Chase the Morning (Odion)

[Lani Hunter]

This was still a bad idea. Lani was not going to let that go. At least this was just going to be preliminary work, Lani was not going to lift Odion two inches until he was absolutely sure that he wouldn’t kill the redhead. He felt a little defeated having given in and told Odion to meet him in one of the training rooms after most other had gone off for the weekend. He rubbed his temples and shook his head. This was such a bad idea. He couldn’t believe he had agreed to this and if Odion wouldn’t give him so much grief for getting cold feet Lani would have called the whole thing off. It was terrible but Lani kind of hoped something would go wrong so that he could call the whole thing off. That had been the deal. One accident and it was all over. Done. End of discussion.

Lani had brought a full bottle of painkillers with him and had already popped two before he got to the room. It was empty and of course locks were no problem for the telekinetic. It wasn't like they weren't allowed to be in these rooms, he didn't really even think that he might need permission but who would care. For once he was doing what he was supposed to do and practicing his powers. He hadn't told his trainer what he was planning, after all his powers trainer had ruled flying off limits and that hadn't stopped Lani, but then again he didn't need someone else coming in and distracting him when he was trying to make someone else fly. The kittens were with Odion this week and he was just as glad because the way his mind was whirring it was safer for them not to be around when Lani's power started taking over. His room was like a room in a haunted mansion, things were flying all over the place and even Lani was having to duck some one his own projectiles.

Entering the room he flicked on the light with a thought surveyed the room. This was the room he usually used, it was mostly for those with physical powers with weights and with tests of accuracy. He glared at the little object in the corner that was Lani's toy. It was really no different than a child's toy where they put the right shape in the hole but Lani had to do it without his hands and most of the time his power's uncooperative nature made it extremely difficult. At least this thing wasn't brightly colors and was actually made of heavy metal with rounded edges to also work on his mind's strength. He hated it. He spun in place dropping to the floor with his legs crossed underneath him. Now all he had to do was wait and hope against hope that Odion would be sick today or just not show up. Oh this was such a bad idea.

He tapped his fingers on his knees and sighed, he might as well warm up. So Lani closed his eyes and let go of his body and let down all of the walls. His power flew in all directions touching everything, rolling some things lifting others. Testing everything without the slightest bit of control. Without Lani's focus the power spreading everywhere and exploring was hardly enough to actually do any damage. It was always disorienting when the information started flooding back to him. There was a dumbbell, there a bobby pin, over there was a paper, up there were the rafters full of dust and to his right was a window. He didn't open his eyes and instead got his mental bearings. It was so strange knowing everything's shape and size without having to look at it he could just feel it. Here is a shirt, his power informed him pleasantly and that made him jump. A shirt? He peaked his eyes open and looked toward the door. He sighed and rose to his feet. "Hey."

[Odion Martins]

Odion booked the training room for today himself. He knew Lani wasn’t going to do it, or least he wouldn’t do it so that he could get out of training, but Odi wasn’t going to let that happen. Yes Lani had said to meet in the room over the weekend, but Odi was making doubly sure. Besides, wouldn’t Lani get arse kissing points for actually practicing with another student? Wouldn’t his trainers be impressed? Odion thought so. He had a winning smile on his face as he made his way to the room. It was winning because he had won, and it didn’t matter how Lani spun that. Odi knew that Lani was going to be very hesitant about this, but the ginger had a secret plan to make things work out in the blonde’s favour. Odion was very excited about this whole thing. He had a little pep in his step, a little swagger that hadn’t been there before. And ever since the kittens showed up, Odi had put on some weight and was back to looking like himself again. He had even started doing parkour to keep up the rate he was eating food at. Honestly, food had never tasted so damn good before! Lani still owed him that burger.

Wearing red sweats and a dark grey tank top, Odi spotted Lani as he broke into the room. Odion put the key back in his pocket, shaking his head. Lani was still as amusing as the day they’d first met. Odi was making a mental checklist as he reached the door. LJ and his siblings were in his room, and thankfully they were litter trained. He had left them with some food and given them free space to play. After he put away all of his valuables first. He just hated keeping them in that kennel all the time. And he could really care less if they tore up the wallpaper or the paint. In fact, it would probably make him smile if they did that. The arrangement was stellar, even though Odion thought he watched over them more than Lani did, but he wasn’t going to complain because he was happy to do it. LJ was even starting to have Lani’s attitude. Just the other day he conned his sister into jumping off Odi’s desk. LJ had made to jump off of it, made every action, readied himself, and just as his sister flew off, he backed out and watched her. Odion could just imagine what LJ was thinking: that was too easy.

Odion walked into the room with a bemused smirk as his eyes found Lani, nodding at the hello. Now, was he drawn to Lani because his shirt was being tugged at, or was it of his own accord? Odi decided it was a healthy mix of both and left it at that. “Cowering on the floor already Lani?” He asked, obviously in a good mood as he shut the door behind him. He just couldn’t wait to prove Lani wrong and have this be one of the blonde’s better days. Odi was little more than an arm’s length away from Lani now, and he just couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. Maybe he had missed the blonde a little, but he didn’t want to be hit in the head with something if he said so out loud. The only thing he could feel mentally was the time they swam in. “So, uh,” he scratched his chin, “what are we startin’ with?” Smooth, very smooth. Finesse was always something Odi was good at, so why was he having a hard time with it now? He just thought it would be best to let Lani choose. It was a miracle he was here at all.

[Lani Hunter]

Alright so maybe Lani would have made an escape and been less than upset, ecstatic even if the practice room had been occupied. He was a man of his word however so he had showed up, well some of the time he was a man of his word. He smiled a little at his private thought. Lani was really hoping that this would be over soon because where Odion had a feeling of victory and hope Lani was sick to his stomach with worry. It was really like a torturous experience, putting someone in danger willingly. The only thing that had made this alright in Lani’s mind was that Odion had insisted and hadn’t been a good sport and taken no for an answer. He honestly wished he could share Odion’s enthusiasm but the memories of the flying cars had haunted his dreams for the last few nights and more often than not he awoke to find his power gathering weapons and letting them hover at attention should he need defense in his sleep. It wasn’t an uncommon thing for telekinetics, he had read. Often times like Lani’s power they were parasitic and without control would react to situations to protect the host.

He looked up at the redhead when he entered and smiled a little trying in vain to mask his nerves. Odion had had the right idea to wear clothes that he could move in. Unlike Lani who had worn jeans and an old concert tee Odion was likely to run around trying to avoid being a target it things got out of hand, it would be better that he could move. He looked a lot better, Lani observed taking a moment to take in his friend. His face a full of color again and it didn’t look so skinny anymore. He looked healthy again, that was a relief. Lani’s smile didn’t waver but inside he wanted to do anything but this. Oh dear. Odion had gotten healthy just in time for Lani to fling him out the window. It was really all Lani could do not to scream. This was a terrible idea. Well at least they were both starting whole and in one piece. Lani's ankle had ended up only being twisted after all and a little ice fixed it though his nose was still tender from that invisible wall he had walked into.

Lani gave Odion an exasperated look in response to his question. If he were to be honest he would have told Odion that if things when wrong it would be him cowering on the floor. He picked himself up and shook his head at Odion. He opened his mouth to joke about it but his tongue disobeyed, “If things go wrong...” He bit his tongue after he had said that and turned away walking toward the side of the room and grabbed a still floating ball and focused his power on it making all of the other objects in the room cease movement. It was too dangerous to not have focus now that there was another person in the room. He needed focus and control. Focus and control. They were doomed. Odion’s good mood was refreshing and Lani wished he could share it. He turned back to Odion and bounced the ball a few times in his hand. He offered a smile back at Odion and shook his head with a sigh. “Are we really going to do this?” He asked in one last attempt to get out of this. He tossed the ball at Odion and shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we should start small, see if anything happens before we do anything else.”

He paced across the floor like a caged animal and finally stopped on the opposite side of the room from Odion. He looked at Odion and his eyes locked onto those blue orbs. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to find. Maybe confidence, maybe he was trying to find that faith that Odion had in him so that he might be able to take some of it. Well now or never. He closed his eyes and said a prayer to whoever might be listening. He opened them and shook his head. “Alright, Red, throw it and when I ‘catch’ it stop time and see what happens.” He instructed and clasped his hands behind his back, waiting.

[Odion Martins]

Odion was always a man of his word. He remembered telling a certain someone that he would always be there for him, and he had been. Someone had to make up for Lani’s worry thought because honestly, when was the telekinetic not worried? He was worried about his powers hurting people, he was worried about himself hurting people. The least Odion could do was offer a new idea that might prove useful in the long wrong. He was, broadening Lani’s horizons, so to speak. Lani hadn’t swayed Odion in the right way for Odi to give up. The whole cars, guns, etcetera story might’ve done the trick. But it seemed that Lani wasn’t too fond of telling stories either.

Odion wasn’t about to admit he’d be cowering on the floor if and when Lani started throwing him around or throwing things at him. He knew that Lani was a powerful human being, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t learn how to control himself. It was weird to walk into a room where everything seemed to be a marionette. It was scary to think that Lani was the puppet master. “If my friend, if,” he said, raising his hands a little in surrender. Lani had more control than he gave himself credit for. Odion grinned and cocked his head to the side, a wicked smile pasted onto his face as he shrugged. He caught the ball and looked at it thoughtfully. “Well we’re here now, might as well try.” Odion didn’t have anything to lose, or did Lani still not comprehend that? Odi rolled his eyes, passing the ball between both his hands repeatedly. “That’s what I said before already.” He was still working on the whole friend thing.

Odi watched Lani pace before he settled on a spot in the room. He was acting like the kittens, trying to find that perfect comfort spot. Lani stared at him and Odion stared right back. Yes? Odi thought to himself, blinking only once as Lani tried to decide what to do next. The ball was in his court, so to speak. It would also be there literally pretty soon. Lani compelled him to do what he was told, and Odi shrugged. “Alright mate,” he said, the ball in both his hands as he looked at Lani. He wasn’t sure if he could stop someone else’s powers. Had he ever done that before? Honestly he couldn’t remember. “Here goes,” he said, readying himself. He brought the ball towards himself, before pushing it moderately hard at Lani across the room.

At first it was like stopping anything else. Odion could feel the ball sailing through the air, and his mind was starting to pull back on it to put it into the time position he wanted. His power conflicted with what he wanted to do, how he wanted to manipulate the ball, and then how Lani was ‘catching the ball’. It was like his power hit a barrier that he had never encountered before. Powers were usually used one at a time, not together, and definitely not to counter the other. Hopefully Lani’s powers were working because if he didn’t ‘catch’ the ball it was going to hit him in the face. Odion wasn’t able to stop it. It was like the fingertips of his powers had lost the grip of the ball when Lani’s powers came into play.

Odion was bent over at the waist before he stood up again, a hand to his head. He was mumbling to himself: “Shit shit shit...” Odi had his hands in his hair. At least it was only a minor headache, but he was actually more worried that he had hurt Lani. There was shock on his face as he looked for the blonde, his mind clearing up almost right away. “Sorry, this isn’t as black and white as it usually is for me,” he said. He would have to reach into Lani’s powers and hold it there, but at the same time, Lani was going to have to let him do it. It would take a more mature, experienced time turner to stop Lani against his will. Since Odion had figured that out, he believed that since he had a firmer grasp on his powers than Lani had on his own, he could do better next time. Now it was Lani’s turn. “Okay, now try throwing it back to me,” he said, readying himself. Odi would try and pause time as Lani used his powers to manipulate the ball. “Just, don’t be too hard on me,” he jested, smiling at Lani, “you have to let me touch you.” He paused, laughed at himself and sighed. Again, so suave. “I mean let my powers... you know, just throw the fucking ball.”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani certainly needed someone to keep him from worrying. If left to his own devices he would probably worry himself to pieces before anything actually happened and be so ready for the worst possible thing to happen that when it didn’t he would be even more unprepared. As much as Lani didn’t want to be here and didn’t want to be doing this he was glad that if he were going to do it with anyone it would be Odion. He had tried to deny it so hard but once they had started taken care of these kittens and Odion showed that he was serious about helping Lani he had had to resign himself to the fact that he trusted Odion. It was a terrifying thought considering Odion was a fellow thief. It was a complete trust, no, not yet, but it was growing. Only time would tell if he could trust Odion enough to talk about the things that worried him. But hadn’t it been Odion that had said they had all the time in the world?

The dread that swelled up in his throat was doing nothing for his nerves. In order to check and make sure that this really worked Lani would eventually have to start throwing things at Odion, or at least in Odion’s general direction. If Odion couldn’t stop that then there would be no use trusting that he could stop it when Lani was sending him sailing through the air. Lani huffed a little at the ‘if’, if only, if only. Odion was powerful, he told himself, if anyone could do it, it would be him. “Right,” Lani agreed half heartedly. Calm yourself, his mind scolded him, you haven’t even done anything yet and you’re already acting as if he’s being rolled out on a stretcher! He found himself smiling despite his mood, not a fake smile, a real one. At least Odion wasn’t afraid. Why wasn’t he afraid? “Yeah,” Lani said scratching the back of his head, “Well, good luck, I guess.” He said as they started.

This was going to be interesting, if not dangerous. He had never worked with anyone else, besides Adrianna but she had had his power when they had been working together. It was strange, telekinesis worked well together but it also worked well against itself. A battle between telekinetics was a battle of will more than a battle of power. Malcom had certainly showed that. But a different power that could work in entirely different ways. He nodded as Odion threw the ball at him. His power didn’t wait very long to seize the ball and it was pretty obvious when Lani had the ball for it slowed and changed direction toward the ceiling. Lani was starting to wondering when Odion was going to stop it his eyebrows came together in askance. “Are you…?” He started but was cut off when his power was interrupted. The mental fields collided and it was one barrier against another.

His power shied away from the other power and became offensive in an instant. It was in a hostile someone is trying to interfere this must not happen kind of way. His power reared back to attack but he pulled it back when the barrier pulled back. It was a strange sensation. He could immediately recognize the mental feeling as Odion but all his power knew was someone was fighting him and so it was again Lani against his power and he pulled it away from that strike. His power back lashed hard as the barrier snapped away and the ball came shooting toward Lani’s head. Luckily this wasn’t the first time his power had sent projectiles to try to behead him so he ducked in time. It hit the wall and bounced off a few times before Lani called it back to his hands. He frowned. They both knew what this was. Odion’s power had failed. Lani should be overjoyed, he would never have to risk hurting Odion but part of him was a little disappointed. Odion looked whipped out and Lani just massaged the ache out of his temples. Odion’s power wasn’t used to reacting with physical or mental barriers, Lani’s was. Maybe he just needed another shot.

“You alright?” He asked not hiding the worried tone of his voice. He was sure his eyes were just as wide as the redhead’s. Lani shook his head, “If it was this would be too easy,” he said a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before. The pure fact that he had felt something there for a moment was enough to make him excited. As much as he didn’t want to he had made a deal and he wouldn’t call it off until one of them was hurt. “What happened? To make it gray I mean?” He asked curiously. Lani bounced the ball in his hands a moment raising a brow at Odion. His lips quirked in a little smile, the last thing Odion had to worry about was Lani trying to peg him with the ball. His brows jumped at Odion’s next statement. Touch him? Like physically? He didn’t understand how that was going to help. Lani was pulled into a laugh as Odion stumbled over his words. Odion never stumbled over his words. An interesting day indeed. He let the ball hover beneath his hands. “My power doesn’t recognize your power, I mean I recognize you but…” he said explaining it as best he could. “Go slow,” he advised, “or else my power will react before I can think.” He had an idea but he wanted to see if this worked any better. He rolled the ball forward ever so slowly through the air. He filled his thoughts positively about Odion, he did not want to hurt him, his power didn’t want to hurt Odion.

[Odion Martins]

Odion could understand Lani’s need to be prepared. Usually he stole things on the fly, but when one was trying to rob a museum, well, you couldn’t very well waltz in with your eyes closed now could you? But the ginger still stood by what he said. If you were a good thief, you thought on your toes, and he would be damned if he tried to think of all the different ways he could be caught or how things could go wrong. Really, the way Lani thought things through, Odi was surprised he even tried stealing to begin with. It would take ages just to figure out every problem, every possibility and how to fix it. He would be so paralyzed he wouldn’t steal at all. No, worrying was not in his nature. In fact, Odi knew it was a waste of time, but hey if Lani wanted to, that was his cup of tea.

Odion knew that Lani continued to hide things from him, he could feel it. But whatever it was, Odi would wait to find out. After this, Lani would only trust him more, and that was key. It wasn’t like the ginger was going to win anything by gaining Lani’s trust. At least, he wasn’t winning any material object. Maybe this wasn’t about winning at all.

It was Lani’s thoughts of hurting Odi that would keep him in a standstill. Odion was pretty afraid, but that didn’t mean he was unwilling. He was also a master of disguise, and hid how he felt really well. There were lots of things Lani didn’t pick up on simply because Odion didn’t want him to. Odi smirked, “I have you, don’t I?” He said. “Lucky Lani,” he muttered softly. He wasn’t sure if he liked having so many memories with his newest friend, who was steadily getting closer to his heart.

When their powers collided, truly the volcano met the tornado. Luckily, it wasn’t a complete disaster in the end. One couldn’t pass through the other, because while Odion was trying to slip in, Lani was desperately trying to keep him out. Now Odi could see why Lani’s powers were so attached to his emotions. This was going to be a very long battle. “Fine,” Odi replied, a sideways glance shot in Lani’s direction. The blonde seemed mildly irritated, but not hurt. There was no need to show concern then. “Nothing about you’s easy, is it?” Odion jested, because he liked teasing and it was also true. The best kind of teasing really. He also felt more at ease when Lani was around, and Odion could see something of a thrill behind those grey eyes. Lani was enjoying this. “You blocked me, that’s what made it grey,” he said in a matter of fact tone, an eyebrow raised. Odion didn’t doubt his powers, it was just the setting he was using them in he was unsure of. If Lani didn’t have confidence, this wouldn’t work. So maybe it was a different kind of training the blonde needed?

No Odion did not stumble over his words, and he hated it when he did. It wouldn’t happen again. “I haven’t got all day you know,” he said in response to Lani, his body still ready to take a hit. He raised an eyebrow at Lani, unsure of what he was talking about. “You’re talking about your power like it’s another person or something,” he said. Maybe that was the problem with Lani. He wasn’t see his power as an extension of him, but rather a force to fight against. “Yeah okay, I can do slow.” Again, he readied himself, wondering if Lani was actually going to throw it today, or tomorrow.

But neither would happen. Instead, Lani was moving the ball through the air towards Odion, the Irish boy had to wonder if Lani knew what ‘throw’ meant. Odi was smirking, but he was also going to take this seriously. His eyes passed from the ball to Lani momentarily. He looked back to the ball, his powers reaching out slowly this time, like someone testing out the water with their big toe. Odi’s power reached around into the environment, making time stand still around the ball, himself, and Lani. The blonde had a loose grip on the ball, and Odi placed his powers gently over Lani’s. He hadn’t concentrated this hard for a very long time. He hadn’t expected to be challenged today. Well, of course he expected to be challenged, just not in this way. But Odion hadn’t tried to stop the moving ball yet, so this wasn’t an accomplishment, only a step forward. Odion decided to try something new.

He wasn’t sure if Lani was allowing this to happen or not, but the ball came to a steady stop. Odi could still feel Lani’s telekinesis around the ball, but Odion was grinning. He even let out a burst of laughter. All he did was think of Lani’s powers as an object or thing, instead of a person, like Lani was doing. Until Lani changed that and made his power a part of himself, Odion wouldn’t be able to hold it like he usually could with other people. It was difficult trying to contain Lani’s power in the time freeze, while allowing himself and Lani to see what was happening in real time. “You better not be holding it still, or I will not be pleased.” He glanced at Lani, hard concentration still written all over his face. So long as Lani was still trying to push the ball forward, Odion’s little experiment had worked. For now.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s worrying stemmed from his sister’s illness. But action was what his worry often drove him to. But Odion hadn’t experiences a moment where Lani had gone crazy with the desperation to do something to make his worry eased. Desperate men were the most dangerous of creatures and Lani was exceptionally glad that Odion hadn’t seen that, and Adrianna hadn’t either. It would probably freak them out a little bit. Especially if it came to his sister, he was so single minded that it didn’t matter who it was that got in his way of getting to her but they would go down. Odion was so spontaneous, Lani was a little jealous but a little concerned as well. Maybe he could learn a little bit from Odion, that crazy redhead might just be a good influence on Lani. Perhaps not the influence that his parents would have desired but an influence that kept Lani on his toes. Odion was certainly keeping Lani on his toes.

It was strange how thieves always thought of things in terms of winning and losing. Lani had lost this battle and Odion had won. It was easy to think like that. It was far more difficult to think about the fact that they actually enjoyed each other’s company and maybe even trusted each other. For some reason Lani trusted that Odion wouldn’t hurt him, at least not on purpose. Not just physical hurt though, he trusted Odion not to use the things he had learned about him against him, unless they came about in an argument. But then it was more like Odion was tossing his own words back at him and that was just as fair. Everything was fair in love and war. So that raised the question. Was this love? Or was this war?

Lani wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at Odion like a child. Lucky Lani, the king of bad luck. Like power like host, was all Lani could think. His power didn’t want anyone to mess with it anymore than Lani wanted people to get inside his head. The one time that someone had nullified his power when he had lost control he had been so upset about it because it felt like he was missing a sense. Like he was suddenly blind or something. It was strange because it was even worse after the fact because his power was hell bent on revenge. Lani breathed a sigh of relief that Odion was alright. A little smirk grew on Lani’s face now. Why was it that he just couldn’t stay his indifferent self? Odion always pulled out the real Lani that was worried but excited and maybe a little hopeful. “Would you have it any other way?” Lani teased back with a mock interested rise of his brow. Lani ducked his head and shrugged crossing his arms across the chest as the ball hovered. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Lani snorted and glared at Odion and his impatience. “I thought you had all the time in the world?” He couldn’t keep himself from saying. Lani glanced up as if unaware that he had been doing so. His power coiled around his mind and for a moment Lani really thought about that. It was really just himself, but he was too afraid to let it into himself because of what had happened the first time. He shrugged and opened his mouth to speak but closed it again realizing he actually didn’t have a good answer for that. Lani knew that his power wanted nothing more than to throw the thing full force at Odion, which was just the reason Lani didn’t throw it. That could wait a little while. He waited to feel Odion’s power his power expectantly wanting to either shy away or rush forward and beat this strange power into the defensive. The hair raised on the back of his neck as he felt Odion. His power rippled forming that wall.

If Lani closed his eyes he could probably have felt it better but then he didn’t want to take his eyes off of the ball. The first touch was much more gentle than the first and so his power that had been expecting an attack shied away from the gentle touch. The ball dropped a little as Lani shied away from the touch but he grabbed it again levitating the ball. Lani allowed the strange power to go over his and he soothed his power with the thought that it was Odion, Odion could be trusted. He tried his very best to coax his power into submission but just like its host it didn’t like to have to submit to anyone or anything. But then the ball slid to a stop as Odion stopped time, Lani pressed at it gently and it didn’t move, well it quivered this way and that but didn’t actually go anywhere. He blinked more than a little shock that this second attempt had worked. He ignored the headache blooming at his temples and allowed himself a little smile. “It worked,” Lani replied to Odion’s startled laugh.

He shook his head and his power flared a little. Lani frowned with concern and his power started to build under Odion’s power intent on flinging him off. Cold chills ran down his spine as he could truly feel Odion’s power in his mind. It had been different when Odion was getting into his head but from the outside. Now it felt like Odion was literally present in his mind. When Odion spoke Lani’s eyes snapped to him. He shook his head at Odion to indicate he wasn’t but he held up his hand to stall further conversation. “Hold on a sec,” he said softly. His eyes went half closed as he extended his power to the ball. He solidified his grip around it and felt the hovering presence of Odion over it. He then, containing the majority of his power, let go a little bit. The curious stream of his power wiggled loose of Odion’s and explored the power. Lani wasn’t trying to understand it but have himself recognize Odion’s power. He had never been able to do anything like that with someone who wasn’t a telekinetic. It like hands brushing, at least for Lani whose power had a feel component to it.

Lani laughed a little bit. “Odion, you feel warm,” he said a little shocked that he had said that aloud. He wondered if Odion could feel his power, but he wasn’t sure Odion’s power worked like that. It wasn’t like Lani’s did either, but when something was grabbing the same thing he was grabbing he could feel it. Like he didn’t normally feel Odion’s power, nor did he feel the telepaths or Adrianna’s normal power, or in fact anything other than his own power. He didn’t have the mental presence to feel powers unless they could come into contact with his power, but even then if the powers didn’t mesh nothing would matter. Like that guy that stuck him to the tree, he couldn’t feel his power because his power couldn’t stop it. Oh well. “Alright,” he raised his eyes back at Odion. “Brace yourself.” He said and with a trust of his hand he pushed the ball forward with all of his power. It was probably not the best idea because given the freedom his power broke through Odion’s like it was glass and the ball went shooting forward.

[Odion Martins]

Maybe Lani would realize that worrying over things didn’t make them any better, or maybe he wouldn’t, but Odion would always hope for the best. There were probably many things that Odion hadn’t seen Lani do, or become. If he had, Odi would’ve thought the blonde had multiple personality disorder. That, or terrible mood swings. There was a time and place for everything, and unlike Lani, he wasn’t worried over when Lani’s true colors would come through because they were already starting to. Mind you, the colours were dull and vague, but they would bloom into a rainbow with proper care and time. Odion passed a slick smile to Lani. He seriously needed to relax.

No no no, let’s not talk about trust, or anything emotional for that matter. Obviously Odion had a problem with grey areas. They were complicated and he over thought them. It was something these boys definitely had in common. They thought a lot about details, about people, and about everything. Nonstop thinking that turned into insomnia. So it was just better to win or lose. No ties, and definitely no tie breakers. Lani would be right in trusting Odi, thought the redhead wouldn’t understand why. Or why he placed his own trust in the telekinetic. They wouldn’t be here at all if they didn’t trust each other. Acknowledging such was a different story. Win or lose, love or war, it just wasn’t one or the other.

Odion grinned at Lani’s childish display. “Well aren’t you charming...” He said, glad to see Lani was lightening up at least a little bit. Odi’s tricks were working at a faster rate than Lani could detect them, because he was too busy trying not to hurt Odion. The ginger had never known what it felt like to have his powers shut off. He probably would start noticing appointments more and stop losing track of time, or days. It was a miracle he was here at all. He had to set three different alarms. That’s how much he wanted to be here. Odion smiled. He liked the real Lani, the one bursting with color. He ignored Lani’s question, because to him it was redundant. “It’s okay, that’s why we’re here.” Honestly, he thought they would both walk out of here a little stronger.

“I do, technically,” he smirked at Lani, “I just love teasing you.” Oh there it was again. The flirting. He really needed to stop doing that. He just couldn’t help himself. Of course he had all the time in the world, such was his gift. But couldn’t he be excited about this too? He was excited for his friend who would hopefully be earning some progress today. Odion really didn’t want to be hit in the face again, with a piece of bread or otherwise.

Watching the ball expectantly, Odion was readying himself to duck, just in case things went out of control. But Lani was doing well, and although Odi was tempted to tell him so, it was probably best to wait for later and let him concentrate. And so the real training began. Lani hadn’t succeeded with anyone else because he didn’t trust them, and when one’s powers were so intricately connected to one’s emotions, trust needed to happen for progress to follow afterwards. Odion wasn’t a trainer, just a friend, a fellow classmate. A fellow thief. Someone who understood Lani more than he was willing to admit but also found comfort in that fact. At least, that’s how Odi was seeing it. Submission was just the first step towards Lani really being able to use his power though, so wouldn’t it be worth it in the end? Odion smiled broadly at Lani. Yes, it had worked.

And then something peculiar happened.

Odi’s power was touching something else this time. A look of horror overcame his face. The situation was too intense for the pickpocket to try and hid his emotions. He needed to be one hundred percent real here. When he spoke it felt like some strange echo. Odi obeyed Lani’s wishes to be silent, his time stopping power had gone somewhere it probably wasn’t allowed to go. Odion couldn’t feel the worry in Lani’s head, but he could certainly feel something fighting off his powers. Odion recoiled a little, because he wasn’t trying to infiltrate, he was trying to help. Odion was only trying to keep Lani with him, his power, the ball, and Lani’s power. The chilling force went back to the ball and Odion let more of his power seep towards the ball as well. Odi swallowed hard as Lani’s powers released its grip on the ball, to float backwards into his power. He could see why Lani thought of his telekinesis as another person or entity. If their powers were a couple of hands, then he was doing his very best not to be disrespectful of Lani’s hands.

Odion was a little startled when Lani spoke, but his power stayed ever present. And for some reason, he blushed. “Uh, thank you,” he said, not even sneaking a peak at the blonde. What was that supposed to mean, he felt warm? All Odi could feel was this great force, pawing at his powers, albeit playfully. It seemed to match Lani’s mood and was more intricately connected to its master than Lani realized. Odion would have to tell him his findings later.

The very fact that Lani knew what Odion was trying to do, probably messed with the whole process. Usually, Odi’s victims were unsuspecting or completely inanimate. Lani was none of those things. Odion was going to have to fight back with his power instead of sweeping everyone and everything off their feet. Odion indeed braced himself. This was something he was going to have to trust Lani with. The ball moved forward again and Odion kept a loose hold on it and Lani’s powers until it was a couple feet in front of his stomach. And that’s when things started to become difficult. Odion knew that if he put a tighter grip on Lani’s powers, they might break loose. Then again, if he didn’t, he would be hit. There wasn’t a lot of time to think it through, but he stood his ground instead of running away like the distant echo was telling him to do.

His powers wrapped around Lani’s and pulled them back. Lani’s telekinesis struggled. Odion’s grip became tighter and tighter as the ball slowed down with time, but also as Lani tried to push it forward in the present. Odion took a step back to better his balance, and let the sweat bead down his face instead of wiping it away. This wasn’t a moment he could afford to lose his concentration. The ball came to a stop an inch before his abdomen. Odion was breathing hard, his head was stinging, but the ball stopped for a second time and he actually felt happy. He hadn’t worked hard for something in a very long time. He licked his lips as the ball stopped quivering, as Lani’s powers stopped struggling and relaxed within Odi's powers. Odion trusted Lani too. “We’re a team,” he said, staring at the ball. It wasn't about who was dominate or submissive here, it was simply about trust.

And then Odion wanted to stop. He could feel a kink inside of his head. “Can we stop for now Lani?” It was plain to see the time turner was exhausted. Still, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. He was confused over everything, but glad Lani had hopefully learned something here.

[Lani Hunter]

So are the lives of thieves, untrustworthy slime of the earth. But no one really desired to look past that image. No one wanted to see the face within. It was too hard to do and besides who wanted to think that the neighborhood thief might actually have a method to his madness. Thieves always had interesting stories and Lani found himself curious about Odion’s story. It was really too bad that Odion wasn’t the story telling type because Lani would have loved to sit and listen. Perhaps one day they could exchange stories but there were a lot of secrets embedded in Lani’s own story and he wasn’t willing to give those up. Odion had come all the way from Europe without any parents or and support really, Lani could hardly believe it. Lani had so much he wanted to ask Odion but knew that he wouldn’t want those kind of questions heading his way so he wouldn’t attack Odion with them.

Black and white. If only the world were in black and white. He could have dealt with that, but then would he really? Gray areas made things interesting. As clear cut as things seemed to be the pair of thieves made their lives very much in the gray area. Lani smiled a little at the thought. How was it that those who lived in the shadows of gray preferred black and white and those residing in a world of black and white desired to see the world in gray? He had just had a conversation similar to this with Adrianna. Things were really going well with her, in his opinion. If life was easy what fun would it be? Lani’s eyes trailed from the time traveler to the window for a moment as a cloud passed over the sun momentarily shading them. He came back to those blue eyes and lost in his thoughts he didn’t realize that time was passing even now. What was it like to feel time move and be able to move with it or against it? Lani had always thought of time as a continuous stream not this strange inconsistent thing that he was starting to see.

He gave Odion a little bow and a wink. He couldn’t be as charming as Odion and the sarcasm in his voice wasn’t fooling the blond. But he was going to run with it anyways. “You might learn a few things if you pay attention,” Lani teased back. He gave Odion a toothy smile and shook his head a little. Why was he joking around again? This was hardly a joking matter! But jokes were just another defense mechanism. Lani only nodded gravely at his answer. Right, focus, he was here to train, not fool around. Though it would have been the lesser of the two evils. Odion had a point, all he had to do was focus and keep his power under control. Too bad that was easier said than done. It seemed like Lucky Lani’s luck might have just run out when he met this particular redhead.

“Of course you do,” he said a sly look on his face as he suppressed a startled laugh. He shook his head at himself. Despite the teasing atmosphere though Lani’s nerves were already thin and he was going to do this at his pace and no one else’s. After all, it wasn’t Odion’s power that could toss people. Well not unless he froze them in time and pushed them off of a roof. But something told him that the likely hood of that happening was rather slim. And chances were if anyone was going to be pushed off of a roof it would be Lani because he had done something stupid again. “I don’t get how you don’t get impatient with impatience.” He said thinking aloud, purposely this time. “Especially with that ginger temper of yours,” Lani added with a sloppy smile and a tilt of his head.

Tennis balls, when did they suddenly become the bane of his existence? At least they were soft. Lani hoped that this wasn’t just about him, he wanted Odion to expand in his power just as much as he did. If there was one thing that Lani hated it was attention, sure he made sure the school had an adequate amount of attention fixed on him but being the center of attention was completely different. He didn’t like it. He felt like he was being dissected whenever he was with Odion. It was a nice role reversal as he closed his eyes and his power roamed the mental fabrics of Odion’s power. He was more surprised that it had worked at all since their last attempt had seemed to spell complete failure today. If Odion had spoken his thoughts aloud Lani would have been yet again blown away by the redhead’s ability to see people as they really were. Lani didn’t see people the way Odion did, and that did make him just a smidge jealous. Alright maybe more than a smidge.

Eyes closed Lani missed the terrified expression that overcame Odion. Probably for the best because it would have freaked him out and they would have been a dangerous mix of frozen time and rapidly pulled back telekinesis. It was strange, this feeling that his mental hands were getting. Odion was warm to his mental touch and he was more than excited that he was able to feel Odion’s power at all. He didn’t realize that he was overpowering Odion with his power mental prowling, after all he was used to a power that just roamed where ever if pleased. A little smile tugged on his lips. Not only was Odion warm, but he could identify that warmth with that of a friend. Once his power had explored and deemed that nothing was immediately dangerous, like a good guard dog, it returned like a puppy obedient and happy. Better yet when Odion’s power reached back around his power recognized it as a friend. Oblivious to the discomfort of his friend Lani finally opened his eyes and just a little bit of hope lit up his eyes.

He grinned at Odion’s stumbled thanks, what was making the redhead so nervy. Lani’s mind hummed a little, perhaps he was just as afraid as Lani was. The hope vanished from his eyes, so they could feel each other’s power, great. That was a small step in the right direction, but knowing when someone was messing with the same thing that he was messing with wasn’t new. It was just a different power. Who knew if Odion’s power could really resist Lani’s at full force, if Lani ever had the courage to risk that. His power brushed Odion’s happily and Lani found himself smiling again. “This is weird,” Lani declared after a moment of silence. “I don’t normally feel powers like that. Like I bet if you were to freeze me with the ball I would have no idea you were there at all.” Lani shrugged and looked toward Odion hoping that he might have the answer.

Now the real question was what if Lani didn’t tell Odion was he was doing and Odion didn’t tell Lani what he was doing. That would be the real test because if things did really get as far as lifting Odion into the air Lani wasn’t going to known when Odion would freeze time or even why sometimes. And if his power saw that as interference it could end badly. To Lani’s pleasure even with most of his power pushing the ball forward it at least wasn’t shooting forward like a bullet. Odion must still be doing something. But his hold was loose, and that could be a problem. That was when Lani’s predictions came true. Odion tightened his grip and his power despite the friend feel still saw that as interference. The friend vibe was still warm and just enough to keep his power from completely swallowing the ball but not quite enough to keep it from attacking.

Like a cat caught by the collar his power hissed and spat pushing against Odion’s power. No, this wasn’t going to end well. He tried to sooth his power with the positive feeling again and his power relented for once to its master as the thought don’t hurt Odion! swallowed all other thoughts. This probably would have been comical to someone walking by. Two teenagers standing rigid staring at each other with a ball moving ever closer to the redhead, and yet their faces were contorted with concentration and Lani could already feel throbbing pain in his head so he was sure wincing would also be seen. Lani’s eyes widened and he scrambled to pull back some of his power. “Stop it,” he snapped at his power under his breath. Then it stopped. Odion’s power smothered Lani’s and with that last command from Lani his power let him. It settled. He breathed a sigh of relief and the power that had been gathering around Odion intent on shoving him out of the way of the wall should he fail to stop it. His power pushed a little against Odion’s, this time on Lani’s command. When the power held Lani’s in place he let it settle again.

Lani was more than a little unsettled however. His power could have broken the hold. It could have really hurt Odion, flung his power off and said to the hell with time and slammed him into the wall. But it didn’t. Why hadn’t it? The ball hung in the air and Lani looked up at Odion as if surprised by his presence. He had been so gone in his mind that it startled him when words broke the silence. Now he knew why telekinetics mostly stood there and looked pretty when they worked their power. Having to be aware of both his mental self and his physical self was hard! As he slowly came back into his body he realized he had been half poised in a crouch with his hands extended toward the ball. He shifted back slowly surprised by how much his head hurt. He nodded slowly at Odion and licked his lips trying to moisten them. “A team?” Lani forced out his voice shaky.

Lani’s face relaxed with obvious relief when Odion asked to stop. He nodded his head and with the intention of slowly pulling his power away from the ball his power decided enough was enough and practically snapped back to him. The reaction headache took his normal ache to one of blinding pain. He hadn’t used his power like that… ever. The pain meds were hovering at eye level before he even had time to think about it. He took four and tossed the vial to Odion. Physically of course. He plopped to the ground where he was and held his head in his hands intent on not moving until the medication started to take effect. He looked back up at Odion. That fool looked like he had just beaten the world record in the mile. That pulled a smile out of Lani. “That was certainly interesting. If we’re going to keep doing this we need to smooth that out a lot, cause we cut it really close just then.” he said not even hoping that Odion would call it quits. Not after that success.

“Do you have any ideas? ‘Cause right now when your power closes over my power…” He groped for a way to describe it in a way Odion would understand. “I don’t know.” He waved a hand dismissively. He felt threatened. He didn't like the idea that his power could be stopped by someone. But why should he feel threatened. He already knew that if he really wanted to he could blast through Odion’s power. He trusted Odion but not enough to be completely comfortable with this idea. “But, tell me, Odion, what did you feel?” He was truly curious and he had only half of the puzzle pieces and if Odion had the other half then together they might accomplish a beautiful image.

[Odion Martins]

Odion wouldn’t label himself slime just yet. There were worse people. There were murderers, rapists, and it was probably good to know that he would never stoop that low. He had done some pretty desperate things, had stooped to places he never thought he’d go, but never would he ever take away someone else’s dignity. His own perhaps, but not someone whose body he wasn’t meant to control. Odion’s story wasn’t something he was going to tell anyone any time soon. The only reason why Rhett knew it, was because Rhett was one of the travelling pickpockets Odi had spent more than half his life with. It was complicated, and he seriously doubted Lani wanted to know about all that. Lani would have to get Odion drunk again for story time to occur. Besides, if Lani was going to venture that way, the blonde would have to answer those same questions. So Odion wasn’t too worried about that happening any time soon. Or hopefully ever.

If anyone knew the world wasn’t easy, it would be these two. So why did they expect this instance to be any different. Grey things made everything confusing and unbearable. Like when Odion realized he loved Rhett. What kind of love was it? Was it because Rhett had always been there, had grown on him? Or was it something more? And what about Lani? Odion knew himself well enough to admit that he had a crush on the blonde, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He also knew you rarely got what you wanted in life. Time was always at Odion’s disposal. His eyes caught Lani’s, before he let them drop. Although Odi had all kinds of time, he couldn’t afford to become wrapped up in his thoughts right now. He had said he was going to help Lani, and he was damn well going to fulfill that today.

“Oh? Like what?” Odion was wearing his crooked half-grin, the one that crossed his face when he was amused or entranced. “How to attract a female one oh one?” He asked, through Lani’s toothy grin. They both knew that Odi was charming, and he didn’t need any help with that, least of all from Lani. Back in Europe, people actually thought Odion was a player who had slept around with all kinds of people, men and women alike. That seemed like a different lifetime now. The joking came naturally, as well as the flirting. But at least it was helping Lani become comfortable. Now what did that say about Lani? Surely none of the same subliminal feelings were returned. Odion would have to let that go for now. For Lani really.

Odion watched Lani hesitantly, carefully. Lani would be going over that roof any time now. “And you’d think I would get tired of hearing your constant riddles,” he chuckled softly, “but you’re not as stupid as your hair type, are you?” Odion was only talking nonsense now, because Lani started it. Yes, that was the reasoning, and they were acting like a couple of kids. Really what he meant is that Lani knew Odion was patient. If he didn’t know, he would now, otherwise Odi wouldn’t be volunteering is abundant time right now. But why say it like that when you could make Lani have that adorable look of confusion on his face? Odion smirked just at the memory.

Odion would inevitably learn how to stop other’s powers as well as their bodies. Really, he felt that if he could stop Lani, he could stop nearly anyone. But for once, this was about Lani, because sometimes even heroes needed proper attention. Odion did seem to be carrying a scalpel around him at all times, didn’t he? Every gesture, every word spoken, every look, was interpreted and questioned by Odi in a particular way. Lani had to know this, because Odion pegged him as someone who chose his words wisely in paranoid company. Company like Odion. If Lani was going to be friends with Odion, he had better be prepared. Odion didn’t have Empathy, but he might as well have it the way he knew people. He had been told it was sort of creepy to watch people like he did, but how could something interesting be creepy? It just didn’t make sense to him. People watched birds, they watched movies. Why not spend a little time watching your own kind?

Eyes closed or not, Odion had to get it together, or something was going to break. He certainly didn’t want to be stuck in Lani’s mind, or in his power. How that would happen, or if it could at all, Odion wasn’t sure about , but he didn’t want to know. If he was a volcano and Lani a tornado respectively, their powers were quite opposite. Lani’s telekinesis was like a lion, pawing at things gently even though Odion knew damn well what it was capable of. Then there was Odion’s power – something like a rattlesnake. Quiet and unassuming, but mighty in its own way. Still, it could easily be stopped by a lion. Lani’s smile didn’t go unnoticed. It wasn’t something that happened very often, and made Odi smile and lent him strength. He just needed to not be afraid. For a coward, that was easier said than done. Maybe that’s why no one wanted to help Lani. His power was terrifying, but deep, deep/i] down inside, Odi knew he could handle it.

Wasn’t it obvious? Lani made Odion nervous, but again, Lani failed to see what was right in front of him. If it wasn’t clear before, it would have to be cleared up now. Odion had never worked with another meta before, simply because he didn’t trust them, and he liked his space. Odion just wasn’t a brave guy, and until he grew a set (so to speak), he would never be able to handle Lani’s power full force. It wasn’t a step he planned on taking today anyways, so that wasn’t an issue at present time.

Odion finally looked back at Lani, who seemed nothing but happy. “You’re enjoying this more than I thought you would,” he said, a playful smirk of his own on his lips. Lani certainly was a very interesting person. Who Odi liked very much. But enough about that. Odion grinned, feeling like he had an answer for everything today, even a chance to redeem himself. “It’s because I’m letting you touch me.” He agreed with Lani. If he were to simply stop time and everything and everyone in it, there wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone could do, let alone feel. Odion had stopped time with Lani in it before, and there was a big difference. “It is weird,” he frowned, but still laughed. Just because it was weird didn’t mean he wasn’t enjoying himself.

Of course Odion was doing something! What, did Lani think the ginger was just standing there, taking up space? Good thing Lani hadn’t voiced those opinions. Odi wasn’t ready to play literal mind games with his friend. Really, the simple answer to stopping Lani, was stopping Lani. He wouldn’t need to do any of this to stop time with Lani and his power in that time freeze. Come to think of it, why were they doing any of this at all? Odion wasn’t sure if that situation would ever happen, but hey, one small step at a time.

He swallowed hard as the face off with Lani continued. What he now knew as Lani’s telekinesis gathered around him, and Odi tried very hard not to squeak. How was he supposed to know if this was a good thing or not? Was Lani readying to save him, or toss him aside? All he could do was wait, and try to coax Lani’s powers as much as Lani was.

Odion couldn’t explain why Lani’s powers decided to play nice, he was just thankful they had. Odi glanced at Lani after speaking to the ball. A coy smile crossed the ginger’s face. Lani certainly looked pretty. “Of course,” he said, nodding a couple times. He meant it, but really he was trying to convince himself that he needed to be nice to Lani right now, or else be flung aside, literally. If he would’ve known how flimsy Lani’s power was before, would he have been such an ass from the start? Probably. Both of them were in serious need of a break though, and Odion happily caught the pills in both his hands. “Merci,” he said nonchalantly. Wow, he really must’ve been tired to let that one slip. He watched Lani after taking a couple of the pills. “You alright?” He asked Lani, heaped up on the floor again. Odion grinned and nodded his head a bit, his hands on his hips, “If?”

The time controller made his way closer to Lani, sitting down in front of him, about three feet away. Odi rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what this,” he waved his hand in a similar fashion, “is.” If Lani couldn’t tell Odi what was going on, how were they to brain storm? Truth was, neither of them was hitting their true potential, but then again, if they were, they wouldn’t be here. Lani’s power was terrifying, cold, and nearly unbearable. How Lani could stand it, Odion wasn’t sure. That’s what it had felt like to be in Lani’s head as Odi’s powers mixed with the blonde’s. It was like being sucked into a black hole that you were clawing your way to get out of. The power was everything Lani was in that moment. Playful, careful, and guarded. And yet, it could also be horrendous and untrusting. It was like the power had a personality of its own. “Uh...” Odion sat back into the palms of his hands. How was he going to put this lightly? His dark blue eyes travelled over to Lani thoughtfully. Oh how he liked it when Lani said his name out loud. But, how was he supposed to say he felt trapped without discouraging Lani? “I think we’re missing something here,” he said instead, trying to redirect the conversation in the same general, rather than specific, direction. There had to be a key, perhaps, that they just couldn’t see.

A mischievous smile passed Odion’s face. He had a plan. “How’s your head?” He asked, his head tilted to the side.

[Lani Hunter]

It was indeed good that neither would stoop so low. Lani ran with some of that crowd though. They always seemed like normal people when he was talking to them but those who called themselves assassins often talked of their victims as if they were talking about the weather, and rapists, well Lani tried to avoid them. Mostly those were wild and didn’t run with Lani’s crowd. That was how Lani knew that he would never be a step above thief and his boss had never asked it of him. He didn’t care if he was a lowly foot soldier, so to speak, those ‘assassins’ could have the officer positions he didn’t want them. Lani chewed on the inside of his lip as these thoughts crossed through his mind and he was infinitely glad that Odion wasn’t a mindreader. For these thoughts had passed his mind often in the past few weeks that he was surprised he had time to think of anything else. He ground his teeth, he wasn’t any better than the rest of them. He regretted that thought, Odion wasn’t a bad person, maybe in the eyes of the law but not in Lani’s eyes.

Lani’s eyes caught Odion’s for a moment and a small smile flashed across his face. It really wasn’t fair that he had such eyes. After all why had they invaded his thoughts so often? Shouldn’t Adrianna’s eyes fill his thoughts? And they certainly did, but every once in a while Odion’s found their way in as well. He sighed, he wished Adrianna and Odion could get along but he had followed Odion’s advice and not told his girlfriend outright that they were friends. Though he was sure she knew. He hadn’t been trying too hard to keep it a secret; after all, it wasn’t up to her who his friends were. And now knowing her a little better he was sure that she would never ask him to choose. She was just too nice for that. He found himself smiling the more he thought about her.

“Huh,” Lani uttered and snapped his head back toward Odion as he realized his thoughts had been wonder. He loved that look Odion got when they were joking. He really looked like a cat when he got that look. Lani wouldn’t say that, because they had already had this conversation, but that catupine would never leave his mind. Perhaps that was why that as the ‘dog’ Lani didn’t chase Odion. He had been struck by those spines once when he had gotten too close and wasn’t enthusiastic about repeating that experience. But like a curious dog that never learned he was still poking around at the strange animal that was sometimes cute and cuddly and other times a spiked ball of death. Lani tossed his head as if to flip his hair, if he had had enough hair to flip. “You could learn a lot,” he agreed teasingly. He gave a wink and rubbed his chin. “I think we might have a lot of work ahead of us in that case.” His eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter. He would have gone on to say something about his previous relationship’s gender but he wasn’t sure that that was safe territory yet. Odion as happy as he appeared was still torn up about that, Lani was sure.

Lani leaned his head back as he laughed. With a shake of his head he looked back at Odion his grin refusing to leave his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lani said his grin turning sly as he crossed his arms and took on an innocent appearance. Nonsense was where Lani fit in very well. It was really terrible how his intelligent and insightful thoughts somehow got lost in translation from his mind to his tongue. Now he looked at Odion and snickered a little. “No, do you think we should trade?” He teased his grin turning impish as he pointed to his hair then to Odion’s. Odion had opened that door for Lani and Lani had never been able to keep himself from walking through an open door, be it physical or metaphorical. What made it more humorous was that they both knew that between the two of them the one that fit the definition of dumb blond was indeed the blond one.

Hero again. Heroes were expected to save people, give their lives, be selfless. Lani wouldn’t be rushing to get himself killed any time soon and he certainly wasn’t selfless. Perhaps that was why being called that annoyed him. If anyone was selfless and deserved that title it was his sister. She was quite the heroine. Perhaps it was all of those storied he had told her. But she had told him more than once that she wasn’t going to be the type of girl who waited for a hero. She was going to be her own and as much as that worried Lani he was proud of her. It kind of freaked him out how much like his sister Adrianna was. She was someone who tried to be strong but then Lani could be there for her as well. He was having such a great time learning to dance with her, she was a patient teacher. He was going nowhere fast.

They were playing with fire that was for sure. No, not just fire, they were playing matches in a fireworks warehouse. Lani was all to prepared for the worst to happen but he really didn’t know what he could do about it if all hell did really break loose. All he knew was what he could do and that would be completely pull in his power. That was his solution to everything. His power might be a lion but this lion was controlled by mouse, so while the lion could have stopped the snake the mouse was still just a bite size snack for the snake. Lani might come across confident but his power really was timid and it was probably something of a defense mechanism for himself as much as if was for other people. People just were supposed to have this kind of power, it was unnatural. Something strange passed through their connection of powers and Lani felt a little more confident in his wielding. He couldn’t tell if that was from Odion or just from determination.

It was clear now. Lani wasn’t fooled by Odion’s confident exterior anymore. He was just as terrified as Lani was. Lani wasn’t sure what Odion had been expecting but having now seen the monster that was residing within Lani’s mind he was certainly more afraid. Who wouldn’t have been? It was only a natural response. However if Odion had been like everyone one else Lani knew he wouldn’t still be standing there just as determined as before. That was what set the two of them apart and grew courage. Lani met resistance and fled from the bindings of Odion’s power, however, Odion faced with a lion stood his ground on the blind faith that the lion wouldn’t maul him. Lucky for Odion his faith was rewarded.

“As much as one can enjoy getting shots,” Lani replied wrinkling his nose. He shook his head, who was he fooling? He let himself smile and laughed a little, the one good thing was that when Lani was happy so was his power. It was far less likely to believe that he was threatened if it was happy. Now thinking about it Lani would never have agreed to this if he hadn’t thought that it might at least work a little bit. He believe in Odion just as much as he believed in Lani. Lani tapped his chin thoughtfully as Odion spoke. He shook his head a little. “Hmmm, imagine that,” he said nodding a little to himself, “Makes sense, I guess.” He was going to need a few days to completely wrap his mind around that one.

Lani had no idea that Odion could feel him enough to know that he was gathering his power to move him. Had he known he probably wouldn’t have changed it anyways. It was rather interesting how powers fit people. It was also funny how other powers just seemed to be random or even opposites. Here was Lani who had been powerless against those holding his leash all his life when suddenly this power was thrust in his hands and he wasn’t even sure what to do with it. Odion, well he didn’t know Odion’s story well enough to say. But from his observations Odion’s power fit on him like a glove. Lani was actually surprised that Odion was having to try as hard as he was. But eh, he supposed that anyone trying to stop something with the mindset of a train would have a challenge. Also, he doubted anyone had tried to ever fight Odion’s power.

Lani’s heart was hammering in his chest so loud that ever beat sent a throbbing pain through his head. He nodded at Odion’s assurance. They were a team then. His power stirred at this like it was shifting its opinion. Lani felt that strange sensation he often did when his power was observing something, it was like something that was human but no human at the same time. Odion did have a point, if he kept thinking of his power as a separate entity he would probably never fully understand or master it. It lacked thoughts but it was full of feeling, perhaps that was Lani’s emotions, he couldn’t be sure. It was detached but all around at the same time. A smile was pulled out of his face as his power seemed to shift in favor of Odion. Lani’s brow raised but he wasn’t too concerned with languages. Merci was something so often thrown around Odion could have picked it up anywhere. Lani nodded his head slowly so not to jostle his mind, “Uh-huh, you?” He’d be alright eventually. He tried to give Odion an annoyed look but he felt like a scolded child when Odion stood there with his hands on his hips so his expression came out more like someone who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “Fine,” he said tossing his hands into the air officially giving up, “When.”

He didn’t move when Odion came closer. The time traveler could have come and sat on Lani’s head for all he cared as long as he didn’t have to move. Lani knew what his power was feeling but he was going to have to really rack his brain to figure out how to communicate that. He sighed, “Ok, this isn’t going to make any sense,” he warned, “But it’s like it knows you’re trying to help. But it doesn’t. I know how much power I have and it’s almost like its being taken out of my hands. And that much power not in my hands is that much power not in my control. And that makes it feel threatened, I guess… Um… Ah!” He snappy his fingers as it came to him, “It’s like you’re driving a car and suddenly you’re watching your hands moving the wheel but you’re not the one moving your hands,” he finished extending his hand toward Odion in a ‘there you go’ way. Hopefully that translated into something that could be useable.

Lani’s heart sunk when the pause between Odion’s verbal pause and the rest of his thought grew lengthy. What had Odion felt? Was his power doing more than he thought? Was it too much for the redhead? Well the good news was that Odion wasn’t planning on stopping this project, the bad news was that despite whatever was bothering him he wasn’t planning on stopping this project. Though, Lani couldn’t say he would be happy if they stopped now. Lani examined his fingers for a moment and unconsciously flexed and closed them. Lani looked at Odion leaning forward a little bit as he waited for him to continue the thought. “Like?” He asked impatiently.

Now Lani eyed Odion suspiciously. Now he wasn’t sure how to answer that. Sarcastically or seriously? Maybe he should lie. No. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. “Have you ever had someone take hammer to your head?” He decided on humorously but his eyes were still guarded and skeptical. “I’ll be fine,” he added insistently for good measure.

[Odion Martins]

It wasn’t like Odion decided what kind of eyes to have. Just like how he hadn’t asked to be born to some whore in Europe. Still, Lani wouldn’t be the first person, nor would he be the last to feel infiltrated. Odion just had that way about him without knowing how he affected people. He loved bearing into their souls, he just had no idea of the success he had. Odion was glad he didn’t have to be all buddy buddy with Adrianna. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the girl, he just didn’t want to waste his time on someone he had no interest in. He also didn’t feel like being a strange third wheel. He liked who he was around Lani, but Adrianna to that mix and things would change. Odion watched Lani’s lips perk up into a smile – just what was that blonde thinking about now?

Odion scoffed. “I seriously doubt that.” The ginger wasn’t a hundred percent on Lani’s dating life, but he was willing to take certain risks. “Adrianna’s what? Your first girlfriend?” He smirked at Lani. Dog, cat, a strange mix of the two, it didn’t really matter who represented which animal. What did matter, was that Odion remained on top of Lani’s thoughts and actions. A breath of laughter escaped Odi. “I assure you, though I’m quite capable, I’m highly uninterested.” There wasn’t anything Lani could teach him that Odion didn’t already know. Just because women weren’t attractive to him, didn’t mean he hadn’t swept a few off their feet. He had more confidence around them simply because it was pure act. Odion gave Lani a once over, obviously checking him out, but, his words would redirect the intent. “You don’t have anything I don’t.” Odi put a hand to his chin, locking eyes with his friend. No, Lani wasn’t a better catch than he was.

Odi grinned right back at Lani. The scales would be forever tipping in both of their favours, because neither of them is willing to lose. Sure Lani didn’t know what he was talking about, because unlike Lani, Odion had no idea what he was saying. It was garbage, gibberish that didn’t make sense in foresight or hind. Then it was Odion’s turn to laugh. He shook his head no. “I don’t think red would look very good on you,” he said, “your eyes are all wrong for it. Besides, then you couldn’t call me Red anymore, and we don’t need you upset now, do we?” Odi’s tone was light and joking, and he was admittedly having fun. If he were annoyed, well, let’s just say Lani would know about that by now.

Heroism wasn’t something that came naturally to Odion. He had tried it out once, for Rhett, but always in his life he had to be selfish. Besides, he seemed to be more of a villain. Something terrible happened to him and his family and now he’s seeking revenge upon the world – or something like that.

Perhaps Odion should’ve told Lani about never having trained with someone else before, but the ginger decided that could wait for later. Lani didn’t have to know everything for this training to work. Besides, he needed more leverage, not another thing Lani could argue about, try to wiggle his way out of this session. Either way, Odion really believed that Lani could do this, and that no one would get seriously hurt in the process. He wouldn’t say it was courage necessarily, but that he was trying to turn a single leaf to see how it would look on the other side. Odion would try, and do his best today, whatever that meant, even if he was afraid. But didn’t that make him braver than a naturally heroic person? Wouldn’t someone like Odi standing and facing something terrifying be more courageous than someone who had little to fear to begin with? Faith was something the boy would usually scoff at, today, it was absolutely necessary.

Just like Lani could tell Odi was afraid, Odi could tell Lani was happy. It wasn’t like either emotion could never exist in either boy, it was just interesting to be able to read someone like this. Odion knew he could read people quite easily, but he was happy to note all of Lani’s slight differences between emotions. Odi smiled when Lani laughed, trying to let some of the blonde’s joy become his own. “It makes sense,” he reassured Lani stubbornly. True, no one had tried to fight Odion’s power before. A lot of people didn’t even know what his power was. And how could they unless he flat out said what they were? No, Lani was a challenge in every conceivable way.

Odion wasn’t sure if Lani was taking this whole ‘team’ thing well, but he hoped the telekinetic would. Lani nodded and Odi licked his lips, waiting for the reaction. What else could they be? Surely Lani had to know what it was like to be against Odion (on the rooftops) and with him (right now). His power had obviously been present as well. Something seemed to be changing in Lani’s eyes that Odi couldn’t pinpoint, but he was still conscious and so decided whatever was going on in the blonde’s head, must be a step in the right direction. “Fine,” Odi said, before looking down, his eyebrows furrowed in. This whole thing was very hard to understand. He could see why Lani wasn’t willing to share the burden with anyone now, and Odi hated to admit it, but he respected Lani for trying to shoulder his telekinesis on his own. Odion smiled back to Lani, “When you admit this was a good idea.” There could never be peace for too long.

Odion braced himself for the nonsensical explanation. The ginger scratched at his face a few times as Lani tried explaining his power’s reaction, but he never took his eyes off Lani. He really wasn’t making any sense, which must’ve been clear because Odion had quite the confused expression on his face. He raised a single eyebrow at Lani. It didn’t make any sense. “Okay, so what am I supposed to do with my powers? Not stop yours?” Because that wasn’t an option, he tried to say subliminally. Odi raised a finger into the air for a moment. “What if you thought of my powers as training wheels or something? Just a temporary fix to get your powers to where they could be?” Lani was talking about cars and driving before, so maybe this analogy would make sense. Odion wasn’t really sure they were on the same page, but he was still going to try and help.

Lani’s look of impatience went ignored. “Like, how will we manage when my power is unwelcome?” Now it was Odion’s turn to explain. “Your power is you, Lani.” It wasn’t in as many words, but it made the most sense. It was condensed to whatever Lani needed it to be. Everything he felt, that was his power. Every worry, every skeptical thought, every accusing look, that was his power manifest. His smile faded. Odion looked at Lani without expression. He wasn’t here because he had to be, or because he was gaining something. He was here because he wanted to be, and because he wanted to help Lani.

Odion resisted the urge to touch Lani’s arm or something. “I’m not trying to offend you,” he said, watching as Lani’s guard started to come back up. That wasn’t something Odi was going to let happen if he could help it, not after all the progress they had made. Suddenly his good idea didn’t seem too good any more. It would have to wait until Lani was more comfortable, something Odion wasn’t sure how to do. Odi let his palms slip so that he was lying on the gym floor, which was cool to the touch and felt really good after such hard work. He stared hard at the ceiling. “I can handle more than you think,” he said randomly, throwing out crumbs to see what Lani would do with them. Was this always going to be so difficult?

[Lani Hunter]

Fate was a funny mistress. Lani was sure that if there were some sort of deity up there somewhere that they must have either a sense of humor or just be watching from afar. He was inclined to believe the latter since his sister getting sick was hardly something he found funny. Though life seemed to be in the habit of giving him things to love and tearing them out of his hands. Life had given him a sister and almost torn her away from him and had he not done what he had chances were that those no good doctors would have just made her life comfortable. It had been a risky and trial treatment they had tried and without the money they never would have been able to afford the private practice that had done it. One would think with the Hippocratic Oath they had to swear they would be a little more inclined to follow it.

Odion’s reaction brought a broad smile out of Lani. So Odion was going to play this game with him. “Really?” Lani raised his chin defiantly and crossed his arms. He opened his mouth to protest but his ears burned as Odion hit the bulls eye like an expert marksman. “Shush you,” was his only reply, it was the only one he could get out without sputtering some excuse. He gave Odion a glare hoping to punish him for his accurate assumption. Apparently the redhead’s thoughts were running parallel with Lani’s. A little smile peeked out and he nodded his mind turning. “Uh-huh,” he uttered his blush fading, “So I take it across the pond you were quite the player. Lani gave Odion as sideways look refusing to look away as he was examined so blatantly. Something stirred in his gut but he squashed it before it had time to surface into a thought. He couldn’t lie that he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when Odion’s words went in a different direction, but for some reason a small tendril of disappointment appeared in his mind. He hid it with a smile and laughed, “Of course I do,” he teased using jokes to cover him unsure feelings, he didn’t even know what to think. “I have a soul,” he said unable to hide the sly look that emerged as he hit his punch line.

His laugh was good enough to hide the way that his heart was racing strangely. He insisted it stop but it didn’t listen. Oh well, the conversation was continuing and Lani was rather glad for that. Lani’s brows rose theatrically as if Odion’s opinion on hair color was monumental. “Ah, yep, I couldn’t do without that,” he agreed. A light flashed in his eyes that was half playful and half challenging. He gave Odion a mock annoyed look and rolled his eyes with exaggerated effort. “Woe will befall those who face the wrath of Lani,” he said failing to put the correct amount of malice behind his voice and collapsing into giggles before he had even finished the sentence. Oh yes, Lani was terrifying. Terrifying as a pack of butterflies. At least now. But good thing that as they joked Lani knew both of them knew that should Lani chose he could be as terrifying as a pride of lions.

Heroes and villains. Life wasn’t so clear cut. It didn’t really matter, everyone lied, everyone was selfish. It was probably for the best because heroes could be used and heroes could be broken by disillusionment. For that it was best that Lani wasn’t aware of Odion’s lack of preparation. He would have found that as the perfect reason to dig his heels in on this. In all logical versions of this tale anyone else would have called it quits because Lani’s power was so unruly and unpredictable. But unlike everyone else Odion had become more determined. Lani was slightly glad, now that they had done something he was far more on board than he was before. Still not enthusiastic about it, but it was on the right track. Lani was jealous that Odion had that kind of faith in him, because he couldn’t find himself having that kind of faith in Odion because if something went wrong here it wasn’t Lani who would be paying for it. So who was the real hero here then? And who the coward? Lani was sure he knew who was who, and he was the latter.

Lani bobbed his head not really listening as Odion spoke but lost in his own thoughts. His finger tapped his chin as he thought and he was almost completely lost to the world. If Odion had let him touch his power then what would happen if Odion didn’t let him touch his power. What if Odion without doing anything different could stop him because he wasn’t letting Lani touch him? If Lani weren’t able to touch him then he wouldn’t be able to stop him. After all telekinesis didn’t work with things that weren’t tangible, at least not normally. Of course there was the occasional strange instance when it seemed the wind shifted but that could be because molecules of air were physical. Nothing about telekinesis passed into the nonphysical world. Which was strange because telekinesis resided in the mind, but the mind was something nonphysical. Lani shook his head a little as it started to throb, not from telekinesis but rather from just having blown his mind with the thought of physical and nonphysical reactions.

“What?” His eyes jumped from where they had wandered to his feet as he was lost in thought and back to Odion when he realized the redhead was speaking again. But Odion wasn’t looking at him and he hadn’t said more than the one word. Lani’s brow creased as he realized he had missed something, oh well he wasn’t about to retell what had gone through his mind, it was far to confusing and altogether just too deep for him. Why couldn’t things be simple? Oh well, that was life. Either way Lani had concluded that if they were to be a team he liked that better. His power liked it better too. He hoped with that thought in mind he could get his power to not think that Odion was attacking but understand that they were helping each other. Lani’s look of confusion was quickly flipped to one of pleasant defiance. “When hell freezes over, my friend.” So what if this could be a good idea, there was no way pride would let him admit that. After all it was only a kind of good idea hidden quite well in the mass of a bad idea.

Lani frowned a little seeing that he had missed the mark. It was too hard to explain. Somehow it had happened again, en route to his tongue his words had gotten jumbled. Lani sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration what use was he going to be if he couldn’t even communicate properly! With a little groan he looked back at Odion resting his chin on his hand. “No,” Lani agreed, that would defeat the whole purpose, “I just…” He cut off when Odion raised a finger. He waited again hoping for the redhead to have some answers. He rubbed his chin as he pondered the given options. He hummed a little and his eyes narrowed as he thought about his. It really would almost be easier if he could just ask his power what was wrong. “So, almost like the emergency brake? If I go too far and lose control you jump in… but… no,” he shook his head dismissing that, he really was just thinking aloud thought to allow Odion to jump in if he so chose. “It has to be something where I’m still in control,” now he looked up at Odion, “If I’m not in control then it’s no good. So perhaps we need to start smaller.”

That was certainly a strange way to describe it was it was the best Lani had at the moment. His eyes widened and he pointed at Odion like he had just struck gold. We need to start with permission! Hear me out. We start with asking permission, then to taking control,” he said referring to their powers and not themselves. “Like instead of seizing onto my power, ask first, so when my power and I get comfortable enough with that then it could be instantaneous when you touch my power.” That just might work, that was Lani wasn’t losing control, he was still controlling whether or not Odion was allowed to stop his power, if things came down the wire they would need that instantaneous communication but for right now Lani would be content with an agreement so to speak than the smothering force he had felt from Odion.

Now it was Lani’s turn to crease his brow in confusion. “What does that mean?” Lani asked. His power was him? That didn’t make sense. He wasn’t like his power, his power was out of control, unruly and spontaneous. He searched Odion’s face and frowned when he didn’t find anything. Odion was putting on a mask, hiding something, perhaps it wasn’t important but it was something that Lani missed. He couldn’t tell if Odion was accusing him of something or not. But it rather felt like that, considering all the havoc his power had wrought. Lani paused still giving Odion a skeptical look but otherwise holding his judgment on bringing up his guard. He didn’t answer and when Odion slipped back onto his back Lani chewed agitated at his fingernails and pondered that answer.

Lani cocked his head at Odion even knowing he couldn’t see him he gave him a little glare. “How do you know what I think?” He challenged a little out of habit. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I know,” he amended his answer. He hung his head and was glad for a moment that Odion wasn’t looking at him. One of his legs pulled up and he rested his head on his knee wrapping himself into a pathetic pile. “You know I don’t doubt you,” he said softly after a few moments. That was about as close to ‘I’m trying to trust you,’ as Odion was going to get today.

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t have as much experience as he made people believe, but he could tell a novice from an expert, especially in the dating department. Someone like Lani, who pushed people away and didn’t want to hurt them or himself, tended not to let people close. Even Adrianna wasn’t that close to him. Odi simply raised an eyebrow at Lani’s glare, glad to see his shot in the dark had hit home. It wasn’t like he spied on Lani or anything – much. “Depends who you ask,” he said, his eyes averting from Lani’s. If the blonde asked him, then no, Odion wasn’t a player, despite what everyone else said. Ask his old friends and he was the king of the bedroom.

Odion didn’t want to cross any lines with Lani, especially ones that weren’t worth the risk. Lani had a girlfriend, and that was that. And the last thing Odi wanted to do was stoop to Rhett’s level and interfere with Adrianna’s love life. Even if Lani was looking at Odi as much as Odi looked at him. It was just something else to add to the list of grey. The problem with Lani, is that he blocked any similar thoughts from tipping Odion off. The ginger could tell Lani was a dating novice, but he couldn’t see beyond that. Odion quirked an eyebrow up at Lani. “How is anyone to know if I’m soulless?” Odi shook his head. Lani was good, but he wasn’t that good. “Are you going to tell them?”

If he knew his charm was working on Lani, well, things might’ve turned out differently. But for once, Odion actually felt a little shy around the blonde, he didn’t want to go through the same routine he always did with someone he was interested in. Besides, Lani was the forbidden fruit now. Damn it, why did he have to have a girlfriend? If Odi took one step out of bounds, Lani might end the friendship, and Odion certainly didn’t want that. The ginger seemed to be reading Lani’s mind. “You’re not too far off,” Odion said, his eyes light but serious, “we both know what you’re capable of.”

Odi was determined never to be used again, and to make sure that his efforts were never wasted again. Whether it be determination, or stupidity, Odion was ready to help Lani, no matter what the cost. Lani wasn’t using him, that much Odi knew. Odion had to convince Lani to let Odi help him, practically twist his arm into it. Odion knew that if he tried, he would be able to stop Lani’s power. He just had to prove himself now, and even that boiled down to being selfish. He needed to prove it to himself, not to Lani. At least, that’s how his thinking process had started. Now he wasn’t sure who he was doing this for. But as Lani approached the idea, Odion tried not to turn and go in the other direction. Lani was dangerous, and not because of his power, but because of the power he was starting to have over Odi. It scared Odion. So there weren’t any heroes in this room.

So maybe it was simpler than either of them thought. Perhaps Odion could simply stop time when things got out of control. Forget about trying to befriend Lani’s power and just stop it altogether. After all, this wasn’t about feeling each other out, it was about Lani’s being able to levitate someone without worrying about hurting them. Odi’s thoughts were on this track a little, but that just seemed too easy. The ginger snickered. “Good luck finding someone else to help you then,” he winked at Lani, “my friend.” Odion rubbed his biceps and pretended to shiver. He was still grinning, now at the thought of hell freezing over.

Odion waited for the humming to stop. It was always interesting to watch Lani think – he did it a lot. “No no, you’ve got it,” he said, fidgeting in his excitement, “except, the emergency brake is under my control.” He tried to imagine it. It was like they were both in one car, and Lani was driving. But if he was about to go off a cliff because the car went out of his control, Odi could pull the brake and no one would get hurt. Lani’s power was the car, the emergency brake was Odi’s. Odion practically beamed from potentially figuring it out. “You do your part, and I’ll do mine and we’ll be golden.” The odds were starting to turn in their favour. Odi was glad to think of it this way instead of Odi. vs. Lani. They just needed to trust each other, which was easier said than done, but it was getting there. Odion ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not about you having all the control, not for something like this.” He had a point, and he knew he was right. It was a sure fire combination.

Odion giggled softly as Lani pointed at him, he just loved that look in Lani’s eyes. “Alright, so,” Odion leaned in very seriously, but his devilish grin gave him away, “may my power court your power?” He was only joking around, and his facade broke into laughter. Odi knew exactly what Lani was talking about, and he was pleased to see they were finally getting on the same track. Odion didn’t really want to ask for permission when he was already doing the blonde a favour, but it was worth a shot. Maybe Odi also had a problem with being submissive. “Let’s hope it works,” he smiled brightly at Lani. Progress was happening, that much was something to smile about.

Lani was so used to seeing his power as something other than himself that Odion’s simple reply wasn’t hitting home like it was supposed to. “Your power is everything you suppress,” Odi said, his hands behind his head as he lay on the gym floor. “Like when you’re angry at someone,” like me, “you suppress it so you don’t fling them aside. You’re anger is your power, so your power is you. That’s what it was like.” Now it was Odi’s turn to grimace, and wonder if what he was saying even made any sense.

Odion shrugged, which felt strange on the floor. If Lani wanted to be an ass about all this, that was his problem. No progress would be made that way. Instead, Lani rearranged his answer, and Odi continued to stare at the rafters in the ceiling. “How do you know what I think?” He asked, his voice soft. There had to be a way to get Lani to control his power, but the last thing Odion expected, was for Lani to trust him, and even expect Odi to know that he did. Odion had broken into Lani’s world, Lani’s power, and now the blonde had to return the favour.

Could Lani control Odion’s time control? Odion didn’t want to spring it on Lani, and it was a different idea than the previous one, but he wasn’t sure how to ask. ‘Hey Lani, try and stop my powers’. It just didn’t want to formulate eloquently in his mind, therefore it wasn’t going to come out of his mouth. “I’m done training for today,” he announced, mostly because he was concerned about Lani, but the headache was a good reason as well. He shifted back up to a sitting position. “I’d even go for that burger right now.” He smirked. He didn’t want to ruin the progress they made. Maybe Lani just needed to sleep on that progress before more could be made.

[Lani Hunter]

Why did Odion have to be so good at that? It simply wasn’t fair. Lani frowned sullenly at the redhead for being right. Adrianna was his first girlfriend and he was trying to let her in but it was only working a little. And in the end he ended up regretting admitting the small things he did and worrying that she would get hurt by him or that he would get hurt by her. Though he wasn’t very worried about the latter. Lani raised a brow. “Really? So who am I to believe?” He asked a little smirk playing on his lips. He hadn’t expected to be able to turn the tables like this but he was enjoying it. The truth was often a relative thing, it was interesting how someone could believe a lie so fully that when asked they wouldn’t be shown to be lying because for them falsehood was truth.

Lani was content with being straight. He had never allowed himself to think about anything else and honestly had never thought he would be dating anyone. So Lani swallowed everything that didn’t make sense and wasn’t consistent. He really liked Adrianna he wasn’t supposed to think like this. So he didn’t. He was content to be ignorant of the feeling beyond friendship or if that dismiss them as being best friend. How strange, if one had asked him a few months ago if he was friends with Odion he would have laughed. Now their strange love-hate relationship was something Lani looked forward to whenever they were together. “I don’t have to tell them,” Lani retorted crossing his arms, “Your hair gives you away.” He now quirked a smile to show he was joking.

A shrug was Lani’s only answer. He blinked and for a moment he remembered that he really could make people cower before him. What a terrifying thought. Had he had a harder life or even just been plain uncaring he would probably be one of those metas who enjoyed it as people cowered before his power. In a different world, who knew. Maybe Odion would be fighting Lani to free some poor souls he had under his power. Thankfully, Lani was neither power hungry or evil. Rather he was hesitant with his power and that in and of itself could be dangerous. He clenched his fists and forced out a smile toward Odion. He knew the redhead didn’t mean to hit a nerve, after all how could he know that Lani had done that before, granted on accident but still. So Lani rubbed his head and eyes. “All power is a jade.”

If Lani could use his power to help people instead of hurt them that would be all he wanted. He would love to use his power to do what he was good at but help people. Robin Hood. The thought nearly made him laugh. No, he was no Robin Hood. Not even close. He could be content just having a double like stealing and using his power to help people some other way. After meeting that now vanished Taitum and Malcom he had more than once imagined himself as doing something great like they did. Using his power and perhaps joining the military. He never got really far because he didn’t think he could handle it and also he wouldn’t be able to be a thief and he didn’t want to be taken away from his family. He had to admit that he liked working with Odion, of all the training he had done he had never done anything quite like this or even made as much progress. He gave Odion a smile but didn’t voice his thoughts.

Lani made a noise of surprise and not a pleasant surprise but rather one that made someone disappointed. He crossed his arms and sulked with exaggerated effort. Like that was the worst news he had heard in weeks. So what if he was pouting that didn’t mean he was going to take it back. So instead he gave Odion an annoyed look in response to the wink. He gripped his heart as if the redhead’s words physically stuck him. He laughed and shook his head. “Eh, very true, I think you might be the only one crazy enough to agree to this… but… wait. No, I remember. It was your idea,” he drawled then gave him a charming smile and his best puppy dog eyes, “But, you wouldn’t abandon me, would you?” He was giving him the same look that always made Adrianna bend to his will. He doubted it would have the same effect on Odion but he was curious to see. After all, who could say no to an adorable helpless puppy? Granted it was a disguise for Cujo, but even Cujo had had a soft side once upon a time.

Lani brightened visibly when Odion confirmed his thoughts. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers putting his on his fingertips. He gestured randomly with one hand as he thought and spoke. “That makes sense, it’s like when you do driver’s ed and the teacher has the brake on their side. It takes a little getting used to but at least it’s safer.” He nodded to himself as he imagined himself behind the wheel and Odion slamming his foot down on the break and clinging for dear life to the ‘holy shit handle’. He smiled a little at the thought. He gave Odion a little grin. “So we can work as partners, as a team.” He nodded finally getting a grip on this. He gave the time turner a sly grin, “Are you getting chilly?” he asked knowing that if Odion didn’t get the joke he was going to hit him with a very lame punch line. He shifted uncomfortably. “I still don’t like that,” he admitted, “I mean I understand it, I just don’t like it.”

Lani’s face flushed bright with color for a moment and he really wished he had had something on hand to throw at Odion. He wasn’t going to use his power for that, besides his power was content to sleep after that workout. He found himself laughing along with Odion. “Just think… Old father time courting the dragon.” He chuckled. He could imagine his power wasn’t going to be easy to court. Odion might have more work cut out for him than he expected. “But seriously,” Lani said sobering, “I think it’ll work. My power would stop seeing you as a threat and I could still have the illusion of control. It’s win, win.”

Control. It always came back to control. Lani’s face was a mask as he listened to Odion. For once he was consciously trying to give nothing away. After all, it was easier since Odion wasn’t looking at him. He nodded a little, it made sense. His power fed on his emotions so it made sense. He wanted to hide. For some reason he felt the need to run away and to hide from this truth but now that it was there staring him in the face he couldn’t. Mirrors were the worst of creations for one couldn’t hide from their own reflection. And right now Lani felt like he was in a hall of mirrors. “Is it…” Lani hesitated, unsure of whether he wanted to ask that question, but he did anyways. “Is it only anger?” His power was born in anger and fear and so it made sense that in anger and fear his power exploded but it would be nice to know that his calmer emotions could affect it too. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I’m not angry…” He stuttered out and cut himself off before he started babbling.

He glanced down at the question thrown back in his face. Well it Odion wasn’t going to answer that neither was Lani, he decided stubbornly. A pair of mules they were. He considered his friend for a moment taking advantage of being able to watch him without being watched himself. He hated to admit it but he was starting to think of things differently now that he had started hanging out with Odion more. Thieves were good at breaking and entering and now they were in positions to ruin each other but neither did so. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “What do you think?”

With a nod and a little suppressed sigh of relief Lani smile. “Good, me too.” He shook his head like he was testing the waters, the pain medication was starting to kick in and he wasn’t blinded by pain anymore. It was just a little over the normal throb now. Lani’s face broke into a wicked grin of uncontained glee. “I know the perfect place,” Lani said as if Odion had already agreed to go. He rose to his feet and the world swam for a moment in front of his eyes and he had to make a grab for the wall so he didn’t have an unpleasant meeting with the ground. He laughed at himself and blinked his eyes clear and gestured for Odion to hurry off the floor. “Come on. If I’m going to bear witness to Odion’s first burger I feel like I should document the experience.” He teased. He had never expected Odion to be the one to suggest burgers but now Lani had his heart set on them and his mouth watered with the thought of promised heart attacks on buns.