Listening to You (Odion)

[Lani Hunter]

It was 2:34 in the AM and Lani's gone to bed two hours and twenty two minutes ago and sleep had been denying his active mind any rest for that time. He could hear the cats making trouble as the nocturnal creatures played through the night. He rolled over again and found that this new spot also lacked any magical sleeping powers. His mind was moving a mile a minute and thinking about a million things at once. Lani closed his eyes and stubbornly decided that he was going to stay here and stay in this spot until sleep came to him. There was nothing, his mind was weary but it wouldn't stop running like it was on fire. He opened his eyes and lifted himself onto his elbow to look at the clock. Surely he must have gotten a little bit of sleep that time. The alarm clock sat on the side table mocking him and duct taped to the surface on which it sat. It read 2:36 AM. Lani flopped back. "You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered and he felt small paws on his legs and one of the cats wandered across his bed. This was all so strange. He'd been thinking about Odion it seemed none stop. He was the master of mixed signals and he was terrified that he was on the verge of forcing Odion to give up on him.

Lani's power called his phone and Lani stared at the number for a long time. How long had it been since they'd just gotten together and talked? Joked about something? Every time they spoke it was heavy and hard. They were conversations Lani knew had to happen but it was times like these when loneliness crept in and his heart yearned for Odion, for his best friend. He wondered if Odion was sleeping now, he wondered if Odion was liking his new apartment, moreover he was wondering just what was going on in Odion's head. Odion was so close but he felt miles away right now. He was tired of being at war with his best friend, his love, he wished there was an easy fix for this. He had tried ignoring the fear of the feelings but it always got the better of him. If it was a twitch of an emotion, the jerk back from a kiss, he'd shielded his heart well and it would not be so easily cracked. But Odion had never really been bared from it in the first place, not really, not when half of his heart resided with the redhead. Lani signed and snuggled deeper into his blankets and went to put his phone down when a crazy idea hit him, as crazy ideas did when he was tired. He wanted to hear Odion's voice. If even on the answering machine.

Without thinking Lani struck the button and it surprised him when it started ringing. His heart jumped into his throat. What was he doing!? It was nearly three in the morning! Odion was going to kill him. Hang up, hang up! This was a bad idea! He was about to do just that when Odion answered on the other line. "Odion?" Lani asked unnecessarily, followed by a lame, "Hey." Lani wished he was more like Odion, he wished he be courageous like him, and confident like him. Most of all, Lani wished he had the ability to communicate his emotions like Odion could.

[Odion Martins]

All he could do was wait. There was nothing else Odion wanted to do anyways, and when he wasn’t waiting, he was doing everything he wanted to do, sober. He had been practicing his parkour a lot more vigorously, and doing so made him wonder if there was anything he couldn’t obsess about. If it wasn’t alcohol, something else turned into his vice. Either he could get addicted to it, or it wasn’t worth his time. When he wasn’t running around and jumping off of things or simply losing track of time, he was spending time with acquaintances or perfecting a new magic trick. And on the rare occasion, some homework got done.

If Odion would’ve wanted to leave by now, he would have. He knew that Lani had a tough shell, but there was something worth fighting for on the inside. They had tried pushing each other way, had tried calling it a quits, had tried to move on and it didn’t work. And since coming back, they had lingered on surface talk, gotten drunk together, and had an all-out fight. Odion had convinced himself that shortly, a new leaf would turn. Surely as the Spring would come, they could work things out. He was also starting to wonder what the different between hope and insanity were. And so though he wasn’t done, and he wasn’t going to give up, he wondered if Lani would. But Odion was of the belief that what they had was better than what he even thought it could be.

And they still had those old memories to go through – Lani couldn’t put him off forever, the time turner would wait him out.

The last time someone tried contacting him so late Odion couldn’t fall back asleep. He was a light sleeper by sheer necessity, and so his heart rate had a hard time coming back down once something startled him alive. He hadn’t bothered to turn his phone on vibrate before going to sleep because nobody called him, and hardly anyone texted him, so what were the odds? As long as it wasn’t Jared asking for a ride at four in the morning, Odion wouldn’t kill anyone. And well, it wasn’t quite four in the morning.

“Hello?” Odi asked, his voice hoarse from being dry. He cleared it somewhat and squinted from the light from the screen. “Lani?” Odion answered groggily into the phone, like he didn’t have call display. He did, he just hadn’t bothered looking it. Answering a ringing phone was just another reflex, like dodging a punch as quickly as possible. You hit the little green button as quickly as you could to make the annoying sound cease. Odi wiped at his face, sitting up slightly, the sheets falling around his waist. “Are you alright?” He asked, taking a look at the clock. Ah, so that’s why he felt stiff and unrested.

[Lani Hunter]

Halfway between hitting the button and hearing the ring Lani thought he wouldn’t actually accomplish calling someone. It was almost painful, Odion didn’t have a picture in his contacts anymore, he should, but Lani’d gotten rid of his phone and he hadn’t had a chance to snag a picture of Odion yet. Lani nearly snorted in laughter, he wished he’d kept it, before it had been that picture he’d snagged of Odion looking very warily at the burger. How had those two people gone from those people, those two friends sharing a meal and growing into lovers, to these two new people who were so broken by the only people who could piece them back together again. Lani’d told Odion that he was tired of being angry and he was. He didn’t want to be angry all the time. Anger was a strong and dangerous emotion. He’d known love with Odion and slowly his heart was winning, it remembered love and it remembered the pain, but Lani’s mind was measuring it, the mind and heart were in such disagreement that they might have been on different planets with the mind transmitting memories of pain, while the heart’s transmissions came in of memories of love.

Oops, Odion had definitely been sleeping. That was what normal people were doing at near three in the morning. It was easy to tell from that first word. Shit, shit, way to go Lani. Odion was never going to forgive him for waking him up in the middle of the night because Lani couldn’t sleep. At least that was what his crazy mind had decided, because crazy was basically a state of being when he was tired. “Hi,” he said softly to give an affirmative that he was the insane person calling in the middle of the night. It did give him a reason to smile. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry.” Well at least one of them could sleep. Lani didn’t know why he asked about what he already knew, maybe he just wanted to hear Odion speak a little more. Lani was never very good at sleeping, he was really the kind of person who let unfinished things bother him in his thoughts and even more than unfinished things, things that were just off in his interpretation of things. Not being with Odion bothered him.

Lani shook his head a little to answer the question and closed his eyes and waited a minute before he realized that Odion couldn’t see that he was just being wakeful in his bed. “No, yeah, I’m alright,” he said softly, “Couldn’t sleep.” He rolled to his side placing the phone on his pillow and resting his head on it. He watched one of the cats silhouettes at the window, he thought it was LJ, but he couldn’t be sure. “Are you alright?” Lani asked, he wasn’t sure what to expect from an answer, after all it was completely normal to have conversations with someone. Lani watched the clock move and he could almost feel the bags growing under his eyes as he waited for Odion’s answer. Lani’s lips were tipped up at the corners. He loved Odion’s voice, his accent was sexy and unique. Lani felt that Odion should know that too so with an impaired brain to mouth filter he spoke again, “I love your accent.” He didn’t know that he’d ever told Odion that before. There was going to come a time when Lani was going to feel bad about waking up Odion to talk because he was lonely. Most amazingly, Lani didn’t feel so alone anymore.

[Odion Martins]

Odion had never been called this late by Lani before. He knew the telekinetic had a hard time not worrying about things, but he didn’t think it was this bad. But, at least Lani had called him, and for that, Odion felt wanted. He wondered what had caused Lani to make the call, but he wasn’t going to ask when Lani’s voice sounded so… different. Odion wasn’t sure how, but he was guessing it was somewhere between sounding drunk, and tired. “You said hi already,” Odi stated, and he yawned, trying to cover it up as best as he could, “it’s alright, I don’t mind.” And really, he didn’t. He had meant it when he said he’d do anything for Lani. A phone call was the very least he could do.

Waiting on the other line, Odion’s eyes searched his room while waiting for a reply, adjusting to the dark. Sometimes he woke up here and didn’t remember where he was, and it took a few moments to realize that he was in his new room in his new apartment with Jared. It was a pretty shabby place, but it was better than the university quarters he had made. There was hardly anything in said room. Some new clothes after Lani had destroyed the ones he had, and his old deck of cards lay singularly on his night table. “Yeah, m’fine,” he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and bending over his knees. Posture wasn’t important right now.

“I love your accent.” Sitting up straight now, Odion laughed softly. “Really? I assumed you did, but thank you.” What else was he to say really? He put his free hand on his knee and looked up at the ceiling, an amused grin on his face. “What else do you love about me?” Odion wasn’t sure why he asked, but it was worth a chance, even if Lani shelled himself up again or a string of useless statements came out of his mouth. Odion blinked the tired away from his eyes and glanced at the screen. They’d been talking, well, on the line for a couple minutes now, and Lani’s voice made Odion feel closer to him somehow. Maybe it was easier to say things when they weren’t face to face.

[Lani Hunter]

The clock was starting to give the room a soft green glow and Lani watched the cats rush about on the floor. It was fascinating and he didn’t understand how they had that much energy, it seemed they were up all day and all night, though if he thought about it they slept an awful lot, just not at night. Lani smiled, that was so like Odion to point that out. Lani let out a breath of relief when Odion said he didn’t mind. That was enough to settle his nerves about having called Odion so late. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if Odion had told him to get lost and hung up. Odion was a surprisingly tolerant person for someone being woken up shortly before three in the morning. Odion it seemed wasn’t going to elaborate on how he was doing but it made Lani happy he was doing well. “Good, good,” Lani said nodding to himself. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, wouldn’t it be terrible luck if he fell asleep now that Odion was awake?

Nope, no sleep, Lani opened his eyes and then turned away from the clock taking his phone and switching so that his head was resting on it again. With the amount of sleep Lani had gotten he might as well have been drunk. It was really the only thing he could compare his sleepy state to. “Mhmm,” Lani hummed with a nod and smiled to himself. Lani chuckled at the question. His heart fluttered a bit. This was a bad idea! It was screaming but Lani was deaf to it. It was flashing red lights and blaring warnings to not answer that question. If he answered that question he’d be letting Odion know how he felt and he’d be letting Odion in. That was dangerous! Lani was weary and thinking of a way to avoid the question was escaping him, then he figured he’d woken Odion up, he kind of owed it to the redhead. Lani closed his eyes and he could see Odion. “You want the short list or the long?” He joked, “Your eyes, definitely your eyes,” Lani laughed shortly the as Odion face change in his mind, “And that smirk you get sometimes.” Usually when Odion knew that he was right and Lani had yet to figure it out, but Odion let Lani blunder on nonetheless.

Lani opened his eyes and looked out at his bookcase. “I love how you challenge my philosophies, I won’t lie it’s lovably annoying sometimes, but…” Lani babbled on and suddenly he realized he was doing most of the talking. This wasn’t fair! He’d called Odion to hear his voice not to talk at him. “That’s three,” Lani said holding up three fingers in the dark. Lani’s mind drifted and he realized he forgot what he was going to say. He didn’t realize it had been a while since he’d spoken, but he was trying to figure out how to get the redhead to talk. It couldn’t be a yes or no question. “Were you dreaming?” He asked suddenly as the thought occurred to him. Dreams were like canvases for the creative mind. It was altogether a terrible fate of humanity that the greatest ideas were torn away from the conscious mind upon wakefulness.

[Odion Martins]

The time turner could hear the rustling Lani was making on the other line, but he didn’t make a comment. This was Lani being Lani, and the blond was constantly moving, so why would this be any different? While Odion was stoic, Lani couldn’t stay still unless his life depended on it. Waiting to hear if Lani would answer or not, Odion wondered if he had made the right move or not. This was no game of chess, there were no clear cut rules and you could only think so far ahead in advance. But Lani decided to take the dangerous path and it brought a smile to Odion’s face. “I have time for it all,” Odi teased in return. The redhead grinned to himself as Lani listed some physical features that seemed familiar to him. Odion had always thought his eyes stuck out to much because of his red hair, but at least someone found it admirable. And he knew exactly which grin Lani was referencing.

Odion laughed out loud and without holding back. “It’s a love hate thing I’m sure, but I never wanted to annoy you, only further your thinking.” It was nice not to be the one always saying something, especially when it was out of necessity. He always thought himself as a listener, and didn’t really like talking unless he was around the right sort of people. But in his opinion, less was always more. Unable to sit still anymore, Odion shuffled over to the window of his bedroom and watched the night sky, wishing for stars. “Only about you,” Odi said, his voice husky. God the time must be getting to him. He glanced at the time on the phone again and wondered how only five minutes had passed. It must have been his power playing tricks on him. “I could tell you three things I love about you,” he continued, trying to steer away from his previous thoughts, “but you didn’t ask.”

[Lani Hunter]

They were like polar opposites, for many things they resided on opposite ends of the spectrum, but that also meant while Odion was polar north and Lani was polar south they could not resist each other when they were in close range. Lani smiled and shook his head a little bit, “Looks who’s being a peacock,” Lani replied just as teasingly. Odion wanted to know all the things that Lani loved about him, they’d be there all night and probably through the next day and night, and even then Lani would probably still keep coming up with things. Hearing Odion’s laugh on the other end of the line had Lani grinning like a loon. Here hidden behind the mask of the phone he didn’t feel any qualms breaking his masks. Lani let out a laugh of his own and an impish smile appeared on his face. “You did and you know it and you love every minute of it,” he accused with laugher still coloring his voice, “But either way, lovable so don’t stop it, ‘cause it works.” Closing his eyes for a moment Lani could only smile, he knew Odion loved challenging him and he loved Odion for doing so, if he hadn’t who knew what kind of stupid stuff Lani would have been able to convince himself was a good idea.

Lani’s eyes snapped open at the reply and the sound of Odion’s voice made Lani stir and he rolled over again pulling his blankets tighter around him. He’d never tell Odion but his face felt hot and he was pretty sure he was blushing. He smiled and took a breath about to figure out some nice reply that would get Odion to blush too but Odion beat him to the punch. Oh, that’s where his train of thought had been headed. “I’m asking now,” Lani said, “First three things that come to mind. Go.” Lani’s eyes found the clock and focused on it for a moment, he hummed absently as he waited and watched the shadows of the cats. He couldn’t tell who was who in the dark, but he could make a pretty good guess, Shadow would occasionally chirp and the sound of paws racing over the ground would be heard. As he waited he ran a hand through his hair and let his eyes slide closed and changed the phone so that it was resting on his head instead of him resting his head on it. His power grasped it and Lani's arms curled comfortably around his blankets.

[Odion Martins]

Odion laughed in response. He was only peacocking because there was someone worth showing off to. He could be the pretty one, and Lani could be the loon of the pair. “True,” Odi confessed, though he didn’t feel bad for pushing Lani in the right direction when necessary. “I’m glad I have your permission,” Odi asked, though he would’ve continued doing it even if Lani didn’t approve. Things felt easier between them when tiredness hit, when there wasn’t as much time and space between answers. Or at least, it didn’t feel like Odi was over thinking every answer and every thought.

Odion’s dark eyes searched the sky. Yes he and Jared were living on the outskirts of town, but they weren’t so far out that the light pollution from the rest of the town didn’t interfere with the night sky. It gave him an idea. “Well number one is that you make me the best version of myself,” he stated as he unlatched the window. He thought this was something Lani already knew, but it didn’t hurt to be reminded. “And your um, athletic build?” It was supposed to be a compliment, but not every word he wanted was coming to mind at the moment, especially when he didn’t have telekinesis to help him keep his phone at his ear. “And you’ve got a good heart, despite how you try to hide it.” By now, Odion was scaling the side of his apartment building in favour of being on the roof.

Sitting on the ledge, Odion looked up again. Now he could see the stars. “There’s much more than that, but I think you should sleep. You sound tired dear.” It was said in a caring way. Odi didn’t want Lani to be a zombie in his waking hours, and he didn’t want the blond to regret anything he said tonight. The wind played softly with Odi’s hair. “I’ll be here in the morning, I promise.”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’d be good with that deal, if he had to be the pretty one they were both screwed, and he already had enough crazy for the both of them. Lani laughed and pointed at the phone as if Odion could see him pointing a finger like Adam did when he was making a mad accusation. If the other blonde’s habits were starting to rub off on Lani he was going to slap himself. Speaking of the other blonde, Lani was sure Adam was going to kill him in his sleep one of these days for the tricks he’d played. All thoughts of Adam were banished when Odion’s voice reached through the phone and caressed his ears and his mind. A soft laugh was all Odion got in response as Lani smiled to himself and could imagine that smirk. Before Lani knew it the list had started, sure he’d given Odion an race start, but his mind wasn’t keeping up right now. “My ‘um, athletic build’?” Lani asked a splash of humor in his voice, “Is it like a kinda sorta athletic or are you telling me I need to work out more?” He grinned, clearly not angry, but rather amused by the description.

Alone in his bed, Lani’s smile ran away from his face and he closed his eyes. A good heart? Maybe Odion was the one sleep deprived. Well, technically they both were now, Odion probably wouldn’t have been if Lani hadn’t been feeling so needy. But a good heart? A small flame of warmth lit in his heart. This ice held within, Lani could almost feel it melting. “What are you doing?” Lani asked when he heard the commotion from his end, Odion was moving a lot. Lani’s heart fell. “But… I’m not tired,” Lani lied, shifting again and pulling the blankets closer. Lani let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. “Odion, tomorrow…” Lani checked the clock, “Later today, do you wanna work on your memories?” Lani didn’t want to hang up the phone, he wanted to hear Odion’s voice, he wanted to hear it in his dreams.

[Odion Martins]

The soft laughter shared was like a memory shared between friends. Maybe Odion’s memory wasn’t perfect right now, but he was certain that once the last pieces were put into place, the laughter was what would stand out the clearest. Sometimes the sky was cloudy, but once the clouds rolled away, the stars were there, and they always had been. The redhead laughed again self-consciously. “I just didn’t want to offend you,” Odion said, knowing that saying Lani had a body to die for, or that he just wanted to be all over him probably wasn’t a good idea. “You’re attractive is all,” Odi said, his phone mushed between his ear and his shoulder as he scaled the building, his eyes looking up.

Out in the open air, Odion felt more awake. He probably wouldn’t be going back to sleep any time soon and if Lani was keen on staying awake, Odi would accompany him. He had heard once that love thawed a frozen heart, and fear was what made the heart dangerous. Odion grinned at the question, wishing Lani was there with him. “I’m looking at the stars,” he said, his mind skipping time, “I wish you were here with me.” It was said in earnest, like he was making a wish on said stars. Odi waited to hear what Lani had to say, and he thought on it for a moment. “I think so,” he said, not because he was doubtful, “I mean yes. It will be difficult, but I think it’s time.” No one else, not a soul, would ever see this side of him aside from Lani. And possibly Caroline.

“Where should we meet?” Odion asked, not because they couldn’t decide later today, but to keep Lani on the line.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani grinned and chuckled into the phone his heart yearning. It was a fair assessment from Odion, however and Lani knew it. He gave a smile his tired mind not hanging onto it too much. “Thanks, so’re you,” he replied his tired tongue slurring ever so slightly. At least he thought so, who knew how worse it was through the phone. Lani would have given some praise if he knew Odion was talking on the phone and scaling a wall. That had to be difficult, Lani could always just hold it but Odion didn’t have extra hands just hanging around. Meanwhile Lani was finding himself in a very comfortable stop wrapped in his blankets and preferring to be stationary for a while. At least until he got bored with this position was well. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling pillowing one hand under his head and letting the other take hold of the phone.

“Ah,” Lani breathed and closed his eyes and imagining the sky. It was still for a moment on both sides of the phone and Lani imagined he could hear Odion’s breathing across the line and it soothed him, made sleep seem like a possibility. He drifted for a moment and Odion’s voice sounded far way and Lani roused. “Me too…” He opened his eyes and sat up on his elbow, he could be there, but would being face to face break this spell of freedom and would the masks reset. “Yes,” Lani agreed with a nod and sat up now propping himself up on a hand. Noticing Lani was sitting up Darshay looked up from her spot curled by his legs. She looked at him wearily before getting up and settling herself in his lap. Her purrs vibrated in the air as he started to pet her. The telekinetic smiled into the dark and considered the question.

“Adam’s off all day tomorrow,” Lani said, he was on thin ice with the other blond as if was and Lani doubted they would have much privacy here. Lani may or may not be keeping tabs on his roommate’s schedule. “We could meet somewhere for breakfast, or lunch. Or we’re both awake now…” He shrugged and gave an innocent smile, despite Odion not being able to see him. He felt positively diabolical stroking his cat and waiting for Odion to reply.

[Odion Martins]

Lani agreed, and Odion wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Could the telekinetic actually mean it, or was he simply agreeing due to tiredness? “Well I don’t understand why I’m still alone then,” he said, not really talking about the moment any more. Odion didn’t expect a straight answer from Lani, even if it hadn’t been three o’clock in the morning. The blond had a natural tendency to shy away from such comments, and now wouldn’t be any different. There was so much the both of them could do about the situation, but Odion wasn’t sure of himself.

Odion couldn’t help but grin at the mention of Lani’s roommate – hopefully he wasn’t more paranoid than usual. And then Odi laughed. “I don’t think you’re in any shape for having breakfast now,” he said, “that means you’ll have to deal with me for the rest of the day.” There was something about Lani that made Odion about ten times more playful than normal. Odion closed his eyes, his grin fading.

“Let’s say we do meet,” he started, taking a shot in the dark, “do we have to start with the memories?” The redhead bit his bottom lip. He knew where he wanted to go with this, and maybe Lani’s reply would help him figure out if he should go through with his thinking or not.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani supposed the saying was true, no one ever truly knew what they had until it was gone. That had definitely been the case, and it was worse now that Odion’s presence couldn’t be ignored, Lani just wanted to give into his desires and be with Odion, but the rift was there, it was smaller now but it still existed. Lani’d tried to leap it and failed even when Odion was there to catch him on the other side. Odion’s statement was met with confusion and uncertainty by the tired telekinetic. Was Odion saying he wanted to move on? Was ‘alone’ in reference to his state of being? Was Odion looking for someone to love, and was he dropping Lani out of the running? Lani’s heart lurched and he took up Darshay and hugged her. What was he supposed to say to that? Odion was attractive, there was no denying that, but Odion also didn’t let a lot of people get close. Lani didn’t want to say that and sound like an ass. Darshay meowed up at Lani. “Darshay says ‘meow’ and I’m inclined to defer to her superior intellect.” Lani almost laughed at himself thinking, very nice Lani, you’re not even trying to be subtle about dodging questions anymore.

Fact of the matter was Adam was always paranoid, more or less Lani wasn’t really sure, but he really didn’t care either. He probably should, but he didn’t. Adam was going to get a dose of what happened when Lani actually plotted against him if he kept accusing him of whatever imaginary plots Adam came up with for Lani to plot. Lani laughed and scratched Darshay’s head getting her to purr again. Lani didn’t understand this thing that they had. It was confusing at the best of times. It was like their love was the definition of insanity, repetitions with the expectation of different results, but then Odion was the one who challenged Lani and he made Lani see the world in a more clear and colorful way, when Odion was gone all of Lani’s colors faded to gray. “Fine,” Lani drawled like a child being told he couldn’t have desert before dinner. He was loving hearing the laughter over the line and right now all he wanted to do was be with Odion. Odion was right, right now was probably not a good idea, Lani’s mental control was limited and his heart was vulnerable, in many ways Odion would have the perfect opportunity to get into Lani’s heart now, but that also spoke volumes about the redhead. He didn’t want to weasel and force his way in, he wanted to be let in.

Lani cocked his head listening to the question and finding confusion. “Well,” Lani started uncertainly and took a moment to organize his thoughts into something coherent, “Odion, they’re you’re memories, it’s up to you when you want to see them.” Lani was really just along for the ride, and moral support. “What did you have in mind?” Lani pressed forward his eyes watching the wall but no really seeing it. With a small sigh Lani laid back down, he wasn’t going anywhere anyways, might as well get comfortable again. But his comfort had limitations now as Darshay curled up and made herself comfortable on Lani’s stomach. Well, he wasn’t going to move from his spot, good thing it was comfortable, he just needed to pulled his pillows into the right place.

[Odion Martins]

Odion sighed, and then laughed again. “I’ll take that as you’d rather not keep me company.” Not that the redhead was terribly offended by Lani’s statement. There were only so and so many degrees of tiredness the human mind could handle before it shut itself down, simply too exhausted to make sense of the signals it was receiving. “Tell her I say hello,” Odi said instead, adjusting his weight as he listened to the meowing in the background. He missed them, everyone in that small apartment room he knew Lani was in right now. And to think, he hadn’t even seen the inside of Lani’s room yet!

The wind swept over Odi’s body and gave him goose bumps. It probably wasn’t the best idea to be out here in sweat pants (yes, he did wear them) and a v-neck tank top, but at least he felt alive. He was tired of endless nights spent in bars trying to forget. This time, he was going to do everything he could to remember. In his dreams, sometimes he thought he could hear what had been said all those months ago when he and Lani had parted ways. Odion swore he could feel the tears on his face, the bruises on his knuckles. But his mind didn’t want him there again – it was all about self-preservation. All this only confirmed to Odion that he could not do this journey on his own. If he wanted to forget Lani, all he had to do was walk away. But he didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to be fate’s bitch again.

Odion smiled to himself and bit his lip. Lani was definitely out of it, and there wasn’t any body language to be read over the phone. Odion would just have to give the blond a helping hand. “It’s not that I don’t want to look at the memories together, I do, but…” He wanted this to continue somehow. Not the phone conversation, although he wouldn’t mind if it did, but the mood or the feeling of the conversation. Why did everything have to be so serious all the time? “I just thought we should start with a date.” He was getting well, stronger. He was more physically active and less inclined to go drinking in an attempt to solve his problems. They had gone out many times, but if Lani said yes, it would feel like a new beginning.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was confused again and cocked his head, it was really too bad that Odion wasn’t around to see the gears turning and the perplexed expression the telekinetic was wearing. His mind was moving a little slower than usual and was not keeping up well. “But you said we shouldn’t meet up now,” Lani protested. Lani smiled and shook his head, this must be because Odion was tired, that was it. “Odion says ‘hello’,” he told the cat and gave her a kiss on the head. Darshay purred and Lani looked around the room to see if he could find Shadow or LJ but the cats were messing with something he couldn’t see in the shadows, he could only hope it wasn’t anything that he would miss, he’d already given up on keeping his socks in pairs, though that was probably partially his fault for not putting them away like he was supposed to.

Letting his eyes slide closed for a moment was probably not the smartest idea as Odion voice lulled him into a sense of peace, not to mention the warm and comfortable cat curled on his stomach. “Hmmm?” Lani hummed uncertain if he wanted to interrupt Odion or wait and see what he had to say after that ‘but’. Lani’s eyes opened in surprise and he was alert again in an instant. “A date?” He didn’t realize he’d spoke aloud, as if going on a date was a foreign concept. It wasn’t, but it almost seemed out of place from where they were. They’d fought and raged, but there was something changing in the air. Perhaps it wasn’t so out of place after all. Lani smiled for a while then realized he should stop laying her grinning like a fool and actually answer before Odion started to get second thoughts. “Yeah, sounds great,” he said smiling broadly at the ceiling.

“Are we doing the whole bit? Like dinner and a movie?” He joked as a giddy feeling crept through his body. Well now how was he going to sleep when he had something like this to look forward to. Darshay kneaded his stomach and Lani patted her head in an attempt to get her to stop. Lani wasn’t sure what he was feeling or why or how to feel about the fact that he was feeling so strongly. It was strange, going on a date with Odion seemed like a far away concept, about as far away as Odion showing up out of the blue. That had happened though, maybe fate had something to do with it, but Lani was willing to give fate a punch in the nose and jump into the deep end. He was excited and he was nervous and he was afraid. Would old topics arise and would they remember why they broke up in the first place. Lani swallowed and pushed away the nerves. Only time would tell.