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 Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:15 pm
Asher shook his head. “She’s been draining energy, that’s all. But she doesn’t seem to know him beyond some guy she keeps running into. I only met her once. We were safe, we never went straight home after running into her or anything. He’s been a bit more reluctant to go out after the sun goes down, so if you see him being a little extra jittery, that’s all. We’re okay, though,” he promised. “I just wanted to give you two a little update. If it was something I was really worried about, we would have told you earlier. It’s just, now that we know about it, we’re noticing it. Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon and all.”
He shrugged, ready to dismiss it, but his shoulders were a little stiff and his brows knit just enough that it was fairly obvious he was taking it seriously, at least.
Devyn only understood part of what he said, but it was enough that he was frowning. Asher caught it and was quick to smile, for him and Michael, and reassure, “If we’re in over our heads, your number’s on speed dial. She’s never been aggressive enough that I was worried, and the fact that she stuck her neck out for Oliver, I don’t know. I don’t trust the Negaverse, we’re not sympathetic or anything. I just don’t know if she’s as much of a threat as the ones that were after Atticus. We haven’t told El about her specifically, we didn’t want him to worry, but we did let him know we’d seen some weird things. So I know you just want us to be careful, and we just want the same for you.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:24 pm
Asher might not seem very alarmed, but Michael couldn’t keep his brow from furrowing with concern. A Negaverse officer who was running into Oliver multiple times and only draining energy…? And then helping him?
Michael didn’t like it. He didn’t like his friends -- his family in danger. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t like the ones who were after Atticus. She likely had a superior officer to report to, and they were likely much more vicious if they’d stayed in the Negaverse long enough to be promoted.
“My dad was sympathetic towards individuals in the Negaverse,” he reminded them, although he was sure he didn’t have to. “They’ve got Chaos whispering into their ear, offering them more than they had without it. Or at least… I can only imagine. I’ve heard it described that way. Her best intentions could still get you both killed, if she’s told the Negaverse needs starseeds instead of just energy.”
He wasn’t trying to scold Asher or talk poorly of Oliver. He was just… worried. He didn’t like it, and he tugged absently at the glowing orb around his neck to try and keep his mind from slipping into darker thoughts.
“I’m glad you’re both okay. I don’t know what she wants but… I hope it’s just a coincidence.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:35 pm
The comment garnered a sympathetic, but understanding look from Asher. He knew what had happened to Michael’s father. “I know,” he assured gently. “We’re not sympathetic to them, we know they’re up to no good. Even if they mean otherwise.We know they’re loyal to the chaos and all. Good intentions or otherwise, none of that matters to us. It’s like a bear wandering in your backyard for some food. It didn’t show up to hurt you but that doesn’t mean it won’t. We get it. And we’ll let you know if anything more comes of it. Oliver and I are trying some different areas in town and working around our schedules so we’re not out so late. Except, she knew his name. I don’t remember if I said it the first time we met or not. I don’t know.”
He shook his head. “Just, I feel better with you knowing. And it’s nothing to get worked up about right now, we’re being safe. But you’re the expert on these things, so if there’s more we can do to be prepared, we will. I didn’t mean to make any of this so heavy, we should be celebrating. I’m glad you were able to save your world, Devyn.”
He nodded to Michael, and while he didn’t say it, he was glad Michael had been able to talk to Devyn about his feelings. He was even more glad to hear that Devyn returned them and they were actually doing something about it.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:52 pm
Michael didn’t say anything in response, but instead frowned at the floor of the kitchen. He believed Asher when he said they were being careful and that they knew what the Negaverse was capable of.
After all, thanks to the Negaverse, their house had been destroyed. Atticus had almost been killed prior to that. He knew they wouldn’t want to be uprooted again. And they probably would rather keep the identities they currently had, instead of having to start over, should the Negaverse find out too much about them.
He hated that the Negaverse was so close to his family. Still. These days, he felt like they never got a break.
“I trust you,” he said after a few moments, even if his instinct was to lock them away somewhere safe. He knew that wouldn’t be doing any favors, though. “I just… I can’t lose anyone else.”
Maybe it was a little more open and honest than he usually was, but he was in the company of those he could trust and those he cared for deeply.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 10:02 pm
Devyn placed a gentle hand on his back. He was still chewing on his toast, so it seemed to be a gesture he hadn’t had to think about much. It was with his bad hand so he was careful enough, but he wanted that contact with Michael. Just in case he needed it.
“You won’t,” Asher assured. “Not if we can help it. Ollie and I were thinking maybe we should take some self defense classes. Which, you know, neither of us want to.”
Neither of them cared for violence, but if they were going to have it injected into their lives, they might as well be prepared. “I’ve never had a problem with people bothering me, and he’s got pepper spray, but we’re taking precautions. So if you know any good classes that’ll work with our schedules, we’ll give it a go. And we’re spending less time out after dark, unless we’re in a well-lit area, so I just wanted to make sure you knew that we were doing our best. We trust that you’re taking care of our boys, we don’t want you to have to worry about us too.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 10:16 pm
He didn’t mean to mope. He knew they were doing their best, and that there was very little he could actually control, and that worrying was just going to stress him out more than he probably needed to be. But sometimes he couldn’t help it.
The hand against his back was welcome, but the tension in his muscles only eased slightly. The Negaverse following Oliver around was upsetting, but he appreciated that they were thinking of ways to keep themselves safe.
“Yeah, I can probably find some classes for you both. I want to get Atticus and Elliot into some kind of training as well. Paris and Chris already have the twins in a martial arts class. The kind that displaces an opponent’s attack, rather than actually fighting. Maybe Oliver would be interested in something like that,” he suggested. If seven-year-olds could take classes for self-defense, then the others could as well.
“Thank you for telling me. And please keep telling us when things like that happen. I’m sorry if my worrying is off putting but… I would really like to know.” Because if there was anything he could do, he would want to.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 10:25 pm
“Well, I knew you’d worry, and he did too. We didn’t want you to be thinking about us while you were going off to Alastor. And I’m glad we waited.” He smiled again, “You’re not off putting. You know we appreciate you.”
His gaze darted to the door for a moment and then back to Michael. “Oliver’s on his way back, so don’t look so worried.”
Devyn was rubbing Michael’s back and instinctively looked towards the door, but he figured that was a good sign to start getting ready to make breakfast.
“We just need to make sure we don’t wind up in the same class as Attiucs and Elliot, the last thing they need to see is how bad we are.” He seemed amused and sipped at his coffee, but he didn’t take himself so seriously that he would have actually been embarrassed. Oliver, maybe, but the two of them seemed to bring out the best in each other–and they wanted to make sure they were doing their best for everyone around them.
Especially Michael, who worried too much already.
“Is there anything we can do for you? To make you feel better? If you two need some time to rest, we can have the boys come stay with us for today.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 10:30 pm
Even with all of his worrying, Michael couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll do my best to make sure you’re not in the same class as the boys,” he promised, showing him a smile in an attempt to look not as worried, as requested.
He knew Oliver and Asher knew how important they were to him, so it was still troubling to know they could be in danger. But he would do his best to trust them. And he would just have to keep his phone with him at all times, just in case.
“If that’s okay with you, actually… and if Atticus can handle being away from Devyn for a while. But I’m sure you both and Elliot will find a way to distract him. Devyn was going to take me out on a romantic dinner date to watch the sunset,” he said with a smile and only a hint of teasing in his voice. Only because he knew how cliche that sounded. As far as dates on Earth went.
“We also wanted to start preparing for the next time we can go off world. Make sure we have all of the tools and equipment we might need,” he explained, because while resting seemed nice, he knew they would both be too restless to stay still for long.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 10:38 pm
Asher’s expression softened into a gentle, knowing smile and he nodded. “That sounds like a good evening, you both deserve it. We’ll take care of Atticus. We can put on some Halloween movies. And Oliver wanted to bake some caramel apple cupcakes–”
“I do, I found a really neat recipe online,” Oliver chimed in; his arms were full of things–more than he needed, of course, but it was for Atticus’ sake. There was bacon, three different flavors of pop tarts, a box of cookies, some granola bars, and a half eaten bag of bagels from a local bakery, that were his absolute favorite and he knew Atticus wasn’t picky–and was a people pleaser–but he said he liked them too, so. Just in case.
“We’re going to have the boys over today so Michael and Devyn can spend some time together.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful, that’s a good idea. I’ll try not to gossip too much about it, but I hope you’ll both tell me all about it,” Oliver said as he laid things out on the counter. “I brought whatever looked good. And then I started getting hungry, too, so I thought maybe I should head back.”
While Devyn was worried about Atticus, he couldn’t help but look at Oliver and Asher, who had been looking after him before he’d even known him. Atticus had been safe with them, and felt safe with them, and a little bit of normalcy might have been nice for him. He’d want to make sure he was okay with it first, and if he and Michael had to raincheck, of course they would. Or, if it meant that he texted Atticus every few minutes, or sent pictures, or did a video call, he could do that, too.
He just wanted him to be okay, and for as protective as he was, he knew that the Reids would at least go out of their way to do what they could to help.
…Which was good, because he was already very worried about him.
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