Chapter 26: [23] The Art of Normal People
"Finally," Xavier muttered as the door to their apartment clicked open. He shouldered the door open and stepped aside, allowing Calypso to enter first.
The goddess swept past him without a word, still brooding over their Dominic Black situation.
Xavier kicked the door shut behind him and took off his sweater, dropping it near the entrance, not bothering with the coat hooks that Calypso had insisted on getting ("Civilization begins with proper storage, Xavier!"). He made a beeline for the couch and collapsed onto it face-first.
"Sweet merciful oblivion," he groaned into a throw pillow. "Remind me why I agreed to this student thing again?"
Calypso moved around the kitchen, the soft sound of cabinet doors opening and closing punctuating her silence. After a moment, the refrigerator door opened with a soft whoosh.
"Because you need to build your hunter reputation," she finally answered. "And because Catalyst Academy is the fastest path to getting strong enough to close those gates and get me back to my real job."
Xavier rolled onto his back, one arm flung across his forehead. "Right. The gates. My cosmic community service."
He watched her through half-opened eyes as she poured herself a glass of cucumber water.
"So what now?" he asked, pushing himself into a sitting position. "We've got all night to brood about your potential reincarnation escapee, or we could do something to take our minds off it until we have an actual plan."
Calypso took a long sip of water, her pink eyes studying him over the rim of her glass. "Like what?"
Xavier reached for the remote, flicking on their wall-mounted screen. "Like normal people stuff. Food. Entertainment. Pretending the world isn't full of dimensional tears and monsters."