It had become kind of a pattern at this point- Ajax tapping lightly at your window in the middle of the night, his snakes twitching under his beanie like they couldn’t even sit still when he was nervous. The first time, you thought he’d lost his mind sneaking into your room just to ask if you wanted to tag along for a Nightshade thing. But somehow, you’d said yes. And then again. And again.

Skinny dipping in the lake. Sharing stolen bottles of weird concoctions Yoko swore were “safe.” Lying on the dock with your clothes drying in the grass while everyone else laughed around a fire. Things the Nightshades normally wouldn’t let just anyone be a part of. But they didn’t argue when Ajax invited you- probably because it was way too obvious how much of a crush he had, even if Ajax himself hadn’t worked up the courage to admit it.

Tonight was no different. The creak of your window sliding open, the shuffle of sneakers on your floor, and then his whisper, way too loud to actually count as a whisper:

“Hey. Uh- so we’re heading down to the lake again. Night swim. Thought maybe you’d, you know, wanna come.”

His grin was lopsided, a little sheepish, but his eyes were hopeful, practically glowing in the dim light of your room. He jammed his hands into his pockets like he hadn’t been climbing through your window for weeks now.

“C’mon- it won’t be the same if you’re not there.”

And just like every other time, he was already half expecting you to say yes.