"Mr. Broussard?" The organizer called Lux's name. Presumably again. As evident by the confusion coloring her voice.

Lux's face grew warm, his cheeks heating up with embarrassment. He cleared his throat and pulled on a smile, facing the woman before him. "Yes?"

"Are you ready for the question-and-answer portion?"

Lux nodded, not trusting his voice as he saw Rhys make his way to the line that was queuing behind the microphone. He had no clue what the fuck his editor planned on asking him about a book he had no hand in polishing. It wasn't until Rhys made his way to the microphone that Lux remembered... he was a fan.

"Uh, hi, Mr. Broussard."

Lux rolled his eyes, but caught himself, and smiled instead. "Hello. No need to be intimidated."

Rhys arched an eyebrow, the corner of his lip twitching as Lux's words landed. He ignored them to ask, "The relationship between Reyvn and Marcus is written so well, with so much feeling and attention to detail. I was wondering what your inspiration was for their relationship dynamics?"

Lux hadn't been asked that question yet. He knew it was coming eventually and he had already crafted an easily canned response. One that wouldn't arouse any suspicion regarding his past or encourage anyone to ask any additional questions. "I drew my inspiration from the different relationships in my life."

"Current relationships?" Someone in the crowd yelled. Rhys looked over his shoulder towards the sound of the voice and back up at Lux, his stare holding Lux's own as if he were expectantly waiting for an answer.

Lux swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly dry. He started to give a small shake to his head, but Rhys jumped in, addressing the person in the crowd. "We all know Mr. Broussard doesn't kiss and tell names." The crowd giggled, Rhys' quote directly from the last televised interview Lux did.

Lux felt the light rush of relief wash over him as his editor fielded a question he had blanked out on. He never knew how to answer whether or not he was in a current relationship. The easiest answer would be the truth. Which was a loud and mildly lonely "no". However, after his no, he knew the questions wouldn't stop there. They would want to know who his previous partner was, how long they were together, their gender, whether or not their breakup was amicable. Lux was quick on his feet, but not that quick.

He made a mental note to thank Rhys later.

"I have one more question, if that's allowed?" Rhys addressed the organizer. The time was winding down with only a few minutes to spare before Lux had to begin the signing. She nodded, asking Rhys to make it quick before she stepped off to the side to lug the box of pre-ordered books to the table. "Which of the characters do you see yourself in?"

This was a great question, Lux had to admit. "I think I'm a bit more like Reyvn. There are aspects of his personality that are similar to mine. Like the way his decisions seem to be rash to others, but internally he's spent a lengthy amount of time examining every eventuality of what could go wrong. When he makes a "rash" decision, it seems like it's born out of impulse, but the truth of the matter is, Reyvn gets to a point where he just has to do it. The fear is still loud, still bruising in its grip around his heart, but what's greater than that is the discomfort of not knowing how things might play out. So, he takes a well thought out leap of faith. And prays to any god listening that Marcus will catch him."

A hush had fallen over the crowd. Even the organizer had stopped moving the books to stare at Lux. Rhys disrupted the silence by exhaling a slow, "Wow. That's—really beautiful."

Lux's heart did that thing it seemed to do only around Rhys and lodged in his throat. His tone was soft, words gentle and unsure. "What about that is beautiful?"

The audience looked from Lux to Rhys again, captivated by the exchange that was taking place. They waited, as did Lux, for an answer.

Rhys pursed his lips, humming softly as he thought. When he spoke, it was easy to hear that he did so with care, each word well thought out and carefully crafted. "In the face of fear, you're led by your courage."

"Misguided courage," Lux corrected.

"But courage nonetheless," Rhys reframed. "It's not easy spending hours, days, agonizing over a decision. But, spending the amount of time necessary to look at it from every angle, to try to account for every eventuality, shows an amount of wisdom and maturity that I don't even have at 34," he finished with a hearty chuckle.

Lux didn't know what to say, but he did know that this was the third time Rhys had made him speechless and he didn't like that. He swallowed hard, forcing his throat to return his heart to its rightful place in his chest cavity and addressed Rhys. "I wouldn't say that's wisdom or maturity, more so than behavior that was born from coming out in a small conservative town."

The organizer cleared her throat, cutting in on a conversation that felt too private, too intimate for this many people. "Uh, thank you for the questions! Now, we'll move on to the signing. If you didn't have a chance to pre-order the book ahead of the event, we have a few copies up front. Please make your way to the register and Rain will take care of you! For those of you that have pre-ordered a copy, please move into a single file line. You'll have a few minutes to take a selfie with Lux after you receive your book. But please, be mindful of his time, our shop, and respect your fellow bibliophiles! One photo per person!"

The line gathered quickly, the noise of the bookstore increasing in volume as the crowd moved forward one by one. Lux didn't enjoy taking photos and would usually decline, but today he forced on his best, most authentic looking fake smile and finished hand hearts, did the peace sign, and simply smiled at camera after camera after camera. By the time the second to the last person left, Lux was beat. He wanted nothing more than to go home, order take out, and watch his favorite Thai BL's.

"If you're tired, I can always get you to sign a copy for me later," Rhys suggested.

Lux lifted his chin to stare up at Rhys. "That's the best thing you've said to me since we've met." He grabbed his crossbody bag, turning his back to Rhys to thank the organizer. She walked him to the door, thanking him once again for coming.

Once Lux was outside, he huffed a heavy sigh, leaning against the warm wood of the home that had been converted into a quaint bookstore. Kerin joined him shortly thereafter, with Rhys close on his heels.

"You did better than I expected," Kerin congratulated, slapping a hand on Lux's shoulder and squeezing. "Remember the last Q&A?"

Lux threw his head back, groaning loudly. "Ugh that one guy that just wouldn't shut the fuck up? Every time anyone took a pause to, y'know, breathe, he would interject."

Kerin explained the situation to Rhys. "There was a guy that had called himself a super fan. He even had a name for Lux's fans."

Lux glared up at Kerin. "If you so much as think about uttering that ridiculous ass name I'll–"

"Lumies. Short "illumination" but cuter." Kerin turned to look down at Lux. "Your idle threats mean nothing to me."

"They will when I start following through and kicking your ass!" Lux slapped Kerin's hand away from his shoulder, feeling a small amount of joy in the pained expression that danced across his face.

Rhys fell in step on Lux's left side, walking alongside oncoming traffic. "I don't know, I think it's kind of cute."

A rush of excitement punched Lux in the gut. He stopped walking, cocking his head to the side. "What's cute about it?" He wanted to hear Rhys' explanation, but the small voice in his mind whispered, you want to know if he thinks you're cute. He did not, actually! He couldn't care less if Rhys thought he was cute. Lux knew he was attractive. Not cute like some chubby infant. He folded his arms over his chest, his countenance now haughty as he waited for Rhys to explain.

Kerin interjected before he could, "I thought you hated that name. Why does it matter all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of a sudden," Lux barked.

"Excuse the hell out of me," Kerin murmured. "Your either hangry or—,"

"Your name, in Latin, means light," Rhys finally answered, saving Kerin from a threat that was more than likely going to precede action. "The way that I look at it, you light up the world of your readers with your stories. So, it's kind of fitting." He smiled down at Lux, the twin dimples on deep display in his cheek.

"That's....kind of cute, I guess." Lux continued heading towards the car, leaving Kerin dumbfounded and spluttering. Rhys, however, followed behind him as if they were tied together by an invisible string.

Of fate.

Lux whipped his head around to glance back at Kerin and to the side to stare up at Rhys. He was fully convinced they had to have heard his thought, seeing as how it was entirely crazy and most definitely not something he would actually want to think on his own. Realizing neither his longtime friend nor his editor heard what he was thinking, he huffed a small sigh through his nostrils.

What the fuck was his problem?