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 Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 7:32 pm
It was late afternoon and it was pouring. People had pulled over on the highway because the rain made it almost impossible to see. Lightning cracked through the sky, and Michael was certain he could feel the vibration of thunder through the protection of his car.
He didn’t stop when the rain was a sheet of water on the windshield, although he was grateful that most of the other cars had moved out of the way. And he didn’t rush home, either. He was careful. He drove well under the speed limit. Slow enough that he could still break in time even with the limited visibility.
Mostly, he was focused on the necklace he wore. It felt like cheating, knowing how Devyn reacted to things, but it also gave him more comfort than he cared to admit. There was a steadiness that grounded him. He just wanted to make sure that there was something to help keep Devyn grounded as well.
Usually, he didn’t go through the garage. He had a lot of stuff spread out on workbenches and on the ground. He didn’t want to knock over one of the old bikes he was working on in his haste, but with how heavy the water was coming down, he figured it was his best shot at not getting completely soaked.
The short distance from the car to the safety of the garage did nothing to keep him from getting wet, and by the time he hit the button to close the door and made his way inside, he looked like he’d jumped into a pool.
Instead of his typical attempt at a quipped greeting, he had to take a moment to breathe and dislodge his shoes from his soaked feet.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 8:07 pm
Devyn was not a fan of the storm.
At first, the rain was fine. It had been drizzling since early so he’d made the very wise decision to stay home today. He didn’t even complain! He had his workbooks, he had some projects. He’d taken a brief trip up to Alastor to check on things and collect a bag of trinkets and tools earlier in the week, so he was more than prepared for days like this.
Except, the thunder was really annoying.
He didn’t jump, he was used to raging storms. The loud noise made him bristle, it put him on edge. His chest ached.
The flickering lights were the only real problem.
It was dark outside, almost dark enough to be night time, and the clouds didn’t show any sign of thinning out. Apparently it was supposed to rain all day. And all night. He was going to sleep in Michael’s room, he’d already decided. He’d gotten spoiled sleeping in the same room as him while they were injured, and he’d slept in his bed once after they were healed enough that Michael could get around on his own.
He’d promised, and he was keeping that promise. And sleeping.
He knew where there were a few candles, he’d brought some with him. And, bought more while he was out shopping not so long ago. They were set up all around the living room, because if only one room was going to be safe from the shadows, it should be this one. For now.
Only two were lit, but the lights had only gone out for a few seconds at a time and it kept returning. The house smelled of the pizza he made, with dough and sauce and cheese and pepperonis and mushrooms. Well, no. He’d assembled it, he hadn’t had to actually do more than that and put it in the oven, but it was something warm and fresh, and they probably could have eaten it undercooked if the power did go out.
He’d sent Michael a message just before school was supposed to let out so he could tell him to be careful, and even if he’d known Michael would be a little late because he was driving carefully, he was still up and about pacing and peering out the window every now and then.
No shadows. No car lights. No Michael.
He’d made a small mess of the table in the living room; an old clock had been taken apart and was in various stages of repair. He’d cleaned the gears out and had a few things lying on paper towels, ready to be put back together.
But, Michael was more important, and it was hard to focus on anything but the storm. It wasn’t supposed to last for much longer. Or, his phone had said. But still, it had gone on for long enough.
And then, car lights. Which meant, probably, Michael. So, he’d gotten a towel ready and waited by the door–oh, wrong door–and then held it out for Michael once he’d gotten his shoes off.
The thunder had been loud. He knew that was a problem. He waited for a quiet few seconds and asked, “Are you okay?”
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 8:46 pm
“I think my heart would beat yours in a race right now,” he grunted his displeasure after another crack of thunder. Oh, and he was displeased that he was dripping water everywhere.
But Devyn, waiting for him with a towel? Michael kept his eyes down until he was certain that he wouldn’t flush red if he looked up at him. There were so many little, kind things that Devyn did that caught Michael off guard. It was incredibly thoughtful for him to anticipate him needing a towel -- which he graciously took from him to mop up his face and then loosen his tie so he could dry his neck and hair.
He hadn’t shaved in a few days, so there was a decent amount of growth on the lower half of his face. Not so much that he looked unprofessional, but enough that he would either have to decide to trim it or shave it off again. He realized his hair could probably use a trim as well, especially with his bangs easily falling past his eyes as he tried to towel it dry.
“Are you cooking something?” he wondered -- and then noticed the candles and changed his train of thought to, “Did the power go out?”
If it had, it obviously was back on.
“Sorry for taking so long getting home. Are you okay?” He knew Devyn didn’t like storms. And he could feel the way the orb changed with Devyn’s anxiety.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 4:36 am
“I’m fine,” Devyn reassured with certainty. He’d promised to be honest about things with Michael and he wasn’t just trying to bluff right now. In the grand scheme of things, he was fine. Nothing bad had happened. He knew he was jumpy. But, he was inside. Safe. Michael was here too, so what did he really have to worry about?
There weren’t shadows on this world.
He hoped.
“I’d rather you be late and safe than try to rush home in this. The power hasn’t gone out, but it's been flickering. I thought it would be better to be safe, just in case.”
He didn’t like the dark. He didn’t like the things that hid in it.
“I put a pizza in. It’s only got a few minutes left, if that. If you need to take a shower or go dry off, you won’t miss dinner.”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 5:51 am
“Another shower?” Michael snorted in amusement but appreciated Devyn’s suggestion all the same. “I’ll just change. Call me paranoid but it’s considered dangerous to be around running water in a thunderstorm. At least on Earth,” he added, because he didn’t know what Alastor’s plumbing was like, but he was pretty sure they figured out a way on Sessrumnir to keep the electrical current from traveling far enough through the water to cause any damage.
“What, you don’t want me dripping all over the house?” Michael didn’t want to be dripping all over the house, but since Devyn suggested it and brought him a towel, he could only tease him a little because--
Was he adopting Michael’s habits, or was he doing things because he knew what Michael would want?
It made him pause for a moment and look curiously at Devyn, but shook the thought from his head so he could take his soaked shoes with him to his bedroom.
“Pizza sounds good, thanks Dev. Give me a minute and I’ll be back out.”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 6:52 am
Devyn just laughed and shook his head. “All right, take your time. I’ve got dinner under control. I’ll clean up a bit while you’re gone, just don’t slip while you’re hurrying.”
Even if he didn’t have stitches to pull out anymore, Devyn still didn’t want him to pick up any new, unnecessary injuries. He was in a better mood immediately now that Michael was back, even with the storm still raging outside.
He’d been keeping his eye on the clock and pulled out his phone just in time to see the numbers change. The pizza would have time to cool while Michael was changing clothes so he smiled and disappeared into the kitchen to take care of that. This part was easy; pull it out, let it sit. This was a casual dinner, they could just go eat in the living room or something. He wasn’t going to worry about setting the table.
Instead, while the pizza was settling, he made himself busy and started moving his project off of the table. The exterior wood had a few cracks and dents in it, and he’d disassembled the whole thing so he could fill in the damage with a sweet smelling paste. He had an assortment of things out–a sanding block, a few little tools with thin necks and slightly different heads. The clock itself looked old but otherwise too damaged to be of any value, but he seemed to have been keeping himself busy cleaning it out and putting it back together. It wasn’t the first day he’d been working on it but he’d made more progress today than any other day.
And, he’d finished all of his workbooks. He wasn’t the fastest reader, and often had to pause to process things, but he was getting better at it, and if he had patience to spare he could make it through things without too much grief.
He was nearly done moving everything out of the way when he was pretty sure he heard Michael returning, so without looking up he asked, “How was your day?”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 11:25 am
Michael didn’t bother putting on normal clothes again, and instead changed right into his pajamas. He took some time to comb his hair out of his face, and dry it a bit, before making his way back out to the living room.
“Other than the storm?” he frowned as another rumble of thunder shook the house. The lights flickered a little, but stayed on. “It was fine. Just figuring out summer plans. I might help with summer school if they can’t find someone else to cover for it.”
He didn’t mind helping out, as long as he could still spend time going to the beach and out on the boat.
“Elliot has a baseball game this weekend, if you want to go? I try to go to as many as I can but, well… This year has made things difficult.” From his father dying to Paris going missing. Things were starting to get better, and he relied a lot more on Devyn than he probably should. No, probably the right amount, if Devyn had any say in it, which was only fair.
“It’s a team sport. One team’s goal is to hit a ball and tag three bases before returning to where they started, which counts as one point. The other team’s goal is to catch the ball and try to stop the runner from making it to a base by tagging them with the ball they hit. Bases are safe. The runner has to wait for the next person on their team to hit the ball to start running again. Ah, it’s probably easier to explain while you’re watching it. Unless you had other plans?”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 12:54 pm
Devyn almost laughed; he might have made plans throughout the week, but it was only ever because Michael had other obligations, anyway. “No, I save my weekends for you. I’ve never seen a baseball game, I’d like to go.”
Especially because he knew Elliot was important to Michael, and he couldn’t help but be curious. He knew which school Michael worked at, and how to get there if he needed to, and he could call them if there was an emergency and he couldn’t reach Michael, but that was about the extent of it. He’d met Michael’s family, and spent some extra time with his mother, but outside of that he really hadn’t intruded on any of his other friendships.
Although, he hoped he wasn’t an intrusion. Especially since Michael was inviting him.
He knew Michael had already had a rough year, a game could be good for him. He’d have liked to see him go out and do something fun.
“I’m looking forward to meeting Elliot, too. Is summer school the same as what you’re doing right now? If you’re doing that, maybe I’ll go take some classes, too. I’m doing better at reading. And I can work the oven. Maybe I can learn to make you more than just pizza for dinner. When’s the game, do we need to bring anything?”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 9:12 pm
Michael knew he didn’t mean anything by it, but it was pretty damn cute how Devyn was apparently saving his weekends for Michael. As if Michael really did anything special. Although, he would say he did appreciate Devyn’s company. And Devyn was always attentive. Like bringing him a towel to get dried off with after being out in the rain.
“Summer school is usually for students who need a little extra help. Make sure they’re up to speed for the next school year,” he explained as he watched Devyn clear his things off the table. It looked like a small gear might have gotten knocked off. Just in case Devyn didn’t see it, Michael moved over to crouch down next to him to pick it up and hand it over.
“I’ll get you a better work station for this,” he decided. “A tray so things don’t slide around. Sorting containers so you don’t have to worry about digging through things. I have some in the garage that you can look at and see what style you like best. Some come apart so the containers are individual, but others just have dividers.”
Oh, or maybe he was being too much of a busybody…
“You’re getting very good at reading, yes. I’m proud of you. You’ve come a long way in a very short amount of time. We can get you signed up for classes, sure. I can help you get registered and make sure all the paperwork is in order. Might have to get Soleiyu to pull a few strings. And I think you’ll like Elliot. He’s a good kid. Works really hard. I think you’ll like his parents, too. They’re very kind people. They helped me get through some difficult times over the years.”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 7:22 am
Devyn thanked him first for the runaway gear, and then again for all the help he so readily offered. “What would I do without you?”
He was always so thoughtful, always so quick to share information and do what he could to make Devyn more comfortable. And, for as silly as it was, Devyn found himself pleased with the praise. He didn’t need to be told he was doing a good job to work his hardest, but it wasn’t like he’d actually gotten any praise for–
A long time. It was nice.
Michael was so considerate, and Devyn suspected it was more for his own comfort than it was to make sure there weren’t any loose gears lost on the floor.
“I haven’t seen Soleiyu in a while, I suppose I’m due for another check in, too. You have so much more paperwork here on Earth, I don’t know how you keep up with it all. But if he can help, I’ll be indebted to him. Again.” He’d stopped counting the debts he should have owed Michael. “I’m glad you’ve had some good people in your life. I look forward to meeting them. I’ll try to act normal. Earthly. They’re not Knights too, are they? Do they know about you?”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 9:45 am
“You’ve survived without me for this long,” Michael reminded him. “I have no doubt that you would be able to make it on your own. I just want to make it a little easier.”
And with how dangerous things could be, it was important that Devyn not rely too much on him being there. Michael wasn’t going to try to get himself hurt, or worse, but there was always that possibility. He’d come close a handful of times. Devyn came close to dying under his watch as well. If he didn’t have Princess to help, he didn’t know what would have happened.
“Maybe Soleiyu will be so happy to see us that he’ll give you an upgrade,” he teased around his frustration. He understood that Devyn’s starseed had to build back up the capacity to harness his magic, or whatever, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be frustrated by it.
He wasn’t upset with Soleiyu for it, though. He was sure if he asked any other Mauvian, the answer would be the same. Or someone would be too irresponsible and try to give Devyn more power than his starseed could handle and he would end up like Caedus or something.
“Just act like yourself. Well. Maybe pretend like you’ve always been from Earth,” he added with a small grimace. He could imagine that being an awkward conversation. “I trust them, but they don’t know. Plausible deniability and all. I don’t want them to get hurt because of their association with me. Especially not after dad…”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 10:36 am
Devyn watched his face for a moment, just to make sure that he was okay, and nodded. “I don’t blame you. I’ll be careful, too. As long as they don’t ask any questions I don’t know how to answer, I’m sure we’ll be fine.” But then, they were Michael’s friends so he probably didn’t have much to worry about, anyway. Especially if they were all going for Elliot’s game, anyway. All of their attention would probably be focused on him.
It would have been nice if Soleiyu had suddenly found some breakthrough to get him back to Eternal, but he supposed that if he had he’d have been passing out upgrades already.
Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d survived for this long without Michael. Because, he had–on his world. Which had rules he understood. It hadn’t really been much of living, just existing. Making it from one day to the next, but not knowing how to change the monotony.
In a lot of ways, it felt less like surviving and more like waiting to die. He just couldn’t give up.
“But I really don’t know where I’d be without you, here on Earth. I wouldn’t know Soleiyu. Might still be running around without powering down. Probably would have gotten into much more trouble. I might not know how to read, or how to use the kitchen. I might have made a lot more enemies, too. You’ve done more than make it easier. You’ve even made this whole thing enjoyable. So, whether I could have made it on my own or not, I don’t think I’d have had a chance at happiness if I hadn’t met you.”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 5:10 pm
“We should come up with a signal if there’s something you don’t want to answer. Or you’re not sure how to answer,” Michael hummed thoughtfully, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat back onto the couch. “But I’ll try to make sure the conversation stays away from anything like that. You can always say you’re not comfortable answering, and they won’t pressure you. I promise.”
Asher and Oliver Reid were good people. Cared more than they probably should. It made Michael anxious because he didn’t want them getting hurt. For various reasons.
When Devyn insisted that he didn’t know where he would be without him, Michael just frowned to himself for a few moments.
“I didn’t want to,” he admitted. Because Devyn should know that Michael wasn’t as good of a person as he seemed to think he was. “When we found you, I didn’t want Peter telling you he was a Senshi. I definitely didn’t want him bringing you home. Even after finding out who you were, I was going to let Peter deal with you. You weren’t my responsibility. It didn’t matter to me if my starseed was the one you were looking for. I didn’t trust you. I didn’t want to get to know you.”
He sighed, and any unintended tension in his shoulders seemed to fade. Obviously things had changed. He would trust Devyn with his life. He trusted him in his home. He trusted him with his family. And he wanted to get to know him.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 5:41 pm
Devyn nodded along. Maybe he should have had hurt feelings when Michael said he didn’t want to be involved, that it didn’t matter. That he didn’t trust him and didn’t want to get to know him.
The idea of Michael not wanting him around now hurt, more than he could have imagined, but instead of being upset he just hummed thoughtfully.
“Then, I’m all the luckier. Stay here, let me get your plate.”
It took him only a moment; he cut a few slices of pizza and made two drinks. He’d been here for long enough to know what Michael liked, so when he came back he carefully balanced two drinks in one hand and two plates in another.
He sat next to Michael on the couch and passed him the plate; their drinks went on the table. “What made you change your mind about all of that?”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 5:56 pm
Michael waited for Devyn to return. He tipped his head back against the couch and closed his eyes for a few moments, listening to the rain and the sound of thunder still rumbling.
What would his life have been like if he decided to keep his distance? To not invite Devyn into his house and help him learn about Earth. What if he just turned his back on him and let him try to figure everything out on his own?
He opened his eyes again when Devyn returned, and thanked him for the plate and drink. He’d already lifted a piece to take a bite as he shrugged in response to Devyn’s question.
“I kept thinking about how you were willing to walk across Jupiter to get to Sessrumnir,” he admitted. It seemed so simple, and yet was proof of Devyn’s conviction and determination. As someone who had been to Jupiter, knew what the storms were like, and knew how far Devyn might have had to walk… Who did that? Why would anyone go to such lengths?
Well, clearly Devyn would.
It was a simple answer. There was more to it than just Devyn’s resolve, but it was definitely the starting point. It helped that Devyn was polite and gracious and willing to work with them to figure things out.
“You didn’t have to trust me. Or Peter. We could have been lying about knowing anyone with information,” he pointed out, although he was grateful that Devyn did trust them.
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