David opened the door, and when he saw who was on the other side, he pulled his boyfriend into a tight hug.

"Oh thank god, Tad, you're okay. I was so freaking worried, you weren't answering my calls, and... Damn I missed you"

When they came inside, Tadeus described what happened in his absence: the car crash, the resulting memory gap, the hospital.

"Wait, you had a concussion, and they just let you walk out? This is so irresponsible!"

"I mean, they have a lot of work nowadays, with the whole Starlight thing."

There was an ongoing debate about what Starlight really was. Some called it a terrorist organization, others said it was a cult, but everyone agreed it was dangerous. Starlight's agents infiltrated large companies, and seemingly at random attacked their infrastructure from the inside. Bombs, arson, bank robberies - anything short of murder in broad daylight was on the table.

The only thing that showed any link between their crimes was a symbol they left on each site: a five-pointed star inside a triangle.

"Well sure, they can't accomodate everyone, but... " David sighed. "Alright. I'm glad you are okay. You are okay, right?"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Yeah man, I'm good. I think you are a bit paranoid there, honey. Maybe I should start worrying about you?" Tadeus said, smirking.

"About me- you know what, let's just watch a movie and order pizza. I think we both need a relaxing evening."

"Deal."

Tadeus acted laid back, but internally he was even more worried than David. Since he woke in the hospital, he felt like something was off. It was as if his very bones were itching a little, a restlessness and discomfort he could not shake off.

----------------------------------------

Tadeus wanted to go back to work the very next day, but David insisted he take a day off. When David left to his work in the burger restaurant he was a chef in, Tadeus was left to his own devices.

After the third hour of surding the web alone in the apartment, the biologist in him forced him to follow a hunch: he took a sample of his own blood, just a few drops, and went on to examine it under a microscope. His home office doubled as a small lab, because sometimes Tadeus couldn't resist studying a sample after hours, but the university's lab was being closed after seven, no exceptions.

'Let's see if something's up, or if I really got hit that hard.' Tadeus thought, adjusting the microscope's zoom.

"Wha- when? How?"

Whatr he was staring at was a collection of his blood cells. They were surrounded by a large number of floyda concordis.

"Alright Tad, don't panic. They are benign, they won't kill you or even hurt you." 'Wait. Hurting. My arm doesn't hurt.' Tadeus looked at his left arm, where he took the blood sample from.

There was no pain, and there was no sign thaty a needle ever puncured his skin.