Stubbornly Solo (Odion)

[Odion Martins]

It was bad enough that Odion was trying to help Jared out of his debt, but now Lani had an old debt which had resurfaced. Or rather, a crazy old boss who was pretty much in love with him, at least, that’s how Odion viewed the situation. Who else would go to such lengths to get a past employee back in their hands? Odion sighed. He somehow didn’t get into these kinds of situations, so why was he the only one who wasn’t an idiot around here. But maybe part of him like the feeling of being needed and useful, something he hadn’t felt when he was around Rhett. Something had been lacking there, and even though Odion was doubting Lani now, he wanted to work through this. After he punched Lani in the face, again.

Odion knew that Lani’s power consisted of so much more than the constant hatred the blond felt. There had been a few breakthroughs, and even tonight was a breakthrough of sorts. Lani was practically radiating from the power he kept contained. What they needed to do now, was train. Train because his life and the lives of those he loved the most depended on it. Odion struggled with telling Lani about how his family might now be in danger. That would send him into battle and he would definitely lose. But if tonight taught him anything, it was that keeping secrets from one another was not working, and everything was blowing up in their faces. The so called sacrifices he saw himself making didn’t amount to anything if Lani wasn’t involved somehow. Eventually, Odion would realize they were better together.

Odion’s face was a blank slate. “Yes you did.” Lani wanted him out of the way did he not? Well, he got his wish and that had cost him a lot. Just where would he be right now without Odion? This was the second and final time the ginger would ever take this kind of, abuse, from the blond ever again. He was tired of being treated like someone who couldn’t handle the worst of life’s turns. Lani could trust Odion with his family, but not his problems, but claimed he could handle Odion’s? No, that just wasn’t how this was going to work, not if it was going to last. And Odion really thought Lani was better than all this rubbish.

Jared wasn’t part of the plan, not at all. But Odion didn’t know how to drive and his power wasn’t working. Also, thanks to Lani, he had been stuck in a dead bolted closet with a shattered doorknob, so really, Lani could complain but Odion would tell him to shut the fuck up. This is what he deserved for leaving his supposed best friend behind. Maybe Jared had a dollar sign above his head, but Lani’s ex boss didn’t know that, and Jared was goddamn loyal. The world could use more people like that. Odion ignored Lani at first, having no idea what he was talking about as the only thing that made sense was the part about the lump on his head. But Lani had suffered a rather bad injury and coupled with his intense power, he couldn’t be feeling very well. Maybe a two hour knockout would do him some good.

Recognizing the familiar sound, Odion felt his own eyes well up. He was more than sympathetic to Lani’s feelings, he could feel them now. The absolute brokenness Lani felt, Odion felt it too. A while ago he had promised to put himself in Lani’s shoes, and now, he was having a hard time getting out of them. “They’ll kill you,” Odion said, and he wiped at his face. He couldn’t live in world where Lani wasn’t there, that’s why he had come after him immediately, without hesitating. He let his hands fall, wishing there was something he could do to alleviate the pain Lani was feeling. He was a talker at heart with just the right person, and even though Lani may be distraught at the moment, he was also a good listener.

“You know how I knew you had hit me and then left?” He asked, his fingers running up and down Lani’s neck in an attempt to sooth away the pain. His words were also meant to comfort. “You took your pill bottle with you. Before I noticed that I thought you had been kidnapped, that I was going to lose you forever.” Lani had comforted him not long ago, and now, Odion wanted to try to do the same, even though he might not be very good at it. “I trust you Lani, enough to ask for your help.” Hence the reason Jared would soon be out of debt and relatively free. The reason why Odion had said ‘I love you’ first. Lani needed to be able to do the same in return. “Let me help you...” he said softly, almost begging as he readjusted Lani against him. It had been relatively easy to sit up with his back against one of the car doors, Lani against him now. They were talking about their problems here and now, and maybe by the time it was done, Odion wouldn’t feel the urge to kill Lani. He might even feel loved again. Before Lani could stop himself and start thinking and doubting, Odion wanted the truth in the full.

[Lani Hunter]

That was precisely why Lani didn’t listen to Odion when he tried to say he wasn’t a good person. He wouldn’t let himself get pulling into these problems if he was the kind of person to let them both deal with their own messes. It was a good thing that Odion hadn’t decided to let Lani deal with it on his own. He was proving to be very bad at cleaning his own messes. Lani had never told him about the way his boss had become more of a father than his own. Would Odion believe it? After having met his father Lani doubted it would surprise Odion that Lani had to seek a father elsewhere. As far as Lani knew his boss didn’t have a family either. Perhaps he saw all of his little thieves as his children and having them leave was the worst of crimes. Lani wasn’t the only one either, he wasn’t the only child who had been picked up and trained but Lani had excelled beyond most of his peers.

Lani clenched his jaw in a frown as Odion pointed that out. It might have been Lani’s intention to knock Odion out for a little bit but just enough to get him away. He was thinking that the door would handle the rest and give him more time. He hadn’t thought his power had grabbed and threw Odion that hard. “I’ll never throw you again.” Lani thought aloud making the promise more to himself. He had never felt so dirty about using his power before. When he stopped Odion in the field he hadn’t given it a second thought. But this was different he had used his power with the intention to hurt someone. He was dangerously close to becoming the thing he wanted to avoid. He had the power to throw Odion a few feet and then still had more than enough to take control of guns and bullets. He might only really be able to control and focus on a few things at a time but the rest he could still keep up. He had the power to do whatever he wanted. No one could stop him. He didn’t want to be that person. But then someone had stopped him.

Lani was too unfocused to realize that he was being ignored for the most part. It was probably a good thing. His babble didn’t stop even when he was injured it just made less sense. Lani curled his legs up to make himself smaller trying to hide more and more. He felt so exposed. Without his mask he was this person who wasn’t worth the time of day. So he thought. He didn’t know who or what he was without his ability to protect people. But he couldn’t even protect himself. Lani was down the rabbit hole and he just kept falling. Maybe he wouldn’t hit rock bottom again but he felt like he was getting close. He turned his head and hands, more carefully this time, to be closer to Odion. Odion was still here, so he wouldn’t fall. Lani’s breath caught as a new wave of emotions broke out of him. If he reached out his hand Odion’s would be there. Odion had always been there. Why hadn’t he realized it? It seemed like a floodgate had opened and it was as if all the tears Lani had held back were emerging now.

“I know,” Lani murmured in reply, “It was never supposed to end up like this. I was supposed to pay my debt and be done. I’m such an idiot.” Lani closed his hands into fists and drove them into his eyes. Forcing the tears to stop by pressure if he couldn’t do it mentally. He was starting to get frustrated with himself and this weakness he was showing. Lani had very little patience for himself at this point and he was glad that when his mind nudged his power it told him to go jump in a hole. It wasn’t going to do anything until it was ready. “Are we being followed?” He asked then laughed at himself this time hitting himself in the head for his stupid question. They didn’t need to be followed. His head didn’t take the jarring very well and the world fuzzed for a moment. He was losing his marbles every time he moved or did something stupid lit hit himself.

Lani sobered quickly as he realized it wasn’t as funny as he initially thought. He slowly moved his hands peaking at Odion with only his eyes showing as his index fingers pressed against the bridge of his nose. Listening to Odion both comforted and pained him. Pained because he knew he had caused Odion that initial worry and comforted because Odion had been afraid of losing him. It was a strange mixture of emotions. Lani sighed contently as Odion’s fingers ran over his neck. It wasn’t helping a lot with the pain but it was helping to alleviate some of the emotional pain. Lani’s hand twitched at the sound of pills. But his mind was pulled back to focus on Odion as he kept speaking. Lani normally couldn’t be convinced to talk about his problems, not with a third party involved but Lani had honestly forgotten Jared was there. “I’m sorry,” Lani said again unable to think of anything else to say.

His comfortable cone was broken as Odion shifted. Lani shifted along with him allowing Odion to simply move him where he was comfortable. Lani was going to be in pain either way. He lifted himself a little to make Odion’s task easier and pushed himself a little up so his head was resting against Odion’s chest. He had already gotten blood on Odion’s shirt, anymore couldn’t hurt. And Lani needed to reassure himself that Odion wasn’t going to leave. Lani’s eyes closed and he swallowed any tears that were threatening to fall again. Even in pain and fully shamed and humbled, his pride in a million pieces Lani’s gut reaction was to tell Odion he didn’t need help. The way it was said rang in his ears. He didn’t want Odion to get hurt. At least if he was hurt by Lani’s doing he had known that Odion was hurt but alive. “I never wanted to pull you into this,” Lani said apologetically wanting for Odion to not need to help him.

Lani closed his eyes wishing he could black out again as the pain made his vision haze in and out of focus. It was easier to close them and live in the darkness for a little. His hand reached his hand grabbed the hem of Odion’s shirt and Lani felt the bitterness of the words as they fell off of his tongue. But in his stupor he had no energy or patience to dance around how he wanted help but he didn’t want help. “I can’t do this on my own.” He felt like he was admitting to his own lack of worth. It was a hard thing to learn that he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was.

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t really think he was a good person just because he helped other, select people, out of their problematic situations sometimes. In the end, it was all to his benefit. He didn’t help people out of the sheer goodness of his heart, but because there was something in it for him. Helping Jared now would alleviate the guilt he felt for what he had done to his friend a few years ago. Helping Lani meant he could keep Lani. It was all very selfish, and it made him anything but good. Maybe it made him human, but he was still on the verge of being a monster.

Odion knew Lani wouldn’t have knocked him out for just anything, so it was rather easy to figure out where the telekinetic had run, or actually driven off to. Lani was such a careful planner, Odion was truly surprised he had jumped the gun like this. It was ruined absolutely everything he had spent months planning and playing out. It was going to be perfect. He was going to talk to Lani about reversing time, because Odion couldn’t do it at the moment, and because he wanted Lani to agree before Odion wiped out his memories. Lani was a lot like Jared then, seeking familial ties outside of the family they’d been given.

Unsure whether to believe Lani or not, Odion decided not to say anything. How many times would Lani cry wolf? He seemed to be stuck on a cycle, claiming he didn’t want to hurt Odion but always managed to do it again. Odi tried his best not to dwell on that, wanting to give Lani the benefit of the doubt. He knew the blond had good intentions at heart, that he simply wanted to get rid of his past life and move on without dragging anyone else into the mess. Odion could understand that situation best of all. But he wasn’t allowed to do that, especially if it meant him joining up with his boss again. Lani had relaxed some when he had been given his freedom, but it had come at a price. Odi would give anything for Lani to be free again, but Lani didn’t seem to want anything from Odion at all.

And then Lani’s aches and pains seemed to make way for what was on Lani’s tired mind. “You don’t have to,” Odion said softly, “but you can’t drop me off at your convenience.” Suddenly everything went into a low pitched hum. Time’s fingers had turned into decrepit tendrils, the knuckles swollen and buckling under wear and tear. Odion felt the world spin, and he panicked for a second. Was the car going out of the control? Had somebody hit them? Was this the end? His breath caught in his throat as he stiffened, waiting for some kind of impact that didn’t occur, and he absolutely refused to lose this moment.

Turning on the radio, Jared seemed to be making an attempt to drown out the conversation in the back. Odion wasn’t really paying attention to the hard rock music, but at least he wasn’t losing himself, or the present. He didn’t know he had been gripping Lani’s hands so terribly hard as he relaxed once more. The music ebbed into something a little slower, the singer had a nice voice. It couldn’t have been a more perfect song for the moment, and Odion was better able to focus on the here and now. He was scared to death of everything that might occur after this night.

---

‘Sad’ – Maroon 5

[Lani Hunter]

((OOC: I'm sorry about the strange symbols that keep showing up in my posts I really don't know why/where they are coming from.))

That was how it was started. It started from caring about a few people, a few cats, then it started to stretch out into the rest of the world. It wasn’t going to be an immediate change. So long as Lani was around he wasn’t going to let Odion fall off the edge of humanity. Odion spoke of love and in that Lani couldn’t imagine that everything Odion did was for himself. No, if Odion was selfish then he wouldn’t know the definition of love. Lani had never been in love but he loved people and he knew that feeling and even now in his muddled state he was much more worried about Odion’s injury that he was with his own. He could handle it, he could take the pain. He wanted to take Odion’s pain as well. His head was relieved to know that Lani couldn’t actually do that or it would be having a hard time.

Lani’s eyes squeezed shut as pain laced through his head. His shoulders shook a little as he coughed into his sleeve. He glared at the blood that seemed to still be seeping from his nose. Lani didn’t know if it was because he had just used his power too much or if it was because he was working deeply within his power when he had been hit. It seemed to have rattled his power, he didn’t know how long he would have been able to keep it up but he didn’t think he’d be in half as much pain as he was now if he had shut down his power himself instead of getting hit. The more his body woke up the more tired he felt. Lani would be completely content sleeping for the next year. He felt the weariness from his power lace through his whole body as if it was taking energy from all of his limbs and feeding itself.

“I’m tired,” Lani said seeming to forget what he was thinking and what he was saying aloud. It wasn’t something he wanted to be. He wanted to wake up fully. Be whole again, be strong. Not this weak person so weary from life that he couldn’t move if he wanted to. Eyelids staying closed longer with every blink, Lani was running into danger of losing awareness again. Then a strange fear crossed his mind. What if he didn’t wake up? There were stories, warnings, they always said that it was fully possible for a telekinetic to overdo it and kill themselves in accident. Fall asleep and slowly their brain would melt out their ears. The more blood he lost the more tired and disoriented he was getting. Odion’s words called him back to the world and he hadn’t realized he had actually dozed off a little. He blinked up at Odion and then back down staring at the back of the driver’s seat as he struggled to not burst into tears again.

Lani squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face against Odion’s shirt and did his best to hide the wince from the wave of pain that passed through his skull with eat heartbeat. Odion’s hands suddenly gripped onto his so tightly it hurt. Lani’s head swam and he was honestly glad because the distraction in his hands was enough to take it off of his head. “Odion,” Lani said softly his eyes turning to Odion in concern. “Odion,” Lani repeated and Lani squeezed Odion’s hands back. This is all your fault, Lani’s mind told him, he’d be fine if you hadn’t knocked him out. “I know,” Lani answered his thoughts and looked up at Odion who seemed to have gone stiff. “Odion, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Lani woke up a little from his stupor and narrowed his eyes to focus them. “Come back to me.” Lani whispered suddenly terrified that Odion was going to leave. If not physically mentally. Like his own mind was trying to make him do.

Odion seemed to relax and Lani breathed a sigh of relief. Lani didn’t notice the music, everything was turning into white noise in his ears. The ringing wouldn’t stop and he caught slips of music but all it succeeded in was being too hard for his brain and adding on another layer of headaches. Lani would have thought that every part of his head was in pain, he had a headache around his skull, his temple and forehead hurt and were likely to bruise if they hadn’t already. Then he had the pain from his eyes deep into the folds of his mind from his power. Now he was getting a throbbing sensation around his head like a crown. “I’m sorry, I’ve made a mess of everything.” With a little shake of his head Lani jarred a memory. “Odion, why were you going to see my boss?” Lani’s eyes were sharp as he asked the question showing awareness through pure determination. He shifted and something pressed painfully into his hip. He pulled one hand free and was partially surprised when his hand pulled the pills out of his pocket. He let out a little cry of relief and popped the bottle open and just started to up end it into his mouth.

[Odion Martins]

Odion had come to the edge a few times now, for various reasons, and he seemed to just keep going back to it, convinced it was where he needed to be. But Lani didn’t see Odion that way, and as Odi had admitted to before, he felt like he was a better person because of Lani. Never before had he met someone else’s family, or been allowed to train with someone else. Never before had he felt so understood and at the same time challenged by another human being. That was Lani to Odion, sometimes a slap in the face, but other times a gently embrace.

Odion knew that love was technically crazy, it had to be for someone to give up everything they had for someone else, even if what they had wasn’t wonderful. Odion had cared for people before, and he had loved Rhett. It still pained him to think about that relationship, but he had moved on, there would simply always be a scar. Whatever injuries incurred now were different than those from before, and Odi wasn’t sure how to fix them.

Odion just held Lani loosely, he could go to sleep if he wanted to. It would be a long trip back to Boston and there really wasn’t much else to do. His head rested against that of the window, quite content to have Lani in his arms like this. It hurt his head a little, but at least that pain and the knowledge of what had happened and where they were now kept Odion in the present. If Lani passed out, and Odion passed out, they really would have to trust Jared, not that Odion didn’t, but he didn’t trust anyone really when it came to protecting Lani. Sometimes he didn’t even trust himself. Like now for instance. He couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t mentally checkout before the drive back was over. He wasn’t sure he could be someone Lani would trust and rely on.

Feeling annoyed at all the apologies, Odion put a hand to his own head and glanced down at Lani. He knew this would be worth it at some point, but right now he couldn’t understand his own point for doing this. Odi was in the present but still lost in his thoughts as Lani started to speak again. It took him a long while to answer, to the point where Lani would’ve thought about repeating himself or thought he was being ignored. His dark eyes connected with Jared’s in the front seat. Odion wasn’t stupid, he knew that the brunet was still listening. Lani wiggled out his pills and Odion waited for him to settle in again. Leaning his head a little closer to Lani, Odi lowered his voice into softness, “The only reason he’s been staying away was because he thought I was going to betray you,” he said, leaning back against the window again, “buying time.”

[Lani Hunter]

Odion was human, that’s how Lani saw it. Or how he saw it now. He remembered the first time they had met he could have sworn that Odion was as cold as the snow that had been falling around them. Lani looked down at their feet and then up out the window at the darkness racing by. He could trace these roads blindfolded, he had traveled them so frequently, but at the moment they looked so foreign. Different and unkind pavement. He looked down at his bloodied hands and was grateful again that it was his blood. It seemed to fit. The war had begun when he had struck the first blow. The battles had been victories but just barely with pain lacing deeply enough through the heart to threaten to break their alliance time after time. Lani closed his eyes and rested easily against Odion. This wasn’t an alliance, no, this was love.

It was in this that Lani learned for the first time what love really meant. It didn’t mean everything was flowers and happiness, it wasn’t that their problems vanished. It was ugly and it was beautiful. It was full of harshness and pain, joy and pleasure. Love wasn’t something that was glorious all the time. It was different than all the songs he had ever heard. Love was a singular word to describe the myriad of mysteries that connected two people’s hearts and led them down into the darkness trusting each other to keep them afloat. Lani hated that it let him think that he could use Odion to help himself. Ask for help, he encouraged himself. And he was trying but at the same time he wanted to stay here in Odion’s arms he wanted to run away and hide. So he compromised in closing his eyes and hiding his face against Odion. He was still here but he could at least pretend that Odion couldn’t see the pain.

Listening carefully so he wouldn’t miss what Odion was saying he almost thought that his mind had made up what he heard. He sat up, or rather he tried to. His head swam and he almost knocked himself back out from the rush of blood to his head. Instead he lifted his head a little and looked at Odion like he had grown a second head. “What were you thinking?” Lani hissed with urgency willing himself to be more upset about this than his mind was willing to get. Somewhere in his mind this made sense. Why else would his boss stay away for so long? Lani groaned half in pain and half in the true realization of the situation they were in. Odion had gotten himself involved. “What kind of deal did you make him?” He asked harshly his throat clogging with fresh tears. He knew how his boss worked, he was good at making deals and making sure they came out in his favor.

“Were they going to kill me?” Lani asked. Perhaps he couldn’t be so upset with Odion because he was the sole reason he was alive at the moment. He closed his eyes and saw his boss’s face. Not the one contorted with anger, but the one he was familiar with as a child. The caring one that could both punish for failure then coddle and teach. Lani squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t need an answer to that question to know the answer. He was a dead man. His boss, his father wanted him dead. Questions came out one after another until Lani stalled them by biting into his tongue. He shifted so he was closer to Odion and his head rested well against Odion’s shoulder. He couldn’t see Odion’s eyes from this angle but he could see the stars. And Odion looked like some divine creature against the expanses of space. Odion was the hero of this story.

[Odion Martins]

Part of Odion wanted to stay like this forever. There would never be another opportunity such as this, where Lani would actually let Odi hold him. The redhead was braver now, but he wasn’t at the point where he would ask for permission to simply hold Lani. He wanted them to come to a point where they would be comfortable just to do so for the sake of doing so, not because one of them was bleeding to death through their ears. Eventually, Odi would give in to sneaking into Lani’s room, and letting the blond become his favorite stuffed animal as well as his favorite blond. Part of Odi was scared to do something like that, but the other, stronger part was desperate to do something just like that. He was still afraid of rejection and love itself, but it wasn’t enough for Lani to be breaking the walls from the outside in. He had to break the walls from the inside out.

Odion knew that love didn’t just happen, but it had a reason, just like everything else. But unlike the things you couldn’t control in life, one always had a choice. Odion hadn’t looked at love like this before, but love wasn’t the only thing Lani had made Odi question. There was something about Lani that made Odion want to try harder, and there were plenty, if not all people, that Odion could live without, but with Lani, well, he just couldn’t get enough of the blond. Love was a brief glimpse into the heart he didn’t know he had. But Odion needed to heal himself before he could help Lani, and he could honestly say he was over Rhett, far over.

But then that all seemed to crash around him. As soon as love started to make sense, it slapped him in the face and he had to rethink everything. Hot tears stung his eyes – he thought he was helping. He thought he and Lani could tackle this together, but tonight proved that Lani didn’t want his help. His head hurt but he didn’t want his emotions to get the best of him again. Then Lani bombarded him with questions and Odion shut down again. “I made him believe that I was spying on you and delivering him information about you and your power,” he gulped hard, “I said I was helping you train and develop your powers, so that you’d be a better asset to his... team...” Odion couldn’t answer the second question, because he didn’t know.

[Lani Hunter]

It wasn’t that Lani opposed to being held, but he opposed being coddled. He was endlessly frustrated with himself at the moment because that was how it felt. He was just too tired and in too much pain to move. And that just made it all the worse. He hadn’t strained his power this much in a long time and he honestly felt like he was going to just sleep for the rest of the day and then the following week. As much as he drew strength from Odion’s arms he also felt a terrible sting in the back of his mind that he was a failure. He pried one of his hands off of Odion’s shirt and pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. Perhaps it was true that when one went holding back tears for so long when they started to fall they didn’t stop. He was determined though now. He found himself pressing against Odion wanting to be closer to his hero.

Lani was finding this relationship very much like a roller coaster. His relationship with Adrianna had almost seemed like a straight shot up then a slow meandering downward. But with Odion there were highs and lows and twists and turns. At the same time it was terrifying it was exciting. He couldn’t get off. Lani had a terrible need to control and to do things on his own to prove that he could. It wasn’t that he couldn’t ask for help, it was that that was his very last course of action, after everything else had been tried and failed. Lani’s eyes traveled to Odion’s as he listened. His grays were sharp as blades but he wasn’t directing this anger at Odion but at his boss. Well, perhaps it was a little bit at Odion, he could have said something about this earlier. “Damn,” was all Lani could say. His mind was swimming. Part of him was starting to doubt Odion’s reasoning. The more rational part of his mind was telling him that if that had been true Odion wouldn’t have come after him.

“What did he promise you in return?” Lani asked wondering about the true nature of the deal. Money? Information? There was something that Odion had to have gotten out of this in order for his boss to believe it was true. Lani’s tears caught in his throat as all of the memories flooded back to him. “He was my hero, you know,” Lani said the words starting to come pouring out, “he gave me a way and the means to save Caroline. He was there for me…” He turned his face into Odion’s shirt as his little trick for stopping tears failed him again. “How could he do this to me?” First holding him a prisoner in debt then kidnapping Adrianna and Odion. Now this? He thought he had meant something to the man, as much as he had been a father to Lani. That image had been shattered. Into a million pieces. Lani felt as if those wounds that had happened last time were reopening and bleeding out. It didn’t help that Lani’s vision was starting to blur and every time he closed his eyes it was for a second longer.

[Odion Martins]

That was what Odion was afraid of – being too affectionate. Where was the line between too much and not enough? And wasn’t it different for everyone? He was content to never make physical contact with someone unless he knew they were close in some way, whether it be a real friendship or a fabricated one. But with Lani, since he was his love, well, he wanted to be close more often than not. Odion put an arm softly around Lani’s upper body, wanting nothing more than to comfort and protect. He knew that if he fell for Lani, he would never be the same, forever changed. And if he could be broken and beautiful according to Lani, then Lani could do the same around Odion. This wasn’t about being fair, it was simply about doing what was right, and Odi had never done that for anyone other than himself.

“Nothing I really wanted,” Odion explained, looking outside at the nothingness of the highway. But then Lani’s back story came tumbling forth and Odi winced, not from physical pain. This had been a huge oversight, and he should’ve just dropped everything he was doing to tell Lani what was really going on. But neither of them had, and now neither of them had won. “When I first went back, I pretended it was because I was interested in what you were doing. I made it seem like I wanted in on the action. I didn’t sell you out at first, to make it seem real, and he desperately wanted you back. He mentioned something about an investment.” Odion sighed, wondering if this was all going to have to be repeated to Lani when he wasn’t half in a coma.

Lani seemed to be holding his eyes shut a little longer each time. “Lani,” Odion said, moving the blond slightly, “don’t you dare go to sleep on me like this...” There was obvious worry and fear in Odi’s voice. He couldn’t lose the one person who meant the world to him.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani found himself bending into Odion’s arms. It was comfortable. Nice. He felt protected and it soothed his hardened heart. It was such a strange feeling that his mind didn’t know what to do with it. It filed it in one emotion and then decided that was wrong and moved it. It changed hands a million times in his head in a few moments and so Lani just let it go for now. Perhaps when his brain was better at holding onto a thought for more than ten seconds he would dwell on it. Lani looked back up at Odion and listened his eyes squinting as he tried to force them to focus. Could he go to sleep now? Were they still in Boston? Odion answered cryptically and Lani chewed on his lip feeling terribly fragile. Lani reached back into his mind to where his power rested. It was so strange not to have it reaching out for everything and swirling like an ever present force in his mind. He carefully avoided the raw channels of his mind and when he touched his power he got a taste of himself. Exhausted and furious. It barely responded and when it did pain flashed through his mind.

He was not going to touch that again for a while. He blinked realizing that Odion was speaking again. He hoped he hadn’t missed anything when he came into halfway though Odion saying he wanted in on the action. Lani hissed unable to stop himself. He closed his hand into a fist and he practically shook as fresh tears leaked out. An investment. That’s it. An investment. “I’m such an idiot,” Lani repeated shaking his head slowly. Silly Lani thinking of a man who only saw him for profit as a father. It was all lies. Well, he had learned from the best and it seemed that the student had not surpassed the teacher as an actor. He’d destroy them. He had the power to do so. Well, give him a few days and then he would. Never before had Lani’s rage blinded him like this. He felt like the world was swiped out from under his feet. He hated the man, he loved his boss. The memories were too painful to count and old wound felt like they were fresh.

Lani was so focused on that that when he closed his eyes and the awareness started to fall into sleep he wasn’t fighting it, he was welcoming the oblivion that it offered. It caressed his mind promising soothing pain free sleep. Lani’s eyes snapped open as he was jarred a little. He didn’t think he had actually started to fall asleep and he couldn’t remember closing his eyes. His brow came together as his eyes warmed as he looked up at Odion. It was so strange being worried about. In the back of his mind he knew that Odion’s fear was justified but he was just really tired. He nodded however trying to alleviate some of Odion’s fear. “I won’t. Where are we?” He asked purely curious about how much longer he could sleep in his own bed. He looked up at Odion feeling as if there were something important he should say.

“Odion?” Lani spoke again barely above a whisper, “Thank you.” He closed his eyes again, content and then opened them again in alarm remembering that he wasn’t supposed sleep. Lani was such a mess. He didn’t even know if he was still bleeding all he was aware of was the constant pain in his head. The pills had worked to alleviate a little bit of it at this point but he was going to need a whole bottle to get this to stop. Lani glanced down at his pocket. He had a bottle. Something told him that was a bad idea but he was so tempted. “I think we have a little time,” Lani said using talking to keep himself awake. “They need to regroup, but…” Lani paused as the thought dawned on him. “Odion, we need to get people on the inside. I think we can find allies inside.” There was one person who hadn’t fired his gun at Lani. The old ally. Maybe he wasn’t lost after all. “Maybe there are more like me.” More people just wanting to get out.

[Odion Martins]

Odion hadn’t a clue as to what Lani was going through. He was a master at going back through time, but never forward. His power was lopsided, on the one hand strong and flexible, on the other weak and undependable. He had never worked it to the point of exhaustion, it either worked or didn’t and he didn’t try training it to endure more. The only way he could do that was by testing limits and elements within time and he hadn’t seen the point in doing so. His power suited his purposes even though it could probably serve much more. When Odion had found Lani, the blond was at the crux of his telekinesis, the breaking point, and Odi had snapped him out of it. He assumed Lani had been using it before, which was why he hadn’t been shot dead then and there by a dozen or more bullets. Odion closed his eyes at the thought. Holding Lani tightly for a moment, Odion knew that Lani could take care of himself, and he was going to help him do just that, like he promised. Odion felt sorry for having to ruin the moment, but it was also good to be witness to. Lani’s power needed to be trained like it was in survival mode.

Odion was having a hard time understanding Lani’s rage, for he thought Lani had known this all along. Yes there were others in the gang that had made it feel like family, but that was the trick. Lani’s old boss used this to get everyone to trust him, and after Odion had made himself out to be just like the rest of them, it was merely an act of playing dumb. Odion made it seem like it was what he wanted, but simply wasn’t sure about. In order to prove himself, he offered information that they would already know or at least be suspicious of, since Odion had played with time in order to get them back to Hammel in the first encounter. Lani should’ve been proud of him. But Lani had thought there was a real relationship between him and his crime lord of a boss, and Odion felt terrible for not realizing that. Just because he had a hard heart, didn’t mean Lani did. “I’m so sorry Lani,” Odion said just above a whisper. He really, and truly was.

Lani wasn’t the only one who knew of the danger of falling asleep upon having such a large head injury. He would have to remain conscious until they got to Hammel, then Odion wasn’t sure what he would do next. Bring Lani to the nurse? What about the questioning that would ensue? Could Lani simply sleep it off? He could drive himself mad thinking of what would happen next, but he had to also remain focused in the moment, or lose Lani. “About an hour away,” Jared chimed in. He had been speeding quite a bit to get them home. Odion cringed at the reminder. With the amount of information Jared had heard, he would be able to piece together the story himself. Odion had said he would tell Jared what was going on during the ride back to Pilot Ridge, and now he had. Jared couldn’t complain and Odion wasn’t going to bring it up ever again.

Hearing Lani beckon him, Odion glanced down at his best friend, already willing to do whatever it was Lani asked. But all that came out was praise, and Odi stifled the cry in his throat. The mess that was Lani was nothing but beauty to Odion. Lani was extreme, often extremely stupid, but also extremely brave. “I love you.” It wasn’t that Odion didn’t care who else could hear it, he simply cared more that Lani heard these words right in this moment.

Odion’s jaw tightened as he shifted his hands, one of which was crusted with blood. It was a good thing, it meant the bleeding had stopped. Lani was hurt, but he would recover, and once Odion had a better hold on time, he would help Lani recover faster. That was the beauty of his power. How many times had he used it to become sober faster? “We have lots of time,” Odion said soothingly after everything Lani had said. He wasn’t sure if Lani was delirious or serious, so he didn’t comment on whether that was a good idea or not. With his head still hurting, Odion focused on Lani and surrounded him in a time bubble. Odion had never tried doing this before, so why not now on the brink of destruction? Carefully, he brought Lani forward about five minutes through time while he remained in the present. It was like giving up part of himself so Lani could feel better. Odion knew what this process felt like, and Lani may or may not have noticed.

Biting down on his lip, Odion knew he had to stop there to recover. They had an hour, but if Odion could keep slipping Lani through time, maybe it could mean three or four hours of rest. “And you say I’m no fun...” he said absently, curling himself around Lani as though they were drawing strength from one another, instead of only Odion having something to give. Lani was as strong as he was weak, just like Odion.

[Lani Hunter]

The problem was that Lani didn’t exactly know where his limits lay. He just kind of kept going until he knocked himself out. Which was a bad idea, or so he had been told. Oh well, he didn’t really know what his power was up to at the moment. Every time he tried to touch it he got burned and so he gave up. He wondered if hitting Odion in the head had caused his power to go haywire as well. Lani had a feeling that the blow that had floored him would have been easy to handle if it didn’t also shatter his power. When he was using his power that much the worst thing that could happen would be for him to abruptly let go and let the power recoil back into his head. That’s just what happened but coupled with the force of the blow Lani was really just wondering what was going on. He closed his eye and let the rocking motion of the car and the strength of Odion’s arms around him be the only thing that existed. Or tried, the pain was pretty insistent on being there as well.

Lani opened his eyes and gritted his teeth. If he wasn’t so foolish this could had ended differently. He was such a fool. Even when he knew that his boss was an expert liar, even when he knew his boss only wanted him for the profit he brought he still thought he meant something to the man because the man meant something to him. The father that was proud of him. His boss had driven the wedge between him and his father deeper and so detached from his blood father and severed from his apparent father Lani didn’t know what to do. Lani swore softly and rubbed at his eyes. Why couldn’t he stop crying? This was ridiculous, his mind told him, he was a Hunter. Hunters didn’t cry. Hunters didn’t show weakness. His nonsensical mind was throwing everything that had been seeping to the surface at him and he hated it.

Thinking of what happened when they got back wasn’t even something on Lani’s mind. He really didn’t care at this point. He just wanted to sleep. But he couldn’t sleep. But he wanted to so badly. Lani felt as if a warm blanket were being pulled over him and he was really struggling to keep his eyes open now. Hearing the voice from the front seat Lani started. He had forgotten someone was up there. Really, it was ridiculous, how else would the car be driving? But hearing his voice still startled Lani a little bit. What was this guy’s name? Jay? James? Lani didn’t know and honestly at this moment he didn’t care. It wasn’t like he was making a good impression. He was a mess. It would be better if he wasn’t remembered like this. He didn’t want Odion to see him like this, and he especially didn’t want his friend to remember him like this. Broken and weak in the back of a car.

Odion said those three words and Lani relaxed and allowed himself to be broken for a moment. At least he was in the arms of someone he loved. Someone that he loved. Lani loosened his hand from where it had re-obtained its grip on Odion’s shirt and found Odion’s hand. “I wish I had something else to give you, that isn’t broken,” Lani said, “Odion, you’re in the stars.” He said looking up at Odion and seeing him against the inky backdrop. Lani didn’t know that he wasn’t making sense and he looked at Odion as if he were saying things of absolute importance. He needed help healing the wounds that were freshly opened. Lani looked at Odion. He wished he was better at this. He wished he wasn’t such a failure. For all of this flaws Odion still loved him. He had locked Odion in a closet and Odion still loved him. “How… how does the world work like this?” Lani asked the broad question not really sure where his mind was going other than just that he didn’t understand it at all.

“Oh good,” Lani said relieved as if Odion knew best and already had the answers. He was starting to feel as if he were walking in a haze. His mind had sharpened for a few moments there and now it was slipping back into the unknown. Something in the back of his mind stirred but he couldn’t be heard over the moaning of his power. Lani couldn’t tell if something felt different but he just felt too tired. Tired enough to sleep even when he knew it was a bad idea to do so. Lani found himself smiling and pulled Odion closer resting his sore head on Odion’s shoulder. “You’re about as fun as they come.” He said feeling rather snug against Odion. “Are we alive?” He asked of Odion his eyes closing, he had officially lost his mind. He was in the in between world. His eyes closed but his lips moving to keep himself awake.

[Odion Martins]

Odion had pushed himself beyond his limits before, but never like this. Mind you, he had never been knocked in the head physically, only mentally. It wasn’t only mental exhaustion which caused Odi to lose days at a time, but by using his power too much. Sometimes he stepped back into the wrong present, resuming from a time that wasn’t where he had left things off, thus missing days. But the worst was when he couldn’t retrieve the days missed, the pieces of the puzzle lost in time forever. But Odion didn’t leave his power alone, it was an intricate part of who he was, like breathing. And just because it hurt to breathe, didn’t mean he was going to stop.

At the same time Lani was regretting trusting his boss, Odion thought if Lani regretted trusting him. It would be easy to wonder if he could trust Odion at all, especially after the ginger had been playing devil’s advocate. Wasn’t Lani questioning if Odion was now two timing him? Wasn’t he worried that Odion was planning a master plan against him? Perhaps Lani wasn’t that paranoid, or simply didn’t have the brain capacity to be that paranoid at the moment. Odion wouldn’t blame the telekinetic for questioning these things now, but if he really wanted Lani caught and out of his life, this wouldn’t be their second time. The only reason Odion had gotten so close, was because Lani’s ex boss knew how Lani felt. He wasn’t stupid, he merely let his own excitement get the best of him, but Odi knew the older man hadn’t put all of his eggs in one basket. But perhaps Lani’s mind was very right in this moment. It was harsh reality causing the tears, and Odion didn’t know what to do. He cried too when things were too much to bear. All he could do was love and hold Lani.

Better introductions could be made a different time. Right now, these thieves were keeping up an unspoken rule. It served to remind Odion that if he had to pick between a nearly self-operated gang, or one lead by a crimes boss, he’d chose the former. He had gotten away scot free by keeping a step ahead of everyone involved. Now Jared was helping him and he couldn’t be more thankful. Lani might have to be a bit more lenient on helping Bell out now. Odion wasn’t sure what was going to happen in that regard, but he did know time was running out no matter where he turned. Had he not gotten himself involved with Rhett, Lani, or Jared, none of this would’ve happened. He would still be pickpocketing somewhere in Europe, found by Declyn, and extremely busy. There were so many alternate realities, and none of them were the real one so Odion tried to shake them off. But what if this was just another alternative?

At least Odion had found the one that was the best. He didn’t want any other one, where he and Lani would either never meet, or simply pass each other by. Everything lined up because it had, and not only did he love someone, but someone loved him in return. “Okay,” Odion said simply as Lani didn’t make any sense. What if Lani was brain damaged? The ginger couldn’t handle the thought, but he couldn’t banish it either. What had he done? He only hoped it was temporary. His own headache wasn’t helping him think in the short term either, and already the world felt like it was ending of its own accord, the stitches of time slipping off this dimension and into another one, the one Odion found himself lost in. Time limbo. But Lani spoke again and Odi gripped Lani’s hand. “I don’t think it’s supposed to make sense.” It was the best he could offer, because nothing made sense.

Odi’s eyes drifted to the back window, but the highway was clear. It was obvious where they were heading now, and no one really needed to follow them when they were already being followed before. He glanced down to Lani, studying the features of his face, weak, tired, and vulnerable. “We’re alive, love,” Odion said, his voice tired and faraway sounding. How could he humour Lani to stay awake?

Odion was careful to send Lani carefully through time, healing him, and then bringing him back again. It was a special adaptation Odion didn’t know he could do. He made sure to check Lani’s pulse as everything went along smoothly, just in case something went wrong. Lani had gained half an hour in ten minutes, if you counted Odion taking a few minutes of rest. Sometimes he lost time, but now he was acutely aware of it, simply because Lani gave him purpose.

“I adore that you’re broken,” he said, looking at Lani, wanting nothing more than to view those optics he loved. Since when had he turned into such a sap?

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was making goal number one of when he recovered working to actually control his power instead of freaking out about it doing things it wasn’t supposed to. Lani was worried about Odion and his loss of time. Lani should worry about himself but he was using Odion’s problems to avoid his own. His mind attacked him with these thoughts as he started to think about how Odion’s head might be hurt. He had to have clocked him rather hard if it had knocked Odion out for two hours. Maybe it was using his power that had actually kept him from being out for that long when someone had hit him. That and his need to defend himself. Lani was definitely going to make up for doing that to Odion. He didn’t know how or what yet but all he knew was that he was going to make it up to him. And if that meant keeping him in the loop of Lani’s thoughts and plans then as grumpy as it would make him he would do it.

It was a while before his shoulders started to shake a little from the loss of tears to shed. He hadn’t cried like this in a long time. It felt strange, pathetic. He bit his lip and tried to keep himself from shaking so much. It was starting to hurt his head. This was awful. His nose was starting to feel sore and his eyes hurt and keeping them open seemed to be the greater of the two evils. His head ached and it was pulsing from where he had been hit back and amplifying behind his eyes and throbbing through his skull. He wondered for a serious moment if life would be better off or not without a head. Lani’s mind was in too much pain to keep on one thought path for too long and so he stopped tracing the pain and just focused on not adding to his pain. Why did it feel like his heart was exploding?

It wasn’t just sadness causing that either. It was certainly a large chunk. But another very large chunk was that Odion had come after him. After he had knocked out the redhead. “How’s your head?” Lani asked softly working on getting his selfish mind away from his own woes. There was nothing he could do about it now except complain. And as much as he wanted to complain he didn’t want Odion to think that he was worse off than he really was. The delirious comments probably weren’t helping his case at the moment but suddenly Lani’s filter was gone and it was a basically an immediate thought to mouth situation. Lani smiled as if pleased by Odion’s acceptance of his babble. Odion was in the stars. That felt extremely important to Lani and he snuggled closer to Odion with the intent of using him as a pillow. He needed to stop forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to sleep.

“Life doesn’t make sense,” Lani agreed, “Good things happen to bad people, then bad things happen to good people. But we forget that in order to get there bad things had to be done to good people and good things to bad people or else there wouldn’t be anything like good people and bad people.” Lani paused and opened his eyes and looked at Odion. “We’d all just be people.” His eyes blinked shut again and he really wanted to fall asleep. He gripped Odion’s hand like it was his anchor to the world and he didn’t want to let it go. He shook his head, “I’m sorry,” he said again, “I should have known better.” He should have known that this wasn’t his fight alone. It was his fight but he didn’t have to do it alone. Odion’s hand would have been there when he reached out.

Lani smiled. “I like that,” He said and nodded his head. “No one’s ever come back. That’s why were afraid.” He said thinking of death now. That was an eerie thought. “I love you,” he said as his eyes fighting to stay open, “I’m glad to be alive with you.” A strange but rather true thing to say. Often times there was a whole lot of dying for the one they loved in novels and movies. But that was foolish. If someone Lani loved told him that they would die for him, not only would be feel responsible for their death but… if it were Odion Lani’s only thought would be ‘don’t leave without me’. God, he had fallen deep. Why was this relationship so new but so strong? Why did Lani feel so sure? So no. For Odion he would live. He was truly glad to be alive with Odion rather than dead without him. If the dead had conscious thoughts. “I wonder if ghosts exist…” Lani thought aloud in barely a whisper.

The shock of Odion’s next words sent Lani’s eyes shooting open. His eyes searched Odion’s blurry face seeking out those blue eyes. Searching for a reason Odion would say something like that. It couldn’t be true. Lani felt something well up from his heart. Lani felt a sense of dread, he was going to start crying again. But it wasn’t tears it was something else. Sneaking from his lungs and into his mouth and nose. That was the only warning he got before he turned his face quickly away from Odion and he sneezed several times into his elbow. He didn’t even pause to look at the blood he had dispelled all he knew was that he felt better. He could breathe easier. “Sorry,” he said feeling the need to apologize for sneezing right after Odion had said that. He looked up at Odion and shook his head. “I have glue.” Lani said with a soft smile, “I’ll help you if you help me.” He offered wondering for a moment what he was saying and why he was saying it.

[Odion Martins]

Odion still stood by what he thought of Lani and his worrying. Instead of sitting with his own, actual thoughts every once in a while, Lani put them off to fill his mind with other people’s worries, worries which he couldn’t do anything about. And that’s why they were the perfect copout – Lani could never solve them, so he would always have something to worry about, an excuse. Odion thought this was the biggest load of bullshit he had ever come across, and Lani slapped the label of ‘I just care about people’ onto the pile. There was a difference between self-sacrifice and simply looking for reasons to put off what one really has to do. No one was benefitting from Lani’s worrying before, and nobody would now. As far as Odion was concerned, they were even as far as knockouts went.

But at the same time, Odion had never seen anyone in this kind of state, except himself, and seeing Lani like this now, was something he couldn’t describe. To say he was happy would only be to say that he didn’t feel so alone, didn’t feel so weak. To say he was sad was to say he knew exactly how Lani felt in this moment of self-ruin and there wasn’t anything he could do but understand. And to say he was angry was to say that he wished he could take this all away from Lani. There had been many times where Odion had cried himself into a stupor, glued to the bed sheets in his dorm and completely alone. If there was one thing Odion was glad about, it was that Lani didn’t have to go through this alone, and Odion hoped he never would. Moments like these where one was alone was that drove one closer to the edge.

It didn’t matter that Lani had knocked him out or not once Odion realized what was going on. In that split second where Odion had to decide whether to go after Lani or not, the answer was obvious. It was also in the instant that Odi realized just how much he cared for Lani, and there was no denying his love for the blond. People just didn’t go after someone who was confronting their old crime boss, thereby putting themselves in danger. “Getting better,” Odion said honestly, though he wasn’t really concerned over his own state as much as Lani’s. This really was insane, this whole love business. Odi held Lani softly, but if he was going to try sleeping again, this pillow fought back.

Listening again, Odion nodded along. “What about the bad people who are actually good?” Maybe now wasn’t the best time for a question like this, but at least Lani was talking and if Odion could get Lani to keep on ranting about nothing, at least he would be safe. Alert, and alive, that was the key here. Maybe the subtle time travelling was working and Odion was sure to add a little more time to Lani’s wait as they got closer and closer to Hammel. Lani was apologizing again and Odion could think of a few different things to say: stop apologizing, you’re forgiven, I know you are – but Lani had heard it all before. “I’m not giving up on you Lani,” Odi said clearly. Lani could fail and apologize a hundred times and Odion would still be there.

Fearing that Lani had completely lost his mind, Odion could only laugh at the comments, finally tearing his eyes away as they overflowed. “Me too,” he said as a general statement, his voice wobbly. What would he do if he lost Lani? Odion had purposefully left Lani once upon a time, and even during that time he couldn’t really get rid of him. Lani had permeated his thoughts, had been in subtle reminders as Odion tried to decided over the things in his life. It was only when Odion realized that if Lani was everywhere he went, then he would be better off with the godforsaken blond. At least they could be godforsaken together. However, he wasn’t sure about the ghosts part.

Odion held onto his shoulders as he sneezed, not wanting Lani to fall from the bumps they hit on occasion. Odi didn’t feel offended at all as he pulled Lani back to him, trying to get him to settle in once more. Someone had once said Odion was a man of action, and he still couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. “Alright,” Odion agreed, even though he didn’t think they didn’t need glue. They were broken, and that was fine, but maybe it wasn’t. Lani wanted to work on them, so, Odion would try as well. The pieces wouldn’t be perfect if they tried to glue them back into their original spots, so maybe they could make something completely new. Maybe Odion could give Lani the pieces he was missing.

A few more minutes passed. “Feeling any better?” Odion asked then, because he couldn’t read Lani’s mind, only his pulse.