Pot Calling Kettle (Odion)

[Odion Martins]

Odion had not reacted any better to Lani barging in on him than Lani had when he first assumed the worst with Caroline less than an hour ago. It scared him to realize just how willing he was to give Lani exactly what he wanted. The time turner had a nasty habit of constantly reading between the lines, even when there was nothing there to be found he would make something up, convinced that the world was out to get him. And yes, at one point even Lani fell into that category. Their breakup hadn’t been right, and it was filled with lies coming to the surface. In this case, the truth had been beaten out of them. And since Odion thought Lani was here for different reasons than what he was actually here for, he didn’t feel bad for feeling confused.

Rolling his eyes, Odion made an accusing gesture towards Lani. “Well excuse me, I didn’t know we still shared everything.” He winced as the pain seemed to come and go around his head area, and now that his adrenaline had slipped away, the attack on his torso was also causing him grief. “I didn’t tell you because I owed Caroline that much for getting me to come back here. What would you have done?” Odion wanted the truth, because if Lani said he would’ve told the person he had forgotten about that the way they got back to them was through their close sibling, well, Odion would find a way to get up and walk out on Lani right now. Odion just glared at Lani – he would figure out what was happening soon enough.

Having someone else in his mind was rather invasive, and Odion wasn’t sure it was something he wanted to do again. But if Lani was going to believe him, then this was necessary. Odion had a lot of pretty words, but he knew he also liked to make reality seem better than it really was. Everything Lani had just seen was raw truth, nothing fabricated, no lies. It was too quick for Odion to really manipulate, and he couldn’t if he tried. Past was past, and he wasn’t going to be touching these memories ever again if he could help it, because it would be like cutting out the same cancer in the same spot twice – the second time was usually fatal. Odion was no oblivious to the parallels between his and Lani’s situations and how Caroline had gotten involved, but this wasn’t about her. Not really.

Once the memory was through, Odion knew it had gotten to Lani. He looked almost ready to apologize, but Odion knew Lani wouldn’t because he wasn’t going to either. What was done was done, and Odi didn’t want to hear about any whats, ifs, ands, or buts about it. Odion knew how close Lani and Caroline were, and if she still cared for a lowlife like him, well, maybe there was hope for the time lord still. She was able to see past things purely because she was not in their shoes. She could see things for what they were, plain and simple. They had made a stupid move, and had stopped their entire relationship because of one stupid mistake. But they were human, and they would forever be learning. But at least Lani had Caroline. Odion hadn’t been able to turn to anyone.

Odion frowned deeply. “Well then what the hell was all this about?” It must have just been an excuse. Actually getting to the core of things was difficult, and assuming things left room for these kinds of fights. For someone who liked planning ahead, Lani had done a piss poor job of getting his facts straight. Odion didn’t blame Lani for this fiasco, he had certainly left the blond wanting more. Odion sighed deeply and tried to ignore the pain in his head. It was hard to be mad at Lani when it felt like they were making some kind of progress. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“I’m not good at this, but I’m going to try.” Odion thought Lani was going to stop after that statement, so he gave a nod. They would try again later, and the redhead was already thinking about getting up off the floor if his mind would allow it. But then Lani continued, and Odion was left baffled. He hated a few moments, wondering if this was real, before a relieved smile spread across his face, followed by surprised laughter. Odion wiped at the moisture under his eyes. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but it was something, and Lani was trying like he said. Tempted to throw himself at the blond, instead, Odion scooted closer and closed the gap between them. He put his fingertips on Lani’s jaw line, clenching his own teeth as he did so. “Nothing’s broken,” he said flatly, because Lani had broken his nose and Odi was glad Lani didn’t have a broken jaw – those weren’t fun. Odion purposefully digressed away from the situation.

Continuing to search Lani’s face, Odion knew that wasn’t the reply Lani was looking for. It was his turn to try. He looked deeply into Lani’s eyes, still cupping his face, those cool grey pools that looked so helpless now. “I used to think I didn’t deserve happiness before I met you.” And just like love, happiness was a choice. “When I didn’t have you anymore, that happiness left too.” It was a pretty simple equation if Odion thought about it. No Lani, no happiness. Odion was still holding back everything he wanted to give to Lani in this moment, and he hoped that that wasn’t lying. “If you don’t want to give me a second chance I understand, but that’s what I want because I love you more than I know what to do with...” He said he wasn’t going to be good at this.

[Lani Hunter]

If Odion hadn’t fought back Lani wasn’t sure what he would have done. Probably kept hitting him before running off. At least now he was too tired to fight anymore or run off. At least not with any speed. The adrenaline that had kept him going had drained from his body and his limbs were more tired than he had anticipated. Moving was not going to be the preferable motion for a while now. Lani clenched his jaw and winced lightly in pain, he needed to stop doing that, it would only keep hurting the more he kept doing that. Odion had a point and that didn’t make Lani happy. He was silent for a moment, glaring with narrowed eyes at the redhead. “If it involves my sister, I’d better damn well hear about it.” Lani retorted. This was Caroline he was talking about and he repeated that fact because he didn’t think Odion understood.

Lani waved a hand and started speaking before he thought. “I would have…” He cut himself off. Well, anything he was going to say now was going to be a damn lie. Because not only had Lani already done pretty much that but he knew for a fact if their positions were reversed he would have lied. It was Lani’s go to defense. Granted, chances of Declyn contacting Lani to get him to come back, Lani though were rather slim, but that was beside the point. Lani snapped his mouth shut and continued just to glare, because Odion was right and Lani didn’t want him to be right. He matched Odion glare for glare and it was probably a good thing neither of them could actually freeze each other with a stare or they would probably be staring at each other’s statue at the moment. It wasn’t fair, Lani’s mind complained, why was Odion always right?

It was a strange way to observe the past, because it didn’t feel like he was a passive observer, he couldn’t detach himself from the situation. It was all too easy to empathize when his heart still connected by strings felt what Odion felt between whatever connection they had and Lani felt like an idiot. Odion was wrong. Lani wasn’t acting like an idiot. He just was. Lani suddenly had no desire to talk about what this was about, because he hadn’t gotten his facts straight before. He hadn’t listened when Caroline had told him that it wasn’t Odion’s fault. He hadn’t listened to either of them because he was angry and anger made Lani a deaf and blind telekinetic. So when Odion asked what this all was about Lani shrugged and didn’t answer because now he felt ridiculous, but he wasn’t going to apologize for fighting, it had been the outlet of his anger he’d needed, maybe if he’d taken that free shot he wouldn’t be jumping at the first chance to fight with Odion.

It was childish and Lani knew it, but he was grumpy and therefore did not supply an answer. He sighed and shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said in forgiveness. He was still upset with Caroline, but that was a sibling matter that would have to be taken care of later. Lani needed to give his sister a chance to explain herself though, it was only fair. Because she probably would have the same reasons as Odion for keeping it from him. It was frustrating when people thought they knew what was best for him. To keep him in the dark or otherwise try to steer his hand. Lani didn’t want to be steered, he didn’t want to be in fate’s hands and he didn’t want to be a puppet. Not again. Not like he was with his old boss. But there was little he could do when the fates had woven his thread so closely with Odion’s. If the fates lived on the other side they’d better be ready when Lani finally passed through the veil, he had a serious bone to pick with the trio.

Lani blinked in shock and his expression became blank with confusion. He still didn’t understand what was so funny. Lani leaned away unsure of Odion’s closeness, he didn’t know if the laughter was a sign of happiness or if Odion was just losing it. He flinched away from his hand and hissed in pain as his fingers touched the bruise to feel the bone. It hurt but he could still speak, so he took that as a good sign but hearing the verification from Odion brought a smile to Lani’s lips. It appeared they were done talking of matters of the heart though. He wondered if they should clean up, but currently Odion’s closeness was all Lani could focus on and those blue eyes swallowed him. “How’s your nose?” He asked in return his eyes breaking from Odion’s to look at his nose and his bloodstained face. They really should clean up a bit. Lani winced in sympathy, Odion was going to have a nasty bruise.

Looking back into Odion’s eyes, Lani reached up and took Odion’s hand in his and held it there. He leaned his face into Odion hand for a moment and closed his eyes, just enjoying the moment of closeness. They opened again when Odion started speaking and the blond reached out with his opposite hand and gently brushed his fingers over Odion’s cheek. “You always deserve happiness.” With or without him. Lani never wish Odion ill, not even in the hardest of times. Even as Lani was angry he was hoping Odion was happy. But that was the rub. They were both helplessly miserable without each other. They were good actors and could play the part of happy and carefree but it didn’t change the truth. They didn’t have to act for each other. Lani’s eyes searched Odion’s depthless blues. He smiled and a flash of happiness struck his heart and he let out of half laugh. “As long as there are stars burning I believe in us,” Lani said, repeating what Odion himself had told him a few days prior.

Lani blinked himself out of his happy daze and dodged the unasked question. “We should clean this mess up,” he said abruptly and got to his feet. The world wavered for a moment in front of his eyes and he was, for a brief moment, in serious danger of hitting the ground again. Blinking himself back into focus, he slowly shook his head. Digging through his pockets he finally found the bottle of pills and took a quick handful and then offered the bottle to Odion. “We should clean you up too,” he said with a sympathetic smile. He went to the sink and grabbed a paper towel and ran it under the water. He delayed at the sink to give himself a moment to think, and to give the medication a chance to work its magic. It was too bad it couldn’t do anything for the emotional strain.

[Odion Martins]

Had the situation been different, perhaps Odion would have responded differently. As the circumstances were, he could not deny that fighting with Lani seemed to make sense. He had walked in when Odi was in the peak of doing something physical, so in his head all he could think of when he felt Lani's power was, why the hell not? In hindsight, they had both grown in their powers, but not was not the time to discuss such matters. Odion sighed, "And you did damn well hear about it and look what happened! Everything in here is destroyed." At least he had somewhere else to go now. He knew that Jared would be calling and texting him asking where he was, but the bloke could wait. Odion had other, more pressing matters at hand. 

Odion raised his eyebrows in anticipation for Lani's reply. He would have what? When the blond didn't finish his sentence, Odion said I told you so with his eyes. There was just no reasoning with Lani when it came to Caroline, and honestly, she was sick of it. "Exactly. Now imagine if I would have told you that when I first arrived. 'Oh hi Lani, it's so nice to see you. Guess who told me where you lived! Caroline, yeah, isn't that fucking great?'" His voice dripped with sarcasm. Odion had done the best he could in an unlikely situation. Lani could glare at him all he wanted, it didn't change anything. It didn't change what happened and how it happened and it didn't change how Odion wanted things to happen next.

Put off, Odion only shook his head. "You want to fight me? Fine, then that's what you should have done instead of looking for an excuse to fight." He knew that saying this wasn't going to get Lani into his good books, but he was tired of playing nice. And they had just fought, how much worse could things really get between them? But Odion really was sorry he hadn't told Lani about this whole thing much sooner. The redhead knew what it felt like to be kept in the dark and he secretly wondered how Lani was dealing with being the bitten hand that fed. It was time to start sharing truths rather than spreading lies, or keeping truths out of the equation. Odion reminded himself that they needed to discuss Adrianna. Odion's eyes softened as he thought of it - he would try to apologize to her, if she would listen.

Odion winced when Lani did, "Sorry." He was glad Lani's pretty face wasn't broken. Odi smiled back at Lani and sighed. "I'm alright, I've had worse." It was the truth, and he wasn't going to elaborate unless Lani's curiosity got the best of him. "We are chaos together, you and I," he stated absently. The chaos ran deep in their hearts, and every once in a while, reared its head into the rest of the world, destroying everything around them. Their love could not be so easily contained. Resting his hand gently on Lani's face, Odion knew that Lani wanted him too. Odi bit his lip, too late in remembering that that was sore too, so he winced. "I don't think I can be happy without you," he said, because that statement proved itself true time and time again. The redhead half grinned at Lani's words. And if they do burn out, they wouldn't know about it for some thousand years as their light would continue to last.

Watching Lani stand, Odion waited a bit just in case gravity got the better of Lani. He hadn't realized what he was doing until his power was already trying to hold Lani up. There was no escaping their metaphysical connection. "I'm not cleaning anything," Odion said, not seeing the point. "It'd be much easier to make it look like someone broke in to host a party." He had a collection of empty bottles in the corner that would do quite nicely. Odion reached his hand up from his seated spot on the floor, and took a few pills before returning the bottle. At least Lani always came prepared. Odion pulled himself up with the help of a nearby counter, and went directly towards one of the lab sinks, opposite Lani. The water always came out brown to start, so he let the pipes clear themselves before he let his bloodied hands soak under the running water. It was ice cold, but he didn't complain. They both needed time to think.

"There's something else," Odion said, righting himself. He took a moment to let the ground stop shifting underneath him, causing the sink to move upwards slightly in his vision. "I encountered Adrianna after first seeing you…" He had no idea if Lani knew anything about this, though he assumed that Lani did know. It was just easier to talk about when he was innocently washing his hands. "Let's just say it didn't go well and I need to apologize to her." Even if he didn't like her, she didn't deserve what he had done to her. Odion wiped at his face, being gentle around the most tender spots, and already could feel that his nose and the surrounding area was swollen.

[Lani Hunter]

“And you wonder why I never wanted to work on my power by throwing you in the air.” Lani muttered, an old gripe coming to the surface now that they were talking about powers. Fact of the matter was that Lani had a bomb hiding behind his eyes and if he so chose he could level something. Well, perhaps that was a hyperbole but nevertheless he could destroy everything, like now. Lani scratched his head and looked innocently at Odion. “Well… I didn’t exactly hear about it…” He admitted. What they were being honest weren’t they? Odion should know that Caroline didn’t betray his trust. In retrospect it was probably not a good idea to let his power out where there were so many breakable things. The telekinetic took a look around and swallowed hard. He had been in control for the most part, and things had still been shattered to oblivion. Would he ever really control this power?

Lani frowned and sighed, accepting the fact, but not happy about it. They were really very alike when it came to the core. Lani couldn’t do anything more than raise his hands in yielding. “Fine. I respect your desire to live.” He retorted. His power had already been doing a good job of trying to kill Odion when he first saw him, but if Odion had said something like that he would have thought just what he thought previously and he probably would have knocked Odion out of a window. So, fair enough, Odion didn’t want to die. Lani could respect that. It didn’t mean he was happy about it, but it meant he understood why he’d done it because honestly faced with his own power Lani wouldn’t have told himself either. It was too unpredictable on a normal basis and add unpredictable emotions and it was a variable all to its own.

A scoff escaped Lani’s lips. “I don’t want to fight,” Lani snapped in some ways fighting in his desire not to fight. He lost control, and he was angry and so he’d snapped. It was an incident that perhaps could have been avoided if Lani wasn’t being stubborn and would listen to someone even when he was angry. The redhead need not ask how Lani was dealing with it because it was spelled in his fury a few moments earlier. He was for a moment a being composed of rage. It was a bitter pill to swallow and Lani felt sick, he hated this feeling and he felt even more foolish for having done the same thing to Odion. Lani wondered for a moment what Odion was even doing here. He couldn’t imagine why Odion would want him, a liar back. There was another force at work here it seemed. Like two ends of a magnet they were opposites, they reflected each other and just like opposite magnets they were helplessly attracted to each other.

Lani raised a brow but that was a question for another day. Nodding in agreement, Lani wondered how and why they had found each other. In all logical purposes the world should probably have been doing anything in its power to keep them apart. Well, maybe it was, but they were fighting against it. The point was they were here and as much as they were willing to fight each other, they were just as willing to fight for each other. They just had a strange was of going about it. Lani tilted his head slightly and shook it. He was sure Odion could be happy without him, it would just take time, perhaps more time than they had given it. He knew his life would be half lived without Odion. To survive was not to be happy. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy,” he said brushing his fingers lightly near Odion’s ear, to avoid the painful looking space around his nose.

Lani stood still for a moment and considered the statement and nodded with a shrug. He went to the sink anyways. Pocketing his pills and watching the water run through the sink Lani watched it meditatively. He turned slightly when he caught Odion’s motion but turned back and worked the paper towel over his hands and watched the water turn pink as he cleaned his knuckles. A few cuts on his knuckles he hadn’t noticed before stung lightly as the water ran over them. He added soap to scrub his hands clean. Pressure started to form in his temples and sinuses and Lani had barely a moment to grab a paper towel and cover his nose as he sneezed unexpectedly. The paper towel was red when he took it away and Lani quickly wiped at his nose and kept his back to Odion. The sneeze brought relief from the pressure and Lani just kept the napkin at his nose for a moment, but the blood had more or less been sneezed out. He hated when his power use over did it and he bled.

When he was sure it was under control he grabbed another paper towel and wet it and went to the places where he had carelessly spat his blood to the floor. He didn’t mind leaving the rest of the room in disarray, but he was in the system now, he was not going to risk his DNA showing up in a scene like this. He doubted they would care that much but someone might be tempted to check the blood stains. He paused and looked to Odion’s back as he spoke. What now? His mind questioned wearily and Lani straightened eyeing Odion warily. Lani raised a brow and just waited. He remembered Adrianna coming in with a red patch on her cheek. Lani tossed the paper towels into the waste basket and leaned against the counter crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for the end of the story. Lani didn’t answer at first and looked at the back of Odion’s head. “You slapped her,” he said putting two and two together.

Lani nodded slowly. He knew Adrianna didn’t like Odion, she made that no secret. He sighed, why was it that his best friend and his love didn’t get along? Lani figured that he’d more than made up for Odion slapping Adrianna and his lie today. He could only imagine what happened to make him slap her and he could only imagine her reaction to it. Adrianna could be a very scary woman when she was angry. “Why? What did she ever do to you?” Lani asked baffled. Adrianna hadn’t told him that part. She was his best friend and Lani was stuck for a moment between trying to find answers and figuring out whether he should defend Adrianna or Odion, or if he just wanted to say screw it all and scold the both of them. He swallowed, he’d once had a fight with Adrianna that had spilled over onto Odion and they had fought to. Lani didn’t want to have to take sides, he loved Odion, but he loved Adrianna too. Maybe not in the same light but the idea of taking his own side against the both of them was looking better and better.

[Odion Martins]

“I think you’re capable of doing much more than just throwing me,” Odion retorted. They were not going to talk about what Lani could and could not do right now, there wasn’t any point to it. Odi knew that after today Lani was going to be even harder to convince to train with, not that that seemed like a possibility in the near future. “You heard what you wanted to hear,” Odion said stubbornly. Lani was a terrible listener most of the time, and Odion wished he would take those extra seconds to really look at what was going on. If he was really using Odion, why bother telling Lani about the rest of it? Why would Odion want pity? Honestly, he thought Lani knew him better than that.

His desire to live? Ha, it was almost laughable. Only a couple months ago did he wish he had the courage to throw himself off of some tall building or mountain and end it all. This apparent desire to live came with strings attached, and Odion knew it wasn’t healthy, but it was a start. To him, there was no reason to appreciate life or even see the world as a good place without Lani beside him. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy other things, but they all paled in comparison now – how could he go back to that life? He had tried and had failed miserably.

Groaning, Odion ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to rip it all out in frustration. “Then what do you want Lani? What was the point of that?” Odion asked loudly. It was either this insanity, or loneliness, and he was going to have to readjust.

Odion smiled graciously – Lani really meant it, he really did want him to be happy. The redhead didn’t know what else to say without crossing lines and so he held back. He had only been happy when Lani was around, the true kind of happiness he had never known before when someone actually believed there was good in you. But they both knew he wasn’t happy anymore, he was only surviving. If Odion could purr at Lani’s touch, he would. “Goddamn it Lani,” Odion said softly, “all I’ve ever wanted, is you.” He didn’t want to know his asshole parents, he didn’t want to know his flakey brother, and he didn’t want to have a million friends. He just wanted what the one person who understood him better than he understood himself.

Used to being bloodied up, Odion wasn’t giving his injuries too much thought. They would hurt, and then they would pass and life moved on. If only emotions were the same way, and at some point, they had been for him. Most of the blood from his injuries had been soaked up by his now ruined shirt. After his face and hands were mostly cleaned, Odion stripped off his blood stained shirt and threw it over some of the things he was bringing with him to his new apartment. Odi busied himself with finding another shirt for far too long as Lani spoke of Adrianna. Crouched over a different box of stuff, Odion sighed, flipping through clothing that had been turned to rags thanks to Lani’s power.

Ah, there in the middle of the rest of the mess was an untouched shirt, plain and black. Odion slipped it on over his head and stood once more, facing Lani. “She didn’t do anything, except catch me at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Odion put his hands in his back pockets, seemingly uncaring. “I told her to back off and she didn’t listen, I’m not saying what I did was right I’m not an animal, but sometimes… it just feels that way.” And really, she had no right to be making the accusations she had, and he had taken out his anger on her. “I’m nothing like Rhett Goddard and I’m tired of hearing that I am.” Odion spat, wishing there was something else in the room he could break.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani actually slapped his forehead and groaned. “I don’t get you. See you know that, but you don’t seem to really seem to get it.” He was assuming again that Odion’s mind was moving in the same direction as Lani’s and thinking about all of the terrible things he could do to someone. Already he’d gotten a taste of what his power could really do if it was clever and focused. He might not be able to touch anything that was alive but he could do fantastic work with clothing and miscellaneous items to make up for it. He could throw Odion, but he could also tear him to shreds and he could destroy him. Lani didn’t want to do any of those things and it made his terrified to think about. No one person should have this kind of power. Lani clenched his jaw hand and immediately regretted the action but shook it off the pain adding a little more of an edge to his voice. “I didn’t hear anything,” he snapped and sighed ducking his head and shrugging, “I stole Caroline’s phone and I saw that she was texting you.” He just hadn’t listened after that.

Opening his hands and shrugging Lani’s expression grew just as desperate. What did Odion want from him? Lani had said he was bad at this sort of thing, his words lacked poetry and his voice lacked a musical tone and all he could was blurt what was on his mind. He was used to hiding his emotions from those that could use them against him, he was too used to hiding what he wanted and Odion had pulled that out of him before but in these several months he had reverted. Odion was the one person he really tried to know and let know him. He was the one person that Lani tried the hardest to be honest with, obviously that failed more often than it succeeded. “I don’t want to be angry anymore,” Lani finally said in a softer tone but no less frustrated. It was a little bit of insanity and a whole lot of loneliness and even more an onslaught of emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time that he didn’t know how to control. “What’s the point of anything? We’re not getting anywhere.”

Lani wished he could toss the lines aside or jump across the rift between them. It had blazed in flames and the fight had destroyed much of the rift but it felt like Lani was standing on one side freezing his heart and building his walls and on the other Odion was calling out to him. But Lani was afraid of falling if he crossed the rift. Well, perhaps he just needed to get a running start. He wanted to feel again, he wanted Odion. It was really simple. Odion wanted Lani and Lani wanted Odion. It should be simple. But as everything in the human life, it was complicated. He squeezed Odion’s hand and his other hand went to rest on Odion’s shoulder. Lani started to run at the rift. “And I want you,” he finally said softly and he shied as the depth of the rift appeared and he skidded to a stop. He wasn’t brave and he wasn’t strong. “Odion, I wish I was as strong as you are.” Lani wished he wasn’t so afraid of being in love, but through all of the good he could still remember the pain just as well. He just wanted to have Odion and he wanted to forget the pain. Lani was startled to find out needy he was feeling, as if he needed to constantly be reassured that Odion wasn’t just going to vanish again.

Watching Odion, Lani bit his lip and swallowed as he watched Odion dig through his things. He ducked his head and bit his tongue to keep it from apologizing for shredding Odion’s cloths. That was another one of those things he hadn’t realized he’d been doing. Despite his best effort Lani’s eyes were distracted by Odion sculpted body and his body and mind remembered Odion and Lani crossed his arms and closed his eyes and tried to control all of the things that were running through his head at the moment. Odion spoke finally and Lani raised his head remembering what they were talking about. Lani’s brows came together half in confusion and half in worry. He cocked his head, he really couldn’t say he laid blame one way or another. Adrianna didn’t know Odion like Lani did, she didn’t know when to back off and Odion also didn’t know Adrianna like he did and how very protective and just plain scary she could be when she was angry. “No, you’re not, and Rhett can go die in a hole for all I care,” Lani agreed, for one Rhett was of the lowest in Lani’s eyes and Odion was the highest. He was going to have to talk to Adrianna about this as well.

Lani was guilty of accusing him of being with Rhett, but being Rhett, Lani never really could convince himself of that even thought he tried. It appeared Adrianna had. Slowly, Lani pushed himself away from the sink. He and Adrianna had gotten close again while Odion was gone. She’d been the rock on which his sanity had rested until he was able to take it up again. Lani stood a short distance away from Odion and put his hands on the redhead’s shoulders. “And you’re not an animal.” He wished he could just call Odion his again. Lani was scared, he’d said the ‘L’ word and now Odion knew and now things were moving and things were terrifying. He locked his gray eyes on Odion’s blues. “You are Odion and you are the single most amazing person I know. You are kind and you’re selfless.” He knew Odion probably wouldn’t believe him but that was how Lani saw him, and he was seeing that time and time again. Odion was patient and he was willing to admit to a mistake, he was sensitive and beneath that hard exterior was a soft and loving person, who had rescued three kittens after their mother had died.

Lani took a deep breath and tried to make a run for the rift again and this time he jumped. “And you’re my person.” He released Odion as he started gesturing desperately as he spoke. “I don’t want to be without you, because ever since we met you’ve been the only person on my mind. Odion… I’m afraid.” He was afraid either way actually. If Odion left Lani was afraid of what he would become, if Odion stayed Lani was afraid of letting him get so close again.

[Odion Martins]

Odion growled in response to Lani’s statement. “I see what’s right in front of me, and the fact that I can still see and I’m not dead tells me you aren’t going to kill me, telekinesis or not.” Now Odion’s hands were flying around as he explained. “You and me? We’ve done this before, but not really because you didn’t want to hurt me, and you obviously didn’t really want to kill me, so you’re in control of your powers, you’re just being stubborn. What else is new?” They could argue about this all day and frankly, Odion felt like he could if that’s what it came down to. It would just serve as a distraction from the true problem at hand here. Odion’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “You stole her phone?” Lani had more trust issues than Odion had given him credit for. Odion let out a laugh that showed he was sorry for Lani – Caroline was going to be mad at him for a while for that move.

But Odion’s eyes cooled off the longer they spoke. Again, this only made sense to him. How else could emotions be shown and shared except in a hurry? There was no prolonged exposure to emotions here, just blurt them all out and get it over with before you realize what you’re doing and change your mind. “Lani,” Odion said gently, “you can’t never be angry again, and really, you’re allowed to be angry considering the circumstances.” Hell, he knew he was angry, but he didn’t really feel angry anymore, he was simply ready to move on already. Odi smirked, “Sure we are.” They were getting somewhere, which was better than nowhere.

Odion would do whatever it took to catch Lani if and when he was ready to try and cross the rift between them. But at least it was only a rift now, and not oceans of water between continents. Odion swallowed hard at their close proximity. As Lani claimed to want him, Odion had to look away. If he hadn’t, it would’ve been impossible not to kiss Lani right then and there. But they were still trying to figure things out and he wasn’t going to complicate things, because that was the best he could do right now – not make things worse. Looking back at Lani with soft eyes, Odion wasn’t sure if he should smile in appreciation, or laugh at the outright silliest thing he had ever heard. “I don’t understand how someone’s greatest weakness can also be their greatest strength,” he decided to say instead. Maybe Lani truly did see him as strong, but he wasn’t, not without Lani. But Lani was strong too, they just needed each other to see what they were really capable of.

It wasn’t Odion’s intention to be tempting, and honestly, he didn’t think Lani was all that interested in him in that capacity at the moment. But Odi wasn’t shy around Lani, there had been a time where he flirted shamelessly, and the blond had seen much more than he was seeing now. Still, Odion could feel those gray eyes on him, and he wasn’t going to lie – it felt good. Better than fighting. Odion half smiled at the comment about Rhett, he couldn’t say he cared whether Rhett lived or died. All Odion knew was that the Frenchman wasn’t someone he was desperate to erase from his mind, because he could live knowing that that relationship remained in the past. He didn’t want Rhett in his life anymore, but Lani was a different story.

Feeling disgusting now, Odion couldn’t help but feel used whenever Rhett was mentioned. His true heart had been exposed then and abused, but never properly explored. Remembering Rhett was like remembering the flavour of something terrible. Whether he was compared to being Rhett, or being with Rhett, Odion wanted nothing to do with it. Feeling the weight of Lani’s hands on his shoulders, Odion felt more grounded and stronger, and he smirked, “I thought I was a catupine.” Yes, those sweet memories had returned and settled back into place without a hitch. It was only a matter of time before the rest of his forgotten memories could do the same. Lani’s words, though not poetic, filled Odion’s heart and made him feel alive for the first time in a long time. Kind, amazing, selfless, and strong? How could he not love the man before him?

Lani ran, and Lani took the chance Odion was waiting for him to take. Odion retrieved Lani’s flailing hands and pulled Lani closed to him. He would meet Lani half way. “I’m not,” Odion stated, his intentions clear as he leaned in close to press his lips against Lani’s.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani crossed his arms and looked at Odion with skepticism. It was easier to tell that Odion did actually see. That he didn’t understand what Lani understood. “Just being stubborn!?” Lani repeated his eyes flashing. If his power wasn’t cowering in a painful lump in his head right now it would give a nice demonstration of not being stubborn. He narrowed his eyes and glared, he knew he was stubborn, that was true, but he didn’t count controlling his power as being stubborn. If Odion wanted to keep a fight going he was headed in the right direction. There were so many times when fights rose because one or the other was being stubborn about something or keeping secrets. Lani nodded and ran a hand through his hair giving a sorrowful smile at Odion’s laugh. He knew he was in trouble big time. When Lani screwed up, he didn’t do so delicately or softly, he did so like an elephant falling through a leaky roof.

Emotions flared like locks of flame and they scorched the air, falling to leave embers smoldering until a breath came to give the emotion life. The fire had been stoked when Lani threw the first punch and like the harsh mountain descended air the hot and dry blast of air fed the flames but inconsistently leading to anger and sadness and love. Lani sighed a little in frustration. He didn’t mean that he would never be angry again, it was just this constant anger that he was tired of holding so close to his heart. Anger was always the strongest emotion Lani felt because anger was an emotion that he was allowed to show to people. It didn’t mean weakness all the time, it meant he could stand up for himself and for others. Sometimes it meant weakness when small things could snap the telekinetic, but he was sick of being a pile of dry tinder for the fire to feed on. “Do you live to disagree with me?” Lani asked, rolling his eyes.

Things were already complicated, beyond complicated. It was so simple that it was complicated. It was like a mathematician who had spent the years of their career solving differential equations and when the challenge arose it came from long division or an addition error. Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly the same thing but they were facing a mountain of a problem balancing on their toes and dancing the tightrope. Lani’s eyes flashed with confusion momentarily. “Or it was never really a weakness to start out with?” Lani’s voice inflecting the statement into a question. Strength was overcoming the weakness, or moving forward despite it. Lani was stuck in the status quo and moving forward or back or even sideways was a move that brought things that he couldn’t prepare for, but he was already blundering like a fool off of his trail in search for a way around the boundary. The way was hard with thorns and ice and cliffs.

Intention or not, Odion was attractive and Lani had never stopped being attracted to him. It was the memory of those times when there was nothing but teasing and smiles and flirting and they had captured each other and everything was just real and it was right. Once upon a time, Lani wanted to throttle Rhett. But eventually Lani had decided the other blond wasn’t worth it. Though, for a long while when Lani was imagining Odion back with Rhett in Europe he had had more than his fair share of fantasies of killing Rhett. Literally no one else on the planet could invoke such hatred in Lani. Well, maybe his boss, but that was another story for another time. He was not going to be hurting anyone else. Lani smiled, the same sweet memories tracing through his mind. “That too,” Lani said with a decisive nod. How could he have forgotten catupine. Odion was the one and only, the most cuddly and prickly thing to walk the earth.

Admitting to fear was a big deal for Lani, the telekinetic would rather someone think he was incapable of fear. Truth was, Lani was afraid of a lot of things. Water, love, scary movies, were just a few. Odion’s hands in his brought his focus singularly back to Odion and how close they were. In some ways it felt like they were starting all over again, judging distances and dodging glances, but they had already been as close as two people could be and the distance just felt strange but the closeness still had Lani’s heart beating. Lani’s eyebrows shot up and he was about to ask but Odion was moving and Lani was only aware of the beating of his heart and of Odion’s. When their lips connected things seemed to snap into place. Lani’s eyes caught one last glimpse of the blues before sliding close and his hands gripped Odion’s hands. He was forgetting about Odion’s nose and the sore state of his own jaw and temple, the only evidence the metallic taste of blood on his tongue.

Memories caught up with him and Lani jerked back suddenly. He didn’t retreat he just looked into Odion’s eyes and let them swallow him. He was happy beyond reason but his heart was beating with nerves and Lani’s heart was being tossed in a maelstrom. This was love! It screamed in panic. This was love and this would mean pain and agony. He knew he was setting himself up for failure but with Odion here and the electricity still running through his body from his lips, his heart lurched and churned unsure of how to react. “Odion…” Was all that Lani was able to force past his lips. Just the name, but there was so much packed into the word. Uncertainty, fear, desperation, desire, love. He took a step back and it was only Odion’s hands that kept Lani from turning tail and running. This was where he wanted to be, he told his heart. This was who he wanted to be and who he wanted to be with.

Lani could see the path and the path was long and the path was hard but when he emerged from the wilderness there was another there. If Odion tread this path with him, back into Odion’s memories and through Lani’s walls, he believed in them. Lani looked into Odion eyes and that was all that existed. Love. His heart and mind embattled each other and Lani stood rigid between them. This didn't fix everything, but it made it doable. Lani hovered between moving closer and moving farther away. For the time being he stood and looked into Odion's eyes as if the answer lay within their blue depths. He swallowed. "What are we doing?" Fear struck in his heart and Lani took another step back and shook his head unable to process. Maybe he'd jumped the gun, but his hands still hung onto Odion's as if unwilling to let go. Against his desires Lani's mind was reeling and it was searching for an escape.

[Odion Martins]

Odion lifted his hands in frustration. “Yes! You’re being stubborn. I don’t know anyone as stubborn as you are Lani Hunter, and when you set your mind on something, you get the job done, so why would your power be any different?” Stubborn, and thick headed, that’s what he was. As for the living to disagree... “Yes, that’s a full time job all by itself isn’t it?” Odion smirked. There we go, that was more like normalcy. Odion sighed, shaking his head and immediately regretting the action. But they wouldn’t be who they were together or apart without the disagreements.

Smiling, Odion wondered at how Lani could think in that unique way of his. Sometimes he made things seem so obvious, and yet, have no idea what he was truly talking about. Take now for example, did Lani know that Odion was talking about him? That he was Odion’s greatest weakness, and also his greatest strength? That he would do anything for Lani, and that meant anyone could use Lani against him. But without Lani, Odion didn’t have a reason to hope. Without Lani, there wasn’t a light in the darkness, and even a singular light, was stronger than any amount of darkness around it. “Could be,” Odion said, still unsure if he had decided whether such a thing was true or not.

It was just like how he remembered it being, except for the fact that the kiss hadn’t lasted as long as he wanted it to. When Lani jerked back, Odion couldn’t hide the hurt on his face. Well, aside from his obviously swelled nose and other sore spots. Odi tightened his grip on Lani’s hand, knowing that look in the blond’s eye. The time turner glanced down momentarily, feeling like he had done something wrong. It was hard to tell by Lani’s intonation, but Odion didn’t want to take it back. He didn’t want to go back to where he was and his past self may not have been as daring as he just had been. Lani had given him that confidence. Had he perhaps misread the signs?

Clearly Odion didn’t know what he was doing, and he had already warned Lani. Sometimes he felt like half his life was constant shots in the dark. “I don’t know,” Odion admitted, “but please let me be strong for you.” The redhead kissed Lani’s battered knuckles, unsure of what to do next. Jared was going to be here any second now to pick him up. “Not sure how I’m going to explain this to Jared...” Odion mused out loud, but he wasn’t too worried about it. Jared knew best of all that people fought and people lost. But Odion wasn’t willing to let go of Lani just yet. “Can we move forward now?” Odion asked, seeking permission to keep exploring the past with Lani, in order to get somewhere in the future.

[Lani Hunter]

“Oh, why don’t you take a look in the mirror!” Lani accused sharply. Odion was just as stubborn as he was, Lani figured. Odion was persistent and he didn’t let things drop, which was perhaps one of the main reasons they worked because if Odion never pushed and prodded Lani for answers then they’d never have talked about anything more than the weather. Odion’s lovable smirk appeared and Lani couldn’t help but smile in return. This was more familiar and this was more right. How many times had they bickered endlessly about things that were of no concern just because Odion decided to play the devil’s advocate and force Lani to look at things from another perspective. He snorted. “Well you’re doing a damn good job of it,” Lani said trying to put in a little bit of sullenness into his voice, “You certainly won’t be fired.”

Lani quirked a brow at Odion and he wished the time turner would elaborate. Could be, was a vague term in the best of times. It was like answering ‘because’ to the question of ‘why’. It was indeed a legitimate and perhaps extremely descriptive answer depending on the circumstance, but it still left something to be desired. “You don’t sound so sure,” the blond said cocking his head and looking at Odion with curious eyes. They both held each other’s supports and their downfall. However, so long as they held the supports away from each other their foundation started to crack and crumble. In each other they found the greatest weakness but they also found the greatest strength. It was a balance. At the moment everything was out of balance and the weakness felt stronger than the strength and the strength slipped away quietly into the night.

Narrowing his eyes he tried to look away from the pain on Odion’s face but he couldn’t and it was burned into his mind like a brand. One more mistake to add to his rather impressive collection. Broken eye contact allowed Lani’s eyes to close and he squeezed Odion’s hands tightly afraid that they would disappear when he opened his eyes. Confusion flashed through his eyes when he opened them and he looked up at the lights and tried to understand what was going on in his own head. He wanted to be in love, he wanted to love Odion. But the loneliness and the emptiness his heart remembered was too great to ignore. They didn’t equalize and the love was eroding the icy walls. What if it couldn’t break it? Lani wished he had a free hand to pinch his nose to keep tears from forming. What if he was trapped forever. Doomed to push Odion away until he finally left and then live in his cold shell. What if he couldn’t love again? What if his love for Odion wasn’t enough. Odion hadn’t misread the signs, Lani had just tried to chance course mid-leap and found himself stuck in the middle.

Lani gritted his teeth and the soreness in his jaw stabbed him with pain but did little to actually deter the action. He wanted to scream. He’d been on his own for so long. He didn’t need Odion to be strong for him. Lani could be strong all on his own. If he was alone. He could be strong on his own, because he had to be. Lani closed his eyes against tears, but hell he’d already made the wrong move. Lani opened his eyes. He opened his mouth to snap a response but his voice was stuck and clogging his throat. A sigh escaped his lips and Lani pulled Odion’s hands close to his chest. He was doing all the wrong things. In defending his heart he was furthering the freeze he was trying to avoid. The fear was so crippling that his breath was catching and his mind whirled lashing out and flashing all of his mistakes. He didn’t know what Odion loved him, he was a train wreck.

Lani blinked in surprise at the offhand comment. He shrugged nonchalantly. “Just tell him what happened. I’m sure he probably already hates me, what difference would it make?” It helped shake out his nerves and give him something else to focus on. Closing his eyes again Lani forced breath into his lungs to avoid the terrifying feeling of being trapped and being swallowed by emotions. Forced air through his lungs moved his chest and shoulders visibly as he told them that he was not dying, he was breathing. “I should probably go check on Caroline…” he said and started to pull away thinking the comment about Jared was something of a dismissal, the question stopped him. Lani’s heart hammered and he looked into Odion’s eyes. The ground was there when Odion was, there was a calm that soothed the storm and his nerves, it happened before and every time Lani felt panicked Odion had been there to dispel the attack with a touch, but then he’d been gone and there was no one to stop them.

Stepping forward, Lani drew closer to Odion and he pressed their hands together between their chests. He could feel Odion’s heartbeat and he could hear his own beating like a hammer. He was probably tossing up mixed signals like someone had just thrown him onto an airfield and told him to direct, it was no wonder Odion was thinking he was misreading Lani, because Lani wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. “I’d like that,” Lani replied softly and leaned his forehead for a moment against Odion’s, debating whether or not he should take the risk of trying to kiss Odion after he’d reacted so negatively to being kissed before. Finally he decided against it and drew away from Odion. “Make sure you get ice on that,” he said pulled his hands away from Odion, “I should go talk to Caroline,” he repeated his excuse and stood for a moment as if he was lost, then he turned for the door.