Welcome to Gaia! ::

While Nelson had enjoyed traveling, had enjoyed it immensely, he had missed Destiny City more than he could say. He had missed his friends and his routine and now that he was home...a little while earlier than expected, but...that wasn’t important. He couldn’t wait to visit Jace and Xander, and the day after he arrived, he made his way to their house, backpack full of small treasures for the brothers.

Well, it was mostly gifts for Xander, but there were a few things that Q had picked out for Jace and she had sent with Nelson so that she didn’t have to worry about them getting damaged while she was still overseas.

Japan had been so beautiful, and the culture had been so very unique...but he had missed all of this. His friends. His home. If Nelson was ever able to go back, he would have to insist that Xander came too. At the very least Xander, and he knew that Q would be happier if Jace were there. But.

That didn’t matter right now. What mattered was the fact that he was back and his friends were just inside.

He knocked on the door and shifted from foot to foot, suddenly worried that perhaps they wouldn’t recognize him...or wouldn’t want him here, but quickly squashed those feelings down, raising his gaze from the ground to the door, feeling suddenly determined.

...Though what he would do if they weren’t home, he hadn’t really thought of.

Jace was desperate for any face out of the ordinary; it had been so long since he’d seen any of them in person that all of his friend’s faces were slowly being worn away and replaced with text. Or he was just losing his mind--he wasn’t sure.

Xander was in the house, pacing like an overeager dog, and Jace wasn’t about to be abandoned--no matter how close Nelson and his brother were.

He hadn’t known Nelson was coming over, but when he saw his brother peer out the window and then rush outside, he knew.

And he wanted in. Or, rather, out--of the house. He had been in the kitchen, quietly getting a drink, when Xander escaped. He liked to think his brother wasn’t very good at keeping secrets--at least, not from him, and Jace was certain he would have known if Xander was waiting for the mailman because he wasn’t supposed to come for another hour so there wasn’t any reason to rush out now.

So it had to be something else. Someone else.

Nelson.

He crossed the house to join them on the doorstep and was going to whisper a quiet greeting when he paused, realizing there were cars missing from the driveway.

“--Mom left?” he blurted, leaning out of the door away from their hug to look for her car. Her vanished car. Her disappeared car. That she always took. That was now gone. Which meant she shouldn't be here.

He looked back into the house, as if he expected her to appear, but when she didn’t, he said, “I’ve been quiet for hours, when did she leave? --No, yeah, come in. I should have known it was you, Nelson. Xander doesn’t get that excited about anyone else. How was your trip? He’s really excited about the hay. It’s nice to see you, welcome back.”

He wasn’t as openly excitable as his brother, but then, he never had been. He internalized everything he could, but there was a bit of brightness to his eyes and his expression was a little less bitchy than usual but it was impossible to tell if it was a natural side effect of actually being happy, or if it was because he had to make a conscious effort not to accidentally scare Nelson.

Xander peered out of the door to confirm the missing car, and the delight on his face increased.
“We missed you too, like all of you. Holden is still gone too, but his Brother is touring or something. Did he threaten you with wrestling gear too? Cause he totally did us.”

He gave a small laugh and then stepped aside.

“Sorry, Jace, if I’d realized she was gone, I’d have said something too, man, she’s getting -sneaky- we’re gonna have to be on our toes.” He said, marveling with a small frown.

“Come on, if we hear the car come back, we can shuttle you out of here before she gets too grumpy about guests interrupting study time.”

Jumping out of the window? Oh...his sister wouldn’t want to hear about that ever, and the sheepish, nervous smile that Nelson wore was enough to show his discomfort. “...Hopefully she won’t be back any time soon...but um. If she does...honestly, I don’t see why you two just don’t come and live with us. It would be a tight fight, but if you wouldn’t mind sharing a room...or...or I can share a room with my...ah.”

No, that wouldn’t work. Q would be utterly put out with him on so many different levels. “...It’s a three bedroom place, if you didn’t want to share a room, we could set up the living room for you! The couch is comfortable, Xander, you always fall asleep on it anyway!”

At least then it would get these two away from their mother and they both wouldn’t have to have fears of being sent to “The Farm” again...The very idea of the place always seemed so...awful. And it was always capitalized in Nelson’s mind.

Following the brothers in, Nelson wore a shy smile again. “It was very different than here. I liked it a lot, and I’d really like to go back. The food was wonderful, and there were so many things that I didn’t really get a chance to see...but it would have been better with my friends there. Obviously.” His eyes lit up at the thought of going back to Japan one day, possibly with Xander. “...There’s a lot I’d like to show you. Ah. You two.”

Jace was calculating, considering Nelson's offer deeply. There was some sort of reassurance there, that Nelson was volunteering like that. That he was so willing to embrace Xander, that he was so worried about him.

Jace almost felt some of the pressure leave his shoulders and he nodded.

If it came down to it, he didn't care if he had to sleep in the same room as his brother. But.

There were complications that came with him leaving, things he couldn't quite risk.

But, the exam was in a few months.

The exam he wasn't ready for, he reminded himself, but still.

He squinted a bit at Nelson when he clarified you two, like he didn't already know that Xander was his favorite. Nelson was like a puppy, trailing after him and fawning over him. Everyone saw it. It might have been cute, if he wasn't worried that it would go to Xander's head.

Still, this was all good news, and he breathed deeply, just relaxing as the universe gave him a sliver of hope and good fortune. He placed two cans of soda out for them, already opening one for himself. He nodded appreciatively at the offer and added, "What was your favorite thing while you were there? Q was texting me about everything."

“W… We were talking about maybe finding a place we can all pitch in and rent.”

Xander said with a quirk of a smile. “Especially if the Farm comes up again.” He shrugged like it was nothing, but he tended to do that regardless of who he spoke to and couldn’t quite seem to shake that habit.

“Jace, had a fair point that Mom probably wouldn’t let him move out till after he passes his exam, but we could have a room ready for him, and it could even be a good place to study.” He added hopefully.

“We could, like…text Q and ask her? I know she won’t be back for a bit I think you said but uh… like you and I could look and…” He gave a helpless shrug.
“Still kinda like a big sleepover right?” He offered with a hopeful grin.

“Cause I think we could absolutely use some happy endings.”



He smiled at Nelson with that softer sort of look he got sometimes.

Nelson hesitated and smiled warmly at Xander once again, nodding. “I mean...yeah! We can text Q...or just wait for her to come back, it shouldn’t be too much longer now...She said at most two weeks or so behind me…” He bit his lip for a moment and had to look away from Xander, his heart doing some uncomfortable pitters in his chest.

“What...ah. What kind of a sandwich are you making there, Jace? You...did it offend you?” He suddenly wanted to change the subject. Wanted to talk about something else. Anything else. Xander’s smile was making him melt in a way he hadn’t since he had been gone to Japan, and now he really realized that he was melting because of Xander’s smile.

Oh boy.

“Do you need me to do anything? Or get anything? Ah...So long as your mother hasn’t changed the kitchen too much, I’m sure that I can still help!” He never knew though. Their mother was a little unbalanced at times and liked things her own way.

Jace glanced up at Nelson. "It's just a sandwich, I don't need--why, does something look wrong with it?" he picked it up as if to analyze it, huffing, because the sandwich was perfectly boring and just fine that way.

He tried not to think about how badly he wanted everyone to come back, now more so than ever. Nelson was a friend, but he was Xander's best friend, and that meant that Jace was going to be on the backburner while Xander fixated on Nelson like a shiny new toy, trying to make up for lost time.

It was stupid to be jealous. He knew it. He wanted his brother to be happy. He was just already miserable at the prospect of being forgotten.

Xander had never abandoned him. Why would he start now?

A part of him wanted to say that he could eat his shitty sandwich and they could go grab some ramen, but he found himself very much not wanting to be home alone right now.

"....To be honest, I could go for ramen," he said, eying his sandwich with indifference. "--Do you two want to exchange your gifts and we could go out and grab a bite? I've got a project due in a few days, I'm probably going to do an all-nighter to get it over with. I'd rather have a warm meal and pick up a bunch of coffees on the way back. And we won't have to throw you out of the window if mom comes back, Nelson."