Cam didn’t have many fond memories of the Equinoxes.

Solstices had good memories. Not at home, those parties were a bit wild for a child, but he’d dress in his best clothes and go to the city center. They’d have parties open to the street, big enough nobody would ask whose guest you were if you didn’t draw attention to yourself. He could stuff himself on free food and watch the dancers and magicians and passerby dressed like demons. He’d had his first kiss at a solstice party, fourteen and tipsy, talking with a girl he’d never met before on a moonlit bench.

There were no wild parties on Equinoxes. He hadn’t worked those days either.

“When the days are even, everything follows the correct path,” Nolan told him. “That means people like us keep our heads down for a day.”

Bad things happened on Equinoxes. It was on purpose, Cam knew now. It was considered the most auspicious time for a raid or an assassination, as long as it Set the World In Balance.

Sometimes he still felt it, this season. No matter how many cases he worked, it felt as if the world knew he was out of balance.

Maybe that’s why he was a bit glad Ms. James hadn’t taken his invite to join him and Linn for dinner tonight. He didn’t see any of his co-workers much outside of work unless Theo was helping him with a case. His bi-annual dinners with Linn felt like an oasis. 

It would have been weird not to invite Ms. James. She didn’t have any family in the area, and their Equinox spot was Avairnian food. Luvikian food was the traditional fare of those pointedly avoiding the Equinox, but Linn ‘would rather eat tainted glass’ than go to a Luvikian place on the Equinox, so Avairnian it was. Specifically, a hole in the wall place built right up against the north city wall. The restaurant had three tables, one of which managed to always have the same three grandmas talking over each other in passionate Vayish.

Linn was already there, studying the menu. She’d dressed up, which, for Linn, meant she’d worn her least wrinkled button up and only pulled back the top half of her hair. She;d even worn something besides black for once, which was funny because this was the one time of year it would have been expected. To be fair, that was probably the reason. Couldn’t risk anyone thinking Linn Miller did anything as superstitious as celebrate a holiday. Wearing his normal office clothes, he still looked a good deal fancier than her. He’d even tried to dress in darker colors, if only to avoid weird looks on the street.

“You look nice,” he said, and she looked up in surprise, too engrossed in the menu to hear them coming. Honestly, if somebody wanted to take down the office, all they’d need to do would be to wait until Ms. James and Abigail left and then strike when everyone was reading. They could plant a bomb in the middle of the room, and Cam, Linn, and Theo would all read straight through it.

“You look the same as always,” Linn said. 

Drinks were already on the table, which meant she’d already ordered. They got the same thing every year. Cam was too skittish to foray too deeply into unknown Avairnian cuisine, and Linn had too picky a palette to find more than a dish or two she wanted on any menu.

And if she’d already ordered…

“You better not have paid for both our meals,” he said sternly.

“How else would they let me order? Relax, you can pick us up dessert at a stall later.”

“A stall dessert is only like a quarter the price of a meal.”

She laughed, looking like she was barely resisting ruffling his hair.

“Don’t be such an accountant, Cam. Let me treat you. It’s a holiday.”

“I thought we were here specifically to not celebrate the holiday. It can’t just be a holiday again when it’s convenient for you.”

“We’re here to not celebrate the Equinox,” she corrected. “That doesn’t mean I can’t observe my biannual tradition of ignoring the equinox, during which it is considered proper to treat your friend to food.”

He sighed, but took his seat with a smile.

“Well, I can’t stand in the way of etiquette. Thanks.”

“Of course.” She raised her glass to him. “To orphans.”

He raised his own glass and clinked it softly against hers. 

“And those who wish they were.”