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 Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:55 pm
Atticus could hardly believe that he’d been stabbed just a few days ago. Yes, it itched and his foot was still tender, but it was mostly healed. The waters of Sessrumnir really did have magical properties. Not that he didn’t believe Devyn! He just… wasn’t used to the magic.
While he was recovering he did as much as he could without making Devyn fuss over him. He napped while he was in the Spring water, grateful that it was shallow enough that he didn’t have to worry about suddenly drowning. And he helped dust books and other items he was given.
He didn’t walk very much, but instead was carried almost everywhere. Which he didn’t mind at all! He kept his arms wrapped around Devyn’s neck as they went from place to place. There were places he was encouraged to try walking so he could build up his strength again, with Devyn’s help of course. The atrium with its giant oak tree had soft grass to walk on, just in case he fell.
And then there were the libraries -- there were so many books they couldn’t all fit into one.
Of course, with so many books, it also meant there was more of a mess to clean up.
Atticus sat at one of the large tables probably used for research. In front of him were piles of pages that had been pulled out of books, or fell out due to age. He wanted to try and put them back together as much as possible, even though he couldn’t read any of the languages on them. He set them aside by size first, and was going to match up the text later.
“You said Percy wasn’t really a fighter. What did he do then?” Atticus asked, because he was both curious about Percy, and also knew that Devyn loved to talk about him.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 10:03 pm
Devyn was currently halfway up a ladder, carefully perched so he could properly hammer in a shelf he was fussing over. He didn’t know what had happened to it, but it looked like it had sagged a bit from the weight of the books over the years. He was probably just being unnecessarily worried, but he just wanted to make sure that if he was going to do the work of putting the books back up there, ideally they would stay there.
They’d been through enough, they didn’t need any more damage.
He glanced over his shoulder and down at Atticus when he asked about Percy and was glad he’d just finished hammering in the last nail.
“Oh, everything.”
He stepped down one rung of the ladder, then the next, and then he just skipped the last two so he could jump down to the ground.
“He was an inventor. An artist. A scholar. A healer. He was clever and sweet, and he had these pretty eyes you could lose yourself in. I don’t know how anyone ever said no to him. He was good at talking sense into people. He protected Sessrumnir, and anyone who needed it. He didn’t like fighting, but there are many ways to be a Knight.”
He picked up the glass of water he’d gotten for himself; it was on the ground, away from all of the texts–just in case. There were a few snacks on the table, away from the pages but there if they needed a quick bite.
“Why do you ask, did you find something interesting?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 10:11 pm
“Maybe,” he said as he glanced down at the papers in front of him. He wasn’t sure what was interesting and what was normal there. It was probably better to hold up the pages instead of just admit that he was curious about Percy. What if he was being too nosey?
He’d been watching as Devyn worked. Between sorting pages, of course. He didn’t want him getting hurt, or needing help. Not that Atticus could do much, but he could do something!
“There’s a lot of pages with maps on them. And drawings of plants and animals,” he said, looking at the pages. Most of the larger pages seemed to be part of an atlas that had broken apart, but he hadn’t figured out a way to put them in order yet.
“What kind of things did he invent? Oh… unless that’s a secret,” Atticus said quickly, not sure if it was supposed to be a secret. After all, this was Jupiter.
Outside it was storming, but apparently it was normal and not something they should be worried about.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 10:19 pm
“No, not a secret,” Devyn assured. “He made a lot of things. Back on Alastor–” it was going to be a long story, apparently, because Devyn pulled a chair closer and sat down in it across from Atticus. “–We used to have some pretty rough storms. I mean, different from what we have now. My atmosphere had a lot of big, heavy rocks trapped up there. When the weather got bad, sometimes they’d fall out of the sky. The good news is, they were full of rare minerals. Bad news, a lot of people were getting hurt. Perce helped come up with a way to safely draw them down in a controlled setting. And then there were the floods–also bad on my world. For a long time. It’s always raining on Jupiter, so he had experience with that already. A lot of my smaller towns were getting washed away. Perce helped save them, too. I can’t even tell you how many people he helped. And he was always working on something. Oh–”
He looked over his shoulder, like he almost wanted to go check something, but he stopped himself from getting back up. “We used to have this doorway–a portal. It could move you from one world to another. So I could walk from my room into his and vice versa. It saved a lot of traveling time. And it meant we could visit each other often and not worry about neglecting our duties. It’s broken, though. Has been for a long time.” Devyn sighed, a little wistfully, a little sadly.
“I don’t know if anyone can fix it. I don’t know if there’s a reason to, not with my world as dangerous as it is.” Of course, he’d still like to be able to go back and forth. It just wasn’t entirely up to him.
Maybe he’d ask Michael when he saw him again.
“He was good at so many things, Atticus. He did a lot of mapmaking. We used to explore when we got a little free time. And he could sketch out wildlife, sketch out scenes, in next to no time. It was amazing to watch him work. I kept everything I could. I know I’ve got a good few of those I can show you if you’re interested.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 9:14 am
“I’m very interested, yes please!” Atticus chirped excitedly. Anything art he loved, even if it was weird stuff. Well, some of the weird stuff was a little too weird, but as long as he could understand what the artist’s intention was, then that was different!
“That sounds really stressful. It must have been really hard for your world to have to deal with all of that. Sounds really dangerous too,” he frowned as he thought of rocks falling from the sky and endless floods that washed away villages. “I’m glad that Percy was able to help your world. I bet a lot of people were really grateful. I would have been really grateful if someone saved me and my family and friends from rocks and floods.”
Atticus paused and frowned, like he was trying to process what he’d said. He chewed on his lip for a moment and then shook his head.
“Well, I don’t really have a family any more. But I have good friends.” The Reids. Devyn. Even Michael. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen to him after this, but he supposed they would figure it out later. It wasn’t worth stressing about it now.
“Was Percy always so good at everything? He sounds really amazing, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to be a good artist, much less everything that Percy was. Oh, not that I’m trying to be just like Percy, I just… um… admire him I think.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 9:44 am
Devyn found his brows knitting just slightly, because Atticus was able to bounce from a difficult topic to another without really slowing down and he couldn’t help but worry that maybe he was burying his feelings.
But, even with that he seemed so genuinely enthusiastic. Devyn wasn’t really sure what he should make of it.
He smiled, though, because he was as eager to answer the questions as Atticus had seemed to ask them.
“I admire him, too.” Even now. Probably forever. “But he wasn’t always good at everything, no. I met him when he was only just a little older than you. Of course, I was smitten immediately, so I was biased from the beginning. There were some things he couldn’t do. Or didn’t like to do. But I don’t remember him for those things. Well–except for the exercise, he really hated that.”
Devyn laughed, and for as much as he was always going to miss Percy, he still found joy in those memories.
“He practiced, and had to work hard to get as good as he did. And I’m very lucky for it. My world has always been a little dangerous, for a lot of reasons. I didn’t have a lot of fans, but there were many people on my world who adored and appreciated him. Whenever I have a tough decision, I have to stop and think ‘What would Percy do’. So I still admire him and try to be a little more like him. He’s a good role model.”
He said it with absolute conviction, and leaned back in his chair so he could take a moment to just think about how wonderful Percy was. It didn’t take long for his attention to drift from the ceiling back to Atticus, though. “I didn’t have family when I met him. Not in the traditional sense. My parents died when I was very young. My whole village did. I had my Council for a good few years before I met Percy, but they didn’t really count. They were just doing their job and trying to teach a very young Senshi everything to know about–well, everything. I made good friends with the mayor next door. I didn’t think about him as family until a long while after I met Percy–he’s the one that had to bring it up. But. You know. Family’s not always blood. Sometimes it’s just the people who come into your life and care enough to stick around and look after you. But maybe I have an old view on that. I never had kids of my own. Perce helped set up some shelters on my world, places for the orphaned kids to be looked after and cared for. We’d always planned on adopting, I don’t know, all of them. Didn’t work out like that. But we got one good kid, at least. I didn’t really think about making a new family or anything after I lost them all.”
He was still leaning back in his chair and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, like this was something he really hadn’t thought of. Was such a thing possible? Was it an extension of one family? Was it replacing the first? –No, Percy wouldn’t have said as much.
“I always wanted a big family, though. Perce came from one. I thought it might be nice. His sisters were sweet and supportive. I think I grew up lonely. But busy! Always busy. Maybe it was for the best, if I’d had a big family, I wouldn't have been able to spend much time with them, anyway.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:11 am
Atticus smiled as he listened, eager to hear everything Devyn had to say. At least he smiled until Devyn started talking about how his family -- his village died when he was young. His smile faded and he watched Devyn sadly from across the table.
Maybe Devyn was right about family not always being blood. And… Devyn was currently there in his life, and he cared enough to stick around and look after him. Atticus knew the Reids would too, but he always felt like he was imposing on Elliot’s family. He appreciated them more than words could describe, but he felt as though he was taking away special family time that Elliot had with them.
He was a little surprised to hear that Devyn had a kid. Adopted, but that didn’t matter. Oh, but Devyn said he lost them all, and Atticus frowned even more sadly than before.
And Devyn said he didn’t really think about making a new family. And that maybe it was for the best that he didn’t have a big family because he was always busy.
It made sense! Atticus couldn’t fault him for that! He would rather Devyn be happy and not have to worry about being too busy.
So why did it feel like his heart was breaking?
“That’s really nice that you were taking care of orphans like that. I bet they appreciated it. I’m sorry about your kid. That must be… awful losing your family like that.” He didn’t know how... just that he did.
“The Reids said before that they would adopt me, but I don’t know… They make sure Elliot and I have plenty of food, and they’re really nice, but. I don’t want to be a burden on them. Or anyone. Um… Elliot talked about emancipation before. Where I can just live on my own without needing parents, but I think I’m still too young.”
It wasn’t as though he really had parents to begin with, so it wouldn’t be too different.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:27 am
Devyn tilted his head back to look at Atticus. “Oh, yeah. You’re too young. I mean, I don’t know Earth laws or anything, but I don’t want you out there worrying about things on your own. I can’t imagine someone trying to force you to juggle a job and growing up and going to school. Right now, Michael takes care of me. When I needed to make a few extra dollars I was making bets on sparring matches. I mean, betting on myself, but. It’s a quick way to make a good few dollars, I’m pretty good at it. But Michael always gets worried, I don’t think he likes when I come home hurt.”
Although, he couldn’t really call it hurt; a bruise here or there was hardly anything to worry about.
“I think he tries to remind me that he’s got enough money for the both of us so I’m not tempted. Although, he hasn’t asked me to get a job, either. Probably for the best, I’m not really good at doing the same thing day in and day out. I’m always worried I’m a burden on him, but he’s so generous, and puts up such a good argument.”
It was easy to talk about finances than it was talking about the life he’d had before Earth. At least, while he was still dwelling on all the loss of it all.
Easy to talk about Michael, too.
“It’s not worth it to live alone, anyway. It’s lonely. Besides, if you live together, you can split chores, and you have someone to have dinner with, and if you can’t sleep you’ve got someone you can go talk to. Percy would have a fit if I sent you out into the world alone. So that’s not happening. I don’t know how things are going to work out. I can’t make a decision like that without Michael. But you’re going to be taken care of, no matter what. And I’m sure Michael and I will be involved somehow, and the Reids will be involved somehow, and–well, no matter what, Elliot’s going to be there. I don’t know the details yet, but we’ll figure them out together. Besides, a burden’s a heavy load. You weigh nothing, Atticus, I’ve been carrying you around and haven’t even gotten a workout from it.”
He smiled, because he needed him to know he was only teasing, and reassured, “You’re not the trouble you think you are. I like having you around. Tell me if you ever just want to hear that I like your company. I hope we’ll be able to do things like this again when you’re feeling better, too. Not just here. I want to take you to Percy’s gallery opening, too. And bring you out to lunch with me. I think we could both use a few extra meals.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:53 am
Atticus smiled back at Devyn when he teased about his weight, but it didn’t last long. He knew it wasn’t as simple as that. Having an extra person around, taking up space, taking up time and resources and finances… it could be a lot. And he was worried that maybe the Reids wouldn’t be able to fully support two teenage boys. He knew Elliot and his parents would be there for him, but it was a lot.
And Devyn already told him that it was Michael taking care of him.
He shuffled his feet under the table for something to do in an attempt to keep his mind from thinking of too many things that were upsetting.
“I would like to go to Percy’s gallery opening. I’ve been looking forward to seeing all of his art,” he said, smiling again because it was easy to smile about things like art, and not about what was going to happen to him once they returned to Earth. It was selfish of him to think about that, anyway.
“I like being with you, so… I mean, if that’s okay with you, I wouldn’t mind having lunch with you. Oh… I would probably need to see about getting chores done for some money. I don’t think I could bet on myself for fights,” he sighed, but smiled again in the hopes that Devyn would realize he was joking too. Sort of. He did want to get some extra money so he wasn’t so much of a burden. Even if Michael apparently had plenty of money.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:07 am
There was something in Atticus’ smile that wasn’t quite right, and it didn’t take Devyn long to pinpoint that part of the smile might have been real, but he was doing that thing that he did–where he smiled to cover up how he felt.
“Well, you could come to my fights and bet on me. I never lose,” he reminded.
He smiled, but he didn’t try to hide the fact that there was something else behind it. He was old, he was tired. He wished he could look into Atticus’ head and see exactly what he needed to hear to be okay.
He didn’t want to leave Michael. He didn’t want to think that he might have to move out at some point in time. He didn’t want to think that he might ask something of Michael, something that was too much, and Michael would have to tell him no. Or worse, he didn’t want Michael to say yes because he felt like he had to.
It wasn’t fair to ask about Atticus over this little texting device, not when it would take fifteen minutes or more to send. Not when he couldn’t look into Michael’s eyes and see if there was more to his feelings than what he was saying. He pulled it out of his pocket and rolled it over in his hand; he rubbed his thumb across the smooth edge and wondered what he’d say when he did finally figure out how he was doing to ask.
He was a guest in Michael’s house. Atticus was important to Elliot, and Elliot was important to Michael.
Would he have offered to take him in even if Devyn didn’t ask him to?
…What would Percy say if Devyn let Atticus sit there and worry about his future?
No, he could hear the voice in his head loud and clear. ‘Devyn, he needs a home. He’s been through so much. He needs someone to look after him. He needs someone who can keep him safe. He needs someone who cares, someone who isn’t going to give up on him. Please.’
But then–what about Michael? He could hear that voice, too. ‘He can’t stay with the Reids. It’s too dangerous, for all of them. We need to make sure the Negaverse isn’t coming after him. He’d be safer with us. And he’s a good kid. He’s quiet and cleans up after himself. He can stay in your room, you can crash with me until we figure something else out.’
The Percy in his mind was very convincing. Michael was, too.
Devyn couldn’t argue with them, they brought up excellent points.
“Of course, if you let me take care of you, you don’t have to worry about finances. I’d make sure we were taken care of.”
Even if it meant he did have to get a job or something, or if he had to go fight everyone in Destiny City. He could do it.
He hadn’t lasted for this long just to start letting people down, and though he didn’t expect Michael would help him–
He really didn’t think Michael would disagree that they were the best option to look after him.
Michael had helped with Peter, he was good with Elliot. Devyn had Marius, a thousand years ago, but kids were kids, and he didn’t want to see Atticus forced to grow up too fast, too.
“If you need money, I’ll get you money. I’m not throwing you to the wolves, Atticus, and I’m not sending you off to a stranger. We’ll figure out the details, but I want to make sure you stay safe. I’m not going to risk anyone else letting you down.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:10 am
For a few moments, Atticus wasn’t sure if he was hearing what Devyn said correctly. And then his breath caught in his throat and he sat very still, as if doing or saying anything might suddenly make Devyn say he was joking or didn’t actually mean it.
Devyn wanted to take care of him? But what about Michael? What about Elliot? Would he be upset if his parents really didn’t get to adopt him? Atticus missed him so much. It would be nice to be with him every moment of every day, but that wasn’t fair to him, or to his parents.
But was it even fair to Michael or Devyn? Was he being selfish thinking that he really, really wanted to stay with Devyn? The person who had protected him multiple times and had sat by his side as he recovered?
When it seemed as though Devyn was finished speaking, Atticus slowly and carefully pushed himself up from where he was sitting. He didn’t go far, and he made sure to keep his hand on the table at all times for support.
Once he reached where Devyn was sitting, he lifted his arms to wrap around his neck and bury his face against his shoulder.
He was not going to cry. Really. Okay maybe he was going to cry a little.
“I want to stay with you,” he sobbed quietly, embarrassed that he managed to admit what he was feeling. He did want to stay with Devyn. He wanted to learn more about him, and about Percy. Maybe more about Michael if -- Oh, was Michael going to let him stay? Maybe he wouldn’t but at least he told Devyn how he felt. While crying on his shoulder, but still.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:27 am
Devyn initially refrained from fussing over Atticus to be gentle; he knew he was healing up well but he didn’t want him to accidentally hurt himself. But, he wasn’t trying to leave. He was being careful, and he came around to Devyn’s side, and–
He should have expected the hug. As soon as he realized what was happening, he’d leaned forward so he could make it easier for Atticus. He didn’t think it could have been really comfortable, so he adjusted in the seat so he could just draw the boy closer and hold him properly.
Atticus told him what he wanted. He didn’t try to brush aside his own feelings or just accept less than he deserved. He didn’t try to hide it or keep his needs quiet.
Devyn was proud, but he didn’t think he needed to say that. He rested his hand on Atticus’ back and rubbed reassuringly. Gently, not just because he thought Atticus might still hurt in some places, but because he wanted Atticus to get used to kindness.
“You can stay with me,” he promised. He didn’t want Atticus to convince himself that he was a burden or forcing Devyn into anything, so he added, “I want to look after you.”
He’d make sure Atticus was looked after properly. Not handed off to someone who didn’t care about him. Not someone who would half-a** the job, or make his life harder.
…He just really hoped Michael would understand.
He rolled the little communicator over in his hand and figured he should message him soon so Michael didn’t have to wonder what all this nervousness was.
He doubted the necklace had the same delay as their texts.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:34 am
Atticus adored the Reids, but they already took care of so many other children. And Elliot deserved to have the full experience of having his parents take care of him.
So it meant a lot that Devyn was not just okay with Atticus saying what he wanted, but he wanted to look after him too.
Oh, that just meant he would have to cry some more.
He hoped Devyn didn’t mind, since he already moved to make it more comfortable to hug him, when Atticus turned a bit to sit on his lap. His side was aching and his foot was still tender. He could go back to his own seat! But Devyn had been carrying him around, so maybe it was okay for a bit.
Atticus just wanted to sit with Devyn for a little while and keep his arms wrapped around him, although he shifted his hold so his arms wrapped more around Devyn’s torso to give Devyn better use of his arms.
“What if Michael doesn’t want me?” he sniffled after a few moments of just leaning his head against Devyn’s shoulder. “I know you have to message him. It’s okay.” Atticus knew how this worked. Something happened and Devyn quickly sent Michael a message. He didn’t mind! He knew it was important to stay in contact, but what if Devyn was told no?
“I’ll be really good! I won’t take up much space, I promise. I can stay in a closet or something if I need to. I don’t have anything, so it’s not that I need a lot of storage. And I can do chores around the house and stay quiet. Or I can just stay outside if that’s easier.”
He had to stop himself, because the tears were getting heavier and he didn’t want to sound as desperate as he felt.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:41 am
Devyn adjusted only as much as he needed to in order to make sure Atticus had enough room. He kept his arms around Atticus and rubbed at his back as he tried to soothe him.
“If there are problems, those are for me to solve and not for you to worry about. I won’t have you stay in a closet, or outside. You’ll have a room. A bed, a closet to put all of your things in. You might not have much now, but you will.”
Atticus knew he had to message Michael, and when Devyn knew that they were half an hour away from an answer, it made sense to just do it now and hope that Michael wasn’t unnerved or stressed by the request.
‘We’re okay. Can he stay with us or do you have another plan?’
He held the communicator in his hand after he sent the message and just rubbed down Atticus’ back again.
“You won’t have to hide. I won’t mind if you take up space, or make a little noise.” But only a little, just a reasonable amount; if Michael was going to let Atticus stay, too, he wanted to respect that Michael didn’t like some noises.
“I wouldn’t mind some help with chores, though. It’ll get done quicker if we’re sharing them. But we’ll sort those out later. And I don’t want you to spend more time working around the house than you spend on school, or spending time with Elliot.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:52 am
Devyn said he didn’t have to stay in a closet or outside, that he would have a room and bed and, well, Atticus just wanted to cry more. He didn’t mind if he just had a box to stay in. He didn’t need much more than that. As long as he could stay out of the rain, that was fine.
But Devyn had been so nice to him. And the Reids too, of course. They wrapped him up in their arms and worried about him. And it just made him miss Elliot even more, because he knew that Elliot would hug him, too. Atticus knew that the communicator would take a long time to send messages, so he tried not to make too many requests, but he was so happy to have heard from Elliot, even if it was just a little.
“I can help,” Atticus promised, making sure not to move because he didn’t want to stop Devyn from rubbing his back. It was nice. Oh, but he felt a little guilty for not sorting out more of the pages.
He didn’t want to cause problems for Devyn with Michael, but he didn’t exactly have many places to go. Maybe they would have to keep him on Jupiter, and bring him food every so often. He could survive for a while without a lot!
“Thank you, Devyn. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble,” he mumbled, feeling guilty about the number of times Devyn already had to save him. “I feel safe with you.”
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