.
“Listen, I know you’re not big on touching, and I want you to know that’s okay with me. You lead and I’ll follow. Like dancing.”
“Oh. Um. Thank you,” Hermann says and rests his head cautiously on Edan’s shoulder. “I’m … not used to being touched. At least, not affectionately,” he whispers.
His companion startles a little at the admission. “You won’t have to worry about that while I’m around, okay?” He squeezes Hermann’s hand and Hermann nestles closer in response.
The pair lose track of time, content to simply be for a while.
“Edan?” Hermann whispers, eventually. The other boy hums sleepily. “I need catch my train to Berlin. I have to go.”
Edan glances at his watch. “Dammit,” he sighs. “Let’s get your things and to the station.” He climbs to his feet and helps Hermann rise. They hold hands on the walk and Edan leans lightly against Hermann’s side, his presence warm and solid and comforting.
“I shouldn’t have waited this long to talk to you,” Edan says as Hermann gathers up a few belongings in his room and stuffs them into his backpack. Hermann pauses and a cautious smile lights his face.
“You really shouldn’t have waited at all,” Hermann says. “I’ve hoped you would say something since the first day of classes.”
Edan facepalms and looks at Hermann through his fingers. “Seriously?”
Hermann nods. “By far the best looking and most intelligent person in the program? It’s no wonder I was daydreaming about you.” Edan’s jaw drops.
“Jesus christ. Rhys is right. I’m an idiot,” he moans.
Arm-in-arm they stroll to the station.
“I’ll miss you.”
“It’s only three weeks,” Hermann says, trying to sound reasonable.
“So?” Edan looks mildly offended. “That’s a long time! I’ll call you constantly.”
Hermann rolls his eyes. “I’ll be back.”
“Good. You’d better,” Edan tries and fails to sound threatening.
Hermann pushes himself up on his tiptoes and kisses Edan on the lips, a little awkwardly, but with all his heart behind it.
“I’ll miss you, too,” he says as they separate.
With a last wave and glance, Hermann boards the train. He stares out the window until the station disappears from sight, then settles more deeply in his seat. He grins to himself.
From all the boys at the university, in Manchester, in Glasgow, Edan chose me. I can’t wait to tell Dietrich and Karla.
As Hermann falls asleep on the swaying train, he feels the ghost of Edan’s fingers curled in his.
Notes: 
Music to set the Mood: Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, "New Dawn Fades"
I've got some leftover scenes from this same time period that I'm not sure what to do with. They didn't fit into the flow of this story, but they're not really appropriate for my other universes or characters. So ... I dunno. Anyone want one as a prompt?
==End Notes==
I don’t write in dialect or accents because I know I’ll screw them up. I leave it to readers to supply the right sounds and cadence.
This was fun to write. Edan’s been kicking around in my head for a while, so it was great to finally get him committed to pixels.
How many references to other stories in the series (including those by curiumKingyo and puff22_2001) can you find? They’re all in here for very good reasons that will play out as the universe continues to gel.
ETA 5/23/14: Edan's female friend's name changed from its original because it was causing confusion with 'Karla.'
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