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 Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:57 am
It was later than Michael expected it would be. The snow was coming down in large flakes as he pulled his car into the driveway. He'd turned the headlights off while still on the street to hopefully not wake any of the neighbors when the headlights flashed into their windows as he turned. Normally he would have parked in the garage, but didn't want the sound to wake Peter or Devyn.
He slowly got out of the car, glad that the snow hadn't accumulated too much as he stepped into it, crunching softly under his feet. The car door was shut as quietly as possible. He'd already locked it from the inside, so he didn't need to have it make another noise to indicate it was secured.
But instead of going inside once he made his way to the front porch, he decided to sit on the steps for a bit and watch the snow fall. The porch light came on, of course, but it was far enough away from the bedrooms to hopefully not bother anyone. It would go off in a minute or so.
He just wanted to take a moment to listen to the nothingness except the snowfall. It was enough to drown out whatever noises the main part of the city was making. All the Christmas lights had been turned off, so there was just the faint glow from street lights that lit up the white powder over everything.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:06 am
It was neither early enough nor late enough for Devyn to be sleeping, and though he’d napped for a few minutes earlier in the day, once the sun had set he seemed to be wide awake again. He was sitting quietly in the dining room–an impressive feat for him. Peter said he could watch television, or read, or any number of things, and Devyn had thanked him but had alternated between patching up one of the shirts he’d had in subspace and doing mostly nothing.
He watched the snow fall for a while, and had been so comfortable that he zoned out for a while. Michael was out late, and Devyn could understand why Peter might have worried. The night seemed so still, it was easy to let his mind wander. The later it got, the easier it was to assume something had happened.
He knew Michael was completely capable, so he didn’t worry. He just waited.
Watched. Listened.
The house wasn’t dark; most of the lights were off, but Devyn had kept a few little ones on. The headlights were the first indication that Michael had returned, but Devyn didn’t think much of it until he heard the car door close. It was quiet, but loud enough in the silence.
He waited for a few seconds and decided that must mean he’d be inside soon. He’d promised Peter he’d make sure Michael knew there was food waiting for him, so he took a bit of time to get a proper serving for Michael and make sure it was warm enough to be served.
It smelled as good as it had earlier–better, even, so while he was here he couldn’t help but make a second bowl for himself.
By the time he’d finished, Michael still hadn’t come inside, and then he’d started to wonder if something had happened.
It was dark, and still outside, and that wasn’t a good thing. That was the sort of thing that made him wary, and it wasn’t long before concern welled up, because what if he wasn’t the only one who had shown up here? What if the shadows had come to Earth and were going to try to swallow it up, too?
And if Michael hadn’t been expecting it–
If it was Devyn’s fault–
Well, he’d just have to go find him and take him back.
His mouth had settled into a frown by the time he made his way to the front door, and he opened it quietly so he didn’t wake Peter or alert the shadows. The light on the porch came on and–
“Oh, there you are,” he said, and somehow managed to keep his voice quiet without having to think about it too much. He sounded relieved to see him, and rested against the doorframe. “Are you all right?”
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:43 pm
Michael didn’t exactly jump, but he hadn’t expected anyone to open the door or the light to come back on. He’d been rubbing at his shoulder, which was still sore but should have been mostly healed. After all, it had been about a month now since he’d encountered General Aquamarine and put him in his place.
“Dev--” he said in surprise as he looked up at him, and then frowned at himself. “Devyn. Sorry…” he muttered, not knowing why he didn’t say Devyn’s full name the first time. A weird lapse in his thoughts maybe?
“Did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet,” he sighed, and figured he’d had enough time to himself anyway. The calmness of the snow was settling for him, much like the small orb that rested against his chest, beating at a steady pace. It grounded him even as his thoughts began to wander. When the speed of his own heart got out of control, the gentle pulse from the necklace brought him back to normalcy.
He didn’t look forward to the day when he would have to give it back. But for right now he was content with guiltily keeping it hidden.
Michael pushed himself up from where he sat on the porch. He’d already gotten chilled to the bone, but he didn’t mind that too much. It was nice to feel numb sometimes.
“You’re going to get cold out here. Let’s go inside,” he offered. He would look at the snow some other time.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:08 pm
Devyn could count the number of people who called him Dev on one hand, and yet, he didn’t seem to be surprised or uncertain when Michael did. Instead, he just smiled.
Partly because Michael hadn’t been swallowed up by shadows, but still.
“You didn’t wake me up, no. And you were very quiet. So much so that I got suspicious and came to check. I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Devyn said, though he pushed himself away from the door frame to make room for Michael. “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to. I’d be more worried about you catching cold than me. If you want to stay out here, I can get you a blanket. There’s still soup on the stove, I just heated some up. I can bring it out for you.”
It was chilly, but Devyn still had the warmness of the house inside behind him to fight off the cold before him. He didn’t know how Michael wasn’t frozen solid, but he didn’t want to interrupt him if he was doing fine out here.
…Well, no, he did want to interrupt him a bit. He just didn’t want to be too pushy about it, and didn’t see a reason to if Michael was comfortable being out here alone.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:37 pm
Michael hesitated. He didn’t know why he hesitated. Maybe because he wasn’t sure if he could trust himself around Devyn. Not because he thought there was anything malicious about Devyn, but because it was a little too easy to talk to him. He’d learned a long time ago that keeping things to himself meant he was more protected. And even though he knew who Devyn was, he didn’t know him.
And he felt guilty knowing more than Devyn about the answers he was looking for… but wouldn’t want to find.
He remained on the porch for only a moment longer before showing Devyn a small smile in return and made his way inside. It was cold, and if he stayed out longer, even with the orb reminding him that he wasn’t being pulled under merciless waves, it would have been easy to forget to take care of himself if he got too lost in thought.
“Late night snack?” he couldn’t help but tease, even with a bit of exasperation in his voice. “Sorry to worry you. I’ll come in so I don’t catch cold,” he said as he closed and locked the door behind him. He brushed off the last of the snow and loosened his shoes with his toes so he could leave them at the front and not track snow into the house.
“I’m guessing Peter went to bed? I’m glad. I’ve had to wake him up from falling asleep on the couch a few times,” he sighed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:55 pm
“He wanted to stay up until you got home but I told him I’d be up. I was fixing up some things of mine at the table, and I don’t–well, you know my sleep schedule.” Sort of. In that, Devyn didn’t really have a good one, so it was impossible to tell when he’d be awake or asleep, anyway.
“I was feeling motivated tonight, though. I think I’ll stay up for a bit longer. I’ve been eating your soup all day, it was very hard to save you some. You’re a good cook.”
Devyn kept his voice quiet, just to make sure he didn’t wake up Peter. If he got to sleep through the night, good.
He could have just gone on without Michael, but instead he waited for him to get his shoes off. While he stood by, he glanced at a blanket thrown over the back of a nearby chair. He didn’t go get it. But, he thought about it. He was pretty sure he could feel the winter chill clinging to Michael even after he’d stepped inside and wondered how he’d manage to sit out there without being bothered by it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 6:10 pm
“Of course he did,” he sighed, but he didn’t sound too upset about it. Just concerned. It meant that Peter was probably worried, and Michael didn’t want him to worry.
“I’m glad you liked it. You didn’t have to save me any though,” he insisted. In fact, he looked like turning down the offer was at the tip of his tongue. It had been a long night already and if it wasn’t for his own stomach betraying him by making gurgling noises, he would have insisted that he wasn’t hungry.
“If you need to power up again, just let me know. I don’t mind taking you out,” he offered, since he had rules about powering up too close to the house. They had no idea how many others were like him and could sense auras. He didn’t want to draw attention to a single location. He’d already made sure Devyn packed away the flashlights and a good bit of food. Especially with Christmas so close.
He made his way to the kitchen, looking over at the table to see what Devyn had been working on and tried not to smile about it.
“You’re pretty good at mending clothes. I’ll know who to ask the next time I need something fixed.” It wasn’t often that he had something he liked so much that he needed it repaired, but he could think of a few things he stopped wearing for fear of them getting ruined. Sentimental things that should have been packed away, anyway.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 6:24 pm
“You want to go out again already? You’re still half frozen. It’s too cold for me tonight, I went out this morning and that was enough for me. But, thank you,” Devyn said, and adult that he was, he couldn’t help but be a bit amused that Michael had adopted the role of chaperone for him.
Maybe Devyn should have been annoyed at the idea that someone needed to take him out, but he’d found that he rather liked the idea of having someone with him.
He hadn’t gotten lost once since he’d run into Michael and Peter.
“If I didn’t save you any, I’d have been obligated to cook something for you. I suspect you don’t want me experimenting with your kitchen, though. It’s better this way. And, you can keep me company while I have my late night snack.”
He gathered his things at the table and pushed them off to the side so they had some space to sit if they wanted. He held up the shirt and examined it with a bit of scrutiny. He ran his thumbs over the fabric and said, “It’s strange, I don’t remember letting this get so ratty. I love this shirt. But, I’ll have it all fixed up by tomorrow. If there’s anything you want me to work on, you should bring it out. I haven’t decided if I want to go out tomorrow, but Peter says it’s probably going to be colder than today so maybe not. I’ll have to see how much it snows.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 6:51 pm
Michael paused, and then laughed with a shake of his head. “I didn’t mean now, but yes. Any time,” he insisted. It wasn’t like Devyn or Peter could feel auras like he could. He at least knew when it was relatively safe, or at least not around youma or agents.
He looked at the shirt Devyn had, thinking it did look rather old, but if Devyn didn’t remember…
Then it probably was trauma of some kind. Or something else entirely. It was probably easier to let memories lapse than remembering every painful event. Michael would know.
“That’s a pretty shirt. Is it silk? I’ll look through my closet tomorrow,” he promised and pulled out one of the chairs at the table so he could sit down, although it was a little strange that he was just letting Devyn do whatever he wanted to in his kitchen. But it was only for a little longer, he reminded himself. He could at least offer him this tiny bit of comfort to do whatever he wanted.
“The stove didn’t give you too much trouble, I hope,” he said, hoping he didn’t seem too fussy about it, but it wasn’t as though Devyn was from Earth, so he might have some difficulties adapting. Although he’d done much better than Michael expected. Devyn did mention traveling to different worlds, so maybe he was just used to learning different customs and practices quickly.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:16 pm
“Not too much trouble, no. Peter walked me through it a few times,” he said, and neatly folded up his shirt and put it off to the side with the rest of his supplies. “You have a good eye. Silk is my favorite. It’s practical. Soft, but durable. And I’ve never found a fabric that dyes as well, so there’s a lot you can do with it. I had to get used to repairing my clothes at a young age. I used to go through them faster than I could grow out of them so they got tired of replacing my clothes and made me sit down and fix them. I don’t know if you’d believe me if I told you how hard I’ve been working not to damage any of yours.”
Clothes out of the way, he fetched the two bowls of soup, and spoons, and returned. He placed his bowl and spoon down first but was more careful with Michael’s, and passed him the spoon before he took a seat at the table.
“I like it, though. Fixing them. I don’t like throwing away something I care about. Sometimes it just needs a little extra help, and then it’s good as new. Or, better.”
He stirred his soup and then said, “Or maybe that sounds silly. They’re just clothes. But, I think they’re important. And between fixing up something I’ll use and watching television, I thought this was the more productive option. Besides, I got a good warm up out of it. I bet I can fix anything you’ve got in your closet.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:01 pm
“I believe you,” Michael said quietly, pulling the bowl that had been placed in front of him a little closer. It was difficult not to think about everything that Devyn had been through. And it kept pulling at his thoughts, but he knew asking would only risk Devyn finding out they knew more than they were letting on.
When was the last time Devyn had any new clothes? When was the last time he had someone to talk to, other than the shadows that plagued his world?
“I don’t think it’s silly to care about things. Clothes, books… other things,” he said after a moment because maybe it was too obvious that he cared about books. He cleared his throat as he picked up the spoon to stir the soup in front of him. “I’ve got a couple motorcycles in the garage I’m working on. I stopped riding a couple years ago, but I still like fixing them up and donating them. With proper safety equipment, of course,” he added, because he didn’t want Devyn getting any ideas that it was okay to ride around without a helmet. “Sometimes it’s nice to just… breathe life back into something.”
Maybe that was sharing too much. Michael scooped a bite from the surface to put in his mouth, giving him an excuse to stop talking for a little while.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:19 pm
Devyn had stirred his soup while he listened, but his eyes were on Michael and he listened attentively. He’d noticed that Michael had named books in his list, which was good because he knew a few things about books. He might have had some that were interesting, he’d have to see what he still had on his shelves back home.
Maybe some poetry.
“It is,” he agreed easily, and paused only to take a reasonable spoonful of soup. He was hungry, but not so much that his stomach was going to start screaming at him. Yet.
“If you’ve got one to work on sometime, will you let me watch? You don’t have to,” he said, apparently already prepared for some sort of rejection. “I don’t understand how they work. But I think they’re fascinating. Much different from the things I’m used to working on. I don’t even know if I’d understand it, though. Why did you stop riding?”
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:48 pm
“You can help if you’d like,” Michael offered. It wasn’t like the motorcycles were going to get any worse than they were. He’d purposefully picked ones that would be a challenge. “It might get a little messy. There’s a lot of cleaning involved, especially with the engines,” he explained, but as put together as Devyn presented himself, he had a feeling that he wasn’t afraid of getting dirty.
As for why he stopped riding…
“I didn’t trust myself,” he said before he realized he was saying it out loud. He paused, and then laughed softly, glancing up somewhat embarrassedly at Devyn. “You don’t have some kind of other worldly magic that makes me say things out loud when I don’t mean to, do you?” he asked, even as a small smile tugged at his lips. Normally he would have said something flippant like… he just didn’t feel like riding any more. But Devyn listened in a way that Michael felt himself answering without the barriers he usually kept up.
“I was going through some things. Couldn’t keep my head clear enough to focus on the road, or to focus on everyone else around me while riding. People aren’t always very observant of motorcycles since they’re smaller than cars,” he explained, figuring he might as well answer him fully since he was going to be honest about it. “I thought it would be… irresponsible,” he concluded, unsure how else he wanted to explain it.
He reached up to rub at his shoulder again. He would have to try and make sure it was still healing like it was supposed to later. For now, he was interested in what Devyn had to say about helping him work on his motorcycles.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 4:55 am
Michael was rubbing at his shoulder again, and Devyn wasn’t sure why he noticed except that he did. He ignored it at first and just nodded.
“That sounds wise. I’m glad you took a break. I don’t think I like cars. I still can’t believe they’re not some sort of weapon.”
Large, and loud, and armored, and capable of going great speeds too quickly to be safe. No, he’d stick to walking, for now. If he needed to get somewhere further away, maybe he’d ask to borrow a horse. Or just run all the way there.
“But maybe I will if I see how they work. Or a motorcycle, at least.” They weren’t the same, but they were close enough to get an idea. He didn’t seem remotely put off by the idea of messy, and not just because he’d gotten into the habit of borrowing Michael’s clothes.
Michael said he didn’t trust himself, but that was then–and he didn’t know how long ago it was, but if he still wasn’t riding, Devyn wondered if that meant he still didn’t trust himself. Or, if he was just doing his best to be responsible.
He didn’t think he had some otherworldly magic that could make someone speak their thoughts out loud, but if he did, he hoped it worked for important things, too. “Is your shoulder all right?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 9:37 am
He hesitated again, and slowly lowered his hand from his shoulder so he would stop messing with it. He hadn’t realized he’d done it in a way that would draw concern, but Devyn was surprisingly observant. He supposed he had to be when his whole world was filled with Chaos that was probably trying to kill him.
“Some malicious people use cars for weapons,” Michael admitted, because it was important that Devyn knew that. Probably. There were evil people in this world too, and he should always be careful.
“When everyone uses them correctly they’re very safe. They have safety features to protect anyone inside them. Outside…? Not so much. That’s why it’s typically more dangerous for motorcyclists. I can show you how both work,” he offered, since he might as well while he was at it.
As for his shoulder… “I was injured a few weeks ago. It’s hard to reach to bandage, but it should be doing fine.” Theoretically. It should have been healed by now, but the knife was probably deeper than he realized. “I guess it started acting up because it’s cold.” or something like that.
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