This Again (Lani.)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s smile widened. How true? He nodded and laughed. They were definitely on the crazy side of the spectrum. Maybe a boatload was too small for their trouble. But then the more the merrier they said so the more trouble they cause the better. So long as it wasn’t between the two of them Lani could deal with trouble and problems. It was when they got in between the two thieves that things got messy. Like when Lani’s lies had caused trouble between them Lani hadn’t done a good job at handling it. “Trouble is nothing but a solution awaiting discovery,” Lani said with a slight nod of his head. Every problem had a solution and every solution needed an origin. After all, if there had never been any trouble with a lightning storm would people have given the effort to try to predict them?

Lani flushed and shook his head at Odion. “I’m not lying.” He said and then sealed his lips shut. The problem with this was that he and Odion both knew that there was more but the idea of being embarrassed that was different. Well, he wasn’t so sure that he was embarrassed to say how he liked the glow in Odion’s eyes or the poised posture he always had, it was more nervousness. Lani used that to verify that he was if not completely right that he was more right. A trick of words, careful use of vocabulary could mean the difference between a right and a wrong.

They were very alike in many ways. Lani never said anything about his fear of water because who was afraid of water? A person could learn to swim and then they could have power over water. At least until they are caught in a storm at sea. Secondly his fear of things that go bump in the night. After all, he technically could be counted in that. But the irrational fear of things that weren’t real was something he had never really gotten over. He liked Halloween and he liked stories but that was a whole different thing than seeing it with his own eyes. Oh well, they weren’t talking about fears in general at the moment, just secrets. Lani couldn’t count how many of those he had. He trusted Odion but that didn’t mean he was ready to pour his heart out to him.

“Hmmm,” Lani thought about it and shrugged. Why not? “Caring, sneaky, and…” he hummed for a moment in thought, “And trustworthy.” He smiled as the words came out of his mouth. He had and would always think that. He just hoped that Odion thought the same about him. Lani opened his mouth to ask again about flying but Odion stepped back and Lani knew that that would have to wait for another day. He smiled and he also backed up but didn’t take his eyes off of Odion. He lifted his water bottle to his hand and sighed a little before taking a drink. He stretched out and then looked at the water bottle in his hand. Something had changed today. His head ached but the process of getting the water bottle from the ground to his hand had been so easy. There was nothing to be careful about, he had controlled it and nothing had exploded. “Thanks, Odion,” Lani said smiling across the room at the redhead.

[Odion Martins]

Odion held onto Lani’s smile as though it could be captured. He wasn’t one for cameras, but sometimes he wished he had one for moments like these, so that he could share it with others. How could someone like Dec not like Lani when he was smiling this way? Or was it just something that only Odion could see, or was allowed to see? Either way, at least Odi would have it in his memory, and that, was better than nothing at all to cling to. “I hope you remember those words,” Odi said with his brow raised. Lani could quote and talk, but could he believe in what he said?

But Lani was lying, Odion could see right through him. It all started with the eyes, the flush of colour on his face. It often drove Odi insane because he could think himself silly trying to predict what Lani could say if he only had the courage to do so. Flustered at the obvious lie, Odion was literally bit his tongue until he tasted blood in order to keep himself from saying anything that would tear the delicate bonds being formed.

There would be no pouring on either end.

“Well that’s not anything I don’t already know,” Odion said, dismissing Lani’s words with a wave of his hand. Still, he knew he was smiling like an idiot because he could feel it. The sneaky part he knew, maybe even the trustworthy part, but he had never dubbed himself as caring. What crockery that was! Odion found what little he had brought with him and froze as more words were spoken. He could feel Lani’s smile on him again, the way it made his heart beat faster. It was so good to know he had a heart. “Yeah,” Odion said, not trying to devalue what had been said, but flustered about it. “Let’s see what we’re having for dinner shall we?” Odi sent Lani a sly smile and headed out of the training room.

Continued...