'Happy' Birthday (Open.)

[Odion Martins]

“Happy birthday Odion.” Odion smiled as his boyfriend kissed him, their hands entangled and Odi couldn’t have hoped for a better day.

“Happy birthday Odion,” Declyn said, as the twins exchanged gifts. “Happy birthday Dec.”

Cringing as time started to play games on him, Odion sat back down in his bed. He wouldn’t be getting lunch, not today. His hand went to his head as an incredible headache took over. Something was bothering him, obviously, and there had been enough stress in this young man’s life to burden two or more people, but it was all put onto him. Life was a downhill slope and Odion was beginning to think that, perhaps just letting himself go down instead of fighting everything, would be much easier.

“Happy birthday Odion.” It was Rhett this time, a flashback from the past filled Odion’s vision, and at that point, he felt happy.

“No,” Odion said to himself, snapping himself softly as his hand ran over his face. Movement in the present, that’s what he needed. Taking his phone off the night table, he checked the time. Ten minutes had passed since he was last conscious in the present. His birthday was tomorrow.

The options of interweaving time was leaving Odion in a panic. Which one was true, and which was false? He needed reality, someone to show him the way.

An alarm went off, and Odion started, smacking his alarm clock like some kind of roach that needed to be killed. Now it was his birthday. With one swift motion the clock was on the floor, and he stood up suddenly. Had he been yelling? How long was this going to go on?

[Lani Hunter]

Today was Odion’s birthday. It had taken Lani a lot of finagling to figure out what day it was but he was glad he had put in the effort considering when he finally hunted down Odion’s file again and searched for the birth date he had only had a few days. He supposed that he could have just asked Odion or asked Declyn but that would have been logical. Can’t have that. With so little time to prepare Lani had decided that he had to do something but was still working on it when the day came around. He had a card at the moment and that was it. He was running out of time and had stayed up half the night tossing around ideas in his head. They could go to dinner, Lani could get a gift, they could do something but Lani wanted to give Odion a chance. He had plans and back up plans but it was all riding on what Odion wanted to do.

Being up half the night Lani was late to rise and when he snuck his way over to Odion’s room he was surprised to find the redhead still abed. Lani had never been able to rise before Odion, save when he didn’t go to bed at all. Oh well, he was about to get some well deserved revenge for the Christmas attack. At least until he heard the crash of something and a shout. At that point Lani’s mind went to the worst case scenario. Odion was in trouble something bad was happening. And so Lani let himself in the door a look of alarm on his face before he had a chance to assess the situation. His eyes went first to Odion and then to the alarm clock and he quickly put two and two together. “I didn’t think we had to duct tape your alarm clock too.” He said forcing himself to relax with the joke. Lani gave Odion a look of confusion and was debating whether to ask or not to ask. But curiosity and concern won. “Good morning, have a bad dream?”

Occasionally Lani was worried that Odion would resort back to the way he had been when they first met and tell him to mind his own business when he asked such questions. But he knew Odion had changed, he had changed so much in the year that Lani had known him that had a past Lani come now that he would be sure that it was an alternate dimension and not the future then proceeded to ask present Lani if he had lost his mind. Lani moved across the floor dodging the kittens that had been upset by the crash and took Odion in his arms. Was now a good time to bring up his birthday? Lani made the decision to make sure Odion was alright before he started any mandatory birthday celebrations.

[Odion Martins]

Birthdays had never really been celebrated and commemorated most people usually went about it, much like Christmas was for Odion. Some things were luxuries a thief on the run didn’t have time for, let alone wanted to sit back and enjoy. Who the hell cared that it was his birthday anyways? He had never really known when his real birthday was until recently, when Declyn arrived and Odion snooped at his brother’s file. They were twins, so naturally they had to have the same birthday. If that wasn’t proof enough, then the birth certificate he had received in the mail left no doubts. The information must’ve been inputted into his own file shortly after Declyn’s arrival.

Lani walked into the room then, and Odion’s eyes flicked over to the blond. Had he been listening? For how long? Odion, shirtless but glad to be wearing pants, went to go pick up the alarm as Lani spoke. “What? Yes. No. I don’t know,” Odion said, his eyes leaving Lani momentarily so he could stare out the window. He hadn’t lost that much time, but it felt like he hadn’t slept in ages. He could never really tell how bad it was until he went back in time to see how bad it was. “No, I wasn’t...” Odion was starting to say before being caught up in Lani’s arms. His arms found purchase around Lani’s waist. This was the present. “I wasn’t dreaming,” he said, finishing his sentence as he pulled away from Lani to retrieve the alarm clock. Taking a closer look at the thing, it was definitely broken with a nice crack down the middle and around the sides.

The future itself hadn’t been, in fact, it had been quite cheerful, it was just the stress of going to the future without his consent that had been haunting. That’s what he got for trying to practice weaving time, instead of enjoying the already made web. Opening a dresser drawer and trying to make things seem okay, Odion whipped on a shirt glanced at Lani. “Do you often spy on me?” He asked, half serious but also mocking. It was surprising to say the least that Lani conveniently showed up when he had. Odion hadn’t found the courage to tell Lani about that stupid piece of paper yet, it was just too raw. But he had been fondling the thing almost every night, studying it like there was more to be said than just the simplicities of his existence. Sauntering back to his bed, Odion was quick to snatch it up, and just as quick to distract Lani. “Or did you come for a cuddle?”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani didn’t know what Odion thought of birthdays. Lani only knew that he wanted to make it special for Odion. He was not about to start their relationship by being the boyfriend that missed Odion’s birthday. Another year older, hopefully not another year colder. Lani sometimes wondered if Odion knew his birthday before Declyn showed up, and if not how did he mark his age? This merely reminded Lani that there was still so much that he didn’t know about Odion. That would have to change. He was excited to learn about Odion, to know what made the human clock tick. It also reminded him that he was in love with Odion and never had he cared to know someone so thoroughly. Normally it was curiosity and a desire to protect and care for people that he wanted to know their history to know what made them work. He wanted to know Odion to know everything. Not just history or things that upset or made him happy. Lani wanted to know everything.

Despite the situation Lani found himself letting his eyes linger over Odion. His eyes trailed back to Odion’s eyes and the confusion that resided in them as Odion went for the alarm clock. Lani was starting to have second thoughts about celebrating today if Odion was as upset as he seemed. He held onto Odion finding himself hesitant to release Odion when he pulled away. Lani blinked in momentary confusion and nodded slowly. “You were time traveling? What did you see?” He asked worried if it was what was seen in the past or seen in the future that was causing Odion to frown on his birthday. Admittedly Lani still wasn’t sure how Odion’s power worked. To his own power Odion’s felt warm, eternal and powerful. But he didn’t know how it worked. He knew Odion could bend time, stop it, speed it up and slow it down, but that was about where his understanding was lost. He knew very little about the consequences of changing time and past and future. It was all over his head.

Lani took a seat on Odion’s bed and blinked surprised by the question. “Uh…” His clever mind vanished and he just shook his head. “No, I was just…” He watched Odion and felt his face heat from the next question. He smiled despite that. “As much as I would love to…” He drawled before shaking his head. “A friend of mine discovered something important about today.” He weighed his options of lying or telling the truth or not. It only took a little glimpse into his memories to see that lying was the last thing he wanted to do to Odion. But he still wanted to test the waters so he decided to delay. “So I was coming to tell you when I heard your alarm go flying. I thought…” He trailed off looking at his hands. He didn’t want to say what he thought. Because the only thing his mind seemed able to do was think of the worse possible situation. “Anyhow I heard you beat up your alarm and thought I might have to rescue it but it seems I was too late,” He amended before taking a closer look at the alarm clock. “Poor guy didn’t stand a chance.” He smiled up at Odion cheerfully.

[Odion Martins]

Odion wanted to make Lani’s birthday special for him, but he didn’t want the same in return. After he had failed to give Lani something decent on Valentine’s day, he was planning already on what he was going to do for Lani on his birthday. It seemed to be the next big thing and Odion wasn’t going to miss his second chance, even though the only one keeping score on the matter was probably him. But god forbid if Lani wanted to do something special for him as well. Frankly, Odion didn’t see the point. In his eyes, Lani was probably expecting something and Odion wanted to deliver. The ginger would’ve been happy if his birthday was never thought about, explained, or celebrated. It was such a small, meaningless date and Odion would be baffled to know that Lani was so excited for it, along with many other meaningless things which Odion was comprised of.

“Yesterday’s turned into today, topped off with a hint of past.” Did that sound confusing? Good, because it was how he felt. Odion disregarded the concern Lani expressed, wondering why on earth Lani was so interested in him of all people. It didn’t make sense, and yet, it was what he had wanted for the longest of times. So why now, when it probably mattered most, did he find Lani’s concern annoying? Odion decided that was his fatigue speaking, not him. The day itself had him on edge, along with the things he had been keeping to himself that were eating away at him and which had caused him to be his prickly self. Everything that seemed normally bothersome was tenfold bothersome now that he had someone to talk to, and was willing to listen to him, and yet Odion still refused to share more often than not. He didn’t think it was fair that Lani had to ask pointed questions in order to get decent answer from the stubborn time turner, but Odion wasn’t in the mood for sharing.

The redhead smiled slightly, some kind of goodness erupting inside of him from Lani’s valiant attitude. “There’s nothing at all special about today,” Odion said, waving the subject off as he wasn’t wanting to deal with it. If Lani didn’t know where Odi stood when it came to birthdays, he certainly knew now. Looking Lani over, Odion had to wonder why Lani seemed so uncertain of himself. He had answered everything sweetly, not a hint of spite or anything snarky in reply. Maybe he had come here to talk? Odion couldn’t see what else would make the telekinetic so nervous. “Is that really why you came?” Odion said, doing his own phishing now. Hadn’t they discovered long ago that neither of them enjoyed said sport?

[Lani Hunter]

It might surprise Odion that Lani was much the same. He didn’t mind Birthdays so much but he didn’t like a big deal made out of it. Lani was secretly hoping that Odion didn’t have the same idea that he had had to find out his boyfriend’s birthday. Lani was going to make as big a deal out of it as Odion wanted, to an extent. He wasn’t going to let Odion get away with not celebrating but he wasn’t about to get a million people to celebrate. But hell, if Odion didn’t want to celebrate his own birthday then he’d have to deal with Lani celebrating the fact that Odion was born. Lani had a feeling he had missed something. Something important but Odion knew just how to distract him at just the right time. Lani shrugged it off, if Odion wanted him to know, he would know, he didn’t think he would have much luck pressing it out of Odion.

All Lani could do was raise a brow. He was lost. Today turning from yesterday, well that made sense in the normal sense of time but Lani had a feeling that Odion was not talking about the normal sense of time. Not with a hint of past. Well that at least gave him a sure idea that Odion was upset and unsettled. The porcupine side of the catupine was starting to come out. Lani hadn’t been stung by the quills in a long time. “Okay,” Lani said after a few moments of silence as his mind tried to work through Odion’s riddle and failing. Lani was now on his toes, prepared to tiptoe about but at the same time work to get to the source of this. This couldn’t be because of Odion’s birthday could it? He could understand someone not liking their birthday but to be so upset by it. He narrowed his eyes at Odion his expression full of concern and confusion and a little bit of determination.

Lani raised a brow and a little sly smile grew on his face. “I beg to differ.” He said simply not going to let Odion win this one, but Lani wasn’t going to let Odion know what he knew yet. Instead Lani gave him a look that said ‘I know something you don’t.’ That wasn’t necessarily true but Odion didn’t know about Lani’s snooping, unless he had gone back in time to watch him. But that didn’t make Lani any more confident about bringing up the subject anymore. It was the cautious nature of him to not let up what he knew without knowing what Odion thought he knew. “To rescue your alarm clock?” He asked playing dumb as he tilted his head to the side as he thoughtfully observed Odion. To say it or not to say it. It was only two words but Lani knew three words that were just as terrifying. Admittedly Lani was still terrified of them and even more terrified that he had said them to someone and meant them. Lani reached out a hand to Odion and snagged his hand loosely in his own. Say it. “Happy Birthday Odion.” He said a small smile on his face.

[Odion Martins]

It didn’t make sense to simply ask when his birthday was, why would anyone ever think of doing that? No, it was better to be sneaky about it, like it was something he really shouldn’t be doing. What were the boundaries supposed to be when he didn’t know what boundaries were, or what normal was. But it would’ve been a relief to know Lani was thinking the same way as he did, it made him feel normal, or close as he could get to such an existence.

“Just, never mind...” Odi said, not in the mood to explain further. Maybe he wanted to leave Lani in the dust this time. Maybe he didn’t want Lani coming near him, even though Odion knew it was what he really wanted. People could change, they didn’t change overnight, especially when unbelievable things kept on happening to him that shouldn’t happen. With everything he had been through, it was really no wonder how he had developed the ability to think on his toes. At the moment, his dream was just to get by. Odion could feel Lani’s eyes on him as he dressed, wishing he wasn’t receiving such a caring look. It was hard to put up walls when someone was already inside. If only he could just keep Lani in, then he could rebuild them and keep him all to himself and then... Odion shook his head. His mind was running away on him again, and he didn’t want to be someone that selfish. Maybe just a little selfish.

Odion just shrugged. Lani always begged to differ, always knew something Odion didn’t know, and Odi was starting to expect that. Not that he was taking Lani and his habits for granted, but he wasn’t going to feign interest in something he couldn’t handle at the moment. They were both in it for the challenge and the impossible nature of the relationship, but no one could exist while they tore at the seams. The redhead laughed and glanced at the broken mess on his night table. It wasn’t fully functional, and would never be a good alarm clock ever again, but maybe it could be something else, like a doorstop or a paperweight. Or trash, trash was also good.

Odion’s mouth twitched into a smile, taking a firmer hold of Lani’s hand, unsure of what to do. Say thanks? Burst into tears? Lash out? That’s what Lani had wanted to tell him, and he had danced around it because Odion was as unstable as the water Lani feared. And for that, Odion could cry a river. Instead, Odion leaned in and kissed Lani softly in thanks and love, and just for being there with him. He looked down and shut his eyes, his forehead somewhere on the bridge of Lani’s nose as Odion felt the crumpled birth certificate beneath his hand. Breaking contact and still looking down, Odion pushed the paper into Lani’s lap. The paper threatened to fall but managed to balance itself out. “More like Happy Birthday Sebastian.” He was trying not to make a big ruckus over this new fact.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani cocked his head at Odion. He should know that a ‘never mind’ would just make it nag at him more. Curiosity kills the Lani. Something more than a birthday had to be bothering him. Lani was willing to nag until he got his answers. If Odion wasn’t acting so grumpy Lani probably would never have known anything was wrong. But that was part of this new thing they had. Honesty was key and Lani knew there were secrets he still had and that Odion had. But he could see past the masks Odion had, at least most of the time. It would have been more suspicious if Odion acted as if nothing was the matter. Then Lani would for certain know something was wrong and think it was something all the more terrible. He watched Odion and his mind swirled around all of the possibilities. Maybe Declyn had said something about him spending so much time with Lani, he thought that the redhead’s twin still didn’t like him. But there was also the fact that maybe Declyn just wanted Odion to spend their birthday together.

What did a time turner need with an alarm clock anyways? It wasn’t like it was with Lani, if he woke up late he missed things. That was that, no going back. That was why he had his securely duct taped to his nightstand. He was sick of having to get a new alarm clock every few days. And in all honesty the first time his alarm had gone crashing into the wall he had nearly died of fright. He had been still half asleep and his power had taken over and taken care of the annoying noise. Which in and of itself had still gotten Lani out of bed, but he really rather hated waking up thinking he was under attack. But in reality nothing got him out of bed faster. He had been on his feet in a matter of seconds when it usually took a few minutes, which soon turned into almost an hour spent lazily arguing about getting out of bed.

He turned his attention back to Odion and smiled when his boyfriend did. He laced his fingers with Odion’s. How interesting that it seemed to fit so well. He waited a few moments and was honestly a little startled when Odion chose to kiss him. He wished it had lasted longer and he reached up a hand and rubbed the back of Odion’s neck closing his eyes and leaning toward Odion. He ran his fingers gently into Odion’s hair and had a strange reverse déjà vu remembering that Adrianna used to do that to him when he was stressed. “What?” Lani asked confused his power grabbing at the paper before it fell and he took his hand from Odion’s neck and picked it up to take a closer look. It looked as if it had been through a few trials. Had Odion just sat there looking at it for days on end? “Sebastian?” He looked at the name on the birth certificate and then at Odion his eyes a little wide.

“Sebastian O’Callahan?” He read the name again then looked back at Odion. Lani didn’t know what to say. Odion looked like he had been killing himself trying to make peace with a new name, a new identity. “Sebastian is a good name.” Lani said feeling as if he were walking on eggshells. “But,” he set the sheet aside and gave Odion a kiss. “I don’t see any Sebastians. I see an Odion and I love him.” He said softly. He knew that this was a big deal to Odion. But Odion had and would always be Odion. At least to Lani. If he wanted to take the new name, then so be it, Lani would call him Sebastian if that was what Odion wanted. But Sebastian was a name on a paper. Odion was the flesh and blood in front of his eyes. He smiled softly and asked, “When did you get it?” He wasn’t angry at the information being kept, he didn’t understand why the name on the paper scared Odion so much, but he had obviously been battling with it for a while. If the state of the paper was anything to go off of.

[Odion Martins]

To be honest, Odion hadn’t thought about his brother as soon as Lani was in the room. It was easy to forget about the world when Lani was around and Odi would have to tread carefully to make sure he didn’t become too obsessive. A little possessiveness was alright, but he didn’t want to scare Lani away, though he thought that was pretty well impossible at this point. If Lani was to be scared, he would be gone by now. Odion was doing a poor job hiding his emotions around Lani lately, but he didn’t see the need to do so anymore. He trusted Lani, even though he was a bit sore at him for the secrets he kept, but he trusted him. And what was more than that, was that he loved him.

Perhaps if Lani could understand time the way Odion did, he would know why the ginger needed an alarm clock. Simply put, Odion could review the past, but he wouldn’t want to alter it and thus, alter the present. He could see what he had missed out on, either while being passed out or acting like a zombie, but he wouldn’t want to suddenly be present in a past unconscious moment and ruin what the present might’ve held. It was complicated, but Odion didn’t dwell on it too much, he just let it be. He’d rather focus his attentions on what was real. Except lately, where all he could think about was what his life could’ve been like as Sebastian O’Callahan. He had had many fake names before, though he usually stuck with Martin, so why was this one any different? Seeing it differently truly meant he had a heart. Damn it.

The time turner would’ve loved nothing more than to have time stop then and there. Getting to know Lani meant doing things like this more often. Odion could deal with that knowledge. But he had to tell Lani about this before it ate him alive. He had to know what Lani would think about this and not just guess at what he thought. What if Lani wouldn’t understand? Odion cringed a little. Lani saying a name that wasn’t essentially his was driving him insane. It wasn’t his name, not really. And he already knew that, but it wasn’t the name itself, it was what it could’ve been. Who he could’ve been. And who he was supposed to be, and he couldn’t just ignore that. Odion didn’t know what to say so it was a good thing Lani kept speaking.

Something clicked into place inside of Odion. It didn’t matter what he could be, it mattered that he was who he was, even if neither of them really knew, it wasn’t Sebastian Lani wanted. He looked at Lani, and knew this was what he came to America for. Odion watched Lani smile, and he smiled back. The revelation had caused him to be deaf, unable to hear what Lani had said over the beating of his heart. Instead of asking Lani to repeat himself, Odion closed the distance between them, his thumb and finger under Lani’s chin to bring their lips together. Someone he loved, loved him back, and he could’ve just told Lani sooner instead of holding it the information to himself. It hadn’t done any good, and what was more, it hadn’t changed a thing between them.

“I’ve been having... I don’t know. I’ve been seeing alternate realities,” he said, breathlessly, not wanting to leave Lani but feeling as though he owed the blond some kind of explanation for helping him deal with this identity crisis. But how bad could it be when Odion didn’t really know who he was and now he did. Shouldn’t he be excited?

And since he was confessing, and his mind was playing tricks on him, Odion continued to the next logical step. “And I used my powers to help you heal up the night we came back from Boston,” he said, almost in a challenging tone. He was not going to apologize for that, even though he had desperately needed rest that night. Lani deserved to know what he had made such a speedy recovery.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani wanted to meet Declyn, but at the same time he was nervous. He was so afraid that Declyn would just start yelling at him. He could see why Declyn wouldn’t like him. After all, it wasn’t a secret what had happened to him and Adrianna. Now granted the general Hammel population didn’t know the details. What they knew was that Lani had lied and Adrianna had gotten hurt because of it. Adrianna had kept his secret which he felt endless gratitude toward her. She hadn’t even told Venn the real story. But the point was, if he had lied to Adrianna and gotten her hurt what might happen to Odion. Also there was the complication that Lani had switched ‘teams’ so to speak. He didn’t know if he had always been attracted to Odion and Adrianna just an infatuation or if he had been attracted to both at the same time. He loved Odion, of that he was sure, but this confusion he was still having was something he needed to sort out. He had already admitted it aloud to Odion what he was worried about. Odion didn’t care, for obvious reasons, but Lani couldn’t help worrying about the other people.

They both carried so much baggage on their shoulders. If they would share the load they would realize that some baggage could be left behind and the rest carried together. A shared load was a lighter load. There were times when things were to be brought up and there were times when it could wait. But then there were people like Lani who stalled. And just kept stalling because it never seemed the right moment came up. He could say that he would have told Odion about working for his boss eventually till he was blue in the face but they both knew that was a lie. And now Odion had his new name. Lani wondered what it was about the certificate that caused Odion to get so upset. Was it the fact that his parents left him and now wanted him back in their lives? Or was it the fact that this person on the paper could have had a better life. And the reaction Odion was having. It was further proof of Odion’s heart. Lani had seen Odion’s heart long ago and through all the fog and the weather he had yet to lose sight of it.

Well it wasn’t the answer to his question but it was certainly an answer Lani could appreciate. There wasn’t time to think about it and what it might mean all Lani was sure of for the duration was that Odion set his world on fire when he kissed the telekinetic. Lani blinked his eyes open not even realizing when he had shut them and he looked into Odion’s depthless blues. He cut himself off from speaking as Odion started to. Lani’s brow came together in concern now. Alternate realities? Like different universes? All existing at the same time? At the same place? Lani’s mind took it and ran for a few moments. Could they be real? If Odion was seeing them, if by seeing them he meant in an awake state and not a dream world. “Do you mean seeing them? Or were you Seeing them?” He asked as if the different inflection on the word would get his point across.

Maybe there were alternate realities. Maybe there was an alternate reality where they were all fish and the humans were the ones living in the sea… Lani quirked a little smile at that thought and decided that was enough wandering. “You know the thing about alternate realities, you always see the greener grass,” Lani mused, “Like what if you went back in time and your parents raised you and you became someone who had everything but didn’t appreciate it? All you can see is a person with everything and a family. And maybe that O…Sebastian would be looking into this reality and all he can see is that you have freedom to do as you please and have a wonderful boyfriend,” Lani waggled his eyebrows cockily before adding the kicker, “However he doesn’t realize what you went through to get that freedom or that your boyfriend is occasionally an arrogant ass...” Lani finished with a little smile. He was pretty sure that would get a laugh out of Odion.

Lani blinked at Odion and shook his head before glaring at Odion. “What were you thinking? You were just as hurt as I was! I would have healed fine. Really Odion you shouldn’t have done that. I mean what if you had hurt yourself?” Lani sighed and shook his head at Odion before putting a hand on Odion’s neck again. It seemed to be a comfortable spot. The past was the past but really? Odion waited until now to tell him this, but when Lani was unstable decided to tell him that he had pistol whipped him. Lani didn’t get it.

[Odion Martins]

Odion had been hoping Lani and Declyn would meet of their own accord. It seemed awkward and strange to ask them to meet when he wasn’t necessarily close to Declyn. He was trying to change that, and he wasn’t sure if Lani could help that, or make it worse. Odion had been right about Cameron, hadn’t rubbed it in, and was now wishing his brother would just talk to him. Odion had never had anyone meet his significant other before. Odion didn’t care about those who thought ill of Lani, because they didn’t know the whole story and Odion didn’t like people anyways. Odion would defend Lani to the end of the world and back, farther if he could keep breathing in space. Odion simply hadn’t thought it possible for Declyn to care about him that much, even though it drove Odion insane to watch his brother date the class clown who was Cameron Osiris. Odion hadn’t tried to steal Lani away, and had actually thought himself respectful while Lani sorted things out in his mind. Perhaps he had been a little pushy, but never demanding of Lani anything other than some of his time. Odion wasn’t sure when he had fallen for Lani, it had just taken a while to admit. Retracing those steps seemed impossible now. Odion didn’t care what others had to say about their relationship, but Lani wanted to take things slow, and that’s what Odion cared about. He wouldn’t admit to being such a romantic though.

For the moment, all bagged seemed either necessary, or unavoidable. There wasn’t anything he wanted to do about how his past had shaped who he was today. All he could do was make do with what he had. Never before had he someone so strong to lean on, and never before had he felt so weak, and not just in the knees. There was something special and different about Lani, and Odion wanted to know why. Even though he may never figure out why, so long as Lani was with him, that would suffice. Hopefully their relationship wouldn’t be an accumulation of pauses and stalls, except where the moments should last longer. Odion was still having a hard time trusting Lani, but slowly it was starting to become more natural. Sharing wasn’t a part of Odion’s vocabulary, but taking wouldn’t work in this situation. And Lani didn’t want anything from Odion, not really, except a give and take relationship. It wasn’t the certificate itself which upset Odion, but all it represented. All the missed opportunities, relationships, and a totally different life. And Odion couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt, because part of him wanted to know what that was like, even if it meant leaving Lani behind. This just reminded him that he was selfish and incapable of love.

Odion had a hard time answering questions, Lani should know this by now. Whenever the moment arose for Odion to pour his heart out, he either went all out, or avoided the situation completely. Odi knew that Lani was inexplicably interested in time turning phenomenon, but Odion was unsure of how to explain what his power was and what he went through when he used it. This was why Odion didn’t want to explain his powe to Lani – he gave the man an inch and he ran a mile or two with it. He could see the gears turning in Lani’s mind at all the possibilities Odion’s words could’ve meant. Odion just let the words linger in the air, knowing that at some point, Lani would crack and ask more questions about the power. “I mean I was a part of them,” there was no point in lying, “I was seeing different birthdays, or how this day could’ve happened…” It was a little hard to explain without actually saying all of the said different realities. Hopefully Lani wouldn’t ask for much more detail than that.

Time turning covered a broad expanse of possibilities. Not every time manipulator had the same hold on time as Odion did. His spectrum was far and wide, and seemed far more interested in the past than in the future, although that was also a possibility. Odion simply refused to train it further than it already was. Odion couldn’t change who they were as in who they were as human beings, but he could change who they were depending on where the different pasts lead, and who they became. He couldn’t change them into fish. But instead of asking, Lani was talking – something else Odion could’ve bet on. His dark eyes scanned over the features of Lani’s face. Had he always had such a prominent, detailed nose? Maybe he wouldn’t appreciate what he could’ve had had his parents found him when he was just an infant, like Declyn. But his twin seemed plenty appreciative, but he understood what Lani was getting at – there was always something to bitch about. Odion laughed at the last line, an immense pleasure flooding through him. “Only occasionally,” Odion offered, gripping Lani’s hand softly.

Glancing down, Odion only shrugged. “It was what you needed and I was able to give it to you.” He didn’t need to explain why, he knew he was as hurt as Lani had been that night, but that didn’t matter. “I thought you were going to die that night Lani,” Odion said sternly, explaining his actions as the correct course of action, “my pain didn’t matter.” And it didn’t. Odion watched Lani inquisitively, wondering at why Lani seemed to want to be so near more often now than ever before. Odion was reminded of Lani’s mother, who was extremely physically affectionate. Perhaps Lani was actually the same way, once one got past his hard exterior. A self-less act didn’t make sense to Odion, while the knocking out his boyfriend did. This was a hundred times easier to admit to, and he didn’t want Lani running around trying to extract revenge on someone who was right in front of him. Odion’s eyes never left those of Lani. “I’m not sorry,” he said then, just in case Lani didn’t get it.

“You didn’t get me a present, did you?” Odion had an almost worried look on his face. What if Lani wanted to do… things, today. Odion wasn’t sure how he would react to such a thing, he wasn’t prepared. More than anything Odion hoped that Lani would want to just laze around in bed. Actually, Odion really liked that idea. He leaned into Lani, unused to the contact but enjoying it just the same. “I don’t need anything,” he insisted, as though Lani had already answered the question. Perhaps, deep down inside, he too was quite physically affectionate.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani had neglected to tell Odion that Adrianna had come and told him about her and Venn. Part of him wondered if he should say the same thing. He had told Caroline and of course Odion and he knew. But it was the first person he would be admitting to who wasn’t in his family or his love. It wasn’t anything huge, just words and it wasn’t like he was trying to keep it a secret. Well maybe he was a little. Odion had never pressed him to do anything other than speak what was on his mind and in his heart. Odion had been his best friend before anything else and patient with Lani when he was confused. Lani didn’t think he had been stolen, nothing between him or Odion had been discussed until far after he and Adrianna had decided to end their relationship. He and Adrianna had been falling long before they broken up and she moved on and that became clear at the Halloween Dance. Lani wondered now if he had truly been clueless about Odion’s feeling all along or if he had chosen to be clueless.

It was hard to understand. Lani had always known who he was, what he was. He couldn’t imagine thinking he was one person then having a person claiming to be his parents telling him otherwise. He wasn’t sure he would be taking it as well as Odion. Lani could lend support and he could share his love but beyond that he wasn’t really sure what he could do or say. There were a lot of things that had been missed when Odion was abandoned and Lani couldn’t help but feel a certain level of fury at Odion’s parents for doing that to a child, not even an infant yet. If Odion wanted to go back in time to know what it would have been like Lani would have been terribly sad and probably tried to convince him otherwise for Lani’s own selfish reasons. But in the end it was Odion’s right to have the life he wanted. But Lani wished he could be somewhere in that alternate reality. Lani listened with interest to Odion. “Ah, I see Queen Mab hath been with you,” Lani quoted absently, “But they weren’t like dreams? It was like you were there?” Odion was hoping for too much if he was hoping for Lani to stop asking questions.

Lani’s face broke into a smile, there was not a sound he enjoyed more than Odion’s laughter. “Thanks,” Lani replied sarcastically with a chuckle of his own. Sometimes Lani did a lot of beating around the bush in his explanations of his thoughts but it seemed like Odion got the point. Sometimes things were much more powerful as a story than if they are said straight out. Like Aesop’s fables. The meaning was subtle but the message was clear. One day after another and one step after another. Not everyone was given a redo button on life and even Odion resetting his life was a bit of a stretch but then there was the uncertainty of what life would have been like. Like someone wishing they were never born, there were a multitude of possibilities and things that could happen if just one person’s life was changed. If they went back and did something different. Maybe that was why Lani had shied away from it when Odion offered. He shook his head a little. No, he didn’t want to go back because he wanted to know Odion.

Lani opened his mouth to protest but Odion was quicker and Lani shut it again and felt a little air of guilt. He had been possibly the most unpleasant person on the face of the planet that night and Odion had still been more worried around him than about himself? Lani sighed and shook his head a little bit. He was a little miffed at being deceived, but he couldn’t argue that he would have much rather healed the long way. “It matters to me.” Lani said softly not arguing but rather pointing it out. Lani smiled at Odion and shook his head letting a little snort of laughter out of his nose. Of course Odion wasn’t sorry. He was never sorry for doing something he thought was right. Lani really respected that, as much as it annoyed him a little. “Of course not,” Lani teased affectionately. If god forbid, something like that happened again Lani was going to be sure to not let Odion do that again. “Thank you,” he added.

Lani blushed a little bit and he realized maybe a card wasn’t enough. He should have gone out and gotten Odion something more than a card. Sure it had a few sentences in it about how glad he was that Odion was in his life and that he loved him. But was it enough. To be honest Lani hadn’t even thought about any nonmaterial gift. He didn’t know how Odion would react if he knew he and Adrianna had never done anything. Well, the one time something might have potentially happened Adrianna’s mother made a surprise appearance and well. Lani raised a brow at Odion and released Odion for a moment and dug in his coat pocket. “I couldn’t get you nothing.” He said and handed over the card. “It’s your birthday, what do you want to do?” Lani would be willing to treat Odion to almost anything.

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t particularly want to hear about Adrianna’s dating life, for he may or may not have seen it coming. The kiss was an obvious clue, but people kissed all the time, it didn’t mean they were dating. Adrianna could do as she pleased, they weren’t friends. If Lani wanted to remain friends with her, that was his prerogative. Odion didn’t have to agree or like it. He didn’t care if Adrianna knew he and Lani were dating, and as far as Odion knew, not many people knew. He himself hadn’t told anyone, although he assumed some people had guessed correctly about where his and Lani’s relationship was now. Lani wasn’t a prize, he was a person, and Odion didn’t have the desire to flaunt anything, peacock though he may be. If Odion were asked about Lani’s apparent cluelessness as to his feelings towards Odion, well, let’s just say Odion wouldn’t define it as being clueless so much as choosing to be ignorant. That didn’t mean Lani wasn’t clueless in some situations though, because he certainly was just that.

Odion had only in the recent past been able to think about who he was and why, because it had been a game of survival before Hammel and Kocher. Odion didn’t expect Lani to figure these things out for him, and honestly didn’t think Lani could especially when he, Odion, was capable of reading people like a well versed nursery rhyme. He wasn’t with Lani because the blond had the answer, but because he contained mystery. To have every answer would mean that life was, in essence, truly over. Lani’s fury towards Odion’s birth parents was the same fury the redhead possessed towards not only them, but most people he came across. Odion had the feeling that if he did go back to see the kind of life he could’ve had, he would have to dub Sebastian as an fool, unaware of the true world around him. He couldn’t do that to himself. But he did want to see what life could’ve been like. He had the sneaking suspicion that he and Declyn wouldn’t have gotten along either way, call it Time Turner’s Intuition.

Odion shook his head, “It wasn’t like I was there. I was there. I was me, seeing how what this day would’ve been like depending on who visited. What caused anyone to come here I didn’t delve into but...” He was rambling, and shut his mouth abruptly. Even for someone who was used to time travelling, it was still deeply disturbing, to feel every emotion in any given situation for the same moment in time.

Odion shrugged. “You asked for honesty.” This didn’t always mean Lani would get honesty, but Odion was trying. Besides, it was in his honesty where humor could be found, otherwise his jokes were fairly lame and unamusing. Odion liked the way Lani spoke, even though it was a bit much and very muddled sometimes, he could still understand Lani’s point. And that was Odion was good at, getting to the heart of things. He was the best at calling someone out on their lies, and Lani certainly was no exception. Life wasn’t always about being blunt, since Odion often liked using words and their arrangements to his advantage. Lani had once asked Odion why he didn’t change time to suit his needs, and Odion had given some mysterious explanation as to why that really meant he didn’t want to change time for the sake of it, Lani just needed to learn how to get to the point.

In his own way, Lani was proving to Odion that the redhead was capable of love. It wasn’t always easy or automatic, but Odion couldn’t abandon Lani. Odion wasn’t sure he would repeat the actions had it been someone else, and that was the first time he had ever used his powers to heal anyone other than himself. Unless one counted getting over a hangover, and that situation wasn’t even close in danger or severity. Odion didn’t say anything as Lani pointed out how he probably would’ve protested against Odion’s time moving help, but Odion would’ve just argued how he would’ve helped Lani anyways. He was getting better at not arguing. There was a pause where their eyes connected, and something clicked. “Not like you could’ve stopped me.” Odion just couldn’t help himself, especially when it came to challenging Lani for the pure reason of doing so, not really expecting a solution to arise.

Odion only looked slightly disappointed as Lani moved away to retrieve something from his coat pocket. Odion had opened the envelope neatly, not a rip to be found which wasn’t already there from Lani’s handling. “You could get me nothing,” he said, his eyes passing over the front of the card blindly, “that’s exactly what I want.” He left the thought at that as his eyes passed over Lani’s chicken scratch. He smirked at the penmanship before reading the words. It wasn’t a poem, but the words filled up an entire side of the card. Words like ‘love’ and ‘best friend’ seemed to highlight themselves and made Odion’s smirk turn into a heartfelt smile. He was touched, not because of how the words were presented, but because Lani had bothered with anything at all. Odion reached over to put the card on his night table. “Thank you Lani,” he said softly, not looking at his boyfriend, his eyes welling up as he reread the front of the card.

[Lani Hunter]

A pair of peacocks. Lani may be an ass and Odion may be a catupine but one thing they shared was being peacocks. Quite the pair. Lani was certainly a proud creature and Odion was just as proud. Sometimes it was amazing that they didn’t kill each other. Sometimes Odion could drive him up the wall. And he knew he could do the same. They were like mirrors of each other and at the same time the inverse. If they were Yin and Yang it was unclear who would be the dark and who would be the light. It seemed more to Lani that they flip flopped more often than anyone else could care to see. But that was part of what made Lani love Odion. Lani had an ego problem and Odion wasn’t afraid to call him on his stupidity. Knock him a few pegs down when it was necessary for him to still fit through doors. Lani was distracted momentarily by a kitten at his foot. He kicked a toy near his toe toward Shadow causing him to dart across the room. Lani chuckled to himself. They were hardly kittens anymore.

He wasn’t really sure when he had first started to love Odion. He had started to like him when he saw he was human after his breakup with Rhett but it still seemed like Odion was very harsh and very abrasive. It hadn’t been the first time they had trained together. Lani had been too frustrated to think about anything more than the fact that his power was the enemy. It had been easy to ignore the feeling his power had when it touched Odion’s. No, it must have been when he found the kittens. They had been so little, so helpless and Odion had taken them in. Sure, Lani was supposed to help but well, things got tight for him around then. Looking back now Lani kept imaging how much easier things would have been if he had just told Odion in the first place about his boss. But to be completely honest Lani wasn’t sure that Odion wouldn’t have left if he knew the truth about what being a friend of Lani’s meant.

Cocking his head he listened attentively. Now he was confused as well. How could Odion be several different places at once in the same time? Lani’s eye twitched a little as it felt like his brain was starting to leak out his ears. He thought telekinesis was complicated, compared to time control. Well, telekinesis was to time control as algebra was to calculus. “But?” Lani pressed before he could think it better not to. Odion was probably freaked out and didn’t need Lani dissecting the problem. To be honest Lani partially wished Odion’s power was something he could poke and test and figure out, but in all honesty he couldn’t figure out what was in his own head, that probably wasn’t a good idea. Lani smiled at Odion his eyes soft as he watched Odion. Odion was freaked out. Even if he could understand what was going on, something about it was bothering Odion. Something he wasn’t saying.

Lani looked down at their hands and snorted out a laugh and his face broke into a smile. Odion had a point that Lani couldn’t dispute. “You and your logic,” Lani muttered with mock annoyance. Lani hummed a little bit in good humor. Lani wasn’t sure where his need to be close to Odion had come from. Maybe it had been from when his walls had been broken down and he had nothing else to hide. Or maybe it came from the fact that he had failed and his wings tore out of his shoulders and he had landed hard. But there had been someone to catch him. But Lani didn’t think he needed to be caught until the impact. He was such a fool. He was going to make it up to Odion. Lani gave Odion a measuring look, more than a little surprised that Odion was so adamant about it. Lani didn’t think he was worth it. Odion should have taken every minute of Lani’s pain and made it a lesson. Lani’s eyebrow quirked and he gave a little smirk. “You think so?” Lani challenged his eyes a stormy mix.

“It’s not glass Odion.” Lani teased watching Odion open the card with such care that one could mistake him for opening the answers to the universe. “No I couldn’t.” Lani said stubbornly, if Odion kept going on about it he was going to take Odion kicking and screaming out for ice cream and the redhead was going to like it. Lani smiled at his own thoughts. Lani leaned back on his hands and watched Odion. “Uh… yeah, thinking back I probably shoulda done a rough draft.” Going at the card with a pen in hand had probably been the worst of decisions. He watch as Odion’s smile changed and Lani felt something warm bubbling up in his heart. Nothing glowed like Odion when he smiled. “Happy birthday, Odion.” He took Odion’s hand in his and gave Odion a kiss that said all he didn’t have words for.

[Odion Martins]

There would certainly be no victor in a pair of peacocks. It was perhaps why they went so well together, because there was no certain winner, and there never would be. It was almost scary to think about. Their relationship didn’t have to have an end, especially with one constantly stealing the spotlight from the other, or thrusting it back onto the other. Odion wouldn’t say what they had was normal or always worked, but there was something about the way things happened when they were together that was intoxicating. It was more addictive than anything Odion had come across, and he didn’t know what made it so. It was illogical, it was by chance that any of this had happened. Odion watched Shadow become his name and momentarily thought how lucky he had been to not have been caught harboring animals.

Harsh and abrasive - those were great words to describe Odion. They became tenfold when he felt under attack, or like he was beginning to trust someone or find interest in them. Left on his own, he didn’t seek others out simply to hurt them, there was no meaning in doing so. If he was going to attack someone, it was for a reason. He knew Lani wouldn’t be impressed if and when he ever found out what Odion had done to the likes of Live Love and Mia Bell. Odion was different around Lani, that didn’t mean how he treated the rest of the world had changed. The day the kittens had been found wasn’t the first time Odion had come across death. Never before had he tried to alter what seemed like fate. Taking something into his own hands, taking ownership – it wasn’t the kind of taking he did. And then Lani had been there to witness, and it felt okay to be helpful. It felt okay to have a heart. Odion didn’t know what could’ve happened had Lani elaborated more about his then, current life situation. But that’s why Odion wasn’t willing to alter the past.

Odion noted the confusion on Lani’s face, and he wasn’t sure if he should feel amused by it, or helplessly crazy. “It was spooky,” Odi said quietly, almost ashamed for being afraid of possible realities which hadn’t happened yet. The worst one consisted of him being utterly alone, and this revision of reality had him scared shitless.

Secretly Odion hoped that their training wouldn’t stop even though they would stop attending Hammel shortly. It reminded Odion of how he had yet to tell Lani that he had found somewhere to live. He could move any time. Odion knew there was only one person stopping him from doing just that, so he would stay here until graduation, when he had to leave no matter what he did. The place he’d found was willing to take his rent in whatever form he chose, and the landlord didn’t much care who he was or what he did. Odion had already scouted out the neighbors, one of whom was a drug dealer. As long as nobody bothered Odion, the redhead couldn’t care less.

Odion gave Lani a smug look, “You had better get used to it.” It was a good trade. Odion would put up with Lani’s philosophical rambling’s and Lani would put up with being proven wrong or right by Odi’s infallible logic. It was nearly perfect. Odion didn’t want Lani to fix the past, it was something Odion could easily do on his own if that’s what he really wanted. He wanted someone to share the moments he had with him. He didn’t want to be alone, even though that was the tune he sang most of the time.

Odi’s face darkened at Lani’s words, but his hands didn’t tremble. Was it too much to say that the card was more precious to him than nearly anything he had? Save for the Christmas gift hanging around his neck, Odion didn’t handle something with care unless it was worthy of such care. Odion knew Lani was just teasing him, but did he have to be silly all the time about everything? Odion sighed a little to himself, finally angling himself to look back at Lani after the tears had gone away. “Why? You want to be like me?” Odion teased, knowing that would ruffle Lani’s feathers a little. Odion smiled as his boyfriend kissed him, their hands entangled and Odi couldn’t have hoped for a better day. Out of all the realities he had seen for today, this was the one he wanted most of all. A hand went behind Lani’s head, pulling Lani closer to him, closer into the kiss. What would he do without this man in his life?