Quote:
When the Fire Works (14) : Innovation is expected in Destiny City, so seasonal commodities are always expected to sell well. This year, the hot new summer item includes some chemically enhanced logs: carefully modified with environmental and health-safe chemicals, these logs are guaranteed to burn bright, burn long, and burn beautifully. It’s not just a pretty flame: each individual log has several rings that will light up like a sparkler when the flame hits. Larger logs will even pop off small, colorful fireworks for several hours while they burn. Though the lightshow is beautiful, it’s also calm. The logs have a pleasant, earthy smell, and unlike the sounds of normal fireworks, these simply sound like a crackling fire. There’s something curiously nostalgic about these fires; they are able to elicit a sort of childlike whimsy, if only you let them. If not, it’s still pretty.


Pergamon had never had any particular feelings about summer before. Certainly it had always been time off from work, and that was sort of a positive, but his work had been the best thing in his life for a long time, and realistically, even if he wasn't teaching, he was often working on research, conferences, so on. So summer was just...summer. Another time of year. One where he spent more time with his wife, which had been lovely once.

Not for long, perhaps only for the first year or two of their marriage, but once, before the fights and the bitterness, before his failure to stand up for her had ruined everything. Back when she thought she had a decent husband, and not a miserable loser.

So anyway, Pergamon had never had any real particular feelings on summer, positive or negative. It was A Time of Year. The weather was sometimes gross, but he spent most of his time inside anyway, and that was why air conditioning was invented. (That, and according to H.P. Lovecraft, to preserve shambling living corpses, but that was Lovecraft being his unpleasantly paranoid self, to put it in the politest words possible.)

(Honestly, it was a good thing old Howard Phillip hadn't made it this far; learning that there were in fact real aliens, and even real nameless entities from beyond the darkest stars, would probably have imploded his brain. Honestly, Pergamon wasn't an early twentieth century racist, and he was having emotional trouble with the enormity of it.)

The point: summer, in the past, had simply been A Season. A season where he wasn't teaching classes but was otherwise still working. A season where he theoretically spent more time with Maria, but that was pretty universally unpleasant, and in the last two years, even that was gone. Last summer and this, Preston had made time to check in with him, which was something, but Pergamon wished he didn't feel obligated to do that.

Honestly, he was doing so much better since he'd met Imnolu and then gotten magical powers. Having his soul extracted and then living through the almost end of the world had greatly improved his desire to continue living, weirdly enough. And now...now there was a purpose to him doing that.

He wasn't just Doctor Isidor Sturm, Ph.D., miserable drunk, relatively acceptable professor, shitty husband, and deserved divorcee. A series of titles, sure, but none of them particularly good. No, now he was Pergamon of the Moon, and he alone had the ability to help his Wonder grow and return to its former glory. That was his job and his alone.

He would have to make time to go back and explore further; he'd been focused on finding a place for the Code on his Wonder, and making sure it was settled and safe. Poking around had seemed secondary, at that point.

For now, though, he was on Earth, and rather enjoying the summer night. He'd peeled off his gloves and jacket and tucked them into subspace, and found a fire pit to test something charming he'd picked up for himself. It was a lovely little log that was supposed to give off small fireworks when burned, and frankly, he was curious. It might be fun to enjoy one of these with Imnolu; sit around and have a little summer celebration together.

He found himself planning for Imnolu's presence quite a lot. And sure, that was what you did with a good friend, but sometimes....sometimes, to Pergamon, it began to feel like there was something more than friendship there. A bubble of potential that could become...well, that could become anything at all. But that Pergamon sort of hoped might become something specific.

It felt silly, to dream of a new relationship when his last one had imploded so spectacularly and he had been so bad for Maria, but maybe...maybe he could try again. Maybe he could be better for someone else.

Heibing seemed to think that the way Maria had acted was...wrong, or cruel, or something. Maybe it wasn't all his fault. Maybe he could have somewthing nicer, and be something nicer for Imnolu.

If Imnolu even wanted him. He'd had a husband before, a child; their deaths were clearly still raw for him, and perhaps it was presumptuous of Isidor to think he could even begin to replace someone so treasured and important to Imnolu, someone he had loved and married and had a child with. And really, who did Isidor think he was, to even try that?

Still, he had to hope.

And as if to underline that hope, he tossed the firework log into the fire pit, and pulled a set of matches out of subspace, lighting one and throwing it into the fire. It took a moment for it to catch, but when it did, it really was incredible.

He sat and watched, daydreaming just a little as he did, until it hit the first sparkler ring--and it was incredible.

And these were supposed to burn for a long time. He'd thought, initially, about getting a second one to share, but honestly...why wait? He could invite Troilus here, and take a moment to go to a convenience store he knew wasn't far from the park and pick up the ingredients for s'mores and some drinks so they could have a nice night sitting in the park, enjoying the fireworks. It sounded...well, it sounded really, really nice.

Before he could talk himself out of what was honestly a very nice idea, reached into subspace and pulled out a notepad and pen, scribbling out a letter.

xxgenovianprince
Troilus,

Meet me in the park near my apartment? There's something I'd like to show you. Earth has a few spectacular wonders of its own.

Yours,
Pergamon


It was going to be a good night, he wanted to believe. He would show Troilus a nice time, and maybe it would be...a step. Towards what, Pergamon wasn't sure--but a step nonetheless.

Maybe he could have something nice. Something he wanted. Something good for him.

[wc: 1006 words]