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Thorne is sitting in the middle of Pioneer Square eating shitty breakfast burritos and drinking starbucks and trying not to feel too sorry for himself when he gets the call.

"Aleksy," he says when he picks up, the wind tussling his hair and making him shiver. "Hey. You alright? It's - " he checks his clock. "Isn't it late over there?"



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Thorne's voice is an oil spill.

"Aleksy," he says, because he knows something's wrong, and his voice rings with fear - he sees the body all over again, that mirror house - "I'm free. I'm here as long as you need me. Did something - "

He breaks off.

"It's alright," he says after a halting second, "I'm here. I'll be here for however long you want."

Thorne feels hollowed out, like someone gutted him with every word from Aleksy's mouth. "What did he do," he says, and his voice is low and protective, burning. "Aleksy. Just - breathe. Tell me whenever. Don't tell me at all. I'm not going anywhere."

He feels his heart ache, terror in his chest.

"Soon," he promises because it's true. They're on the last leg of their trip. "I'll come to you as soon as I'm home."

"I will," Thorne says, and he means it, he bleeds with resolution, a protective want so animal and cruel in him that it almost makes him double over, makes it hard to breathe. "Aleksy, I'll come home. I'll be home. Until then, I'm here. I'm here. As long as you need me like this, until I come back, I'm here."

Because he cannot stand this. Because he hates that he cannot protect Aleksy of all people. Aleksy who has been with him since the start. He sees the body again, Mina talking to him softly.

It hurts.

"How," Thorne breathes though, and it is a dangerous noise in his throat, "Aleksy - " But he can't say anything. He doesn't know what to say. Nothing lines up the way he wants it to. Nothing. He wants to go home, he wants to hold Aleksy until it's better, he wants to find Jeremiah and demand answers because how dare he, how dare he. But he can't. He can only sit here, useless, and say, "I'm coming home. I won't let him hurt you again."

Not again. Not again.

Thorne doesn't know what any of these means and his mind jumps to the worst things imaginable and he's about to dash his fist into the nearest wall. He feels restless and angry and ready to throw something or run across the states just to kick Jeremiah in the face.

"I believe you," Thorne says, "I'll always believe you. Aleksy, what the ******** did he do - I'll - " He doesn't know what he'll do, really, but he's going to - he's going to - "I want to be home," he says, admits, his teeth rattling, "I want to be there for you." It's an apology, in another language. His. Theirs.

He's angry, he's worried sick. He's pissed off. He's helpless.

"I believe you. Aleksy, please. I believe you."

"Aleksy," Thorne says, soft and gentle, "He went too far. It wasn't your fault." He breathes. In. Out. Tries to keep himself calm, the fire in him from burning until he is home. Until he can help, can do - something. Anything.

"It wasn't your fault," he says again, "Your magic or what you did - none of it is your fault. And I want you to know that."

"I miss you too," Thorne says, softly, achingly. He presses one hand to his arm and bows forward, feeling the weight of helplessness. There's a body - there's a body. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'll always be here for you - and I'll see you soon."

He looks up at the sky. It's time to go back to Ashdown. They've fled across the country, but now it's time to go back.