Sorry Dear (Lani.)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani grinned at Odion. When they went to go talk to this guy he would probably recognize the place. He raised his brows at Odion deciding to keep his mouth shut. Instead he gave an exaggerated shrug. Odion would figure it out when they got there. Doing business with people didn’t really require people to get along but it did make the whole thing move smoothly, but given Odion’s unique talent of pissing people off and that tended to make people not want to work with them. More, this guy was more of a friend than not and Lani liked to keep the people that liked him close. The people that liked him tended to not like his boss and so long as it stayed that way he had allies. Eventually they would have to talk about Boston, they hadn’t done that a lot. Lani just wanted it all to be over. He just wanted to live and be with people, be with Odion without fear of death hanging over his head.

Giving a double take to Odion Lani narrowed his gaze again. Eventually he would stop trying to figure out Odion, it was never going to happen. Lani held his breath as Odion drew close. Lani’s eyes widened a little as Odion’s blue eyes filled his field of vision. He could fall into them and be lost for all eternity. His face heated and he swallowed unsure of what Odion’s next move would be. All he could see was vast blue eyes. Admittedly, Lani for a moment forgot what they were talking about until Odion spoke again and reminded him. Lani shook his head and his heart leapt at the idea. He had never forgotten the taste of the sky when he had grown wings for a brief span of time. “It’s in here somewhere,” Lani replied and cocked is head at Odion, “What’re you thinking?” When it came to training Odion always had the best, if completely insane, ideas.

With a raised brow Lani found himself smiling again. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but he was expecting an air of skepticism. Odion knew Lani’s grades were barely good enough to pass. Lani’s problem was with the institution not with education itself. But it seemed like Odion had seen past that as well. Odion’s face reddened and Lani couldn’t help from smiling. His mind started to work convincing Lani to not make a comment on it. He knew what would happen if he did, he’d end up more red than Odion. It took him a little while but, eventually Lani learned his lesson. Lani shrugged, “I don’t know. I definitely wanna take some philosophy. Science. Maybe something like physical training.” He still wasn’t sure he could do what he was thinking. Something that friend of Caroline’s had said had just stuck with him. Maybe he could help train people. But first he had to conquer his own power.

Lani gave an impish grin and mimed tipping a hat at Odion. “You should learn eventually,” he said, silliness giving way to seriousness, “I can help you.” Lani’s mind worked, perhaps there was a way for this to work with both of them. If Odion learned to drive Lani could use it as training for his telekinetic reflexes. Lani stole a glance at Odion and a smile crept over his features. He was always so impeccably dressed, Lani had no idea how he did it. He was lucky if he matched black and black. Lani looked at his feet as they walked out of the dorms. Watching as one foot appeared and the other vanished, it was a mesmerizing process. He squinted a little in the light, he kept forgetting he got sunglasses for Christmas. “Yeah, it’s not too far from here.” He was still looking for a roommate, he was highly tempted at this point to ask Adrianna, but she had her own plans. He just really wanted to keep an eye on her. “When are you moving into your place?”

[Odion Martins]

Odion pissed people off because he could, not because he was naturally inclined to do so. There was nothing natural with the way he acted around people. If someone was going to be buying their stolen goods, Odi knew how to turn on the charm. There was a time and place for everything, and if Odion didn’t like the buyer, he could always talk about him behind his back.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Odi teased, finally backing off, noting the red which had overcome Lani’s face. He put his fingertips together lightly in contemplation. “We can only continue to try, but last time you refused to let me be on that board.” And that was the hint, that Lani should just try, regardless of the consequences. Just this once, throw caution to the wind and try to understand that Odion wasn’t made out of glass.

Odion didn’t seem to be thinking anything of Lani’s classes. “You let me know how that goes.” Lani would do whatever he pleased, but he obviously wanted to know what Odion thought of his decision, and Odi approved. He just wanted Lani to be happy. So long as Lani didn’t try to convince Odion to take classes with him, they were golden. Odion wasn’t sure what he was going to do after high school, he had never really thought about it past being on his own, but he wasn’t interested in taking classes.

“I don’t know.” Odion said, wondering why Lani was so hell bent to have him know how to drive. Aside from actually needing a car when Lani needed rescuing, Odion hadn’t needed the skill before. Not with time at his disposal. “Last time a friend tried to teach me, it didn’t end very well,” and Jared was just as stubborn, if not more so than Lani was and he had given up. Cameron’s truck had been totalled, although it wasn’t the crash which had caused the bulk of the damage.

“Around...” Odion paused, looking over his sunglasses at Lani. “I don’t remember telling you I found a place.” Maybe he had, maybe he hadn’t, for once he honestly couldn’t remember. Not that he didn’t want Lani to know, he just wondered if perhaps he should be concerned... “Graduation day is the possession date,” he said just in case Lani had any doubts. “Not that I have much to transport, the most important being Darshay, Lani Junior, and Shadow,” Odion said, deep in thought. And his stuffed animals, books, and decks of cards. Everything else he didn’t really care about, simple clothing and whatnot. “You on the other hand...” Odion teased, nudging Lani in the ribs. The blond had so many things, he could pass as a hoarder.

[Lani Hunter]

Odion was a charmer. Lani had no false ideas about that, he still thought that Odion needed more friends. Real friends. Not people he could call on for a job or something, more people like Jared and this Avi who Lani had heard so much about. When the bonfires went out the heart hearth fires of friendship warmed the heart. Lani didn’t know what he would have done if Odion had been there for him when he was struggling through things with Adrianna and after they ended up breaking up. Lani bit his lip and gave Odion a strange look. Odion knew just how much Lani wanted to know. Odion’s mind was a mystery and Lani wanted to discover it. But of course the redhead wasn’t making it easy. The smile fled from his lips and was quickly replaced by a scowl. “Why do you insist on being suicidal?” Lani said a definite and firm ‘no’.

He didn’t get it. Odion had even told him he was afraid of flying and yet here he was volunteering to be flung in the air by a half controlled telekinetic. Lani would never volunteer for anything water related. Ever. Lani rubbed is fingertips over his forehead as if trying to relieve his permanent headache. He had one friend who had been thinking of taking the dark road out of life he didn’t need another. Lani had not wavered on this area, yet, did Odion think that by poking it he was going to get him to yield? Hadn’t it been Odion that had called him a stubborn ass? If and when he got his power one hundred percent under control then maybe he would consider it. Lani didn’t throw caution to the wind, not when his power was involved.

“You should take a philosophy class with me.” Lani added with a grin. He was glad that Odion approved. He was so nervous about being honest and more and more it was proving to be the better idea. Lying had never gotten him anything but more lies and pain. It held that honesty would then be the better of the two ideas but lying had become a defense and slowly with this one person he was losing his defenses. It was an uncomfortable feeling by at the same time Lani found himself relishing in it. It was strange to feel strong and at the same time unsettled. It was a little like how flying had felt. He had soared and he had been strong but at the same time a dip or falter caused the heart to leap as solid ground was hundreds of feet away. Was that what scared Odion?

Lani tilted his head to the side and looked at Odion for a moment. “It’d be easy to get, since your nineteen now you should be able to just take a test and get it. All you’d have to do is learn.” He didn’t want to pressure Odion but for a moment Lani was going to take a page from Odion’s book. He swerved a little and brushed his hand against Odion’s. “I’m not just a friend, am I?” It was a very low and unfair blow but Lani just feinted innocence and interest. He was just interested in how Odion would respond to that.

Blinking in confusion, Lani gave a shrug. “You said something about it over Christmas, I just assumed you’d found a place.” A broad smile crossed Lani’s face. He had never gotten Odion to actually say what L.J. stood for. Now, Lani had gone through his own list of theories and Lani Junior had crossed his mind but he always figured that that was a selfish thought and discarded it. He opened his mouth to say something but laughter bubbled up in his throat and he put a hand up to defend his side. He was a little paranoid that now that Odion knew that Lani was ticklish he was going to use it. “Hey,” he chuckled, “You never know when you might need something. Let me know if you need help moving. Do you have furniture?” Hammel’s security started to move as they approached. “You’d think with graduation coming up they’d be less terrified of us being out in the real world,” Lani muttered darkly.

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t want more friends like Jared or Avi, those two had already forced their way into his heart and that was enough when they were standing alongside Lani. Odi laughed, touching Lani’s wrist softly. “You’ve never tossed me around yet,” he said, “and besides, I’ve thought of a way you couldn’t throw me, even if you wanted to.” And with that, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Oh yes, he had gotten beyond the first attempts at flirting long ago. “It’s hardly suicidal dear.” Lani needed to stop thinking so hard about everything and think outside of the box. Honestly, what would he do without Odion? Odion wasn’t worried about Lani’s control, or how high he would get. It wasn’t like he could go beyond a ceiling – he’d jumped from higher heights before.

“You should do a lot of things,” Odion countered, feeling a fight brewing. Granted, taking a class wasn’t as dangerous as hovering, but the redhead was going to try to make a deal out of this if he could. Something had to be enticing about the prospect, something that would distract from how life threatening it could potentially be. Odion was still a meticulous, calculated person, and though he trusted Lani, it was hard to manipulate in order to get his way. The only difference now was that Odi was trying to catch himself before he followed through – damn guilty conscience.

Odion sighed, shaking his head. Lani didn’t get it. “Let’s just say that flying isn’t the only thing that makes me nervous,” he said, his voice steady but his eyes averted. Maybe it was transportation in general, although the train ride to Boston wasn’t so bad. But if he was nervous, he couldn’t stop time. Odion looked at the depthless pools that were Lani’s eyes, taking up Lani’s hand fully. “No, you’re not just a friend.” Was Lani fishing for compliments or something? Was Odion giving him reason to doubt? He’d only said ‘friend’ because he didn’t want to name Jared. He didn’t want Lani to know that he had completely demolished Cameron Osiris’ truck for the pure sake of revenge. Hopefully Lani didn’t see much into this...

“It comes furnished,” Odion said, as a single guard approached them. “Or,” Odion said, his hand tightening over Lani’s, “they have less time to torture us.” He smirked slightly as the guard looked them over, his eyes landing on their hands. “And where are you two off to?” He asked, although he seemed uninterested. “Oh, you know,” Odion began nonchalantly, “to find a romantic spot to snog, make out, whatever you Americans call it.” The guard only stared. “You don’t want to keep us do you? I made reservations at a restaurant I’d highly recommend.” Odion wore a brilliant smile. “Your wife would probably like it.” The wedding band, the macho stance, the extra stares – it was all in the details that helped Odion choose what to say.

[Lani Hunter]

Not throwing Odion, yet was not a good enough answer. Yet was a keyword. It was definitely not one that Lani wanted to think about. He didn’t want to think about how he could possibly throw Odion around at all. Lani’s brow raised with interest. “Oh really? And what would that be?” Lani felt heat rise in his body as his imagination ran away with him. What was Odion thinking? How could he strap himself to a board? And even if he did, what stopped Lani’s power from undoing the straps. Lani sighed, “Just seems to be going around,” he muttered under his breath his mind wandering to Adrianna. He had since cleaned her room of sharp objects but that wasn’t to say she hadn’t found more. Maybe he should ask Odion about it. He glanced at the blue eyes. Maybe Odion would know what to do. Lani was lost.

Lani straightened to his full height sensing a challenge. He bit his tongue on a retort asking just what those things might be. A fight would definitely come out of that. He didn’t want to fight, not right now. They were both so combative and it took a lot of strength not to react. His chin tipped up in defiance in a show of pride and arrogance. “I wasn’t talking about me,” Lani replied carefully. Did everything have to become a fight? He wondered if they would always be like this. Didn’t a lot of people break up because they did nothing but fight? The arguments and debates they had were something Lani thrived on. He wasn’t sure when they had actually fought last? Probably when they went to Boston. He wasn’t sure he wanted to fight but he couldn’t take something like that laying down. If Odion wanted Lani to try new things he too had to get his feet wet.

Lani tilted his head in interest. “What makes you nervous about it?” His brow came together and he wanted to know what was going on in Odion’s head. Smiling down at their hands Lani had to admit he was beyond happy to hear that but he could also hear the confusion in Odion’s voice. He squeezed Odion’s hand. “Then let me help you,” he said softly, “You’ve done so much for me, let me help you.” An idea popped into Lani’s head and his eyes brightened as it crossed his mind. “If something goes wrong my power can fix it. Just like you can stop my power with time, I can hit the brakes with mine.” He looked into Odion’s eyes and smiled softly. He didn’t want to pressure Odion into it so he added, “Just think about it.” He rubbed his thumb over Odion’s knuckles. Their hands fit together so easily. It was like two pieces of a puzzle. Granted they were missing a lot more pieces than they had but in the infinite piece puzzle of life they had found two pieces that connected.

“Oh,” was all Lani uttered. His didn’t. He was going to have to figure that out. Either that or he would simply live on an air mattress for the next few years. Lani snorted out laughter but was left without time to reply as the guard came to interrogate them. Glancing at Odion Lani did his best to school his features to a mask of pleasant innocence. He was struggling not to laugh or otherwise break their cover. If this guard new the identity of these two troublemakers he might be less inclined to let them go. But for Odion to be so blunt that did earn a sidelong glance from Lani. Reservations. Lani looked down at himself, well if Odion was going to use that excuse he would have dressed a little nicer. The guard’s glance went from him to Odion and back and Lani was half expecting him to comment on their wardrobe. “Your wife will most definitely like it.” Lani said with a wink and in a spontaneous act of theatrics leaned into Odion his free arm hugging the arm holding his hand and his head tilted just a smidge. At that point it seemed that the guard just didn’t want to hear about the details and waved them through. “Really, Odion? Reservations?” Lani hissed when they were out of earshot. He gestured to his hoodie. “Where do we have reservations? Olive Garden?”

[Odion Martins]

“What, you don’t believe me?” Odion asked coyly, a smug smile on his face. It probably wasn’t a perfect idea, Lani might still hurt him, but Odion wasn’t too worried about it. Besides, he had time control, he could undue any untimely damage. Odi’s brow furrowed. “I honestly haven’t been happier in my life,” he admitted, continuing to stare at Lani expectantly, begging for him to continue. If Lani thought he was off the hook that easily, he had another thing coming.

All Odion had ever done was fight, it, this, was normal for him. When he was with Lani he didn’t think about how everyone else might be in their relationships, he just thought of them. Yes he was working on kindness, yes he was working on expression, but he didn’t worry about it. That was Lani’s job. But the fight fizzled out of Odion. “Alright,” he said, tilting his head to the side in a relaxed stance, “then I’m confused. Who am I taking courses with?” It wasn’t always worth fighting, but sometimes, Odion had no idea what the mind game was anymore, or what the whole point of what they were talking about was, except perhaps for the sake of talking.

Odion stared blankly at the wall, unwilling to comment, his body curving in on itself slightly. No, he was embarrassed enough as it is. There was hardly a shred of dignity left when it came to Lani. Sometimes he wondered what being totally honest meant. Did it mean that he told Lani his deepest fears, and the terrible things he did to other people despite how they didn’t come up naturally in conversation? And then Lani made something that made such sense, Odion scolded himself for not thinking of it before. Odi literally put a hand to his forehead. “That’s...” Odion sighed, before a weak smile came to his face. “That’s a brilliant plan.” Lani really did know what he was talking about after all. He obviously didn’t need to think about it, it would actually be rather simple. But why did the idea of driving make his heart jump into his throat? Odion couldn’t be sure, he hadn’t psychoanalyzed himself, but he supposed everyone had their idiosyncrasies.

It was a shame they hadn’t tried this act before. Acting, was that something else that Odion should mention? Lani glanced from himself to Odion, and then to the guard. Odion was still smirking. That was the brilliant part. They were obviously lying, what kind of high school student had money for fancy restaurants? Now the guard had to play two truths and a lie. Odion just laughed. “I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, swinging Lani’s arm back and forth in playfulness. “I don’t think anyone was planning on that one.” Besides, nobody really cared what they did, nobody could be paid to care. He looked at Lani a little seriously. “We could go out though you know,” he was glad be getting off the school grounds, the sense of freedom overtaking him. “We’re out already.”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani snorted giving Odion just the answer he needed without words. He was working on trusting Odion but this was working too close to danger for Lani to take any chances. Lani knew that look, his tongue had gotten him into trouble again. He needed to work on his mutterings. He smiled broadly at Odion and nodded truly happy to hear that someone he loved was happy. “Me too,” he said honestly and gave Odion a kiss. He was working on distracting now. He pulled away and smiled like he hadn’t said anything at all. When in fact, he had said something he shouldn’t have and as much as he wanted to ask Odion his opinion Adrianna probably wouldn’t want him to go around telling people about their conversation on the track a few days ago. It was not his place to tell people. He sighed inwardly, here he was making excuses to justify lying again.

“Uh,” Lani uttered eloquently. Now he was confused as well. He had thought Odion was picking a fight so he had dodged the bullet but he was thinking he knew what was going on in Odion’s mind. Again, something he really should never try to do. It took a moment then Lani ran through what had just been said again and his eyes brightened significantly with his smile. “Wait, so you mean you’ll do it?” Lani was more excited to start classes if Odion was willing to do them as well. He knew Odion well enough to know that school was definitely not his favorite thing but between the two of them it could be fun. It wasn’t often that Lani’s emotions came out unbridled but for a rare moment the look in his eyes was bright and hopeful. Hiding his emotions was Lani’s specialty, usually the problems came from anger. He hardly ever had something like joy break out of the mask.

His teeth clenched on his tongue as he watched Odion withdrawal. It was unfair of him to ask especially if he himself wouldn’t be willing to explain something like that. Perhaps now was just not the time. Though if they were planning to follow through on their plans for the summer they either had to find a boat, which Lani would get on only kicking and screaming, or a buy a plane ticket. Lani raised a brow Odion’s voice calling him from his thoughts. He waited for Odion to finish his own thoughts and a cocky smile flashed across his face. “Why are you surprised?” Lani demanded putting his hands on his hips and his eyes narrowing in mock anger. Now this one he knew better than to assume that Odion was in. The fact that Odion had said that and not agreed to anything lead Lani to assume that while Odion wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea he might need a little more time to either accept the offer, or rather figure out if there was a way out of it.

Despite the obvious error in Odion’s lie, the redhead didn’t seem to concerned. Lani could only smile and follow along. “No you’re not,” Lani said a pleasant smile crossing his features as he looked at their swinging hands. Oh well, either way they had gotten out and that was really all that mattered. Who cared if they were really going to dinner reservations or going somewhere to make out? Or rather, what had Odion called it? Snog? Europeans were weird, he decided. The fact that Odion had said it so nonchalantly made Lani blush a little bit. “We are out.” Lani agreed ignoring the first statement for now. “Sometimes I wonder why we ever go back.” Though in all honesty if they vanished under all labels they were untrained meta humans and Hammel would have to find them. And also Lani’s parents, he knew, would raise hell about the whole thing. They hadn’t been out on a date in a while. He turned toward the shopping center where Odion’s shop was.

“The realm of possibilities is endless.” Lani said his eyes darting around the world taking everything in. “We should,” he finally decided to say. He smiled to himself and wondered just how this had all happened. He was honestly hoping for something normal. He prayed silently to any god that was listening to have nothing go wrong. He didn’t need his boss’s people causing a commotion. For once all he was asking for was a carefree moment. It wasn’t something he was expecting. Peaceful didn’t really like to favor them. Lani glanced at Odion his eyes catching on the blues. A smile crossed his face again but his thoughts were far away pondering just how he was going to fix the mess he had made. It seemed to occupy his mind more demandingly than before. “So, this watch shop, what kind of materials do you think they have stowed away?”

[Odion Martins]

Frowning, Odion knew something was wrong here. Maybe not between them, but something was going on in Lani’s mind that he wasn’t sharing, something that was making him worry and therefore, would probably drive Odion to worry as well. But he didn’t pry, he let the topic slip, but it still hurt to know that Lani wasn’t telling him everything that could be said, no matter what it was. Suicide was hardly a light discussion topic.

Odion laughed softly, running both hands over his face. Lani wasn’t going to leave him alone if he kept saying no. “Alright alright, I’ll take exactly one class with you. That’s it.” Odion didn’t really want to, but seeing Lani all perked up about the possibility made Odion happy, and it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do past graduation and travelling. It was hard to say no to Lani’s genuine hope in the matter, and Odion supposed he had sort of fallen into his own traps. He hated it when that happened.

Odion smirked, smacking Lani’s arm. “Just take the compliment.” The only reason he was surprised, was because he hadn’t thought of it before. It seemed unfair that Lani had barely trained with Odion at all, and yet Odion had gone to Boston for Lani twice now, was about to take classes with him, and now it seemed he would be learning how to drive. But life had never been fair, why would it start now? He simply didn’t want this relationship to be like his last one, where he was walked over constantly. He didn’t want Lani walking all over him in a different way. “And? If something goes wrong?” Odion asked, waiting to see what Lani would say.

Odion only smiled in agreement. If there was one thing they agreed upon, it was how awful Hammel could be. It held people back for the most part, but Odi didn’t expect much else from such an institute. Odion raised a brow. “Should what? Go out? Or snog?” He smirked at his own words. “Or both, both sounds nice.” The fact of the matter was, Odion was pretty comfortable with himself and what he liked and did not like and also had no problem in saying so. He wasn’t rushing into anything with Lani because he knew Lani wasn’t as comfortable, and that was the only thing holding him back – his respect and love for Lani. “Materials?” Odion asked distractedly, “You mean watch parts?” He shrugged, getting his mind to focus now was a difficult task. “There wasn’t much left the last time I visited.” His eyes sparkled when he turned his head towards Lani. “Shall we check now?”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani felt a moment of sorrow wash over him as Odion’s smile turned upside down. He sighed to himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say something, it was that it wasn’t his place to say. His eyes drifted off, perhaps he could make some sort of story out of this. The more he thought and the more his mind painted a web of lies the more he started to pinpoint errors and places he would have to cover in more lies. The problem with a web of lies that no matter how closely woven it was there were still holes. Odion was clever, he’d never buy it and the only thing that lying would accomplish would be for him to hurt Odion more. He swallowed, why did this keep happening? Why were everyone’s secrets his to keep? He had enough of his own. Lani ran a hand through his hair in this growing silence. People said that it was right to tell everything to the one they loved. Lani loved Odion, did that mean that he couldn’t keep anything from Odion? Anything at all? Or risk the chance of losing this love?

Lani snapped down on his excitement to resist jumping on Odion and hugging him. “Sweet,” he said coolly instead, “We’ll have to choose carefully then.” Lani obtained a thoughtful expression and rubbed his chin like he was stroking a beard. He grinned at Odion and shoved the thoughts of suicide and darkness out. He could deal with that later, he had already taken all of the sharp objects from her room. He was surprised she hadn’t come after him spitting fire yet. He removed his hand from his chin and wondered for a moment how Odion felt about whiskers. He was clean shaven usually but he wondered how long it would take until he had any facial hair worth talking about. His hair didn’t grow very fast, he never really let it, either. Maybe this November. He smiled to himself at the thought.

Laughter bubbled from Lani’s throat and rubbed his arm, not because it hurt but because it was something to do with his hands. Like a rebuked teenager he ducked his head and shrugged taking what was given and running with it. Lani clicked his tongue and shrugged obtaining just a little bit of a guilty expression. “If something goes wrong…” He paused thoughtfully repeating the question as if to give himself more time to think. “If something goes wrong,” he started again squeezing Odion’s hand, “I’ll take full responsibility and I will lift the goddamn car into the air if I have to.” It wasn’t like he was going to let Odion out on the open road right away. Oh no, he was going to do this like his father had done, in a parking lot for way longer than was probably necessary then a little bit more. Then the road. Lani looked into Odion’s eyes his determination burning through. He was not going to let Odion get hurt. Never again.

“Uh…” Lani trailed off. He felt his face burning, Odion must think he was dumb for all of his amazing conversational skills. A small smile crossed Lani’s face, a little shy but at the same time working on being more confident. He wondered if he had always been gay or if it was accurate to say he had been gay for a few months? Or was it bi? Lani shoved those thoughts away. He tried to take Odion’s stance on it. He loved Odion, what did he care about what other people thought? But those guard’s faces stuck out in his mind. “Hmmm,” he hummed and despite the warmth in his cheeks and did remember how it felt on Odion’s birthday. Both certainly sounded good to Lani. He nodded affirmatively his eyes tracing the contours of Odion’s face and lips. Lani wondered how long it would be before Odion wanted more, or until Lani wanted more. Lani nodded, glad for the change in subject. “Yeah, like batteries and stuff. They probably have them around. Most shops also do repairs.” Lani couldn’t help but smile at the look in Odion’s eyes. “We shall. Are we close?”

[Odion Martins]

It wasn’t as though he and Adrianna were friends, and Odion probably wouldn’t pity the girl regardless of what she was going through. Pity wasn’t an emotion that came to Odion, and he often wondered if being unable to feel like other people did meant something was wrong with him. Or perhaps something was conveniently right with him. It was better for Lani to say nothing at all, it didn’t mean Odion would forget, it just meant that no more lies would be spilt. Perhaps Odi was better off not knowing whatever was on Lani’s mind, but he couldn’t know for sure unless he knew the information to begin with.

Odion smirked. “Stroking your not there beard?” He teased, using the back of his fingers to replace Lani’s own. Odion had his preferences of course, but if Lani wanted to look like a hobo, there was nothing Odi really do about it but complain. Or refuse to kiss him, there was always that option.

“Hmm, interesting,” Odion said, loosening his hand away from Lani’s as he started to pace. “But you won’t lift a board with me on it?” It wasn’t fair that Lani could call all the shots while Odion waited for him to decide. If Odion was going to drive, Lani was going to have to do something he really didn’t want to do as well. Odion crossed his arms in front of his chest defiantly – why couldn’t Lani trust him? Why didn’t that trust trump the worry and fear Lani had over himself? Odion could be stubbornly strong if he had to, and he could simply jump off the board if things were too heated. But Odion wasn’t going to let this go – he had done that too often today already.

Odion glanced over to find Lani’s face burning like a hot element. “Glad to see I can still make you blush.” Not that Odion thought there would ever be a time where he couldn’t make Lani blush, the point was to bother Lani. Odi knew he could be pushy, but he wasn’t going to push this, despite what he wanted, this wasn’t about what he wanted. Odion just rolled his eyes as Lani took his sweet time putting off his answer, “Don’t jump to any conclusions...” Lani finally nodded and Odion smiled slightly, looking at the sidewalk beneath their feet. Lani was so careful all the time... Was this too risky for him?

Something clicked in Odion’s mind. “There were a lot of broken watches lying about, spare parts...” The blond would see everything soon enough. Odion merely pointed in the right direction. His drawing didn’t really do the building justice, but it was what he had shown Lani previously. “It’s just up ahead,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets and surveying the area. As promised, a large ‘GOING OUT OF BUSINESS’ sign hung over the large windows, obscuring their view. Odion’s eyes seemed to be on target. “There’s more doors on the left,” he said, the blueprint already committed to memory long before he drew it out. “They close at 5, what time is it now?” He would always be bad with time management.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani didn’t accept that Odion didn’t feel compassion. Odion had just built a pretty solid wall between him and that particular emotion. Odion might not see it, but Lani had seen it the moment Odion had taken in the trio of kittens. It had been the little glimpses behind the curtain that got Lani thinking that Odion was a good person. Then the training had started and Lani had been certain there was not a person on the earth he would rather maim. Somehow it had turned into this. This strange and new peculiar life changing thing. But whatever Odion lacked in compassion, Lani made up for. He was too empathetic for a thief. It did him better not to get to know the people he stole from. It was much better for him to see them just as people with too much stuff that they might like to have taken off their hands. Lani blinked and smiled at Odion’s comment. “I think I could grow one. What do you think?” He said with a grin curious about Odion’s answer.

Watching Odion pace away Lani knew he had erred in the formulation of his argument and he couldn’t completely tell if he had talked himself into a corner or if Odion had lead him there. Lani’s eyes narrowed and his mind blanked of any lie. He couldn’t say anything. If he said yes then he was willing to risk Odion’s life in a car and not on a board. If not, then how could Odion trust him to control the car. He ground his teeth and when no good lies popped into his head he gave an exaggerated sigh. He lifted his hands and relented. “Fine. I get it.” Lani huffed clearly not happy about it. But if Odion wanted to be suicidal so be it. He stood and dug around in his closet for a moment. He emerged with the board in hand. He tossed it to Odion. “It’s up to you. Next time we train, if you’re really determined to be a flying test subject bring it along.” With another thought Lani nodded his head. “Tomorrow. On the fields?” He was not about to do this inside where he could flatten Odion into the ceiling. Immediately after he said it his internal voice screamed at him demanding to know precisely when he had lost his mind and what the hell he was thinking. Odion wanted him to take risks. This was perhaps the riskiest thing Lani had ever done. All of his heists and standing up to his boss included.

Lani elbowed Odion lightheartedly and smiled despite not wanted to give Odion the satisfaction of knowing how he got under his skin. “Don’t forget that I can do it too, Red,” Lani retorted but didn’t have a spectacular comeback as all sense making seemed to have run away. “Psh, jump to conclusion? Me?” He laughed lightly then turned to Odion. “Why ‘snog’ though? Where did that word even come from?” Lani teased. It sounded like fog, or smog. Frog, bog. Lani laughed to himself and shook his head, he had lost his marbles, it was official. Ship him to the loony bin now. He was just curious about the word, he wondered now if his phrasing would sound off, if he was questioning the action. But then Odion was smarter than that. Odion needed to give him more credit. He looked ahead and wondered what the future held. The future was so uncertain. If Lani had it his way he would have Odion use his power to examine every possible outcome of a heist. But that would do nothing but make Lani paranoid and leave Odion exhausted.

“Hmmm,” Lani nodded and followed Odion’s hand to the shop. Lani started surveying the area. There was a traffic camera and there a few store cameras. The shops all around were relatively low grade security. They probably had one security guard that patrolled the area at night for the whole compound. They could always trip the alarm at one place and conduct their business in the watch shop. The sign as well made Lani smile. He was feeling better about this. The sign blocked most of the view in the show and from where Lani stood the windows were hard to see through from the display. And once it was dark it wouldn’t be hard at all to melt into the shadows. Lani pulled out his phone and checked, “4:30, shall we have a look around?” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer and started toward the shop taking a slight detour like he wanted to be closer to the sidewalk and he took a lingering glance down the alleyway. The leap wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought. The building next to it had another story, which would give them a height advantage. But they likely wouldn’t be able to get back over the roofs. “Good choice,” Lani praised with a grin. This was a brilliant place to plan a first heist. No one would be taking much care to inventory and more than likely all of the ‘Going out of Business’ signs would block the windows. Check the windows,” Lani said before they entered, “find out what you can see from the inside.” Chances were what they could see from the inside could be seen from the outside. He pulled open the door and a little bell jingled.

[Odion Martins]

It was Lani who truly saved him in the end, not because he pitied Odion, but because he made himself relatable in Odion’s time of need. It was Lani who got the ball rolling, otherwise, who knew what would’ve happened to the three rascals. Odion smiled and laughed. “I could also stop kissing you,” he raised an eyebrow, “could and should are different from the other.” And yes, Odion was going to play off of technicalities once more.

Odion still prized himself on being the master of mind games, and although this had been a close call, he was glad Lani was starting to see his point. There was no way out without someone getting hurt, and Odion hoped Lani cared enough to avoid that. Besides, he wouldn’t call what just happened manipulation per say... Catching the board with both hands, Odion glanced from it to Lani, just staring at the blond. A small grin came to Odion’s face. “It’s a date.” He tucked the board under one arm – they could drop it off before heading out. “And you may teach me to drive whenever you want to.” At least they were in agreement – they both thought the other was crazy.

“I haven’t the slightest idea really,” Odion said, looking up and grinning at the blond. “Why ‘making out’? It’s very difficult to translate.” Then again, so was snog, but this was just gentle banter. It didn’t really matter what they called it, so long as they were on the same page.

Odion wasn’t too far behind, and when Lani looked, so did he. “It’s about the right distance,” he said, glad they were on the same page. Sometimes Odion swore he could read Lani’s mind, and other times, he didn’t have a clue as to what Lani might be thinking. He like it though, the confusing and yet familiar nature that was Lani. Odion shrugged. “‘Twas just a matter of timing.” Odion walked in first, smiling at the hopeful clerk, and pretending to look at the items on display at the front. He walked slowly, as if in admiration, with his hands outside of his pockets. For once he was going to trust Lani and do as he was told, looking out the windows and at the very nature of them. There were bars that would shut at closing time, but it was all still very visible. There was a pesky streetlight just off to the left, but, streetlights stopped working all the time...

“Can I help you with anything?” The woman asked, looking more at Lani than at Odion, who was pretending to be a lost puppy, a hand to his face in contemplation. The watches here were worth quite a bit, he was getting awfully distracted.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani grinned at Odion and wrapped his arms around the redhead affectionately and a little bit possessive and gave Odion’s cheek a series of kisses. He couldn’t help but chuckle. He released Odion just enough to shrug and give him a sly smile. “You know, could and should are different from one another,” he repeated verbatim giving a little smirk, impressed with his own apparent cleverness. With that he released Odion and leaned back on the bed. Lani wondered which of the two of them would cave first if Lani decided to grow some whiskers. It was nice to be free to show affection, he knew people had guessed but he hadn’t officially told anyone but Caroline. It was something that made him reserved in public, not that he was very much into overly affectionate shows in public, but it would be nice to not fear judgment if he wanted to give Odion a kiss in public.

A mask of indifference descended over Lani’s features. He was kind of hoping that faced with the reality of the situation Odion would balk at the potential of flying. But he had underestimated Odion’s resolve. He shouldn’t have, they had been having this conversation since the day they met. Oh well, it was out of his hands. He had washed his hands of this and it was up to Odion now to follow through. As much as Lani needed to control a situation Odion should be proud that he was taking a risk and letting someone else have control. Lani had to admit it gave him a little anxiety. He knew Odion would show up tomorrow with the board ready to go. Lani nodded hoping that his worry didn’t show on his face, could he skip tomorrow? “Alright,” Lani agreed. Had they just compromised? This was a strange situation.

Lani shrugged, “I think it was something like an actor said it one of those old silent movies and when the scene changed they were making out or something. It probably changed the meaning of the term forever.” Lani said his voice convincing even thought he hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. He laughed a little bit. He had a skill for bullshitting. “I don’t know, I’m just making stuff up.” He admitted with another shrug. “The English language is a very strange thing.” There was never a dull conversation between the two of them. “Maybe it has something to do with the accent.” He did a terrible job of mimicking a British accent sounding overly proper and pitched, “Making out,” he laughed at himself and his voice returned to normal, “It just sounds strange.”

Lani nodded, “I think we could make it, what do you think?” It was a passing comment he made no effort to cover. For all anyone knew, they were talking about making a movie. Lani trailed behind Odion looking at the merchandise and the casings. His expert eyes found alarms, real and fake. He glanced at Odion and then his eyes snapped to the woman when she spoke. Lani noted the look in Odion’s eye and very subtly nudged the redhead’s elbow before he replied. “Do you sell parts?” Lani asked. When she inquired on the kind of parts Lani flew into a fake story. “My grandfather had this really nice watch and the band snapped. I’d really like to replace it with something similar. It’s kinda a family heirloom.” She smiled and guided him over to a counter where she pointed them out to him. They actually had a rather substantial selection of parts. Lani glanced at Odion. He didn’t know what a price should be for any of this, he hoped Odion would be better able to see if the watches and parts were overpriced.

[Odion Martins]

Feeling Lani’s face all over his, Odion tried ducking away. It was obvious that he liked the affection, he was laughing, but they were playing, and Odi didn’t have to put up with this. Something savage passed Odion’s eyes as Lani leaned back into the bed. “Nobody said you should,” he said, his voice husky as his eyes raked over Lani’s body. Oh the effect Lani had over Odion – did he know about it? Did he knew he could use it to his advantage? If anyone wanted to pass judgement on them when Lani was giving him a kiss, Odion would just have to give some nice glares in return. Or choice words, it really all depends on the situation.

“Interesting...” Odion said, but it was painfully obvious he wasn’t interested at all. Lani watched far too many movies in his opinion. Odion laughed a put a hand to his face, his eyes crinkling in mirth. “You’re ridiculous,” Odi said, quick to forget all the times he had been goofy in the past. “But I have to agree, English is the hardest language I’ve learned so far.” This was nice, getting to know each other, being silly, and not fighting all the time. There was a lesson to be had in all this somewhere, Odion was still trying to find it.

Odion nodded, a playful smirk on his face which he passed to Lani. “I think you’re spot on.”

Odion was glad for the reminder as he was brought over to where the watch parts were. There were very intricate parts, and then there were more common part. But this place was about to shut its doors for good, and the prices were very reasonable. The owners were not making a lot of profit at this point, it was barely four percent. Odion glanced from the case over to Lani, catching his eyes. “You’re going to slap me but,” he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck uncharacteristically, “I left the watch at home.” Odion gave a stupid smile and mouthed an apology to the clerk. Odion believed they had all the information they needed, and hopefully, Lani was satisfied as well.

[Lani Hunter]

The more Odion tried to wiggle away the more Lani came after him. Lani’s smile was swallowed by a onslaught of laugher. Lani’s eyes became narrow with his laughter. When it abated he blinked away a little bit of tears brought on from the laughter. He watched Odion and his smile felt as if it could never vanish. The change in Odion’s voice gave Lani chills throughout his body and he shivered as if someone had traced a cold finger on his spine and at the same time lit a fire in his gut. Lani hated that his inhibitions were still holding them back. If only he could just forget about the world for a few moments. Lani bit his tongue and blew out a quiet breath to calm himself. They had something to do, he told himself.

It gave Lani great pride to think that he had Odion going for a little while. He was very good at sounding convincing when all he was spouting was Lani laughed more so at Odion’s reaction than anything else. Something about making Odion connect his palm to his face was endlessly entertaining. He shrugged and gave an innocent smile. “How many languages do you know?” Lani asked, he couldn’t remember if he had asked this before, but if he had he didn’t remember the answer. Lani felt rather pathetic in comparison knowing little past phrases outside of English. He hadn’t really even mastered the English language, not with Odion periodically correcting his grammar. The differences in written and spoken English were vast. The artistry with which Odion wielded both was incredible.

Lani grinned back at Odion. He had never thought planning a heist with another person would be such fun. But then again, Odion wasn’t just anyone. When led over to the parts Lani’s eyes wandered to the ceiling and caught the cameras. There were two and probably stationary. Lani felt Odion’s eyes on him and looked up into the blue orbs. Lani straightened and looked at Odion falling quickly in with Odion’s escape plan. Lani put a hand to his forehead and sighed with exaggerated force. “That was the whole purpose of coming here.” He shook his head a little and gave the clerk a long suffering look. She forced a smile and asked if they could come back. Lani shook his head, “It was a long drive, that I can’t believe we made without someone noticing they didn’t have it before we got here.” Lani said the jabs were to benefit the clerk. “Thank you for your help.” She looked a little annoyed as Lani turned away and made for the door. Outside Lani’s scowl of disapproval gave way to a smile.

He reached out for Odion’s hand. “Shall we see if our reservations are still good?” He took a look back at the building, it wasn’t very secure, it certainly wouldn’t have been the hardest thing Lani had ever done. But adding Odion into the equation was going to make this the hardest heist Lani had ever been a part of. He had to keep reminding himself that this was Odion’s lead. He still felt the need to micromanage and he was practically twitching with the desire to do so. He’d just have to make sure that Odion knew how to vanish into a shadow. Lani couldn’t even remember the times he had sat still as a statue in the shadows his heart hammering while someone paced right by him.