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 Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:19 am
Oliver texted Michael as soon as he had left Retzian; his head felt foggy, but not bad. He hadn’t had a hard time meeting with her. Eventually, he’d been able to actually drink her hot cocoa, but he’d had a tornado of thoughts in his head. She’d said something that he didn’t think she’d meant, and she’d been talking so quickly that he wasn't even sure if she’d caught it.
He kept replaying the scene in his head to make sure he hadn’t just imagined it, but all the pieces fit together.
It wouldn’t have surprised him if Michael and Devyn were lurking around nearby in case he was in trouble, but he wanted to make sure they were actually home so he could talk to them.
If they’d been out, they made it back before he did; the lights were on, and when he knocked he was immediately let in. Devyn was sitting on the chair unlacing his boots and raised a hand to greet him. He wasn’t even bothering to pretend like he wasn’t interested in what Oliver had to say.
This time, Oliver didn’t bother with small talk. The words tumbled out of his mouth even before he realized he should probably take a few good breaths after power walking his way here. “She wants to purify. I gave her my phone number. Well–I think she already had it, I’m pretty sure I know who she is.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:36 am
“You do?” Michael asked in surprise, making sure the door was closed behind Oliver so their conversation was private. He had already taken off his shoes, but he also didn’t have a million yards of laces to untie.
The boys were with Asher, of course. They knew something was going on, but didn’t seem to want to stress Michael out by asking more questions. Atticus had just looked up at both Devyn and Michael as he gave them a hug and asked that they be safe. He likely did the same for Oliver before he went out.
“How do you know who she is? But… you’re certain she wants to purify? Does she have a plan? We could get in contact with Soleiyu. He could probably get her a disguise if she needed to buy more time to get everything in order.”
He knew that the Negaverse could easily summon her back, that they could capture her and probably kill her for being a traitor, so the quicker they had the information, the better.
He was just glad that Oliver looked unscathed, if not a bit shaken up. For that, he got a quick hug.
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:48 am
“She said she’s getting everything sorted out. She’s making a plan. I don’t know–she mentioned a few names. She mentioned Alastor’s name.”
Devyn frowned immediately and looked up; his laces were temporarily forgotten. “Why?”
“She said you two were supposed to be meeting up? She said–what was the other name. Dagon. That’s the senshi. But she said she was going to be talking to you, she said she’d run into someone who mentioned you–”
Devyn shifted positions just slightly; most of his weight was on his elbow as he rested on his knees. He nodded slowly at first, and then more encouragingly so Oliver would continue.
“She called me by name before–she called me Oliver. And I thought I’d just gotten confused and must have told her my name while I was panicking, but I don’t remember telling her my name. And then today, she said she wanted to grade papers with me again. But I never graded papers with her. And I thought about it, there are only a few people I’ve graded papers with, and only one of them was new to me. And her name is Celestina, and we are friends. So–oh,” he had to stop for a second and suck in a great breath of air. “So she says she knows this other Senshi, Daphne–”
Devyn’s eyes shot up again.
“–And she promised her that she was going to leave the Negaverse. So she's going to fake her death, she’s getting things in order. She seemed serious about it. She said she was going to call me when she got everything figured out. But she made it sound like she was going to leave soon.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:54 am
When Alastor’s name was said to have been mentioned, Michael frowned as well. He didn’t need to look at Devyn to know what he was feeling. He had the necklace for that. And even if he didn’t, his feelings were similar to his own.
“It sounds like this agent -- Retzian… She has been speaking to a lot of people. I hope she’s being careful about who she’s talking to.”
As well as what kind of information she was sharing. Especially if she knew Alastor’s name. And if she knew Oliver.
“I don’t think I recognize that name. She doesn’t work at Azure does she?”
Just the thought of a Negaverse Agent so close to Atticus and Elliot, and of course the rest of the teenagers who went to school there, was enough to send a chill down Michael’s spine.
“Do you need extra cash for her so she can get settled? A Mauvian can help with getting paperwork sorted out. New birth certificate, social security, all that.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:24 am
Devyn must have been chewing on the inside of his cheek; his face looked a little more narrow than before, and he had the air of someone who was on the precipice of agitation. Not at Oliver, he hadn’t done anything wrong. And, Devyn knew he was quick to pick up moods, so he had to force himself to relax so his mood couldn’t be misconstrued. He looked at Michael for a second, just long enough to catch his eyes so he could nod and reassure him that he was fine.
This was fine. They were going to work this out. It was going to be okay, it was handled.
Oliver seemed like he was juggling several thoughts at once, and he was almost pacing in place as he tried to sort through them and keep up. “I’ll have to ask her, I don’t know. I didn’t want to say too much, I thought it would be suspicious. But if you’re meeting her–I didn’t tell her that I knew you or anything, I was safe. I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest a few times, I didn’t do a good job playing it cool. So it’s a good thing I’m just jumpy, I think. But–I just mean, I really think she’s being sincere. I think she really wants to leave. And I just want to make sure that she’s okay and that she can. It sounds like this is a difficult decision and I don’t want her to be scared away from it, either. But I just wanted to make sure you knew everything I know. In case it might help when you meet her.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:21 pm
“Oliver. Breathe,” Michael said quietly, reaching up so he could place his hands on Oliver’s shoulders and lean down a little so he could get a better look at his face.
“You’re okay. You’re doing good. I just need you to take a moment, okay? You’re rambling.” Which wasn’t a bad thing! Michael had often told Oliver this as a gentle tease, especially when they were at work and something ridiculous was happening, like when one of the seniors thought it would have been funny to let a chicken loose in the halls.
This was much more serious than a chicken, though.
He caught Devyn’s glance at least, and he took just a moment to nod as well. He was fine. Devyn was fine. They would figure this out.
And if it wasn’t something they could resolve one way, well… there was always a more permanent solution that Michael wasn’t going to mention to Oliver. She was going to fake her own death, after all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:30 pm
Oliver sucked in a breath and held it. There was the faintest guilty, apologetic look on his expression while he did so. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
Maybe it was because of his instinctive need to hide when he was flustered, or just because Michael was so close, but he raised his hands to cover his face. His hands were still cool from being outside and helped ease the heat in his cheeks.
He fell quiet, like he might have actually intended to count out a minute, but he hardly lasted more than a few seconds. When he spoke again, it was slower and more careful, and he didn’t move his hands. “I just wanted to say everything I could think of before I forgot. I didn’t want to get confused or miss something.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:52 pm
Michael sighed softly. He didn’t want Oliver to get overwhelmed, and he appreciated being told everything he had.
“It’s okay,” he promised, taking a moment to move his hands from Oliver’s shoulders so he could wrap them around him instead. “You have nothing to apologize for, you know that. Thank you for telling us. We’ll figure things out. If we can help her, we’ll help her, okay?”
He gave Oliver a squeeze before pulling back a little.
“Are you okay? Do you want to sit down? I’m assuming you want to get back to Asher,” he said as he rubbed Oliver’s back.
“We’ll get things prepared as much as we can. Don’t worry, okay? You don’t want the boys to worry. I think Atticus is more empathetic than is good for him,” he sighed, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just something to keep an eye on so he didn’t get too overwhelmed.
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:30 pm
“I know, I know,” Oliver reassured quickly; he lowered his hands and made sure to make eye contact, at least for a moment. “I promise, I’m okay. I didn’t realize I was so winded! That’s all. I think it all just hit me at once. I didn’t realize how much energy that took. But it’s not bad–and she didn’t take the energy, I promise. This is all me.”
He rubbed at his face, shook his head, and then crossed his arms over his chest as if he could center himself and focus by doing so.
“I should sit down, probably, but I can make it home before I do that. Let me just get my mind back. Elliot will know I got all worked up otherwise and I don’t want him or Atticus to worry, you’re right.” Asher undoubtedly knew what was going on, but Oliver was less worried about upsetting his husband. Asher knew the difference between Oliver being overwhelmed and being overwhelmed.
“Thank you, Michael. You’re so good at this. I know you and Devyn can handle things. I’ll try not to worry. I just like happy endings, I want that for everyone. I know it’s silly,” he said quickly, like he had to reassure that he knew it sounded ridiculous. “I just feel like I got so lucky. You work too hard. Of course I’m going to worry about you. And you too, Devyn. You’re both always doing so much.”
Devyn glanced up briefly and nodded. He was still mulling things over but didn’t seem upset. Michael had a good grip on things, and it seemed easy enough to navigate this situation–if it wasn’t a trap. Oliver seemed convinced otherwise, and it wasn’t that he didn’t trust him, it was just that Oliver was a little gullible.
Oliver gave Michael one quick squeeze and then stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest again. “Okay, I’m calm.” He’d decided to be calm, but it seemed like he was still working on reaching that point. “I just hope it works out. I appreciate you so much. Be nice when you see her, I think she might be all nerves too. I don’t have to tell you that, I know. And you’ll have to tell me how it goes afterwards, okay?”
He untangled his arms from across his chest to fix his hair and smack his cheeks lightly as he tried to make himself more presentable.
“I’ll head home in a minute. If I remember anything else, I’ll head over when Atticus comes home.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:48 pm
Michael let out another little sigh, only slightly exasperated by how worked up Oliver was. He wanted to make sure his friend was okay. And he wanted to make sure they were all safe.
“What are you talking about, I’m always nice,” he huffed, but nodded. He knew he could probably be intimidating at times, and with Devyn there as well, well… they would just have to do what they could and hope that things worked out.
“Thank you for letting us know,” he said again, because he wanted Oliver to know he was being sincere. “Really, Oliver. I know I haven’t been forthcoming with a lot of this magic stuff, but knowing what you’re telling us now is really helpful. You’re a good man. Make yourself some tea when you get home and hide in your room maybe,” he suggested. He knew how Oliver worked, even if he didn’t know him as well as Asher did.
After all, Michael sometimes needed time to hide in the dark as well.
“Devyn and I will take care of things.”
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