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 Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 1:40 pm
The river was kind to them, and Virgil’s boat handled remarkably well. It didn’t take too long to get used to handling it; it seemed like it wanted to sail. Devyn commented on things as they maneuvered over the river. It wasn’t a long trip by any means, but it was a nice day. There was a good breeze, and the sky was clear and warm.
He hadn’t known what had happened to the boat after Virgil passed. He’d suspected Marius had something to do with what happened to it, but Devyn hadn’t been paying attention to such things at that point in time. After Marius had passed, his memory got even worse. He’d discussed some of the history of Arista. A bad flood a few hundred years ago, where a storm had taken down some trees and blocked the river water was the most graphic thing he remembered, and that was only because he’d been here for it. He was in a good mood today, but it was obvious that he was skipping around in his memories. He didn’t often assign times to when things happened.
Sometimes, it was because he just didn’t know. Sometimes, it was because he didn’t like to remember how long he’d been here for. It wasn’t a subject he touched often, anyway. It wasn’t that sensitive, he just didn’t know what to say. It was hard to reconcile that he felt like he lived two lives, one with Percy and one with Michael, and everything between felt like treading water.
There was a poisonous fog between them, years–decades–centuries–where he couldn’t remember anything good. Had he been miserable for so long? Was it even worth dwelling on?
He felt the weight of it all, sometimes.
But not today.
When Michael docked the boat on the other side of the shore, Devyn had been quick to help him tie things off so they could get back on solid ground. Not because he had such an aversion to the water, or even because he wanted to be away from Virgil’s boat, but because it was very difficult to know what was in that trunk and not be able to share it with Michael.
The other side of the river was both alike and different from Arista. There were a few buildings here, but it was much different from the expansive city across the river. There was a hill to climb to reach them, but it helped keep things over here in good condition when the waters rose.
The grass swayed in the breeze, tall but not quite up to their knees. To their right, they could have followed an ancient path towards the old buildings, and while Devyn’s gaze had settled down that way briefly, it didn’t seem to be their destination. The trees were taller on this side of Arista, but they took much of the same shape. Birds chittered and sang from the treeline beyond them.
His attention moved to the taller point of the hill, with three visible graves and a smattering of gold flowers across them.
“Want to go make a wish with me?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 1:46 pm
“A wish?” he repeated, and glanced up to where Devyn had been looking. There were graves there, and he couldn’t help but wonder if there were people Devyn knew who were buried there. The shimmering gold flowers made the hilltop glisten in the sunlight. It was almost impossible not to notice.
“I will do anything with you,” Michael said easily after pausing for a moment for dramatic effect.
Michael leaned down to pick up the trunk that they’d brought with them from the boat. After everything Devyn had done for him, especially with setting whatever this was up, the least Michael could do was carry the trunk.
“Have I mentioned how nice your hair looks in this light? It’s very shiny. Makes me look forward to touching it when I get the chance.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 1:53 pm
Devyn laughed and couldn’t help but comb his fingers through Michael’s hair. “Well, I can’t wait for you to touch it. Here,” he said and stepped onto the dock. He held out a hand for Michael to help balance him as he joined him.
“Have I mentioned how nice you look in this light? Even the sun can’t help but kiss your skin. It’s making me jealous.”
So, when he had the chance and Michael was on solid ground next to him, he kissed his cheek. As he guided him towards the flowers, he placed his hand on the small of Michael’s back. He couldn’t help but rub his back; with Michael’s hands full, he couldn’t help but want some contact.
“They’re wishing flowers, over there. A bit of a fairy tale, but important enough to bring here. I wish they were here to tell you. I hope you won’t think it grim that I always take you to graves. I don’t have people to introduce you to, so the best I can do is take you to where they were last and tell you stories. The flowers aren’t native to here, Marius had to go get them. After Perce died, he spent a lot of time in Arista, so he got to hear all of their stories, too. He was always into lore and superstition, though. He cared for Madison greatly, I know his death hurt him. I wish I could have been there for him more. But, Marius thought this was fitting. He chose this spot for them, together. So they could look over Arista. I’m not very superstitious, myself, but I can’t help but think it must have helped a bit. Practically speaking, I know how hard Atrius worked to secure Arista’s future. The work he put into it is probably why it lasted so well for so long. And Virgil was always by his side. And Madison was always by Virgil’s side. It’s complicated. But,” he shrugged. “Maybe Percy will show you some memories. He understood them more than I did. I didn’t even know Atrius and Virgil were married until Percy told me. And I’d already known them for nearly fifteen years. In hindsight, it makes sense. I always thought it was nice that Atrius let Virgil spend the night at his house. And that they got along so well. And that they wore matching clothes. And that Virgil was always picking Atrius up or running errands to him. They kept their relationship a secret, but really, the amount of times I snuck over here in the middle of the night.”
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Well, I suppose that’s ancient history. Atrius’ house is so different now, it’s been lived in for so long after he passed on. You know, it’s silly. I came into town last week to get all this set up, and my feet knew the way. I walked in, like I used to. I expected them to be there. It felt so much like coming home. Like how things used to be. But the house was different. Everything is. I wish I could find his books. I’m sure they’re somewhere. He had such a collection, Michael. I should have taken more back to the Hall. I would have loved to share with you.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:01 pm
Michael didn’t mind the contact. He welcomed it. It made him feel comforted even if he didn’t crave comfort at the moment. He was content and excited to be there, even if he tried not to make too much of a show about it.
He enjoyed hearing Devyn talk, and he didn’t say anything as he spoke, but made sure to watch him and nod to acknowledge he was listening every time they made eye contact.
“I don’t mind visiting graves,” he reassured Devyn. He could tell how much Devyn cared about these people, and he surprised himself by thinking that he did want to get some more memories from Percy, if only to be able to talk to Devyn about everything even more.
Carefully, Michael set the trunk down, making sure not to crush any of the flowers. But now that his hands were free, he reached out to take hold of Devyn’s and pull him a little closer so he could give him a quick kiss.
“Do you think they’d like me?” he asked, the little smile tugging at his lip indicating that he was teasing. Maybe a little anxious, too. He didn’t know why he wanted to have the approval of those who couldn’t speak for themselves because they’d died so long ago, but he trusted Devyn to have a good understanding of what they’d maybe say about him. Not that he expected Devyn to actually answer.
“They sound like they were really important to you. I wish I could have met them.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:09 pm
Devyn knew he was spoiled these days, with all the little kisses and affectionate gestures. He couldn’t help but smile, but such was typically his mood these days.
“They’d love you, Michael.” He answered proudly, without a doubt.
Percy had been important to them, but more than just because Devyn cared about him. Michael would be the same.
“They were my family. I suppose, still are, even if they aren’t here. Maybe they’re somewhere on Earth now, too. Though, I hope they would have gotten to stay together. Atrius–oh, you’d have loved him, too,” he sighed, just a bit exasperated. “He was charming. I was so sure he was going to sweep Percy off his feet before I had a chance. He had this way of talking to you like you were the only person in the world. Very charismatic and suave, he could have gotten away with murder.”
With the trunk on the ground, he knelt to unclasp it. It was difficult to see what was inside, but he’d folded a nice blanket over the top of everything and pulled it out. He shook it, but there was no dust or debris, and then carefully laid it out on the ground in a patch of grass devoid of flowers.
The shade of the tree above protected them from the sun, but the breeze was still enough to tousle their hair a bit every now and then.
“He’d have been interested in how clever you were. He’d want to talk about your problem solving skills. Probably want to talk about reading and poetry with you. He’d say you were an old soul, beyond your years, and that I’m very lucky to have someone with such a good head on his shoulders looking after me. He’d also try to get you to participate in all of Arista’s festivals, no doubt to ease your hardships and let yourself have a bit of fun. Virgil, he was calm. Always easy to be around him. He was a listener more than a talker, but only because he didn’t like to talk if he didn’t have something important to say. He’d have told you about his travels, though. I think you’d have liked to hear his stories. Of course, you both probably could have spent a silent afternoon scrubbing a boat and had a good time. He made good sandwiches. He was a brave and wise man. He and Madison knew the Senshi who came before me. Doctor Eld,” he scoffed and took a seat on the blanket. “Madison, sorry. He was my doctor for years. Not good with children. He’d have given you a hard time. Such a nag, about everything. It’s how he showed he cared. He would have nagged you constantly, but only because he wanted you to take care of yourself. He was witty, too. Jaded, but always flustered when something good happened. Hard on himself. He would have kidnapped Marius and smuggled him somewhere safe if my Council hadn’t pardoned him. He had a good heart, and a good sense of justice, too. But I think he also enjoyed harassing me, so I’ll never forgive him.”
And yet, despite all three graves carrying the weight of time, they were clean. There were no weeds around any of them, and it looked like someone might have chiseled the stone recently to be a bit cleaner and painted a fresh gold inlay to make the words more legible. The gold, while not necessarily unique in itself, was still identical to the gold Devyn had painted on the goats’ horns back at the Hall.
The words were written in Alastorian, but you didn’t have to be able to read them to know that someone had carved loving words for each of them.
They’d been important to a lot of people. They were still important to him.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:14 pm
Michael smiled softly as he listened to Devyn. There wasn’t anything else he wanted to do at the moment than listen to the stories his husband had to tell him. Even if he thought Devyn gave him more credit than he deserved.
Still, he appreciated the confidence Devyn had about how his family would have felt about him.
“You seem like you’d be fun to harass,” he gently teased, but didn’t seem like he had any intention of actually trying to harass him.
“You did a good job cleaning everything up. Very professional and respectful, I think. Knowing you, I can only imagine how much at least one of them liked gold. And I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Even though it took a while, we crossed paths again. Maybe it’s only a matter of time before they find each other again.”
Too many things happened for him to really believe in coincidences any more. He was not sure how he felt about fate, but he was glad things worked out for him and Devyn.
Michael had leaned down to help Devyn with the blanket, making sure it was stretched out and under the tree, while also avoiding the golden flowers blooming around them.
“I really hope you haven’t kept food in there for a week,” he laughed, but was eyeing the trunk suspiciously now that they had a blanket laid out.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:24 pm
Devyn laughed and shook his head. “No, the food’s here. Let me get it.”
He powered up briefly to extract a bag from subspace, but he’d powered down before he’d even settled on the blanket. “Those are your presents.”
He began to unpack the picnic basket, and while much of it was the same as usual was–sandwiches, fruits, chips–things that were easy to eat but good to snack on as much as they were to fill you up.
A small smile had settled on his face when Michael said that the three of them should find each other again, in ‘only a matter of time’.
He liked to think that in all this time they’d been gone from his life, they were living new lives, together.
He began unwrapping things and building a plate for each of them.
“You can look inside.” He was trying not to sound too excited, but the fact was that he was pleased to finally give one of the gifts to Michael.
He’d spent months on it, on and off. He’d recovered so many old Alastorian texts–poetry that he’d never read before he’d met Michael. He’d picked the best of them. Translated them, as close as he could to the original while still considering the flow of words. It wasn’t perfect, but he’d tried. He’d always had a way with words, anyway.
He’d made the pages himself. He’d bound the book. Dyed the leather wrapped around it. Embossed it, painted it. The words inside were a work of art, carefully and meticulously written.
Love was in each stroke of ink.
Devyn didn’t explain it; he left it for Michael to find and examine. There was also a jewelry box, and inside two matching earrings. Subtle–gold, but not flashy. They were timeless and looked like they could have been worn with any outfit. Devyn didn’t explain these either.
They were important, but they weren’t what he was excited about. They were a gift, but not something he’d made. Inside, there were a few maps; several were of Alastor, and a few looked like they belonged back at Sessrumnir. It wasn’t a large trove of gifts but it was the collection of things he’d gathered and wanted to share with Michael today.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:44 pm
Michael let out a quiet, somewhat exaggerated sound of relief when Devyn reassured him that the food was fresh. He helped him move things onto the blanket and decided to look in the trunk while Devyn was getting the food ready.
He found the jewelry box first, and he carefully removed the earrings from inside. He knew what they were right away, because Devyn had talked about them. Earrings that would have been similar to what Ephesus found on his Wonder, except Devyn knew who owned these earrings personally.
They were beautiful and he knew they were important to Devyn, which meant it was even more special for them to share.
The book was lifted out of the box next, and for a long while, Michael was speechless.
He didn’t usually let himself get emotional, because all his life he was the strong one. The oldest brother. The Navy veteran.
But knowing how much time and energy must have gone into something like this…? Michael had to hold the book a little bit away from himself when he started feeling his eyes getting hot. He hadn’t read anything yet, but he was taking in the details of the leather and embossing and the way Devyn’s handwriting was like art itself.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “Thank you.” Well, that seemed like it was an obvious response, but he already cherished these two gifts as his most important possessions.
“This is beautiful. I’m really bad at giving gifts, Dev,” he confessed, choking a little on the words. Peter accused him of throwing his money around before, and when he tried doing something thoughtful or meaningful, it ended up getting an unenthusiastic response.
He knew things were different with Devyn, but once more he felt once bitten, twice shy about trying again.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:02 pm
It was the response Devyn wanted. Michael wasn’t hiding behind any walls or playing it off. Seeing emotion on his face made Devyn brighten. Well–no, he hadn’t wanted Michael to cry, he wasn’t going to celebrate tears.
But he would celebrate honesty, and that Michael seemed to genuinely like the gifts.
“I happen to think you’re very good at giving gifts,” he insisted, and abandoned the food for a second so he could scoot a little closer. “I’ve wanted for nothing the entire time I've been here, you know. You’ve seen to it that I’m well taken care of. Every day you gift me happiness, and I have been sorely lacking in that department for a very long time.”
He was used to tears–he’d had Percy to cement his habits, and he had Atticus in his life. It wasn’t anything bad and he didn’t want Michael to feel silly or think he needed to hide his emotions. He rubbed at his back reassuringly and kissed his cheek.
“I’ve treasured everything you’ve given me. I know how much thought you put into what you do. I wanted to do something special for you. I know you like poetry, I wanted to share some of Alastor’s with you. You’ll have to tell me how it holds up to Earth’s. I did my best to translate, I had to take some creative liberties. There’s room for improvement, I’m sure. But that just means I’ll get to make more of these. It was refreshing, I’ve missed being able to make things. You’ve inspired me. And given me the chance to be able to.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:13 pm
“Yeah, I guess I like poetry,” he mumbled offhandedly as he tried to pull Devyn’s attention to something other than the way he had to lift his hand to rub at his eyes. So an obvious lie about how he guessed he liked poetry, as if he didn’t go back to college to study it, or teach it as an elective at Azure.
He just hoped his voice didn’t crack too much from the emotions he was being overwhelmed by.
“I look forward to your creative liberties. Would you mind reading them as they were written originally, too? Just to compare, I mean. I think I would like to hear you reciting poetry,” he smiled a somewhat wobbly smile, obviously overcome by the kindness and thoughtfulness of his husband.
“If I wasn’t worried about getting this book dirty or losing those earrings or knocking the food into the dirt, I would push you down onto the blanket right now and kiss you silly,” he confessed with a quiet laugh.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:23 pm
Devyn supposed that it was only natural to assume that Michael wouldn’t be comfortable with expressing his emotions, so he let his gaze wander to the sunlight reflecting on the breaking water. It was easy enough to find something to look at; he thought there were plenty of sights in Arista even as it
He rubbed at Michael’s back, eager to be close to him and offer whatever reassurances he could while still giving Michael a bit of privacy to sort through his emotions.
It was brief, maybe a moment at most, but his attention returned to Michael quickly. He smiled softly and brushed his fingers through his hair, competing with the wind with his light touch.
“I would love to read them to you, in my language and Earth’s. You can lay your head in my lap and I can play with your hair, too. Maybe feed you some grapes while you lounge, hm?”
“You can kiss me silly, though. The book will be fine, and the earrings have lasted for this long already.” He moved himself though, to make it easier for them to be closer without risking making any mess. If Michael wanted a kiss, he had plenty of those to give, too.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:40 pm
“Oh, well, if that’s an invitation,” Michael hummed as he carefully put the book back into the trunk so that it would stay out of the way of any shenanigans they got into, and turned to take Devyn by his shoulders to push him back onto the blanket.
Gently, of course. Because as much as Michael talked about kissing him silly, he also wanted to take the time to really enjoy his company and look at him in the light that seemed to make everything sparkle a bit more on Alastor.
But he definitely flopped over onto his side next to him, propped up by his elbow so he could give him at least one kiss before using his other hand to brush his fingers over his face.
“Be honest. How long did that book take you? When did you even think about doing that?” Because he knew that handwriting the whole book like that must have taken a very long time, and for Devyn it had to be perfect, so who knew how many times he had to start a page over. Unless he just had that much practice. But then how long did it take him to translate? Figure out better words to switch for the English version?
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:55 pm
Devyn laughed softly when he was pushed back to the blanket, and he seemed to enjoy looking up at Michael as he made himself comfortable. His hair spilled around him and gave him a nice pillow, but he could have been laying on rocks and still been enamored by the soft glow of sunlight reflected from the river onto Michael’s face.
Of course, Michael had asked for honesty so Devyn couldn’t just fib and say that he’d done it over the course of a weekend.
“Oh, not that long,” he’d mused, but the amusement in his voice hinted that there was more to come.
Not that long compared to the many years he’d lived, of course. That was true. But it wasn’t the only truth.
“A few months, I suppose. I started early last summer.” Nearly a year, but he wasn’t that good with time, anyway. “I borrowed one of my old books from Sessrumnir when we had Atticus there healing. Sometimes I can’t sleep.” Michael knew this. Old habits died hard. Most of the time he could get at least a few good hours of rest next to him. Sometimes he could do fifteen minutes of light rest and had to get up and walk around the house. Sometimes he could rest afterwards, sometimes he couldn’t.
All those rainy days Michael was at work, all those hours in the bathtub soaking, all those trips back to his world. He spent a little bit of time–or more–during all of them. It was hard to tell exactly how long he’d been working on it, exactly.
“There are more pages already done. It’s a bit therapeutic, I admit. The next book won’t take me as long to finish as this one did. Sitting still was the hard part. Now, though. I find it a bit easier to relax. I still have the most energy just after a good jog, though. Or, maybe it’s Alastor healing that’s given me more strength. I feel good here. I feel good with you, too. I feel like I’m finally making up for lost time.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:05 pm
“You’re already working on a second?” Michael practically sputtered, and then laughed a quiet, loving laugh before leaning close to pepper Devyn’s face with kisses. He didn’t take up too much of his time and slowly pulled back so he could admire him some more.
“That’s a long time, Dev. Not just a few months,” he snorted in amusement, but was looking at Devyn with clear adoration. “If I’m ever around and you want company on your jogs, I’m always up for a run. Maybe I’ll be able to keep up with you,” he teasingly suggested. “Maybe we should be doing more exercising so you’ll sleep better all the time. But I’m glad you feel like you’re making up for lost time. I feel the same, although I know it’s not at all close to what you’ve had to survive through.”
If there was anything Michael could do to take away all of Devyn’s pain, he would do it in a heartbeat. But it was good to know that Devyn felt good.
“Maybe we can switch sometime. You can rest your head in my lap and I’ll read you my favorite poetry. I’ve only read you some of my own work. Maybe I should change that.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:15 pm
“Michael, love of my lives,” Devyn said with faux exasperation, “You know my ambition is quite expansive, of course I have many projects started together.” So many that he often wound up buried beneath them, but the pressure seemed to motivate him. He seemed like he always had the energy to start something else, and he was diligent enough to keep a steady flow of finished projects and new ones.
If he wasn’t already in love with Michael, he’d have fallen in love with him for that sweet look, too. “I always want your company. Except when I’m making you secret presents.” His smile said that he’d have preferred Michael’s company to the secrecy, anyway.
“We can jog at whatever pace you like. And if I need to run a bit more than you to work out that energy, you can cheer me on while you take a break. I sleep very well next to you, you know. You give me the gift of dreams often. I’d lost them for quite a while.”
He didn’t think to compare his lost time to Michael’s. It wasn’t a competition. They’d had different experiences. Different preparation for those experiences. Michael’s were no less because there were fewer years attached to it. They’d left their mark on him all the same, and Devyn would spend however long it took to undo the damage he’d seen in that time.
“I would like very much to hear you read me your poetry, though. That sounds like a dream, too. You take such good care of me, I’m very pampered.”
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