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 Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 5:33 am
He didn’t know what to say, or what to do. Reims looked at the snacks being offered to him, but he didn’t reach out for them yet. He waited until it seemed as though Ephesus was done using his magic before finally taking the candybar. He acted somewhat reluctant to do so, but he was grateful. Just at a loss.
He knew he should have said something. He wanted to thank them, but he was pretty sure if he opened his mouth he would say something stupid. His eyes felt hot, which was also stupid. He felt both like everything ached and numb at the same time. And he was tired.
“I guess there’s no point in hiding,” he mumbled, carefully tearing the wrapper open so he could take a bite. “Was it that obvious?”
That was embarrassing. If they could figure him out that easily, what was stopping Yvoire from finding out? Ephesus knew he would have to clean up better later, but for now he used a wet wipe to get as much of the blood off his hands as he could. He could power down to get the blood off of his outfit, and he looked forward to a long shower. Mostly so he could cry without worrying anyone. Oh, and to get cleaned up.
Even now he sniffled a bit. He appreciated Mary filling the silence. He always seemed to know what to say. And Reims seemed to be calmed down now, if not a bit awkward about everything.
“I don’t think so,” Ephesus admitted, sitting close to both of them, but reaching out to take Mary’s hand for a bit of extra comfort after everything.
“You’re different like this. More confident. It’s who you really are. It’s okay to protect that.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 7:27 am
Amarynthos squeezed Ephesus’ hand. He didn’t mind the mess, even if it was a bit disorienting to think that the mess was his friend’s blood.
“No, you did a really good job hiding it,” he agreed. “I’ve been trying to figure it out for months, sorry. Me and Effie bounced around a lot of ideas. You’ve been on my shortlist for a while but we didn’t talk to anyone else about it. We were going to wait for you to be ready to tell us, but I really am sorry. I just couldn’t help it but try to figure it out, too.”
His apology was genuine, his curiosity was just overwhelming.
Knowing that there was a possibility it was Riker meant that he was already prepared for it. It wasn’t surprising and there was no silly fanfare about it.
Riker wanted to keep his identity a secret. Elliot didn’t blame him. Riker had sort of a habit of being troublesome, but Elliot couldn’t just tell him that he thought it was because he was under a lot of stress back home. He didn’t know everything but he knew a bit about Riker’s brother, and mostly about his mother. He didn’t really like when she showed up at any of their games. He was always at least a little distracted worrying about if she was going to make a scene.
She was there for herself, not for Riker, and it showed.
“Effie’s right, though.” He squeezed his hand. He didn’t want to gush over Ephesus in front of Reims right now. “You seem more relaxed when you’re Reims. More comfortable. When you’re like this, you get to be who you want to be and you don’t have to worry about anyone trying to take that away from you, right?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 10:36 am
Once again, Reims was silent. More from fatigue than from not having anything to say. He could say a lot, but right now he was feeling the weight of everything, and the pain radiating in his arm, and his heart was heavy with secrets that he wasn’t willing to share, even if his friends were able to discover things about him that he tried to keep from them.
“I am sorry,” he finally said as he picked at the candy bar he’d been given. He took little bites, but he was more tired than he cared to admit. And he was grateful to Ephesus’s magic, but didn’t know how long it would keep the pain from becoming overwhelming.
“For how I’ve treated you. And others. I didn’t know I had any other choice until--”
He paused to gesture at himself. Being a Knight gave him another chance at everything. He didn’t want to give that up. Ephesus held Amarynthos’s hand with both of his, gently brushing his fingers over the back. He knew Riker hadn’t been the best person in the world. He was mean and made fun of people. He was aggressive and disruptive. He’d hurt Énna as well. Ephesus understood why Reims would worry about Énna hating him.
But he also believed in second chances. He wanted to see the best in people, and now, more than ever, it was clear that Reims was struggling with more than just trying to hurt people’s feelings. It didn’t excuse his behavior, but he was their friend.
However, Énna hadn’t done anything wrong. If he chose not to forgive Riker, then Atticus would support that. It made things difficult, but Riker made that choice. It just broke Ephesus’s heart knowing this could break apart their group.
“We can help you make up for everything,” Ephesus offered, because while they hadn’t been wronged to the point of needing to want any apology from Riker, he knew there were others who deserved one.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 10:38 am
“Life’s about learning and growing,” Amarynthos said, and more than just repeating some well-meaning words, he seemed to truly believe it. “No one’s born perfect.”
He didn’t need the earrings to share his thoughts with Ephesus. The brief glance he gave him said, ‘Except for you.’
“I forgive you. I don’t think you’ve ever done anything bad enough to me that I need an apology. But it means a lot, thank you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but I guess…what made you think you didn’t have a choice?”
Amarynthos sat, relaxed and unbothered. There was no tension in his body and no pressure in his question. He looked at Reims, but not so closely that his gaze was penetrating or intrusive.
Reims looked bad, but stable. He was still trying to figure out if they should be worrying about how much blood he’d lost. He wondered if he could convince Michael or his dad to make a juice burger or something when they got back. It would probably be harder to convince Riker to even come back with them.
It didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 10:51 am
Amarynthos was lucky that Reims was too tired to really react to his flowery forgiveness and thanks and praise and all that stuff that Reims really didn’t feel comfortable around. He knew Amarynthos likely meant it, but that didn’t mean he was used to it, or wanted to get used to it.
Instead, Reims just rolled his eyes.
And then held up his bandaged arm in response. He didn’t say anything, but instead looked like he was ashamed. He kept his head down, staring instead at the candybar. He lowered his arm after a few moments, not sure if that was enough to answer Amarynthos’s question or not.
They either understood what he meant, or were too naive and trusting and innocent to know. Ephesus’ grip on Amarynthos’ hands tightened for a moment. Just as they didn’t need their earrings to share thoughts (of which he was still blushing a little from Amarynthos’ previous glance), he doubted he needed to do more to let Amarynthos know that he suspected he knew what Reims meant.
Why did he think he didn’t have a choice? And his response was to show them his injury?
“Come home with us,” he asked, his voice a little more pleading than he wanted it to sound. “Please? The Moon is great and we’ve stayed here for many nights, but it’s not the same--”
The Moon was safe. It was comfortable. But it didn’t have their parents there with them, watching over them. Atticus hadn’t known what that feeling was until his and Elliot’s parents showed him. Maybe Reims didn’t know what that was like either.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 10:53 am
“And you need food. Real food. Not snacks. Like, a lot of iron and protein. You need somewhere where you can get some peace of mind and rest.”
He didn’t sound like he was pleading but he did sound determined, and he’d already built a steady argument for all of the reasons why it would be a good idea for Reims to just make it easy on himself and come back with them.
“We’ll have a sleepover, it’ll be all normal. You know, put on a movie. Order a pizza, or–actually, maybe we should grill you a burger or something. It’s not too late. Michael or my dad can do it, they love that macho ‘dad stuff’.”
He looked around the room and figured that if he hurried, maybe he could get this place cleaned up in five minutes. He wondered if he could summon his bear and get a little extra help but he doubted it. Ephesus looked worn out and Reims wasn’t in any condition to strain himself.
“If you come back with us, you won’t have to worry about anything. And neither of our parents will ask any questions if you don’t want them to. They all know we’re Knights. Sometimes we get hurt. No hospital, no drama. And you can stay as long as you want. We can all sleep in my room. Or if you want privacy,” he shrugged, “Atticus and I will sleep in the living room and you can have my bed. Whatever you need. But don’t stay up here alone. Come back with us.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 10:55 am
Reims scoffed at the idea of a sleepover. That sounded dumb, and childish. It wasn’t as though he’d ever had a sleepover anyway. He’d slept in places not his own home before, but that wasn’t a sleepover. That was just trying to exist in a place that didn’t mind him being there.
But he couldn’t deny that they were probably right. He knew he needed to recover, and staying there on the Moon would only help so much.
He didn’t realize it for a few moments, but he’d looked up to stare at the Code. It was calming and peaceful, and he didn’t regret going there to try and find help.
And there was a lot he needed to talk to the others about.
“Okay,” he agreed, his voice quiet. They already knew who he was, so there was no point in hiding it. Ephesus let out a sigh of relief, and then nodded.
“Okay,” he repeated, and then pushed himself up to his feet, holding Amarynthos’ hand to help him do the same.
“Stay right there and we’ll get everything fixed up here,” he promised. He cast a glance over at his boyfriend, and offered him a small, grateful smile. He suspected that Mary would want him to rest, but he was okay. He could at least help by pouring water onto any bloodstains so they could clean it up easier.
“Thank you, Reims. It’ll be okay, whether you believe it yet or not. I didn’t believe it for myself for a long time, but I’m happy now.”
He knew he might take some time and effort, but helping Reims find his peace of mind and happiness was important to him, too. And all of their friends.
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