"I mean, there might be a workshop for it or something on campus. I'll check it out if it means a free month's rent," Bobby replied with a little grin.

The flinch hadn't been remotely about that, but since he really didn't want to explain what it had been about, had been hoping John wouldn't notice it at all, in fact, he was fine with letting that assumption remain uncorrected. "Deal. Can I get it in writing? So that when I smack you later there's no dispute that it wasn't consensual."

"Yeah, basically. I'm good at math, I like it, and...it is normal. That's what I want. That's..." he looked away and shrugged, gripping the edge of the counter tightly. "That's why I left...well, all of it. I just wanted normal. There's nothing wrong with that." The defensive edge that crept into his voice on that last sentence belied the words, though, or the emotion beneath them, at least. He felt guilty for wanting a normal life where he wasn't expected to save the world. Storm had been completely understanding and supportive when he'd left--but that had almost made him feel worse.