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 Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:22 pm
Although he’d wanted to check on Devyn, Michael stayed in the garage to finish up a little more of the engine he was working on. It wasn’t anything important, just a way to relax and keep his mind busy. There were a lot of strange things they’d experienced in recent months, from a youma destroying the Reid’s house, to the boys becoming Moon Knights, to being spirited away to a strange robot inhabited world, where they left with more questions than answers.
So he wanted something simple to focus his thoughts. Although he was sure that some might not consider rebuilding an engine as something simple.
He’d felt the necklace’s pulse change against his chest and he knew Devyn’s thoughts must have shifted to something sadder, although it wasn’t immediately concerning, just… Michael could feel his own heart ache. Maybe he needed some time to himself, so Michael kept working for a few minutes longer, before finally cleaning everything up and putting things away for the next time he worked on it.
When Devyn found him, he was in the kitchen, scrubbing the grease from his hands with a little brush and some soap that smelled of oranges.
“Dev,” he greeted as he glanced over his shoulder. “Are the boys still awake?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:48 pm
A modest smile lingered on Devyn’s face when he spotted Michael, and he nodded as he made his way to the counter. He’d already finished his snack, but sometimes it was nice just to be around Michael.
“Naturally. They were playing on Elliot’s phone, but I gave them a good talking to. Reminded them that we have to wake up early. I was actually on my way to come get you and make sure you knew how late it was. I wanted to make sure you got enough sleep, too.”
He’d gotten so used to going to bed with Michael that he wasn’t sure he could have done anything but lay there and wait, otherwise. Empty beds made his skin crawl; he’d have rather slept on the floor than tried to sleep alone.
“I’m supposed to tell you that they say goodnight. Again.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:58 pm
Michael gave him a skeptical look when Devyn said he gave the boys a good talking to, because he couldn’t imagine him actually scolding them.
“Are you going to give me a good talking to, as well?” he wondered as he worked the bristles over his fingernails and then rinsed them off in the sink before scrubbing some more.
The boys being awake wasn’t surprising. If anything, Michael was glad they had each other to spend time with. It was nice having Elliot over all the time, too.
“Everything okay?” he asked then, but he kept his eyes on the sink. He wanted to give Devyn a chance to make sure his expression didn’t give anything away if he didn’t want to talk about whatever made the necklace react.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:07 pm
Devyn was leaning back against the counter; the corners dug into his palms but it wasn’t enough to cause him any real pain or discomfort. He’d been thinking about something, but he wasn’t even sure he could pinpoint what by the time Michael asked. The thought flitted out of his mind, like shadows scattering from the light.
“Do you want a good talking to? I could come up with something,” he laughed, but was quick to clarify, “They wanted stories.” He’d been happy to oblige, he’d always be happy to oblige. His favorite stories were rooted in his youth, and there was a period of time where everything was good, and a length of time after that where everything was not.
“I think everything’s okay. They’re both sweet. Sometimes Atticus calls me Dad and I think he must be talking to someone else. Did you feel that?” He raised his hand to his chest, as if to mimic reaching for the necklace Michael wore. Except, now that his hand was there he felt the need to hold onto something, so he fished out the wedding ring he still wore on a chain.
His lips pressed together as he ran his thumb over the warm metal. “Makes my heart skip a beat, sometimes. I’m happy, but there’s a split second where I panic, too.”
He assumed Michael felt everything he did. The necklace kept no secrets, and though it wasn’t an open door into his mind, it was a window into his heart. It carried a weight to it, and in some ways he thought it might have been a bit unfair. Not to him, he didn’t mind.
He wondered if it was ever heavy for Michael. If it was ever uncomfortable.
There was a weight in Devyn’s heart that shifted often; sometimes it was unnoticeable, and sometimes it pressed down with such force that it felt as if the air was being pushed from his lungs. He carried it easily, most of the time, and sometimes he put up a conscious will to maintain himself to make sure Michael didn’t feel anything that might make him worry.
It was a great effort. Sometimes, a constant effort. Usually only when they were far apart or out of sight. Now, even while his mind collected far-away memories that tugged at his heart strings, he found himself at ease next to Michael.
Everything was okay when he was there.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:16 pm
Michael snorted softly in amusement when Devyn suggested giving him a good talking to. For some reason, the thought of being scolded by Devyn already made him feel disappointed in himself. Ah, but lucky for the boys (and himself) Devyn was just telling them stories.
“I felt something,” Michael said with a nod and glanced back over at Devyn. For a few moments his gaze lingered on the ring that Devyn held. His wedding ring, of course. Devyn didn’t want to lose it, so it was smart to keep it on a chain, close to his heart.
Not for the first time (maybe at least a few times a day), Michael was glad Devyn couldn’t sense what his heart was doing.
“Poor kid probably desperately wanted a family that would take care of him,” Michael suggested as he continued working on his nails. It was the worst part of working with grease, but at least it gave him an excuse to stand around and talk to Devyn.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’ve been patient and kind to him since day one. Any kid would be lucky to call you their Dad. I mean it,” he said, his voice as sincere as his words.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:26 pm
A smile twitched on his face again, and as Devyn tucked the ring back into his shirt, he watched Michael as he worked at the grease.
“You’re sweet, Michael. Are you giving yourself enough credit? We live a very comfortable life, all thanks to you. He has a family that cares about him now. Also, thanks to you.” And Elliot, and Oliver and Asher, but that was a bit different. They lived next door thanks to Michael. They were still alive because of him, too.
It was easier to talk about Atticus than to mull over what the something was that Michael had felt. He supposed it probably wasn’t just the way he’d been surprised about Atticus’ affection.
“We were talking about Alastor. He said something about Percy, it was sweet. Made my heart hurt a little. It’s been doing that a lot lately, but I don’t know why. Maybe I’m homesick. Or worried about failing.” He exhaled, and shrugged, trying to shake the feeling. It was easier with Michael around.
He’d been very open about his plan to reclaim his homeworld from the Chaos, and he’d spent more time thinking about it lately. Soleiyu was still building lights to install, but Devyn had already amassed a good hoard of them and had been storing them in a safe place at the Hall.
Things were moving. Sometimes too slow, sometimes too fast.
He didn’t want to rush anything, but he didn’t want to run out of time, either.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:36 pm
Michael let out another quiet laugh, although he cast a slightly exasperated glance in Devyn’s direction.
“We live a very comfortable life thanks to the money I got from my family. I can’t take credit for that,” Michael confessed, and something in his voice hinted at guilt. Maybe it was because he couldn’t bring himself to just give it all away. He still worked! He lived a modest life, all things considered. He’d served his time in the Navy, and spent a while trying to figure out where and when he wanted to disappear…
But then people like Oliver and Asher came into his life. He got to meet Elliot. Peter moved in with him. Every time he thought about taking his boat and sailing away, something kept him there.
Right now, he couldn’t imagine leaving. He had too many people he cared about so close to him. And their closeness healed him more than he understood.
Knowing that Percy had been brought up made Michael pause for a moment as he let the water rush over his hands. That would explain the something then.
“We won’t fail,” Michael promised as he took the towel from the counter so he could dry his hands, and then set it back down. “We’re getting allies to help. Peter will be there. Chris and Paris, too. I think I can get Marissa to help out as well. She’s got healing tea,” he explained as he took a step closer to Devyn.
Briefly, he reached across Devyn to casually brush his hand along his hip with the intent of encouraging him to stay where he stood against the counter. And just as briefly, Michael leaned close to press their foreheads together.
He didn’t know why he felt the sudden need for that gesture but he was sure his heart would have protested more if he hadn’t.
“We’ll fix everything that we can, okay? I promise.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:44 pm
If it were anyone else in the world, Devyn didn’t know what he might have done. He didn’t really seem to like physical contact when it was anyone else. In crowded places, he seemed to take extra effort to sidestep everyone. He didn’t even like to shake hands.
Atticus was an exception, because how could you look at that face and say no to a hug? Besides, he needed them. There was something vulnerable about him, though. Something nonthreatening. Something that Devyn needed to protect.
Michael was different. He didn’t need that protection, or that tenderness. He was strong.
Devyn was comfortable around him.
It wasn’t even that he didn’t mind the touches, he might have even liked them.
Despite his aversion to people, he craved the contact. He didn’t know how long he’d dealt with the paradoxical needs, he had no idea how long it had left him feeling upturned and unsatisfied. None of that mattered in this quiet, private moments, because everything felt fine.
Michael wasn’t going to take advantage of his lowered guard. He wasn’t going to try to blackmail him, or manipulate him.
“I believe you. I know. I have faith in myself. I have faith in Alastor, and you, and everyone else. I don’t know where any of this is coming from. I’m not used to feeling…”
He trailed off, and for a moment he seemed as if he’d either lost his train of thought. Really, he just couldn’t find the right word.
“I don’t know. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’m worried I might miss something, or make a mistake. The more people there are, the more people that could get into trouble. I don’t want them to get hurt on my behalf. Ah, I should trust them more. I’m not very good at this, I’m used to doing things on my own. Old habits are hard to break.”
Very old habits, harder.
He closed his eyes for a moment so he could just calm down, but there was a little nagging voice in the back of his head that was reminding him the goal was to get to bed so they could be well rested for tomorrow.
…But maybe just a moment more of this would be okay.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:08 pm
Michael pulled back after a moment, and it was to make an uneasy grimace at the thought of having faith in everyone and wanting to trust them more. He didn’t know half of the people Devyn had met and talked to about Alastor. And maybe that was fine! But without knowing anything about them, even Michael was uneasy.
Mostly because he didn’t want Devyn to worry. And he didn’t want to babysit them, or leave his family and extended family -- those he knew could fight and handle themselves -- to hold their hands when the idea was for them to help Alastor.
“We’ll make it work,” he said, trying to stay positive about it. At least for Devyn’s sake. But he wasn’t going to pretend that everything was fine when it might not be.
He was just going to ignore the fact that he’d just been promising Devyn everything would be fine.
“Trust and respect are earned. And not trusting someone to be able to completely handle something might save their life,” he offered as an alternative way of thinking about it. “We’ll have everyone keep an eye on each other, but if they’re agreeing to help, then they should already know the dangers. Besides, we’ll have, what… at least two healers…?” If Marissa came along, and Lysithea, fresh out of the Negaverse.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:19 pm
Devyn paused, rolled the thought over for a moment, and then laughed. He shifted positions just enough that he could rest his hand on Michael’s upper arm. It was the closest thing to a hug without moving. He wasn’t sure why he’d had the urge in the first place, but maybe it was just because he’d just come from visiting Atticus.
“Well, I trust and respect you, so thank you. I do believe you. Usually I’m more confident than this, it’s unbecoming. Failure isn’t an option, I won’t let Chaos win. So I don’t understand why my heart feels so…”
Torn? Fluttery? Sore?
It didn’t make sense to him.
Was he working too hard? No, his muscles weren’t sore. The sting wasn’t really like the prickle of impatience that came over him sometimes; he didn’t feel the need to run right now.
“Odd,” he finally decided, but it was hardly any useful information. He certainly couldn’t make much of it. “We were talking about Arista,” he said, because of course he’d told Michael many stories about the waterfront town next door to where he’d spent most of his life. “About the festivals. It was a good conversation, I enjoyed it. Maybe I’m a bit homesick. I haven’t gotten to go back and enjoy anything there in so long.”
It was unwise to think of leisure and fun when the Chaos was still polluting everything, though.
“...I started to think, what if we remove the Chaos but there isn’t anyone there anymore?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:35 pm
Michael didn’t move when Devyn put his hand on his arm, not wanting to discourage him from doing so. His heart fluttered anxiously, although why, he didn’t know. Or maybe he didn’t want to admit that he knew.
No matter their closeness as friends, could they ever be more than that? Was it even fair that Michael hoped that maybe…? But he was also aware that he was no Percy. He would have to accept whatever friendship they had now might be as far as it went.
He could be happy with that, but it also made his heart ache. There was a longing that he couldn’t quite explain.
For Devyn, Michael couldn’t help but wonder if it was because they didn’t know what would happen once Chaos was gone from Alastor. Whatever was stopping him from aging-- what if everything caught up with him once they destroyed the Chaos there…?
They would save Alastor from Chaos, but what if in doing so they would end Devyn’s already unusually long life…?
The thought was visibly unsettling, but Michael tried to play it off as a response to Devyn’s question.
“I hope that’s not the case but. Dev… you should prepare yourself for that possibility,” he warned, as gently as he could, knowing his upset didn’t quite match his response to Devyn’s concerns. Thankfully, he didn’t have a necklace to betray him.
“Everywhere else that we know of… there’s no one. Just… Earth. Maybe the Velencians survived because they had their artificial world, I don’t know. But… what if there is no one…?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:04 pm
There were a lot of possibilities that Devyn was preparing himself for.
He had hope in his heart still, that there were people who had hidden themselves away and found safety and shelter and survived all this time. He wasn’t willing to let that hope go, yet. He thought of Marius, and his village, and how they had survived for so long without the rest of the world knowing.
He hoped for the best. He prepared for the worst.
Or, he was trying to.
It wasn’t just failure he had to worry about–success might come with its own repercussions. He knew his lifespan was impossibly long. What if that ended when the Chaos was gone? What if his world exhausted the last of its power, if he exhausted the last of his power, to destroy it? –And what if there wasn’t even anyone left to save?
He’d promised to save his world. He was supposed to leave it better than he’d inherited it.
So many other worlds had fallen in the time his had. Earth was the only one that still seemed alive. It didn’t mean he could give up. It didn’t mean he’d break his promise.
He didn’t want to prepare himself for the possibility that his future was uncertain after that. He’d lived a long life. A very long life. Everyone he’d known was dead and gone. By all means, he should be gone, too.
…But he was here, for some reason. And if it was only to defeat the Chaos, when he’d accomplished that–
What would happen to Atticus? To Michael?
He had the utmost faith in them, of course, but they were important to him. He didn't think it was arrogant to think he was important to them, too.
He didn’t want to hurt them. He didn’t want to be a memory.
…But if he was going to have to leave them, he wanted to make sure they had some good ones.
So, he buried the thoughts, and the worries, and the fears, because if something happened, he didn’t want Michael to remember how anxious he was before the end.
“Alastor is more than a tomb. You’ll see,” he said, and drew away for only a moment so he could readjust himself. He hugged Michael, gave him a good squeeze, and stayed there for a moment. “It’s getting late. I’m supposed to carry you to bed so you get some rest. Are you going to make it easy on me or are you going to protest?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:29 pm
His heart ached. He felt like he was seeing everything play out as it once had before, just with different people, different roles.
Michael could only assume that it had given Riley some closure to tell him how he felt, in the end. Or at least he hoped it had. There were many times that Michael didn’t think it was fair that he waited until then to tell Michael how he felt, but then… maybe he hadn’t been sure, or maybe he thought that it would give Michael some peace.
There was no way for him to know for sure. There was no way for him to go into the past and ask why. He’d been young. Foolish. Overly optimistic and naive.
Now there were many things that made him bitter and resentful. Mostly at himself. But the people in his life helped him keep going. His family, the Reids, and now Devyn and Atticus.
If he were to lose Devyn without saying anything… would there be regret? Would Devyn be upset knowing he waited until it was too late to say anything…?
He hadn’t expected the hug, but he quickly returned it with a squeeze of his own.
Followed by a quiet laugh and shake of his head. “You’re supposed to carry me? I’m going to protest,” he said, but he was smiling in amusement as he did so. “Or is this you saying you want to show off by carrying me around like it’s nothing?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:36 pm
“Well, I’ve just had a good feel of your arm and find myself inclined to show off a bit as well. Besides, I told the boys I was going to do it, and I can’t have you making a liar out of me. Protest all you like, but I doubt you’ll make a convincing case. When was the last time you let yourself just relax? I’ll be gentle, I won’t drop you.”
He kept his arms on Michael’s shoulders but drew back just enough so he could give him his best impression of Elliot’s big, pleading eyes. “Shouldn’t you make sure I’m taking my workouts seriously? I’ll even let you kick open the bedroom door, it’ll be fun,” he insisted. “Let me carry you. Please?”
For all his troubles, he focused on i]this. He wanted to make happy memories. Just in case.
He wanted Michael to have something to smile about.
Just in case.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:53 pm
Stupidly, Michael could feel his face warm up a little. He sputtered flusteredly at Devyn’s request, at the big eyes that he knew Devyn picked up from Elliot, and the please.
He and Devyn were roughly the same size, although Michael would argue that he was broader than Devyn because he’d had longer to build up his muscle, so it definitely wouldn’t be like carrying Atticus around, who weighed next to nothing.
But how could he say no when Devyn asked like that?
Michael drew in a breath, ready to force himself to protest more but… “Okay,” came out instead. He swallowed nervously about it. Not because he thought Devyn couldn’t do it! But it wasn’t as though he was used to being carried around.
“You’re ridiculous,” he sighed after a moment, and then laughed softly because… what else was he going to do? He relaxed and awkwardly lifted his arms a bit, not sure if Devyn wanted him to put them around his shoulders or what. “Don’t let Peter know. He’ll tease us forever,” he warned, but laughed again.”
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