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 Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:07 pm
It wasn’t too late when Remarque stepped out of Mirrorspace and powered down. He knew it was unlikely that Orien and Kaelan were actually asleep at this hour; he might not have known the intricate details of their personal lives but he was clever enough to piece things together.
Past an overflowing set of dumpsters, past a few shady streets of run-down buildings and dead or dying businesses, he found their apartment. He hadn’t been here before, there was no reason for it. Of course he’d looked it up when they’d mentioned how hard they were working to save up and move out.
Seven flights of stairs with no elevator was disgusting, no wonder they were always exhausted. It must have been a workout just to get in and out of their apartment.
Practically speaking, texting or knocking could go wrong; if he knocked and startled them, he expected Orien to answer in typical fashion. If he texted, they might ignore him.
Finding their apartment was easy, but he had cheated a bit; he had their address through work so there wasn’t any guessing.
Jett was tired–not exhausted, but he’d been up since early and he was ready to go home. He could see a light on under their surprisingly poorly insulated door so he knew they were awake. They were too conscientious of their energy bill to fall asleep with the light on.
Expecting the worst, he texted Orien first. ‘Come open your door. I’ve got a few things to drop off.’
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:19 pm
Not asleep yet, but that was only because Orien was trying to help Kaelan get everything organized for his classes. He knew he couldn’t do much but if Kaelan told him to copy a set of terms and definitions from a glossary onto flashcards, he was more than happy to make each one perfect.
And he wanted to give Kaelan more time to relax. Even with a bath and a little bit of food, Orien was still worried about Kaelan’s headache.
The phone beside him lit up, and he almost ignored it because it was so late, but the name that popped up made him hesitate. And he had to try really hard to hold back a preemptive snarl.
Not because he disliked Jett or anything like that! He actually liked him a lot, all things considered. After all, Jett gave Kaelan the chance to go to college, and he gave both of them jobs.
But he was absolutely expecting them to be scolded for what happened earlier that night.
Dropping a few things off? Sure.
‘Leave it in the hall,’ Orien typed back and hit send, before turning to glare at the door. Was Jett really in the hall?? That was going to give Kaelan a panic attack. It was better if he just left.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:54 pm
Kaelan was hunched over his desk, squinting at some notes he’d taken while he scribbled a few answers to his homeworld on a sheet of paper. He’d spend some time at the library tomorrow to type it up and submit it online, but he liked to get his work done on paper first because he felt like he remembered it more. Plus, it meant he could spend less time at the library tomorrow, and he could double check his work before submitting it.
Orien’s phone went off and he froze. His mind stopped working completely, and even if he could pretend like he was still staring down at his paper, he’d stopped writing. Ink was blotting on the sheet he’d been writing on.
He wanted to ask who it was, or what they wanted, but–if it was Jett…
“...Is everything okay?” Kaelan asked, wondering if Orien had seen a bug or something in the kitchen.
Orien’s response was less hostile than he expected; Jett had his phone on silent but he’d had the message open and saw it immediately. He texted back with little delay, ‘It’s food. You really want me to put it down out here? I didn’t climb seven flights of stairs to text, just give me a minute of your time.’
And then, a second message. ‘Please.’’
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 6:13 pm
Orien clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth when Jett texted back. When he texted please.
He didn’t want Kaelan to worry. He didn’t want him to have to deal with the stress of Jett telling them to never show their faces around the court again. Or maybe he was bringing them their last paycheck and telling them they wouldn’t need to show up to work the next day. Or ever again.
But Kaelan was already stressing, already worrying. Orien stopped what he was doing, took a breath to try and calm himself before pushing himself up from where he was sitting on the bed with the flashcards and sliding off to cross over to Kaelan.
“Everything’s okay,” he promised and pressed a kiss to the top of Kaelan’s head. “I’ll make sure everything’s okay. I’ll be right back. You keep working.”
He knew it wasn’t good enough. He knew that Kaelan was going to be panicked and worrying no matter what.
Which was why when he finally crossed the room and cracked the door open he snarled at the man on the other side, but kept his voice low as he spoke.
“Kaelan did nothing wrong. If you have a problem with what happened, you can take it out on me. Just don’t make him quit school, please. I’ll do extra work or overtime or use my own energy to give up--”
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 6:38 pm
Everything was okay? Everything was okay? Then why was he getting up? Why was he opening the door?
It was easy to panic, and even if Orien had said just to keep working, he couldn’t help but lean forward to try and see what he was doing.
He saw a flash of blonde and immediately sat back in his seat, like he could hide from Jett. And why? Jett knew he was here! His sucked in a breath and held it, because if he couldn’t hear what they were saying then he was going to assume.
Jett had seen Kaelan, hiding like a guilty child. Their apartment was too small for him to have missed where he was working.
He had manners, though; he wasn’t going to just peer over Orien’s shoulder and criticize their living situation. He met his eyes when he answered the door.
Orien’s snarl had no effect on him; he’d seen him make that same face while doing research on the computer, or trying to figure out what he wanted off a menu. He didn’t react to it. Instead, he held up a paper bag, bloated with carefully packed food. “There’s a sandwich ring in here. And half a basket of fruit. I brought you leftovers. I didn’t come here to scold you, I came to check up on you two.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 6:48 pm
Orien’s eyes immediately focused in on the bag. Not because he was hungry! Okay, so his stomach just happened to make a sad whine at that moment, but that didn’t mean anything. He ate! He and Kaelan shared some chocolate and… something else, he was sure. He just couldn’t remember it at that very moment.
But soon he lifted his eyes back up to Jett so he could snarl at him again. Why would he want to check on them?
“What? Do you think we can’t take care of ourselves? Do you think we care about that stupid party or if we ever see those people again? Surprise — we don’t fit into your perfect little family. Just… we won’t show our faces around them again. We won’t cause problems just…”
Orien hated that his throat felt tighter the more he spoke. He felt anxious and guarded. From both sides. He was worried about Kaelan being upset. He was worried about what Jett would say, and if what he said would upset Kaelan more. He was mad that things turned out as they did, but also embarrassed and it was just one more failure on his part.
He didn’t want to beg for his job, but he was willing to do anything if it meant Kaelan continuing school. And with Jett, well… the job was a lot safer than other things he could have done to make money. He certainly didn’t want Kaelan to worry more than he already did.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 6:58 pm
By now, Kaelan found himself torn between staying out of the way and getting up to see what was going on. Orien had told him to keep working. It was impossible to focus, but he didn’t want to disappoint him.
Plus, he was rooted to the spot. He was dizzy with worry, and even if his headache had faded, every fierce thump of his heart in his chest reminded him that it could come back at any point in time. He tried to hear the conversation; the walls of the apartment were thin, and there was only silence between him and the other two.
Once more, Jett was unshaken by the snarl, but given the raw emotion Orien was greeting him with he assumed that he might actually very much care.
“Orien.”
He held out the bag.
“You’re worrying too much. It’s food, I brought it because I thought you two might like some. Don’t overthink it. I told you, I didn’t come here to scold you. I came to make sure you were okay. And to make sure you knew I wasn’t upset.”
Because, really, those two found a way to worry about everything. Which was why he wanted to meet in person rather than talk over the phone.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 7:05 pm
His eyes were once again on the bag being held out to him. Orien knew he should take it. He knew Kaelan would benefit from some fruit for his headache and food in general for their empty stomachs.
He couldn’t bring himself to take it. Even if it was just a peace offering or… he wasn’t sure what… he didn’t think it was fair to take food from a party that they left. A party where people there either didn’t care enough to want them to stay, or worse — were glad that they left.
Orien’s lip twitched over bared teeth as he looked up at their boss — in multiple ways. The antique shop’s owner and also Prince of a court that he wasn’t sure they belonged to.
He didn’t know what to do. Take the food. Thank Jett. Shut the door. Not overthink it. Somehow.
He was worried about Kaelan. He didn’t want to lie to him. He didn’t want him to worry. He definitely didn’t want Jett to judge them on their tiny, dumpy apartment. Should he invite him in? That seemed polite, especially when he wanted to convince Jett not to abandon them because of one mistake. Or maybe there were more and he just couldn’t remember.
Orien could feel his eyes starting to burn.
So of course he instinctively tried to cover it up by reaching out to grab the bag.
His hand was shaking too badly by that point, and promptly dropped it the moment Jett released it.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 7:12 pm
Kaelan moved almost as fast as Jett did.
Kaelan heard a shuffle and immediately stood so quickly that his chair scraped against the floor, and Jett’s arm shot out to grab the bag again before it could hit the ground.
He was used to Orien dropping things, which didn’t seem like a fair thing to say but he knew his hands tended to shake when he was stressed or overwhelmed. He shouldn't have been surprised. Even if the bag had hit the ground, it was just food; it wasn’t like it could break.
Kaelan was already in a panic when he joined Orien in the door frame and Jett knew it wasn’t just the lighting that made him look so pale. Kaelan grabbed Orien’s hand so quickly and with such desperation that he wasn’t sure if the support was for Orien or for himself.
Probably for the both of them, they worked like that.
“I’m sorry,” Kaelan blurted, but Jett gave him an exasperated look. Not cruel or harsh enough that he suspected it would hurt him or that it could be taken the same way.
“I know. And it’s fine. I was just telling Orien that everything’s fine. Probably not even as bad as I know you two have come to think. I brought leftovers. I know you’ve got a test coming up, I thought maybe it might be nice if you didn’t have to worry about cooking.”
It was nice. Kaelan’s eyes widened with a bit of surprise, especially given how full the bag was.
Jett continued, holding the bag patiently, “I’m not even the only one who wanted to check in. Our host was hoping to meet you in a quieter environment. I might have mentioned that you two seem to do better when there’s not a crowd. Telesto was very understanding, and wanted me to pass on an apology for how things went down. In a lot more words than that, though.”
Kaelan’s hand was at Orien’s back and he had pulled him close and he was gently rubbing his hand up and down in an effort to soothe him. Technically, he didn’t think Telesto had anything to apologize, but it made his stomach twist in knots anyway.
It felt like someone had slammed on the brakes in his brain and he found himself struggling to think about what that meant. He was ready to accept that they’d burned every bridge, that they were being fired, stripped of their powers, that he was being kicked out of school–
And Jett had come to bring them a bag of food and tell them that people still wanted to meet them. To get to know them.
He didn’t know what to say, but thankfully Jett didn’t seem to mind standing there while they figured it out.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 7:49 pm
To get to know Kaelan. That was what Orien wanted. He wanted Kaelan to have a support system for when he inevitably wasn’t around. To have people to take care of him should the worst happen. To make sure Kaelan ate and continued pursuing his dreams…
Orien held Kaelan’s hand, even as he grumbled and growled under his breath about how he was fine and how it just slipped and it was fine.
But he didn’t want to be rude. It wasn’t even that he wanted to be mean. He just learned that was the easiest way to protect himself and Kaelan.
“Might as well not talk in the hall,” he mumbled and took a step back into the apartment, careful not to push Kaelan too much, and also wanting to make sure he was okay with his offer to Jett to come inside.
“Thanks,” he finally grumbled, but didn’t try taking the bag again. Instead he used the sleeve of his shirt to rub a little too harshly at his eyes. He needed to calm himself down. He was too on edge and he knew he was stressing Kaelan out.
“Why would anyone bother? We didn’t exactly make the best impression,” he huffed, feeling guilty because he knew he was part of the problem. He just got so riled up so easily. It didn’t help that he and Kaelan were being mocked.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 8:03 pm
Oh, thank goodness they’d cleaned. Oh, he’d have just died if Jett had come in and their place was trashed. Kaelan could have been embarrassed for the state of their little, run-down apartment but he was proud of it. Orien had worked hard to get this place for them. He’d started with nothing and it had taken him less than a year to get this place, and now they were both bringing in stable income–and would continue to do so since it seemed like Jett wasn’t firing them?–but that just meant that they still had a lot of room to move up in the world.
They hadn’t decorated much for Christmas; he’d done enough for Halloween and even if they could have afforded to have a bit more, he wanted to make sure they didn’t freeze during Winter, instead. Still, there was a small, fake Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Kaelan liked the twinkling lights and thought they were a very nice night light, and the best part was that it ran on the batteries he’d got at the dollar store and even a month later they hadn’t needed to be replaced.
When Orien started to move aside, Kaelan did too. Jett didn’t have to pay close attention to observe the way they always seemed to be connected whenever possible, but he wasn’t there to judge. They felt small in a big world, and they were still trying to find themselves in it.
Miracles didn’t happen overnight. He stepped inside and placed the bag on the counter instead of passing it over again, and if he thought anything of the practically antique appliances in their kitchen, he didn’t comment on it.
Kaelan looked partly ashamed, not because of their apartment–well, not really, but he knew that Jett might just die if he had to stay in a place like this–but more because of what Orien had said. Why would anyone bother? Why wouldn’t they just want to distance themselves and find someone nice, like Kore?
Jett closed the door behind him before he spoke, and despite how much he could see Kaelan worrying about who knew what, he was unfazed. “First impressions are hit or miss. I think Telesto just wanted to get a feel for who was around. But it’s hard to really get to know someone when you’re surrounded by strangers. Even I wound up talking to people I knew more than anyone else. Oh, I brought some pasta salad. Mithra made it. Honestly, that one’s hard to part with, it’s good.”
They probably didn’t know her so he didn’t dwell on it. They’d want to meet her after they tasted the salad. Might even think about hosting their own get-togethers just to get her to bring more. He was already thinking about it.
“I’m not going to pressure you to meet up with anyone if you’re not comfortable with it. But, I think it might be good for you two to try when you’re feeling up to it. Telesto is…interesting. We’re having brunch tomorrow so I’m hoping to learn a bit more, but I genuinely believe the intention of all of this is to make the Court stronger. And, you two are a part of it. People are going to want to get to know you.”
Kaelan was quiet for a few seconds but found his voice and surprisingly managed to sound like he wasn’t terrified of the answer. “Was Telesto upset? I wanted–I was thinking I should use the compact, to apologize…”
Jett shrugged. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Those things can be stressful.” He was doing his best not to look at Orien, just to give him some privacy. Kaelan was forcing himself to talk to draw his attention, Jett didn’t miss that, either.
“It gets easier. Maybe some time I can introduce you to some of the Court so you get a chance to meet everyone without being surrounded by strangers.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:13 am
Orien kept his eyes lowered and stayed close to Kaelan. Their place wasn’t overly cluttered, but it was small. Kaelan kept as organized as he could with his schoolwork. Orien had made a mess with flashcards, but he was trying. There were sticky notes and pieces of paper taped everywhere just in case Orien needed a reminder about something.
Definitely not as cute as Kaelan’s little tree. Well… their little tree, but Kaelan put most of the work into it.
His hands were still shaking. He was pretty sure he could feel his jaw trembling. The muscles in his arms didn’t seem to want to calm down either. Jett knew he got like that sometimes. He was kept away from breakable objects in the shop for that reason.
He felt useless in a way that he couldn’t quite explain. He knew Kaelan relied on him for a lot. Mostly emotionally since he couldn’t do much beyond that. But Orien loved him, and knew Kaelan loved him in return. They would figure things out, just as they always had.
The name Mithra didn’t sound familiar. Orien wasn’t even sure he would be able to remember it. The details of the night were already getting fuzzy, but he remembered how he felt. Telesto… that was probably their host. Although why they would care was still a mystery.
In fact, Orien couldn’t hold back a quiet scoff when Jett suggested that people would want to get to know them. Kaelan? Yes. Kaelan was perfect and kind and patient and wonderful. But Orien? He caused trouble and overreacted and made things difficult for everyone.
But for all the scoffing he was doing, Orien kept his head down and said nothing against what Jett was saying.
If he was being honest… he did want to meet people. He wanted to make sure Kaelan was in good hands. But he was also aware that he would probably make things worse.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:37 am
Orien’s silence was not concerning to Jett; he didn’t mind. He hadn’t come here to upset them.
Kaelan was doing his best to carry the emotional burden; his brows knitted together and he looked determined to buy Orien a minute. It was clear that he was worried about him, and Jett wondered how hard it was for Kaelan to not to push him out of the apartment so he could take care of Orien.
He didn’t want to stay too long, not if they’d have been better off tending to each other. He just wanted to make sure they were okay before he left.
He passed the bag over to Kaelan, who accepted it and placed it on the counter. Jett turned away briefly, like he had to handle a text.
Kaelan was either gullible enough to believe that was what was going on, or he didn’t care, because as he took the back of food with a soft word of thanks, he wrapped an arm around Orien and pulled him into a hug.
In that brief moment, he tucked Orien’s head under his chin, and when he reluctantly pulled away, it was with a kiss.
“Okay. Um.” Kaelan sucked in a breath and stood a little taller. His arm was firmly wrapped around Orien’s waist as he half turned to Jett, very aware that in this position he could give Orien a bit of privacy while he talked to Jett. “That would be really nice. Thank you. And. I’m really sorry. About everything.”
Jett opened his mouth to protest, but Kaelan continued quickly, “I know. We know. But I just. We don’t want you to think that we’re ungrateful. And this,” he nodded to the bag, “was really nice. I know you didn’t have to do this. I’d like to meet Telesto sometime. And the others. As long as you won’t get mad at us if we mess up. Please.”
Kaelan had such a hopeful, worried expression. Like he was putting all of his faith and conviction in this one request. He looked like he might fall apart if Jett said no.
A faint smile twitched onto Jett’s face. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much about what I think. I like you two. Just do your best and if you’re having a hard time, talk to me. I mean it, I don’t want you two to get in your own heads and worry that I’m going to fire you or kick you out of school. I know you’re not good at trusting people so I’m not going to take offense, but one of these days you’re going to have to start giving me the benefit of the doubt.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:44 am
Orien didn’t know if he could open his mouth to say anything that wouldn’t be argumentative, and because he didn’t want to say something that would make Jett mad or Kaelan upset, he figured it was best to clench his jaw tight, and hold onto Kaelan tighter.
He was grateful for his closeness, and the kiss. He felt guilty for needing the comfort, knowing very well that Kaelan was forced to take over talking to Jett.
Oh, but he didn’t want Kaelan to think he had to do everything on his own, so when he was sure he wasn’t going to snap, Orien glanced up at Jett as well.
“We’re not trying to mess up,” he added, despite Jett literally just telling them that he didn’t want them to worry, but he wanted to make sure Jett really understood that they were doing their best.
They didn’t have a lot to their names. Jett was right in that they didn’t trust others very easily. They had very good reasons not to. But no one else in the court knew that. And Orien didn’t think he would ever want to tell anyone.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:52 am
“I know,” Jett answered. Maybe, if they hadn’t been so honest with him when they’d first met, he might have had more resistance with their attitude, or their situation. Orien had cornered him in private and spilled a mountain of confessions on him, like he thought he could chase Jett away if he was brutally honest. Like he wanted to give him the chance to dip out before he or Kaelan got too invested.
Jett hadn’t been scared away. A challenge hadn’t ever intimidated him.
It was a desperate plea as much as it had been an aggressive front. Orien was all bark, and probably plenty bite, but he wasn’t as awful as he liked to make himself seem. And, he’d have done anything for Kaelan. Similarly, he’d had a good few conversations with Kaelan checking in to make sure his performance was acceptable, asking how he could improve, and–most importantly, asking if there was anything he could do to help Orien.
They both seemed to come to Jett often to make sure the other was doing well, eager to pick up any slack or stay on his good side to make sure he was patient or kind.
They cared a lot for each other, and they were both afraid of getting hurt by trusting him.
Jett hadn’t always been patient, but things were different, now.
He’d been a frustrated and unhappy youth, lashing out and ready to make stupid decisions because he didn’t know what to do with his anger. Someone had given him a chance, once, and he’d thrived.
He could do the same. These two were just still figuring out that they really couldn’t chase him away. If they were serious and putting in the effort, he could do the same. Mistakes were going to happen, no one was perfect. They missed out on a lot of things, he wasn’t going to judge them so harshly. He’d give them a chance to figure it out.
“And you’re doing a good job.” For the most part. Every mistake they made, they addressed. They fixed. They learned. They did better.
They weren’t taking advantage of his patience; every time something happened they seemed like they were ready to lose everything they’d worked for.
“Messing up isn’t the end of the world. Don’t beat yourself up for it. If something happens, try to learn a lesson from it, figure out how to do it better next time. I know you two have had it rough before, but I’m not going let things go to s**t just because there’s a couple of bumps in the road. I want you to succeed. I don’t think you’re bad kids, I’m not going to drop you if you get into trouble or mess up here and there. You just have to tell me when you need help and we’ll figure it out. Okay?”
Kaelan hadn’t released his arm from around Orien the entire time, and he’d swallowed nervously twice while Jett was speaking. He wanted to believe him, he was trying. The worst part of Jett being understanding or supportive was that Kaelan was terrified one day he’d reach his breaking point and withdraw all of his support.
He didn’t want to disappoint Jett. He didn’t know what he’d do if he got too comfortable trusting or believing him, or relying on him for help.
There was a silence in the air; the room was still. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, but Kaelan didn’t want to let it get to that point. In the absence of finding his words, he at least managed to nod fervently.
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