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 Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:48 pm
The best thing about living so close to Elliot was that he could come over any time he wanted. And he did! And Atticus went over to Elliot’s house whenever he wanted. He never thought he would be so lucky to have a friend as good as Elliot, much less a family that actually cared about him.
He spent every waking moment of his free time with Elliot, and he would have liked to spend every sleeping moment with him as well, but they were good and tried to not get distracted on school nights and stayed in their respective houses.
Especially since Atticus was still incredibly nervous about school.
No one knew him. And he was going to Azure with Elliot. And where Michael and Asher and Oliver worked. It was so strange seeing boys that used to bully him walk past without a second glance. Or maybe if they did it was because they were curious about him. Or maybe it was because he was always with Elliot when he could manage it.
And word was quickly spreading that he was more or less Mr. Gallo’s son. Which wasn’t a bad thing, he found out! And with Elliot being a Reid, well… it was just a really surreal experience that he was still trying to get used to.
But now it was the weekend, and they’d said good night to Michael and Devyn about an hour or more ago, but how could he not lay in bed and giggle at silly memes on Elliot’s phone with him?
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:07 pm
School was more or less the same for Elliot. It was a different scene, but there were a lot of old friends there. He’d gotten closer to Atticus over the summer and he couldn’t help it, not with everything they’d been through together. He was always quick to introduce him when he had the chance–after all, he was the cool new kid in the neighborhood.
The lights were still on in the living room, and when they’d gone to bed Devyn had been reassembling an old clock he’d found at a thrift store. He’d taken it apart and cleaned out all the little pieces, sanded it, stained it, and was in the process of getting it back together so he could properly embellish it. He’d taken his project out to the garage to work with Michael while he did his own project.
The house had been quiet outside of Atticus’ room, and Elliot was on his side so he could lay close to him. He propped his head up on the palm of his hand and was holding the phone so they could scroll the internet together; his hand and the phone were resting on Atticus’ abdomen so they could both see.
They were supposed to go to bed a while ago, but Elliot never had enough time with Atticus, and even if it was just wasting time on the internet, he loved every minute of it. His phone, not so much; it wasn’t going to last much longer.
So really, Devyn had pretty good timing.
He’d come in for a snack; Michael had a bit more to finish up before he was going to come in, so Devyn was already planning on waiting up for him so they could go to bed together. The first time he’d heard laughter, he thought it was just his imagination. The second time, he couldn’t help but investigate.
He’d finished his snack–which was more like another full meal–and they were still giggling by the time he reached the door. He rapped lightly on it before pushing it open. It hadn’t been closed completely so he wasn’t too worried about intruding. Even though the room was dark, he could still see their faces illuminated by the phone. The nightlight across the room made it even easier, once his eyes adjusted from the transition of bright work lights to dim sleep lights.
“You two are still awake? I thought you were planning on waking up early.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:44 pm
Atticus squeaked when Devyn knocked on the door -- but only because he was halfway through giggling about some silly video of a dog. While Elliot rested his hand and phone on his abdomen, Atticus had curled his arm around Elliot’s and was drawing light shapes on the back of Elliot’s wrist. At least until Devyn came in.
“Oh… were we too loud? I’m sorry,” Atticus winced sheepishly. He hadn’t thought they’d been loud, but some of the videos were just too funny not to laugh at!
They had planned on waking up early. They were going to help make breakfast and then go to a yard sale they saw signs for earlier that day. The poster indicated there would be art supplies there, so Atticus wanted to see what neat things they had that he could probably work with.
“Did you finish your clock? It was looking really good,” he said as he carefully pushed himself up some more without disturbing Elliot too much.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:59 pm
“You weren’t loud, no.” Devyn couldn’t help but smile at the two of them. “I came in for a snack and heard you two, so I came to visit. Michael’s got a bit more to finish up, but then we’re going to head to bed.”
He leaned against the doorframe, amused at how Elliot only wiggled a little closer when Atticus moved.
“The clock’s back in one piece, though. I might start decorating it a bit more, tomorrow. There’s some gold I want to use to work those angles.” Atticus was always encouraging, always so sweet, but he didn’t want to bore him with the details when he could just show him later.
“I wanted to make a dent in this project so I have an excuse to bring home more if we find anything good tomorrow. We looked it up online, there’s a few other yard sales we might be able to visit, too. We’ll see how we feel. And how late you two sleep in,” he teased, but there was only fondness in his voice.
He’d gotten very comfortable with this life. He hadn’t lessened the effort he was taking to research the Chaos on his world, and he’d put in time and energy to formulate this plan to eradicate it. He didn’t know if it was going to be enough, but he knew it was necessary. He thought he could do it. He thought they’d be able to get rid of it.
He wanted to make sure Atticus had some good memories with him. Just in case.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:08 pm
Atticus couldn’t help but smile when Devyn teased them about sleeping in. With Elliot there, Atticus was sure he would fall asleep easily once they actually attempted to sleep. He was sure that Elliot was getting pretty close to dozing off, anyway. And he was getting pretty tired as well.
“Did you have things like yard sales on Alastor?” he asked, but then paused and his smile fell a little. “Oh, I mean, only if you want to share. I’m not trying to be nosy, I just. I don’t know, I always think about what it must have been like. It was pretty different from Earth, wasn’t it? We can visit soon, can’t we? -- Oh… sorry.”
It was late, and they should be sleeping, but, well, the Moon was different than Alastor. And their lives were so much different than anything Devyn had experienced. Sometimes his thoughts got ahead of himself.
He really should just snuggle up with Elliot and go to sleep, but he always loved talking to Devyn, too. No matter how late it was.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:27 pm
Atticus wasn’t even trying to trick Devyn into letting them stay up later. He probably actually, honestly wondered. And, Devyn couldn't help himself. He loved talking about Alastor. They were good boys, and both of them were looking at him with such earnest curiosity that he pushed himself away from the door and took a seat at Atticus’ desk.
“No, don’t be sorry. I like your questions.”
He’d just answer one or two, maybe. Then they could go to sleep.
“It is pretty different from Earth. But similar, in a lot of the same ways. We didn’t go to people’s houses to buy things. Instead, you took your things to the market. Sometimes you could sell it to a vendor, but most of the time there was just an open space in the marketplace. You could set up your tables there. It was a big social gathering. But then, everything was, in its own way. My favorite marketplace was in the town nearest to the Hall of the Ancients. Where the Senshi lived,” he explained, “And where we received all of our diplomats, and had important meetings. Arista was much bigger than the little town where I grew up, and I was only seven when I moved into the Hall, so it was a lot of changes at once. When I used to get frustrated at my lessons, I’d run off into the forest, or head over to Arista. Sometimes we even had foreign visitors bring their wares. There was always something to find. I don’t think Arista’s the same as it used to be.”
There was a heaviness in his voice, but he wore a soft smile as he spoke. “But maybe, when my world’s safer, people will come back. It won’t be the same without everyone there. They’ve got the best food in the world there. Sometimes I think I catch a whiff of it on the wind. Back home, I know it’s a lie. Here,” he shrugged. “I like to think someone from Alastor moved to Earth and passed on some of our recipes. I haven’t found any, yet, though. But I always look.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:39 pm
While Devyn spoke, Atticus had managed to wiggle his arm around Elliot’s back so he could encourage him to lean against him, especially since they were both tired. With his head on Atticus’ shoulder, it was easy to reach up and gently card his fingers through Elliot’s hair.
Atticus didn’t miss the heaviness of Devyn’s voice, and Atticus watched him a bit more solemnly now. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to have everything change. Well, he did, but his change was for the better. He was happy to pretend like his life before didn’t exist and only enjoy happy memories with Elliot and his new family.
“If you do find something, you should let us know. I bet Michael can cook it,” he said with confidence, because so far he’d only had things he liked that Michael made. Which he thought was impressive, especially now that Atticus could actually be picky about what he ate. He felt a lot happier when he wasn’t forcing himself to eat things he didn’t want.
“Did you and Percy have any favorite things you liked to do in Arista?” he asked, and then felt his face flush a little because he was probably asking personal questions, but he was curious about Percy, too! He was really important to Devyn -- was still important to Devyn, so Atticus couldn’t help but want to know more. At least if Devyn was willing.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:59 pm
Elliot had to do very little to get comfortable again, and Atticus’ fingers through his hair was all the encouragement he needed to just press closer. His eyelids were starting to get heavy, but as soon as Atticus asked another question, he wiggled a bit to see Devyn better. He rested his chin on Atticus, using him as a pillow.
Arista, Alastor, was one of Devyn’s favorite topics. Percy was another. Devyn couldn’t help but want to answer, and he did so with much love and enthusiasm.
“Everything. Sometimes we’d go during a festival. Even if it was a lot of the same food, it always tasted better. There was music, sometimes we’d dance. Shopping, I liked that, too. Dressing Percy up. He was beautiful, so he always looked good, but I always liked him in a little extra gold. Sometimes we’d watch the sunset over the river, or the fireflies. We didn’t always get a lot of calmness in our lives, so I liked those moments. I had very good friends in Arista, sometimes we’d visit them.”
The sadness, but it stemmed from memories and people he still held close to his heart. He was able to smile when he talked about them, though. “I wasn’t ever much a fan of the water, but that’s because I have a bad habit of getting stuck in it. Sometimes Perce and I just went to Arista to get away. I was pretty recognizable back home. Everyone knew I was Sailor Alastor, so they picked fights with me a lot. I don’t know why, they never won. Sometimes they’d stop Perce and I and ask for help, though. I was scary, but he was pretty approachable. Very sweet, he helped a lot of people on my world. There are whole towns that still exist because of him.”
Or, used to exist. The blurring of time distorted then and now sometimes. In his heart, it hadn’t been a thousand-odd years. The deterioration of the Chaos wasn’t in these memories; he didn’t know all that it had done to his world.
It didn’t change how good Percy had been for it, though.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 11:18 pm
Atticus tilted his head just enough to rest it against Elliot’s as they listened to Devyn, but with the somberness talking about the past brought, Atticus couldn’t help but smile when Devyn said people thought he was scary.
“I don’t think you’re scary,” he insisted, but then he paused and reflected on the times Devyn had saved him before and he thoughtfully pursed his lips together.
“Well, maybe people just expected you to be someone you weren’t. You can be scary, but I’ve never been afraid of you. I wouldn’t want to be those youma or Negaverse officers, though!” That was definitely asking for a bad time!
“I’ve never been to a festival. I don’t know how to dance either, but that sounds like it was a lot of fun. Maybe we’ll be able to have new festivals once everything is fixed. If that’s okay? Elly and I can decorate,” he volunteered, because of course Elliot would want to help!
“What did Percy do to help save whole towns? That sounds like a lot of work. Didn’t he get in trouble for not being on Jupiter?” he asked curiously as he tried stifling a yawn.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 11:29 pm
“You’ve never been to a festival?” Elliot interrupted, sitting up a bit to look at Atticus. “Oh, we have to take you. There are some good fall festivals. Devyn, you haven’t been here for long enough to see Fall on Earth, have you?”
“I have not,” he confirmed.
“We’ll have to go with you two, you can tell us if it’s anything like your festivals on Alastor.” Because, of course Elliot was already conspiring. Atticus might have been more open with his intentions, but Elliot was already thinking about how they could try and bring Alastor a little piece of home back to life. He didn’t know much about the whole thing, except that he hadn’t seen most of his world in a long time, and it sounded like hadn’t seen people in a long time, too.
There was a nasty little thought, in the back of his mind, that there might not be anyone else. But Devyn never spoke like that was an absolute truth, or a thought he’d ever really even humored.
But then, Devyn wasn’t always honest with himself, and he didn’t always want to accept the worst realities.
If he could hope, Elliot could hope. He didn’t want Devyn to be alone on his world. But, he didn’t want to lose him to it, either. He knew how important he was to Atticus and to Michael. The only open was just to try and be involved. And, it was easy to be invested in Alastor; Elliot had caught his heart racing a few times already during Devyn’s stories, like he was eager to hear everything about it.
“But you know, I can’t really see you as scary,” he added, “Atticus only ever has nice things to say about you.”
Devyn laughed softly and ran his fingers through Atticus’ hair briefly as he readjusted in his chair.
“Yes, well you don’t think I’m scary because you didn’t grow up hearing stories about how I eat children and drink blood,” he reminded gently. Atticus was too sweet. He thought again, maybe for the thousandth time, that Percy would have loved him.
Devyn could be scary, when he wanted to. Sometimes, when he didn’t mean to. “My past lives were unkind, though. They didn’t pass on a good legacy. So I wasn’t just fighting to prove myself, I was fighting to undo everything they did before. Everything ‘I’ did before. It was a lot of pressure, though. To be everything everyone wanted me to be. I couldn’t trust anyone, and I always had to prove myself. Everyone was waiting for me to fail, or trying to manipulate me to do their dirty work.”
It wasn’t exactly what Atticus had asked, and Devyn wasn’t one for sulking about his own hardships, so he got to the point: “Percy made sure I wasn’t alone. I had a bad reputation even before I was born, but that didn’t matter to him. We met at a conference when he was still so young, and we just started talking. Jupiter has a lot of bad storms, but they’d figured out how to manage the rainfall. We were having some bad flooding. Crops couldn’t grow, farms–whole towns–were being washed away. He came in and started working with everyone. Fortifying the dams, reinforcing the rivers, creating a sturdy irrigation system. There were people who were reluctant to have an outsider come in and tell them what to do, but–it all goes back to Arista. The mayor there embraced the assistance.”
Fondness again, “Mayor Atrius, he was a good friend of mine. He liked Perce, a lot. They worked together, and once Atrius was endorsing him, he was in high demand. I wish you could have seen Alastor back then. For a while, it was like we really could change the world. Like we really could make everything better. It was dangerous, but I was trying. Perce helped me do so much. The atmosphere used to be so bad, debris used to get caught up there. When the storms started going, you couldn’t trust that rocks weren’t going to drop down with the rain. And I don’t mean pebbles, I mean. The size of a house. Bigger, sometimes. And you couldn’t predict where they were going to come from. Sometimes you couldn't see them past the clouds, so you didn’t even know to watch out for them. You couldn’t stop them. But Percy helped me with that, too. He was able to build technology to help bring them down safely. I don’t think there was anything he couldn’t do. He helped stop a plague, too. Literally put a town back on the map after the world tried to erase it. He never gave up on anyone.”
Love was thick in his voice, even now. He didn’t have a single bad thing to say about Percy. He probably wouldn’t ever.
“He did get in trouble, sometimes. But we had a doorway from my world to his, so we could just go back and forth. It hasn’t worked in a while.” He’d tried, of course. More times than he could remember. “I haven’t been able to fix it. Maybe Michael can take a look at it with me. Or Soleiyu.”
Oh, assuming Michael didn’t mind having their worlds connected again.
“But not until I take care of the Chaos. I don’t want to risk Sessrumnir getting infected. But, Percy worked hard. I think he more than made up for his absence. He put his whole heart into everything. And anyway, he was so cute. I think it would have been hard for anyone to scold him.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:33 am
He was already excited about going to a festival now that Elliot said he wanted to take them. And he nodded in agreement that Devyn would have to tell them when he recognized something familiar, or at least something that could be adapted from Alastor.
Atticus did look a little horrified to hear that there were stories about Devyn eating babies and drinking blood. Not because he could imagine Devyn doing that, but he was upset that there were stories like that.
“Oh, that’s awful. I’m so sorry. That’s not fair,” he frowned with concern. Devyn was too kind and wonderful for anyone to say such terrible things about him.
And just as bad was the thought of rocks falling and floods wiping away towns.
“He helped stop a plague?” Atticus gasped, because that sounded both scary and very brave. “Was there anything Percy couldn’t do? Because he sounds like he could do anything.”
Which was both awesome and a little intimidating. How was anyone supposed to compare…?
Maybe that was why Michael seemed to be keeping his distance. Not that he didn’t obviously like being around Devyn, but other than maybe them touching each other’s shoulders or small things like that, he and Devyn kept to themselves.
But Atticus had a strong feeling that they liked each other as much as he liked Elliot. Whom he snuggled closer to.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:03 am
Devyn smiled, again with such affection. “No, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. He was very brave, and very kind. Smart, and creative, and hardworking. He had such love in his heart. For me, for his family, for Sessrumnir. For Princess, for Marius. I loved everything about him. I miss him very much.”
There was a moment of silence after that, and even if Elliot had questions, he knew not to speak. The weight in Devyn’s words wasn’t for dramatic effect, and even if Elliot had learned how much Devyn liked his dramatics, this was sincere.
He might have worried about Michael’s feelings if he hadn’t noticed that Devyn’s eyes lit up when he talked about Percy in a way that was very similar to when he was talking about Michael.
He didn’t entirely know what to make of that information, but he wrapped his arm around Atticus and pulled him closer.
“I see him in everything, I suppose. It’s not like he isn’t here, in his own way. I don’t think my heart will ever let go of him,” Devyn confessed. The boys were young, he didn’t expect them to understand. He didn’t really want them to be able to. He wanted them to be happy, and live the rest of their lives without any pain. “Sometimes it still feels like he’s there next to me. I can’t count how many times I’ve turned to tell him something. Even here. But I suppose, I am very old, so maybe my mind’s just finally had enough.”
He was perfectly capable of building a fantasy world in his mind if he needed to. Where bad things never happened, and he could lie to himself all he wanted. It was easier when distance was the only separation. Not time. Not death.
“He’d have loved you boys, though. I wish we’d had more kids.” He didn’t think about how hard it would have been to lose them, too. “He’d be so proud of you two. Moon Knights. I don’t think we’d have ever imagined as much back then. But you’re both trying so hard. Michael and I are proud of you. And I’m very proud of him. If I hadn’t had Percy, maybe I would have grown into the monster from those stories. But then, if I didn’t have you all, now, I suppose I still could. I could have been angry, and bitter, and full of hatred. Percy trained my heart very well to make room for so much love.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:22 am
Atticus held tightly to Elliot, his heart heavy with how much love Devyn had for Percy, even now -- and how much he missed him. It was enough to make his eyes sting, because he couldn’t imagine how devastated Devyn had been to lose Percy. Especially with how he spoke about him even now.
“Maybe he still is,” Atticus said quietly. It wasn’t the first time he’d suggested that Percy didn’t have to be gone from their lives, even if he wasn’t there with them. How many other people who had died served as inspiration to those still living and yet to be born? So there was no reason for them to not want to let Percy live on in that way as well.
And as much as he still wanted to hold onto Elliot -- and he would again soon! -- Atticus carefully pushed himself up and untangled himself from both Elliot (but not before giving his hand a quick squeeze) and the blankets so he could sit up and slide out of the bed.
“We’re very proud of you, too, Dad,” Atticus said as he wrapped his arms around Devyn to hug him tight. He was not crying. Not yet. But he did think very highly of Devyn and was so grateful that he was a part of their lives. “And you’ll always have us, so Percy won’t have to worry about you being lonely or angry or bitter.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:44 am
Devyn might never get used to Atticus calling him Dad. Sometimes, it still even seemed to take him by surprise, like he didn’t quite know what to do about it.
He knew what to do now, but maybe only because Atticus made it easy. He wrapped his arms around him and returned the hug, smoothing down his back. He knew him well enough to suppose there might be tears on the way, but it was probably his own fault for being emotional while he talked. Of course it was contagious, Atticus was a sponge.
But, Devyn thought it was endearing.
“I’d like to think he still is.” He wondered if Atticus would be proud of him if he knew everything he’d gone through, everything he’d done, but he couldn't find it in his heart to be self-deprecating when he already knew the truth of it. Atticus would still be proud, he’d still care him. Percy would fuss over him for worrying and tell him that he’d only ever done what he needed to do, and that he’d always trusted him to make the right decisions.
Even if they’d hurt.
He drew Atticus closer and rested his chin on his shoulder for a moment. “You do make it hard to be upset. Do you know, I’ve had next to no nightmares since you moved in? Almost none at all.” Although, he mostly credited Michael for that, it still might not have happened if Atticus hadn't needed Devyn’s room. “I’d even say I’ve had a few good dreams. There’s a weight on my shoulder, but I think it has more to do with worrying about my homeworld. I’ll feel much better when the Chaos is gone. I’d like to take you all up to see it. There’s so much that I miss. You’ve all taught me so much about Earth, I want to share Alastor with you, too. There’s so much art, you might like it, Atticus. And there are plenty of places to explore,” he said, looking over Atticus’ shoulder.
Elliot met his gaze and nodded; he’d sat up since Atticus left the bed, and he couldn’t deny that an adventure like that did sound exciting. He liked camping, and hiking. Destiny City didn’t allow for a lot of variation, but Devyn had a whole world. Of course he was interested, and his heart was doing that thing where it pounded a little too hard–like right before a race or a debate. He wasn’t afraid, he wasn’t nervous. He was excited. He wanted to see it. He wanted the Chaos gone so they could go up there.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:49 am
“Really?” Atticus chirped in surprise when Devyn said he hadn’t had any nightmares. His eyes felt wet, but he was happy even if his heart hurt for Devyn.
“I mean… same. I feel safe here, and at the Reids. Even with what happened before. I know you and Michael are so close that if anything does happen, you’ll be right there. And Elly and I can help too!” he insisted as he tucked his head against Devyn’s shoulder and yawned again.
“I wish you could tell us more about Percy and Alastor but…” He knew it was late, and he was trying very hard not to cry and would like to curl back up next to Elliot once he was done hugging Devyn.
“Maybe tomorrow? Please? I want to hear about all the places you and Percy explored. And the best places that Percy liked to do art. I want to visit all the locations in the paintings he made that were at Sessrumnir.”
It might have been a bit ambitious, and maybe those places had changed after a thousand years, but he wanted to learn everything he could.
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