Huck didn't look up when the boots stopped at his stall.

He didn't need to.

The weight of their presence settled over him immediately, dragging old memories to the surface. The shouting. The silence afterward. The door that never opened again.

People disappeared all the time in the Lanes. But they had chosen to leave.

Huck busied himself with a bottle on the shelf, though the slight rattle betrayed his shaking hands. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and even.

"Didn't think I'd see you again."

No anger. No warmth. Just truth.

His arms folded across his chest as he stared stubbornly at anything but them. The smell of oil and iron hung in the air, unchanged after all these years.

They stood there like a ghost. And Huck still wasn't sure if he wanted them gone or not.