I spotted a familiar figure tucked under a tree. Only, this time it wasn't sleeping. The wolf watched and I approached, but it didn't run away this time. It was a small difference, but I still considered it a huge win given where we'd started from.

I pulled out two apples and placed them on the ground before backing up a bit. The wolf immediately trotted forward, causing me to grin. It was becoming more confident as well. Soon, I wanted to start bringing more than just apples to try and put some weight on its small form.

"You seem happy today," Callie noted as the wolf munched away.

"It's growing," I gestured to the wolf with a smile.

"It is," she agreed with a nod. "But that isn't the only reason, is it?"

Her hazel eyes watched me, but I hesitated to answer. I still didn't know how Reuben felt about people knowing. I'd practically already told Cronan, but Reuben didn't know that. I wasn't sure if telling someone else was a smart choice.

"Relax, you don't have to tell me anything," Callie cracked a grin and I returned it. "It's nice to see."

My dark eyes met her lighter ones. "Thanks, Callie."

...

When I returned to my apartment, I was feeling great. I walked through the halls with a large smile on my face and a pep in my step. However, that was all replaced with confusion when I saw Arlo storming away from Cronan's place. He didn't stop to look at me; he only kept his gaze glued to the floor.

I stared after him for a few minutes before knocking on Cronan's door. I half-expected him to not answer, but he did. His hair was a tussled mess and he was sporting a large frown.

"Cronan, are you okay...?" I reluctantly asked.

His blue eyes stared at me and I could see a mixture of emotions swimming around in them.

"I'm okay," he responded, but his face said differently.

I couldn't just leave after seeing him. So, taking a page from Cronan's book, I shouldered my way inside and took a seat on his couch. I patted the space beside me and turned to him.

"Come on."

"What are you doing?" He frowned.

"We, you and me, are having a movie marathon," I explained.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Eli—"

"Or we can just sit here in silence, staring up at the ceiling. The choice is yours, but either way, I'm not going anywhere."

I could tell by his eyes that he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he took a seat beside me and I grabbed the remote. However, before I could click a thing, Cronan snatched it from my hands.

"I don't trust your movie taste," he said simply.

"But yours is just so amazing?" I raised an eyebrow.

He didn't miss a beat. "Yes, it is."

"If it's anything like how you chose your food then we'll be here all night," I muttered mostly to myself, but the shove against my shoulder told me that he heard.

"If you're fine with having mediocre taste then by all means, you live that way, but I will not."

I snorted. "You'd still judge me."

He stared at me. "You're right, I would."

Had this been the Cronan I first met, I might've been offended, but as I stared into his blue eyes, I could see the playfulness inside of them. I could also see the sadness, but I didn't call him out on this. I figured that if he wanted to tell me then he would.

As expected, Cronan spent an ungodly amount of time searching for what he called, "the perfect movie". I honestly found myself more likely to fall asleep on the couch.

"Have you always been like this?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Like what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Extremely picky with high expectations."

Cronan snorted, seeming to find my comment funny and he leaned back against the couch, clearly the movie had been long forgotten.

"I guess? I mean, my family likes to say I came out of the womb unsatisfied. I was always wanting more, but they never knew what that 'more' was. I guess I've just..."

"Been trying to find out what was missing," I finished and he stared at me.

"Yeah."

"I get that."

I did. I couldn't count how many times I'd have a similar conversation with myself, wondering what I was missing—wondering whether or not there was more waiting for me. For a lot of my childhood, I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind. I didn't want to be seen as ungrateful for everything I had and all the opportunities I was given, but I couldn't deny that there was always that feeling of wanting more lingering in the back of my mind.

"Have you found it yet?" I asked and Cronan leaned back, stared up at the ceiling, and let out a resigned sigh.

"No. Have you?"

I thought about it. I was comfortable with everything I had, I was, but still...

"No." I shook my head. "No, I haven't."

We sat there for a long moment in silence. The both of us seemed to be wrapped up in our own thoughts, but eventually, Cronan sat up and began to continue his search for a movie to watch.

"You know, you never asked me why I was upset," Cronan said without glancing at me. 

"Wasn't my business. I figured you'd tell me if you wanted to."

He had done the same for me after all. The least I could do was return the favor.

Cronan said nothing for a long time. He stared at me and shook his head.

"People are difficult to understand," he muttered.

I nodded to myself and let out a sigh. "Yeah, they are."

He didn't elaborate or say anything else. He just clicked a movie and set the remote down. His eyes were glued to the screen, but I could tell by the foggy look in his eyes that he was paying attention.

So I sat there. One movie became two, two became three, and three became four. This continued until the both of us had fallen asleep. The last thing on my mind was Cronan's words.

What was I wanting? What was missing?