We're Not Broken Just Bent (Lani.)

[Odion Martins]

Normal? There wasn’t anything normal about their relationship. It was an impossible relationship in impossible circumstances, and yet, a normal relationship would never have been possible for Odion. He had honestly thought Rhett was his only chance precisely because no one else would ever be able to understand where he was coming from. And then there was Lani, who all but changed Odion’s mind completely. Not only was there someone else out there for him, but he was infinitely better than Rhett. Odion didn’t think of Rhett any more, in his mind there was no need for comparisons between his ex and his favorite blond. Odion knew he liked to do more things than being around Lani, but being around Lani was his favorite pastime. It was simply a matter of preference, and he doubted Lani would complain.

Odion had once thought he had pegged Lani, had him hook, line, and sinker. But it didn’t take long for him to realize that Lani was always going to be a wildcard, and even though Lani often thought Odion had the upper hand, he was only bluffing and going along as things came up. But because of who he was, Odion had found out what Lani was bad at before he had found out what he was good at. He was still learning and probably always would be, he couldn’t afford to be vain. But Lani was good at hiding things, which was why Odion loved being around him – it was a challenge to get to know him, and it felt like something which would last forever. Odion didn’t have a clue that Lani was afraid of water, it just seemed like such an absurd thing to ponder. And Lani shouldn’t know that Odion was afraid of airplanes, it had just come up in conversation, he couldn’t exactly remember why. Odion liked getting to know people as well, but he hated being known. He didn’t want to be known, and his walls were thick. Lani had found his way in and now he’d have an even harder time trying to leave – if he wanted to. Odion didn’t like doing things in front of people unless he was an expert at it. He wouldn’t try his hand at cards knowing he would fail. He wouldn’t try pickpocketing around others if he couldn’t impress them. Maybe he was a peacock… Oh god…

Anyone who thought a habit of theirs was endearing, really must be arrogant. Odion simply stared at Lani, an obvious tick on his forehead. He was a sore loser, and Lani definitely had the upper hand here. It wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, Odion knew that Lani was bound to be better than him at many things, such as pulling off a bigger, more intricate heist. But what was hurting Odion was that Lani was rubbing it in. He was being encouraging and then poking fun, so Odion had immediately gone to the offensive. It was automatic to do so. But yes, Odion found Lani endearing, but not for the things the blond thought himself so highly of. Watching Lani stand, only to fall again, Odion had moved forward, simultaneously wondering if Lani was alright, and thinking that it served him right to fall. Odion didn’t make a big deal of his actions, and settled back into the snow a little further. Not even a smile crossed Odion’s face. Lani didn’t know what sorry was.

Rolling his eyes, Odion ceased to look at Lani and looked at his feet instead. He would walk back to his shoes in his socks if he had to. Something floated into his vision and Odion snapped his head up. “Thank you,” he said, only slight relief betraying the anger in his voice. It took half a second for the skates to be flung off his feet, and his own shoes to be put on. He cringed, as though remembering something vital – he’d have to buy new shoes now. They were contaminated beyond repair. Odion glanced back at Lani, who was still smiling. Putting himself into Lani’s shoes just for a moment, Odion wondered if perhaps this was like how Lani must’ve felt when they were training. There was something cute about his frustration. A keen smile finally passed over Odion’s face, thinking that he understood Lani’s behaviour. “Alright,” Odion agreed, standing now, and patting himself off. He didn’t bother helping Lani up, since he was such a professtional skater and all. Hopefully he didn’t remember what it was they were supposed to be discussing over hot cocoa.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” Odion said, and already he was thinking of an idea. “I’ll be better next time.” He would buy his own skates and practice on his own time. There were rewards in this worth having, like not having Lani laugh at him, and being able to hold hands would be nice instead of falling all over the place. Odion picked up the skates apprehensively. Or maybe he would just skate around in his shoes. He was reasonably more relaxed than before, but now he was walking back to the skate rental spot and not waiting for Lani. He needed a moment to think.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani would never say so out loud but sometime he wondered if he was any better than Rhett at all. He was just as selfish and worse Odion had gotten into far more trouble with him than with Rhett. But Lani never allowed himself to dwell on these things. Because he loved Odion and he hated Rhett. Perhaps for once it was that simple. Easy to understand things were not their specialty. Lani might as well admit that he was nothing in his life was ever going to be normal. Well, one could hope. Or rather, fantasize. But every time he imagined a normal life he could see himself being a thief and that was a large part of who he was. It wasn’t exactly who he was but if he wasn’t a thief he’d be a whole different person. Odion was definitely a part of his life that he didn’t want to miss or change, so why keep wondering after a normal life anyways. Would that make him and his father get along, probably not, and he’d either still be at Hammel or with no power at all.

If it came up in conversation, Lani would answer truthfully. He was deathly afraid of water. Maybe not like that, he might try to pass it off as no big deal. But there was a long story that went along with it. His parents had gotten him counseling and all that had really accomplished was that breathing was a good thing and he should keep doing it. It seemed even when he was little when he got stuck on something he held onto it. Perhaps if he were older he would have eventually let it slide off but it was stuck like a brand in his mind now. So, yes, if it came up in conversation he would most certainly tell the truth. Lani had sworn of lying. It still remained to be seen how well that was going. Needless to say he had already slipped up here and there but the person it was important not to lie to he was making an extra effort. But for Lani he couldn’t get honesty and just blurting out what was on his mind to be different things.

Lani’s smile stayed on and didn’t move even though Odion’s annoyance seemed to be growing by the minute. In Lani’s defense he had been teasing, but he was learning now that that wasn’t the best of things to do when Odion was trying to do something new. Lesson learned, well, learning. Occasionally Lani did realize when he was being arrogant or when he was being an ass about it, but other times it just tended to slip him mind. It was almost like the arrogance was a mask in itself. If he acted it maybe he would believe it and maybe, just maybe he wouldn’t feel as low as he was. Even as Lani thought it he scoffed at himself. Look at him making excuses. One after another. It was a good thing Odion wasn’t in his brain or he might get a tongue lashing for all the excuses he was making. He got to his feet and looked out across the ice before glancing back at Odion. He felt guilty now. This had been a bad idea.

If his power were a person it would be handing over the shoes and darting back into the safety of Lani’s mind. He was in trouble. Lani ducked his head his smile finally vanishing from his face. He didn’t say anything in return. But watched Odion nonetheless. Odion had a thing for hats and it was impeccable how they fit with his style. He remembered the hat he had ‘stolen’ that was still sitting on his shelf back at school. Well, he didn’t have anything to wear it with. The woes of a thief. He liked it so he took it and now he didn’t know what to do with it. He didn’t think anyone could be faster than Odion at changing his shoes. There was still an air of frustration over Odion’s face and Lani couldn’t help but admire it. Sometimes he wished he had Odion’s power so he could take a moment and look at the redhead. He had slipped up and called Odion cute, but as much as Lani wished he hadn’t said it out loud he wouldn’t take it back.

Lani raised a brow at Odion, now he was sure he was being lied to. “Really?” He couldn’t keep from questioning skeptically. He was surprised again by Odion. Only a minute ago he had been so adamant in his hatred of skating. Lani shook his head. “Odion, there doesn’t have to be a next time. Not if you don’t want to.” Now he was completely clueless. Sometimes he too thought he had Odion figured out and then he did something like that and confused Lani to no end all over again. Lani skated slowly swaying back and forth like a snake across the grass as he followed after. He all but fell onto the bench but he was just good enough to make it look like he had meant to do that. Soon in his own shoes and comfortable on the ground again he followed after Odion. He returned his skates and without warning turned and hugged Odion from behind. And with no more explanation released him and started walking down the street.

[Odion Martins]

Maybe they would never know if one was better than the other; Rhett or Lani. But that didn’t matter to Odion. What mattered was that Lani actually cared about him, and if Rhett ever had he had a poor way of showing it. All thieves were selfish, it was part of the job description. Odion had had a lot more heart trouble with Rhett than with Lani. With Rhett he always felt unsure, and the blond didn’t follow his type of mind game. Rhett treated Odion as a pet rather than an equal and Odion accepted this as the best thing in his life. He’d been dead wrong. Odion had never been keen on doing the right thing before, but being with Lani was right, it was as though that fact had been decided a long time ago. If normal was what Lani wanted, he was with the wrong person. But if normal was what he wanted, it had slipped through his fingers when his and Adrianna’s relationship dwindled to an end.

It would be just their luck for Odion to find out about Lani’s fear in a practical way, such as on a heist, or during some other adventure he had planned out in advance. He didn’t really like swimming, though he found the task easy enough, and they didn’t really live near a large body of water. Odion wasn’t the outdoorsy type of person unless need be; his fair skin was an easy target for the sun. It wasn’t something Odion was too concerned with or even had an inkling of a clue towards. Other than that time when Lani had been afraid of Caroline’s snow-wave during Christmas break, Odion had never seen such a startled look on Lani’s face so as to indicate fear or surprise.

It was strange for someone to be patient and hot tempered, but Odion managed to be both. It was something someone had once called ‘girly’, and he was often labelled such by his fellow pickpockets, and other people who spent some time with him. He liked pristine, often shiny objects, and his mannerisms were often feminine, but on the other hand he had no problem punching someone in the face. So why couldn’t someone be both sides of any spectrum?

Odion’s eyes flicked dangerously – did Lani really still doubt him? He had to wonder if he was so good at keeping people on his toes, that when he was actually trying to be honest it seemed like another trick. “I want to,” Odion said, which could be translated as, ‘I’ll show you’.

This wasn’t about what Lani had done wrong, but rather, how he handled the situation. Yes he had been encouraging, but he had also torn away Odion’s dignity in some way. That’s what Odion was thinking about – had he done that to Lani once upon a time? It was hard to assess something in a past which felt so far away. But then Lani hadn’t meant for things to appear as Odion perceived them, even Odi knew he could be rather sensitive at the slightest word, phrase, or look. It was simply who he was now. But then he felt someone collide into him from behind. He had immediately tensed up, but his senses relieved him. Everything about the presence was Lani – the feel, the touch, even the smell belonged to his love. Odion smiled as Lani released him from the hug from behind, and, needing to do something with his hands, adjusted his toque for the umpteenth time for today. “I suppose you have another plan?” Odion asked coyly, his hands in his pockets, playing hard to get. He liked playing – a lot.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was still jealous of Odion’s sureness. Lani felt sure, but at the same time he was afraid of the finality of the feeling. So far saying he loved Odion had not ended everything. He had not become a prisoner trapped with another person for the rest of his life. Well, if it was like that he didn’t feel trapped. He was no prisoner. Or if he was, he was finding he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. But there was still that internal fear of losing the freedom he had. He hadn’t had it for so long and now he was greedily clinging to it afraid that if he let anyone else touch it he would lose it. Lani knew it didn’t make sense. He was a liar trying to be honest at the best of times and a two faced liar at the worst. Sometimes he was both. On the outside he could be calm and collected and on the inside he could be screaming. That was part of the reason school had become less important. He couldn’t sit in class where people thought the world would end if they failed a test.

The way things seemed to go between them it would come out at the worst possible moment. Perhaps one day Lani would learn to bring thing out in the open about himself when it would be good to know instead of after of during something. But that would be logical and this was Lani. They didn’t fit very well in the same sentence. Add Odion to the equation and it all went to hell. Odion was a variable. Very much time dependent. He was an anomaly and something that couldn’t be predicted. He wasn’t an oscillation, he didn’t follow any patterns. He just was. It kept Lani on his toes for certain and honestly Lani wouldn’t have it any other way. He was just trying to give a little bit of that back. Looking back, maybe it had come off a little, more than a little, bitter. But they were both hotheaded teenagers convinced that they were right in their own mind and everyone else was wrong. It was a hard thing to take a blow to pride.

When Lani first met Odion the last thing that had come to mind was girly. Douche bag was closer to Lani’s first impression of Odion. It wasn’t until they had started to get more comfortable that that side of Odion had started to become apparent. But how could Lani blame Odion or condemn him for something like that when his personality flaws were just as high. Between the two of them they might actually make a normal functioning human being. Lani was good at playing the fool and there was certainly amount of his cluelessness that was real. But when he smiled at Odion’s dangerous look he wasn’t really sure what he was going for. Lani raised his hands and nodded his head. “Alright.” Lani agreed. Well he wasn’t going to be the first one to bring it up but it sounded like Odion had something to prove in his mind. Everyone struggled a little bit and just like the times Odion did something clumsy Lani found it endearing that Odion wasn’t good at everything.

Lani took advantage of the moment Odion had turned away from him and he examined his mind and where his heart was. Then he realized it was being walked away with. Lani was learning. He knew he would probably never have everything about Odion figured out and for that he was willing to keep trying. Odion was someone he wanted to take time getting to know. He knew a lot of people and a lot of details but something about Odion’s secretive nature made him all the more fascinating. Lani quirked a brow taking a moment to walk backward so he could look Odion in the eye. “I always have a plan,” he said matter-of-factly. “Hot chocolate and story time.” Lani gave a grin. No he hadn’t forgotten. He had a selective memory. Things that made him curious he latched onto. Other things just slipped away. He turned as Odion caught up and walked alongside him. He let his hands hand for a few moments before pocketing his own a little unsure. So to make up for it he walked a little closer so their elbows brushed now and again. “Do you know of any good places?” Lani asked. Odion knew Pilot Ridge better than he did. He knew the rooftops like the back of his hand, but he was a little less experienced with the street level.

[Odion Martins]

Odion was sure of most things, like how humanity would fail and fail again, as sure as a hamster would continue to run on its wheel, even though it never went anywhere. He was sure of how he felt for Lani, because trusting himself was the only thing he had left. He loved Lani, he trusted Lani, but he still wasn’t sure Lani trusted him. Odion wasn’t sure how or when he would know if Lani trusted him as much as Odion trusted him, but it wasn’t a stipulation on the relationship. Odion had put up with far worse things in his life, and if he’d have to wait a little longer and work a little hard to gain Lani’s full trust, and not just his immediate trust, Odion would do just that. Perhaps Odion felt this way now because he had felt trapped once before. He thought he was setting himself up for heartbreak by falling in love with another thief. But that was all Lani and Rhett had in common. Odi had fought against himself for a long time.

There weren’t many times when Odion had had a sincere heart to heart with someone. Sometimes it did happen, but Odi preferred not to be vulnerable. Being vulnerable turned you into a target and that wasn’t desirable in their line of work. Odion had made himself vulnerable to Lani on numerous occasion, and he not only felt that the debt be returned, but that Lani should handle the situation delicately. A broken heart was messy on its own – there was no need to jostle it around so much. But Odion also felt as though he deserved being humiliated for some reason, like the act was long overdue. He had willingly put himself into the situation, tried, and failed miserably no matter the progress was made. But he couldn’t stop having a backbone after all this time of having one. He couldn’t be a door mat again.

Perhaps Lani only viewed Odion through a certain pair of glasses. Odion was many different shades and a different person for various people. He put on the façade of having all bark and no bite until the perfect moment for surprise made itself available. And he was called girly so often by his old gang that he was trying to make sure that that wasn’t the first thing someone saw about him. Later on if they found out he didn’t much care, but being dubbed a douchebag right away would be pleasing news to his ears. Odion didn’t want to be a god to Lani, he just didn’t want to look stupid in front of him either. It wasn’t a crime, it was just human nature. Odion liked to think he was above everyone, but he seemed rather helpless around Lani. Mark my words… Odion thought to himself, determination swallowing his thoughts whole. He would overcome this like he had everything else.

Odion hadn’t wanted to steal Lani’s heart, but the word had never been innocent before now. At least Lani hadn’t been left heart-less. Odion had never dubbed himself an interesting person, just someone who played the part well. His life was a wreck and it was like any other wreck – messy, loose ends, and hurt feelings. He had learned to ‘suck it up’ and decided a long time ago that no one would really ever care who or what was on the inside, beyond the wreck. Odion glanced forward at Lani. Maybe he hadn’t decided completely just yet… “You do not always have a plan,” Odion pointed out. The ginger grinned at Lani’s antics. “Oh? What story are you telling me?” He could play ignorant as well as if not better than Lani. Odion looked up to gauge the surroundings. “Still don’t know Pilot Ridge?” Odion teased, slipping his hand out of his pocket to point. “There’s a quiet place just over there, if you don’t mind all the frills. They put tiny marshmellows in the drinks.” He’d said this rather briskly, but smiled at the thought of the little candy-like treats floating in his cocoa as he gazed across a table at Lani.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was still trying to figure out how to be honest, how to trust people. Most people their age were concerned with where they would go to college, what they were going to wear to prom, or if they were studying hard enough for AP tests. Most people their age were not concerned with being caught by the cops and locked away for life. Certainly most people their age were not thinking about whether or not the next day would bring a new danger. Lani wasn’t sure how long Odion would wait for him to start trusting him. It wasn’t something that was going to be a quick fix. He was working on it. It was the extra thought before he spoke or the extra pause in his words as he considered lies versus truth. He was constantly surprised. When he admitted to something Odion would certainly give his opinion but he had yet to reject Lani for any of his flaws.

There were many things on his mind he should want to talk to Odion about but there was still the error in his thoughts that sharing his problems was piling his burden on Odion’s already abundant problems. He was missing the fact that they need to work together. One of these days he would clue in, eventually. There were several masks that they wore, even still around each other. Lani had felt what it was like to be bare and broken. He would rather go his whole life masked than to have that happen again. But at the same time Lani was far more willing to let that mask down in front of Odion. After all Odion had seen him completely broken than acting like an ass after the fact about the whole thing and hadn’t decided to wash his hands of the bloody annoying blond. Lani gave Odion a sideways look as they walked trying to be subtle as he watched Odion and traced his features against the snowy landscape.

Lani had no doubt that given time Odion would surpass him in skill. Lani was not a great skater and it wouldn’t take much to get Odion to be better than him. It made Lani want to learn to dance. Adrianna had tried and he had made some improvements. He could at least keep a beat, but ask him to do anything more than sway and it all went out the window. But considering he how offbeat he had been at the start he was actually glad with his progress. Frustrated but like his power, it was something that was evading him but progress was being made. Lani tilted his head back and laughed to the sky. Him not having a plan? What kind of madness was this? “Master planner, remember?” Lani said with a grin pointing to his face before giving Odion an impish smile.

“I talk enough, it’s your turn,” Lani said his eyes shimmering with curiosity. And there was no lie in that. Lani talked plenty, and often much to do with nothing. Or rather, much to do with somethings that were nothing when taking into account their ability to apply to the real world. Lani huffed out a puff of fog. He knew Pilot Ridge well enough. “I know it fine.” Lani followed Odion’s hand and nodded his head. He had to admit he wasn’t much into frills but it was Valentine’s Day. Lani gave Odion an impish look before laughing a little. Odion was the kind of person would could probably beat Lani in a fight if it came down strictly to strength, but he was also the first person to get excited over tiny marshmellows. “Well, who can say no to tiny marshmellows?” Lani commented with a grin. He veered in the direction of the placed reaching the door first and opening it and waiting for Odion to enter before following him. “You weren’t kidding about the frills.” Lani said it was indeed over decorated for Valentine’s Day.