|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 9:08 pm
“How’s your arm?” Michael asked as he sat down on the edge of his bed to pull off his socks and make sure his alarm was set for the morning. There was the distant rumbling of thunder in the distance, despite the forecast not calling for storms. Which meant that Devyn would be in his room that night.
They’d both admitted to sleeping better when they were together. Although they tried not to make too much of a habit of it, with the storm that may just pass them by there was no need to question where Devyn would be staying that night.
And Michael doubted he would be able to sleep, with or without the storm.
He ended up not following Asher like he considered doing. He wanted to know where Chad lived, but knew that his friend would tell them once he found out. For now, he would just hope that whatever they did wouldn’t be too late to help the kid.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 5:12 am
Devyn had changed into his pajamas and let his hair down for bed. “Fine, why?” He looked at the wrong arm and then seemed to realize that Michael must have been talking about the injury he’d gotten earlier. He rolled up his sleeve to look at it, but it was hardly more than a superficial scratch and some bruising, now. “Oh, that. Yeah, it’s fine.”
He wasn’t the least bit interested in this and sat down on ‘his’ side of the bed, turning to face Michael as he did so.
“I can’t challenge for custody,” he deduced, not that he was thinking he was in any position to handle a child. He was just the one with the least amount to lose on Earth. “I can’t threaten his parents. I can’t kill anyone.”
Earth rules. Sort of logical. Frustrating, but he’d gathered that much.
What frustrated him more than anything was that they didn’t seem to have an easy way to take care of this. So, when he spoke, it was a waterfall of words that he’d been sitting on for a while.
“What can Soleiyu do? Make him a,” he fumbled for a second and then said, “a pen, or something. He can press a button on it and call someone for help. If he needs it. Put a–like the phone, a GPS or something, so we can find him if he’s running. He can do that at least, can’t he? A pen can’t draw attention. Can it? –Is any of that possible?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:54 am
Michael gave Devyn a slightly exasperated look when he looked at the wrong arm. Maybe Michael was just doing too much when it came to worrying. Not that he thought Devyn was going to die from a scratch, but he didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.
And it was a less uncomfortable topic than trying to work through things they had little control over.
“Custody?” Michael’s eyebrows raised in mild surprise. “You feel that strongly about a kid you only just met?”
He didn’t clarify how he felt about threatening or killing anyone. He wasn’t going to give Devyn ideas. They weren’t above the law, but sometimes it felt as though the only way to actually help is to take it into their own hands.
“We’ll have to check with Soleiyu. But I bet if we challenged him, he would come up with all kinds of amazing things,” Michael frowned. Normally he would have been amused by the Mauvian’s tenacity, but when a child’s safety was on the line, things were a little more delicate.
“I don’t recall seeing something made for a civilian before. I’m not saying Soleiyu can’t… and he already knows about you. And Princess.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 7:08 am
Devyn shrugged when Michael asked about custody and clarified, “Oliver said they’d kidnap him. It can’t be much different if I do it first. Then they could have him.” There was, in that instant, just the briefest bit of panic, because Devyn realized how easily what he’d said could have been interpreted, but he was quick to calm as he clarified.
“He doesn’t have to know a Mauvian made it. I just figured it would be easy to figure out. You have a doorbell that notifies you when someone’s there, if a person can do something like that, a Mauvain should be able to, yeah? Make it,” he reached for his phone and gestured a little helplessly. “It could pop up here, if he pressed the button. Show me a map, where to go to find him. I could do that.”
Even if he wasn’t the best at following a map, he could run towards a blinking dot on a screen that told him when he was getting closer.
“If he can make it, I can give it to Chad. He saw me power up but I didn’t know what else to do, I didn’t want to risk either of them getting to him. I didn’t mean to. And, I’m sorry. I know how you feel about keeping identities secret. I made a split second decision and I thought it was the right one. I don’t want to bring you any trouble. And if I did something wrong, I’ll make it right. I just. I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt. He froze, he wasn’t going to fight at all. I promised you I’d be safe, and I couldn’t leave him there. So I had to power up.”
And, he’d apologize again if he had to. Or as much as he needed to.
Michael didn’t seem mad but Devyn had to make sure he knew that he had considered all of this and that he was trying to be careful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 8:10 am
“I guess I was just thinking he might assume it was magical anyway, if it came from you,” Michael explained as he turned to watch Devyn with lingering curiosity.
And even more so when Devyn started to apologize about his decision to power up.
“Dev,” he said as gently as he could, because he knew he must have made an impression on Devyn for him to think he would be mad at him. “If any trouble comes of it, we’ll figure it out, okay? I’m much happier that you’re safe. And that Chad is safe. Although, I did not expect his name to be Chad.”
He paused, because obviously things were different on Earth than they were on Alastor. Things like names probably didn’t even cross Devyn’s mind as strange or fitting for people.
“Chad, uh… is a name people use for stereotypically attractive, entitled assholes with a large ego. So… our Chad doesn’t really come across as any of that-- not saying he’s not a cute kid, but…”
Michael wasn’t sure if he was explaining it very well, but as long as Devyn knew he wasn’t mad at him.
“Dev,” he said again, just to make sure he had his attention. “I trust you. If you needed to power up to protect a kid, I’m not going to harass you for it. I bet without Chad there you would have tried taking them on unpowered,” he sighed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 8:22 am
He had Devyn’s attention, and everytime Michael said Dev he looked back up to his eyes. “I would have, yeah,” he agreed. “Just in case. I wouldn’t have done it if it was only the one youma. But he was already scared and I was worried if he bolted, he’d get himself in trouble before I could help. I appreciate that you trust me. I trust you,” he said, but this was obvious.
He trusted him so much that he had felt bad about potentially putting him in danger, or making him uncomfortable about having to intervene, or bring the kid here.
Devyn didn’t regret it, it was the right thing to do.
But he didn’t want Michael to be uncomfortable or have his life turned upside down, either.
“Chad’s a short name, I’m not much of a fan of the one syllable names. I’m sorry he’s saddled with a name like that if it comes with all those drawbacks. Don’t know why anyone would want to do that, seems cruel. He’s a cute kid. Percy would have liked him a lot, I think. He had that same gentleness, too. Is that an artist thing, do they just–are they all like that?”
Probably not, or maybe he’d just never paid attention.
“Thank you for not giving me any grief about helping him. If it was going to be trouble, I was going to just offer to take him to Alastor. Or go hide out on Sessrumnir for a little while until things blew over. Unless Soleiyu can give him some magical disguise or something, but I won’t hold my breath for that one.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 8:35 am
“No, not all artists are like that,” Michael chuckled finally, because as much as he didn’t want Devyn to be uncomfortable, it was kind of endearing to see him a bit flustered and anxious about causing Michael trouble.
“I don’t know. I think Soleiyu would have to have the final say in what he can and can’t do,” he hummed as he turned to fluff his pillows. Although he paused when another rumble of thunder in the distance reached them.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of the thunder and lightning. It just pulled thoughts and memories at inopportune times.
Michael lowered his hand from the necklace he hadn’t realized he’d grabbed until that moment, and muttered something about just making sure it was there.
“That name was pretty popular for a while. Still kind of is. You’ll hear people with stereotypical mannerisms being called certain names, even if it’s not their own. Just in case someone makes a comment that is confusing. But we can ask Soleiyu if he has any solutions when we bother him about getting you to Eternal again. And I wouldn’t want to give you grief, Dev. You did a good thing. Thank you for letting me know where you were. You didn’t have to do that. You can tell me not to interfere you know.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 8:45 am
He tilted his head. “Why would I want to? You sounded worried. If something happened, it would have been better for you to know where to find me. I didn’t expect to run into trouble so I didn’t really go prepared. I’ve never seen anything like that so close to the house. But I guess nowhere’s safe, so I guess that was a good, easy lesson. And Chad wasn’t hurt too badly.”
By the youma, at least.
Devyn had noticed how Michael grabbed the necklace, and his first thought was that it was endearing. His second thought was that he was glad he was in bed with Michael now so he didn’t have to drag himself out in an hour when he was tossing and turning because he couldn’t sleep alone. He didn’t say anything about it; Michael didn’t have to be self conscious. He thought it was sweet that he was so attached to the necklace, and he would have smiled about it if he hadn’t thought Michael might get flustered.
Or embarrassed. He never wanted to see Michael take the necklace off, though. He was always happy to see him wearing it, happy to see him acknowledging it.
“If you’re worried about something, I’ll tell you if I’m sure I’ve got it under control or not. I won’t lie to you about it. Probably,” he amended, and then looked back at him. “I don’t mind you worrying. I think it’s nice. Charming, really. I don’t want to lie to you. Old habits die hard, and–I’ve got some really deep set habits. But I’ll keep you in mind and try to break them. I’m getting better at it. Anyone else though,” he shrugged dismissively. “I’ll probably lie to them. I just don’t think they’d understand like you do. I don’t want to worry them. But you, you can worry about me all you want, you’re allowed.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:03 am
Michael snorted quietly in amusement. There was part of him that almost wished he had more memories from Percy about Devyn. He wanted to know if he’d always been this smooth when it came to talking, or if it was a skill he developed once Percy… well…
Somehow, Michael felt as though it must have been an ingrained part of Devyn’s personality. He was easy to talk to, and easier to trust. Michael supposed he had to be easy to trust if he needed a whole world to listen to him.
Or maybe there was something more to it than that.
“I’m lucky that I don’t have to worry about you too much. I know you’re skilled, and I know you’re keeping yourself out of trouble, unless trouble finds you first. I believe you when you say you’ll try. So… thank you, Devyn. And thank you for staying with me tonight. Sometimes I feel like you should just move all of your stuff in here,” he said with a quiet sigh.
Recently, Michael had been the one to ask Devyn to stay in his room with him. But it was the season for thunderstorms.
“We’ll talk to Soleiyu and make sure Chad has all the resources he needs. He looked like he really appreciated you keeping an eye on him. Too bad you can’t just claim custody. I bet you were a good dad. Even if you tried killing him…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:13 am
Oh, Devyn could have moved in with Michael permanently. He never slept better than when he was next to him. More than just fragmented fifteen minute naps, he got hours when he was next to Michael.
Hours of good sleep, most of the time. His nightmares felt few and far between, and weaker. Foul images that had little power. Illusions. Things he could recognize as dreams instead of some nightmarish reality.
He was still mulling over how easy it would be to take Michael up on his offer if he was serious when he mentioned that Devyn must have been a good dad.
He snorted and shook his head a little. “Marius and I were complicated. It was a rough start. I don’t think he ever saw me as a father figure or anything. He was too set in his ways by the time I came in. But we got along well enough. It was…complicated,” he said again.
“Watching him grow up. Grow old.”
He’d shifted positions again; he wasn’t looking at Michael and had adjusted himself so he was under the blanket and lying flat on his back. His lips were pursed as he propped himself up on the pillows. He looked like he might have been looking up at the ceiling but his eyes were half lidded and not really focused on anything in particular.
His heart was steady, if not a bit heavy.
“I never really got the full ‘family’ situation. I had the Council instead of parents. I had a standoffish teenager who’d been playing adult well before I met him.”
And he had Percy, and that made the necklace throb. Briefly, but. Devyn would always miss him.
“I don’t think I was ever really a father. But I cared about him. Still do. Perce and I were going to have a lot. Like thirty or something. I really wanted that big family. I mean, I didn’t think I could do it back then. But Perce could have. And there were so many kids that had lost so much. If I’d walked a calmer life, maybe I’d have gotten some, myself. But after Perce,” he interrupted himself and seemed to skip over the rest of the sentence in favor of moving past the hard part, “I just worked a lot. My world had a lot of problems. I didn’t have anything left but to try and fix things, so. Gave it my all. Wasn’t even with Marius in the end. Should have been. But I wasn’t. He wrote me a letter, though. I don’t know.”
He sank into the pillows and, though his chest felt very heavy, just breathed slowly to keep himself calm and relaxed.
“People let Marius down, before. It drove him to do things he shouldn’t have had to do. He carried that guilt for the rest of his life. Chad seems sweet. I don’t want to let him down. It only takes one person to make a difference. I’m not the type of person to wait for someone else to do what I can do. I wouldn’t know what to do with custody. But I’d make sure he was safe first and go from there. So maybe we can message Soleiyu tomorrow to ask if there’s anything he can do to help?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:27 am
There was a lot that Michael could have commented on. He could have mentioned the change in the necklace, or he could have offered his sympathies or whatever. But instead, Michael remained quiet as Devyn spoke. He didn’t want to interrupt. He wanted to know more, but he wasn’t sure where the line was between Devyn wanting to share and it being too painful. He supposed he could always change the subject if the necklace indicated Devyn wasn’t too happy with the topic.
He took a moment to use his phone to turn off the lights. There was a nightlight in the bathroom that was still on. Enough to let someone find their way. Enough to remind someone where they were. There was another night light on Devyn’s side, although he wasn’t obligated to keep it plugged in.
“We’ll definitely message Soleiyu tomorrow. I’ll talk to Asher too, and we can find out where Chad lives so we can maybe move our patrols between there and the Reids. I don’t like that there were youma so close. It’s rare, but…” Obviously it wasn’t impossible for youma to show up wherever they wanted. As long as he couldn’t feel any agents lingering close by, he would try not to worry about it.
“What did the letter say?” he asked, and his hand went to the necklace in the darkness. Devyn couldn’t really blame him for being curious when he was the one who brought it up, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:35 am
Devyn typically liked all the lights on, and if he were sleeping by himself it was either that or the nightlight. Tonight, he didn’t reach for it; Michael’s lights were enough. Him being there was enough.
For a moment, he was reassured and pleased to hear that they could talk to Soleiyu tomorrow. He was glad to know that Michael could get information from Asher. They could know where Chad was, and if they were worried they could go check on him.
He was calm.
The necklace pulsed stronger, but not faster. He wasn’t upset by the question.
It was just a sensitive topic.
Not one that he was reluctant to answer, though, because he drew in a breath and began shortly after he was asked. “That he’d say hello to Percy for me.”
There was more to it than that, but maybe that was what stuck out the most. His lip twitched into a half smile, either deliberate or instinctive, and only for a second before it was gone and his brows were furrowed again. Slightly, only. He wasn’t distressed, just in thought. Just reflecting.
“He said he had a good life. A long life. He was old and gray by then. He was born into a little, dying village. I know I’ve mentioned it a bit before. I’ll have to tell you the whole story sometime. But he kept that village alive even while it was killing him. So when we worked out how to cure everyone, we brought him with us. We made sure he got healthy, made sure he got his studies. I didn’t like him at first, but I would have if he hadn’t trapped me with that magic. I don’t blame him, he was desperate. He wasn’t cruel. Well, not deliberately. He wanted justice, I was a tool for it. He was willing to die for his people, to get them help. But instead, he got to live, and he didn’t just help them. He helped me with a lot of things. I’m sorry, you asked what was in the letter. It said thank you. He said it was okay. He knew I’d grieved for Percy, that I was still grieving, and that he didn’t want me to grieve for him. He’d been ready to die for all his life, so when it finally came time, he was ready. He said he was proud of his life. He was proud of me. Proud of Villefort. He was glad he met me. He said he’d had a plot picked out all his life and he was going home for it.”
He chewed on the inside of his cheek.
“He was buried by his parents. His family. People used to go to Villefort to pay their respects for years after he passed. I think, maybe, he knew they would. So even in death he wanted to make sure Villefort stayed on the map.” He laughed, a little, and it might have been in genuine humor. There was still something sad in it, though.
He knew Marius was gone. He must have known for years before he blocked that from his memory, too.
Sometimes, when he spoke, it was like he was rediscovering the pain of loss. Like he knew they were gone, but only at a superficial level.
But, he didn’t try to hide any of that from Michael.
“It was a nice letter,” he concluded. “I brought it with me, that and a few of Percy’s letters. Can’t help it, it was important to me. He told me to do my best. Told me I could take a break once in a while, but. I never found the time.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:10 am
Michael shifted in the bed as he listened to Devyn, as he felt the necklace pulse beneath his fingers. He knew it must have been painful. Devyn had lived for so long, as yet it seemed as though his heart, mind -- his very soul had stopped around the time Percy passed. Michael could only assume that there had been others in Devyn’s life. Maybe they didn’t make as much of an impact as Percy, but surely he had someone or many people trying to help him?
Or had he truly been fighting this whole time by himself? Undefeated. Untouched by time itself.
Michael wondered if he would have had the fortitude to keep going. Even if he’d promised that he would take care of his world, there had to be a point where it felt so unreasonable to keep going. Or Devyn was just really that strong.
“You have time now,” Michael said after a moment, turning on his side so he could see Devyn better through the darkness. “We’ll get Alastor cleaned up. Get rid of its Chaos… We’ll talk to Soleiyu tomorrow and see if he has any suggestions about getting you to where you need to be, so he can unlock your power. You deserve a break, Dev. What would Percy tell you, if he knew you were going nonstop?”
He wanted to ask more. About Marius, about Percy, about everything Devyn remembered. He wanted to help him, even if it was just a little bit at a time.
“Wait, let me guess. He would be horrified that you were working yourself to the bone. Maybe cry a little? Or would he try to help you finish whatever you were doing so you could take a break? Or both? Ah, I think the answer would be both,” Michael hummed thoughtfully. He felt like he was getting to know Percy a little more each time Devyn talked about him, so what better way to test if he knew than to ask the best source he had?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:11 am
He felt Michael move, could feel his eyes on him. For a moment, Devyn looked up at the ceiling but he couldn’t help himself and shifted just slightly so he was facing Michael, too.
“It’s like you already know him,” he said fondly.
It was easy to be in a good mood when thinking that they would get Alastor cleaned up, that they could talk to Soleiyu. Michael never let him feel alone, or made him feel like he had to do anything on his own.
He had been, for so long, he couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“I only want to take a break if there’s someone worth taking a break with. It’s hard for me to just settle down on my own. It’s not punishment or anything,” probably, “it’s just duty. Obligation. Or maybe trying to fix things is my hobby.” It wasn’t something he did for fun, it was really just something he didn’t seem to know what to do without. “He’d sit me down and we’d go over things and figure out a plan to fix things.”
Not unlike Michael reassuring him that there was a ‘we’ when it came to getting rid of the Chaos, to restoring Alastor.
“Crying is the most effective way to move me. I don’t have any defenses against it. Percy was a very effective negotiator, better than I think he even knew.” Not that Percy used it against him. Percy was perfect, Devyn could only ever smile when talking about him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:42 am
“Ah, that must have been why you were so quick to want to protect Chad,” Michael gently teased. “You looked like you were going to tear down mountains to protect him, when you were fighting that youma. But I suppose that’s only fair since he’s just a child.”
It was probably unfair for him to tease Devyn about his desire to keep a lost child safe, crying or not. He would have done the same. If he’d been stuck trying to fend off two youma without any real proof that he’d have backup, and was trying to keep a kid from getting hurt--
“I would have done the same thing, you know. If I felt that I needed the extra boost to protect someone, yeah… I probably would have compromised my identity, too. But I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Chad. He… seems as though he’s good with keeping secrets.”
Maybe a little too good. There were too many things that didn’t match up, and too many things to worry about.
Too many things that they couldn’t do anything about, without potentially breaking the law themselves.
“I don’t know you as well as Percy did, but if I ever miss that you need help figuring things out… you’ll let me know? You know I’m not the best at asking for help… but I’ll do the same. If I need a break, or need help with something. Like you staying with me tonight. I already have too much on my mind. Without you here I would probably never sleep.”
It felt both weird and natural to be honest with Devyn. He was still getting used to it, but he didn’t mind it. Really, he appreciated that he could be honest and not feel as though he was letting someone down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
