Clarity (Lani.)

[Odion Martins]

“Your power didn’t fail Lani.” But Odion didn’t know why he still spoke on the subject. “Philosophical meanderings won’t keep you from the reality that your power is your power and it wasn’t a mistake. Do you think you’re a mistake?” Lani treated nearly everything and everyone around him with the idea of protection in mind. Life was more than that. “You don’t have to protect everyone all the time Lani, you don’t have to write some wrong.”

Odion shrugged. “Money doesn’t really matter to me.” Or in other words, he couldn’t see why his thoughts did. Thoughts were thoughts, they weren’t worth anything really. Shaking his head ‘no’, Odion still hadn’t found the courage to tell Jared what had happened so long ago. “Let’s see if this debt will get paid off before I make myself the target of his wrath, though I don’t think he’ll try and sleep with my significant other...” Odion smirked to himself – Jared was an interesting, and hysterical man. Very passive aggressive too. And as if on cue, Lani blushed. Odion found himself adding another tick to the wall.

Airy laughter escaped from Odin’s nostrils as Lani mimed a punch. Lani was a silly man indeed. His hands were on Odi’s chest and the ginger marvelled at the moment. This was terribly strange and wonderful, and perhaps this person he had become was who he had been all along. Odion laughed in return. “Not for you darling, with your feet in the air and all, it would be rather difficult to think on them.” What a strange expression. Odion smirked at the next response. “And you couldn’t keep me from falling before?” Really, Lani was full of contradictions. Odion shrugged, a strange movement with the added weight. “I don’t know, but you’re getting really heavy.”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani sighed in a resigned way. This subject wasn’t going to go away. He didn’t know what to say about it without sounding like a whining brat. He frowned and he bit his tongue. He wasn’t sure how to answer that question. “Myself, no. What I keep doing, yes.” Or maybe they were the same thing. Lani had a long string of mistakes under his belt he wasn’t sure he’d ever actually done anything right. Lani clenched his jaw and let his gaze drop. “I do.” Lani disagreed his expression a mixture of emotions. “Odion, if there’s…” Lani paused and shook his head, “The more I try the more it gets screwed up. I have to protect people because I keep hurting them.” He frowned and reached out taking Odion hand. “I’ve hurt you and I don’t want that to happened again.” Or had forgotten how he had flung him into a closet?

Lani sighed deflated by Odion’s dismissal. Nodding along Lani could see the logic and agreed with it. He snorted out a laugh and shook his head. “If he doesn’t want to fly out a window he’d better not.” He smiled at Odion. “Besides, you are going out of your way to help him. That might dim his anger a little bit.” Maybe Lani was underestimating Jared’s ability to get angry, he really didn’t know him that well. “But regardless. I’ve got your back.” Odion had stood by him countless times when he was being an idiot. But it wasn’t just that he wanted to return the favor he wanted to be there for Odion. He smiled a little bit, if Jared wanted to get back at Odion he was going to have Lani on him. Regardless of whether or not he helped in Boston. When it came to Odion, all bets were off. He was honestly surprised by how strong the emotions he got were when he was around Odion.

Being so close didn’t help. In fact Odion was almost making it hard to breathe. Lani laughed and his toes kicked a little bit. Lani swallowed and the dreaded conversation was returning. “That was different. I don’t know what happened. It was going so well, I almost thought I had it.” Lani laughed and wriggled. “Then put me down,” Lani suggested with a grin that Odion couldn’t see. Lani bit his lip. Something just occurred to him. All this time he had been trying to protect Odion, but Odion didn’t just have the ability to take care of himself, he could carry Lani along with him. Maybe Lani could do the same? But it was so dangerous. But Odion didn’t need Lani’s protection. They were partners. Lani felt the need to smack himself in the forehead. He was so clueless sometimes. It had taken something so simple and so easy but he had blown through his mind like a whirlwind. Odion had gifted him with so much since they met. It was time for Lani to let them be partners. He leaned forward and kissed Odion’s cheek. He tapped Odion’s chest. “No really, let me down. I want to try something.”

[Odion Martins]

“What you’re doing is learning, so you’re bound to make mistakes. You can’t give up on something because you don’t always make progress, or are you giving up on us as well?” Perhaps Odion was drawing thin lines between what he saw as relatable, but at least it made sense. He wasn’t playing on what if’s and if only’s. Odion gripped Lani’s hand, his gaze steady on the blond. “But you can’t predict when you’re going to hurt someone Lani, or if you’ll hurt them at all.” His power seemed to obey just fine when it came to hurting people.

Odion seemed to have a faraway look in his eyes. “You know on second thought, he just might try, so I’d watch your back if I were you,” he said, implying that he wouldn’t help Lani at all if Jared decided to do something ridiculous. “I wouldn’t call it going out of my way exactly, I only have a small amount of money to give him.” Odion smiled to himself, wondering how Jared and Lani would get along once Lani was more like himself, and less like a blubbering, broken man at the end of his rope. But Odion had remember that night so vividly, he didn’t need to revisit it. So much had happened.

“And then you doubted yourself,” Odion was quick to provide. “Perhaps if you thought highly of yourself like you do in every other circumstance…?” And he let the joke hang in the air, a pleasant grin on his face. Odion didn’t say anything more, but continued to walk with Lani to the next field. Indeed they were drawing attention to themselves, but Odion didn’t care about that. All he cared about was the closeness of Lani’s body to his, of how he could feel the blond’s breath caress the skin on the back of his neck and how it was all so enticing. Odion came to a gentle stop, resisting the urge to put his hand to where Lani had just graced him with a kiss. He crouched slightly to let Lani be free, a quizzical expression on his face. “Is it a romp in the grass?” Odion asked hopefully.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani sighed, that was not what he wanted to hear. Granted it made sense, how many times had he fallen off a rooftop before he became as good as he was now? Lani started at the last question. “What? Of course not.” His eyes search Odion’s for an answer to some question that Odion wasn’t asking. “Do you think we’re not making progress?” Lani asked softly. He thought they were, unless Odion thought they were moving too slow. Did Odion think Lani was giving up? Lani cocked his head as he awaited the answer and he dropped his eyes to their fingers for a moment before looking back up at Odion. He plucked a blade of grass and twisted it in his fingers for a moment and he blew it away from his fingers with a puff of air. “You know every day they get closer to predicting severe weather but they still can’t predict where a tornado will strike. But people still have plans for when something like that hits. Lowest level, closet. Odion, I’m like that. But the world doesn’t have a plan for me yet. I’m responsible for that.”

Tilting his head to the side Lani contemplated the look on Odion’s face before breaking out into laughter. He obviously was less concerned with Jared trying to seduce him than Odion was. Though if Jared did try something it wasn’t like Lani was just going to let it happen. “I promise, if Jared tries anything I’ll hang him in a tree for his troubles.” Lani snickered again before shaking his head. No Jared would do well not to try anything like that with Lani. “But you’re helping him none the less. You don’t have to. You’re doing it because you want to. But you’re forgetting that we have bigger heists planned to help him.” The point was, Odion was sticking his neck out for Jared. Lani knew that didn’t happen often.

With a sigh Lani nodded despite the fact that he was behind Odion. He lowered his head a little bit in despair but was quick to bounce back when presented with the joke. “Ha ha,” Lani let out a fake laugh before reaching up to ruffle Odion’s hair. Lani kicked his feet down to the ground and released Odion allowing the redhead to stand straight again. Lani laughed and his expression changed a little. Well he had had another plan but this gave him another idea. A way to conquer the distracted telekinetic. Lani, a little self conscious of the attention they were getting was more of the mindset to get to a point where Odion was satisfied with his progress and they could go somewhere more private. “That’s up to you I suppose.” He grinned and tossed his eyes across the area looking for something. As he did so he explained. “I think we’re starting too big. So, I want to do something simple. I also want to test something and see if we can do that without something dangerous going on.” He grinned at Odion and then turned his eyes back to the world around them.

He finally found what he was looking for in Odion’s pockets. “Can I borrow your rocks?” He asked, well that was certainly a question Lani didn’t think he would be asking today.

[Odion Martins]

“No, I think we do make progress, however, we don’t always make progress.” Odion didn’t think they were moving too slow or too fast, in fact, he had how they dealt with arguments in mind. Or how he hadn’t been able to relate to Lani immediately and that had come with time. Odi sighed, and moved his free hand to cover their held hands. “I’m not trying to rush you on your power’s progress Lani, maybe... I’m not sure. Maybe I just like helping you come along.” He glanced up at the blade as it danced away. “If I have to believe in something, I’ll have it be you.” Lani wasn’t a tornado, he was a person, and that’s what Odi saw.

“Hang him from a tree? Now that sounds like fun! Can we turn him into a piñata?” Oh if only Jared could hear them now – he’d be laughing right along with them. Nodding a couple times, Odion supposed Lani was right, he just didn’t want to say so out loud and boost Lani’s ego.

Odion left his hair in the mess Lani put it in, standing up straight and tall like he normally did. Perfect posture, perfect awareness, and all of his attention on Lani. The redhead smiled deviously, his eyelids lowering, giving him a sleepy, but excited look. But Odion could swore he could almost hear the gears inside Lani’s mind as the blond glanced around. “Alright,” Odion said at the vague explanation, “we’re talking about your power I hope.” He said, smirking at his own wit. Odion had turned into a crazy hormonal teenager and it was undoubtedly Lani’s fault.

Laughing, Odion shook his head while fetching the rocks out of his cargo pockets. Crouching on the ground, he unloaded about seven or eight of them, all various sizes, weights, and shapes. “There you are,” Odion said amiably, standing back up again, crossing his arms over his chest, his dark eyes on the rocks. What was Lani planning exactly?

[Lani Hunter]

“Hmm,” Lani hummed to himself as he contemplated Odion’s statement. Odion was really about ten times more brilliant than Lani. Lani might be able to figure and contemplate but when it came to reality that was a whole different story. If Lani could live in the clouds all his life that would be fine with him, but he had to live here on Earth if he wanted to be with Odion. Odion was his anchor, his lifeline more often than not. Especially when Lani’s mind delved into the unknown. Lani smiled a little and gave a sheepish grin. “You know if you weren’t so pushy I’d never gotten here. So, thanks.” He said finally admitting that if Odion wasn’t who he was Lani’d be in a boatload of trouble at the moment. Lani felt as though Odion had just reached through and touched his heart so gentle he might cry. “You’re placing a lot of faith in one person.” Lani warned his eyes taking on a curious light. “What if I let you down?”

“What else are we going to do with him up there?” Lani laughed in return. Hell, if Jared did try something Lani’d hand Odion a stick and just leave the redhead there until his heart was content. Well, perhaps he’d stop Odion before he actually broke Jared open. Though he didn’t think Odion would be quite that violent. He’d never seen Odion get very jealous. Lani on the other hand would be the one they’d have to stop if the situation was flipped.

Safe on the ground Lani couldn’t help but smile. Odion looked spectacular. Everything was perfect then his hair was in disarray. Lani smiled slyly, he found he very much liked that look on Odion. It made his blood boil and his skin shiver. Combined with messy hair and it was all Lani could do to focus on what he had been intending to do and not what he wanted to do. He tore his eyes away. He smiled slyly at Odion and shrugged like he had no idea. Lani was about twelve seconds away from saying ‘screw it all’ and tackling Odion right now. But then he was reminded of his own inexperience with the whole thing and it made him blush a little. Lani shook his head and forced himself to focus. Oh this would most certainly work. Now he just needed materials. One problem with telekinesis, it didn’t work very well if nothing was around. But then he was still learning what could and could not be done. There were so many possibilities.

Lani knelt with Odion and picked at Odion’s rocks. He felt a few of them with his hands and looked up, not realizing that Odion had stood again and he was looking at Odion’s crotch instead of his face. Lani blinked awkwardly for a moment and forced his eyes farther upward to Odion’s face, sure his own was burning. He rose too, now rocks cradled against his chest. He let them go and his power caught them and they swirled over their heads. “I’m gonna let go of my power now.” Lani took a step back and the rocks followed him creating a line between them. “You said I won’t lose myself. Let’s test that.” Like good scientists. He gave Odion a sly grin now. “I’m going to keep these rotating,” he moved them so, “And I want you to test my control as much as you can.” He wasn’t going to specify how Odion was to do that. He was kind of curious about what Odion would come up with.

[Odion Martins]

Odion smiled in return, ducking his head. It was strange that when they were fighting words were easy, but when they were trying to show love, it wasn’t as automatic. The fire was fueled by something else and Odion always thought he would get burned. He needed Lani’s whimsical thinking in order to think of more possibilities than the ones that were right before his eyes. Perhaps they had both been fools before meeting the other. Odion wouldn’t deem himself brilliant, no matter what Lani said. Odion’s gaze returned to Lani. “It’s not just one person, he’s the person I love most in this world.” And that was his reality. If Lani let him down, then there wasn’t anything else to put his trust into.

Lani really had no idea the violence Odion was capable of, but Jared and Rhett knew all about that. Their escapades in Europe hadn’t all been fun and games, and Odion still had nightmares over the person he may or may not have killed by accident. It wasn’t on record, it couldn’t be proven, and now was not the time to share.

Odion had to wonder at all the feelings Lani could rouse in him. And to think, they weren’t even kissing. They weren’t even touching. He sighed, clearing his mind and trying to focus on something other than what he wanted to do with Lani. Odi wasn't inexperienced by any means, but knowing that was what stopped him. He wanted Lani to be comfortable with their relationship, not intimidated or worried. Especially with the more intimate aspects. And Odion wasn’t in a rush, most of the time...

His gaze went from the rocks to Lani, an eyebrow rising. Even the air around them seemed to turn awkward, but Odion had the courtesy to avert his eyes, his own face flaring. Later. Something turning and churning rose above his head and he looked up, his adam’s apple on full display. Odion looked back down, watching Lani as distance was put between them. He relaxed his arms at his sides. “Fine,” Odi said, and without any warning, he took a running start at the rotating rock nearest to him. One giant leap later, and Odion was hanging onto the rock with both hands, spinning around, wavering as Lani’s power had to get used to the new weight. If Lani succeeded, maybe it was time Odion used his power too.

[Lani Hunter]

Perhaps the fighting came easier because they had been doing that longer. It was easy and it didn’t require exposing the heart. Love, now that was all about exposure of the heart. If they couldn’t flip the way they did things they wouldn’t make it too far. Or maybe they would, after all they had learned to forgive right from the get go. Lani’s lips turned up in a smile but Lani did feel a little worried. He wasn’t sure he could carry Odion’s heart without dropping it but he would do his best. “Then I’ll do the best I can.” Lani assured Odion. His hand squeezed Odion’s to emphasize that. He would try and chances were he would fail, likely more than once. He was determined to do all he could to keep this. Lani leaned forward and caught a kiss from Odion before they started in on more shenanigans.

That was another part of Odion that Lani didn’t know. Lani had no idea. He was slowly learning about Odion’s old life. He knew Odion was different now, he wouldn’t judge Odion if he decided to tell Lani. Perhaps a year ago he would have but he knew Odion, or felt that he did. The violent side of Odion might startled Lani a little bit. He knew Odion had one, what with that kid that bruised him and Cameron, but Lani had never seen that side of Odion. Lani knew Odion had seen him lose his mind in anger more than once and it was never a pretty picture but Lani’s emotions were like Odion said, written on his eyes. When he felt something strong enough his power latched onto it and usually gave him away by blowing something sky high.

It was like Lani’s mind had been reset when he rose. It took him a minute to realize that he still had rocks in his mental hands. He watched Odion and it took all of his resistance to not tackle the redhead. His heart pounded and he wondered where this had come from. Was it Odion? There was no other explanation. He took in Odion as he looked skyward and jumped realizing that Odion was looking at his circling rocks. Right, they had something to do. He explained quickly and took a step back so that he didn’t fling himself forward. He’d barely gotten a handle on himself when Odion grabbed onto the spinning rocks. Lani wasn’t quite ready yet so he almost dropped Odion when he grabbed the rock. It dropped several inches before it crept up again and joined the circle. Lani smiled a little and with a breath dropped his walls his power flooded out. It coated the ground and the rocks and Odion. The rock quivered and soon the circle spun faster.

Lani almost lost it as Odion spun faster and faster. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that.” Lani taunted feeling bold with his power all around him. He laughed at the Odion-go-round. His eyes watched Odion, pupils going in little circles as they followed Odion. So far so good. Power wasn’t doing anything crazy and he didn’t feel and rush of crazy emotions. He blinked a few times and just to prove he could he spun them faster. If Odion didn’t have a good grip he was risking the possibility of being flung off. Lani relaxed a little and a little bit of his power went to gently follow Odion just in case he were to be flung off Lani could catch him. This felt like control, the flying board thing, that felt like hell. Maybe had was trying to start to big, but then if he could do this, was he really challenging himself or just patting himself on the back for doing something he had done several times before.

[Odion Martins]

It seemed as though Odion was born to fight. He fought to stay alive, fought with those who tried to show him kindness, fought to keep people away, and fought himself nearly every day, just trying to remain alive. Love hadn’t been easy for him, and he had never really bonded with anyone before he was brought into the gang in Europe. That was where he had gotten to know Jared, and Rhett had taken him under his wing. Things were just starting to get better, when Odion betrayed Jared and Rhett’s power manifested. Everything absolutely changed – it was also when Odion first started fighting back. Maybe he didn’t know what love was at that point, but he wanted to know. “I know.” Odion said, determined. Lani would fall, and so would he, but together they could get back up. Odion smiled at the kiss, wondering if they would ever stop being sweet.

Odion had never seen himself as being violent back then, only as surviving. The looks Jared would give him after those tough days though, those were looks Odion would never forget. Jared, who could laugh at the world and commit just as much violence, actually looked frightened to death, and whitened every time Odion looked at him for some time. What was worse, was that Odion didn’t feel ashamed of himself, or wondered at what he had done. It was that which made the redhead believe there wasn’t any good inside of him, that his hands were capable only of malice and destruction. He was only good at hurting people.

This was Lani’s idea. Odion would have been totally content in leaving the training behind and running away to a more private place. But Lani wanted to prove himself, and Odion was forever patient.

Not telling Lani what he was trying was the whole point, because in real life, Lani would have to deal with the element of surprise. Besides, he was holding onto a spinning rock, what could possibly go terribly wrong? Odion’s gaze went to the fast approaching ground, before being lifted up again. Good, I’m getting tired of kissing the ground for one day... And then he was spinning quickly, and it made him smile. But he didn’t think he would have to try much harder, considering he had jumped from train car to train car while they were moving, once upon a time. Using his own momentum, Odion swung himself, let go of the first rock, and grabbed onto another one as it spun into his hands. Lani seemed to up the speed and Odion couldn’t help the gleeful laugh that escaped him.

Looking up at the rock in his hands, Odion wondered what would happen if he tried to stop it. Curiosity got the better of him, and by sheer will of force, everything around him froze. The spinning rocks came to a halt, and Odion swung back and forth for a while from the backlash. He wasn’t sure how to play with Lani’s power when his encompassed that which Lani encompassed. All he could do, was stop Lani’s power, but of course, Lani wouldn’t know that’s what he was doing – it was the whole different dimensions again. Odion sighed, letting go of the rock and landing on the ground. Strange, that gravity still worked, but other forces didn’t. Odion started to walked towards Lani, and was nearly behind him when the whole world shook, and a fizzing sound began to ring out from what seemed like inside his mind. Odion clutched his head at the sudden pain – was that, no, it couldn’t be Lani’s powers trying to break the time wall. Unsure of what was going on, and afraid, Odion let go of his grip on time, and the moment he returned everything to normal, the sound vanished, and the world righted itself. Odion was behind Lani now, but didn’t say anything. The whole of what just happened would be enough to startle Lani without Odion having to say ‘boo’.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was curious about Odion’s childhood. Odion knew pretty much everything. Lani had had a normal childhood right up until he made major mistake number one. Mostly normal at least. But no one could say with all honesty that they had a normal childhood. Lani smiled back but couldn’t help but feeling a little unsettled by the amount of confidence Odion had in him. Was this normal? What if Lani did end up failing? What if he failed epically and Odion decided he wasn’t worth believing in anymore? Was this love? Complete faith in someone? Lani supposed it was. To trust one person completely and utterly. He trusted Odion but there was still a lot that he didn’t say out of fear and doubt. He wondered if it was the same for Odion. He knew Odion had secrets. Things that he just didn’t talk about. Lani let them be and sometimes he wished Odion would let him be when he didn’t want to talk about something.

If Odion weren’t so patient then they might be in trouble. Lani over thought and planned so much it was hard to be spontaneous. Then there was the power fiasco. Did Lani had to fight Odion every step of the way? Probably not. But he wouldn’t be Lani if he didn’t. A lot of the time he and Odion had very different ways of doing things and that clashed. Eventually they would learn a happy medium but they were both stuck in that stage where they were sure that their way was right. But they were listening to each other. That was putting them leaps and bounds ahead. As much as Lani didn’t want to take Odion into danger, he didn’t want anyone else by his side when he went back to Boston. Lani didn’t just want to prove himself, he wanted to prove to himself that there was more possible than just destruction. He wasn’t completely certain there was but he had to try.

Lani’s heart caught in his throat as Odion swung from one rock to another. He almost stopped them when that happened but Odion caught it without a problem. Odion was a thief, Lani reminded himself. They danced on less sure ground all the time. Who didn’t love navigating icy roof shingles. That was always fun. Lani’s heart leapt and with a twirl of his fingers and rocks spun faster and even started rising and falling in a pattern. Lani was starting to get that strange sense of loss of self. Emotions emerged like a wildfire and took over. Lani panicked a little but Odion was riding on those rocks. He needed to focus. He remembered the centered feeling and he strove for it. He drove himself downward and inward into his mind and found himself on solid ground. He opened his eyes and watched Odion until it seemed to skip. Lani didn’t feel the time slip but he felt Odion’s power at work.

The time lord’s wall rose against Lani’s power and Lani could almost feel his power rising to strike it. It was so strange, an old and warm feeling fell over him. He felt as if he had fallen into a dream and he couldn’t wake up. He fell into the warmth of time’s embrace, Odion’s embrace and fell into it. The next thing he realized his power was back. Odion was gone. He identified someone was behind him but didn’t have enough sense of self to recognize Odion. It did startled him. So, he whirled and with a swipe of his hand meant to send the enemy flying. His eyes didn’t see and his heart felt like it was tumbling through the wind. His power brushed warm time and his mind identified Odion. He gasped identifying and he pulled his power back. In a split second decision he changed course instead of pulling it back. Focus. He called out in a far away voice, “Stop!” Everything did.

He blinked his eyes open unaware that he had closed them, he could see the world so vividly in his mind he almost forgot he had closed them. He saw Odion and he became aware of himself poised to strike. The line of rocks halted in a line ready to pepper Odion. And Lani’s power gripped Odion’s clothing halfway through getting ready to fling him across the lawn. Lani’s breath came in a rush as if he had forgotten to breathe and he looked into Odion’s blue eyes trying to connect to the real work again. He released his power and it felt like a pop in his mind and his eyes blurred as the backlash struck him. Odion was released and the rocks rained from the sky. “Are you alright?” Lani asked blinking past the blur at Odion. His brow furled at Odion. “Something was different.” He guessed from the look on Odion’s face out. Lani’s power didn’t usually panic that much when time resumed.

[Odion Martins]

The only way Lani could epically fail in Odion’s eyes, was if he gave up completely on himself, on trying to better his power. That, or if Lani decided to be a total jackass and cheat on Odion, which was something that had crossed Odion’s mind, not because he didn’t trust Lani, but because he was so full of self-doubt. It was scary to see many different people in this world, and all of them seemed better fitted to Lani than he was, because even though they were essentially the same, Odion still saw Lani as better. He didn’t think he deserved Lani, and he may never feel that way. That didn’t mean he couldn’t love Lani, their love would just be, as everything else with them was, different.

Odion had always been a careful observer. He had observed Lani, and didn’t doubt his agility, his swiftness, and his sly smile. All Lani would have to do was observe Odion in order to believe in him as he believed in Lani. Odion was nibble, could act as light as a feather, and could catch himself from almost any fall. Odion wasn’t someone who needed taking care of, he was someone who needed a challenge. The moment Lani started caring, things almost became counterproductive in a sense. Now that he didn’t want Odion hurt, Lani was less inclined to try new things for fear of putting his love in danger. Odion could handle his own, and he wasn’t afraid of hurting Lani, so, why did Lani still feel that way?

Stunned and shocked behind Lani, Odion wasn’t sure what to make of what Lani had just done. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time. Perhaps if someone could reach into time, he would never get lost in it again – one of his worst nightmares, along with being alone forever. Anything with the note forever attached made him shudder – forever had no time restraints. “What the hell did you do?” Odion asked, astonished. Perhaps he hadn’t given Lani’s power enough credit, and it was then and there that Odion began to understand why Lani was so afraid of it, of himself. Odion stood a little straighter, glancing worriedly at the rocks Lani was about to send at him despite how his eyes had been closed moments before. And he couldn’t move, Lani had him in place. He could only hope Lani would snap out of it, would see once more...

“I’m... I’m unhurt,” he said, though if he listened hard enough, he could still hear the fizzling. Odion closed his eyes, concentrating on what had just happened. “I stopped time on the rocks, like normal. Everything stopped, like normal. I didn’t bring you with me, but maybe, some of your power came, because it felt like it was breaking through.” And who knew what telekinesis could do in a paused world. He wasn’t going to keep them paused forever. In fact, he was just going to scare Lani a little bit and be silly. No, something far more interesting had happened. Odion opened his vast blue eyes again. “What did it feel like for you?”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani hoped that by the time he turned into a complete jackass Odion would have smacked sense into him. Lani was trying to learn to observe and think on his feet but things were ingrained so deeply into his mind that it was hard not to plan. He should be better at observing by now but Odion was different, had always been different, than anyone he had ever met. Lani liked that. If he wanted the same kind of person, well he kind of hoped someone mortally wounded him. He shook his head. He loved Odion, he just hoped the rest came from the hard work that they were both putting into this relationship. Both thieves had had to work for everything in their lives and perhaps that was helping them work hard here. They also both knew when something could be done an easier way. And yet here they were. That meant there was something between them that they were both willing to work for.

Lani didn’t hear the question, he didn’t even know who Odion was only that he needed to be gone. It was a good thing that Lani had started to be able to recognize Odion’s power signature or they could be in a terrible place right now. He didn’t like waking up to see that he had almost destroyed Odion. Lani ground his teeth in frustration. No letting his power out was a mistake. A big one. He couldn’t control it. He could control him power on a small scale and even on a medium scale but letting it all out at once. That was a mistake. Lani blinked several times and his power felt like normal. His hand twitched for pills but right now he was completely focused on Odion. Something was different. Something had changed. And it had affected his power. Something had happened and his power had identified Odion as the enemy and had been ready to get rid of him.

Breathing a sigh of relief Lani relaxed visibly. “Thank god. I’m sorry Odion. That was stupid.” He shook his head, a bad plan with his head already hurting as much as it did. Lani’s eyes went to Odion and he nodded along with Odion’s explanation. “What?” Lani asked startled, “You think some of my power leaked through? Through time?” Lani closed his eyes and nodded remembering. He had felt trapped in a dream and trying to break free. Maybe that piece of him that had been separated had gone through with Odion. A part of Lani that was no Lani but still enough to be connected. “Can that even happen?” He asked his face paling. They shared a thought. Only Lani’s tended on what damage could telekinesis do in a paused world.

“How do you know it was trying to break free?” Lani peppered Odion with questions. It didn’t make sense. But when did things make sense for them? Oh right, never. Lani shook his head for a moment. “Like a dream,” Lani answered. “I felt your power kick up and it was like normal but it felt… I don’t know. I didn’t feel trapped but my power felt trapped, so I felt trapped… Does that make sense?” No probably not. He tried again. “Have you ever had a dream where you’re trying to run from something and you can’t move? It felt kind of like that, but with my power. Then it was over and my power felt like it broke out. I’m sorry Odion. When you brought back time… I didn’t know it was you.” Lani covered his mouth with his hands as he said so and his heart hammered. “Are you sure your okay? I didn’t hurt you when I… uh… was trying to break through?”

[Odion Martins]

Love made fools of everyone. For Odion, life probably would’ve been easier without Lani. He could still be pining over Rhett, wouldn’t have had any drama in Boston, and might have perfected his card tricks. Then again, he wouldn’t be braver, stronger, or even remotely human if it weren’t for Lani. He’d probably be a drunk by now, because there wouldn’t have been a point in sticking around whole heartedly. But there were things he would always be, such as stubborn and to the point. And he would never plan a damn thing if he could help it. Being restricted by something made him feel bound, and life simply didn’t work this way. But he accepted that this illusion gave Lani comfort and hadn’t bothered trying to dissuade the blond from it for quite some time.

No, it was Odion who had made the mistake. If he had given Lani some kind of warning? The redhead could see the disappointment written over Lani’s face, and he knew that Lani was chiding himself internally. Odion looked helpless. Hadn’t he just been saying that Lani’s power was capable of good? Was more than just protective over its master so it could continue existing? Moments ago, it looked as though Lani were ready to strike him, or worse. It seemed as though Lani were caught in another dimension. What if Odion trapped Lani in a different time space than this one? This couldn’t happen again.

“I’m sorry too,” Odion added quickly, “I should’ve warned you...” But it seemed Lani had made up his mind and Odion couldn’t help but feel loss and sadness, knowing that they wouldn’t be trying anything like this for a long time, if ever again. His mind raced; he wanted to simply erase what had just happened, make a different choice. But Lani would never be okay with that, and he wouldn’t know what he knew now in this moment. It wasn’t Odion’s decision to take that away. “I have no idea. But why would that happen now and not... before...” Odion’s voice trailed off as something clicked in his mind, making the whole dimension slipping make sense. Didn’t his power have a tendency to connect with and know the powers of those he loved? It was an element of his power he wasn’t sure about, as it had only happened with Rhett. Odion’s dark eyes studied Lani – how was he supposed to explain this one?

“It wasn’t breaking free, it was breaking through from where we are now, to where time doesn’t exist,” he said, though he doubted Lani would understand. He barely understood it himself. “Yes. Panicking from the unknown and immovable,” he said, because he had always seen Lani and his power as one in the same. “It can control many things, but not time...” It made sense – didn’t it? Odion put a hand to his head, and then, he couldn’t help it; he smiled. “I realize. You’re pretty scary when you’re intent on destroying something,” he said, glancing up at Lani sheepishly. He wasn’t trying to make light of this, but he did find it amusing at the same time. But the worry on Lani’s face as he covered his mouth made Odion frown as well. “It’s nothing a little time won’t mend,” he said. If answering like the smartass he was didn’t tell Lani he was okay, nothing would convince the blond.

“Though, there is something.” He added as an afterthought. Lani should probably know what he was getting into by getting close to Lani. “It’s about my power, and how it makes connections to people.” Odion still wasn’t sure how to explain their ever entwining strands of time, but what had happened was perhaps not all Lani’s doing. It was partly Odion’s fault for wanting Lani with him at all times.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani didn’t like to think of where he would be without the redhead. He had a feeling it was six feet under. Lani wanted things to be easy between them, but in all reality if it wasn’t something they both had to work at they probably wouldn’t be here trying so hard. As much as he wanted things to be blissful and wonderful he knew if it was it wouldn’t be real. His and Adrianna’s relationship had been like that. At the beginning at least. Everything was rainbows and butterflies. They never fought. Then the truth came out and now look where they were. Now that wasn’t so say that when things were going great Lani didn’t like it. Quite the opposite. He was in heaven whenever they kissed and there was a deep desire in him that had been growing since they had first broke down that barrier and kissed.

How had it all gone so wrong? Lani sighed internally and winced a little as the headache started anew with vengeance. It was just too strong. Lani might not want to hurt people but when his power was out everyone may just be something else. Hell he didn’t even feel like a person when it came out like that. And panicking had only made it worse. His power had gone to the attack. Well, Odion had at least gotten one thing right. He wasn’t able to control those blasts. And practicing them would probably help. But now when people were around. No never again. If Lani would accomplish something with letting his power out in waves like he had been he was going to do so. He still couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something. A crucial piece of the puzzle was still missing. Lani couldn’t help but feel like when he found that it would finish it all and everything would click into place.

Lani shook his head. “It shouldn’t matter,” Lani said in frustration. Odion should have been able to pause time and even go on to grab Lani from behind when he was there and Lani should have been able to keep those rocks just rotating like nothing had happened. Yeah, right. Maybe in a few years. Lani shrugged of no better understanding than Odion seemed to be. He didn’t understand Odion’s power very well, he wasn’t very much help. He hazarded a guess. “We’re a lot closer than we were back then?” It was true Lani had felt Odion’s power back then and it had felt strange but it had worked fine. None of this crazy talk. What made now different? They were different… but maybe that was the answer. They were different so their powers were different.

Lani looked at Odion a clueless expression on his face. “But… how? I didn’t tell it to… not that I can remember.” He put a hand on his head as if felt as if it were going to explode. Lani looked Odion in the eye trying to understand. That was true, Lani always could manipulate things, even things that he couldn’t necessarily grab. If he couldn’t do that he was powerless, trapped. Would it really panic like that every time he couldn’t move anything? He might be in more trouble than he thought. Lani’s face flashed with pain and he looked away from Odion gritting his teeth. Maybe it was dimensional. They went from the fourth dimension to the third, technically, but things still existed there but if there wasn’t time then there couldn’t be change over time. No velocity, no acceleration, no movement. But then he had gone with Odion through it and they had moved…

He didn’t hear most of the rest of the sentence. ‘You’re pretty scary’ was all he needed to hear. He’d told Odion time and time again and this was precisely why he didn’t want to. Because he was scary. And now Odion knew that. Lani flinched a little, because that meant he had hurt him. Finally looking back at Odion interested by the sudden statement. Lani gave Odion a confused look and shifted so he was no longer folding into himself. He nodded indicating Odion should continue. Should he keep his distance for now? He wanted to be close to Odion but he wasn’t sure about what Odion was going to say. Surely it wasn’t anything bad. So he waited and worry was starting to climb into his mind. What if Odion’s power was different than they had always thought?

[Odion Martins]

Lani and Adrianna’s relationship had been something of a burning star. Quick to start, pretty to look at as it burned quickly, but it eventually if fizzled out. Odion knew it wouldn’t last, but he didn’t think the blond would end up liking him either. And he wasn’t complaining. He would rather their relationship take a million years to form, so long as it burned for a million more.

It was true they were a lot closer now than when they first met, but that just made sense. Really, how could they not be closer? Odion wasn’t playing a fake relationship game with Lani and since the blond was also being genuine, time went a little crazy. It didn’t help that Odion was always yearning to be around Lani, to know more, to do things together and explore. Play. If he were to detach himself from his power, then it would be a pixie, intent on playing games and being a tease. But it was also, horribly, sweet. His power had a sweet nature, and it almost wanted to latch onto Lani. But Odion knew his power wasn’t an entity, it was a part of who he is.

“I think maybe, I wanted it to,” he said, wondering if any of this made sense. It really didn’t to him, but what else could it be? Odion had so many walls surrounding him that Lani was breaking through, why wouldn’t this also be coming down? Maybe it was a form of working together he just hadn’t pieced together yet and was too afraid to, not when Lani’s power was so unstable. Lani’s power was unruly, unsure, but Odion still believed that it was because Lani himself was the same way. Odion glanced down, knowing he had said the wrong thing, like the final nail in the coffin. He felt sincerely sorry.

Odion sighed. “When I was with Rhett, the same thing happened.” It wasn’t something he wanted to admit, but Lani wasn’t his first love, though he was his first true love. “His power was also mental, but whenever he was near, I could feel it. And I felt bound to him.” He used his hands to speak as he carried on. “It’s almost the same thing, only the connection is stronger. There’s a time connection. Every time I go forward into time, you’re there, in every way something could change, you’re there. It drove me insane once...” Did Lani remember when Odion had turned into a zombie? Was this too much to share? Odion sighed, looking away. Lani would feel trapped, knowing whatever he did, Odion would be there too. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just, I didn’t, I don’t...” He didn’t know how to explain it. He didn’t want to lose Lani.