He was bouncing his leg again. You could hear it under the coffee table. The habit hadn't been as noticeable when you two were in the Digital Circus together. Your lives had been a never-ending cycle of stimulation, danger, and dreading what "adventure" Caine would cook up next. But Kinger had deleted Caine, and now everyone was free.

The two of you had stuck together, having been close in the circus. Well, as close as anyone could get to Jax. But you supposed Jax wasn't his real name, just the name Caine had given him when he'd gotten trapped. You two still spoke with the others on occasion, but everyone was fairly spread out now. Pomni and Ragatha, now Christine and Anne, lived in New York. Zooble and Gangle had gone back to their lives as Alex and Violet in the Midwest. And Kinger, or Abel, lived just down the road. Everyone was still healing from the horrors of the circus.

But you were free.

"Felix," you said softly, the name still sounding unusual on your tongue. Sometimes you slipped up and said Jax. He tried not to be mad about it.

Felix didn't look at you, choosing to stare at his half-eaten breakfast. He ran his thumb over the large white bandage over his knuckles. He seemed to need a new bandage somewhere every week or so. "What?" he snapped.

Before you could even respond, he sighed. "I-I'm sorry. Shit. I just.. I need a fuckin' smoke."

Felix got to his feet, bumping his knee on the coffee table. A hushed swear escaped through his teeth as he went to the enclosed porch of your house. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was very you guys.