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 Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 6:19 pm
Cassidy laughed humorlessly. “Oh, maybe. But I’d trust my friends, they’re all good people. And I seriously doubt my grandmother’s going to go out of her way to hunt anyone down. Unless they hurt me,” he said, and at least that sounded smug. “My dad works too much to be evil. My mom dates too much. I guess they could be lying to me about what they’re doing but,” he laughed, again with no humor. “I guess I couldn’t take them even if I wanted to, they get so annoying when they’re around each other now. Guess there wouldn’t be a point in taking them if they’d just tear each other’s throats out.”
He didn’t sound like he meant it. For all the lighthearted teasing, there was something steely in his voice, like he was working very hard to keep it below the surface and under control.
“Guess it wouldn’t do you any good if I got institutionalized, huh? You’re probably right, nobody has any reason to believe me if I tried telling them, anyway. What about you, you said you’re gonna try and stop it–what if you can’t? You’re not gonna like, die fighting, right? You’d come back to Reims?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 7:06 pm
Reims wanted to be able to bring Cassidy’s family. His grandmother had always been kind, even if he’d never met her. He thought that one day he would like to meet her.
His chest ached as Cassidy went through the likelihood of his family being evil, and then if they’d be able to tolerate each other.
Reims knew he wouldn’t know what he would do if he had to pick between his family and friends. But as far as he was aware, all of the people he cared about would be fighting to save Earth. All of them except Cassidy.
“I would try to get back to Reims, yeah,” he said after a long moment. It was the truth. He would try. After everyone else had gotten to safety. After Dering and Yvoire and Rose and Malus and all of his other friends got to safety, he would also attempt to get to safety.
But he was already determined to do everything possible to stop Earth from being destroyed. Even if it cost him his life. At least then he would have done something useful.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 7:24 pm
Cassidy hummed thoughtfully. He hadn’t moved since Reims’s forehead first pressed against his temple and he didn’t seem like he wanted to change anything about how they were sitting.
The silence was overbearing. He knew Reims probably didn’t expect him to have an answer immediately, and Cassidy was very much known for his questions and scrutiny. He took some time to think about what he’d been told and what he’d been offered.
“How long do I have to decide? Is this a sort of ‘pack your things right and be ready to go in the morning’ or are you going to stop by my place and take me to Reims before you head off to go save the world?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 7:28 pm
A humorless laugh escaped. He supposed it was a ‘save the world’ thing, but he didn’t think he had an especially important role in it. He just wanted to make sure no one else got hurt.
“Not in the morning,” he promised. “But if you want to collect a bag of things that you can’t live without, it wouldn’t hurt. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but I’ll try giving you as much of a heads up as possible. And…”
He paused, dismissing the hologram from his ring so he could reach over to take hold of Cassidy’s hand. He drew in a deep breath to settle himself, although he didn’t think he did a great job of it.
“If you decide to stay, or that you can’t leave without your family, just know that I’ll respect your decision. And! Who knows. Maybe this is all just a huge exaggeration and it’ll blow over like it was just another day.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 8:00 pm
Cassidy smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes and he wasn’t even trying to be convincing. “I guess I can get a bag together at least. But I don’t want to leave Earth.”
Practically speaking, he’d rather be alive, but he didn’t want to leave behind everything he ever knew. Everyone. What was he going to do, tell them the world was ending? Then what? Reims didn’t make it sound like he could have taken more than Cassidy anyway. His stomach was in knots. What if there was someone more important, someone better to take?
…But Reims had chosen him?
He was torn between being flattered by that and horrified by the situation. His stomach felt shredded and he wanted to throw up.
Reims’ hands were warm and comforting.
“I guess I already know the answer, but is there anything I can do to help? It doesn’t have to be anything big. I can make you extra dinners or something. Pick up your dry cleaning, do your homework. You know, whatevs.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 8:01 pm
He didn’t want to leave Earth, either. That was just more motivation to make sure things would work out. They had to. There was too much at stake, and he was only just starting to understand himself.
“Forgive me for ghosting you?” he requested a bit sheepishly. He knew it wasn’t fair of him to ask, but he knew he would feel a lot better knowing that Cassidy didn’t hold it against him. At least for now. When the world was done with being in danger, he could go back to being mad at him.
“That’s very sweet of you. But it’ll be okay. I mean, I know I just told you all that stuff and it definitely doesn’t look okay, but… We’re doing our best. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep knowing you didn’t at least know about it. Sorry for ruining your night.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 8:07 pm
When Cassidy laughed this time, it was at least partly real. “You’re so goofy. The world’s ending and all you can ask of me is for me to forgive you for ghosting me? I guess that’s cute. Okay, I forgive you.”
It suddenly didn’t seem like such a big deal, anyway.
“I guess my night’s not ruined. I got to see you, so it’s not a total bust. If you think of anything I can help with, let me know. Obviously the offer isn’t going to expire between now and the ‘end of the world’. Man, I still have so many questions. I don’t know if you have the answers, though. Seems like I’d just be wasting our time together if I ask. Are you doing okay? I mean, you seem pretty stoic, are you ‘tough-guy’ing all this or are you freaked out too?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 8:18 pm
“I’m freaked out a bit,” he admitted. “I’ve only been a Knight for a couple years now. This definitely wasn’t what I was expecting to happen when I first stumbled into all of this. I’m glad I did, though. It really opened my eyes to seeing things differently.”
Before becoming a Knight, he’d just been trying to survive. And surviving meant harassing others and being a bully so he wouldn’t be bullied, himself. It was trying to overcompensate for not having anyone looking out for him. He had a lot of pent up aggression and lived in relative confusion about himself.
Now? He was sitting on a bench holding Cassidy’s hand. It felt like it really hadn’t been so long ago that he’d been avoiding him or thinking Cassidy was trying to tease him or make fun of him.
Absently, Reims lifted his head from where he rested it against Cassidy’s temple so he could press a kiss there instead.
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 6:54 am
It was just enough to make Cassidy smile a little. He’d been so excited to talk to Reims but he should have known there was a catch! It couldn’t just be having a late night romp while sneaking out after hours.
The house was empty anyway, it wasn’t even any fun.
He wanted both to go home and to stay here and making a decision about which he preferred sounded like the worst choice of all.
“Have things like this happened before? I mean, I’m guessing there’s some secret magical component and that’s why NASA hasn’t picked things up? Unless they’re totally corrupt and the government is keeping things quiet so they can secretly evacuate? I’d feel better if this sort of thing happened all the time, to be honest. Kinda makes it feel like it’s ‘just another day on Earth’ if it did, you know? …Sorry, trying no to ask all my stupid questions. Do you think you can do it? You and all the other people trying to save Earth? Like, seriously. Are you sure you’ve got this? Because I could try to start summoning demons or something if it might help. I’m sure my mom knows someone who could teach me.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:46 am
“Evacuate to where, though?” he frowned, still saying comfortably close to Cassidy, as if his warmth was enough to soothe him. And maybe it was.
“Only those of us with Wonders or Worlds have any place to go. And not everyone has been actively trying to clean their place up. So not even our enemy here on Earth is safe from whatever is coming. I don’t think your questions are stupid. I just wish I had better answers,” he sighed, dropping his head back down to rest against Cassidy’s.
“If you’ve got any demons to summon, I can’t imagine it making things worse,” he grimaced, not entirely sure if Cassidy was serious or not, but wouldn’t put anything past him.
“This is the first time anything this big has happened. I think. At least anything other worldly. Well, no. I guess a few years back a bunch of aliens showed up asking for help with their world. Some big piece of rock was exploded -- I think I remember seeing it in the sky, but maybe it was something else. Anyway, apparently that called a bunch of other aliens to Earth and now they’re living among us as normal people. Crazy, right? I’m not an alien though. Promise.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:53 am
Cassidy snorted. “Oh, okay. If you say so. I mean, it’s hard not to trust you. Since you saved my life before. And I guess you’re trying to do it now. I mean, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to take care of this monster. Partly because I think you’re really strong and heroic. Also because I really can’t imagine what life would be like if you didn’t succeed. So, I don’t think I’m going to think about it. So yeah, I’ll see if I can find any demons. If you can find aliens, it shouldn’t be too hard.”
He shrugged half heartedly, like he was going through the motions but not the feelings.
“The only alien I’ve ever met is your friend’s dad but I didn’t get to talk to him. Too bad, what a missed opportunity. I want to hear about weird other worlds. Are your friends going to evacuate or are they going to stay and fight it too? I’m gonna worry about you no matter how many people go out to fight it, I just want to make sure you’ve got people who are going to make sure you come home safe. You seem like the kind of guy who wouldn’t know when to pull back. No offense. I just get this vibe that you’d fight until you’d drop. And, you know. I don’t want to lose you.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 11:00 am
This time, Reims drew back enough to give Cassidy a skeptical look. He kept hold of his hand, but he leaned back enough to make sure Cassidy was actually seeing him and not just some fantasy he made up.
“You haven’t even seen me fight anything,” he huffed, clearly thinking Cassidy was just making things up about how he thought he was really strong and heroic.
“And a good thing, too. I’m not always that graceful when I’m fighting,” he made a face, thinking about how he got beat up by a plant not too long ago. He just wouldn’t talk about it and the incident would fade from existence.
“My friends will fight too, probably. They can be just as stubborn as I am,” he admitted and then sighed. “You won’t lose me. I’m happier with my life than I’ve been… ever… so I very much want to enjoy it for a lot longer. Oh, wanna see something cool?” he suddenly perked up, although trying not to look too enthusiastic about it.
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 11:02 am
The corners of Cassidy’s lips had already upturned into the slightest smile, if only because Reims couldn’t just accept a compliment, even if Cassidy was imagining what praise he should deserve. And Reims was happy with his life.
At least he was dreaming of a lengthy future. Cassidy hoped that was enough to make sure he came back home alive.
He wanted to tease him but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Reims was being particularly cute. If he was trying not to look excited, he was failing miserably. It reminded Cassidy of a child ready to show off a finger painting they were particularly proud of.
Naturally, Cassidy wanted to see.
“Of course I do! Yes, show me!”
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 11:34 am
Pleased that Cassidy wanted to see, Reims sat up a bit more and reluctantly withdrew his hand from Cassidy’s. With it, he placed it over the heart brooch on his chest.
A moment later, a burst of ethereal light escaped the brooch and formed into a creature in front of them. With dark, shimmery pewter fur and a black mane quite similar to the color of Reims’ cape collar. Wings of iridescent reds, purples, black, and dark silver fanned out wide as if to stretch before folding and settling against the lion’s sides.
“Isn’t he cool?” he beamed with pride as the lion shook out its mane and then opened its mouth wide to yawn. Bright amber eyes turned on Cassidy for a few moments. Then the lion stepped forward, lowering its front to stretch, and then plopped down on the ground. Of course Reims couldn’t help but reach out to rub at the lion’s face and scratch behind his ears.
“So, yeah. I promise you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve got help.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 11:39 am
Whatever Cassidy had been expecting, it wasn’t that.
“Oh!” he exclaimed, in a rare show of not being in control of his emotions. He almost never seemed genuinely surprised. His eyes widened but then his brows furrowed as he tried to process what he was looking at.
Well–a lion thing, first of all. Instinct told him he should be scared, and his heart did start to race, but Reims was so easy going about it!
“You just–you have a lion in your pocket? What? Is that safe?” he blurted. Cassidy had not grown up around animals, so though he didn’t recoil, he also didn’t seem to know what to do with the very large cat. How big were those teeth? Wow, it could eat his whole arm in one bite. His whole face!
“I mean! He is cool! But–isn’t there a law against exotic–well, I guess the law doesn’t completely apply to you. Where did you find him? Are you going to fight with him? I think–that’s not animal cruelty?” he asked, raising a brow now. He couldn’t seem to decide how he felt about it, but two things were very true:
One, it was cool.
Two, he actually wanted to pet him, a lot.
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