SUE: Soup Fixes Everything (Odion)

[Odion Martins]

“Right, this has all been a prank,” Odion said, followed by a couple sniffles. Catching Lani’s small smile, Odion secretly wondered if they were thinking the same thing. Glancing around the room, Odi spotted the goldmine he was looking for. He cleared his throat, hoping to get Lani’s attention, not sure how successful he would be since he was making all sorts of other bodily noises. “Would you pass me the tissues over there?” He asked, gesturing at the box on the kitchen counter.

The touch had been well received, and Odion didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. Lani cared, there was no doubt about it. Even though he was sick and delirious right now, something stood out quite clear in Odion’s sick mind – he didn’t regret coming back. It had been the best thing he could have done. One was all Odion could agree to.

Odion took a few sips of the soup, grinning as Lani watched him. It was odd, Odion didn’t really enjoy being watched normally, but he didn’t mind when it was Lani. At least he had the nerve to stare right back. The redhead looked down at the crackers coming closer, and he smiled, recalling a long lost memory. “Seems you’re always making me better,” he said, letting the words hang in the air as Lani nibbled on his cracker. Lani was Odion’s best medicine. He never let Odi get away with self harm, but he inadvertently made Odion a better, stronger man. Odi set the practically untouched soup on the table and pushed the crackers back. “At least it’s not bread this time,” he said, picking up the bowl again and eating it slowly. Odion hoped Lani would see that this was hard enough on it’s own.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani smiled impishly at Odion. “Or maybe that’s just what I want you to think.” It was cruel to play such mind games on Odion right now, but admittedly it was the only time Lani thought he might have a chance. But that was also cheating. Well, it was a good thing they were both thieves and the concept of fairness didn’t go too far with them. It took a moment for Lani to find the tissues when Odion gestured vaguely. He grabbed the tissues and with a thought sent them toward Odion. Granted, it would have been just as easy to walk over there with them, as Adam would have said ‘He was ten feet away! That was completely unnecessary!’ Lani smiled to himself. It had been a random thing but living with Adam had to be one of the most… interesting experiences of Lani’s life.

The telekinetic gave Odion a knowing look and his smile softened. “I’m just trying to return the favor,” he said softly. Why did Odion have this affect on him? Even though Odion was sick and they weren’t actually doing anything, Lani couldn’t think of a place he would rather be than with Odion. He’d seen Odion at his worst and it hadn’t deterred him then and it wouldn’t deter him now. Lani watched Odion with critical eyes. They were going to be here all night, one way or another Odion would finish that soup. Lani would see to it. Lani raised a brow as Odion pushed the crackers back. His first instinct was to push them back and see if he could talk Odion into eating at least one or two. The unexpected comment brought with it memories that were both hard and yet made him look back fondly.

He was deciding to be merciful now and he didn’t push back the crackers once Odion picked up the bowl and started eating again. Lani would live with that. At least for now. “If your stomach isn’t feeling well crackers are going to help,” he casually pointed out and gave the redhead a shrug. “And if you really want, I can make you some toast?” He said this with a straight face but quickly broke into a smile to show he was joking. Lani leaned back on the couch. “It’s strange,” Lani mused looking up at the ceiling briefly. “This is the first time I’ve been in your apartment.” He finally took a moment to look around. It was clean. Far more clean that Lani’s apartment.

[Odion Martins]

“Please,” Odion started, ending his clever statement with a fit of coughs instead. Clearing his throat, Odion looked pain to continue speaking so all he said was, “You wouldn’t.” He wasn’t too concerned over being killed at the moment. In fact, it almost seemed preferable to the state he was in. He could put on a good show of seemingly coping, but colds were not for the faint of heart, and Odion had only just recently repaired his. Taking the box of tissues out of thin air in a lazy fashion, Odion blew his nose, closing his eyes lest the impact cause him to fall over unconscious.

The redhead watched Lani over his soup. “I’m not quite as good at it as you are.” And there we have it folks, Odion has finally admitted to Lani being better at something. Lani had practice and experience taking care of a sibling. Odion didn’t even know how to take care of himself. But if there was anything Lani ever needed, Odion would see to it that it was made so.

Working his way through the hot soup, Odion could feel some of his sinuses unplugging. He grinned slightly from relief. It was as though a hundred angels were singing at this very moment. Who knew breathing could be so amazing. He smirked at Lani’s jabbering and shook his head ‘no’. Joking or not, Odion wasn’t going to eat anything he didn’t want, or at the very least, wasn’t burning this cold from the inside out. Odion was listening to Lani speak while he ate, absently looking up to see what Lani found so odd.

Odion suddenly felt guilty at the statement. “I meant to invite you over sooner...” He was at a loss for words. His brain had shut down a couple days ago and his heart wasn’t the best at pleasant conversation. “I wasn’t sure if I should.” Well, at least his heart was honest. His eyes ducked down and stared at the soup nearly gone. There wasn’t a reason for Lani to stay after that, unless a sick Odion was entertainment enough. “What do you think of it?” Odion asked finally.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani snickered wickedly and shook his head. “Alright, alright,” he relented giving Odion a sympathetic smile. He really shouldn’t tease Odion when he wasn’t at one hundred percent. Lani turned back to the soup and tending to the things going on in the kitchen dominated his attention for a moment. He would definitely have to do a little bit of cleaning before he left because knowing Odion, Lani didn’t want to give him any reason to feel the need to clean. Now when he should be taking care of himself. Lani closed his eyes and smiled to himself and hoped that he didn’t get sick. It wasn’t like he and Odion were being particularly close right now but it didn’t sound like this cold was any joke.

Lani moved his hand with the intention of reaching out for Odion, then remembered midway through that Odion was sick and close contact was not a good idea. The motion ended up being a waving motion giving the statement little attention. “It’s not a matter of being good at it or bad at it, it’s the matter for doing it.” He said giving Odion a warm smile. Odion was a much better person than he gave himself credit for. Lani still remembered how much he had hated Odion when they first met. An arrogant jerk had been Lani’s first impression, but once he’d seen behind the mask there was no going back. Lani hadn’t fallen in love with Odion for his first impression, he had fallen in love with the secretive person inside of the hard walls.

The moment of silence while Odion ate gave Lani a minute to think. The reality that he loved Odion, wasn’t what was holding him back. Odion’s memories were sparse but that didn’t erase what happened. The real challenge wasn’t convincing himself that he loved or did not love Odion, the challenge was whether or not they could move forward. Lani looked around the room and allowed his thoughts to be tossed into the back of his mind. It was a little strange being in Odion’s apartment, it wasn’t exactly what he imagined. Thinking back he wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting.

Lani waved his hand again dismissively, but when Odion continued Lani’s hand hovered in the air and he dropped it back into his lap. “Why?” He asked the only thing he could think of was that Jared was around and at the moment Jared and Lani weren’t exactly friends right now. “It’s nice,” Lani said and got to his feet to wander, “It’s very clean,” he added shooting Odion a smile, “How is it living with Jared?” He asked as he turned back to Odion and sitting back on the couch. He leaned back and braced his feet on the coffee table. He would be content to stay as long as Odion wanted him too.

[Odion Martins]

Odion smiled back. Lani probably didn’t think he was none too good at this whole caring business either. It wasn’t a thieves specialty. And quite frankly, Odion suspected he would never be as good at it as most people were. But Lani was right, at least they were trying. Odion didn’t know any other thief who would go out of their way to make soup for another thief. And not just any other thief, but one that broke his heart and trust. It was hard to keep said walls up when he was sick, so when Odion thought of all these things, it took the last bit of energy he had to keep the tears away. Instead a serious look overcame him. These emotions were too heavy for right now.

Lani seeing the apartment this way was just fine with Odion. Any other day Lani would probably get a stiff tour of the place, or perhaps Odion would be excited and not know where to start. It was hard to say, depending on what kind of mood Odion was in. This way, Odion didn’t much care what Lani saw and the blond could take things in at his leisure.

Unsure how to explain his nerves over the idea, Odion took a moment and decided to just be honest. “It made me nervous.” Lani just didn’t understand the effect he had on Odion. Watching Lani walk around, Odion dumped the rest of his soup into his mouth and grinned. “Thank you,” he said, his dark eyes falling on the white walls, so plain. But he was proud of them. Odion kept most of his things in nooks and crannies in his room. The shared spaces were otherwise sparse. Odion set the bowl down. “Pleasant enough. He talks too much and I complain over it.” For Odion, he had always lived with the other lad, ever since he was a teenager. They had been mates for a very long time considering their age. “Haven’t lived with him in a while, but his habits aren’t a shock.” And Jared was happy to have an in-home maid.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani had partially been hoping that when he made a surprise visit that the apartment would be at least a little messy, like Odion would have made sure things were immaculate, but well, things were always immaculate. Lani gave Odion a questioning look as he became serious. Honestly Lani wasn’t thinking about the emotions or thought that might be running through Odion’s head. He was more concerned that the time turner was holding in a cough or sneeze, or worse. He hovered for a moment prepared to jump up (and out of the way) should Odion need tissues or a bucket. He raised a brow and waited for something to happen but it seemed like the moment passed and Lani got up to explore.

“Nervous?” Lani asked, still not understanding why that would make him nervous. Odion had seen Lani’s apartment right? It was a clean mess, but it was still a mess with laundry hanging everywhere in the living room and books and papers scattered haphazardly around the room. Even the rarely used kitchen had dishes in the sink and more bills and dusty cookbooks. Looking around Lani decided his and Adam’s apartment was starting to look like one of those hoarder houses compared to Odion’s place. He needed to clean. The one thing he could say was that Odion’s apartment looked bare, sparsely decorated and absent of a lot of things that made rooms feel lived in.

Lani chuckled, nodding in agreement. If there was one thing they could agree on it was that Jared talked too much. It was Lani’s opinion that he simply never shut up. Nodding, Lani thought about he and Adam. “It’s weird, I never really knew my roommates at Hammel. Don’t get me wrong, Adam is the strangest person I have ever met, but he’s great to be around.” Adam definitely never made things boring. If he wasn’t going off about one thing or another he was playing video games, in truth neither Adam nor Lani seemed to have any clear idea of where they were going in life and that worked for them.

[Odion Martins]

Odion nodded. “The right timing to invite you over never seemed to come along.” And for Odion and his perfectionist nature, it would never be right. To invite Lani over as a friend implied that that was all he wanted. To invite him over as more, that might scare Lani away. It wasn’t that Odion didn’t want Lani around, he just didn’t always know how to go about it. To him, everything had hidden meaning.

Sitting back comfortably into the couch, Odion let a pleasant smile linger on his face. The action in and of itself was at the very least, clearing his sinuses. Who knew that good company could also be good medicine. “Neither did I,” Odion added, thinking of his past life at Hammel. He hadn’t known his roommates, and he hadn’t wanted to. In fact, as soon as he was able to do so, he had moved out on his own.

Odi’s head tipped to the side, finding a better spot on the blanket. It was hard not to feel guilty for doing absolutely nothing all day. But he supposed that constantly doing something was what had landed him here in the first place. “If I nod off, what will you do?” He asked in a feverish daze. Maybe Lani would leave, but if he stayed, what would he do to pass the time?

[Lani Hunter]

Lani smiled knowingly, just like Odion. They both had a tendency to over think things and he had a feeling Odion had over thought this. Admittedly, if Odion had invited him over regardless of his intentions Lani would have been running through a million things in his head. He chewed nervously on his lip and gave Odion an impish grin. “So, you’re telling me, you’re in command of time and you couldn’t find the right time?” He raised a brow at the time turner. The poor time lord looked more than a little worse for wear, his face flushed and a tired look in his eyes. It almost seemed that the smile woke Odion up a little bit, he still looked overall miserable but the smile brightened Lani’s day.

Nodding in agreement, Lani had to think for a moment why he’d never met his roommates, then he remembered. Venn was his roommate, Lani hated Venn, therefore Lani never interacted with people. He was in his room or he was out, there was no lingering one way or another. Lani’s eyes drifted away from Odion. He didn’t understand what Adrianna had ever seen in that guy. His eyes now drifted down to his hand, Adrianna had said very much the same thing about Odion, maybe not in those exact words. He looked at Odion and a small smile ghosted over his lips, he supposed he just couldn’t put it all together in a few word, it would take a hundred million.

Lani chuckled warmly. “Draw on your face,” he answered casually, grinning like a loon. His expression sobered as he looked over Odion’s face. “If you want to get some sleep, I can leave,” he said softly, “You really should get some rest.” Lani had fed Odion soup, if he could convince the redhead into bed and make him eat more soup for the next couple of days Lani was confident he would feel better in no time. Lani himself, was not thinking that he could be contaminated and soon find himself in a similar state.

[Odion Martins]

Odion laughed, and then practically coughed out a lung. It seemed that being suave was not going to happen tonight, and his usually deep laugh was nothing more than pathetic scratching against his sore throat. “Exactly,” Odion said, after recovering his lungs. “This didn’t seem like something to be forced.” And even though he could have tried and tried again, making sure the moment was exactly right, doing so would never had sat well with him. When Odion was in his right mind, he did have some good in him. Odion in his right mind would never do such a thing to Lani.

Odion formed a small ‘o’ with his mouth. “Draw on my face?” He repeated, scanning Lani. It seemed as though he were joking, however, Odion wasn’t going to push his sick card too far. Lani would do something like that to him, if only to watch him squirm. Drawings weren’t exactly dirt, but they could still bother Odion if he happened to find them on his face. Odion sank further into the couch. “Well, you don’t have to leave…” And as he spoke, he remembered that he was sick and if he did fall asleep, not only would that be terribly rude but Lani just might make true on his promise.

“But I would like to rest,” Odion agreed, feeling his eyes shutting. They were the slightest shade of purple on and around the eyelids, a combination of being sick and his fair skin. They flickered open for another moments, resting lazily on Lani. “I’m glad you came by,” he said, a little smile on his face. He didn’t much care if the door remained unlocked or not. Sleep was calling him like a siren in a sea storm, and he didn’t want to fight it.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani chuckled and gave Odion an apologetic smile. Poor guy was going to keel over if he wasn’t careful. Despite what the redhead might think, he wasn’t any less attractive sick. It was something that happened to everyone and Lani knew he would look the same if he were in Odion’s shoes. “You could just let it happen you know,” He said and casually waved a hand not wanting to take advantage of Odion’s vulnerability but unable to keep from making a small jab anyways. “I thought you were spontaneous.” He smiled warmly to show he was only teasing. It wouldn’t do to give Odion the wrong impression, if he was impressionable while he was sick. Poor Odion, Lani’s eyes softened in sympathy.

“Mhmm,” Lani nodded an impish grin on his face. He would have assumed Odion knew he was joking, Odion didn’t think Lani really would draw on his face did he? Well, admittedly it wasn’t like that was out of the realm of possibilities. Lani wouldn’t do it when Odion was already sick and miserable. No, if he were to do something like that it wouldn’t be now. It would probably give the redhead a heart attack if he woke up and there was a smiley face on his cheek. Lani shook his head. Odion needed rest and knowing the redhead he would probably think something stupid like he was being rude for falling asleep, even though Lani wouldn’t care. Odion’s next statement decided Lani and he got to his feet. “Get some sleep, Peacock,” he said affectionately.

The telekinetic shrugged and nodded in agreement. He was glad he’d come by too. But he wasn’t going to leave without making sure Odion was taken care of. He took back the glass and refilled it with fresh water putting it back on the table by Odion. “I’m going to leave you some soup,” he said from the kitchen, leaving the cans on the counter. He returned to the living room and replaced the cool washcloth on Odion’s forehead. Odion may very well already be asleep but Lani didn’t want the fever to start to return. He gently touched Odion’s cheeks with his hands. “Feel better.” He wished, gently smoothed back Odion’s hair before he headed for the door and let Odion slip into sleep’s grasp.